Kakkara
Kakkara
February 28, 2021
Kakkara is a nice contrast to the Ice Country as the desert section of the world. The Kingdom of Kakkara, consisting of one town, is the only established residential area on the continent. There’s also the Fire Palace and the mysterious Moon Palace, surrounded by a huge void in the landmass. The art division went for a hybrid of arid and tropical settings. In-game maps from Fantasy Anime:
Development
In I, Kakkara was a blob, with only the town and the Moon Palace placed.
IIa has more terrain, and now The Fire Palace is where it is in the final game:
However, there’s no footpath to the Moon Palace. This was fixed in IIb, which reduced extra space north of the Moon Palace and added an entrance:
Despite this addition, there’s really no reason to access the Moon Palace by foot. In III, the space on the western part of the continent was excised. Marukatsu’s Map Guide (Japan only) has a labelled IIb map, revealing that this area was intended to be the sandship and its surrounding vicinity. There’s no reason to revisit this area after the scenario is complete which may have led to its removal on the map, but that’s true of many areas in the game.
In 2018, some dummy locations were added in on the bottom portion to give it more detail (IV):
(June 25, 1993)
Translated by Sevon
T...there's something weird there! Randi L-let's go! Purim Hey hey, time out! I've got sand in my shoes! Popoi Geez, read the room, lady!
The following article appeared in a Japanese magazine shortly before release:
Translated by Sevon
An entrance to the depths of the earth suddenly opened in the desert? A huge hole appeared in the middle of the desert, huge in comparison to other things on the map. Maybe it leads to an underground world like in [FFIV]? That being the case, this might not be the only one on the map. The area is surrounded by rocky terrain, so the only way to get there is from above? Better call Flammie, then.
Translated by Sevon
Scary antlion pits ↑ Are these sharp fangs in antlion pits? If you get too close, you'll be swept away toward the center. This thing must be a really strong enemy. Metal Signpost ↑ There's a signpost all the way out here. But it looks like it's made from metal. It's a little rusty, so does that mean there was an advanced civilization here long ago? [ManaRedux's note: These signs don't appear in the final game.]
I’ve been wondering for years what’s on the other side of a wall in Tasnica’s sandship. A look in the ROM reveals a huge area—either undeveloped, or removed. Or just part of the scenery, but I don’t deal in easy solutions.
A deleted or test area that resembles the Sandship:
A rough version of the Moon Palace, with Chobin Hoods:
