_ _ ___ _ _ ___ __ _ /\ | \\ /|_|\ ||| ||_)|_ | (_ | /\ |\ || \ |_|_ /--\|_/ \/ |_| \|||_|| \|_ _|___)|_/--\| \||_/ | _ _ __ __ _ _ |_)/ \(_ (_ |_/\ / \ |_)\_/__)__) |/--\\_X BOSS FAQ by: The Spelunker Copyright 2003 - 2008. All rights reserved. Email: lance3335@gmail.com LEGAL INFO: This guide may not be used for any purpose other than personal use without the written consent of the author, and the only e-mail address which may give this consent is lance3335@gmail.com. Those who violate this should know that they are breaking US copyright law. If you see this guide being hosted on a site besides http://www.gamefaqs.com/ it is being done so illegally. Please contact me if this is the case. |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| | | | TABLE OF CONTENTS | | | |I. Introduction | |II. Bosses | | | |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Version 1.1 - Corrected e-mail Version 1.0 - First Submission |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| | PART ONE -- INTRODUCTION | |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Adventure Island IV, unlike the earlier games in the NES series, was never brought to America due to how late in the NES' lifespan it was made. It's definitely not like the other Adventure Island games(for one, your girlfriend isn't captured this time; the dinosaurs are, instead) and it provides a refreshing change to diehard AI fans like myself. This guide is designed to aid people with the bosses, but not to cover any of the other parts of the game because others have done so very well. This guide will provide the most in-depth boss strategies possible, as well as cover any "mini-bosses" in the game. If you enjoy Adventure Island games, check out some of my other Boss FAQs on GameFAQs.com. And, if you're looking for more information on this game or any of the others in the series, check out my reviews on GameFAQs.com. Enjoy the guide! |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| | PART TWO -- BOSSES | |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. . . . Mini-Boss #1 - Large Bat . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. Large Bat is quite easily the simplest "boss" yet. You'll have to defeat him to acquire the Hammer. When you first enter its lair through a door in the first area, you'll only see a small bat. This tiny bat will quickly grow to form a rather large one. This incarnation is capable of not only swooping down at you, but making regular bats and sending them at you. The safest place in this room is in the center, where you will be able to launch bones at the bat without too much trouble. You should aim for its head because that is where the smaller bats will emerge from. Occasionally, as I mentioned before, this mini-boss will swoop at you, but it should be easy to evade. If a small bat does manage to get past your bone tosses, just stand still and let it swoop around under you. Whack it when you get a chance. .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. . . . Boss #1 - Rock Monster . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. Once the music changes after jumping up from the cave area, you'll know Rock Monster is near. Proceed to the left to find him. You'll immediately note that he has a ball in front of him -- this is his primary weapon. Rock monster is not much tougher than Large Bat. All you need to do is stand on the first platform and launch bones at the eye visible amidst his body. Then, when the ball reaches the left edge of the screen, walk right(falling from the platform) and quickly hide under the platform. Jump back up and resume. A rock will occasionally fall on the left side of the screen, but you should be able to avoid it easily. Score a good many hits, and he'll turn red. A few more hits will reduce him to rubble. .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. . . . Mini-Boss #2 - Big Cobra . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. Big Cobra is even easier than Large Bat if you have the red dino with you. This snake's only attack is to touch you, but he walks towards you slowly, so you should be able to beat him before he reaches you. On the dino, just go berserk into an all-out attack. Without a dino, you should be prepared to jump into the air every time Big Cobra jumps because it will shake the screen and toss you into the air as well(kind of like the big Hammer Bros. from SMB3, huh?) .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. . . . Boss #2 - Lava Spawn . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. The Lava Spawn actually has three forms. As you might have guessed, it gets more difficult with every new form. (First form) Stand on the edge of the top platform and fire at this form constantly with bones. It will shoot fire at you based on where you're standing(low fire if you're standing below platform; high if you're standing on top). Simply step off the platform and wait for the fire to pass by you before resuming. (Second form) The second form is a little trickier, but only if you have slow reflexes. Stand on the top platform, but be near the left edge, and toss bones at the top fire ball preferably. It will soon zoom straight at you, and you'll need to fall off the platform and wait it out underneath(much like you did with the first form). After it returns, jump back and continue your assault. The bottom fireball won't bother you if you're up top. (Third form) This form is brutal unless you know the secret. It is actually many tiny fireballs, much like you saw just before the battle began. They will circle around harmlessly above the fire pit at the start of the battle, but soon they will come and circle around the platform you were standing on. So, the idea for this fight is to avoid the platform and, instead, stand at the edge of the walkway right over the lava. Here, you'll have to duck to avoid the oncoming fireballs, but you can fight them all day long without getting hit if you're constantly ducking. You might splurge and stand up to get a few more accurate hits in, but it would probably be best just to stay ducked unless you're confident in your timing. .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. . . . Mini-Boss #3 - Walrus . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. Like most early mini-bosses, Walrus is a piece of cake. You'll know you're in his room when ice chips start rising up from a pit on the right side. He'll soon leap up and you'll have to toss bones at him. Jump over him when he gets too close and then resume your assault. Repeat this for a while(he has a lot of health), and you should win with ease. .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. . . . Boss #3 - Ice Machine . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0. Ice Machine is a pretty easy boss to avoid if you know its trick. The thing you want to do is hit it immediately once it goes down in the very center of the room to pick up an ice block. Throw as many bones as you can. It'll start flying right over your head, now. You just want to hang around the center, so when it does drop the block it's holding, it will fall close the center. If you keep running back and forth, you'll easily be able to evade all of these blocks, as most fall and go just as far as the middle(where the stack of ice blocks lies). Only try to attack Ice Machine right as it is descending to lift a block, and you should be in good shape. It will die after a little while. .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O. . . . Mini-Boss #4 - Big Jellyfish . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O. The fight with Big Jellyfish will be your toughest mini-boss fight yet. It will lead the fight by doing what most Jellyfish do -- swim quickly at a diagonal angle towards the opposite end of the screen. It does this twice, and you should stand in the middle and hit it each time as it descends. After two diagonal swims, the Big Jellyfish will start to swim side to side. You should immediately float to the top right of the screen now and wait up there. Toss axes at the opposite end of the screen when Big Jellyfish is in the lower left corner. After swimming both lengths of the screen, Big Jellyfish will resume its diagonal assault. This is when you need to float back down to the bottom of the screen and stand in the middle again. Repeat this pattern until Big Jellyfish is history. .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O. . . . Boss #4 - Mechanical Spider . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O. This will be your hardest fight yet. Poisition yourself on the left platform immediately as you enter. The spider will crawl to the left, and you need to avoid it. Its main attack is to shoot a crystal into the roof, which will fall and cascade towards you. There is a trick to avoiding these, though. Generally, if Mechanical Spider is on the left or right sides of the screen during a battle, the crystal will be easy to avoid. It's when he's in the middle of the screen that it gets tricky. At this point the spider will stick two crystals to the ceiling. You will need to go below the platform(very close to the spider) and hide under there if a crystal gets stuck just above the platform. If it isn't stuck on the ceiling above the platform, the first crystal will roll harmlessly under you , and you can keep your position. Nevertheless, if the Mechanical Spider fires off two shots, you will almost always have to dive from one platform to the next right as the second crystal is descending. This can be tricky to do, and it's best that you build up full health before the fight to ensure an easier victory. AIM FOR THE ORB THAT COMES OUT OF HIS BODY. It might not look like you're doing damage, but trust me, you are. Mechanical Spider will be tough to take down, but if you practice evading his attacks, it shouldn't take more than a few tries. .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0. . . . Mini-Boss #5 - Large Skeletal Bat . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0. This boss can be a royal pain, especially if you're not expecting him, are low on health, etc. He operates much like the first mini-boss in the game, Large Bat, except he summons smaller bats to help him A LOT more often. The trick this time is to go all offensive. If you just stand back and try to kill the small bats everytime they come and only get one or two hits off on the bat before he swoops over to the next platform, you're going to lose. Start the fight out by hopping down in the pit. From here, immediately start smashing the bat with bones once he appears. Aiming for his head will often score you some lucky kills on the smaller bats. You'll need to be careful how long you attack, though, as he will eventually swoop over to the next platform, and if you're in the air then, you will take a hit. Also, the smaller bats will circle around some and then descend from the sky, which is a very tough pattern to avoid unless you're running back and forth in the pit. But do your best to avoid the tiny bats and go all out offensive on big bat, taking out the tiny ones when they get too close, and you should be fine. .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O. . . . Boss #5 - Demon . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O. This guy is downright nasty, primarily because it takes so long to get back to him if you lose(which you almost definitely will your first time). In his initial form, he's pretty easy. He will swoop to one of the three points on the screen and attack outwards with his fists. These can be avoided when you're on the right side of the screen(and he's in the middle) by staying as close as possible to the wall. Walk under him once he passes over and resume attacking the eye, but ONLY USE THE BOOMERANG. The bone is USELESS! While you're on the left side of the screen, things get a little bit trickier. You won't be able to avoid him by standing there, should he swoop down, so you'll need to mount the left platform as he descends and then actually jump to the other side and resume. You will need to repeat this pattern for a while. Eventually, Demon will turn pink, and this is when things get tough. He'll be fully visible, now, which means you can go ballistic on him. But wait, there's one catch. He's going to tossing fireballs at you nearly non-stop. Try to time it so you jump over one fireball and walk under the next, but that won't always work. In the case that it does not work, be prepared to duck and crawl under fireballs if you need to. Whatever you do, DON'T GET HIT BY A FIREBALL. .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0. . . . Mini-Boss #6 - Large Skeletal Snake . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0. The hardest mini-boss in the game, Large Skeletal Snake will put up quite a challenge, especially if you're low on health(highly likely at the point you fight him). Not only does he move towards you, jumping and trying to touch you, but you can also sink in the quicksand and be forced to START ALL OVER AGAIN! The solution is, much like with the earlier Large Snake mini-boss, to simply throw your boomerang as it approaches, but when it gets too close you should run under it as it jumps(slightly difficult to do at first!) You may need to repeat this two or three times before the fight is over due to the quick nature of Large Skeletal Snake! It's a lot harder to run under him when you're in the quicksand, and you have to AVOID SINKING AT ALL COSTS! .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0. . . . Boss #6 - Eggplant Wizard . . . .O0O0O0O0O0OOO0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0. This demented incarnation of the infamous Adventure Island eggplant is your final foe. He has a variety of attacks, as well as a few pit traps in his room. His pattern is this: launch large eggplant, fireball, launch small eggplants, fireball. With this in mind, you should jump over to the middle platform(the only location your tomahawks can hit him from) and attack but be prepared to jump back should Eggplant Wizard launch any eggplant minions! The large eggplant minion is not so bad and can be killed before he even gets off the ground(when he's in the air, he becomes much more difficulty). The small eggplant minions, however, are nasty. If you aim just right with your tomahawks, you'll be able to take out all three before they reach you, but chances are that you'll be forced to run or leap to avoid these small ones once or twice. They can overwhelm you, as can the fireballs. Surprisingly enough, this fight isn't terribly difficult unless you're low on health. Otherwise it should be easily beatable your first or second time up. You've beaten the game!