The three worlds
- First World — Bartz's world; you earn the Wind/Water/Fire/Earth Crystal job batches as the story breaks each Crystal.
- Second World — Galuf's world and Exdeath's seat of power; the cast and the threat escalate, more jobs and gear open up.
- Third World — the two worlds merge. This is the open endgame: the sealed legendary weapons, optional bosses, the Phantom Village, and the Interdimensional Rift (Cleft of Dimensions), the final dungeon that also houses the superbosses.
Bosses & superbosses
- Gilgamesh — the series' breakout recurring boss debuts here (and the "Clash on the Big Bridge" theme). He shows up several times; later he's almost an ally.
- Exdeath → Neo Exdeath — the final fight is a multi-part gauntlet; Apollo's Harp, Mighty Guard, and a Dualcast/Rapid-Fire carry close it.
- Omega (Rift) — a mechanical superboss immune to most things and very fast. Rapid Fire + the right enchant, Reflect/Shell, and careful turns; drops the Omega Badge.
- Shinryu (Rift) — opens by casting Tidal Wave, so enter with water immunity (Coral Ring) or it's an instant wipe. Ribbons for its status, then burst it down for Genji equipment and the Ragnarok summon.
- Gil Turtle, Movers, and other optional fights reward rare gear and big ABP.
What it's all about
⚠ Spoiler — the story & ending
The wanderer Bartz falls in with Princess Lenna of Tycoon, the amnesiac old knight Galuf, and the pirate Faris (secretly Lenna's long-lost sister) when the Wind Crystal shatters. The four elemental Crystals are breaking — and that's no accident.
Thirty years ago, the Warriors of Dawn sealed an ancient evil by splitting the world in two. That evil is Exdeath, a tree that absorbed centuries of malice; the broken Crystals are freeing him. Galuf, it turns out, hails from the other world — and when the two worlds reconnect, he gives his life fighting Exdeath. His granddaughter Krile inherits his power and takes his place.
The worlds merge back into one, and Exdeath claims the Void — the rift of pure nothingness — becoming Neo Exdeath in the Interdimensional Rift, a being that wants to erase all existence, itself included. The party destroys it and restores the world and its Crystals.