Introduction
The Dragon Zombie duo is the ninth boss encounter in Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster. Two undead dragons ambush your party on 3F of the Citadel of Trials the moment you grab the Rat's Tail from the chest beside the throne. The Rat's Tail is the key item you'll bring to Bahamut on the Cardia Islands for your class upgrades, so there's no skipping this fight.
A party around level 30-33 won't have trouble here. The Citadel is filled with undead (King Mummies, Minotaur Zombies) and other threats like Mindflayers and Medusas, so you've likely burned through some MP by the time you reach 3F. Both Dragon Zombies are weak to Fire and Dia, which means the same spells you've been using on the dungeon's undead work on the boss too.
Boss Stats (Each)
Strategy
Each Dragon Zombie has 268 HP and is weak to both Fire and Dia. Cast Firaga to hit both at once while your White Mage uses Diaga for heavy holy damage. Equip the Flame Sword on your Warrior for bonus fire damage on every physical hit, and focus attacks on one Dragon Zombie at a time to halve incoming damage as fast as possible.
With 56 Attack each, their physical hits can cause paralysis. That's the real danger here. If your healer gets paralyzed, the fight can spiral fast. Killing one Dragon Zombie early cuts the paralysis risk in half and reduces total incoming damage substantially. Firaga and Diaga together can drop one in a single round; the Warrior's Flame Sword physical attacks finish the other.
If you're low on MP from clearing the dungeon, Fira and Diara still deal solid damage thanks to the Fire and Dia weaknesses. The fight is forgiving as long as you don't split your damage between both targets. And if your Black Mage has Haste prepared, casting it on the Warrior before switching to Firaga is worth the extra turn.
Battle Plan
- Black Mage - Firaga hits both targets at once; Fira works if MP is low
- White Mage - Diaga for holy damage, then Curaga if anyone drops below half HP
- Warrior - Equip the Flame Sword and focus one Dragon Zombie until it falls
Quick Tips
- Focus fire - Kill one Dragon Zombie first to halve incoming paralysis risk and damage.
- Flame Sword bonus - The fire-elemental weapon from the Cavern of Ice deals extra damage against undead.
- Watch for paralysis - Their physical attacks can lock down a party member. Keep your healer's HP topped off.
- Fira and Diara work - If you're conserving MP, the lower-tier spells still deal good damage thanks to the double weakness.
Rewards
After the Battle
Sit on the throne behind the chest to teleport back to the first floor. Walk out of the Citadel and head back to your Airship.
Fly northwest to the Cardia Islands, a cluster of five small islands with 13 treasure chests and no random encounters inside the caves. The northern island holds Bahamut. Show him the Rat's Tail and he'll upgrade every party member to their advanced class. Warrior becomes Knight (gains White Magic up to Level 3), Thief becomes Ninja (gains Black Magic up to Level 4), and your mages get access to Level 7 and 8 spells. This is the biggest power spike in the game; it's worth visiting every town afterward to buy the newly available spells and armor your upgraded classes can now equip. See the trophy guide for the Token of Courage trophy that unlocks with the class change.
After the upgrade, head to Gaia on the northeast continent for the next leg of the game.