Once Norris hands over one of Porre's boats you can explore Home World at your leisure. The maps are largely the same as before, though what they contain varies between worlds. We'll have a quick sail around the various islands and grab a few things, both optional and otherwise.
Mount Pyre and Fort Dragonia
Mount Pyre and Fort Dragonia are both fully accessible in Home World, and both have more treasures for you to collect. We'll explore Mount Pyre in this article, as we'll need to head back there to meet - and defeat - the Red Dragon. If you're okay with waiting you can run straight through it without encountering monsters pretty easily.
Fort Dragonia needs to be revisited again at some point as well, but since we can recruit a character by going through we'll check it out now. You'll need to complete the four puzzles to get through it again, though they're much easier this time since a) You're much stronger, b) There are no bosses, and c) Most of the enemies are gone. You can find the following in Fort Dragonia:
- Bottom-Left Puzzle: Head, Body, Tail allows you to lower the stairs on the right. Body, Tail, Head leads to Denadorite, and Tail, Head, Body leads to a Thunda Storm Element. Tail, Body, Head gets you to the switch to complete the puzzle.
- Upper-Left Puzzle: The first room you check contains an enemy. The second room contains an Iceberg Element.
- Upper-Right Puzzle: Following the northern path from the entrance will bring you to a Denadorite and two Nostrum Elements if you follow it all the way around. Follow the eastbound path to the crystal and you'll find a Tornado Element and some Denadorite.
- Lower-Right Puzzle: Falling down the bottom hole brings you to two Nostrum Elements, a Denadorite, and a Volcano Element. Falling down the right hole solves the puzzle.
Hermit's Hideaway
Unlike Another World, where this place has been burnt down, the Hermit's Hideaway in Home World is intact and pristine. You'll find Razzly inside the hideaway if you recruited and saved her, though she shows no interest in rejoining the party. On a branch just outside the left window in the hideaway is a Resistance Ring, and if you climb the ladder on the right you'll find an Energizer Suit near the ceiling.
If you used the Ice Breath on the conspicuous patch of superheated ground in Another World you'll find the top of a turnip poking out of the ground in the same spot in Home World. You can't do anything with it until you have Poshul back in the party, so don't worry about this for now. (And if you haven't used the Ice Breath yet, don't worry. You can do that at any time once you're back in Another World.)
Marbule
Unlike the Marbule of Another World, which is populated by Demi-Humans, this Marbule is full of explorers... and roaming, phantasmal Lagoonates that apparently can't interact with normal creatures. Speak to Great Explorer Toma, the guy in brown, and he'll tell you that the Demi-Humans of Marbule have moved to the S.S. Zelbess. We'll be going there in the next article.
El Nido Triangle
Inactive in Another World, the El Nido Triangle in Home World has a conspicuous light beaming out of its center. If you approach it you can descend into a sort of mini-dungeon. You'll find the following enemies down here:
- Puffy - Yellow Innate. Little puffer fish. Their Needlework Tech is pretty painful for one character, and that's about it. Green Elements will work.
- Schoolmates - Blue Innate. A cloud of aggressive fish. All they do is attack normally. No big threat, and they drop Mythril to boot, if you're looking to upgrade your characters.
This is a short dungeon, only made lengthy if you get into a lot of fights. Check the right side of the first screen for a Mythril in a chest, then go west to reach the second screen. Head south from the entrance and wander along the path to the far right of the screen to find another Mythril. Return to the entrance and go down the right path to wind up in the middle of the screen, where you'll likely have to fight several fish to get at a treasure chest. It contains a Star Fragment, a key item that you need to progress the game. We will use it at our next stop.
Sky Dragon Isle
This place looks pretty much the same at first blush, though the explorers on the island will speak of a 'monster'. Go up the stairs to the large open area and you'll see something small and blue scurry away. Try to open the chest in the middle of the area, and if you have a Star Fragment in your inventory...
Mega-Starky
Well that was unexpected. A hefty White Innate alien with a blaster, Mega-Starky is a decent threat. Aside from normal attacks and White Elements like Photon Beam, Meteorite, and Meteor Shower, Mega-Starky can use Raydiation, which hits everyone for White damage - a problem for Lynx. He'll also use Strong-Minded to boost his damage output, which is always bad for you.
Still, this fight isn't that bad. Concentrate on Black Elements to counter the White Field Effect and to maximize the damage being done to Mega-Starky, and put Harle in the party to help Lynx with bringing Mega-Starky's sky-high health down to size. The extra damage they'll take can be healed away without too much trouble, and they'll dish out some serious hurt to Mega-Starky. Diminish is a good safety net if Lynx and Harle seem to be taking too much damage from Mega-Starky's moves.
You'll earn 1,000 g and a Magic Negate Element for defeating Mega-Starky. He'll then revert to a tiny little guy, and you'll need to chase him down and catch him. Once you do he'll admit defeat, telling the party that his ship crashed and he needs help. He'll then join the party. Outlandish though Starky may be, he is important to the plot at one crucial point, so you'll need to get him eventually. (He's also not half bad as a party member, especially since he's the only White Innate you'll have for a bit.)
Leave Sky Dragon Isle, then immediately reenter. Return to the wide area where you fought Mega-Starky and speak to the man who's wandering around. He'll give you the Our Favorite Martian Custom Frame.
Guldove
The little offshore community of Home World is a bit dull, and won't factor into your adventure for a while. It's nevertheless not a terrible idea to visit the Elements vendor in the middle tower, as she'll have newer, stronger Elements available for sale.
Earth Dragon Isle
Earth Dragon Isle is just as sandy here as it was in Another World. Check to the right of the entrance for a Capsule Element, then approach the large sand field in the north - despite warnings - to drop into the lower cavern. If you allow the sand to sweep you left you find some Mythril, and if you fight the tide and take out the Fossicker guarding the treasure chest to the south you'll find another Mythril.
A monster blocks the next room to the south, so use the sand boil on the right side of the cavern to reach the surface. The head of the excavation will thank you for being... suicidal... and revealing the presence of the cavern below. He'll talk about removing the obstruction, though he won't get around to it for a while. You can leave.
Viper Manor Bluffs
Pull up behind Viper Manor on your boat and you can get at Viper Manor Bluffs. If you recruited Guile earlier in the game you came through the Another World version of this place. If you take the time to climb the bluffs you can find two Mythrils by taking the semi-secret path through the water to the right of the boat, a Capsule on the first screen up, another Mythril by taking the far-left path when you hit the three-pronged branch, yet another Mythril by climbing the left cliff on the final screen before the top, and, yes, one last Mythril on the right side of the final screen.
The destruction of Viper Manor prevents you from climbing any further up here, so once you've gotten the last two Mythrils you can climb back down the bluffs and leave.
The Rest
There are more places to visit - Forbidden Island, Isle of the Damned, the Dead Sea, Water Dragon Isle, Gaea's Navel - but they're all either relatively unchanged from before, coming up soon enough that you shouldn't bother visiting them yet, or completely inaccessible. Your next destination is the S.S. Zelbess, docked off the northern shore of the main continent.