Once you have finished the game, wait until the end of the credits. You will be asked if you want to save the game. Say "yes", and save the game.
Start Game Options[edit]
When you go to load your saved game, it will have a red mark on the save slot. You will have the following choices:
- Continue
- This will allow you to beat the final boss again, or wander around doing whatever else you want to do. All your money, items, and experience will be intact.
- You will also be able to access a bonus dungeon. The Travel Pig map will include a new location, which is the bonus dungeon.
- Strong from the Start
- This term is confusing, since it will begin a new game, but your HP and experience are reset to the beginning of the game. You will keep all of your skills, money, and some of your items. All weapons, equipment, etc. are not retained, with a few exceptions (e.g., Feathered Earing).
- New Game
- Start a new game, keeping nothing. This erases your data so you can start fresh.
Bonus Dungeon[edit]
When you go into the bonus dungeon, you will be in the center of a pillar that is inside a circular room with four doors around the outside of the room. If you walk back into the center column, you will be given the opportunity to leave.
The bonus dungeon has two parts. The second area isn't available until you have cleared out the first area. The first area has four branches, one for each element. At the end of the path is the corresponding dragon. There are a number of side paths, and some nice items. Once all four dragons have been defeated, a fifth path will open up to a new dragon. This last dragon looks silly, but it is pretty tough.
After you have defeated the fifth dragon, the second area opens up. If you walk into the center column, an additional option appears that will allow you to proceed to the second area.
The second area will take some getting used to. It is basically a set of dungeons connected together. Just like the outside world, all the monsters are regenerated at midnight. This means that if you run back and save the game, you can return to where you left off with little or no fighting. Of course, you might also want to spend time fighting so you can level up more. At this point in the game, you can sleep at Jack's house if you want to reset all the monsters in the dungeon.
The first area is a series of areas with stairs that look pretty much the same. You enter from the south east corner, and can exit through either the north or west sides. If you pick the wrong exit, you will be returned to the starting screen, which you can easily recognize because of the red switch in the southeast corner. Stepping on the switch will return you to the previous area. (If you have the Official Strategy Guide, the west exit of area 1 connects to area 3.)
The first time in this area, take the north, north, then west exits, and you will find a Tsuchinoko Dumpling. Either back up, or take a wrong exit to return to the starting location.
After getting the dumpling and returning to the starting point, take the west, north, and north exits. From this location, there is a strength berry through the north exit. Going west then north will take you to a slightly new area that looks similar, but slightly different. Here you will have to fight Cairn, Jack's father. The screen will be enclosed within a dark margin, and the exits are slightly different. Once you beat Cairn, take the west exit, and you will find yourself reappearing in a new set of steps in the southeast corner. Keep walking and you will eventually end up in a different looking area.
This new area starts with a long corridor. Take the western exit and you will end up riding across a chasm on a moving platform. While riding the platform, you will see a series of symbols. Make a note of them, since they are the key to getting through this area. You will go up some stairs and enter a series of rooms with four exits, each marked with a different symbol. Choose the symbols in the same order as you saw earlier. If you mess up, you be returned to the starting area and see the symbols again. When you get to the last room, take detour through the south door to find the Valiant Mail.
Once you get through the maze of rooms, you will find a healing spot. When you exit to the southeast you will encounter Valkyrie. If you beat her, she will join you. This is a great time to go back and save, and put Valkyrie in the party in place of Nyx. Your final party should be Jack, Valkyrie, Elwen, and Kain.
When you get back to where you beat Valkyrie, step on the transporter to get into yet another area. In this area, there are hidden doors. If you walk near the spot on the wall where a hidden door is located, you will see a swirling pattern. Kick the wall and the door will appear. The maps for this area in the Official Strategy Guide are all messed up, do don't blindly believe them. You want to make your way west when possible until you find the Boundary Crest, which is the seal for the exit from this area. (The exit is towards the east).
You will find two special doors that are only open during either day or night. If you can't get through one, come back after the time of day changes. Just before the actual exit you will encounter a character called Lezard who you will have to beat.
You will exit to an area with a long corridor. At the end of the corridor is a boss. Once you beat that boss, the same area will look messed up, and a second boss will be encountered.
The first boss is Gabriel Celesta. The hard part of this battle is you start out confused. You probably want to equip the "Status Cure" skill before you enter the area, which will allow you to start fighting sooner. These last two bosses are much harder than the ones you've encountered before. When you volty gauge is full, you probably want to command Valkyrie to use her volty, which does much more damage than Jack's.
After you beat Gabriel Celesta, you should return to Jack's house and save. The Etheral Queen is much harder. The way I finally managed to beat her was to keep Jack far away from the Queen and not fight at all. Keep an eye on everyone's status. As soon as the volty gauge is full, command Valkyrie to use it. If anyone's health gets down a bit, have Kain cure them. Keep this up, and eventually she will be defeated. She will occasionally move over to where Jack is, so simply move away to the farthest section of the area. A number of the queen's attacks will cause formations to appear on the floor. Avoid those patterns and you should be fine.
I didn't work out this approach until my third time through the game, taking the human path. It might also work for the non-human path: keep Jack out of the way, and keep directing Romaria to heal whoever is the lowest character in your party. This means the other two party members (probably Valkyrie and somebody like JJ), will be doing all the fighting. There is no time limit, so just be patient and play conservative. It is much harder for the non-human path.
Once the Ethereal Queen has been beaten, the bonus dungeon is reset. The first area has only four paths, and the dragons are back. You can go through the bonus dungeon again. The only difference is that instead of Valkyrie, you will be fighting the golden dragon.
Since money is carried over between games, you can spend time fighting and earning money. If you buy the Pluto Trophy from San Patty accessories, you will win more gold than otherwise. The bonus dungeon lets you earn a lot of money, which you can then carry over to your next game. If you start off the next game with a lot of money, it makes the game easier since you can afford the most expensive weapons and armor. Another good use for money is to buy berries from the Alkaico General Store in the Void Community. I generally like to buy the Strength and Defense Berries.