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Exploration
Now that you have the Fire-Powered Ship at your command you can explore a much larger portion of the world, though there are still sections you can’t access without the ability to fly. There are a few other places you can currently go before heading to your next destination.
Jachol Cave
This small side area is located in the southwest of the world map, set into the southern end of a large cluster of mountains. (It doesn’t appear on the map if you pull it up, but if you try to get to the location in the southwest you’ll come across the Cave anyway.)
Be careful in here - the normal Nutkins are easy, but the Skull Eaters can decimate your team at this point. They only have a single hit point, but their evasiveness is ridiculous and they can kill team members in one hit. Use any ability that ignores evasiveness - a Ninja’s Throw is a wise choice, and the Geomancer’s Gaia ability usually does the trick - and you should be able to kill these things easily, netting yourself 5 ABP. Sweet. Skull Eaters will divide into a cluster if you use magic unsuccessfully on one, so if you can’t secure an instant win, run away.
- There are two switches near the entrance. Hit the lower one to move a nearby wall to the side. If you want to leave again, as the entrance will now be sealed, hit the switch beside the exit.
- In the south of the Cave is a line of switches. Watch them for a second and all but one will disappear. Hit the one that doesn’t disappear and you’ll open a passage back in the north. Here you’ll find a locked door and an empty chest; check the chest to find a switch that will open the door.
- You’re in a second room. There are no more puzzles here, just chests - though you need to do some running to get to them. The west-most chest contains a Tent; the next has a Shuriken; the last, counterclockwise to the north, contains a Blitz Whip. This last is the main reason to come here, as it does a ton of damage from the back row. Head back the way you came in to leave. (There’s an exit to the north, too, but it takes you to a dead end on the main map.)
Jachol
Continue west along the coastline from Jachol Cave and you’ll find the town of Jachol. There’s not a lot here that you can’t find elsewhere, though some of the equipment is better than what you’ve found thus far. There’s also a piano here that you should play, in the Pub.
Istory
In the far northwest corner of the map, sitting on the left side of a large mountain range, is this small town. The only pieces of equipment worth noting are the Rings for sale in the armour shop; though expensive, they’ll allow you to absorb a variety of elements. In the northwest of town is a ring of flowers; walk on all of them, stopping on the bottom-right tile, to trigger a little cut scene and earn the Toad spell. Last, look in the north for a sheep field, then walk behind the left-most sheep (to its left) and interact with it to get booted to one side. Speak to the guy over here to learn Romeo’s Ballad, which is currently useless. (Though not for long.)
The only other thing of note here is the forest to the east. Get into a random fight here and you’ll likely run into Ramuh, a boss. Ramuh relies on electrical attacks, and is capable of blinding your whole team (this Flash attack is Blue Magic, coincidentally), but is honestly not that difficult an opponent so long as you can heal consistently. Defeat him in combat and you’ll earn the Ramuh summon.
Crescent
in the southeast corner of the map is a small, crescent-shaped island that’s home to the appropriately-named town of Crescent. As soon as you enter Crescent, though, an earthquake will sink your ship and leave you stranded. This is less of a deal than it seems like, as there’s a way to escape.
Have a look ‘round town first. There aren’t many great items to buy here, aside from some elemental Bows, but if you check the southeast corner of town you’ll find a house with a bard, similar to the one in Istory. He’ll teach you the Mighty March. There’s also a piano to play in his house. That aside, this island’s a good place to earn money, as you can steal Steal Bows and earn Death Sickles from the Harvesters that are so common here, then sell them to the merchants.
Head south of town. Here you’ll find a forest where a black chocobo resides. Catch it with Bartz and you can use it to fly around the world, negating the need for the Fire-Powered Ship. (Though you need to land in forests, again limiting its usefulness.) The chocobo will also spit up the Bard and Ranger crystal shards when you find it, putting a use to those songs you collected earlier.
Lix
Almost done. Your last stop, now that you have the black chocobo, is the small village of Lix, located just north of the area where you started the game. This is Bartz’s hometown, and speaking to the people or staying at the Inn will trigger some flashbacks. One flashback in particular is triggered by looking in Bartz’s house, in the west of town; check the music box on the table, then speak to the bard at the table for the Alluring Air song. There’s nothing amazing here besides that, but you can buy items at a reduced price, making this a good place to purchase Scrolls for your Ninjas.
That’s the last of what you can do now. Head back to the Library of the Ancients to continue the story.