#################################################

3.1. [Balamb Garden: Infirmary]

Magazines: Weapons Monthly July (Training Center)

           Combat King 003 (Balamb Hotel)

###################################################

Squall is contemplating his next move at the infirmary when Quistis 

asks of him to head to the 3F Bridge. Oblige her, form your party of 3

(sans Rinoa) and pilot Balamb Garden south-west towards the Orphanage.

Check your map.

Side events: Pick up the July issue of Weapons Monthly from Balamb

Garden's Training Center. This one won't be so easy to spot; it appears

as a little brown package surrounded by a yellow band on the ground.

Another one involves Zell. If you've been a frequent visitor at the

Library with Zell, visit Balamb City; a random event might transpire

-- Zell has a guest, and she's waiting for him at the Hotel. Spend the 

night there, and you should receive a copy of 'Combat King 003' in the

morning.

Visits to the Library may *sometimes* throw up special events. For

instance, the first event has Zell enquiring about a book when he

meets a girl with a pig-tail, the 2nd has a 'Conceited SeeD' asking

about the same girl... etc. Eventually when you do make a trip to

Balamb City, you'll be able to get the magazine. And even if you do

not do this side quest, 'Combat King 003' can still be purchased at a

later time in the game.

###############################################

3.2. [Edea's Orphanage]

Draw Points: Curaga

Magazines: Timber Maniacs

Rare Cards: Edea (Edea), Seifer (Cid)

Blue Magic: Fire Breath

Weapons: Bismarck (Irvine), Crescent Wish (Selphie)

#################################################

*spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*

Edea apologises for all the trouble, and explains that she was under 

the control of Ultimecia, a witch from the future. Ultimecia requires 

Ellone's powers in order to achieve her ultimate goal of ruling the 

world in different time periods; Edea's body is but a tool for her. 

She warns of the danger of Ultimecia awaking Adel, the original witch, 

as well. Squall then asks about Rinoa's condition, but Edea says that 

it is beyond her powers to help.

Squall has no interest in continuing the conversation with Edea and Cid; 

he decides to return to Balamb Garden to inform the rest of the current 

situation.

Side events: The Orphanage has a copy of Timber Maniacs lying on the 

ground. You can also win Edea's and Seifer's card from Edea and Cid 

respectively.

The forests outside are also home to a variety of interesting 

creatures, which include Grand Mantis (steal Sharp Spikes), Blitz 

(they drop Betrayal Blades or Dynamo Stones) and Geezards (Screws).

Ruby Dragons can also be found, but they're extremely rare. If you're

lucky enough to meet one, mug it for Inferno Fangs.

Assuming you did get those Inferno Fangs, you can remodel Selphie's

weapon now: 1 Inferno Fang, 1 Life Ring (stealable from Lefty in the

Winhill region) and 4 Sharp Spikes. If you didn't, there's another

opportunity later on.

Inferno Fangs can also be used to enable Quistis to learn her 'Fire

Breath' Blue magic.

If you've had trouble acquiring Irvine's 'Bismarck' in Disc Two, you

can do it easily now; 1 Steel Pipe, 4 Dynamo Stones and 8 Screws.

Blitzs tend to drop Dynamo Stones at levels 30 and above.

[Balamb Garden]

Having reported to the rest, Squall returns to the infirmary.

##############################################

3.3. [Laguna Dream Sequence Part Four: Trabia Canyon]

Enemies: Ochu, Mesmerize, Bite Bug, Gayla, Ruby Dragon

Blue Magic: Fire Breath

Weapons: Red Scorpion (Quistis)

################################################

Whether Ward appears or not in this event is totally random. I think

it has something to do with how frequently you read copies of Timber

Maniacs, though.

Laguna, having exhausted almost all finances during his travels, has 

taken up a job as an actor. He plays a knight, and in this scene he 

has to protect a maiden in distress from a dragon, which is played by 

Kiros and Ward. However, the dragon seems rather authentic in this 

take...

Controls:

[u.s version]

Square: Defend!

Triangle: Attack!

[japanese version]

Square: Defend!

X: Attack!

There're two methods to get past this mini-game: 

Method 1: Tap the 'Attack!' button once to have Laguna swing his blade,

then immediately assume a defensive stance to block the dragon's swipe.

After Laguna parries the blow, have him attack again. Just keep on

repeating this pattern of attacking and defending and Laguna should

emerge victorious.

Method 2: Mash away at the 'Attack!' button rapidly. Laguna should

keep slashing at the Ruby Dragon, and cut off any attempt to retaliate.

You may have to block occasionally, but it isn't much trouble if you've

got quick fingers.

When Laguna is re-united with his companions, take the 2nd option to 

retreat left to a save point. Junction your party and save before 

returning to confront the dragon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

ENEMY: Ruby Dragon  HP: Variable  Weak: Ice, Holy  

                    Strong vs.: Fire, Wind

                    Draw List: Aero, Firaga, Demi  AP: 14

Just summon Shiva or Alexander, and have the remaining one character 

attack (have him junction 'Blizzaga' to Elemental Attack if you want)

or heal. This creature isn't too hard to take down. Remember to plunder

an 'Inferno Fang' from it! This item allows Quistis to learn her 'Fire

Breath' Blue Magic or acts as one of the raw materials for Selphie's 3rd

weapon, the Crescent Wish.

----------------------------------------------------------------- 

Side events: You can encounter Mesmerizes (steal their Mesmerize Blades) 

and Ochus (gigantic green plants with flailing tentacles -- get their 

Ochu tentacles) here if you haven't already encountered them. The 

Ochu has a tendency to rob you of your magic spells, so be careful. 

Ochus are found on the same screen as the Ruby Dragon... it's a pretty

small space, so make sure you don't go running into the Ruby Dragon

by accident, if you want some Ochu Tentacles first. Combine 2 Ochu

Tentacles with 2 Dragon Skins (dropped by high level Anacondaurs) for

Quistis' 'Red Scorpion'.

[Edea's Orphanage]

Laguna comes to the orphanage looking for Ellone, but resigns himself 

to the fact that she's been taken away by the Estharians.

###############################################

3.4. [Transition -- Balamb Garden and Edea's Orphanage]

#################################################

Squall ponders the possibility of going back in time to rescue Rinoa 

when he wakes up... Edea might know something, so off you go.

[Edea's Orphanage]

Edea locates Ellone's ship, the 'White SeeD', and presents Squall with 

a letter introducing him and his intentions.

Try selling Edea's letter at a shop for 125 Gil, then returning to

Edea's Orphanage; Edea will simply hand you another letter, which you

can sell again. Kinda like an infinite Gil trick, but it's pretty

worthless if you ask me. Just thought you might like to know ^_^

###########################################

3.5. [Finding the White SeeD: Centra Region]

Draw Points: Holy

Magazines: Timber Maniacs

Rare Cards: Shiva (Zone), Angelo (Watts)

##############################################

North of the orphanage will be a group of islands. If you ignore the 

one to the west (the continent with 3 cliffs sticking out into the 

open sea) you'll find that the remaining islands form a broken ring 

around a patch of water.

The 'White SeeD' is located somewhere near the south-western 

shoreline cliffs which encircle this patch of water. You need to do 

a bit of camera work to actually spot the ship, though.

[White SeeD]

Squall explains his intentions, but the crew refuses to grant him an

audience with the leader of the ship. Well, you don't really have to

leave, so just explore the White SeeD.

Along the way, you'll find Watts (remember him from Rinoa's 'Forest

Owls'?). He holds Angelo's card and some extra bits of information for

the inquisitive gamer.

If you follow Zone up to the ship's bridge, you can pick up Shiva's 

card by exchanging an adult magazine (Girl Next Door from Timber 

Maniacs building) with Zone after speaking to him a few times. Take

the 1st option to give it to him for free.

There's also a copy of Timber Maniacs to be found on the ship's bridge.

You should have collected all of them by this time. Here's a recap of

their locations:

1. At Balamb Hotel/Train Station   7. At the Repair Shop in F.H

2. At Timber Maniacs Building      8. At F.H Hotel 2F

3. At Timber Hotel 2F              9. At the Inn/Artisan's house in

4. At Hotel Dollet 2F                 the Shumi Tribe Village

5. At Dollet Pub                  10. At Trabia Garden's cemetery

6. At Galbadia Hotel 2F           11. At Edea's Orphanage

                                  12. On the White SeeD

They're viewable using the Study Panel at the 2F classroom of Balamb 

Garden, on the 'School Festival Committee' site.

The Leader awaiting in his cabin tells Squall that when they were caught

in a conflict between the Galbadian army and the Estharian troops,

Ellone took the liberty of leaving on an Esthar rescue boat. She's now

somewhere within the Esthar territory, which is only accessible via the

bridge at Fishermans Horizon.

Proceeding on into Esthar means you won't be able to visit the other 

places on the map for quite a while. I've outlined a few *optional* 

events below which you might want to tackle before moving the story 

any further.

#############################################

3.6. [Centra Ruins Revisited] (note: It's to the north-east of Edea's

                                    Orphanage) 

G.Fs: Tonberry

###############################################

This should be where you fought Odin. Take both Squall and Quistis 

along, and have them both at critical status with the ability to use 

their limit breaks. Head for the 3rd screen (the one with the Tonberry

statue in the center of a circular platform), where you'll have to 

combat Tonberries. 

Quistis should have a high Speed parameter -- have her unleash her 

'Micro Missile' Blue Magic on the Tonberry a few times before Squall 

(with a high Strength rating) steps in to finish off the Tonberry with 

his Renzokuken. Both of them should be in critical status for this

tactic to work smoothly.

You'll gain 0 EXP (and Chef's Knives) for your efforts, but after the 

20th Tonberry you kill, there's a chance of meeting a Tonberry King

when you defeat another one of those adorable green little creatures.

However, this guy seems to appear randomly, so you might have to rack 

up quite a few dead Tonberries before actually meeting him. You don't 

really have to take down 20 of them in one shot; there's always time 

to head outside to save before continuing. You can use Ifrit's 'Refine 

Ammo' menu ability to receive 20 Armour Piercing (AP) Ammo for

Irvine's limit break, from a single Chef's Knife.

Tip:

Carding 20 Tonberries doesn't work; only killing them will summon the

Tonberry King.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

BOSS: Tonberry King  HP: 90,000+  Draw List: Death, Curaga, Full-life

                     AP: 20

Draw a few 'Full-life' spells, cast a Meltdown spell on him and unleash 

Squall's Renzokuken. He should be dead by then. Just watch out for 

his magics.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

You'll get your Tonberry G.F. -- you should learn its 'Familiar' 

menu ability on top of everything else. Its 'Level Up' and 'Level Down' 

command abilities are also useful for tweaking the enemies' levels -- 

some of them drop different items at different levels, remember? Keep 

this in mind the next time you want to collect raw materials for your 

weapon remodeling events.

And if in future battles, should you find your opponents too difficult 

for you, just use 'Level Down' on them to halve their levels. Take 

note that this doesn't work on bosses.

#############################################

3.7. [Chocobo Forests] 

G.Fs: Boko the Chocobo (Gysahl Greens)

Rare Cards: Chicobo

###############################################

Chocobo Forests are dome-shaped forests you'll find on the Trabia and 

Centra continents. Another one is located among the forests in the 

north-eastern cliffs on the Overworld -- you'll have to ride a chocobo 

from the Trabia region, and across the shallow waters to get to this 

one (the Chocobo Sanctuary) in Grandidi Forest. It's pretty well

camouflaged.

Side events: The forests in which the Chocobo Sanctuary is hidden in

houses 2 powerful enemies: the Malboro and the Hexadragon. You don't

need to trouble yourselves with them now, so run when you see them.

Fortunately, they appear rarely. If you're feeling daring, mug some

Red Fangs from the Hexadragon and Malboro Tentacles from the Malboro.

You'll need to get a 'ChocoSonar' and 'ChocoZiner' from the kid within

a Chocobo Forest. Next, hit the 'Square' button to get a menu:

1. To detect: [ChocoSonar].

2. To catch: [ChocoZiner].

3. Help me.

4. No way, I'm not doing this.

Equip the ChocoSonar. At specified spots, the ChocoSonar will respond

(watch the red bar) when you tap the 'X' button.

Equip the ChocoZiner, and blow it for a small chocobo to fall down.

Blow again for it to return. You'll have to do this until there's 

only a single small chocobo on the screen (there may be multiple

chicobos in each forest). Talk to it to get a big Chocobo to appear. 

If you happen to activate the ChocoZiner where the sonar shows no

response, you'll get your equipment snitched by a chicobo. Buy it

back from the Chocoboy for 700 gil.

Alternatively, you can ask the kid to summon a big Chocobo for you for

1,200 gil. Also, note that everytime you get the big Chocobo to appear

by *yourself*, you'll receive a 'Pledge of Affection' (usually just a

bunch of stones hidden in the ground which you'll have to find using

the 'ChocoZiner').

Collect all 6 of them (one from each forest) and present these to the

chocobos in the Chocobo Sanctuary (the one located in the north

-eastern cliffs mentioned above) for a 'Chicobo' card.

Below are the locations of the 6 chocobo forests:

1. West of Trabia Garden

2. North-east of Trabia Garden (here's where you should ride a chocobo 

   to get to the Chocobo Sanctuary)

3. North-west of the Shumi Tribe Village

4. North-east of the Centra Ruins

5. East of Edea's Orphanage

6. South of Kashkabald Desert

I'll give a general example of how the whole procedure works. Let's

take the Chocobo Forest north-west of the Shumi Tribe Village:

1. Purchase equipment from Chocoboy. You need to do this only once.

2. Press 'Square' to open up the menu and equip 'ChocoSonar'.

3. There're a total of 4 spots where the 'ChocoSonar' goes crazy (press

   'X' to use it) for this particular forest.

4. The spot you're looking for is the one nearest to the Chocokid,

   a few steps north-east from him.

5. Switch over to the 'ChocoZiner', and blow it at the exact spot using

   the 'X' button.

6. A single chicobo should fall down. Talk to it, and the big Chocobo

   should appear.

7. The hidden stones in this forest are somewhere in the upper-right

   regions of the screen. Keep using the 'ChocoZiner' in this area.

8. The Chocobo should dig up the stones for you, and you're done.

9. Of course, it isn't as easy for the other Chocobo forests. The

   Chocoboy will provide a small hint for a price, though.

And here's another example, this time from the Chocobo Forest north

-east of the Centra Ruins. I've had a lot of e-mails on this:

1. You'll need to be very careful in this area, because there's only

   one spot in the entire forest where the 'ChocoSonar' reacts.

2. And this spot is extremely small, hence much harder to find.

3. Starting from the left of the Chocoboy (or the Chocoboy's right

   side), keep walking north.

4. Repeatedly use the 'ChocoSonar' for every single small step Squall

   takes. You'll eventually find the spot.

5. Blow the 'ChocoZiner' to get the Chicobo. Talk to it to get the

   Chocobo to appear.

6. The Chocoboy's standing over the spot where the stones are hidden.

   Challenge him to Card Battle using 'Square', but instead of playing

   a game, tell him to move (3rd option).

7. Search the spot using the 'ChocoZiner' for the hidden stones, and

   you're done.

If you don't feel like doing this event now, you can leave it until

you've acquired the air-ship Ragnarok, which will be later on in the

game. I'll remind you.

Some people have written in requesting for full guides to each forest;

well, half the fun is figuring out the puzzles and trying to decipher

the Chocoboy's cryptic clues, so... I'm afraid I won't be providing

them anytime soon. Still, you can refer to Part II of Scott Ong's

'Final Fantasy VIII FAQ' at www.gamefaqs.com for help.

D-pad/Left Analog Stick: Gets the chocobo moving. Btw, all chocobos

                         have the ability to cross shallow waters.

                         Such areas are identified as having a lighter

                         shade of blue compared to the deeper dark

                         -blue regions of the oceans

Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and

       pauses the game

Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off

X (U.S): Dismount from the Chocobo. When you do that, the chocobo will

         scoot off on its own; you'll need to re-capture it again at

         a Chocobo Forest if you want to ride one later, assuming

         you have yet to solve the puzzle there. 

         In the Japanese version of ff 8, press 'Circle' to dismount.

These adorable creatures are pretty fast on their feet. Also, you can't

encounter enemies while riding on a chocobo. Incidentally, the Gysahl

Greens you can purchase from the chocoboy allow you to summon Boko

in battle. They're kinda useless though, seeing how their 'Choco Fire'

damages a single opponent for only a measly 500+.

The chocobo can power up its attacks in battle, but you'll need a 

Pocket Station peripheral, which is sold separately. Unfortunately,

I don't own the latter ^_^

############################################

3.8. [CC Group] 

Rare Cards: MiniMog, Carbuncle, Leviathan, Gilgamesh

##############################################

After Squall emerges victorious in about 15 to 20 Card Battles in

Balamb Garden, the Card Club Quest becomes available. By this I mean

you can do Card Battle with the various members of the CC Group in

Balamb Garden. Here're their locations, and the order in which you

should challenge them:

(note: Some of them appear randomly. If they're not where I said they

       should be, try leaving and re-entering the same area again.)

Jack: He can be spotted wandering around the Garden Directory Board on 

      the 1F.

Club: He wanders the northern regions of the 1F.

Diamond: 2 girls will be walking up to the Garden Directory Board on

         the 1F; challenge them only when they both stop to chat at

         the Directory Board.

Spade: A man near the lift on the 2F. He doesn't appear too often.

Heart: Xu on the 3F Command Center.

King: Speak with Nida after defeating Xu, then converse with Dr.

      Kadowaki at the infirmary using 'Square'. Head for Squall's

      cabin, and ask your companions to leave you alone.

      Choose to rest, and during the night, King will appear randomly.

      If you fail to win, you can have a re-match on the 3F Bridge.

Joker: In the Training Center (appears at random). He'll also sell you 

       items. Plus, if you manage to beat him, he'll upgrade your 

       'Battle Report' to include a 'G.F Report'. This guy appears

       randomly near the 'Blizzard' draw point after you defeat Jack.

The CC Group members hold excellent (and rare) cards among themselves. 

Below are the 3 G.F. cards you should be able to pick up from them:

Heart: Carbuncle

King: Gilgamesh

Joker: Leviathan

If you haven't done so already, the kid in blue circling the 1st Floor

of Balamb Garden holds the MiniMog card.

############################################

3.9. [Miscellaneous Updates Part Two] 

Weapons: Punishment (Squall), Gauntlet (Zell), Red Scorpion (Quistis) 

##############################################

{Preparations}

Have Alexander learn its 'Medicine Data' character ability, followed by

'Medicine Level Up' menu ability. It helps if you're combating Cactuars

at the Kashkabald Desert, to the east of the Centra Ruins. One more

thing: learn Pandemona's 'Initiative' (Saigeke) character ability, which

allows a character to always start a battle with a full time bar.

Before you go into Esthar, you'll want to have the following -- 6 Steel

Pipes (refine the lv. 5 Elastoid's card or steal from Wendigos - use

Tonberry's 'Level Down' ability on them if their levels are too high 

- in Roshfall Forest) and 60 Remedies. Use G.F. Alexander's 'Medicine 

Level Up' Menu Ability to refine these 60 Remedies into 6 Remedy Pluses. 

The above items are essential for acquiring a G.F. later on. 

Tip:

Roshfall Forest is north of Timber. Use the menu screen's location

displayer feature (the window to the lower left in the main menu) to

confirm that you're in the right place.

You might also want to learn Tonberry's 'Call Shop' Menu Ability. It'll 

come in handy on your future journeys.

{Weapons}

Weapon remodeling is optional here though, so you can pretty ignore

the following section (which basically serves as a reminder):

Squall: His 'Punishment' requires a Chef's Knife, 2 Star Fragments,

        1 Turtle Shell and 8 Screws.

        You can either modify 3 Iron Giant lv. 5 cards to 1 Star

        Fragment, or combat T-Rexaurs at Balamb Garden's Training

        Center, and hope they drop Star Fragments when defeated.

Zell/Quistis: Acquiring Dragon Skins should prove easier now; use

              Tonberry's 'Level Up' command on Anacondaurs in Roshfall

              Forest, then defeat them to make them drop the items.

              The Gauntlet requires 1 Dragon Skin and 1 Fury Fragment;

              Quistis' Red Scorpion requires 2 Ochu Tentacles and 2

              Dragon Skins.

Like I said, weapon remodeling at this point in the game is not

essential. I'll guide you towards obtaining each character's ultimate

weapon later on in the walkthrough. 

#############################################

3.10. [Fishermans Horizon Bridge]

###############################################

Pilot Balamb Garden over to F.H and the scene will switch to Squall. 

Pick up Rinoa from the infirmary.

[Horizon Bridge]

You'll meet up with the rest of your party at the end of the bridge. 

Quistis teases Squall about Rinoa, before Edea tells Squall to meet 

up with Professor Odine in Esthar. Zell remarks that Squall should 

have a rough idea of who he is:

- Yeah, I remember.

- I can't remember... tell me more. *

- Whatever.

Head off into the background.

############################################

3.11. [Esthar Region]

Enemies: Mesmerize, Malboro

##############################################

Edea will be playable, and starts off at lv. 26. Don't bother to raise 

her levels as she'll only be with you temporarily. Edea has a rather 

good affiliation with your G.Fs however, so make her your primary 

summoner if you wish. Head towards the lake (remember to junction 

Edea if you're gonna use her; she has zero spells available when she 

joins you).

###########################################

3.12. [Great Salt Lake]

Enemies: Vysage, Lefty, Righty

Draw Points: Meteor, Thundaga

############################################

Set your party and proceed one screen upwards. While not immediately 

obvious in the next area, there's actually a fork here. Have Squall run 

up the head of the fossil, and follow the path to a cliff (you'll pass 

a 'Meteor' and 'Thundaga' Draw Point on the way). Hit 'X' (U.S) or

'Circle' (Japanese) at the edge of the cliff to leap off it, and follow

the snowy path to the north.

Side events: Vysages roam this area. Summon Siren to silence their

efforts (and laugh sadistically when they attempt to cast Esuna), and

steal a 'Life Ring' from Lefty if you haven't done so already. An

alternate way to mute them would be to junction 'Silence' to Status

Attack, and smack them with a weapon.

Take a right in the next screen for a save point. At 2 more screens 

left from the previous save point, you'll meet up with another 

fossil... only this time it's very much alive.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

BOSS: Abadon  HP: 17,010  Weak: Fire, Holy, Heal 

              Draw List: Cura, Esuna, Dispell  AP: 40

Have 2 characters summon Ifrit and Alexander while the remaining one 

attacks (junction Fira to Elemental Attack) or heals. If you've learnt 

Leviathan's 'Recover' command ability, use it to inflict 9,999 worth 

of damage on Abadon.

Sometimes Abadon will assume a standing posture (as opposed to its 

earlier hunched posture) in the duration of the fight. In this mode 

both physical and magical attacks are practically useless against it; 

cast Cure spells or the 'Recover' command on Abadon at this time to 

actually damage it. A 'Phoenix Down' on it also works, but it tends to

miss most of the time.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Head to the north-east when you're done. Have Squall examine the 

strange looking background to uncover an opening in mid-air. Climb up 

to it.   

[Esthar City]

Proceed to the right (it's a one-way path actually), screw around 

with the panel on the left if you want (it gives you a bit of info on

Esthar), then enter the door to the north-east.

Step through the door in front of you after the elevator stops for a 

nice FMV sequence introducing the capital city of Esthar.

############################################

3.13. [Final Laguna Dream Sequence: Lunatic Pandora Laboratory]

Enemies: Esthar Soldiers, Elastoid, Gesper

Draw Points: Death, Double, Flare

Magazines: Weapons Monthly First Issue (Lunatic Pandora Lab.)

Blue Magic: Homing Laser

##############################################

Laguna complains about the lack of meals to the soldiers; talk to both 

Esthar soldiers twice to get things moving. They tell Laguna to help

with some work upstairs.

Alternate your conversations between the Moomba and another man here 

to trigger a fight with an Esthar soldier.

Kiros and Ward will arrive now -- junction them first (1st option) 

before engaging more enemies in combat. You'll combat a Gesper and 2 

Esthar soldiers.

Get rid of the Gesper first; it has the annoying ability to remove a

character from the battle fray via its Degenerator. The darker Esthar

soldier knows 'Death', so you might want to be protected from that.

Enter the right elevator to reach the ground floor. You can eavesdrop 

on Dr. Odine's conversation with his assistants if you want, or just 

head right to exit. Save outside, and Laguna will be informed that Dr. 

Odine knows Ellone's whereabouts. Return to the Laboratory.

Pick up the final (or First, deciding how you look at it) issue of 

Weapons Monthly on the floor upon entering the complex. Head back to 

the basements to find Dr. Odine. You'll have to combat his cronies 

before chasing after him -- be sure to plunder a 'Laser Cannon' from 

the Elastoid! This allows Quistis to learn her 'Homing Laser'. Btw,

the Elastoid has to be at levels 30 and above first.

Laguna manages to squeeze some information out of him -- Ellone is 

located at Odine's Laboratory.

[Doctor Odine's Laboratory]

More enemies await you here, but Laguna can easily dispatch them. Check 

the circular object in the center; it's actually an elevator. Enter the 

door in front when you reach the 2nd floor.

Obliterate those pesky Estharians and look through the blue glass in 

the background to see Ellone. Examine the control panel to the right,

then descend back to the 1st floor. Step through the door in the

background (it should be openable now) to rescue Ellone. Laguna

apologizes for coming late.

##########################################

3.14. [Esthar City]

Draw Points: Double, Flare, Blizzard, Quake, Tornado, Curaga

Magazines: Pet Pals Vol. 5 and 6 (Esthar Pet Store)

           Combat King 004 (Esthar Soldier)

           Occult Fans Vol. IV (Presidential Palace)

           ... plus almost any magazine, in fact

Rare Cards: Ward (Dr. Odine)

############################################

Board the car to meet up with Odine at the Presidential Palace. He 

agrees to help, but on condition that Rinoa be left behind to be kept 

under observation. Doctor Odine holds Ward's card, btw. You can exit 

the Palace by heading down and taking a right to reach an elevator pod. 

Esthar is probably the largest city you'll ever come across in the 

whole of ff 8; below is a map I've constructed for your own reference:

(actually, I think the topography is *still* baffling...)

                                Presidential Palace

                                    |

        /-----------------------------------------------------------\

        |               |                        |                  |

        |               |  E                     |                  |

        |               |------------------------|------------------|

        |               |                       X|                  |

        |               |  CK                    |        (dead end)|

        |------------------------------------    |                \-|

        |              Y|                   |    |                  |

        |               |                   -----|                  |

        |               |                        |            Esthar| 

        |               |                        |          Shopping| 

Air     |               |                        |              Mall| 

Station-|               |                        |                  | 

        |               |                        |                  | 

        |               |(Left Side) (Right Side)|                  |

        \---------------+------------------------+------------------/

                        |                        |  

                Odine's Laboratory           Car Rental

                                                 |

                                             Overworld

*at point X the straight path goes over the horizontal path; at point Y 

 the horizontal path goes over the straight path. You'll find a save

 -cum-heal point south-east from the Air Station. The points E and CK

 have no meaning now, but take note of their positions; you'll be

 needing them later.

 Some of the shops are open for business at this time, but those like

 'Cheryl's Shop' stay closed permanently. However, repeated visits to

 the same shop can sometimes throw up special gifts for the party; I

 managed to get a Rosetta Stone (lets a G.F. learn Ability x4 junction

 ability) from Cheryl's Shop. Also, make sure you've learnt Tonberry's

 'Familiar' menu ability; that should allow you to purchase all the

 remaining issues of Pet Pals and Combat King for Rinoa and Zell

 respectively. Purchase a 'Force Armlet' from the shopping mall as

 well. You'll need one of these for Rinoa's final weapon.

 Power Wrists are sold at the same Pet Store as well. You can use G.F

 Siren's 'Tools RF' menu ability to obtain 10 Aura Stones from a 

 single Power Wrist.

Tip:

Aura (Stones) is a spell which dramatically increases the chances of

a character activating his or her limit break, even though their HP

may not be at critical status.

 Another store which seems to be closed (but isn't) is Johnny's. You 

 might have to visit it repeatedly to get it to open; he sells rare 

 recovery items such as X-Potions, Mega Phoenixes and Elixirs.

 You can also pick up the final volume of Occult Fans here. Speak

 with the Presidential Aide near the Air Station, then return to the

 Presidential Palace. Talk to the Presidential Secretary there, and

 he'll drop the magazine when he leaves.

 If you don't feel like purchasing a copy of Combat King 004, try

 finding a lone Esthar soldier in the city. I've marked his position

 with a 'CK' in the map above; speak to him once. He won't give you

 the magazine yet, but just remember his location. You'll be returning

 to him soon.

 When you're done shopping, you can exit Esthar. I advise you rent a

 car on your way out if you want to explore the region; it's huge.

#############################################

[Esthar Region] 

Enemies: Bite Bug, Glacial Eye, Gayla (Estharian highways)

         Mesmerize, Malboro (Fields)

Blue Magic: Bad Breath

#############################################

Run around on the Esthar continent (not on the Estharian highways, 

mind you) to encounter Mesmerizes and Malboros (low encounter rate).

Malboros tend to appear on the West Coast of Esthar, and have a 'Bad

Breath' skill which causes every kind of status malady to all members,

but you're going to fight it. Here's how:

Have one character equipped with a 'Mug' command ability and junction

both 'Confuse' and 'Berserk' (or more if your G.F. allows it) to Status

Defense for the entire fighting party.

When you do encounter a Malboro (ugly green plants with a black mouth), 

the only malady from its 'Bad Breath' preventing the party from acting 

will be 'Sleep', so wait until the Malboro smacks you with a physical 

attack. Your primary goal will be to wake the character equipped with 

'Mug' up, so if the Malboro attacks someone else, have that someone 

else target your stealer, and have him/her steal from the Malboro

before you escape. You'll need 9 Malboro Tentacles in total. Use one of

them on Quistis for her to learn 'Bad Breath'.

Alternatively, you can utilize Pandemona's 'Initiative' character 

ability. This allows the particular character to always start a battle 

with a full time bar; have your stealer equipped with this, plunder 

quickly from the Malboro and escape. Remember to cure your characters 

after the fight!

You should have access to a total of 5 places (the Esthar City, Lunatic

Pandora Laboratory, Sorceress Memorial, Lunar Gate and Tears' Point) on

the Estharian continent. Check your map, and head to Tears' Point in the 

south-east. You can rent a car if you want to.

##########################################

3.15. [Tears' Point] (note: Check your map) 

Draw Points: Life, Reflect

G.Fs: Doomtrain

############################################

Ominous-looking, isn't it? You'll need to proceed into the interior of 

this place; right under the giant statue in the core of Tears' Point 

will be a sparkling object - Solomon's Ring. 

You'll need to have 6 Malboro Tentacles, 6 Steel Pipes and 6 Remedy 

Pluses (I did tell you to get them earlier on, right?) before you use 

Solomon's Ring in the Item screen -- say hello to a new G.F, Doomtrain 

(Grasharaboras): ff 8's equivalent of ff 7's Hades.

Doomtrain enables a character to have Elemental Attack and Defense,

plus Status Attack and Defense junction abilities.

###########################################

3.16. [Lunar Gate] (note: Check your map; it's to the east)

#############################################

Enter the complex, then talk to the girl standing at one of the gates.

Angelo will make her appearance; Squall assures her that they will 

save Rinoa.

Follow the Estharian to the blasting capsule, where he'll brief you on 

your space journey. He cautions Squall by saying that it'll be a bit 

dangerous:

- (... Space? Let me think about it.)

- (... I'll do whatever it takes.) *

You'll have to form a party consisting of Squall, Rinoa and another 

one of your companions other than Zell and Edea. You won't be doing

much fighting up in space, so take a 3rd character who's relatively

high in terms of levels.

Zell volunteers to take care of things down here:

- (... Not too sure about that.)

- (... Trust Zell.) *

The blast-off sequence commences shortly. Save outside, and return to

Esthar City as Zell.

############################################

3.17. [Lunatic Pandora Invasion -- Esthar City]

Enemies: G-Soldier, Elite Soldier, GIM52A

Magazines: Combat King 004 (Esthar Soldier)

##############################################

Stock up on items here, then pay a visit to the lone soldier again (see

previous Esthar City section). Converse with him, and when he leaves

he'll give Zell a copy of 'Combat King 004'.

Make your way to Odine's Laboratory afterwards. Be sure to have saved

your game first.

Inside, ride the elevator to meet up with Dr. Odine. He informs Zell 

that Galbadia has succeeded in recovering the Lunatic Pandora; Zell 

decides to sneak aboard to take a look. According to Odine, the Pandora 

should stop over at 3 points in Esthar within a period of 20 minutes:

15:00~12:00 -- Center of Esthar. You have 5 to 8 minutes to make it 

               there.

10:00~5:00 -- Juncture 'X' marked on the map above. It'll take about 

              10 to 15 minutes for the Pandora to reach there.

3:00~0:00 -- North of the Shopping Mall, where a dead end is marked. 

             You have 17 minutes to station yourselves there.

Boarding the Pandora as early as possible allows Zell to explore more 

of it. You can use the 'Square' button to view the locations of the 

stop-overs. I'll guide you to the 1st one:

1. Exit Odine's Laboratory.

2. Move 2 screens right when you reach the highway. You'll pass by 2 

   signs marked 'Left Side' and 'Right Side'.

3. Head up at the juncture.

4. Climb the stairs to your left.

5. You've reached the city center. The Presidential Palace should be 

   visible in the background. Wait for the Pandora. You have to defeat

   a few Galbadian troopers before actually getting into the Pandora.

###########################################

3.18. [Lunatic Pandora]

Enemies: G-Solider, Elite Soldier, GIM52A, SAM08G

Draw Points: Curaga, Meteor, Holy, Confuse, Silence, Ultima

G.Fs: Phoenix (Phoenix Pinion)

Magazines: Combat King 005

Blue Magic: Ray-Bomb

###########################################

What you did in Laguna's 2nd Scenario (event 1p.) way back in Disc One

affects the areas accessible to you here. I'll assume you activated all

the traps during the 2nd Scenario.

If you didn't activate all the traps, then just head straight for the

green 01 elevator after climbing the stairs, and follow the trail (it

only splits once; take the northern path) to get dumped out of the

Pandora by a rather unfriendly machine.

Right from the start you'll find a 'Meteor' Draw Point (which recovers 

quite fast). Head up the stairs and take the blue 02 elevator. Follow

the path, and when it splits, take the left route.

Proceed (it's a one-way path anyway) until you reach a red 03

elevator. To the bottom-right of the screen should be a couple of

stairs. Run down from there to reach a ladder; descend to find a

'Confuse' DP. Go right into the tunnel to get a 'Love Love G', which is

hidden. You'll need to examine the area.

Head left from the 'Confuse' draw point, and you'll eventually see 3

opened doors. Each of them hides a gift. Starting from the right

door: 1 Power Generator (lets Quistis learn Ray-Bomb), a 'Silence'

draw point, followed by a Phoenix Pinion.

Proceed further left to find a copy of 'Combat King 005' on the ground.

Head all the way into the background, then go left and examine a hidden

area to the left of the door for an 'Ultima' draw point. Make your way

back to the red 03 elevator you passed earlier on.

The red elevator should take you back to the lobby. Make your way left 

and board the green 01 elevator. You'll find a 'Holy' DP here. There's

also a small alcove to the left of the screen; examine it to find a

'Spd-J Scroll'.

A save point awaits when you move north. Directly above it will be 

a fork in the route; choose the northern one for the party to be

rather unceremoniously kicked out of the Pandora. All other routes

in the Pandora lead to dead-ends.

##########################################

3.19. [Lunar Base]

Draw Points: Meteor, Meltdown

Rare Cards: Alexander (Piet), Laguna (Ellone)

##########################################

Squall will wake up at the Lunar Dock. Run over to pick up Rinoa, then

follow Piet into the Med Lab. Place Rinoa in the chamber, save and exit.

Outside the Med Lab, keep moving up to reach the Control Room. Examine

the panels to the upper-right for a short sequence before talking to

Piet. Choose the 2nd option to ask about Ellone's whereabouts.

Incidentally, Piet holds G.F. Alexander's card, but it'll take a while

to win it due to the 'Random' rule here. Leave the Control Room.

Squall will see a flight of stairs to the left of the screen. Ascend 

that and go through the door. You can talk to the girl standing in the 

tunnel (take note of the Locker Room to the right) for a sequence 

introducing Adel. Proceed down the corridor.

Ellone will be waiting for you behind the door to the south, but before 

you talk to her, have Squall initiate Card Battle. She holds Laguna's 

card, which when refined gives you 100 of those Hero's Medicine. These

items will make your quest ridiculously easy. However, expect the 

'Random' rule to cause a lot of resetting and replaying on your part. 

Squall will ask of Ellone to take a look at Rinoa, but an accident 

prevents them from getting any further. Head to the Med Lab. Squall

will be powerless to stop Rinoa (he'll be bounced away each time you

try to get near), so just retrace your steps back to the Control Room.

Check the panel after Rinoa has made her presence felt.

Next, tail Rinoa to the 2F Locker Room... you'll witness a 'Lunar

Cry', the same catastrophe which destroyed the Centra continent 80

years ago. Enter the Locker Room now, and examine the lockers for

Squall's astronaut outfit. Head to the air lock on the left. It'll be

a futile pursuit for Rinoa; make your way into the foreground after the

air lock shuts, and return to the Control Room.

Converse with everyone here, followed by Ellone. Head right to reach an

elevator, and descend using it. Save when you reach the bottom, then

proceed right. Enter the un-occupied escape pod.

[Escape Pod]

Squall pleads with Ellone to transfer him into Rinoa's memories; Ellone 

lets him witness 3 separate incidents: one involves Rinoa forcing 

Irvine to turn back to D-District Prison to rescue the rest; another has 

Rinoa asking Zell if he could help her get a replica of Squall's ring.

*spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*

The final one will be a scene after defeating Edea in Galbadia Garden. 

Squall watches as Ultimecia transfers herself from Edea into Rinoa's 

body... she wakes Seifer up, and orders him to salvage the Pandora.

Squall decides to risk his life to try save Rinoa. Upon climbing out 

of the escape pod, you have to play a mini-game:

Use the d-pad and mash away at the 'Triangle' (U.S) or 'X' (Japanese)

button to adjust Squall's point of view until you see Rinoa in the

center of the screen. Keep her positioned in the center, and when the

timer hits zero you'll be reunited. A bit of a no-brainer, actually.

Enjoy the FMV sequence!

############################################

3.20. [Ragnarok]

Enemies: Propagator

Draw Points: Life, Cura, Full-life

#############################################

Check the panel to the left to close the air lock, then proceed upwards. 

Rinoa will playfully ask Squall for a hug ^_^ Anyway, head up one more 

screen when she's done.

You'll find that you have company... aliens. They have the ability to 

regenerate themselves when you kill them; the only solution is to 

defeat them in pairs. 

By that I mean out of the 8 aliens you find on board the Ragnarok, 

there'll be a pair of yellow, red, green and purple aliens. You must 

kill 2 of the same kind *consecutively*. However, these guys attack

the moment they spot you, so you have to be quick to dodge them.

Start your alien hunt (remember to junction your party) by heading to 

the right and descending the steps. You'll find a purple one at the 

bottom of the stairs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

BOSS: Propagator  HP: 3,800

                  Draw List: Thundaga, Esuna, Life, Curaga  AP: 5

These guys share the same statistics. Well, they're quick on the 

offensive and like to cast both 'Thundara' and 'Silence', so you might

want to be well-protected from these 2 spells. Actually, what I usually

do with them is to have Squall and Rinoa junction 'Sleep' to Status 

Attack -- they're pretty weak against that. Make sure your 2 members 

have a high Strength rating for a quick and effortless victory.

------------------------------------------------------------------- 

There'll be 2 doors in front of you; take the left one. Behind this door 

lurks a red alien -- you don't want to face him now, so make a beeline 

for the door to the left upon entering this area to dodge his charge. 

The next room holds a purple alien. Toast him.

Back-track to the previous room now, and defeat the red alien. Go 

through the door to the south, back to where you fought your 1st 

purple alien. Climb the stairs to the right to find yet another red 

alien for the kill. 

Descend back down to the 1F. This time, enter the door in the 

upper-right corner (it's a bit hard to see it) to pay a visit to a 

green alien. 

Save here when you're done with him. Now go to where you 1st met a 

red alien, then move 2 screens left to find a green one. He'll be 

number six to go down.

Look for a door to the left; step through to face a yellow alien in 

the Passenger Deck. The panel behind it tells Squall what you already 

know: defeat the eight aliens in pairs of the same colour. 

Finally, proceed back to where you first entered the Ragnarok; you'll 

find your last yellow alien along the way. You know what to do with 

him, don't you? Save afterwards.

Make your way back to where you found your 2nd green alien, and 

ascend the elevator it guarded. Enjoy the romantic little scene with 

Squall and Rinoa.

*spoiler here... skip this section if you wish*

As Rinoa snuggles up to Squall, the latter asks why she wants to be 

so close to him. Rinoa responds by saying, "Isn't this what Squall 

wants?" ^_^ but Squall says he's a bit un-accustomed. 

Upon further questioning, Squall admits that he dislikes being tied 

down by emotions... because he's afraid of losing his loved ones. 

Later on, when Rinoa is identified as the witch who freed Adel, Squall 

comforts her, believing she has led him down the right path... and that 

he'll never let go of her.

*end spoiler*

     "Eyes on Me"

     Performed by Faye Wong

     Music Composed by Nobuo Uematsu

     Lyrics by Kazumi Someya

     Whenever sang my songs

     On the stage, on my own

     Whenever said my words

     Wishing they would be heard

     I saw you smiling at me

     Was it real or just my fantasy

     You'd always be there in the corner

     Of this tiny little bar 

     My last night here for you

     Same old songs, just once more

     My last night here with you?

     Maybe yes, maybe no

     I kind of liked it your way

     How you shyly placed your eyes on me

     Oh, did you ever know?

     That I had mine on you 

     Darling, so there you are

     With that look on your face

     As if you're never hurt

     As if you're never down

     Shall I be the one for you

     Who pinches you softly but sure

     If frown is shown then

     I will know that you are no dreamer 

     So let me come to you

     Close as I wanna be

     Close enough for me

     To feel your heart beating fast

     And stay there as I whisper

     How I loved your peaceful eyes on me

     Did you ever know

     That I had mine on you 

     Darling, so share with me

     Your love if you have enough

     Your tears if you're holding back

     Or pain if that's what it is

     How can I let you know

     I'm more than the dress and the voice

     Just reach me out then

     You will know that you're not dreaming  

Note: Lyrics courtesy of 'Musical World of Final Fantasy'. Refer to 

      the Credits section for more details.

[Ragnarok]

After Rinoa's departure, head back into the Passenger Deck of the 

Ragnarok. Squall will be reprimanded by Quistis for not stopping 

Rinoa... he decides to reclaim his love from the Estharians. Proceed 

to the cockpit of the Ragnarok to launch the ship.

[piloting the ragnarok]

The Ragnarok can land on practically any terrain, with the exception

of forests, water and some cities. It doesn't consume any Fuel either,

so fly it all you want.

U.S version controls:

Up/Down: Points the nose of the Ragnarok downwards and upwards

         respectively

Left/Right: Changes direction ship is facing

Right Analog-Stick: Moves ship forward or backward

Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and

       pauses the game

Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off

X: Lands the ship. The Ragnarok is capable of landing on any type of

   terrain, with the exception of water and steep mountainous areas /

   Press to mount the ship

Triangle: Reverses ship

Square: Accelerates ship

Circle: Return to Ragnarok's cockpit

R1: Rotates the camera clockwise

L1: Rotates the camera anti-clockwise

R2: Switches between view points

Japanese version controls:

Up/Down: Points the nose of the Ragnarok downwards and upwards

         respectively

Left/Right: Changes direction ship is facing

Right Analog-Stick: Moves ship forward or backward

Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and

       pauses the game

Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off

Circle: Lands the ship. The Ragnarok is capable of landing on any type

        of terrain, with the exception of water and steep mountainous

        areas/Press to mount the ship

X: Reverses ship

Square: Accelerates ship

Triangle: Return to Ragnarok's cockpit

R1: Rotates the camera clockwise

L1: Rotates the camera anti-clockwise

R2: Switches between view points 

Btw, the Ragnarok has an auto-pilot feature. Hit 'Select' until you 

get to view the full world map, move the cursor to your destination 

and push the 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' (Japanese) button to confirm. Press

the cancel button while the Ragnarok is on auto-pilot mode to switch

this function off.

Some of you may wonder how to get back into Fishermans Horizon or

Balamb Garden; simply fly the Ragnarok over F.H, and land.

#############################################

3.21. [Sorceress Memorial]

Draw Points: Stop

#############################################

It's located on the Estharian continent, south of Lunatic Pandora 

Laboratory. Check your map. 

Just run into the complex, where the Esthar guards will let Squall 

through to see Rinoa one last time. Of course, Squall has other ideas. 

Head to the upper-left opening to rescue Rinoa when the party makes 

their intentions clear to the engineers there. You can leave now.

[Ragnarok]

Back in the cockpit of the Ragnarok, Rinoa apologises for the trouble 

she had caused. She suggests heading to Edea's Orphanage for a quieter 

and less crowded environment.

But before you do that, a wide array of optional events have been 

opened up with the acquisition of the Ragnarok... I suggest you do 

them first before proceeding to Edea's Orphanage.

Also, Rinoa will be behind some of your members in levels... make sure

you build her up, and don't neglect resuming learning her 'Combine' 

limit breaks with Angelo.

She has also learnt a new limit break, 'Angel Wing'. This skill puts

her in 'Berserked' status, but she'll cast spells (NOT from your

stocked magic lists) at random instead of doing physical attacks. Each

spell used under this condition by Rinoa hits for approximately 5

times the damage.

###########################################

3.22. [Cactuar Desert] 

Enemies: Cactuar

G.Fs: Cactuar

###########################################

To the east of Kashkabald Desert on the Centra continent will be a

small island. You will be able to spot a Cactuar appearing and 

disappearing at random on this island, so land your Ragnarok and run 

over to confront it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

BOSS G.F: Jumbo Cactuar  HP: 60,000  Weak: Water  

                         Draw List: Meltdown, Demi, Tornado  AP: 20

This guy has a few pretty nasty attacks; it'll slam itself down on your

party, causing moderate sums of damage to everyone, or cast '10,000 

Needles' which damages a character for 10,000 HP, so stock up on those 

Phoenix Downs and Life spells. G.F. Alexander's 'Revive' command

ability's useful too.

What you'll want to do here is to junction 'Water' to Elemental Attack 

and have Leviathan at the ready. Cast 'Meltdown' if you have it. If 

Squall gets hit by '10,000 Needles', revive him with a Phoenix Down, 

but don't heal him -- his Renzokuken works well on the Jumbo Cactuar.

After enduring quite a bit of damage, the Jumbo Cactuar may begin to

hesitate; cease all weak attacks, and finish it off with Leviathan or

Renzokuken. Otherwise, it'll run away, and you'll have to start all

over again.

You'll acquire a new G.F. for your troubles. Btw, *only* Cactuars 

appear on this island, so head here the next time you want some A.P.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

G.F. Cactuar offers a wide variety of level up bonuses such as 

'HP Bonus' and 'Vitality Bonus' character ability. Junction it to a 

party member who's about to gain a level to make full use of them.

##########################################

3.23. [Deep Sea Research Center Part One] 

Enemies: Anacondaur, Blood Soul, Ruby Dragon

G.Fs: Bahamut

Rare Cards: Bahamut

Blue Magic: Fire Breath

##########################################

It's not on the map, but it's located out in the open seas in the 

south-western corner of the world. Land your ship on it, and make your 

way into the interior of the building.

Inside will be a spinning blue light which goes on and off at random. 

Walk only when the light is turned off, and keep inching your way 

towards the blue core. You'll be forced into combat should you move 

with the lights on.

Upon reaching the center, examine it and select the 1st option. The

following chain of events will see you getting involved in 3 

consecutive battles.

--------------------------------------------------------------------- 

ENEMY: Ruby Dragon  HP: Variable  Weak: Ice, Holy  

                    Strong vs.: Fire, Wind

                    Draw List: Firaga, Reflect, Flare, Meteor  AP: 14

It's much tougher this time around, and its 'Breath' attack can take 

away quite a substantial amount of damage. The previous tactics you 

used against it don't work quite as well as they used to, so just 

cast 'Meltdown' on it and have Squall unleash his Renzokuken.

If they drop a 'Inferno Fang', use it on Quistis for her to learn

'Fire Breath'. Junction 'Firaga' to Elemental Defense beforehand for

these battles. Or you could simply use G.F. Tonberry's 'Level Down'

command ability on the Ruby Dragon (hey, it's only an enemy, not a boss).

(note: You can obtain 10 Aura Stones by refining a Power Wrist through

 Siren's 'Tools Refinement' Menu Ability. Power Wrists are purchasable

 from the Pet Store in Esthar's Shopping Mall.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Re-examine the core and take the 2nd option for another fight with a 

Ruby Dragon. You begin this one with your backs turned, so be careful!

If you're lucky enough, Odin will step in both times to help you finish

off the dragons.

Search the panel one last time and pick the invisible 3rd option.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

BOSS G.F: Bahamut  HP: 65,200  Strong vs.: Poison, Thunder, Wind

                   Draw List: Flare, Curaga, Full-life, Dispell  AP: 40

Bahamut has a pretty high offensive rating, and if you take too long 

to defeat him, his Mega Flare will take away roughly 4,000 HPs of 

damage from everyone. Minimise damage with 'Protect' and 'Shell'.

Bahamut's also weak against 'Blind'.

Simply use the same tactic outlined for the Ruby Dragons above (cast

Meltdown on Bahamut, use Aura on Squall, followed by his Renzokuken)

and you should do just fine. Bahamut will give up his card when you

defeat him; change this using Quezacotl's 'Card Mod.' menu ability for

a whopping 100 Megalixirs!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Bahamut will be one of your best G.Fs; be sure to learn his 'Rare Item'

party ability. Bahamut also offers the Ability x4 junction ability.

Leave the island for now, and talk to everyone (especially Zell) once

you're back on the Ragnarok. Head to the nearest town (Winhill), stock

up on curative spells, items, re-organize your party and save.

##########################################

3.24. [Deep Sea Research Center Part Two] (note: You'll need to have Zell

                                               in your party)

Enemies: Bomb, Behemoth, Grendel, Tri-Face, Imp, Blue Dragon, Ruby

         Dragon, Iron Giant

Draw Points: Triple, Dispel, Ultima, Esuna

G.Fs: Eden (Ultima Weapon)

Rare Cards: Eden (Ultima Weapon)

##########################################

This event occurs after you've spoken with everyone in the cockpit of

the Ragnarok. Actually, you can choose to do this event without Zell's

help, but I'm too lazy to write an alternate walkthrough ^_^

There should be a thick vine where the hole previously was; descend 

into the depths of the island using that. Due to the relative 

inactivity of the place, you have to make use of the island's remaining 

power to reach the bottom.

You'll need 4 out of 20 reserve steam power units to open the 1st gate,

according to the computer you come across upon descending from the vine.

Go through the now opened hatch in the floor.

On a side note, the enemies you encounter here can get annoying. Use

Quistis 'Degenerator' blue magic if you have it to plow through them.

A majority of them are also weak against 'Sleep'.

Examine the computer on the next floor, and use 2 units of power to 

open the hatch. Proceed down.

The next screen will have 2 doors, controlled by 2 computers. If Zell 

is in your party, you can ignore the door to the left (which 

incidentally, is also controlled by the computer to the left) and 

examine the right computer. Have it use 1 unit of power to open the 

hatch in the floor. Head down.

For the upcoming floors, just use 1 unit of power to open the hatches. 

When you do reach the bottom via an elevator, Zell will repair the

machinery you see to open the gate to the left (2nd option). Step

through this gate to find a save point a bit further down.

Follow the one-way path until you reach the very bottom of this island. 

You should locate a save point and a red computer panel. Go for the 

former first (use Siren's 'Move-Find' party ability to see it), then

examine the computer panel.

Tip:

Make sure someone has the 'Draw' command; you won't want to miss out

on the most powerful G.F in the upcoming battle.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

BOSS: Ultima Weapon  HP: 100,000  

                     Draw List: Regen, Dispell, Ultima, Eden  AP: 100

Draw G.F. Eden from it right from the start. Apart from having a 

ridiculously high offensive rating, the Ultima Weapon's 'Light Pillar' 

attack can take away 9,999 worth of HP damage from a single member. 

Keep those Phoenix Downs at the ready!

When it's not using 'Light Pillar' (which it does too frequently), the

Ultima Weapon's capable of 'Gravija', 'Quake' and 'Meteor' too.

Cast Meltdown on the Ultima Weapon, followed by Aura on Squall. Have

him (with a high Strength and Speed rating) unleash his Renzokuken.

Your remaining members should just heal, and if you can spare a few

turns, draw 'Ultima' spells from the Weapon.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

You'll get 100 Ultima Stones and Eden's card for your efforts. Save and 

exit. Eden should be your last and only G.F. that's capable of doing 5 

digit damage. It also has the 'G.F Ability Med. Refinement' menu

ability, in addition to a quirky little command ability called Devour.

When consumed, certain enemies yield status bonuses such as

'Strength +1', i.e. the T-Rexaur. Here's a more or less complete list:

Adamantoise: Devour at levels 30-100 for 'Vitality +1'.

Behemoth: Devour at levels 40-100 for 'Magic +1'.

Malboro: Devour at levels 30-100 for 'Spirit +1'.

PuPu: Devour at levels 30-100 for 'Speed +1'.

Ruby Dragon: Devour at levels 45-100 for 'Max. HP +10'.

T-Rexaur: Devour at levels 30-100 for 'Strength +1'.

You might have yet to encounter some enemies stated above; they'll

appear soon enough if you continue reading this guide.

Side events: You'll face a plethora of powerful enemies here. These 

include Iron Giants, Blue Dragons, Ruby Dragons and Behemoths. Should

you choose to fight them, Tonberry's 'Level Down' command will be 

helpful, along with Quistis' Degenerator. Most the enemies are also

weak against 'Sleep', so use that to your advantage.

#########################################

3.25. [Shumi Tribe Village Revisited 2] 

##########################################

Laguna's statue should be completed by now. Converse with the Shumis 

and the guests from F.H at the Workshop, followed by the village head

before you leave.

Btw, the 'Ultima' Draw Point should be your main source of Ultima 

spells, so be sure to return here occasionally! You won't be able to 

re-enter the Shumi Tribe Village on Disc Four (or any other town for 

that matter).

##########################################

3.26. [UFO Sightings] 

Enemies: UFO, PuPu

Rare Cards: PuPu

##########################################

Sometimes in a battle, you'll notice that Squall appears to be facing 

an invisible adversary... only for an UFO to appear and disappear. 

Here're the 4 locations where you should encounter this:

1. Along the eastern shores of the Timber continent (Mandy Beach,

   which is south-east of Roshfall Forest).  

2. Around the Winhill Bluffs region.

3. On the island east of Trabia Garden (Trabia Heath Peninsula region). 

4. In Kashkabald Desert (Centra region).

The UFO appears even if you've got 'Encounter None' equipped. Use that

party ability to speed up your search, and to avoid unwanted battles.

You only need to encounter it once in each of the 4 areas.

Once you've sighted it 4 times, proceed to the cliffs north of the 

Chocobo Sanctuary and Grandidi Forest, in the north-east on the

Overworld, and land your Ragnarok there. Run around a bit to encounter

the UFO; defeat it.

Now having at least 5 Elixirs on hand (purchasable from Johnny's Shop

in Esthar's Shopping Mall, or use Alexander's 'Medicine Level Up' menu

ability to further refine 10 Remedy Pluses), head to the Balamb region 

for another meeting with the UFO. Use the 5 Elixirs on PuPu to receive

its card. You can choose to kill it, but I think the rewards aren't as

great (an Accelerator, which earns a G.F the 'Auto Haste' ability).

You can modify this card for a 'Hungry Cookpot', then further refine

this via Siren's 'Tools Refinement' menu ability to obtain a 'Shaman

Stone'. Finally, use Eden's 'G.F. Ability Med. RF' menu ability to

get a Rosetta Stone (lets a G.F. learn 'Ability x4' junction ability).

###########################################

3.27. [Islands Closest to Heaven & Hell] 

Enemies: Chimera, Grendel, Malboro, Hexadragon, Blue Dragon, Ruby

         Dragon, T-Rexaur

Draw Points: Aura, Full-life, Tornado, Quake, Flare, Meteor, Holy,

             Ultima, Triple

G.Fs: Doomtrain

########################################### 

The Heaven Island is located near the Chocobo Sanctuary and is 

north-east of Esthar. The Hell Island is located to the south-west of 

Deling City (use your menu screen to get the name of your current

location). Both islands hold numerous draw points on them, some of

which include Flare, Holy, Meteor, Aura, Triple and Ultima. They're

all hidden, though.

These points recover quite fast, and will be your source of high class 

spells in ff 8. However, the enemies you'll find here will *always* be 

at lv. 100. They include Malboros, Blue Dragons, Ruby Dragons, 

Hexadragons, T-Rexaurs and Grendels. Equip Diablos' 'Encounter None' 

party ability for an easier time picking up spells.

Btw, if you've yet to get G.F Doomtrain, steal 6 Malboro Tentacles

from the Malboros on the Heaven or Hell Island. Combine this with 6

Steel Pipes (mug low-level Wendigos) and 6 Remedy Pluses (use G.F

Alexander's 'Med. Level Up' menu ability to refine 60 Remedies). Next,

locate the Solomon Ring at Tears' Point and use it in the Item screen.

###########################################

3.28. [Timber Region: Obel Lake Quest] 

###########################################

When you examine the lake north of Timber, Squall will be presented 

with 2 options:

- Throw a rock.

- Try humming.

Hum to have a shadow in the lake talk to you; it'll ask of Squall 

to locate a monkey. Head on over to the forest west of Dollet; run 

around a bit in there until a message pops up to say the animal was 

sighted. You may need to keep pressing the 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' 

(Japanese) button for that to happen.

Report back to the shadow and it'll hint at the existence of 4 special 

rocks in the world. To get clues for the locations of all 4 rocks, 

have Squall throw a rock until it bounces six times (this occurs

randomly) before humming again for the shadow. The 4 locations are:

1. Along the shores of Balamb. You'll have to find a rock with an

   inscription on it.

2. The tiny island to the east of Timber, north of the Horizon Bridge.

3. The cliffs south of Galbadia Garden (or what used to be the Garden). 

   You have to land the Ragnarok on the cliff above the waterfall 

   nearby. Examine the ground above the waterfall.

4. The forest west of Dollet.

Examine these locations with the 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' (Japanese) to

find the rocks. Each has it own unique inscription.

When rearranged, you'll get a message from the 4 rocks about a hidden 

treasure in the plains north of Esthar. Pilot your Ragnarok over there, 

and comb the Mordred Plains. You can't trigger the hidden treasure event

unless you locate all 4 rocks first.

There'll be tons of talking stones (Moais?) here; try to locate a red

one, and go the opposite direction it tells you to. Keep searching and

you'll eventually find a red stone which tells you that, "The treasure

is not here." 

Examine the same area again to obtain a 'Three Stars' item, which grants

a G.F. the 'Expendx3-1' character ability (use 3 spells in a row for the

cost of only 1).

If you need a hint, I'll say it's located in the south-east of the 

plains, but not too far away from the center of it. Happy searching! 

It took me quite a while too.

Apart from this event, the shadow will drop several other hints... one

will be regarding another hidden treasure; head for Eldbeak Peninsula,

which is on Trabia, north from Balamb. Examine the tip of the peninsula

to get an inscription: "TRETIMEASUREATMINOFFDEISLE"

Fly the Ragnarok over to Minde Isle, which is a small island south-west

of Esthar City. Search the southern regions of the island for a 'Luck-J

Scroll'.

"Back in the day, south of here, there used to be a small but beautiful

village surrounded by deep forests. Everyone lived a happy life there."

He's simply telling you about a forgotten village, located in a

clearing in a strangely shaped forest to the east of Edea's Orphanage.

Search the area to see Squall's comments, but you won't get anything

for this.

The other hint about taking a break at railroad bridges simply refers

to the hidden draw points found on them.

###########################################

3.29. [Other Side Events] 

###########################################

You may have covered these earlier on in the game; the following section

serves as a quick check-list for them, and in which Disc they were

covered in the Walkthrough section.

Dollet: Bone searching (1.14.)

Timber: Saving the little girl (2.9.)

Winhill: Pieces of the Vase (2.10.)

Shumi Tribe Village: Finding the 5 stones (2.12.)

Centra Ruins: Defeating Odin (2.13.)

 (before entering Esthar)

Centra Ruins: Defeating Tonberry King (3.6.)

Chocobo Forests: Solving the puzzles (3.7.)

CC Group Quest: Finding and defeating the members in Balamb Garden (3.8.)

#############################################

3.30. [Edea's Orphanage Revisited] (note: Take Rinoa along)

Rare Cards: Edea (Edea), Seifer (Cid)

#############################################

Follow Angelo to a field of flowers. It's to the left of where you

entered the orphanage.

*spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*

Rinoa confides in Squall of her worries, that one day Ultimecia will 

awaken the sorceress within her. Squall says that there can always be

a kind-hearted sorceress, but is unable to answer when Rinoa tells of

her fear that the world will turn against her. However, Squall promises 

Rinoa that he'll defeat Ultimecia for her sake... and in turn makes 

her promise that she'll never leave his side (this is actually a 

reference to the strange opening of ff 8, because both Squall and 

Rinoa say the same words as those appearing in the opening).

Go into the Orphanage to meet up with Edea. According to her, there's 

a special person who can dispell a sorceress' fears -- her Knight. 

Edea advises Rinoa to leave her safety in the hands of such a 

person... upon which Rinoa responds to by looking at Squall -- she's 

already found her Knight ^_^ You can leave now for Esthar.

Side events: If you haven't done so already, Edea and Cid hold Edea's 

and Seifer's card respectively, so you might want to take time off to 

get them. It won't be easy winning those cards, though.

############################################

3.31. [Esthar President -- Esthar City]

Enemies: Imp, Iron Giant, Turtapod, Imp, Elnoyle (rare)

Rare Cards: Squall (Esthar President)

############################################

Now that you have the Ragnarok, you can land directly in Esthar. Try

looking around for a tall building with a landing pad on it -- that

should be the Esthar Air-Station. It's more convenient compared to

landing outside Esthar City, then making your way across the highways.

It'll be populated by monsters as a result of the Lunar Cry; head to 

the Presidential Palace as soon as possible. Follow the path all the 

way left when Squall gets off the elevator pod.

Tip:

If you've yet to visit Edea at her Orphanage, then Squall won't be

allowed to meet the Esthar President.

You'll finally meet up with the President of Esthar. When Squall talks 

to him, you'll have 4 topics to ask him about:

- Explain the mission to defeat Ultimecia.

- Where's Ellone?

- Tell me about Raine.

- What are you doing here? (follow this one with the 1st choice to make 

  him continue his story)

You can choose the first option to move the plot quickly, but I suggest 

you take time off to see what he has been up to for the past few years.

*spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*

Basically, Laguna journeys off to Esthar to rescue Ellone, who was one 

of the many taken as a possible successor to Adel's rule during her 

time. However, Adel recognizes Ellone's hidden talents and decides to 

take her power... only to be betrayed by her own lust for power as

Laguna tricks her into entering the sealing capsule, which a holographic

image of Ellone had been beamed onto. They use the Ragnarok to station

the sealed up Adel in space, but with the sudden loss of a President,

Esthar falls into confusion; thus under the name of a 'hero', Laguna 

was elected as the new President. 

Taking the first option results in an elaborate explanation by Doctor

Odine. It's rather confusing too. When he's done, the President will

volunteer to continue the briefing aboard the Ragnarok:

- Yes.

- I have questions.

I'll leave this up to you. 

*spoiler here... skip this section if you wish*

Next, I'll *attempt* to summarize Odine's plan:

Truth be told, Ultimecia exists in Squall's time only in her mental 

state; her physical self is stationed in the future. However, being a 

sorceress herself, Ultimecia can only possess the sorceress of each era. 

This technique of transferring one's mind between time is only used by 

Ellone in Squall's era, but apparently in the future, anyone has the 

ability to do this, thanks to an invention by Doctor Odine. To defeat

Ultimecia, the party will have to travel to the future to confront her

physical being.

Ultimecia's goal is to cause total time compression, which is the 

reason why she has come to this time seeking Ellone's powers. To make 

her task easier, she has to possess the most powerful sorceress of this 

era, which will be Adel. Thus, after rescuing Ellone from the Pandora,

Squall will have to seek out the un-awakened Adel and defeat her,

forcing Ultimecia to possess Rinoa instead.

This is when Ellone steps in. To bait Ultimecia (whose aim is to travel 

even further back in time), she'll transport both Rinoa and Ultimecia 

into the past minds of the sorceresses before this time. Ultimecia 

will then initiate time compression, upon which Ellone will immediately 

cut both of them off from the past.

With time compressed now, Squall and company will have to head for the 

future, where the final confrontation with Ultimecia awaits.  

*end spoiler*

Side events: The President of Esthar holds Squall's card, quite 

possibly the best in the game. Be sure to win it from him.

Also, in Esthar itself will be a creature known as the Elnoyle, a 

black and yellow winged demon which resembles the Elvoret you fought 

way back in Dollet in Disc One.

You can encounter them randomly (low encounter rate) or look for a 

black creature standing on one of the highways in Esthar (point E on 

the map I've drawn up above in the Esthar City section, event 4n).

It'll simply laugh when Squall talks to it, but you have to fight it.

Exit and re-enter this screen for it to reappear again.

You can steal Moon Stones from the Elnoyle, or defeat it when they're

at levels 40 and above to make it drop Energy Crystals. Both are

essential items for weapon upgrading; get a Moon Stone and 8 Energy

Crystals from it.

Also, you can refine Energy Crystals via Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu

ability to get Pulse Ammo. These are Irvine's best ammunition for his

'Shot' limit break.

[Ragnarok]

The Esthar President will summarize what Odine has said, but I think it 

only serves to confuse one even more ^_^

If you re-enter the Passenger Deck after the briefing, both Kiros

and Ward will drop clues about Squall's parents...

Anyway, your next destination will be Lunatic Pandora (it's floating 

right over Tears' Point) in the south-east of the Esthar region, but 

going there means proceeding onto Disc Four. I suggest you do a bit of 

running around before that to upgrade your weapons one last time, and 

pick up any items you may have missed.

#############################################

3.32. [Miscellaneous Updates Part Three] (note: I recommend you at least

                                        read through this section)

Enemies: Adamantoise (Long Horn Island)

         Torama, Behemoth, Iron Giant, Elnoyle (Esthar)

Rare Cards: Ward (Dr. Odine), Squall (Esthar President), Alexander

            (Piet), Kiros, Irvine, Chubby Chocobo, Doomtrain, Phoenix

            (Card Queen Quest)

Blue Magic: White Wind, Mighty Guard, Ray-Bomb, Shockwave Pulsar,

            Fire Breath, Homing Laser, Bad Breath

Weapons: Lion Heart (Squall), Shooting Star (Rinoa), Ehrgeiz (Zell),

         Save the Queen (Quistis), Strange Vision (Selphie), Exeter

         (Irvine)

##############################################

{Weapons}

Let's start with the weapons first. 

Head to Long Horn Island, which is the narrow stretch of land 

consisting mostly of beaches north-west of Dollet. You can encounter 

Adamantoises (turtle-like creatures) here. First, plunder a 'Whisper'

(at levels 29 and below) from it, then defeat one of them for it to

drop Adamantine (at levels 30 and above). Win at least 3 of those.

Incidentally, Adamantine lets a G.F. learn 'Vitality +60%' character

ability, so get more of it if you can. Use Bahamut's 'Rare Item' party

ability to assist you. Adamantoises occasionally (but ONLY) appear on

the beaches.

Pilot Ragnarok over to the Esthar region and encounter enemies. You 

should find Toramas (long-whiskered leopards), Behemoths (enormous 

purple beasts -- low encounter rate) and Iron Giants (blue giants 

carrying swords). Plunder from all of them to receive Regen Rings 

(get 1 of these), Barrier (1 will do) and Star Fragments (get 5 of

these) respectively.

On a side note, a single Regen Ring can be refined using Siren's 'Life

Magic Refinement' menu ability to 20 'Full-life' spells -- these are

excellent junctioned to HP.

Squall's Lion Heart: One Adamantine, 4 Dragon Fangs (Blue Dragons on 

the Island Closest to Hell near Galbadia drop them - kill them

effortlessly with a 'Death' spell) and 12 Pulse Ammo (refine 2 Energy

Crystals via Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu ability. Or you could refine

Laser Cannons dropped rarely by Belhelmels in the region near Galbadia

Garden). The Lion Heart's finishing move, 'Lion Heart' (End of Heart)

should be your most powerful attack in the entire game.

Rinoa's Shooting Star: 2 Windmills (steal from level 30 and above

Thrustaevis - blue flying creatures - in the Timber region), 1 Regen

Ring, 1 Force Armlet (it's purchasable from the Pet Store in Esthar)

and 2 Energy Crystals (dropped by level 40 and above Elnoyles in

Esthar City).

Zell's Ehrgeiz: One Adamantine, 4 Dragon Skins (level 30 and above

Anacondaurs near the cliffs west of Dollet drop these) and one

Fury Fragment (mug Blue Dragons on the Island Closest to Hell).

Quistis' Save the Queen: 2 Malboro Tentacles (Malboros are found on

the Island Closest to Heaven or Hell), 4 Sharp Spikes (stolen from

Grand Mantis in the forests on the Centra continent) and 4 Energy

Crystals.

Selphie's Strange Vision: One Adamantine, 3 Star Fragments and 2 Curse

Spikes (level 20-29 Creeps in the sewers of Deling City drop them, and

so do level 30 and above Forbiddens in the Centra Ruins).

Irvine's Exeter: 2 Dino Bones (T-Rexaurs in Balamb Garden's Training 

Center and Hell Island drop these), 1 Moon Stone (mug Elnoyles in

Esthar City), 2 Star Fragments and 18 screws (from Geezards near the

cliffs of Galbadia and Dollet).

If you're wondering where Energy Crystals and Moon Stones come from,

try reading the 'Side events' in the previous section detailing your

meeting with the Esthar President.

{Blue Magic}

Next up, Quistis' remaining Blue Magicks. Use the Barrier you stole

from the Behemoth on her for her 'Mighty Guard' and the Whisper (from

the Adamantoise) for her 'White Wind'.

Also, level 30 and above Blitzs in the Centra forests carry Power

Generators; you'll have to mug them for it. However, the chances of

obtaining one is extremely rare; about 4.7%, to be exact. Most of the

time you'll get Betrayal Blades instead. Power Generators earn Quistis

her 'Ray-Bomb'.

Finally, collect 100 Curse Spikes from level 20-29 Creeps in the Deling

sewers or level 30 and above Forbiddens (skeletons armed with 2 swords)

from the Centra Ruins, then use Siren's 'Tools RF' menu ability to

receive Dark Matter and thus Quistis' final Enemy Skill, the Shockwave

Pulsar, one of only three sources in the whole of ff 8 which can do 5

digit damage (the other 2 attacks being G.F. Eden's 'Eternal Breath'

and Choco Buckle). 'Dark Matter' can only be refined when G.F. Siren's

at level 100.

(note: The Choco Buckle can only be gotten if you have a Pocket

       Station peripheral, which is sold separately. I won't detail

       the procedure here.)

Another 3 Enemy Skills which you may have forgotten would be her Fire 

Breath, Homing Laser and Bad Breath. Get the items from Ruby Dragons

on the Island Closest to Hell (mug them for Inferno Fangs), level 30

and above Belhelmels (rarely drop Laser Cannons when defeated) in the

ex-Galbadia Garden region (Monterosa Plateau), and Malboros on the

Island Closest to Heaven or Hell respectively.

{Rare Cards}

Once you've met all the CC Group members in Balamb Garden, you can

challenge the Card Queen outside Balamb City's train station. This

sparks off a Card Queen Quest which lets you complete your collection

of rare cards in ff 8. I'll detail it a bit further below. 

I'll give you an (easier) method of completing your card collection in

Disc Four later, though. Incidentally, if you forgot to get Ward's and

Squall's card, they're still winnable from Dr. Odine at his Laboratory

in Esthar City and the President of Esthar in the Passenger Deck of

the Ragnarok respectively.

Also, G.F. Alexander's card can still be won from Piet; he's located

at one of the southern tips of the Esthar continent, in the Abadan

Plains. You can't see him on the Overworld directly; you'll need to

actually run into the specific area to enter a field screen.

[Card Queen Quest]

The Queen of Cards resides outside the train station in Balamb City.

Upon winning or losing any level 8 or higher rare card from/to her,

she'll leave. Talk to her again to know where she's going. Below are

the 8 possible locations she can move to:

Balamb: Train station in Balamb City

Centra: Winhill's hotel

Dollet: Dollet 2F Pub

Esthar: Presidential Palace in Esthar City

F.H: Railway tracks in F.H, near Save point and 'Regen' draw point

Galbadia: Galbadia Hotel

Trabia: Shumi Tribe Village Inn

Far Away: Lunar Gate (she won't give a clue to her next destination

                      if she leaves from here; you'll have to find

                      her yourself)

Anyway, keep challenging her until she moves to Dollet. Talk to her

there using the 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' (Japanese) button, and ask about

her artist father (4th option). The Card Queen will then ask you for

one of your specific rare cards, which you must then lose to her

deliberately in Card Battle.

However, since Dollet has the 'Random' rule, losing the specific card

to the Card Queen might prove difficult. You might want to abolish it.

First, play a game in a region with a few simple rules, but lacking the

'Random' rule (i.e. Timber). Make sure that region also has a rule

which Dollet lacks. Proceed to Dollet, but save before you challenge

anyone here.

He or she will suggest combining rules; accept the challenge by saying

'Yes', but choose to 'Quit' instead of 'Play'. If the 'Random' rule

gets abolished, then you can continue in your quest. If another rule

gets added or abolished, then reset your game, and try again. If

nothing happens, challenge the person again. Alternatively, you can

modify all of your lower level cards, but I think that's kind of a

waste.

Each specified rare card lost to the Card Queen results in another

new rare card created (you can lose the specified rare card to her

anywhere after she's asked for it). However, you can regain your rare

cards which you lost on purpose by challenging the little boy living

with his artist grandpa, further down the road from the Pub in Dollet.

Any other cards lost can be won back from the Card Queen herself. As

for the locations of the newly created rare cards, I'll detail them a

bit further below.

After losing a rare card the Card Queen wanted, she'll move around the

world. You must pursue her until she returns to Dollet, upon which

she'll ask you for another rare card. This happens a total of 5 times;

thus, 5 new cards would have been created. These 5 cards however, must

be won from the people below. You must lose the specified rare card

to the Card Queen first before they'll hold the new card: 

{Kiros}

Lost Card: MiniMog

Win: Man in black at Deling City's shopping arcade

{Irvine}

Lost Card: Sacred

Win: Mayor Dobe's wife Flo, in F.H

{Chubby Chocobo}

Lost Card: Chicobo

Win: Student sitting outside Balamb Garden's Library

{Doomtrain}

Lost Card: Alexander

Win: Owner of Aphora Pub in Timber

{Phoenix}

Lost Card: Doomtrain

Win: President's Assistant in Esthar City's Presidential Palace room.

This quest might get tedious, so I advise you save often. The soft

reset option (pause the game, then press R1+R2+L1+L2+Select+Start)

helps too if you don't like the location the Card Queen's moving to.

If you're lucky, she'll just end up shuttling between Balamb City

and Dollet, which makes your job much easier. Needless to say, this

quest is only for the Card Battle fanatic ^_^

{Preparations}

You're almost up to the end dungeon here, which may require you to

have at least 4 of your characters junctioned *at all times* with G.Fs.

You'll want to do a bit of tweaking here to make sure your G.Fs are

evenly spread out, and that your characters are finely balanced in

terms of capability.

Okay, maybe you can survive with 3 junctioned characters. It's really

up to you to decide (read the section on Ultimecia's Castle in Disc

Four to find out more), but I advise you at least have 4 well

-junctioned members.

Purchase a few 'Amnesia Greens' from a Pet Store, and below are a few

tips I've put together to get you started. Make sure you've learnt

G.F Tonberry's 'Familiar' menu ability, Quezacotl's 'Card Mod.' menu

ability, and have plenty of Gil to spare. Saving beforehand helps too!

1. You'll want everyone to at least have spells junctioned to the 5 

   basic parameters: HP, Strength, Vitality, Magic and Spirit. 

   Buy these G.F. items from the Pet Store (Rin Rin's Shop) in Esthar. 

   Below are my recommendations for the type of spell to junction to 

   each parameter:

   HP: Full-life

   Strength: Ultima, Meteor or Aura

   Vitality: Meltdown

   Magic: Ultima, Triple or Pain

   Spirit: Reflect

   Where you choose to put 'Ultima' is entirely up to the type of 

   character you want to build: an attacker or a magic user. Of the 8 

   spells mentioned above, 3 of them won't be found on the Heaven and 

   Hell Islands. Here's how to get them:

   Meltdown: Draw from level 30 and above Gaylas in the Trabia region.

   Pain: Defeated lv. 20-29 Creeps in the sewers of Deling City drop 

         Curse Spikes; use Diablos' 'Status Magic Refinement' menu

         ability to get 'Pain' spells. Level 30 and above Forbiddens

         in the Centra Ruins also drop Curse Spikes.

   Reflect: Draw from level 30 and above Death Claws in the Centra

            forests, or use Leviathan's 'Support Magic Refinement' to

            refine a Dragon Skin (dropped by level 30 and above

            Anacondaurs in Roshfall Forest) for 20 'Reflect' spells. 

   Use Tonberry's 'Level Up' or 'Level Down' command to assist you.

2. Different G.Fs offer varying degrees of protection from Elemental 

   and Status spells, so try to divide these equally among your party. 

   Cards like Selphie's and Doomtrain's, when modified give you items 

   which allow you to add to the G.Fs' Elemental and Status Defense 

   properties, so make use of them.

3. Following that should be character abilities and G.F abilities such 

   as 'Strength +60%' or 'G.F HP +40%'. Let's start with G.Fs first. 

   Items such as Energy Crystals and Samantha's Soul (modify Quistis' 

   card) give pretty decent 'Summon Magic +?' bonuses (30% and 40% 

   respectively). Note that all G.F. abilities are cumulative.

   However, items which give decent 'G.F HP+?' bonuses are rare. I can 

   only recommend modifying Seifer's card to get 3 Diamond Armours 

   (G.F HP +40%).

   Character abilities are another matter altogether. The stores in 

   Esthar sell such items, i.e. Giant Rings (HP+40%) and Power Wrists

   (Strength+40%). Refining 10 of each via Eden's 'G.F Ability Med. 

   Refinement' gives you an upgraded version, i.e. 10 Giant Rings grant 

   you one Gaea's Ring (HP+80%). However, it might prove to be too 

   costly to actually buy them, so there's always cards to fall back 

   on. You can modify Ward's, Edea's, Zell's and Rinoa's cards for such 

   pricey items. Adamantine (Vitality+60%) can be gotten rather easily 

   however; defeat the Adamantoise on Long Horn Island's coasts 

   (north-west of Dollet) for them to drop the items. You can also

   modify G.F Minotaur's card for 10 Adamantines.

4. Items which increase your other parameters such as Speed or Luck

   are quite rare; I believe you won't pick up more than 5 of them

   on your journeys. Still, Irvine's card is one of the rare ones

   which grant you 'Speed +40%'.

5. Rosetta Stones give you 'Ability x4' junction abilities. Again, 

   these are very very rare.

   G.Fs which offer 'Ability x3' or 'Ability x4' include Diablos, 

   Carbuncle, Cerberus, Alexander and Bahamut, so you'll have to 

   modify one other G.F's list of abilities to include 'Ability x4' 

   for the sixth party member if you so wish.

6. There're a variety of ways to actually get the rarer bonus ability 

   items, but such methods are usually very time-consuming and pricey, 

   i.e. 50 Barriers for an Aegis Amulet which lets you junction spells

   to your Evasion parameter. Nonetheless, there're always a few 

   exceptions -- a modified Kiros card gives you 3 Accelerators, 

   which in turn grants you 3 'Auto Haste' character abilities.

7. Try toying around with the refinement system. You may come across 

   more excellent deals which I didn't cover.

8. Here's how my party eventually ended up:

   Squall: Brothers, Carbuncle, Bahamut, Cactuar

   Quistis: Quezacotl, Siren, Alexander, Eden

   Zell: Shiva, Diablos, Doomtrain

   Irvine: Ifrit, Pandemona, Cerberus

   These 4 have the best limit breaks, in my opinion. Teaming both

   Pandemona and Cerberus (Irvine) isn't exactly recommended, but I

   had enough 'Spd-J Scrolls' to spare on the rest.

   Rinoa: Leviathan

   Selphie: Tonberry

   I mainly use Rinoa and Selphie for healing purposes, so it helps

   if they have the 'Draw', 'Recover' or 'Item' commands. You'll have

   to do some modifications for Tonberry to include Junction abilities

   for Selphie, in this case.

Of course, do take note the above is just for the end dungeon. You 

won't be needing that for your next destination, the Pandora, but 

since both places are linked, I suggest you do the fine-tunings now to 

save yourself the hassle later.

Other final preparations include stocking up on items (refine as many 

Power Wrists to Aura Stones as possible) and spells (Heaven and Hell 

Islands), and learning the more useful G.F. abilities such as

Tonberry's 'Call Shop' and Diablos' 'Encounter None'.

Tip:

If you've been relying too much on your G.Fs for offensive measures,

now's the time to start using your characters to dish out the heavy

damage. Take my word for it... or the upcoming bosses will make life

VERY difficult ^_^

Also, take note that in Disc Four ALL towns are in-accessible, so you 

might want to make a separate save file just in case you missed 

anything. And mind you, Disc Four is closer than you think; right after 

the Pandora, in fact.

#############################################

3.33. [Re-entering Lunatic Pandora]

#############################################

In any case, pilot the Ragnarok over to Tears' Point in the south-east

of Esthar when you feel you're ready. Note that you have to actually

bash into the Pandora using your air-ship to trigger the upcoming set

of events.

Tip:

I get questions asking why nothing happens when they pilot the Ragnarok

towards the Pandora. You must have missed out on a few compulsory

events; saved Rinoa yet? Visited Edea yet? Met the Esthar President

in Esthar and then in the Ragnarok already? If not, complete those

events first.

##############################################

3.34. [Final Lunatic Pandora]

Enemies: Behemoth, Imp, Iron Giant, Torama, Turtapod

Draw Points: Curaga, Meteor, Holy, Silence, Confuse, Ultima

Blue Magic: Mighty Guard, Homing Laser

##############################################

You can talk to Selphie (or whoever's at the controls) to leave the 

Pandora after the FMV. If you're ready, take the elevator at the back,

then head for the Entrance to get out of the Ragnarok. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

BOSS: Raijin  HP: 22,200  Weak: Poison  Strong vs.: Thunder

              Draw List: Thundara, Thundaga, Shell, Protect

BOSS: Fujin  HP: 17,900  Weak: Poison  Strong vs.: Wind

             Draw List: Aero, Curaga, Full-life, Tornado

             Total AP: 20

Cast 'Blind' on Raijin to halt his physical attacks, then dispose of 

him using Squall's Renzokuken. Fujin likes to use support magic such 

as 'Haste' on herself, so break it using 'Dispell'. Watch out too for 

her 'Sai' (Shatter), which reduces a single member's HP to 1. You can

off her with Squall's limit break rather easily. Eden, Doomtrain and

Diablos work fine too.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow the 2 into the interior of the Pandora. In the next screen, head 

up before taking a left. You'll come across two old friends -- Biggs 

and Wedge, but they won't attack you. Save at the point nearby.

The next area of the Pandora should be very familiar to you; you were 

here when you hopped aboard the Pandora in Esthar. The valuable draw 

points such as 'Meteor' and 'Holy' are still there, so take time off to 

pick them up. Head for the green 01 elevator.

Side events: All enemies encountered in the Pandora are at level 1.

Try mugging the Behemoth for a 'Barrier' if you have yet to do so. It

lets Quistis learn her 'Mighty Guard'.

You should find a save point after a short walk from the lift. Make 

your preparations here and save before heading north. The Pandora 

offers nothing else; you should have picked up everything the last 

time you were here. If not, try referring back to the earlier Lunatic

Pandora invasion event in Esthar for a list of the items here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOSS: Mobile Type 8 BIS  HP: 46,000  Weak: Thunder

                         Draw List: Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, Flare   

SUB-BOSS: Right Probe  HP: 9,000  Weak: Thunder

                       Draw List: Curaga, Demi

SUB-BOSS: Left Probe  HP: 9,000  Weak: Thunder

                      Draw List: Curaga, Esuna

                      Total AP: 40

When it switches to 'Mobile Weaponary Attack Mode', it'll retaliate

against all physical attacks aimed at the main body, so keep to using

Thundaga spells, Quezacotl and Eden during this period to damage it.

After it changes to 'Support Weaponary Attack Mode' it'll launch its

'Corona', which decreases everyone's HP to one, so have a member cast

'Cerberus' at the start to put the party in 'Triple' status; this

enables a single person to heal everyone with Curaga. Or you could use

a Megalixir (modify Bahamut's card). Just do it quick, or the upcoming

'Megido Flame' will wipe out your weakened party.

You can also damage it with the tried-and-tested combo of Meltdown

-Aura-Renzokuken to take the bugger down easily. Junction 'Thundaga'

to Elemental Attack for best results.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

T I P:

You're almost up to a point in the game in which there's no turning

back. Head back a screen to save first; I highly recommend you make a

separate save file at this point. You MUST at least have a 'Meltdown'

spell here. If not, head back outside to the Overworld, and engage

level 30 and above Gaylas on the Trabia continent in combat; draw

'Meltdown' from them.

Proceed onwards to meet up with Seifer. He'll dismiss both Raijin and

Fujin when they try to talk some sense into him, and attack Squall.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOSS: Seifer  HP: 34,500  Weak: Poison  

              Draw List: Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, Aura  AP: 40

Start off by drawing a few 'Aura' spells from Seifer. If his physical 

prowess is giving you trouble, cast 'Protect' on yourselves. Seifer 

will begin to use his 'Bloodfest' when his HPs get low, which hits 

for a pretty significant amount of damage, so watch out for it. You 

can dispatch him too easily with a single Meltdown-Aura-Renzokuken 

combination though.

As always, make sure to plunder either a 'Hero' or a 'Holy War' from

Seifer. If you have Odin, this battle will be the last you see of him.

He'll be replaced by a much more versatile Gilgamesh at the end of the

fight.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just a bit of information on Gilgamesh... he can appear anytime in a 

battle (unlike Odin who appears only at the start of a confrontation). 

When he does he'll unleash one of four possible attacks:

Zantetsuken (Slashing Steel Blade): Similar to Odin's attack.

Masamune: A sword swipe to all enemies for a heavy sum of damage.

Excaliber: A sword swipe to all enemies for a moderate sum of damage.

Excalipoor: A sword swipe to all enemies for 1 HP of damage ^_^

Seifer will take Rinoa away after the battle, but you'll still want to 

keep Rinoa's HP, Vitality and Spirit parameters high. You'll see why

later. In any case, junction Quistis (or whoever replaces Rinoa)

thereafter. Leave the room.

*** END OF DISC 3 ***