

   Breath of Fire 3 Miscelaneous Tidbits and Little Known Facts FAQ ver. 2
      -All the stuff you never knew about that little Dragon
                                                  -written by Billy Lee
                                                   leeroy3825@hotmail.com
                                                   August 26, 2000

*****************************************************************************
                               Disclaimer
This document (c)2000 Billy Lee.  This FAQ may not be used or distributed for
commercial use.  It may be distributed freely as long as it is not altered in
any way and I am given full credit for it.  Sorry I don't have any ASCII art.
*****************************************************************************

Updates:
Version 2:Added more tidbits, removed some material that was taking up space,
          Refined Archmage and Berserkr stradegy, added a new section, fixed
          a few spelling and grammer mistakes, put into standard 80 char per
          line format(77 actually).
Version 1:First Draft, unreleased.

=======================================================

Coming next update:
More tidbits and little known facts(I hope)
What else would you like to see(besides me going away)?

=======================================================

============================================
Table of Contents                          |
1. Shisu                                   |
2. Fighting the Archmage for the first time|
3. Fighting the Berserkr for the first time|
4. Tidbits and little known facts          |
4.9.9.9.9.9.9.9. Unanswered questions      |
5. Acknowledgements                        |
============================================

1. Shisu

   Not many people bother with the Shisu mini-game since trying to figure it
out can be a real pain, but have no fear, I have found out the preportions
you need to make your Shisu the "Shisu of Kings"!
To make Shisu you need 4 things:
Mackerel, Shaly Seeds, Vineger, and Horseradish.

To get Mackerel:
Talk to the woman in the hut at the Maekyss Gorge(Central Wyndia).
Ask her about Mackerel and she will open up a fishing spot on the other
 side of the bridge.
 "The best ingredients for that Maekyss specialty, shisu, can be found here!"
The Mackerel will bite the worm bait(it will bite others, but this works
 and is cheap).

NOTE: The red bar indicates how much stamina the fish has, which is directly
      related to the fish's size.
English version of NOTE:  The bigger the red bar on the bottom of the screen,
      the bigger the Mackerel.

(Example Mackerel=57 cm)

To find Shaly:
Shaly seeds are found by having Peco headbutt the tree behind the house
  in the Maekyss Gorge.
Divide the size of the Mackerel by 5.
Add 6, thats how many Shaly seeds you need.

(Example Shaly=17 seeds)

To find Vineger:
Go to the Coffee shop with Garr in the party and talk to the robed figure
  by the well.
Play the little mini-game for vineger.
Divide the number of Shaly seeds you need by 4, that's how much vineger you
  need.

NOTE: To me, this is one of the most annoying sub-mini-games in BOF3, anyone
      else feel this way?

(Example Vineger=4 units)

To find Horseradish:
Have Ryu use his sword-cut on the Blue-Green bushes in Ogre Road(Dauna
Region).  If you need more, exit and re-enter.

NOTE:  This formula gets a bit complicated.

Divide the size of the Mackerel by the number of Shaly seeds you need.
(example 57/17=3)
Divide the Number of Shaly seeds you need by that number.
(example 17/3=5)
Subtract 2, that's the abount of horseradish you need.
(example 5-2=3)

NOTE:  If you get decimal places, look at the first place, and round up
       if that number is 5 or higher, and round down if it is 4 or lower.
       (i.e. 5.5 is rounded up to 6, where 5.49999 is rounded down to 5)

NOTE2: When finding horseradish, you do need to do the whole thing, as
       sometimes the final answer is different then if you just divide
       the Mackerel by the Shaly.

=============================================================================

2. Fighting the Archmage for the first time.

  Why fight the Archmage you say?  Simple.  He gives 16000 exp after battle,
which is the most out of any other enemy in the game!  That not enough for
you?  OK, everytime you beat him you get a Holy Avenger!  A knife for Ryu and
Rei with 125 attack power and holy properties that you can also use as an
item in battle to increase your attack power!

Stats:
HP        :3000
Attacks:
Myollnir  :Deals about 500-800 on a single character
Mind Sword:Deals about 400-700 on a single character
Blizzard  :Deals about 200-300 on all characters
Attack    :I have no idea, he neveer uses this

Steal: Soul Gem
Win  : Holy Avenger(every time!)

The Archmage recovers 1500 HP after every round

  Beating him the first time can be a bit intimidating, since you can't see
what his HP are, and you don't know what you're up against.  Don't worry,
he's not that bad if you know what you are doing and stay calm.

Recommended Party: Ryu(duh), Rei, anyone else you want to get exp.  All chars
                   should be around lvl 35 or so.
Recommended Form : Chain, with Rei in the lead.
Recommended Equip:
Ryu:
Level : 30+
HP    : 150+
AP    : 100+
Weapon: Whatever your strongest weapon is
Shield: Aries Gloves stolen from the Berserkr or Spiked Gauntlets
Helmet: Doesn't Matter, whatever you feel comfortable with
Armor : Life Armor bought from Manillo at the lost shore fishing area
Misc.1: Titan Belt
Misc.2: Shaman's Ring(Either from the Shisu mini-game or from the Fairy
                      Village gift shop)
NOTE: You want Ryu to be as strong as he can so he will deal more damage.
      Don't worry about Speed, Rei has that covered, and Def. is not needed
      since the Archmage uses magic
Skills:
Force, Thunder, and Ice genes(not jeans)

Rei:
Weapon: Slicer, or something else light
Shield: Aries Gloves or Bracer
Helmet: Bandana
Armor : Burglar Garb or Light CLothing
Misc.1: Speed Belt
Misc.2: Shaman's Ring

NOTE : Rei is your source of speed, so having him equipped for speed is a
       must.
NOTE2: You need Rei to be fast enough so your teem will go before the Arch-
       mage, otherwise you will have a very hard time as the Archmage will
       kill your teamates off very quickly.  Rei needs about 85 agility
Skills:
Resist    : Learned from Stallion or Fahl
Aura      : Learned from Ladon
Shadowwalk: Learned from Merryleep
Pilfer    : He starts with it(you can steal Soul Gems quite easily from him)

Other person:
equip them to their optimum, they only have a supporting role in this fight
Misc.1: Thunder Ring(found in the Tidal Caves)
Misc.2: Soul Gem(bought in fairy village, you'll need about 10 or so)
NOTE: For your first time it might be good to use Momo for her Might ability.

Items needed:
Robe of Wind :In a chest in the ship on Steel Beach, also gotten from
              BoltLord occasionally when you beat it.
Ginseng      :Won from a monster in the Tidal Caves(you only need 1 or 2)
  Ready?  Go to the Conatiner Yard and walk around until you get an Archmage.
They are more common then the Berserkr, but not as common as the tank bots.
While waiting for an Archmage you might want to steal from the tank bots for
Wisdom Seeds.  When you finally get an Archmage, it's party time!!!

Round 1: Getting Ready
Rei  : Cast Resist, making Rei invulnerable
Ryu  : Use the Force, Thunder, and Frost Genes to turn into a Warrior that
       negates Ice and Lightning attacks(all you have to worry about is Mind
       Sword)
Misc.: Use the Robe of Wind on Rei,  this should give Rei an EX turn(doesn't
       speed up the whole party tho)
EX round 1:(if you get it, you might not if your Chars are too low on levels)
           (Ryu should get one with the Transformation)
Ryu  : Use Focus(it is very important that Ryu gets an EX turn)
Rei  : Either Pilfer the Archmage for a Soulstone or use the Robe of Wind on
       the other char if they need it.  Or, use a Ginseng on Ryu.
Misc.: Use Ginseng on Ryu if you have it or if you are using Momo, have her
       cast Might.

NOTE : If the Archmage used Mind Sword on Ryu, use your next turn to turn him
       back into a Dragon Warrior(repeat Round 1).
NOTE2: Don't forget to replace the Soul Gem on your Misc. Char if it gets
       used up.

Round 2: Fight Time!
Ryu  : Cast Aura to deal around 1500 damage!  If you don't deal this much
       damage, don't worry, you just have a longer fight ahead.  If you deal
       less than 800 damage, run, you aren't going to win.
NOTE : If you deal more than this, that is good.
Rei  : Cast Resist
Misc.: Attack with their most pwerfull attack.

EX Round 2:
Ryu  : Cast Aura.  This might kill the Archmage, if it doesn't, don't worry.
Rei  : Cast Aura.  This might kill the Archmage, if it doesn't, don't worry.
Misc.: Use their strongest attack.  This *should* kill the sucker, of not...
       worry.

Round 3: Finish him(if you didn't already)
Ryu  : Cast Aura
Rei  : Cast Resist
Misc.: Stongest attack

EX Round 3: Still not dead?
Ryu  : Cast Aura
Rei  : Cast Shadowwalk
Misc.: Strongest attack

If he's still not dead, run, you aren't dealing enough damage
NOTE : If Ryu is hit with Mind Sword, you have to restart at round 1.
NOTE2: I've only seen him use Blizzard once in about 50 fights.  So you might
       want to get rid of the Frost Gene and use something else to power up
       Ryu.
NOTE3: Have fun, that's why it's called a game :)
       Congradulations, you have beaten the Archmage!!!  Enjoy your exp and
       Holy Avenger!

  Next time you fight him, you can use your own stradegy for him, since you
will have a general idea as to what it takes to knock this guy down.

=============================================================================

3. Fighting th Berserkr for the first time
   This can get very intimidating since he is incredibly powerfull(1 hit kill
with the laser thing), but there is one thing that he never counted on,
meeting the Prince of all Dragons!  That's right, for this fight you get to
see what Ryu is really made of!

Stats:
HP        : A lot.  I don't know for sure, I think around 15 or 20 thousand.
Attacks   :
Attack    : About 500-700 to a single character.  This is a normal attack
            tho, which means with the right equip, you can survive it.
Flame Whip: Deals about 100-300 damage to the whole party.  Fire Elemental

Steal: Aries Gloves.  The Best Shield in the game.  You may want to steal and
                      run from him a couple times to get one for each memeber
                      of your team.
Win  : ??? I have no idea, he never drops anything for me, even with the
       Midas Stone.
Exp  : 10000 for each party member.  30000 in total.

Recommended Party: Same as Archmage, Ryu, Rei, Someone else.
Recommended Form : Chain, Rei in the lead.  

Recommended Equip:
Ryu:
Level : 35+
HP    : At least 200
AP    : At least 150, you want around 250+ for this though
Weapon: Holy Avenger(you do want this equipped)
Shield: Aries Gloves stolen from the Berserkr or Spiked Gauntlets
Helmet: Dragon Helm
Armor : Life Armor bought from Manillo at the lost shore fishing area
Misc.1: Titan Belt
Misc.2: Shaman's Ring(Either from the Shisu mini-game or from the Fairy
                      Village gift shop)
NOTE: You want Ryu to be as strong as he can so he will deal more damage.
      Don't worry about Speed, Rei has that covered, and Def. is not needed
      since the Archmage uses magic
Skills:
Infinity, Radiance, and Trance Genes
Triple Blow : learned from the Death bots on Myria Loading Dock
Steal       : If you need Ryu to help steal the Aries Gloves
Celerity    : Learned from Deis

Rei:
Level : 33+
HP    : Doesn't matter(you'll find out why soon)
AP    : Around 50-100
Speed : 100+
Weapon: ThievesKnife.  They help you steal faster, once you steal, equip
        Rei's most powefull weapon(Holy Avenger if you have it). 
Shield: Aries Gloves or Bracer
Helmet: Bandana
Armor : Burglar Garb or Light CLothing
Misc.1: Speed Belt
Misc.2: Shaman's Ring

NOTE : Rei is your source of speed, so having him equipped for speed is a
       must.
NOTE2: The Berserkr is slow(compared to Rei) so if Rei has an Agility of 145+
       You will automatically get an EX turn after every round.
Skills:
Resist    : Learned from Stallion or Fahl
Aura      : Learned from Ladon
Shadowwalk: Learned from Merryleep
Pilfer    : He starts with it(you can steal Aries Gloves from him)

Other person:
equip them to their optimum, they only have a supporting role in this fight
Misc.1: Fire Ring
Misc.2: Soul Gem(bought in fairy village, you'll need about 10 or so)
NOTE: For your first time it might be good to use Momo for her Might ability.

Items needed:
Robe of Wind : In a chest in the ship on Steel Beach, also gotten from Bolt-
               Lord.  You only need this if Rei is below 145 Agil.
Ginseng      : Stolen or won from a monster in the Tidal Caves(you only need
               1 or 2), I'm not sure which monster, I'm pretty sure it's the
               one with the spikes on it.
  or
Holy Avenger : Won from the Archmage.  If you don't want to fight him a lot,
               you can use the copy shop in Fairy village to make more.
Wisdom Seed  : You will only need these if Ryu runs below 40 AP.

Ready???
Round 1:
Rei   : Cast Resist
Ryu   : Cast Accession.  Use Infinity, Radiance and Trance Genes to form the
        IRT Kaiser(that's what I call him, IRT stands for Infinity, Radiance,
        Trance)
Misc. : Use Robe of Wind if needed or use Holy Avenger on Rei(if all you have
        is ginseng, save it for Ryu and just Defend or Attack).
NOTE: For some reason the Berserkr attacks Rei most of the time, and since
      Rei is invulnerable with Resist, you don't have to worry.

EX Round 1:
Ryu   : Cast Kaiser Breath(or Celerity if you have it)
Rei   : Use Holy Avenger or Ginseng on Ryu
Misc. : Use Holy Avenger or Ginseng on Ryu
Round 2:
Ryu   : Cast Triple Blow
Rei   : Cast Resist
Misc. : Do whatever, Ryu is set up now
EX Round 2:
Ryu   : Cast Triple Blow
Rei   : Cast Pilfer
Misc. : Do Whatever
Round 3:
Ryu   : Cast Triple Blow
Rei   : Cast Resist
Misc. : Do whatever
EX Round 3:
Ryu   : Cast Triple Blow
Rei   : If you stole the Areis Gloves, cast Aura and then Shadowwalk every
        other round afterwards.
Misc. : Do whatever.
  After this, just keep repeating Round 3 until the sucker dies.  Your Misc.
Character is in charge of Ryu's maintence, so if he gets below 50 AP, start
using Wisdom Seeds.  If Ryu had 250 or more AP at the start of the battle,
then you probably won't need to use any.  If he gets to the point where 1
more normal attack will make him revert back into a human, have the Misc.
cast healing spells if you have them, or use a vitamin, or whatever you need
to to get his HP back up(don't foret about the BlessedStaff weapon which
casts heal for free).  Also, if Ryu has 350 or more Power, he will deal about
1200 per round, making the fight go a lot quicker.
  When the Berserker casts Berserk, he is almost dead, and will usually keel
over in the next round or two.

  Congradulations!  You have just beaten the Berserkr, possibly the Hardest
enemy in the Game!  Enjoy that good feeling you get from sending this guy
into the next dimension!  Oops... wrong Game/Anime...  Well enjoy your
victory!

=============================================================================

4. Tidbits and little known facts and other stuff I wanted to put in

- When Ryu is in the IRT Kaiser(Infinity, Radiance, Trance) form, he is
  completely immune to all bad status effects like poison, blind, etc.

- If you are trying to pick a fight with the Archmage or Berserkr, try
  running away from the tankbots.  Usually I get one of the big baddies after
  I run away about 4 or 5 times.

- Archmages and Berserkrs only appear outside the container yard, they don't
  appear in the building where the teleporter is.

- Having the Midas Stone equipped not only increases the amount of Zenny you
  get, it also increases the chance of finding an item after battle.

- Most enemies have an elemental weakness.  They are quite easy to learn, and
  once you do, the enemies get a lot easier to beat.

- Ryu deals incredible damage with Bonebreak in the IRT Kaiser form!  I've
  gotten him to deal over 3000 damage on Myria!

- Having a spare Royal Sword in your inventory is very advantageous since
  there are many enemies in the earlier parts of the game that will die with
  one hit.  Very usefull when you go back for masters or are just walking
  around trying to get certain enemies for stat boosters.

- Your MAX HP goes down by 10%.

- When you use Disembowel,  you're HP is not permanantly lowered, just rest
  at an inn to get yourself back up to max.  I never really use it though,
  since it won't work on bosses.

- When you are walking around in the dessert... err... desert, you can keep
  going after Ryu starts Blipping from lack of water.  It happens every 20
  steps or so after you get the message that your throat is dry.  The first
  4 times it just lower your current HP, not your MAX HP, the next time your
  MAX HP drops just like as if you died, and weren't ressurected.  You know
  this happens when you see the screen flash red instead of just Ryu.  Then
  the process repeats.  When your MAX HP goes down to around 30 or 40, you
  won't lose anymore MAX HP.  Just rest in an Inn to get you MAX HP back up
  to where it usually is.  I actually crossed the desert with out using
  water!  I wouldn't recommend doing this if it is your first time through
  the desert as you have to fight the Manmo and I don't recommend doing
  that with about 35 MAX HP.

- When your MAX HP goes down, it will never go below around 1/2 of your
  regular MAX when you die.  When walking in the desert it will never go
  below 1/10, when using disembowel, it will never go below 1/2, when you use
  a Mandrake it will never go below 1/10.

- Mandrakes should only be used when you are desperate for health, just look
  at what they can do to you!

- If your MAX HP is below 1/2 of what it is supposed to be, you can not use
  dsembowel.

- When equipping elemental armor, protection or protects means you absorb
  damage from that element, and resists means the damage is reduced.

- Sometimes when you are in the desert or the world map after the oasis the
  random battles will have mor than one bag in them.

- Triple Blow lowers the amount of damage you deal by about 1/3(if your
  char dealt 300, then with T.B. they will deall 200 each hit), and double
  blow lowers attack damage by about 1/4.

- The HP Ryu has as a Dragon is determined by the current MAX HP that Ryu
  has as a human, meaning that if you die and your MAX HP is lowered, your
  dragons will have less HP.

- When fishing, after a fish bites the hook, you just have to hold X, you
  don't have to press it rapidly.

- Most deep water fish will come into range of the spanner after about a
  minute or 2 of waiting.

- To get a fish to bite, just equip the right type of bait, and cast beyond
  the fish, then drag the line to the fish.  This is very helpfull when
  dealing with deep water fish like the whale or spearfish, and you don't
  have to worry about using the all of the different teqniques.

- If you get a fish you don't want, just keep the rod bar(the green one you
  can move w/ left/right on the d-pad) to the right of the fish.  The fish
  will fall off but you keep the lure.

- The biggest catches are not always the ones that are the furthest out.  I
  caught a 235 cm. whale that migrated in to around 10 yards

- Ever notice that when Nina is a little girl she will put her hands in front
  of her to prevent her skirt from flying up(very lady-like) when she jumps
  off a building, and then as an adult she stretches hands out wide?
  Something tells me Nina isn't the sweet little girl she used to be;)

- I think Rei has the best voice acting.  The voice fits perfectly with the
  character, and c'mon, who doesn't crack up when they hear his trademark
  WaHeeeeeee!!!!!  (OK, that wasn't a tidbit, but I just had to mention it)

- OK if you haven't guessed yet, Rei is one of my favorite RPG characters of
  all time, he kicks buttoosky and has a good sense of humor:)

- Did you notice that some of the characters aren't fully in the teleporter
  light thingy?  Kinda interesting...

- Though Peco and Ryu both have elemental breath attacks, they are not the
  same thing.  Peco uses Ice Breath and Fire Breath, where Ryu uses Frost
  Breath and Flame Breath.

- BoneBreak is a Kaiser specific attack, you will still get it in Kaiser
  form evn if Ryu hasn't learned it yet.

- If you have a Shaman's Ring or Spirit Ring equipped, you can cast transfer
  on yourself to gain AP.

- For some reason, unless you are fighting mosters weak against lightning,
  Ryu deals more damage with the Holy Avenger equipped than he does with the
  Royal Sword.  This is especially true for the Dragon transformations.

- If Ryu has a lot of HP(around 300 or so), when you transform into a
  Wildfire, you can watch his HP bar go all the way off the screen.

- Two of the toughest bosses in the game the Dragon Zombie and the Arwan can
  be defeated using Kyrie, which you can learn from Hondara at Urkan Tapa(I
  think you need to gain 5 levels for the skill).

- If you had Ryu apprenticed to Deis(which I usually do for the AP and Power
  booster, not to mention Agility), then you are probably overjoyed when you
  get Blizzard, Myollnir, and Sirocco.  But in reality, those attacks work
  better with Momo who has a higher Magic Rating than Ryu(unless you changed
  that with the Master system).  If you want Ryu to have elemental attacks,
  why not put the strike attacks on him?  You can learn all of the ones he
  has as a Myrmidon, and they usually deal more damage than Sirocco and
  Myollnir.  Wow that was long.

- If anyone has the game and a gameshark, could you try something for me?  I
  want to know if when Ryu goes Kaiser, are all of his abilities are
  transfered over?  Or does he lose any additional attack magics?  I've been
  wondering about that for a while now.

- Once you set a teleporter to teleport someplace, it will always teleport
  you to the same place unless you change the location at the control panel.

- There are a couple of places that require Ryu to be in the party, like
  visiting Deis or Ladon.  This is kind of odd since Ryu is never allowed to
  leave the party.

- Celerity and Bonebreak take forever to recharge, I think about an hour or
  so of game time, if that is how they are timed(they might be timed by the
  number of fights or number of kills, I don't know)

- The manual is wrong!  Holding R1, R2, Start, and select for a few seconds
  resets the game, it doesn't bring up a menu, and i can be used anywhere.

=============================================================================

4.9.9.9.9.9.9.9. Unanswered questions(the secrets Capcom didn't want you to
                                            know about... well sort of)

- How does Ryu adjust to life in the "modern" world so easily if he was 
  frozen in chrysm for so many years?

- How come a dolphin can talk(in two languages at that) but Ryu can't?

- How do all the other characters not in your party make it wherever the
  party goes?  If they travel with the main group, then they should help out
  with the fighting too.  Bunch of lazy bums.

- How come whenever you camp on the world map, the game switches to night,
  and as soon as you leave it switches to daylight again, even if you didn't
  rest?

- Where does your team store it's inventory?  Come to think of it, I wonder
  this about a lot of RPG's, and even some non-RPG's...

- What if God smoked Cannabis?  Sorry, I've got that somg stuck in my head.
  For some reason I just can't get it out...

- If the fish bite down on a lure, how come you can still see it when you
  reel the fish in?

- How long was Ryu in that cave in Dauna before Garr found him(After the
  Angel Tower incident)?  Capcom never tells you the exact time, only "many
  years", which is all you get when Garr explains what happened after the
  "incident".

- What took Garr so long to find Ryu anyway?

- Why didn't Nina look for Ryu?  Word of a Dragon attacking mine workers must
  have reached Wyndia.

- For that matter, why didn't anyone go looking for Ryu?  Are they his
  friends or what?

- Why is the Ding Frog called the King Frog when the dog man(Bow from BOF2?)
  gives it to you?

- Why are the whales so small?  Are they kids?  If that is true, then what
  is Capcom trying to tell us?

- What exactly is a Mandrake and why does it lower my Max HP?

- How come enemies can have up to 8 letters in there names but your chars can
  only have up to 5?  It's just not fair!

=============================================================================

5. Acknowledgements

Mike- My best friend.  Awwwwww...

GameFAQ's- For posting this.  At least I hope he's posting this.

Capcom - For making my favorite game of all time(I can't wait for BOF4).

Fritz Fraundorf - For his great BOF3 FAQ that helped me figure out how to get
(ErgGibbon)       IRT Kaiser (Kaiser 2 he calls it... I think), as well as
                  inspired me to figure out that darn Shisu thing.

Darkstorm_ - For writing an FAQ so late after the games release to inspire me
             to get off my lazy butt and write this thing.