Xenogears Tidbits, Secrets & Tips FAQ - 7.0 (NA) Maintained by Matthew Emirzian (mtemichan@aol.com) Last update : 2/1/2000 The Xenogears Tidbits, Secrets & Tips FAQ is a collection of months of work and gameplay, covering everything from the most minute secret in the game, to the most bizarre and funny spots that are easy to miss, to great tips on how to play the game, all the way to select bosses that you might have trouble on, unsolved mysteries of the game, and of course, the infamous Ramsus section! When playing Xenogears, it's extremely important to note the deep, powerful philosophical and humanitarian elements that undermine the game. Such far flung aspects as alcoholism, anti-war sentiments, deception, religion, grief, the `anonymous' soldier, and plenty of other great elements all come together in a big Xenogears sized package that is unrivaled in the modern gaming age. But, of course, there's always the game to play in between the huge lapses of storyline. And boy is there plenty of it! When I started this FAQ, I had no idea how enormous all of the nuances of the game could really be! The latest version, 5.0, reflects an update of gigantic proportions that even I could not have anticipated! The FAQ has grown away from being a small infant work and is now a full-fledged and very independent guide that has tons of contributions from very cool Xeno-players! The tidbits are really interesting parts of the game that are unique and funny - this does not include just walking up to people and talking to them - although there are definitely plenty of funny things that people will say when you talk to them! As a rule, talk to everyone, every time you have a chance, all the time, anytime! The secrets are a huge part of the game, and there's plenty of them! The secrets do not include obvious items hanging around, or Gameshark cheats/codes. They're out of the way items, secrets big or small, and more importantly, stuff you'd want to get! Since a lot of the new parts of the guide are from contributors, I'd like to extend a great big THANK YOU!! to everyone whos mailed me over the time I've had my FAQ open. Without the generous information supplied by everyone out there, the FAQ would never be as fascinating and large as it would be - once again, thank you all!!! ^_^ And of course, thanks to all those who gave me a pat on the back to encourage me to keep going! note: I've tried to keep the FAQ as spoiler free and storyline befreit as possible. Disclaimer : Not responsible for any damages including works of god. (pun intended!) This article cannot be reproduced electronically, manually, or by any other means including radio, TV, and HAM radio broadcasts without the sole, written permission of the author. All plagurizers (and Gamefan+Gamecave) beware! All violations will be dealt with under full extent of the law. If you wish to use the FAQ in your webpage, you must e-mail me.. there's probably no way you'll be denied. ^_^ Where can I find updates of this FAQ? : www.Gamefaqs.com is always sent the frequently updated FAQ and is excellent in promptly adding it. Go there to get the latest version! Gamefaqs also hosts plenty of other excellent Xenogears FAQs, including walkthroughs. If you can't get on Gamefaqs, the FAQ is available on my personal web space at : http://members.aol.com/mtemichan/xenofa60.txt How do I get around this damn FAQ? It's too big! : Just look at the area you need secrets for, do a find command, then type in the name of the chapter and viola, you're there! Also, if you see an update that you like and want to go to it, just do a find command for the persons e-mail address, and there you go! Update History : Version 7.0 (2/1/2000) - Hey everyone. ^^ This update here reflects some changes, some additions, corrections, etc. Some mysteries were solved, there were some small additions but nothing big. I'm just tired of getting the same damn e-mails about Emeraldas music box! For gods sake.. all that's there is the text message.. you have to use your head to figure the rest out! Unfortunately, since I lost a lot of the email addresses I collected this info on over the past year of not updating, there will be some gaps.. sorry all. ^_^ Since this update was originally planned for 4/99, there are prob. some loose ends, but generally, the FAQ is all tied together now. And as for SPELLING ERRORS, there are now very little to be seen. ^_^ As a shameless self-promotion, I'd like to direct you to my Xenogears fanfic. It's called Wishing For Hope. All comments appreciated! http://members.tripod.com/~project_xat/fanfiction/hope1.html F0XDlE@aol.com - a moneymaking trick for the end of the game EllyElhaym@aol.com - submitted a cool CD trick tip along with the PE Demo Disc MadHatterY@aol.com - contributed a small tip about Gramps on the D block watchtower woodring@bright.net - further enlightenment on that awful Metronome Piggy Bank! ^^ Damn the bank. Has mailed me a huge section on doing it your dern self! FX MacLeod@aol.com - a possible correction to the children's play in Aveh An update on the color of Deus's orbs. (so what if it's old news -_-;) In section 0. Another update about renaming your gears. (Renaming your gears?? Yeah.. lots of people don't realize you can do it.) Section 0. Two mysteries have been solved! The ShinobiMK0 mystery, and the Hammer Tells Elly mystery. A third gear secret also, being able to use Ellys Omnigear in battle. I organized section 0 into subsections to help people looking for something. Also decided to move all update material down to the contributions section. Version 6.0 (1/28/99) - Well, here's the next fairly large update. I'll be trying to continue the neatness of order in presenting the new features... ^_^ Thanks to all the great fans out there who continue to support and e-mail me. Please continue the excellency in exploration! Updates, removals, additions, contributions, etc. Can be found in the bottom contributions section. Version 5.0 (1/14/99) - I always get mail from great Xeno-folk from around the world. ^_^ My experience with writing this FAQ has been overwhelmingly positive, unlike some beleagured FAQ authors. Xenogears players seem to have plenty of smarts to have picked up such a great game with an enthralling storyline. Version 3.5 (12/19/98) - More updates and minor cleaning. Nisan tidbits, new battling area, new "mystery", and other misc. stuff. PLUS!!! The Saga of Ramsus continues! Check out his moves list in the Ramsus section! But be prepared! Version 3.0 (12/13/98) - Some updates from users across the lands. And, what's this?? I've found how to get Ramsus as a secret character! (sorta!.. see the end of the FAQ!) Also, did some major changes + additions myself! Version 2.0 (12/10/98) - Did some clarifications, added a few tips and things from some e-mail. Thanks for the help. ^_^ Playing the game again so I can verify chests & directions. I did a streamline look over of the FAQ and corrected some misspellings as well as fixed some errors in design. The FAQ on the whole is much better now! It's now also fairly printer friendly.. ^_^ I've also changed the name of the FAQ to "Xenogears Tidbits, Secrets & Tips FAQ" Version 1.6 (12/5/98) - worked on some sections, mostly the hints and tips Version 1.3 (12/3/98) - fixes some mistakes around the end of the game. Note that I hadn't tried these secrets till I got to them... and I still haven't beaten the game. Scratch that, I just did! Woohoo! Added a "Tips and Good Stuff" section! Corrected some spelling, added a few things. Thanks LightRanma ^_^. Version 1.0 (12/2/98) - first version! I'm sure there's plenty that I've missed and some mistakes. Feel free to mail me! Table of Contents: 0 : Tips and Good Stuff 1 : Lahan Village 2 : Mt Path & Uzukis 3 : Blackmoon Forest 4 : Bledavik 5 : Castle Invasion 6 : Nisan 7 : Nortune D Block Prisoner Area 8 : Imperial Palace 9 : Nortune A Block Civilian Area 10 : Capital Gear Dock 11 : Goliath Factory 12 : Thames 13 : Orphanage 14 : Transport Ship 15 : Ethos HQ (afterwards) 16 : Babel Tower 17 : Shevat 18 : Aveh Revisited 19 : Kislev revisited 20 : Shevat 21 : Anima Dungeon 2 22 : Snow Hideout 23 : Shitans House Revisited 24 : Lighthouse/Zeobim 25 : Dunemans Isle 26 : Melchiors House 27 : Boss Tips Section 28 : Getting Ramsus!!(joke) 29 : "Mysteries" 30 : Battling Tips 31 : Lyrics Section 32 : Contributor Credits 0 : Tips and Good Stuff Subsections: a. Learning Deathblow Skills b. What's weight got to do with the game? c. Tips on getting an Ether Doubler at Nisan d. How do I get money later in the game, or save it up?? e. I'm at the end of the game and I want experience! f. Easy gear repair near the Yggdrasil g. The Xenogears Demo Disc CD Trick h. Spelling Bee i. Holy Pendant & Hyper/Infinity mode trick j. "It must be the shoes!" k. My small fanart gallery l. Using Deus orb colors to identify the boss m. Renaming your gears a. Learning Deathblow Skills : 1. Train up the deathblow one higher than the one you're trying to get. That way you'll learn all of them below you faster as well! 2. In case of not having enough AP to perform the Deathblow you're trying to learn, just use buttons that are included in the combo. For example, Hoten, which is square-X, can be learned by pressing square-square if you only have 4AP in which to perform a move. 3. You can take one character in a gear and another on foot, fighting giant- sized monsters. The monsters will ignore the character, who can whack away at the giant, while the gear takes all of the heat, (hopefully none at all)! 4. Once you obtain one or two Wizardry Rings, equip them (two is even faster) on your character and start whacking away! 5. If you see that your deathblow skills show nothing but the ones you've learned, don't despair! That just means they haven't reached over 50 points, so they don't show up. They will if you keep fighting. Similarly, if you have reached 100 but haven't learned it, you have to get to a higher level, then it comes automatically. 6. The key to learning deathblow skills fast and quick is to never use them once you've learned them! Almost all normal battles will be easy enough to handle without using them at all. You can't learn new deathblows from using deathblows. b. What's weight got to do with the game? : Not much as far as I can tell. If you're overweight you lose speed, if you're underweight you lose strength. Make sure you're in balance! Not much to worry about though unless you devour fifty or so steamed cakes at the Aveh tournament. p.s. anyone notice how TALL everyone is in the game? Look in the manual! They all look like the casting group for NBA tryouts.. Shitan, 6 foot 1?? Yeah right! The shortest guy is Billy at 5"7. How about us short people huh?? c. Tips on getting an Ether Doubler at Nisan : At the Nisan general store, they sell an EtherDoubler for 38k. It's 2xEP for 2x the spell effect. I wanted it so much I restarted the game over again! Here's some tips to follow to get that cash flowing! I was able to get up 40k and buy it! But if you don't feel like getting it right away, you can forget about it and come back later. But make sure it's before you don't absolutely have to return to Nisan, because the items shop changes by then. 1. De-equip party members that're about to leave you. especially Elly, whos initial equipment can be sold for 2.5k. 2. Toast Hobs with Elly's fire spells to get hob-steaks which sell for 150G. You should be able to rack up around 12 or so before her MP runs out - unless you can catch some bizfruit. 3. Don't buy any items! Only upgrade defensive equipment if necessary. (in Dazil, etc.) 4. When you have the choice of upgrading gear parts with Balthazar before fighting calamity, it'd be wise only to upgrade the engines. You can still survive the next few gear battles pretty easily. 5. This is the most important rule to follow. When you're in the stalactite caves, make sure you stick around and gather some money, because this area is one of the richest before Nisan. Hang around for a while, actually. Get to Lv.23 while you're at it. 6. Have bart grab the four iron armors in the armory at Bledaviks castle, and sell them later. 7. Sell the Ether Vieler Chu-Chu sells you for 5k G. 8. Sell Bart's initial gear accessories, worth around 2.5k G. If you've followed all these steps, you should be able to reach an EtherDoubler with a little work. The results pay off for the rest of the game, trust me! You can deal insane amounts of damage with Elly in your party around mid-game. Her spells do 1600+ to bosses and you can wipe them out without even upgrading your gear armor, making up for the money you would have spent on that instead! d. How do I get money later in the game, or save it up?? : Remember that Gear parts cost major cash! Don't go upgrading your whole party whenever you get the chance. Saving money is the key to ending up with a generous portion by the end of the 2nd CD. I ended up unexpectedly with 700k in my lap to upgrade with! There's a couple ways to obtain money at the end of the game, though. 1. Go to the battling arena and fight. Keep buying any doll, they sell for 30k G. I've received reports about not being able to buy the same doll twice, but I was able to... so? 2. Fight monsters outside of the SnowfieldHideout and sell the "golden" equipment they carry. It's helpful to have the traders card for this one. 3. Keep going back and forth in Big Joe's shop, hoping that you can get some Matchlocks (6k G selling price), from his repopping chests. 4. Wander around the 2'nd maze of the last level and collect some money. Sell the spare Ether Ar+3 and various equipment you accumulate. 5. Go to Kislev, and sell items to the blue crystal where the Capital used to be. (Anima Dungeon 2 is a good place to stock up on items to sell here.. scales, ivory, etc.) A traders card is recommended for use here. 6. "After the second Anima dungeon, if you got the Trader Card, you can make LOADS of cash for doing practically nothing! Just go back to the Anima dungeon in your gears and fight the lizard men (I forget what they are named, sorry). They die in one hit each, and you get SIX scales after EACH FIGHT!!!! With that, you can get 99 in maybe an hour, then go to Kislev and sell them for 1,200 G each! Every time you get 99, you make 118,800 G!" - F0XDlE@aol.com e. I'm at the end of the game and I want experience! : There's only one surefire way to blast up in levels. Fight Power Seraphs in the tunnels of the second maze in the final level. They give 75k XP with a Hercules Ring. It should be enough to skyrocket your levels to whatever you want. f. Easy gear repair near the Yggdrasil : While flying/moving in the Yggdrasil, press the menu button to get into character mode in the bridge. Your gears will be automatically repaired. I knew about this but didn't think about mentioning it till xandar3@optonline.net suggested it to me. Thanks. ^_^ g. The Xenogears Demo Disc CD Trick : waste44424@aol.com + EllyElhaym@aol.com This is a strange trick indeed! If you own both the Xenogears game and the Xenogears demo disc that was included with Parasite Eve, read on! Load up the demo disc, and switch the CD with the 1st Xenogears CD. Play the FF8 demo movie file, and you'll be treated to a play-by-play sequence of every movie on the disc up to the beginning intro. The 2nd CD, unfortunately, can't play all of the movies, but does do a little bit of part of the ending. A good treat for those who enjoy anime & CG gear eye candy. And as an update, you can also do this trick with the FFT CD - just wait till you get to the start/load screen, press start, and it should start playing for you! It might work with other FMVs on the disc also, so experiment! EllyElhaym@aol.com updates- "You already have the demo disc trick, but you > can also do the same thing with Final Fantasy Tactics. Put in FFT, press > start to skip to the menu, take FFT out and put in the second Xeno CD. It now > plays some CG and anime scenes with a bit of "Stars of Tears" playing in the > background! Various anime clips (along with a sound clip of Elly and Fei in > the ending) are shown until Elly becomes Miang." h. Spelling Bee : These words are all in Xenogears. Know what they mean? And where are they said? ^_^ "duralumin","extol","lumbago","reconnoiter","lethargic","ardor" i. Holy Pendant & Hyper/Infinity mode trick: fayore@aol.com Billy comes with a Holy Pendant, and Nisan sells them for 8k a piece early in the game. They double the "effect" time of spells, etc. So if you cast speed with Shitan, it'd last twice as long. What Fayore revealed to me is that when you have one on, when you're in a gear, your hyper mode lasts 6 turns when you reach it! Definately an incredible tip. If you missed your first chance to nab one in Nisan, you can head back to get it, only if you're before the part when you have to go back to it a second time. j. "It must be the shoes!" : When you put your main character in a gear, and keep your other character out of their gear, you can jump in areas, and the character will "fly like an eagle", jumping just as high as the gear does! Woah..! Must be the shoes!! Try it out in the Stalactite Cavern or Goliath Factory, or other places later on. ^_^ Do you believe you can fly? *hehe* k. My small fanart gallery : Small, personal collection of Fanart from Japanese Xenogears web pages. I've put up a small site of pictures. Take a look if you want - they're all excellent quality and worth having, they win my seal of fanart approval! ^_^ I didn't draw any of these, so whoever owns them, uh, yeah, they own them, not me!! http://members.aol.com/mtemichan/xenart l. Using Deus orb colors to identify the boss You can tell the orb boss by it's color. Harlute - Blue Marlute - Yellow Metatron - Gray Sundel - Pink m. Renaming your gears : In the Yggdrasil at any time, head into the gear dock room, and go up to the gear you want to rename. Then talk to the man standing still next to it, and you can either view it, or rename it. Ta-daa! 1 : Lahan Village While some of them aren't as important as others, Lahan Village boasts the most 'secrets' in an area in the whole game, and you only get one try at it, so don't mess up! Once you leave Shitans house towards Lahan at night again, you'll never get a chance to explore and collect again, and there's plenty to grab! There's also a few funny moments and characters you might recognise. 1.1 : Secrets 1. under your bed Check under your bed for 200G. 2. spider web In the western room with the barrels, jump in the corner to grab a spider web (it's very visible). 3. two barrels In this same room, examine the two barrels for two Aquasols. 4. the village well Jump in the well to randomly collect these three items, Aquasol S, Power Ring, Eyeball. There's plenty of bad well puns too... :P 5. mermaid tear In the bar, talk to the drunk in the corner near the ladder, and select the third choice (tell him it won't solve anything). He'll give you the mermaid tear. 6. RPS badge In the house next to the learning center, you can play a game of Rock Paper Scissors with some guy. Win 5 times in a row to get the RPS King Badge. There's a trick to beating him, though it's not 100% effective, it's your best chance. He'll never throw the same figure again after being beaten in using it. So you know he'll only use one or the other. Pick the one that will win/tie, most likely. Sometimes he breaks out of this pattern and drives you crazy, but at least you'll win more than you lose. On the last game to defeat him, you should use the above strategy, then use what would defeat the answer you come up with. He'll be anticipating you using it, so if you double-take him, you'll win. (maybe ^_^) 7. 120G underneath the RPS house Talk to the lady in the basement and tell her the first choice (I like Lahan). She'll give you 120G. 8. the bearcow lady Near the well is a lady with what she calls a "bearcow". If you tell her the second choice(that what she thinks isn't strange), she'll give you an Aquasol, and the bearcow will "moooooo". 9. behind the elders house(your house) Talk to the old man next to the "bearcow" for two Aquasols for each time you talk to him. 1.2 : Tidbits 1. Lucca in the learning center Check out the learning center.. there's Lucca from Chrono Trigger there, and it's really, uh, interesting how she explains save points. See what happens when you say no to wanting to hear her info! ^_^ It seems she's gotten an ego- boost since her last game appearance! 2. painting close-ups Examine your paintings in your room you start off in to get a closer look at them. I like the non-abstract tree one. ^_^ 3. behind the signs There's signposts and signs across shops and places. If you examine the back of some of them, there's some amusing messages to take sight of. Go and take a look! There's a couple to be found. 4. gold for the good student In the training center, talk to the man next to the furnace teaching about fighting, ask him about deathblows. You'll be rewarded with 22G when he's done telling you about them. 5. perverted grinding - Thetenchiu@aol.com If you walk down the path of the well, you'll reach an old man with some vegetables on a sheet in front of him. If you walk on him, he'll complain to you.. and if you keep running into the girl next to him, she'll call you a pervert! 2 : Mt Path & Uzukis The Mt. Path and the Doctors house has some useful secrets, although they won't be used till much later in the game. See if you can find the good Doc's old bath tub. ^_~ I can't! 2.1 : Secrets 1. birds egg Near the beginning of the path, there's a tree that's on a ledge just to the north of the signpost, veering left a little. You have to get up under it, then jump and ruffle the leaves. It'll ask you if you want to take the bird egg, and if you take it, there'll be a chicken that'll demand you give it back, whacking you -1 HP every time you refuse. It asks you every 7 or so seconds. And no, it can't kill you.. I tried. ^_^ 2. spider Just as you're about to get to the path up to Shitans house, if you look to the tree to the immediate left, there should be a spider that dangles down then shoots back up if you come close, but if you time it right, you can grab it. 3. Aquasol door On the first landing when climbing up the steps of Uzukis house, there's two doors opposite each other. When you open one of them, a chicken will pop out. Enter inside and examine, and you'll find an Aquasol. 4. Midori's Ring On the side corner of the house is a bed of flowers. Jump over them to the other side and examine the part closest to the wall and you'll get Midori's Ring 5. egg cooking Fei will automatically give the egg to Yui if he has it. He'll gain about 20 lbs afterwards, and there's a funny bit before he leaves. 6. Shitan's chimney stash - skconnor@worldnet.att.net Head up to the telescope and jump over the barrier to the small walkway leading to the chimney. Examine it to get 120G. 2.2 : Tidbits 1. birdseed Next to the Landcrab and the patch of flowers along the side edge of the fence, there's a rock with some birdseed on it. Well, it's funny what Fei does when you examine it .. ^_^ take a look. Try it twice! 3 : Blackmoon Forest The Blackmoon Forest is teeming with life, but more importantly, has lots of chests just lying around. There are a few you can't get to without some proper inspection, though. They're not really worth it, but hey, why not get them anyway? 3.1 : Secrets 1. hob-steak If a hob monster recieves a fatal strike due to a fire ether attack, it'll leave behind a "hob-steak", which heals 500 HP, non battle. Once you get Elly, start toasting those hobs! They sell for 150G, or 450G once you can sell them to Kislev's battling shop. 2. 'area 1' bag Before you meet Elly, in the first forest section, there's a bag that's only reachable from a tall log. From the entrance, maneuver behind the large fallen tree(to the south), and jump up on the two small ledges to reach the top of the log. Walk down it, then jump down to the (southwest) side to the log underneath it, to reach the bag. You'll be rewarded with an Aquasol. 3. Elly's pilot uniform Before you reach the end of the area, make sure you de-equip Elly of her pilot uniform, which sells for 2.5k. You'll know it's the end by the large gray slab of rock connecting to a save point w/ a chest & SurvivalTent inside. And there'll be lots of hobs jumping around on you, too. 4. 'area 2' chests I reccomend you grab the chests after Elly's in trouble, because you won't be pestered by random battles. The chest a northern jump away from the 'main' ledge that has the bunches of hobs in them has an Arcane Rod in it. The other chest is west of the crossroad sign, and has an Aquasol. 4 : Bledavik The capital of Aveh is chock full of secrets and goodies! Make sure you explore the area thoroughly before heading onward, it's worth it! 4.1 : Secrets 1. cheap inn When you're approached by the lady at the start of the city, and tell her you don't have a place to stay, she'll direct you to an inn. If you tell the innkeep you got a recommendation, tell her the truth, that you don't know the ladies name, and you'll get a discount, 100 gold off per person. 2. hide and seek badge The hide and seek kid isn't too hard if you know where to look! You first find him hiding in the corner from the staircase that has the broken roof over it. Next he's in the corner by the exit leading towards Shakhan Square. Just before you're about to exit, rotate the camera to see him. Third, he'll be hiding in the barrels next to the Ethos HQ. Fourth, you find him hiding behind one of the archways on the side of the town with the little boys tromping around cursing Kislev. Fifth, and last, he's hiding in the tiny corner to your right when you come in. You might not see him at first, but just examine around and you'll find him. 3. minigear In the town fair, talk to the man selling toys, and buy a minigear(120G) or a toy gun(80G) - (gino_c@compass.com.ph). Talk to the kid who wants one, and give it to him. He'll give you a tip about the restaurant and a gold nugget in the chest. 4. little thieves If you talk to the lady on the right hand side just before you're about to leave towards Shakhan Square, you'll see that two little kids stole from her. Head up the stairs and follow them, and one will ask for 1k G. Give it to him! They'll have a special shop later on. 4. the games tent After your preparations are complete, you can wander off on your own to the games tent that you might have tried to get into earlier, in Shakhan Square. There's three games, and they're all fun and surprising! Unless you're an expert, you'll prob. only be getting Aquasols, although I managed to get an Iron Helmet before in the balloon game. (go me!) 5. wedding dress from fighting Dan When fighting Dan in the semi-finals, if you continually defend/heal, he'll eventually give you Alice's wedding dress and run off, giving you a piece of his mind with it! I'm not sure what impact it has on the game, though. It's a fairly shoddy piece of equipment with +5 ethdef, although anyone can equip it. ^_^ 4.2 : Tidbits 1. dine n' dash If you don't have enough money when trying to buy food at the restaurant, a little kid will burst up out of the back door, and lead you running off. Dine n' dash! 2. market bartering - tomasbn@indosat.net.id When talking to any of the sellers at the market, if you wait a while at the screen where you're asked whether you want to buy the item or not, the seller will cut their prices down by a few G, two or three times if you wait long enough. I'm not sure how useful this is, because you'd have to be dirt-poor to not afford a 10G "Ariberry". ^_^ 3. flames of the heart Talk to the flamethrower who will tell you what buttons to press in order to blow flames from your mouth. It only works in this area though.. too bad! I would've liked to have toasted some other people I can think of. ^_~ 4. nun surprise - gino_c@compass.com.ph If you want to see a funny scene with the Nisan sister, before you go visit her the first time, jump in the window to her room from the rooftops. 5 : Castle Invasion There's three secrets waiting for Bart as he invades the castle of Bledavik. Other than that, there's just crummy, low XP/G guards. 5.1 : Secrets 1. restaurant gold nugget If you activated the 'minigear' secret, along the way upstream(assuming you came in from the well entrance by the Ethos Workshop) you can climb a pipe to your left and grab the gold nugget in the chest. 2. armoury armor In the lower floor of the castle is an armory, it's on the lower eastern floor, the most northern door. Enter and grab the four iron armors, very useful! yeekang@hotmail.com : Has updated me with a bug/cheat that allows you to nab up to 99 iron armors from the same stand. Just have a rapid-fire controller equipped, and let-er-rip! I do consider this cheating though... do it if you don't mind feeling ashamed from the dirty money you get.. every time you press the directional pad one more time to sell another cheated iron armor, there will be another tear shed and another child left hungry!! Ohhh the humanity!! Repent now, sinners! 3. cobracraka On the lower eastern floor, the south-most door is a residence room. Check behind the bed curtains (rotate the camera) and examine the chest to get a cobracraka, one of the few 'effect' items in the game, that poisons your opponent when hit. There's only one or two others I can think of. 4. kitchen meat On the lower western floors, you can get into the kitchen. Jump up in the air to grab some hob-meat that's dangling from the ceiling. Yummy! Leap a bit higher to get two other hob-jerkys. 5.2 : Tidbits 1. general Vanderkaums room Vanderkaums room is to the right(east) of the middle door on the higher ground. It's the first one there. Make sure you stop in and pay homage to his gigantic vulcan cannon that takes up half the room. If you decide not to make the visit, you can come back later in the game. 2. Ramsus & Miangs room If you go into the room where Ramsus has his nightmare/dream in bed with Miang, you can examine the wine case beside the painting, and activate cameras around the castle and look around. You can see Margie in the East Tower if you choose that camera view. 3. the library and a book The library is located on one of the bottom floors, to the right, I think. Go straight ahead from the door, climb the ladder, and examine the bookshelf. You'll get an 'interesting' history account of Aveh. 4. `close friends' in the mess hall Many people manage to miss the mess hall - which is the door right next to the kitchen. Head inside, and talk to the two guys sitting very close next to eachother. Woowoo! ^_^ 6 : Nisan Nisan is a pretty cool area with one major goodie in it, if you can afford to buy it! 6.1 : Secrets 1. expensive, rare items The shopkeep sells very rare accessories. You can either save up major money in order to buy it right away, or wait till later in the game, and come in by sea. Either way, don't wait until you -have- to come back to Nisan, because by then the items will have changed. Personally, I scraped every G I could get my greedy paws on and managed to get 40k before reaching Nisan, but others might not be so patient (or good! ^_^.) See the Tips section on this topic for specific hints to follow. 2. Chu-Chu on the Yggdrasil Talk to Chu-Chu after her introduction and she'll give you an ether veiler for your spider that you got on the Mt. Path. Yum-mmmy! It doubles elemental defense, or you can sell it. 6.2 : Tidbits 1. Frans on the Yggdrasil Frans is on the bridge at all times in the game. Talk to him for a random sound test. He's not hard to spot.. it's the penguin in the wet-suit! 2. painters brushes Go to the studio (right before the exit to the Cathedral), and examine the painters brushes. There'll be some dialogue between Fei and the painter. 3. naming Chu-Chu Some of us, like me, might be tempted to name Chu-Chu names other than the one she's got. Here's a short "Baby Book" of names you might want to name your adorable nusiance. Remember, 7 characters only! ChewChu ChuCrud ChuCrak ChuCorn Furball ChuChum And my personal favorite : Childo ^_^ Here's some that won't fit but are still funny! ^_^ ChuChyme ChuChigger ChuCallous ChuChunder ChuCrapper ChuBowels 7 : Nortune D Block Prisoner Area There's one great way to rack up some good money here, very easily. Thanks to tigervir@aol.com for pointing it out. ^_^ 7.1: Secrets 1. having Shitan disarm the collars - tigervir@aol.com When you see Shitan for the first time, he'll opt to remove the collars for you. You can either say no, rest, or say yes. If you say yes, you'll think that you died (idiot :P) and then be back. But, if you rest, then come back and say yes, he'll take out the bomb part and Hammer will buy it for 5000G!! Go on.. it's easy cash! ^_^ 8 : Imperial Palace There's a few goodies you can obtain by exploring the imperial palace. 8.1 : Secrets 1. crane operation If you can manage to maneuver the crane to crash into the side of the boxes that the guys can't reach, you can jump on it and then reach over. There's a Power Magic, a gear item you won't be able to buy till later, and very useful for Elly. It's +8 Ethamp. Here's a tip : try maneuvering it to the right side, not the left, it's easier. 2. Ricos momento chain When you gain control of your party in the Queen's room, examine the drawer infront of you to get a momento chain. It's +5 eth and +5 ethdef, for Rico use only. 3. the metronome bank - axleGear@aol.com + woodring@bright.net In the Kaiser's room, to the side of the wall on a drawer is the metronome bank that will award you with 1G and 1 successive G every time you can stop the metronome in the center. It also keeps track of your score you've racked up. With axleGear@aol.com 's information, I'm able to post up your rewards for stopping that maddening metronome bank!! "- stop it 1 time each to get 1 G - stop it 3 times in a row to get 10 G - stop it 5 times in a row to get 100 G - stop it 10 times in a row to get 500 G - stop it 20 times in a row to get 1000 G" There you have it straight from the horses mouth.. or something like that. ^_^ -- update from woodring@bright.net Somebody seems to be even more crazy than our previous contributor, and he's gone all the way to draining the thing of it's cash! "> There's additional awards for stopping the metronome bank, though I don't > know if there's any past 52, that was my longest run, that I haven't been > able to duplicate. > > 30 times = 2000G > 40 times = 3000G > 50 times = nothing > > Also the bank runs out of money at 60,143G. > > Messages at certain times: > 10 times- "You're pretty good." > 30 times- "Cool! Cooler than cool!" ? 40 times- "You're now in the realm of immortals."" May God have mercy on his poor soul. But thanks to him anyway. ^.~ Here's his big e-mail telling you how to do it yourself! "Here are the techniques I used for getting long metronome bank runs in Xenogears. I don't claim that this will work for everyone nor do I claim someone will have the patience to get 52 in a row either or empty the bank. -Practice. Half of the work is getting the rhythm of the bank, visually and audially. You eventually will get into the "zone", where you can feel the timing of the metronome. -Visualize the metronome and listen to the metronome. I found that I wasn't able to look away from the metronome and just listen to the ticks to stop it. I had to watch the metronome also to consistently hit the beat. -Attack the button. I was more consistent when I didn't lag behind the metronome. Stay on top of the beat, and attack the button in one short precise press. 90% of my misses were from lagging behind the metronome. It's the same in music, elementary and high school bands tend to slow down in comparison to the conducting. -Use two ticks (or possibly more) to time it. The technique I used was to let the metronome tick twice, then attack it. One tick didn't give me enough time to set up the rhythm. -Attack the beat when you see the metronome bounce off the side towards the stop point. As elementary as it sounds, that visual cue, when the metronome bounced off the left and was moving to hit the center, plus the timing of two ticks, would set up the rhythm for me. -Don't let the messages ruin your timing. When one of the congratulatory messages would come up, that is when my rhythm would usually be ruined. Take a moment to gather your senses and concentrate on the beat and the visual cue, because the message means you have to press the button several more times to clear the screen and can interrupt the rhythm you have gained. -Take a break and clear the cobwebs. You will be able to feel when you are lagging and getting to far into the "zone". This is the point when you want to pause for a second and regather your senses. When I would get to far into the rhythm and looking past the screen, I would usually flub the next trial because I was lost in the game and would lag on the beat. I hope my experience was helpful towards you emptying the Kaiser's bank." 9 : Nortune A Block Civilian Area There's only one 'secret' you can activate here, although the rewards won't appear till later. 9.1 : Secrets 1. Big Joe "borrows" 5k G Talk to Big Joe before the dead end, and hand him 5k G. Just before you are about to head out of the city, talk to him outside the gate (in the city map), and he'll give a humorous conversation. Go back to the alleyway he asked you to search and find an M Disk. Excellent tunes at the jukebox in the Wildcat! If you don't feel like buying it, you can get it by battling in the Battling Arena later. 9.2 : Tidbits 1. take Elly to the bathroom This actually happens right -after- the point where you can use Elly in your party and you're in the nurses house in A block, about to capture the Goliath. It's simple - just try going into the bathroom after hammer sees you off, with Elly in your party. ^_~ 2. enter the tool shop at night time.. This also happens in another time slice of A Block. At night, when you're about to go to rest and get your gear back from the Capital Gear Dock, head down to A block and try to enter the tool shop - a funny scenario ensues! 3. good gold outside of Kislev - whatzat@aol.com Fight the Rhinos north of Kislev in your gears to get Scales. They sell for 1.5k G a piece in the B-info center in D block. 4. Gramps generosity - MadHatterY@aol.com Poor MadHatter was so broke that he actually discovered this secret! If you try to jump off the train tower that Gramps patrols in D block, he'll fine you 50G. But if you're too poor to afford it, he'll call you a poor kid and give you 30G to compensate. Jee, thanks.. lets buy lots of sugar cakes and moon pies! ^^ 10 : Capital Gear Dock The capital gear dock is an interesting maze/area. Don't worry about missing much up in the ducts - there's only two exits from there, the rest lead to grates you can peep through. There are a few cool & funny secrets to find here so don't miss em! 10.1 : Secrets 1. 100G stash under a bench After finding the master key, head into the next room, and walk into the section with the three benches on the sides of the walls. The left bench (camera facing the exit), upon examination, holds a 100G prize. ^_^ 10.2 : Tidbits 1. grab the prized Minigear! In the room all the way down the long, door-ridden hall, there's a small desk looking out a hole in the wall. Examine it to nab a minigear, but not before the guy there tells you how important it is to him!! Be prepared for a fight. ^_^ 11 : Goliath Factory The Goliath factory is an easily forgettable area - mostly because of it's bland descrip, uninteresting puzzles, and straightforward attitude. There are a few cool secrets to nab, though, so you don't want to miss em! By the way, for any of you who'd like to train Elly with all her deathblows - now is a great time to do it. Fight with the "one in gear/one in character" style, with Elly out of her gear, and watch those moves come on in like a tidal wave! 11.1 : Secrets 1. gold nugget to the side before first door This is pretty self explanatory. When you're walking down the un-rotatable hall, there's a chest with a gold nugget inside to your right, between two large pillars, just before you can go into the door up ahead. 2. Extra Ar+3 in the first conveyor room In the first conveyor room you enter, fall down, and walk underneath the belt. There'll be a chest there, but you can't reach it with your gears - get into character mode and nab an Extra Ar+3. ^_^ 12 : Thames The thames is one big gag! What's more funny than a gigantic salvager ship filled to the brim with drunk, unshaven men?? The men of the sea will keep your funny bone going in an otherwise bland area. There's also plenty of secrets to be had! Talk to everyone! 12.1 : Secrets 1. the four chests in the supply area In the supply dock, there's plenty of funny people, but also four chests scattered around. There are two on the lifts, one behind a bunch of crates, and one behind a large fence. Sometimes the booty just isn't worth the effort, but who wants unopened chests looming around the Thames..? To get the one on the lift that's not moving, run up the stairs at the edge of the screen, and walk down the large gun. Take a right across the boxes & the knife, jump on the first lift, then jump on top of the second one with the chest, and press examine before you get to the top. It should open with you over it. You get a Lunar Rod. The chest on the lift that's moving is a little harder. Make a running jump and knock the bottom of it with your head to send it flying to the ground. Using peoples heads is a good idea if they're standing around. The one behind the boxes can be reached by walking up the stairs, into the "control room", then jumping over the railing to fall down behind them. You can also jump over the little girls head if she's close by the boxes. You'll get a The last one is behind a large fence. Just hop ontop of the box adjacent to it and jump over the fence to grab the item. You'll get a SerpentGWhip. 2. the fridge on the armor grounds - me ^_^ If you wander around the armor grounds, you'll realize that there's uh.. a lot of junk lying around! Anyway.. head around to the outskirts, behind the accessory seller, and examine the refrigerator - you can open the small compartment, but if you open the big one, you'll get a gold nugget! 12.2 : Tidbits 1. playing the card game, "speed" Your first opponent is a guy on the beer deck who will teach you how to play. Your second opponent is a little kid in the supply dock, he's in the corner wall opposite the guy who sells gear parts. Now you can play Queenie, who is in the Armor Ground. She'll give you a deathblower 1 for your efforts, but only crummy items afterwards. (she also gets progressively insanely hard to beat..) Thanks to this tip, from skull-one@juno.com. On the Thames, just after the Yggdrasil docks, you can find big Joe hitting on some lady on the deck of the Yggdrasil. Answer yes to his question and you can play a game with him.. he'll give you a Longdarkcoat if you win, and also make a run for it! Amore time for everyone! Remember that Shitan is the fastest, and you can hold down the run button to move even faster. 2. tinkering with toys In the armor grounds, at the item shop, there's a bunch of junk lying around.. three pieces you can examine. Check them all out! The items are the standing gong/bell thingie, the traffic light, and the fan. Once you do, you'll get some "father/son" talk.. Thames style!! 3. moneymaking.. "> If you need more money around the time you get the water Yggdrasil you can > go back to Ignas and to the border between Kislev and Aveh. In the desert > you can find Quadrafoots(very common) which will come in groups of two and > give you 1000G and will usually give you magnetic coats which will sell for > 2000G. ^_^ > In the grasslands nearby you'll also find the gray Hobgobs and get some > hob-steaks too if you want. With the money you can always go back to Nisan > and get lots o' rare stuff too." 13 : Orphanage What a cute little area! Square does nothing to hide the obscenities of the bathroom, though! Have fun ^_^ 13.1 : Secrets 1. three books There's three books you need in order to get into Jessie's room. One can be found in the dining room, up the ladder. Talk to Brother A and tell him you won't tell anyone about where he's hiding and he'll give you a coloring book. The second you get when you try to enter the bathroom (from the bedroom), a little scrubby dwarf hands you a comic book. You can ONLY do this once you've examined the bookcase in Billy's room and he pops out of it. The third book can be obtained, only with Rico in the party. Enter one of the side rooms, the one adjacent to the bathroom door, and talk to the kid looking out the window. After a brief revelation, you'll get the "hellfire preaching" book. 2. Jessie's room Later in the game, return to the orphanage anytime with the three books to open the bookshelf (it will open a crack, and you have to push the rest of the way). You can only do this with Billy in the party, but he doesn't have to be in front. There's a useful item inside. 3. Tag Badge This is one of the easiest badges to obtain, and it's also the last. Talk to the demihuman in the chicken pen, and he'll tell you what to do. Just talk to the chickens and lure all three of them in, then the badge is yours. 13.2 : Tidbits 1. bathroom One of the funniest and possibly most obscene area in the game, the bathroom is a gag you won't want to miss! Just for a hint, try using different characters in the front of the party to get different reactions. (Elly, then Fei) 14 : Transport Ship The transport ship is mostly bland except for one hilarious gag. Don't miss it! 14.2 : Tidbits 1. "bloody showers" A really funny gag can be found in the transport ship. In the mid-section, before the rusted door, there are several cabins you can open up and look inside. The one on the right of the rusty door has a shower in it. Examine the shower ... muahahaha! 15 : Ethos HQ (afterwards) 15.1 : Secrets 1. three out-of-the way chests Some of the bookcases in the rooms have been moved to the side. Explore one to reach a hidden room containing three chests. (you'll know by the long staircase). It's also reachable from the infirmary. Don't bother trying to move the ones that're already closed. They won't open. 15.2 : Tidbits 1. "rescue" Big Joe In the infirmary, check the door to the left of the one you find the survivor in. Look at who you rescued.. whoopee! 16 : Babel Tower Babel Tower is an extremely obnoxious area of the game due to the "can't jump before a fight and fall" bug/obvious freekin-oversight. But since there's two secrets here.. ^_^ 16.1 : Secrets 1. gold bullion behind some wreckage - grayfoxfh@aol.com On the inverted city section, after you ride the first two lifts, there's a piece of wreckage, a piece of road sticking straight up. There's a chest with a Gold Bullion behind it. 2. ammo for billy - grayfoxfh@aol.com After getting off the third lift, examine the same kind of road wreckage to find some ammo for Billy. 17 : Shevat Shevat is an area where if you gathered secrets from the previous parts of the game, now is the time to reap your rewards! There's plenty to do and see, and even more to blow your cash on. Resist the temptation of blowing every penny on Gear Parts.. you'll regret it later! 17.1 : Secrets 1. the dusk, dawn, and dark rock These three rocks, found in Shevat itself, will let you get a whole mess of excellent items, as well as one that can't be found anywhere else. Dawn : examine the southern circle of the outer Shevat ring, directly south of the palace statue. Just keep walking around examining, it shouldn't be too hard. Dusk : In the broken house, the doll has it in it's hand. Dark : First, talk to the chu-chu spinning onto of one of the lights. To do this, jump off the yellow elder chu-chus head and press X before you fall. Then go down to the fountain area, and head through the gateway that doesn't have the lady next to it. Talk to the man there and buy the thread. Then hop back up to the fountain top, and fish. It might take one or two tries, but the idea is to wait till Fei has done "..." at least three times before pulling up. After getting all the rocks, head down to the civilian area, go down the steps, through the door to the side of the stairs, and examine the lift that 'doesn't move'. Once inside the secret room, examine all of the shelves and stuff, there's plenty to grab! Among the goodies are the essential Power Crisis, and the Chu- Chu idol, which increases Chu-Chu's attack and defense strength by 20%. The Power Crisis raises damage as HP lowers. 2. the three badges Talk to the elder chu-chu in front of the item chu-chu to get some special goodies for obtaining all three badges. The hilarious sounds can be heard again later in the game, when the badges are stored on one of the shelves. 3. Chu-Chu honesty award - gino_c@compass.com.ph You can get a bunch of cure items from a chu-chu that's in the big chu-chu shop. It's the one who's underneath the large ledge, the one farthest away from the lift that leads to the fountain. Tell him not all humans are honest, and he'll fork over the goodies. 17.2 : Tidbits 1. the "reflection mirror" - bthienpont@aol.com Head into the broken house at the edge of Shevat and examine the mirror in the main circle room. You can choose your character and press different buttons to do different poses. 18 : Aveh Revisited After your second visit to Nisan, I recommend you re-explore the world once more. Here's some really interesting things you can follow through with. 18.1 : Secrets 1. meat market The little thieves are back in Aveh and have opened up shop. If you gave them money before, talk to the girl behind the boy, she'll give you 100G every time you re-enter the area. As for the meat, all of it's hob-stuff, 70g per. If you want to, you can stock up on hob-steaks and re-sell them at the Kislev battling arena for 450G!! Of course, it takes way too long for my patience. 18.2 : Tidbits 1. heroic play If before in your travels in Bledavik, you gave the little thieves your 1000G cash, and they decided to open up a shop, you'll be able to see the play. I also heard from FX MacLeod@aol.com that it only happens if you get the H&S Badge, but I am not so sure, since I loaded a friends game who did the badge but not the gold and the play wasn't there to watch. -_- If you head up the hidden stairs underneath the broken overhanging cloth, there will be a group of children re-enacting heroics and villany of Bart, Fei, Ramsus, Shakhan, and Margie. It's very cute and worth watching! Go see it! 2. explore the Gebler base To the side of the courtyard is a gate that leads to the Gebler base. While there's not much to do anymore, it's nice to explore. Too bad you can't go back into Elly's room. (I'd like to have taken the Drive in there!) 3. rude lady surprise, again! - dweeb99@aol.com Dweeb99 certainly hasn't learned his lesson that jumping in windows tends to, uh, disturb it's inhabitants within! Well, hop right inside to get some nasty back-talking! 4. sick Emeralda restaurant trip (nude Emeralda code) - tangsoodoman@hotmail.com Well, this certainly tops the "legitimate nasty" category in Xenogears tidbit history. Head on to the restaurant, before going to Solaris, with Emeralda in your party, and order anything. She'll be sitting there like the fetus-test- tube shape you first find her in... gross! 19 : Kislev revisited There's a cool new feature in Kislev now! 19.1 : Secrets 1. battling arena special modes You can come back to the battling arena, and fight to your hearts content. Not only is there a practice, 2 p mode, and some other extra features, there's also battling for points that you can allocate and spend on very rare items.. cool! This is also available at the end of the 2nd CD. Also, at the end of the 2nd CD, Big Joe will have dragged the Jukebox from the civilian sector to the back of the arena, and if you have the M Disc, you can listen to some funky tunes with much ease. ^^ (Thanks to go2one@aol.com for suggesting I add this in.) 20 : Solaris Solaris is an annoying piece of work. There's a few cool things you can find though. ^_^ 20.2 : Tidbits 1. Tifa poster Find a poster of FF7's hot chick, Tifa, in the civilian room with the boy flying the gear around. "Destroy the lambs... yeah!!" There are also pictures of Elly floating around in some spots. ^^ 2. Krelian's lab - Jhenn20@aol.com When you're in Krelian's laboratory, head into the large bay door to the left on one of the long corridors with prisoners in them. You'll be in a huge room with a giant cage with tons of prisoners. Destroy them all and then the Bloody Brothers, apparently brothers to "Redrum" in the sewers, will fight you. ^_^ 3. processing plant code gifts - chaotzu@webtv.net Enter the following codes into the machine to get two prizes. 1111 1101 4. mega jump escape - email lost ^^; "I found a really strange jumping glitch in Solaris. You know when you have Fei and Elly and are being chased by security cubes in the sewer-ish place? Jump when they are about to catch you. After you battle them, there is a chance that you will be catapulted 300 feet in the air and slowly glide back towards the ground. This is actually very helpful: it allows you to go across the corridor much faster." 21 : Anima Dungeon 2 There's only one secret here but you better not miss it!! 21.1 : Secrets 1. the traders card When you fight the boss of this dungeon, it'll get red hot before it dies. You only have a few turns for each character before it explodes, even with boosters on, so make sure you have system ID, and your other two characters at either infinite or lv.3 attacks before going at it. If you manage to kill it, you'll get the trading card, one of the best items in the game! It allows you to 100% collect extremely rare items from any monster you fight once equipped! Yummy! If there's one item you don't want to miss in the game, it's this one!! p.s. Make sure you equip it before going on : next time you fight Miang, you'll get an Executor Gown - the best female armor in the game so far! 22 : Snow Hideout Back in the snow hideout, there's plenty of goodies to be found everywhere! If you got some good secrets at the beginning of the game, you'll get to cash in the rewards! 22.1 : Secrets 1. mermaid ring Once Emeraldas grown up (see lighthouse), head out to the prisoner cave again. (no I don't know which door it is :P) then talk to the old man at the dead end with her in your party & the mermaid tear. You'll get the mermaid ring. An excellent accessory, if I do say so myself! 2. card playing kid Win once to get the Emer Jr. Doll. Win twice in a row to get the Bart Jr. Doll, then five times in a row for the Elly Jr. Doll. While you can get the Bart Jr. Doll at the battling arena, the other two can't be found anywhere else. The Emer Jr. Doll enables same-damage counters on the enemy. The Bart Jr. Doll raises critical hit rate. (only Emeralda can equip it) The Elly Jr. Doll changes ether spell power either +50% or -50% randomly. 3. Midori's ring Give Midori's ring to Midori and get a Hercules Ring. 4. Shitan's gear sword Walk past the gear shop and talk to the man at the edge of the walkway. If you have the Kishin sword from the G Elements boss (unequipped!), he'll make it super-strong for you. If you don't have anything to unequip the sword with, go back to one of the Anima Dungeons and buy a sword from Shopkeeper Johnny. 5. gold to the miner Give a gold nugget to the miner, go rest/sleep somewhere, then come back and give him a gold bullion (there's only a few in chests around the game). Go and rest again, then come back, talk to him, and rest one more time. You'll find a jukebox with some pre-selected tunes to play for 100G every time. 6. Chu-Chu treasures Talk to the rude waitress selling the birds and hand her the 20k gold. It's well worth it.. because what the birds are mulling around on is an elevator that goes back to the Chu-Chu area, and you can now fulfill your greedy desires, snatch all the treasure! Yes! Chu-Chu this, pal! 7. getting Chu-Chu back Once you are given free roam at the end of the 2'nd CD, you won't be able to use Chu-Chu until you do this. Head to the Gear Hangar in the Yggdrasil and you'll find her in the far corner of the room. Go up to her gear and talk to the man behind her doing matinence.. there'll be some discussion, then you'll be able to use her again. Yaay.. :P 22.2 : Tidbits 1. "reflection mirror" Head into the side passage with the civilian area, and examine the cabinet directly infront of the doorway you entered. It's a fun mirror to play around with! (use the buttons to activate different animation sequences) 23 : Shitans House Revisited If you missed it, you can always come back and do any of the secrets available in section 2. 23.2 : Tidbits 1. the broken music box inscription - ElhaymVanH@aol.com Firstoff, you must have Emeralda grown up to do this. Not sure whether you need her in your party.. but take her just in case. Anyway, go up to the music box in Shitans junk pile, and examine the sides : you'll see a little inscription that opens up a whole new section of the Xeno-storyline. 24 : Lighthouse/Zeobim This old town has got some good items and even some character development if you know where to look. Don't forget to visit Big Joes shop, too! 24.1 : Secrets 1. GodfatherG gun In one of the lighted buildings, head into it, and keep walking. You'll get it automatically. 2. Emeralda grows up When reaching the far end of the map with the huge parking lot, Fei should say "we can get out here". Head out on foot and go to the hard to see (depending on your TV.. turn the brightness up if you have trouble) manhole. Go through the subway car and reach the end. After some revealing scenes, Emeralda grows up! 3. the subway Z charger In the side of the subway car, hidden, there's a Z charger in a chest. Excellent item! 24.2 : Tidbits 1. TV broadcast information Examine one of the computers close to the door to get some still pictures and information on the Zeobim era. Cool info! 1. Big Joes Shameful Past... ;_; - lightranma@aol.com My happy view of Big Joe was forever stained with this wretched secret! Exploring in the town, you'll be able to enter into an old convience store. Examine the papers around the table and upstairs to get some interesting information here and there. There's articles on the "Eldridge", infinity attacks, Big Joe, and some others. Only find the article on Big Joe if you want to be forever traumatized when seeing that jolly red Elvis-suit again! 25 : Dunemans Isle To the west of Ignas is a lone desert island, Dunemans Isle. It's a dangerous place, don't go unprepared! 25.1 : Secrets 1. wyrm monster Once you refuse to leave to the sandmen, head east two screens, and north four. You'll find some hopping sand sharks.. follow them. There's some quicksand that drags you down in the next screen. Run either left or right to grab some excellent armor or the Godfather gun, Billys best gun EQ. After you fall, though, you'll have to fight a sand wyrm that has extreme defense! If you have Feis "Big Bang", or any of Emeralda's spells, then you can kill it quickly. Wyrms are now a normal enemy here. 2. Yamato sword >From the sand sharks, head north. You'll find yourself at a huge dragon skeleton thing. Jump up it's tail & back and grab the sword from the top. The skeleton will fall down and dragons will be a normal enemy. BTW the Mumyo sword from the dragons is better EQ if you have the trader card. 3. dragons Dragons have some of the most rare EQ in the game. If you have the trader card, hang around and get some good stuff! Among the booty you can harness are Kaiser Helms, Blessed Helms, Mumyo Swords (the only unevenly priced item when divided), and Death Adders (Bart's best whip). Of course, they're also viciously tough and you've got to be strong to kill them! It's necessary to have Fei with at least his next-to-last deathblow skill learnt. Have him die in a battle and end the round. Give him the power crisis, speed shoes, and some armor. When you come up against the dragon, let that bad boy have it! Your attacks must do at least 7000 damage, along with your other members chipping in, in order to kill it before it turns your party into a sand pastry! If you do manage to survive the initial blast, once it's weakened(on it's knees), it'll do it again! 4. getting out! Head west from the place you started out on and push the guys dune buggy out of the sand for him. He'll give you a free ride out. Sometimes you don't even need to help him! 26. Melchior's House Come back to "Taura's" house to get some nice equipment from him before leaving. 26.1 : Secrets 1. talk to Taura Come back here to get some neat equipment from Melchior. (it's the place you start off on the 2nd CD) It's north of the 1st Anima Dungeon, in the south-east corner of the map. Get out of your gears to walk through the forest to reach him. He's in the second room in the corner and it's easy to miss him, so pan the camera to find where he's standing. 2. rare goodies on a rarer monster - incubus411@aol.com One of the greatest items in the game, SpeedShoes, can give you auto-boosters when equipped, and constant speed in character mode. There's only two you can find normally in the game. However, if you wander around the forest of Melchior's hut, you can find and fight some small, white snail monsters. If you have the trader card, they'll leave behind these prized posessions. But the chance of finding one to fight is extremely rare! The treasure is well worth it, if you can manage to find some. There's also some purple-white bellied DB Eater-like monsters who leave behind Muscle Belts and are more common. Muscle Belts increase your defensive capabilities immensely. also, an update from a lost email describes more on the white snail monsters in another location in the game: "...around melchior's house. I don't know if you found out already but .. i was just goin around places in the game and I found this peculiar triangular continent at the top of the map ... west of the anima relic2 area ...and in the continent it has two patches of forests ... one of the forests contain like almost all planters ... but in the other patch of forest .. you get whites snails literally every 4 fights at the most ... its usually every other or even up to 3 times in a row! In melchiors forest they appear in like what? every 35 to 50 fights? But i think theres only a certain amount .. in 5 minutes i obtained 6 speed shoes, while it took me around an hour and 15 min to get me 2 in melchiors forest ... but after those 6 shoes, those snails stopped appearing .. why dont you check it out .. i was amazed~!" 27 : Boss Tips Section The boss questions got so big I decided to move it into it's very own section! Of course, it also arose out of my fear of spoiling parts of the game for people, so now it's down at the bottom. Lots of tough bosses explained right here. Why can't I kill the big bad gear boss?? : While most people feel that gears are unoriginal and have no customization, that's just not true. One of the major decisive factors of your Gear in a battle is the EQ you've got on when facing the enemy. If you keep on losing, there's a few tips you should follow. 1. See if you can upgrade your gear parts (engine especially). 2. Determine the bosses technique and attacks. equip yourself accordingly, to nullify or reduce their attacks. 3. Speed shoes are auto-booster while in a gear. How do I kill Calamity? : Backpedal to Ol' Man Baal and buy an engine at least. Keep your boosters on and keep pulling lv.1 deathblows on him. Also, use Bart's accuracy down spell to keep it from hitting you with anything but it's huge 350HP rockets. How do I kill Ramsus/Miang combo? : Equip HP30/50 items and good Ether defense. Don't waste too much fuel on Ramsus, and don't use ID mode. Once he's out of the picture, concentrate on building up your attack levels on Miang, but don't attack her too many times in a row because her Eth attacks are devastating after a while. Once you've managed to weaken her, all she does it keep casting while her eth strength increases, so let it all out on her, especially ID mode! How do I kill the elements gang at Babel? : Give Elly a FlareG Rod to do extra fire damage on Dominia's dolphin pal. Either that or equip Power Magic ethamp accessories and cast fire spells. Team up on the dolphin, then take out Dominia. Don't use your boosters cause you'll have to fight them both again. The same strategy should be utilized, though. The next battle is old hat, just remember that the bird is weak against earth, and the lion is weak against water. Try to gang up on the bird because it does the most damage. When you have to do the two fights over again, turn your boosters on and hold out, you should be able to kill them eventually. How do I defend the Gates in Shevat? : Make sure your gears are up to par. Talk to the orange-black Chu-Chu merchant outside the palace doors to buy gear parts. If you are short on cash, try only upgrading the parts for the gears you will use for the battle. Use boosters for all of them. The strategy is to send out characters according to their ability. Send Elly out to the group with the tons of little guys, the first gate, and have her cast spells to wipe them all out. Equipping one or two "Power Magic" accesories will help her damage out greatly. The second gate is a cinch if you've got good armor. No matter how many attacks the knights get between yours, they should only do minimal damage at best. Just get someone out there with upgraded armor and lots of armor accesories. Do the third generator last, and equip whoever's doing it with both the sonic armor and the Silver Ar+1 (I think). They reduce the Gel and Noise damage attacks (that are incredible), to basically 0, so you won't have a problem there. The fourth gate, try to get someone in there with a lot of strength & defense, like Rico, to take out the bad-ass strength gear. This one gave me the most trouble but it went down eventually. Trash the knights if they bother you too much. How do I kill "Id" in the mining site? Don't worry about saving up deathblows because he doesn't heal himself. Just let it all out on him, and use Billy to heal when necessary. If you wait too long, he'll really start to wail on you, but if you hold through, he'll go into another phase of relative calm. He has 3000 HP. Having equipment based on pure defense is best, because his attacks are all physical. How do I kill "Deus", he keeps healing himself for 14k HP every time I hit him! Let him hurt himself until he's really weak and go at him! If you notice, he halves his hitpoints with yours so... How do I kill Elly & the Gebler Special Forces Use your boosters through the whole fight. Make sure you have good EQ and are fully healed. Keep whacking her while using up tons of fuel and eventually you'll win, not by defeating her, of course. How do I kill the Dora? Attack him and use your henchmen attack to break his cover - it doesn't matter if he dodges - you just need to attack him a certain # of times. Once it's broken, switch your boosters on and let him have it! When he picks up your partners, just charge your fuel or else he'll do a nasty counter, whamming you with the gear in his hand. Keep your deathblows at l.1 and he'll go down with little trouble. 28 : Getting Ramsus!!(joke) My Getting Ramsus section has gained a place in the hearts of all Xenogears internet fans. ^_^ Hope you enjoy the latest (fifth) installment! And of course, it's just a joke.... so stop mailing me, would'ja!! LOL ^_^ HOW TO GET RAMSUS!!: Alas, Ramsus has gone and stowed himself away in the Orphanage bathroom, having a big fourgy with his elements crew. There's a sloppily written "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the door, composed of lipstick. I was able to pick up on some on the naughty plot development, though! "Oh Ramsus, look at the wonders of molecular engineering!" "Oh boy, I might be young in human years, but I'm more of a man than Fei ever was.. to hell with him!" -- There is a way to "progress" things a little, though, and get him to join you in your battle against Deus! If you have managed to get Alice's wedding dress from Dan in the tournament (by defending and not doing anything for a while), then head back to the snowfield hideout, go to where Dan is with Midori, and talk to him. He'll notice that you still have the dress. Here's what goes on in the game! Dan : Oh, Fei, you still have Alice's wedding dress! You really are a good guy! Fei : Oh, err.. yeah. Thanks Dan, you're still as loving towards your sister as you ever were. Here, you can take it back. *just then, Ramsus comes bursting into the room, his pants around his ankles, covered in lipstick kisses, a floppy condom, a pair of panties on his head, and waving a bottle of strong rum around* Ramsus : Ohhh.... brother Fei!! Kiss me!! *Ramsus staggers towards Fei who backs into a corner of the room... FMV plays of Ramsus heaving his chunks all over the wedding dress.. Dan looks up in shock and indignity* *suddenly the Captain of the Thames bursts into the room* Captain : Hey, you there, thief! You stole my last bottle of good rum! Arr.. ha ha ha haa! Looks like the young lad couldn't keep the fiery stuff down! *Fei covers his head and shakes it.. screen fades to black* Then you can choose him as a party member! Yay! -- UPDATE!!! : In a flash of brilliance, I have suddenly achieved Ramsus in my party! And get this, I've included a list of all of the moves he has, although some have to be left up to the imagination! Ramsus has an incredible 9 AP! Surprisingly, all his moves are X-X-X. ^_^ His costume, strangely enough, is Alice's vomit stained wedding dress. Don't ask me why he wants to wear it! normal moves Flash - Ramsus lifts his wedding dress and shows us he doesn't wear much armor underneath! Panty Raid - Ramsus gets a little help from the Elements who rush the enemy and raid their panties! You go girls! 'Both Ways' Boner Bash Cram Session Semen Spit "Festive Wind" Milkman "Extra" moves Rams Us Childo Cannon Cream of Meat Skid Mark Slam -- SUPER DUPER HYPER GIGA MEGA TURBO EXTREME UPDATE!!!!!! I've discovered plenty of cool things to do once you get Ramsus in your party! Head into Zeobim and into the TV production studio - he'll don some hot khakis and a flimsy shirt and start striking poses! Here's one of those naughty pictures shockingly caught on film RIGHT HERE!!! (p.s. copywrited fan art not by me.. from www.sigrd.com) http://members.aol.com/mtemichan/xenart/ramsus.jpg Head into the snowfield hideout, and go up to the little kid and the Chu-Chu sliding down the small snowhill. Ramsus will join in the festivities, and leave a long, yellow streak where he just slid down! Then he'll get up and jump like a little kid. Unfortunately, it ruins the kids fun, but hey, it's nature, right?? ^_^ Walk up to the prison holding cell that's blocked by debris and the old man. Ramsus will burst through the door, hook himself up to it, and start giving himself large, painful electric shocks! Then he gains the super-extra-secret move, "10 Ton Electric Yonker Bash". Ouch! When you take Ramsus to Aveh, he notices how deserted it is. So, in an ultimately strange decision, he decides to turn the whole capital into "Ramsus's Big Gay Brothel!" Before anyone knows it, the streets are littered with survivors from the Thames, `rediscovering' their manhood! Well, look out for more updates on Ramsus's adventures later! -- NEW UPDATE STORY : Ramsus and the ENEMA RELIC!!! When the Gazel ministry talked about all of the Anima relics, they forgot to mention the special one made especially for Ramsus!! The sacred Enema Relic! It's buried deep underneath the orphanage... and it's impossible to reach without this special trick! Head back to Fort Jasper, and shoot Ramsus out at the mirror at Babel Tower!!! *cutscene of Ramsus flying across the sky covered in energy, bouncing off the mirror, and flying, his arms and legs flailing, into the orphanage.. BOOOM* Of course, Ramsus is faced with various puzzles he has to solve. One such puzzle involves pulling levers and switches to get the right amount of water in a pair of stone buttocks, so that it's just even. Another puzzle involves a huge, long spike attached to the side of a wall, with a sign saying "bend over and do not fear". Of course, if he moves, he gets dumped into the "flowback of time", and has to swim back up to try again. So anyway, Ramsus is walking around down in gorsh knows what, and he stumbles upon the fabled Enema Relic! But there's nothing there but a bunch of lime green jello! "What... what ?? Who are you talking to?" "You want me?" "To do what??" "You want me to give you an... enema??" These two huge white, bandaged humps with eyeballs all over them pop up, and he's gotta take all the tubes and ram them in the hole in the center, and let 'er rip! Then Ramsus has the Enema Relic!! His gear is now called DeutschErregenIch, and well.. we'll leave the details for later!! 29 : "Mysteries" In my wanderings through the game, I've encountered a few confusing things that could possibly lead to more of the game! Or they could be coincidences, or nothing at all. You decide.. or you could also poke around, too. ^_^ 1. Mt. Path & Blackmoon Forest Even though you can't get into any other area in the game besides a few, the Mt. Path and the Forest are still open for exploration(although not lit on the map). I've looked around but didn't find anything suspicious! Hmm! Update : It's been confirmed, there IS something to do when you come back here - after you're done with the Emeralda grows up scene, then you can examine the side of the music box for a surprising insight. Yes, it is only the one line of text.. use your noggin to put the pieces together, smarties, before emailing me. -_- 2. The man who lost his money in Dazil Upstairs in the inn of Dazil, after Bart takes the throne, the man and the woman there now have a new dilemma : he's lost his money! Hmm.. I wonder if it's around there someplace? But I didn't find anything special. 3. Ramsus? All jokes aside, is Ramsus possibly the "secret" character of the game, or is it all just fanciful and superficial connections? He's nowhere in the Yggdrasil, and nobody says anything else about him! But still, there's always that empty slot in the character switch roster! 4. The dog who lost his owner in Kislev - HINTERLE@email.tgm.ac.at (Inu Yasha) A quite schematic plan was proposed to me by Inu, who lives all the way in Austria. It involves taking the dog food from the guard in Kislev, but not giving it to the yipping dog who he asks you to feed it to. Keep the owner of the lonesome dog in the Capital alive (i.e. not opening the door for him and killing him in the Wels prison). Later in the 2'nd CD when you can return, the Dog should be by the A block civilian area, and you can feed him the dog food. However, there was no owner.. because he was dead! Anyway, is it possible if you keep the owner alive, that he'll be there, cured, with the dog?? Hmm! Update : It's been tried and tested. Nothing comes of it. Solved! >From ibanezjs1@earthlink.net - who puts the final nail in the coffin of the dog mystery. "Fei says, "This dog was his..." He gives the dog food, it yelps, dies, and fades away. Well that's it. Feel free to E-Mail me back if you need more clarification." 5. The ShinobiMK0 - lots of sources I found this rare and strange monster while fighting in the Goliath factory. It was a strange, hunched over, blue-purple gear that does 5 devastating attacks in a row (around 1000 damage total). It gave a Simp Circut for defeat - a pumped up Def Circut with +5 response. I only saw it once, and it died like an 'angel', found later in the game. Anyone else spotted this elusive gear monster? Well, here's an update. It's not as rare as I thought. And the simp circuts sell for 2kG. Just wander around and you might find one to fight. 6. What DOES hammer tell Elly? I'm wondering about this strange mystery. After Hammer tells you about the Goliath and you're introduced to Elly, he tells her something that's secret and you never learn about?? I wonder what he says!! The only clue I have is that he is mumbling "...use the key like..." if you enter back and try to talk to him. Do you think it has to do with the information he just told you, and then suddenly realized Elly was there with you? Hmm! Maybe it would help if we saw a scene afterwards where Hammer is walking back with an eye patch, crutches, an arm sling, and a broken leg, claiming that "That hurt like hell, but it was damn worth it!!" Ok here's an update for all of you wondering. I got this email and then I forgot who sent it! Don't ask me where it went.. -_-;; But anyway, here it is. "Well, it's not all that exciting or anything, but I'm sure Hammer is just asking Elly how to get into the Goliath Factory. He is doing this to show off to the party (as you'll notice with his braggart speech once you get in there). What evidence do I have of this? Well, first off is the most incriminating evidence. After you leave the house in A Block and go back on using the secret knock, Hammer says "Use the key like...oh!? What happened, bro?" and later talks about how he went ahead and opened all the locks for you. Secondly, he talks to Elly. She is the only one who knows how to get through because she infilitrated the base earlier when she stole Weltall. Plus this goes along with the notion that Hammer is trying to earn some respect from the "macho" guys in the party (i.e. Rico and Fei) so I think we can consider this case closed." 30 : Battling Tips Battling is my least favorite aspect of Xenogears. However, Sen Yon and I have continually been sharing e-mail and he's given me a whole bunch of Battling tips for you aspiring battlers. I'll answer some common questions and list some good tips for beating your foes into the ground. If you really want a good guide, there's a Battling FAQ on www.Gamefaqs.com that is much more comprehensive in terms of playable characters, strategies, move lists, etc. 1. Howcome I can't pick higher gear levels (difficulties) besides 0 or 1? Just keep playing in mode 0 for a while, then 1 should appear. Play one for a bit and 2 should appear. 2. How do I really rack up the dough in Special mode 2? Play in gear level 2 with Xenogears, and win with minimal damage. Your reward should be 900! If you get hurt, you'll get 550. The best way to get down and dirty with Xenogears is his multiple laser attacks he can shoot (which don't have as much distance as ether bolts but can smack enemies all over and even damage them when they're down). 3. What are some useful items to buy with BP? All the dolls are pretty useful, although most of them only work with Emeralda. It depends on what you're looking for! 4. I hate battling!! How do I get through the battling contest without trying?? There's a cheap and easy way to win all the battling matches, even against the Champ! Just alternately press dash/attack and you'll cancel your combo then attack, cancel, attack, etc. The enemy will be in endless stagger until they croak. 5. Any secrets?? (samulgib@aol.com) There's only one, playing as an extra gear "Argento" in practice mode. It's a pain in the neck to get this secret and I don't even see a reason to try, seeing as I don't particularly like the battling arena in the first place. ^_~ But anyway, what you've gotta do is, in practice mode, set the difficulty to hard and rounds to three, then fight and beat everyone without losing a round, then fight the gear you were playing as with Xenogears. I don't even know what this gear looks like.. good luck! Secret # 2 : Selecting two characters for the same battle. Simply hold down L2+R2 and move it towards the character you want to play with/against. I think it works with both controllers. Secret # 3 : Using Ellys Omnigear All you have to do is reach the end of the last level dungeon and exit : it'll be available for play afterwards. Tips: (first 5 from Sen Yon, #6 from tek87@hotmail.com) 1. When beginning a fight, don't shoot more than two ether bullets at once, you'll run into trouble later. 2. A more effective way to launch a "combo" against the enemy is dash, jump, and shoot an ether bullet at the enemy at the same time. The computer will be confused as to your actual landing point, and will be stunned at the same time. You have a second or so to react and get up-close to whack them around. 3. To nullify laser attacks and ether bullets, hide in the water. 4. To avoid vulcan shots from some gears, and to save energy, jump while dashing. 5. Staying in the water cools your gear down faster than normal. 6. Certain gears cannot fight and are basically disabled when you lure them towards water. An example would be "Backfirer". (from tek87@hotmail.com) 31 : Lyrics Section Thanks to the work of bahamutcid@aol.com, I've opened up a lyrics section for the lyrics in the game. ^_^ All lyrics were obtained by him. "Small Two of Pieces" - the ending vocals. Run through the cold of the night As passion burns in your heart Ready to fight, a knife held close by your side Like a proud wolf alone in the dark With eyes that watch the world And my name like a shadow On the face if the moon *Broken mirror, a million shades of light The old echo fades away But just you and I Can find the answer And then, we can run to the end of the world Cold fire clenched to my heart In the blue of night Torn by this pain, I paint your name in sound And the girl of the dawn, with eyes of blue, and angel wings The songs of the season are her only crown *repeat We met in the mist of morning And parted deep in the night Broken sword and shield, and tears that never fall But run through the heart Washed away by the darkest water The world is peaceful and still *repeat "Stars of Tears" - this is lyrics from the overworld theme on the CD soundtrack, not included in the actual game. Your fingertips Moving gently to my heart The force of Life goes on and on The song remains Like a haunting melody Of angel music held in chains *And I ask you Can we ease the pain of those who lost (The force of life goes on) Can we know the cause of all this sorrow (Tears of Lonliness) Can we catch the tears of a broken world Falling down upon the earth... The waves of time take me deeper into you A haze as blue as summer skies And turn to find The key wll not unlock the door This broken bird away it flies *repeat "Untitled Hymn?" - you can hear this very faintly in Japanese during the ending anime movie. They are alone in the oppressing dark, but Luminous power is granting their hope. They are walking without a path and Destination, looking for a way to the heavens. In a moment they will see beyond the woods They see Behind the wood A beam of light. Two hearts are warmed by the generous day Free clouds are flying ........ Glory ........ 32 : Contributor Credits This is a space for contributors from past versions. 6.0 Contributors : Removed the Steam Cakes and the Bartweiser tip in Bledavik.. too general! Changed the book collection tip in the orphanage : now more accurate and reliable. The mystery of the dog and his owner in Kislev has been solved : nothing comes of it! Oh well.. ^_^ ibanezjs1@earthlink.net puts the final nail in the coffin of that one! Also, the Shitans house mystery has also been knocked off ... see section 23. Corrected some information on the Aveh revisited play - you MUST pay the kid thieves in order to see it. Confirmed the Babel Tower secret treasures. The Hammer mystery remains unsolved and uncommented upon. Maybe it would help if we saw a scene afterwards where Hammer is walking back with an eye patch, crutches, an arm sling, and a broken leg, claiming that "That hurt like hell, but it was damn worth it!!" ?? ^_^ RAMSUS CONTINUES HIS RATHER SILLY AND OBSCENE ADVENTURES!!!! JOIN HIM IN THE DISCOVERY OF THE SACRED "ENEMA RELIC", IN WHAT SOME (??) CALL HIS BEST ADVENTURE YET!! Additions : Added a Thames secret - open up the fridge! Added a quite perverted & nasty real trick to try out in the game with Emeralda and the restaurant in Aveh. This has to be SEEN to be believed! GO CHECK IT OUT FOR GORSHS SAKE in the Aveh Revisited section. Added a "p.s." to the trader card tip, and also renamed it from "trading" to "trader" :P New battling secret : same gear selection. A new section, the lyrics section, is open! Thanks to Bahamutcid@aol.com. ^_^ Axlegear@aol.com - told me which colors of the final bosses' orbs correspond to which boss waste44424@aol.com - the cool guy who told me about the CD trick and I stupidly forgot! Ugh.. well.. he's here now. ^_^ bahamutcid@aol.com - the lyrics guy! Provided me with plenty of cool lyrics to add to the FAQ. gino_c@compass.com.ph - Mr. Gino c returns with another cool tip in Shevat, talking to chu-chus. Check out his FAQ at Gamefaqs. ^_^ SamULGib@aol.com - this chump updated his FAQ that we agreed to double-link to, then fell out on the deal! Oh well.. there goes his link. :P tigervir@aol.com - gave a really nice money grabbing opportunity in the Kislev D block, earn 5k extra for no effort! Thetenchiu@aol.com - a funny little tidbit with Lahans wacky inhabitants.. ElhaymVanH@aol.com - told me about the little music box in Shitans junk heap and how you can read something on it... well, that solves the mystery of Shitans house being there! dweeb99@aol.com - a neat tidbit in Ahev revisited, where you can climb through the window (again!!) and get some rude feedback ^_^ chaotzu@webtv.net - gave some Solaris code info for getting two secret items in the processing plant 5.0 Contributors : PUMPED UP UPDATE!! Woohoo.. even I thought my FAQ couldn't get much bigger, but apparently I was wrong! When the FAQ that just tells about the secrets and cool stuff in the game is 70K, you know it's gotta be big!! Redone introduction section - take a read if you'd like. ^_^ Added a tidbit in the Aveh section Added a bunch of tidbits in the Kislev A block Removed a tidbit for the `maid flashback', because it was too general I added the lyrics to "Small of Two Pieces", the cool ending music, in the Tips and Good Stuff section. New mysteries! #5 & #6 A whole new section on the Goliath factory + the capital gear dock leading to the arena. New tidbit in Civilian section A in Kislev, more bathroom fun! New contributor section, listing all the people who've contributed to the FAQ! Not including this version BTW... so take a scroll down and check out all the cool people! Want to be one of them? Well, find something, and tell me about it! ^_^ PLUS : Ramsus's antics continue as the extra things you can do with him in your party are (somewhat sexily!) revealed in shocking detail! + weblink to a fanart picture of the STUD himself, posing in some sexy attire! Whatzat@aol.com - money tip around outside Kislev Fayore@aol.com - really cool Gear battle tip with the Holy Pendant. AxleGear@aol.com - valiantly braved the Metronome Piggy Bank in Kislev and reported to me the cash awarded up to 20 wins! Woohoo! gino_c@compass.com.ph - Gave me a few good ideas to add to the Aveh tournament section. tek87@hotmail.com - gave me a cool battling tip. Thanks! ^_^ GrayFoxFH@aol.com - revealed an obscured spot to find a prized Gold Bullion in Babel Tower.. or was that Bunion..? pop!! Eww.. ^_^ Plus some ammo for Billy in the same tower. (what am I, blind..? I must be getting old!^_^) Bardovax@aol.com - told me about a sign in Shevat yeekang@hotmail.com - really nice money trick(actually bug/cheat), for the armoury in Aveh jhenn20@aol.com - cool tidbit in Krelian's lab.. Redrums brothers! 3.5 Contributors : Waste44424@aol.com - Contributed a nifty secret with the Xenogears demo CD & movies. xandar3@optonline.net - Suggested a previously known, useful but not mentioned tip about gear repair and the Yggdrasil SamULGib@aol.com - writes another FAQ, in which I recieved permission to reprint a battling secret. HINTERLE@email.tgm.ac.at (Inu Yasha) - told me about a cool mystery with the dog and his owner in Kislev Sen Yon (email withheld) - Gave me a whole lot of Battling tips. Thanks a ton for doing research into a topic that I don't like about Xenogears. ^_^ I decided to open up a section on battling : check it out! 3.0 Contributors : The boss questions are in a new area. And there's a new "mysteries" section, detailing some confusing things i've found in the game! skconnor@worldnet.att.net - Contributed a cool secret to Shitan's house! bthienpont@aol.com - Contributed an earlier spot to find the "Reflection Mirror" incubus411@aol.com - Gracefully answered my plea to the hidden "Speed Shoes" monster around Melchior's hut. skull-one@juno.com - Informed me of a card game fight on the Thames with Big Joe. 2.0 Contributors : tomasbn@indodsat.net.id (Rahmat Mulyadi) - Contributed a tidbit to the first Aveh section. 1.3 Contributors : Lightranma@aol.com - told me about Big Joe's past and also some extra articles in Zeobim So long for now! Thanks to all the fans & contributors. ^_^ - END OF FILE -