Wild Arms - Chapter 21: Malduke - The Final Battle

The ancient tower of Ka Dingel has been unearthed in the center of a small, round island directly south of Rosetta Town. Land the Gull Wing and call the Earth Golem with the Ocarina to enter. Immediately upon entering, the party is met by Boomerang and Luceid. Zeikfried is planning to use the Malduke colony to destroy all of Filgaia, and we're not getting inside but through them.

Per-usual, because of Hi-Shield, this battle is fairly easy. Have Rudy use a Lucky Card, Cecilia cast Hi-Shield twice in a row, and Jack uses Cosmic Nova each turn. Then, have Rudy fire the Phaser at Luceid while building Force for Fury Shot, and Cecilia casting Slow and Armor Down, with a High Summon of Raftina when available. Once Luceid if finished, Boomerang will easily follow.

 

The party, and humanity, have finally gained the respect of Boomerang and he wants you to ascend Ka Dingel to Malduke and defeat Zeikfried. However, Zeikfried will send a swarm of demons to kill all of you. Boomerang will encourage the group to enter the tower as he stays to fend off the demons, but he knows, even if he were to fall, he will return to battle again.

Return to the entrance of Ka Dingel and you will find Boomerang's Saber Fang on the ground. Having this in your inventory will allow you to challenge Boomerang to one last battle, but for now, let's finish things with Zeikfried. If you had any difficulty with the boss, you may consider returning to a town to rest and reload ARMs; the tower is going to be a long climb.

 

At the entrance, use either the left or right-side door to enter a room that contains two chests with Mega Berries, then return and climb the stairwell to the north.

On the second floor, exit southwest, through the open three doors, then use the northern exit on the west-side. Bomb the cracked wall in the corridor and then step on the switch in the following room to unseal a door. Exit back south twice, into the room with the three open doors, then use the the door directly south. Note: The Amon enemies in this area you can steal Demon Rings and drop Nectars.

 

Take the first exit north in the corridor to a small room with two chests containing a Nectar and Lucky Card. Exit north past the chests and climb the stairs to the right-side; exiting north.

Circle around the area and step on the switch to place a knight statue on the lower-part of the room, then return south. Exit south again, then west and through the door. You'll be on the upper-tier of the three-doored room and can use the northern entrance to proceed. The next area you will use the door you unsealed earlier with the switch, then take the bottom-right-hand exit in the next room.

 

In this room, you'll be up above the stairwell you climbed to reach this floor. There are four chests in the room with two Magic Carrots and two Full Revives to acquire, then take the right-side door north.

Climb down the stairs to the east to find more chests with a Magic Carrot and Mega Berry. Next, in the southern room, push the knight statue a small ways downward, then get behind it to the right and push it onto the area that is clearly-visible near the doorway; this opens the door to the next floor. Return to the previous screen with the four treasures, take the middle door that is now unsealed, and climb the stairs to continue. On the next floor, you'll find more chests with two Magic Carrots, then exit out.

 

Climb the stairs to the left-side and enter the room with a knight statue and two chests with a Mega Berry and Full Revive, then push the statue into the chasm to drop it onto the level below. Back out, use the right-side stairs this time for a solitary statue that cannot be moved and the same two chests from the previous room, Mega Berry and Full Revive. Use the bottom-left exit now and push the fallen knight statue into the upper-left corner to unseal the door continuing north.

There's a switch-lever puzzle in this room. Once you step on a switch, the door leading onward will lock. The goal here is to close the three doors behind you with the levers. As you're coming in from the left-side, don't step on the first switch, instead, walk around the room and step on both the right-most and middle switches, then, jump off the ledge on the right-side of the screen, enter through one of the doors, and lastly, pull the right-side lever to finish the puzzle leading to the next floor.

 

After ascending the stairs, use the southern exit to find an Ambrosia treasure, then use the stairs on the right-side to find a Nectar in the center of the room. Exit to the lower-left and then continue downward through the corridor with the lady-knight statues. Climb the stairs on the right-side of the following room to reach another stairwell leading upward.

 

Before you climb the stairs, on this floor, you will occasionally find the elusive N.U.E. enemy. They aren't of any note other than you can steal Bullet Clips from, as well as drop them.

The following floor only has a single doorway in the center of the room that leads you to a treasure chest containing the Rudy-only accessory, Metal Shield. This is the best of his accessories that raise defense and parry, but not nearly enough to warrant equipping it over the Force Unit. It's, however, a one-of-a-kind item, so don't sell it by accident. Once you have it, continue to climb the stairs to the west on to the next floor.

 

Around these couple of floors, you'll begin to encounter a few noteworthy enemies. The first is the umbrella-wielding Hazenberg. Jack can, very rarely, steal Mystic Apples from them, and will drop Magic Carrots, as well. It's highly recommended you cast Lock State at the beginning of every battle with them, also.

The giant Fafneils have Agile Apples to pilfer, which are more easily acquired than the Mystic ones.

 

Continuing with the dungeon, in the next area, grab the Ambrosia from the treasure chest, then have Rudy Bomb the purple orb to open the stairwell. Easy enough. Climb the next two sets of stairs to be out in a dark, night-vision-esq bridge with more stairs at the end.

 

Another purple orb puzzle, but this time, you have to pay a bit of attention. Bomb the first orb to lower the barrier, then cross the barrier over to the other one. Place a Bomb but QUICKLY switch to Rudy's Skates and zoom downward before it explodes; raising the barrier again, but opening the stairwell. If you get trapped behind the barrier, use Cecilia's Pocket Watch to reset. There will be, yet another, night-vision-looking bridge to another staircase. Then, an empty room that leads north.

A whole bunch of levers here...And, as you might expect, pulling one adversely affects the ones nearby. To solve: pull the east lever, southeast, northeast, north, south, southwest, northwest, and finally, west, to open the way north to a much needed save point.

 

If you encounter Evil Deads in this area, make sure to fight them. The trio is worth 24,000 Gella! From the save point, equip Jack with a Holy Ring and use either the left or right-side doors and the stairs to find Alhazad. He doesn't care about ruling Filgaia; only for making humans suffer, and he's not about to let you take that pleasure away from him.

It must have been hard to conceal all that under a robe. Anyway, first turn: Rudy with a Lucky Card, Cecilia casts Awaken, and Jack with a holy elemental Phazer Zapp for huge damage. If Alhazad can't put you to Sleep, this battle is already won. You may want to cast Hi-Shield, but not totally necessary. Have Cecilia cast Saint and prepare a High Guardian Raftina for healing purposes, while Rudy fires his Phaser and then Fury Shots with the Wild Bunch to bring him down easily.

 

With Alhazad gone, only Zeikfried remains between you and Filgaia's safety. Having slain Alhazad with no malice in his heart, Jack will receive his level 4 Force ability, Double Attack, that allows him to take two actions in one turn. My personal opinion: I would rather use Sonic Vision and have Accelerator ready for emergencies with four blocks of Force, but you decide for yourself. I highly recommend casting Escape to rest and reload Rudy's ARMs before continuing. The only puzzle you will have to do over inside Ka Dingel is the switch-lever one with the three doors.

Beyond where Alhazad met his demise, step onto the transporter and select to be cast through the Sea of Stars to the final dungeon: the Malduke colony.

 

Malduke is going to be another long dungeon, so hope you have come prepared. Even though you cannot use Escape inside Malduke, you can always use this transporter to return to Ka Dingel, so don't mistakenly think you cannot leave the area. In the room below the transporter, there are two exits to the east and west surrounded by flashing panels. At both exits, Rudy needs to get between two of the panels and drop a Bomb to destroy the generators, granting access to the stairs.

In the beginning areas of Malduke, the Tzar and Fesel Zein enemies can both be pilfered for Secret Signs, which they also will drop. The steal is hard to come by though, so Lucky Shot is probably your best bet to farm them here.

 

After Bombing the generators, take the west-side stairs down. Collect the Nectar from the treasure chest and Punch the purple Grapple post over to the other side, then have Jack Grapple it to take the northern exit. Bomb the generator in the center of the following room, then flip the switch beyond to deactivate the generators in the area. Returning back to the central room, you can now access a save point to the south, and take the east-side stairs to continue further.

On the east-side of the dungeon now, enter the pipe to the right of the stairwell and follow it down to a Bullet Clip and Rudy's final ARM, the Arch Smash. Although not much at the moment, with a ton of Gella and upgrading, it will become Rudy's most powerful ARM and has the ability to effect all enemies. Return through the pipe to the previous screen, but take the door to the left-side this time.

 

You'll be in a corridor with a 4-way exit. Enter the far-western door and climb the stairs. Activate the lever to open the door below and you will find the Guitar tool for Jack inside. Using this will instantly activate a random encounter, which is extremely useful for farming items, but it's most prominent use will be to call out a number of optional bosses for us to fight. Back out into the 4-way, take the southern exit now. Follow the path around, and then north, to a room with flashing X panels. If you step on them, they will damage the party, so instead, sacrifice Hanpan to take the damage for you (Animal cruelty...).

 

From the Xs, enter the pipe and follow the long, twisting route to exit near another lever. Flip it, then jump off the ledge and enter the door below. Further damage your relationship with Hanpan by having him take the exploding panels for you, and you will exit out to a myriad of connecting pipes.

 

Head left and follow the pipe, followed by taking the first left connection you come to. Follow it up, then down and out to collect the Silver Blade for Rudy. This is Rudy's second-best weapon and should switch it out for his current Sword Radius; it's also a one-of-a-kind item. Enter the pipe again and proceed slightly east a bit, then out again to collect a Nectar treasure, then return to the pipe.

 

From the Nectar, move east a bit, then south, followed by east again and out to a small platform containing Cecilia's second-best weapon, the Princess Rod. Another one-of-a-kind item, swap this for her Lunatic Wand, and it will also cast the unique Soul Shield spell when combined with Mystic. This protects the entire party from instant-death attacks.

Once you have the Princess Rod, enter the pipe again and head east, south, a tad west and out to another treasure chest containing Jack's Violator weapon. This is, in my opinion, Jack's second-best weapon and you can replace the Black Feral with it. It's also the only one you will find in the game.

 

With the three weapons in your inventory and back into the pipe, move east all the way, then north, west, ignoring the pipe exit, continuing north, then east, stopping to exit out to open a Nectar treasure, then follow the pipe south and out to a platform with a southern exit. Search the statue to have Jack initiate a battle against two Fesel Zeins. Use Cosmic Nova to take them out quickly, and Jack will receive his final fast draw hint, Trump Card. When Jack is at full HP, Trump Card does a tremendous amount of damage; easily his best skill, but as his HP lowers, the skill loses more and more of its effectiveness until his HP is near zero, then the attack power drastically increases again. So, Trump Card is rather situational. If Jack's HP is close to max use it, if not, Magnum Fang is still the most reliable skill for him, in my opinion.

 

Back into the pipes, head north, then west, passing the Nectar chest you opened, and then south and out onto the platform we previously passed up. Follow it around to more X panels for Hanpan, then, make sure to be in control of Jack with the Grappling Hook tool selected. Position yourself to the middle-right of the coming bridge and hurry across, as the platforms are falling behind you, and quickly Grapple onto the post to reach the stairwell. With the bridge having fallen, you can't return the way you came, but that will be remedied.

Descending the stairs, enter the far-right room to find the final save point in the game. This doesn't mean, however, the final battle is imminent, we still have a ways to go. To the north is a portal, and when the switches inside the save room are neutral, it warps you back to the entrance of Malduke. I recommend you use this now to return to Filgaia to upgrade Rudy's Arch Smash and regroup yourself for the looming battles. To continue with the dungeon, activate the left-most lever and the green panel will glow switching the above portal to Malduke's Residential District. Once you warp over, you'll find a monument telling you that the town is full of lies, and you can take the stairs into the ghost town. Before continuing, I highly recommend equipping someone with the Wind Vane accessory.

 

Because of these guys...If you're ambushed by a duo of Nosferatu, it's highly likely your party may be wiped out. They love to use the Dangerous Object 666 skill that reduces the entire party's HP to 1, then will try to follow up with a multi-character attack on the next turn. If you encounter these, have Jack use Cosmic Nova to take care of them fast. They also have Magic Carrots to steal, but do so at your own risk.

 

The scarecrow-like Rippers you can steal the My Grand Hat from. This is an outdated Jack helmet, but is the only place in the game you can obtain more than one copy of it.

 

Then there's Humpty and Dumpty. Jack can steal Mystic and Hardy Apples from them, but the best part is they give 15,000 EXP upon defeated.

As for the town itself, there's absolutely nothing here; not even any items in the barrels. The idea here was to send you on a wild goose chase, door-to-door, where you can listen to the ghosts lying to you about the treasure's location. Let's just cut out the middle man and go north to the graveyard and take the Wings item from behind the large tombstone. Return back to the save point area of Malduke, pull the left-most lever to deactivate the green circle, then pull the right-most one to activate the blue circle, then back into the portal to Malduke's Statue Area.

 

In the Statue Area, you can easily steal Mega Berries from the Colonzons, which they also will drop. Delowbunnies appear here too, and you can steal Lucky Cards from them, but like their Acid Bunny counterparts, they quickly run away and your Trickster chances are fairly low. The lone Delowbunny will also reward you with 10,000 EXP if you can defeat it.

From the beginning, exit south twice, then you'll be in a large, two-tiered room with multiple exits. Work your way around to the top-tier southern exit and jump off the ledge in the room. Exit to the west, and Bomb the large rock in front of the ladder. Climb the ladder to return to the top, but this time, exit through the door to the northeast.

 

Circle around the following room to the southeastern exit. The exit to the north will take you to an optional boss that will be covered in the next chapter, just to note. Leap off the ledge, hit the crystal switch, then jump off the next ledge, too. You'll be back in a familiar room and again, exit to the west.

The blue doors are now open and the red doors are shut, just like back at Pandemonium. Enter through the only open doors, then Bomb another large rock to access the ladder. Climb the ladder and return through the northeastern exit. You can now walk down through the middle door to access three treasures all containing the character's second-best armors: Assault Coat, Filgaia Robe, and Jolla (Jolly?) Poncho. The Filgaia Robe, when combined with Mystic, casts the Eraser spell. Switch your new armors for your character's current ones and then exit southeast again to activate the switch. Once more, enter via the western door, climb the ladder to the left, then make your way to the ladder on the right-side of the room. Walk through the open door and step on the switch to move a nearby statue. Then, once more, return to the switch and activate it again.

 

After hitting the switch, use the western door one last time, this time climbing the right-side ladder to the top-tier, then descending the ladder on the left-side of the room. Enter through the open door and step on the switch to move the other statue out of the way. Finally, move back to the other ladder, enter through the left-most door, past the moved statues, and pick up the Arms item from the chest. Now you can return back to the Malduke central area. Flip the left-hand switch while the right-hand one is still active to change the circle to red and the portal to warp to the "Mine Area'.

The Mine Area is large, but only a small amount of the area needs to be explored. The Eldersinks in this area have Mega Berries to steal and drop, while the Pythons (In the lava-covered depths) have Nectars to steal and drop, as well. As soon as you warp into the area, proceed south, west, east, and have Rudy Bomb the pile of rocks covering the eye relief. There is an optional boss in this area also, like the Statue Area, but I will be covering it in the next chapter.

 

From the eye relief, make your way: east, east, east, then through the exit to the lower-left. Grab the Eye from the treasure chest (This is the real Eye, the others are faux), and return to the central area of Malduke back through the portal. Note: You can take the Eye to the eye relief and if it flashes blue, that means you have the correct one. Also, you can only have one Eye treasure box open at a time, which means, unfortunately, we cannot have an Eye for the puzzle and one for our inventory.

With the Wings, Arms, and Eye in your possession, exit back out of the central save point room and through the door on the far-west end of the corridor. There are two treasure chests containing Nectars on opposite ends of the room, and then three pedestals before the door. Color-coded, place the Wings, Eye, and Arms onto the pedestals and the door will open. Through the door, both sides of the stairwell contain Magic Carrot treasures, then you can descend the stairs. Note: The Cyclops enemy roams around this last leg of Malduke. You can easily farm Bullet Clips as a steal and drop from them, but make sure that you cast Lock State.

 

Also, beyond the artifact gate, you can VERY rarely encounter the monster, Doomsday. How rare? Well, I'm going to say, maybe 1-30 battles (Use Jack's Guitar for faster searching). Jack can steal Ambrosia from them and you'll need to use Armor Down to inflict any serious physical damage. There's something special about Doomsday other than their rarity, though...

It can drop the very nice Force Unit accessory. However, you're either going to need some really good luck or to Lucky Shot it to get one. Unfortunately, Lucky Shot does 0 damage, but with a strategy, we can get it done. Equip Cecilia with the Necronomicon and the Chrono Rune , then start the battle by having Jack use Divide Shot six times to drop Doomsday's HP into Lucky Shot range. While you're doing this, have Cecilia cast Dummy Doll on all three characters to prevent counterattacking (They will, unfortunately, still counter if they evade), and then cast Banish to lower its statistics. With Banish inflicted, Lucky Shot will be able to do a minimum amount of damage to take Doomsday out, netting you a nifty extra Force Unit.

The remainder of Malduke is entirely linear; with no deviations or treasures. Keep following the path until you arrive at a room being swept by a spotlight. Let it find your party to engaged in a mandatory boss fight. The golem Berial is really fast, so have Cecilia cast Slow Down as quickly as possible. Afterwards, have her cast Hi-Shield twice, and repeat if Berial casts Armor Down, and casting Saint for offense. Rudy should use a Lucky Card, then fire the Arch Smash, if you left to upgrade it, or the Phaser until he builds to Fury Shot with Wild Bunch. Jack can use Trump Card at full HP, then switch to Magnum Fang afterwards. Berial hits hard physically, so you may need Jack to step in with emergency healing, but with being persistent with Hi-Shield, you shouldn't have too many issues.

 

When the battle is over, work around to the backside of the room and open the Ambrosia treasure, then descend the stairs in the middle that were unsealed by Berials defeat. Walk south into the next area and the door will lock behind you. The right-side exit takes you to a transporter that will send you back to Ka Dingel, and after the door shut behind you, is the only way to leave Malduke. I highly recommend you return to Ka Dingel and Filgaia to rest, resupply, upgrade the Arch Smash if you haven't, and reload Rudy's ARMs. Not only for the final battles, but we will be facing off against two optional bosses afterward, as well. Remember: once you return to Malduke, to go back to the room with the levers and portal to save your game.

 

The door between the one that seals behind you and the transporter back to Ka Dingel leads to the Malduke Central Control. Zeikfried and the final battles are waiting behind this door. There's no going back afterward. Open this door only when you are prepared to finish the game.

Zeikfried has changed from wanting to rule Filgaia to burn it to ashes with Malduke. Begin the battle with Cecilia casting Slow Down, Jack with Trump Card, and Rudy with the Phaser. Once you've got him slowed, cast Hi-Shield, and then Protect on both Rudy and Jack. Also, don't spare any items going forward. Use any Ambrosias you have for emergency healing or Mystic + Mega Berry.

 

Like the previous battle with Zeik, his Negative Rainbow attack is his most deadly. With Protect cast, it should soften the blow from it a bit. Build your Force for High Summoning with Raftina, Rudy Fury Shot with Arch Smash, and Jack using Sonic Vision. If Zeik casts Hi-Shield on himself, have Cecilia counter with Dispell, and he should fall with relative ease.

Zeikfried's final act of treachery will be to envelop Filgaia entirely in darkness. Suddenly, Mother will emerge, having finally been able to consume Zeik from the inside out.

 

Lock State is almost mandatory for this battle and to keep focus on the turn number and recasting it every three rounds. First turn: Rudy use Phaser, Cecilia cast Lock State, and Jack use Trump Card. Even though Motherfried's spells are extremely powerful, don't bother trying to cast Protect or positive effects as she has a frequent attack that dispels them, instead, focus on Lock State, Armor and Slow Down, and Remedy with Cecilia. Once his HP lowers, switch Jack from Trump Card to Magnum Fang while building towards Sonic Vision or Double Attack, save Cecilia's Force for High Summoning Raftina, and Rudy combining Fury Shot with the Arch Smash. If you can stay healthy and avoid Als Magna's status-inducing effects with Lock State, Motherfried will be defeated with persistent offense.

Even with Mother finally dead, Filgaia remains enclosed in darkness. However, the Guardians and the Tear Drop will begin to resonate. The true "Absolute Power", the light in people's hearts, will lift the darkness from the planet below and the party is eager to return to it. Don't be fooled by the cheery music: it isn't over yet. Heal your party, maximize your MP with Magic Carrots, and reload Rudy's ARMs with Bullet Clips. Attempt to use the transporter back to Filgaia...

Zeikfried has returned from hell as the Blade of Vengence: Zeik Tuvai. This is going to be the final battle; use everything you have at your disposal.

 

Zeik Tuvai is surprisingly slow, so you have a big advantage starting off. First turn: Rudy use Arch Smash, Jack use Trump Card, and Cecilia cast Lock State, repeating it every three turns. The next two turns Cecilia should cast Hi-Shield, while the other two use their skills and build Force. Zeik's most powerful attack is Proton Beam, which can easily deal 3000+ damage damage to a character without Shield, but perhaps the biggest issue with this fight, is his constant use of Hi-Heal. He may also, occasionally, attempt to instant-kill a character, but you should have a couple of Full Revives to negate having to cast Soul Guard. Overall, this battle is easier than Motherfried, so sending Zeik back to hell shouldn't present too much of a problem.

Unfortunately, the battle has created a serious unbalance in the dimension transfer and the party is at risk of being torn to pieces. The trio is then transferred to the base of an exploding Ka Dingel. The Earth Golem, of his own will, activates his Anti-phasing Shield to protect the party from the explosion. Ultimately, he is able to defend the heros, but has lost one of his arms and been returned to his slumber; having been used to defend rather than a fighting machine. Cecilia will say goodnight to the Earth Golem, hoping that one day it will awaken to a free and prosperous Filgaia.

Rudy and Jack, having left Adlehyde, will be on their way to a new journey when Jack remembers a letter than Cecilia asked them to read once they had departed. Cecilia will reminisce about their travels together and was naive in thinking that they would last forever. She, however, has bigger desires in her heart other than being the Princess of Adlehyde. She wants to continue to protect Filgaia with her own hands and lets the guys know that they will be receiving something they left behind. Hiding behind a nearby tree, Cecilia will appear and rejoin with Rudy and Jack on their travels through Filgaia. Happy to be back together again, the trio will overlook the beautiful world they fought so hard to protect.

 

The credits will roll and bring an end to the story of Wild Arms. However, there's still more to be done back in Filgaia; so reload your save inside Malduke and let's get on with it!