Dragon Warrior III/The World of Darkness

After rescuing your world from the threat of Archfiend Baramos, you return home only to find that another threat looms larger from another world. Your investigation has lead you to the Great Pit of Giaga, which has grown in the aftermath of a recent earthquake. With little other recourse available to you, you jump into the pit. You land in a strange new world, one that may be unfamiliar to your characters, but one that may be hauntingly familiar to you the player. You have returned to Alefgard, the land of Erdrick. Only this is a much earlier time, before the name of the Dragon Lord was even known to anyone. Instead, it is Lord Zoma who threatens this world with darkness and despair. He has forbidden daylight to shine on the land, and so the people who live there are doomed to perpetual night. Will you be able to save the people of this land, and in doing so, the people of your own home as well?

A rough landing
When you arrive in this new world, you land right outside of a house on a small island (labeled on the map above as Port Island.) Step inside, and the occupant will greet you. He will explain that you've arrived in Alefgard, the world of darkness. When you step outside, you will be standing alongside a pier where a boat is docked for your convenience. The boy below explains that if you travel east, you will arrive at Tantegel. Hop in the boat, and head to the east to access the world beyond.

Alefgard's past
Although you are encouraged to sail straight to the east and visit Tantegel first, you are free to sail around the world of Alefgard at your leisure. There are a few important things to note about Alefgard's history and the preconceptions that you may have about it, based on your knowledge of the future.

As you learned in Dragon Warrior II, Alefgard is but a smaller portion of a larger world. However, Lord Zoma has sealed Alefgard away from the rest of the world, and thus you are prevented from visiting anywhere else. The edges of the water around Alefgard come to an abrupt end, and you can't even sail from east to west, or north to south as you could in the world above.

A ship will still prove invaluable though, as the sea level in Alefgard's past is much higher than it will be in the Dragon Lord's time during the first Dragon Warrior. Many sections of land that you were able to traverse are currently sunken underwater. The village of Kol is entirely inaccessible without a ship, as are many other important destinations. Additionally, where some land has disappeared, other land has been created, and you will find the interior waters, along with the island on which Lord Zoma's castle is found, entire inaccessible by boat.

One final note worth mentioning: the people from your world continuously say how those who have fallen through the Great Pit of Giaga never return. While that certainly seems true of many people who you will encounter in Alefgard, you appear to be an exception. You will find that your attempts to cast Return, or use a Wing of Wyvern, will easily allow you to transfer not only back to the world that you originally came from, but also to destinations that you discover within Alefgard. So don't feel as though you've made a one way trip with no hopes of return.

Tantegel
You will only sail a very short distance before you reach land. Then you will have a small walk before you see a town in the distance. Although the entire place is referred to as Tantegel, the town portion still retains the name of Brecconaly, which looks quite similar to Brecconaly of the future. Tantegel castle is still situated to Brecconaly's east, as it is in Dragon Warrior II, as opposed to the west like the first Dragon Warrior.

Town of Brecconaly


When you arrive in town, a woman to the right of the equipment shop will inform you that Baramos is just an underling of Master Archfiend Zoma. The equipment shop won't have much that you haven't seen before, but it does sell the Falcon Sword. This sword does little damage compared to many other weapons, but it does allow the wielder to strike twice in a single turn, potentially doing more damage than another weapon would in a single hit.

You will learn surprisingly little else in this town. A man standing in the upper right corner of town explains how the cave to the north has a bottomless fissure from which Zoma is said to have come. Behind the locked door of the upper building, you will find a House of Healing. The stairs within take you up to a small appartment where you will find the same Kandar who gave you so much trouble in the past. In appreciation for your faith in him, he tells you that the Stones of Sunlight should be found in Tantegel Castle.

Below the House of Healing, you will find a small boy who is learning to lift curses. As you may know from the first Dragon Warrior, he will succeed in that endeavor. Next to him is a flight of stairs which leads to a man who tells you of the legend about the Rainbow Bridge being formed when rain and sunlight are combined. Continuing along the path to the right of town, a warrior will inform you that if you follow the path, you will reach the castle.

However, before you scurry along the path to the castle, you can make a detour and explore the region south of the castle first. If you do, you'll find a small building with stairs that lead to a woman who tells you about the Ring of Life. When a member of your party wears it, they heal one HP for every step taken. When you're finished, exit the building and walk up to the castle.

Tantegel Castle
After you pass the guards in the castle walk up and to the right, and back down to the man behind the counter. He prays for light to shine upon you. Just as in each previous game, this man restores all of your characters' magic points. A man wandering below the stairs to the throne room informs you that the castle across the water belongs to the Master Archfiend.

One of the boys in the lower left corner reports how the Archfiend stole the treasures of the castle. Sure enough, the room above contain three treasure chests, but they are all empty. A guard in the upper right corner of the castle explains that the land was created by a spirit named Rubiss, and that the Archfiend has sealed her away. The guard in the lower right corner, below the Barrier tiles, explains that you need the three treasures, the Sword of Kings, the Armor of Radience, and the Shield of Heroes, to stand a chance against Zoma.

Climb the stairs in the center to reach the throne room and meet King Raosu. His throne room is a bit larger than you may recall. The attendants have much to say, including an old man mentions that the Fairy Flute can be found in the village of Kol, and a guard mentions that Kol must be sailed to in the east. One woman claims to have cared for Ortega! Apparently he did not die after all, and survived the trip to Alefgard as well, however the chancellor says he has not returned from his attempt to defeat the Archfiend. King Raosu welcomes you warmly, and wishes you luck in your quest before performing the usual kingly duties of saving your game.

You may be wondering about the Stones of Sunlight, and Kandar's advise. Players who recall their location in the first Dragon Warrior may be tempted to explore their location in the original. As you walk above the castle kitchen, you'll see a cat outside the castle. Walk around him and down the right side of the castle and the water below, and you'll reach a set of stairs leading down. However, the man who lives in the cell below claims not to possess the stones, but that he dreams of receiving them one day. Was Kandar lying to you? Read the spoiler below to find out.

The Alefgard wilderness
As you walk around the area near Brecconaly, you will likely encounter a large number of slimes. Both the blue slimes from the world above, and their mutation offshoots, the red slimes, occupy the land near town. While the red variety packs a tougher punch, it will hardly matter considering how high level your characters will be. As you venture further out, you are also likely to face Ghouls.

Another creature you are likely to encounter are the Goopis. Goopis only come in one variety, but one is enough. While many enemies like to summon more of their kind for assistance, none do it with the frequency that Goopis do. It's not uncommon for Goopis to summon twenty or thirty more Goopis during a single battle if you let them. But that isn't a terrible thing. Goopis are relatively weak creatures, and they provide a decent number of experience points. By allowing Goopis to summon multitudes of more Goopis, you can easily achieve experience point tallies in the several thousands by the time the battle is done.

However, in addition to summoning more Goopis, Goopis sometimes have a habit of summoning Granite Titans, and Granite Titans are another story. They have powerful attacks and tremendous amounts of health. Once a Granite Titan shows up, you'll want to end the battle as quickly as possible. Goopis can only summon Granite Titans if there is actually room for them on the screen. Each Granite Titan is a little wider than two Goopis. This means there must be a gap wide enough for three Goopis to fit in order for a Granite Titan to be summoned. There's no guarantee that they will be summoned, but it is a possibility to watch out for.

Garinham?
You may be curious to find out more information from Tantegel's nearest neighboring town, Garinham. However, as you make the journey to the Northwest, all you will find is a humble abode. Inside, two parents are seated at a table. It seems that their son Garin has left home, and the father claims that he took the Silver Harp with him. However, much like the town of Garinham in the future, the back wall of this building is cloaked in darkness. And much like in the future, you can push against that back wall to find an opening which leads to a path that arrives at a set of stairs. Climb down those stairs, and you will find a room where the Silver Harp has been stored away in a treasure chest. This unique item has the same function as in the first Dragon Warrior, summoning a monster to battle you on the spot. However, in this game it is not a key item, and you may store it or throw it away as you please.

North Cave
The last feature worth investigating in the nearby vicinity is the cave north of Tantegel that a man in Brecconaly told you about. It's a very simply cave, and it should probably come as little surprise that it shares much of the same architecture as it had in the original game (only this time, you don't need a torch.) There's one other important caveat to this cave: magic is sealed and will not work. That means no healing and probably more importantly, no casting Outside for a quick escape. You can bring along a few Medical Herbs in case of emergencies. Battles actually occur less frequently inside, but make sure that you are strong enough to handle them. They mostly consist of Troll Kings, Winged Demons and Hydras. Fortunately for you, the Troll Kings' spell of Limbo will always fail. The first floor is relatively open, and your only goal is to make it from the entrance in the upper left corner to the stairs in the lower right corner.

The second floor is a tad more complicated, simply due to the fact that it forces you to walk all the way around the floor, from the lower right, to the lower left, then up to the upper left and across to the upper right. However, unlike the original game, there is an additional corridor along the top of the floor. Ultimately, you need to visit this corridor and walk to the stairs on the left side. Battles are a little more likely on this floor than they were on the previous floor, so be on guard.

Once you reach the bottom floor, you can either unlock the door in the center of the wall, or simply walk through the crack. Beyond the wall, you will see a giant fissure in the floor. You can even attempt to jump into it. If you do, the ground will shake, and all of your party members will be ejected from the crack before landing back down on the floor. Of much more interest to you should be the five treasure chests scattered around the room. The chest on the left below the crack is actually a Mimic, but since magic is sealed, he is practically harmless and easy to defeat. Among the other three chests to the right of the crack, you will find a lot of gold and another Stone of Life. But the most important chest to examine is the chest above the crack. Inside, you will find the Shield of Heroes, one of the three treasure of Tantegel. Give it to your Hero to equip, and then make your way back to the outdoors.