things that you absolutely need for the dragons den, IMO:

-99 phoenix downs (yes, its that serious. these aren't for you, these are for the dino zombies and other undead enemies you'll encounter in this hell).
-99 green cherries (just in case)
-99 ethers (just in case)
-99 shurikens and 99 fuma shurikens
-paladin's shield (uncurse the cursed shield or don't even enter the den)
-as many genji shields as you can get (runner's up to the paladin's shield)
-master's scroll
-soul of thamasa
-celestriad, although you can get by with gold hairpin's til you get the celestriad located in a chest in the dragon's den.
-at least 2 gold hairpins
-dragoon boots and at least one dragon horn
-esuna (just in case, because not everyone will be able to equip a ribbon because they won't have room to)
-zona seeker (this isn't as necessary as the others, but use it just in case)
-golem (A MUST HAVE, yes all caps)
-fenrir (definitely worth it. can't count how many times i haven't been hit because of it)
-a lot of remedies. i would say 99, but looking at my list, ihave 98 which means that i've used 1...but just in case, get a lot.
-99 tents
-ultima weapon (and a lot of hp)
-valiant knife (ultima weapon + valiant knife + genji glove + master's scroll = you taking down bosses with one character. if ultima weapon fails because you got hit by an attack, valiant knife kicks in. if you have high hp, ultima weapon kicks in...so either way you're taking away a hell of a lot per round)
-force shields (try to have at least 2)
-elemental shields (ice, fire, thunder). try to get 4 of each.
-ultima
-curaga
-reraise
-arise
-quick (quick + ultima = like 4 or 5 x ultima. i don't care how cheap it is, you will use it)
-rasp (YOU NEED THIS.)
-hastega (for one particular fight. one guy casts slowga on you, so to make up for it cast hastega)

***
everyone in all 3 of the parties that you create must know curaga, arise, reraise, rasp, and ultima.

everyone in all 3 of the parties that you create must know curaga, arise, reraise, rasp, and ultima.
Are you implying it's impossible to beat in the CES Challenge? :(

IMO, yes. i just defeated kaiser on my first try. OMG was he a beast. he spammed COUNTLESS status effect. every single status effect in the game was thrown at me xx heartles angel xx ULTIMA. if you don't cast reraise and you aren't hitting for 9999 a lot of the time, you will die. he has like 200,000 ish hp. this dude was not a joke at all. my party was crazy and still had trouble.

i didn't want to spam ultima x quick x ultima x ultima, etc. but i had no choice. mog couldn't jump quick enough all the time, locke let me down with the ultima weapon x val knife combo because he had imp status, darkness, poisoned, doomed, um...everything except confuse. i had to reraise and then rereraise just to confirm. near the end kaiser tried:

doom x heartless angel x ULTIMA

he was determined. what won? he berserked locke (once i got him reraised and took the imp out with green cherry) but he was low hp, so that valiant knife kicked in and killed him. he still spammed what i posted above and i died then came back with reraise.

so i guess i'm done. i will not save over this though...i'm saving in another save slot so that i can come back and fight him with a better team...obviously you can't physically take him on and expect to win easy. you have to use mages, pretty much and you have to be able to outcast him.

my first save slot is the kefka fight, the second one will be this one where i defeated kaiser and the third will be before i defeated kaiser with the other two parties on the switches. now i'll try out the soul shrine after i get over this headache that i got from jumping up and down after i won, lol. pics coming soon. they're kinda blurry. i dunno how to focus the cam on something so small.

and yes, i did beat him and immediately set the ds down to post about it here...

walk up to kaiser dragon:

Humans and your insatiable greed...
Your lust for power leads always to a lust for blood...
This place is a sanctuary for wayward souls... What business have you filty creatures here?
You slaughter my brethren, and befoul their rest with the profanity of your continued existence...
You should not have come here.
In the name of all dragonkind, I shall grant you the death you so desire.
I am the dealer of destruction...
I am the font from which fear springs...
I am Kaiser...
And your time is at end.

*cue super boss battle music (a la ultima weapon, goddess, etc.)*

*after you win*

something along the lines of, "a powerful force is coming from this magicite." "you received the diabolos magicite." shows up. it teaches graviga, which you should already have and GRAVIJA which reduces an enemies hp by 7/8! wtf... anyway, an imp then comes onto the screen and says:

Congratulations! Now that Kasier's gone, you'l be able to face your final challenge! They say there's a shrine on an island to the west of Mobliz where the souls of fallen monster's dwell...If you've already finished your main quest, why not pay it a visit sometime? Well then, please enjoy the rest of your adventures!

*imp walks off*

you're back on the air ship. you can land and save (which i will do in a sec).

i'm gonna edit this post and put pics up. they're blurry because the screen is so small, but yeah. also, instead of going directly to the soul shrine, i'm thinking about going to the desert and learning gravija and then going back into the dragon's den to take on omega.

haven't posted pics yet because i'm currently in the den trying to fight omega. ah this shit is so tedious! the random encounter rate is rediculous. i just want to fight him. i don't want to have to go through this again. =/ stupid split party up into three and find the switch crap.

omega weapon (finally got to him. God this dungeon sucked ass)...easier than kaiser by far. he casts freeze a lot which sucks, so make sure you have reraise. to be honest, i'm so frustrated from having to go in that dungeon again that i'm not excited like i was when i defeated kaiser. i'm like...pissed off at the amount of random encounters and the fact that i could not easily find my way back to the area where you meet omega.

anyway, he doesn't say anything at all when you approach him. nothing happens when you beat him...he's just another boss. no esper, no experience, nothing. you just walk back into the light and then you're back on the ship. LAAAAAAAAME. the kaiser fight was tight though. the omega fight was stupid. now i'm off to the soul shrine. if anybody needs tips on the dragon's den, lemme know.

edit*
to add to the advice part, a lot of the enemies in the dungeon's den can be killed using a phoenix down. i counted at least 4 or 5 enemies that could be killed that way in there. you cannot run from landworms or behemoth's. yojimbo will always counter with an eye for an eye, so make sure that the person that kills him has a shield. (sounds basic, but you'll get tired of rearranging your equipment and just go bare a lot. thats what i did.)
i can't stress enough on the 99 phoenix downs that you need.

Kaiser Dragon:







Omega Weapon:





thank me later. took awhile to figure out how to get those pics clear, and they still aren't as good as they could be. anyway, good luck low level gaming these guys. i just don't see it...omega was easier than kaiser though.

here are pics i took of the espers:
http://forums.ffshrine.org/showthread.php?p=755425#post755425