The Citadel of Trials, also known as Castle of Ordeals, is a location in the original Final Fantasy composed of many small rooms with one or more teleport tiles. Only one teleporter in each room will bring the player to the next room, while the others will return the player to a previous room. The process of trial and error means several attempts will have to be made to reach the final room and retrieve the Rat's Tail, but the easy enemies here should not make the process difficult.
Story[]
The Warriors of Light are sent to the Citadel of Trials by Bahamut to test their courage. Using the Crown from the Marsh Cave they gain access to the castle, and find a Rat's Tail inside. By presenting this to Bahamut, the Light Warriors earn the class change to their greater Job classes.
Items[]
| Item | Location |
|---|---|
| Gauntlets | Second/Third Floor*Found in two chests, but when one chest is opened, the other chest will also open and its contents removed |
| Healing Staff | Third Floor |
| Steel Gloves | Third Floor |
| Ice Brand | Third Floor |
| Ruby Armlet | Third Floor |
| Cottage | Third Floor |
| 1,455 gil | Third Floor |
| 7,340 gil | Third Floor |
| Rat's Tail | Third Floor |
Encounters[]
Cardian Islands-Citadel of Trials Pixel Remaster encounter region. See file summary for other versions.
Northeastern/Northwestern Citadel of Trials Pixel Remaster encounter region. See file summary for other versions.
Battle background.
The Citadel of Trials encounter region comprises a 4x4 chunk of the 8x8 encounter map on the world map and contains part of the Cardian Islands. It also neighbors two regions with a unique encounter set to the northwest and northeast. As these regions don't contain any landmarks of their own and the northeastern region must be passed through to reach the Citadel, they are listed here. The overall region shares land borders with the Yahnikurm Desert region to the southeast, the remainder of the Cardian Islands to the southwest, and the Waterfall Cavern region to the northwest.
| Encounters | Areas | |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel Remaster | Other releases | |
|
|
Citadel of Trials region |
|
Northeastern/Northwestern regions | |
| Northeastern desert[note 1] | ||
| Northeastern swamp[note 1] | ||
|
|
2F |
|
|
3F |
Musical themes[]
The background music within the Citadel of Trials is called "Ruined Castle". It is a rearranged, and somewhat drearier, version of the "Castle Cornelia" music. In the NES version, the "Castle Cornelia" background music is simply reused for the Citadel of Trials.
Other appearances[]
Final Fantasy Tactics[]
The Fortress of Trials.
The Fortress of Trials was mentioned as one of the Wonders in Final Fantasy Tactics. It bears the following description:
- Once a place of training for the royal guard in the ancient, this castle was lost in the Cataclysm. Graduates of the institution once filled the ranks of the Red Wings, a prestigious airship corps.
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy[]
The Citadel of Trials appears as ruins on the game's world map, at the Bahamut Isles region. In the Confessions of the Creator Scenario, a Teleport Stone can be found near it, along with the Conquered Trials Gateway.
Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]
In the Dragon Caves, the party faces Bahamut, the Dragon King, who tells them they must bring proof of their courage from the Citadel of Trials.
Description
The Cavern of Ice is a Realm Dungeon, unlocked by completing Cavern of Ice. Completing it unlocks the Sunken Shrine.
Behind the scenes[]
On the second floor of the citadel there's a straight, narrow corridor containing a single teleporter that cannot be entered.
In all versions of the game, it's stated the Crown is required to enter the Citadel, but because the Crown is obtained to confront Astos during an earlier mandatory quest, it is impossible to reach the Citadel without it.
Gallery[]
