Now, for the first time in the game, you have the freedom to go anywhere you wish. You can take the airship to any continent or island and visit just about any place on the world map. Now's the time to explore the world before you start the next part of the game, because the next major event will result in the destruction of the airship. You might even want to try defeating the Intangir, though you'll have to have a very high level to do this. It's on the island northeast of Doma.
If you want to build up Gau, take him to the veldt now. You'll run into just about every monster you've fought in the game so far, and Gau can "leap" in and learn their attacks. You can even visit Thamasa, which is reserved for later in the game, but you won't learn anything because nobody will talk to you.
Now's also a good time to get Mog, the moogle. There is a dance he can only learn in the serpent trench, which is dry in the world of ruin, so he won't have it if you wait until the world of ruin to get him in your party. To get him, go to the treasure house on the east side of Narshe (after your visit to the elder's house). You'll surprise a wolf who wants the treasures there for himself. Follow him north through the mines and out past the area where you protected Banon and the esper. Continue through that grid to the point where the esper is now being kept. Here you'll find the wolf holding a moogle hostage. Wait a bit and the moogle will free himself. To get the moogle, ignore the wolf (you'll lose a gold hairpin) and save the moogle.
There's a dance the moogle can only learn in this world of balance, but you'll have to take him to water to learn it. The river from the returner hideout is one choice, as is the serpent trench. There are several ways to loop back to the airship after this. One is to land on the veldt, take the trench, take the ship from Nikeah to South Figaro, walk to the returner hideout, follow the Lete River, land by the old man's cottage, walk through the Phantom Forest, jump in Barren Falls, and return to the Veldt. A shorter variation would be to land at the Veldt, take the Serpent trench, walk around from Nikeah to the Phantom Forest, jump in Barren Falls, and return to the ship on the Veldt. I have tried landing at the Returner hideout, and using the ship at Nikeah to return to South Figaro after all the stuff described above. It doesn't take as long as it sounds.
When you've got all the exploring you'd like to do finished, return to the Imperial camp at the eastern edge of the continent that contains Vector. You'll find the base deserted. There's a reason. Anyway, go on through and enter the cave to the sealed gate. This is probably the toughest dungeon you'll have encountered so far in the game. In the second room, go down the stairs to the west first. That's a treasure. Then go down the other stairs and through the door into the first lava room. This room has incomplete walkways which switch every so often. By standing still and watching them change, you can develop strategies to get through. Remember that you have to be standing on an area where there is walkway in both sets when the change takes place or you'll get dumped into the lava and sent back to the start of the room.
Once you've completed this you'll get to the toughest room of all. There are hidden passages, switches galore, stairways, and one save point. The first thing to do is travel east BEFORE you go down the stairs. This will take you to a treasure. Going down the stairs takes you further into the dungeon. Instead of climbing the ramp you come to next, go around behind this rock wall. From here you will see a treasure chest on an island. It's a Genjii Glove, so it's well worth the effort to get it. Approach from the east, not from the west as would at first seem the best way.
Upstairs you'll find two switches. One brings down a Ninja who will fight you. He can be tough. Defeat him and he'll say something intriguing about the treasure buried in the plaza beneath the grand stairway (it's a hint). The Ninja is tough, so if you're low, go to the switch on the left and open the door to a save point. In the nearby treasure chest is a tent, just in case you didn't bring one. Use it to get your levels up, because there's plenty of fighting ahead. There's another switch in the middle of a walkway. The walkway will collapse when you pull the switch, but you need to do it and you won't get hurt (in terms of hit points).
That's the walkway to the left. The walkway to the right has a switch which opens the "grand stairway." At the bottom "talk" to every square of the open area. You'll find a number of useful items. Some of them are on the walkway to the treasure chest west of the "plaza." Then enter the cave to the east and work your way north. You'll have to step back and forth east and west to keep going north. When you come out you'll find a place with two rock switches. These are the kind you step on to activate. DO NOT step on any of them. If you do, you'll have to go back to the save point, come back out, and flick the switch that drops the walkway out from under you.
Walking around these switches allows you to reach a treasure chest that contains a switch. Flick it, but only once. Now you can step on the rock switch on your way back (if you wish). South and west is a rock switch at the top of a short stairway. It will open a door. The treasures in here include "magicite," which allows you to call an esper. There's more magicite as you continue through this maze. You'll also find the first of the two Atma Weapons. It is a powerful sword you'll use for some time to come. One hint about this Atma Weapon. The damage it inflicts is directly related to the HP of the user. Keep the user at full HP and they'll do much more damage with the Atma Weapon.
When you finally get through to the sealed gate, you'll find that Kefka has followed you. The empire has decided to let you lead them to the gate, hoping that Terra will succeed in opening it and they can capture more espers. You'll get a little chance to beat on Kefka while Terra communicates with the espers, but not much. They'll exit their world in a fury. When they're gone the gate will close again, and rocks will fall into place to seal it.
When this part of the story is over you'll come back out into the room just prior to the gate. Now you'll have two choices. The northern door takes you back to the same maze. The southern door is a shortcut. Take it and you'll quickly find yourself back at the Imperial base. Try to leave the western door of this base, and you'll be met by someone from your party who will lead you to the airship. Without stop you'll become airborne and encounter the angry espers. They'll damage Setzer's airship and he'll be forced to crash land it.
Without the airship, you'll have to walk. If you missed anything in the cave to the sealed gate, you can now go back in and get it. You can also buy more stuff (if you need it) in cities like Miranda, Tzen, Albrook and, eventually Vector. Stop to see the old lady again at Vector, which looks like it's been hit by allied bombers. You'll find returners and Narshe guards here wandering around wondering what happened. Now you can go up the stairs and find Banon and Arvis. When you get into the section that looks like the Magitek factory, you have your freedom only until you reach the top of the first stairs. Then a special forces knight will meet you and ask you to follow him to the emperor.
Emperor Geshtal has been seriously frightened by the esper attack on Vector and wants to call off the war. At least that's what he says. But you've got to go along with him, and you can get helpful rewards by doing the right things. First, be sure to have Sprint Shoes equipped on someone in your party. Then talk to the emperor. When that scene is over, you'll be given four minutes to talk to as many soldiers as you can. To do as many as you'll need to get everything possible you'll need to know your way around this part of the castle. Here's the route we usually follow.
Go down both sets of stairs talking to the four guards along the way. Go through the doors and turn west. Work your way back north, skipping the first door you come to. The second door is to the barracks. These guys are wandering around and it's almost impossible to wade through them and keep them straight so you don't miss one. To make it worse, one of them fights you. Don't forget the guy in bed. Go on through the room to the toilet (behind the door in the northwest corner). The soldier in here will fight you also. Beat it out, going on up the stairs and talking to the one soldier you meet. Once outside, there are four Magitek guards, one guy behind the guard on the west, and a guy inside the crane control room. The one inside will fight you.
Go through the eastern door and work your way down. The first door goes to an anteroom you must pass through to get to three soldiers, including one special guard. Go on around counter clockwise to the luxury restroom where the third soldier waits. Hustle back out and skip the next door. It's just the prison and you can talk to Kefka later. Go on out the south door at the center of the castle and talk to the two Magitek guards and the one one guard out here. One of the Magitek guards will fight you.
However, to get EVERYTHING you must behave properly during the banquet. Here's the routine:
Who to toast? To our hometowns About Kefka? Leave him in jail About Doma? Apologize again!! (many clues get this one wrong) About Celes? Celes is one of us! Ask all three questions, but do NOT repeat one (and remember which one you asked first!). About the espers? They've gone too far Which question first? Remember (from above) Take the break Cid offers and fight the special forces guards sitting opposite you. Anything you want me to say? The war is over Do me a favor? Yes (the first time)
If you've fought all four guards, talked to at least 22 of them, and gotten everything else exactly right, you'll get the full extent of the emperor's rewards, including the Charm Bangle.
The emperor wants you to go to Crescent Island and search for the espers with Generals Leo and Celes. But you can decide when to actually do this. Once you leave the castle you're free until you talk to General Leo on the ship. Take this opportunity to pick up your loot at the Imperial base. (Don't forget the hidden chest at the southeast corner of the room. You might also want to go to Tzen and buy the magicite from the man in the woods in the northeast corner of town.
After you talk to Leo, you'll need to go back to the inn. He's paid for your room, and the game will force you do endure a little soap opera before you actually get to Thamasa. First is Locke's night encounter with Celes. It's not clear in the English version why the tension. We do know Locke doubted Celes when Kefka confronted them at the Magitek factory. But why she's so quiet now isn't as clear. Locke wants her back as a friend, but she leaves.
On the ship, you'll appear twice as Terra. The first time you need to talk to Leo. It will end up being a conversation about love. Terra has not yet known love (according to the story line she's probably not out of her teens yet). Shadow overhears and adds a little advice of his own. After Terra leaves you get a little comic relief when Locke shows up with motion sickness.
Once off the ship, follow the light green grass to the northeast. When you get to a narrow isthmus, follow it to the town of Thamasa. Here you'll find people actually talking to you, though they refuse to admit they know anything about espers or magic. But if you walk behind the two houses in the north part of town you'll find evidence they do. Don't bother at the inn. The innkeeper doesn't like strangers. As someone in town will tell you, if you visit Strago first he'll be more reasonable.
Stock up on magic and armor here. Then go to Strago's house (north central part of town) and talk to him. You'll meet him and his granddaughter, Relm. She likes Shadow's dog. She also spills the beans about magic, but Strago will still insist he knows nothing. Now go to the inn and get a night for 1 GP. In the middle of the night Strago will come in and knock Locke out of bed. The problem is that house you couldn't get in before because the boy sat at the door. It's on fire and Relm is inside. When you get there Strago will use a spell called "Flames be GONE!". It won't work, even when all the village residents get together and cast it.
Locke and Terra will join Strago in the house. You can try to avoid the roving flames, but they'll get you from behind and a square away, so you'll end up fighting most of them. Strago's "Aqua Rake" lore is very powerful against these Balloon monsters. You'll find an ice rod and a fire rod, plus a room that you can't get in. You can fight off lots of more Balloon monsters by trying, however. Eventually you'll get to the Flame Eater, the source of the trouble. Defeat it and you'll set up the next story-telling sequence in which Shadow comes to save Relm (he says it was just for Interceptor, his dog) and you all leave town to look for the espers. Shadow will leave you, but that's to make room for Relm, who will join you later.
Go back along the isthmus and just south of the mountains. Then go back north and find a cave. Enter here. You'll eventually come to a room containing three gold statuettes. Walk up to them and start the next story-telling sequence in which you'll have to fight off Ultros (again). This is when Relm, whom you have probably seen several times in this cave, joins you. Use her "Sketch" against Ultros and he'll leave you alone. Continue clockwise through this room and reach the next room which includes a save point. There are three "holes" in the floor in this room, each of which will take you to a different area of the cave below.
Go through the first one you come to (southwest) last. The others lead to treasure. From each area you can jump off a ramp onto the path just before the room with the three statues. You will not encounter enemies in this room, which will be a relief after the Adamanchits and Slurms. The Adamanchit is one enemy that you may choose not to "fight" at this point. A good dose of ice will dispatch this enemy. I generally prefer to fight over using magic, but with this sneezer you might be better off using magic.
The southwest hole drops you onto a path that leads out of the cave, along a grass ledge, and into another room of the cave. The path in this cave will lead to a large flat area. There's a dark spot on the path. Step on it and the storytelling begins. So if you get here by mistake, be sure you don't step on this dark area. When you do, you'll be confronted by espers. They will admit that in the human world they lost control of their power. They're ready to accept the emperor's peace proposal and return with you to Thamasa. Here they talk to General Leo. The whole story seems about to end on this happy note, when Kefka appears.
As you may have suspected, the emperor's offer of peace was a ploy to lure the espers into the open where Kefka could use powers he apparently developed after your confrontation with him at the Magitek facility. You're going to feel very used, but there's no way to play the game without going along, so just swallow your indignation and suffer thorough the storytelling.
After Kefka makes a little trouble and turns the three espers on the screen to magicite you take limited control of the game as General Leo. You can't leave the town. Magitek knights block the way as invincible "Guardian"s. But you can stop at the inn if you wish, or look at Leo's status. You may not equip any weapons, armor, or relics, however. Don't bother, it won't help.
The only thing you can do (all the game heroes lay on the ground in a coma) is talk to Kefka. When you do, Leo will attempt to stop Kefka. You'll quickly come to appreciate Leo's ability as a warrior. His "Shock" attack is powerful, and he has amazing defensive capabilities. He should defeat Kefka's shadow quite quickly, but you will be able to do nothing when Kefka himself appears and dispatches Leo with a single blow. During this entire scene Kefka delivers an ongoing stream of smug, almost satirical commentary. It helps depict him as the totally depraved person he is.
This disturbance in magical power drives other espers to blow away the stone seal at the sealed gate and come rushing out to help their kindred. Kefka uses a similar magic formula to neutralize their powers and to turn them into magicite. I counted about twelve shards Kefka picks up in this scene, and I suspect they are the ones you will pick up later in the world of ruin. When Kefka has tired of the mayhem and left, the others will come in the airship. It appears Edgar worked a little "magic" of his own on the serving girl and got her to spill the sordid tale. You'll also learn that Relm is only ten years old.
You have a few moments of freedom as Relm leads the party just out of Thamasa. You'll be right in front of the airship, and if you get on you'll see more storytelling. But you might as well, because you need the airship to do anything useful. When you get on you'll see Kefka and the emperor going through the sealed gate in search of the three statues represented by the gold statues you found in the cave. Something disrupts the earth and the entire island (the part that was once just east of the continent that contains Vector) separates and floats into the air. You'll see Geshtal and Kefka approach the statues in their quest for power.
Here's one of the game's unrealities. Do you really think they will wait for you to come and try to stop them? Even if you go straight to the floating continent, it's quite a hike to get to the statues (you have to figure out the maze) and you'll probably have to build level before you can get through easily. You also have to defeat the other Atma Weapon, and it's really tough. We have found that you'll be very hard pressed to finish the floating continent until your people are at level 25 or more. Level 30 or more makes it more realistic. Sabin learns his Air Blade blitz at the early 30s, and it's quite useful on the floating continent.
Until you do this you'll have three choices whenever you're take the helm of the airship while flying: find the floating continent, lift off, and not now. Gather everything you need at the various cities and towns. Now's the time to fight the Intangir if that's what you want to do. You'll do quite a bit of fighting just to get on the continent for the first time, so be sure everyone is at full level when you start. You can only pick three, and they'll have to fight off all the monsters described below in a single setting without saves.
When you're ready, pick the first option. You will have to pick three characters to start the floating continent. Once you've picked them the "world's only" airship will come under attack from the Imperial Air Force! You'll fight off several groupings of airships that look like primitive VTOL craft. Then Ultros will approach the airship from behind, and if you look closely you'll see someone else.
Give Ultros a few solid licks and he'll call in his "friend," Chupon. You'll encounter Chupon in the World of Ruin whenever you bet something at the Colliseum which they don't want. If you manage to defeat him you'll get an elixir, but Chupon has a serious cold and usually sneezes his opponent right out of the ring. In this case, you need him to sneeze you, as that is what will transfer you from the airship.
On the way down you'll fight the Air Force and his two missile bays. Hit him (not the bays) with a few Bolt 2 attacks and he'll vanish. If you wait longer his attacks get stronger and he will launch specks, itty bitty blips that absorb all your magic, including your heal spells. But if you defeat Air Force soon enough, he won't have time to launch his specks. This, like the Barren Falls battle, is unrealistic in that you could never fall as long as it takes to defeat this guy, even if you have a good level and do it quickly.
When you land on the floating continent you'll be right next to a save point. Be sure to level up BEFORE you move, even to the save point. It's not unusual to be attacked before you get to the save point. Save, and go southeast to the sleeping body of Shadow. He'll join your party (after a bit of resisting) and you'll need to equip him with weapons, armor, and relics. Don't worry about this, if you play the game right, you'll get to keep him in the world of ruin. We'll explain later.
The floating island is a fairly complex maze with warp mounds. The mounds carry you from one mound to another, always the same. They also work in reverse. It is possible to forget what you're doing and start going around in circles with this maze. You'll come to a place where there are two stairways in a row. Below the second one you can't go anywhere -- the first time. You'll have to warp through a mound, and you'll come out at a place where there are two other warp mounds south of you. The one on the west takes you further on, the one on the east leads to a dead end. When you follow the one on the west you'll come out by two switches, one southwest of the mound you come out at, and one north and west and up a short stairway. The first switch lowers a large pieces of rock to the southeast. Pay attention! The other lowers a smaller rock just below it which will allow you to walk back to the double stairway. Go down both stairs this time and cross the rock you just lowered.
This time you'll come to a warp mound that takes you to another part of the maze. You'll come to a switch, which opens a warp mound. You don't need to do this now, because you'll want to take advantage of the save point in the warp mound to the south (it doesn't take you anywhere). Use a tent here to restore your MP and HP. Using this save point resets the entire maze, including the northern warp point right here. Step on the switch again to open it. You'll come out just above the point that allows you to return to the airship. You can return as often as you like from this point. Of course, you'll have to do the first part of the maze over again, but that's a good way to learn it. Shadow will leave you every time you go to the airship, but he will rejoin you when you come back to the floating continent.
Just beyond this point is the other Atma Weapon. It's tough, so you'll need to have someone using Cure 2 on the group. Usually your weakest fighter should do this. When you defeat the Atma Weapon, Shadow will leave the group for good. It is possible to return to the airship after this. Your party will still be limited to three characters, but Shadow won't join you when you return. Just up the stairs past the Atma Weapon you will find the statues, with the emperor and Kefka waiting to soak up their energy. You loose control of the game here, and get to watch the scene. If you don't have Celes in your party, she will appear and confront Kefka and Geshtal. They invite her to join them in ruling the world. They give her a sword and ask her to off the rest of the party. She refuses and turns suddenly and strikes Kefka. This sends him into a rage.
The next person to confront Kefka is the emperor himself. He apparently comes to realize that what Kefka wants to do with the statues would wreak havoc on the world below. He doesn't want to be ruler of a barren, lifeless world and decides to stop Kefka. His powerful magic does nothing, however, because the power is absorbed by the statues. Instead, Kefka turns the power of the statues against Geshtal. The wounded emperor still tries to reason with Kefka, but Kefka throws him off the continent to his death.
Emboldened by his success, Kefka moves the statues, setting off the chain reaction that will permanently alter the face of the planet. At this point Shadow arrives, traps Kefka between the statues, and tells you to leave. You will have five and a half minutes to get off the continent. You will be accosted by Naughties, and the continent will begin to fall apart. There is one treasure here. To get it you'll have to avoid the temptation to go straight for it from the west (you're traveling east) and go around the loop south of it and come to it from the east. Just after this is Nerapa, a piece of the energy released from the statues by Kefka.
When you have defeated Nerapa and reached the eastern edge of the continent, you'll be asked if you want to jump onto the airship or if you want to wait. Wait, and do not try to jump off later. When the time has counted down to only five seconds, Shadow will appear and you both will automatically jump to the airship. You'll watch the destruction of the planet, including a space-based scene in which you get to watch a continent break apart. Then the airship will break apart and the occupants, all of you, will fall off.
You still haven't had a chance to save, and you won't get it until Celes wakes up in the little house on the island and talks to the ill Cid. You can't save in the house, in the area just outside the house, or on the beach south of the house. You have to leave to the east, west, or north in order to save. Take this chance to equip Celes with the best you've got, probably including a Genji Glove, a Black Belt, and the Atma Weapon.