------------------------------------------------ Sega Ages Phantasy Star generation 2 Changes FAQ ------------------------------------------------ Version 1.0; last updated 4/15/07 Written by Jack Power Questions, additions, and comments can be directed to JackPower "at" aol "dot" com with "Phantasy Star" in the subject line. Hate mail and spam can be directed to my ex girlfriend. Version history 1.0; Initial release This document contains Japanese characters in Shift JIS format. -------- Contents -------- Introduction Cosmetic changes Battle system Item creation Characters Techniques Locations Story Hints and Tips ------------ Introduction ------------ Phantasy Star generation 2 is the dream-come-true remake of the classic Genesis/Megadrive RPG. It is the 17th installment in the Sega Ages series of remakes on the Playstation2, which began with a remake of the original Phantasy Star. More than just a graphical upgrade, therefs a lot of new content and other changes. The purpose of this guide is to outline those changes. ---------------- Cosmetic Changes ---------------- The game has been given a major graphical overhaul, and easily stands among the best looking 2D RPGs of any generation. Everything is completely redrawn with more color and detail, most notably the character models. There are a great number of new cut-scenes that flesh out the major story events. Unless I have missed something obvious, you cannot rename your party members in the remake. Frankly, Ifm glad this was taken out. Battles now have full-color backgrounds, though the option exists to change it back to the blue grid. There are unique backgrounds for each of the boss characters. The level cap is now at 99 instead of 50. I list this as a cosmetic change because the overall stat increases and technique progression feels the same as in the original. I donft have a level 99 party to compare to my maxed out party on my original game, but I doubt the extra levels give much of an advantage in the remake given the nastier enemies. Unfortunately, some things were better left as they were. During some of the cut-scenes, something just looks horribly wrong about Nei. There should have been better QA over the artwork in those situations. However, this is forgivable compared to a problem with the battle engine. Weapons of similar type no longer have different animations or effects. Expecting blue streaks of light from your laser weapons? Sorry. The basic shotgun animates the same as the pulse cannon. Just as disappointing is that they never fixed the dual-wield animations. You still look like youfre swinging twice with your right hand even if you have a weapon in both. As for other minor changes, a few buildings such as the data memory and teleport center changed places in Paseo. And as far as I know, you can no longer see character profiles at the main characterfs house. ------------- Battle system ------------- One new feature is a challenge indicator. The relative strength of enemies (compared to the current party memberfs level) is displayed under their name when targeting them. They are listed as very weak, weak, average, strong, and very strong. Usually the info is accurate, but of course there are some lower level enemies who are just plain nasty, and vice versa. Speaking of gvery strong,h the enemies have gotten a very noticeable attack power boost, especially towards the end of the game. Unique among remakes, the game has actually gotten MORE difficult overall because of this. You will be thankful that party inventory has been expanded so you can carry more healing items. Other additions and changes to the battle engine: -Off-hand (second weapon) damage is now slightly less than the initial attack. (This is especially odd since, again, youfre swinging twice with the same hand.) This doesnft affect gun damage as far as I know. -Critical hits occasionally pop up, doubling your attack power. Some weapons seem to have higher critical rates than others. Ifve never seen an enemy critical a party member and I hope I never do. -You can now change weapons during battle. Donft take it for granted. -Rapid fire weapons that used to hit a group or row of enemies now attack all enemies randomly 5 times in succession. Nifty. -There are now Light, Medium, and Heavy attacks that you can choose from when attacking by holding down the circle button and charging the attack gauge. Light attacks have higher initiative and accuracy but donft do much damage. Medium attacks are average and about the same as basic attacks in the original version. Heavy attacks have an initiative and accuracy penalty but do more damage. This works with all weapons except non-lethal ones like the silent shot. -There is now a gtimed defenseh mechanic (or more like a mini-game) allowing attentive and lucky players to take a bit less damage. When an enemy attacks, a circle appears above the target characterfs head. If you press circle at just the right time, your character will get an evasion boost and take 10 to 20% less damage. -Carried over from the PS1 remake is elemental damage (fire, ice, lightning, wind) assigned to techniques. Not only that, elemental properties can be added to weapons at a certain station in towns for a fee. And of course, enemies now have corresponding elemental weaknesses. However, hitting an enemy with the wrong element does less damage instead of more. Even though you can see the weaknesses when selecting targets, generally assigning elements to weapons just isnft worth it, as itfs just too varied and arbitrary. If you had tons of cash, I suppose you could buy and add different elements to four copies of each weapon and then just switch in battle, but that would be extremely tedious. -There are now unique gspecial skillsh for each party member completely separate from techniques. They must be charged in any given battle glimit breakh style by either attacking many times or defending a few times. -Performance during battle now influences XP gained. Depending on certain factors, such as how quickly you defeated the enemies and what sort of tactics you used, you will be assigned a rating, with S rank being the best andc well, Ifve never gotten lower than a D so far, so that could be the worst. Better ranks give you XP bonuses for the party. Using all of one type of attack, not using techniques, only using techniques, winning in two rounds or less, and other conditions contribute to your rating. -The party members you leave at home can now either train (gaining XP passively) or create random items for you (see below). -There are now items which can restore TP. Fans of PSO will recognize these Monofluids, Difluids, and Trifluids. They are not purchasable, but they can be found in dungeons, dropped by enemies, and created at home. ------------- Item creation ------------- No, you havenft accidentally stumbled onto a Star Ocean FAQ. Item creation is new to Phantasy Star 2. Itfs rather simple; you assign party members at your home to either Train, getting XP while not in the active party, or Build, which will instead put them to work on making items. After fighting a certain number of battles, you return home to receive the item (at random) that theyfve made. The item created depends on the number of battles fought, which party members you have at home, and a bit of luck. The best (or at least, the rarest) items are created by having everyone but Rolf and Nei stay home. I will not go into detail here unless I receive a lot of requests for it, since I dislike making huge charts for these sorts of things. ---------- Characters ---------- Although the overall feel of the characters has stayed intact like the battle engine, there are several differences that should be noted for those who have played the original. Technique progression is at the same overall rate, despite the different level scaling, so you still wonft get Megido until youfre near the end of the game unless youfre a huge munchkin. Characters in this guide will be referred to by the English versions applied to them in the NA release of the original game. However, Ifll list their Japanese names here, along with the katakana script so you can recognize them while playing the Japanese version. Ifve listed some stats for each character at every 10 levels or so. If you end up with stats significantly lower than the ones Ifve listed, you may be in trouble. Due to the random stat increases at level-up, it can help to save just before you gain a level so you can reset and try again if you get lousy increases. Rolf / Eusis ƒ†[ƒVƒX (Note about this name: While hefs referred to as gEusish in the Text Adventure games, I personally prefer gYushish as its Romanization. Itfs more accurate phonologically. Moreover, the exact same name is transcribed as gYushish in the Ogre Battle series. Is Rolf really a seraphim? That would explain some thingsc) Rolf is the same as ever, for the most part. He is still well-rounded, strong, and has a million attack techniques. There are several differences, however. Now that characters with two weapons deal less damage with their offhand, swords are a vastly better choice for Rolf. Even a ceramic sword is preferable over two laser knives this time around. Also, he now learns the low and mid level Zonde and Barta techs. His Megido technique now takes a smaller fraction of the partyfs HP (but is still just as devastating), making it safer to use in the end-game boss fights. Special Technique: Royal Guard (The party becomes invincible for 3 rounds) Charge time: very slow (6 rounds of Defense) New equipment: Flame sword, Plasma sword, Chain sawd My level 10 stats HP: 65 TP: 33 Attack: 44 Defense: 33 Vitality: 62 Spirit: 55 Speed: 35 Luck: 44 Dexterity: 51 My level 20 stats HP: 118 TP: 57 Attack: 79 Defense: 59 Vitality: 118 Spirit: 80 Speed: 64 Luck: 71 Dexterity: 82 My level 30 stats HP: 169 TP: 78 Attack: 115 Defense: 87 Vitality: 168 Spirit: 112 Speed: 91 Luck: 104 Dexterity: 113 My level 40 stats HP: 219 TP: 100 Attack: 149 Defense: 113 Vitality: 208 Spirit: 136 Speed: 117 Luck: 135 Dexterity: 151 My level 50 stats HP: 272 TP: 124 Attack: 183 Defense: 136 Vitality: 250 Spirit: 166 Speed: 145 Luck: 168 Dexterity: 183 Nei ƒlƒC (Nei is Nei. Pronounced almost like gnay,h as if to say no in an old-timey fashion. Ironically, this fits in with what Lutz says the word means.) Nei has received the biggest overhaul out of any character. She is an absolute monster in the remake, no pun intended. Far faster than any other character even if they catch up in levels, she is a stronger attacker than ever, and has a high natural defense now to make up for her lack of good equipment. Moreover, she can equip several new weapons and armor. The biggest change, however, is that she now learns Shu, Sashu, Shifta, Deband, Nares, and Nasar at later levels. Yes, this makes Amy almost redundant. Unfortunately, her overall attack power and relative usefulness is eventually surpassed by other characters once everyone else approaches maximum level, and it requires a Herculean effort to get her to stick around past a certain point in the game. Special Technique: Last Force (Restores all TP to a character) Charge time: slow (4 rounds of Defense) New equipment: Saber claw, Silent claw, Animal claw, Plasma field, Thunder crown My level 20 stats HP: 75 TP: 45 Attack: 39 Defense: 38 Vitality: 52 Spirit: 51 Speed: 76 Luck: 39 Dexterity: 69 My level 40 stats HP: 146 TP: 84 Attack: 75 Defense: 72 Vitality: 93 Spirit: 99 Speed: 119 Luck: 69 Dexterity: 125 My level 60 stats HP: 215 TP: 123 Attack: 110 Defense: 103 Vitality: 132 Spirit: 138 Speed: 169 Luck: 96 Dexterity: 185 My level 70 stats HP: 248 TP: 141 Attack: 128 Defense: 119 Vitality: 154 Spirit: 155 Speed: 179 Luck: 108 Dexterity: 219 My level 80 stats HP: 283 TP: 157 Attack: 145 Defense: 137 Vitality: 172 Spirit: 178 Speed: 197 Luck: 121 Dexterity: 249 My level 90 stats HP: 310 TP: 175 Attack: 164 Defense: 152 Vitality: 191 Spirit: 202 Speed: 221 Luck: 133 Dexterity: 277 My level 99 stats HP: 342 TP: 193 Attack: 178 Defense: 168 Vitality: 209 Spirit: 220 Speed: 242 Luck: 143 Dexterity: 304 Rudo(lf) Steiner / Rudger Steiner ƒ‹ƒhƒK[ Rudo is the same as ever, a big walking tank. However, he seems to have gotten a speed boost in the remake, as he sometimes beats out Anna in initiative at equal levels. It is extremely critical to have a gun user in your party at all times once the machines start coming after you, and unless you can get a Napalm Shot for Kain, Rudo is your man. The best thing about Rudo is how fast he charges his special gauge. Defend for two rounds and you can put a world of hurt on a single enemy. Even attacking normally builds it up fairly quickly. Special Technique: Revenge (400+ damage to one enemy) Charge time: very fast (2 rounds of Defense) New equipment: Napalm shot, Laser vulcan, Plasma cannon My level 10 stats HP: 92 TP: 0 Attack: 33 Defense: 39 Vitality: 103 Spirit: 43 Speed: 38 Luck: 26 Dexterity: 31 My level 20 stats HP: 151 TP: 0 Attack: 61 Defense: 64 Vitality: 141 Spirit: 62 Speed: 63 Luck: 54 Dexterity: 62 My level 30 stats HP: 200 TP: 0 Attack: 85 Defense: 93 Vitality: 195 Spirit: 83 Speed: 84 Luck: 78 Dexterity: 81 My level 40 stats HP: 251 TP: 0 Attack: 112 Defense: 126 Vitality: 234 Spirit: 104 Speed: 105 Luck: 104 Dexterity: 109 Amy Sage / Anne Saga ƒAƒ“ƒk Amy still sucks at fighting. But whatfs worse, some enemies seem more resistant to certain techs and elements, making her Fire Staffs less effective. Keeping an Acid Shot or two handy can give her at least a little damage output against tough machines later on. Despite her impressive technique selection, shefs a liability in combat because her low speed often means her healing spells and defensive buffs donft activate in time. Special Technique: Na-reverser (Revives one comrade at full health) Charge time: slow (5 rounds of Defense) New equipment: Ice staff, Wind blade staff My level 10 stats HP: 43 TP: 43 Attack: 18 Defense: 17 Vitality: 30 Spirit: 47 Speed: 16 Luck: 42 Dexterity: 34 My level 20 stats HP: 74 TP: 72 Attack: 27 Defense: 30 Vitality: 51 Spirit: 71 Speed: 32 Luck: 71 Dexterity: 63 My level 30 stats HP: 103 TP: 99 Attack: 39 Defense: 44 Vitality: 71 Spirit: 98 Speed: 47 Luck: 105 Dexterity: 94 My level 40 stats HP: 133 TP: 120 Attack: 52 Defense: 57 Vitality: 91 Spirit: 127 Speed: 62 Luck: 140 Dexterity: 115 Hugh Thompson / Huey Reane ƒqƒ…ƒEƒC Hugh got somewhat of a nerf for this remake. Though hefs a little bit tougher than he was in the original, his anti-biomonster techniques still arenft very useful. Sure, Savol is nice, but it and other techs are no longer effective against dark-type enemies later in the game. However, his special attack can even paralyze bosses, so it can definitely come in handy. Special Technique: Sulfur (Over 100 damage to all foes; adds paralysis) Charge time: very fast (2.1 rounds of Defense) New equipment: Wave gun, White mantle, Zirconium chest My level 10 stats HP: 55 TP: 38 Attack: 19 Defense: 18 Vitality: 41 Spirit: 43 Speed: 20 Luck: 30 Dexterity: 34 My level 20 stats HP: 96 TP: 58 Attack: 34 Defense: 32 Vitality: 65 Spirit: 61 Speed: 37 Luck: 53 Dexterity: 55 My level 30 stats HP: 135 TP: 79 Attack: 50 Defense: 47 Vitality: 89 Spirit: 77 Speed: 58 Luck: 79 Dexterity: 84 My level 40 stats HP: 172 TP: 97 Attack: 66 Defense: 64 Vitality: 116 Spirit: 101 Speed: 74 Luck: 108 Dexterity: 109 Anna Zirski / Amia Amirski ƒAƒ~ƒA Maybe itfs my imagination, but Anna just doesnft seem to be able to do enough damage to be worth adding to the party this time around. Whatfs worse is that shefs actually a bit SLOWER than Rudo at similar levels! Shefs still reasonable fast and tough, but due to her relatively low attack power against individual enemies and her worthless technique set, her only use against the final bosses is using items as a backup healer. Special Technique: Medical Treat (Cures all status ailments of party) Charge time: fast (3 rounds of Defense) New equipment: Titanium slicer, Ice slicer, Lightning Whip My level 10 stats HP: 60 TP: 22 Attack: 29 Defense: 26 Vitality: 46 Spirit: 43 Speed: 39 Luck: 33 Dexterity: 46 My level 20 stats HP: 103 TP: 31 Attack: 43 Defense: 45 Vitality: 75 Spirit: 54 Speed: 66 Luck: 68 Dexterity: 74 My level 30 stats HP: 150 TP: 41 Attack: 63 Defense: 65 Vitality: 113 Spirit: 71 Speed: 82 Luck: 94 Dexterity: 107 My level 40 stats HP: 189 TP: 53 Attack: 77 Defense: 82 Vitality: 146 Spirit: 85 Speed: 100 Luck: 121 Dexterity: 139 Josh Kain / Kainz Ji An ƒJƒCƒ“ƒY (gKainzh is pronounced more like gHeinz,h as in the ketchup. His surname seems to be one of those weird Palman names like Ra Shiek and Sa Riik that show up in other games of the series.) Hefs slightly tougher than his opposite, Hugh, and is better as a fighter because of his selection of guns and armor. The new Napalm shot can put his damage output on par with Rudo mid to late game. Special Technique: Burst Touch (Over 200 damage to all enemies) Charge time: very fast (2.1 rounds of Defense) New equipment: Wave gun, Napalm shot, Zirconium harness My level 10 stats HP: 55 TP: 24 Attack: 21 Defense: 20 Vitality: 40 Spirit: 31 Speed: 27 Luck: 40 Dexterity: 38 My level 20 stats HP: 98 TP: 45 Attack: 38 Defense: 35 Vitality: 64 Spirit: 51 Speed: 41 Luck: 73 Dexterity: 64 My level 30 stats HP: 139 TP: 65 Attack: 56 Defense: 53 Vitality: 95 Spirit: 71 Speed: 57 Luck: 113 Dexterity: 92 My level 40 stats HP: 178 TP: 84 Attack: 72 Defense: 70 Vitality: 121 Spirit: 94 Speed: 72 Luck: 131 Dexterity: 118 Shir Gold / Shilka Levinia ƒVƒ‹ƒJ Shir is more or less the same as ever, though her better techs take even longer for her to learn. She still has TP thatfs far too low to make good use of her powerful combat techniques, but her Laconia daggers have gotten stronger, making her a better fighter than Hugh and Kain. Her surprisingly high defense and excellent speed make up for her unreliable special attack. Special Technique: Tornado (100-160 damage to all; wind elemental) Charge time: very fast (2.1 rounds of Defense) New equipment: Ceramic dagger, Silver dagger, Wind dagger, Plasma field My level 10 stats HP: 44 TP: 15 Attack: 22 Defense: 24 Vitality: 39 Spirit: 21 Speed: 32 Luck: 23 Dexterity: 33 My level 20 stats HP: 86 TP: 26 Attack: 40 Defense: 45 Vitality: 62 Spirit: 35 Speed: 55 Luck: 39 Dexterity: 54 My level 30 stats HP: 121 TP: 35 Attack: 56 Defense: 63 Vitality: 85 Spirit: 47 Speed: 85 Luck: 65 Dexterity: 74 My level 40 stats HP: 152 TP: 46 Attack: 74 Defense: 80 Vitality: 103 Spirit: 57 Speed: 108 Luck: 69 Dexterity: 94 ---------- Techniques ---------- PS:g2 features new attack techniques straight from PSO, the game that decided to go along with Final Fantasyfs idea that the three basic gelementsh are fire, lightning, and ice. (Read: Thatfs stupid.) Technically, Barta techniques first appeared in PS4 under the name gWat.h As cool as these techniques are, there are no gNa-g level techs in either series. That means Hugh and Kain still have no high-damage anti-boss techniques. Zonde, Gizonde, Gisazonde Roughly the same as Foi and Gifoi in power, these are lightning-based attacks. Gisazonde attacks all enemies with a Gizonde-level strike. Barta, Gibarta, Gisabarta Roughly the same as Foi and Gifoi in power, these are ice-based attacks. Gisabarta attacks all enemies with a Gibarta-level strike. Megido now does less damage to your party, but is still just as effective, if not more. Megido is one of the few techniques in the game that actually becomes more powerful with you (rather than keeping a static damage range). --------- Locations --------- The first few dungeons have slight changes to their layout. Nido tower, for example, has many more floors, but most are fairly straightforward. The dams are almost identical; only some of the items are changed. Skure Spaceport is vastly different from the original layout. Everything beyond this, aside from minor changes here and there, are so similar that youfll be able to get by with the original gamefs hint book or maps taken from it. However, many items and their locations have changed, so donft count on anything except critical plot items to be in the same places. ----- Story ----- Incidentally, the sub-title of the game is ŠÒ‚ç‚´‚鎞‚ÌI‚í‚è‚É (Kaerazaru toki no owari ni), literally gto the end of the time of restoration,h or as I prefer to transliterate it, gthe end of the restoration.h Wefve always known that Rolf lost his parents at age 10, but in the remake there is some dialogue regarding Rolffs past at an orphanage in Paseo. Apparently this is where he learned swordsmanship. The characters interact a lot more with the townspeople, and this gives you more information on the story and world, such as the above about Rolffs past. Itfs not necessary to know unless youfre going for the clear game quest (see below, gResurrectionh), but itfs a nice touch by the developers. The Motavian commander (or governor-general to use the literal translation) now has a name. OfConnor, specifically. No such luck for the librarian or that poor guy who panics when the lake starts to overflow. There is an entirely new (non-playable) character named Shelly. Like Rolf, she is an Agent for the Motavian Government. She goes missing before the game opens while on a mission to retrieve the recorder from the biosystems lab. Rolf makes it a point to find out what happened to her, following clues and tracing her steps. Itfs nothing earth-shattering once this storyline is resolved, but it does add some more depth. The dialogue in most major scenes is significantly longer and more detailed, filling in a few holes from the original. The original had great writing, but now itfs even better, in my opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . SPOILERS FOLLOW! . . . . . . . . . . . . During the confrontation at Amedasu (Climatrol), Neifirst calls Nei by a name many fans had always assumed: gNeisecond.h It is now quite easy to defeat Neifirst with Nei by herself. By casting Sashu, Shifta, and using level 3 attacks and the occasional Nares, Nei can take her down reliably. Neifirst does have the ability to completely heal herself, however, and does so randomly when she is very low on HP. If Neifirst defeats her, Rolf swears revenge and challenges her alone. If you lose that fight, itfs game over. -Resurrection- Speaking of that particular scene, it is indeed possible to resurrect Nei after the battle at Climatrol. The method is extremely long, convoluted, tedious, and painstaking, but thanks to some Japanese message boards and random sites (primarily http://www14.plala.or.jp/freedomphantom/nei.html) and a lot of trial and error, Ifve put together a small guide for this. I recall seeing a similar guide posted by someone else (probably based on info from the same Japanese sites) long ago on the Gamefaqs message boards, but unfortunately itfs long gone. Ifll strive to make this walkthrough as complete and accurate as possible, however. There are several key requirements before even attempting this feat: I.) You must have a saved file of a completed Phantasy Star: generation 1 game on the same on the same memory card. If you donft have PS:g1, youfre out of luck. II.) Start a new game with the PS:g1 clear data loaded, and complete the game once to get a new file with PS:g2 clear data. III.) Start a (second) new game using the new clear data. I recommend making a bunch of copies of this before you do anything in case you screw up some place along the way (and you will). Also, here are some important guidelines to follow throughout the entire second playthrough: A.) Use the gConsulth command ALL THE TIME. Use it before and after any critical scene or conversation, or after you get or use a key item, or enter a new town or dungeon. And, use it *repeatedly.* Keep using it until the charactersf dialogue starts to repeat. You may need to change party members and Consult with them at some points too. B.) Any time youfre about to get a new party member (after coming home from a new town), talk to the Governor. Then go to your house, recruit your new friend, but donft add him/her to the active party. Go immediately talk to the Governor again. Consult a bunch of times too, before and after, just to be safe. C.) Talk to everyone in every town ad nauseum until their message changes. After any major plot developments (i.e. with Darum and Tiem, Biosystems, and so on), go and talk to everyone all over again. Do this all the up until you reach Zema. As you may infer, the basic idea is basically to read every single line of text in the game. However, there are also some very specific things you need to do, detailed below. Note that itfs best if you know some Japanese, at very least katakana script, so you can recognize the names of certain NPCs. 1.) Before you reach Zema, put Amy the doctor in your party. When you reach Zema, donft talk to anyone; just save your game. Then go talking to everyone and find a man named Yuriel. Memorize what he looks like or where he is, and reset. (This is so you donft accidentally move the plot forward by talking to someone else and thus ruin this whole attempt at resurrection.) Go buy a Trimate if you donft have one. Go talk to Yuriel now, and give him the Trimate. 2.) Have Rudo in your party when you get to Oputa. Talk to Philip and get the Silver Bullet Necklace. 3.) Listen to all the information regarding your party members before you go to Climatrol. (The sooner the better.) Most of it is through dialogue, but be sure to Consult at every opportunity. In most cases you need to have the specified character in your active party. Rolf: At Paseo, hear the dialogue about the orphanage. Nei: At Paseo, talk to the kid who wants to become a thief. You canft have Rudo in your party to hear this. Also, at Oputa, hear about Starmist and Moondew. Rudo: At Paseo, hear the dialogue about 3 different people. Amy: At Zema, give Trimate to Yuriel (see above). Hugh: At Kueri, talk to Hiram after receiving the gum from him. Anna: At Oputa, hear the dialogue about Motavian bandits. Josh: At Piata, talk to Doctor Luveno (western outskirts of town). Shir: At Kueri, hear the dialogue about a stolen Motavian painting. Here are some other easily missed opportunities to Consult. Itfs uncertain whether each of these is a trigger, but itfs better to do them just to be safe. -When you first reach Arima, before Rudo joins, talk to everyone in town and then Consult; Rolf and Nei will discuss Tiem. Do it all again after Rudo joins. The conversation will be different. -After the first time you encounter Darum at the North Bridge, Consult. Later, after the tragic event there, Consult twice in a row. (The party will discuss the past.) -Before you go to the Biosystems lab, learn Musika at Oputa, and Consult. Rolf will wonder where to use it. -After you blow up the door on Biosystems lab 3F, Consult. The party will remark about how creepy the place is. -After giving the data recorder to the Governor, exit Central Tower and Consult before going to the Library. Consult again after the discussion with the librarian. -At the West Bridge, Consult after you enter the bridge, but before you use the key to open the door. -At Roron, before you give the Polymetryl to the Motavian to get the Jet Scooter, Consult. -After you investigate the whirlpool that leads to Climatrol, but before using the gum and entering, Consult. -When you confront Neifirst, whe will ask Nei if she intends to fight her. Say No, and then Consult. 4.) After fulfilling all of the above requirements, go and face Neifirst. You can (and perhaps should) use Nei to defeat her. After this, you will be able to revive Nei at the clone lab. Once this happens, she cannot be removed from your party, just as before. Neifs ultimate weapon: On B3 of Skure spaceport, talk to all the musk cats. You can trade your Silver Bullet Necklace to one of them in exchange for the Animal Claw (which apparently belonged to Myau of PS1). Itfs on par with the Nei weapons and makes Nei into a formidable fighter again for the last half of the game. . . . . . . . . . . . . END SPOILERS . . . . . . . . . . . . -------------- Hints and Tips -------------- A popular battle strategy among many Japanese fans is to exploit the new special skills (particularly the high-damage abilities of Rudo, Hugh, Kain, and Shir). Equip two shields or emels, have everyone defend for 2 to 3 rounds, and then unleash hundreds of damage on all enemies for free. Personally I donft care for this method. Itfs too slow and repetitive, and ruins the spirit of the game. Itfs also rather useless against Dark Force, since after 2 or 3 rounds your characters probably will be possessed and wonft do as you command, and youfll have done no damage to the boss. Deband isnft just for boss fights anymore. Use the Snow Crown first thing during any and all late-game battles. You simply canft afford to take full damage from these enemies. Nei + Animal Claw + Chikara Morimorin + Shifta + Critical hit = OMFG. Using a combination of Neifs Last Force skill and some Nares/Nasar techniques, your party can theoretically have infinite fighting endurance (even if youfre power-leveling with Megido). [This is the end of the file. Thanks for reading!]