Pandaemonium

Step off the telepad and you're in Hell. Pandaemonium doesn't waste your time; there's no going back to the Jade Passage, no shop, no inn. Ten chests, five bosses, and the Masamune hidden behind a false wall are between you and the Emperor.

Death Riders (1,290 HP, 120 ATK) are the encounter you'll dread most. A group of 3-4 can wipe your party before you get a turn off. Mantis Devils (1,290 HP, 85 ATK) and Mythril Golems (2,000 HP, 150 DEF) are tougher than anything in the Jade Passage. And the Iron Giant (#124) on the upper floors has 3,500 HP with 180 ATK and 180 DEF, making it the most dangerous random encounter in FF2. Beast Demons and Devil Wolves fill out the lower floors but die to standard attacks.

Into the Fortress

1F. A single winding path along the outer edge of the area. Don't go into any of the entry points; just follow it to the stairs at the end and continue through to 2F.

2F. Go left and all the way down; when you can't go further, head left and take the first path up. Chest 1 (Ether) is at the top. Head back down, take the left route, and follow it around. When the path splits into two routes going up, take the right one and step on the purple telepad.

3F. Walk down and grab Chest 2 (Elixir), then go north of the teleporter and take a right. Down the stairs, left, down another set of stairs, then keep going right through the wall. Follow it south to the teleporter leading to 4F.

This telepad drops you into the room with four doors; the real dungeon starts here.

The Four Doors

Four doors, four bosses, four pieces of endgame equipment. Take them in order: Door 1 (far left), Door 2, Door 4 (far right), then Door 3. Door 1 has the Masamune hidden inside (best attack in the game), and you want that sword before the harder bosses. Use Warp to return to this room after each fight.

Door 1: Zombie Borghen

Take the far-left door. Follow the path until you see the option of stairs or an entryway; take the right through the entryway. Right again through the next entry, then left and up the stairs. Through the final entry is Chest 3, guarded by Zombie Borghen.

After the fight, don't Warp out yet. The Masamune is hidden in this same wing.

Equip the Masamune on Guy alongside Excalibur. That's the strongest weapon combination in FF2. Cast Warp to return to the four-door room.

Door 2: Tiamat

Second door from the left. Follow the path and when you reach the wide steps, take a left through the wall and up to find Chest 5, guarded by Tiamat.

Tiamat absorbs Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Poison, so almost every elemental spell you've been relying on is useless here. Physical attacks with the Blood Sword are your most reliable damage source. Non-elemental magic like Flare and Ultima works if you've leveled them, but most parties won't have either high enough to matter.

Tiamat absorbs four elements. If you don't have Flare or Ultima leveled, physical attacks are your only option. Blood Sword on Leon deals consistent damage while keeping him alive; cast Warp after the fight.

Door 4: Beelzebub

Skip Door 3 for now; take the far-right door. Follow the path to the very top for Chest 6, guarded by Beelzebub.

Beelzebub fights almost identically to Tiamat but leans heavily on magic attacks. He resists Ice and absorbs Fire, so avoid both. Physical damage with the Blood Sword is the safest approach, and Thunder spells work if leveled.

Beelzebub goes down faster than Tiamat if your physical damage is high. Cast Warp to return.

Door 3: Astaroth

Third door from the left. Follow the path around to the stairs and go to the top of the small open area. Ignore the pathway going up; instead, go to the top-left corner and walk through the wall gap. Chest 7 is directly in front of you, guarded by Astaroth.

Astaroth is the hardest miniboss in Pandaemonium at 7,000 HP. Every hit he lands drains your HP, so the fight becomes a race. The Blood Sword counters his drain by healing you on each swing, and Berserk on your physical attackers keeps the damage output high enough to win before your resources run out.

The Ribbon negates every status effect in the game. Put it on whoever gets targeted most. Astaroth is the wall that stops underprepared parties; if you skipped the Blood Sword back in Paul's house, this is where you feel it.

Head left from the chest. Ignore the path going up and walk through another wall gap. Continue left, skip the narrow path down, and take the wider path down while hugging the right wall. When you see a wall on your left, walk through it to find the telepad leading to 5F.

The Final Climb

5F. You're back in the four-door area, but the doors are sealed now. Follow the singular path up and right to the next telepad.

7F. From the telepad, head left until you hit a wall, then go up to find Chest 8 (Sage's Wisdom). Go down and take the left path visible nearby, then up the stairs when they appear. Follow the singular path around the outer edge of the floor.

At the end of this path, step on the purple telepad to 8F. From here, go slightly down and head right. Once you hit a wall, go up slightly to continue right, then follow the path down and right to the bottom-right corner where Chest 9 (Hellfire) awaits. Go back the way you came (ignore the pathway at the top near that chest) and continue left rather than returning to the telepad. You'll see a narrow set of stairs and a wider set of stairs next to each other; take the narrow stairs up and Chest 10 (Acid Phial) is at the top corner.

That's 234 of 234, every chest in the game. The Legendary Treasure Hunter trophy unlocks. From the last chest, head right and down the stairs, then continue right to find the telepad at the top leading to 9F.

9F. Head left until you reach the wall, then down to the final telepad to 10F.

The Emperor

10F. Walk north to face the final boss.

The Emperor has roughly 15,000 HP and resists both physical and magical damage. The Blood Sword is the key to this fight because it deals percentage-based damage that ignores his defenses and heals the wielder each swing. Cast Haste and Berserk on your Blood Sword user individually (multi-target casting reduces potency), then keep Blink active on everyone to dodge his multi-hit attacks.

Haste your Blood Sword user first. The sword ignores his defenses, so Leon's output stays high even when the Emperor buffs up. Blink on everyone to dodge physical attacks. If he casts Dispel, reapply Blink and Shell immediately. Curse halves your stats; keep a backup plan ready if it lands on your healer.

But without the Blood Sword, this fight takes much longer. His physical defense is high and Flare XVI hits hard. Stack Protect, Shell, and Blink on everyone. Pound him with Ultima, Flare, or non-elemental damage. Bring plenty of Ethers.

The Emperor falls; Pandaemonium crumbles.

That's 128 of 128 bestiary entries, 234 of 234 chests, and every password learned. The entire FF2 Pixel Remaster is complete.