10 min read

Final Fantasy I - Everybody Get Into a Big Canoe (and Then Into the Lava)

Mount Gulg

The conceit here seems to be that lava damage is unavoidable. We shuffle round a corner and feel the burn a little bit, then I remember to check the map. Seems like there's nothing to loot here, but we'll have to just make a run for it over the lava to get to the next area.

The enemies in here are arguably weaker than those on the river, so that's a relief at least. Ankhegs, which are big bugs, and Sphinxes which we've dealt with before on the first level.

On B2, it seems like we have 2 choices - a straight shoot for the next level over the lava, or safer areas filled with chests. I hope if you're reading this you know me well enough by now to know which choice we're taking...

Given that they're strewn across the area, rather than giving a running summary I'm just going to give the full list here:

  • Mythril Helm (guarded)
  • 1520 gil (guarded)
  • Great Sword (guarded)
  • 4150 gil
  • 1250 gil (guarded)
  • 1295 gil

Before I reach the motherlode of chests, I notice an enemy in the field, who I assume is guarding said lode. Strangely the fight is the same 2 Fire Elemental formation we've probably defeated half a dozen times in this area.

That fight does take most of our party to Level 31, with Kaili trailing slightly behind.

So in no particular order, the main chests:

  • Hi-Potion
  • Tent
  • Mythril Helm
  • Mythril Gloves
  • 1975 gil
  • Antidote (guarded!)
  • 1455 gil (guarded)
  • 1520 gil (guarded)
  • 1760 gil
  • Mythril Shield
  • Mythril Axe
  • Phoenix Down

Glad to see that the priorities are still right with keeping Antidotes protected in this new area. Also I thought the token enemy might be to offset not having monsters protecting the boxes here, but then there were still 3 that spawned Lava Worm fights, so I'm unsure.

Also while we've picked up a full set of gear here, there's nothing that we don't already have. I'm starting to wonder whether maybe making Kaili another Warrior could have been useful, as that's basically how they're acting - I've not seen them do anything thief-like, they're just a squishier damage dealer, though lower raw Attack than Rukus.

We head down to B3, and it just seems like an area that's got lots of lava that you have to put up with again. There's a right way and a wrong way to go it seems, as I tried going left and it's just a dead end. I guess it's just a way to whittle away at the party's HP as we're going.

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Part of the series: The First Step: Final Fantasy I (20 posts)
  • 1. Final Fantasy I - The First Hour
    A retrospective on the first hour of Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster - my thoughts and feelings so far.
    • 15 min read
  • 2. Final Fantasy I - Out into the World
    The first steps into the world of Final Fantasy I, Matoya's Cave, and the town of Pravoka.
    • 9 min read
  • 3. Final Fantasy I - Elfheim
    The first steps into the world of Final Fantasy I, Matoya's Cave, and the town of Pravoka.
    • 14 min read
  • 4. Final Fantasy I - Heavy is the Head
    Getting back on track, heading to the Western Keep
    • 8 min read
  • 5. Final Fantasy I - Magical Mystic Key Tour
    Heading around the world with the Mystic Key, and seeing what we can unlock.
    • 9 min read
  • 6. Final Fantasy I - Go West, Young Warriors
    Setting sail to the west, exploring Mount Duergar, and the town of Melmond.
    • 9 min read
  • 7. Final Fantasy I - Into the Bowels of the Earth
    We head into the Cavern of Earth, with a goal of defeating the Vampire and restoring the Earth Crystal. Things are never quite that simple though, are they?
    • 14 min read
  • 8. Final Fantasy I - The Wandering Heroes of Melmond
    We return to Melmond, but struggle to find our next task.
    • 9 min read
  • 9. Final Fantasy I - Everybody Get Into a Big Canoe (and Then Into the Lava) (current)
    With a renewed sense of purpose, we're ready for some amphibious adventuring. We head to Mount Gulg, and find ourselves in a lava-filled dungeon with a fiery boss.
    • 10 min read
  • 10. Final Fantasy I - Shattered Ice, Frayed Nerves
    We get some more mileage out of our canoe as we head further north and into the Cavern of Ice, where both the party and I have more trouble than we have in a while.
    • 11 min read
  • 11. Final Fantasy I - Warriors on Trial
    In this post, we try to find what to do with our newly acquired Levistone, but end up being put to the test.
    • 8 min read
  • 12. Final Fantasy I - A Rat's Tale
    Hot on the heels of collecting a Rat's Tail from the Citadel of Trials, we head out on the task of working out what to do with it, and make some nice progress along the way!
    • 10 min read
  • 13. Final Fantasy I - Out of the Bottle
    Today we continue to explore the new areas that our airship has opened up - starting with the town of Onrac.
    • 8 min read
  • 14. Final Fantasy I - Canoes, Cubes, and Cat Claws
    This morning, we head out to try and use the oxyale that we've been given, and head to the waterfall we'd spotted to the north.
    • 7 min read
  • 15. Final Fantasy I - Under The Sea
    In this outing, we make our way down into the Sunken Shrine, in an attempt to save the mermaids from the wrath of the Fiend of Water.
    • 11 min read
  • 16. Final Fantasy I - Duolingo on Steroids
    We make our way back to Lufenia, but it turns out that just having the Rosetta Stone in our inventory isn't enough to bridge the language gap - we need a teacher!
    • 6 min read
  • 17. Final Fantasy I - The Flying Fortress
    We make our way to the Mirage Tower, and with our Warp Cube in and onto the Flying Fortress to take on our final Fiend
    • 12 min read
  • 18. Final Fantasy I - Entering the Chaos
    With all four of our Crystals illuminated, we head back to the Chaos Shrine, where this all began and try to unravel the mystery of the world's decay.
    • 10 min read
  • 19. Final Fantasy I - From Utter Chaos to Calm
    We reach the depths of the Chaos Shrine - time twists, fate unfolds, and history demands a reckoning.
    • 19 min read
  • 20. The Chronicles of the Lightbound
    From the annals of the legends, a tale of four heroes emerges - Rukus, Kaili, Clair and Glitz - the Warriors of Light
    • 11 min read