Final Fantasy XVI Guide: “Buried Memories” Walkthrough

Final Fantasy 16 Guide – Main Story Quest #22

Buried Memories is another combat-heavy chapter, and there’s a good balance of action and cutscenes. After entering Phoenix Gate, head forward and follow the path. You’ll be heading deeper into the ruins here, but first you’ll have a few cutscenes to watch.

After a final cutscene outside, you’ll be inside the you will be inside the Apodytery, a massive Fallen ruin. Continue ahead to reach your new enemy type, called Fallen bugs. These are similar to spiders, but you’ll see the attacks orchestrated ahead of time thanks to glowing claws.

After defeating this group, you’ll reach the bottom of the elevator. Deal with the next two Fallen enemies, Hunters and Nodes. Hunters are typical soldiers while Nodes shoot projectiles from a distance.

This format of big, open area for combat, followed by corridors to the next area will be commonplace here, although if you get turned around for some reason, head toward the large lit up doors for the way forward.

Dealing with another group will reward you with a chest just right of the doorway. This is actually a common place for these to be located in the dungeon so be sure to swing the camera around when you leave each set of double-doors, as they can be tricky to spot.

Head through to the next room and we’ll be faced with a brand new type of enemy, a Fallen Guardian. These are very similar to Hunters, with most attacks coming from an extendable pair of swords. Just be sure to dodge past these when he starts swinging them around and you should be fine.

Before you leave, be sure to open the chest in this room which holds the accessory The Favor of Wind (Gouge), which will be useful to anyone using Gouge to quickly stagger enemies.

Descending Deeper

Keep going along this path and you’ll come to a new type of enemy familiar to many Final Fantasy fans – the Bomb. Unlike in titles past, there’s no elemental damage here so you don’t have to worry about hitting them with Fire Eikon attacks.

As expected, bombs also have a large splash damage attack, and the ground will turn to magma in the area they’re about to hit. Be sure to rush out of this before it strikes.

After defeating the bombs, progress through to the next area and up the elevator. At the top, before the next door, is a chest containing 1200 Gil. That’s certainly a step up from the 2 Gil we’ve been finding in the wilderness!

You;ll have to deal with another set of enemies here, including a Fallen Guardian. When it gets down to under 50% health, be aware that it’ll call forth some reinforcements to join the battle.

Head into the next room and you’ll have a combination of Bombs and Fallen Bugs to fight off. This room also has a chest containing the accessory The Will of Wind (Rook’s Gambit) too.

The next area will sport out first boss fight of this quest, the Iron Giant.

Boss Fight – Iron Giant
Tips for beating: The Iron Giant is a large boss with a big sword and shield. Typically, it’ll use slow moving attacks but they also pack one heck of a punch if you’re caught so take your time. They’re quite easy to avoid though and they’re similar to the large goblin and Minotaur faced in previous chapters. The exception here though, is that the Iron Giant will wind up a ranged attack to throw at you, so be mindful of that. At around 50% health, the Giant will head to the middle of the arena and charge up an attack, replacing its red bar with a purple one. This is the first of several bosses that enact special moves like this and you’ll need to immediately unload as much damage on them as possible to knock this bar down. If you fail, you’ll succumb to a good deal of damage so use all the Eikon abilities at your disposal. The other bonus here is that move will stagger the Giant too, allowing you to do extra damage.
	Rewards:
2 Fallen Iron	60 Wyrrite	2 Meteorite
50 EXP	100 Ability Points	1800 Gil

Once the boss has been defeated, you’ll be graced with another cutscene. Move forward afterwards and look to your left.

There will be a chest here holding The Favor of the Wind (Wicked Wheel) within, and there are also a few potions on the landing too, should you need them.

Go down to the lower platform in from and wait for the cutscene to start. After fighting the Lich that’s waiting for you (a new enemy type that teleports all over the place), you can either go to the left or right.

Both have enemies to defeat and a button to press and in truth, it doesn’t matter which route you go as you’ll wind up back in the central passageway, where you’ll find the ground now illuminated blue from both button presses.

The elevator here is now operational so free free to tap X and descend.

When you get to the other side of the bridge, open the door. Keep going and watch the cutscene here, before descending into another tough boss fight.

Boss Fight – Shadow Reaches/Infernal Eikon
Tips for beating: This is a rather long battle and takes place across various Phases, just like in previous bosses up until this point. Be sure to keep using your Eikon abilities, and be aware that you’re probably going to need your potions for later on in this fight. Phase 1 The first part of this battle sees the Eikon trying to stomp and swipe at you. Sound familiar to Garuda? Yeah, the strategy here is pretty much the same. Keep hitting it with attack combos, being mindful of any stamps or swipes that might arrive. Gouge is a great option here to reduce down the stun bar, as is Wicked Wheel too, so be sure to do a one-two combo while activating your abilities. Sometimes this Eikon will launch fireballs at you from afar, so dodge those quickly, while there’s also a couple of attacks to be mindful of too, all of which named. Crimson Rush will see the Eikon charge straight at you from across the arena, so be sure to dodge that as soon as you see it coming. Vulcan Blast sees the Eikon blast an area on the ground around him, so be sure to dodge out of the illuminated area when this occurs. There’s also a ranged attack called Scorched Earth, where a wave of flame will head along the ground, so do be sure to jump over this one. Similarly, you can actually use Deadly Embrace just before the wave comes and if you’re close enough, you’ll automatically jump it anyway. Eventually, you’ll take the Eikon down and finish Phase 1 of this fight. Phase 2 The second part of this fight will see you taking part in a mirror match against your own shadowy doppelganger. Here, the boss uses the same move-set as Clive’s, including basic sword swings, thrusts and magic attacks. There’s also Molten Thrust and Fira, which arw ranged attacks too. Once you stagger your Shadow the first time, a number of new, unique attacks will open up. There’s Incinerate, where it’ll launch a wave attack in front, which you can dodge out the way of. Hammer and Anvil is a familiar downward attack you’ve seen before, with a jump into the air and slamming down in an illuminated spot. Be sure to evade this immediately. After the next stagger, the Shadow will perform Hellfire. This will see plumes of fire shoot out from the ground, just like Garuda did with her wind abilities. Phase 3 Once you get a few more staggers in, a scene will ensue where you’ll need to press L3 and R3 at the same time to unlock Clive’s limit ability. Here, you’ll be in a similar powered-up state to your Shadow. Attacks are now powered up, while you’ll also be able to deal a series of powerful swings too. Don’t be concerned about using potions here either, as Clive will constantly heal too. Eventually, you’ll have a series of Cinematic Clash sequences, which will finish the fight and this exhausting boss fight.
	Rewards:
1 Fire Shard	80 Magicked Ash	450 EXP
180 Ability Points	3200 Gil

Upon completing this boss, watch the cutscenes and hear that sweet chime of a trophy unlocking, Acceptance, your third story-based achievement.

Holding On	The Meaning of Life
You can check out our full walkthrough and game guide here!