The Ys IV FAQ - for non Japanese speaking individuals (v 1.10 95.10.24)

Questions answered:

o  How do I get past the bubbling lava in the "Fire Caves?"
o  How do I progress past the pyramid in the "Shifting Sands" part?
o  I can't get into the shrine in the mountains, and the Ice Immurer
   eats me alive, what do I do?
o  Thanks, I killed the Ice Immurer, now what do I do?
o  On the raft, I found a strange emblem on a cave wall - what's this 
   all about?
o  The boy in the town that I rescued from the Ice Immurer (Timmy) is
   now turning to stone, what do I do?
o  I've made it down to the mine, but nothing happens when I play the
   Silver Harmonica -- what gives?
o  Ok, now I'm stuck in Darm Tower, I can't go up any higher as two
   collapsed stairways block my way.  What do I do?
o  Well, Darm Tower was a breeze.  What now?
o  Damn that Timmy!  Anyhow, he's all healthy now and running around the
   town - Now what (as opposed to "What now?")?
o  A pile of rocks?  I'm being stopped by a pile of rocks?  Help!
o  Ok smartie pants, and just how do I get into the castle?
o  Just what are the potions that Banjo (the old woman in the village by 
   the waterfall) can make?
o  Wow - I just survived Escher Land, what's next?
o  How do I get past the bird that is guarding the gate?
o  The Hidden City was just revived - where do I go from here?
o  I'm in the tower, but having some problems.  Can you help?
o  I want answers!
o  Ok, I'm nearing the final boss (I think), and I've beaten Darm, but
   now I'm stuck on the other side of the "Statue Room."  What do I do?
o  Ever time I enter the inner sanctum, my HP drops quickly, what do I do.
o  How do I beat the last boss?
o  I beat the game, now what?
o  What is ...

The Answers:

o  How do I get past the bubbling lava in the "Fire Caves?"
You need to have the "Freeze" Magic (Blue Wand) to freeze (solidify) the
lava (you will get this later in the game).

o  How do I progress past the pyramid in the "Shifting Sands" part?
In front of the pyramid, to the left is a broken pillar.  If you step in
front of the pillar a text box will appear (this tells you that you're
at the right one).  Use the small horn that was given to you by the man
in the previous village (it looks like a green pipe) and the way will
be opened up to you.

o  I can't get into the shrine in the mountains, and the Ice Immurer
   eats me alive, what do I do?
You need to go up a few levels.  The best place to do this is in
front of the shrine, the Blue Monster can be killed with you at a
relatively low "level" -- although it'll take a lot of hits.  But he 
is worth 95 Experience Points.  If you are not at a high enough level
to do any damage to the Blue guy, then you need to kill things on
the mountain pass until you are high enough.  Eventually you'll be able 
to kill the Ice Immurer.

o  Thanks, I killed the Ice Immurer, now what do I do?
After killing the Ice Immurer, go back to the town at the base of the
mountain.  Timmy (the boy you rescued) and his father will show up too.
Yet another tragedy will befall Timmy.  In order to help him this time
you will need to go to the second village (use the Warp Magic), go to
the Doctor's house, and select the last (4th) item.  At the next question
box, select "yes" (2 Japanese characters) and you and the doc will warp
back to Timmy.  Talk to the Doc, and the Town Elder by Timmy.  Now go
and talk to the guy in the upper right house of this town.  He will
say simething different.  Leave town, and re-enter.  When you come
back into town, a raft will be waiting for you in the harbour.  Hop
on board, Footpad!

o  On the raft, I found a strange emblem on a cave wall - what's this 
   all about?
You will need to return to this cave later, but you will need your 
Transformatin Magic (second wand) and another item. ..

o  The boy in the town that I rescued from the Ice Immurer (Timmy) is
   now turning to stone, what do I do?
Once the doctor has returned to the second town, you will need to talk to 
the person on the right side of the north gate of town, then the Doc will
be waiting for you outside of his home.  Together the two of you will Warp
back to the first town.  Now would be a good time to get back on board your 
ship (the first town), and travel back to some very familiar territory.

o  I've made it down to the mine, but nothing happens when I play the
   Silver Harmonica -- what gives?
Get right up to one of the statues and play it

o  Ok, now I'm stuck in Darm Tower, I can't go up any higher as two
   collapsed stairways block my way.  What do I do?
Go into the "hidden" room (the one that you need the Mask of Eyes to get
into, it's along the wall with all the statues), and in the upper left
corner of this room is a crack, use the Pick on it, and you will find
the route to floor 23.

o  Well, Darm Tower was a breeze.  What now?
Well, the doctor should have Warped you and he back to Timmy's village
after you completed Darm Tower, and you should have followed he (Tim)
and the  familiar looking creature -- they will take you to the shrine
that you couldn't get into earlier.

o  Damn that Timmy!  Anyhow, he's all healthy now and running around the
   town - Now what (as opposed to "What now?")?
Well, the raft will not be rebuilt, but since you beat the boss in the
shrine, you should have your Transformation Magic back.  Use it.  Hop
in the water and explore (don't foget to pick up the Battle Armor
directly to the north of the "harbour" where you left the town).  Don't
forget about the cave that you encountered earlier!  Go down the 
waterfall, and take the exit on the right hand shore.

o  A pile of rocks?  I'm being stopped by a pile of rocks?  Help!
Yes, you are.  You need to talk to the old woman in the town before this 
area, she will tell you that she can make an explosive for you to blast
away the rocks, but that she needs some Kibbie Powder.  Kibbie Powder
is available in only one place -- the castle (think of KP as Gun Powder).
Time to warp!

o  Ok smartie pants, and just how do I get into the castle?
Only guards can get in, so use the "guard's" equipment that you stole
early in the game and the guard will let you in.  You can go back to
your best armor, shield, etc once you get in the castle, but you will
need to use the poor stuff to get in.  Get the powder and go back to 
the old woman.  She will combine the Kibbie Powder with another
ingredient to make the "Black Powder" with which you can blast the 
rocks out of the way.

o  Just what are the potions that Banjo (the old woman in the village by 
   the waterfall) can make?
Well, there are 5 components that can be mixed into 7 different thing.
The components (for simplicity sake) are numbered left to right 1 to 5
(in the box that pops up when you answer yes to have her make stuff).
The resulting components are numbered from left to right in the column
which they will appear in your inventory (bottom row).

Mixing:    Yields:    Effect:
1 & 5         1         UNKNOWN (flashes red?)
1 & 4         2         Temporarily cuts STR in half
2 & 4         3         Temporarily cuts STR and DEF in half
1 & 2         4         Temporary Invisibility
1 & 3         5         Explosion (also, cuts HP in half)
2 & 3         5           (this potion will be used "semi
3 & 4         5            automatically" at the rocks that
3 & 5         5            are blocking your path)
4 & 5         6         Sets HP = 400 (does not change MAX HP)
2 & 5         7         Sets MP = 200 (does not change MAX MP)

o  Wow - I just survived Escher Land, what's next?
Well, go back to the village where the old woman was, she will morph into
one of the bad guys (and steal your Mask of Eyes).  After this happens,
use the Light Magic (5th staff) in the village and you will find a hidden
passageway.

o  How do I get past the bird that is guarding the gate?
In the previous forested area, there will be a green plant thing that you
can pick up, get that, go back to the gate and use the Transform Magic and
the bird will follow you around.  Transform back in Adol and you will be
able to get by.

o  The Hidden City was just revived - where do I go from here?
To the Hidden City, of course (but it's no longer hidden, or is it?)
South east of Leeza's village you will see a bunch of new debris 
scattered about where the city rose up from, look toward the
north for a new path that will take you to the towers (city).

o  I'm in the tower, but having some problems.  Can you help?
Yes.

o  I want answers!
Okay, Okay .. .Once you make it into the tower (beyond the maze part)
and you're following Leo, there are a few things to keep in mind:
        1. On the "Flaming Floor" part, the floor follows a pattern,
           so learn it (save before attempting this).
        2. With the "Black Dots" that send you down to the prison, your
           best equipment is the Timer Ring.

o  Ok, I'm nearing the final boss (I think), and I've beaten Darm, but
   now I'm stuck on the other side of the "Statue Room."  What do I do?
After you make it through the "shifting walls" on floor 4, you will be able 
to get a silver ring.  If you have this item selected, you will be able to 
use the White Statues as "teleporters."  After warping around a bit, you'll
eventually get a gold ring, this will allow you to use the yellow statues
for the same thing.  Eventually this will lead you to the last boss of the 
Trio. 

o  Ever time I enter the inner sanctum, my HP drops quickly, what do I do.
Use the Mask of Eyes and it will protect you.  Once you reach the end,
you will battle the final boss, to battle him, you must wear the Mask,
or else you will not be able to land any hits on him.

o  How do I beat the last boss?
Figure it out for yourself, would ya?  You should really have the Elixor
(from the second town, cost 30000 gold), kill the first incarnation of
him as quickly as possible (he will continually recharge himself), then
destroy the second incarnation (learn his pattern).  For the third (and
final) incarnation, you need to destroy the 3 orbs at his feet.  Note
that being touched by the "beam" is instant death at this point, so when
the beam is out, you need to hide in either the upper left or upper right
(right next to the baddie).  When the orbs are "revealed" attack them
(best to do this one at a time, right, left, then center).

o  I beat the game, now what?
After you've beaten the game, reload, and select Continue.  On the load
screen, press the II button and you will have the option to be taken to 
the Ys4 Development room.  The top floor has a cinema/still viewer (the 
black pearl), so you can see all of the different "house" shots (without 
text boxes), and all of the "side" shots (when some characters talk to you), 
as well as 4 of the intermissions (opening 1, opening 2, middle, ending).

The bird will tell you the secret of the rings, the silver rings doubles
your collected experience when worn, the gold ring doubles your collected
gold when worn.  He will then ask if you want to start the game with these 
two rings.

o What is:
  The orange colored pear?  Use this to bump you up to the next level
        (it's best to save this for the end).
  The shoes?  When wearing these, any creature that comes into contact
        with you will die (good way to rack up Exp).
  The "Red Flower" found in the wooded area? - this produces one of 8
        random effects (it's best to save immediately before using
        this item, if you do this, then the flower can be used as a
        substite Roda Nut, or Healing Herb, if you have patience):
                Restore all HP
                Restore all MP
                Down to 1 HP
                Down to 1 MP
                Restore half of lost MP
                Takes away half of your HP
                Takes away half of your MP
                Temporary confusion

======================================================================
If you have additions or corrections to this file, please send the
appropriate info to bt@cpac.washington.edu

My sincerest thanks to the following people who helped to make this list
possible:
                Jeff Hildebrand         jeffh@iris.mb.ca
                Eric A. Jones           uc817@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
                David D'Auria           dauria@acs.bu.edu
                Wing H. Yi              yokosima@netcom.com
                Mark Johnson            mjohnson@so.uvic.ca

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By: YI WING H  <yiwi3673@css1s0.engr.ccny.cuny.edu>

I finally finished it yesterday & had a playing time of just over 15 hrs. I'm
kinda of curious to know how long it took for those of you who know little
or no Japanese to finish it, since I can remember a couple of parts which
might stump you if you couldn't read the text. =)

The following is "IMHO":
The music in the game is very good. The thing that annoyed me a bit was the
use of the same music at different areas. I'm talking about the CD music
though. The "chip" music reuse didn't bother me as much. Overall I liked
the music from Y's I&II better. I felt that the music in I&II had a little
more punch & only a few of IV's tunes measure up. (I can't say about III
since I've never played it)

Are there any uses for the ruby, necklace etc.? I tried buying them to
give to Lilia ( so she can reward me with a kiss =)_ but nothing
happens...

The use of "telepathy" (I hear voices, but their lips ain't moving!)
is pretty rare, which is good. Adol however, is still mute. heheheh :)


WARNING: The rest of this message talks about stuff in the game, the ending
& something you can do after the ending. Don't read if you want to surprise
yourself.



It felt great to see Feena & Lair again, even though it was too short...

Wasn't the raft part hilarious?  Why is this guy riding a raft without a pole
or something... =D
How many falls does Adol take in this game anyway... =D
This reminds me, depending on whether you use the Alter magic to be a monster
or are normal, the "events" can change slightly. For example, what Leeza says
to you when she patches you up from your fall off the bridge depends on what
form you're in.

The ending contains a very interesting scene, translated here for your reading
pleasure, since it'll be a while before Hiroshi-san (ganbare!)gets to this
part. =)

Woman           Let's stop here for today.
Small boy       I want to hear more!
Redheaded boy   What's the next story?
Woman           I'll read it for you next time. There are still many many
                more adventures.
Girl            Read it now!
Woman           I'm sorry but I have to prepare dinner.
Kids            Aww! No!

Could it be? Will our adventure freak actually settle down in Minea? Well if
the sword & armor hanging on the wall & the redheaded boy aren't enough hints,
I recognize the voice of the woman (Tsuru Hiromi) who does Lilia in young
girl mode. How do I know this? Tsuru Hiromi played the title character in
GS Mikami who sounds virtually the same as the Woman.

Now the juicy part for those of you who've actually read this far:
(This stuff should be added to the cheats file)
After finishing the game, restart it & when you go to the load screen,
press II. You'll be presented with a menu which says load game, start from
beginning, & Y's 4 Development Room! I've never pressed II at the load screen
before so I imagine the 3rd choice doesn't come up.

Pick that & you'll go to a place like the Romun soldiers' fort. Only it'll
be filled with the people who made the game (most take the form of monsters
however). You'll have all items & weapons, so you can see what you missed.
Next to the top floor is the "Sound Room" with the music composers & sound
programmers. I tried doing some things, but it seems there's no sound test.
The guy at the piano says he only plays 1 tune. :(

At the top floor is the "Visual Room". You can watch these cinema scenes:
Opening 1
Opening 2
Rise of the Golden City
Ending

You can also look at the insides of the houses (without those annoying text
windows :)
Also you can see all the face closeups including "Tied up Lilia", "Sacrificial
Leeza", "Bloody Leeza"... well, it really isn't as bad as it sounds. =D

Now you can leave the visual room & go to the guy at the upper right corner.
It's the monster (Robin) who befriended your monster self in the game.
He tells you about the secret of the gold & silver rings. Note that these
rings appear in your ITEM screen, not the EQUIP screen. They're the ones
you needed to wear in order to use the silver & gold statues as teleporters.
The secret about them is this:
Wear the silver ring & the amount of EXP you get doubles from what you would
normally get. (I don't think this works with bosses)
Same for the gold ring except it's the gold that doubles.
He then give you the option of starting the game over WITH these 2 rings.
If you pick "hai" (yes) it'll start immediately... You can pick "iie" (no)
& come back another time.


I haven't been getting the PC-Engine magazines lately, but I guess these things
has appeared in them before. I didn't see it in the cheats file though so I
thought I'd mention it.

All in all, a great game!

Wing "Yokoshiman" Yi
yiwi3673@css1s0.engr.ccny.cuny.edu