M O N T E Z U M A ' S R E T U R N Boss Strategy Guide (Ver. 1.00) CONTENTS I. Intro II. Level 1 – Temple A. The Birds (mini-boss) B. Final Boss 1 III. Level 2 – Cat Caves A. Big Cats (mini-boss) B. Cheetahs (mini-boss) IV. Level 3 – Lair of the Lavalord V. Level 4 – Dragonfly Dungeon VI. Level 5 – Monkey Madness A. Mini-Boss Gorillas B. Purple Gorilla VII. Level 6 – Aztec Circus VIII. Level 7 – Spikes and Skulls IX. Level 8 – Halls of Montezuma A. “The Plumber” (mini-boss) B. Montezuma -------------------------------------------- ===== Intro ===== This guide is for the 1997 version of the game “Montezuma’s Return” by Utopia Inc. It is an action adventure/puzzle game that I used to play as a kid, and now when I found the game again, I learned that there are no online guides ANYWHERE for it. The game play and puzzles are pretty straightforward, but when it comes to bosses in this game, some can be a little tricky. Unfortunately, the 1997 version has fewer levels than the final version released in 1998, so with the bosses on other levels, you’ll have to figure it out on your own. Sorry! Now bear with me, this is my first guide. If you want to use this guide on another site, you need permission from me first. Thanks! ============== Level 1 – Temple ============== A very easy level with some fun puzzles and two mandatory battles. ------------------------------ The Birds (mini-boss) ------------------------------ These birds are not difficult at all, just hard to hit. It’s easiest to simply let fly a few punches when they swoop in front of you. They have very low health and cause little damage. ------------------ Final Boss 1 ------------------ The boss at the end of this level is an eerie looking dude, but is really a pushover. Basically, (as with most of the other bosses) if you jump and kick this guy and back away, he’ll not be able to hit you as hard if at all. Just keep hitting him until he disappears. Easy enough. ================ Level 2 – Cat Caves ================ This level has a total of six mini-bosses, and a couple other tough enemies. ----------------------------- Big Cats (mini-boss) ----------------------------- The big cats have quite a variety of attacks: they can tackle you, slash you with their claws, and give you a nice hard punch. For mini-bosses, these guys are very tough (tougher even than the Temple’s final boss!) Unlike the Temple’s boss, it’s unwise to attack these brutes head-on, since they can recover from attacks quickly and counter with a lot of damage. What I usually do to avoid any full-on attacks from these guys is to run circles around the room, wait until they’re in front of you, and then do a jump-kick in passing. This way they’ll just run right by you and not counter attack. The downside to this strategy is that it takes a little while longer to kill them, but it’s better than being diced. ------------------------------ Cheetahs (mini-boss) ------------------------------ Now, at the end of the level, you’re pinned up against three cheetahs, one right after the other. These cheetahs don’t run on two legs like the other cats, they just sulk around without even attacking unless you’re right in front of them. The bad thing is if they bite, they take about a quarter of your health. All you really need to do is go behind or either side of them and start hitting away. They don’t have much health and should disappear after about 30 seconds. ======================== Level 3 – Lair of the Lavalord ======================== There aren’t very many enemies in this level, and really the only one you absolutely have to fight is the Lavalord. The Lavalord is one of the trickier bosses in the game. He’s stationary in the middle of the chamber in a pool of lava (big surprise) and he launches big exploding balls of lava at you. You can’t attack the Lavalord head on, since he’s immune to your punches and kicks, and when you try to hit him, you could fall in the lava or get swiped by him. The lava balls he throws can be moved, so basically you push those close to him before they explode. Since pushing alone is kind of difficult to control, it’s easier to punch the ball towards him. It takes four or five explosions to kill him, depending on how close you get them to him. When you get them close enough to him, RUN! The explosions can cause a lot of damage to you too, if you’re not careful. What I suggest to do: stay in the hallway! The Lavalord will be able to reach the doorway and keep the lava balls on the raised path, so all you have to do is punch it over and there wont have to be any difficult maneuvering. ======================= Level 4 – Dragonfly Dungeon ======================= Luckily, there is no final boss for this level, just mini- bosses that carry some nasty scythes and come in two’s. Basically, the easiest way to defeat them is to use the same logic as the big cats in Cat Caves. First, it’s easier to separate the two guys, because you can be kicking one of them and the other could slash you, but it’s not a difficult battle. Both mini-boss standoffs should take a couple minutes each. ====================== Level 5 – Monkey Madness ====================== Monkey Madness is a very large level with a lot of obstacles, and a few very strong primates running around. -------------------------- Mini-boss Gorillas -------------------------- These gorillas are not two difficult to beat, but they have some sneaky attacks, like their sliding kick. Just keep jump-kicking them, and they should be gone in just a minute or two. -------------------- Purple Gorilla -------------------- Unfortunately, the final gorilla boss is not half as easy to beat. He has tremendous health, so it takes a very long time to do him in (I usually have to use two lives to kill him). He’s got a lot of attacks, such as biting you when you jump-kick him, punches, and a move where he pounds the ground and you hit the ceiling…hard. It’s very easy to take a lot of damage from this guy, so basically the best advice I can give is to stay behind him as often as you can giving him plenty of kicks, and if you see him jump, you’d better jump as well. Monkey see, monkey do. ================== Level 6 – Aztec Circus ================== This boss knows a thing or two about dramatic entries, and to be honest, he deserves that entry. Basically, he’s just a big version of the white musclemen in this level, but with an enormous health meter and incredible strength. To be honest, I can’t think of any time I beat him just by punches and kicks. Your best bet as always is the jump kick, and it would be best to get behind him but he just never lets that happen. If he hits you, it’s possible you can fly off the side of the platform into lava. If this happens, you need to bunny hop back to the platform to minimize the damage taken. The best way to do this guy in is to wait until he’s close to an edge and jump-kick him off. ====================== Level 7 – Spikes and Skulls ====================== There is really only one mandatory fight here – the first one. When you fall in, there’s an Aztec native with a skull on his head. This little native has about twice the stamina as the other natives in the game, and twice the strength. It’s basically a normal battle and shouldn’t take more than a minute. ======================== Level 8 – Halls of Montezuma ======================== Here we go, the last level! This level is just filled with difficult puzzles and hard-to-beat enemies. This level has three mini-bosses and one final boss. -------------------------------------- “The Plumber” (mini-boss) -------------------------------------- There are three of these jolly green, hammer happy giants guarding different treasures in this level. The reason I call them the plumbers is that they reminded my brother and I of Luigi from Super Mario when we first played this game. Anyhoo, these guys are to be treated like the big cats in Cat Caves. It’s kind of a strange way to fight, but it really works in this game. If you attack these guys head-on, then they’ll give you a good whack with their hammers and cause a lot of damage doing so. Other than that, they’re pretty easy to beat; they don’t have much health. On a side note, one room has one of these plumbers on a pedestal, so to initiate a battle, just walk up to the pedestal that he’s on. ------------------- Montezuma ------------------- Here it is: the final battle. And trust me, it wont be too easy. Montezuma has plenty of tricks up his sleeves…if he were wearing sleeves. He can conjure two kinds of magical harmful orbs; one orb knocks you silly, but doesn’t do any damage. The second, ticking orb can launch you high into the air and make you lose health on the landing. Not only does Montezuma conjure these two orbs, but he also calls up some Aztec natives (from the Temple level) into the battle, which can add another nuisance. On top of all that, Montezuma causes damage when you touch him almost ANYWHERE on his body. His only weak spot: his face. Unfortunately, getting to his face is the hardest part. This battle requires a lot of running around, since you have to dodge the two orbs and the Aztec native. One good thing is that the ticking orb can affect both you and the native, so you can get him out of the way by pushing him into this orb. The best way to take down Montezuma is wait until he’s done conjuring, then run up to him and jump as high as you can and give him a good kick. You can only do this once at a time, so it’s pretty slow going. You can try to attack him while he’s busy conjuring, but you have to land the kick before he’s done or else you’ll just get blasted away. Also, when he stomps on the ground, you can use this lift to land a kick as well. I think it takes about 10-20 kicks to get him to finally die, which can take about 8 to 10 minutes. I recommend that you try to get all of the treasures and beat most of the enemies to get an extra life, just in case. ============ The Wrap-Up ============ Well, I just want to say thank you to anyone who reads this guide and finds it useful. I also wanna thank Utopia Inc. for making such an awesome game. If you have any questions, or if you want to put this guide onto another site, you can reach me at ingmaster256@gmail.com. Montezuma’s Return is copyright 1997-1998 to Utopia, Inc. This guide was written for the 1997 version of Montezuma’s Return. This guide is copyright to me, Adrian Quintana, "ringmaster256" 2010.