Upon gaining control of Endir again, you will find yourself on Nive Island, your destination. Heading north will put you in a town and as soon as you step off the dock, go left and up the stairs to find a chest ( Fogstone x5 ). There’s another chest inside of the building connected to those very same stairs, but it is locked, so you’ll need to wait until later in the game to open it. There’s not much else to do here, so leave by the northern exit.

Welcome to the overworld and while you can explore, there isn’t much to see, so head northwest of where you came from to find Nive Village. You’ll be greeted by someone named Raishin at the gates, then you’ll be free to walk around the village. Enter the house immediately to your right and open the chest inside to find Athenian Water x3 . There’s another chest on the west side of the village, but it is locked, as well as a merchant in the north.

It might be a good idea to get a few Ethers and some Tents, since you can’t really recover MP any other method. So, feel free to talk to all of the townspeople to learn that the sacrifice isn’t here, as she has gone to the Falling Snow Monument, which is just past the Dazzshire Woods. Head back to the world map and go northeast from Nivek Village to find what looks like a path leading into the woods, which is the entrance to Dazzshire Woods.

Dazzshire Woods¶

There’s not much to this place, so ignore the chest straight ahead, since it’s locked, and move to the east. Although they probably don’t give much experience, it’s a good idea to keep defeating the enemies in your way, as getting the item drops from them will become important in a little bit. You should have noticed by now that you get messages such as “Exact Kill” or “Momentum Kill” after defeating a monster, which is what happens when you kill enemies in certain ways.

As you go north, you’ll run into a large walrus-like creature named Waloompa. These are stronger than the Pengys you’ve encountered thus far and are almost on par with the Jaboo you fought earlier, although it seems slower. After the battle is over, open the chest to find Antidote x3 and continue to the west. Eventually, you’ll come to a split, with the southern path leading back to the entrance of the woods, while the north will lead you back to the overworld.

Return to Nive Village¶

Once there, travel north to the Falling Snow Monument and you’ll meet up with a young girl. This turns out to be the sacrifice, whose name is Setsuna. However, the introductions are cut short as you are attacked by Raishin and someone else. When thing’s are over, you end up being caught and brought back to the village. You’ll learn of Aeterna’s name, who is one of the two who captured you. As the conversation carries on, the village is attacked by monsters.

Luckily for you, Setsuna comes in and frees you, then as you’re talking outside the building, a Waloompa comes to join in on the conversation. Aeterna joins your party and you end up fighting the creature. To make things a little more exciting, having Endir and Aeterna in your party will grant you a new tech in combat once both of their ATBs are filled. It is calld X-Strike (oh, the Chrono Trigger nostalgia is real!) and it does some great damage. However, it costs 15 MP each, so it’s best to avoid using it for now.

After the battle, Setsuna tries to squeeze her way in, but that isn’t happening for now. You now need to go around the village and clear it of monsters. There will be a pair (Waloompa and Pengy) to your immediate west, a pair of Pengys to the southeast of where you began and then one more set of three Pengys just north of the entrance to the village. It seems the village is safe, until something else decides to show its feathery face…

BOSS - Whitewind¶

Thankfully, Setsuna joins your party for this battle, and she has the ever helpful Cure tech. This is more of the first true boss of the game, as Whitewind can do some pretty decent damage to your characters. Dive Attack will hit all of your characters for low-to-moderate damage, and it can also increase its attack with Inhale. This is usually followed by Burning Breath, which has the possibility to hit more than one character.

Wing Slice is its most powerful move, as it can hit multiple times on multiple party members. With its attack increase, this could possibly even KO someone, so make sure you revive them with an Athenian Water (you should have looted three earlier) and heal them back up with a Potion or Setsuna’s Cure. Endir and Aeterna should strictly be attacking, with an occasional X-Strike added in if both have SP. While you can attack with Setsuna, she should be left on standby just in case someone needs healed.

Eventually, the bird will go down and you’ll receive a lot of experience, probably leveling everyone at least once. Some more conversation will happen and you’ll be able to freely explore the village once more. There isn’t really much you can do right now, so talk to Setsuna and go with her to the Falling Snow Monument again, which is just past Dazzshire Woods. Watch the cutscene there and on your way back through Dazzshire, you can take the one shortcut you saw earlier.

Back in the village, Setsuna will leave the party and get ready for the farewell ceremony, so head to the village chief’s house and tell him you’re ready to join Setsuna’s guard. Watch the departure ceremony and you’ll be told where to go next. The chief will give you 5000G to help on your journey, so leave the town and head to the harbor (where you got off the ship earlier). Talk to the man at the end of the docks when you’re ready to set sail for the mainland.

However, things aren’t exactly peaceful on the ship, so exit the room to go to the deck to find a monster waiting for you. After defeating this initial monster, there will be two more sets of them. It seems that the troubles are over for now, but after a short chat session with the third party on the ship, something big rears its head.

BOSS - Schwarzstrom¶

Schwarzstrom is a bit more manageable than Whitewind, but it can still spell a bit of trouble for your party. Tsunami is a water attack that will hit your entire party for a bit of damage. Bellow is an annoying skill that doesn’t do any damage, but it can stun characters, meaning that their ATB will completely empty if it hits them. Another move that can hit all of your party is Bodyslam, although it doesn’t do a few lot of damage (around 40 HP or so).

Water Spray only hits one person, but it has the potential to do big damage, especially if it criticals. You’ll want to treat this fight similar to the one with Whitewind, except it’s possible to have Setsuna attack here and there, since the boss’ damage output isn’t as big. X-Strike does deal some good damage against it, especially if you add Momentum to it. Just keep an eye on your health and the beast will be defeated.