Important: As far as I know, each secret area can be accessed only once - when I was accessing these areas 7 years ago, I always saved prior to going through the steps to access each area. I messed up a number of times and, rather than risk not being able to re-access a given area, I would reload saved game. Again, I wish I could recall all details, but I believe the Secrets listed below are not normally accessible - Believe me, I've tried! It has to be related to the "debug" code and/or the Jidoor Opera House! Without further comment, The following are the LOST SECRETS OF FINAL FANTASY III!

1. Mt. Koltz: After exiting the 2nd cave and going up and right to go around the mountain, go to the point slightly south and west of the entrance to cave 3; you'll notice a bridge on the ledge below where you are standing that extends to the west. When I first played the game, in Debug mode, I was given the choice - Jump down? Yes No. This could only be done once and only during the first time through Mt Koltz.
After exiting the cave with the SavePoint, walk about 25 steps to the east: looking north, you should see a recessed area on the North wall with a strange symbol with a downward-pointing arrow. I recall returning later with Strago in the party (lead position) and he makes a comment about this being a symbol of the Mage Knights. On older TV sets, if you adjust the Vertical Hold so that the screen moves slowly downward, you shoud see a chest on the grassy area above. To access this chest, the party could be levitated to that area - this was done by standing in front of the symbol and then pressing A and B, alternatingly, until party was safely on the grassy area. (note: I don't recall for certain, it may have been L and R). Every time I've played FFIII since then, no chest is visible. The only explanation is that game must be in "Debug" mode. There iis also a very remote possibility that somehow, my FFIII GamePak was switched for another; I only loaned FFIII out one time, but I lean toward the "debug" code idea more! To exit the grassy area, I believe it was necessary to either go up and to the left, or go to the right. Either way, I think you ended up on the ledge where the bridge extends to the west. Going over that bridge lets you exit from Mt Koltz. It is then necessary to retrace your path to the cave with the SavePoint, and from there to Vargas. Also, the first time through Mt. Koltz, I didn't stand on the ledge overlooking the west bridge; I did this just in case jumping down did something which later would prevent access to the chest. I did jump down to test what John had told me (it worked!) and then re-started where I had saved the game. I don't recall the item that was in the chest.

2. Returner's Hideout. While Terra is the sole member in the party, after saving game, check out the head of the table. There is a scrap of paper - Leave it alone; When after Terra has accepted Banon's offer to become the last ray of hope, and the meeting starts - Banon asks "Who did this? Who left this piece of paper here?" He picks it up and throws it in the pot. If you have not taken the item in the pot, "Green Cherry," and return later in the game, it will be a different item. [the Authorized Strategy Guide does list this piece of paper.] After Locke leaves the party and the passage to the cliff (Lete River) is opened, I remember finding a passage to the right about halfway down the main tunnel - one chest was at its end.
[The incident with the scrap of paper is in the playstation version as well.]

3. South Figaro: Do Locke's Scenario first! Regarless of what the Strategy Guides claim, it is simple to keep Shadow in the party when you enlist his aid in Sabin's Scenario. Between the House of the Crazy Man (Gau's father) and the Imperial Camp, Run from every battle! Also, while sneaking around the Camp, and after getting the Mithril Glove and Green Beret - go outside and make your way to the back of that tent and party will jump down. go into that tent and you will find a Barrier Ring! After battling all enemies in the Camp (including the Dobermans if you kicked the chest), and have exited the Camp, save the game (just in case you decide to fight a battle and Shadow slips away afterward! Avoid battles, if possible; save every few steps between Imperial Camp and Phantom Forest. Until Sabin, Shadow, and Cyan board the Phantom Train, run from every battle, and Shadow should remain in party until after the Phantom Train adventure is concluded (Shadow does leave once party reaches baren falls). Okay, Back to Locke: By doing this scenario first, you can get the Hyper Wrist and Running Shoes which will come in handy; But there is also a hidden event which can be triggered after Celes is rescued - so wait until after the rescue to get these items! After Locke rexcues Celes, there is a way to trigger an alarm - If my memory is right, the alarm switch is at or near the bookcase to the right of the door where Celes was prisoner. If not there, then in the vicinity of the sleeping guard. If none of the aforementioned is correct, perhaps the alarm was triggered x number of minutes after Celes is released. Whichever it is, and I wish I could remember, there is an audible alarm! After alarm sounds, go to the secret stairs down to the cells where the chests with Hyper Wrist and Running Shoes are found! Equip them immediately! Party will randomly encounter - at least once - a very powerful enemy whose primary attack is electric shock! Be sure you've saved game before going after the items - party can be wiped out in 2 or 3 hits by this enemy!. When you do encounter this enemy, RUN AWAY! This enemy will only randomly attack while party is in the area where the two chests are - get back upstairs ASAP! Once back upstairs, continue game.

4. Jidoor: In the Armor Shop, there are two chests that you are unable to reach - apparently! Did you notice the back door to the Shop? I was told that the back door would randomly unlock by quickly exiting and re-entering the town. I don't recall how many times I exited and re-entered Jidoor, but I eventually succeeded! I don't recall if it was World of Balance or World of Ruin. I seem to recall that the Armor Shop and one, or more, other buildings in Jidoor (in addition to the secret passageway between the rich man's house and the house of the man who wanted the cider) were connected. There is a door at the rear of the Weapon Shop; there is a door at the rear of the Relic Shop and also a set of stairs. If my memory is right, the rear door of the Relic shop opens to a passage, possibly one room along the way, which connects with the rear door of the Weapon Shop. The Stairs in the Relic Shop lead to a passage which connects to the second floor of the Armor Shop. The chest in the upper left corner of the Armor Shop is actually next to the beam and is accessed from the upstairs; I think there is a set of stairs to the right of the shopkeeper - All I remember is that I did this. There are also one or two open windows which may or may not be significant (Anyone know where there is a rope?). I also remember there were some enemies in the upstairs room and in the passage between the Relic and Weapon Shops!

5. Zozo: I am unsure of whether I did this one in the World of Balance or World of Ruin. To the right of the man who sells you the Rust-Rid, there is a narrow passage (one space wide) leading South. I seem to recal there was something (Press 'A'?) to do at or near the end of this passage. Then, open the door where you enter Mt. Zozo (which. would be World of Ruin!) and stop just before entering. move back and forth until you encounter enemies. After defeating, I think it was necessary to press left on the directional button; possibly the Left button as well, I don't recall. The result, if this was the rights spot, was that party would be one space to the left and could go North, through the back wall (without entering Mt. Zozo!) and onto the area behind this building. It was then possible to make your way north and west and walk onto the roof of one of the two buildings in the northwest part of town. There you would fight a bonus Enemy Boss which is not mentioned in the Strategy Guide. If I remember correctly, I used Warp once I had finihed off this enemy! If I did this in the World of Balance, the place to get onto the area behind the Cafe was to the right of the trash can; again, by encountering enemies at that point - I've got a hunch that the first solution is correct, so the second is just in case I was mistaken. I only accessed this area once during my first time through the game, but I recall that it took fighting several battles before getting to the area behind the Cafe!

6. Jidoor Opera House: Ever mess up Celes performance, either her lines or the choreography (the flowers)? Did you notice how the music quickly speeds up and stops (followed by a funny sound)? Ever re-enter the Opera House to try again and discover that the music is playing way too fast? If that happened did you answer the question correctly only to have the game lock up? There is a reason for this and it's not a "glitch" but is a cleverly hidden "easter Egg!" It is possible to get manual control of Celes for her performance! "Why would anyone want to do that?" I'm glad you asked; getting manual control of Celes means you can access a hidden chest located on the lower level of the balcony to the right of where Celes appears; If my memory is right, the chest is behind the pillar on the right side. I don't recall what is in the chest. To get manual control of Celes requires that you keep messing up her lines until the music you hear when you re-enter the Opera House has sped up 3 times. This is where my memories leave off: It might be necessary to mess up the lines a 4th time if game locks up again, so it will be trial and error from here on. Most Important: after you mess up the first time, the Impresario tells you there are 3 chances remaining to get the performance right. Do not save game or you will always restart outside the Opera House after the opening scenes; if you feel you need to save, only do so when you KNOW you are re-entering the Opera House and will go through the Opening Scenes again. Only then is it safe to save your game. Otherwise, the sequence is disrupted. It is possible, though I don't recall, that the music speed up, after re-enterin g the Opera House, must occur three consecutive times. The only way I can think of to accomplish this is, after the first time (followed by messing up the lines!) is as follows: if the music does not speed up after re-entering, keep exiting and returning until this happens, then go and mess up the lines again. Ideally, the 3rd speed up occurs at a time when you get to go through the meastro's comments and opening scenes; If it is necessary to mess up the line the 4th time (and the more I think about it, I think that is right), you will have 3 chances to manually guide Celes through her performance. Once you have manual control of Celes, it is critical that you guide her the same way the game guided her - each move in synch with the correct lines of the song! There is no room for error! It can be done! Once the top of the stairs is reached (if my memory is right, at some point, a timer is activated and appears on the game screen (either 3 or 4 minutes). I don't remember if this happens at the start of the performance or after celes reaches the top of the stairs - If it happens at the start, it probably was 6 minutes. Once at the top of the stairs, there was a way bto open the door - press and hold L and R while pushing A until the door vanished. If my memory is right, it was possible to open door, equip Celes (Optimum to save precious seconds, and Sprint Shoes!), run back down and open the chest, and return to the upper level to dance with Draco and pick up the roses. One additional handicap: random enemy attacks as you re-enter the lower balcont to get to the chest! One new enemy found nowhere else in the game - use Smoke Bombs to get away! Succeeding at this will take practice; if you mess up the first time, after opening the door, it will remain open the 2nd time you successfully manually guide Celes as previously described! What happens after the roses, I'm not sure - I wish I could accurately recall, but I think either a new door or a set of steps appear. If that happens, immediately use whichever it is; Party winds up in a Secret Area of the Opera House - a hallway (with a savepoint, if my memory is right) lleading to the manager's office. At this point, you either fight a Boss Enemy (Colussus?) and/or be asked 3 or 4 questions about the game which must be answered correctly! Again, if my memory is right, and this is the way to access, either with or without the "Debug" code mentioned earlier, the "hard" version of FFIII with Secret Areas, etc., you will be given the option of starting a New Game. If this doesn't happen, and you only get to fight a Secret Boss, then game will probably continue normally - if such a thing is possible! IF, my memory is incorrect regarding the appearance of a new door or steps, then it is most likely necessary to return to the lower level of balcony and attempt to go through door one or two steps north of where Celes first appears on balcony. Whichever way it happened, I accessed the hallway to the Manager's office and the rest was history. It may seem like an awful lot to go through, but I think it was worth it! Even if the Opera House is not part of the "debug" code or the means of accessing the secret version of FFIII, I found John's information to be 100% accurate! The problem is my lost notes and faulty memory! So please bear with me!

7. Cave to the Sealed Gate: One party has successfully navigated through the outer caves, normally, the game will not let party through to the Sealed Gate unless Terra is in the party. I managed to enter this area; I don't remember if Terra was in the party; I also don't recall if I did this before or after the encounter with Kefka. After entering this area, I was able to guide party along a narrow rock ledge that extends to the west - it is visible when you first enter this area. Just out of visual range on that path, there is a chest; party will also encounter one new enemy (easy to beat) found nowhere else in game. If Terra was in party when I did this, then the encounter with Kefka was not triggered by entering this area, as it normally occurs, but by walking up to the Sealed Gate. I think it is more likely that I entered this area without Terra and before the encounter with Kefka.

8. Cave to South Figaro: At some point, unsure of whether World of Balance or World of Ruin, I seem to recall party encounters someone (Siegfried?) in one of this cave's dead ends (possibly fell off the platform?) who gives party Book of Furniture Repair. If this happened in World of Balance, It happens after the Floating Continent becomes airborne. If it happens in World of Ruin, It would be after Siegfried flees after party encounters him while enroute to the basement of Figaro Castle. If I am in error, the Book of Furniture Repair - and the Tools - are found in the Secret Area of the Ancient Castle. These are necessary to repair the chair in the Crazy Man's house in the World of Ruin!

9. Daryl's Tomb: In the cutscene with Daryl and Setzer, a chest is shown - this chest is in one of the rooms in the area at the bottom of the stairs before exiting to the dock where the airship Falcon is berthed. This chest contains 1/1200th Piece of Airship - one of the Rare Items you can bid on (but never win!) at the Jidoor Auction House. This item is necessary to access the Secret Area in the Lower Narshe Mines!. There is a way to access this area; but it won't be by the secret door in Daryl's Tomb - once you get the Falcon, that door stays locked! After Phunbaba, Doom Gaze, and at least 6 of the 8 dragons have been defeated, this area can be accessed by repeatedly flying the falcon around the world (at least 255 times). I am unsure of direction, it would have to be either east to west or west to east. I seem to recall I had to fly as high as possible and keep the nose of the Falcon up while either aiming at a point between the clouds or something about the two smallest islands (flying between them?) - I don't remember. At some point, " Do you want to warp to dock " Yes No will appear. Once you return to the dock, you can enter the rooms and get the 1/1200th Piece of Airship. I seem to recall there was another way to get this Rare Item: In Kefka's Tower, this item woud be either randomly dropped by Sky Base or Innoc, or one of those two enemies could be randomly changed into that item by the Ragnarok Magicite (if you masde that choice) - I don't recall. A word of Caution: I believe it was possible to go back up the stairs and re-enter Daryl's Tomb - however, I don't recommend exiting the tomb as when you return, you might find the door to the stairs might be closed! I don't recall for sure, but it seems like I did this to see what would happen and had to reload saved game and do it all over again to enter this secret area! I think it was necessary to have Setzer, Cyan, Edgar, and Sabin in party. Also, there are 2 or 3 new enemies which appear nowhere else in game. Be prepared!

10. Ancient Castle: To the right of the thrones is a doorway to a chamber containing two chests, one on each side of a closed gate. These contain Blizzard Orb and a Gold Hairpin. Do not remove either of these items until after you have accessed the Secret Area and opened the 2 or 3 chests there! The Secret Area will be rendered inacessible if you remove these items prematurely! It seems to me, if my memory is right, that this area was accessible even if you had Mog in the party with the Moogle Charm equipped. If not, then it will be necessary to continually fight enemies while doing the following: With Sprint Shoes equipped (regardless of who is in party), continually exit and re-enter the room with the 2 chests. At some point (255 times or so), the screen will shift and gate will be gone. The trick is to not exit the room once the gate is open. I did that a few times. This may be one of the accesses tjhat can be repeated if you mess up; I didn't take any chances; I reloaded the saved game. Also, to play it safe, wait until after accessing the Secret Area before getting the Odin Magicite. I think I had Edgar, Cyan and Sabin in the party; I'm not sure if party consist is a factor in accessing this secret area.

11. Crazy Man's House (Gau's father): Once you have the Tools and/or Book of Furniture Repair, Save game outside the house; if my memory is right, party had to be Sabin, Celes, Relm, and Shadow. After chair is repaired, have party rest 15 to 25 time in the bed (it's free!). Gau's father will wake party with the revelation of "monsters in the attic." party either goes outside and enters attic by using repaired chair or Enters through a secret entrance behind the stove. At least 2 or 3 new enemies encountered nowhere else in gam; possibly a Boss Enemy. Maybe 1 chest. Enemies are pretty strong, so be careful!

12. Lower Narshe Mines: Of all the Secret Areas, accessing this one is the most difficult and the most time-consuming! You must have the 1/1200th Piece of Airship! after getting the Tritoch Magicite, save the game!. Return and jump off cliff. Once in the Lower Narshe Mines the long haul begins. Be sure Sprint Shoes are equipped. In the NW corner of this new area, there is an opening which leads to a chest with Pugs (it is possible to get 2 Minerva Armor, if you're lucky, after defeating this powerful trio!) In the center of the path leading north from this chest, you can fall through a trap door. Take note of where you land! Extending from the west wall is a wood platform. No matter how many times you fall through this hole, you never land on that platform. But, there is a secret area accessed from that platform. through an opening which is not visible, there is a chamber with 3 chests. Exiting to the west, party will emerge into a mountain pass-type are. Under no circumstances should you exit to the west; if you do, party will be on the opposite side of the mountains from Narshe - only do this if you've gotten the items in the chests! There are also 2 or 3 very powerful enemies found nowhere else in the game: Though I don't recall their names, one of them is of the ALLO VER/ DISPLAYER/ OSTEOSAUR group. Another is of the SPEK TOR/STRAY CAT? WILD CAT group - these can wipe out a party in 2 turns if below level 40! Note: when falling through trapdoor in middle of path (near chest with Pugs), party lands 1 step right and 1 step south of the end of platform extending from west wall - this platform is 3 steps in length! To access the way to get on that platform, party must fall through the hole that is in line with the steps as you proceed toward the entrance to the area with the chest containing Pugs (normally, you have to go around that trap door to use the NW passage). Yoe must repeatedly fall down that hole (Running and pushing the directional control 'up'), make your way back up (take the one path that lets you avoid any other trap doors!), and keep repeating the process - all the while fighting enemies (you can use Smoke Bombs to escape and and that will count as a battle - I think; at least, you will find it necessary to use one to escape Pug who can decimate a party with Step Mine!). You will have to fight 255 to 355 battles while following the same route! [John told me that running into the trap door while pushing 'up' causes you to hit an invisible "switch." Similar to when using the "debug" code.] You will know when you succeed: the screen will eventually shift (very noticeable!) when you run into the trap door. one of two things will happen: Party will either be on top of the mine wall in the level with the wooden platform - or, party will end up in a dark room with one chest and one new enemy (not too hard to beat); if party ends up in dark room (actually this is a place between the levels of the lower mines), after emptying chest, walk around until party falls through trap door - if my memory is right about the between-levels area, the trapdoor is in the area north of the chest. Either way, party ends up on top of rock wall in lower level. Now begins the tricky part: you must carefully, one-step-at-a-time, pick your way toward the one point on the west wall where party can take one step onto that platform! The best way for me to describe this is to always try to move north, then west; only move south when you are unable to move north or west - one mistep and you end up on mine floor and then must repeat the process (I messed up several times; rather than chance a one-time access, I reloaded saved game). There is only one spot where you can safely move from the wall to the platform. Remember the platform extends 3 steps from the west wall (you can only pace off 2 steps when on mine floor) - the only point on the wall where you can move to the platform without ending up back on the mine floor is the point immediately north of Step 1 of the platform (numbering from left to right). I did this secret area two or three times because party was wiped out twice by the enemies in the Secret Area. Recommend level 43 or higher before accessing that secret area! It may be possible there is an alternative way to enter this Secret Area; I don't recall if I succeeded though - If my memory is right, I was told that, by either holding the directional control Left or Right (I don't remember which), there was a chance that you would end up in the secret area. It also seems that there might have actually been a switch to move one of the platforms to form a bridge; I talked with John on several occasions after I was given the initial information and, if I remember correctly, this was the one secret area with more than one means of access.

13. During my conversations with John, I asked a number of questions about enemies; one of the things I noticed early in the game was that there were 2 or 3 enemies for each type, some more. I asked him about some of these; here is what I was told. You can Ipooh in one area other than when you encounter them with Vargas - if my memory is right, this was in the cave to South Figaro. (GOLD BEAR/IPOOH) You might have to fight 100 battles before they show up; then, they will randomly appear on the Veldt and Gau can learn the Rage. There was a third enemy of the LURIDAN/DELTA BUG group; This Rare Enemy could only be encountered on the island slightly southeast of Narshe that vaguely resembles the U.S. Normally, the only enemy randomly encountered is various formations of Crawlers (1 to 4). But, after a random number of battles, something different would happen after the Crawlers were defeated - instead of returning to the world map, you would hear the sound of running feet(?) and see a cloud of dust coming from the gold- colored mountains in the battle screen; then you would fight a group of these enemies whose name I don't recall (I think it started with a 'D'). The only condition for assuring their random appearance was that only girls could be in the party - Terra and Celes, maybe Relm too. I did it with only Celes and Terra. This enemy would randomly appear on the Veldt. However, I think there was a "glitch" associated with this enemy. If Gau learned this enemy as a Rage, he would be unable to learn Still-Life. If my memory is right, once this enemy was encountered Still-Life would no longer appear on the Veldt. Learning this enemy as a Rage would also over- write Still-Life if it had been previously learned as a Rage; this happened to me once!

The one secret I failed to succeed with was the revival of General Leo; although nearly everyone, including Square, says it is impossible, the following is the information John gave me regarding this: In the forest where Tyrannosaurs and Brachosaurs are encountered, there is a Rare Enemy - the GOLD DRAGON. This is not the same as the one in kefka's Tower. It is similar to the Brachosaur and Brontaur and is very tough. Although I have heard varying figures, you might have to fight between 2,000 to 3,000 battles before encountering this enemy. And even then, there is only a 1-in-3 chance of getting the Item necessary to revive General Leo. The Gold Dragon will then randomly appear on the Veldt and can be learned as a Rage.

14. ALBROOK - Two unopened chests in armor shop. In world of balance, do not open these chests; when you return in world of ruin, open them and they will contain items. Normally, they are empty regardless of when you open them.

Directly south of the Inn is a place where a section of the railing is missing; in world of balance, you can jump down to the area below and will find a chest with an item - you must exit to the right and then re-enter Allbrook as there is no way back up. You can only jump down once.

There was a Megalixir to be found in one of the World of Ruin towns, I don't recall which one; just that it was close by one of the windows (by a bush?).

There is also supposed to be one other Secret Area; Although I can't say for certain, it sounds very familiar: In one of the towns, there is a well that party can climb (or fall) down to explore another secret area with new enemies and a chest or two. It's possible that my source may have been thinking about a different game, but who can say: The information I got from John was 100% accurate regarding the FFIII Secret Areas! It's entirely possible this secret area is waiting to be re-discovered.

So, what say ye? Do you want to know the truth about these Secrets? I believe we have the right to know what is programmed into the games we buy - regardless of which company manufactured them. While some will argue that the Secrets are not necessary to win the game, nevertheless, they are still there and deserving of our attention! As I said, I need your help to unravel this mystery. There must be others who have this knowledge; I can't be the only one who asked the right questions 7 years ago. I also have a difficult time with the theory that perhaps I, somehow, bought a copy of FFIII that was a pre-production run. The odds against that are astronomical - I don't think that is the case as Beta copies of FFIII were strictly accounted for. Perhaps someone out there knows people at Nintendo or Square; talk with them, off the record of course. Write letters to Nintendo and Square requesting this information; Those of you with back issues of Nintendo Power and/or EGM (or other gaming magazines published between October 1994 to December 1995, please look through these for any reference to these secrets - especially the "Debug" code. Also, if you currently subscribe to Nintendo Power, look at Nintendo's on-line Game Tips. I will greatly appreciate any assistance that is provided! I figure that, if enough of us keep writing and/or calling Square and Nintendo, perhaps they will relent and provide this information.

Addition made 12/18/03:Another secret - In the programmer�s version of FFIII, when accessed as somewhat outlined previously, location; Vector, in the guard house immediately after entering the city, the lady asks you where your sympathies lie, to the empire or the rebellion; if you answer for the rebellion, you battle a couple of guards, (This is also normally encountered); either before or after the battle, not sure which, you can enter a hidden area to the right or left of where you stand in front of the lady. In the area, to the best of my memory, is a treasure chest with the Purse; if you stay at the Inn afterwards, the crooked Inn-keeper cannot steal ANY of your gold. (A similar scenario was also encountered in Breath of Fire 1.)

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