Welcome to my completionist guide for the classic, Breath of Fire III! The drop rates and fishing points make this one a doozy, but we're up to the challenge, right? RIGHT? Don't get discouraged already! A new game prompts you to name the Dragon Warrior-styled, Slime-hair'd (At least for now) hero, Ryu. You can just hit start to bypass the name entry and accept the Ryu name to get the journey started.
Note: If you wait at the title screen, you can view a short prequel where Mogu and Gary talk as they head into the depths of the Dauna Mine to meet their eventually incineration with some story spliced in between.
Deep in the Dauna Mine, two oddly familiar miners, Mogu and Gary, are set to dynamite a large piece of chrysm ore with what they assume encases a long-deceased dragon. Unfortunately for them, this Whelp is very much still alive! Turn your Whelp Breath on them, or wait to auto-counter with it, to bring this preliminary battle to a quick end.
Poke around the charred remains of Mogu to acquire the ultra-rare Melted Blade sword. This is a one-of-a-kind item that cannot be found elsewhere in the game and easily missed.
Move past the now-barbecued workers and around to the upper-right to exit. You'll spook another worker and further on be engaged by a Miner and Engineer. A Whelp Breath will, again, end the battle, otherwise any attack by the duo will be met with an auto-reprise of the Breath. There are two pairs of stairs leading to lower levels of the Mine where you can fight two optional battles: both of which contain the exciting Foreman you would otherwise never see. Besides that, there are no other items to find here, but you can continue to cause more emotional scarring talking to the quivering working class in the area.
Following the wooden flooring eastward to the lower-right exit, you'll emerge outside a massive dragon skull. Attempt to leave to the right and an Operator and Worker will stop you. This time, a sudden voice stops the Whelp from breathing its fire and the Operator capitalizes: knocking it out cold with a crane. Caged, it's put on a train for who knows where. Rattle the cage using the directional buttons and it will tumble down the hillside...
Cue the young Rei, hunting for food during a harsh winter. The now very human, and naked, Ryu, has drawn the attention of a couple of Currs who are chased off by the disgruntled Rei. Taking pity on him, he takes Ryu back to his hideout where you meet the third half of our new trio, Teepo; also an orphan taken in by Rei. Putting Ryu in some pajamas and to bed, they head off to the village in search of food. In his dreams, Ryu is visited by two mysterious individuals and the game truly begins.
Now in control of Ryu, you can use the journal to save if you want before descending the stairs. Search the two chest of drawers on opposite sides of the fireplace (In a wooden treehouse) for a Vitamin, that recovers HP, and Worm, used for the fishing mini-game, then exit out to the Cedars Woods via the right-most exit.
Circle around back of the treehouse and follow the narrow path to find yourself in the Woods proper. Cross the bridge and a little to the south Ryu can climb up a hill where you will spot a Goblin. Follow the treeline along the edge to your left and use R1 to rotate the camera to find a semi-hidden bag containing an Ammonia item that revives a fallen comrade. Further to the right, in the clearing, is a chest with a Skill Ink item. This fairly uncommon item allows you to switch enemy and master skills between characters. I would use them sparingly as the only reliable method of obtaining them is trading fish.
Head back down the hill and follow the path along to the western-end of the area, along the stream, and exit. Behind the large tree, near the broken Whelp cage, is a bag with a Green Apple item that recovers a very minor amount of HP. Head south from the cage and hug the edge of the screen to find another Green Apple bag in clear sight you can scoop up, also, then use the exit at the bottom-right of the screen.
Turn south at the end of the path and look for the couple near the pond. You can search the edge of the water to find Croc Tear items infinitely. They have a 30% chance to recover your status in and outside of battle (And 5 HP), but not bad for free. Go ahead and bag as many as you want, but they only sell for 2 zenny, so don't get your hopes up about a quick money-making scheme here. Continue south from the pond to end up on the world map.
Enter the nearby McNeil Village to see both Rei and Teepo scamper away from a failed burglary. The low yield of the crops this year has made food scarce for everyone. Teepo suggests putting Ryu to work with them, but first he'll need to get our of his pajamas. All the doors in the village are currently locked, and there are no items outside, so talk to Teepo near the equipment shop, who strangely already knows Ryu's name. Rei manages to pilfer some equipment and the group hightails it to the Yraall Road where work is, apparently, mugging people, much to Ryu's displeasure.
Now fully in control of your new party and ready to begin battling enemies, let's talk about the battle formations available to you at the start because like a lot of things in Breath of Fire III, there are many missing details. There are three formations available from the start, with an additional three learned later on in the game.
Normal: There are no special characteristics for the normal formation other than the character in slot 3 is less likely to be targeted. If you don't want to have to worry about any potential negative drawbacks, this formation is always safe to use.
Attack: The point character has their physical attack raised by 50%, but their physical defense is dropped by 25%. They also have double the chance to be targeted by enemy attacks than the other two positions, but get a 100% increase in reprisal rate (A hidden stat that is set for each character). This is by far the best formation in the game despite the drop in defense, just be careful who you set at point.
Defense: All damage is reduced by 25% for the party, but agility is dropped by a staggering 50%; position 1 is also slightly more likely to be targeted than the other two. If not for the EX turn system, and the fact agility helps determine your success when stealing/escaping, this wouldn't be that bad, but there are very few situations where you would benefit from losing your own potential EX turns.
Turning to equipment, give the Melted Blade to Ryu and
take the BallockKnife from Rei and equip to Teepo; giving a Dagger to
Rei. The Dagger equipped to Rei will allow him to use Pilfer to steal items with lesser damage. If using the
Attack formation, whomever is at point should equip Rei's Bracers and LeatherArmor,
but we'll have better armor very soon.
Note: The Dagger weapon both Ryu and Teepo come equipped with cannot be
found anywhere else in the game, so don't sell both by accident! Even if
you don't collect every item, it's essential that you keep at least one
of every weapon you find as a requirement to apprentice under an
important master as early as possible a bit later on.
Each playable character also has a special field ability they can activate that is, mostly, to solve puzzles, but can be used to acquire items and zenny, as well. Ryu preforms a sword swipe that can cut small bushes, or even humans, cows, or even scarecrows, to snatch any zenny they may be carrying, but is always randomized (With no penalty unlike BoF IV). NPCs give a minuscule amount of zenny, if any, but bushes can give increments upwards of 20 or 50 zenny as seen in the screenshot above. Teepo's kick action can find zenny from NPCs, also, but is more for moving small rocks and bashing trees. Later, some trees contain items, but not any currently. Lastly, Rei can pick locked doors when at the lead of the party. You can switch the lead of your party by pressing L1. This will not effect battle formation.
Before you start battling enemies, I would caution to not get too
carried away with leveling up. I, personally, would not exceed level 7 before beating the first boss and a master becomes available. However,
don't overly concern yourself with this, either, as you play through the
game. Masters are extremely important to building the type of
characters you want, but stat-boosting items are readily available later
in the game to make up any ground you may lose as long as you are
willing to be patient and put in the work to get them. In short, find a
healthy medium in leveling while waiting for better masters.
Head down the Yraall Road and Rei and Teepo will direct Ryu to a spot overlooking the well-worn path where they can ambush a traveler from behind some brush. Just off to the right of the spot, behind the last tree, is a semi-hidden bag with 40 zenny in it to pocket before you attempt the mugging. Ryu's new friends send him out helplessly where he collides with the massive resident, Bunyan, who warns him that Teepo and Rei are in for it he catches them! This gives the duo the bright idea to raid Bunyan's cabin in Cedar Woods while he is away. Sounds like a foolproof plan, for sure.
Yraall Road is your first opportunity to encounter enemies. The same monsters are found within the Cedar Woods, also, but we'll start covering them here. The (green) Goblins have Bent Swords Rei can use his unique Pilfer ability to steal. These aren't good at all, and can be purchased later on, as well as found, but are easy to swipe and sell for 25 zenny. You are going to want to keep at least two extra of these in your inventory for later, also.
Note: Agility plays a key role in the calculation of a successful steal. Also, if you flee the battle, you will keep any stolen goods, which is a nice tactic to keep your levels in check.
To learn enemy skills, use the examine option of the battle menu and target the enemy. If you are successful, and the skill can be learned, an ! will appear over the character's head as seen in the screenshot above. If the skill cannot be learned, a ? will show instead. There are no special formulas: each skill is set a difficulty to learn and requires patience to acquire. If you take out the BossGbln that accompanies them, Goblins will use the learnable Unmotivate skill. Unmotivate does absolutely nothing and once learned, you should go into the menu and select note to send it to the skill pool you can access from the camp diary on the world map. This is also where you can trade enemy skills between characters with Skill Ink. If your active skill list is full, you cannot learn new ones from enemies or masters.
Note: You can use the examine command, instead of defend, to avoid countering an enemy's attack. This is incredibly useful when attempting to steal items.
Note: If any of your character's fall in battle and are not resurrected before its end, that character's maximum HP will decrease (Represented by a yellow number in the menu). This can only be corrected by staying at an inn (Or the tree house, for now); resting at camp will not suffice to return your HP to its maximum number.
As you've probably seen, the BossGbln throws out the learnable Influence skill at the beginning of every battle and will run if they have no Goblin subordinate. Do you best to learn this on Ryu and keep it on him always throughout the game for reasons we will cover when the time comes. Outside of those special times, the skill is, essentially, useless against most every enemy as it requires them to have 1 or 0 intelligence to take hold.
Rei can lift the excellent Waistcloth armor from the BossGblns, also, with some effort. Try to get three of these for our heros as it is better than anything we can find soon. These also sell for an excellent 150 zenny!
Note: Items that are not stolen have a chance to be dropped, as well,
but stealing the item first has no bearing on whether the enemy drops
their normally dropped item. In the case of the BossGbln you may see the Waistcloth, a Brass Helm, or both dropped. Stealing the former does not increase the chance of the latter dropping.
The birdlike Ripper hold the Blind enemy skill to add to your list. Blind is a weaker than normal physical attack that can, potentially, inflict blindness and reduce enemy accuracy. It has its uses, one of which is talked about below. Try to learn this with Teepo as it will prove useful a little later on and save you from having to use a Skill Ink.
The plentiful Eye Goo has a bit of a difficult skill to learn. On its tenth turn it will use Snooze. The problem is having to wait another ten turns if none of your characters copy it. Snooze restores a small percentage of the character's HP and AP at the cost of putting them to sleep. Later, once you can null the sleep status effect, it can be useful since you can activate it an infinite number of times to recover your AP. Rei can snatch Healing Herbs from Eye Goos, as well, which is a much better option than buying them right now.
Mage Goos cast the lowest fire-based spell, Burn, that you can learn. Mage Goos also have Healing Herbs to Pilfer like their blue counterparts.
Note: If you inflict blind on the Eye or Mage Goo, you get a hefty increase in experience from them! I wouldn't get too carried away with this, however, and gain too many levels as talked about earlier in the chapter.
Note: You can steal a Vitamin from the Gongheads that restore 100 HP and will be incredibly valuable throughout the first half of the game.
While exploring the world map, you'll notice a ! appear above Ryu's head that will take you to a semi-randomized battleground. A single item bag can always be found there and contents vary depending on the area. In the Yraal Region, you can sometimes find Bandanas and Bracers equipment here. While you can purchase them for a small amount in McNeil, which we'll talk about soon, for those that want a save a little coin, you can use this option to outfit your characters. Vitamin can show up here, as do Poppers (Only during winter), which is a more advanced lure than the Old Popper, buy buyable later.
Two additional monsters show up on the world map battlefields, too. The Man Trap can be a bit dangerous at the beginning levels, but try to get Rei to steal a PointedStick from them. You want to add this to your inventory to go with the other weapons you need to train under an important master. Have Teepo cast Flare to heavy damage the grotesque thing.
Gooey are of no threat to the party, remaining entirely paralyzed, but Rei can Pilfer the Marbles item from them. Although the item description is "appears valuable" they sell for almost nothing in a basic shop. Still, Gooeys are the best place in the game to pick up this item. The static gooster also holds a secret we won't be able to uncover for a long, long time. It is immune to blind, also, if you were wondering.
With everything else covered, let's explore McNeil properly. Just up from the Yraall Road is the Farm. Take the dirt path off to the right, across from the fields, and you'll find yourself outside the walls of Mayor McNeil's mansion. Just up the road is a hut where you can score a Vitamin in the drawers. There's nothing else here for us now, so exit the Farm.
In McNeil village, there is a now a bag with a Vitamin along the hedges beside the inn.
Inside the item shop, search the display next to the shopkeeper to acquire a Molotov item that casts Flare when used in battle. You're eventually going to want to pick up the Wooden Rod and some lures here, but that can wait until later.
Next door is the equipment shop with a very grumpy owner. What you get here is going depend on the amount of items you stole and can sell. You are fine to continue the story with just Bandanas, Bracers, and Waistcloths. Rei will be leaving the party temporarily and we will find an additional BallockKnife for him, so he is fine with the Dagger. If you went crazy with Bent Swords and Waistcloths to sell, go ahead and get a Bronze Sword, two Cloth Shields (Will find a third), and three Brass Helms, but all of this can wait.
On the east-side of McNeil you can enter the two houses and find an Healing Herb in the first, and an Antidote in the second by searching the chest of drawers.
Before we raid Bunyan's hut, head back to Rei and Teepo's hideout and descend the ladder in the back of the kitchen that the pajama'd Ryu couldn't use. There's a shelf with a Healing Herb. Make sure you have taken this item, plus the ones from the chest of drawers upstairs because they are eventually missable!
From the hideout, exit south, near the rugged traveler, and wrap around the Woods to the east, taking the second dirt path leading south, to find Bunyan's humble dwelling. Put Rei in the lead of your party to pick the lock and the group will split up inside. Rei's tail knocks a plate off the table, but Ryu's quick reflexes saves a disturbance. This also slyly adds a Plate item to your inventory that is the only one in the game, so don't sell it even though it "appears valuable"! Move Ryu down the ladder and into the storeroom where you can take Beef Jerky from the shelf, a rather obscure item that restores 100 HP, but later buyable. Unfortunately, Bunyan has returned home and made good on his threat to Teepo and Rei!
Fortunately, the big woodsman is willing to let the party go free assuming that Rei travels to Mt. Glaus for some unspecified purpose. In the meantime, Ryu and Teepo get to put in some hard labor: chopping wood. This is a simple mini-game that is all about timing. Simply hit triangle whenever the log begins to tip toward Ryu, as seen in the screenshot above, and you'll succeed each time. Even if you struggle a bit, you only need to cut 10 or so logs to progress the story. Afterward, head out to the world map and enter the ? area to the northeast of Cedar Woods to follow Rei to Mt. Glaus.
Note: If you've played Breath of Fire IV, in which many mini-games had a game score that advanced Ryu's dragon forms, you may wonder if III has a similar system, but it does not.
The first thing you notice when crossing the bridge in the new area is a boulder being propped up by a smaller rock. Switch to Teepo and give the rock a swift kick to plug the stream and make it transversal. Head down into the stream and follow it to the right and then up to a treasure chest with a Weather Vane item that casts Typhoon in battle. This chest is missable as once spring comes to the region, the stream will no longer be blocked!
Note: Man Traps appear in this area and can be a challenge with only the two little ones. Thankfully, you can keep them asleep by having Teepo cast Flare and Ryu with Burn.
Northeast from the stream is an open area with several forked paths. Near the center is a rock Teepo can bash away to find a Vitamin in the hole. Just north from there is another rock you can move with 120 zenny underneath to pocket.
From there, hug the wall to the left of the zenny hole and follow it back down and then closely around to the northwest. You'll spot a chest behind a tree with 80 zenny inside and another rock Teepo can remove. This hole has a coveted Coin to add to our inventory. Coins are a fishing lure that have a limited number in the game and required to access fish shops. Continue west to the exit and back out to the world map where Mt. Glaus is just steps away. Camp first to rest and save and if you don't already have a Bronze Sword, I would recommend you go back and purchase one from McNeil. It's not a bad idea to stock up on several Croc Tears or buy a few Antidotes from the item shop, either.
Cross the rope bridge at the base of Mt. Glaus and take a left to descend down. Curve around to the bottom-right, near the side of the rope bridge, where an Antidote satchel is waiting. Speaking of Antidotes, the Curr monsters here with their poison Chlorine breath can be brutal when paired with multiple monsters. Poison persists after battle, and while you can use Ryu's Purify spell, I would rely upon the free Croc Tears from Cedar Woods outside of battle and use Antidotes in a pinch in battle for its recovery. Poison will not resolve from resting at camp either; you must go to an inn, to note, but don't be afraid to leave Mt. Glaus to rest and recover Ryu's MP if you need to.
Note: The Puff Goo encountered on Mt. Glaus can be blinded to receive more EXP just like its weaker brethren.
Return back up to near the rope bridge and move north to see a massive slope in the mountain. Ascend via the path up on the left-hand-side and at the top slide down the slope from the position seen in the screenshot above to find a Heavy Caro fishing lure item. This is actually the best worm-type lure in the game and very hard to come by, so when we start fishing, don't lose it.
Back at the top again, slide down from this angle to pick up the Cloth Shield, that is for sale in McNeil and better than the Bracers, at the bottom. If you care about getting as many stat-boosting items as you can, I would recommend you leave Mt. Glaus and save before moving across the rope bridge just beyond the massive slope.
With night falling, Ryu and Teepo seek shelter in a nearby cabin only to find Rei inside. He thinks that Bunyan sent him to Mt. Glaus to kill the monster that has been terrorizing McNeil. Unfortunately, the two kids presence has, for some reason, limited Rei's ability to battle it. In the morning, the monster's cry can be heard outside the cabin. Make sure to equip Rei with anything new and reset your battle formation before heading outside.
This isn't really a boss battle, but a precursor to the one to come a little later on. Have Ryu cast Protect on the party and try to nab the strength-raising Power Food item from the Nue with Rei's Pilfer, but be prepared to be patient to get it. Once 210 HP has been inflicted, it will flee, but you can have Ryu cast Heal on it, or use Healing Herbs, to give yourself more chances to get the item. Its Nue Stomp can do a moderate amount of damage, so be prepared to heal yourself, as well. Besides that, Teepo's Flare/Simoon and physical attacks is all you need. Afterward, you can rest back inside the cabin and save at the statue.
Note: Teepo is a temporary playable character, so don't waste any items like the Power Food on him!
Past the dragon icon statue, continue up the mountain through the felled trees (From the Nue, no doubt) and move left, then up and around to the bag containing Vitamins overlooking a cave entrance. Vitamins (With an S) recover the entire party by 100 HP and are surprisingly rare, so only use them in an emergency. Enter into the cave below to find blood splotches on the ground. A wounded and cornered prey awaits.
Note: Rei can lift the default Clothes armor from Zombies in the cave which makes for decent sell fodder at 25 zenny. You can purchase them later in the game, however.
The Bat monster has the Gloom enemy skill to learn, however, getting it to actually use the thing can present an issue. Gloom will only be executed if they are in critical condition; which is 1 HP left, and with only 6 HP max, you can see the problem. Thankfully, Burn is weak enough to do exactly 5 HP of damage, as long as you are not grossly overleveled. If you are, don't worry about it: we can come back later to guarantee to get it to 1 HP. Gloom attempts to turn the enemy into an undead creature; making it weak to holy and curative magic: something that can be exploited more times than you would think!
Follow the trail of blood and take the first left and the exit there. Inspect the massive pile of bones for a Bent Sword, then look for a satchel with a Molotov item around the left-hand-side. Continue to track the blood and take the next left presented to you, also. The trail goes cold next to the water, but you can raid the skeleton nearby for 200 zenny.
Teepo suggests the Nue fled into the water to escape so return back the way you came and head further north. Take the path right, then down, to another long-deceased bag of bones with a BallockKnife. A little further north you can turn right, again, this time to a Talisman accessory that slightly boosts your resistance to instant-death attacks. Heading left will take you to the Nue boss fight where you can steal another Power Food, so you may want to return to the cabin to rest and save beforehand.
Teepo's plan will have you dive off into the waters and float down to the Nue's cave below where the injured beast is waiting at the back of the cave. Like the first battle, Rei can lift another Power Food here, but firstly, have Ryu cast Protect on everyone and use Blind on the Nue; this will foil his numerous reprisals. If you want, you can use Gloom and dump a Vitamin on it for 100 damage, also, but I mention that mostly for fun and not smart item conservation. Teepo can throw out Simoon for a large amount of damage while Rei Pilfers and Ryu attacks/heals if you get poisoned or HP gets low. The only thing you really need to be concerned of is when the notice pops up that "Nue howls with fury". It's then about to unleash a moderately powerful Jolt spell on the entire party. Thankfully, this one casting exhausts its AP for the remainder of the battle.
With its final breath, the Nue protects the cave entrance with its very body. Choosing to go inside anyway, the party finds the Nue's dead cubs...which she futilely tried to provide for by pillaging McNeil even though they had long since been gone. Diving back into the waters, the group meets Bunyan at the base of Mt. Glaus. They have won the respect of Bunyan, and the village, but through a harsh lesson on life and death.
