ADVISORY: The following information, concerning the "LOST SECRETS OF FINAL FANTASY III," has been reconstructed entirely from memory. While the locations of the Secret Areas are correct, there are some points of information which I am unsure of. These are duly noted. Also be advised that these secrets, in all probability, cannot be accessed in the normal mode of gameplay. I believe it is absolutely necessary to use the DEBUG code, possibly in conjunction with the Opera House "Secret Area/Glitch" which I will discuss shortly. Unfortunately, I am unable to recall all of the steps of the DEBUG code - I only know that it worked and that I really did access the Secret Areas, etc.!!!! It is also unfortunate that some gamers have accused me of lying about these secrets although, one individual stated "If he's lying, how come he knows so many details?" I hope the details I do remember will convince visitors to this webpage that I'm not making this stuff up and that I really did access these secrets in October/November of 1994!

DEBUG CODE

What I recall of this code is as follows: When FINAL FANTASY III (in color) BEGINS to fade, "A" must be pressed at that precise instant! Secondly: During the Scene where the 3 soldiers are marching towards Narshe, button "A" must be pressed at a precise point - unfortunately, the only parts of my conversation with John that I recall had something to do with "when the lights of Narshe first appear" and something about pressing "A" when one of the soldiers stepped in (or passed by) one of the puddles of melting snow (which vaguely resemble craters). I also remember John saying that it was like a "hidden switch" that was triggered when "A" was pressed at the right instant. (That comparison was also used with regard to accessing the secret area in the Lower Narshe Mines)

What I don't recall is the purpose of this particular code; I'm uncertain if this was only to access the "glitches" or if it made it possible to access the Secret Areas and "glitches." If this code only made it possible to access the "glitches," then there had to have been another step in the code to access the Secret Areas. If that's the case, then the key has to be the Jidoor Opera House "Glitch."

As I'm finishing this up so it can be posted, I feel I need to share what one individual at Square's Tech Support told me on July 12: He regards the secrets of FFIII as "glitches." I feel that is, in truth, an erroneous conclusion! During the years from NES to PC games, I learned that a "glitch" is the result of a software conflict which usually causes the game to lock up - which means you have to restart your game from where you last saved or reboot your PC when this happens. Most gamers will agree that secrets which are intentionally programmed into the game are "Easter Eggs" and these are accessed the same way each time - although there can be exceptions! There is no way to accidentally stumble upon these secrets! The odds of that occurring are astronomical! It took me almost two hours before I succeeded in using the "Debug" code! It is clear to me that these secrets were deliberately programmed into the game and, as such, I believe we have the right to know about them and the right to have our questions truthfully answered!

Jidoor Opera House

There is an apparent "glitch" which sometimes occurs after repeatedly flubbing Celes' lines in the Opera: Each time you mess up either the lines or the choreography, party appears outside the Opera House on the World Map. But that is not the "glitch;" After repeated mess-ups, occasionally, you will notice that the game music has sped up greatly after party re-enters the Opera House. If, once the music has sped up, you choose to select the first correct answer (Oh my Hero), the game will lock up. If, this apparent "glitch" has something to do with accessing the "hard" version (Beta Testers' or Debug version), the incorrect answer (Alas Draco) must be chosen and wrong answers must be chosen until the music has sped up 3 times. What this accomplishes (and my memory is accurate on this point) is you will now have the difficult (but not impossible) task of manually guiding Celes through her performance in addition to selecting the correct lines (easy). Once this is correctly done (and here my memory is not so hot), and Celes is at the top of the stairs, it was possible to open that door by holding L and R while pressing "A". Door would vanish and it was possible to search area to the right of where Celes appears and find item in chest and make it to the top to conclude her performance with Draco - I think? I also seem to remember that somehow, after manually guiding Celes through her performance, either a door opened or a set of stairs appeared which led to a secret area in the Opera House. At the end of a hallway was the Manager's Office. It seems like there was a place to save the game before entering the office; I'm not sure of this - it seems like I saved and reloaded to see what would happen and found party on world map and had to go through the whole sequence to get to that point again. Anyhow, it seems that party had to be at least level 18 to fight a Boss Enemy [Colussus?]; then 3 or 4 game-related questions had to be correctly answered and, if my memory is right, you are given the option to start start a New Game which, in reality, is the hard version of FFIII. If that is indeed the case, then the chest on the balcony where Celes performs, would not be accessible until you return in the "DEBUG" version of the game. One thing: I distinctly recall being able to equip the SPRINT SHOES on Celes once she has been successfully guided manually to the upper level of the balcony where she is supposed to take the flowers, etc. I also recall that, once you have manual control of Celes, a timer appears (I think it started with 3 or 4 minutes). Once the door at the top of the stairs is open, and you attempt to get to the treasure chest behind the pillar on the far right of the lower level where Celes firstb appears, you are subject to random enemy attacks - at least one new enemy which is not listed in the Enemy List in any of the Strategy Guides! The more I think about this game secret, the more I'm convinced that the Opera House is an integral part of the means of accessing the DEBUG version of FFIII. Unfortunately, I have no way of proving, at least yet, this is the case. It is also possible that I may have transposed the steps in the DEBUG code (like I sometimes do with telephone numbers) and that the Opera House glitch is the primary key to accessing the hard version of FFIII and the the other code is done afterward to access the "glitches."

It may also be significant that each time the music speeds up (when you re-enter the Opera House), Celes is able to correctly do the number of correct answers as the number of times the music has sped up. While it may be possible to get the music to speed up 3 times in a row, I don't believe it was necessary. What I recall as being very crucial to successfully manually guiding Celes through her performance (movement and correct answers must be exactly the same as when the game controls her movements in normal gameplay) was to try and work it so that the final music speed up glitch occurs at the point where party is entering the Opera House for the very first time (which happens after you mess up Celes' performance 4 times - each time the Impresario tells you how many tries you have left). Once this has happened, if you don't have manual control of Celes, it will be necessary to mess up her lines one more time; this will guarantee that you have three tries to successfully guide her manually through her performance. If you do have manual control, with at least three tries remaining, it won't hurt to to see if you can get the door at the top of stairs to open (if it's possible before accessing the DEBUG version) by holding L and R while pressing A (if my memory is right). If door doesn't open, you should still (optimally) have 2 tries remaining. I know this can be done because I did it! Like I said, it's most likely that you must successfuly glitch the performance 3 (possibly 4) times and get to the point where you can choose to start a NEW GAME then work your way through the game and go through the 3 or 4 glitch key again to get the chest I mentioned earlier!

One of the more humorous aspects of getting the final music speed-up to occur so that you get to re-experience the dialogue with the Impresario and see the opening scenes of the opera again is that the music will finish before the opening scenes are concluded! Another humorous glitch can be experienced at the point (note: this must be attempted during one of the times where the music has sped up and it is the "first" time through) where the Impresario is jumping up and down on the steps - when he starts jumping, be sure to press and hold "A," but DO NOT release and press again: after a time, which may vary, his jumping will accelerate just like the music. When A is released, the Impresario will jump higher than the light fixture on the wall behind him! This was another of the little tricks John shared with me!

At this point, I need to share some things John told me were "confirmers" that you were in the DEBUG or 'hard version" of FFIII. First: either the battle screen in Narshe (town), or one element within that screen (stairs) will be reversed. Second: If my memory is right, it is possible for Terra, Wedge, and Vicks, to actually leave Narshe and appear on the World Map. Third: When party explores Mt. Koltz, A trasure chest will be visible on the ledge above the path the party takes after leaving the cave with the savepoint. Also; at the place where party is on a ledge overlooking a bridge that extends to the west, you will be given a one-time chance to jump down (Yes or No) which can only be done once and only on the first time through Mt. Koltz.

Above all, I cannot overemphasize that IT IS MOST LIKELY THAT NO SECRET AREAS CAN BE ACCESSED DURING NORMAL GAMEPLAY BUT, CAN ONLY BE ACCESSED IN THE "HARD" VERSION OF FFIII! I believe the rumours of "multiple versions" of FFIII started because of this "hidden version" buried in the game's programming! To further complicate matters, Nintendo release a later version of the SNES (not FFIII!!) which was made impervious to GAME GENIE - which led to GAME GENIE II! It may be possible that the FFII DEBUG sequence will not work on the later version of the SNES; some have suggested that it may be possible, although very remote, that the game could have been programmed to allow access to DEBUG mode only one time and no more; or it is remotely possible that a glitch in the game only allows you to access DEBUG mode once. Most of the experts I've talked with say that would defeat the purpose of having a DEBUG code for the Beta testers - I mean workers do take time off and shut down their SNES from time to time. Why have a DEBUG code that can only be used once? I think that would be counterproductive for the Beta testers and would be downright mean to gamers! Also, as I have already stated, both Nintendo and SquareSoft are adamant there was only one version of FFIII for the SNES released in the U.S.!!! Nintendo went so far as to say that it would have been expensive to interrupt production and change the programming, then release the altered version; I don't think that happened!

Before I forget, and I'll repeat this after the list of secrets, it would be interesting if hundreds, or even thousands, of FFIII fans began calling and/or wrting Nintendo and Square Electronic Arts about this! After all, they did sell at least 1.5 million copies of FFIII in the U.S.!!!! As for myself, by the time this webpage has been set up, I will have sent a letter to my Congressman requesting the assistance of his office in obtaining this information under the Freedom of Information Act! It may be that this legislation does not apply to civilian corporations; however, if it can be used to find out about Area 51 or things of that nature, I see no reason why a privately-owned corporation would be exempt! Especially when the information being sought in no way requires the divulging of industrial secrets or a patented process! So, if this is your first encounter with the Lost Secrets of Final Fantasy III, be prepared to be surprised by what has never appeared in any of the FFIII Strategy Guides!

Onto the Lost Secrets themselves