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Final Fantasy VI Walkthrough

Written by  Djibriel
Contributor

1.39: The Imperial Palace

Enemies: Sergeant, Imperial Elite, Mega Armor

Treasures: RelicAlarm Earring, Ether, RelicGale Hairpin, Holy Water, X-Potion

It appears that the Emperor has changed from the power-hungry antagonist to the sorrowful ally! The Espers destroyed his town, his pride. He's been severely punished already for his arrogant lust for control and domination; but can a man change so quickly, so completely? For now, you can do what Cid has asked you to do, and try to warm the hearts of Imperial Soldiers. At the very least, it'll give you something positive to do until you can start negotiations with the Emperor.

There are 24 soldiers to talk to. You have four minutes. Two hundred forty seconds. You will be rewarded for your behavior in the Palace; it starts here. You get a point for every soldier you talk to, and another five for every soldier you manage to convert. For maximum enjoyment and treasure, you'll want to talk to all of them (you can skip 3 of the passive ones without any penalty). Skip any treasure chests for now; you can get them a little while later when the seconds aren't of any importance.

Every normal trooper who wishes to fight you turns out to be a single Sergeant unit, and every Armored trooper that confronts you is a single Mega Armor. OBio spells and barrier-piercing attacks work great against the Sergeant units; one-hit KO attacks work nicely (including OBreak). As far as the Mega Armor goes, one-hit KO attacks go well against him too (although he has Petrify protection for OBreak). He may counter Attacks with Magitek Laser and non-fatal Magic spells with Missile, so be wary.

If you die, you don't get a Game Over but you will find yourself out-battle after a red flash. You'll get the 1 point for talking to the soldier but not the 5 points for defeating the soldier. If you escape the battle by running, using Smoke Bombs or the Teleport Stone/OTeleport spell, you'll find yourself out of battle after a green flash, and you'll get 1 point but not the other 5. You can't run from Mega Armor regardless. If you let the timer run out during a battle, there's a blue flash and you'll get 1 point but, again, not 5.

Walk right ahead and talk to the first four soldiers. Take a turn to the right (from your view). Ignore the first door for now; it houses Kefka, who talks too much and would expend a lot of your precious time. Go up the stairs and enter the door on this floor. In this room, you can talk to a soldier, a Special Forces unit, and a soldier in the bathroom. Get out of the room and go up the stairs. Here, you enter the balcony of the palace. You can talk to five soldiers here, and one soldier in the cabin on top (which you might recognize as the one from which Kefka released the Cranes) wants to fight you. Fight him (it's a single Sergeant) and press on. Enter the door to the other side of the little cabin on top.

In here, there's a wandering soldier. You should be at 14 by now. Go further down. Enter the first new door. There are four wandering soldiers below the soldier in the bed and one above. One of the four wants to fight you; do so. When you have talked to all in the room, enter the bathroom, where another soldier wants to fight you. You're on 21 now. Get out, ignore the next door (treasure only), and go out of the palace. There are two soldiers here and an Armored soldier who wants to fight; it's a Mega Armor now. Kill it and you have the final, 24th soldier.

Forty-four points maximum for this phase and then it's dinner time! At the great Banquet, where you'll hopefully settle matters with the Empire, you'll be repeatedly asked to fill gaps in the conversation. Your choice influences how much the Emperor likes you, and how much he'll reward you for showing up. It's like trying to hit on that hot girl at the bar, only with me showing you what works well and what will get you slapped in the face.

Gestahl: At last, we can all be together, sharing a meal at the same table! Let us make a toast! To what shall we raise our glasses?
Answer
Points
To the Empire.
2
To the Returners.
1
To our homelands.
5
Gestahl: As you may know, I've imprisoned Kefka for his crime of using poison against Doma. What do you think should be done with him?
Answer
Points
Leave him in jail.
5
Pardon him.
1
Execute him.
3
Gestahl: I am truly sorry about what occured in Doma. No one ever dreamed Kefka would use poison.
Answer
Points
What's done is done.
1
That was inexcusable.
5
Apologize again!
3
Gestahl: By the way...With regard to General Celes...
Answer
Points
Was she an Imperial spy?
1
Celes is one of us!
5
We trust her whether she spied or not.
3
Was there anything else you wanted to ask?
Answer
Points
Why'd you start the war?
2
Why do you want peace now?
2
Why'd we have to talk to your men?
2
Gestahl: With your permission, I'd like to talk about the Espers...
Answer
Points
I still have a few things to ask.
*
Okay.
0
* Every question you ask will get you 2 points, but the same question asked twice will cost you 10 points.Gestahl: The Empire has been decimated by the Espers that emerged from the Sealed Gate. They're just too powerful... If we don't do something, they'll tear the entire world apart!
Answer
Points
They have gone a bit too far...
5
You're the one who brought them here in the first place!
2
Gestahl: When the Espers came through on their rampage, all of my ambitions faded in an instant. Now I find myself asking why I ever wanted that much power in the first place. Of course, there is no excuse for the atrocities I committed in the name of conquest. By the way...what was that first question you asked me a minute ago?
Answer
Points
Why'd you start the war?
*
Why do you want peace now?
*
Why'd we have to talk to your men?
*
* If you answer correctly, you get 5 points. If not, 0 points for you.Cid: You must be getting tired... Why don't we take a short break?
Answer
Points
(Take a break.)
*
(Keep talking.)
*
* Here, you'll get the option of walking about a bit and talking to the Imperial Elite, who will challenge you. You get 5 points for kicking Imperial Elite in his bathing suit area within 2 minutes. If you fail, you get 0 points.Gestahl: Is there anything you wish to hear me say?
Answer
Points
That you really want peace.
3
That your war is truly over.
5
That you're sorry.
1
Gestahl: I have a Magitek armor transport ship moored in the port of Albrook... I had hoped to send it to Crescent Island with all haste. Would you please go on board?
Answer
Points
Yes
3
No
0
* If you first answer no, and then answer yes, you won't get the 3 point increase.
And this is it.

49 points to earn at the Banquet. Plus 44, that's 93. Nice.

The negotiations were a success! You are to be dispatched, now employed of all things by the Empire of all governing bodies, to seek out the Espers who destroyed Vector. General Leo Christophe will accompany you. If you're done, Terra gets a solo mission... until Locke mixes himself in it again. That guy has a serious problem with being left behind, it seems. Locke and Terra will go to Crescent Island to search for the Espers. Congrats.

When you leave, an Imperial Elite unit will come up to you, and reward you for your troubles in the Palace, based on the number of points you earned in the walkabout and banquet scenes:
  • Always: South Figaro is liberated. You gain nothing but your pride for it.
  • 50-66: South Figaro is liberated. You gain nothing but your pride for it. Doma Castle is liberated. Some minor items and your pride. Things are looking up!
  • 67-76: South Figaro is liberated. You gain nothing but your pride for it. Doma Castle is liberated. Some minor items and your pride. Things are looking up! The locked house in the Imperial Observation Post near the Cave to the Sealed Gate is opened. This is very nice.
  • 77-90: South Figaro is liberated. You gain nothing but your pride for it. Doma Castle is liberated. Some minor items and your pride. Things are looking up! The locked house in the Imperial Observation Post near the Cave to the Sealed Gate is opened. This is very nice. You get a RelicTintinnabulum from the Emperor! He likes you!
  • 90-93: South Figaro is liberated. You gain nothing but your pride for it. Doma Castle is liberated. Some minor items and your pride. Things are looking up! The locked house in the Imperial Observation Post near the Cave to the Sealed Gate is opened. This is very nice. You get a RelicTintinnabulum from the Emperor! He likes you! You get a RelicWard Bangle from the Imperial Elite unit you are talking to! He wants to have your man-babies! Run like the wind!

Well then, if you'll excuse me...

As soon as you have your new Locke/Terra combo (something probably not seen since you tried to locate Figaro Castle in the desert south of Narshe), you'll notice that you have received the items all other characters were equipped with. That's nice. Don't you hate when games don't do that for you? For equipment, I'd advise something like this:

Terra:
SwordBlood Sword/SwordIcebrand/SwordThunder Blade
ShieldGolden Shield
HelmetTiara
ArmorWhite Dress
RelicEarring, RelicEarring

Locke
SwordUltima Weapon
SpecialHawkeye
HelmetGreen Beret
ArmorPower Sash
RelicGenji Glove/RelicBrigand's Glove

Roaming the Imperial Palace, you can now find the things you skipped earlier in your rush to be helpful for the Empire. They're hard to miss, and include an RelicAlarm Earring, an X-Potion, a RelicGale Hairpin, a Holy Water, and an Ether. Also, you can find Kefka in jail, who's so annoyed he's about to go soil himself.

Caves of Narshe: Final Fantasy VI
Version 6
©1997–2024 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)

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