The Evil Forest
Crash Site
You will get to watch a quick Active Time Event as the crew dusts themselves off after the crash. Active Time Events (or ATEs in the game) are optional scenes that you can watch that add to the story of the game.
Nearly all of them have zero impact on the outcome of the events, but there are a few that do have an impact, and this guide will give you plenty of warning about them in advance.
You start in control of Zidane again. Speak to the Moogle, Mosco, and save your game, and then have a look around just north of Mosco near the empty boxes to find a 
Phoenix Down. Travel south through the hollow log into the next area.
Evil Forest / Trail
This forest is the first area of the game where you will encounter random battles.
Ensure that you have equipped Zidane with the best equipment available. This equipment should include a 
Mage Masher if you stole one from Baku (Masked Man) during the first fight, a 
Silk Shirt, which could have been stolen from Steiner or obtained during the sword fight sequence in Alexandria, and finally, the 
Moonstone if you managed to get it.
You should also take some time to go through the Ability screen and begin having Zidane learn new abilities from this equipment. New abilities will include 
Flee-Gil from your pre-equipped 
Wrist item and potentially the Beast Killer ability if you obtained the Moonstone. Check out the Learning New Abilities page in the Tips and Tricks section for more information.
Follow the pathway into the next area where you will run into Vivi. After that, run up to Steiner to initiate the next boss battle against Prison Cage.
Boss Battle
Level: 2
HP: 513
You will get a quick overview of the Trance system at the start of this battle. Each character has a unique Trance, which is similar to a Limit Break in previous Final Fantasy Games.
The Prison Cage boss will use an attack called “Absorb” during the battle, which will steal HP away from Princess Garnet. You will lose the battle (and receive a Game Over screen) if she loses all of her HP. She can only handle two Absorb moves before you have to use a 
Potion on her. Select the “Item” command and press 
or 
on the directional pad to target Princess Garnet.
You can use Zidane’s Trance called Dyne and an attack called “Free Energy” to do a ton of damage to Prison Cage. It is recommended that you avoid using his Tidal Flame move, as this will harm Princess Garnet as well.
Steal:
- (Nothing)
Drops:
- (Nothing)
You can watch a video of this fight below:
The next boss battle begins as soon as the first one ends—the difference is that Vivi will be trapped in the Prison Cage instead of Princess Garnet and that you don’t begin the battle in a Trance state.
Boss Battle
Level: 2
HP: 513
Make sure you take some time to have Zidane steal both the 
Broadsword and Leather Wrist items from Prison Cage. Vivi will automatically cast 
Fire on Prison Cage each turn for approximately 80 damage. Be sure to use a Potion on Vivi after Prison Cage has used Absorb on Vivi twice.
Steal:
- Broadsword (common)
- Leather Wrist (uncommon)
Drops:
Eye Drops (common)- Phoenix Down (uncommon)
You can watch a video of this fight below:
Prima Vista / Bridge
The story continues on the wreckage of the M.S. Prima Vista in the Bridge. Grab the treasure chest to the right of where Baku is standing once you find yourself back in control of Zidane. The chest contains a pair of 
Bronze Gloves.
Leave this room, and you can watch three more Active Time Events (“Time to Escape,” “Girl Who Was Left Behind,” and “My Little Baby”). There is another treasure chest on the bottom floor that contains a Wrist. Go through the doorway that Blank steps out of to find Vivi.
Cabin
There is a treasure chest near the back wall that contains an 
Ether. You can also climb the ladder to the top bunk bed at the back of the room to find 116 gil hiding in the sheets.
Speak to Vivi to continue the story and then exit the room. Select whichever option you prefer when prompted to either “Go and look for her [Princess Garnet]” or “Forget it…” Travel to the left side of the hallway into the next room.
There is a treasure chest at the bottom of the screen that contains an Ether. Travel down the stairs into the Cargo Room, and on the far side of this room is a hidden 
Rubber Helm.
Travel to the south side of the room through the doorway. On the right side of this room is another treasure chest that contains a 
Leather Hat. Go back into the Cargo Room (where you found the Rubber Helm) and travel to the right side of the room through the doorway to find Baku.
There is a treasure chest on the southern side of the room where you find Baku that contains a Potion. Travel back into the Cargo Room and speak to Baku to initiate the next boss battle against him. Make sure that you equip the Mage Masher to Zidane before you begin the battle.
Boss Battle
Level: 2
HP: 202
This fight pits Zidane in a solo battle against Baku, and it is pretty straightforward. Baku’s attacks do not do much damage (around 25-35 damage), and he can potentially miss his attack entirely, just like before when you fought him as the Masked Man at the beginning of the game.
Make sure you take the opportunity to steal the 
Hi-Potion and Iron Sword from him and keep Zidane healed up with Potions as necessary.
Steal:
- Hi-Potion (common)
- Iron Sword (rare)
Drops:
- (Nothing)
A video of the battle is included below:
Follow Baku up the stairs and go through the doorway on the left side of the room to where Steiner was being held. Go back into that same room after Steiner joins up with Zidane and grab the treasure chest at the bottom of the room, which contains another Ether. Travel back to where Vivi was resting to continue.
Travel back down into the Cargo Room and head south into the hallway. Blank will stop you before you exit the ship to give you some medicine (Blank’s Medicine). He will also remind you about setting and learning new abilities (check out the Learning New Abilities page in the Tips and Tricks section). Speak to Cinna on your way past, and he will sell you the following items:
- Potion (50 gil)
- Phoenix Down (150 gil)
Antidote (50 gil)- Eye Drops (50 gil)
Tent (800 gil)
It’s not a bad idea to stock up on a couple of additional Potions if you have used a fair amount at this point. You should also speak to the Moogle, Mosco, again to pick up another letter from Ruby.
Evil Forest
The pathway through the Evil Forest is linear. Spend a bit of time leveling up in this area until your party members are at least level 3 or 4, as the upcoming boss fight can be fairly painful at lower levels.
An Active Time Event will come up when you reach the area where you fought the two Prison Cage bosses (“Orchestra in the Forest”—the orchestra is playing the Marching Tune from Junon in Final Fantasy VII).
Just past the next screen, you will reach a spring, and an Active Time Event will initiate, taking you back to Baku and Blank on the M.S. Prima Vista.
Speak to Monty, the Moogle hiding in the tree stump, to save your game. Select the Mognet option as well to provide the letter that Kupo gave you to Monty. You can also read the letter from Stiltzkin to Monty. You can also touch the spring to refill your party member’s HP and MP.
Note that you can steal Tents from an enemy called a Dendrobium in the areas past the spring, which come in incredibly handy later on in the game (and are incredibly expensive now). Steal some if you get the opportunity (there’s a 25% chance of success). A Dendrobium is shown in the screenshot below.
A small cinematic will take place as you enter the next screen, showing you the upcoming boss. Continue forward to initiate the fight.
Movie Critic
Achievement/Trophy
To obtain the 
Movie Critic Achievement/Trophy, make sure that you have viewed the following ATEs:
- Time to Escape
- Girl Who Was Left Behind
- My Little Baby
- Orchestra in the Forest
Boss Battle
Level: 7
HP: 916
Ensure that Zidane steals the Iron Helm from Plant Brain before defeating it. You can have Vivi stand by using his Focus command until Zidane has been successful and have Steiner focus on healing spells.
Vivi’s Fire spell and Steiner’s Fire Sword ability (located under the “Swd Mgc” command) are incredibly powerful against this boss. Blank will join the battle partway through—both he and Zidane can focus on regular attacks, while Steiner and Vivi focus on fire-based magic abilities.
Use Eye Drops on Zidane and Blank if they are blinded but not on Steiner, as the Blind status effect has no impact on his Fire Sword ability.
Steal:
Drops:
- Phoenix Down (common)
- Potion (uncommon)
- Potion (rare)
- Potion (very rare)
A video of the battle is included below:
Following the boss fight is a chase scene through the forest wherein Zidane, Steiner, Princess Garnet, Vivi, and Blank will be chased through the forest by groups of Plant Spiders.
Run through the pathways as quickly as you can. There is a mandatory battle against three Plant Spiders (shown in the screenshot below). Once the battle has concluded, take the time to de-equip Blank of everything he currently has on him.
Continue into the next screen for a short cinematic involving the escape from the Evil Forest, a brief cutscene at a camp outside the forest, and then on to some forced Active Time Event scenes involving two Moogles by a swamp. You can use this opportunity to learn about different aspects of the game.
Monty, the Moogle from the forest, will provide you with the Moogle’s Flute, which will allow you to call Moogles from anywhere on the world map. The Moogles will allow you to save your game anywhere and to usee Tents as needed to refill your party’s HP and MP by pressing the 
or 
.
Mist Continent - Gunitas Basin
Start by pressing the or button to call a Moogle (Moguo) and save your game. Spend some time to set up Princess Garnet with any extra items that you have, as she has now joined your party.
One Nag Too Many
Achievement/Trophy
Now that you can speak to Moguo on the world map, you can also obtain the 
One Nag Too Many Achievement/Trophy. Press the or button to make Moguo appear, and then send him away without saving your game. Continue to do this until you annoy him (approximately 17 times) to obtain the trophy.
There is one optional area of the game that you can reach at this point. Use the maps below to help you find your way. Your final destination, the Ice Cavern, is located directly to the south of where you exit the Evil Forest.
North Gate - Melda Arch (Optional)
You can find the North Gate on the westernmost section of the Gunitas Basin. Use the world map picture and the screenshot of the location from the world map below to help you locate it.
There is a brief exchange of dialogue about the arch when you arrive—Zidane will describe it to the group, and Steiner will complain about them flying the flag of Alexandria. Zidane will suggest leaving, but before you do, you can grab the treasure chest through the fence to the right of the gate to receive some Eye Drops.
Further back, behind the fence, is another treasure chest that contains a Potion. Lastly, you can inspect the large doorway of the gate and choose to “Call out to someone inside,” and a woman will answer.
She will offer to sell you medicine, but the only items she sells are Potions. Exit the area after you’ve finished and head to the Ice Cavern (you can find more information about where to find it on the next page).
