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| Final Fantasy VI copyright Square Enix. Images used for educational purposes only. |
(Note: If you did not save Shadow on the Floating Continent, this side quest focuses on saving Relm instead. Save for the final step it’s otherwise identical.)
Cave on the Veldt
- Once you have the Falcon, make your way to the Veldt on the east side of the World of Ruin. Along the southwestern coast you’ll find the Cave on the Veldt. Enter. A familiar dog will lead you onward.
- In the next chamber is a small group of hunter. Look to the left of them for a chest containing a Berserker Ring, then head through the door in the north. This leads to an unseen path that guides you west - beyond is a chest containing a Tigerfang, defended by a creature called the Death Warden - and south to another area.
- Follow the path south until you find a door beside a switch. Hit the switch, check all the way south for an Ichigeki (this is essential to recruiting Shadow, so don’t miss the Ichigeki), then backtrack a short ways. The switch you hit moved a rock in the previous chamber, allowing you to head east and south.
- The continued path eventually leads to a save point, and, beyond, the fallen Shadow. Approaching him will spark a fight.
Behemoth King
A tough enemy, but not that bad. The Behemoth King likes physical attacks, but it’s at its most painful when it uses magic to inflict surprising amounts of damage to one or all members of your party. You can’t use Reflect to get out of this, either, as the Behemoth King will smack you with a special attack to dispel this status. The Behemoth King’s big problem is its lack of HP, so go after it with any fiery attacks you have, as they’ll inflict double damage. Do enough and it will die…
… returning in a back attack as an undead version of itself. The new Behemoth King is pretty similar to the original, though now it can insta-kill with Death and may put your party members to sleep. It can and will also use Meteor, a very painful all-hitting attack that will probably kill any characters it hits who aren’t at full health. This Behemoth King remains weak to fire attacks, though it now also gains a weakness to curative spells. Even better, you can use a Phoenix Down on the Behemoth King to kill it instantly.
- Save Shadow and you’ll jump to Thamasa in the far southeast corner of the map. After a flashback cut scene similar to his previous dreams (and this will change if you saved Relm instead) you’ll leave Shadow to rest in Strago’s house. Leave town and reenter and he’ll have left.
- Hop in the Falcon and fly to the northwest corner of the map. Here you’ll find the Dragon’s Neck Coliseum, a betting ground for warriors. You can bet an item, send one AI-controlled character in to fight for you, and, hopefully, win a slightly-superior prize in exchange. Save before entering, set up one character to fight solo…
- …and bet the Ichigeki. Your character will engage Shadow in battle for the item. Beat him and you’ll get to keep the Ichigeki… and he’ll join your party. Permanently. No need to hire, no need to worry about Shadow running away anymore. Woo! Perma-merc!