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Table of Contents
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Title : Brave
Developer: Disney/Pixar
Platform : Nintendo DS
Release : June 19, 2012
Rating : Everyone 10+ for fantasy violence
FAQ Date : March 2018
Version : 1.00
Copyright: (c) 2018 Brett K. Carver
Brave was released on multiple platforms including: Mac OS X, Microsoft
Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. This walkthrough is
for the Nintendo DS version. While all versions follow the same basic story
and game play, the DS version is somewhat simplified for use on a handheld
device. For example:
* The only playable character is Merida, where the other versions
include: the three princes (as bears), Queen Elinor (as a bear) and
the whisps (co-op play).
* Orbs (money) are only acquired from chests and critter drops. There
are no flowers/logs/barrels/pots to break.
* There are 25 shorter levels as opposed to 8 longer levels.
* There are a less character upgrades available in the DS version.
* Levels are scored (bronze/silver/gold) based on the number of orbs
(money) collected. There are no trophies or achievements to earn other
than perhaps buying all the upgrades and finding all the
armor/bows/weapons which contribute the percentage completion.
* There's no difficulty setting.
This document is not a complete jump-by-jump walkthrough, but more of a
reference for the game and what to expect. It should assist with game play
and figuring things out without spoiling all the fun.
For most ledges where falling off will kill you, you can walk up to the edge
without falling off. You have to jump to get off.
Some multi-wave battles have different music. When the music stops, the
battle is done.
Mandrakes (make a squawking sound) can steal dropped orbs and cause you to
drop all your orbs if they hit you. Kill them promptly and from a distance.
If you die on a level, you will lose some of your orbs (death penalty) but
you will respawn at approximately the same location. You will also lose the
100 orb one-life bonus for the level.
All levels can be re-played from the main map. One might do this if a chest
was missed, if orbs were lost during the level, or simply to get more orbs to
buy character upgrades.
The game has three save-slots that include a percentage of the game completed,
and the name of the current level you are on. If you go back to replay a
level, the save file name will reflect your new location.
The percent complete is important because it will indicate if you missed
something. For example, an item upgrade chest contributed 1%. This is fully
documented below.
The purpose of collecting orbs is to buy character upgrades. As such,
completing the "Lucky" upgrade is a good initial strategy. The more orbs
collected before they vanish, the more upgrades can be purchased.
It may be better to select one skill, ranging or melee (sword fighting),
and focus on those upgrades first.
Accurate jumping is a major component of the game as there are many places
where you have to jump across areas on multiple small platforms. You'll
need to get good at it. You do cast a shadow when jumping which can sometimes
help with making a good landing.
Bonus orbs are awarded for finishing a level without dying, and for
replaying a level.
Chests with orbs/restore are dark-gray with brown highlights. Item chests are
brown with yellow/gold highlights. If you repeat a level the item chests act
like regular chests.
Item upgrade chests contain a specific armor/bow/sword. So if you miss a
chest, that item will be missing from the equipment choices.
Boss battles involve hitting (arrow or sword) one or more waystones with the
correct element to deactivate them, then attacking the boss with the correct
element. After some time the waystone(s) will re-activate so you have to hit
them again. Nuisance critters will also spawn to keep things interesting.
Ranging Strategy: I like playing as a ranger. Here's the character upgrade
path that works well for a ranger.
1. Use all the initial orbs to fully upgrade Lucky to help you get even
more orbs.
2. Fully upgrade Multiple Arrows.
3. Fully upgrade Piercing Arrows.
4. As funds permit, get Health Boost and Health Regeneration.
5. Add Slam Attack next as it can be helpful if enemies close in.
6. Get all the rest of the upgrades as funds permit.
Notes:
* It's possible to play up through the first boss (level 7) and probably
farther with no upgrades beyond Lucky. This should get you around 2K
orbs, enough to buy the next two upgrades. You don't have to wait
(unless you like the challenge). The point is that by the time you
need the upgrades, you will have enough orbs to get them.
* You want multiple arrows (hit multiple targets) before piercing arrows
(hit targets behind the front line). That is, you need to kill the
close ones before you worry about the ones farther away.
* You can complete the game with just the Multiple and Piercing arrow
upgrades. Those plus the item upgrades is enough to kill everything
you will encounter.
* I didn't find Rain of Arrows that useful compared to Multiple and
Piercing, so it's not a priority.
Melee Strategy: It's similar to the ranging strategy except steps 2 and 3 are
replaced with Sword Master, 3 Hit Combo, and Circle of Blade. You may switch
steps 4 and 5 as Slam Attack is more important when you're surrounded in
close combat. The only place where ranging is required is to hit certain
element stones you can't approach on foot.
+ Pad : move Merida
A Button : shoot arrows
: clear text messages
: skip cut scenes
A Button hold : charge Rain of Arrows attack
B Button : jump
Y Button : swing sword
Y Button hold : charge Circle of Blade attack
X Button : open chests
X Button hold : push or drag items
R Button : roll and dodge attacks
: while jumping (B), use Slam Attack
L Button : cycle through elements
Start Button : pause / options
Touch Screen : select element
: solve puzzles
As noted above, this is not a jump-by-jump walkthrough, so this section is
primarily to document the nature of each level and the key items to watch for
or acquire. As the levels are basically linear, you can't really get lost.
With the exception of the tutorial and boss levels, every level has a cave
which is often where you find upgrade chests and the element stones.
For each level, when you see the three wisps you have found the exit.
There are several types of puzzles/mini-games throughout the levels:
1. Pressure plates you stand on in the correct order.
2. Pattern repeat, from 3 to 5 patterns long.
3. Create a pathway between blocks, from 1 to 4 simultaneous paths.
4. Move a block through a maze-like path to the exit.
5. Move blocks to clear a path to the exit.
The first one is pretty easy. The pattern-repeat is random each time so
there's nothing to document. The other three are very hard to represent in
text, but the attempts are below. Once you see each puzzle, hopefully the
text diagram will make sense. If not, don't worry, none of them are that
hard to solve.
The percent complete displayed on the save game screen is calculated based
on the following values.
50% 2% for completing a level (2% * 25 levels)
18% 1% for item upgrade chests (1% * 3 items * 6 upgrades)
16% 4% for each element (4% * 4 elements)
13% .5% for each character upgrade (.5% * 26 upgrades)
3% 3% extra for completing the final boss level
====
100%
If you have completed all levels and obtained all upgrades, you will start
the final boss level (Mor'du's Lair) at 95%. If you have less, you missed
something along the way.
You will need a total of 9500 orbs to purchase all the character upgrades.
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4.2. Wildwood Confines
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Setting: Outside forest
Chests : 3
Items : Air element (purple)
Hint : It may be necessary to use a sword on the golem in the cave.
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4.4. Impervious Fen
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Setting: Outside island
Chests : 4
Hints : The first occurrence of Mandrakes:
"Mandrakes?"
"What?! That devilish thing is stealing what's on the ground."
"That thing is a thief!"
Puzzles: 1
.|.
|..
---
|_.
..|
---
..|
.|.
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4.5. Gassy Grotto
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Setting: Outside islands
Chests : 3
Items : Short Bow
: Earth element (green)
Hint : Steam vents give a little puff before they erupt.
: When you get Earth/green you will automatically switch to it, but
any critters still in the cave are Air/purple so switch back.
Puzzles: 1
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4.7. Den of the Earth Giant
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Setting: Outside - Boss level
Waystone: Earth/green
Boss : Air/purple
Critters: Earth/green
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4.8. Sunken Brook
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Setting: cliffside with waterfalls
Chests : 3
Items : Bearstrike Armor
: Water element (blue)
Hint : Watch for falling rocks on the red circles.
: Don't be in a hurry to leave the last area (with the three movable
stones). Backtracking to the elevator rock resets the spawn so you
can farm this area for orbs as much as you want.
Puzzles: 3
[4] [2]
[1] [3]
. . . v . .
. # # v . .
>>> v v . . ]
. . v >>> .
. . v . . .
. <<< >>> .
. . . > > v
# . . ^ . v
> > > > # v
[ ^ < < < < v
^ . . . . #
^ < < < < @
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4.10. Coastal Cliffs
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Setting: seaside cliffs
Chests : 3
Items : Elkhorn Gladius Sword
: Fire element (red)
Hint : Like before, be aware you auto-switch to the new element.
: Shoot the 4 stones from the center of the cave because you can't
run back and forth fast enough.
Puzzles: 2
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4.11. Rocky Crag
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Setting: seaside cliffs
Chests : 3
Items : Elkhorn Armor
Hint : When coming out of the passage where the whisps are, break the rock
to the left and go down the ramp.
Puzzles: 3
# . . v . .
# # # v . .
# >>> v v . ]
# # . . v .
. . <<< v .
. . . . . .
[1] [2]
[4]
[5] [3]
. # v < < #
@ . v . ^ .
v . > > ^ > ]
v . # . ^ .
v . > > ^ #
> > ^ # . .
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2.12. Refuge of the Air Giant
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Setting: seaside - Boss level
Waystones: Air/purple, Earth/green
Boss : Earth/green
Critters : Water/blue
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4.13. Descent of Fire
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Setting: cliffs
Chests : 4
Items : Elkhorn Siege bow
Hint : Check left after leaving the cave.
Puzzles: 3
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4.16. Buried Passage
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Setting: underground with lava
Chests : 4
Items : Mustangshock Hunter Bow
Hint : Use the rock to get the chest (right) before stopping the steam.
: After solving the last puzzle to open the exit, you can jump off
the ledge and exit (no need to backtrack).
Puzzles: 2
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4.17. Fire Giant's Chamber
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Setting: underground with lava - boss level
Waystones: Air/purple, Earth/green, Fire/red
Boss : Water/blue
Critters : Water/blue
@ . . # . .
[ v < < < . #
v . . ^ . .
v . # ^ . .
v . . ^ . .
> > > ^ # .
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4.20. Crystal Hollow
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Setting: snow covered islands
Chests : 4
Items : Ursineleash Battle Bow
Puzzles: None, but this level is a real "drag" and you must "push" through it.
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4.21. Haunt of the Ice Giant
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Setting: snow island - boss level
solve pressure plates 4 times in this order:
[ ] [X] [X] [X] For chest to the far left
[X] [X] [X] [ ] For chest to the near left, over spikes
[X] [ ] [X] [X] Open secret passage with armor upgrade
[X] [X] [ ] [X] For chest to the near right over spikes
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4.24. Forgotten Kingdom
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Setting: underground catacombs
Chests : 5
Items : Eagleclaw Great Bow
Hint : Once you trigger the purple and green stones, go to the far right
and put the blue stone on the pressure plate.
: 4 mini-bosses at the end, one of each element, big orb drops
in order: Air/purple, Earth/green, Water/blue, Fire/red.
Puzzles: 1
. # . . . .
. > > > > v
. ^ . . # v
. ^ . . > v ]
. ^ . . ^ v
@ > # # ^ <
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4.25. Mor'du's Lair
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Setting: lost kingdom castle - final boss level
Chests : 0, and the only drops are healing pots
Hint : 4 waves: Air/purple, Earth/green, Water/blue, Fire/red.
: Killing the largest critter in each wave is enough to "clear" it.
Testing with training and fully upgraded items doesn't show any difference in
effectiveness. So like the other versions of the game, it doesn't matter
which item you use, they are all upgraded equally. If you like fighting in
the blue dress, feel free to do so. I like using the training bow because
the others are too large and look unrealistic as Merida runs around.
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5.2 Bows
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Training Bow
Short Bow
Bearstrike Composite
Elkhorn Siege
Mustangshock Hunter
Ursineleash Battle
Eagleclaw Great
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5.3 Swords
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Training Sword
Short Sword
Bearstrike Blade
Elkhorn Gladius
Mustangshock Tulwar
Ursineleash Edge
Sharpened Cutlass
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6. Character Upgrades
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Most of the upgrades have three levels at increasing cost (200, 300, 500).
A couple only have a single level.
The descriptive text has some inconsistencies in the use of singular/plural
forms. So any awkward phrasing below is not a transcription error.
In most cases, the text for the final upgrade is also used after it has been
purchased. The two single upgrade cases use different text after the final
upgrade.
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6.1. Piercing Arrows
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1 - 200 - Arrows will go through enemies and hit any other enemies behind the
main target.
2 - 300 - Fully pierce enemies with this powerful upgrade.
3 - 500 - Arrows will go through enemies and objects, the element of the arrow
will adjust to the enemy it touches.
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6.2. Rain of Arrows
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1 - 200 - Hold the A Button to charge up; on release, you will unleash a rain
of arrows that will hit everyone on screen.
2 - 300 - Hit a larger amount of enemies with this larger rain of arrow attack.
3 - 500 - Merida will shoot as many arrows in the air, to hit a larger amount
of enemies.
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6.3. Multiple Arrows
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1 - 200 - Shoot up to three enemies at the same time.
2 - 300 - Shoot more enemies.
3 - 500 - Shoot up to five enemies at the same time.
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6.4. 3 Hit Combo
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1 - 1000 - Allow a stronger third strike to be added after two successful hits
using the Y Button.
done - Third strike is stronger.
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6.5. Circle of Blade
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1 - 200 - Hold the Y Button to charge up; on release, you will perform a
circular attack that will hit all your surrounding enemies.
2 - 300 - More powerful circle attack.
3 - 500 - The largest circle attack that Merida can perform.
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6.6. Slam Attack
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1 - 200 - While in the air, press the R Button to slam the ground pushing back
all enemies around the point of impact.
2 - 300 - Very powerful slam attack, push the enemies even further away from
Merida.
3 - 500 - The attack will hit a larger amount of enemies on the ground.
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6.7. Sword Master
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1 - 200 - Boost the damage you will do with all your sword attacks.
2 - 300 - The Sword attacks are more powerful.
3 - 500 - Stronger sword attack from Merida.
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6.8. Health Boost
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1 - 500 - Gives you an extra amount of health.
done - More health is given to Merida.
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6.9. Health Regeneration
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1 - 200 - Your health will slowly refill over time.
2 - 300 - The refill is faster.
3 - 500 - The health bar is rapidly refilled.
Level 1 takes about 4 minutes to restore 50% of normal health (no boost),
so basically useless. Level 2 about 1 minute. Level 3 around 30 seconds.
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6.10. Lucky
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1 - 200 - Increase the range orb are collected and give the chance to receive
health potions from defeated enemies.
2 - 300 - Merida will attract orbs that are further and potion will be more
common.
3 - 500 - Merida will attract orbs that are far from her and potion will drop
often.
This document is for the express use on the GameFAQs (gamefaqs.gamespot.com)
web-site. It is available for personal use only. It may not be hosted or
displayed on any other web-site, or in any other printed or electronic media
without prior approval of the author.
I may be contacted at: bkc956 at gmail dot com.
Make the subject line something clear like "Brave FAQ" lest you be ignored.
This document is copyright: (c) 2018 Brett K. Carver. All Rights Reserved.
