Final Fantasy/The Prince of Elfland

Treasure: 330 Gil, 400 Gil, 295 Gil, 385 Gil, 620 Gil, 680 Gil, 1020 Gil, 450 Gil, 575 Gil, 575 Gil, Mythril Hammer, Bronze Gloves, Power Staff, Falchion, Steel Gloves, Cottage x2, Mythril Knife x2, Broadsword, Steel Plate, Copper Armlet, Silver Armlet, Tent, Helmet, Grand Helm, Wyrmkiller, Mythril Mail, Excalibur, Mystic Key, Crystal Eye, Crown

Elven Castle
The easiest way to get to Elfheim from Pravoca is to go west until you're back at Corneria's port, and then slightly to the southwest until you see another port. Drop anchor then go south until you see Elfheim and the Elven Castle. Go to the Elven Castle first. The elves there will tell you that their prince has been sleeping ever since the dark elf, Astos, raided the castle and put him into his current condition. Exit the castle and head into the town.

Elfheim
You've already bought all the equipment you can. If you've been playing on the Power Peninsula, you can probably afford the 4000 Gil Mythril Swords, but focus on getting the magics first. You can find both the Level 3 and Level 4 magic shops here. At least get the Level 3 magics before heading out to the Marsh Cave, but it can't hurt to go back to the Peninsula until you can afford the Level 4 magics as well.

Ideally:
 * Fighter: Mythril Sword/Iron Shield/Steel Plate/Helmet/Leather Gloves
 * Thief: Saber/Chain Mail/Leather Gloves
 * Monk: Nunchuks/Copper Armlet/Leather Gloves
 * Red Mage: Mythril Sword/Iron Shield/Steel Plate/Helmet/Leather Glove
 * White Mage: Hammer/Copper Armlet/Leather Cap/Leather Gloves
 * Black Mage: Dagger/Copper Armlet/Leather Cap/Leather Gloves

You'll still do fine if you're using Broadswords, but you should at least have Fire2, Bolt2, Cure2, and Dia2. Also buy a crapload of antidotes (at least 20). You probably don't have enough Level 4 magic to rely on Esuna and you don't need NulIce just yet. Ice2 and Haste are both very useful, but not necessary for the next dungeon. You may also want to buy a shelter or two, just to play it safe.

Marsh Cave
Once you've fully equipped your party, head west then north-west through the mountains and past the forest until you're at a river. Follow the river west and you should see a small opening where the river ends. If you go north you'll reach the Western Keep where the lone king asks you to find his Crown, and then direct you to the Marsh Cave, which is located at the southwestern part of the continent.

This isn't necessary to progress to the Marsh Cave and will just result in a lot of random encounters, so instead of going north where the river ends, head south instead. At the southern edge of the continent, there'll be a hole in the ground. Yup, that's the Marsh Cave. Before you enter, make sure you have a good amount of antidotes and potions because you'll probably need them here. If you're at a low level you may want to use a shelter and save your game before going in.

Floor 1
From your current vantage point you can go in two directions, up or down. Head up first and make your way around the winding path until you reach the stairs.

Floor 2a
There's quite a bit of treasure here on this floor, so be sure to grab it all. Look in all of the rooms here for the treasure, then go back to the previous floor.

Floor 1
Once you've returned from floor 2a, head all the way down (ignore the other path leading up, a little ways past the stairs leading the surface) and you'll see another room at the very bottom. Enter it and go down the stairs inside.

Floor 2b
Another fairly large floor with lots of pillars and other rooms. Again, there's plenty of treasure here, grab it, head down to the bottom of the floor, then follow the wall to the right until you reach the room that will lead to the next floor. Pass through the room and on the east side you'll see the stairs.

Floor 3
Unlike the other floors, this one is very large with lots of rooms and treasure, but the room you're looking for (the one with the crown) is one room to the right, and two rooms down. First go through the top three rows getting all of the treasure (the four rooms at the bottom are all locked). The square in front of the chest that holds the crown is spiked, so you'll have to fight some rather annoying enemies. Make sure you heal first.

Piscodemon 2x-4x
They have somewhat low HP, but you should defeat them quickly because they can pack quite a punch. Warriors, Monks, and Thieves should all attack. Black Mages and Red Mages should use their Bolt2 charges. White Mages should just Cure when necessary. They should be fairly simple to kill, just hope you don't get four of them.

Western Keep
After you kill all of them, grab the crown and get the heck out of there. When you get out of the Marsh Cave, you can either go back to Elfheim and stay at the Inn to recharge, or head straight to the Western Keep if you think you're strong enough to do so. If you have a shelter, use it outside of the Keep. Once you're inside the keep, go and talk to the lone king again. It looks like the king was actually the dark elf, Astos... like that was unexpected.

Astos
He doesn't have much HP but you should kill him quickly because of his various spells, including Doom, the instant-death spell (patent pending). He usually opens up with Doom, but with any luck it'll miss. He rarely uses it a second time. Black Mages should cast Ice1, Ice2, or even Fire2 if you have it. White Mages should cast NulIce and NulFire and then cast a few Invs1 spells to protect your party. Red Mages should use Fire2 or Bolt2 or just attack. Whichever you prefer. Warriors, Monk, and Thieves should attack.

The great collect-a-thon
After he's gone, he'll leave behind the Crystal Eye, which you may remember that Matoya needs, so go take it to her. When you do, she'll give you a special item, the Jolt Tonic, which just happens to be what the Elf people need to revive their prince. Take the Jolt Tonic back to the Elven Castle and talk to the prince. He'll awaken and give you the Mystic Key, which will open all of those stupid "You need the Mystic Key" doors. After getting the treasures in the Elf Castle, go back to the Western Keep, Marsh Cave, and Temple of Chaos. Annoying, but it pays off with excellent equipment and a lot of money. Buy any Mythril Swords and Level 4 spells you want. Finally, head back to Cornelia Castle and open the locked door here to find a chest. Open it for the Nitro Powder, which you'll need soon.

Mt. Duergar
After you're done, get back on your ship and head to Cornelia's port, then follow the coastline to the northwest until you reach another port. Walk to the southwest on foot and you'll find a cave. Inside is the dwarves' haven, Mt. Duergar. You can find some treasure in here and near the treasure room, a dwarf is specifically looking for some Nitro Poweder, so give it to him and he'll blow a hole in the wall which will then cause the narrow section of land separating the two bodies of water to collapse into the sea. When you get to that point you'll see that the Inner Sea is now open and you can get to the rest of the world. Head to the west on your ship and you'll see the town of Melmond nearby.

Chapter 4: The Crystal of Earth >>