Final Fantasy IV Walkthrough - Where to go, missable bestiary entries and chests, step-by-step guide

The Pixel Remaster release of Final Fantasy IV marks the first time that the 2D version of the game is officially playable for PC. If you are looking to 100% the game and get all achievements, we're here to help.

This walkthrough is a minimalist bullet point guide for those who don't want to dive into a dense lengthy walkthrough, but also for those who don't want to miss anything that will prevent you from getting 100% bestiary and chests. For most dungeons, the provided in-game map is all you need for dungeon exploration, and these maps will tell you if you've obtained all the chests/items in an area. Simply open it up to take a look where chests are. However, a handful of dungeons do have secret passageways leading to extra rooms and chests, so we'll point these out from time to time.

Final Fantasy IV is a pretty easy entry in the Final Fantasy series, so anyone with RPG experience should be able to get through the game without too much trouble. Remember to keep your mages in the back row, physical attackers in the front row, heal when needed, and all that. A few bosses do have gimmicks that we will point out.

What this walkthrough will do:

• Offer a minimalist walkthrough so you know what you need to do at any point in the game.
• Point out missable treasure chests and enemies so you can complete the game 100%.

What the walkthrough will not do:

• Offer anything more than the most rudimentary introduction strategies for bosses or party build.
• In-depth Dungeon Walkthroughs. The dungeons in FF4 Pixel Remaster are mostly very straightforward. Use the in-game map and you will usually not get lost. Some dungeons have hidden paths; we will point out some of the trickier ones.

1. Introductions, Baron, and the Mist Dragon

• The Final Fantasy IV adventure opens up in Baron Castle and the surrounding town. After story events, you’ll be dispatched on a mission to deliver a Bomb Ring, which sure is an ominous thing to carry. There’s a lot of story nattering. 
• In the castle, you can get the three obvious chests on 1F by talking to the guard and pressing the button on the wall next to the door. They contain a small amount of gil, an Ether, and a Tent. Beyond that, there’s nothing else to do - though you can talk to a bunch of people. Eventually, after bumping into Rosa and Cid, you’ll head to sleep.
• After resting overnight, you’ll be ready to embark on your mission, and will see the title crawl. Before you actually leave, you can buy restorative items from Baron town if you want  - but you are quite well-equipped by default, and the weapon shop is locked. When ready, head to the Cave of Mist. 

• You'll want to head to the Mist Cave Dungeon. You can’t miss the Mist Cave on the world map - you spawn into quite an open area around Baron, but there’s only one path that goes anywhere, to the North-West.
  • Note: For achievement purposes, you'll want to eventually enter each Chocobo Forest in the game world, many of which have Gysahl Green items hidden in the grass. There is one such Chocobo Forest SW of Baron. We'll point these out later, though, when you get an airship to easily visit them all in one go.
• Once you’re in the Mist Cave, you'll find a nice, straightforward dungeon to introduce you to the general flow of FF4’s dungeons. 
• Along the way, there’ are some Tents, Potions, and Gil to be found in chests. The dungeon layout is straightforward enough, but you’ll need to go slightly off the beaten path to get all of the chests. Use your map liberally to find your way through - there are only 4 chests to get. In the North-Eastern area of the cave, the threats from the Mist begin to intensify. If you push on, you’ll encounter your first Boss Battle.

Boss Battle: Mist Dragon

• With just 450 HP, the Mist Dragon isn’t a difficult boss battle. The main thing you need to know is that when the Mist Dragon assumes a form that’s more mist than dragon, you should stop attacking.
• Attacking when the Dragon is in Mist form will be futile and cause a nasty counter-attack - which is pretty much the only way this pushover boss can beat you. Instead, press left on the menu to access the option to defend, or heal up during turns while the dragon is mist. When it changes form again, continue attacking. Give it all you’ve got with both Cecil and Kain, and the Dragon will fall quickly enough.

2. Mist Village and Kaipo, Oasis Town

• You’re spat out of the cave and onto the overworld. From there, it’s a short, linear path to the Mist Village. This is a sleepy little town - but enter it, and unintentionally make it a whole lot less sleepy. Story events take over. 
• Once you’re done with the story events, you’ll be back on the world map on the other side of the Mist Village, unable to return to it. Item collectors, don’t worry, the map screen points out chests and items in Mist Village, and you’ll be able to get these later. In any case, head on out to the north-west and into the desert. There’s a town in the desert, around a lake - an Oasis town called Kaipo. You’ll automatically head to the Inn.

• After resting up, more story sequences, and an easy enforced fight. In this battle, you’ll want to take out the General first, as he will run away if you take out his subordinates. Afterwards, you'll get a new party member. After this, you can explore town and hit up the shops and the like. You can also find an Ether item in one of the two jars right behind the weapon shop. There’s a minor upgrade for Rydia but not much of interest available. For those trying to collect all the hidden items, there’s only one in Kaipo - an ether in a pot.
• When ready, head to the house in the top-right of Kaipo for another story sequence. You now have a new goal - destination, Damcyan!

3. Desert Grinding, the Underground Waterway, and Water Cavern

• First of all, make sure that Rydia is in the back row. We now suggest you make sure that you level up a bit in the desert, as the difficulty ramps up a bit here. We recommend that you level up here until she’s around level 10; you can use the Inn at Kaipo to heal if necessary. That may seem like a lot, but since she’s so far behind she’ll catch up fast. 
• You may find from the back row all of Rydia’s physical attacks miss; it’s no big deal. Cecil’s Darkness skill will one-shot a lot of these desert enemies, and though it does reduce his HP, healing is nearby - that can make the grind fly by in a few minutes. 
• When ready, return to Kaipo for one last heal. It won’t hurt to have a few Tents at hand, too. Now head to the North-East of Kaipo, into some mountains. 

Underground Waterway / Subterranean Lake Dungeon

• This is another straightforward dungeon, and if you’re on the FF4 Pixel Remaster version, the map will show you where chests are if you look closely. The chests dotted throughout the dungeon contain a Potions, Maiden’s Kiss, Tent, Iron Armlet, Ether, Antarctic Wind, Dry Ether, X-Potion, Phoenix Down, Ether, Ice Rod, Bomb Fragment, Hourglass, and the Shadowblade.
  • Item Collection Note: In the first room of the Underground Waterway, you’ll see a waterfall on the map that is three spaces wide. There is a hidden room here with three chests.
• Remember, undead enemies in this area can be hurt by restorative magic and items. All of the water-like enemies can be obliterated by Thunder magic. Partway through the dungeon, Sage Tellah joins your party. Once Tellah has joined, you can either continue to the top-left area exit, or work your way right and around the rest of this area mopping up loot. Be sure to head into the big waterfall in this first area for three chests all in one place.
• In the second section of the dungeon, you’ll need to work your way around the room in a clockwise fashion to reach the door in the center. The door on the left side leads to a free heal zone, then puts you back into the same room.
  • Item Collection Note: In Underground Waterway B2, you can enter a hidden path on the left side of the screen, then head up and around to a chest on the right side, holding a Feathered Cap. [Note, a commenter states this is not on B2 but on the next floor.]
• The rest of the dungeon is straightforward enough. You’ll eventually end up back on the overworld; but this is a brief detour, use a tent to heal, then it’s right back into a cave. At this point, you should have picked up all 18 items in Underground Waterway.
• This next cave is the Subterranean Lake; follow Tellah down the waterfall. There’s a couple more items here; the Hades Helm & Hades Gloves. Then head to the door. Through here there’s two more chests offering the Hades Armor and Hermes Shoes. Equip Cecil, then continue, and interact with the tentacles in the waterfall to kick off a boss fight.

Boss Battle: Octomamm

• First, don’t bother with Darkness as Cecil; conserve his energy. Have Rydia use Lightning magic or call the Chocobo summon as often as she can. Use Tellah as a healer and keep on using Lightning magic repeatedly.
• And… that’s it. Honestly, this boss should fall pretty quickly, and you’ll know you’re getting somewhere as the tentacles start to disappear.
• Once the giant Octopus is defeated, head through the waterfall. On the world map you’ll witness a story event, then hurry to Damcyan.

4. Damcyan and the Antlion’s Den

• Damcyan is basically a story-only destination; you’ll experience several narrative events here and have some party member switches, which you should get used to - in FF4 this happens often, and is dictated by the story progression.
  • In the Pixel Remaster, you don't have to worry about unequipping characters who leave the party, as they'll automatically return their items to the inventory.
• Your next destination is the Antlion’s Den, but first, get out of the hovercraft go to the entrance of Damcyan. Walk around the outer wall of the castle, on the sand, to the right, then up. There’s a room you can enter here that’s full of treasure. You should be able to get all the items and chests here - remember to check your map to be sure.
• Take your new hovercraft and use it to travel over the ‘shallows’ - that’s the little rocks jutting out of the water in the ocean - to get to the Antlion’s Den dungeon, just east of Damcyan, over some of those shallows. Given your party make-up, you might want to consider grinding Edward up some levels before entering the dungeon; use a tent to be fully healed if you do.

Antlion’s Den Dungeon

• The Antlion’s Den is a pretty straightforward dungeon. There’s several items available in chests here that you can find by going off the beaten path, but the single most interesting and important is a Lamia’s Harp weapon for Edward. 
• Deep in this dungeon - though not that deep, since it’s a short one - you'll encounter the Antlion itself. You should be able to get the 13 items listed here quite easily by following your map. A boss fight ensues. 

Boss Battle: Antlion

• The main thing to be aware of here is the Antlion’s counter, which can do a good 35-40 points of damage. Don’t let that stop you from attacking, however - unlike the Mist Dragon, there's no 'safe' phase to attack - the Antlion will always counter. As a result, the strategy is to stay healed.
• The rules are similar to the last fight: have Cecil fight with regular attacks (no need for Darkness here), have Rydia use the Chocobo summon, and have Edward do what he can with his harp. The Antlion can’t be affected by Edward’s status effect attacks - so just attack with him. The counter will mean you’ll need to use Rydia as a white mage as and when required to keep yourself healed. This boss is ultimately pretty simple, and it’ll fall in no time.

• After the boss battle, you’ll need to take yourself out of the dungeon, and then all the way back to Kaipo. To get there, travel across the shallows back to Damcyan, and then past Damcyan, keeping west to find more shallows that loop you back down to Kaipo.
• At Kaipo, give Rosa the Sand Ruby you got from beating Antlion to advance the plot. Edward will have a story-driven battle, and then you’ll have an even larger party heading to your next destination, Mt. Hobs.

5. Mt. Hobs, Mom Bomb, and Fabul

• Mt. Hobs is also reached using the hovercraft. Go from Kaipo back to the Damcyan area, and then from the top north-eastern bit of that landmass use the hovercraft to go across shallows to reach it. Enter the mountain. Rydia will melt the ice to grant you access.
• From this screen, the left cave leads to a safe zone and loads of chests. The right side leads to your next story beat, including a new party member and a boss character. 

Boss Battle: Mom Bomb

• You’re fighting with a new party member here, Yang. Mom Bomb has a few forms. The basic strategy is this - attack like crazy, keeping healed, until Mom Bomb warns it’s going to explode. At that point, press left on the d-pad in the menu to choose to defend to black massive damage. Once exploded and in a new form, resume attacking. When Mom Bomb splits into six smaller, normal bombs, use Yang’s kick and Cecil’s Darkness (as long as you have the HP to do so) to take them all down quickly. With Edward and Rosa available to heal, you should be able to keep everybody safe easily. Remember that the red bombs are weak to Ice, so that’s an option for Rydia.
• Once Mom Bomb is taken care of, you’ll be able to continue to the secondary, Eastern exit of Mt. Hobbs. You should have gotten all 5 chests easily for the item collection.
• From here, keep following the obvious path to the east until you find Fabul Castle waiting for you. It’s safe to enter even if you’re worn down - no need to heal.
• Inside Fabul Castle, you’ll find a weapon shop with some new stuff for Cecil and elemental claws for Yang. There’s also a chest with a tent in it hidden away. You might notice a hidden button to the right of the throne room too - but you can’t step on it just yet.

• Speak to the King in the Throne Room to kick off a series of major events in the castle. You’ll have some battles along the way. Within these battles, make sure you kill one of the Captains to get his bestiary entry. Once this is all over, you’ll be able to press that button in the throne room and take the secret path that opens to get your hands on a Demon Shield item, plus some other useful stuff. With this, and the items in the West and East Towers, you should be able to get all the items in Fabul for you item collection pretty easily. Also, note you can pick up one item in the nearby Chocobo Forest, but we'll point out the Chocobo Forests later, too.
• Rest at the Fabul Castle Inn (for free!) to advance the story. As part of this, the crew formulate a plan, and you get the Deathbringer weapon from the King for Cecil to equip. When you leave Fabul, a ship will be waiting on the jetty to the east, ready to take you to FF4’s next major story beat…

6. The High Seas, Mysidia, and Chocobo Forest

• It seems like poor old Cecil and crew just can’t catch a break. This is what they got for starring in the most story-driven FF so far, I guess. As soon as you step foot on the ship the narrative takes hold. Eventually, you find yourself back in control, in a new place. When you first come to, you might want to consider grinding it out to get Cecil’s levels up just a bit… On the hardest versions of the game, level 25 is a good spot. You can definitely make it through lower, though, and you might want to wait to do this until after you’ve been to town.
• When ready, head into Mysidia. This is the town Cecil laid waste to under orders from the King of Baron right at the start of FF4, but oh how the tables have turned. Surprisingly, despite the fact that you ripped their town to shreds, the weapon and armor shops will still sell you stuff - but there’s nothing here for you… yet.
  • You can go ahead and buy the Light equipment and Knight Armor here now if you have the money to spare. You'll be able to equip it on Cecil relatively soon.
• Talk to the Mysidian Elder in the northern house. This gives you your next mission, and a couple of new party members. You can now exit Mysidia at will, though we would recommend that in most versions of the game you now head to the world map and level up the twins a bit - probably to around level 17-20. 
• It’s also worth noting that on the path to Mt. Ordeals, you’ll see a circular-shaped forest to the south. This is a Chocobo Forest. What you can do here is limited for now, but they will restore your MP if needed, which combined with Porom’s Cure spell gives you free heals, which is very useful for the grind. There's also another item to pick up in the grass. When ready, had to Mt. Ordeals, where everything changes for FF4 protagonist Cecil.

7. Mt. Ordeals ~ Darkness & Light

• Mount Ordeals is a fairly short dungeon, and picking up the chests here is quite straightforward. There's some basic treasures, and a wide range of enemies to battle, which feels fitting for a location that's meant to be a test.
• When you get to the top, you will take on a boss, Scarmiglione, twice, shortly after the save point, while on a bridge. The first time you first him, it will be as normal, but the second has a twist. Once you defeat him the first time, be sure to swap your character rows around, putting Cecil in the back row with all the mages in the front. The reason for this is that Scarmiglione will ambush you the second time with a back attack. If you are already flipped in your positions, then the back-attack will attack work in your favor, make sense? Here's the boss guides:

Boss Battle: Scarmiglione (Milon / Milon Z)

• Scarmiglione is known as Milon in some versions of the game, but in all the modern ports he has his proper name. Anyway, Scarmiglione is weak to Fire, so have Palom and Tellah dish that out.
• In the first battle, Scarmiglione comes with a bunch of other enemies. The enemies counter every attack that hits their master with magic, so focus on the grunts first.
• For the second battle, the main concern is that Scarmiglione can inflict status effects including Curse, Blind, and Silence. Hopefully you'll have items to hand to cure if these hit any of your party.
• As an undead form, the second Scarmiglione boss battle means you can use Fire, but also curative magic. Because Cecil's Dark Sword isn't very useful against him, Cecil can actually do more damage by using potion items on the boss.
• The key to this battle is completely just staying healed and using your mages. Both battles should be over in no time.

• Afterwards, you'll have an event battle at the tombstone. Don't attack the shadow and you'll win, and Cecil will turn into a Paladin. NOW you can equip the armor you purchased for him back at Mysidia.
• Make your way back to Mysidia - you can use a chocobo from the forest nearby Mt. Ordeals to help. Eventually you'll unlock a path back to Baron.

8. Return to Baron

• When you return to Baron, you'll find Yang in the pub, who will fight you in a mind-controlled stupor. When you knock him to his senses, you'll get the Baron Key, which will allow you to finally get all items/chests in the town of Baron. Check the weapon/armor shop and the entrance at the Old Waterway.

Old Waterway Dungeon

• Enter the lone door on the south-west side of Baron town with the Baron Key to enter the Old Waterway. This dungeon is straightforward with 8 chests; there are some hidden paths but they are pretty readily seen on the dungeon map. 
• Mostly, this is really a story dungeon that is just designed to lead you to the next bit. After the Waterway, you'll enter Baron Castle. You have a few boss fights coming up:

Boss Battle: Baigan

• First in this minor boss gauntlet is Baigan. He's kind of a pushover but will cast reflect on himself. Have Palom and Tellah get a magic hit in on him early before he gets a chance to put it up.
• Baigan is split into three pieces - Baigan himself, and his left and right arms. The Left arm's attacks will paralyze a party member, while the Right Arm will cast an attack that saps your HP over time. If you defeat the arms, they'll revive after a while if you don't kill Baigan quickly after.
• Have Cecil focus mostly on the main body. Yang should just go for it, but we recommend leaving Power behind - either deal a little damage to everything with Kick or focus down on one part with main attacks.
• Once Baigan casts reflect, you can risk Twin magic if you want - one of the two spells that can result in will bypass Reflect... but the other won't, which risks a bounce back onto you. Have Tellah be your healer.

Boss Battle: Cagnazzo

• The second in this string of bosses is Cagnazzo. The trick to beating him is to use Ice attacks when his protective water wall is down, and then hit him with lightning when it is up in order to bring it back down. As long as you do this, you shouldn't have any problems.
• The main thing to be worried about is Cagnazzo's Tsunami attack. You'll have plenty of warning that this is going to happen, and you need to make sure you heed the warnings and are ready to defend or heal - preferably both.
• Don't forget you likely will have got a bunch of Zeus' Wrath items from enemy drops. This is an item that non-magic users can use to cast Lightning, which can be used to break the water barrier when it's up or disrupt the charging of Tsunami, just like the lightning magic does.
• When you get towards the end of the battle, Cagnazzo retreats into his shell and starts to heal. Hit hard and fast to take him down at this point, all-out attack.

• A bunch of scenes will take place here, including the twins leaving your party. You'll gain Cid and an Airship.
• Note: You STILL can't get the chests in Castle Baron, don't worry, you'll get them later.

9. You Now Have an Airship! - Optional Section 1

Now that you have an airship, there are several optional things you can do now.

1. You can return to the town of Mist to clean up the item collection there. Most items are bomb fragments hidden around town, but also check the fireplace in the house for a few nice items as well.
2. You can visit the town of Agart on an island south of Baron. There is a singular hidden item in Agart, plus new enemies nearby that you can add to your bestiary. None of these are missable, mind.
3. Similarly, you can visit the town of Mythril on the east-center of the map. There are three items to be found around town here (pick these up first) and expensive mythril equipment to buy. There are also new enemies nearby, but in the Pixel Remaster, looks like you need to fly a bit south to actually land in the region of the world map they spawn in. Again, these enemies aren't missable, just pointing them out for those filling out their bestiaries.
4. You can visit the deserted Eblan Castle on the SW island of the world map. This is a little bit of a mini-dungeon, but you can already get everything here if you want to, just be sure to check both towers. However, save before doing so, as some of the chests here are guarded by difficult monsters at this point in the game - feel free to put this off for now if you'd like.
5. You can visit most of the Chocobo Forests easily now with your airship. The Chocobo Village you have to head to shortly, north of Troia, but the rest can be found here. You want to visit each and pick up hidden Gysahl Greens in these places for achievement purposes.

10. Troia and the Magnetic Cave

• To continue the story, you need to head to Troia Castle on the NW continent. Land your airship on the space near town and head into the castle. Here you NEED to find Edward to talk to him, to get the Twin Harp. You can also get 8 chests in one of the rooms, but the rest of the chests for item collection have to wait for now.
• In the town of Troia the are 4 items in the grass past the water.
• You learn you need to head to the Magnetic Cave. This dungeon is a tricky one because you cannot use metal equipment at all. Have Cecil use a bow, Cid a wooden hammer. Yang's fists are fine. Equip everyone with a Ruby Ring, and use equipment like Feathered Cap over any sort of armor.
• To get to the Magnetic Cave, first you need to head north to the Chocobo Village. There are 3 items to pick up in the grass here. Once you do that, find the black chocobo to hop on. Fly east to make your way to the cave.
• Besides the restriction on equipment itself, the Magnetic Cave is pretty straightforward. There are 10 chests, easy. Just be sure to unequip all your metal items first.
  • Rare Drop Summon Note: You can find Mind Flayers here if you are looking for the rare drop summon. Good Luck! If you do this later, you shouldn't have to worry about the metal equipment restriction.
• When you reach the end, you'll take on the Dark Elf. You have to fail the first time you fight him, don't worry. You'll see a scene here where Edward will play the other Twin Harp (IF YOU TALKED TO HIM LIKE I TOLD YOU TO). You'll be given a chance to re-equip your team, and YES you can put on metal equipment now before you take on Dark Elf for real.

Boss Battle: Dark Elf / Dark Dragon

• As we said above, you must make sure that you've talked to Edward before initating this fight. If you haven't, return to the start of this section heading and start over to make sure you do that, then return.
• The normal flow of this battle is as follows: First, a scripted fight against the Dark Elf which you lose. Then you're revived, and given the chance to adjust your equipment. Next, a regular fight against the Dark Elf. Finally, the Dark Elf morphs into the Dark Dragon, which is where the real fight begins.
• Here's what you need to know: The Dark Elf is weak to Holy and Wind. The main thing to be aware of is that the Dark Elf uses powerful magic on rotation; keep Tellah healing, and draw another character in to help if absolutely necessary. Having Hi-Potions to hand isn't a bad idea in case things get really desperate.
• After a certain amount of damage, the Dark Elf will morph into the Dark Dragon. This is a really powerful enemy except for one notable wrinkle - it's deathly weak to Wind. Tellah can unleash a wind spell to really speed up the process and beat it fast. 

• Afterwards, make your way back to Troia Castle. The quickest way to do this is have Tellah cast Exit from the menu, remember. 
• At Troia Castle, talk to the eight clerics, one of them will mention accessing the treasury. You can now speak to the guard in one of the basements to access the rest of the chests here. Yay!

11. Tower of Zot

Be careful here. Once you head onto your airship, you'll automatically be taken to the next dungeon, the Tower of Zot.

• At the end of the Tower of Zot, you'll fight two bosses. Be sure you have the items and monsters for this region before you start the boss battles, as there's no turning back once they start!

Boss Battle: The Magus Sisters (Cindy, Mindy, Sandy)

• First up in this back-to-bass boss gauntlet is a set of characters that went on to bnecome a regular appearance across the FF series - the Magus sisters, also known as Sandy, Cindy, Mindy.
• Go for Cindy first, and be careful with their reflect status. They cleverly use reflect to bounce spells off each other, but this behavior stops as soon as one of them is killed. Cindy is the weakest - so focus on her.
• Basically, have Cecil and Cid attack. Have Yang use Power, so he's delivering as much damage as possible - and focus in on Cindy. Since Cindy has reflect, there's no point in having Tellah attack her - so have him cast magic on the others, and heal as necessary. 
• Once Cindy is down, focus in on Sandy, since she uses a lot of white magic that just slows down the flow of things and extends the length of the entire battle. With only two of them, it's extremely unlikely they can now kill you.  Finally, mop up Mindy. Done.

• Afterwards, feel free to save, and head to the next section. Tellah will leave the party, but Kain and Rosa will rejoin. DON'T MOVE. Requip these two as needed, then as soon as you move, you'll take on the next boss. You can put Kain in the back row, since his Jump isn't affected by row.

Boss Battle: Barbariccia

• Known in some older versions of FF4 as Valvalis, Barbariccia is the next boss and is the elemental fiend of wind. Like the other elemental fiend battles, there's a cute trick to taking her down easy.
• The trick here is to have Kain use Jump when she turns into a tornado. When she has that cyclone whipping around her is when she's at her most deadly - but 'Jump' breaks the tornado and forces Barbariccia back to her regular state. Literally have Kain Jump for the entire battle.
• Meanwhile, have Yang use powered-up attacks, Cid keep wailing away, and Cecil alternate between attacking and healing as necessary. Cecil's not as strong a healer as Rosa, who should do most of the healing, but he can help you catch up when the damage gets to be a lot. Rosa, as you'd expect, should just keep healing, and also heal Slow if you get hit with it. 

• After this, more scenes, and you're back in Baron. You'll get the Magma Rock key item from Kain. You can now finally collect the chests and items to complete your item collection. Most are in the east tower.

12. The Underworld - Dwarven Castle and Tower of Babel.

• With the Magma Rock in tow, head to Agart (that's the town south of Baron) and throw the rock into the well. You'll be able to access the Underworld now.
• After a crash landing, you can enter Dwarf Castle. First, head north and talk to King Giott, which will eventually initiate a boss battle.

Boss Battle: Calca, Brina, Calcabrina

• A boss battle against some creepy puppets. At the onsent of the battle, there'll be three Calca and three Brina. You can take these down easy enough, but you should be aware that if you're going for bestiary completion, you'll need to approach this battle carefully.
• Specifically, make sure you kill at least one of each - one Calca, one Brina. Then, make sure you don't defeat them too fast - as after a certain amount of time, the dolls will 'fuse' into Calcabrina. At that point, take down the dolls with an all-out onslaught of attacks.

Boss Battle: Golbez & Shadow

• This battle is more of a scripted affair to begin with - but you will have a chance to fight properly. It's pretty simple, though - Golbez has several thousand HP, and your mission is just to knock it down as fast as possible by attacking all-out. Even if somebody dies, the better method is probably to keep attacking as much as you can.
• Jump with Kain, and just keep attacking with everyone else. Have Cecil heal when you absolutely have to. Rydia is key - make use of her newly-unlocked summons that she returns with to end this encounter.

• After this, Rydia will rejoin your party. You can then get all chests in Dwarven Castle, hidden in pots and such. There are also new items to buy in the shops.
• If you're looking for the Developer's Room in here, it's found via a secret door in the Dwarven Castle pub. Here, NPCs representing FF4's staff can be found. However, it's been removed from the FF4 Pixel Remaster version.
• One of the Dwarves will open a new path for you. Head this way when you are ready, and then the somewhat lengthy stroll to the NW to enter the Tower of Babel.

• At the end of the Tower of Babel, you take on the eccentric Dr. Lugae. He's honestly a pushover, but note the missable tip above and take out Barnabas first, just in case.

Boss Battle: Dr. Lugae / Barnabas / Barnabas-Z

• As mentioned above, you'll have to fight Dr. Lugae, who fights alongside a sort of frankenstein's monster zombie thing, Barnabas. In some versions, the monster is known as 'Balnab'. 
• First, focus all attacks on Barnabas. He's the damage dealer; you really don't have to worry about Lugae. Barnabas hits hard, however, so it might be worth buffing to reduce the incoming damage while Kain, Cecil, and Yang lay down as much damage as quickly as possible. No need for Kick from Yang - just focus on Barnabas specifically. 
• Once Barnabas is down, it'll revive in a new form. The same rules apply - there's no major weaknesses to worry about, so just keep cured and keep hammering away as necessary. Lugae also transforms into a cyborg. Yeah, I know. Same rules apply.

• You'll get the doctor's Key item, so return a few floors to a locked door, fighting an event battle. Yang will leave the party for good. Then you have to retreat to 1F to end the dungeon.
• After some events, you'll be back near Baron.

13. Eblan, Edge, and revisiting the Tower of Babel

• In Baron, talk to Cid's men on the east side of the castle to attach a hook to the Enterprise.
• Then, head around the Mt. Hobs area to find your hovercraft, and pick it up with your new airship hook.
• Take the hovercraft over to the Eblan Castle area on the SW continent. Complete the item collection in Eblan Castle now if you haven't already.
• Drop off the hovercraft, and then take it to the Cave of Eblan nearby, where you'll need to hovercraft to move over the shoals.
• In the Cave of Eblan, you'll find three treasure chests, then you'll find yourself in the Eblan Settlement area. This area has a shop and two hidden items in pots, and then you are thrown back into the cave.
• Can get the rest of the 20 chests, many hidden behind walls. A little annoying but not too bad. Apologies for no more specific directions on this. At the end, you'll run into Edge fighting Rubicante, and after a quick scene, he'll join your party for good.

Boss Battle: Rubicante

• The last of the elemental fiends, Rubicante is one of the most memorable enemies in FF4 - in part because it's arguably the most difficult of the four fiends of the elements found in the game. He's a fire-elemental, however, which means he's weak to Ice element attacks.
• There's a catch, however: the cloak. Rubicante hides behind his cloak, and when he does, attacks that'd usually exploit his weakness heal him instead - which is devious. 
• Ice elemental armor will help, while you should also have ice-elemental weapons for Cecil and Kain, too.
• Magic is huge, of course - Blizzard attacks, Shiva from Rydia, and Edge's water-elemental attack. Rosa should lead the way with the healing.
• Key, like we said, is just to avoid attacking when the cloak is up. Keep healed, and ice him out with attacks when the cloak is open. He's tough, but it isn't complicated.

• Complete the Tower of Babel - Revisited dungeon, noting the missables above. Also note that the King and Queen of Eblan fight, before Rubicante is mostly an event thing.
  • Rare Drop Summon Note: You can find Balloons in the Tower of Babel, right near the save point part way through. Feel free to farm here if you are looking for the rare drop Bomb summon. Good Luck! You can also fight these on the Moon later, so don't worry about missing it.
• At the end, you'll get another airship - the Falcon.
• After all this is said and done, you'll return to the Dwarven Castle. First, talk to King Giott, then Cid in the infirmary. You'll get Luca's Necklace and have the Falcon able to fly over lava. This unlocks several more optional events.

14. You Now Have an Airship that flies over lava! - Optional Section 2

Now that you can fly over lava, there are several more optional events that can be completed now.

1. Visit the town of Tomra to the SW of the Dwarven Castle. The items in NW warehouse, and good equipment to purchase. There are also new enemies in the nearby area to add to your bestiary.
2. You can visit Kokkol's Forge to the SE of the Dwarven Castle. You can't do much here yet, but there are two items to find - one in a pot and the other in a bookshelf. There are also new enemies in the nearby area to add to your bestiary.
3. Sylvan Cave
   -This cave has no missables, but a bunch of hidden paths that might make item collection tricky. We'll actually do a quick step-by-step guide for this dungeon.
   -Cast Float on the party from the menu on every floor, to avoid hitting the damage floors.
   -B1F: Get the two chests to the east. The 3rd chest is gotten later. Then go down the stairs.
   -B2F: Go up the stairs on the north side
   -B3F: Immediately head west through the wall to get three chests, then return to the stairs slip through the right wall, up, right wall again, then up to next floor.
   -B2F: Follow the path to 9 different chests, then fall down the hole.
   -B3F: Make your way to the teleporter
   -Here, get the six chests, all guarded by enemies.
   -You'll then leave the cave. REENTER it.
   -B1F: Go through the south path once again
   -B2F: Go south this time, through the stairs to the west.
   -B1F: Head east and then north above the save point, through the wall, can finally get that chest in the first room. Return to the save point and go all the way west to get two more chests, then through the stairs.
   -B2F: Go north and to the first east fork
   -B3F: Get 5 chests, then return to the fork.
   -B2F: Go North, through the wall to get a Mage Masher. Then down the stairs.
   -B3F: Get the nearby chest and then make your way to a cabin. TALK TO YANG AND THE SYLPHS, get the chest, then leave. Your item collection will say you are missing an item from Sylvan cottage, dont worry, you'll get it later. 
4. The next optional area is the Cave of Summons, which is quite a bit easier to get everything than the Sylvan Cave. You'll end up in the Land of Summons. Note there is a hidden discolored tile of the upper level of town (where there are no buildings), north of the 6,000 gil chest to be precise. This leads to a hidden area with more chests. In town, you'll be able to fight Asura and then Leviathan in the library, adding both summons to Rydia's arsenal. Note by the time you are done here, there will be two items you cannot get yet for your item collection.
5. This isn't so much an optional event but a notable location: The so-called Three-step Peninsula. NW of the Cave of Summons in the Underworld, there is a small patch of land that is three tiles long, and holds some enemies that cannot easily be found elsewhere.  Just to be clear, these aren't missable, but noteworthy. These include:
   -Gorgon
   -Crawler
   -Gloomwing
   -Tarantula
   -Green Dragon

15. Sealed Cavern

• Once you've done the optional content above, head to the last cave on the Underworld map you haven't been to yet, the one near Tomar. Use Luca's Necklace to enter the Sealed Cavern.
• The Sealed Cavern is pretty straightforward. Be sure to enter each room along the way to obtain all the chests. Note many of the doors here are 'trap door' enemies that need to be killed. The rule with these is to act fast; it targets a character, then one-shot kills them the next turn. So take it down as fast as possible.

• At the very end of the dungeon, you'll take on Demon Wall.

Boss Battle: Demon Wall

• This battle against Demon Wall, comically known as Evilwall in older versions of FF4, has a time limit. Like other Demon Wall battles in the FF series, the FF4 version must be defeated before it crushes you.
• That means you'll want to focus on DPS. If you do, you should be fine. 
• First, consider using Rosa to cast Haste, if she's learned it. Putting Cecil into a Berserk state is also an option; this sets you up for all-out attack, which leans into the DPS focus.
• Rydia can cast Bio or Titan - these are the most powerful attacks at your disposal in this battle. 

• Afterwards, backtrack your way out of the dungeon. Kain will leave again.
• Return to King Giott in the Dwarven Castle. You'll get a drill put on the Falcon. Now you can do even more optional stuff.

16. You Now Have an Airship with a Drill! - Optional Section 3

With the Drill on the Falcon, you can now return to the overworld and underworld as you please. There are a few more optional things to do now:

1. Obtain the Sylph Summon and Knife. Go to Fabul West Tower and talk to Yang's wife to get a frying pan (you had to speak with the unconscious Yang first to do this). Go back to the underworld and Sylvan Cave, talk to Yang, and get Sylph. There's still an item to get here for your item collection, don't worry, you get it later. Return the frying pan to Yang's wife in Fabul to get a Knife.
2. Excalibur set up: If you got the Rat Tail in the Cave/Land of Summons (you should have), get the Enterprise and Hovercraft (which should be around Eblan), and go to Adamant Grotto. This place is near Mythril in the Overworld - so drop off the hovercraft here, then land, then take the hovercraft to the nearby cave over the shoals. Turn in the Rat Tail to get Adamantite. Then, return to the Falcon and go back to the underworld, go back to Kokkol's Forge, give the smith the Adamantite. He'll eventually make Excalibur, but you have to wait a bit for now
3. If you return to the Baron East Tower Basement, you can fight Odin as a secret boss to add him as a summon for Rydia. You have to have gotten Asura and Leviathan first, however.

17. The Moon, Cave of Bahamut, and Giant of Babel

• Once you are done with the optional stuff above, go to Mysidia. After a headful of scenes, you'll get the Lunar Whale, an airship that can fly to the moon.
• Once on the moon, visit the Hummingways in a cave to the SW first. There's a shop here with ethers and other useful consumables, if you have the money.
• You need to get to the Crystal Palace, but you can't land there directly. Instead, you need to make a bit of a trek. Go NW of Crystal palace and land on the flat ground. You need to go through two Lunar Paths and a bit of the overworld to get to the Crystal Palace. It may not look like it, but it's a linear path (only 3 chests to get along the way).
• Eventually, you'll reach the palace, and after some scenes, Lunarian FuSoYa will join your party. Return to the Lunar Whale.
• Optional: Cave of Bahamut. This is one of the last optional content pieces in Final Fantasy IV. Once you have FuSoYa, and assuming you have defeated Asura and Leviathan, head to the cave on the East side of the moon. This mini-dungeon has tough monsters and a few Behemoth mini-bosses. At the end, you'll take on Bahamut, and if you can beat him, you earn him as a summon. 
• Afterward, when ready, head to the Lunar Whale and interact with the crystal in the center. You'll head back to Earth, see a few scenes, and enter the Giant of Babel.

• Besides the note above about missables and sirens, the rest of the dungeon is straightforward. Use you map to get the chests like usual. You'll take on the 4 elemental lords again, they're easy.
• You'll then take on the true boss of the Giant of Babel. In a nutshell, go for the Defense Node first (it heals the others), then the CPU, and then the Attack Node.
• After some more events you'll be back on the moon.
• Optional: Return to Kokkol's Forge to get Excalibur. You can now also pick up a Grimoire item in the Sylvan Cave cabin, as well as the Land of Summons shops, finally completing the item collection in those locations.

18. The Final Dungeon - Lunar Subterrane

• All you have left to do is take on the final dungeon in the game, the Lunar Subterrane. There are no more missable items in the game, so everything else is yours for the taking.
• To get to the Lunar Subterrane, head to the Crystal Palace (through the Lunar Paths yet again, yes), then head North to the warp pad.
• The final dungeon is the trickiest dungeon in the game, with the most hidden paths leading to chests and items, with some paths not quite so obvious. Here's a quick walkthrough.

B1F: Enter a hidden wall to the NE to grab a chest. Then go west from the entrance to another hidden path, to a teleporter.
B2F: Go along the path, getting a chest on the way, to another teleporter. Then head south through the wall, then west. Interact with the Murasame to fight White Dragon. He absorbs Fire/Ice/Lightning. Then, use Teleport to leave the dungeon and re-enter.
B1F: Head south this time.
B2F: Head along the path. You can make your way to the Fire Whip chest through the hidden wall, and continue North. Head through another wall to get the Dragon Shield, then through the door.
B3F: Go all the way South into the indent in the wall to eventually find a Dragon Helm. Then go into the East wall to get a Dragon mail and Dragon Gloves. Return to the entrance of the room and go south to exit.
B4F: Go all the way East to Artemis Arrow. Then South and West into a room with Elixir. Then East and South, down the stairs and through the door to get White Fang. Then SW to find an X-Potion. Then go East into the wall to exit. Grab the Stardust Rod, then go downstairs.
B5F: Go along the path to the west to get a Crystal Shield, then enter the door. Go north and into the wall to get a Protect Ring, then east into the wall again, and eventually south and outside the room. Grab the Crystal Mail and go back inside the room and North this time. Go east to find Crystal Gloves, then west into a room to get a White Robe. Go into the Northern door, then West to get a Crystal Helm. Then go East into the door to get a Red Fang. Go downstairs when ready

B6F: Get the Artemis Arrow and Fuma Shuriken to the west and east. Take the left staircase down for a cottage, then head west over the gap. Along the path, you'll get a Golden Apple. Head onto the Teleporter.
B5F: Along the path, you'll get another Protect Ring. Eventually, you'll run into the Ragnarok - touch it to fight Dark Bahamut. Afterward, go back to the dual staircase a few rooms back, and take the right-most stairs this time.
B7F: Go south and you'll see three doors. The left-most door has a save point. The middle door has a Holy Lance guarded by Plague Dragon. The right door has two ribbons guarded by Lunasaurs. Afterward, go to the last door to the North.
B8F: Starting here, the paths get a bit more simple - check your map to find the chests. Examine the Masamune to fight Ogopogo.
B9F: Two more chests here, check your map.
B10F: Two more chests here, check your map. That should be all of them

You'll fight the final boss soon after. Note, once you beat the game, you'll be prompted to make a clear save, which will bring you out of the dungeon as if you've completed everything up until the Final Boss encounter itself. Use this opportunity to collect anything you might have missed at this point.

Concluding Remarks

Any suggestions on the guide? Let us know!

With Cecil's Adventure at a close, it's time for another FF. You might want to use another of our Minimalist Final Fantasy Walkthrough series:

• Final Fantasy
• Final Fantasy II
• Final Fantasy III
• Final Fantasy V
• Final Fantasy VI