Walkthrough for Fortress of Necros
==================================

Character summary
-----------------

* Mercenary is a foolish young man who attacks with a bow. He can't
  use magic, but has a Luck attack that has a small chance of
  killing enemies in one hit, and consumes MP. This results in the
  battle awarding no XP or gold.
* Mage is a DPS magic character. He has a range of powerful offensive
  Magic attacks, but they all cost MP. He does have the ability to
  raise shields, but not to heal.
* Amazon is a well-rounded character with the ability to summon
  dragons to attack, as well as various healing spells.
* Knight is a melee character. He believes in virtue and not putting
  yourself first, so has the ability to block for the entire party,
  consuming MP.
* Dwarf is a melee character with various "jar" attacks, buffs,
  and debuffs which consume MP.
* Elf is possibly the most useful utility magic character. He has
  both healing spells and shields.
* Berserker is a silly man with numerous brute force attacks. He has
  the ability to use a Rage melee attack on the entire enemy party,
  which consumes MP.
* Samurai is the ultimate DPS character with numerous powerful
  blade attacks that consume MP, some of which affect the entire
  enemy party.

In addition to the usual inn for healing, item, and medicine shops,
most towns also contain a shrine where dead party members can be
revived. In some instances, all party members need to be alive to
make progress. Reviving at a shrine does not restore MP, unlike
resting at an inn.

Gameplay options
----------------

The gameplay options can be accessed by pressing Select.

This allows changing the scrolling speed of text and similar
(lower is faster). I recommend a message speed of 1 and a scroll
speed of 2. The default movement speed of 4 is fine.

Items (medicine, consumable)
----------------------------

* Herb - restores a small amount of HP
* Chocolate - restores a large amount of HP
* Salts - cures being stunned/confused
* Magic Cloth - teleports back to save point
* Jewel - restores MP, rare until Chapter 7
* Golden Apple - revives party member, rare until Chapter 7

Part 1 - Night Visitor
----------------------

You start in a bar in Rioau village. There's a bard who can be used
to save the game in the bottom right corner.

When you try to leave the bar, you'll trigger an event. After the
event, go to the village chief's house in the north west of the
village. He'll give you 50G and a task. Use the gold to purchase
some herbs at the medicine shop to the south and head to Fipona
Forest to the south. A cutscene will ensue.

When you arrive at Fipona, go to the east and exit. There's a
bridge to the south, but the enemies here are too strong for now.
Save going south for later.

Treasure chest: Salts.

Talk to the women in the westernmost back room of the roadside inn
to trigger an event. After the event, go back to Rioau and fight
a boss battle with a Sabretooth Tiger on the way. After
defeating it, talk to the roadside innkeeper to trigger an event
and you'll now be able to go to Knight's Town.

After triggering the event and talking to the man outside the
roadside inn, a new overworld shortcut to Rioau without going
through the forest will appear.

Talk to the old man behind the Knight's Town inn (in the northwestern
corner of the town square), then you'll be able to go to Mage's
crypt to the north when you exit the town.

Talk to the Samurai in the innermost room of the Knight's Castle
(far north of Knight's Town) to trigger a small cutscene.

Once you've equipped yourself, travel to Mage's crypt. Talk to
the Thief inside the crypt to get a Rope.

Treasure Chests
1F: Herb, Chocolate, Mage's Letter
3F: 50G

After obtaining the Mage's Letter from one of the treasure chests
deep in the Mage's crypt, go back to the roadside inn. Mage will
be added to your party.

After recruiting Mage, go back to Knight's Town and talk to Knight
in the back of the castle to trigger a cutscene and a boss battle.
After the boss battle with the Sabretooth Tiger is over, you'll
obtain a Locket.

At this point you can search the chest in the north-west part of
the knight's castle grounds to get a new weapon for Mercenary.

Head back to Rioau village.

When you arrive in Rioau, go to the Chief's house, and "use" the
locket on him. He'll let you follow him into his fireplace. Talk
to him again and you'll recieve a Vampire Key, which you can use
to access the Vampire base in the far south of Fipona Forest.

You don't need to go into Rioau's well using the rope to clear the
game, but it gives you a useful item. The cross can be used to heal
Sylvia of vampirism and can deal heavy damage against Vampires.

Make sure to equip yourself with healing items before proceeding.

Cross the bridge to head south into deep Fipona Forest. Talk to
the Amazon in the south-western part to add her to your party.

Use the vampire key on a tree in the south east of the forest
(there's an NPC right next to it) and the bridge to the vampire
headquarters will open.

When you enter the vampire HQ, you'll want to search chests on both
sides to find new weapons. Another sabretooth tiger will be blocking
a path on the first floor. After defeating it, head northwest, and
then south once you go through the door.

Treasure Chests
1F: Steel Mace, Wiz Robe

In the south-east, a boss battle against a vampire will take place.
Use Mage's Hot spell to block his ice attacks. He will drop an
ID card.

With the ID card, return back to the staircase and head east this
time. Use the ID card to proceed further into the facility.

In the west part of the facility, there's a final boss battle
against Mecharos. He can paralyze, so it's a good idea to carry
salts. Make sure to save and heal before proceeding.

Part 2 - Betrayal Blues
-----------------------

Part 2 begins inside the Knight's Town castle. Near the starting
area, you can find Dwarf. Talk to him and he'll join your party.
After that, recieve a package from the weapons shop owner and head
to the Demon Forest.

In the south part of Knight's Town, you can find Berserker for a
small funny cutscene, but he won't join your party.

In the south part of Demon Forest, you can find the Elf and recruit
him to your party.

Head northeast through the Demon Forest to find Rio village, which
has a weapon shop.

Treasure chest: 100G

Once you arrive in Rio, purchase the Clothes in the weapons shop,
and make sure you have a rope. Once you're back in the demon forest,
head to the monster outpost in the south.

There is a building to the north of the pass you can enter to obtain
a Hero's Axe from a small boss battle, which you'll need to proceed
further. The Hero's Axe can also be purchased in Rio, so it's not
necessary to go here to clear the game.

Before you can pass the guards to the south, you'll need to use
the Clothes to disguise yourself as a merchant. A NPC in the
north-east part of the pass will tell you to kill Knight in Rio
village to join the Shogun's forces.

Travel south-east to Cid, deliver the parcel to the refuge and
optionally sleep there (for free!) to heal. In the south of Cid is
a well, the old man says it goes to the monsters' HQ but it really
takes you back to Rio. Use it as a shortcut - using the Hero's Axe
is necessary to clear the rocks.

When you enter the Rio bar, there will now be a fake Knight inside.
Talk to him and scare him away. After that, a shifty man
will give you a badge identifying yourself as a member of Shogun's
army. Go back through the well to Cid.

Optionally, at this point you can travel back to the pass and enter
the restricted area. There you'll be offered a boss battle against
a Dragon in exchange for a powerful weapon for Knight.

Since you have the badge, you can now pass east of Cid to the
monsters' headquarters. Make sure to heal up and obtain supplies
before entering the tower. Boss battles against Samurai, Shogun,
and Oniros will ensue.

Treasure Chests
B1: Herb, 150G
1F: Silver Armor

Part 3: Missing Berserker
-------------------------

Chapter 3 begins inside Elf's treehouse in the fairy village. Leave the
house, and go to the northern tree to talk with the tree spirit. After
receiving the task to redeem Samurai from the spirit, get some supplies from
the cat merchants in their tree houses. Leave the village to the west.

You can speak to the cats next to the trees in the forest to get some
background information. Make sure you don't choose "no" to all the options,
otherwise Samurai will die. Travel south to enter a more dangerous area of
the forest.

The exit from the dangerous area is in the south-east. There is various
valuable loot here, including a golden apple for reviving your comrades.
However, the primary purpose here is to gain experience points.

Treasure Chests:
Golden Apple, 150G

When you exit the forest, your map will reveal two villages, a temple, and
a tower surrounding a lake. Talking to the priest in the temple and the
villagers will reveal that they're currently feuding, and a mysterious figure
known as the seer is behind it.

Most of the NPCs will refuse to give you any services, but there is a
traveling merchant in the north-west of the western village, and a NPC
called Dan will let you rest at his house. In the eastern village, a cat
acts as a stand-in for the medicine shop's owner.

Go to the tower, and you'll discover you can't go far inside, but the person
outside will provide a hint that the east village merchant has a key to the
back door.

Go to the east village, and learn from the merchant's cat that he hides the
key under his chair.

Search the chair, and use the key to enter the seer's tower from the east.

Inside the tower, talk to Majoros in the ground floor bedroom to begin a
boss battle.

After defeating Majoros, collect the key from the treasure chest next to
her.

A suspicious blue cat upstairs will provide a hint that Majoros hides things
under her bed. Search the bed to find a suspicious note.

Talk to Majoros at the top of the tower to begin battle again.

Treasure Chests
1F: Locked treasure chest (2 keys)
2F: Magic Cloth, 150G
3F: Demon Blade

Exit the tower. The feud between the two villages is now over, and they've
gathered at the temple to celebrate. Talk to the priest and you'll learn
two artefacts are missing.

The note from Majoros' bed contains clues about where they are. Read it and
find the two trees on the edges of the two villages, search their roots.

Talking to the priest again, he'll mention that uniting the two treasures
reveals a hidden castle. This is the pyramid in Majoros' tower's basement
(if you found it before).

Get some supplies and go back to the tower, go through the northwest door
from the main entrance and into the pool to reach the hidden castle.

Berserker is standing outside the hidden castle, talk to him for a humourous
cutscene and he'll join your party. At this point, you can optionally go
back to the west village to get some better armour for him.

Talk to Hebiros, who's blocking a path in the hidden castle, and a boss
battle will start. He uses ice element attacks, so it's a good idea to use
Elf's Hot spell. After the boss battle, go further and Chapter 3 will come
to an end.

Part 4: A Closed Way
--------------------

We begin in Tankirie Castle. Once you're ready, and have upgraded your
weapons and got some supplies, head out into the forest.

There's nothing particularly interesting in the forest other than a few
treasure chests, so grind out some XP and head west to the Hope Kingdom.

Treasure Chests: Herb, Chocolate

When you arrive in Hope, head northwest to the royal palace.  Going
upstairs, there's a quick event where the young prince runs away from you.
Head northwest to the King's chamber.

He'll tell you to find the prince. The guards can be used to get directions,
follow their directions one-by-one to find the prince. After finding him,
talk to the King again. You'll be told to search for Captain Aiv.  Talk
to the Queen (south of the King) for a little bit of background information.

Proceed back to the south of the town to find the port, and talk to some
sailors. You'll learn that Captain Aiv has his own port to the south.
After learning this, it'll appear on your map, and you'll be able to fast
travel there when leaving Hope.

Once you arrive at Aiv's Port, board the ship on the southern pier and
speak with the captain across his desk. You'll be told to search for
Blaze's Ember to help unfreeze the oceans. Return to Hope Kingdom.

Speak to the King and Queen in the royal palace, and you'll be directed
towards Mount Xeno. It'll appear on your fast travel map.

Go back to Castle Tankirie. To the castle's east, there's a small shed
inhabited by Dr. Bomb. He'll give you an Ice Bomb which you can use to
freeze the lava on Mount Xeno.

Heal up, acquire some supplies, and head towards the peak of Mount Xeno.
"Use" the ice bomb at the edge of the central crater to freeze the lava
streams. An entrance at the back of the crater leads to a boss battle with
Blaze. He uses Fire attacks, so you'll want to use Mage's CLD spell to
create barriers.

After obtaining Blaze's Ember, head back to Aiv's Port.  A cave over a
small lava lake is now accessible which provides a shortcut back to the
bottom of the mountain.

Treasure chests: 200G, Jewel (restores MP),
Ice Sword (weapon for Knight)

Captain Aiv will tell you to use Blaze's Ember on the sea just before the
bridge. Once you've done this, you can talk to Aiv again to travel to
Blizzard.

Once the ship has set sail, the other sailors will hint at you to check
on the watchman. The watchman is on the west side of the upper deck. After
talking to him, a cutscene will occur and you'll crash land on a moving
fortress.

Once on the fortress, you can talk to Aiv again to go back on the ship to
acquire supplies or heal up.

Follow the NPCs blocking the warp machines and talk to each of them to
enter a boss battle.

Boss Battle: "Dark Shield"
Boss Battle: "Vampire"
Boss Battle: "Shield" (optional)
Boss Battle: "Shadow" (optional)
Boss Battle: "Demon x 2"

Takoros (the red guy) should be defeated to unlock the two chests he's
standing between.

One of the demons is guarding the reactor core. Defeat it, and use the
laser gun obtained earlier from Takoros to destroy the reactor.

If you open the treasure chests guarded by Shield and Shadow, a fairy will
appear and offer to fully heal your party. However, this is optional,
and you can fully heal for 200G on the ship.

Treasure Chests: Gold Apple, Orc Sword, Staff of Truth, 200G, Laser Gun

Go back to the entrance (use the warp to the right of the reactor) and
talk to Aiv again and he's ready to leave. You'll land on Blizzard Kingdom's
shore.

Enter Blizzard Palace and talk to the Ice Queen to trigger a cutscene and
end Part 4.

Part 5: Lady's Letter
---------------------

Chapter 5 starts in the Tankirie Castle throne room. There's nothing notable
happening in the town, so when you're ready and have enough supplies, head
out to Captain Aiv's port.

Board the Caldera ship and speak with the Captain, and then the crewman
upstairs to set sail to Blizzard.

Talk Blizzard's queen inside her throne room. She'll give you a task to find
her daughter, and provide you with an ice orb that is familiar to her
daughter. She'll also give you a time limit, but *don't worry about it*!
Time only progresses at notable points in the story.

Head back to Tankirie and exit the town to the forest. There's a Dryad
standing by the broken bridge. After talking to her, you'll be able to travel
to the Tornado Desert using the map once you exit the forest.

Once you enter the Tornado Desert, head directly south and talk to the man
wandering around. He'll advise you that you'll be unable to navigate the
desert without a compass. Exit the desert and head back to the Caldera ship.
The captain has a compass in his chest.

Search the treasure chests on the desert's surface - they contain powerful
weapons. Once you're done, head through the cave to the southwest to access
the Hope Kingdom.

People are under attack by monsters inside Hope's buildings. You won't be
able to access any services directly in Hope until they're defeated,
but there's an option to save or go back.

Battles: 2x Dark Vampire, Demons, 2x Blue Shadow, and Blaze.

Once you've defeated the monsters, talk to Harrison (the golden knight) in
his house in the south-east of Hope. He'll reveal that there's a secret
passage under his bed, so search it to enter the tunnel underneath Hope
Castle. There's random encounters with powerful monsters in the tunnel, so
make sure you're sufficiently healed.

Exit the Hope Castle prison room, climb the stairs, and defeat Docros
upstairs. He'll reveal that he's just trying to slow you down, and you'll
now have to fight Decaros for the king's life in the room to the north.

Speak to King Hope. He'll utter his last words and give you a sword to
deliver to his son on New Hope, an island.

Head back to Aiv's port and speak with Marin who is surprisingly walking
around the town looking for Mercenary. You'll recieve Marin's Heart, powerful
protective armour for Mercenary.

Once you arrive in New Hope, give the sword to the young prince in the
south-east house. Next, head to the church to see Mark and Sylphy's wedding. If
you've been paying attention to Hope's bar before, you might know that Sylphy
(the light blue woman) is afraid of heat. Show her the Ice Orb and speak to
her - she'll admit to being the Snow Princess. She'll give you a letter for
her mother and tell you to find the Mirror of Truth in a cave on Blizzard.

The Blizzard cave can now be accessed from the sea map. Once again, it's
filled with powerful monsters, so stock up on supplies before heading there.
Head north-west into the cave and there will be a boss battle with an Ice
Dragon for the Mirror.

Once you've obtained the Mirror, heal up on the Caldera ship, then head back
to Blizzard. Talk to the NPC at the throne to trigger a cutscene and boss
battle with Mecharos MK-2. Once you've defeated Mecharos again, Chapter 5
ends.

Part 6: Finale - Atlantis
-------------------------

The chapter begins in front of the throne in Tankirie Castle. You may now
travel to several islands from the Caldera ship. The map has expanded and
now scrolls horizontally.

Using Dwarf's hero axe, it is now possible to break through the wall in the
north-east corner of the ice cave. Through the passageway, you will find
Elf and be able to convince him to join you on the Caldera.

Treasure Chest: Star Luster

The island furthest to the west is Frontier Island. On it, you can find
Mage. After speaking to him, he will also join you on the Caldera.

Return to the Hope kingdom. The blocked part of the passage under the golden
knight Harrison's bed is also now accessible with the hero axe.  Go inside,
and travel through the dungeon to the "ancient ruins".  A treasure chest
inside contains the Arao Amulet, which you will need later.

Treasure Chests: Jewel, Arao Amulet

Rumour has it that Necros' forces have occupied Bluegrass Island.  Heal
yourself and purchase some Chocolate before traveling there.  You should
proceed to the north of the island to a fort guarded by two NPCs.

Battles: Red Dragon and Red Kali.

Enter the fort and be surprised by the low-level monsters that reside within.
Proceed east, and talk to Necros(?). Answer "Yes" to all the questions that
appear. Once he's disappeared, exit the fort and talk to Mercenary outside,
who will now join you on the Caldera.

You must now travel in search of the scientist Arao. The other island where
Samurai is standing around near the docks is where you'll find a trace of
him. Samurai will mention that a Thief is moaning in the inn, visit the inn
and head to its furthest room.

Search the chest near the Thief to enter into a boss battle with the Ifrit
who is possessing him. After the battle, the Thief will explain that he
stole the cursed jar containing the Ifrit, and it comes from Atlantis.

Around the island village, rumour is that Arao's daughter is blind, and that
she lives on the outskirts to the northwest. Visit the northwest house and
show the girl the Arao Amulet. After speaking to her, she'll reveal that
Arao was kidnapped by Necros' forces to serve as a guide to Atlantis.

Once you've learned this, you'll now be able to access the enemy's ship from
the travel map. Prepare for more combat and travel to the enemy's ship when
you're ready.

Boss Battle: Satania

After traveling through the ship and defeating the Satania boss, the portal
to Atlantis in the ocean north of Frontier Island will open.

Atlantis has various services offered by its peaceful ghostly residents, so
you can heal at the inn there. Only the initial area of Atlantis is not
occupied by Necros' forces. Travel south through the island and then to the
east, following the path north. Docros is occupying the temple, and a boss
battle against him will occur upon entering.

Boss Battle: Docros

After defeating Docros, he'll say something cryptic about the underground.
There is a hidden dungeon below the temple that you can reach by searching
the floor. Traveling downwards, it looks like you are going in circles
(remember Mage's crypt?) but you are not - just keep going down until you
reach the facility. The dungeon is huge, so make sure you have Exit spells
ready to return to Atlantis and heal when necessary.

Near the end of the dungeon, a gold passageway will appear. This leads to
a boss battle with Necros.

After defeating Necros, talk to Marin at the Atlantis port to end Chapter 6.

Boss Battle: Necros.

Part 7: Revival
---------------

Well, something has happened, but we don't know what. The game requires
talking to the Bard to continue. After this is done, speak with the King
to choose two members for your party. Pick carefully, as you can't change
your choice without loading a save, and the most powerful monsters in the
game are ahead of you. Make sure one of the characters has the ability to
use shield spells.

Inside the castle, speak to the Fairy when you need to heal. In the castle
ground, to the north-west, you can buy any equipment you haven't managed
to get so far. In the dungeon, slightly to the east, you can buy supplies.
Make sure you get a Magic Cloth so you can easily return to the castle to
heal.

Various people you've met so far in your journey appear around the dungeon
outside the castle.

Travel through the eastern half, and speak to Angela to recieve an orb.

Travel through the western half, and speak to Mark (Sylphy's husband)
to recieve the ice orb. Travel deeper, and you'll encounter Marin.
Her father is under attack by monsters. If you speak with the monsters,
a boss battle will begin. This boss has the ability to summon copies of
party members.

Boss Battle: Ghost Shogun.

Once her father is saved, speak to Marin again to recieve another orb.
You'll probably want to return for healing at this point.

Deeper in the western half of the dungeon, you'll encounter the lying
old man from Cid village in Chapter 2. If you believe him and listen
to his story, he'll give you another orb.

At this point, you should have enough orbs to open the portal that
Sylphy is standing near. Use the orbs on the pipes and operate the
machine until you hear a distant noise.

Once the portal is open, Capt. Aiv in the eastern dungeon will be
freed from his trap. Talk to him to recieve another orb.

The portal near Sylphy leads to a chamber with much more powerful
monsters than before, so prepare before going there, and make sure
you have a means of quick exit. Inside the chamber, Aleph and his
mother are under attack.

Boss Battle: Mecharos Ghost, Hebiros Ghost.

Once you've defeated the monsters attacking Aleph, speak to him to
recieve another orb.

Deeper inside the chamber, to the east, you can find the dead body
of Thief. Attempt to talk to him, then return to Dr. Bomb in the
castle. Dr. Bomb will give you a revival potion.

Return to Thief's body, and use the potion on him. He'll come back
to life and give you the final orb.

Once you've collected all the orbs, the metal doors behind the Fake
Knight will open, leading to the final bosses of the game.

Keep in mind for maintaining your Hot/Cold shields that these bosses
alternate between using Ice and Fire attacks. You cannot heal except
with spells/items between these boss fights, so make sure to stock up,
including Jewels to recover your MP!

Boss Battle: Necros Ghost

Once the ghost of Necros is defeated, you are teleported to a dark
void. This is an opportunity to use items to heal. Proceed through
the void to encounter Necrogar.

Boss Battle: Necrogar
