Chapter 1 (2)

Your first mission in Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, 'The Akademeia Liberation,' is a tutorial. Learn how to get an S Rank and defeat Dainsleif!

Alright, so you've just started up Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and watched those opening cutscenes. Don't worry if they don't make perfect sense right away – that's totally normal! Once those scenes wrap up (you can skip them by hitting Start if you're eager to jump in), you'll be thrown straight into your very first mission.

This first mission is called The Akademeia Liberation, and it's basically your tutorial for everything. The game's gonna walk you through the basics, so just follow along with each prompt. Make sure to explore everywhere, grab all the items you see – like Potions and Knowing Tags – and defeat every enemy. Clearing each area without any of your party members falling should be pretty straightforward.

Now, you'll have a Life Armlet early on. This thing is super handy because it'll revive a character if they fall in battle. BUT, and this is a big 'but,' using it adds to your 'casualties' count, which messes with your final mission score. So, try your best to avoid needing it!

I actually ran into a weird glitch in Area 7 after placing the Magicite. When I moved south from the Recovery Portal, there was this explosion, and suddenly all the character and enemy visuals just vanished, leaving only these spooky silhouettes and shadows. It made it really hard to see what was going on, dodge attacks, or even lock onto enemies. I just ended up mashing the attack buttons and hoping for the best. Thankfully, I managed to beat the boss without anyone dying, even with the visual chaos!

After that, you'll head back to Area 4. Your Life Armlet will break after this point, so from here on out, you absolutely cannot afford to have anyone die. You'll then proceed to the Arena to face Dainsleif. You actually fight her twice!

• First Fight (as Odin): This is pretty simple. Just charge up Odin's Zantetsuken attack until the gauge above the boss's head hits 100%, then unleash it. It's an instant kill!
• Second Fight (as Party Members): You'll control your main party here. I highly recommend playing as Ace and just spamming his magic attacks while dodging Dainsleif's beams. Keep peppering her with spells until her health is gone. Then, quickly switch to Seven or Jack to land the final blow. I found Ace to be the safest bet to avoid casualties, especially since the AI for Jack and Seven isn't the greatest.

If you manage to beat her without any casualties, you'll see a cool little scene with Ace, Jack, and Seven, totally wiped out but victorious. This mission is your first Report Card, and here's what mine looked like:

Once the mission's done, just turn left and head towards the big door to finish the chapter.

Now, if you're looking for a *real* challenge, you can restart the game and aim for an S Rank on this mission. It's the only mission you can't replay later, so getting it perfect the first time is a huge accomplishment. It's tough, though! You'll need to memorize the whole thing or at least know what you're doing up to the next save point. Pro tip: Mission time pauses when you open the Relic Terminal menu, so you can save whenever you need to. I spent three days and countless tries before I finally nailed that S Rank!