Monster Analysis

1. Monsters to Watch Out For

MIND FLAYER: Appears in the Ice Cave, Castle of Ordeal, Floating Castle, and past Temple of Fiends. Its physical attack has a chance of instant death (cannot be blocked by a Ribbon), and it uses Mind Blast to paralyze the entire party. It also appears in groups. You must either flee or defeat it on the first turn, or things will get ugly. To top it off, at high levels (around 40), they tend to run away, making them the most hated enemy in FF1.

DARK WIZARD: Appears in the Ice Cave and past Temple of Fiends. In the Swan version, they appear in groups of three and repeatedly cast FIR3. They also often get the first strike and can cast BANE. In the Famicom version, they were much tamer, usually only casting RUB.

Gas D (Green Dragon): Found in the past Temple of Fiends. Its "POISON" breath attack can deal over 200 damage without a Ribbon. They can appear in groups of up to four, making them a major threat.

WIZARD (Pisco Demon): Looks like a mage but has powerful physical attacks. It's a tough opponent in the early stages of the game, and the inability to escape from it is frustrating.

R.GOYLE (Horned Devil): Casts FIR2 in groups.

MANCAT (Rakshasa): Also casts FIR2 in groups. Weakened to FIR1 in the Swan version.

GHOST: Appears in the Ocean Shrine. Despite being undead, it has incredibly strong physical attacks. Truly dangerous.

FrGATOR (White Croc): Appears in the rivers of the northern hemisphere. Its physical attacks are extremely powerful.

SENTRY (Soldier): Appears in the Floating Castle. It looks similar to the GUARD enemy, but its physical attack power is vastly different. Be careful not to mistake them; they are very dangerous.

2. Monster Rankings

Experience (Bosses excluded)

Gil (Bosses excluded)

3. How to Grind EXP Efficiently

Early Game: The plains east of Elfland (OGREs, CREEPs, etc.) or the sea (buy LIT2 and use it frequently; SHARKs for EXP, PIRATEs for money) are standard choices. After getting the Mystic KEY, you can repeatedly defeat the fixed encounters (MUMMY, WRAITH) in the Western Keep using HRM2. As a trick, there is a peninsula north of the eastern port of Pravoka. If you walk around on the four tiles at its tip, you will encounter strong enemies. You won't stand a chance at a low level, but you can earn a lot by efficiently defeating enemies like the BULL.

Mid Game and Onward: Defeating fixed encounters is a good idea. For example, the AGAMA in Gurgu Volcano or the EYE (Evil Eye in the Swan version) in the Ice Cave. With a party of four, you can gain a level every 6-7 minutes.

Late Game: While defeating fixed encounters (like Blue D) is still good, if your party is strong, brute force is recommended. The Waterfall Cave, Floating Castle 2F, and the past Temple of Fiends 3F (where Gas D appear) and B4F (where TIAMAT is) are good spots. To reach level 50, efficiently hunting Gas D or WORMs is the best way.

4. Low Encounter Rate Enemies

Here are some hard-to-find enemies. This information is for the Famicom version; the encounter system is different in the Swan version, so you'll encounter NAGA and SLIME more often. T REX, WarMECH, and IronGOL are rare on both systems, so if you have time, try searching for them.
Please refer to the Monster List for each monster's data.

OOZE: Can be encountered occasionally on floors B3-B5 of the Earth Cave.

Sand W: Only appears in the fields of the northern hemisphere. Its encounter rate varies by region, so it might be a relatively unknown monster. It gives decent EXP.

SAURIA: You can encounter it fairly often near the Castle of Ordeal. However, as it's primarily a field monster, its recognition is low. It also rarely appears in the final dungeon.

NAGA: Can be encountered fairly often on the 3rd floor of the Ocean Shrine, but since players often pass through this area quickly, it's not seen much. It also rarely appears on floor B3 of the final dungeon.

BigEYE: Sometimes appears in the Ocean Shrine and the final dungeon. It's a strange monster that looks weak but for some reason gives a lot of EXP and Gil.

SLIME: Sometimes appears in the Floating Castle. It also sometimes appears on floors 1F and 2F of the final dungeon.

JIMERA: Only appears on floor 2F of the final dungeon, and only occasionally. It's a sickly-colored Chimera. A must-see.

The following are truly rare enemies.

T REX: Rarely appears in the desert near the Mirage Tower. It's different from the TYRO. It has about 800 HP and is very strong.

WarMECH: Rarely appears on the 5th floor of the Floating Castle. It has devastating physical attacks, a "NUCLEAR" attack (100-300 damage to all), and auto-healing that restores 100 HP per turn. It has 1000 HP (2000 in the Swan version). The experience reward is incredible.

IronGOL: Rarely appears on floor B4 of the final dungeon. It uses a party-wide instant-death "TOXIC" gas attack. Its physical attacks are also strong, and it can appear in groups. It has about 300 HP.

5. EYE and PHANTOM (Evil Eye and Death Eye)

The name of the enemy guarding the treasure in the Ice Cave is EYE in the Famicom version. The graphic is also different, a nostalgic sight for those familiar with D&D. Also, the PHANTOM that appears in the final dungeon is called DEATH BEHOLDER in the Famicom version. To complicate things, in the Final Fantasy I & II compilation, the names are BEHOLDER and DEATH BEHOLDER, but the graphics are the same as the Swan version's EYE and PHANTOM. Furthermore, the strategy guide for the compilation supposedly uses the names Evil Eye and Death Eye. It's all very confusing.