| Olympus Coliseum |
| You cannot continue further in the Hundred Acre Wood, so it is time once again to leave Hollow Bastion and explore some new worlds. Olympus Coliseum is now open on the World Map, so head there next. Take part in the Phantom Storm mini-game and venture into this Battle Level 16 world. Here you get to help out Megara with a little problem she likes to call Hercules. A Favor for Megara It's a good thing that the heroes appear in the entrance to the Underworld, or else they would have missed the chance to do a good deed for Hercules' girlfriend, Megara. When the party arrives, they find Megara prepared to march down to the Underworld to give Hades a piece of her mind. Offer to go in her place and she'll gladly accept the help. After all, the Underowlrd is no place for a lone woman! Head into the Cave of the Dead and fight the enemies inside the tunnels. Rabid Dogs, Shadows, and Lance Soldiers attempt to thwart the heroes' progress, but the experience is good and treasures are even better! Also, watch out for falling rocks! When you reach the Inner CHamber, something strange occurs: a member of Organization XIII informs you to run away. Enter the Valley of the Dead and proceed up the ramp to the entrance of Hades' domain. Pay attention to the layout of this room, as it plays a role again shortly. As you enter Hades' Chamber, he summons Auron and attempts to offer him a deal. When Auron refuses, step in and distract Hades for a while. This is a battle you cannot win, so slash at Hades until the cutscene continues. Follow Auron when he tells you to run away. The event that follows involves running down the ramp in teh Valley of the Dead toward the exit, all the while with Hades in hot pursuit. Here's how this battle works: The ramp is divided into three seperate areas of engagement. You must defeat all of the Heartless in the current area before the shields are released. When this occurs, head to the next area. Use Sora and Auron's limit attack at the start of the battle to clear out the Hook Bats and Shadows. The spiral-type attacks are perfect for defeating the first group of monsters quickly before Hades can start lobbying fireballs. Remember that throughout the fight, Hades stands on the sidelines of the battlefield and tries to hit the heroes with fireballs. After clearing the first landing, the shield wall disappears so that you can run down to the next landingfor the next group of foes. This time, Lance Soldiers join the Shadows. Try to use the Lance Tug reaction command to gain the upper hand against these monsters. The landing before the exit is perhaps the most difficult to clear, as the monsters come in waves. Make sure you heal the entire party before entering the last area. Then, if Sora and Auron's limit is available, use it to eliminate the first wave of Hook Bats and Lance Soldiers. The final wave is identical to the first with the addition of a Large Body. Keep your eye on your Health Gauge and heal as needed when you start taking too much damage. After defeating the final group of Heartless, you can escape from the Valley of the Dead and Hades for a while. Don;t get too comfortable, though! Cerberus HP: 440 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 another battle that you must fight without the aid of Donald and Goofy. Fortunately, Auron provides some much-needed firepower. Rather than walking around, Cerberus maintains his position until jumping to a new location. This makes it easy to escape and quickly heal. Cerberus has a number of attacks. When he leaps around, jump to avoid the resulting shockwave. The spin attack is fast and hard to avoid, but Sora can leap over it. If you stay idle in the distance, Cerberus's various heads will shoot dark fireballs. One good strategy to employ is to lock o to one of the side heads and repeatedly use an air combo. Auron's Limit is great for inflicting damage, too. A good time to use it is just after Cerberus leaps. Don't forget to watch for Cerberus's two outer heads to draw back dramatically. Leap in toward the center hea and watch as the outer heads snap back to clasp Sora in place. When times correctly, Sora can counter with a three-stage Reaction Command beginning with Evade, followed by Jump, the ending with Dog Paddle. This counter attack inflicts massive damage and leaves Cerberus unconscious. An unconscious Cerberus is much easier to hit, so use these occasions wisely. Lock onto Cerberus's middle head and leap up to attack it. This should create multiple opportunities to use the Evade Reaction Command. The Get Bonuses for this battle are an HP Boost for Auron and the Dodge Slash ability for Sora. Training Days After finishing with the Underworld, it's time to pay Hercules a visit in the Coliseum. While Hercules goes to get the Olympus Stone that is required to take on Hades, he sends you to Phil for some training. Both Training games involve collecting a set number of orbs within a certain time frame. First, complete the Practice course by breaking the urns and collecting a total of 20 orbs within 1:30. The next training mission, Maniac, is a bit tougher but will come in handy during the next boss fight. This time you must collect 100 orbs in 1:30. The rule of thumb is that the larger the urn, the more orbs it contains. Hint: Go for the big urn when it appears on the battlefield. Successfully completing this mission nets you the Aerial Spiral ability as a Get Bonus. Later on in the game, you can play through these Training missions as mini-games. Back to the Underworld! Hercules's news about the theft of the Olympus Stone (not to mention Megara's abduction!) means that you must make a return trip to the Underworld. Return to the Underworld Entrance and speak to Phil. Now you can enter the caverns section of the Underworld to search for the guy who stole the Olympus Stone. Demyx HP: N/A Damage Weapon - Normal damage Fire - Normal damage Blizzard - No damage Thunder - 1/2 damage Dark - 1/2 damage Other - 1/2 damage This more along the lines of an event battle. To defeat Demyx, simply demolish 100 of the forms he summons within 80 seconds. Although that doesn't sound like a lot of time, the previous Practice course should have provided the experience needed to win. The key is successfully completing this battle lies in the use of the Wild Dance Reaction Command. This enables Sora to snag one of the note-shaped water forms and use it as a weapon, swinging it around and into groups of Demyx-shaped forms. Leave Demyx alone for now and concentrate on attacking and using the Reaction Command over and over to defeat as many forms as fast as possible. For completing this task, Sora and Goofy get HP Boosts as Get Bonuses while Donald scores MP Rage. With Demyx down and the Olympus Stone in hand, it's time for a showdown with Hades. Release Megara from the rock in which she's trapped by using the Keyblade, then step into the column of green light. This takes you to Hades's inner sanctum in a battle to protect Megara from Pete. Pete HP: 264 Damage Weapon - 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 battle. The objective of the first encounter is to protect Megara from Pete and his Hook Bat cronies. Megara's Damage Gauge starts off empty and fills up as she starts to take damage. To keep her safe, dispose of the Hook Bats at the start of the battle and lead Pete away from her. If you have enough Drive for Valor Form, use it at teh start. Focus your attacks on the smaller enemies and throw a few punches Pete's way to keep his attention away from Megara. Also, do not confuse Pete's bombs with the magic balls that the Heartless drop. Jump at Pete to attack. Knock down Pete and back off until he finishes his enraged act. Leap over the ground attack at the end iof his fit to attack again. After a while, Hercules arrives and round two begins. This time around, you can counter Pete's shield by knocking him into Hercules with the Pinball Reaction Command. This attack destroys Pete's shield, but it doesn't harm him. Follow it with a quick combo. Lock onto Pete and ignore the Heartless. You must defeat him within two minutes. Pete's dancing indicates that he's about to create a shockwave, so jump to the side to avoid it. Anytime Pete summons a boulder that hangs overhead, race toward Hercules and create an Aura Guard. For winning this battle, Sora receives the Trinity Limit ability, Goofy learns Hyper Healing and Donald gets an HP Boost. Hydra HP: 462 Damage Weapons - Normal damage Fire - 1/2 damage Blizzard - 1/2 damage Thunder - 1/2 damage Dark - 1/2 damage Other - 1/2 damage As this battle begins, lock onto the head above and wait for the Hydra to lower it. Beware of the monster's tail, as it sporadically whips it back and forth across the floor. The attack is quick, but Sora can avoid it with a well-timed jump. The Hydra also likes to attack with summoned lightning bolts. Stay in constant motion to avoid this attack. Continue to attack the head whenever it gets low enough to reach. When the Hydra is momentarily stunned, run up to the Hydra's neck and use the Vanquish Reaction Command to cut off its first head. As the body goes limp, three new heads appear from the ground. The goal is to destroy all three before any of them can grow back. Listen to Phil as he shouts from the rubble and climb onto the Hydra's back. Use the Phil One-Two and Urninator Reaction Commands with Phil to knock the heads unconscious. Return to the heads and vanquish all three with a combination of normal combo attacks and Reaction Commands. There is a time limit to defeat the three heads. If you aren't successful in round one, you'll need to repeat the Phil One-Two maneuver again with possibly an additional head. It's possible to defeat the three heads without taking advantage of the Phil One-Two Reaction Command, if you so desire. But the battle's not over yet. Once you defeat the three heads, the Hydra suddenly turns into a seven-headed monster of legend! This is a whole new battle! If you're low on HP, look for Megara cheering just outside. She's more than willing to throw you a few HP Orbs. Keep your distance when the Hydra's heads are flailing about and watch for a chance to use the Pegasus Run Reaction Command. This combo attack enables you to team up woth Pegasus to deliver an incredible amount of damage to each head. Keep pressing the triangle button throughout for maximum damage. Anytime the Hydra lowers its heads, go in for an attack. If you're daring enough, try jumping onto the head you have locked onto. Doing this creates a temporary escape from danger and an opportunity to cause some serious damage. Finish off the fight with one last Vanquish Reaction Command to the body. The Get Bonus rewards for completing this boss battle are HP Boosts for Sora and Goofy, an Armor Slot for Donald and the Thunder Element for Sora. You also receive the Hero's Crest Keyblade and there are new worlds to explore! |