Toadstool Forest is the high-difficulty version of Mushroom Forest. You can unlock Toadstool Forest after clearing FFCC Remastered’s main campaign.
It’s accessible at Mushroom Forest’s location in the River Mine Downs region, or through the Setting Out Together online multiplayer option in the main menu.
You can tackle this dungeon online with a group on the following days:
- Tuesdays
- Wednesdays
- Weekends (Fri, Sat, Sun)
Note: Single-player Bonus Dungeons are always available.
This dungeon’s map is rather linear, so you shouldn’t have trouble navigating it. But here are some things worth keeping in mind as you advance into Toadstool Forest:
- Clear-capped mushrooms can bounce you up to higher platforms.
- Red-capped mushrooms provide powerful buffs.
- Thundara makes combat a lot easier by paralyzing your foes.
The hardest part of Toadstool Forest might be the boss, the Great Malboro. The strategies and tips we’re about to share should make it a little bit easier and save you a lot of time.
Map
Walkthrough
The Toadstool Forest is a fairly linear dungeon. The challenge here comes from the copious strong enemies waiting to pounce on unsuspecting caravaners.
Keep your guard up as you head into the dungeon.
Step #1: Getting Started (Watch Out for Lizardmen)
Turn right as you enter the dungeon to grab two chests containing Raise and Cure magicites.
This road is a dead end, so turn back around and advance westward.
You’ll run into a trio of Lizardmen.
These gangs of Lizardmen are composed of a caster, a melee fighter, and a javelin thrower. You’ll see many throughout the dungeon.
Tip: The best way to deal with these enemies is by stunning them with Thunder, Thundara, or Thundaga.
Try to lure the Lizardmen away from their starting position until only one of them is giving chase. This should give you a head-start to incapacitate one Lizardman before the other two come running.
These enemies drop Cure, Clear, and Thunder.
If you have the Thunder Ring, you should be able to fuse Thundara. This spell will be your best friend through the rest of the dungeon.
Step #2: Sniff the Red Mushrooms
There’s also an Ochu south of the Lizardmen, standing on a light brown mushroom cap.
These enemies are weak to Fire, but Thunder also does the trick.
Tip: This Ochu is locked in place. Take it on from a distance to avoid taking damage.
You’ll notice a path behind the Ochu. That’s the way forward, but there’s still a chest to collect further to the left.
Two Magic Plants and an Ochu protect the chest.
Tip: These plants are also susceptible to paralysis from Thunder, so Thundara is still the way to go.
You’ll also notice a mysterious red mushroom to the north. There are four of these around the map, each providing a different buff.
This one is Haste, which lets you cast spells and charge up Focus Attacks faster. Sniff it before engaging in combat with the nearby enemies.
Once you’ve defeated the enemies and collected your rewards, go back to where you fought the first Ochu and cross over the mushroom cap.
Step #3: Use Springy Mushrooms to Go Up
Follow the road until bumping into another Lizardman trio.
Tip: The Haste buff from the red mushroom should help you cast Thundara faster without the javelin thrower interrupting you.
Deal with them and keep going.
You’ll fight through a lone Ochu before running into another Lizardmen + Ochu combo.
Tip: One of the Lizardmen should move in to attack you before the rest are alerted to your presence. Use this to your advantage by leading it away from the pack before striking.
There’s a suspicious clear-colored mushroom cap beside the enemies. That’s the way forward, but there’s still some treasure to collect further down this path.
So follow the path northward to find an Ochu and three Lizardmen standing around another red-cap mushroom. This one provides a STR buff.
Defeat the enemies and collect the Artifact from the chest, then head back south to advance further into the dungeon.
Tip: Refresh the buff from the mushroom before leaving this area.
Use the springy mushroom to reach a higher platform, then walk to the right and use another springy mushroom to jump up once again.
Step #4: Fight Through the Forest
A Fire Bomb and an Ochu will be waiting for you. The Ochu is locked in place, so focus on the Fire Bomb first.
Tip: Fire Bombs are paralyzed by Thunder. Thundara continues to be the way to go.
Head south past the Ochu, then turn eastward until reaching another Lizardman trio and two Magic Plants.
These enemies are standing next to a clear-capped mushroom that can take you back to the beginning of the dungeon. But ignore this mushroom if you have no business back at the start.
Keep moving east and you’ll soon find a road split further ahead.
Both routes lead to the same place: an open area with a Lizardman trio and two Ochu.
The Ochu to the northeast is guarding a chest.
Get the chest, then head south and fight through the second Ochu to go down the mushroom staircase behind it.
Continue eastward down this path.
Another group of Ochu + Lizardmen protects a third red-capped mushroom. This one has a DEF buff to offer.
Once you’ve defeated the enemies, collect the nearby chest and continue into the path.
There’s a conspicuous clear-capped mushroom up ahead. Use it to jump up back into the main road.
You’ll fall beside another red-capped mushroom offering a MAG buff protected by two Magic Plants and three Lizardmen a couple of steps to the left.
Try to take out the Magic Plants before engaging the Lizardmen.
Step #5: Last Stretch to the Finish Line
Head north, fighting through some more enemies until you find a sizeable springy mushroom.
This mushroom leads to a small space with an Ochu and a chest.
Defeat the plant, collect the treasure, and return back the way you came.
Then follow the road westward for yet another Lizardman trio + Ochu combo. Kill them and head through.
Next up is a pair of Fire Bombs before another Lizardman trio. Try to take them on separately.
Tip: Thundara, Thundara, Thundara.
Finally, you’ll find the entrance to the boss room protected by two Magic Plants and an Ochu.
Defeat them in a glorious battle before heading through to the boss.
Boss: Great Malboro
The Great Malboro is about as lethal as it is ugly.
Here are some tips to defeat this noxious monster and avoid becoming compost for the mushrooms around you.
Tip #1: Focus on the Ochu Minions
The boss is protected by two Ochu, much like the ones we fought during the dungeon.
With a long reach, high mobility, and the ability to interrupt your casting, they’ll make it impossible to defeat the Great Malboro.
Focus on defeating the Ochu first before worrying about damaging the boss. Fire-type spells are the fastest way to get it done.
Tip #2: Kill It with Fire!
Both the Ochu and the Great Malboro itself are weak to Fire-type spells.
Ideally, you want to create Fira or even Firaga if you have the right magicite. If not, there’s still a case to be made for the regular Fire spell.
Using the low-level Fire spell instead of Firaga should make it easier to cast despite being afflicted with Slow, which often happens during the fight.
Tip #3: Don’t Fear the Vacuum
Much like the original Malboro, the Great Malboro will often do a deep inhalation to draw the player closer to it.
It looks scary, but it doesn’t damage you.
Use this time to cast spells or go wild with long melee combos.
The move is usually followed by spikes coming out of the ground in a wide area in front of the boss, so make sure to move out of the way the moment it stops inhaling.
Tip #4: Move from Side to Side
At first, the Great Malboro deals damage in two main ways:
- Exhaling noxious fumes
- Making spikes burst out of the ground around the player
Avoid these by staying quick on your feet and moving immediately to the side once you’re done casting a spell or landing a combo.
It pays to err on the side of caution and get out of the way sooner rather than later. Don’t let greed get the best of you.
Tip #5: Phoenix Down, Cure, and Clear
In single player, you should always keep a Phoenix Down on your Command List. You might even carry two of them for extra safety.
Of course, Cure couldn’t be missing either. It’s easy to take some distance away from the Great Malboro to cast it, so there’s no excuse.
In the case of the Great Malboro, you could also add Clear to remove the various status effects the boss and its minions inflict, including Poison and Slow.
Obtainable Items
You’ll find Artifacts, crafting Recipes, and Materials throughout the dungeon. You get to keep all Recipes and Materials, but you can only choose one Artifact to take with you.
Chest Items
The following items await in the chests at the Toadstool Forest:
Artifacts | Materials |
---|---|
Ashura Black Hood Buckler Cat’s Bell Double Axe Ice Brand Ogrekiller Rune Bell Sage’s staff Silver Bracer Silver Spectacles Wonder Bangle |
Blaze Mushroom Chipped Gear Hollow Onyx Mythril Orichalcum |
Monster Items
Monsters don’t drop anything of note in the Toadstool Forest.
Boss Items
Unlike regular dungeons, the Toadstool Forest only has one set of Boss Items you can obtain regardless of your Bonus Points.
- Empty Armor (Recipe)
- Empty Weapon (Recipe)
- Empty Guard (Recipe)
- Blaze Mushroom
These drops will help you obtain Fire-resistant items that’ll make future attempts at this and other dungeons much easier.
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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered
- Toadstool Forest Dungeon Guide + Map (FFCC Remastered)