The Flying Fortress, also known as the FLOATING CASTLE or Sky Castle[1], is a location from the original Final Fantasy only accessible through the Mirage Tower. This structure is where the Wind Crystal rests and where the Fiend of Wind, Tiamat, awaits the Warriors of Light. It was also where the Sky People used to live in during the past.
An even greater threat exists on the bridge leading to Tiamat's lair: the powerful machine of death known as the Warmech.
The fortress contains five floors. In the third floor, an observation window can be interacted with to observe the world beneath the Warriors of Light, with a robot near to it that explains the window's function. Looking through it reveals that the elemental energies coming from the four Crystal Altars of the game are converging into the Chaos Shrine, foreshadowing the true events that are happening inside the shrine. Additionally, some rooms in that floor have a raised, glowing tiles similar to the ones found in the Mirage Tower. Interacting with them causes it to speak (in a manner similar to the robot's speech patterns) about its analysis regarding about Tiamat and states that she has no weaknesses.
The fourth floor of the Flying Fortress works like a maze due to having an identical layout as well as passageways that loop around in the same floor; the only things that can help the party know that they are in a different part of the floor is the stairs going to third floor and the one going to the fifth floor. One quick way to solve this puzzle require the party to go to the left two times upon reaching the floor and then to go up two times to find the next stairs. Alternatively, the party can go up two times and then move to the left times to also find the stairs.
In the NES and MSX2 versions, in a significant plot twist, it was revealed on entry to be a purely-technological satellite station in high stellar orbit above the planet, displaying the stars in the background. The releases starting with the WonderSwan Color version changed it into a more traditional castle in the clouds, albeit still made with technology significantly more advanced than anything on the surface.
Story
The Flying Fortress was home to the advanced Sky People race. Their expertise in technology is seen in the grand structure of the fortress and its ability to levitate. They were also associated with the wind element, thus they would be close to the Wind Crystal found in their fortress. Four hundred years before the advent of the Warriors of Light, Tiamat drove the Sky People out and they were forced make a home on the surface, Lufenia.
After obtaining the chime from Lufenia and the warp cube from the Waterfall Cavern, the Warriors of Light venture to the Mirage Tower to reach the Flying Fortress where they defeat Tiamat and restore the Wind Crystal.
Items
Flying Fortress artwork by Yoshitaka Amano.
| Item | Location |
|---|---|
| Razer | First Floor |
| 180 gil | First Floor |
| 5,000 gil | First Floor |
| Protect Ring | First Floor |
| 6,720 gil | First Floor |
| Healing Helm | First Floor |
| 7,900 gil | First Floor |
| 4,150 gil | First Floor |
| 9,900 gil | First Floor |
| Potion | First Floor |
| Diamond Gloves | Second Floor |
| Diamond Shield | Second Floor |
| Ribbon | Second Floor |
| White Robe | Second Floor |
| Black Robe | Second Floor |
| Adamantite | Second Floor |
| Cottage | Second Floor |
| Mythril Helm | Second Floor |
| 8,135 gil | Third Floor |
| Protect Cloak | Third Floor |
| 9,500 gil | Third Floor |
| Clothes | Third Floor |
| Gold Needle | Third Floor |
| 5,450 gil | Third Floor |
| Potion | Third Floor |
| 9,000 gil | Third Floor |
| Protect Ring | Third Floor |
| Sasuke's Blade | Third Floor |
| 3,400 gil | Third Floor |
| 4,150 gil | Third Floor |
| Gold Needle | Third Floor |
Encounters
Battle background.
Tiamat battle background.
| Encounters | Areas | |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel Remaster | Other releases | |
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1F |
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2F |
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3F |
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4F |
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5F |
Musical themes
The Flying Fortress's background music is named after itself, only reappearing in certain floors of the Whisperwind Cove.
Other appearances
Final Fantasy Tactics
Floating Castle.
The Floating Castle is mentioned as one of the wonders in Final Fantasy Tactics. It bears the following description:
- The winged ones possessed technology allowing them to transmute cloudstone into crystals, like the ones that keep this castle aloft. Unfortunately, both the winged ones and their wondrous knowledge were lost in the Cataclysm.
Dissidia Final Fantasy
In Dissidia Final Fantasy the fortress is referred to by name, as both Wing of the Hawk and the Town on the Hawk's Wing.
The Dreams of a Flying Castle Gateway in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy is located in the middle of the Mirage Sandsea (Dissidia 012's given name to the Yahnikurm Desert area), and is a reference to the Flying Fortress.
Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Armed with the knowledge they obtained in Lufenia, the Warriors of Light make their way to the Mirage Tower. There, they use the Warp Cube to enter the Flying Fortress.
Description
The Flying Fortress is a Realm Dungeon, unlocked by completing Sunken Shrine. Completing it unlocks Nibelheim.
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
This section about a location in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.A explorable sky fortress was made available as a limited time event, and completely recreated the maps of the dungeon in the exact same layout as in the original game. The art design taken with this was in line with the sky castle concept seen in later revisions of the original game, however its battle graphic showed highly polished metallic floors instead of stone.
The enemies present in the exploration stage showcase some, but not all of the monsters seen in the original games. Unfortunately, Warmech or デスマシーン (Desu Mashīn) was not included in the enemy listings on the final floor, but Tiamat does serve as the boss to the stage. The music selected to play here was the original 8-bit melodies instead of the updated remastered music heard in the PS1 and later versions.
Gallery
