Ramses, cryptonym Radian, is one of the more involved recruits in Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. He fills the Fool role in your Whole Sick Crew, and getting him on board requires you to navigate a criminal supply chain, tap a phone, and talk down a drug dealer at the beach. None of it is straightforward, but this walkthrough covers every step.
What do you need to do before meeting Ramses?
You cannot walk straight to Ramses' houseboat from the start of the game. Two main quests must be completed first: 'Contact The Secret Prisoner' and 'The Unassigned Assignment'. Both are part of the opening chapter in Portofire, and finishing them establishes why you're there and what your mission actually is.
Once those are done, Ramses becomes accessible. His houseboat sits on the beach south of Quisach Roundabout. Head inside and you'll catch the tail end of a scene where a man named Reno is paying Ramses to deliberately trigger his own seizures for what the source material describes as "esoteric commercial purposes." After Reno leaves, Ramses is free to talk.
How do you start the Help Ramses Anchor Himself quest?
The conversation with Ramses reveals the core problem: he wants to help you, but his seizures are unmanaged and he cannot get anticonvulsants through a legitimate prescription. Your job is to find someone with connections to underground narcotics.
Before you leave the houseboat, pick up the wiretap equipment. You will need it shortly, and forgetting it means an extra trip back.
Also, take the time to exhaust all dialogue options with Goat Eyes, the bootleg clothes dealer located west of Quisach Roundabout. This pays off later in the quest in a way that makes the resolution much cleaner. Having a gun on you is also worth noting at this stage.
Talk to Goat Eyes fully before progressing the quest. Skipping his dialogue limits your options when he shows up again at the end.
The payphone call sequence
How do you get into Dr. Gonza's office?
Your lead on the medication points to Dr. Gonza, who operates out of Party Alley. Go to his office and you'll overhear a conversation between Gonza and the Azzurris, a criminal syndicate. He's clearly connected to the supply chain you need, but he won't give up his dealer voluntarily.
The solution is to break into his office when he isn't there. Gonza keeps late hours, so morning is the best window to attempt the break-in. Once inside, plant the wiretap on his phone.
After planting the tap, wait a few hours then return to Ramses. He'll invite you to listen to Gonza's intercepted calls together. Through those recordings, you learn that Gonza contacts his dealers using a specific passphrase at a payphone on the stairs in the north-east section of Party Alley.
Don't attempt the break-in while Gonza is still at the office. He stays very late, so going in the morning is the only reliable window.
How do you steal the anticonvulsants?
With the passphrase in hand, go to the north-east Party Alley payphone at night and dial the number. Gonza's supplier will answer. Deliver the passphrase and he'll confirm that someone is coming with the goods.
After that call, ring Ramses to keep him informed and maintain his trust.
Goat Eyes will then arrive by Tuk-Tuk on the beach, visibly surprised to find you involved. At this point, the quest branches:
The peaceful option is the best outcome here. Explaining that you're not there to rob him results in Goat Eyes handing over a substantial supply of medication at no cost. He and Ramses are dropped back to the beach together.
How do you lock in Ramses as your Fool?
Once back on the beach with the medication secured, affirm Ramses' desire to help you in the conversation that follows. This confirmation makes him available to select as your Fool when the game's final quest arrives.
If you leave without confirming, or change your mind after rejecting him, the Fogged Mirror serves as a fallback location where you can still recruit him any time before the final mission begins.
Ramses is one of the more rewarding recruits in the game precisely because the quest forces you to think like a spy rather than a brawler. The wiretap, the timing, the passphrase intercept: it all fits the tone of the broader narrative. For more walkthroughs covering the rest of the Whole Sick Crew, the full strategy guides collection has you covered across every major quest. Zero Parades sits firmly in the tradition of slow-burn adventure games that reward patience and thorough dialogue exploration over rushing to the next objective.