------------------------------------------------
-Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros Visions of Power-
---                                          ---
----How to defeat Malkil and all the bosses!----
---                                          ---
-v2.1 by Russ Kubes (x87bliss[nospam]yahoo.com)-
-------------------(Mar 8/11)-------------------


  --------------
  ---Abstract---
  --------------

The main part of this guide is the method I developed to defeat Malkil easily.
I rarely die while fighting him, so it's great if you've already lost some
lives during the course of your gameplay.

I also include tips on how to defeat the other bosses throughout the game.

Lastly, I include some Game Genie codes that I have developed myself. Note
that you really don't need these codes to advance in the game. But you may opt
to use them if you feel overwhelmed or if you want an extra challenge.

My idea of good Game Genie codes are the ones that alter game play slightly
for fine tuning difficulty. Most of the well-known codes make the game too
easy.



  -------------
  ---Preface---
  -------------

This guide assumes you know how to play through the game - there are other
guides out there which detail that process and are much more comprehensive
in scope than this document. However, I haven't seen any guides with a good
strategy for defeating Malkil. Most of the guides essentially just wish you
luck on the "hardest boss" in the game. Personally I find the worms guarding
the golden wizard statue to be the hardest - though I'm probably just doing
that fight wrong.

This was one of my favorite games as a kid, and I remember how frustrating it
was to get all the way to Malkil just to die repeatedly. I hope that this
guide helps others fully enjoy the game. Good luck on finally defeating
Malkil, but you probably won't need it. :)



  --------------
  ---Contents---
  --------------

WW3_STA - Guild Statue Bosses
WW3_GOB - Goblin Guarding Thieves Statues
WW3_KNI - Knight Guarding Knights Statues
WW3_WOR - Worms Guarding Wizards Statues
WW3_DRA - Three Headed Dragon
WW3_MAL - Malkil
WW3_GGC - Game Genie Codes
WW3_CON - Conclusion
WW3_REV - Revision History



  -------------------------
  ---Guild Statue Bosses--- WW3_STA
  -------------------------

Basically these bosses don't deserve individual sections. For each battle, you
first need to observe your enemy's pattern of attack. Then the fight comes
down to basically killing the enemy before he kills you. These fights are way
too easy - they're nearly impossible to lose.

The best hint I can give is to always attack your enemy while holding down.
Crouching makes it very easy to avoid your enemy's attacks.



  -------------------------------------
  ---Goblin Guarding Thieves Statues--- WW3_GOB
  -------------------------------------

-Before the fight:

You want to be in the first knights outfit. The second goblin forces
you to fight in the second thieves outfit, but the strategy remains the same.

-Strategy:

1) Wait in the middle of the room while the Goblin shoots flame on the floor.

2) The goblin will jump into the air and land where you're currently standing.

3) Wait until he's at the peak of his jump, then run a few feet away from him.
He should then land right in front of you without hitting you on his way down.

4) Before he starts shooting fire again, swing your weapon at the goblin. You
need to be standing to hit him.

5) The goblin should take damage and bounce back slightly.

6) Quickly inch forward without getting close enough to take damage.

7) Go to step 4 and repeat until the Goblin is back at the right side.

8) Go to step 1 once the Goblin is back at the right side.



  -------------------------------------
  ---Knight Guarding Knights Statues--- WW3_KNI
  -------------------------------------

-Before the fight:

You want to be in the highest level knights outfit you have. If you have the
second knights outfit, then you don't even need to get close to the enemy. You
can simply throw your axe from a distance.

-Strategy:

This fight is too simple to even break down into steps.

Basically, the enemy has three poses:

First, he is standing tall and vulnerable to attack.

Second, he raises his weapon and is vulnerable to attack.

Third, he lunges forward and swings his weapon down.

If you attack him during the first or second pose, he'll bounce back slightly.
This will also force him to return to the first pose. Just keep attacking so
he can never swing his weapon at you.



  ------------------------------------
  ---Worms Guarding Wizards Statues--- WW3_WOR
  ------------------------------------

-Before the fight:

You want to be in the first wizards outfit. The only better outfit for this
fight is the third knights, but unfortunately you don't have access to it yet.

I have not yet perfected this fight, so be prepared to take some damage.

-Strategy:

1) Stand between the mid and left-most holes while facing to the right. This
spot offers the best balance of opportunity to hit the worm verse opportunity
for the worm to hit you.

2) Wait for the worm's head to be in range of your fireballs and shoot it.
Only its head takes damage.

3) If the worm starts coming toward you, move out of its way.



  -------------------------
  ---Three Headed Dragon--- WW3_DRA
  -------------------------

-Before the fight:

You want to switch to the third knights outfit. As far as I know, this is the
only outfit which can damage the dragon.

You want to stay on the bottom of the two moving stone platforms, but inch
forward just a little bit so if you get hit you won't fall off.

-Strategy:

This fight is definitely more intimidating than difficult. You can probably
get through this fight without taking any damage.

The dragon circles around the screen but can never hit you itself. Instead
each head, one at a time, shoots fireballs at you. These fireballs travel
straight across the screen and rarely even hit you.

If you get hit by a fireball, it will knock you back slightly. Move forward
again so you can take another hit without falling.

If you fall off, then you will take damage. Just levitate back up to the fight
and continue from where you left off. The fight does not reset.

To damage the dragon, you need to shoot a bolt from your sword and hit one of
the heads that's currently sticking out to shoot at you. You can probably time
your bolts to make the fight faster if you're good. However, it's easier to
just spam bolts toward the dragon's heads.



  ------------
  ---Malkil--- WW3_MAL
  ------------

-Before the fight:

As soon as you enter the room, Malkil will start talking. He eventually asks a
yes/no question, and the cursor defaults to the "yes" position.

!!!SELECT "NO"!!!

If you select "yes," you instantly get a game over. If you're impatient, just
keep pressing the down button on the controller throughout this conversation.
The down button will still advance the conversation but won't accidentally
choose "yes" when Malkil finally pops the question.

After you choose "no," there's more text... blah blah blah...

If you're not already in the level 3 knight outfit, keep pressing select so
you can change outfits as soon as the fight begins. You don't want to waste
time - though it probably won't kill you if you're late. ;)

The fight is broken into two phases, I will describe the strategy for each
separately. I'll try to explain the fight as if you've never even seen it
before. You may die the first time if you're completely unfamiliar with the
fight; however, this strategy is an easy win if you do know the fight. The
strategy is pretty simple. I suggest reading the entire guide before the fight
so you know what you're doing.


-Phase One:

 --Description

Malkil will start by flying to the upper right corner of the screen.
After a short pause, he'll fly straight across to the upper left corner.
He'll keep doing this back and forth, and with every pass, about midway across
the screen he'll shoot up to four explosive flowers in your direction.

NOTE: IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO AVOID THE EXPLOSIVE FLOWERS.
AVOIDANCE IS BASED ALMOST PURELY ON LUCK.

Don't get frustrated if Phase One eats most of your energy - frustration will
only make you sloppy. In contrast, Phase Two is much easier and if you do it
right you'll never get hit.

 --Positioning

If you look at the room, there's the throne and the stairs leading up to it.
You NEVER want to be on any of this. Always stay on the ground level.

You only ever need to run flat on the floor or shoot fireballs straight upward
from your sword.

!!!NEVER JUMP!!!

 --Strategy

1) As soon as the fight begins start running to the right edge of the screen.
The goal is to meet directly under Malkil once he reaches his first position
in the top-right corner.

2) Now that you're under Malkil, start shooting as many fireballs as possible
straight up at him.

3) After a few seconds he will begin flying to the left side of the screen.
About midway there he will shoot up to four explosive flowers at you which
will most likely hit you - this is fine.

4) Once he gets to the left edge of the screen, run to the left side of the
stairs leading up to the throne. (Only about 1/4 of the way across the screen,
but you must stay on the ground level)

5) Don't bother trying to attack while he's on the left edge of the screen.
Instead just wait for Malkil to start flying back toward you.

6) Once Malkil starts flying back to the right, run all the way to the right
until you can't go anymore, then stop. If you're wondering why you ran to the
stairs in the first place, it's because the short run back (if timed right)
will usually trick Malkil into shooting his explosive flowers right over your
head, completely missing you. But if you still get hit, don't sweat it;
he still hits me between 50% and 70% of the time.

7) Once Malkil returns to the right edge of the screen, go back to step 2 and
repeat until Phase Two begins.


-Phase Two:

 --Description

Phase Two seems to begin only when Malkil is at the left edge of the screen.
It will normally occur when he is down to about half energy, but you may be
able to spot it early as he'll be hovering slightly lower than usual.

If done right, you will only ever get hit once or twice max in this phase, and
only for mistakes. Never panic! I've been able to start and beat this phase
with only one remaining energy bar.

This phase is much easier than, but slightly similar to Phase One.
A) Malkil now has much more freedom for his destinations - it won't always be
  the very edges of the screen.
B) He still pauses for a few seconds between passes allowing you to attack.
C) For every pass he now swoops down, across, then back up like a letter u. He
  can now hurt you while he's swooping if he makes any physical contact.
D) He now only shoots one explosive flower per pass; however, unlike Phase One
  the flower stays active until it hits you. You must destroy it first!

 --Positioning

Your positioning is similar to Phase One - you want to stay on ground level.

You will only ever be running flat on the ground, and you'll only ever shoot
straight up or straight across.

!!!STILL NEVER JUMP!!!

 --Strategy

1) Once Phase Two begins you're going to be on the opposite edge of the screen
from Malkil. Chances are you'll get hit by his first swoop, but try your best
to avoid it. He'll also shoot one of the new explosive flowers.

2) Your primary target is the explosive flower. Face it! It should be near
ground level coming toward you. Shoot at it until it blows up! It should only
take one shot, but it's ok if you spend more time killing flowers than hitting
Malkil. Staying alive is much more important than killing Malkil.

Note: You don't need to duck to hit the flowers, just shoot straight across.

3) Once the flower is destroyed, run so you're directly under Malkil. You MUST
be here BEFORE he starts his next swoop!

4) Now that you're under Malkil, aim straight upward and keep shooting him
until he swoops again. Don't move, he can NOT hit you if you were under him.

5) Immediately face the direction that he swoops toward, but don't move yet.
Just wait for him to shoot an explosive flower at you.

6) Go to step 2 and repeat until Malkil is dead.



  ----------------------
  ---Game Genie Codes--- WW3_GGC
  ----------------------

All of the following codes were developed by the author of this document.
Please give credit and only distribute with this original document, or a with
a clearly visible link to the original document.

1) AEVXEEAP - Failing a guild test takes 0 energy. (Normally 3)
a) AEVXEEAO - Failing a guild test only takes 1 energy.
b) AOVXEEAP - Failing a guild test only takes 2 energy.
c) AXVXEEAP - Failing a guild test takes 4 energy.
d) AXVXEEAO - Failing a guild test takes 5 energy.
e) AUVXEEAP - Failing a guild test takes 6 energy.
f) EEVXEEAP - Failing a guild test kills you.

2) OKEZAOOX - Keep current health when you start a guild test.

3) SXUZUPSA - Health doesn't reset after passing a guild test.

4) AOXPPEAA - Statue bosses do 1.5x damage.
a) AOXPPEAE - Statue bosses do 2x damage.

5) PANEKGGA - Worms have about 25% health.
a) ZANEKGGA - Worms have about 50% health.
b) AANEKGGE - Worms have about 200% health.
c) APNEKGGA - Worms have about 400% health.

6) NNNXKAAO - First Thieves Guild unlocks most costumes. *1

7) OXKUPVPX - First test for a class unlocks all costumes for that class. *2

8) POVVZEPU - Switch costumes anywhere! *3

9) VOXAXNZY - Third Wizard Test has full sized platforms!!!!


*1 - This is a good code to use to practice the third wizard's test, since
    it's the only costume this doesn't unlock. Note that you will not be able
    to start the tests for the costumes that are already unlocked, so
    collecting the additional statues will only clog up your inventory.

*2 - Combine with code 6 for early access to every costume. This is good for
    exploring Piedup or practicing boss fights.

*3 - Doesn't work on the moving platforms in the wizard tests.



  ----------------
  ---Conclusion--- WW3_CON
  ----------------

Thanks for reading this guide, I hope it helped you finally beat the game.
If you already beat the game, then I hope it made it easier and/or more fun.

If you e-mail me regarding this guide, please have the subject contain
"WizWar3 Boss Guide: "

Any feedback will be appreciated, including thanks or criticism. If you have
additional hints or tips for this boss or others, feel free to forward them.
However, don't expect a response.

-Russ K.



  ----------------------
  ---Revision History--- WW3_REV
  ----------------------

2.1 - Added Game Genie Code for full sized platforms in third wizard test.

2.0 - Added strategies for every boss, and original Game Genie codes.

1.0 - Initial revision. Just had strategy for defeating Malkil.