Xbox | Sudeki

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         '._         _.-`          `              _.' _.'     `-------`
            '.___.--`                         _.-`_.-`
                                              `--`

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+                                                                             +
|          *** A Complete Sudeki FAQ/Walkthrough ***                          |
=                                                                             =
|                         by - Syonyx -                                       |
+                                                    Version 1.0              +
|                                                                             |
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_____________________                                             _____________
  TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                 GAME INFO

1) Introduction                                                   Title: Sudeki
2) Controls                                                      Platform: Xbox
3) Gameplay                                                   Genre: Action-RPG
4) Characters                                                 ESRB Rating: Teen
    4a) Tal                                                   Developer: Climax
    4b) Ailish                                             Publisher: Microsoft
    4c) Buki                                      Release Dates: 20-Jul-04 (NA)
    4d) Elco                                                     27-Aug-04 (EU)
5) Walkthrough 
6) Quest Summary
    6a) Main Story Quests    
    6b) Optional Quests
7) Weapons & Armor
    7a) Tal's Equipment
    7b) Ailish's Equipment
    7c) Buki's Equipment
    7d) Elco's Equipment
8) Blacksmiths & Runes
9) Items & Commerce
10) Monster Compendium
11) Closing Info
_______________________________________________________________________________
                         WALKTHROUGH IN-DEPTH CONTENTS

     5a) Illumina Castle                        5m) Road to Transentia
     5b) Illumina Countryside                   5n) Transentia City
     5c) New Brightwater                        5o) Transentine Research Center
     5d) Return to Illumina Castle              5p) Crystal Reef
     5e) Illumina Castle Revisited              5q) Siren's Grotto
     5f) Road to Shadani-Mo                     5r) Return to Crystal Reef
     5g) Shadani-Mo                             5s) Aklorian Countryside
     5h) Shadani Temple                         5t) Cyantine Citadel
     5i) Realm of Shadows                       5u) Road to Aklorian Stronghold
     5j) Return to New Brightwater              5v) Aklorian Stronghold
     5k) Illumina Castle Revisited, Again       5w) Elco's Awakening
     5l) A Bunch of Side Quests (optional)      5x) Endgame

             *** To skip to a particular section, press ctrl-F and enter
                 the section number (e.g. '5p') ***

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                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               1) INTRODUCTION
                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Greetings to all, and welcome to my guide to Sudeki on the Microsoft Xbox.  I 
am Syonyx, and I this guide will serve you well as you explore the realms of 
this gorgeous action-RPG.  Climax has crafted visually rich characters and 
environments for you to squander your waking hours exploring, so fire up the 
big box, crank up the Dolby Digital, and prepare to enter a world of swords and
sorcery, lust, honor, and betrayal, as four heroes face their destiny...

I have attempted to make this guide as extensive as possible, and to that end 
have included, in addition to the full walkthrough, details on each story quest
and side quest, full lists and details of all items, equipment, shops, 
monsters, etc.  If you want any additional information or clarification, have a
suggestion for improvement, or just want to make general comments on this 
guide, feel free to drop me a line at [syonyx_faqs at yahoo dot com].

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                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                 2) CONTROLS    
                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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===============                     |   ===============
 NOT IN COMBAT                      |    DURING COMBAT
===============                     |   ===============
L-stick: Move character             |   L-stick: Move character
R-stick: Move camera                |   R-stick: Aim in ranged combat
A: Talk, action, select in menus    |   A: Vertical strike (melee) /
B: Back up in menus                 |      Fire weapon (ranged)
X: Additional info in menus         |   B: Sweep surrounging enemies   
Y: Open Quick Menu                  |   X: Horizontal strike (melee) / Change
Black/White: Switch lead character  |      weapon (ranged) / Select in menu
L trigger: Hold for 1st-person view |   Y: Open Quick Menu
R trigger: Center camera behind you |   Black/White: Switch lead character
D-pad: Use set Quickshot items      |   L trigger: 1st to 3rd-person view
Start: Open Main Menu               |   R trigger: Defend (melee) / 
Back: Back up in menus              |              Fire weapon (ranged) 
L-stick (click): Put health bars    |   D-pad: Use set Quickshot items 
                 over characters    |   Start: Pause game 
R-stick (click): 1st-person view    |   Back: Back up in Quick Menu


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                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                 3) GAMEPLAY
                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The story is broken up into a series of 'Quests', specific tasks entrusted to 
members of your party.  Each quest may have more than 1 part, completed in 
sequence.  As you seek to fulfill these duties, you will travel the world, 
engage in battles large and small, and pick up additional optional tasks along 
the way.  Now, that doesn't tell you much, so let's go into more detail about 
how the game will progress.

                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               ~ DEFINITIONS ~
                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following are some of the terms and abbreviations you'll encounter in this 
guide and in the game.

HP: Health Points.  Refers to the amount of life each character possesses, or
    the amount of damage they can sustain before falling in combat.
SP: Skill Points.  Allows characters to perform special moves called Skill
    Strikes while in combat.
SSP: Spirit Strike Points.  Allows characters to call on incarnations of
     mystical guardians to devastate their foes in combat.
Power: Physical strength.  Determines the damage caused by regular attacks.
Essence: Magical strength.  Determines the damage or duration of effect caused
         by Skill Strikes.
XP: Experience Points.  Determines level increases.  Obtained by completing
    quests, solving puzzles, and defeating enemies.
N: North.   S: South.   E: East.   W: West.   NE: Northeast.   NW: Northwest.
SE: Southeast.  SW: Southwest.

                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               ~ GAME SCREEN ~
                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pardon my artwork, but here's the game screen and features that bear some 
attention:
                 ____________________________________________
                |  __                                        |
                | /  \                                  (+)  |<-- Quickshot
  Navigation -->|(    )>                                     |    menu
         map    | \__/                                       |
                |                                            |
                |                                            |
                |                                            |
                |                                       ---()|    other party
                |                                       ---()|<-- characters  
                |                                      ---() |    (shows HP/SP)
                |                                     _   __ |
                |                                    /_) (  \|
                |              .-. __________       //====  ||<--lead player
 Combo meter -->|{!}()()()    (_A_)__action__)     //=====__/|   character
 /ammo meter    |____________________________________________|   (shows HP/SP)
 (in combat only)  ^              ^                 ^
                   |              |                 |
     (appears here |              |             Spirit Strike meter
 when not in combat)<----available action
                            indicator

While not in combat, the action indicator will pop up whenever a particular 
action can be performed.  Press A at these times to take that action.  This 
might be breaking open a crate, opening a treasure chest, talking to others, 
examining something, or performing a character-specific action (see below).

                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            ~ WORLD EXPLORATION ~
                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so the main way to do this is to move around and use the camera to check 
out your environment as you progress through the game, passing through roads, 
fields, towns, and dungeons.   However, there are some other tools to help you 
out, and some special things to look out for.

-- NAVIGATION MAPS --

At all times, there is a round display in the upper left corner of the screen 
which displays the features of the immediate environment.  The outlines of the 
local topography (basically the path that is open to you) will be drawn in 
blue.  There will also be a white arrow around the outside of the circle while
you are in the field, indicating the ultimate direction that you need to go in 
your current quest.  Other features on this map include:
           -White dot + yellow cone: your current lead character's position
                                     and the direction they're facing.
           -Purple dots: other party characters.
           -Green dots: Friendly non-player characters.
           -Red dots: Enemies.

You can also access World Maps through the Main Menu (see below).  These maps 
display the entire region you're currently in.  They can be hard to make out, 
but if you look closely, you can see the entire road system for the region.  On
these maps, there will also be icons indicating the locations of helpful 
service outlets:
           -Traders (scales icon):  Buy and sell items.
           -Kamo's Shops (duck in hat icon): Buy and sell items. 
           -Blacksmiths (hammer and anvil icon): Upgrade equipment.
           -Inns (knife and fork icon): Rest to restore all HP and SP.

-- CONVERSING WITH OTHERS --

As you approach friendly non-player characters, the action indicator will 
appear, providing you with the option to talk to that character by pressing the
A button.  They will say what they have to say, both in text and audio format.
You can accelerate speech by pressing A again in the middle of it, but this 
skips the audio portion.  Sometimes, after a character speaks, you will have 
one or more options with which to respond or prompt the character for further 
information.  Highlight the option you desire and press A again to activate it.
One of the options will always be to just say goodbye.  Talking to characters 
may be required for a particular quest, may give useful but not absolutely 
essential information, or may trigger a new side quest.  Different quests will 
be available at different points in the game, too.  So if you're in a big rush, 
you can ignore all passers-by, but it could also be in your interest to talk to
every character every time you're in a particular area.  It's up to you to find
whatever balance you're happy with. 

-- FOUND OBJECTS --

Throughout the worlds of Sudeki, there are valuable and useful items to be 
found.  Some of these are restorative items, some are only good for trading 
with others for cash or yet more valuable items.  The different ways to fill 
your inventory without spending any money are:

           -Smashing crates/vases: Press A when the 'Break' action indicator
                                   appears near certain objects.  Just don't 
                                   be too disappointed if they're empty.
           -Opening treasure chests: You know whatever's in these has got to
                                     be reasonably good.
           -Dropped by defeated enemies: In battle, you must move over these
                                         earned items to add them to your
                                         inventory.
           -Gifts from other characters: If you fulfill Quests for others, 
                                         they will reward you in some way.

-- ENTERING BUILDINGS --

As you approach a door, the action indicator will come up either as 'Locked', 
in which case you can still press A to rattle the door (serving no real 
purpose, however), or as 'Open', allowing you entry.  Only the lead character 
will enter a building while the others wait outside.  This is a minor problem 
if there is a barrier inside that only one character may pass by virtue of 
their individual skills.  If you find yourself with the wrong person, go back 
outside, switch to the right one, and go back inside (unless the right person 
isn't in your current party, in which case you'll have to return at a later 
time).

-- MONEY & SHOPPING --

You can obtain Florins (the currency of Sudeki) in 2 ways: finding some in 
treasure chests or smashed objects, or by selling valuable items to traders or 
Kamo.  

As for buying, a word of advice: Save your money primarily for equipment 
upgrades.  You can usually pick up enough restorative items in the field to 
meet your needs, and don't need to spend Florins to purchase these items, 
though you may occasionally be desperate for a particular type of item, in 
which case spend away!  There are 4 types of locations for you to spend your 
dough:

         -Kamo's shops: These franchise locations, found in or near towns, 
                        offer a wide variety of restorative items and some
                        weapons for purchase.  You can also sell your items
                        here, but Kamo's pretty stingy and won't pay you much.
         -Traders: Located throughout the world, traders are particularly 
                   interested in purchasing your valuable items, but also offer
                   a few items for sale.  Each trader has a particular fetish,
                   meaning that they will pay top dollar for a particular type
                   of item, such as animal furs, or precious gems.
         -Blacksmiths: These skilled tradesmen can imprint mystical runes upon
                       your current armor and weapons, conveying special attack
                       and defense properties.  You can also find special runes
                       which any blacksmith will then be able to inscribe.
                       Basic runes are square, while round runes are generally
                       stronger and more expensive.
         -Inns: These comforting hostels offer rest, restoring the entire
                party's HP and SP for the meagre price of 25 Florins.

See the Shops section much further down in the guide for details on the prices 
of all bought and sold items for every shop and trader.

                                   ~~~~~~~~~
                                   ~ MENUS ~
                                   ~~~~~~~~~

There are 2 menus in the game: the Main Menu, which is only available when not 
in combat, and the Pause Menu, which you can access at any time, but which is 
particularly useful in combat.

-- MAIN MENU --

Opening this menu shows you the full status of the current character, including
their current and maximum HP, current and maximum SP, level, experience, and 
experience required to reach the next level.  You can switch characters on the 
main menu screen and within any of the sub-menus by pressing the Black/White 
buttons.  Scroll through the sub-menus by pressing left/right and press A to 
open the one that you want.  Any options within each sub-menu will be displayed
across the bottom of the screen.

ITEMS: This is where you'll find all consumable items.  You can use any of them
       for which you have a need (i.e. you can't use a HP-restoring item if all
       characters are at full HP), look at the descriptions of each, or assign
       them to the Quickshot buttons for rapid access during battle by pressing
       X while the desired item is selected.

VALUABLES: There are 3 lists here, side by side, of items available for trade,
           equipment runes acquired, and key story items.  Scroll over each
           item to see a brief description.

ADVANCEMENTS: Here, you can spend available advancement points (acquired by
              leveling up) as you see fit on Max HP, Max SP, Power, or Essence,
              or you can learn new Skill Strikes.  If you don't have points to
              spend, you can still just look at where each character stands. 

WEAPONS: All weapons for the current character will be displayed.  Scroll
         through them to see their basic stats, inscribed runes and available
         rune slots.  Press X while a weapon is highlighted to see a longer
         description of its qualities and history.

ARMOR: As each character only owns one set of armor at one time, it will only
       display the current outfit, along with its inscribed runes and
       available rune slots.

QUEST LOG: All current quests will be displayed in this menu.  Highlight the
           quest title to read the description of the current task within that
           quest, which will change as you accomplish each task.  Once the
           quest is complete, it will vanish from the list entirely.

MONSTER COMPENDIUM: Each monster type that you've defeated will gain a listing
                    in this menu, including a picture of that monster and a 
                    description of its abilities and status defenses.  There
                    will also be a suggested strategy for fighting it.  Whether
                    you heed this particular advice is up to you.

MAPS: The maps available for viewing for each area you've encountered will be 
      listed in one of three columns, divided by different realms.  Open a map
      and look closely to make out the road pattern for that area.  Not all
      regions will have maps to accompany them.

OPTIONS: Control various game settings.  I won't go into detail, the game tells
         you what you need to know.  Of particular note is the ability to 
         reverse the Y-axis (up/down) on aiming with the R stick during first-
         person view, primarily of use in ranged combat.

QUIT: You can select this option at any time to exit the current game, load a
      previous file, or return to the most recent save point.  You might want
      to do this if your game is going particularly badly.

You will often notice that the sub-menu icons have a "+" character laid over 
them.  This indicates that something new has been added to that menu, such as 
advancement points available to be allocated, a new weapon or armor listing, 
new items, or new quest information.

-- QUICK MENU --

Opening this menu by pressing Y slows down the world around the lead character 
substantially, but not completely (so in combat, you can still be damaged if 
you take too long).  It is the only way to use Skill Strikes and Spirit Strikes
in combat, and is invaluable for using items not added to the Quickshot buttons
in emergency situations.  It is also the only way to modify your allies' AI 
setting.  The following sub-menus are available:

SKILL STRIKES: The current lead character's special abilities will be listed
               here, along with a brief description and the SP cost.  If you
               have enough SP, you can activate the skill by selecting it 
               during combat.

SPIRIT STRIKES: These ultra-special abilities are also particular to each
                character and will be acquired at key points in the game.
                Activating each during combat requires sufficient Spirit Strike
                Points, which can be restored by causing and taking damage in
                combat.

WEAPONS: Use this to change weapons on the fly.  Does not contain the full 
         descriptions that are found in the Main Menu, so get to know your 
         arsenal well.

ITEMS: Use any consumable item on any character that needs it in a flash.  Just
       remember that even though time is slowed while the Quick Menu is open,
       it isn't stopped completely, so don't take too long deciding what to 
       use.

A.I.: Set the artificial intelligence settings that will influence how non-lead
      characters will behave during combat.  See below for more details on each
      setting.

OPTIONS: Go to the options menu (same as for Main Menu) to change settings.

                                  ~~~~~~~~~~ 
                                  ~ COMBAT ~
                                  ~~~~~~~~~~

-- INITIATING COMBAT --

Battles occur only in pre-set designated areas.  As you travel the lands, you 
will pass through a number of small areas, some of which will see you pit 
against the forces of darkness.  If you re-enter these areas at any time, you 
may trigger another battle, either with a similar group of enemies, or 
different foes altogether.  You will sometimes be spared a fight upon re-
entering an area, because some are determined by some unknown percent chance of
combat, but others will see you fighting each and every time you enter the 
area, even if you just cleared it out, stepped over the threshold, and re-
entered it 2 seconds later.

-- GENERAL FLOW AND A.I. --

Once combat has been established, the music will change to a more exciting 
theme, the sky may darken, your characters will draw their weapons, and 
monsters will start to appear.  At this point, all controls switch to the 
battle configuration, your combo or ammo meter will appear in the bottom left 
corner of the screen depending on which character is in the lead, and the Main 
Menu will no longer be available to you (though you can still pause the game by
pressing Start).  

The combat system in Sudeki is largely controlled by the games A.I., or 
artificial intelligence.  This means that any characters other than the one 
you're controlling directly will still participate fully in battle (sometimes 
performing better than if you were controlling them yourself).  You can switch 
between any characters in your party at any time by pressing the Black/White 
buttons, and the computer A.I. will take over the previous character.  This 
allows for fast-paced, often chaotic combat with dozens of characters acting 
all at the same time over a large area.  You will have to switch characters 
whenever you want to use a particular character's Skill Strikes, as these can 
only be activated by you, or when you want to heal anyone, as the A.I. only 
allows your allies to move, attack, and defend.

While you can exert no specific control over characters other than your lead at
any particular time, you can adjust their A.I. settings to determine the 
overall slant of their actions.  Open the Quick Menu and choose the rainbow-
colored brain icon to access the A.I. menu.  Select the character you want to 
change and set them to one of the following 3 options:

           -Attack: The character will go after any nearby enemy and try to
                    take them out.  They will run after enemies if there aren't
                    any nearby.  Characters on this setting will still defend
                    if surrounded and call for help if seriously injured.
           -Defend: On this setting, characters will attack monsters that
                    threaten the lead character.  So 'defend' refers to
                    defending you, not themselves.
           -Retreat: Choose this to make characters avoid combat, running away
                     from enemies whenever possible.

Just remember that even though the other characters can largely fend for 
themselves, it is still you're responsibility as the player to keep the party 
alive and kicking.  You can only heal characters through direct actions, either
using special Skill Strikes or restorative items (which can be used on any 
character who needs it regardless of where they are on the field).  To use a 
healing item on another character, however, you must select it from the Quick 
Menu.  The Quickshot items programmed onto the D-pad will only be used on 
whoever your lead character is (unless it's a rare whole-party item).

Remember, too, that player characters cannot harm each other, so feel free to 
unleash attacks around your allies with fear.

-- MELEE COMBAT --

Combat in Sudeki can take one of 2 forms: Melee, a.k.a. up-close and personal 
hacking and slashing, or Ranged, where attacking takes place from afar.  Each 
character can engage only in one of these 2 forms of combat.

Tal and Buki are your melee fighters, Tal engaging the enemy with his sword and
Buki with her claws.  When controlling a melee fighter, the camera is in third-
person mode, as it is for most of the non-combat game, allowing you full view 
of your character and their immediate surroundings.  

Melee combat includes 3 types of attacks: vertical slashes (A), horizontal 
slashes (X), and spin attacks (B) to knock over enemies surrounding you but 
without causing them much damage (one note: Buki seems to take longer to make 
this move and has a shorter radius of attack when she does, compared to Tal).  
In addition to single slashes, the player can also carry out a number of combos
using the X and A attacks.  Entering combos depends on proper timing.  Watch 
the combo meter in the lower left corner of the screen, and as each circle 
flashes, press the next button in the combo sequence.  NOTE: Tal's combos 
require slightly slower button presses than Buki, so get used to the timing for
each.

COMBOS: A, A, A - Rapid slashing attack.  Easy to execute.
        X, X, X - Spinning horizontal attack.  Easy to execute.
        A, X, X - Forward charging attack.  Plows character into enemies.
        X, A, A - Spinning stun attack.  Wide area of attack on final strike.
        A, X, A - Spinning air attack.  Slow but extremely powerful.  
        X, A, X - Slow spin attack.  Vulnerable while making final strike.
        X, X, A, (A, A, A) - Vertical juggling combo.  Can add up to 3 hits.
        A, A, X, (X, X, X) - Horizontal juggling combo.  Extendable attack.

These combos will be elaborated on further for each melee character in a 
section below.  It is important to note that you can control your direction 
throughout a combo, meaning that you can target different enemies with each 
hit.  Use this to your advantage when surrounded, or when a combo finishes off 
an enemy before the final strike.

Since you're in the thick of the fray in melee combat, you're almost always in 
a good position to unleash a furious Skill Strike on nearby enemies.  It also 
means that you're highly vulnerable to enemy attacks, so watch out for what's 
going on around you and heal as necessary.

-- RANGED COMBAT --

Ailish and Elco are your ranged fighters.  Ailish fires blasts of magical 
energy from a variety of staffs, while Elco uses a collection of high-tech guns
to dispatch foes.  When controlling a ranged fighter, the camera shifts to 
first-person view, in essence turning the game into a mini-FPS (First Person 
Shooter).  

You can control your movement in this view with the left analog stick, moving 
back and forth and strafing left and right.  You can control the direction 
you're facing with the right stick.  In essence, full movement control requires
coordinated use of both sticks simultaneously.  Use the R trigger to fire your 
current weapon while doing so.  Hold the R trigger to fire continuously (if the
weapon allows it).  You can also use a pseudo-physical attack to clear 
surrounding enemies by pressing B (similar to in melee combat)

Your firepower varies according to the weapon equipped.  You can cycle through 
the weapons in your inventory by pressing X.  Weapons will cycle down the list 
as they appear in your inventory, looping back to the top after the last 
weapon.  Each weapon also has a particular amount of ammo, or number of times 
you can fire before you must reload.  Reloads happen automatically once you're 
out of shots, and the time to reload varies by weapon.  For both Ailish and 
Elco, the initial weapon has unlimited ammo and can be fired continuously, but 
is also fairly weak by comparison.  Some weapons have area effects upon contact
with a target, some can only hit enemies at closer range while others can shoot
across the entire field, and some weapons' shots can pass straight through 
enemies to hit multiple targets in a line.  Whenever you get a new weapon, 
experiment with it from a safe position in combat to get a feel for its 
abilities.

-- DEFENDING --

Attacking is all well and good, but you need to know how to defend yourself too
to stay alive.  The easiest way to do this is to keep moving using the L analog
stick, dodging attacks before they connect with you.  In melee combat, you can 
also raise a shield by holding the R trigger.  This will defend against most 
attacks, but powerful enemies will be able to break through your shield, so 
it's not always effective.  You can also dodge while blocking in melee combat, 
by holding R trigger and moving the L stick left, right, and backwards.  The 
character can thus move out of a lot of sticky situations.  And again, the B-
button sweep attack can clear surrounding enemies, giving you a brief breathing
space.

In ranged combat, you have no shield with which to defend yourself, so 
continuously moving around the field is your best option.  Since you attack 
from a distance, you can stay away from any enemies while still contributing 
effectively to battle.  Remember that ranged fighters also have use of the 
sweep attack, so press B if monsters are getting too close.  It is especially 
important to keep moving while a weapon is recharging, since you're vulnerable 
during that period.

-- SKILL STRIKES --

All characters have special abilities that they can learn and use during 
battle, called Skill Strikes.  These powerful techniques are useful for doing 
massive damage to multiple enemies, healing or reviving allies, or conveying 
positive status effects to your party.  New Skill Strikes can be learned by 
spending advancement points on them after leveling up.

To activate a Skill Strike, open the Quick Menu during combat by pressing Y.  
The action all around you will slow down to a crawl, giving you a moment to 
make your selection from the Skill Strike menu (you don't have forever, though,
so make up your mind quickly).  Performing a Skill Strike requires that you 
have enough SP.  If you don't, restore it by using restorative items, or 
sleeping at an inn between battles (there are also some weapon runes that will 
restore your SP as you cause damage to enemies).  You will also be unable to 
perform a Skill Strike if your character is 'not ready', meaning that they are 
busy recovering from being hit or are otherwise engaged in a certain action.

Once you have selected a Skill Strike, you will see your character in third-
person view with a colored zone indicating the area of effect of that skill.  
The area will gradually fill with brighter color, and once it is full, the 
skill will be activated.  This gives you a little bit of time to aim or move 
yourself into an ideal position to ensure the maximum effect from the strike.
You are invulnerable while the skill is charging in this manner.

If at any point you find that your Skill Strikes are not as effective as you 
would like, one option is to boost your Essence after leveling up and earning 
advancement points.  Each character's essence score determines the strength of 
their Skill Strikes, either through the amount of damage they cause or the 
amount of time that the status-boosting skills last.

-- SPIRIT STRIKES --

In addition to the powerful Skill Strikes, characters will gain the use of 
Spirit Strikes.  These ultimate powers can either devastate an entire field of 
enemies, or bestow positive status effects upon your party and negative status 
effects on your opponents.  performing Spirit Strikes requires sufficient SSP 
(Spirit Strike Points).  These are shared by the entire party, and are gained 
by engaging in combat, damaging monsters and taking damage yourself.  Your 
party's max SSP is 200.  Damaging Spirit Strikes consume 200 points, while 
status Spirit Strikes only use 100.  The SSP meter is the curving sliver along 
the left edge of the lead character's icon in the bottom right corner of the 
screen.  It fills with silver to reach 100 SSP, then again with gold to reach 
200 SSP.  

-- USING ITEMS --

This was discussed briefly above, but it bears repeating, since it will help 
keep your party alive.  In combat, there are 2 ways to use restorative items.  
First, you can use those already mapped to the Quickshot menu (D-pad).  This 
has to be set up in the Main Menu between battles.  Quickshot items are also 
only used on the current lead character.  The other way is to open the Quick 
Menu, and quickly choose the desired item from the list, then the character to 
use it on (only those who can benefit from the item will be listed).  You 
cannot use items from the Quick Menu if you are busy recovering from being hit 
or otherwise engaged in another action.

-- STATUS EFFECTS --

There are several positive and negative status effects that can be applied to 
either player characters or enemies.  When a status effect is in play, its 
corresponding icon will appear over your character's icon in the bottom right 
corner of the screen, or over an enemy's health bar.  Most positive status 
effects will also be indicated by a glowing ring at the character's feet.  The 
statuses are as follows:

POSITIVE STATUSES: Boost (Red heart) - Doubles physical damage caused with 
                                       regular attacks.
                   Haste (Yellow up arrow) - Increase speed of movement.
                   Protect (Blue shield) - Decrease damage received from
                                           all attacks.
                   Regen (Green drop) - Gradually gain HP over time.

NEGATIVE STATUSES: Weaken (Broken heart) - Halves damage caused to others
                                           with regular attacks.
                   Slow (Purple down arrow) - Reduce speed of movement.
                   Curse (Broken green shield) - Doubles damage received.
                   Poison (Green bottle) - Gradually deplete HP over time.
                   Freeze (Snowflake) - Unable to move for short time and
                                        very vulnerable to attacks.

All statuses vanish at the end of battle, some will fade on their own even 
while battle is still going on.  You can also remove negative statuses by using
special items (Panaceas), or by using certain Skill Strikes.

It is also possible for player and enemy characters to possess innate defense 
against specific negative statuses.  For your party, this is achieved through 
inscribing special runes onto your armor.  For enemies, this is an inherent 
quality.  The statuses that each monster is resistant to will be listed in 
their entry in the Monster Compendium, viewable through the Main Menu.  When a 
player or enemy attempts to invoke a negative status on a character that is 
immune to it, a black shadow of that symbol will appear (in the same location 
that active status effects do), indicating that resistance.  Continued attempts
to inflict that status will be pointless.  You can also gain temporary 
resistance to a particular status by curing yourself of it using a Panacea or 
special Skill Strikes.

-- EXPERIENCE AND REWARDS --

For each enemy dispatched, the team is rewarded by a certain number of 
experience points.  Combined with experience gained in completing quests, this 
is how characters will grow and advance in their abilities.  All characters in 
the party gain experience for enemies killed by any character.  In addition to 
experience points, some monsters leave behind treasure when defeated.  You must
then walk over the dropped item to collect it (this often happens automatically
as you are killing them in melee combat).  These prizes can be either valuable 
items for trade, or consumable restorative items.  Items can be picked up after
the end of battle too, once your fighters have sheathed their weapons, but if 
you wait too long the items will vanish.

                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                           ~ CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT ~
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When your characters gain enough experience (see the Main Menu main screen for 
the current level, experience points, and experience to reach the next level 
for any characters in your party), they will gain a level and receive one or 
more advancement points.  Use these as soon as you get them to make your life a
lot easier.  Open the Advancement page from the Main Menu, switch to the 
character you want to advance, and scroll through the possible ways to spend 
your points.

Each character increases in the various stats by different amounts for each 
point spent, for example, Tal will gain 500 max HP for each point, while Ailish
only gains 300.  Use this to your advantage, but also think of what kind of 
fighter you want each person to be.  A mix of strengths throughout your party 
generally the best way to go, but you might prefer to, say, make Elco 
physically very powerful by increasing his Power, or you might prefer that he 
can perform lots of Skill Strikes and boost his SP.  In the end, it's up to you
and how you want your characters to perform.  Just remember that they all need 
some balance, so don't neglect any category entirely.  You might be unable to 
advance a particular stat beyond a certain point before you reach a certain 
level of experience (e.g. you can't raise any stat more than 7 times until you 
reach level 20).  This discourages you from spending all of your points in one 
area at the expense of all others.

Aside from increasing Max HP, Max SP, Power, and Essence, you can also learn 
new Skill Strikes from the available list.  To learn a Skill Strike, you must 
first have sufficient max SP to be able to perform it, then you must spend an 
advancement point on it.  Not every character absolutely needs to have every 
one of their Skill Strikes, but you could find some use for all of them if you 
tried.

Here is a table of the experience points required to reach each level.  Note 
that the maximum level you can obtain in this game is 30.

                Level | Experience       Level | Experience
               =============================================
                   1  |     0              16  | 11000
                   2  |   100              17  | 15000
                   3  |   200              18  | 20000
                   4  |   300              19  | 25000
                   5  |   500              20  | 30000
                   6  |   750              21  | 35000
                   7  |  1000              22  | 40000
                   8  |  1250              23  | 45000
                   9  |  1500              24  | 50000
                  10  |  2000              25  | 55000
                  11  |  3000              26  | 60000
                  12  |  4000              27  | 65000
                  13  |  5000              28  | 70000
                  14  |  7000              29  | 75000
                  15  |  9000              30  | 80000


That's it for this section.  If you can think of anything else that might be 
useful in explaining how to play the game, please let me know (see bottom of 
guide for contact information).

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                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                4) CHARACTERS
                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    4a) TAL  
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tal's father left the family to pursue a life with the Illumina army, leaving 
Tal and his brother to be raised by their mother.  Unfortunately, was claimed 
the lives of both mother and brother while Tal was still young.  Lacking other 
role models in his life, he became determined to prove himself to his absentee 
father by training as an elite soldier.  Tal has grown skillful as a swordsman,
but is still stung by the loss of strong family ties.

FIGHTING STYLE: Melee
WEAPON: Sword
SPECIAL ABILITY: Strength.  Tal can push and pull large objects to remove 
barriers in his path.  Use this ability on large crates and other objects with 
handles for grasping.

ADVANCEMENT LEVELS: HP: +500/point          Power: +10/point
                    SP: +20/point           Essence: +5/point

MELEE COMBOS: A, A, A - Lightining Thrust.  Rapid vertical slashes followed by
                        a forward thrust.  Quick, must be well-aimed at target.

              X, X, X - Sidewinder Slash.  Horizontal cuts can also hit nearby
                        enemies, finished by a spinning knock-down strike.

              A, X, X - Crusader's Charge.  Two strikes followed a forward dash
                        and final cut.  Moves you out of the way of other foes.

              X, A, A - Whirlwind Smash.  Ends with planting your sword and
                        kicking in a circle, briefly stunning enemies hit.

              A, X, A - Aurora Scythe.  Horizontal spin jump and downward slash
                        is powerful, but slow and leaves you vulnerable while
                        executing.
          
              X, A, X - Typhoon Cutter.  Rotating horizontal cut, knocks down
                        opponents.  Quicker than Aurora Scythe.

              A, A, X, X, X, X - Blade Mirage.  Multi-slash combo.  Moves you
                                 forward a bit, may help dodge other enemies.

              X, X, A, A, A, A - Tornado Spin.  Juggles opponents with series
                                 of upward slashes, moving you forward a bit.


 SKILL STRIKE          SP  Description & quotes
===============================================================================
Iron Warrior           40  Bestows party with Protect status, reducing the
                           damage they receive.  Duration depends on Essence.
                           "Stand behind me.  I shall not fall!" 
                           "I shall lead us to victory"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will of the Sword      10  Creates an energy sphere around Tal, blasting and
                           stunning surrounding enemies.
                           "Stand firm!" 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shin Splitter          20  Tal sweeps his sword in an arc, damaging and
                           knocking over enemies.
                           "I'll stain the floor with your insides."  
                           "Those that stand before me, die!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blade Spark            30  Throws an electric spark ahead of his with his
                           sword, damaging opponents.
                           "You shall die by my blade here, or there!"  
                           "You shall taste pain.. Blade Spark!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geyser Charge          30  Creates an eruption of earth beneath any single 
                           target, with unlimited range.
                           "The earth and you shall feel my rage!" 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blade Dance            75  Tal spins continuously with his sword for a short
                           time, repeatedly damaging enemies.  Steer him with
                           the L stick to target enemies.


 SPIRIT STRIKE       SSP  Description & quotes
===============================================================================
Sword of Ashuran     200  Summon the incarnation of Kariston the wolf
                          to make the earth erupt and devastate all enemies.
                          "I call on Kariston to deliver final judgment!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moon Wolf            100  Grant Boost status to all allies and Weaken status
                          to all enemies.
                          "I summon Kariston, protector of the world, 
                           slayer of the demons!"


     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                  4b) AILISH 
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ailish is the daughter of the Queen of Haskilia and grew up in luxury in 
Illumina Castle.  She has also been blessed with magic abilities almost 
unmatched in the realm.  Despite the tight control of her life, this sultry 
sorceress is a free spirit, and won't hesitate to go off on adventures against 
her mother's wishes, consequences be damned.  She has admired Tal for his 
physical, uh, prowess, for some time, often watching him practice his swordplay
from the castle balconies.  She lacks friends of the same station in life, but 
has developed a somewhat unequal relationship with her servant, Yemi.

FIGHTING STYLE: Ranged
WEAPON: Magic staffs
SPECIAL ABILITY: Magical Sight.  Ailish can see objects invisible to others, 
and make certain objects vanish or appear at will.  To use this ability, look 
for areas with fluttering yellow fairies.  Examine the area in first-person 
view, then press A to make the object appear or disappear.

ADVANCEMENT LEVELS: HP: +300/point          Power: +7/point
                    SP: +40/point           Essence: +10/point

SKILL STRIKE          SP  Description & quotes
===============================================================================
Witch's Kiss          40  Bless the entire party with healing energy, restoring
                          some HP.
                          "This one's just for you." 
                          "You can't resist my healing kiss."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blaze Ball            30  Generate a fireball and blast it forward through
                          enemy ranks.
                          "Burn in hell, you fiends!" 
                          "You will burn in the inferno."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shadow Nexus          75  Revive any defeated allies and restore some HP to the
                          to the entire party.
                          "From the depth of the void comes the pain 
                           of the fallen."  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Celestial Circle      60  Create a field of holy power to damage surrounding
                          enemies.
                          "Fiends, leave this world!"  
                          "Get back, or I'll toast your soul."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gaze of the Wind      45  Grant Haste status onto all party members.  Duration
                          depends on Essence stat.
                          "Always one step ahead."  
                          "Come one people, pick up the pace."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Permaforce            80  Drop surrounding air to sub-zero temperatures, 
                          damaging and causing freeze status to monsters.
                          "I'll freeze the hearts of those that fight against
                           me."  "I'll chill your flesh and break your frozen
                           hearts."


 SPIRIT STRIKE       SSP  Description & quotes
===============================================================================
Pure Land            200  Summons the incarnation of Olivetess the eagle to
                          freeze the terrain and devastate all opponents.
                          "Olivitess, queen of light, banish those who 
                           assail us!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spirit Flute         100  Revive any fallen members and bless party with the
                          power of regeneration.  
                          "Olivitess, entrust us with your power in our fight 
                           against evil."


     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                   4c) BUKI
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buki is an Anthropomorph, a race of half-human half-animal beings sharing the 
world with humans.  Anthropomorphs are highly spiritual creatures, and Buki is 
no exception.  She holds great respect for the mystical world and honors the 
deities that watch over it.  Buki is also a formidable warrior, trained from an
early age to defend her people.

FIGHTING STYLE: Melee
WEAPON: Claws.
SPECIAL ABILITY: Climbing.  Buki can use your claws to hang from and scale 
certain walls that are covered in ivy-like growth.  Once attached to a wall, 
she can move up, down, and sideways to reach otherwise unattainable areas.

ADVANCEMENT LEVELS: HP: +400/point          Power: +10/point
                    SP: +25/point           Essence: +6/point

 SKILL STRIKE          SP  Description & quotes
===============================================================================
Spirit Wind            50  Grant regeneration status to entire party, slowly
                           restoring their HP.
                           "The spirits guide this wind to us.  Breathe deep,
                            my friends."
                           "The great eagle watches over us.  We are honored 
                            indeed."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Path of the Warrior    80  Slows down time for everyone except Buki, allowing
                           her to move among enemies and kill them with ease.
                           "You will see things no one else can see, do things
                            no one else can do."
                           "Only a focused spirit can walk the path of a 
                            warrior."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clawed Frenzy          35  Slash foes with her claws in a furious attack
                           affecting an arc ahead of her.
                           "I will shred your flesh, and tear your very soul 
                            asunder."
                           "My claws will taste blood, then they shall feast on
                            your bones."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Storm Kick             25  Start a continuous spinning kick that repeatedly
                           damages foes.  Steer her with the L stick.
                           "When I attack, even the heavens scream." 
                           "I am the one!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asilas the Wolf        40  Summon this animal guardian to fight with you,
                           attacking and distracting enemies.
                           "My savage friend, your skills are needed."  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dragonfire             60  Send a blast of fiery dragon's breath in a line
                           across the field.
                           "A dragon's rage is second only to Mo, the great 
                            cat."  
                           "Writhe in agony!  The serpent fang bites deep."


 SPIRIT STRIKE       SSP  Description & quotes
===============================================================================
Fire and Ice         200  Summon the incarnation of Mo, the great cat, who
                          burns then freezes the land, destroying all foes.
                          "Spirit of the fiery beast, release your fury on 
                           unclean souls!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blessing of Mo       100  Bestows protect status on the entire party while
                          while inflicting all enemies with curse status.
                          "Spirit of my ancestor, come forth and rage in battle
                           once more."
                          "Great Mo, return to the world and fight with me."


     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                    4d) ELCO
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elco is a tireless engineer and inventor, and possesses great wisdom despite 
his young age.  He lost his left arm in an industrial accident and endured the 
pain of grafting a mechanical arm in its place.  He is mistrustful of mystical 
beliefs not grounded in the world that he can see and understand, but his 
loyalty to his friends and his liege is unquestionable.  Elco is a married man 
(sorry, ladies), and he values his wife Tilly above all other things.

FIGHTING STYLE: Ranged
WEAPON: Guns
SPECIAL ABILITY: Jetpack.  Elco can power up his jetpack temporarily by 
absorbing the energy from nearby glowing crystals.  He can then use his pack to
sail across great chasms and reach new areas.

ADVANCEMENT LEVELS: HP: +350/point          Power: +8/point
                    SP: +50/point           Essence: +5/point

 SKILL STRIKE          SP  Description & quotes
===============================================================================
Cybernetica            40  Fire volley of pulse charges in wide arc ahead of
                           him, damaging several enemies at once.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nano-Enhancement       35  Use nanobots to boost the physical damage caused by
                           party members.
                           "Okay, time out."  
                           "I hope these things work, they are still 
                            prototypes."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plasmatica             55  Unleash an energy device to send a blast ripping
                           through a line of enemies.
                           "Let's put a little lead in the air, and see what 
                            falls over."
                           "Do you feel lucky, punk?  Statistically, your 
                            chances are not good."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toxic Cloud            30  Spray poison gas into the air ahead of him, causing
                           damage and poison status to enemies.
                           "Eat rocket fuel!" 
                           "Smoke on this!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tesla Shield           50  Removes any negative statuses from the party and
                           transforms them into positive ones instead.
                           "Shocking stuff, huh?" 
                           "Switching Tesla generator to full power!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trick Shot             80  Fire a grenade under any enemy with unlimited range,
                           damaging them significantly.
                           "I'm going to kill you in the face!"  
                           "Now you've made me mad."


 SPIRIT STRIKE      SSP  Description & quotes
===============================================================================
Storm of Wrath      200  Summon an incarnation of Lebius the dragon to
                         devastate all foes with an electric storm.
                         "None can stand before us when the spirits are 
                          with us!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unkind Universe     100  Caste haste status on all allies and slow status on
                         all enemies.
                         "Lebius, by your will even time will dance!"


                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                           ~ NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS ~
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

QUEEN LUSICA: The stern queen of Haskilia, residing in Illumina Castle.

GENERAL ARLO: The hard-as-nails captain of the Illumina elite guard, he is
              Tal's superior officer as well as his largely absentee father.

YEMI: Ailish's lady-in-waiting at Illumina Castle, and the closest thing she's
      got to a friend.

DENSI: Yemi's mother.  She lives in New Brightwater, and is always welcoming
       to guests in her home.

TILLY: Elco's young wife, a resident of Illumina Castle, and an aquaintance of
       Princess Ailish.  She fully supports her husband despite his eccentric
       nature.

LORD TALOS: Mysterious masked figure, both respected and feared in the kingdom
            of Illumina

CAPRINE: Queen of Cyantine in the realm of Akloria.  She is a wizened old
         magician with great knowledge and compassion.

KAZEL: Head of the Cyantine armed forces, and a magnificent swordsman.

ALEXINE: Daughter of a wealthy family in Akloria, her magic ability is
         surpassed only by her beauty.

NICO: Wise anthropomorph and strong fighter, from a near-extinct tribe.

CAFU: Gentle artist who knows the value of dreams in the human experience.

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                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                5) WALKTHROUGH 
                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Throughout the walkthrough, I will divide the action by main areas and sub-
areas.  Each sub-area is named at the bottom of the game screen when you enter 
it.  Use this to help you keep track of where you are at all times.

FINDING ITEMS: I have listed the key items and treasures found in chests for 
each area of the game.  One thing I could not do, however, is list the items 
found in breakable items (chests, barrels, urns), because these items are 
randomized to some extent, i.e. you'll only find the more powerful healing 
items and certain valuables in difficult areas late in the game, but the exact 
contents of each barrel/chest/whatever changes from game to game.  So your best
bet is to just smash everything you can find!  I realize that this can get 
tiresome, but it's worth it in the end, at least until you reach the point when
you're carrying the maximum number of most items.

SECRETS: There are many hidden items in this game, most of which require the 
use of one or more character's special abilities to reach.  Throughout the 
walkthrough, I will mark these special items like this:

   *** Do this task here to get to the hidden item.  Look for these markings 
   *** throughout the walkthrough to make sure you get everything.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
                              5a) Illumina Castle
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

    -== Training Grounds ==-

First of all, enjoy the lovely opening FMV.  After being introduced to some of 
the characters, the first point you gain control is when Tal is engaged in a 
combat training display.  Use this opportunity to practice with the different 
melee combos and establish the proper timing for button pressing.  You have to 
perform the actions that are dictated at the top of the screen.  Once they end,
you can keep going for as long as you like.  Press the Back button when you're 
done to exit training.

    -== Castle Grounds ==-

               Chest items: 25 Florins     
                            75 Florins
                            100 Florins

As soon as you start to move out, a fellow soldier informs you that you need to
pick up a map at Kamo's shop.  If you ask him to, he'll take you all the way 
there (though he walks pretty slowly).  Otherwise, you can use the knowledge 
that it's in the NE corner of the courtyard to locate it on your own.  You can 
also check your area map in the Main Menu to get a look at the entire castle 
layout, with icons indicating Kamo's, the Blacksmith's, and the Inn.  Have a 
good look around a talk to some folks for some basic information.  Don't miss 
the treasure chests!  There's one along the N wall past the sheep pen, and 
another along the S wall behind the last market stand.  There's a third chest 
by Kamo's shop, too.  Be sure to smash open barrels and vases, too, because you
never know what you might find inside (okay, so I know, it's a Healing Ointment
by Kamo's Shop.)

Look around the area and notice several doorways that are locked right now.  
You'll get a chance to open them later on, don't you worry.  You might also 
notice the puppet master advertising his show.  It's the same as the intro when
you load the disc, so don't waste your money.  Once you're done exploring 
everywhere else, enter Kamo's shop and talk to the miserly duck.  

    -== Kamo's Shop ==-

Talk to Kamo at the counter, and choose to pick up a map.  You have obtained 
the Wilderness Map!  Look at his wares for sale, too.  You don't need to buy 
anything at this point, though you might want to pick up the status-healing 
items if you're particularly paranoid.  There's also a crate you can smash open
in the store for a small prize.  Leave the shop to start another brief FMV and 
receive the next part of your mission.

    -== Tal's Room (optional) ==-

               Chest item: 100 Florins

To get to Tal's room now or at any time, climb the stairs to the right of the 
door leading S away from the castle.  Examine the bedside shelf to find the 
Battle Manual, which goes under Quest items in the Valuables menu.  All it does
is remind you to use B to clear surrounding enemies.  

    -== South Courtyard ==-

               Chest item: Wolf Totem

Once you've crossed the first gate, you're in a smaller, unpopulated area.  
There's a door on the right, which if you examine, describes a mechanical 
opening system (okay, the door doesn't describe it, the game does, but you know
what I mean).  

   *** Go to the left up the stairs to reach a large yellow button.  You'll see
   *** that the door opens, and a timer starts.  You have 10 seconds to enter 
   *** the room it reveals, so run straight there.  You should make it with 2 
   *** seconds to spare.  Open the chest inside to receive a Wolf Totem.  
   *** You'll find out what to do with it later.  

Head through the other large gates.

    -== Drawbridge and Harbor ==-

Cross the bridge and notice the save point.  You've come this far, you might as
well use it.  Head into the dock area to find many barrels and crates to smash 
for items to trade later.  

    -== Castle Checkpoint ==-

This tunnel system helps the castle control who moves in and out, but it's seen
better days due to the ongoing war in the countryside.  Eventually you'll come 
to an abandoned marketplace, where you take a left to continue down the tunnel 
to reach the outside.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
                           5b) Illumina Countryside
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

    -== King's Road ==-

Head up the road and admire the scenery.  You'll notice some building along the
sides of the road that are all locked up.  They'll stay that was throughout the
game.  Eventually, an FMV shows the sky darkening while Aklorians attack.  For 
your first real battle, you have a little help from your 2 recruits, who won't 
cause much damage, but can at least distract the enemies a bit.  After the 
first wave of attackers, another set appears, then some more.  At the end of 
the road, which is barricaded, go through the door on the right to continue.  

    -== Nolan Farm ==-

               Chest item: 100 Florins

Whoops, so much for your recruits!  In this, your first solo battle, it might 
be wise to use your sole Skill Strike (Shin Splitter) on the melee fighters who
all rush you right at the start.  Just lure a bunch of them close together, and
wham!  Anyway, use the large size of the field to maneuver around your 
enemies.  I know you can do it.  After the fight, check the side of the porch 
of the farmhouse for a treasure chest.  

Past the farm, talk to the soldier tending his fallen comrade for an ominous 
message.  Where the path splits to go around a tree, there's a temporarily 
abandoned trading post on the right, and a Wolf Shrine on the left.  Examine 
the latter to start the Wolf Totem quest, and to receive your first prize 
(assuming you picked up the Wolf Totem in Illumina Castle.  If you didn't, you 
can still get that one later).

Just ahead, there are a couple of heavy crates blocking the path.  Hold A while
standing in front of them to have Tal move them.  Pull the first one back, then
push the next crate forward.  You can also push both to the side to make the 
path even clearer.  Look at the ground to see the tracks that you can push the 
crates along.  

    -== Parham County ==-

               Chest items: 100 Florins
                            250 Florins

After another battle, Tal will likely level up.  You have 1 advancement point 
to spend, so choose wisely.  HP might be a good investment right now, since you
don't have any back up, but you should also have a lot of Healing Ointments, so
if you're careful you can just use those.  It's up to you, all I can do is 
offer my opinion.  

Notice the busted cart blocking the road ahead.  This will be cleared much 
later in the game.  For now, take a left towards the river, and go back along 
the wall on this side to find a treasure chest.  There's another chest if you 
climb the ladder in front of the water wheel.  Also check out the round blue 
thing on the ground.  What is it?

Cross the bridge to start another fight with a new, bigger, badder monster, the
Grotesque.  After a moment, some other fighters will appear, so take them out 
while avoiding the Grotesque.  Once you can concentrate on him, dodge his 
attacks and hit him from behind.  While he's got boosted power (red heart, red 
glow at his feet), it's best to just avoid him until the effect fades.  Watch 
out when you get his HP really low, because he'll explode, damaging you in the 
process if you're too close.  After the fight, the path to the left is blocked 
by a cart again, so you have to go to the right.  But even before that, go to 
the save point on this side of the bridge.  Past it, and past the house, 
there's an outhouse along the cliff wall.  It's got handles, so you can pull it
to the side.

   *** Pull the outhouse to the side to reveal a climbable wall for another
   *** character to use later.  

At the end of the path through the graveyard zone, there's a gate for you to 
open to progress further.  To the right, though, you can enter a narrow area of
the cemetery with many urns to break with goodies inside.  There's a statue at 
the end with an inscription that you can read, with a hint of what to do later.
Go through the gate when you're done to trigger another battle, and go through 
the next gate when finished that.

    -== Brightwater Beach ==-

               Chest item: Mojo (weapon)

Talk to the guard behind the house and check out the shack's resident in his 
beach chair.  Inside the house, talk to the other guard to get a hint of what 
to do later on.  Back outside, head down to the beach proper for a fight with 2
waves of Aklorians, with a Grotesque in the second wave.  Collect the treasure 
chest that appears when you win.  

Past the beach, there's a save point, which I highly recommend that you use.  
Across from it, notice the Eagle Shrine, which you will return to later.  Just 
ahead... boss fight!
          ____________
   ______/ Siege Ogre \___________________________________________________
  |                                                                       |
  | This battle requires some quick dodging.  Let the ogre get close to   |
  | you, then dodge to the side once he stops, either by blocking and     |
  | rolling, or just running to the side.  While he's busy unleashing his |
  | barf attack, hit him from behind with some quick strikes.  After you  |
  | do some damage, he smashes his shield over his head and throws it     |
  | away.  After this, when you let him approach you, he'll smash the     |
  | ground with his club and cause and eruption of earth.  As he does     |
  | this, run around him and hit him from behind.  Just 1 or 2 strikes is |
  | better than getting caught in the middle of a combo while he pounds   |
  | on you.  If instead of raising his club, he just shakes his body,     |
  | he's about to fart and unleash a cloud of gas that will poison you if |
  | you touch it (and the cloud stays around for a short time).  If you   |
  | are poisoned, smash the barrels in the corner to get an Emerald       |
  | Panacea and use it.                                                   |
  |_______________________________________________________________________| 

Once the ogre falls, watch an FMV in which Tal receives his first Spirit 
Strike, new armor, and a Rune Scroll.

    -== Path to New Brightwater ==-

Enter the tunnel the ogre came out of and follow it through to the lands 
beyond.  Along the path, you'll encounter Jurgen, your first trader.  Man, are 
all traders big fethishists like this guy?

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
                          5c) New Brightwater Village
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

    -== Shadani Encampment ==-

               Chest item: 50 Florins

As you enter the mini-village at the top of the road, Kirklin-Rah the bunny man
will let you know that Ailish is indeed in the village.  If you prompt him 
further he'll give you even more details about which house to visit to locate 
her.  Note that 2 of the tents are locked.  You may be able to enter one of 
them later on.  There's a treasure chest tucked behind one of the tents, so 
open it before moving on.  Head down the path for a small FMV showing off the 
town.

    -== Village Square ==-

Right near the entrance and the save point, there's a small boy named 
Sunder-Rah (the bunny-man's son).  If you pay him 50 Florins, he'll take you to
the major destinations in town on request.  This is a steep price, though, 
since you can find everything easily on your own.  If you do choose to employ 
his services, just talk to him and tell him where you want to go at any time.

Feel free to check out the shop (what's Kamo doing here now?  Talk to him to 
find out), the blacksmith, or the inn, but they're functionally no different 
from those in Illumina (though you have a rune scroll that shows up as a round 
weapon rune at the blacksmith, even though you don't have any weapons that can 
take it at this point).  In the church straight across from the town fountain, 
agree to give the preacher 50 Florins, then another 20 Florins, and the church 
font will grant you full healing (but no SP restoration) anytime you check it 
from this point on.  You can also play the organ, but the thrill wears off 
quickly.

A couple other points of interest: you can enter the graveyard behind the 
church and read some of the headstones.  Also, behind a trio of houses on the N
side of the road, there's an outhouse that's locked, but if you rattle the 
door, you get a funny reply.  When you've done all that you want to in town, 
head into the blue house that the road encircles (just behind the boathouse) to
talk to Yemi.  She tells you that Ailish is at the lighthouse, so continue 
along the main road and take the stairs on the left when you reach the last 
house.  

    -== Brightwater Lighthouse ==-

               Chest item: 150 Florins

You can see Ailish standing by the lighthouse.  Approach her to initiate a FMV,
finish the current quest, and pick up a new one.  You now travel as a team, and
can switch between the two characters at any time.

   *** You can now enter the lighthouse.  There's a chest inside, and you can
   *** can also check under the bed for a Stardust Vial.

    -== Village Square (with Ailish) ==-

               Chest item: Orb of Vigor

First of all, head up the road past the house at the bottom of the stairs from 
the lighthouse.  

   *** At the top of the hill, there's a pavilion with a ring of benches.  On 
   *** one side, you'll notice a swarm of yellow glowing lights.  These fairies
   *** indicate a magically-hidden item that only Ailish can reveal.  Have her 
   *** look at the area in first-person view (either click the R stick button 
   *** or hold the L trigger) and press X to make a chest appear.  

At this point, if you talk to Sunder-Rah (the little animal boy near the 
entrance to town) and choose the top response, you can initiate a side-quest in
which you must give him Brightwater Pearls.

    -== Brightwater Thicket (optional) ==-

               Chest item: 150 Florins

To get here, just head north up the road across the river.  There's only a 
treasure chest and a cheetah-woman who will give you a hint about fighting a 
certain type of monster.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
                         5d) Return to Illumina Castle
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Head back out of town the way you came.  You'll have to re-cross all the areas 
you came through to get to Ailish in the first place.

    -== Brightwater Beach ==-

               Chest items: Orb of Vigor
                            Eagle Totem

Once you pass through the tunnel, you start a brief training mode for Ailish.  
Checklists of tasks for you to complete will appear at the top of the screen.  
Just do what they say to destroy the barrels, make a chest appear, then make 
the cart disappear.  

Down on the beach proper, you get into a fight with some new monsters.  The 
Aquaticlaws sometimes drop Brightwater Pearls, useful for the quest initiated 
with Sunder Rah back in Brightwater Village.  You can also use Ailish's 
Shockstaff weapon to take out multiple Venom Gnats in one shot.

Now, re-enter the beach house with Ailish in the lead.  Remember the rumor 
about the invisible treasure?  

   *** Use Ailish's special ability on the wall with the glowing fairies to 
   *** locate a chest with your first Eagle Totem.  You can return to the 
   *** shrine right now and offer it up, too.

    -== Parham County ==-

               Chest items: Orb of Might
                            Eagle Totem

You first encounter some Scarecrows, just defend against their wild spinning 
attacks and let loose on them when they end, if you're using Tal.  

   *** After you pass through the next gate, remember to go through the small 
   *** cemetery section above the main road to the statue of Ailish's ancestor.
   *** Use Ailish's dispel ability next to the statue to reveal a treasure 
   *** chest.  

Continue through the area, and cross the bridge over the river.  After another 
fight with Venom Gnats and Scarecrows, head through the gate opposite the cart 
blocking the other path.

   *** There's a well by the beehives with glowing fairies.  Have Ailish dispel
   *** the well wall and climb down the ladder to a chest.  Open it to get 25XP
   *** and an Eagle Totem.

Just ahead, the trader across from the Wolf Shrine has returned, now that the 
Aklorians have been cleared out.  His thing is scaly hides.  Hey, whatever 
rocks his boat.  
 
    -== Nolan Farm ==-

               Chest items: Hukin's Fate (weapon)
                            150 Florins

The farmhouse is now open to you.  In the first room, remember to go left to 
find a treasure chest.  Head deeper into the kitchen and down the stairs to the
den, where another chest holds a weapon for Tal.

    -== King's Road ==-

Here you face a long battle, with new waves of Aklorians teleporting in as you 
advance down the road.  At one point, you'll be prompted to try Tal's Spirit 
Strike, but it's better to wait until the final wave, when Grotesques appear, 
to lay that particular smack down.

    -== Illumina Castle ==-

Just head up the tunnel and go over the drawbridge to complete the quest and to
watch another FMV.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
                         5e) Illumina Castle Revisited
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

    -== Tal's Room ==-

               Chest item: 100 Florins (only if you didn't get it before)

If you didn't visit here last time you were in the castle, you can still pick 
up the Florins from your chest, and check the shelf by the bed for a little 
document.  Head outside to pick up your next, very short quest.

    -== Castle Courtyard ==-

There's nothing new for you to do here now, so feel free to head straight to 
the training grounds on the W end.  

    -== Training Grounds ==-

               Chest item: Orb of Might

Inside, an FMV reveals some conflict in the family.  You're sent next to report
to the castle courtroom.

   *** If you re-enter the training ground, you can find a block-pushing puzzle
   *** in the back corner.  Push the left block forward twice, then go right
   *** pull the middle block back once.  Now go back outside and push the right
   *** block in twice to reach a treasure chest.

    -== Castle Interior ==-

               Chest items: 150 Florins
                            25 Florins

Head into the castle and follow the path around to the rear door.  Enter it to 
watch an FMV, after which Ailish in alone and in charge.  Head back into the 
courtroom and talk to everyone.  The tailor in the red will give you the Woluf 
Pelt collecting quest if you ask him why his job is on the line.  Head outside 
and now, as Ailish, you have access to some new areas of the castle grounds.

    -== Lusica's Garden (optional) ==-

               Chest items: 250 Florins          1000 Florins
                            500 Florins          Orb of Might

Enter the door that is between Kamo's and the castle entrance (you couldn't 
enter as Tal, but as a member of the royal family, it's open to you).  Cross 
the bridge, and you'll find that your passage is still barred on the other end.
No worries, just climb down the ladder on the left side of the door.  Below, 
there's a red door, which if you took on the urchins earlier, you now have the 
key to.  There's also a tunnel with another ladder that leads into the gardens.

In the gardens proper, you have to be careful not to be spotted, for if any of 
the workers see you, they'll send you back outside.  It's no big deal, you can 
just come back in again, but still, just watch the navigation map for green 
dots and use your eyes too.  There are lots of breakable objects in the 
gardens, and a couple of treasure chests as well.  

   *** At the very N end of the garden, head up the stairs and to the right,
   *** then enter the tunnel to find a magically-hidden chest for Ailish to
   *** dispel.

  -== Ailish's Room (optional) ==-

               Found item: Skill Salve

Ailish's room is up the stairs next to the entrance to the training grounds.  
Talk to the guard there as Ailish to gain access.  Inside, you can talk to Yemi
and Tilly, Elco's wife.  If you examine her vanity table, you'll find a small 
treasure.

    -== Training Ground (optional) ==-

               Chest item: Orb of Wisdom

   *** Beside the target range, there's a wall that Ailish can dispel to reveal
   *** a treasure chest.

When you're done poking around everywhere, just out of the castle via the usual
path.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
                             5f) Road to Shadani-Mo
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

    -== King's Road ==-

At the end of the road, Ailish gets assaulted by a swarm of Venom Gnats.  Use 
her Shockstaff weapon to take out multiple targets at one time and the fight 
will go easier.  

    -== Nolan Farm ==-

Here, you face a pair of Scarecrows too.  If you want to use Blaze Ball, just 
try to get them both lined up.  You can manage just fine with your regular 
weapons, though, as long as you keep moving. 

    -== Parham County ==-

Hey, the road ahead is clear!  Someone must have moved that cart.  Anyway, take
the path opposite where you entered, staying on this side of the bridge.

    -== Sheep Herder ==-

There's a pleasant man who loves his sheep.  Talk to him to start a sheep-
herding mini-game, after choosing to wager either 50 or 100 Florins.  Run near 
the sheep to make then run in the opposite direction you approach them from.  
Get a clump together and push them towards the entrance to the pen just up the 
hill from where the herder is standing.  Once a sheep is in the pen, it'll stay
there, so just worry about the rest.  Each time you get one in, you'll get a 
message saying how many are left.  It's easiest if you start by going down the 
road and rounding up the stragglers there, then deal with all the ones on the 
grassy hill.  You can cheat a little too by rounding some sheep up and placing 
them near the pen before you talk to the herder and initiate the game.  The 
prizes are as follows: 50 Florin wager --> Brightwater Pearl
                       100 Florin wager --> Illumina Opal
Plus, you get 50XP the first time you win.  You can return at a later time and 
repeat the game as many times as you want.  

    -== Path of Totems ==-

Nothing special, just an abandoned hut along the road.  Eventually, the path 
widens into a small clearing with some signposts.  If you go straight ahead 
following the signpost, you go through Spirit Valley.  If you go to the right 
towards the save point, you take the Path of Mo.  Let's start with the latter.

    -== Path of Mo ==-

Take the lower path from the save point.  You shortly come to a signpost 
advertising a trader.  Follow that path.

   *** Have Ailish dispel the wall at the end of the trader's path to reveal a
   *** hidden cave.  Mandrik the trader awaits inside.

Keep following the path.  You'll come to a small red signpost that points to 
the Cat Shrine, which you need to return to later with Buki.  At the top of the
sun-bleached ramp, you re-join the path on the other side of Spirit Valley.

    -== Spirit Valley ==-

All there is in Spirit Valley is a fight with a pack of Wolufs and a red Pack 
Leader.  Kill the Pack Leader first to cause all of the Wolufs to be slowed.
Up ahead, there are more signposts indicating where the path back to the Path 
of Mo starts, and also pointing the way to progress ahead towards Shadani-Mo.
Take that path, leading to the left.

    -== Woluf Valley ==-

Here, you encounter a Pack Leader and Wolufs again.  Take them out, and a whole
bunch more will appear and surround you.  But it's Tetsu to the rescue!  Enjoy 
the FMV, in which you get the Witch Armor and Ailish's first Spirit Strike.
You also earn 20XP for some reason.  

After the series of events, just head out of the valley where the twin 
signposts point the way.  

    -== Susto's Gorge ==-

There's an anthropomorph family here without much to say, so just keep 
following the linear path until you reach the outside of the city, where 
there's a save point and a Kamo's Shop.  The ramp into Shadani-Mo village is on
the left.

   *** Go past the entrance to the village and move along the wall to the 
   *** corner.  Ailish can dispel a wall blocking a cave here, but no one can
   *** enter it right now.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
                                5g) Shadani-Mo
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

               Chest items: 100 Florins          250 Florins
                            50 Florins           100 Florins

To the right upon entering the village, there's a small side area marked by a 
blue flag.  Inside the house there, there's a treasure chest.  Behind the 
house, there's a path leading into a cavern with a bell, which is no use to you
now.  In the house that the blacksmith is working beside, there's a tunnel 
leading down to some crates that you can't move, so ignore this spot for now.  
In the middle of the village, the small hut serves as the inn, so rest up if 
you want to.  There's also a treasure chest in the inn.  Towards the back of 
the main village area, speak to Opal in her small house.  Give her sympathy and
she'll give you a Healing Ointment.  

There are 3 other side areas to the village: the yellow-flagged area on the 
right side leads to the Shadani Temple.  If you try to enter there before 
speaking with Carrick Lore, you receive an extra quest to find him, which will 
net you 40XP that you wouldn't get if you just went straight to the lore-master
first.  Enter the green-flagged area to find the 'Council Room', with a 
treasure chest tucked behind the stairs.  The red-flagged area is the elder's 
housing area.  Enter the first, central hut to speak to Carrick Lore and ask 
about your friends to acquire the Hunting Spear, which will let you enter the 
temple.  There's also another treasure chest in his hut.     

Once you've got Carrick Lore's blessing, head up the path to the temple.  Once 
your friends are in sight, an FMV takes over, and Ailish and Tal head take the
lower path while Elco and Buki take the high road.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
                              5h) Shadani Temple
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

You can save your game outside the temple before heading in.  You can also go 
back and rest in the inn if you want to restore Tal's or Ailish's health and 
SP.  Inside, follow the winding path down and around to enter the temple 
proper.

    -== Tal & Ailish's path ==-

               Chest item: Eagle Totem

After wiping out the spiders that come down from above, it's puzzle time.  
Stand Ailish in the middle of the room and look at the glowing fireflies in 
first-person view.  Dispel the illusion that was hiding the blue torch.  Now 
have Tal push and pull the torch so that they're each over the block of the 
identical color.  The three blocks are all between the starting positions of 
the red and green torches.  You get 30XP each for solving this highly-complex 
puzzle, and the doors with the blue flags on the side of the room open up.

Continuing onward, head down the tunnel and stop at the save point if you wish.
Further below, you come to an optional fountain room.  Walk under the water to 
be fully healed.

   *** To the left of the fountain, there's a wall that Ailish can make vanish.
   *** That's all you can do for now, you'll have to return later with other
   *** party members.

At the bottom of the tunnel, another round room awaits with more spiders to 
eliminate.  Opposite the entrance to this room, go up the ramp that encircles 
it.  At the top, have Ailish dispel the wall.  Inside, there are 3 urns of 
incense, red, blue, and yellow.  Opposite this room, there is a torch and 2 
closed gates.  You have to throw incense into the large torch to make the color
that corresponds to the small torches by either gate.  You can also only carry 
one color of incense at a time, so you have to make a couple of short trips.

   *** Open the green gate first!  Throw blue and yellow incense into the fire
   *** to do so, then go up the ramp and enter the next room.  Fight 2 Impaler 
   *** Spiders, then open to chest to receive an Eagle Totem for Ailish.

Go back to the incense and pick up red and blue (one at a time) to throw into 
the fire to open the purple gate.  You get 30XP for doing this (you also got 
30XP for opening the green gate).  Go up the ramp to switch parties.

    -== Buki & Elco's path ==-

               Chest items: Orb of Might
                            Orb of Power
                            Shalizeh (weapon)

Around the rim of the level you start on, there are 2 locations for Buki to 
climb.  Each is marked by moss on the while.  Move Buki to these walls and 
press X when the action indicator reads 'Climb'.  Going counter-clockwise from 
the start, leads to a lever that you must pull to open the exit door. 

   *** Going clockwise from start, climb the mossy wall with Buki to reach a
   *** treasure chest.

Enter the door with the yellow flags and go down the tunnel to a small room, 
where you fight a couple of waves of spiders.  Get used to fighting with the 
new characters.  Open the opposite door and continue onward.  You eventually 
reach the top level of the Shrine of Mo, where Ailish and Tal pushed some 
torches around.  After a fight, it's up to Elco to fly through the rings on 
this level.  Stand near the yellow crystal to the left of the entrance to 
charge up your jetpack meter, then press and hold X to hover.  Use the L stick 
to fly around the room clockwise, passing through the pair of rings to unlock 
the door.  If you fall to the ground, just climb up the ladder to another 
crystal and try again.

Go through the E door that you unlocked.  When the tunnel turns to the right, 
look left to find a treasure chest.  Just down the path there's a save point.  
Ahead, you enter a square room where you must fight a whole bunch of Arconites.
Open the chest in this room to receive a new weapon for Buki.

Ahead, you enter the Dragon Chamber.  Your duo splits up here.  As Elco, go 
counter-clockwise to reach an energy crystal.  Charge your jetpack and fly 
across the gap, then keep flying until you reach the floor with 2 circular 
runes.  Get on your feet and stand on one of them.  Switch to Buki now, and go 
to the fallen debris by the entrance to this area.  You can climb the wall up 
and over the debris.  Do the same across the next gap.  Stand on the other 
circle, and the game switches to the other partners again.  

    -== Tal & Ailish again ==-

You can go back along the path to smash open some breakables if you like, or 
just go ahead and open the door in front of you.  Inside the long hall, advance
a bit to trigger a fight with some Arconites.  Afterwards, head to the far end 
of the hall and stand in the circle in front of the large statue.  Have Ailish 
look to either side and dispel the blocks in front of the totems.  Tal must 
pull each totem out 3 spaces and push them over once to cover the squares on 
the ground.  You gain 50XP for this feat, and the doors beside the statue are 
unlocked.  Head through them.  

Go through another set of doors to enter the Dragon Chamber, on a level below 
Buki and Elco.  Go clockwise around the ramp until you reach the floor.  Here, 
there are four glowing panels surrounding a central ring.  You must more the 
four pillars with glowing blue gems in them onto the 4 panels, so that the gems
are all facing inwards.  In the SW corner, the panel is covered by the wrong 
pillar, so pull it off.  The SE panel is already covered correctly, so don't 
worry about that one.  Along the W edge, pull the first of the pillars that are
next to each other to the very SW corner, then push the other pillar over to it
and up onto the panel.  Next, go to the NW corner.  The S-most of the 2 pillars
needs to pushed in once, then pull the other pillar S and over to the panel.  
The last pillar needs to be moved around the roots to the final panel, 
completing the puzzle.  You get 65XP for accomplishing this, and the dragon 
statue breathes fire, burning the webbing blocking a cave at the very top of 
the ramp.  

Head up the ramp and enter the room you opened, and use the save point.  Head 
into the tunnel to trigger an FMV reuniting the entire party.  Buki must fight 
Queen Ghara, guardian of the temple, alone.
          _____________
   ______/ Queen Ghara \__________________________________________________
  |                                                                       |
  | There is a set pattern to Ghara's attacks, and once you learn it, the |
  | battle is easy.  She'll stand in the centre and rear up, then charge  |
  | at you.  If you dodge and she hits one of the four pedestals around   |
  | the room, she'll be stunned, and you'll have time to get in 3 to 4    |
  | combos on her before she recovers.  When she does, run away, because  |
  | she does a body slam that sends out energy waves for a short          |
  | distance.  She then returns to the centre.  From there, she'll often  |
  | spit purple goo at you, which if it touches you or if you walk into   |
  | the patch it creates, you'll be slowed.  Just use a sapphire panacea  |
  | and this worry is eliminated for the rest of the fight.  After        |
  | shooting goo, she'll charge again, so just let her hit a pedestal     |
  | again, rinse and repeat until she's dead.                             |
  |_______________________________________________________________________|

Buki receives 750XP and the Vampire-Fanged Scroll after the fight, and another 
FMV ensues.

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                             5i) Realm of Shadows
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               Chest items: Orb of Might X 2
                            Debilitator (weapon)
                                
Just down the ramp from the portal area, the path leading out of here is dead 
ahead.  Don't take it yet, though.  Go left a short distance and find the mossy
wall for Buki to climb.

   *** Have Buki climb the wall just counter-clockwise from the ramp to find a
   *** treasure chest.  The team gets 25XP just for this, in addition to the
   *** chest contents.  

There's also a path at the N side of the area that leads to some breakables.  
Now you can go and take that main path on the E side.  Follow the path until 
you reach a bridge.

At the bridge, the camera view changes.  Your goal is to cross the bridge 
without letting the ghost heads touch you, because they take away 50 HP and 25 
SP each time.  It can be hard to judge when they'll touch you, so just do your 
best.  They won't kill you outright.  At the other end, there's a save point, 
and past that, a hell of a fight.  Watch your health, especially since you'll 
be easily poisoned.  

If you survive, head through the gate at the other end, and run up the winding 
path.  At the top, before entering the metal gates, take the path to the left 
to the end.  Touch the glowing orb near the treasure chest.  You'll see what it
does later.  Return to the gates and enter.  This is another large battlefield,
and watch everyone's health.  Don't be afraid to use lots of Skill Strikes, and
even Tal's Spirit Strike would be in order.  After the battle, head to the E 
end of the field and go N through a small wooden gate.  You'll find a house by 
the save point.  Enter it and climb the ladder to trigger an FMV in which the 
team meets Hexam.

Return to Hexam's house and speak to him at any time to fully heal the party.  
With key in hand, you can now also open the large gate in the previous area 
(after another fight, of course).  You now get to cross another bridge.  But 
wait!  This time, due to the power of the Ghost Orb, every time a ghost touches
you he heals 50HP and 25SP, but only for the lead character.  The effect 
disappears when you reach the other side, but there's another Ghost Orb on the 
right for you to use.  Please do so, and also note the save point here.  

Enter the Hall of Heads.  Creepy.  Anyway, cross another bridge on the other 
side, and pick up another Ghost Orb between the tree roots before heading 
through the iron gates.  This triggers the next boss fight.
          ____________
   ______/ Farex Lore \___________________________________________________
  |                                                                       |
  | This fight plays out more like a regular fight, just with a really    |
  | tough guy thrown in.  You can kill the smaller foes, but Farex Lore   |
  | will just keep regenerating more.  Still, this is a good way to get   |
  | extra XP and Spirit Orbs.  It's best if you attack the main guy with  |
  | whoever your lead character is (feel free to switch frequently) and   |
  | let the others take care of the fodder.  It'll take a while to bring  |
  | him down as he stomps around and launches a variety of melee attacks. |
  | Just keep at it and he'll fall eventually.                            |
  |_______________________________________________________________________|

You receive the Soul Seeker Scroll for your trouble.  Have Buki enter the iron 
gates on the opposite side of the arena, and climb the mossy wall, after of 
course opening the chest for Elco's new weapon.  Climb down the other side of 
the wall and run along the path that forms as you cross it.  In an FMV, Buki 
picks up the navigation stone, and Tetsu appears to her, granting her a Spirit 
Strike and the Mist Tiger armor.  You also get 25XP for picking up the stone.  
Return Buki to her friends and head back out toward the Shadow Nexus.  
 
On the way back, make sure you pick up the Ghost Orbs before crossing each 
bridge, and put whichever character you want to heal in the lead.  Remember 
that you can go back to Hexam's house for healing.  On your way out after the 
last bridge, you will run into Pitt, the ferryman of the dead, at the top of 
the ramp leading down to the Nexus.  Agree to collect souls to begin a new 
quest that can produce a new weapon for each member of the party!  This quest 
encourages you to go back and kill more enemies in this region to gain the 
Spirit Orbs you need.  Remember, if you fight near Hexam's house, you can get 
healed whenever you want.  You can only carry a maximum of 99 Spirit Orbs, so 
don't push it.  

At the Shadow Nexus, another FMV ensues.  How did Hexam beat you here?  You all
return to New Brightwater in a flash of light and a load screen.

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                         5j) Return to New Brightwater
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Your job this time is to find a boat to rent so you can return to the castle in
style.  If you try to leave the village by going up the road past the Shadani 
encampment, or by entering the stone portal, Ailish complains and makes you 
turn back.  What a princess.  

Anyway, talk to the boat guy near the docks, and he'll ask you to retrieve his 
oars.  As Buki, move to the cliff right beside the blacksmith, and climb down 
the wall where the barrier is missing.  Pick up the oars by the smashed boat, 
then climb back up and return to the boatman.  

   *** Talk to the blond man walking around, Reddish, and ask him about his job
   *** in the castle to receive Talos' letter.  You must do this before you
   *** return the oars to the boatman, or do it on another visit to the town.
   *** The letter doesn't do anything for you, though, it's just something to
   *** add to your valuables list.

Oh, you can also examine on the side by the bench to find 50 Florins.  The lady
in the red dress, Sasan Miko, gives you a hint of this if you ask her about the
town.

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                     5k) Illumina Castle Revisited, Again
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This is the first time you're in the castle with the whole team.  If you've 
been following this walkthrough, there aren't many new things to do, but if you
didn't do them earlier, this is a good time to visit Ailish's room by the 
training grounds, and go to the Garden via the bridge beside Kamo's shop.

    -== Training grounds ==-

Now, training is in full swing.  There's a pen on the left side with a hanging 
straw dummy, and any character who steps in there can practice their combat.  
Also, General Arlo will be standing in the back.  Talk to him to pick up a new 
quest where you have to bring him Cyantine Eyes.

  -== Illumina Castle ==-

               Chest items: Orb of Might X 2          Orb of Wisdom X 2
                            500 Florins               Orb of Vigor

You can go to the courtroom and finish the Pelts for Ricardo quest (or start 
it, if you didn't earlier).  Also, if you talk to Porkin Binsce, who is 
standing near the throne, he'll give you the Balcony Key.  

   *** Once you have the Balcony Key, bring Elco into the courtroom and open
   *** the door on the right side.  Go up the stairs and stand by the crystal
   *** to charge his jetpack, then fly over to the 2 treasure chests.  Cross
   *** the balcony, pass the ladder and go down the stairs on the other end.
   *** Pull the lever to unlock the other door.  Now bring Ailish in here, go
   *** through the new door, climb the ladder to the second balcony and dispel
   *** the chest, then dispel the wall just ahead to reveal another chest.  Now
   *** go out and bring Buki to the second balcony, enter the area where Ailish
   *** dispelled the wall, and climb the ivy to reach another final chest.
   *** Finally, have Tal come in and climb the ladder to the upper balcony, and
   *** look to the spot on the wall with the brighter blue runner and 2 
   *** handles.  Pull this block out to reveal the last chest in this area.

How's that for a secret?  Anyway, now you can finish the current quest.  Go 
around the ring in the castle entrance to reach the engineering room and talk 
to the guy standing there.  He'll ask you to confirm when you want to continue 
the main game, choose yes when you're ready.  

After an FMV involving Tal and his father, Ailish is commanded to report to her
mother.  Enter the courtroom to trigger another FMV and begin your next quest.

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                     5l) A Bunch of Side Quests (optional)
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I'm going to put this stuff at this point in the walkthrough because it's a 
good time when you can roam the world freely (at least those areas you've been 
to before).  Any of these actions can be done at any time from here on in until
the final sequence of the game.  Just make sure you've got the right person in 
your party to do them.  You could have done these before returning the crystal 
to Illumina Castle, so you would have the whole party together.

  -== Return to Shadani-Mo (optional) ==-

               Chest items: Cat Totem
                            150 Florins X 4

Take the path to Shadani-Mo, past the sheep herder (play if you want), and into
Spirit Canyon.  

   *** Just over the dirt bridge by the waterfall, there's an ivy-covered wall
   *** for Buki to climb that leads behind the waterfall to a treasure chest
   *** with a very-important Cat Totem.

Continue onward to Shadani-Mo.  There are several things to do there.  First, 
you can talk to Lamper, the small boy walking around town.  He'll challenge you
to a bell-ringing contest, where you have to find and ring all 5 bells in the 
town.  The bell locations are as follows:

1. In the village centre, just past the house with the blacksmith;
2. In the village council area (left side of main village);
3. In the elder's home area (left side of main village);
4. Outside the entrance to the Shadani temple (right side of village);
5. In the first area to the right on entering the village, up the ramp behind
   the houses, and down the ladder into the pit.

Once you've rung them all, return and talk to Lamper to receive your prize: an 
Illumina Opal.  

Have Tal enter the hut with the blacksmith working outside.  Descend the ramp 
and push the boxes around to clear the path to 4 treasure chests, all 
containing some Florins.

Talk to Campos in the Shadani temple entrance area.  This carver will give you 
the Shadowstones quest.  Talk to Opal in her tent in the main village area.  
She'll give you the Balum's Staff quest.  In the village elder's area, talk to 
Mafu in the side tent to receive the Mafu's Proof quest.  Also go into Carrick 
Lore's tent and check the shelf near the treasure chest.  You can pick up a 
skull, which you must then take to the Hall of Heads in the Realm of Shadows at
any time.  Finally, talk to Malik in the rear tent to gain permission to enter 
the Trials of Mo.

  -== Shadani Temple (optional) ==-

               Chest items: Melakorka (weapon)
                            Orb of Vigor
                            Dragon Totem

Head into the temple and follow the path until you reach the fountain room 
(take the blue-flagged doors from the Shrine of Mo room, where you pushed the 
colored torches around).  To the right of the fountain, follow the path to a 
wall that Buki can climb.  Do so, open the chest, and pull the switch on the 
wall.  This lowers a gate on the other side of the fountain.  Go and open the 
chest it revealed.  

Now, find the yellow crystal tucked around the corner from the entrance to the 
fountain room.  Charge up Elco's jetpack and fly across to the chest.  Open it 
and fly back.  Make your way back out of the temple again.

    -== Trials of Mo (optional) ==-

               Chest items: 250 Florins          2000 Florins
                            500 Florins          Cat Totem
                            1000 Florins

Once you've spoken to Malik, the Shadani village chief, you can take on the 
trials of Mo.  Go outside the village and go left to the corner of the cliff 
wall.  Have Ailish dispel the wall, then have Buki enter the secret cave.  She 
will face 5 trials, each consisting of 3 waves of enemies to defeat.  At the 
end of each trial, she receives a treasure chest.  Open it to receive a 
treasure and start the next trial if you wish.  If you choose not to do the
next trial, or if you die, you'll return outside.  You can re-enter the cave at
any time to pick up on the next unfinished trial.

Since you're fighting alone, using your Asilas the Wolf Skill Strike is useful 
to distract the enemies.  If you're trying to do all of the trials at once, 
save your SP (or make sure you've got lots of restoring items) for near the 
end, and save a Spirit Strike for the end too.  You don't have to do them all 
at once, though.  You can quit part-way through and go rest at the inn, or buy 
more supplies at Kamo's.  If you level up at any time, advance yourself before 
starting the next trial.

1st trial: 2 Woluf's + Pack Master, 4 Aquaticlaws, 3 Scarecrows.
2nd trial: Arconite Warlock + 2 Arconite Raiders, 5 Arconite Raiders,
           2 Arconite Raiders + Arconite Warrior.
3rd trial: 3 Wolf Spirits, 2 Wolf Spirits + Eagle Spirit, 5 Wolf Spirits.
4th trial: War Wyrd, 3 War Wyrds, Illusion Master + 2 War Wyrds.
5th trial: 2 Illusion Masters, Wyrd Warlord + 2 War Wyrds, Toxic Scribe.

Hint: for any enemies that can be poisoned, just do so with the Mephiticus (if 
you have it), then you can just run around and wait for them to fall over.  
This is particularly useful with the War Wyrds, and is almost a necessity since
they can cast regenerate on themselves (poison will cancel regeneration).  
Another hint: for really easy fights, just keep using Storm Kick and restoring 
SP as needed.

  -== Realm of Shadows (optional) ==-

Don't return here unless you need to fulfill the quests you picked up in 
Shadani-Mo, i.e. Fallen Warrior's Skull and Balum's Staff.  Go to see Hexam and
the Hall of Heads to complete those quests.

  -== New Brightwater Village revisited (optional) ==-

Go and talk to Jim, the lighthouse keeper.  He'll tell you about cargo washed 
up on shore at Brightwater Beach, and that other people are missing stuff too.
Talk to Sherry, Sasan Miko, Galex in the inn, and all 4 fishermen on the pier.
Go to Brightwater Beach, and you'll find breakable chests near the water.  
Smash them open (after a fight) to receive the prizes.  Leave the area and 
return to get more chests, and repeat until you've got all of the treasures.  
Return to the village and give them all back to their respective owners.  

Also, if Buki talks to Hazim, the bear-man in the Shadani encampment, he'll 
give her a quest to fetch Arconite Skulls.

Now that all of that is done, return to Parham County and head off to 
Transentia, like you were supposed to all along.  Use a portal ring to go to 
Parham County if you want to take a short cut.

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                             5m) Road to Transentia
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    -== King's Road ==-

At the end, you'll encounter an Aklorian raiding party that shouldn't give you 
too much trouble.  They're the same type of monsters that you encountered in 
the Shadani temple.  

    -== Nolan's Farm ==-

Another fight.  Basically, just keep going until you reach Parham County.

    -== Parham County ==-

               Chest item: Orb of Vigor

When you reach this area, you get into a fight with some Venom Gnats and 
Scarecrows.  Cross the bridge for another similar fight.  On the other side of 
the bridge, the cart that was previously blocking the left path is now gone.  
This is the road to Transentia.  

   *** Behind the house by the river, there's an ivy-colored wall for Buki
   *** to climb, provided that Tal moved the outhouse out of the way earlier.
   *** Climb it to reach the treasure chest.

  -== Transentia Road (Ailish & Buki) ==-

               Chest items: Orb of Vigor
                            Veshchenega (weapon)
                            Cat Totem

The women enjoy a nice chat as they go along.  Pass Fatty's Scrapyard, and stop
one you go through another arch and see a signpost pointing to Transentia City.
Look to the right to find a cave behind a tree stump.  There's a treasure chest
in there.  

After a battle encounter, continue up the road.  Watch along the right side of 
the road for a break in the cliff marked by some large pipes.  Head to the back
of that dead-end and turn around.

   *** Climb the wall in the back of this area with Buki to find... another
   *** wall.  Climb up, across and down that one to reach a chest with a weapon
   *** for Buki.

Just ahead, along the left side, there's a break in the wall, but ignore it for
now.  It's for Elco later on.  There's a trader and a save point up ahead, too.

When you reach a closed drawbridge, it's up to the 2 of them to put the pieces 
back together.  First, have Ailish dispel the green button on the side and 
press it.  Now, Buki must climb down the cliff beside the end of the path.  
There's another button for her to press there, completing the bridge.  

   *** There's another wall for Buki to climb at the other end of this 
   *** platform, leading to a mechanical cave with many breakable items and,
   *** more importantly, a chest with a Cat Totem.

Reunite the pair and move them across the bridge.  After a fight with some 
Arconites, Tetsu appears to Ailish again in an FMV.  She gains another Spirit 
Strike and the Seraphitic Armor.

Head through the next gate and go down the road notice the Dragon Shrine on the
right side.  You can't do anything here now, so continue onward.  After a brief
fight, go through the cave, then down the docks and talk to either robot to 
board the flight to Transentia.

    -== Transentia Road (Tal & Elco) ==-

               Chest item: Dragon Totem

You start part-way up the road already.  Just ahead, on the left, watch for the
break in the wall beside the water tower.  Have Elco climb down the ladder 
there.

   *** Charge your jetpack and fly over to the green button.  Press it, then 
   *** immediately fly past the previous platform, between the metal pipes, and
   *** to the cavern at the back of this area to the chest.  Float to the 
   *** ground and take the ladder back up to the crystal.  You can fly back and
   *** smash the chests if you want.

Follow the same path as Ailish and Buki, fighting a couple of battles along the
way, until you reach the airship.  Talk to either robot to hop on.

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                              5n) Transentia City
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    -== City Level 1 ==-

               Chest items: Dragon Totem
                            Wolf Totem

Head inward to trigger a conversation with the maintenance man.  You have to 
help him fix the elevator system or you're not going anywhere.  Climb up the 
ladder on the right to reach a crystal and fully charge your jetpack.  Fly a 
short distance to the platform on the left, land and climb the ladder there.  
Fly left a little more to in front of the machine, and examine it to replace 
the cogs.  

   *** From the second platform, if you fly to the right instead, you can reach
   *** a treasure chest with another Dragon Totem for Elco.

Back on the ground, note the bunch of crates behind the first ladder you 
climbed up.

   *** Have Tal pull the first line of crates back so he can get in the middle, 
   *** then pull one of the second line of crates 2 spaces back while pushing 
   *** an adjacent crate forward, to reach the chest in the left corner.

Head toward the elevator to trigger an FMV while you wait for the lift to come 
down.

    -== City Level 2 ==-

               Chest item: 500 Florins

On this level, you can find a blacksmith, a save point, and, down the stairs, 
the Rusty Cog tavern and inn.  At the bottom of the stairs, if you go left, 
you'll reach a work area with a treasure chest behind one of the big pipes.
You can also talk to the 'female' robot outside the tavern to receive the 
Heart's Heart quest.  Talk to the robot outside the lift when you want to go to
another level of the city.

    -== City Level 3 ==-

               Chest items: 500 Florins
                            Wolf Totem

There's a treasure chest right beside the lift entrance, underneath the stairs.
Up the stairs, you'll find Kamo's, and the entrance to the university.  Across 
from the entrance to Kamo's, there's a ladder leading to a special arena.

   *** Have Tal climb the ladder and accept the battle challenge.  To fight the
   *** killer machine, here's the best advice: block, block, and block.  Defend
   *** yourself almost constantly when he's near, wait for him to finish a 
   *** strike, then immediately hit back with only one or 2 hits.  If you try 
   *** to do a combo, he'll hit you and hurt you bad.  Let him push you into a
   *** corner so that when he does his other attack, a wide area blast with a 
   *** long charge time (so you can see it coming easily), you can run to 
   *** the opposite corner to avoid the blast.  If the blast hits you, you will
   *** die, no doubt about it.  If he's charging up while in the middle of the 
   *** arena, you can't get far enough away to survive.  But, if you run into 
   *** him, you can slide him over toward a corner, giving you room to hide on 
   *** the other end.  Be patient, keep blocking, and you'll come through 
   *** fairly unscathed.  You get a Huge Gold Bar and a Wolf Totem for winning.

Head into the university via the round sealed door (why do they need these 
things?).  Go past all of the desks and talk to the teacher to take an exam.  I
don't know if the questions change, but here are the ones I got last time I 
played:
1. Some Glue Spider spit sticky webs.  True.
2. Most of the people of Illumina follow the religion of Tetsu, the Giver of 
   Life.  True.
3. The Wyrd's earthquake attack can damage you even if you block.  True.
If you get 3 questions right, you receive a Healing Potion.  If you get any 
wrong, you can talk to him again and keep trying.

Go up the stairs past the desks to locate the professor and the ladies in an 
FMV.  You get automatically taken to the Research Center entrance.  

    -== City Level 4 ==-

               Chest item: 50 Florins

You don't have to enter the Research Center right away, so feel free to keep 
exploring the town.  Go up the stairs by the entrance to the Research Center to
find a treasure chest.  You can talk to Professor Gottgetreu and enter his 
house, but there's nothing noteworthy there.  

    -== City Level 5 ==-

               Chest item: 500 Florins

Up here, go right and follow the long metal walkway to locate a treasure chest 
in the work area at the end.  To the left from the entrance to this level, go 
into Lupa's Observatory and talk to Lupa.  Ask about her telescope and she'll 
give you the Omnium Collector quest.  

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                        5o) Transentine Research Center 
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Head down the tunnel until you reach a circular room.  Walk into the middle of 
the elevator and activate it.  You'll watch an FMV introducing Krenn at the 
bottom.  Enjoy your first fight with the mechanical monstrosities that populate
this area.  The flying sphere controls the other machines to some extent, and 
if you kill it, the other machines will die.  This is hard to do, though, but 
luckily, if you kill all of the machines, the sphere will die too.  Remember to
pick up any Omnium that is dropped, if you're doing the Omnium collector quest.
Head into the tunnel on the W side when you can.  

    -== Dean's Office ==-

               Chest items: Master Key Card
                            Wizardwood Staff (weapon)

Enter to trigger a close-quarters fight with some humanoid robots.  Afterwards,
have Ailish dispel the painting of Elco behind the desk to reveal a special 
safe.  There are 4 switches labeled 1, 2, 3, and 4.  Examine the desk to 
receive the combo 0101, 1011.  There are 2 sets of numbers because there are 2 
doors to open.  '0' means down, '1' means up for each lever.  So first, put 
levers 1 and 3 down, then push up all levers except for 2.  You get 250XP for 
making it through.  Open the chest inside to get the computer key card.

   *** Have Ailish enter the safe and dispel the invisible chest to receive a 
   *** new weapon.

Return to the main room and open the door opposite the tunnel to advance.  

    -== Computer Room ==-

After another fight, an FMV takes over, and Tal and Buki are sent off on their 
own adventure.  Head up the stairs to the right of the computer core entrance, 
use the save point if you like, and head through the next door.

    -== Mining Ore ==-

In the large round elevator room, you need to activate the power before using 
the lift.  Have Buki go around the rim of the room from the entrance to reach 
the metal grate material on the wall, which she can climb up and over to the 
power switch.  Pull it, return to Tal and press the green button by the lift to
go down (green is down, blue is up).  Press it again to go down to level 3.

Go down the tunnel.  Once you pass a gate, you'll notice the elevator for the 
raw minerals on your left.  So go get some raw minerals!  Go to the bottom of 
the ramp and kill all of the extractors.  Spirit Wind is a good Skill to use as
the extractors pound on you.  Once you've defeated them all and picked up the 6
Raw Minerals, head back up the ramp to the mineral elevator and use it (this 
happens automatically as you pass near it).  After a FMV of the processing room
in action, head back to the large elevator and press the blue button to go up 
one floor. 

Enter the processing room and go down to the main floor.  This will trigger a 
fight with some Hunter series robots.  Afterwards, Tetsu pays Buki a visit 
again in a FMV, and she receives her second Spirit Strike and some new armor.  
Also, a gate in the upper area has been lowered.  

Have Tal move the power block on the right side of the upper level.  Pull it 
back to unplug it from the lift control, then