Stashing Places: Alent Garden
Gold: 260G
Items: Mana Egg
Bosses: Hydra, Pearl Head, Hot Head (2), Nice Head (2), Awful Head, Great Susano-o, Ax (2), Iron Ball, Phantom Dragon
Head north up the stairs, then grab another useless Mana Egg to your east. Continue north, past the fork, through the tunnel, to a Save Point and Stashing Place. You can get some of Guido’s equipment out if you need any of it. (Right now would be a great time to use Guido’s weapon experience, as well as Gadwin’s and Milda’s weapon experience if you haven’t yet. I gave Gadwin’s Sword EXP / Milda’s Ax EXP to Justin, Guido’s Dagger EXP to Feena, and Milda’s Sword EXP / Guido’s Sword EXP / Guido’s Throw EXP to Rapp. Still hang on to Sue’s and Milda’s Mace EXP for your final party member.)
There’s a series of boss battles ahead, so be sure to prepare. I would equip Feena with a Whip and Rapp with a Throw weapon to take advantage of Fire Whip / Fireball. When you’re ready, head east to encounter the first of three bosses.
Boss: Hydra (with Pearl Head, Hot Head (2), Nice Head (2), and Awful Head)
EXP: 5000
Gold: 7500
Items: Crimson Potion, Resurrect Potion, Resurrect Potion, Deep Blue Potion
For any boss battle from here on out, it’s always going to be preferable to use Heaven&Earth Cut with Justin, End of the World with Feena, and Neo Demon Ball with Rapp. However, I know that several people probably didn’t take my advice and alternate their weapons throughout the game to level them up evenly, so there’s a chance they won’t even have those moves. So I’ll avoid using those in my battles to try to be a little more helpful to those who might not have them.
Here, we’ll be facing another palette swap. This guy looks and behaves like the Serpent from Typhoon Tower, so we’ll treat him as such. You can either attack the actual Hydra, or just can attack each head individually. Because each head has a different attack, you’ll want to take them out as soon as possible. (Defeating the Hydra portion alone will end the battle, though, if you’re looking for a challenge.)
Otherwise, start with the Nice Head. It’s a jerk and likes to heal all of its parts constantly with its Recover Gas. After it, work on the Pearl Head. It has a Sudden Death attack that WILL kill you every time. However, it’s not TOO much to worry about. The Pearl Head in particular moves so slow that you’ll likely have it gone before it can hit.
Following it will be the Awful Head, which can inflict poison on you. Lastly, depending on how much HP is left, take out either the Hot Head or the Hydra itself. Whichever takes less time. (Mine was the Hydra, since the Fire attacks did nothing to the Hot Head.)
As for attacks, start with your strongest ‘all’ or range attacks. Justin should start with Dragon Cut, followed by DragonZap / BA-BOOM! / GadZap / Crackling. Feena should use DragonZap / BA-BOOM! / Crackling / Fire Whip. Rapp should use Fireball, followed by Meteor Strike / Crackling / Zap All.
The only two moves you should worry about trying to cancel are Recover Gas (of course), and Sudden Death.
- Hydra: Crackling: Blizzard attack on everyone for minor to medium damage.
- Hydra: Head Crash: A single attack that hits for medium damage. Even if some heads are gone, it will still use this attack and hit you with its stubs.
- Pearl Head: Sudden Death: YIKES. Yeah, it’s just like it sounds. DO NOT LET IT HIT! Luckily, the Pearl Head moves much, much slower than the rest.
- Hot Head: Hot Gas: A ranged Fire attack that hits for minor to medium damage.
- Nice Head: Recover Gas: Heals all of its parts for 400 HP each. CANCEL THIS!
- Awful Head: Poison Gas: A ranged attack that can inflict poison on your party.
Head back to the Save Point, recover and save, then follow the path and go down the stairs. Grab the 260G to the southeast, then continue northeast to board a vehicle that takes you to the next platform. Get off, then follow the path to the next boss.
Boss: Great Susano-o (with Ax (2) and Iron Ball)
EXP: 3000
Gold: 0
Items: Revival Stone, Chain of Gems, Emperor’s Whip
Another palette swap? Yup, this guy looks and behaves like the somewhat recent Ruin Guard from the Zil Ruins, so we’ll similarly approach him. The only differences between this one and the last are that he now has an Iron Ball instead of a Boomerang, and he’s not nearly as hard. You can safely ignore both the Ax and Iron Ball. Each of its attacks only do minor damage, and you’ll wind up wasting time if you just want to take them out one at a time. In either case, your strong(er) attacks that have range/all attributes to them should be able to be close to taking them out on their own.
Justin should be using Thor Cut if he has it (if not, Ice Slash or Midair Cut), followed by GadZap / Dragonzap / BABOOM!. Rapp should use Demon Ball on the body as well (or Fireball or Missile, if he doesn’t), followed by Meteor Strike and Zap All once he’s out of SP. Both Feena’s Zap! Whip and DragonZap should wreak havok on the body. I’d start with DragonZap first since you’ll halt the Ax and Iron Ball a bit once you do. If he does get a Howlnado off, be sure to have Feena toss up an Alhealer as needed. Otherwise, he’ll likely fall quickly.
- Single attack: Used by the Ax, it will swing at one person, but hit those in its path for minor damage.
- Hammer Shot: Used by the Iron Ball, it hits a range of allies for minor damage.
- Howlnado: The only attack you have to worry about. Great Susano-o himself will cast it and hit everyone for medium to major damage.
- Vanish: He will remove ALL buffs and debuffs from both the party and himself.
Go ahead and equip that Emperor’s Whip on Feena. It’ll make her Fire and Zap! Whip quite a bit stronger. To be safe, make your way back to the Save Point to recover. When you’re ready, return and head up the northern stairs, following the path to the third and final boss of Alent.
Phantom Dragon
EXP: 2000
Gold: 0
Items: Deep Blue Potion, Golden Potion
Yet another palette swap… This guy looks and behaves just like the Madragon from Disc 1, so you should be familiar with him. Just like the Madragon, its head and body are two targets sharing one set of HP. Unlike the Madragon, and similar to the Great Susano-o, the fight will be much, much easier than it was before, as it doesn’t have any super-threatening attacks.
Have Justin use Thor Cut (or Lotus / Midair Cut if he doesn’t have it), followed by DragonZap / BA-BOOM! once he’s out of SP. Rapp should use Demon Ball (or Missile, if he doesn’t have it), followed by Meteor Strike, and then combo attacks. Feena should use just her Zap! Whip. Once she’s out of SP, go with DragonZap / BA-BOOM!. If you get hit with Crackling, then be sure to use Alhealer before resuming your attacks.
- Single attack: He’ll flail his claws about in front of him, and can hit a range of characters for minor to medium damage.
- Flame Breath: A ranged attack that is aimed directly in front of the Phantom Dragon, but fanned outward as it goes out. It will hit for medium damage.
- Crackling: Blizzard attack will hit everyone for medium to major damage.
- Alhealer+: Heals himself for 100 HP. Nothing to worry about.
- Vanish: He will remove ALL buffs and debuffs from both the party and himself.
After the battle, head north into the Chapel. After some dialogue, use the Save Point to the west if you want, then talk to all of the Lietes. There are three on the first floor, two up on the western staircase, and four on the second floor by going up the northern stairs or the ramp on either side. By talking to each one, you’ll learn something from that Liete. When you talk to the northernmost one last, she’ll tell you to ascend to the Papal Hall. Go north and talk to the real Liete, where you’ll then have to listen to quite a bit of dialogue. Eventually, once all the storytelling is over, Liete will permanently join the party!
NoteLeave the room to board the gondola, where you’ll (eventually) return. “Hmmm…. Around and around. Alent spins around….” Back on the ground, you’ll be in East Savanna. When you regain control, head east out of here and to the Luzet Mountains.
TipLiete’s Sparkling Rod is likely to best thing to keep on her the rest of the game (with the exception of an excellent Rod we can get in the Tower of Temptation) due to allowing her to cast her spells quicker. For her defenses, you should already have a Plug Suit and Wolf Boots for her (most likely either on Feena or in the Stashing Place), so that she’s closer in stats to the rest of your party. (Sadly, she can’t equip the amazing Lafa Flower Shield…) Her ATK, DEF, and MOV are always going to be AWFUL sadly, though with higher Mace levels, her DEF will get better in time. Her magic is almost unrivaled though, so we don’t have to worry about her ATK stat either. Accessory-wise, I would equip the Chain of Gems for a while, since her Mace level is so low.
DO NOT use Sue’s and Milda’s weapon EXP on her until we boost her Mace level. 10 is pitifully low, and we need to get more out of it. You should go ahead and grab the Zero Rod out of the Stashing Place for her in addition to the Chain of Gems for Liete. When you fight to boost her, have Justin Withdraw with the Tactics menu, have Feena and Rapp cast Speedy and Runner on her, then Withdraw, then let Liete go at it by herself using JUST her Rod — unless she’s in danger, then in that case, help her out. Get her Mace level to at LEAST 25, then use Sue and Milda’s EXP on her, unless you want to share it with Justin for some bizarre reason. (I got +10 out of my EXP for her, so I leveled her Mace up to 28 before using it. Only took 2 battles with a large number of King Horns.)
And now, for the leftover magic from Gadwin and Sue. Compare Rapp’s and Liete’s magic to see who needs them the worst. If the levels are TOO low (under 13 or so), then make sure to try and level them up on your own first before using the items. I wound up using them as follows:
- Feena: Sue’s Earth
- Rapp: Gadwin’s Earth
- Liete: Sue’s Fire, Sue’s Wind, Sue’s Water, Gadwin’s Fire
