FF WalkthroughWith the Enterprise at your command and the Fang of Water secured, it's time to head toward the Tower of Owen. But first, there's a critical missable location you must visit. This chapter covers the Living Woods, Gulgan Gulch where you'll obtain the Toad spell, and the Tower of Owen itself.
MISSABLE LOCATION
Before approaching the Tower of Owen, sail west-northwest to find the Living Woods. You must enter this location to register it on your world map. After certain story events, the Living Woods becomes permanently inaccessible. Visit it now to ensure 100% map completion.
Living Woods
The Living Woods is a small forested area west-northwest of the Tower of Owen. Dock your ship and walk into the woods to register the location. There's nothing worth grabbing here, but map completion requires visiting every location in the game. Once the story progresses past a certain point, you'll lose access to this area forever.
Gulgan Gulch
Before tackling the Tower of Owen, stop at Gulgan Gulch. This cave is home to the Gulgans - blind seers who can sense things others can't. They have important information about your quest, and more importantly, they have a spell you'll need.
Descend the stairs inside the gulch. Speak to the Gulgan near the entrance - he'll sense your purpose and give you the Toad spell as a hidden item. This spell is essential for entering the Tower of Owen, as the first floor requires you to swim through water passages that only Toad-transformed characters can navigate.
Hidden Item: The Toad spell (Hidden Item 19/61) is obtained by talking to the Gulgan near the entrance. Don't miss this - you cannot progress through the Tower of Owen without it.
Tower of Owen
The Tower of Owen is a tall structure that controls the floating continent's stability. Desch, your companion from Dragon's Peak, has been having strange dreams about this place. The tower holds answers about his identity and purpose.
First Floor - Toad Required
On the first floor, you'll encounter water that blocks your path. Cast Toad on your entire party to transform into frogs. While in Toad form, you can swim through the water passages. Navigate through the flooded areas to reach the stairs leading up.
Once you've passed the water sections, cast Toad again to return to normal. Being a toad severely limits your combat abilities, so only stay transformed while navigating water.
Tower Enemies
Enemies in the Tower of Owen (all bestiary entries):
- Pugman (Entry 049) - Standard enemy
- Far Darrig (Entry 050) - Small fairy creatures
- Blood Bat (Entry 051) - Can drain HP
- Petit Mage (Entry 052) - Casts offensive magic
- Fury (Entry 053) - RARE - Only appears on the water floor while in Toad form
- Aughisky (Entry 054) - Water horse enemies
Rare Enemy: The Fury (Entry 053) only appears on the water floor where you need to use Toad. Make sure to encounter and defeat at least one Fury before leaving 1F to complete your bestiary. Spend some time wandering the water section in Toad form until you encounter this rare enemy.
Floor by Floor
2F: Contains a Maiden's Kiss in a chest. This item cures the Toad status, useful if you get hit by Toad spells in battle.
4F: You'll find the Tyrfing sword here. This is a powerful weapon at this point in the game, but be aware that Tyrfing is cursed in some Final Fantasy games. In FF3, it's safe to equip.
5F: Look for a hidden switch on this floor. Activating it reveals access to a chest containing another Maiden's Kiss.
7F: Two chests here contain a Bomb Fragment and Echo Herbs. The Echo Herbs cure Silence status.
9F: The final treasure floor before the boss. Three chests contain the Salamand Sword, Zeus's Wrath, and Flame Mail. The Salamand Sword deals fire damage, and the Flame Mail provides fire resistance - both useful for certain situations.
Medusa Boss
At the top of the tower, you'll face Medusa. This serpentine boss guards the tower's control room and has a deadly petrifying gaze.
Medusa's most dangerous ability is her petrifying Stare attack, which can turn party members to stone. Stone status is essentially death until cured - the affected character cannot act at all.
Strategy
- Stock up on Gold Needles before this fight - they cure petrification
- Level 3 magic (the -ara spells) deals solid damage
- Keep at least one party member ready to use Gold Needles at all times
- Physical attacks work, but magic is more reliable
- If your healer gets petrified, cure them immediately
After defeating Medusa, proceed to the top of the tower. Here, a dramatic scene unfolds as Desch's memories return. He remembers his purpose - he's an ancient guardian meant to maintain the tower's mechanisms. To save the floating continent, Desch must sacrifice himself by jumping into the tower's furnace. His sacrifice stabilizes the tower and the continent, but the party loses a companion.
After the Tower
With Desch's sacrifice, the way forward is clear. The Enterprise can now sail to new areas. Your next destination is the Dwarven Hollows, where a dwarf settlement needs help with their own problems.
Before leaving this area, make sure you have:
- Visited the Living Woods to register the missable location
- Obtained the Toad spell from Gulgan Gulch
- Collected all 3 chests from Gulgan Gulch
- Encountered the rare Fury enemy on 1F
- Collected all 8 chests from the Tower of Owen
- Defeated Medusa and witnessed Desch's sacrifice
Treasure Chests
This chapter contains 11 chests total - 3 in Gulgan Gulch and 8 in the Tower of Owen.
Gulgan Gulch
| Item | Location |
|---|---|
Mage Robe | Hidden path south of the Gulgan - left chest |
Ice Rod | Hidden path south of the Gulgan - middle chest |
Fire Rod | Hidden path south of the Gulgan - right chest |
Tower of Owen
| Item | Location |
|---|---|
Maiden's Kiss | 2F |
Tyrfing | 4F |
Maiden's Kiss | 5F - use hidden switch to access |
Bomb Fragment | 7F - left chest |
Echo Herbs | 7F - right chest |
Salamand Sword | 9F - left chest |
Zeus's Wrath | 9F - middle chest |
Flame Mail | 9F - right chest |