Welcome back folks. Last time we made it through the intro and the assault on Drogen, today we'll be focusing in on the area around Drogen and up to Camlon. We'll meet some of the enemies in the area, and I'll give you some tips on how to maximize that starter loan you got.
First off, let's have a look at Drogen from the world map.
First off, let's have a look at Drogen from the world map.
The location, a small island connected to the mainland by a bridge, makes sense for a clan of dragons. There is plenty of game here, and the fishing is good enough to sustain a town of Drogen's size.
Speaking of fishing, the small rock you see south of the town is the marker for a fishing spot. I'll have some more on that in a couple of days, since you don't start with a rod and bait is scarce initially.
Going back into town, you should head to the northwest and talk to the guy in front of the westernmost building. This is your weapon shop and where you will be spending that starter money you just got.
Most people like to hop in next door and buy a bunch of curative items, but that isn't strictly necessary at this point, and to be honest it's kind of a bad idea. Esma, the weird old lady from before, can heal you for free whenever you need it, provided you don't push yourself too far in the early battles on the map.
Anyway, go ahead and pick the icon that looks like a weight and select the ArmPad. That will let you trade in your Robe for the Armor Padding (Padded Armor? Probably so) which increases your Defense score a good bit and doesn't weigh as much as the cheaper Suede Cape. You'll be left with 5 GP.
Ouch.
Let's go outside and meet the local monsters that will act as your roving bank account for a while. I'll present them from weakest to strongest, in terms of attack power.
Speaking of fishing, the small rock you see south of the town is the marker for a fishing spot. I'll have some more on that in a couple of days, since you don't start with a rod and bait is scarce initially.
Going back into town, you should head to the northwest and talk to the guy in front of the westernmost building. This is your weapon shop and where you will be spending that starter money you just got.
Most people like to hop in next door and buy a bunch of curative items, but that isn't strictly necessary at this point, and to be honest it's kind of a bad idea. Esma, the weird old lady from before, can heal you for free whenever you need it, provided you don't push yourself too far in the early battles on the map.
Anyway, go ahead and pick the icon that looks like a weight and select the ArmPad. That will let you trade in your Robe for the Armor Padding (Padded Armor? Probably so) which increases your Defense score a good bit and doesn't weigh as much as the cheaper Suede Cape. You'll be left with 5 GP.
Ouch.
Let's go outside and meet the local monsters that will act as your roving bank account for a while. I'll present them from weakest to strongest, in terms of attack power.
These are very basic enemies, with very basic strategies. They just use the attack command, and are really only dangerous in large groups. I typically try to avoid going more than two encounters deep with multiple enemies before going back to Esma for healing.
The Slime drops the Herb item at about a 6.5% chance, while the Flea drops both the Herb and Antidote items (not together) at about a 3.5% chance. The Bulla has a minuscule chance to drop the same items as the Flea, only reaching about 0.7%.
In terms of cash, the Flea is the best bet, having only 15 health while dropping 4 gold per head. The Bulla drops the same amount but has 20 health, and the slime has 12 health but only drops 3 gold.
Once you've gathered up some cash and items, and fought your way to around level 3 or so, it's time to head north to Camlon. Don't be tempted to buy any items yet, as you'll find some better gear than you can buy very soon, barring the ArmPad.
The Slime drops the Herb item at about a 6.5% chance, while the Flea drops both the Herb and Antidote items (not together) at about a 3.5% chance. The Bulla has a minuscule chance to drop the same items as the Flea, only reaching about 0.7%.
In terms of cash, the Flea is the best bet, having only 15 health while dropping 4 gold per head. The Bulla drops the same amount but has 20 health, and the slime has 12 health but only drops 3 gold.
Once you've gathered up some cash and items, and fought your way to around level 3 or so, it's time to head north to Camlon. Don't be tempted to buy any items yet, as you'll find some better gear than you can buy very soon, barring the ArmPad.
Camlon is in a state of ruin, and the people here seem to be refugees from the city of Nanai, to the North East across the channel. Talk to everyone here and you'll learn that they don't have the manpower to fend off the monsters in the castle, and they can't go back to Nanai since it has been conquered by the Dark Dragons.
One of the King's ministers asks you the obvious without actually asking you anything. It seems they need someone to clear the place out, and, well, here you are complete with a sword and cape. They don't make any assumptions, but they aren't exactly hiding what they want from you either.
One of the King's ministers asks you the obvious without actually asking you anything. It seems they need someone to clear the place out, and, well, here you are complete with a sword and cape. They don't make any assumptions, but they aren't exactly hiding what they want from you either.
There isn't much to see here, so head on into the castle. Since we are officially in our first dungeon, it's time to roll out the treasure list and the new enemies.
Items:
290 GP (70 Gp x2, 150 GP) Bronze Sword
Herb x5 Gauntlet
Antidote x2 Visor
Suede Cape
There are four new types of enemies here, each of them with different attack styles. The Gloom is a spirit that casts lightning spells, which can very quickly wreck you if you aren't paying attention. The P. Bug is a small bug that rolls at you and poisons you. Due to a programming error, that is the only attack it has. The Beak is a wingless bird that attacks you from a distance and does the same damage if you are on the front or back row. Finally, the Creep is a mud monster that uses basic attacks but can hit hard. Creeps are considered a zombie type by the game, which means they hit harder at night. Be wary of this.
Items:
290 GP (70 Gp x2, 150 GP) Bronze Sword
Herb x5 Gauntlet
Antidote x2 Visor
Suede Cape
There are four new types of enemies here, each of them with different attack styles. The Gloom is a spirit that casts lightning spells, which can very quickly wreck you if you aren't paying attention. The P. Bug is a small bug that rolls at you and poisons you. Due to a programming error, that is the only attack it has. The Beak is a wingless bird that attacks you from a distance and does the same damage if you are on the front or back row. Finally, the Creep is a mud monster that uses basic attacks but can hit hard. Creeps are considered a zombie type by the game, which means they hit harder at night. Be wary of this.
Thankfully, the game gives you a way to build your strength without having to rely on healing items here. You will find a spring shortly after you enter the castle. Examine it and you'll find that it completely restores your HP, AP and sets your condition to normal.
Fresh water is an amazing thing in the Breath of Fire world, it seems.
Fresh water is an amazing thing in the Breath of Fire world, it seems.
The dungeon is pretty straight forward, and it is impossible to miss any of the treasures here, so I won't get into a detailed layout. In more advanced dungeons later, I'll give you instructions to find specific items or to get out of annoying mazes.
One thing you'll notice is the piles of rocks that block your path. If you try to interact with them, it will tell you that Ryu cannot break them. Later on, Ox will be able to smash those for you. While it isn't a tip for this dungeon, there will be some backtracking once you acquire certain characters.
Once you have collected all of the treasures, you will navigate yourself to this area.
One thing you'll notice is the piles of rocks that block your path. If you try to interact with them, it will tell you that Ryu cannot break them. Later on, Ox will be able to smash those for you. While it isn't a tip for this dungeon, there will be some backtracking once you acquire certain characters.
Once you have collected all of the treasures, you will navigate yourself to this area.
Both of these chests are trapped. The one on the left contains a Dark Mist trap, which will completely drain the lead characters AP. The one on the right contains a Sproing trap, which will completely restore the lead characters HP and AP. Up those stairs is the BBEG, or Big Bad Evil Guy, of this area. I suggest you open the left chest first, then the right chest, then make a bee line for those stairs so you enter the fight in top shape.
One you get upstairs, you find a frog sitting on the throne. This is the powerful creature the guards outside couldn't handle? What kind of a joke is this?
Unfortunately you fell for the Frieza maneuver. The enemy wasn't showing his full hand right off the bat. Looks like you are in for a fight with Frogzilla here. Let's get to it shall we?
The first thing you are going to notice here is that this guy is faster than you. He has two basic attacks; spit and leap. His spit attack is a ranged one where he shoots a ball of slime out at you for serious damage. His leap is a basic attack that does decent damage, but is the weaker of the two. He also has a tongue attack, which does average damage but is capable of Slams.
You'll notice that I'm only at level 4 here. That's because I know what I am doing. I recommend you be at least level 5 for this fight, possibly 6 depending on your patience with grinding at the fountain. Hopefully you've been saving any Herbs you've found or recovered from enemies, because you are going to need them.
You want to find a rhythm here, attack, attack, heal is what I use. Keep an eye on your HP and if he manages to sneak in a critical or "Slam" go ahead and heal a round early. If you are lucky you will Counter from time to time, indicated by a "Cntr" in the top right of the screen.
Once you whittle Frog's HP down enough, to around 35% left or so, he will cast a Cura spell. He only has enough AP to do this three or four times, so just keep on the pressure. Once you have finally knocked all of his health away, you shouldn't relax, because he gets a second wind, like most other bosses do in this game.
Keep the pressure on, and eventually you'll win this fight. Once you do, the foul air clears out (along with the monsters) and you can collect the last two chests in this room. Make your way back to the entrance and head outside to speak to the king.
You'll notice that I'm only at level 4 here. That's because I know what I am doing. I recommend you be at least level 5 for this fight, possibly 6 depending on your patience with grinding at the fountain. Hopefully you've been saving any Herbs you've found or recovered from enemies, because you are going to need them.
You want to find a rhythm here, attack, attack, heal is what I use. Keep an eye on your HP and if he manages to sneak in a critical or "Slam" go ahead and heal a round early. If you are lucky you will Counter from time to time, indicated by a "Cntr" in the top right of the screen.
Once you whittle Frog's HP down enough, to around 35% left or so, he will cast a Cura spell. He only has enough AP to do this three or four times, so just keep on the pressure. Once you have finally knocked all of his health away, you shouldn't relax, because he gets a second wind, like most other bosses do in this game.
Keep the pressure on, and eventually you'll win this fight. Once you do, the foul air clears out (along with the monsters) and you can collect the last two chests in this room. Make your way back to the entrance and head outside to speak to the king.
The king praises your efforts and congratulates you, until he is cut off by an earthquake. Remember that whole attack by the Dark Dragons on Nanai? Seems like they have some kind of machine called the Quake control under Nanai. Perfect.
Since no self respecting hero would allow the Dark Dragons to have control of a machine that causes earthquakes, it's off to Nanai for us.
Join me next time for the latest part of our journey. Thanks for reading.
Since no self respecting hero would allow the Dark Dragons to have control of a machine that causes earthquakes, it's off to Nanai for us.
Join me next time for the latest part of our journey. Thanks for reading.