Skies of Arcadia Boss FAQ Version 1.3
12/16/00
Written by GohanDZ: E-Mail Address [email protected]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.      Introduction
II.     Legal Stuff
III.    Update History
IV.     General Tactics
V.      Boss Listings/Strategies
VI.     Credits


I. INTRODUCTION

When I first bought my Dreamcast, all I had were two demo discs: the one that
came with the DC, and a Dreamcast Magazine disc.  The DCM disc had a Skies of
Arcadia demo.  I thought it looked pretty cool, and I love RPGs, so I decided to
make it my first purchase.  It has not disappointed me one bit.  But here at
GameFAQs, information is skimpy.  There is not a full walkthrough, and the
hardest part of most RPGs are the bosses.  So I figured, hey, why not write a
Boss FAQ?  Unfortunately, where I am right now, I can't go back to face the
bosses again to estimate their HP.  Once I beat the game, I will...or anyone
reading this can help me out by sending information they have.  You will,
obviously, be placed in the Credits.

II. LEGAL STUFF

You can use this FAQ on your site as long as you meet the following conditions:
1. You must e-mail me and ask permission.
2. You must not alter the FAQ in any way.
3. You must give me proper credit for writing the FAQ.
4. You cannot sell the FAQ for profit.
The following sites are allowed to post this FAQ without asking my permission:
GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com)
RPGamer (www.rpgamer.com)
Cheat Code Central (www.cheatcc.com)
Game Winners (www.gamewinners.com)
Gamesages (www.gamesages.com)
Any other site must ask first.

This FAQ is (c) 2000 GohanDZ.

III. UPDATE HISTORY

Version 0.1 (12/6/00): Very preliminary version, not submitted to any web site,
in which I established the format.

Version 1.0 (12/7/00): This FAQ's first "real" version.  Added Tactics section
and boss strategies up to the Executioner.

Version 1.1 (12/9/00): Added strategies for the bosses up to Antonio 2.

Version 1.2 (12/11/00): Added strategies for bosses up to Grendel; also added
lots of information from MPureka (author of the Ship Battles FAQ.)

Version 1.21 (12/12/00): Not a real update, just added info on some early boss
battles provided to me by Arrawnt and did some re-formatting.

Version 1.3 (12/16/00): Added Ship Battle Tactics for the Delphinus; added
tactics for bosses up to Dralkor Tank.

IV. GENERAL TACTICS

REGULAR (GROUND-BASED) BOSS BATTLES

1. Level up!!  Seriously, this is the single most important thing to do in just
about any RPG.  And unlike games like FFVIII where enemies get stronger as you
do, SoA's bosses and enemies are at a fixed level with fixed stats.  So
therefore, whenever you gain a level, you gain at least a little advantage.
2. Always use colors to YOUR advantage.  You won't be able to use magic or super
moves with everyone; sometimes you'll have to use regular attacks.  Above all,
DON'T read the instruction manual's > as a greater than sign!  It means (thanks
TheRaijinGaijin) if the enemy is THIS color, use THIS color.  For example, blue
DOES NOT beat yellow; it's the other way around!  The exceptions are red and
purple, which are very strong against each other, and yellow and silver, which
are strong against each other.
3. Don't waste your Spirit Points on wussy super moves or magic.  You should
usually save them for your strongest super move.
4. Unless you think you're much more powerful than your enemy is (which you
shouldn't be), always cast Increm on your strongest character.
5. Whenever possible, use items in place of spells and save your Spirit Points
for offensive spells and Super Moves.  For example, use Crystals in place of
Sacri/Sacres/Sacrum.
6. Know the enemy and its (or their) attacks and tendencies.  How can you find
this information out?  You COULD figure it out yourself by dying a couple
times...or just read this FAQ!

SHIP BOSS BATTLES
With the Little Jack...
1. All of the above steps, except for #2 and #3, apply.  Just know that yes, you
CAN cast Increm and healing spells on your ship!  Unlike ground battles,
however, Increm will wear off after two rounds, so make sure to recast it when
that happens.
2. With a few exceptions, (which will be stated when they apply), always guard
when one of the squares is red or yellow.  The Little Jack will typically have
less HP than the Boss, so it's crucial to conserve HP.
3. Unless you have a Chance square, focus!  With the Little Jack, it's important
to have at least 25 Spirit Points: 15 for the Harpoon Cannon and 10 for purposes
such as healing or Increm.
4. Then again, don't use healing spells if you don't have to.  Use Kits, unless
you have a spell that can heal more than the Kits can.
5. Use the Harpoon Cannon at first opportunity, even if the square is red or
yellow.  It is the Little Jack's most powerful weapon BY FAR, and for much of
the beginning of the game, it can take down even bosses in one hit!
With the Delphinus...
1. Obviously, you'll want to follow most of the same strategies as the Little
Jack.
2. Know that the Delphinus has much more HP than the Little Jack: It starts
with 40000 as compared to the Little Jack's 10000.  This makes healing much less
vital.  Also, each Captain Stripe adds 2000 HP rather than 1000, so use them on
the Delphinus instead of the Little Jack.
3. Make to sure to follow Little Jack step #5, except you're using the Moon
Stone Cannon rather than the Harpoon Cannon, and it costs 20 SP and not 15.

V. BOSS LISTINGS/STRATEGIES

The format I will be using is this:
BOSS NAME
HP:
Color:
Magic/Moves:
Suggested Level (Vyse):
Tactics:
As for HP, obviously, I don't have exact numbers.  I'll give an estimate when I
can though.  For any boss listed that doesn't have estimated HP, please help
where you can.  The same applies to Magic/Moves...I can't exactly remember what
happened ten hours ago!  Any GOOD help will result in your name in the credits
section.

ANTONIO
HP: About 570
Color: Yellow
Magic/Moves: Thunder of Fury
Suggested Level (Vyse): 2
Tactics: Most of all, get Vyse and Aika to level 2.  You CAN get in battles for
the few seconds you're "exploring" the ship, so do so!  This battle is still
possible to win at level 1, but it's much easier at level 2.  Watch out for
Thunder of Fury, which can deal over 100 damage.  Finally, remember that Vyse
starts the game with Cutlass Fury...take full advantage of it!

THE SENTINEL
HP: About 1200
Color: Silver
Magic/Moves: Target Search, Blaster
Suggested Level (Vyse): 7-9
Tactics: Unfortunately, I don't recall too much about this battle.  What I do
remember is to watch out when he uses "Target Search", since that means he's
going to unleash his Blaster the next round.  It may be in your best interest to
guard with Vyse and Aika the round after to minimize damage.

SHIP BATTLE: BLACKBEARD
HP: About 10000
Color: N/A
Magic/Moves: N/A
Suggested Level (Vyse): N/A
Tactics: This fight's main purpose is to introduce you to ship battles...you
definitely shouldn't lose.  Fire with either Vyse or Drachma using the Standard
Cannon (more powerful than Main Cannon), and Focus with the other two as long as
no square is red or yellow.  When you're given a choice as to what to do, choose
to maneuver behind Blackbeard.  From here on, fire with Vyse and Drachma, you
should win in no time.

BLELGOCK
HP: About 4800 (!)
Color: Green
Magic/Moves: Vile Breath, Poisonous Bile
Suggested Level (Vyse): 10-11
Tactics: The only reason you may have trouble with this battle is this guy's
extremely high HP...and maybe poison.  His regular attacks, counter attacks, and
Poisonous Bile can poison, so if it's near the beginning of the battle, make
sure to use a Curia Crystal.  Like usual, use Cutlass Fury when you can, and
heal when necessary.  Eventually you'll beat down the big tub of lard.

EXECUTIONER & 2 SPELL WARDENS
HP (Executioner): About 1800
HP (Spell Wardens): About 480
Color (all 3): Yellow
Magic/Moves (Executioner): Tackle, Sonic Wave
Magic/Moves (Spell Wardens): Increm
Suggested Level (Vyse): 11-12
Tactics: This battle can be very frustrating.  MAKE SURE VYSE AND AIKA ARE AT
LEAST LEVEL 11!  Other than that, you may have to rely on luck.  You see, the
Spell Wardens have no problem casting Increm on the Executioner...and combined
with his vicious Tackle, it's quite a deadly combo.  Vyse and Aika will probably
both die with only one Tackle.  It may be best (using green weapons) to attack
one Spell Warden with everyone in the first turn, and then the other one the
next turn.  If you're level 11 and using green weapons, each of them should be
taken out in one turn apiece, hopefully without casting Increm on the
Executioner.  After that, you should have enough Spirit to use Drachma's Tackle,
so do so.  It's more powerful than Cutlass Fury.  Attack normally unless you can
Tackle, and heal when necessary.  Eventually you should kill him.  Good
luck...it took me 5 tries with my characters at level 11 to win this.

2 ROYAL GUARDS
HP: About 620
Color: ?
Magic/Moves: Sacri, Counterstrike
Suggested Level (Vyse): 12-13
Tactics: This fight may take you a long time, simply because they can heal each
other.  It's not really that hard though.  Focus all of your attacks on one
guard, using Cutlass Fury when you can and attacking normally otherwise.  Be
prepared to heal on a turn after one of the guards counters your attacks.  Once
one of them goes down, this battle becomes much easier.

ROCK WYRM
HP: About 4200
Color: Red
Magic/Moves: Volcanic Blast, Cinder Storm
Suggested Level (Vyse): 15-16
Tactics: Make sure Fina is at least level 10-11 before getting into this fight,
or she will go down rather quickly.  The Rock Wyrm is very fond of using
Volcanic Blast, which is unfortunate, because it can deal over 500 points of
damage to your characters.  Another special move of his, Cinder Storm, isn't
very damaging, but stones the target.  Anyway, you should cast Crystales with
Aika every single round.  Fina should either heal or focus as necessary, and
Vyse should attack normally (with a purple weapon) until there's enough to do
Cutlass Fury.  Make sure to have plenty of Sacri/Sacres Crystals going into this
battle.
**UPDATE**
If you have an item that guards against stone, make sure to equip it on Vyse
before this battle.  (MPureka's advice)

SHIP BATTLE: RECUMEN, THE RED GIGAS
HP: N/A
Color: N/A
Magic/Moves: Red Ray
Suggested Level (Vyse): N/A
Tactics:
**UPDATE**
Turns out there's an easier way to defeat Recumen, as long as you have a 3"
blaster.  The following information is taken from MPureka's Ship Battles FAQ:
A seemingly indestructible opponent, the key to defeating the Red Gigas is to
not die. At first, this seems more difficult than it sounds. The trick here is
to knock him off balance. In each round where your danger level is red, he will
fire the Red Ray, which does terrific amounts of damage. However, if you hit him
with enough firepower in that round, the beam shot will miss and you will take
no damage. To do this, fire your secondary cannon the round before, and stretch
the shot into the round he fires. Then fire the Standard Cannon in the round he
attacks. The combined firepower will keep you from getting hit.

If you don't have the 3" blaster, use this strategy:
First off, it's important to get it into your head that you CAN'T KILL RECUMEN,
so don't bother trying.  For the first two rounds of this battle, Guard the red
square, and Focus the rest.  Even when guarding, his Red Ray will do 3000-4000
damage, but it's better than 8000+.  On the third round, you should probably
heal (Sacres heals 8000 damage) on the first block.  Make absolutely sure to use
the Harpoon Cannon on the red square!  It won't do much damage, but it will
throw off his aim so he doesn't hit you.  You can choose either to aim for the
head or the feet; I chose the head, but I don't think it really matters.  In
this round, you may have two red/Harpoon Cannon squares.  Use the Cannon for one
of them, and guard on the other.  After this round, you can choose either to
attack him head-on, or to retreat and regroup.  As I mentioned before, you can't
kill him, so choose to retreat and regroup.  You won't get any Experience, but
you will live...to fight another ship battle!

SHIP BATTLE: THE LYNX
HP: About 24000
Color: N/A
Magic/Moves: Pyri, Wevles
Suggested Level (Vyse): N/A
Tactics: To win this battle, you must do two main things.  One is to make the
right choices; the other is to have the 15 SP necessary to fire the Harpoon
Cannon in the fourth round.  The Lynx will fire the magic spells Pyri and Wevles
at you; Pyri will do about 1200, but Wevles is much more damaging, at about 4000
a pop.  For the first two rounds of this battle, fire a cannon only once each
time.  Either Guard or Focus the rest of the squares.  The first choice to make
is to catch her off guard with a sharp turn.  For the second choice, try to get
behind her.  The third choice doesn't really matter; either way, you'll get to
fire the Harpoon Cannon next round.  Finally, when you can, fire the Harpoon
Cannon and watch the Lynx go down in flames!  Die, Lynx, die!!

SHIP BATTLE: THE CHAMELEON
HP: About 30000
Color: N/A
Magic/Moves: Type D Torpedo, Type D Subcannon, Revolver Cannon,
            Flamethrower
Suggested Level (Vyse): N/A
Tactics: You've finally made it through the annoying South Ocean and gotten
through the confusing Horteka, and your reward is...a boss fight?!?!  Damn.
Anyway, none of the Chameleon's attacks are that powerful.  The most damage done
to me at once was 2500 by the Flamethrower.  Attack with your most powerful
weapon whenever there's a "C1" square, and Focus enough that you're able to fire
the Harpoon Cannon when it comes up.  For this battle, the Harpoon Cannon alone
won't be enough damage to win; you'll have to pound away with your other weapons
too.  All in all though, it's not a very difficult fight.

ANTONIO 2
HP: About 5500
Color: Yellow
Magic/Moves: Thunder of Fury
Suggested Level (Vyse): 18-20
Tactics: Alfonso resurrected this pushover for you to battle again?  Haha, don't
make me laugh.  All Antonio 2 can do to you is a regular attack that only does
about 200-300, and Thunder of Fury, which can now deal 750-850 damage.  Whoopee.
Use Increm on Vyse and Drachma at the beginning, use Tackle whenever you can
(for about 1000 damage a pop), and just attack normally otherwise, healing with
Fina.  Eventually you'll destroy him again.  As a side note, I had gotten lost
in Moon Stone Mountain and was at level 20 for this battle; you don't really
need to be that strong though.

RIK'TALISH
HP: About 7000
Color: Green
Magic/Moves: Circle of Panic, Feather Slash, Ring of Sleep
Suggested Level (Vyse): 20-22
Tactics: Another boss that's not that difficult.  Two of his attacks merely
affect a character's status, and the other is an "area" attack that does about
1000 damage.  By now, your characters should have enough HP to survive that, so
just heal after he performs this attack.  For either of the other two attacks,
either cast Curia or use a Curia Crystal...there's no real reason to let a
character remain confused or asleep until being attacked.  To kill him, just
pound away, using Drachma's tackle whenever possible.  I've found that if you
have either Fina or Aika focus each turn, you should always have enough Spirit
to use Tackle.  The other of the two should help the party recover from the last
attack performed by Rik'Talish.  Finally, Vyse should do a regular attack every
turn, obviously using a red weapon.  You should achieve victory within 5-7
rounds.

SHIP BATTLE: THE CHAMELEON (again)
HP: Still about 30000
Color: N/A
Magic/Moves: Type D Torpedo, Type D Subcannon, Handgun, Test Cannon
Suggested Level (Vyse): N/A
Tactics: He's just as easy as last time around.  The only differences are that
where the Flamethrower was, he now has a semi-powerful handgun, and he now has a
seemingly very powerful Moon Stone Cannon.  The thing is, although it LOOKS
painful, the Moon Stone Cannon only does 3000-3500 damage.  Just whittle away De
Loco's HP and you'll defeat him again...hopefully for good this time.

SHIP BATTLE: GRENDEL, THE GREEN GIGAS
HP: N/A
Color: N/A
Magic/Moves: Fist of Grendel, Boulder Throw
Suggested Level (Vyse): N/A
Tactics: Oh man...after the error with the first Gigas, I was hoping that we
would be able to stop the others from being summoned.  Looks like that won't be
happening though...anyway, Grendel definitely looks much cooler than Recumen,
and his attacks look more powerful too.  In reality though, his attacks are
actually weaker than Recumen's.  If you're guarding, the Fist of Grendel should
only do 1000-1500, and the Boulder Throw 1500-2000.  If you don't guard,
however, the Boulder Throw can do 5000+, so make sure to guard on red AND yellow
squares.  Other than that, use your most powerful cannons and the Harpoon Cannon
when it comes up.  Eventually, Grendel will start staggering.  From here, the
next time you use the Harpoon Cannon, you will knock him into the canyon and win
the battle.  Just don't forego guarding to Focus if a Harpoon Cannon is coming
up next turn; you'll always eventually have another opportunity to use it.

GORDO & 3 MAD CHEFS
HP (Gordo): Less than 2300
HP (Mad Chefs): Less than 550
Color: Red
Magic/Moves (Gordo): Digest, Loqua Spray
Magic/Moves (Mad Chefs): Pyres
Suggested Level (Vyse): 22-23
Tactics: This battle is very easy.  You should have enough spirit to have
enough to use Rain of Swords in the second round, which will eliminate all 3 Mad
Chefs.  Gordo takes a little more effort.  His only real attack is Loqua Spray,
but to use that he must Digest first.  You shouldn't have to worry about
guarding though, since Loqua Spray only does about 550-650 to each character.
Just use your strongest Super Moves and regular attacks on him, and you'll win
in no time.

SHIP BATTLE: VALUAN GUNBOAT
HP: Less than 17000
Color: N/A
Magic/Moves: Large Cannon, Heavy Subcannon. Torpedo
Suggested Level (Vyse): N/A
Tactics: Just Guard or Focus until you get the chance to fire the Harpoon
Cannon.  Then fire the Harpoon Cannon.  Valuan Gunboat go BOOM.

SINISTRA & DESTRA
HP: About 4400
Color: Red (Sinistra), Purple (Destra)
Magic/Moves: Death Waltz (both), Explode (Sinistra), Tundra Blast (Destra)
Suggested Level (Vyse): 24-25
Tactics: This fight might seem hard at first, but as long as you have Gilder's
S-Move Gunslinger, it's a piece of cake.  First of all, the two heads will
perform Death Waltz until one of them dies, and it does about 1200 to your whole
party.  But once one dies, the other can only use an attack that does about 600
to the party.  Beating them is easy if you do this each round: Vyse should
Focus, Aika and Fina should Guard/Heal/Whatever, and Gilder should use
Gunslinger.  As long as Gilder's gun is Purple against Sinistra and Red against
Destra, you will destroy them each with only two Gunslingers.

Vigoro
HP: About 5600
Color: ? (Why I forgot to write his color, I don't know)
Magic/Moves: Vigoro's Charm
Suggested Level (Vyse): 25-26
Tactics: Another easy battle.  Vigoro's regular attack only does 400-500, and
Vigoro's Charm damages and confuses Aika.  That's it.  Just pound away, using
Gunslinger when possible, and attacking normally with everyone...even Fina.  You
don't even have to bother curing Aika's confusion, since it's not worth losing a
possible attack on Vigoro.

DRALKOR TANK
HP: 7700
Color: ? (Mental Note-remember to write down colors)
Magic/Moves: Wheel Blast
Suggested Level (Vyse): 25-27
Tactics: Another boss with only one special attack?  Wow.  First of all, that HP
total is dead-on, seeing as my final blow dealt only 79 damage.  Secondly, Wheel
Blast is an area attack that does about 1500-1600 damage, so keep those HP up.
Otherwise, use the same basic strategy: use Vyse's regular attacks and Gilder's
Gunslinger, and Heal/Increm with Aika and Fina.  This battle will take a while
because of the high HP total, so if a character dies (for some reason), make
sure to revive him/her with Risan or a Risan Crystal.

To be continued...

VII. CREDITS

Myself-For taking the time to write this FAQ; also for working to make the money
that bought me my Dreamcast and SoA.

CJayC, founder and webmaster of GameFAQs.com-For creating and running the best
damn video game information site on the Internet.

Overworks-For making such an excellent game.

Official Dreamcast Magazine-For providing me with the SoA demo which led to my
purchase of SoA.

TheRaijinGaijin-For figuring out how to interpret the instruction manual's color
guide.

MPureka-For giving me lots of excellent info after the first version of this
guide was published.

Arrawnt-For giving me the information necessary to fill in almost off of my ?'s
on the early bosses.  Also, for writing what is currently the best and longest
SoA walkthrough on GameFAQs.

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