Other than the combat and level grinding, the game is basically a puzzle game. You know from the very beginning what you need to do - go to Charlock Castle (visible from right outside the starting castle of Tantagel) and defeat the recently returned Dragonlord.
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| If only we had a boat. Alas. Not until the sequel... |
Inside, you find a monument to that ancient warrior and when you read the inscription, you learn:
"I am Erdrick, and thou art my descendent.
Three items are needed to reach the Isle of Dragons, which is south of Brecconary.
I gathered these items, reached the Isle, and there defeated a creature of great evil.
Now I have entrusted the three items to three worthy keepers.
Their descendants will protect the items until thy quest leads thee to seek them out.
When a new evil arises, find the three items, then fight!"
Getting those items is what you're trying to do while you level up and explore. Here is how it plays out.
To create the rainbow bridge to the island of Charlock Castle, you need the Rainbow Drop.
To get the Rainbow Drop, you need to bring the Staff of Rain and the Stones of Sunlight to the Southern Shrine and show the old man there Erdrick's token to prove you are his ancestor.
The Staff is in the Shrine Northwest of Kol. You have to trade the Silver Harp for it. The Silver Harp is in Garin's Grave. The Grave is a dungeon hidden in the town of Garinholm. You'll need magic keys to get to it.
The Stones of Sunlight are hidden beneath Tantagel Castle. You will need magic keys to get there.
Erdrick's Token is hidden in the huge Southern Swamp south of Cantlin.
I suggest having Erdrick's Armor (which makes you immune from poison damage you take when walking in the swamp). That's hidden in the ruins of the town of Hauksness. The location of the armor, and the location of the Token are both discovered in Cantlin. But get the armor first, because the guy who tells you where the token is is protected by both magic doors (needing yet more magic keys) and a poison floor that it helps to be immune to.
By the way. Cantlin is guarded by a tough golem. The only way to beat him without being a total badass is to put him to sleep. The sleep spell won't work. You will need a magic flute. The magic flute is hidden in Kol. There is a guy in Rimuldar who knows where it's hidden.
To find the Token, you need to be able to get map coordinates. The only way to do that is to have the Princess's Love. This is an item you get which let's the princess speak to you anywhere in the game. She tells you how much experience you need for the next level, your map coordinates, and that she loves you. To get the Princess's Love, you have to rescue her from the green dragon in the Swamp Cave Tunnel. You'll need a magic key to save her.
To get magic keys, you have to travel through that tunnel to get to the town of Rimuldar.
See what I mean about it being a puzzle? It's like a multi-threaded errand quest, all culminating in getting the one item you need to finally reach the big bad guy.
It's a pretty neat design for such an old game. It owes a lot to PC predecessors but for a console game, the open sandbox nature and the lack of set order you have to go about things is something still praised in modern games.
Future imitators like Final Fantasy tended to be more linear, with a plot on rails that doesn't allow for open exploration as much as a step by step plot you are revealing in order.
Anyways - that's how you get to the boss. Do all that stuff in backwards order, you'll level up as you go. Keep buying better equipment, and you'll get Erdrick's Sword in Charlock Castle.
That way, you should be close to level 20, and have the best gear before heading in to face the Dragonlord. Next post is about the final fight.
To create the rainbow bridge to the island of Charlock Castle, you need the Rainbow Drop.
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| I didn't have a screencap of this, so I yoinked this one from http://www.vgmpf.com |
The Staff is in the Shrine Northwest of Kol. You have to trade the Silver Harp for it. The Silver Harp is in Garin's Grave. The Grave is a dungeon hidden in the town of Garinholm. You'll need magic keys to get to it.
The Stones of Sunlight are hidden beneath Tantagel Castle. You will need magic keys to get there.
Erdrick's Token is hidden in the huge Southern Swamp south of Cantlin.
I suggest having Erdrick's Armor (which makes you immune from poison damage you take when walking in the swamp). That's hidden in the ruins of the town of Hauksness. The location of the armor, and the location of the Token are both discovered in Cantlin. But get the armor first, because the guy who tells you where the token is is protected by both magic doors (needing yet more magic keys) and a poison floor that it helps to be immune to.
By the way. Cantlin is guarded by a tough golem. The only way to beat him without being a total badass is to put him to sleep. The sleep spell won't work. You will need a magic flute. The magic flute is hidden in Kol. There is a guy in Rimuldar who knows where it's hidden.
To find the Token, you need to be able to get map coordinates. The only way to do that is to have the Princess's Love. This is an item you get which let's the princess speak to you anywhere in the game. She tells you how much experience you need for the next level, your map coordinates, and that she loves you. To get the Princess's Love, you have to rescue her from the green dragon in the Swamp Cave Tunnel. You'll need a magic key to save her.
To get magic keys, you have to travel through that tunnel to get to the town of Rimuldar.
See what I mean about it being a puzzle? It's like a multi-threaded errand quest, all culminating in getting the one item you need to finally reach the big bad guy.
It's a pretty neat design for such an old game. It owes a lot to PC predecessors but for a console game, the open sandbox nature and the lack of set order you have to go about things is something still praised in modern games.
Future imitators like Final Fantasy tended to be more linear, with a plot on rails that doesn't allow for open exploration as much as a step by step plot you are revealing in order.
Anyways - that's how you get to the boss. Do all that stuff in backwards order, you'll level up as you go. Keep buying better equipment, and you'll get Erdrick's Sword in Charlock Castle.
That way, you should be close to level 20, and have the best gear before heading in to face the Dragonlord. Next post is about the final fight.
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