Faxanadu/Eolis to Forepaw

Eolis
As soon as you begin the game, you come home to discover that the place is in shambles. When you arrive in Eolis, a lady asks you to see the king right away. However, before you do this, after being gone for so long you're going to need proof that you are who you say you are. A woman pacing back and forth in front of the cathedral (1) will tell you to see the Guru first. Step inside the cathedral and talk to the Guru and he will give you the Ring of Elf.

With the Ring of Elf, you should head immediately to the castle, located at the far left end of town (2). Along the way, you will encounter a short region where two pairs of Zozuras wander about. If you are moving at full speed, you should have no trouble leaping over them, but be careful if you lose sight of them behind the battlements. Continue on until you reach the castle entrance. (Note that if you get killed trying to pass the Zozuras, it's actually not that bad of an occurrence. You will continue from the cathedral in town with full health and magic, without the need to pay to have them restored.)

The King will grant you an audience and request that you save the town by finding out the cause behind the drying of the wells. To help you get started, he will give you 1500 gold which you must make use of to equip yourself properly before you leave Eolis. Begin making your way back to the right. The first set of doors that you come to (3) are a Martial Arts gym and a Magic school. At a hefty cost of 200 gold per training, these two places can restore your health and magic, but they are far too expensive, and you should skip them. There is a far cheaper source of recovery close to where you arrived.

Leaping over the Zozuras again, you will wind up back in the right side of town. The next door that you arrive at is a shop. Step inside, and be sure to purchase the Hand Dagger and Deluge at 400 gold apiece. Buying a Red Potion or an Elixir is optional. It is recommended that you purchase an Elixir here since you won't find them this cheap again, and it will save your life if you die. When you step outside of the shop, you must remember to press and equip the dagger and select Deluge as your active magic. Next door to the shop is a key maker. You'll need to purchase at least one Key J for 100 gold. You can purchase more if you like, but there will be other opportunities to do so later on.

You will probably have little money left over at this point. In the house next to the cathedral, you will learn that a meteorite struck the world tree and the dwarfs climbed out of the underworld and attacked the Elves. In the next screen, there is a door to the left. It is a meat shop and one serving is only 50 gold. It is recommended that you purchase two servings. You will recover more health and power than the martial arts gym and magic school combined, and for only half the price of one of them.

Make sure you have the Hand Dagger ready for use. There is a Monodron hopping around on the right side of town. Stab it a few times with your dagger until it drops money. You can actually leave the screen and return to fight the Monodron as many times as you like, and build extra spending cash, but it's not entirely necessary. There is another way to get extra money if you want: after the king gives you the money, spend it all. Return to the palace and the king will give you another 1500 golds. When you are ready to step outside, press and prepare the Key J for use. Once you open the door at the far right end of town (4), you will not be able to set foot back inside Eolis again, so be sure that you're ready. If you are, walk up to the door with Key J selected and push.

Eolis to Apolune
You begin on the left side of the map, by the blue E. You must cross to the right. As you do, you will encounter combinations of Monodrons and Zozuras. Remember that you cannot strike the Zozuras with your dagger; it's too short and does not attack low enough. Instead, you must rely on the magic of Deluge if you wish to attack them. Two hits from Deluge is enough to defeat them, and they will drop bits of bread which you can consume to recover lost health.

When you reach the right end of the path, jump up to the ladder. Climb up and shimmy across the ladders to the left until you can access the screen above. From here, you must continue your trek to the right. Eventually, you will reach a screen with two zombies and a door (5). Behind this door is an unusual shop. It sells two extraordinarily powerful items at equally extraordinarily expensive prices (relative to the kind of money you're collecting from fallen enemies). Neither item is required at this time, and the decision to purchase them is entirely optional. However, if you do decide to save up for them now, it's going to take a considerable amount of effort before you can afford either item. The Death spell will allow you to deal tremendous damage to powerful enemies, while the Magic Shield will give you an early advantage against spell-casting enemies that you encounter. (Note that the price for the Magic Shield here is better than later on in the game, but the price for Death is more expensive.)

Regardless of whether you decide to save up to purchase the items from the shop or not, you should continue to the right until you reach Apolune so that you may establish the town as a base for the rest of your quest.

Apolune
Apolune is the first basic town you arrive at. Stepping inside the first shop, you will notice the effect of inflation that occurs throughout the game. Just one town over, the price of the dagger and the first magic spell has risen by 100 each, and the cost of a Red Potion has nearly doubled! If you did not save up for the very expensive Magic Shield from the shop before Apolune, be sure to pick up a Small Shield for 800 here. Next door, at the key shop, be sure to purchase at least one Key J for 140 gold if you don't have any, as you'll be needing one to enter the Tower of Trunk up ahead.

You'll get some information from the two citizens who walk about outside, from the people inside the bar, and from the house at the far right end of town. Visit the cathedral to speak with the Guru if you have attained the next rank, or if you wish to receive a mantra to continue your game later on. Lastly, there is no meat shop in this town, but there is a hospital. For the price of 250 gold, one treatment will completely restore all of your lost health and magic. If you were not able to afford everything that you needed, be sure to fight enemies outside of town to earn more money so that you can make the necessary purchases. When you are ready to proceed, head out through the right side of town.

Apolune to Forepaw
Continuing on your journey, proceed to the right as you fight your way past more Monodrons, Zombies, and Zozuras. You will eventually arrive in front of a tall tower. If you attempt to explore beyond it, you will find that the path dead-ends with a small stone wall which blocks the rest of the passage. Your only choice is to explore the tower. Prepare a Key J and step inside.

Be forewarned, the tower is an uninterrupted stretch of enemies that you must battle your way through. If you determine that you are too injured to continue and decide to return to Apolune for treatment at the hospital, you will need a new Key J every time you wish to return to the tower.

Tower of Trunk
The first floor of the tower does not present any new threats. You will face Monodrons and Zozuras, and in fact, most of the Zozuras will be out of your way, occupying high ledges. One may fall down via a ladder, and you will have to defeat one from far away with Deluge when you approach the ladder that leads to the second floor. Remember that fighting Zozuras are good when you're in need of health, provided you have enough magic power to fight them.

On the second floor, you will face three consecutive rooms with a new enemy, the Snowman. Snowmen are very fast moving creatures and they may take you by surprise. They always leap over you, so you are safe if you continue to run beneath them when they jump. They do drop more money and provide more experience than Monodrons, so you may wish to take them on. Once again, in order to climb up to the next floor, you'll need to shoot a Zozura waiting between you and the ladder.

On the third floor, you will meet another new enemy, the Ikeda. Not nearly as fast as the Snowmen, they are still wily opponents who prefer to leap about. In the cramped conditions that you encounter the first one, stay out of the path of its jump and stab it when it lands. A low lying Zozura will make an easy target that you can hit without magic. In the next room, two Zozuras patrol the floor, so stay on the low platforms if you don't wish to tangle with them. Defeat the Ikeda and prepare for a big fight in the next room.

You will find a large boss at the end of the tower, a Ripasheiku (7). This boss adheres to a very specific pattern; he breathes four fireballs which fly straight ahead, and then he flies up to the ceiling and back down to get closer to you. If you remain on the ledge that you arrive on, the fireballs he breathes will be unable to hit you. There are two strategies that you can employ to defeat him. One is to rush in and attack his head directly while you attempt to absorb the fireballs with your shield. This method, while fast, will assuredly cause you a lot of damage. The other strategy is to simply remain on the far right edge of the top step and continuously swing your dagger when the Ripasheiku stops breathing fire. It will take a long time to win with this strategy, but you will remain safe from attack, and you will be victorious after 16 successful hits.

After you defeat the Ripasheiku, he will drop four coins which will total a whopping 720 gold, and you will also find a Mattock. This is the item you need to break down the stone wall which prevents you from continuing on your journey outside of the tower. Once you collect it, you will have to turn around and return to the tower entrance. You must survive the trek back through the floors. Be sure to attack Zozuras whenever you have the chance if you are low on health. It's also recommended that you return to Apolune and restore your health if you are low when you exit the tower.

Back on the path
Once you collect a Mattock from the tower, you may continue your journey. Activate the Mattock from your item menu, and press to utilize it when you are standing in front of the small stone wall. The wall will dissolve and allow you to access the ladder beyond. Climb up and then down the ladders, and attack the Monodrons that await you on the floor. There is a 25% chance that a Red Potion will appear on the pillar when you defeat both of them. If it doesn't, climb up through the ladder above and return to try again if you would like. Otherwise, simply climb up the ladder and make your way to the right. Note that if you leave this room through the left and return, the stone wall will reappear! You will have to return to the Tower and earn another Mattock if that happens.



On the top side of the ladder, you will first encounter a Monodron, but you will begin to meet some new enemies as you proceed along this path. On the screen to the right, you will see two Yuinarus flying around the screen along with a Monodron. If you manage to hit these two flying creatures, they will drop bread for you to collect. Climb up the ladder and head back to the left. You will now face a Myconid, a type of walking mushroom. Defeating it will also present you with bread. In fact, you can leave the screen and return to fight it as many times as you like for more bread.

Climb up the ladder and you will find another Myconid. There will be a glove visible on the left side of the upper portion of the screen. If you make your way back to that glove, your offensive power will double for a short period of time. It's not entirely worth the effort required to collect it. One screen to the right, you will have to climb a ladder and encounter your first Charron. These are magic users which cast Deluge-like spell at you. Block the fireball with your shield (or jump over it if your timing is good) and proceed to slash it with your dagger. Then climb down and fight the Myconid waiting below. One more Charron and a Yuinaru stand before you and the entrance to the next town: Forepaw.