Soul of Chaos Bonus Dungeons

[Scorpio]

Didn't see a thread about this, so I decided to make one. Basically, describe your experiences in the various Soul of Chaos dungeons in the FFI GBA/PSP remakes.

For me, I tried to tackle the Earthgift shrine at Lv. 28, but got my ass thoroughly handed to me by each of the bosses. I went back after getting a class change, some much-needed magic, and some more levels, and beat Two-Headed Dragon and Echidna at Lv. 35 and 36 respectively. Then I went off to defeat Marilith, then went back to defeat Cerberus and Ahriman at Lv. 38. Currently I'm doing the Hellfire Chasm, and just defeated Scarmilogne and Barbaricca last night, and plan to tackle the other two tonight.

In general, I HIGHLY recommend you get to Gaia before tackling any of the dungeons; you get several things that will make your life MUCH easier against these bosses, such as Protecra and Protect Rings. If you can, break the order and go get the airship BEFORE Marilith. In terms of boss order, at least for Earthgift, Two-Headed Dragon is by far the most straightforward and arguably the easiest; all it does is use physical attacks, so you may want to go for it first, as Protecra will make life much easier. If you have Protect Rings on your party, Echidna should be next, since she mainly spams OHKO attacks, with some physical attacks and the infrequent Flare thrown in (and I meant VERY infrequent; she only cast it once before she went down when I faced her). Cerberus has the least HP of them all, but spams Thunderbolt to make your life miserable, so NulShock is a must, and also Healara or higher, since he's faster than you. Ahriman I saved for last, and he is tough; I highly recommend the three Nuls (NulFrost, NulShock, NulBlaze), since he has Thunderbolt, as well as Icestorm and Blaze. While he can heal himself, he can only heal 200 HP or less, and you should probably do more than that to him in a single round.

BTW, a couple of quick questions: I was at Lv. 28 when I beat Lich, Lv. 37 for Marilith, Lv. 39 or so for Kraken, and I'm currently sitting at Lv. 42 or so. Am I overlevelled?

[Kalisiin Kumaki]

I'm not familiar with the same names you are using for the bosses, so you may have a different version than I.

The GBA game I have has bonus dungeons, but, as I recall, the Earth Fiend is Lich, the Fire Fiend is Kary (whom you are referring to as Marilith) the Water Fiend is Kraken, and then the Air Fiend is Tiamat...in the version I have.

The Bonus Dungeons I recall are like, the one by the Earth Cave being the easiest, only about five levels deep, the next one, by the Gurga Volcano, being the next most difficult, about ten levels deep....the one by Kraken being like, twenty levels deep and very difficult....and I totally gave up on even TRYING for the one by the Air Tower, which, as I recall, was supposed to be like, forty levels deep!


It's been a long time since I played so I don't recall the various monster bosses in those Bonus Dungeons...and I don't remember some of the equipment you are citing, the Protecra and Protect Rings...this is things I have not seen before....is it possible you are using a version other than the USA version I am using?

[Scorpio]

'Protecra' is actually called "Protera" and it's a Lv. 6 White Magic spell, basically the buffed-up version of Protect. Protect Rings on the other hand are just a piece of equipment you can buy in Gaia. Maybe you do have a different version of FFI GBA; I don't know whether I have the US or EU version, since I got my copy off of Amazon (which is where I've been getting old GBA games, including all the GBA FFs
).

Also, you are correct on how deep each of the bonus dungeons are, but they're unlocked after defeating the respective fiend, but not near them (unless that's what you mean by "by").

And in other news, I finished Hellfire Chasm's bosses last night. Scarmiglione and Cagnazzo are pretty easy, but they're probably meant as warm-up bosses, seeing as they're about half-way through the dungeon. The only thing really troublesome about those two was their respective signature attacks, but then again, any heavy-hitting party attack is going to hurt. Cagnazzo is a little harder since he used Tsunami right at the start. As for the other two, I found Barbariccia to be the harder of the two due to Cyclone, but Rubicante wasn't that easy either, due to Scorch.

[Vireo Gilvus]

One thing I like to do in FF1 (all versions) is get the Rat's Tail and Levistone (or Tail and Floater in the NES version), and ransack all the late-game dungeons for top-level equipment, before going after Marilith (Kary) and the other two fiends. Rarely has sequence-breaking been so lucrative in an RPG.

As for the bonus dungeons in the GBA version, I like to wait until I've beaten all four fiends before getting started on them. The earth dungeon doesn't really have much of anything, but the fire dungeon has a fourth Ribbon and a Kikuichimonji (good weapon for Ninja or Red Wizard), and the water and air dungeons have a whole bunch of great stuff. I wouldn't recommend taking on any of the dungeons until I went through (and looted) all the dungeons from the original version. (The final dungeon is optional, but having the Masamune is always welcome.)

As I may have said in another FF1 thread here, my favorite party is Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard, and White Wizard. This setup can be especially useful in the GBA version; the two toughest bosses in the game, Omega and Shinryu, are found at the end of the water dungeon and drop the ultimate weapons for Ninja and Knight, respectively. The endboss of the air dungeon, Death Gaze, drops the Red Wizard's ultimate weapon.

Finding your way through the bonus dungeons can be difficult. Check out GameFAQs' collection of bonus dungeon floor maps here: www.gamefaqs.com/gba/920240-final-fantasy-i-and-ii-dawn-of-souls/faqs

Good luck!

[Kalisiin Kumaki]

I might have to pick up my old GBA and give this another go.

I know I gave up after the Water Dungeon. The Air one was just too damned tough.

But I also was doing things sequentially, and nailing each bonus dungeon right after killing the respective Fiend that unlocked it.

It's been so long since I have done this at all I don't even remember WHERE the entrances to the dungeons are anymore, so when I said "by" I did mean near the respective Fiend, because that was what I remembered....obviously incorrectly so.

[Vireo Gilvus]

The Earthgift Shrine is found between Coneria and the Chaos Shrine (also known as the Temple of Fiends).
The Hellfire Chasm is found on one of the Cardia Islands (the archipelago where Bahamut lives). You need the airship to enter.
The Lifespring Grotto is found on the small green island near Melmond. You need the airship to enter.
The Whisperwind Cove is found in the same network of rivers leading to the Ice Cave. You need the sailing ship to enter.

I would not recommend taking on any of the bonus dungeons until at least after you've beaten Tiamat. Even the FF3 bosses are much tougher than Tiamat in my experience.

Also, here are some tips to make the random battles in the bonus dungeons go a little smoother:

Take advantage of the items that cast attack spells when used during battle. Examples include the following...
Gauntlets (cast Thundara, found in the Castle of Ordeal, formerly known as the Zeus Gauntlet)
Mage Staff (casts Fira, found in the Sunken Shrine)
Thor's Hammer (casts Thundara, found in the Mirage Tower)
Black Robe (casts Blizzara, found in the Floating Castle)
Judgment Staff (casts Flare, dropped by Atomos)
Lightbringer (casts Holy, dropped by Death Gaze)
Ragnarok (casts Flare, dropped by Shinryu)

[Kalisiin Kumaki]

Thanks for the tips, Vireo!

I am thinking I need to try playing this one again sometime.

I still also need to get around to playing the DS remake of DQ6...never have gotten started on that one, LOL....bought it the day it came out, but haven't played. Still in it's package.

[Vireo Gilvus]

Oh, I would highly recommend all the DS DQ games to any classic JRPG fan. The remakes of 4-6 add an impressive amount of new material, and 9 is just a great game overall.

A word of warning for if you're trying to complete the bestiary in FF1 Advance: Some enemies only appear in Whisperwind Cove (and the other optional dungeons, to a lesser extent), and are guaranteed to run away from you if your level is too high. So try not to gain too many levels, even though in FF1 Advance, you seem to gain levels at an absurdly fast rate.

[Scorpio]

I can attest to gaining levels an absurd rate; that's what I get for fighting basically every enemy I encountered until the Earth Cave. Which has given rise to my new battle strategy; Run, unless 1) I haven't entered that enemy into my Bestiary, 2) I can't run after 3 turns, or 3) I need to beat that boss to advance.

Also, beating the Earthgift Shrine's bosses before Marilith must make me either a total badass or over-leveled. Either way, that's actually the primary reason I went and got my class change and everything else along the way. Didn't know about the dungeon raiding, though I may have to try that stunt in another run. Just FYI, my team is Ninja, Knight, White Wizard, Black Wizard.

Also, I've gotten all the DS DW games, but I really need to play them more; I've only played DW4, and I'm only at Ch. 3 there. :/

[Vireo Gilvus]

There's a trick you can do in DQ4's third chapter. When you get your own shop, you can take unfair advantage of the rate at which you gain a profit off the items you buy and sell. Start slowly building a stockpile of all the weapons and armor available in the three towns (starting with the most expensive items, like Cautery Sword), and then sell them once Torneko joins the party in Chapter 5. This should solve all your money problems for the rest of the game, even though it's time-consuming.

Also, I made a mistake earlier with one of the FF1 optional dungeon locations. The Lifespring Grotto is not on the island next to Melmond as I previously stated; it's in the whirlpool by that island. You need the sailing ship to enter.

Not a fan of the Black Mage/Wizard, especially in the Advance/PSP version of FF1. Everything he can do, Red Mage/Wizard can also do (except for Level 8 black magic, which can be emulated by a couple of weapons you get from the optional bosses).

[Kalisiin Kumaki]

I, too, tend to prefer Red Wiz over the Black Wiz. the only thing Red can't do that Black can that is worht it at all is NUKE. And the only thing NUKE is realy good for is CHAOS. And I can beat CHAOS without using NUKE. I'd like to get a chance to play again, but things are crazy here lately, what with my upcoming out of state move, my business, etc, etc.

Yeah...for those who didn't know, I am leaving Pennsylvania, and headed for North Carolina.

[Warlock]

Are Black Belts still unstoppable hurricanes of death in the GBA version?

- HC

[Kalisiin Kumaki]

Pretty much. I like them intensely.