Hilda Garde 3

Climb up the stairs and talk with Mogki, he has a letter for you to deliver. Save your game and head out of this room. Head to the left, down the stairs and ride the elevator to the Upper Level. Make your way to the conference room, Hilda will discuss Kuja’s plan with the party. Zidane and the others plan to go to Ipsen’s Castle, which is located on the Forgotten Continent. What the sequence of dialogue and events, eventually Beatrix will give Zidane a Garnet.

Eventually Zidane and his friends will be onboard the Hilda Garde 3. You will get the chance to form your party. I selected Freya, Vivi and Eiko, but choose whomever you’d like to. Once you are on the World map a list of controls for the airship is displayed. Take note of them, if you need a reference press select to open up the world map and then press Triangle to display the list again. Before you head off to Ipsen’s Castle, there is a large list of optional things that you can do now that you have access to the airship. If you are not interested, feel free to skip to the Ipsen’s Castle section, if you are interested, then read on. I suggest doing these, because they will benefit you with new items.

The first stop is Alexandria, there are a few optional items that can be found within the ruined city. Fly to Alexandria, if you can’t find it open up the Large world map and press X on the white dot that is labeled as Alexandria, the ship will automatically take you there. Land outside of Alexandria and press circle to disembark, enter the city by pressing X. When you enter the town move to the left and search when the ‘!’ appears to find a Sapphire. Proceed to the next screen and search the rubble to the left to find an Ether. Continue into the town square, talk to the little girl who is running around this area to receive an Alexandria Card. Head into the Alley and you can speak with the Synthesist and synth some items. Head into the bell tower area, you can talk with the little girls to play the jump rope mini-game if you have Vivi or Eiko in your party. Head out and search to the right of the bell tower to obtain a Tent.

Now head back to the square and move to the castle. Search by the stairs to the left to obtain a Topaz, search by the stairs to the right to obtain 4832 Gil. Ride the boat to the castle, head up the steps and around to the right, search to find a Peridot. Head down to the bottom left and search for an Opal. That’s it for Alexandria, it’s time to head back to the Hilda Garde 3. Board the ship and this time fly towards the South Gate. Head towards the airship gate and fly below it, land next to this south gate entrance. Enter and speak with Mosco the moogle to save your game. Open the chest to his left to obtain an Elixir. Head up to the gate and open the chest to the left of the door to get 3206 Gil. Open the chest to the right of the gate to find another Elixir.

Head out of this area and board the airship again. Fly up to the airship gate and land there, head through this South Gate entrance. Talk to the guards and they will let you through the gate. Head towards the ladder, climb up it and open the chest to retrieve an Elixir Card. Head back towards the ship and board it once again. You can do a few side quests from here, now is a good time to do the Chocobo Hot and Cold game and get it out of the way. You can always do it later, or even skip it completely, but I would suggest doing it eventually because it yields many cool items and also opens up other side quests. To learn more about Chocobo Hot and Cold check out the Side Quests section of this guide.

Go back to Quan’s Dwelling, but first make sure that you have both Vivi and Quina in the same party. Press Triangle to go back to the ship, talk to the male crew member to change your party. Land the airship outside of the Quan’s dwelling entrance and step inside. Move through the area until you reach the next room. Watch the little scene that takes place, then move towards the clock and examine it to receive Running Shoes.