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This page is a full walkthrough for the DS version of the 2008 role-playing release of Final Fantasy IV. Our guide has general gameplay tips, a step by step look at each dungeon and locations of hidden treasure. Additionally, we have included a video for each boss fight. Below the main text you will find links to other walkthroughs and FAQs. Use the table of contents to jump to a specific level in the game.
FFIV DS Additions
Other than the new 3D appearance of the game, Final Fantasy IV DS is nearly identical to previous versions in terms of story and event requirements. There is a new Augment System, which allows players to customize individual characters. Abilities that were not very useful have been overhauled to give them more of an impact. To balance out the new Augment system, boss battles are now more difficult and require specific strategies.VideoGamesBlogger: ...Developer interview tells of new additions April 16, 2008)Categories
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General Gameplay Tips
- Use Tents and Cottages to restore the party's health and magic power while in the World Map. They can also be used on the blue save points. Save often!
- Holding down RT allows the party to escape an instanced battle. It's not a good idea to use it all the time, but it's great for escaping an overly strong enemy. The party may lose Gil (money) by running away.
- Try to explore the entire room when searching through dungeons and caves. There are rewards for completing the maps in the game.
- Slow and Haste are extremely useful spells during boss fights. Cast Slow on bosses to reduce their attack speed and cast Haste to increase the attack speed of teammates.
- Cutscenes can be skipped by pressing start twice. Conversations can be skipped by pressing A repeatedly.
- Characters only receive experience points if they are alive during the battle. The points are split between the remaining characters after a fight.
- Un-Equip characters before circumstances force them to leave the party. You can sell their weapons and armor for Gil.
The Menu
- The menu is accessed by pressing X and can be removed by pressing B. It's broken up into several parts. Take a moment to explore the menu at the start of the game.
Inventory
- The Inventory sub-menu is the screen to check all the items collected during the game. The screen can be sorted by consumables, weapons or armor. There is also a selection for Key Items. These are items given by important characters or abilities found in the game.
- Scroll through the list with the D-Pad and select items with A. Choose the character that should receive the item in the next screen.
- It's a good idea to re-arrange the screen and put the frequently used items at the top of the list. The first eight items pop up during battle and it's vital to select them quickly.
- Use the Key Items section for teaching abilities to certain characters. Each ability can only be learned by one character. This action doesn't activate the ability though.
Status
- The Status menu is very static. You have the ability to scroll through the battle commands and abilities of each character. Shift between characters with the LT / RT and move through the list of abilities with the D-Pad.
BOSS: Mist Dragon
- NOTE: We have videos for approximately 50% of the boss fights, and are busy filming the rest. Expect complete coverage shortly.
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Mist Dragon Boss Fight (Time: 3:19)
- The duo enters into a battle with the Eidolon dragon. Make sure Auto-Battle is off and manually attack the dragon with both Cecil and Kain. Alternate using health packs when one hero is low on health.
- TIP: Do not attack the Eidolon when it shifts to Mist mode. Attacking triggers an extremely painful defense mechanism.
- Move north to complete the map after the battle. The reward is five Potions. Exit the cave to the north.
- CUTSCENE: The Carnelian Signet ring explodes and torches the village as Cecil enters the town. A small girl is seen crying over her dead mother. The mother's life was tied to the dragon. Cecil decides to end his allegiance to the King and tries to take the girl away. The girl freaks out and summons a giant rock creature that creates a large chasm beside the destroyed town.
BOSS: Octomammoth
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Octomammoth Boss Fight (Time: 3:52)
- Octomammoth isn't a tough boss to kill, but the fight does take a few minutes. Use Tellah's fire attack and Cecil's melee attack with Shadowblade to take down a tentacle each round. Use Rydia for healing capabilities.
- TIP: When Tellah mentions that Octomammoth has become more dangerous, move Tellah into the healer role. Keep Cecil healthy to hack away at Octomammoth.
BOSS: Antlion
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Antlion Boss Fight (Time: 4:31)
- The Antlion battle is simple with the right strategy. Attack with Cecil's melee attack when the Antlion's eyes are red and attack with Rydia's magic attacks when the creature's eyes are white.
- The Antlion is susceptible to cold attacks. Try to use the Blizzard spell as much as possible. Cast Edward's Life Anthem bardsong to raise the group's hit points throughout the entire battle.
- TIP: Remember to switch characters with the Y button when the Antlion's eyes change colors. Attacking the Antlion during the wrong eye color triggers a nasty counter-hit.
- CUTSCENE: Edward walks forward and picks up the Sand Pearl. Edward is concerned why the Antlion would attack the group. Cecil blames it on monster overpopulation. The group leaves to return to Rosa.
BOSS: Mom Bomb
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Mom Bomb Boss Fight (Time: 7:27)
- Attack with Yang, Cecil and Rydia. Use Rosa and Edward for health boosting. Rydia's Blizzard attack works particularly well. When Yang indicates that the Mom Bomb is about to explode, change everyone into a Defend stance.
- The Mom Bomb explodes and typically takes out a couple team members. Fight the six remaining small bombs with Yang and Cecil's melee attacks. Use anyone else still alive to keep the two men healthy.
- After the fight, Yang tells the team that he is the grandmaster of the monks of Fabul. The team joins Yang and races to Fabul to protect the wind crystal. Exit north to the east slope of Fabul.
- Follow the winding linear path down the mountain. Fight off any remaining clusters of bomb enemies using the same strategies as the previous section. Exit at the southern end of the mountain back into the World Map.
- Move east from Mt. Hobbs and cross the forest. Fabul can be found on southeast of Mt. Hobbs. It's near a large body of water.
BOSS: Scarmiglione
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Scarmiglione Boss Fight (Time: 8:32)
- Complete the map to gain another Ether potion and exit in the northwest corner to Mt. Ordeals Summit. The group hears a strange noise upon entering. Ignore it for now and move to the east side of the map for a safe point. Use it to save the game and recharge the group.
- Walk up the second set of stairs and take a left to the wooden bridge. Scarmiglione attacks the group, but he's a pushover at this point. Use the Cura spell and the Fira spell on the entire undead group.
- Return to the safe point and save again. The next fight is insanely difficult without the right strategy. Return to the middle of the bridge and enter the menu by pressing X. Select Party and switch the formation around. Cecil should be standing in the back and the three magical folks are up front.
- Pass over the bridge and a much larger version of Scarmiglione appears behind the team. If you switched the formation, Cecil is on the front row during the fight.
- Cecil is simply a meat shield in this fight. His melee attacks do little damage to Scarmiglione. Use Cecil as a support character for heals. It is safe to occasionally throw a Hi-Potion at Scarmiglione with Cecil.
- Use Tellah and Porom to cast Cura on Scarmiglione. It does about 700 points of damage each time. Use Palom to heal the group and throw Hi-Potions at Scarmiglione. The main focus of the fight is to keep the members casting Cura alive.
- TIP: DO NOT use fire magic, the fire staff or bombs on Scarmiglione. He's incredibly vulnerable to fire attacks, but his counter-attack to fire is extremely deadly.
- The group collects a ton of experience after Scarmiglione falls off the cliff. Change the formation back to normal and heal up any damaged group members. Move to the west and walk up the platform to interact with the white pedestal.
- Cecil is launched into a new room and transformed into a White Knight. challenged to a fight by his previously Dark self. Instead of fighting the Dark Knight, use Defend to protect the new Cecil during the battle. It ends with one defended hit.
- CUTSCENE: Cecil is offered the power of the Paladin and told by the mysterious voice to stop Golbez. Cecil feels different and it affects the people around him. Tellah remembers all of his forgotten spells and the power of Meteor.
BOSS: Baigan
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Baigan Boss Fight (Time: 3:08)
- The key to defeating Baigan is boosting team abilities. Start the fight by assaulting Baigan with Tellah's most powerful blizzard spell. Baigan casts a spell to reflect all magic at this point. Cast Cry with Porom to reduce his defense.
- Use the melee abilities of Yang and Cecil to bash away at Baigan's body. Try to have Tellah cast Haste on the two melee attackers to raise their recharge time. Yang's Focus ability also works wonders for building up a strong attack.
- TIP: Another good strategy is casting Reflect on a teammate and bouncing blizzard spells off them. The spell travels to Baigan and ignores his reflect spell. Twincast also ignores the reflect barrier.
- Continue healing the group with Porom and slashing away at Baigan. Try using the Protect spell to avoid taking damage from Baigan's attacks.
- Eventually Baigan's body is destroyed, but the arms remain. Both arms explode and kill two teammates. As long as there are three people still alive after Baigan's body disappears, you can return to the bed in the northwest tower to regenerate.
- Travel back into the ancient waterway to save the game after using the bed. The upcoming boss fight is extremely difficult and there's no reason to fight Baigan again.
BOSS: Cagnazzo
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Cagnazzo Boss Fight (Time: 9:15)
- Move back into the castle and walk north up to the throne room. The King of Baron is sitting on the throne. Unfortunately it's another trick. The king is actually the Drowned King, Cagnazzo.
- TIP: Carnazzo has a brutal water attack that has the ability to kill the team instantly. He does show when he's charging up the attack. Look for water collecting around his position and hit Cagnazzo with a Thunder spell to halt his water attack.
- Cast Haste on Palom and Tellah immediately. Use both of these characters to hit Cagnazzo with Thunder spells when he prepares the water attack.
- Cagnazzo is vulnerable to ice spells. Try to sneak in a Blizzard spell with Tellah and Palom right after a thunder strike has dissipated the water.
- Use Cecil as a support character. Assign him to protect Tellah or Palom during the battle. He also needs to revive characters when Cagnazzo uses a silence spell.
- Use Yang's Focus ability to charge up a few times before attacking. If you still have the lightning and ice claws, they make for a devastating combination.
- Porom needs to use Cry to lower Cagnazzo's defense and stick with Cura to continually heal the party. She can also be used to revive teammates under status effect.
- When Cagnazzo retreats to the blue shell, use Blizzard attacks and repeated Yang attacks. Be careful for the water attack as he emerges from the shell. Watch the indicator on the screen for timing help.
- CUTSCENE: Cid bursts into the throne room after Cagnazzo is dead to scream at the defunct King. Cecil informs him of the current events and Rosa's status. Cid wants to help and offers his airship. As the group makes their way to the airship, Cagnazzo's ghost starts closing the walls of a hallway on the group. Palom and Porom perform a magical spell to turn themselves into stone and stop the wall. The team laments their sacrifice and moves to the airship.
- CUTSCENE: Golbez is seen worried about Cecil's victories. Kain comes up with a plan to coerce Cecil into gathering the last crystal. He's going to offer Rosa's life for the crystal.
- CUTSCENE: Cid opens a secret passage that leads to his airship, the Enterprise. They board the ship and begin flying over the castle. The team spots a white flag of truce from a nearby airship. Kain delivers the terms of the trade and the team has no choice but to accept the terms. The team leaves to find the Earth Crystal in Troia.
BOSS: Dark Elf
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Dark Elf (Time: 5:55)
- Exit B4 to the north and the team enters a crystal room. Walk up to the Dark Elf in the center of the room and press A to start a fight. Turn on Auto-Battle and wait for the Elf to completely destroy the team with a massive fire spell.
- CUTSCENE: The team falls and the scene shifts to Edward in the Infirmary. He limps over to the harp and uses it to activate the Whisperweed that he gave to Cecil. The team is revived and the metallic restriction has been lifted.
- Enter the menu and equip all metal items for every character. The team's health and mp have already been refilled thanks to Edward's music. Start the fight by approaching the Dark Elf and pressing A again.
- The Dark Elf only uses magical attacks for some reason. Use Tellah to cast a Silence spell on the Dark Elf and he's fairly docile for the first half of the fight. He occasional casts a shape-shifting potion on a team member, but that's easily fixed with a remedy potion.
- Allow Cid and Yang to hack away at the Elf. Use Cecil to heal the entire team and cover Tellah. It's also a good idea to use Yang's Focus to charge up an attack for use in the second half of the fight.
- Use Tellah to cast Haste on himself and Yang. When the Dark Elf cries out in pain, he shifts into a new form, the Dark Dragon. Use Tellah's most powerful fire spell and Yang's focused attack to knock out 75% of the Dragon's health.
- Allow Cid, Yang and Cecil to hack away at the Dragon until death. Use Tellah for health boosts if needed.
- Pick up the earth crystal by pressing A and walk out of the blue room. Use the Teleport spell or an Emergency Exit to leave the cavern. Hop on the chocobo and use it to return to chocobo forest.
BOSS: Magus Sisters
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Magus Sisters Boss Fight (Time: 5:37)
- TIP: Sandy is tall and on the left. Cindy is fat and in the middle. Mindy is the tiny girl on the right. The girls use a "Delta Force" attack sequence. Sandy casts Reflect on Cindy and Mindy casts attack spells to bounce off Cindy.
- Use Tellah to Silence Sandy and Dispel Cindy. Attack Cindy first because she has the ability to raise her fallen teammates. Use Cecil and Tellah to heal the group while Yang and Cid use melee attacks on Cindy.
- The remaining two witches are simple to beat after Cindy falls. Attack with all four members of the party and target Mindy first. You may even be able to turn on Auto-Battle at this point.
- Move back to the safe area and save the game. Continue through the door previously blocked by the witches. Circle around the hall and approach the door at the northern point on the map.
- CUTSCENE: Golbez and Kain are waiting at the doorway. Cecil demands to see Rosa and Golbez wants the Crystal. Cecil hands over the Earth Crystal and Golbez walks away without offering Rosa. An enraged Tellah approaches Golbez and starts a battle. Tellah uses fire, thunder and cold spells to no avail. He decides to use Meteor and does 9999 damage on Golbez. Tellah falls to the ground, but the Meteor spell also weakened Golbez's hold on Kain.
- CUTSCENE: Golbez strangely recognizes Cecil and walks away from the fight. Tellah regrets using the Meteor spell and wants the group to avenge Anna's death. Cecil approaches a fallen Kain and wakes him up. Kain remembers where Rosa is at and they both race through the tower. Cecil saves Rosa right before a guillotine was to kill her.
- Arm Rosa with the Great Bow and some arrows of your choosing. Move south to enter another boss fight with a wind elemental named Barbariccia.
BOSS: Barbariccia
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Barbariccia Boss Fight (Time: 10:27)
- Barbariccia has a horrific wind attack that rips through the entire group. The key to halting the attack is Kain's Jump attack. Use Kain's attack when Barbariccia moves into her tornado stance. It's also a good idea to avoid attacks during her tornado stance.
- Use Cecil to cover Kain and cast group Cura heals. Watch out for Barbariccia's counter attacks. She occasionally goes into a counter attack after a melee hit. Use Tellah to heal the party if Cecil needs help.
- Use Yang's Focus ability to charge up strong attacks and Cid can wail away while his hammer as well. Don't be discouraged if everyone but Cecil and Kain die. The fight can be finished with only those two party members.
- CUTSCENE: The tower starts to collapse after the fight. Rosa uses a mass teleport power to move the entire party to Castle Baron. Kain starts telling Cecil of four more Dark Crystals that Golbez is seeking. Kain gives Cecil the Magma Stone and tells him that the Dark Crystals are in the underworld. The stone is the key to unlocking the underworld.
BOSS: Evil Dolls
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Evil Dolls Boss Fight (Time: 9:23)
- The dolls are called Calcabrina and are minions of Golbez. When the fight begins, kill the three dolls on the first row and the three in the rear combine to form a giant Calcabrina.
- The key to this battle is slowing or holding Calcabrina. Use Cecil to protect Rosa and she can cast Hold or Slow. Hold prevents Calcabrina from counter-attacking and halts all regular attacks.
- Use Jump to attack with Kain and use charged attacks with Yang. Cecil can attack when the creature is being held only. Otherwise Cecil should be on healing duty.
BOSS: Golbez
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Golbez Boss Fight (Time: 9:29)
- Golbez appears after Calcabrina is destroyed. Golbez informs the group that the purpose of the crystals is to activate the Tower of Babil and open a gate to the moon. The moon is a source of limitless power.
- Start the fight with Golbez by simply using regular attacks. There's no point of using any strategy at this point. Golbez puts the entire party into a paralyzed state and summons a Dark Dragon to kill everyone.
- Rydia swoops in on a mist dragon and kills the Dark Dragon in one hit after the Dark Dragon kills everyone but Cecil. Cecil is restored and the true fight with Golbez begins. This is a good time to use a Phoenix Down potion on Rosa and heal her as well.
- Rosa should cast protection and healing spells while Cecil uses Libra to find Golbez's weakness. Rydia has to summon a creature with the elemental power that exploits that weakness.
- TIP: Finding the weakness is a bit confusing. After Cecil casts Libra, select Attack on any character and look at the bottom of the touch screen to see his weakness.
- Repeat this process four times to defeat Golbez. Use Ether potions if Golbez saps the team's magic power. He falls to the ground and the party catches up on Rydia's life.
- CUTSCENE: She was swallowed by the Leviathan and carried to the land of the Eidolons. She befriended the Eidolons and learned several new summoning powers. Rydia joins the party. As the party leaves the crystal room, Golbez rises from the dead and steals the Dark crystal. The team apologizes to the King and he tells them to protect the final crystal. It's in the Sealed Cave to the southwest. The King comes up with a plan to steal the other seven crystals from the Tower of Babil while Golbez searches for the eighth crystal.
Dr. Lugae
- YouTube: Final Fantasy IV DS - Lugae and Barnabas Boss Fight (Time: 8:34)
- Approach the center of B6 and wait for Rubicante to appear. After a brief conversation, Dr. Lugae challenges the group to a fight. Leave the good doctor alone for the moment and attack the Frankenstein monster named Barnabas first.
- Attack Barnabas with Yang, Cecil, Kain and Rydia. Use thunder spells to weaken him and use Rosa to heal the group. The doctor occasionally heals Barnabas with oil, but it's not enough to keep him alive due to the attacks.
- After Barnabas falls, the doctor combines with his creation to make Barnabas-Z. Continue the same strategy and watch out for his melee attacks. After several hits, the doctor finds a self-destruct button inside Barnabas and kills at least one party member.
- The battle appears to be over, but Dr. Lugae is still alive. His new form is ridiculously difficult to understand. He uses a reversal gas that reverses all effects of attacks and heals.
- TIP: If you have two elixirs, this battle can be finished in less than 20 seconds. Wait until he uses the reversal gas at the start and hit him with two elixir potions. Each potion will do 9999 damage points. The reversal gas has to be in effect though.
- If you don't have elixirs, wait for the reversal gas to go in effect and hit him with healing spells. The problem with this method is that he blankets the area with another coat of reversal gas during the healing charge time. This cancels the original gas and he is healed instead of damaged.
- Stay away from melee attacks and try to keep the team healed. You could also try Rydia's summon attacks, but they take a long time to charge and reversal gas may destroy the team.
- Lugae retreats from the battlefield and the group obtain Lugae's Key. The party is now tasked with saving the dwarves in the tanks. Move back to B7 and save the game before heading back into B9.
- TIP: If you want to keep Yang's gear, take it off him before unlocking the door.
- Take the middle hallway in B9 and unlock the door with Lugae's Key. (The map should be clear now. +5 Remedies for finishing this map.) Goblins are manning the cannons inside the room and firing on the dwarves. Kill the goblins on Auto-Battle.
- CUTSCENE: The goblins set off a self-destruct mechanism and Yang kicks the team out of the room. Yang sacrifices himself to save the team.
- Walk back down to B13. There is no teleporting available unfortunately. Feel free to run from any fights to expedite the process.
- CUTSCENE: Golbez tries to kill the party again by destroying the bridge. Cid swings in to save the entire group on the airship. Cecil informs Cid about Yang's fate. The reunion is interrupted by a Red Wing airship. Cid leads them through the Underworld and the Enterprise starts to tear apart. As the Enterprise rises up through the exit, Cid leaps off the ship and blows the hole closed with a bomb. The party laments another lost teammate and leaves for Baron.
