After Chapter 1

In this chapterAt Pravoka, the party defeats the pirates led by Bikke.

The party fights pirates at Pravoka to gain a ship. In Elfheim they wake the prince and are given the way to the Marsh Cave. In the cave they defeat the Lich, one of four Fiends, and restore the Earth Crystal. The Fiends are the game's four elemental villains. Each controls a crystal and lies in a dungeon.

The pirate fight is a chance to gain mobility and gives the world a sense of scale. The Earth Crystal restoration shows the cost of the game's mission: each crystal revives a part of the world.

In this chapterThe party visits Melmond, a ruined town suffering from the Earth Fiend's curse.

Melmond is a town afflicted by the Fiends' influence. The party travels to Mt. Gulg and defeats Kary, the Fiend of Fire. With the Fire Crystal restored, the world is slightly warmer. Kary is a straightforward boss, but her lair is a good example of the game's dungeon design.

The Fire Crystal restoration gives the party access to new areas. Melmond teaches that the Fiends have damaged life on the world.

In this chapterAt Crescent Lake the party meets the Circle of Sages.

At Crescent Lake the sages tell the party about the Fiends and a being named Chaos. The Citadel of Trials tests the party. With the sages' guidance and the Mystic Key, the party can reach the remaining Fiends. The sages provide the game's lore. Their story is a prophecy that the Warriors will fulfil.

The Citadel is a puzzle dungeon that rewards careful exploration. Three Fiends of the four have appeared by this point, and the final two crystals are still dark.

In this chapterThe party enters the Mirage Tower and finds an ancient flying fortress.

The Mirage Tower leads to a floating fortress where the party fights Tiamat. The Kraken is defeated at sea. With all four crystals restored the party learns where Chaos is. The Mirage Tower is a high-fantasy set piece, an ancient civilisation's relic.

The Fiends are all defeated, but the story's real villain remains. The restoration of the four crystals ends the party's first quest and starts the final.

In this chapterThe party travels back in time 2,000 years to the Chaos Shrine.

The Warriors travel through time to the Chaos Shrine. There they defeat Chaos, who turns out to be Garland, who sent himself back in time and became the villain. The Warriors break the loop, ending the cycle that Garland created. The time loop is a rare twist for an NES game. It makes the first boss and the last boss the same person, and the story circular.

Garland's motive, to become a god by looping, is a classic example of a villain's hubris. The victory restores the world and ends the series' first story.