Fuck Stories Untold

...I just finished the game Stories Untold and I am mad about it.

It's an eerie/atmospheric game, which takes place over four chapters.  The first - which I completed in May of 2018 - takes the form of a text-adventure.  Or rather, it takes the form of you, as an unidentified character, looking at an '80s desktop in first person while playing a text-adventure game on it.  I completed the other three sections over the past two days.  The second chapter, you're some kind of hospital tech, following instructions on another in-game computer screen to activate specific machines, while, in the third, you're some kind of vaguely military-flavoured character following radio instructions to input lines of code on another digital computer screen that you're looking at in first person.  The fourth chapter ties it all together, with the most cliched and trite twist imaginable.  I'm going to reveal it, because this review doesn't make sense without it.  [Spoiler Alert] your character is the same throughout all four chapters.  He accidentally killed his sister while drunk-driving and all the stories are the ways his mind tries to shield him from this reality while it tries to break through [Spoiler Over].

The game tries to immerse you and make you feel like you are the character interacting with these computers and machines.  It fails, in several ways.  Firstly, I'm not a man, so there's the initial break  in dramatic tension right there.  Yes, I know I'm role-playing, I am happy with role-playing games, but if you're going to give out concrete details like names and genders then I'm not going to feel as immersed, am I?  Doki Doki Literature Club did this very well, [Spoiler Alert] by avoiding specifying a gender - after a certain point - and by letting you enter a name (and, later, by reading it from your PC) [Spoiler Over].  Something like that might have worked better.  Another problem I had was in the controls.  At several points, you type something onto your own, real, keyboard which then appears on the screen of the digital computer in the game.  At other times, you use your mouse to click on things which respond.  There is no indication of what you can and cannot click on, and some things are unresponsive for no damn reason, which means it's hard to tell if you're trying to do something that can't be done or if it's just decided not to respond to that click (shout out to the TV screen in chapter three and the endless clicks it took to switch it between modes).  Another problem I had - and so did others - was that the games aspect ratio was wrong, making some of the buttons you had to press invisible and therefore impossible to click on.  Despite the developer claiming this was "fixed in a recent patch" as of the 19th of March 2017, this was still a problem on my copy, downloading in May of 2018.  I ended up deleting it and redownloading it now, May 2020, and it finally worked.  Well, I say it worked, I had to select the exact proportions I had my monitor set to - which I only knew because I'd been playing with them to try to fix the game - and play in full screen.  Several of the screens which involved any kind of motion were ridiculously jolty, so I tried lowering the quality.  This did not fix the joltiness, but it did make some of the information I needed to read off the in-game screens completely illegible.  With that and the random unresponsiveness of things that needed to be clicked on, I ended up just using a guide.  Oh, and I should probably mention that if you need to switch the game off halfway through one of the four chapters - like, for example, because it's making you fucking ill, as discussed below - it won't save your progress.  It saves each chapter you've completed, but not any partial progress.

Later, while playing chapter 4 and learning the, again, ridiculously cliched and trite "twist" in the story, I realised that the joltiness of the moving screens was on purpose - [Spoiler Alert] they're trying to make you feel drunk, since the character was drunk driving [Spoiler Over].  This pack of cunts were making me ill - nausea and headache - on purpose to increase the "immersion" which was fucking flawed to begin with!

Seriously, fuck these people in particular.

I've had games make me ill before - Spyro, for example - but I've never had someone fucking do it on purpose as some kind of terrible gimmick to shore up some idea of immersion and role-playing which was never going to work in the first place because I'm not a man called [Spoiler Alert] James Aiton [Spoiler Over].(stupid fucking name, btw).  I finished the game, but, tbh, it was mostly out of spite.

Oh, I forgot to talk about the other problem.  The fucking sound.  Turn it down so the music doesn't blast your ears off?  Too bad, you can't hear any of the voice acting!  I don't just mean you can't make it out, I mean you'd have no idea anyone was speaking at all if you didn't have subtitles turned on.  I can only assume that this game hates the players and doesn't think we deserve to play it if we're not willing to make ourselves physically ill for art.  I suppose I could also assume that the dev team were simply too unskilled to make a game that doesn't make people physically ill, but since The 7th Guest managed to do non-jolty first-person movement in 19-fucking-93, I'm going to assume it was on purpose.  To be complete and utter wankers.  Good job, you succeeded.

Fuck this game.

An Octave Higher

A spoiled and selfish noble unlocks their empathy and compassion through being forced to interact with the proletariat and discovering more about their world.  The game is a visual novel which signals, at each choice, whether it's increased your relationship with another character.  Am I talking about Cinderella Phenomenon or An Octave Higher?  Trick question, it's both.  The biggest difference is that Cinderella Phenomenon is based around fairytales while An Octave Higher is more politic.  It still takes place in a fantasy world, but a major focus - especially in the journey to the true ending - is the difference between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.  In some ways, this theme is handled well, for example, we see through the eyes of someone of each class, and someone more inbetween, which is a straightforward way to grasp this society on a wider scale.  In other ways it is handled badly, for example [Spoiler Alert] as in the "true" ending, when the former proletariat convinces the leader of the rebels that the poor should work their way out of poverty - completely ignoring that fact that this has been shown to be impossible for the vast majority, and she only got out due to a massive amount of luck combined with a skill she gained only due to her former life as a member of non-proletariat family.  [Spoiler Over].  That said, for the most part, it's an enjoyable journey.  I feel like the creators bit off more than they could chew, which is why the endings are unsatisfying and don't adequately address the questions raised, but the game overall is still pretty good.  Not as good as Cinderella Phenomenon.

I've owned the game for a while, but played it now because Steam encouraged me to with a spring event.  I'm a sucker for a badge.  I also started playing Science Girls!, for the same reason.  I'm still working my way through the Dark Parables series, and I just finished the first Crystal Story game, so I'll play the sequel soon.  I'm still playing Octopath Traveler and the Phoenix Wright trilogy, and I started Tales of Symphonia, so I'll probably only play shorter games until I'm done with one or more of those.

The Banner Saga, Eternal Senia and Crystal Story I and II

For a while, I've been trying to play The Banner Saga. Right now, I have to say, it's not for me.  I've managed three hours of gameplay, and I'm just not having fun.  I don't get the battle system, I find it difficult and unrewarding.  The gameplay - which I gather is Trail to Oregon style - just isn't my kind of thing.  I find it hard to figure out where we are, what we're trying to do, and who all these people I'm talking to are and what they want.  I'll probably have another go in future - maybe on easy mode, after reading a few guides on battling - but, right now, I'm letting myself off the hook.

I also removed Eternal Senia from my Steam account.  It's a free game so I didn't actually lose anything, it just reduces my stress level a fraction.  I played it for about 5 minutes, and in those 5 minutes I found one completely-untranslated text box.  I get that the game is free, which probably means the devs had fewer resources - and might be literally one guy in his bedroom - so I can get over the overall low-quality of the text and translation.  But to just...forget to translate some of it entirely?  It's not the fact that it was one box, it was that it was one box I found within 5 minutes.  If it was that easy to find, that indicates that there probably more, and also that there was less than 5 minutes of playtesting to try to avoid the error.  At that point - especially when I'm grumpy anyway, which was definitely the case - I'm happy to give up.  It had great reviews, so I might come back to it later, but I also might not.  Who knows?

One game I'm not giving up on is Crystal Story II, which I own on Steam.  I played the first Crystal Story game on Kongregate in 2011, and I liked it enough to remember it fondly and to buy another game in the series.  I also own Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale, which has some links to the series.  The thing is, I don't want to play Crystal Story II because I don't remember the story of Crystal Story, so I'm currently replaying that. I'm also playing Octopath Traveler, the Phoenix Wright trilogy, and the Dark Parables series.  The next game on my list alphabetically is Bioshock Infinite, which I suspect will be another intensive, story-heavy game, so I'm not going to start that until I've finished a few more.  I'm still making progress on playing all my Steam Games, and the finish four games before I allow myself to buy one more game is still holding up.  I'm not going to copy my whole spreadsheet and list over again, but here are my stats.

Not Played	99	48.06%
Did Not Finish	42	20.39%
Completed	65	31.55%
Total Games	206

I officially submitted my last piece of degree coursework last week, and I've applied for a lab role for now.  There's a huge demand in the current crisis for temporary lab workers.  I'll still be applying for PhDs to start next year, while doing that.  For now though, this means I have nothing else putting demands on my time, so I hope to at least play and appreciate more of the games I own.

Coffee Talk

I spent most of yesterday finishing Coffee Talk, a little...well, I guess slice-of-life is the most accurate description.  A little slice of life game.  It took me ten hours to play through it three times to see all the dialogue and get all the achievements, though I think I still missed the worst outcomes for two of the characters.  This would only change a line or two of text at the end, so I'm not too bothered.  The game cost me £8.24, so each hour of gameplay was about 80p.  Games obviously aren't good or bad based solely on price, I just like to work that out.  In this case, I think 80p per hour was worth it for the enjoyment received.  I can absolutely see myself playing this again, once enough time has gone by to erode the memory of the details.  Plus, I'm considering starting a twitch stream, and since this game is set 5 minutes into the future - starting 22 September 2020 - it would be quite fun to do a real-time replay, one day per day.  

The game play is mostly just sitting and watching people talk.  You're a barista in a late-night coffee shop.  There are no dialogue options - though your character does talk, you just don't get to decide what they'll say - and most of the gameplay is in putting drinks together.  

With the right drinks you can make people feel more or less comfortable, which makes them more or less friendly with you and each other, which affects their relationships and how their story ends.  You can also affect a few other things, for example, one character is writing a novel, and requires endless doses of caffeine, and another is a werewolf whose Fury can be lessened with the right drink.  You can also make latte art, though it doesn't affect anything.

What I like about this game is that I really cared about the characters and I wanted to hear what they had to say, even if I couldn't influence it, and it was, at some times, more like watching a movie.  It compares very favourably with 1bitheart, another game which focused on relationships between characters.  That game introduced 45 characters over about 4 hours of gameplay, and I didn't care about any of them.  This game - like Persona 4, and maybe the others but I haven't played them - spreads out fewer characters over a longer period of time, so you can actually grow to care for them and their stories.

The games set in a world where various fantasy creatures all exist and interact.  Like Discworld, only modern-day Seattle rather than Steampunk Victoriana.  I say modern day Seattle - characters have smartphones, but smoking indoors is absolutely fine.  The barista starts each day with a screen of the newspaper headlines, giving you an insight into the wider world, and many characters are affected by them.  One couple, an Elf and a Succubus, are both fighting against their parents' racial prejudice.  The writer intends to put this in her book, a fantasy about a world where only humans exist.  The characters question how this kind of conflict can be portrayed with only one race, and the writer suggests that people would be prejudiced against one another based on smaller differences, like skin colour or culture.  I really liked that bit because, when phrased like that, it really does sound absurd.

I finished my degree! (and some games...)

I officially submitted my last piece of coursework last week, so my degree is finished, just waiting for the grade.  Since then, I've been focused on playing games.  I finished Final Fantasy IX  and my guide for it.  Don't ask about the formatting in that post.  After a certain point, the formatting starts piling up and it suddenly breaks and is unfixable.  Well, I probably could fix it if I went through the html bit by bit editing it, but who has the time?  I could also split my guides into multiple posts - like I did for Vandal Hearts II, which I am still playing - so I might do that more in future.

I bought the entire Dark Parables series on Steam, adding ten games to the other 90 I haven't finished.  I did then finish two of them though, so, you know, I'm working on it.  I also came up with a new system, where I can only buy one new game for every four I complete.  This week, I finished Idle Evolution, The Exiled Prince, The Rise of the Snow Queen and Final Fantasy IX, so I bought The Sexy Brutale.  I've wanted it for a while and it was 50% off on Humble Bundle.

Idle Evolution is an idle game that I think I've talked about before.  I like that it doesn't require resetting, making it much shorter than other idle games.  It has three modes, all of which can be completed within a day or so, and a bunch of achievements, most of which you'll achieve with only a little effort.  Other idle games I play regularly are Crush Crush and Blush Blush.  They are very similar since they're made by the same company.  Crush Crush has girls to 'date' and slowly level up, while Blush Blush has boys.  There's also the upcoming Hush Hush, using the characters from Crush Crush.  I've been playing these for a while.  Crush Crush I started playing two or three years ago, and I've been playing Blush Blush since its initial beta release.  Honestly, Blush Blush feels like the bastard love child of the series.  Crush Crush is getting a lot of attention from the Dev team.  New girls keep being added, along with new phone-flings (a different type of game play), all of which have new pictures and new dialogue.  Blush Blush, instead, got another 100 levels added to each of the existing characters, with no new dialogue or pictures.  It feels like a really artificial way to increase gameplay without any added work.  Plus, while the maximum reset boost for Crush Crush is 2048, it's at least 10,000 for Blush Blush,  and even boosting it by 1000 requires at least half an hour of clicking through the exact same stuff you've already done.  I mean, I'll probably finish it, because I'm stubborn, but a lot of the enjoyment has disappeared.  Actually, maybe I won't finish it - now I come to write it out, that sounds like a stupid thing to do.  I guess Blush Blush just didn't appeal to the fans as much or wasn't as enjoyable to work on or something.  Which is fine - you can't put 100% of your attention on everything, you have to limit it somehow.  I'd rather they'd left it as it was or found a less repetitive way to lengthen the gameplay.  What makes it even worse is that, for one of the guys, the amount of gifts he wants is 20 or 66 times more than the maximum amount of gifts you can buy, so to get past those levels you need to repeat the same action 20 or 66 times.  Using an autoclicker or increasing your reset bonus doesn't make this faster.

Exiled Prince and Rise of the Snow Queen are the second and third games in the Dark Parables series.  They're all hidden object games, solving fairy tale mysteries.  I find the gameplay enjoyable and relaxing, and I'm really into their fairytale universe right now, hence buying the entire series for myself.

I also finished Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons this week.  It's a lovely little game.  You control two brothers, one with each half of the keyboard/gamepad, on a quest to save their father.  It's really enjoyable to learn how to control them both simultaneously, and the scenery in the game is absolutely gorgeous.  It's very linear - which isn't a fault - and the puzzles are at just the right level, absorbing but not frustrating.  They also did a great job of integrating the story with the gameplay.  No spoilers, but this is not a kid's game.  I've owned it for a while, and, before I completed it this week, had last played it back in 2016.  I remember playing it when I lived with my ex, and, based on the date, it was shortly before we broke up, so that's probably what interrupted me back then.

Final Fantasy IX - Spoiler-Free Guide

Prima Vista

• Before lighting the candle, grab the gil and a potion.
• Steal a potion, a wrist, and a Mage Masher from the Masked Man.

Achievement Unlocked: Sticky Fingers

• For a tiny bit of extra dialogue, suggest kidnapping Brahne 64 times.

Alexandria

• Two potions on the street where you start.
• Potion, gil, and Forest Fang Card in grandma's house.
• 33 gil and goblin card outside the Tavern.  Talk to Hippaul here or outside the ticket booth until he tells you he hid his three precious cards.
• Potion, Flan card, and 27 gil in the Tavern.
• 38 gil in the item shop.
• Phoenix Pinion above the ticket booth.   Don't go in just yet.
• Remedy in the weapons shop and ether in the synthesis shop.
• Potion, and tent in the steeple.  If you climb up and pull the bell, Ironite Card, Goblin Card, and Fang Card (previously Hippaul's).
• Eye drops and 3 gil in Ilia's house.
• Speak to Tom at the docks and he'll give you a Bomb Card for finding Mittens (in the square) and returning.  Potion, Lizardman Card, Sahagin Card, and Zombie Card in the square behind you.
• Goblin Card, Fang Card, and Skeleton Card from the ticket booth.
• After showing your ticket at the ticket booth and helping Puck, Alleyway Jack will walk up behind you in the alley.  Speak to him first to avoid being mugged.

Achievement Unlocked: It's All in the Cards

• You can play jumprope near the ticket booth.  All of the rewards but one are unlocked by 300, but you get an achievement and a key item if you get to 1000.  I used this guide, with the autoclicker set to 5 milliseconds and FPS limited to 15 because life is short and I've been trying to beat this stupid minigame for 19 years.

Achievement Unlocked: Skip to My Lou, Hail to the King

• There's an achievement for beating 100 different players at TetraMaster.  I found 24 unique players in Alexandria.

[25/100] Tetra Master
Achievement Unlocked: It's All in the Cards II

• Pick up the Mognet letter from Kupo in the steeple.  Some moogles will have letters you don't need to do anything with, but you can read for exposition, and I won't point those out.
• You can collect 29, 63, and 92 gil on the rooftop.

Alexandria Castle

• Aim to impress 100 nobles during the fight scene.  You can repeat it as many times as you like.  

Achievement Unlocked: A Round of Applause

• As Steiner, pick up a phoenix down and talk to the two guards in the guardhouse.  
• Get a moonstone from Queen Brahne.
• Speak to; Dojebon, running around the halls; Mullenkedheim in the dining room; Laudo in the library; Pluto Knight by the right tower; Haagen gazing at the water; Weimar hitting on a soldier.  Breireicht on the stairs will then give you an elixir.
• As Zidane, turn the wheel to the left and right to reveal chests containing a phoenix down and a phoenix pinion.
• Steal a leather hat and a silk shirt from Steiner.

Evil Forest

• There's an achievement for watching 79 ATEs.  There are 80 in the game, but one is a case of either/or, so there are only 79 possible in one playthrough.
• I'd suggest keeping your levels low as you move through the game.  The reason for this is that the equipment you wear can cause permanent stat increases, but you won't get the really good equipment until later on.  This guide has the whole thing in detail but, basically; when your characters level up, try to have their strength, magic, spirit, and speed stats as boosted by their equipment as you possibly can, because those temporary boosts can bleed into permanent stat boosts.  You'll start getting equipment that can do that in Lindblum.
• Grab a phoenix from the ground near the conductor.
• Steal a Broadsword and a Leather Wrist from the Prison Cage holding Vivi.

Achievement Unlocked: Getting Emotional

• Bronze Gloves in a treasure chest near Baku.
• Wrist in a treasure chest in the hallway.
• Ether and 116 gil in Vivi's room.
• Pick up an ether, rubber helm, and a potion on the left side of the ship.
• Steal a Hi-potion and an Iron Sword from Baku.
• Ether in Steiner's room.
• Leather Hat in a chest near the ship's exit.
• Deliver the Mognet letter to Monty.
• Steal eye drops and an Iron Helm from the Plant Brain.

[6/79] ATEs

World Map

• Call and dismiss Moguo 17 times.

Achievement Unlocked: One Nag Too Many

• You can pick up a potion and eye drops at North Gate, to the west.

Ice Cavern

• Tent in the first room.
• Potion and Ether in the next room.
• Then, potion, Elixir, and Mage Masher.
• Then, phoenix down and leather wrist.
• Pick up the Mognet from Mois to Gumo.
• Steal a remedy and Silk Shirt from Black Waltz I and an ether and a Mythril Dagger from Sea Lion.

World Map

• Check out South Gate (visible from the exit to the Ice Cavern if you rotate the camera) if you like.  You can buy medicine.
• You can find the Ragtime Mouse four times before arriving at the outer continent.  I did that here.
• You can find a Mu begging for Ore between the Ice Cavern and Dali.
• You can pick up 135 gil and a Hi-potion at the base of the Observation Tower.  You can also play cards with Morrid and offer to swap some coffee for his model theatre ship.

[26/100] Tetra Master

Dali

• Grab the potion and antidote in the room at the inn, then role the colour fortunes until you get a very good omen.

Achievement Unlocked: Your Lucky Day

• Deliver the Mognet letter to Gumo.
• 120 gil outside the item shop.
• Buy as many wrists as you can.  I also assume that you'll be buying enough weapons/armour that you'll also have at least one in your inventory, even after synthesising other things.  This is because there's an achievement for learning all of the equippable abilities.  I am working off a rough list, which I'll post if it turns out to work well.
• Grab Aries from the windmill.  You can't reach the chest yet.

[12/79] ATEs
[26/100] Tetra Master

• 156 gil in the chest below the lift.
• Potion and eye drops near the Chocobo.
• Pick up a letter from Kumop for Mogki.  Potion and ether nearby.
• Iron helm and leather wrist near the piles in the next room.
• 95 gil near the machinery. 
• Phoenix down, phoenix pinion, and potion in the really misty room.
• Steal a steepled hat and leather plate from Black Waltz II.
• Steal a steepled hat, linen cuirass, and silver gloves from Black Waltz III.

Lindblum

Business District

• 163 gil downstairs in the inn.
• Tent outside the church.  Leather plate inside the church.
• Echo screen and Hi-potion in Card Freak Gon's house.
• Silver gloves inside the synthesis shop.
• Make as many cotton robes as you can (sell an ether or two for the first 1000 gil).  Sell the cotton robes, buy steepled hats.  Repeat.  You'll make a 630 gil profit each time.  Stop when you start running out of wrists.

Achievement Unlocked: Coming Together

[14/79] ATEs

[32/100] Tetra Master

Theatre District

• 127 gil outside the station.
• Ore in Aspiring Artist Michael's home.
• 282, 68, 97 gil and a mini-Burmecia in the Tantalus hideout.
• After seeing Lowell escape, you can get his autograph in Michael's house, and find his moogle suit stuffed in a nearby drawer.

[17/79] ATEs

[41/100] Tetra Master

Industrial District

• Leather wrist outside the station.
• Bronze Vest outside the pub.
• Mimic Card and Steepled Hat in the engineers house.

[43/100] Tetra Master

Lindblum Castle

• Ether and Glass Armlet in the guest room.
• Deliver the Mognet letter to Mogki.  Pickup a letter from Mogki to Atla.
• Let Vivi win the Festival of the Hunt by taking out both Zidane and Freya.  Afterwards, you can reload if you prefer.  When you do it for real you can steal Mythril Gloves and a Needle Fork from the Zaghnol.

Achievement Unlocked: A' Hunting We Will Go

• Go to Serpent's gate for a Wyerd card, then head to Dragon's gate.  Grab the tent before leaving.

World Map

Quina

• Grab Quina at Qu's Marsh and do some frog-catching.  I got lucky with a golden one here, but it will happen eventually if you just keep trying.  You'll need to catch 99 Frogs over the course of the game for an achievement, and to face a bonus boss and get some cool items, including Quina's best weapon.  Also, it powers up Quina's Frog Drop blue magic.

Achievement Unlocked: Going for Gold

• I don't think any Blue Magic is actually missable, so feel free to come back for these.  There's a full guide on Steam, with the skills either in the order you can get them or in alphabetical order if you want to go hunting later.  You need to reduce an enemies HP to 1/4 the original level for Quina to eat them.
• Eat an Axolotl or Clipper at Qu's Marsh to learn Aqua Breath.
• Eat a Gigan Toad at Qu's Marsh to learn Frog Drop.
• Eat a Serpion on the plains near Dragon's Gate to learn Mighty Guard.
• Eat a Hedgehog Pie or Ladybird on the plains near Dragon's Gate to learn Pumpkin Head.
• Take Quina up through Lindblum and out on the mid-level.  You can eat an Axe Beak or a Blazer Beetle to learn Limit Glove, a Carve Spider to learn Lvl-3 Def-less, and a bomb (in the forest) to learn Mustard Bomb.  You can head over to Pinnacle rocks and grab a Phoenix Down and an Elixir a little early while you're doing this.
• Eat an Ironite on the plains near Chocobo's Forest to learn Angel's Snack and a Vice in the same area to learn Vanish.  While Blue Magic hunting, I was having the characters who were too strong defend a lot, hence the achievement.

Achievement Unlocked: The Best Offense 

Chocobo

• Do some Chocograph hunting at the Chocobo Forest.  You can find 9 Chocographs at this point in the game, and the moogle will tell you when there aren't any more here.  You then can find the Streamside and Between Mountains before moving on.
• While you're doing this, head over to Bohden Arch for Mocha coffee, an ether, and to drink magic healing water.

Gizamaluke's Grotto

• Eat a Hornet to learn Vanish and a Lamia to learn Lvl-3 Def-Less if you've not got them yet.

Achievement Unlocked: Let the Bodies Hit the Floor I

• Use your second bell to open the door to the left.  Grab a bronze vest on your way to the soldier who will give you a third bell.  Both doors lead to the same place, but you'll pass the items without going out of your way if you open the right door.
• Mythril Gloves and Magus Hat in the room with the giant bell.  
• You'll be coming back to these moogles.  The first kupo nut you give the husband on each disc nets you a Holy Bell, elixir, an extension, and an Aloha t-shirt, respectively.  For any more nuts on each disc you'll receive, randomly, either a tent, a Phoenix Pinion, or an ether.
• Steal an ice staff, an elixir, and magus hat from Gizamaluke.

Bohden's Gate

• Multina Racket in a chest to the left.  You can't open the chest on top of the wagon yet.
• Mognet letter from Grimo to Nazna.
• Potion in chest.

Burmecia

World Map

• You can get the Healing Shore Chocograph if you call a chocobo from here.
• If you run into a Nymph, eat it to learn Night.
• Stop by Burmecia Arch for a Hi-Potion and a Tent.
• If you go back through through Gizamaluke's Grotto after getting Healing Shore, you can pick up Bird's Eye Lagoon and Small Beach Chocographs.  You could do this later, but they have some nice equipment for Vivi (Oak Staff and Magician Robe, specifically).

Burmecia

• Cancer stellazio behind cart.
• Left house, soft and potion downstairs.  Mimic upstairs.
• Ether and Protection Bell in the bedroom.
• House to the right.  Treasure chest behind the stairs.  The chest above that is a mimic, which will summon a Magic Vice.  Eat it before it escapes to learn Magic Hammer.
• Walk to the chest in the next room which contains Germinas Boots, then backtrack to the bell door.
• Door downstairs to rescue a soldier.
• Tent, Phoenix and Mimic upstairs.
• Mythril Spear on the left, treasure chest with a Lightning Rod and Stiltzkin to the right - there's an achievement for buying all his items, so pay the 333 gil.  You can't come back for these.
• Deliver the letter from Mogki to Atla and pick up the letter to Monev.  Stock up on Steepled Hats.
• Try to steal a phoenix down, a Chain Plate, and a Mythril Sword from Beatrix.  It's nearly impossible to get the Mythril Sword before time runs out and you can buy them in few minutes.  I hate to miss things, but this one might be worth ignoring, for your sanity.

Summit Station

• 3 card players in the rest area (well, four, but Mary won't play until you reach your destination).
• Deliver a letter from Grimo to Nazna and pick one up for Mochos.
• Phoenix Down in chest.
• Steal a Steepled Hat, Lightning Staff, and a Flame Staff from Black Waltz 3.
• Detour to Dali to grab an Elixir from the farm and buy more wrists.
• 1610 gil on the way to the Treno gate.  The guard will play cards.

[47/100] Tetra Master

Treno

World Map

• Look out for the Ore-hungry friendly Ghost on the way.  

Quan's Dwelling

• Three ethers, Scorpio, and magic healing water here.

Treno

• Some ATEs are missable here.  Watch Treno Tradition (hammer X to reduce the amount lost), then throw 10 gil into the fountain 13 times until you get Gemini.  3 card players on this first screen.
• Go left and watch Pursuit.  A mythril dagger and another card player on this screen.  Go through the little tower, following Dagger.
• Watch Confusion.  4 card players on this screen.  
• Get a Promist Belt from the four-armed man in Bishop's Residence.  Card player in the synthesis shop, and the synthesist himself will play.  You can repeat the Cotton Robe trick here.
• Go south to the card stadium and watch Ambition.  3 card players outside, but only one will actually play.  Carry on east, and watch Meeting Place.
• Go up the stairs to the right and then south and watch Unexpected Visitor.  Yeti card, Taurus, and 1 gil here.  5 card players here.
• Now you can be a bit freer with your movements.  Head back up to Queen Stella's place and grab an ether from outside (you'll probably be running back this way to get more cotton robes, having sold your stock at the item shops).  Two more card players.  Trade your five stellazio for 8000 gil, a Phoenix Pinion, and a Blood Sword.  Queen Stella and her servant will play cards.
• With the Blood Sword, you can head back to the weapon shop and face the monster in the basement.  I gave Steiner the Blood Sword and his bronze armour (reduces wind damage by 50%).  Otherwise, just put the best equipment you can on him.  At level 6 with bird killer and MP attack, it took 2 hits.  You get a Tonberry Card.
• Once you've finished with the cotton robe trick, and synthesising new stuff, you're ready for the auction house.  2 card players and 2,225 gil outside.  At the Auction house, try to buy a Griffin's Heart, Une's Mirror, and Doga's Artifact.   You can sell them to people around town for a profit.  You can then buy them again, if you want to have them in your inventory.  All four contribute to your treasure hunter ranking, and Une's Mirror and Doga's artifact can be used in the Black Mage Village.  You can also buy a Reflect Ring and a Mini-Cid.

Achievement Unlocked: Auctioneer

[73/100] Tetra Master
[24/79] ATEs

• Deliver the letter from Nazna to Mochos.
• Head back outside the tower to watch Crime and Punishment.

Gargan Roo

• Chain plate and phoenix down near the switch.
• Marcus is leaving, steal his equipment.
• Also steal a Bone Wrist and a Mythril Fork from the Ralvurahva.

Cleyra

• You can drop by Gizamaluke's grotto to deliver a kupo nut on the way.  You should get an elixir, since this will be the first one on Disc 2, but I actually got a tent.  I think the steam version may not count the discs properly.  More testing required.
• As you climb the trunk, eat a Carrion Worm to learn Auto-Life, a Dragonfly for Matra Magic, and a Zuu for White Wind.  Don't worry if you can't get all of them, you'll be climbing back up the trunk again soon.
• After the first switch, next room contains a phoenix down.
• Next room has magician shoes and an Ice Staff.
• Ether in the obvious chest before rerouting the sand.
• Needle Fork and a Tent on the screen with the moogle.  Deliver a letter from Atla to Monev.
• Take a left on the next screen for a Flame Staff.
• Mythril Vest, Desert Boots, and Remedy on the next screen.  Run out the back of the cave for Mythril Gloves, then another lever to pull.
• Go back and go left this time, for a potion.  Take a right to reach the chest above that last level, which contains an elixir.
• Hi-potion and 900 gil by the quicksand.
• Gysahl greens behind the ladder.
• 970 gil by the quicksand pit in the town.  Phoenix pinion back on the first screen, on the ledge above the guide.
• Go left, watch No Yummy yummies! and Don't Hate Me and pick up a pair of thunder gloves.
• Go up to find an item shop (star maiden Nina) and another phoenix pinion.  There are four potential paths off this screen; if you take the middle south one down, you'll find Burmecian soldier Dan, who is both a weapon shop and a cardplayer, three other card players, an ore, and a remedy.
• Head into the inn behind Dan and his family to find an echo screen, 1,250 gil, an ether and Mopli the moogle.
• Head up behind the inn to reach a screen where you can watch I-I Haven't Hurt Anyone and There a Mushroom!. 

[77/100] Tetra Master
[28/79] ATEs

• From here you can go up to reach the front of the cathedral, where you can find an echo screen and gysahl greens.  Don't go inside - head back down to the sandpit and the entrance, where you can talk to Quina.
• Grab a silk robe and magician shoes from the chests and then make your way back up the tree, grabbing any blue magic you missed (for me, it was matra magic).
• In the cathedral, grab a yellow scarf and talk to Tree Oracle Wylan.
• After heading to the inn, follow Dan.  Steal Annoyntment, a Mythril Vest, and a Gold Helm from the Antlion.
• After some events, Freya can pick up an Ether, Ore, and Phoenix Pinion from the cathedral, and obtain an Emerald from the high priest in the same room.
• Head back to the inn and buy Stiltzkin's bundle for 444 gil.
• When asked; right, left, cross the bridge.  

Achievement Unlocked: Out of Harm's Way

• You can get a remedy, phoenix down, Nymph card, Zuu card, elixir, phoenix pinion, and ether from the survivors.  You can also pick up a mognet letter from Mopli to Serino.
• Steal a Phoenix Down, Thunder Gloves, and Ice Brand from Beatrix.  Don't worry too much about the Ice Brand, this is another battle with a time limit.
• Deliver a Mognet letter to Serino and pick up a letter for Moodon.

Alexandria Castle

• Steal Marcus's equipment, he doesn't need it.
• Update everyone's equipment and ensure Antibody is equipped as an ability and that Steiner has minus strike.  We're going after a bonus boss earlier than expected.  We're also about to get a ton of EXP, so equip accordingly.
• Head into the castle and into the library, on the left.  There's a book sitting on top of the bookcase in the lower left of the room.  Speak to it to begin fighting Tantarian.
• Tantarian will open to a page matching the damage done to it when physically hit.  Hit it with between 150-200 damage (Minus Strike is good for this) to expose the actual core.  When the core is exposed, it will only use poison attacks, which antibody will protect you from.  Only attack with magic at this point, so it doesn't change pages.  Zidane can steal an Ether, Elixir, Silver Fork, and Demon's Mail from it.  The latter two are nice, but they can be bought later - they're not limited, and don't require using up other items to synthesise, so low stakes for ignoring them here, especially since you have a second boss to battle on the same timer.  Beating Tantarian now doesn't give any major advantages beyond bragging rights.  It's pretty easy to defeat - just have Vivi use focus 4-5 times to get his -ara attacks up to 4-5k.  This time, I got bored of resetting.  I'll face him later.
• Tent and an Ice Brand in the two obvious chests.
• Steal Mythril Armour and a Mythril Armlet from Thorn and a Partisan and a Stardust Rod from Zorn.  I managed to defeat them in 3 minutes flat, but that was with some luck with stealing.  Once one is defeated, they both leave the battle.  Thorn has less HP.  Allow another minute for post-battle talking/running.
• Beatrix has a Phoenix Down, Ice Brand, and Survival Vest to steal, and she still has a time limit.  All her items can be bought elsewhere.
• On the way back down, stop by Mosh the Moogle again to get a Mognet letter for Monty.
• You can steal an Oak Staff, Adaman Vest, and Phoenix Down from the Ralvuimago.  It will curl up when physically attacked.  Weak against ice.

[29/79] ATEs

Pinnacle Rocks

• Go back to where you met Ramuh for the first part of the story.
• Deliver a letter from Mosh to Monty.  Two more parts of the story and a Mythril Vest on this screen.
• Head down and off the screen to the left for The Ogre and another part of the story.
• Up the ramp and round; jump off when asked to open the chest (Mythril Armlet), and then the final part of the story.  Repeat without jumping off to face Ramuh again and receive a Peridot.

Lindblum

• In the Inn, deliver a letter from Serino to Moodon, and pick up a letter from Moodon to Moonte.
• Phoenix Pinion and Ether in Card Freak Gon's house and a Lindblum card in the rubble outside.
• New stock at the Synthesis Shop, and one ATE - The Third Jewel.
• Ore in Artist Michael's House.
• 340, 262, and 933 gil in the chests in the hideout.  You can play cards with an Alexandrian soldier outside.
• Go back to Cid's man in the business district to automatically trigger two ATEs and gain a World Map.
• At Serpent's Gate, you can pick up a bandana from the chest, the merchant has new items, and you can deliver a mognet letter to Moonte.

[78/100] Tetra Master
[32/79] ATEs

Fossil Roo

• You can deliver another Kupo Nut to the moogle family in Gizamaluke's Grotto for an elixir.
• At Qu's Marsh, go ahead and catch some more frogs.  Normally, it's a good idea to leave an adult male and female to replenish the stocks, but I went ahead and caught all of them because it'll be a while before we get back here.
• Once inside the ruins (check the upper right path of Qu's marsh if you get lost), there's not benefit to facing Armodullahan - just run.
• You can steal an Ether, Gladius, and a Coral Sword from Lani.  I also called Ramuh for the achievement.

Achievement Unlocked: Bring on the Thunder

• Eat a Feather Circle to learn Level 4 Holy.
• Head back to the start of the ruins to get an Elixir from the cell Armodullahan came from.
• After riding the gargant, you can find Stiltzkin off to the right.  Buy a phoenix pinion, remedy, and ether for 555 gil.
• Head down the path from the moogles, ride the gargant to a treasure chest containing Fairy Earrings, then ride it back.
• The treasure hunter will play cards.  Head north from him to ride a gargant to the first switch, operate it, then ride the Gargant again to get to switch two.  There's also an ether in this area.  Operate switch two, then reverse your steps to get back to the moogles.  Once there, ride the gargant down from them to get to a new area, with a treasure hunter weapon shop.
• Head up the stairs, operate switch 4, and call a gargant to the right.  Pick up a Lamia's Tiara, then ride the gargant back.
• Move switch 4 back to its original position, then call a gargant to the right again.  Head across the vines to the right and into the cave.  For now, go past the treasure hunter and, in the next room, you'll find a survival vest (you'll also end up in this room if you'd fallen into the water below the vines and called a gargant from the room off the screen to the lower right).
• Head back to the treasure hunter (who will also play cards).  Then pay him a potion to do some digging and free the moogle on the top right.

Achievement Unlocked: Peek-a-Boo

• Pick up a mognet letter from Kuppo to Kupo.
• You can also try to dig up a Madain's Ring here, to the left of where you found the moogle.  There are other places to get it (auction house, synthesis, one via chocobo), and while it is used to synthesise Rosetta Rings, you can also find two of those in the game (one via Stellazio, the second via chocobo).  So, up to you if you spend the time, though it is worth an achievement.  Also up to you if you speed the game up here using F1.  You might also find Ore or High Potions.

Achievement Unlocked: The One Ring

• Go back to the vines and make your way to switch 3 in the top left.  Then head down to the bottom right and ride the gargant out of here (if you rode the Gargant without pressing switch 3, you'll end up in that room with the survival vest, near the digging bit).

[80/100] Tetra Master

Outer Continent

• Eat a Goblin Mage to learn Goblin Punch and a Cactuar to learn 1000 Needles.
• Check out Qu's marsh for more froggies.
• Call the Chocobo from the tracks near the marsh.  You can open Abandoned Beach from here.
• You can now find the Ragtime Mouse again and answer up to the 10th question.

Condie Petie

• This is another area where you might accidentally miss ATEs.  There are 5.  Watch Vivi and the Couple, then pick up the 2700 gil on this screen and go left.
• On this screen - where you just saw Vivi - you can watch Quina Accused.  
• Head into the Inn (left) and watch Quina Can't Communicate.  There's 1,800 gil in here.
• Go back out of the inn and up the stairs.  Another ATE and a diamond in here.  Talk to Vivi for the last ATE.
• Phoenix Pinion downstairs, near the grocers.  Pick up a Mognet letter from Mogmatt to Suzuna.  Don't forget the weapon shop next door!  Don't buy poison knuckles.
• I found 7 unique card players here.

[87/100] Tetra Master

[37/79] ATEs

Black Mage Village

• Look out for an ore-eating ladybug in the forest around the village.  It's part of the friendly monster quest.  He wants 2 ores and you'll get 20AP and an ether.  You'll gain two new party members before being forced to leave the continent, so you might wait for them.
• Read the sign and go where there are no owls.  Repeat as needed.
• More missable ATEs here.  Watch Everyday Life, grab the Elixir on this screen, then exit via the upper right path.
• Watch Life on the Run.  Ether in the item shop.  Ask for the usual so you can climb the ladder behind the counter and get a Black Belt.
• Go out through the item shop's front door and watch Gourmand's Nose.  Go down and around the item shop to get back to the first screen and exit via the lower right path.
• Watch Different Language.  Pick up a mognet letter from Mogryo to Mocchi.  Don't go inside the hut just yet.
• Head to the cemetery in the north of the village without entering the Synthesis Shop to watch Visitor, not Invader.  Another card player here.
• You can now enter the Synthesis Shop to pick up 2000 gil, play cards, and watch the final ATE Life Cycle.   At the top of the ladder, you can find 843 gil.  
• Virgo in the Inn.  After this, if you claim the ladder in the Synthesis shop, you can overhear a snatch of conversation.
• Gysahl Greens in the Chocobo Hut.  You can find 9 unique card players here.
• Stock up on Steepled Hats.

Achievement Unlocked: Coming Together II

[96/100] Tetra Master

[43/79] ATEs

Condie Petie

• Remove Quina's armour.
• Choose the second option when prompted for another ATE.

[44/79] ATEs

Mountain Path

• Climb up for a remedy to the left and a blue stone to the right.
• On the next screen, you can climb up for a tent and a red stone.
• Buy a magic tag, tent, and an ether from Stitlzkin for 666 gil, and deliver a letter from Mogmatt to Suzuna.
• Take the left path.  Steal a Phoenix Down, Mythril Fork, and Fairy Flute from Hilgigars.  The Fairy Flute is ridiculously difficult, and can be bought in a few hours, though it does have some nice spells for Eiko to learn.  It took me about four goes, and I spend most of it with my hand hovering over the F1 button, so I could speed up the wait times.  I needed one ether, for Eiko, and a few hi-potions/phoenix downs.  Summon Fenrir for a little bit of dialogue and so the next scene make sense.  You also get an achievement, but you can get that in any battle.

Achievement Unlocked: Wolf Insanity

• After the battle, pick-up the yellow stone in front of you.
• You can head back to the moogles to save, and then backtrack towards Condie Petie, catching an oglop on the way.  If you get one, Brian Rootrunner in Condie Petie will trade it for an Oglop card.  You can find them on the screen right before the moogles.  Run off it, towards Condie Petie, and then back on, and you'll see them.  Get as close as possible before they run off, usually about where the vines spill over the path.  Let them get closer, then run at them, hammering X.  You can capture more than one if you like.  There's no point to it - it doesn't even appear in your key items.
• Go back to where you fought Hilgigars, and take a right and then another right to find an ether and a green stone.  
• Place all four stones in the statue to the right of the moogles to obtain a moonstone.

Madain Sari

• You can find the Yeti friendly monster in the large forest just next to Madain Sari.  He wants 2 ores and gives an elixir and 20ap.
• There are 5 ATEs here, all quite hard to miss, and no card players.
• Libra and a tent when Eiko stops talking.  If you can't find the tent, wait until Dagger moves - she's sitting on it.
• You'll see ATEs in Eiko's kitchen as you travel around the village.  The best choices make the following scene longer, with more backstory.  Have Chimomo fish, Mocha dig, and Momatose help, prepare water for 11 people, leave the Oglop out, help Chimomo, and ask for Quina's help.
• Ore and a Phoenix Pinion in the dining room.
• Kirman Coffee in the kitchen.

[49/79] ATEs

Iifa Tree

• You can find the friendly Nymph in the forests nearby.  She wants 3 ores and gives an Emerald and 30ap.
• You'll obtain a Ruby automatically.
• Deliver a letter from Mogryo to Mocchi.
• Nothing on the screen immediately after going down on the lift, but on the screen after that, you'll find a hi-potion and a switch which causes a chest containing a phoenix down to appear.
• The next screen has an ether, a Lamia's flute, a Remedy, and a switch which causes a chest containing a Healing Rod to appear on the previous screen.
• You can find an elixir and a Brigandine after the second lift.
• You can steal an Oak Staff, a Magician's Cloak, and a Brigandine from Soulcage.   It will open the battle with level 5 death and attack with mustard bomb a few times, so be prepared for both.

Madain Sari

• I had Eiko summon Phoenix and Carbuncle on the way back.

Achievement Unlocked: Here to Help

Achievement Unlocked: Rise from the Ashes

• Phoenix Down and a Survival Vest in the kitchen.
• Exploda and an elixir received automatically.
• Steal an ether and some poison knuckles from Scarlet Hair.
• Memory Earring received automatically.
• Now is a good time to go meet all the friendly monsters if you've not yet done so.

Iifa Tree

• When you regain control of your party, Mocchi is hiding behind the tree in front of you.  
• Aquamarine received automatically.

Alexandria

• 4 ATEs as Vivi.  They're hard to miss, as many take place in locations you can't accidentally stumble on and interrupt.
• Challenge Hippaul to a race by talking to his mother.  You need to grind him up to level 80 to get all the rewards and an achievement.  Once you enter Ruby's theatre, you will not be able to race anymore.  For the first 50 levels, you can gain 5 per race.  After that, it's 1 per race, so you'll probably need 40 races.  You can try changing the control settings, using different hands, or taking a break to explore a little every 10.  The rewards - one every 10 levels - are as follows; Wyerd Card, Carrion Worm Card, Tantarian Card, Armstrong Card, Ribbon Card, Nova Dragon Card, Genji Card

Achievement Unlocked: Track Star

• Phoenix Pinion and 3927 gil on the dock north of the ticket booth.
• Shiva and Ramuh cards if you pull the rope at the top of the belltower (plus the other three, if you missed them on your first visit).
• Buy a Phoenix Pinion, Hi Potion, and Elixir from Stiltzkin for 777 gil.
• Deliver a Mognet letter from Kuppo to Kupo.
• I found 27 card players in Alexandria.  Even the ones you've beaten before now count as a new player for the purposes of the achievement.

Achievement Unlocked: It's all in the Cards III

• Opal, Topaz and Amethyst received automatically.
• One more ATE available when you leave the tavern.
• 2680 on the floor in Ruby's theatre.
• The Nero Brothers will play a gambling game with you in the weapon shop.  Make use of your pause button to keep track of the brother who speaks at the start, and then point him out at the end.  Win 9 times in a row for an achievement - that means always accept when they ask if you want to play, until they say you're too good.  It won't count if you decline and then start another game.  You can use RivaTuner (linked above, for the skipping rope game) to slow them down to 10FPS, which makes them trackable by the naked eye.  The amount they'll ask for goes up with each game, and you'll need a total of 12,800 of your own money to get to the ninth round, which you'll double if you're successful.  If you don't have that much, win a few rounds to build your funds up.  Tbh, these guys are a bunch of dicks for taking advantage of a heartbroken drunk.  I beat them 3 times just to have enough money for all the equipment I wanted to buy in Alexandria.

Achievement Unlocked: Found in the Shuffle

• Ether, Phoenix Pinion, and Lapis Lazuli near the docks at the castle.
• Phoenix Pinion and Leo in the left tower.
• Final ATE automatically.

[55/79] ATEs

Treno

• You can see 4 ATEs here, before starting the card tournament.  In the second, you'll have a choice - "pass by home" or "stay in Treno".  The latter will change your second opponent in the card tournament and allow you to win a Namingway Card from him.  The former will let you find out a little backstory.  You only need one for the Movie Critic achievement.
• Take a trip to Dali, stock up on wrists (do not stop by Quan's Dwelling yet or you'll miss an ATE).  Then, head into the mayor's office.  Search around for a mini-Brahne and the Mayor's Key.  If the kid wakes up, try going in through the other door.  You can also check the same place a few times in a row - 3 is sufficient to put him in a deep sleep.  With the key, you can open the door at the back of the windmill to find 30,000 gil and Burman coffee, in the same place.  You can also hope the chests in the top of the windmill, for a Cacushca and an Elixir.  You can now deliver all three rare coffees to Morrid, in exchange for the Theatre Ship Model (sent to the Tantalus house in Lindblum).

Achievement Unlocked: My Little Airship

[59/79] ATEs

• Back in Treno, the weapon shop has a new monster, Catoblepas.  Consider wearing the coral ring and equipping the Beast Killer ability.
• Deliver your three new stellazio to Queen Stella in exchange for an elixir, 10,000 gil, and a black belt.
• With all your new funds, repeat the Cotton Robe trick (if needed - if you don't need the cash, hold on to the robes for now).
• At the auction house, you can now buy a piece of Dark Matter.  You can also buy anklets and feather boots, as long as there are none in your inventory - try equipping them to your characters to get around this.  
• After finishing the first round of the card tournament, more ATEs unlock.  After watching Home Sweet Home, you can stop by Quan's Dwelling for more backstory and to pick up Vivi.  While watching Good Old Days choose "Of course I'm interested!" for another ATE.

[62/79] ATEs

• You unlock the final two ATEs after the second round of the card tournament.
• Also, buy some more wrists from Dali.  You'll need to get your gil as low as possible to view an ATE in Lindblum, and this is one way to spend it that will result in a profit.
• Beat the final round of the card tournament for a Rebirth Ring.

[64/79] ATEs

Alexandria

• At the beginning of the game, if you found all 9 Knights of Pluto, you got some information. Breireicht called Blutzen and Kohel "the double super-sleuths"; Laudo is our "most inspirational writer"; Dojebon is "the most famous artillerist in the realm"; Weimar is "the only man who can name all of the girls in town"; Haagan has "a knack for navigating the neighbourhood"; and Mullenkedheim is "the winner of last year's cannonball race".   Use this information to give orders to the Knights of Pluto now.  Correctly assigning all four activities nets you a pair of Angel Earrings.  I've written it this way because I'm annoyed that the game doesn't give you a fair shot at the puzzle.
• Steal Beatrix's equipment.  Your last chance to change your equipment is shortly after passing the pub.
• This is your last chance to battle Tantarian.  If you're stubborn, you can try for his Demon's Mail, without a time limit this time.  It's still a nightmare, and you'll be able to buy it for less than 6000 gil pretty soon.

Lindblum

• Egoist's Armlet and Elixir in the Guestroom.  Pick up a Mognet letter from Mogki to Moodon.  
• Ask Blank about Dagger.  Watch Something Washed Ashore then run straight to the telescope where you found Dagger before.  After the conversation, the ATE My Bad should unlock.
• You'll watch two ATEs automatically at the castle and another once you get to the theatre district.
• The chests in the Tantalus hideout now contain 1,273 gil, 970 gil, and 4,826 gil.  I'd suggest leaving them for now.
• Lapis Lazuli and Strange Potion in Michael's studio.
• Deliver a Mognet letter to Moodon in the inn in the business district.
• Sagittarius near the pickle cart, remedy and elixir in the card/pigeon freak's house.
• Alice near the shops has the beautiful potion.  
• Spend all your money.  You need your gil below 100 now to view an ATE later.
• Watch No Free Lunch, then head to the business district to pick up Quina.  Zidane should tell the pickle seller to ask Baku for the money.  You can now get your money back up, by selling whatever you've bought and opening those chests at the theatre district.
• Remedy at Dragon's Gate, Chimera Armlet at Serpent's Gate.
• Give Me My Money should play automatically when you board the ship.

[72/79] ATEs

World Map

• You can now freely change your party members (except Zidane).

Achievement Unlocked: The B-Team

• You can also do more chocobo stuff, which will unlock a lot more areas than the ship.  Go to the string of islands on the south-west of the map and look for the island with a beach and chocobo footprints.  From there, call a chocobo and look for Chocobo's Lagoon.  It's to the south-east of this island, but you'll need to loop round in a circle to reach it, as Chocobo can only wade in the shallow water right now.  You can find 3 chocographs in the shallow water of the lagoon.
• You can open all of your chocographs except Dusk Plains now, as long as your open Dawn Lagoon before Uncultivated Land;
• Far-away Lagoon: 37 Potions, 6 Magic Tags, 1 Shield Armour, 1 Gaia Gear.
• Abandoned Lagoon: 6 Soft, 4 Ether, 1 Feather Boots, 1 N-Kai Armlet.
• Cold Lagoon: 5 Echo Screen, 7 Hi-Potion, 3 Tent, 1 Theatre Ship Card.
• Forgotten Lagoon: 8 Gysahl Greens, 5 Ether, 7 Hi-Potion, 1 Dragon's Claws.
• Dawn Lagoon: mountain ability.
• Uncultivated Land: 10 Antidote, 1 Jade Armlet, 3 Wing Edge, 1 Cargo Ship Card.  You can also access southgate from this valley, which has chests containing two Elixirs and 3206 gil.  With this chocobo, you can also get to the South Gate arch that Steiner and Garnet visited to open the chest which contains an Elixir Card.
• With the mountain ability, you can find 4 more Chocographs and some dead peppers at Chocobo's Forest.  You can open Forbidden Forest (7 Ether, 2 Elixir, 10 Wing Edge, 1 High Mage Staff) and Green Plains (deep ocean ability) right now.  With deep ocean, you can then open Cold Lagoon (11 Peridot, 9 Opal, 15 Sapphire, 19 Topaz)
• Once you have the peppers, you can start opening cracks.  There are four, but you can only access one at this point in the game, in the Northeastern tip of the lost continent (41 Lapis Lazuli, 1 Rosetta Ring, 1 Protect Ring, 1 Airship Card).
• With the deep ocean ability, you can start looking for the bubbles in the ocean, which are dug up in the same way as the cracks in the mountains.  There are five, but one is not accessible until the end of the game.  This guide is a lot better than my written descriptions of the spots.
• The first one is in the northern-most part of the map and contains 50 Potions, 25 Hi-Potions, 9 Ethers, and 7 Elixirs.
• The second is southeast of the outer continent, and contains 8 Straw Hats, 8 Pearl Armlets, 7 Aloha T-Shirts, and 8 Sandals.
• The third is in the southern edge of the Forgotten Continent, and contains 10 Remedy, 1 Black Robe, 1 Genji Gloves, and 1 Blue Narciss Card.
• The fourth one is easiest to find by going into Quan's Dwelling and examining the ledge.  It contains 9 Ore, 15 Topaz, 1 Tiger Racket, and 1 Red Rose Card.

Achievement Unlocked: The Ultimate Racket

• With the deep ocean ability, you can find 3 more Chocographs in Chocobo Lagoon.  You can find Sea at Dusk (15 Phoenix Pinion, 1 White Robe, 1 Diamond, 1 Masamune Card) and Ocean (27 Ore,  1 Light Robe, 1 Whale Whisker, and 1 Alexander Card) now.

Achievement Unlocked: The Ultimate Rod

• You can now buy a pair of Thieves Gloves and a Promist Ring (if you have none in your inventory - equip them to your party members to get around this) at the auction in Treno.  The Thief Gloves go for about 20k and the Promist Ring for about 25K.  I had enough by selling all the spare medicine I got from playing hot-and-cold and from the Chocobo treasures.
• In Alexandria, a girl near where the ticket office used to be will give you an Alexandria Card.
• Deliver a Kupo Nut to Gizamaluke's Grotto in exchange for an extension.
• You can now access three Qu's Marshes - the two you've seen before, and one in the reef to the west of the map, near Chocobo's Lagoon.  Inside the western Qu's Marsh you can find Anemone's and Adamantoises, which will teach Quina Bad Breath and Earth Shake respectively.
• You can also eat Whale Zombies on the beaches of the Lost Continent to learn Lvl-5 Death, which will be important for levelling later.  Tossing a phoenix down on it will reduce its HP to one.  
• While you're there you can visit Esto Gaza to buy some mythril equipment if you're missing any and pick-up a wing edge hidden in the shop.
• In case you've forgotten, the plot continues in the Black Mage Village.
• In the desert, watch the four sand pits until you know which one doesn't occasionally spew out clouds.  Enter that one (unless you want to face an antlion).
• You're asked to split your team into parties.  This is your first chance to unlock the Femme Fatales? achievement, by bringing all the male characters with you and leaving a party of only women (and Quina).  Your next opportunity will not be until the end of the game.  Neither party will have the opportunity to face interesting Blue Magic, but Zidane's party will be able to access a new Qu's Marsh and both will be in battle, so it might be tough if you split the party by gender.  Personally, I also think it doesn't make sense for the story to split them that way either.

Oeilvert

• There's another Qu's Marsh here, where you can catch some frogs.
• Head to the northeast corner of the continent, past the Qu's Marsh, to find chocobo tracks.
• You can find the Jabberwock friendly monster in the forests in Seaways Canyon, on the east of the continent.   He wants an Emerald and gives a moonstone and 40AP.
• You can find the chocographs Dusk Plains (12 Phoenix Down, 14 Ore, 1 Kaiser Knuckles, 1 Iron Man Card) and Forgotten Plains (17 Ore, 5 Ether, 14 Opal, and 1 Demon's Mail).
• There are also two mountain cracks in the middle of the continent.  The first contains 19 eye drops, 1 Madain's Ring, 1 Genji Helmet, and a Hilda Garde 1 Card, and the second contains 1 Maiden Prayer, 1 Dragon's Hair, 1 Gauntlets, and 1 Odin Card.  This leaves only one last crack, to find later in the game.
• Pick up a mognet letter from Mimoza to Mooel.  This would be a good time to equip the 'jelly' ability.  A Moogle in the next area will have the same Mogshop, so don't worry if you're low on cash.
• Remedy and a Rising Sun in the first room, then head to the right to meet Stiltzkin and buy a Hi-potion, an Emerald, and an Elixir for 888 gil.  You can also deliver your mognet letter from Mimoza to Mooel and pick up some Gaia Gear.
• Up and left from the entrance is an elixir.
• Down and left from the entrance is a Diamond Sword and some Shield Armour.
• Take the steps down to reach a pair of Feather Boots and a Power Vest.  You now have all the treasures except the one you came for.
• Steal an Elixir, Power Vest, and a Holy Lance from Ark.  He'll attempt to confuse your characters.
• Strip your equipment before taking the Gulug Stone.

Desert Palace

• Head into the hourglass room to pick up a letter from Mojito to Mogsam.
• In the hallway, light the candle in front of the angel and then examine the orb that lights up to receive a Promist Ring.
• In the next hallway, make the statues heads face away from the angel to reveal a path of light.  Follow the path to a candle which, when lit, reveals a chest containing fairy earrings back near where the path began.
• When all the lamps are lit, examine the bloodstone to receive an Anklet.
• Shield armour after lighting the candle and examining the bloodstone in the next hallway.
• In the library, the door behind the top shelves leads to a bloodstone holding a N-Kai Armlet.
• After lighting all the candles in the library - including the two in the hallway behind the middle shelf, and the one on the balcony behind the bottom shelf - you can deliver your letter from Mojito to Mogsam.
• Light the first two candles and examine the bloodstone to receive a Black Hood.
• The next two candles give you a Venetia Shield.
• After the boss and some scenes, examine Kuja's room for a Namingway Card.

Esto Gaza

• Friendly Feather Circle on the Mitmakis Ice Field near Esto Gaza.  It wants a Moonstone in exchange for a Lapis Lazuli and 30AP.  I've read that it's slightly more likely to appear on top of the chocobo tracks.
• The shop has been updated.  You'll easily get enough money from completing this section.
• Pick up a Mognet Letter from Mogrika to Moolan.
• Head left for 9693 and an ether in the building, then down the ladder for a red hat.
• From the entrance, keep heading right until you find a chest containing a Golden Hairpin.
• Go back, down the rope and to the right to deliver Moolan's letter and to pick up a letter from Moolan to Mogtaka.  There's also a Wing Edge in here.
• Follow the path right out of here to find a Gaia Gear.  Two dragons will attack you on the way back.  You can eat one to learn Twister.  You can also eat a Wraith with a blue flame to learn Frost.
• Head all the way left, past the well.  There's one room to the west and one to the north.  West contains Demon Mail, right contains Moogtaka.  Deliver the mognet letter from Moolan.
• Elixir in the hut past Moogtaka, but a red dragon will attack you.
• Two more red dragons attack at the bottom of the well.
• Ribbon received automatically.
• Steal a vaccine, Golden Hairpin, and Demon's Vest from Meltigemini.

Lindblum

• Pick up a Mognet letter from Mogki in the guest room to Kumool.
• Two automatic ATE.
• Garnet received automatically.

Achievement Unlocked: Take Me to the Skies

[74/79] ATEs

World Map and Subquests

• Dock the airship at Lindblum, then board and go to the bridge.  Elixir and tent on this screen (if you didn't dock at Lindblum, the hatch the elixir is hidden behind will be locked).
• Throughout all of this, you can be returning to the Qu's Marsh periodically.  If a male and female frog are left, it takes about an hour for the population to replenish.
• Take Vivi and Quina to Quan's Dwelling and then check the clock for a pair of Running Shoes.
• Return to the shop at Esto Gaza to buy whatever you need.  It will become unavailable soon, if you continue with the plot.  
• You can attempt the skipping game again at the Steeple in Alexandria.
• In Treno, there is a new monster to fight in the weapon shop.  You'll get a pair of Running Shoes.  You can also drop off another Stellazio while you're here, in exchange for 20,000 gil (and a Rosetta Ring and an achievement once you've picked up Capricorn from Daguerro).

Achievement Unlocked: Earning the Queen's Favour

• If you run out of gil, you can repeat the Cotton Robe trick by flying between Dali and the Black Mage Village.
• Eat a zombie at the Iifa Tree or a Ghost outside Treno to learn Roulette.
• Grand Dragons on Popos Heights (weak against lvl-5 death) are good for level grinding.  I did a bit of summoning.

Achievement Unlocked: You're as Cold as Ice

Achievement Unlocked: Bringing Down the House

Achievement Unlocked: King of Dragons

Ragtime Mouse

• While you're running around in forests, you can now finish the Ragtime Mouse quest.  You'll get a Protect Ring (and gil and exp) for answering all his questions and then finding him one final time.

Achievement Unlocked: Beating the Ragtime Blues

Chocographs

• You can now dig up more chocograph pieces at the lagoon.  Once complete, they form the Mist Ocean Chocograph, which gives you the ability to fly.  Note that Mene will tell you if you can't find any more chocographs when you speak to him in the forest or the lagoon.
• You can find Chocobo's Air Garden by searching for a shadow in one of five potential locations, and then giving your chocobo a dead pepper while flying.  It is the last Hot and Cold location, so you will be able to obtain the last few chocographs here.  It's also better for gaining points and beak levels (achievement at 99).

Achievement Unlocked: Follow Your Nose

• Now you can open the final chocographs;
• Outer Island II: 11 Sapphire, 1 Circlet, 1 Pumice Piece, 1 Hilda Garde 3 Card.
• Fairy Island: 33 Potion, 15 Annoyntment, 1 Holy Miter, 1 Dark Matter Card.  
• Forgotten Island: 1 Ribbon, 1 Rebirth Ring, 13 Amethyst, 1 Ark Card.
• Outer Island: 21 Amethyst, 16 Garnet, 1 Genji Armour, 1 Ragnarok.

Achievement Unlocked: Path of the Samurai

• Now might also be a good time to open up the final chocograph mountain crack.  It's on the island to the northeast of the Outer Continent and leads to Mognet Central.  There's nothing to do here yet, but opening it up will let you deliver a later mognet letter.
• You can find Chocobo's Paradise on a hidden island in the very north-western corner of the map.  There's an obvious cave in the mountain.

Friendly Monsters

• Popos Heights above Gizamaluke's Grotto for Grand Dragons for levelling (weak against lvl-5 Death) and a Friendly Garuda.  The Friendly Garuda wants a Lapis Lazuli and gives a Diamond and 40ap.  It can be found in either forest.  You can also deliver a Kupo Nut to the moogle family in exchange for a random item (Phoenix Pinion, Ether, or tent).
• The final friendly monster, Yan, is in the forest on Vile Island, where you found the Fairy Island chocograph.  He will run away if you've not yet met all the others.  He wants a diamond and gives a Rosetta Ring and 50AP.  He also allows you to hurt a future optional boss with the shadow element.

Achievement Unlocked: Mister Nice Guy

Daguerro

• Daguerro is the town in the mountain on an island near Chocobo's Lagoon.  You need to be able to fly to reach it.
• Capricorn in the first room.
• Speak to the four-armed man in the room to the right.  You can follow him to the entrance and talk to him again for a medal.

Achievement Unlocked: Another Man's Treasure

• In the item shop, agree with the sales clerk on multiple issues for a Meteor Card, or with the young man for a Flare Card.
• Press the button near the item shop to activate an aquamarine maker near the entrance.  It will make 1 aquamarine out of 4 Ores.
• Examine the pile of books to the right and then speak to the man on the left to make him move, revealing a ladder behind the books.  Follow the ladder down to a balcony where you can change your character's names - if you let the researcher see your Namingway Card - and find two elixirs.

Ipsen's Castle

• Strip Amarent, and equip your active party with their weakest weapons.
• Have Quina eat a Veteran to learn Doom.
• Once inside, Aquarius and Dagger in the first room.  
• Deliver a letter from Mogki to Kumool.  Cat's Claw in here.
• When you get to the ladder which you can climb up or down, you can find a javelin and a broadsword by going up.
• Rod by jumping off the next ladder.
• In the room with the lift, you can find a barette.
• Boss after collecting the four mirrors.  Steal an elixir, mythril claws, and an orihalcon from Taharka.
• When you get back to the moogle, you can find a Maiden Prayer by jumping through one of the trapdoors.
• Another door has opened in the entrance hall.  Follow it to an Air Racket, then take the lift down to find a Golem's Flute.
• Moving the vases around anti-clockwise will eventually net you an Ancient Aroma. 
• If you now climb up the pole in the moogle room, you can access a Mage Staff and a Fork.
• You can steal an Avenger and a Rubber Suit from the Earth Guardian.
• If you continue with the plot, you will no longer be able to access Condie Petie, Condie Petie Mountain Path, Desert Palace, Esto Gaza, Fossil Roo, Ice Cavern, Iifa Tree, Mount Gulug, Observatory Mountain, Oeilvert, Pinnacle Rocks, or any gate.  There'll be a shop soon, with no random encounters nearby.  You'll probably want 100k gil or so.  This is one of the few times you'll want to equip all your characters.

A Clean Bill of Health

• You can earn an achievement for having one character afflicted with all status elements (not all at the same time).  I used Zidane, with all his protection abilities removed and assumed he had never been inflicted with any status before, rather than try to remember which he'd had.  Attempts to inflict each status might take multiple attempts (which at least contributes to the achievements which require using specific types of magic X number of times). 
• Use Vivi's spells to inflict the following;
• Slow
• Sleep
• Stop
• Poison
• Petrify (break)
• Use Quina's Blue Magic to inflict the following;
• Auto-Life
• Doom 
• Vanish
• Shell and Protect (via Mighty Guard)
• Use Garnet's spells to inflict the following;
• Silence
• Mini
• Reflect
• Confuse
• Darkness
• Float
• Berserk
• Use Eiko's spells to inflict the following;
• Regen
• Haste
• Use Zidane's Annoy ability to inflict Trouble.
• Use Steiner's Ice Brand and the Add Status ability to inflict Freeze.  Use his Flame Sabre and Add Status to inflict Heat.
• Finally, hunt down these monsters;
• Basilisks in Burmecia for Gradual Petrify.
• Whale Zombie on the beach near Esto Gaza for Venom and Zombie.  Amarant can also inflict Venom with his Scissors Fangs and Add Status.
• Zidane should already have been infected with Virus by Meltigemini, since it's always their first attack and he has to be in your party for that battle.  If you've missed it, you can find it in later areas.
• While doing all this, I also got an achievement for entering trance 50 times.  I also did a bit more summoning.

Achievement Unlocked: Overly Emotional

Achievement Unlocked: The Dim Mak

Achievement Unlocked: Surf's Up

Achievement Unlocked: Heat of the Moment
Achievement Unlocked: Wolf in Mog's Clothing

• I also unlocked Still I Rise here.  It took about 5 battles, with 71 Phoenix Pinions in my inventory.  To make it a bit easier, I killed off everyone but Eiko and got her HP down, then saved in that state, so I could end battles in one hit.

Achievement Unlocked: Still I Rise

Shimmering Island

• Take the stairs down to the left on the second screen and follow the path for a Coronet and a Dragon Wrist.
• Elixir in the very visible chest.
• Down the right web for a remedy.  Mythril Racket on the middle level.
• Demon's Vest in the obvious chest.
• Minerva's Plate on the tree stairs (as opposed to the glowy-stairs).  There's a path down to the chest if you push against the left wall.

Bran Bal

• Pick up a mognet letter from Moorock to Mozme.  Wing edge in this room.  Leave and return to purchase a Diamond, Ether, and Elixir for 2222 gil.
• Flash Hat and Angel Earrings around the pond.
• Elixir in the inn.
• Elixir in the underground lab.
• Four ATEs here.  When you leave the inn, head off the top of the screen, rather than the bottom, towards the entrance.  If you go straight to the entrance, you'll miss one.

[78/79] ATEs

Pandemonium

• Holy Mitre in the room past the moogle.
• If you missed Twister earlier (like I did), you can eat an Abadon here to learn it.  You can also be infected with Virus by marlboros or movers, if you missed that earlier.
• The final ATE is unlocked at the lift machine.  Settings 0, 1, 2, and 5 lead nowhere.  Keep going back and forth and trying to get on the lift until your party splits up, and the ATE will activate when you return to the lift.

[79/79] ATEs
Achievement Unlocked: Movie Critic

• Set the lift to 3 to find 20,007 gil.
• The maze contains an elixir, some Carabini Mail, and a pair of Battle Boots.  If you hit the moogle, you've gone too far.
• Deliver a mognet letter from Moorock to Mozme.
• Steal an Elixir, Dragon Mail, and Kaiser Knuckles from the Silver Dragon.
• Steal Battle Boots, Ninja Gear, and Dark Gear from Garland.
• Steal an Ether, Carabini Mail, and a Light Robe from Kuja.

World Map and Subquests

• Pisces is hidden on board.
• Continue your quest to eat 99 frogs.  Remember it takes about an hour for each marsh to refill if a male and female are left.
• You can still do the Cotton Robe trick, but you'll need to get the Steepled Hats from Atla, the moogle in Burmecia.  Dali still sells wrists, and you can still make and sell the robes in Lindblum.
• Stop by Lindblum's theatre district to see a scene outside the Tantalus hideout.  This is part of an ongoing subquest.  You need to come back and see 9 scenes, following specific points in the final dungeons.  
• Delivering a Kupo Nut to Moguta will get you an Aloha T-Shirt.
• New weapons at Black Mage Village and Daguerro.
• For money/levels, Grand Dragons are still a good bet.  Try having Garnet, Eiko, and/or Vivi in your party, as well as Quina, so they can cast random white or black magic spells to get you closer to those achievements.  When a character hits 99, get them inflicted with virus or zombie so they stop earning exp.  Defeating dragons also powers up Freya's Dragon Crest attack.  Both Freya and Amarant have abilities which can restore MP to party members.  Don't worry about grinding AP right now, there's a better area coming up.
• You can fight Ozma right now, but I wanted to wait until I'd done some ability grinding.

Achievement Unlocked: A Healing Touch
Achievement Unlocked: That Old Black Magic

Chocobos

• The final chocobo treasure is hidden right where the Shimmering Island used to be.  You'll need to use a dead pepper to find it, and it's not marked by bubbles.  I found that my Chocobo needed to be positioned so that his dot was just slightly to the left of the Shimmering Isle dot on the large world map.  The treasure is 10 Aquamarines, 1 Ultima Weapon, 1 Maximillian, and 1 Invincible Card.

Achievement Unlocked: The Ultimate Duel Blade

• Check you've found everything by digging on the world map.  It should say something like "I should let Choco rest...".  In my game, I found I had to reopen Mognet Central to make this message appear.  Once it does, head back to Chocobo's Paradise.  You'll receive a Fat Chocobo Card.
• Challenge Fat Chocobo to a card game, and he'll mention visiting every beach in the world.  There are 21.  Here's a map.  At each beach, Zidane will have an extra speech bubble.  I had to press circle to remove it, even though that was set to cancel and not confirm.  When you press the right button, you'll hear a chime and the bubble will disappear.  Once you've done all of them, you'll be able to heal your entire party on any beach.

Achievement Unlocked: Beach Bum

Moogles

• Pick up a mognet letter from Kupo in Alexandria Steeple.  You can also buy a Moonstone, a Ruby, and an Elixir from Stiltzkin for 5555 gil.

Achievement Unlocked: Over the Moon

Achievement Unlocked: Driving the Hard Bargain

• Deliver Kupo's letter to Atla in Burmecia and pick up a letter for Mogryo.
• Deliver Atla's letter to Mogryo at the Black Mage Village and pick up a letter for Kumool.  If you have Doga's Artifact and Une's Mirror in your inventory, they will interact with the phonograph at the Inn.
• Deliver Mogryo's letter to Kumool in Ipsen's Castle and pick up a letter for Mois.
• Mois is now at the entrance to fossil roo, which, you might recall, is in the Qu's Marsh near Lindblum, on the right.  Deliver a letter to Mois and pick up a letter for Noggy.
• Deliver a letter to Noggy at Daguerro and pick up a letter for Kupo.  While you're here, speak to the old man in the library about a Magical Fingertip (only if you've purchased the Rat Tail, Griffin's Heart, Une's Mirror, and Doga's Artifact).
• Deliver the letter to Kupo and then speak to the people of Alexandria for the Superslick.

Achievement Unlocked: Well Lubricated

• Head to Mognet Central and speak to Artemicion for a Protect Ring.

Achievement Unlocked: Back Online

Frogs

• When you reach 99 Frogs, you'll receive Quina's best weapon and a boss battle.  You can steal an Elixir, Ninja Gear, Glutton's Robe, and a Robe of Lords from Quale.  You can keep eating frogs after this point.  The damage of Frog Drop is determined by Quina's level x frogs caught.

Achievement Unlocked: Frog Wrangler

Achievement Unlocked: The Ultimate Fork

Treno

• You can buy the Magical Fingertip and a Ribbon at the Auction House.
• You can deliver the last two stellazio to Queen Stella in exchange for 30,000 gil and a Robe of Lords.  Speak to her again to (temporarily) receive your stellazio back, then check Quan's Dwelling for the Ophiuchus.  Take them all back to Queen Stella for a Hammer.

Achievement Unlocked: What's Your Sign?

• Defeat the weapon shop monster using Dagger/Garnet for a Circlet and an achievement.

Achievement Unlocked: Dragon Lady

• Take the Magical Fingertip to the old man in Daguerro and you'll receive the Excalibur.

Achievement Unlocked: Sword of Kings

Madain Sari

• With Dagger/Garnet in your party, walk into Eiko's kitchen and see Lani run away.
• Remove both Dagger/Garnet and Amarant from your party.  Go back to the kitchen and speak to Lani twice.  You can then read the words in the little room under the kitchen.
• Head to the eidolon wall.  Walk to the right until you hear a chime, just as you pass the entrance, then turn around and walk to the left until you hear another chime, again, as you pass the entrance.  Repeat until your HP/MP and statuses are healed.
• You can now read more messages on the wall.  One of them is three pages long, and will unlock the achievement when read.

Achievement Unlocked: Cracking the Code

Iifa Tree and Memoria

• You can steal a remedy, Dragon Wrist, and Grand Armour from the Silver Dragon.
• This is your second opportunity to create a party of four women (or rather, three and Quina, who is in his/her own category).

Achievement Unlocked: Femme Fatales

• Go back to the Tantalus hideout for another scene.  There are a total of nine, but there are seventeen points where they can be triggered, so don't worry about missing one or two.
• In the room with the save point, you can find Kain's Lance.  In this dungeon, chimeras will sometimes inflict virus on you.

Achievement Unlocked: Kain's Legacy

• In the next room, you can stop to play a children's card game with a spirit long departed.
• The Tower in the next room.

Achievement Unlocked: Close but No Cigar

• You can steal Genji Armour, the Ultima Sword, and a Masamune from Marilis.

Achievement Unlocked: Putting Out the Fire

• Go back to the Tantalus hideout for another scene.
• After the Alexandria flashback, you can find an Angel Flute and a save/heal point in that same room.

Achievement Unlocked: The Ultimate Flute

• Go back to the Tantalus hideout for another scene.
• Immediately after entering the next room, you can view another scene at the Tantalus hideout.  You can also challenge another phantom to a children's card game.
• After seeing the scene from Dagger/Garnet's childhood, guess what?  Back to Lindblum for another scene at the Tantalus hideout.
• I've been summoning in every battle, just to get that achievement out of the way.  

Achievement Unlocked: You Called?

• After Zidane speaks to Garland, go back to the Tantalus hideout for another scene.  I also did a bit of levelling here, to power up Frog Drop and Dragon Crest.  You don't really need a high level to finish the game, I just want the achievements.

Achievement Unlocked: I'm so Blue

• You can steal a Blood Sword, Grand Helm, and Feather Boots from Tiamat.  There's a pair of Rune Claws hidden on this screen - you can grab it on the way back to the Tantalus hideout for another scene.

Achievement Unlocked: Gone with the Winds

Achievement Unlocked: The Ultimate Claws

• There's a passage to the right on the stairs which leads to a save point.
• Card player in the next room.
• After the discussion about the two planets, head back for another scene.  This should be the last one.  Zidane will say he's dizzy and a new chest containing a Protect Ring will appear in the Tantalus hideout.  If that doesn't happen, go back a few more times
• In the room after the next save point, you can find Hades, an optional boss.  You can steal a Reflect Ring, Running Shoes, Battle Boots, and a Robe of Lords from him.
• At the Synthesis Shop, you can use your two pumice pieces to create a pumice.  I suggest not doing so yet (or maybe at all), as they're useful defence against Ozma and you can also steal a pumice piece from Ozma so you'll have a spare.  You can create the Tin Armour, but it will cost your hammer.  It's the best armour for Steiner in the game, but having the hammer in your inventory will give you an extra scene in the ending.
• You can steal a Glutton's Robe, Wizard Rod, and a Genji Helmet from Kraken.

Achievement Unlocked: All Washed Up

• Save point and another card player after Kraken.
• Climb the ladder for a Mace of Zeus and another card player.

Achievement Unlocked: The Ultimate Mace

• You can steal Genji Gloves, a Siren's Flute, and a Black Robe from Lich.
• Walk towards the glowing dot.

The Crystal

• This zone has crystalline copies of those bosses which give AP but no EXP.  It's the best place for learning all your abilities, which is what I wanted to do before facing Ozma (this is completely unnecessary, you can fight him much earlier).
• No items.  You'll eventually reach a save orb which gives you the option to return to the entrance of Memoria, from which you can return to your airship.

Achievement Unlocked: A Pillar of Support

Ozma

• You can find Ozma in a cave at the back of the Chocobo Air Garden.  You can steal an Elixir, Robe of Lords, Dark Matter, and Pumice Piece from him, and he'll drop a pumice.  This thread has some very useful tips - I found magic hammer to be invaluable.  I also found that if you just keep Zidane stealing, Ozma has enough HP that you don't need to worry about accidentally killing him before getting everything.

Achievement Unlocked: To Ozma and Back

• I finished up levelling after this.  I didn't do it before because I wanted to have one character at a multiple of 5 and one at a multiple of 4 so that Ozma would sometimes use Lvl-4 Holy and Lvl-5 Death instead of more damaging attacks.  Levelling now is completely unnecessary, since, if you can defeat Ozma you can defeat anything, I just wanted the achievement for raising one character to level 99.
• While doing this, I also summoned Ark and managed to kill a total of 1000 enemies throughout this playthrough.

Achievement Unlocked: Firin' Mah Lazer
Achievement Unlocked: Let the Bodies Hit the Floor II
Achievement Unlocked: End of the Road

• There are no particular tricks to beating the final battles. 
• After completing the game, if you're playing on Steam, there'll be an option to play blackjack, right under the option to replay any FMV.  Play at least one hand for the achievement.

Achievement Unlocked: All's Well That Ends Well

Achievement Unlocked: Taking the Black

• The only achievements I missed in this playthrough were; 
• Backstabber - receive 30 back attacks.  This was just bad luck, and since I only received 19 back attacks throughout the entire game, I don't particularly feel like grinding for the last 11.
• Let the Bodies Hit the Floor III  - defeat 10,000 enemies.  I defeated 1,093 in this playthrough, and that included levelling one character up to 99.  This achievement is dumb and I refuse to grind for it.
• The Ultimate Sword - Obtain Excalibur II.  To obtain this sword, you need to reach Hades in Memoria within 12 hours from starting the game.  I have never done this and have no intentions of doing so.