| Beast's Castle |
| Beast's Castle starts out at Battle Level 13. Stardust Sweep stands between your party and a reunion with the Beast, Belle and the enchanted furniture that lies within. Unforntunately, the Heartless' corruption has spread here and all is not as it seems inside the Beast's Castle... The First Sign That Something is Wrong The first thing you see upon entering the Castle is an open door. Enter the room and prepare for a battle. A vast number of Shadows appear, so dispose of the immediately. Try to gather them into groups and eliminate multiple enemies at once. You cannot defeat them all; instead, you need to defeat just enough of them to end the event and trugger the Beast's entrance. To Cure the Beast The next stop is Belle's Room in the East Wing of the Castle. This is where the party learns that the Beast has imprisoned the household staff in the dungeon. Your next task is to free them. Before you leave the room, open the large chest to acquire the Castle Map. Head to the West Wing and proceed to the end of the hallway where the Wardrobe guards the door to the basement. The Wardrobe is a deep sleeper, making is possible to actually move this livinh piece of furniture out of the way - if you are very careful. When prompted, use the Push Reaction Command by pressing the triangle button in a quick but steady fashion. The Wardrobe moves in bursts, so watch for signs that you need to slow down and stop. You must avoid pressing the triangle button when the Waken Reaction Command is active! When the Wardrobe is out of the way, enter the Dungeon! Thresholder and Possessor HP: 137 Damage Weapons - Normal Fire - 1/2 damage Blizzard - 1/2 damage Thunder - 1/2 damage Dark - 1/2 damage Other - 1/2 damage Defeating the Thresholder is hardly an easy task. Upon approaching the door to the Dungeon, two gargoyles spawn from the sides. Focus your initial attacks on the Gargoyles. By leading them to the rear of the room, the Thresholder's hands cannot reach the party, which makes it easier to fend off teh Gargoyles' attacks. When the Gargoyles are history, approach the Thresholder again to trigger the next group of Heartless (a swarm of Hook Bats). As was the case with the Gargoyles, lead them to the back and use Reaction Commands when appropriate. Approaching the Thresholder again triggers more bats to spawn, so repeat the process over again. Now when you approach the Thresholder, do so from the side to ensure the foe's outstretched hands do not make contact with the party. If Valor Form is available, now is the best time to use it and attack with combo after combo. If the Thresholder's breath or hands knock you back, simply return to continue the assault. If the party has difficulty sustaining their HP, keep a safe distance from the boss and cast Blizzard repeatedly. Wait for your MP to recover, then cast it again if necessary. After the boss's HP drops, use the Release Reaction Command to force out the Possessor. Lock on to the floating spirit and attack it. It has no attack of its own, but after a short time it returns to the Thresholder. This time, the Thresholder attacks using projectiles. Stay as close to the door as possible and constantly attack. When a ball of Dark Energy forms, wait a moment for it to dissipate before continuing the assault. Once the Thresholder's HP is exhausted, the spirit emerges once more. Now it's time to finish it off. The Get Bonuses for completing this battle are the Upper Slash and Donald Fire attacks for Sora and Donald, while Goofy receives an HP Boost. After the boss fight, enter the dungeon and rescue Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs.Potts and Chip. They explain the situation and recommend that you take the secret shortcut to the Beast's chambers. Save your game, grab the Basement Map, and follow Lumiere up the boxes to the balcony. Once Cogsworth gets the statues blocking the door to move, enter the Secret Passage. The next task is to uncover the secret device that is locking the door leading to the Beast's Room. The lanterns in the hallway burn with a shadowy, enchanted flame. To shed enough light in the hallway, you need to douse the flame with the Sprinkle Reaction Command and gather Lumiere and Mrs.Potts to relight the lantern. Cogsworth activates the lever to lower the lanterns so that they are within reach. However, you must quickly reach the lanters, as Cogsworth will eventually lose his grip. If you see that his grip gauge is dangerously low, run back and you the Keyblade on him, too. Idealy, the goal is to get all of the lamps relit before his grip gauge runs out! Once you do that, the key to opening the door is revealed. Follow the path to reach the West Wing to meet with the Beast. The Beast HP: 156 Damage Weapons - Normal damage Fire - Normal damage Blizzard - Normal damage Thunder - Normal damage Dark - Normal damage Other - Normal damage This is a fun little battle. The objective of this fight is to wake up the Beast from the spell he is under. Cogsworth is an important ally in this battle, as he possesses the Wake Up Reaction Command. It is imperative to use this command at every opportunity. Defeating the Beast is a matter of cycling Reaction Commands with combos. Use the Wake Up Reaction Command to help return the Beast to his senses, then pummel him as he struggles witht the dark energy within. Do not allow the Beast to trap the party in a corner. If a Reaction Command misses, retreat for a few moments before trying it again. Repeat this cycle until the Beast runs out of HP. You must recharge Cogsworth every 4-5 Wake Ups. To do this, wait until the Charge Reaction Command appears on the Command Menu, then press the triangle button. You will most likely use this move at the end of the battle. The Get Bonuses for this fight are an extra Armor Slot for Sora, a max HP increase for Donald, and the Defender ability for Goofy. Finding Belle After returning teh Beast to normal, it's time to head back to the East Wing to talk to Belle. Unfortunately, the Wardrobe says that she ran off to the Ballroom after Xaldin. That can't be good! Shadow Stalker/Dark Thorn HP: 176/390 Damage Weapons - Normal damage Fire - 1/2 damage Blizzard - 1/2 damage Thunder - 1/2 damage Dark - 1/2 damage Other - 1/2 damage This is a two-part encounter that utilizes the entire ballroom. The boss's first form is the Shadow Stalker, a Heartless that resembles a spirit and attacks by possessing objects. If at any point during the fight the spirit flies through the room's far windows, rush towards the side row of pillars or line up with the window's frame to avoid teh upcoming attack that sends columns of energy across the middle of the dance floor. The demon's face spreads across the windows as this occurs, providing an unmistakable sign of what is about to occur. It's important to constantly know the whereabouts of the first form (use the Lock On feature). Attack it in spirit form using Beast's Limit as often as possible. Because of the effort it takes to refill the Drive Gauge, it's best to save Valor Form for the boss's true form. If at any point the lock on gets disengaged, you'll know that the spirit is about to use a special technique. Study teh boss's movements to learn which attack it is about to use. If the spirit is moving up when you lose the lock on, avoid the center of the room. This means that the chandelier is about to drop. Give it some time to finish its rotating laser attack before rushing in. If the spirit disappears into the ground, watch for a light to appear below Sora and jump away before the ground swallows him up. If the spirit disappears into a pillar, avoid all teh pillars as they scrape across the floor, then racr in for the kill. After depleting either the pillar or chandelier's HP, use the release command to force out the spirit. Dark Thorn is even tougher once he assumes his rightful form. Lock on when he's invisible to take away his advantage. If Goofy isn't in your party, now is the time to transfer him in and use Valor Form. Watch for opportunities to use Reaction Commands, too. If Sora is thrown throught the room and is about to pass a pillar, press the Triangle button for a Slingshot Reaction Command that wraps him around to counter the throw. When fighting in the center of the room, Sora may occasionally get a three-stage Reaction Command attack, in which he leaps up and attacks with the chandelier. The dangerous consequence to fighting in the center is that the Dark Thorn can also attack the the chandelier. The Get Bonuses for successfully winning this battle are a MAX HP boost and the Rtaliating Slash ability for Sora, a new Item Slot for Goofy, and MAX HP for Donald and the Beast. After Belle and the Beast are reunited, you receive teh Cyre Element. Afterward, you are transported back to Hollow Bastion. Wonder what's up? |