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  • Lethe River Battle Strategies
  • Navigating The Lethe
  • Battling Ultros
  • Choose A Scenario, Kupo

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster is a beautiful audiovisual update of the six classic two-dimensional entries, and Final Fantasy 6 in particular may just be the most beloved of them all. FF6's timeless adoration stems from several key factors, one of which is undoubtedly the game's commitment to diverse gameplay scenarios such as the Lethe River segment.

Related: Final Fantasy 6 Pixel Remaster: How To Get Every Trophy/Achievement

Fairly early in the game, the party hops aboard a raft and takes to the Lethe River. In Greek mythology, Lethe is one of Hades' five great rivers of the underworld. We're not sure we'd classify Final Fantasy's rendition as quite so nefarious, but it's still a confusing place!

Lethe River Battle Strategies

The Lethe River portion of Final Fantasy 6 occurs shortly after the party reaches the Returners' HQ. Locke has been given an assignment to head back to South Figaro, so your party will include Terra, Edgar, Sabin and (as a temporary companion) Banon. We'll go over strategies for the three main members briefly, but you should have Banon use his special 'Pray' command every turn to keep the party's HP high.

It's an automatic game over here on the Lethe River if Banon is ever rendered unconscious, so keep him healed and in the back row at all times. 'Pray' will play a big role in this, but don't be afraid to throw him a Potion if the going ever gets rough.

Terra's Fire spell will work well here; many of your foes have higher-than-average Defense stats, so magical damage works best. This also means Edgar's Auto-Crossbow might seem ineffective relative to the gobs of damage it dealt back on Mount Kolts; consider having Edgar use Noiseblaster instead. As for Sabin, stick with his Blitzes instead of physical attacks.

Navigating The Lethe

You lack direct control over the raft - or rather, it's more precise to say that the raft moves with the river's current, so you lack any sort of control at all. At two points during the raft's automated journey, however, you must decide on a directionto take.

The first time this happens, your options will be Straight, Left, or Right. Funnily enough, all three choices will converge upon a single destination with a save point and the next leg of the river. So, what gives? Are there any real differences here? Yes! Choosing left gives you the shortest path, getting you to that save point faster and hurrying you on your way through the area.

Save when you can, and be sure to polish off your HP if necessary. Hop back aboard the raft, and you'll eventually come to your second path choice: Up or Left. This time, things matter more. If you pick Up, you go on a lengthy loop before returning to the same fork. Pick left to advance.

We suppose you could use the loop here to grind, but we don't recommend it - especially not if you're using the experience-boosting features with FF6 Pixel Remaster. Later in the game, you'll be able to enhance specific stats every time your characters level up by equipping Magicite, and every level gained before that point is a level without that perk, so grinding prior to then is generally not a great idea.

At the end of the left path, and following another save point, you'll come face-to-face with a certain legendary troll of a Final Fantasy villain for the first time. "Don't tease the octopus, kids!"

Battling Ultros

Behold the beauty that is Ultros, a self-proclaimed bad octopus. He's got 3,000 HP in this inaugural encounter, and he's weak to Fire, which is your ticket to defeating him. If you've got Banon in the back row, Ultros' frightening damage from his Tentacle attack won't be as big an issue by half, so just do what you've been doing with Banon the whole way down the Lethe, spamming 'Pray' turn after turn.

If Sabin already has Rising Phoenix, which he learns at level 15, note that it's Fire-elemental with a reasonably high base spell power. In other words, it's Ultros' bane, and it will make this fight a bit of a joke if you do have it. But getting Sabin to level 15 this soon is by no means a guarantee, and (as we mentioned earlier) we don't even recommend grinding, so don't feel bad if you lack it.

Since Terra will be on Fire-casting duty, and Ultros loves to inflict Blind, decide between Sabin and Edgar for who is on-duty with Eye Drops. If Sabin has Rising Phoenix, it should be Edgar; if he doesn't, then have Edgar use Auto-Crossbow every turn, and let Sabin be the one doling out the Eye Drops.

If you run out of Eye Drops, or you never had any to begin with, don't worry - your afflicted party members' physical hit rate is lowered, not negated. You'll still strike, just not as frequently.

Choose A Scenario, Kupo

After the fight with Ultros is finished, Sabin chases after the baddie only to get rushed wayward by the river, leaving Terra, Edgar, and Banon aboard the raft. The last little stretch of river-crossing occurs, and then Mog the Moogle appears in a bit of a fourth-walling breaking moment, inviting you to choose a scenario between Terra/Edgar/Banon, Locke, or Sabin.

This isn't one of those strange RPG bits where picking one route locks you out of another - Final Fantasy 15 players and the patched-in Chapter 13 dungeon split know what we mean. Rather, you will need to play through each of the three scenarios, so the only thing that matters here is whose story you enjoy first.

Not sure who to go with? Perhaps this context will help:

Character(s)

Scenario Length

New Party Member(s) Gained?

Terra, Edgar, and Banon

Short

No

Locke

Medium

Yes, one new party member

Sabin

Long

Yes, three (!) new party members

When all is said and done, each of the three teams and any newfound allies they've chanced upon will reunite in Narshe, where Final Fantasy 6's next epic event occurs!

Next: Octopath Traveler 2: All Gramophone Record Locations