FAQ/Strategy Guide - Guide for Blades of Time
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ****************************************************************************** Game Name - Blades of Time Blades of Time - Limited Edition Developer - Gaijin Entertainment Publisher - Konami Platforms - Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC Windows ESRB Rating - Mature Author - ipino E-Mail - lonzy2 NO&AT#SPAM operamail.com (replace &AT# with a @ symbol, and remove "NO" and "SPAM") Website - http://www.ipino.altervista.org Date Started - 2012/04/19 Last Update - 2012/05/01 Version - 0.65 ****************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## This guide is for private and personal use only. No part or whole of this document shall be reproduced in any form whatsoever. This document is free and may not be used for any commercial uses. This document may not be altered without permission from the author. ############################################################################## Thanks to the innovative, and exclusive, 3D-Guide Navigation System, you can jump to a certain (sub)section thanks to the unique mnemonic code! a) Highlight the subsection code on the right. Either with or without the brackets is the same. b) Copy it into the clipboard with CTRL+C c) Open the find window. Usually for Windows programs you need to hit CTRL+F d) Paste the code into the box with CTRL+V e) hit the "Find" or similar button to find the first occurrence. To find next occurrences hit the F3 key. TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- 1. Introduction.....................................................(01INT) 2. Disclaimer.......................................................(02DIS) 3. Revision History.................................................(03HIS) 4. Contact Policy...................................................(04CON) 5. General gameplay tips............................................(05GGP) 6. Story mode Walkthrough (Normal difficulty).......................(06SWN) 6.1 Level 1: Volcanic Dale....................................(6NVOL) 6.2 Level 2: Jungle...........................................(6NJUN) 6.3 Level 3: Human Base.......................................(6NHUM) 6.4 Level 4: Temple...........................................(6NTEM) 6.5 Level 5: Desert...........................................(6NDES) 6.6 Level 6: Sky Islands......................................(6NSKI) 6.7 Level 7: Sky Docks........................................(6NSKD) 6.8 Level 8: Brutal Lands.....................................(6NBRL) 6.9 Level 9: Brutal Town......................................(6NBRT) 6.10 Level 10: Dragon Temple...................................(6NDRT) 7. Dismal Swamp Walkthrough.........................................(07DSW) 8. Frequently Asked Questions.......................................(08FAQ) 9. Contributing Readers.............................................(09CON) 10. Thanks...........................................................(10TNX) ============================================================================== -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1. Introduction (01INT) Welcome back to another innocent guide written by yours truly. First of all my "mystical" email account was terminated, thus I had to switch to another one, which means all emails sent are lost for good, and I apologise for that. In this guide I will not talk about things like controls, what options do, bla bla - only what matters is here. I will not tell you which skills to get first, because you must enjoy the game not follow my worthless advices. Infact, being it impossible not to get skills I'd like to do a non-equipment upgrade run sometime just for fun, but in these days I only play the game to make videos, adjust strategies, fix things, take screenshots and the like. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2. Disclaimer (02DIS) I worked hard on putting up this document. No one, except sites listed below, can host it in their sites. This is only for private use. You can store it on your own hard drive, burn it onto your personal cd/dvd backup, give it to your friend, but you can't get money out of it, nor you can claim it as your. Allowed sites to display this document, in its original text format, are: http://www.gamefaqs.com http://ipino.altervista.org Please ask my permission before putting it on your website, thanks. Before stealing anything from this faq ask permission or at least credit me. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3. Revision History (03HIS) Things change... and this document does too. And we tend to lose track of what's changed... Version 0.56 to 0.65 (2012/04/25-2012/05/01) -------------------------------------------- - Finished the game in Hard difficulty, now starting again and making videos - Made several changes to boss tactics, taking into account their Hard mode behaviour Version 0.00 to 0.55 (2012/04/19-2012/04/25) -------------------------------------------- - Levels 1-5 are done; I haven't beaten 6 yet. - Done a lot of techical stuff to convert the guide in multiple formats (html, wiki, text 80 cols) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 4. Contact Policy (04CON) You are welcome to contact me at the email address written at the top of this document. If you do, please put something like "Blades of Time FAQ" or just "BOT FAQ" (if you're too lazy to type the whole thing) in the subject, and then tell me about how many mistakes have you have found, location of things I missed, combat strategies, and so forth. You will get credit of course. And your email won't be made public unless you ask to. Please cleanly state on your email the nickname you want to appear as, as well as if you want your email address to appear (the "@" symbol will be replaced, don't worry). If you won't say anything, I'll assume you don't want your email to be spread. You can also mail to ask permission to host this document on your site. You may also mail me to report broken links (especially for videos and images) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 5 General gameplay tips (05GGP) PC Version ---------- On Windows 7, saves are stored in "%LocalAppData%\BladesOfTime\", so I assume other versions store them in "%HomePath%\AppData\Local\BladesOfTime\" General ------- #1: Health regenerates if you let your rage meter expire #2: You get one Heal Point for free if you aren't fighting When fighing a bunch of enemies ------------------------------- #1: Getting surrounded by enemies is usually a bad idea as they tend to shred Ayumi's health if you're not careful #2: Unless the game doesn't allow you to, abuse your Time Rewind skill, as it enhances damage power #3: Take cover from long-range attacking foes and focus on those near you #4: Avoid fighting enemies unless you can't proceed (chaos walls, corals not reachable yet, etc) Level specific tips are in the relevant level section -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 6 Story mode Walkthrough (06SWN) Before we begin, a few words about this section. First of all I can't help but being this detailed; the compass is a great aid in navigating the levels and finding hidden chests. So much it is insulting. The real hazard in this game is the few enemies that must be killed using the unique Time Rewind feature. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.1 Level 1: Volcanic Dale (6NVOL) Treasure chests: 3 Journal Pages: 5 Beginning area -------------- After the opening cut scene, prepare to battle 4x Dragonpath Guardians. If this is your first time through, you have to kill them only with kicks and swords attacks. You're then introduced to your compass: the inner arrow shows you which direction you should go in order to advance; the outer arrow points to the nearest treasure chest - if there's one, it'd start glowing. This area has three chests. Use the compass to go to the first one, which contains a pair of [Swords of Dragon Might]. Now use the compass again and open the two chests that are opposite and in line with the one you just opened. The dragon thing at the beginning of the intro movie will become climbable, so get up there and walk inside. Another 4x Dragonpath Guardians to fight, then go meet the Altar. Lava tower ---------- Use the mechanism to open the geared door. Oh man, is Ayumi gonna complain about everything 'till the end of the game? She better not. Anyway proceed and after the scene run up, double jumping and dashing where needed. As you climb up you'll notice a closing door on your left. Upon reaching the top, time will stop and go in reverse. What is happening? Go down and enter the door that closed on you earlier. Narrow passageways ------------------ Proceed forward to have time resume its flow. Fight or run past 3x Spiders, go upstairs and follow the path. Turn left when you encounter the magic wall. [Naturalist's travel writings Page 1] will be automatically picked by Ayumi upon entering the round room. Step on the switch to unlock the "liquefied" path, and fight 3x Dragonpath Guardians. Once they're dead you can perform finishing moves on critically wounded enemies: try them on the 3x Spiders that just appeared. Exit the room and turn left (where the magic wall was). As you approach the exit Ayumi comments about a flower. Getting close to the door make a lone Locust spawn. Keep moving forward past another magic wall, grab the [Skyward Assault Rifle] from the ground, shoot the magic lock, fight 2x Dragonpath Guardians, go where the magic wall was and operate the mechanism. Large courtyard #1 ------------------ Move a bit forward and ready your rifle to bring down a Chaos Observer on the wall ahead. Don't go too far ahead, 3x Locusts are lurking around the corner. Go back, pick up [Naturalist's travel writings Page 2] and inch your nose around the corner: 2x Chaos Observers are in this area and ideally you might wanna take the farthest out by standing by the fire near the corner. 3x Locusts will charge at you afterwards. Large courtyard #2 ------------------ The next is tricky. You'll meet new enemies: Humans and Poisonous Spiders. Humans are likely to get killed by the Spiders, however there is gonna be an infinite amount of those as long as you let them "reproduce", meaning spit their spidery ball-thing. If this is your first playthrough, it may be tough without target lock-on, dash-to-target and no magic. What you want to do is to pay attention to those web balls and destroy them before they have a chance to hatch, then go after the spider that spat them. And don't forget to abuse finishing moves. After spiders are dealt with, go toward the nearby Altar. Choose one of two magic skills: # Freeze Freezes your target, immobilising it and dealing damage # Ignition Sets enemies in front of you on fire, dealing damage over time and get the only ability the Altar has for you this time: % Dash to object Grants players the ability to dash to flying corals Why is the Altar calling Ayumi a "player" is totally out of context - are adventurers and treasure hunters known as players down here? Who knows, who cares. You are automatically teleported by the Altar to the training area, where you'll learn how to use your chosen magic skill. This will happen each time you learn an attack spell. Go toward the big gate to hear Ayumi comment about it, then go through the narrow passage. Spiral area with huge tree -------------------------- You'll see some corals you can dash to and from, however don't rush outside just yet, the place is infested with 4x Chaos Observers. For the first one, get under the archway and look up as much as you can and a little to the left. The second one is clearly visible on the pillar to the right. Before going up, go behind the giant column to open chest #2 with a [Diamond Ring]. Use the corals to go up and quickly kill the third Chaos Observer. Go up the four corals and kill the fourth Chaos Observer. Enter room. As you wander around, 4x Dragonpath Guardians animate, so kill'em and step on the switch. Go back to the giant gate and kill another 2x Chaos Observers. Grab [Naturalist's travel writings Page 3]. Go inside, step on the mechanism to summon 3x Locusts. Go back and take the now-open right path. Bridge area ----------- You arrive in a large outside area, with humans fighting 5x Tribal Lost Souls. You can kill them in several ways: dashing on to them and attack them while airborne (like good old Nightshade) or go the old fashion way with your rifle - in your first playthrough you can only do the latter because Ayumi hasn't learnt Dash to Enemy yet. Ignore the two guys and go after treasure #3, containing [Ruby Amulet]. Shoot the parasites that prevent you from dashing to corals, as instructed. There's [Naturalist's travel writings Page 4] on top of the pillar between the second and the third coral: jump once from the former to land on it. Bridge area #2 + Altar ---------------------- Drop down and go toward the Altar that has one new gift: # Heavy Strike Deals damage to the enemies around you and one important passive ability: % Dash to Enemy Grants players the ability to dash to enemies. Very useful against flying creatures. That's not right - Very useful against everything! Anyway yet another broken bridge ahead, but 3x Tribal Lost Souls are conveniently placed on the other side for you to dash to. Move forward for your first... BOSS FIGHT - Gateguard ---------------------- This cyclopic beast has rocket launchers on each shoulder: destroy them before everything else. Dash away from the giant thing if you can't target or are unable to dash to them. Don't use magic just yet. As you've dispatched its arms, hit its torso and/or legs (caution!) only with swords to cause it to break down and fall on the floor (watch out for the shock wave), then spam magic to deal massive damage and bring its life down. Repeat until he's dead. Leaving ------- After he's gone, approach the cylindrical shaped metal object for a brief cut scene, then use your innate Time Rewind ability to activate the two platforms at the same time. If you don't get it this is how it's done: step on one platform and wait a couple of seconds, then push the time rewind button until you see yourself moving towards the platform. At this point release the button and rush to the other platform, and stand there. Before leaving though, go grab the [Naturalist's travel writings Page 5] in this area. The metal object thing is actually a teleporter that takes you to the next level. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.2 Level 2: Jungle (L2JU) Treasure chests: 3 Journal Pages: 1 After entering the second stage, and noticing you can't use the teleporter to go back, go near the Altar. It doesn't sell any new magic, except for those you haven't bought yet. As for abilities, a plethora of delicious stuff is available: % Ignition Mastery The Ignition spell has a wider area of effect % Freeze Mastery The Freeze spell has a wider area of effect % Critical Strike Your Heavy Strike has the ability to deal double damage % Headshot Rage Headshots fired from a rifle give you more rage Chaos zone ---------- Proceed and enter the creepy dark area ahead: it's a Chaos zone, where your time abilities don't work, your movements are much slower and where you have to cast a protective Order spell in order to fight enemies, should you encounter them. And most of the times you will. Anyway as expected monsters lurk in here: Chaos Monsters. Don't forget to renew your Sphere of Order spell whenever you move away from it or when it expires. Proceed and dispatch 5x Tribal Zombie Fighter. They're tough but overall easier than the damn Locusts. Continue forward and get rid of the 2x Tribal Zombie Spearmen with your rifle. Destroy the obelisk to make the magic wall disappear, shoot the parasite on the coral opposite the ledge and jump down. Large area ---------- This huge area will serve you a couple of tough battles. You have to deal with a Tribal Zombie Heavy wearing magic armor, which will collapse only under a high rate of fire. Your fiery friend will tell you exactly what you need to do. Usually 3 or 4 copies of Ayumi (i.e. rewind time twice or thrice) are enough. When you see him fall down, get near him to execute a finishing move. If it isn't enough rewind time again and hit him while do you the finishing move. As soon as he's dead another Tribal Zombie Heavy, without magical protection, enters the arena. This tough guy can't be attacked from the front, nor his shield can be knocked off in any way. Again, time rewind and attack him from behind, but try to stay close enough to perform finishing moves, yet far enough not to get hit by his club. After a while, 3x Tribal Zombie Spearmen and 3x Tribal Zombie Fighters joins the feast. Get rid of the spearmen before killing the Fighters, to make your life a little easier. Another 2x Tribal Zombie Fighters spawn afterwards. After those are dead like their brothers, it's time to finally kill the magic shielded Heavy with the usual tactic. I save him for last because he doesn't have any long range attacks and moves pretty slowly. A Coral leading back to the way you came will suddenly come into Ayumi's dash range, however don't leave just yet. Dash to the Coral that had the parasite you killed before dropping down, then jump on the rock and open the treasure chest #4 for a [Silver Ring], the go all the way back, and enter the swampy area with a crashed airship. Crashed airship --------------- Go to the left to learn about hidden treasures, which can only be seen if under an Order spell. Take the [Topaz Amulet] inside hidden chest #5 and proceed to the right path. The next area is guarded by a Chaos Slasher. You're so far from home if you think you can kill him now: should you get close to him, you'd get "sucked" into his arms. You're hinted to use Time Rewind to lure him away and sneak past him, but it's one of those things that fall into the "easier said than done" category. To proceed you have to shoot the parasite and destroy the obelisk it's on, which means letting the Slasher see you and start moving towards you, then use Time Rewind to rush to said obelisk and wipe it before the Slasher has a chance to rape you. Go to the Altar for some juicy new upgrades. Magic skills: # Slide Attack Deals damage to enemies while sliding Abilities: % Rage Saving Casting spells doesn't fully deplete your rage meter % Combo Rage You gain rage by using combos and spells % Fire Weapon Ignition or Massive Ignition spells inflame your weapons so that they deal additional fire damage and ignite enemies % Frost Weapon Freeze or Massive Freeze spells enchant your weapons so that they start dealing additional damage and can freeze enemies After you're done shopping and practicing your newly acquired skill, it's time to get on the ship. There, several Tribal Lost Souls spawn above the ship: use air-dash to kill them and then destroy the obelisk. The treasure your compass is sensing can't be gotten yet. Proceed ahead to kill 2x Tribal Zombie Fighter and grab [Ship's log book Page 3]. As you run around the ship you'll meet fellow treasure hunter Michelle. When you regain control go to the hidden treasure chest #6 nearby (use Order spell) and grab [Swords of the Shining Star]. Move a little bit past the flower on the left and ready your rifle to kill an annoying Chaos Observer. There's a safe spot near the flower: the rock close to the palm tree. One more Chaos Observer lurks a little further, however this time I couldn't find a safe place. You'll then meet this level's angry boss. BOSS FIGHT - Tribal Zombie Shaman Chieftain ------------------------------------------- Don't bother with the rifle from up here; to defeat him you have to dash from coral to coral, and hit him when he's not casting a spell. The fat ugly thing has many spells, but has a ridicously long casting time. The strategy here is simple: get under him, fill your rage meter and spam skills, then rewind time. Rinse and repeat until he's dead. When he dies, continue to the Altar, where there'll be nothing new. Upon choosing the gift(s) you wish, a teleporter will automatically bring you to level 3. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.3 Level 3: Human Base (L3HB) Treasure chests: 2 Journal Pages: 1 Don't you just love areas with no enemies, no collectables, nothing whatsoever to do? Proceed down the tunnel for a cutscene. Exit the ship and approach the door's mechanism. Turns out our friend Michelle locked it so that no one could go to the forbidden Northern Path. Which raises the question: which of these 8x Humans carries the key? You'll soon find out, as they're all after you, because God forbid someone doesn't do what Michelle tells them to. Open the forbidden door and murder those 4x Humans far ahead. Avoid the Thron on the ground, please. Random area with annoying enemy ------------------------------- There'll be more humans ahead but most importantly (and annoyingly) Poisonous Spiders. Lot of. On top of that, those humans also throw grenades around. Good thing is, they're fighting against each other, so chances are a couple of them will get smacked by the green creatures. After you're done slaughtering innocent humans and unlikely giant green spiders that self-replicate in a matter of seconds, reveal hidden treasure #7 by the palm tree to snatch a [Dragon Amulet], then go use the Altar for some hot shopping. % Frost Strike Your Heavy Strike deals lots of damage to frozen enemies that are low on health % Shadow Friend Your shadow duplicate comes to your aid when you are low on health and can't use the healing ability % Slide Recovery Your can Slide even when being hit by enemies Ready your finger on the Time Rewind button because after you're done with the Altar, Ayumi delivers the comment that's gonna be on everybody's mouth at this point: our Slasher friend spawns near the door mechanism. This encounter is harder than before because - for comparison - opening the gate takes a lot more time than destroying an obelisk, time during which you need to keep the slasher busy with your clone(s). Go up the steps and claim [Naturalist's travel writings Page 6]. Treasure chest #8 is hidden where the path turns to the right: it contains [Ring of Eternity]. Move forward for a cutscene and retreat back into the tunnel to murder 8x Humans: a lone sniper and grenade throwing bastard is standing on top of the wall to the right of the huge gate, while the remaining 7 are on the western wall. Use Time Rewind to go through the gate that wouldn't stay open to clear this very short level. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.4 Level 4: Temple (6NTEM) Treasure chests: 2 Journal Pages: 5 You start onto a suspended bridge with 5x Humans around you. Don't forget to grab [Naturalist's travel writings Page 7] before advancing. Temple ------ Welcome to the awesome water reflective zone, collect [Naturalist's travel writings Page 8]. Past the gate you'll meet another "enemy": Laser! If you played the demo this area will look familiar, however it has some _minor_ changes, so don't rely on it too much. As you go around the Laser, stop and snipe 2x Humans. Don't miss hidden treasure chest #9 by the palm tree, which contains a powerful [Machine Gun]. The next area is infested with Humans. Depending on your playing skills, you can either rush outside or slowly clear your way out with the rifle. There are 4 Humans on the left and 4 more on the right. There's also a [Naturalist's travel writings Page 9] in this area, plus some mines scattered on the ground for good measure, and two passageways you can't go through yet due to Chaos walls. Enter the big room: unlike the demo it has spikes (Thron) near the throne, which have to be retracted by standing on the two platforms (watch out for the mine between them) at the same time; do that and Time Rewind again to activate the First Switch. Unlike the demo, no monsters appear, and there's no one outside, what happened? Backtrack to finally meet fellow companion Zero, whose mind has been brainwashed by Michelle. The good news is that he will not stand in your way, at least for now. Open the door and murder the 3x Humans inside. Activate the Second Switch to spawn an enormous aulic speaking entity. BOSS FIGHT - Skyward Heavy Infantry ----------------------------------- He's just a nice big robot with tanks full of some mysterious concoction on his back (I'm guessing it's grog) that grant him health regeneration. Finally an enemy that gives Ayumi a challenge! In fact, this thing is a nightmare to beat at first, because every pixel of damage you inflict is quickly recovered. The strategy here is bring his health down to roughly half, then jump on him when the prompt appears to distract him. After the sequence ends, time rewind and jump on him again but this time, if done right,Ayumi will cut the tubes he uses to feed the "grog" with. This crazy grammar means he's now vulnerable! After he's gone, go back outside: some Tribal Zombie Fighters are raping Humans. You don't need to fight any of them, just open the door and let them sort it out by themselves. Next tiny area has 2 humans on the left and 2 up the stairs and they are ALL throwing grenades at you. How sweet. Oh and there are mines all over the stairs. Again, make the best of your Time Rewind ability. The altar has level 2 spells finally available: # Massive Ignition Sets several enemies around you on fire, dealing damage over time # Massive Freeze Freezes enemies around you, immobilizing them and dealing damage # Massive Heavy Strike Deals a lot of damage to the enemies around you Plus loads of new abilities: % Slide Ignition Your Slide Attack sets targets on fire % Fire Disease Burning enemies can set other enemies around them on fire % Frost Weakness Gives you a chance to deal double damage to a frozen target % Frost Strike Your Heavy Strike deals lots of damage to frozen enemies that are low on health % Fire Strike If you hit a burning enemy with a Heavy Strike, the enemy will explode and deal damage to other enemies that are nearby % Elemental Power If you inflame a frozen enemy, or freeze a burning enemy, they will receive additional damage % Assassin's Strike Enemies lose part of their life force after being hit by the Heavy Strike After you've chosen your desired means of destruction, go past the door for some Tomb Raider-like navigation puzzles sort-of thing. Ideally you should jump from brazier to brazier whenever the blades move away from you, however it's easier said than done with such controls. When you get near the rotating gear with huge spikes going downwards, take a moment to snipe the fool that got stuck in here with you. You'll be shown how to disable the laser. Destroy the magic locks to greatly slower the speed of the rotating spikes. Go back and get past the door. Laser Room Disco ---------------- Ready for some Tomb Raider/Aeon Flux-like laser dodging puzzles ? I hope you are. Your compass is screaming but ignore it. Focus on the lasers. Since the HTML version isn't ready yet (I still have to take level 6+ screenshots and make videos for 4+), I can't show you my findings with accompanying images and stuff, but I can point you to a video of me jumping over the lasers with almost no pain, save for the damn Thorns: http://youtu.be/FCQkMBRMuh4 Deactivate all lasers and the chaos barrier with the switch, take [Swords of Emerald Light] inside hidden chest #10, activate the Third Switch and exit from this room to trigger a cutscene. When it's over, 6x Skyward Rippers appear. Either use the pillars as a cover or jump on them. After another of those dumb "door won't stay open" puzzle, it's Altar time! Nothing new available. Portal room ----------- Proceed to the last room, with a [Naturalist's travel writings Page 11] somewhere. First things first, you need to push Energy Charges toward the portal. Stand behind the charged pillar and use your Order spell to push the charge to the pillar *away* from you. Do this to power the right side of the teleporter. Then do the same with the left side. However no matter how hard you try, as you push the charges Locusts jump out of the Chaos, jealous of your mad pushing skillz. On the left side there are also Chaos Observers. And don't think you can power the portal and leave, because you must kill every monster. When you've done everything, you'd think you could finally go to the next level, but no, there's an annoying boss that doesn't allow anyone into that portal. BOSS FIGHT - Skyward Commander ------------------------------ This dude can summon minions (Skyguard Light Infantry and occasionally Locusts), cast fireballs, throw missiles, and to top all that, being this room under Chaos influence, you are forbidden to rewind time. Most importantly he's always floating in the air and you never know when he's gonna spam fireballs so attacking at close range is unlikely. I admit my strategy is slow and tedious, so please tell me or point me to something less stressful, but it has worked in Hard difficulty but it took FOREVER. Rifle out. Circle around the room. Gather seal level 2 by shooting at him mostly, or the Infantries when he's too far or I quickly need rage for an Heal Point, wait for the big thing to dash on the ground and stop for a brief second and unleash spells until rage runs out. By now he'd have summoned those relentless locusts. Deal with them. Repeat. Eventually he'll either succumb or just plain fall asleep. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.5 Level 5: Desert (6NDES) Treasure chests: 0 Journal Pages: 0 Due to a teleporter malfunction, Ayumi ends up in this abandoned planet: Skyguards left it after the Sun erupted. The beauty of the place clashes with an exclusive game mechanic: since the sun is too hot for Ayumi to bear, you must stay protected by shade, and only step in open sunlight when absolutely needed. There is no Altar here and nothing to grab (weapons, books, chests). Important tip ------------- Before we begin it's important to remind you that after clearing a wave of enemies your health regenerates to full in a couple of seconds (when rage Seals expire), without wasting a heal point. Health also immediately regenerates to full whenever you re-enter a shadow after having been exposed to the sunlight. Ayumi needs to recover 3 energy crystals to repair the portal to continue her journey, so let's get the task done. Starting/Teleporter Area ------------------------ To meet the local enemies, quickly dash to the huge shadow on the left of the portal: as you arrive, 2x Desert Zombie Fighter spawn basically on top of you, plus 4x Desert Zombie Spearmen appear far away. This first encounter is deadly because you have little space to maneuver and there is no safe spot against the spearmen. Your best bet is to enter the shadow from its very left end, perform a finishing move on a fighter as soon as the icon appears (which should be right after they spawn), then finish the other guy while avoiding all the shit the spearmen throw. If you stay on the left the spearmen shouldn't spawn. Once the fighters are dead, quickly dash under the rock. Snipe the only spearman that can attack you and work your way to the right to kill the other three. Proceed to the next shadows ahead and kill the lone Desert Zombie Spearman. Turn right for another 3x Desert Zombie Fighter. Subjugate them however you please, wipe the parasite and dash to the other side using the coral. First Crystal ------------- Activate the switch to cover the passage with shadows. Open the door and jump to the left to grab the first Energy Crystal. New friends here: some damn jumping Desert Cuttle that never cease, and a huge Sand Worm ripped straight from Dune. Is this planet a tribute to Arrakis? Doesn't matter, use time rewind to kill the worm, and proceed past the parasites. Barrier on rails ---------------- Your goal is a platform to the left, however you can't go up there yet because the sun is blocking your path (?!), thus stand on the green switch: a moving barrier on rails on your left will start moving: as soon as it reaches the other end, rewind time and use said barrier's shadow as a cover to cross the area. Here, activate the blue switch to make some other barriers shield the path you need to take, and leave using same tactic you came. Reach the now-safe area to the right and activate the blue switch: you just removed shadows from a solar generator. Go up the elevator and shoot the protective barrier (or shoot the mine below it); go up the second elevator and prepare to quickly dash away from it, as there's no shade at the top. Near the second crystal ----------------------- 6x Desert Zombie Fighters to fight. Abuse time rewind, then exploit the shadow provided by the moving barrier to shoot the parasite on a coral down the cliff and subsequently jump on it. Jump to the other side and grab the second energy crystal, guarded by those pesky Cuttles and another Sand Worm. Go to the narrow ledge, shoot 4 mines and, when you can't advance any further, jump down to the right and quickly dash to the left to be protected from the sun again. Go up that platform: looking at the way you came, you'd see on your left a solar panel and a narrow passage protected by lasers. Step on the switch so that a giant metal barrier can come down and put some shadows and in an otherwise completely sunlit area. After like 10 seconds, rewind time and go where the shadows were, then get near the lasers and wait for them to disappear. Activate yet another switch and quickly dash into the shadows on your left to recover your health. Then go out again and jump from where the barrier was, past a narrow ledge, into another metal platform. The switch here activates a one-time only moving barrier: I repeat, this barrier doesn't come back, so activate the switch and move along with it. Unfortunately there are a total of 6x Desert Zombie Fighters lurking on this path: try to cross to the other side in one piece and only there engage them. 3-Switch puzzle and third Energy Crystal ---------------------------------------- Go to the right path and go activate three switches at the same time. I stood for 13 seconds on the first and 9 seconds on the second, each time rewinding back until I could see shadows moving. You can safely ignore the Worm that lurks here, he nor those little cute jumping freaks will be able to touch Ayumi if you keep dashing. Backtrack and take the right path towards a gate. The third and final Energy Crystal is automagically picked up, so go ahead and activate this last switch to make two giant barriers raise from the ground and allow you to return to the teleporter. BOSS FIGHT - Giant Worm ----------------------- First of all don't get anywhere under him, he'll grab and stab you for massive damage. Time rewind is dangerous too as he can see your "current" self and thus would go after you and not your clones. There'll also be annoying Cuttles jumping around. You have to kill four tentacles, one by one, all in the same manner: when they get down, hit them repeatedly. When they rush towards you or throw slabs of garbage, avoid them. It's not the hardest boss in the game, just a little patience and you can leave this place. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.6 Level 6: Sky Islands (6NSKI) Treasure chests: 2 Journal Pages: 3 As the name suggests, this whole level is suspended in the air thanks to corals and their huge trees. It has a delicious black and purple theme. It's also the home of the craziest technology the Skyguards have at their disposal, and you'll get to use some of it too! The first thing you notice is that out of the blue you just unlocked a new costume, the Skyguard Costume. Suspended suspenders -------------------- Go down the walkway and turn left for a cutscene with your master. How did he know we arrived? He answers "I occasionally have a vision from a sphere in the guild...", yeah, "occasionally" my ass you damn stalker! Anyway he overheard that Skyguards and the Chaos have agreed to a truce. As always the communication stops abruptly when Ayumi asks for clarifications. Use the several corals to climb up. The Dragon Fiery tells you that Zero and the other humans are likely to be at the Sky Docks, thus this is our next destination. Waterfall area -------------- Approach the slanted walkway towards the waterfall, go around the huge rock on the left to find hidden treasure #11 that contains [Swords of Anger]. Get into the flooded courtyard to get attacked by a million Locusts. Go pick [Strange note Page 1] behind the waterfall. Proceed for a bunch of sturdy Skyguard Light Infantries, use the button and enter the structure. Building -------- Destroy the two locks, and a Skyward Heavy Infantry appears. Deal with him in the usual way, then climb up using the corals. Go open chest #12 containing [Chaos Amulet] and use more corals to climb up to the third lock. Activate the now unlocked switch at the ground floor, which turns on a giant Stargate-like network of transportation system. Jump in! Upon arrival an Interceptor drops 4x Skyguard Light Infantries: dismember them and stand on the nearby switch to engage a bunch of buoys which will allow you to fly. Tap the jump button to gain altitude. Flying section -------------- Now you need to activate 3 switches on three different floating platforms to disengage as many obelisks on the clearly visible circular platform, which in turn disable a chaos wall protecting the switch to turn on another transportation system. From the ledge of platform you should see a small platform on your right with [Strange note Page 2] on it. From there, you can go activate the buttons in any order: - Large platform with blue flowers and huge rocks: Button guarded by 5x Skyguard Light Infantries (several more appear after you activate the switch; ignore them and fly away) I know they're not rocks but trunks and branches, but their colour misled me at first - Small platform with trees, statue, and mines: No enemies here - Platform near buoy: The hardest since as you get near the button 4x Locusts and 2x Skyguard Rippers appear When all obelisks are green, go activate the Stargate-thing. Outside the building, reach another platform and dispose of 4x Rippers and free a bunch of corals from their parasites. Climb up but stop on the second floating rock to pick up [Strange note Page 3]. Use the elevator (or "eleveytah") to get attacked by more Skygyard Rippers (what else?) that move all over the place making it hard to hit them (grrrr). Structure --------- Get inside the building and see if you can use Time Rewind to step on the left button and get hold of a nice Rocket Launcher to dismember those 4x Skyguard Light Infantries. Afterwards use the other button: if you stay inside, more enemies arrive, but if you exit no one does. Leave the RPG and jump to the other building, climb up and pickup another Rocket Launcher on your right to blow up more Skyguard Light Infantries and 2x Skyguard Rippers. Open the door to enter the next level but bring the RPG along. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.7 Level 7: Sky Docks (6NSKD) Treasure chests: 1 Journal Pages: 3 You start off right from the end of the previous level, meaning you get to have a Rocket Launcher only if you brought it from the previous level, and believe me it makes a whole lot of difference. 6x Skyguard Rippers infest the starting area, and you should by now know how much I hate those things. Theoretically you could dash onto them but the camera goes all crazy here and landing becomes an issue since many of them hover over a bottomless pit. If you don't have the RPG your best bet is to use a Rifle and try to stay covered, and of course to kick back their beacons. Energy bulbs puzzle ------------------- Climb up for a cut scene and 3x Skyguard Light Infantries marching towards you. Kill more of them ahead on a dome-like structure and use Order spell to connect the mechanism: use it only on the three things that have tubes coming in and out. When they're connected they emanate a blue field between them: basically you have to run around and cast Order on each one of them until you arrive again where you started, cast Order on it to severe the connection. Treasure #13 ------------ If you go where the docked ships are, you should see a bunch of corals leading up toward a tall circular structure. The chest is on the very top platform and contains [Old Wars Rifle]. Proceed to the elevator and enter a room with a lone Skyguard Light Infantry. Step on the switch to activate yet another elevator that carries the Chaos Slasher (it's always the same guy) on it. Distract the Slasher and land on the platform to reach another dome-like structure; activate the two crystals with your Order spell, which spawn 4 Light Infantries, and run up. Sky Docks --------- Pick up the Rocket Launcher and subjugate everything in sight, including a Heavy Infantry. Watch out for enemies that activate their magic shield, as always. Afterwards take down 6x Skyguard Interceptors: note that you can use Time Rewind to "bring them back" should they move out of your rockets' trajectory. Go down the path, activate two more switches with Order spell and pickup [Strange note Page 4]. Backtrack and have more fun with the RPG blasting Skyguard cannon fodder, then go in the laser infested zone to break an obelisk. This activates an elevator downstairs, the slowest in history I might add. And guess what, a bunch of Skyguard Rippers arrive as you painfully wait for the thing to reach the next platform. Sky docks, energy bulbs puzzle ------------------------------ Subjugate more of those useless Skyguard Light Infantries, then get near the ship for a cut scene, backtrack and climb up on the second floor of the structure. Here's a rough diagram of the situation, of course not drawn to scale: *(#)* <--- Airship with Zero playing poker with Skyguards lasers -> _________ ######### I apologise for the horrible ascii drawing. I put ######### names on each thing to guide you properly. N are ####################### those without any wire attached. # X1 Y1 # # ############### # You have to short-circuit the 3 "X" and "Y" things # N # # Y2# just like you did before. # # # # # X2# # # Basically go to X1 and use Order spell,then use it # # # N # while near X2, then go to X3 and do the same. # ############### # Return to X1 to short-circuit this side of the # X3 Y3 # circuit, creating a nice blue energy triangle. ####################### Repeat for the "Y"-marked things. Drop down and take the Rocket Launcher and bring down 4 more Skyward Interceptors, then there's a cutscene and you find yourself onto a big platform towed by the ship where Zero is in. Platform being towed through the sky ------------------------------------ First of all you can't use Time Rewind, finishing moves, and can't even play bastard and push enemies off the platform. And without those it takes forever to kill all the Skyguard Light Infantries and Skyward Rippers that arrive after a while. My strategy to stay alive was to corner one or two enemies, do the spinning move and spam level 1 spells, especially Heavy Strike. In all this, equipping things that help maintain rage are essential. After like 2 minutes and a half, a cut scene shows a friend of us severing the cable between the ship and your platform, forcing Ayumi to jump off and land on a nearby place. Balcony ------- Listen to the fairy dragon and collect [Strange note Page 5] near the building, then activate the switch to power another transportation tunnel. Portal area and detention zone ------------------------------ 5x Skyguard Light Infantries rush towards you, however unlike the last time you have full reign over time and movements. Go down for 3x Locusts and another Light Infantry that arrives shortly after. 4 more are right behind the corner. Enter the next room and activate the two switches using your Order spell - but guess what, there's a Slasher lurking inside! Exit (he doesn't follow you outside), go back, grab [Strange note Page 6] inside the cell next to Zero's, skip cut scene, head outside. Zero will make it through the portal (of course) but you won't (that's your luck right there): a Skyguard Commander appears and shuts off the portal, then Ayumi asks a question and he's all like "sure, I'll tell you the whole story in detail, so you'll know who to visit next". BOSS FIGHT - Skyguard Commander II ---------------------------------- It's the very same boss from level 4, risen again from the Tree of Order; however he got new skills and a cute blue energy shield. To defeat him you must use the provided Rocket Launchers. For this reason it's advised to equip gear that increases health, resistance to ranged damage, speed, and the like. He stays mostly airborne this time, summoning Skyguard Rippers, spinning around and scattering missiles; sometimes he likes to go down and immediately rush at you on his knees, creating a huge freezing shock wave: it's so fast it's hard to anticipate, so stay on your toes. When he's on the ground he dashes a lot, however he only stays for a few seconds before taking off. If you see him floating in the air and turning around never giving you his back, it means he has just summoned 2 or 3 Rippers and is charging the spinning move. The Rippers as always will throw a beacon that calls for an air strike: you can kick it back to enjoy the commander getting showered, in fact you might want to leave 1 Ripper alive. The good news in all this mess is that he takes damage when hit on the shield, which is good because it's almost impossible to hit him anywhere else. Once you (temporarily) kill him go through the portal. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.8 Level 8: Brutal Lands (6NBRL) Treasure chests: 3 Journal Pages: 5 This level has a nice snowy setting that reminded me of Lost Planet. It has a couple of hard bosses, some tough new enemies, and minor lame things here and there. On with the show. Upon entering the level, you notice that Ayumi has changed costume again: the Winter Costume is now unlocked. Little side note here, where is she taking these costumes from? It made sense in Tomb Raider, since she'd leave her home and go to places, but Ayumi just slew a huge boss, and jumped into a teleporter. Ehy, maybe it's them that "dress" users according to their destination, who knows. Stop over thinking and go down. 4x Brutal Zombie Fighters appear near an Altar. It has no new active skills, but a couple of new passives: % Slide Freeze Your Slide Attack starts to freeze enemies % Air Attack Range It improves the attack range of your weapons when you're hanging on a flying enemy Go through the door, jump the cliff, and go open the hidden chest #14 up ahead for a [Magic Ring], then go down the tunnel. Inside the chaos zone there are more or less 10x Chaos Monsters. When they're dead, two Brutal Mauls appear. They're tough at close range and keep spamming a freezing attack by slamming their hammer on the ground; stay back where the shock wave can't hit you. Grab [Strange analysis Page 1] nearby, destroy the obelisk and proceed. Frozen corals ------------- A cutscene shows a coral floating up in the air, however the others are frozen on the ground. It goes like this: slaughter 5x Brutal Zombie Fighters, shoot the first frozen coral, fight a Brutal Maul, destroy the second block of ice, fight 5 more Brutal Zombie Fighters, shoot the third block of ice. Note that to fight the enemies you can climb up the ledge and safely take them out from up there. Alternate strategy: You don't need to fight those guys at all: carefully jump on the chain running across the walls and destroy all the ice blocks from there, so you dash away without stepping foot on the ground. On the other side, turn around towards the pit and go down on a small ledge on the left to grab [Strange analysis Page 2]. Abandoned junkyard ------------------ It isn't exactly a junkyard, but that's what it looked like to me when I came here. Use time rewind to grab - how should I call it? - Experimental Freezing Laser Array, or EFLA. No, wait, it sucks, let's just call it SubZero's Hand (nice, but it's actually called [Freezer Launcher] in the game). Enemies stay frozen for one second, so you either use time rewind, or quickly drop SubZero's and immediately switch to the rifle to break enemies into pieces. Learn to be quick at it because this area is infested with 5x Brutal Mauls. Around the corner, use an Order spell on the switches near the Chaos Gate to immediately kill all Brutal Mauls around (or most of them anyway). Before proceeding, go where the Chaos Gate was, and grab [Strange analysis Page 3] from the L-shaped cul-the-sac. Use the Altar and climb up. Terraced garden --------------- Kill 2x Brutal Mauls and dash to the Maul Commander, hit him using time rewind until he drops his [STRIKEOUT SubZero's Hand] [Freezer Launcher]. Use it against him, then climb up. Repeat. Repeat again. Alternate strategy: Ignore Brutal Mauls and dash to the Commander, then unleash as many clones of yourself as you can to have him drop his Freezer. When he does that, he becomes stunned for a brief moment; turn him into a block of ice and move to the very corner on your left (facing where you came from) to kill those pesky Mauls: with a bit of luck their freezing wave will not reach you. Open the door to enter a cave. Frozen cave ----------- When you arrive where the path goes down to your right, 2x Brutal Zombie Fighters comes at you; however before proceeding watch for a high ledge on the left, and go open a hidden chest #15 that reveals [Swords of Magic], then go back to your route. Huge underground pit with tree ------------------------------ Several Restless Zombies are down there, and those can't be killed by your weapons or magic, so you need to use the cannon on the opposite side. After you've brought them back to dust, destroy the obelisk and go open yet another hidden chest #16 with a [Rifle of the Chaos Stone]. Suspended bridge ---------------- To be honest, I never trust suspended bridges in any work of fiction, because they tend to break too easily, so imagine how I cautious I was then stepping on it the first time. Turns out, a ghetto boss is awaiting for you here, called Brutal Lich, but he isn't Brutal at all. After the cutscene, shoot him a couple of times. He returns into 6 clones, floating in the air. You can either kill them airborne or from the ground. Memorize which corals are safe to jump off from when you're done. As usual destroy the obelisk to remove the barrier. Grab the clearly visible [Strange analysis Page 4] and go down to the left. Don't jump on the lake because you'll die, and you'll have to fight the Lich again. Stormy cave ----------- Several tough Chaos-Converted Humans are up ahead, and as usual throw grenades and wields rifles as powerful as yours. Go down the U-turning tunnel and grab [Strange analysis Page 5], then listen carefully to what the Fiery is saying. Go up the path and use the Altar. No new spells, only one new passive ability: % Elemental Stun If you inflame a frozen enemy, or freeze a burning enemy, you may stun it for a short period of time BOSS FIGHT - Vicar of Chaos --------------------------- Listen how he tries to trick Ayumi's trust... Before you can deal any lasting damage to the Vicar you have to kill 2x Maul Commanders that act as his healers - they never move and don't attack unless you get near them. Abusing Time Rewind is obviously essential during the whole fight. Once they're dead the Vicar becomes vulnerable; try to fight airborne because honestly I couldn't kill him grounded, due to that ridiculous spinning attack he spams all the time, which also throws ice projectiles all over the place; plus he also moves very fast. Upon defeating him you get to keep his awesome [Chaos Swords of the Vicar]. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.9 Level 9: Brutal Town (6NBRT) Treasure chests: 4 Journal Pages: 6 This place is HELL; lot of encounters, lot of enemies at the same time, lot of Skyguard vs Chaos brawls to be seen, treasures in crazy places, lot of frustration. Floating platform ----------------- Go outside; on the other side there'll be Chaos humans fighting Skyguards. A Skyguard Interceptor appears after a short while; luckily there's a rocket launcher nearby. The treasure: I guess you've noticed your compass by now. Face where the teleporter is and shoot the frozen coral; then climb up and go claim [Swords of the Blood Ruby] from hidden chest #17. On the other side, climb up the balcony to the right and enter the door. The Slasher lurks inside, guarding a switch. Go back outside and enter the opposite door. 3 Humans appear; then pick up [Strange note Page 7] and activate the switch. Go back outside once again, kill those 4 idiots and finally go through the main gate. Through main gate ----------------- You'll find Brutal Zombie Fighters fighting against Brutal Zombie Heavy, however as soon as you attack anyone they team up against you (nice!) Go to the right (considering where you came from), destroy the two magic locks and step on the switch. Then go through the left opening and go up the steps. There'll be a pit with more Zombie Fighters fighting Skyguard Light Infantries with another Skyguard Interceptor joining the party in a matter of seconds (Rocket launcher conveniently provided). Go through the door. You'll land on a narrow passage with high walls; go around the corner and punish humans and Rippers (kick their beacons back or you'll receive an air-strike on your head). Watch out for the spikes around the corner and go use that rocket launcher to clear the next area: should you fall down, there's a frozen coral to help you return up here. Before proceeding, use your compass to locate hidden chest #18 that contains [Mysterious Ring] which isn't exactly useful in this level. Go through the opened passage: a Maul Commander spawns in a recessed area. I suggest you fight him at close range because there's no safe place from his blasts. Proceed forward, kill 3x Brutal Lich and go down. 2x Brutal Zombie Fighters and a Brutal Zombie Heavy are here. You can fight them on the stairs as they're unlikely to climb up. Only then you're able to use the Altar, which doesn't have anything new. Jump on the floating moving platform: there'll be a lone Chaos Monster somewhere (location seems random). If you're after the hidden treasure chest #19, it's on the ledge on the left side of the divider wall: it hides [Swords of the Golem Age]. A boss' energy bar should appear on your screen now: it's for the Tribal Zombie Shaman Chieftain, aka "Fatso", up ahead. Kill more Skyward Rippers and enter the chaos-infested room. Go outside again and you'll see fatso getting missiled by two Skyguard Interceptors - he seems pretty tough (technically he's simply invulnerable right now) Shoot the frozen coral on the opposite side, but don't jump just yet. Go grab the [Strange note page 8] on the left side of the balcony, and *then* activate the switch on the other side. There'll be one more coral to free from ice on a narrow back alley, which leads directy to Fatso's platform. No Interceptor should be present. Fatso is extremely weak against Heavy Strike. When he's dead go open that door and climb up the stairs. Courtyard --------- 4x Brutal Zombie Fighters spawn. After they're dead, 2x Liches appear in the sky, after them, a ship drops a Skyward Heavy Infantry. At this point it should be clear, they're just throwing enemies at you to slow you down. When he's finally down, approach the door with no mechanism, go back outside and enter the opening on the left. Climb up, grab [Strange note Page 9] and go through the narrow window to reach the other room. Operate the two switches at the same time, jump down and enter the now open passage. Slaughterhouse -------------- Inside the pit, 3 Brutal Mauls and 2 Skyward Heavy Infantries are beating the crap out of each other. To get rid of the Infantries dispatch those Desert Zombie Spearmen (remember them?) guarding those cannons, then kill whatever is left inside the pit. Pick up [Strage note Page 10] on the right but watch out, a Chaos-Converted Human is around the corner Courtyard outside Temple ------------------------ Several enemies here: Lichs, Rippers, Brutal Zombies, Light Infantries and whatnot. Note: your compass is gonna yell for a while that there's a treasure in this area but first you need to lower the draw bridge to reach it. Go through the door, visit the Altar (nothing new) and go up the spiral stairway. More and more Zombie Fighters and a Brutal Zombie Heavy appear, then activate the switch for yet another Skyward Heavy Infantry to appear. Oh man, enough already! Open the blue door and pickup [Strange analysis Page 5] at the bottom of the stairs for another chaos-y courtyard. Mines are all over the place and of course there are Chaos monsters lurking. Activate the switch to lower the drawbridge. You're shown a Slasher on some stairs, but that's for later. Go back outside for 3 humans and an Interceptor: you don't need to face the humans if you're fast. Temple entrance --------------- On the other side of the drawbridge there are a billion of enemies, but the good news is that there's a rocket launcher to blast them with. At this point it's safe to go grab treasure #20 that sits on a balcony on the building you entered this place from (right when facing the drawbridge from the outside) - jump from the second coral to get there. It contains an amulet, [Crystal Tear]. When you're done operate the mechanism and bring the Rocket Launcher with you! Elevator room ------------- There's a [Strange analysis Page 7] behind the portal, but first... Chaos Monsters on walls, really? After those, Brutal Zombie Fighters and a Brutal Zombie Heavy arrive. Toast them to unlock the blue door. You don't need to bring the rocket launcher inside. Why? Because it's laser room again! Only catch: whole room is under chaos control. You should know how to do it: get near a laser barrier, cast Order spell and time yourself for a safe dash. You might want to equip the Mysterious Ring to increase Ayumi's speed a little. Activate the switch. Open the dark purple door and shoot rockets at the Maul Commander until he drops his Freezer Launcher; turn him into an icecream and activate the switch. When you exit, since you must wait for the elevator to arrive, a Chaos Slasher materialises from the portal to keep you company. Usually you can get him stuck in front of the elevator's door while you safely wait behind the portal. Board the elevator to go to the tenth and final level! ______________________________________________________________________________ 6.10 Level 10: Dragon Temple (6NDRT) Treasure chests: 0 Journal Pages: 0 This is it, the final level! I'll try to spoil as little as possible. Run up 'till the huge door, then go meet the Altar for the last time (in my first playthrough, I was able to get all passive abilities short of two). Open the door to finally reach the Dragon Sphere: we need to switch it on. Go to the other door and operate the two switches. Switches'n'Laser area --------------------- In here, the very last yet first "laser plus time"-based puzzle: there are three switches, and they must be operated together for the door to open, however two of them are protected by lasers. Step on the middle one (#2) and stay there for a while (10 seconds are enough), rewind until your temporal clone "leaves" the switch, go activate switch #1. Stay there until you hear that Time Rewind is about to expire, then dash out. Approach switch #3 and rewind time near the lasers. Note: 10 seconds are counted from the instant the switch engages, it doesn't take into account the 3 seconds you need to wait for all the gears to rotate. What, Skyguards architecture all of a sudden? And what about those switches? Honestly I couldn't figure out what to do with those, I tried to activate all of them at the same time but to no avail, thus I trusted the Dragon Fiery's word and jumped into the chasm. The flight scene brings you just around the corner. The next part is very easy thanks to Ayumi's strengthened powers. Other than the increased power and defense, she constantly regenerates Rage as long as there are enemies. Chambers -------- You'll have to fly up from chamber to chamber, killing almost every type of enemy you've encountered thus far (but I would have liked a couple of Skyguard Heavy Infantry and dozen of Rippers); you'll also get to finally kill the Slasher that has followed you for the whole game. To dash up, look up and target the hatch, then tap the "jump/fly" button repeatedly to fly - don't dash until the reticule appears. Keep going up until you return to your tracks, kill some more chaos monsters and enter the Chaos Stone room again. BOSS FIGHT - Keeper of Chaos part 1 ----------------------------------- Being this the final boss, it's gonna be long and painful. First of all don't bother with the 4 generators surrounding the room. The Keeper throws fireballs if you're far, swings his sword and smacks you with his fists if you're close. He also hovers for a while. Note ---- The strategy explained here is a result of several separate successful attempts both in Normal and Hard mode. I'm aware this so called "strategy" has you suffer heavy damage, but since Heal Points are constantly restored in Dragon Form I figured I could at least use them. To bring his magic shield down I went under him and comboed Ignition and Freeze; with the shield down, I spammed Freeze and Heavy Strike with the "main" Ayumi, and then I would spam Ignition and Freeze with the clones. It took around 2-3 rounds to bring his health to ~25%, which triggers a cut scene. BOSS FIGHT - Keeper of Chaos part 2 ----------------------------------- Michelle and Zero joins the party. Michelle will be the attacker, Zero sentinel and Ayumi medic. No, wait, it doesn't work like that... What was happening? I see, the Keeper. The Skyguards joins the party as well, as they're trying to overthrow his power, meaning they're an added annoyance (but they will not attack you), because you're assigned to distract the angry Keeper while Michelle and Zero reactivate the Chaos Sphere by destroying the 4 leeches that are draining its power. Considering you're back in human form, things aren't gonna be as easy as before: you can't use Time Rewind and you lost all the Heal points you gained while in Dragon Form. For this reason you might want to equip gear that boosts health and preserves Rage; you're not supposed to deal damage at this time (as with "Fatso" in level 9, I believe the Keeper is invulnerable during this phase). When your team mates are done, the Chaos Sphere activates and another cut scene kicks in. Your team will be back inside what I think it's the Guild's temple or something. Go towards the big gate for yet another cut scene. BOSS FIGHT - Keeper of Chaos part 3 ----------------------------------- Switch back to damage dealing equipment, because it's about time we end this fight. But there's a catch: he's back to full health, and now he only takes damage when ALL the three of you attacks him, plus he'll be summoning Brutal Zombie Fighters and Chaos Observers. Michelle and Zero will always prioritize fighting monsters meaning you only get to hit the boss during a very brief window. After a while he summons more monsters and pushes you all the way back to the sphere with a powerful blast. When you're done, congratulation on beating Blades of Time and enjoy the credits! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 7 Dismal Swamp Walkthrough (07DSW) Not ready yet. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 8 Frequently Asked Questions (08FAQ) No one has actually sent in any question and probably no one will, so I'll make some up Q 1: Will I be able to get every skill? A: Of course, dude. Go to any Hard difficulty level that has an Altar (levels 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9). Q 2: How do I defeat this huge thing? It keeps on healing himself!! A: I know, I hated him too. But at the end he's a nice guy and it's fun to kill with with a stab and hear him crying. Go to level 4's section for a detailed strategy. Q 3: How do I unlock the "schoolgirl" and "summer" costumes? A: I don't know dude, I'm still trying to figure that out myself. Q 4: Is this game any good? A: It's a nice and fun game, with a game play taken from several games. But isn't good in any of the aspects it borrowed. Still, it's lot of fun and the more you play the more you overcome its flaws. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 9 Contributing Readers (09CON) No one yet. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ############################################################################## =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 10 Thanks (10TNX) No one in particular except those that made the tools I've been using: Notepad++, PHP, thesaurus.com, en.wiktionary.org, google.com, Fraps, VirtualDUB, MeGUI, AviSynth, TotalCommander