Final Fantasy III/Altar Cave

Altar Cave
At the outset of the game, you see Luneth fall down a hole and into a cave. You get a chance to name him, but for the purposes of this walkthrough we will use his default name, Luneth, to refer to him. After this, Luneth rounds a corner and ends up in a battle. Fight 3 Goblins with physical attacks until they fall. After you defeat them, you gain control of Luneth. There's a path in front of you; travel forward and you'll encounter two chests. Claim the treasures (Leather Shield and Potion) inside.

Continuing ahead, Luneth sees a suspicious rock. Zoom in on it (using the camera symbol in the upper left corner, or the shoulder buttons) to discover that it shines. Interact with the rock (by tapping it or pressing the A button) to uncover a path forward! Go through it to find a chest (Longsword). If you haven't already, equip the Shield and Sword on Luneth, then take the stairs.

Luneth finds himself at a crossroads. The left path contains a chest (Antarctic Wind). The right path also contains a chest (Potion). After getting these items, go forward again and loot the chest directly in front of you (Potion). The path splits off again at this point. The right path contains another chest (Antarctic Wind) and a "Wellspring".

For the time being, interact with it to heal yourself. Then, take the other path, which leads to a door...

Luneth arrives in a tiled room. Move forward and you're attacked!

BOSS: Land Turtle
''The Land Turtle is an important creature in Japanese folklore. Known as Genbu, it represents the Earth element, the North direction and the winter season, and it is associated with the black color.''

Whoo! First boss battle! Anyway, this battle is fairly straightforward. While you can use the two Antarctic Winds you found in this dungeon and then whack away at the boss until it's defeated, there is an easier way that lets you hold on to one of them. Equip yourself with a Longsword and a Dagger (replacing the shield) for much more powerful attacks, and use only one Antartic Wind on the Turtle. Follow that up with your standard attacks. If your health drops to around 10, then use a potion on yourself.

After the boss battle, a cutscene plays and you find yourself outside on the world map. Save your game, and then you can continue your journey...

Return to Altar Cave
Instead of proceeding south, go back into Altar Cave and go right through a hidden wall to find 2 chests (Leather Cap and Bronze Bracers). Go downstairs and head forward from the entrance to find a room full of chests (2x Longsword, Bronze Knuckles, Bronze Bracers, Spell Sleep), as well as the hole you fell through on your first time through. Now exit the Cave and go to Ur.

NES version differences
The main differences are that in the NES version you start already with a team of four Warrior of Light, and five jobs are unlocked as soon as you speak with the Wind Crystal. Therefore, this "NES differences" section will be quite long just here and in the next page.

Suggested jobs
Change classes as soon as you can, and start earning experience and abilities.

Suggested classes:
 * Monk: you'll find soon two free weapons that only he can use;
 * Red Mage: he can use both black and white magic, and soon a free weapon only he can use will be found;
 * White Mage: you'll find soon two identical white spells for free, so you'll need a second white magic user;
 * Warrior: this is the only job left that can use the long swords you found for free.

Don't worry about the Black Mage: they'll come in handy later. Before leaving the altar room, talk to the Wind Crystal again and it will completely restore Health and Magic Points.