Maximo vs Army of Zin Boss FAQ Version 1.0 5/20/04 Written by Thunderbird *********************************************************************** Copyright Notice *********************************************************************** This FAQ is copyright (c) 2002 by Sean Taylor This FAQ is merely intended to assist you, the reader, with the boss battles for Maximo vs Army of Zin for the Playstation 2 Computer Entertainment System. You may not post it elsewhere without first asking for permission. You may not modify this FAQ and then post it as your original work. You may not use this FAQ for money making purposes (this includes running ads on the same page as this FAQ). If this FAQ is posted on your site (with permission), it may not be placed in an area that requires a special membership (paid or otherwise) to access. If you would like to ask permission to post this FAQ on your site, please email me at sscthunderbird@yahoo.com and I'll probably allow you to do so, provided that the above conditions are met. *********************************************************************** Copyright Notice *********************************************************************** Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Version Information 3. The Bosses 3.1 The House Crasher 3.2 Cyclocks 3.3 Old Wounds 3.4 Guardian of the Deep 3.5 Master of the Zin 3.6 Ghost in the Machine 4. Conclusion 1. Introduction Welcome to my Maximo vs Army of Zin Boss FAQ. Chances are that you're here because you are confused about a particular boss, and want some assistance. Note that Down With The Ship is not detailed here, because that stage is not an actual boss battle. When a boss battle is completed, the level of the fight is marked as Mastered, so you will never need to re-enter the battle. You can if you want, of course. 2. Version Information 0.8 Written 5/19/04 Initial version, last 4 bosses covered (need to replay the first 2) 1.0 Written 5/20/04 All bosses covered. 3. The Bosses Before you read on, be aware that there are some spoilers in this section. Don't read ahead unless you want to be spoiled. 3.1 The House Crasher Relatively simple boss fight. The fight itself will not start until Maximo is in the open field. At that time a creature will crash into the lone house here and use it. In order to cause any damage, you must whack the large orb on his head. Hit him with the downward slash of the air combo and he will be on the ground for a few seconds. Use that time to whack him for heavy damage. If he closes the doors of the house and starts charging, keep moving to the sides to avoid being hit. After his lifebar is depleted, he will lose the house, and become armed with cannons (his lifebar will refill for this). When he starts firing, keep moving to the side away from the bullets and Maximo won't get hit. If close to him, you will need to jump to dodge the blasts. The method to cause damage is still the same, whack the orb on his head with your sword. Finish this form off by depleting his lifebar, which will end this battle. 3.2 Cyclocks Bit of a pain, though not as tough as what is beyond him. Maximo starts inside of Tinker's house, and Cyclocks will demolish the front. Simply whack the eyeball to do damage (the 3rd strike of an air combo will sap a healthy portion of his lifebar). As he takes damage, he will move to the sides of the house and demolish them. Attack until he moves. Once the entire house is down and he moves again, it will be in the house, so get out of it. The attacks vary here, but may include lightning, and swipes with those huge hands. He's not very difficult to take out altogether. 3.3 Old Wounds – Baron of Hawkmoor This is a difficult fight. Baron likes to block pretty often and use magic attacks against you. If you hear "I call upon the power of my ancestors" then it is well advised to move. There are 3 types of beings he can call. The first one will be called if there is a great distance between Maximo and Baron, and it will launch an arrow at Maximo. Simply move out of the way to avoid it. The other two may come up while in a close-up fight. One will attack with an axe, which the shield cannot block, so get clear. The other will simply block, and not attack Maximo. Don't try to do multiple strikes against Baron, because he will block after the first one connects. Once you deplete his lifebar, the battle will end. 3.4 Guardian of the Deep This is probably the hardest boss in this game. It is a large snake, which will pop up under the wood platform that Maximo is on. Grim is very helpful here, and I hope you have at least one of the Grim meter upgrades, and at least one of the Super meter upgrades (see the knight salesman for these upgrades, he can be found easily on Into the Fire). Two of each is what I had. Make sure both are full as well. As the snake pops up under the wood, it will remove the piece which it was under. Do not fall off the platform, or you will end up in the e-weeds, which hurt quite a bit. If you have enough spirit in the Grim meter, call in Grim and do as much damage as you can to the snake. After Grim leaves, toss your shield at the snake to do more damage at a distance. Once your Super Meter is drained, you will have to attack the snake close up. If this strategy fails and you die, I suggest quitting and restarting, because the Grim Meter and Super Meter will not refill with a lost life. Also note that this is only one possible strategy. There are no doubt others out there. 3.5 Master of the Zin – Bane Not too difficult. Zin warriors will occasionally enter the arena, but they're usually safe to ignore. Some of them may drop armor pieces if you need them. Bane will not take damage unless the spirit in his body is exposed. Hit him a few times and it will open. Suggest using a Piercing Blow once that happens, which will take a large portion of life off. Once Bane reaches 50% life, he will switch to different attacks, but the method for defeating him is still the same. His lifebar will refill as well. Watch out for his wave attack, which can do some nasty damage and cannot be blocked with the shield (have to jump over it). Just bring his lifebar down to 0% here and he's done for. So, Bane is down. You've won the game...right? 3.6 Ghost in the Machine – Achille I share Grim's attitude on this: "Didn't we whack this guy already?" Of course, Ghosts to Glory veterans probably expected something like this to happen, and Capcom has come through with a rather nasty surprise. It is recommended to have all 3 Grim Meter upgrades, though I got through with only 2 (and without taking a single hit, at that). Maximo himself cannot cause any damage to Achille, but each hit will release Spirit instead. Collect this to fill the Grim Meter. Once it is full, get near Achille and use R1 to switch to Grim. At first Grim's whacks do not do much damage, but after the spirit barrier is gone, each hit takes a fair chunk off. However, Achille will restore this barrier shortly after losing it. Once Grim's meter expires, simply go back to attacking Achille to gain spirits to refill the meter (and maybe earn an extra life or two). Lather, rinse, repeat until Achille is out of commission. 4. Conclusion Email requests need to be sent to sscthunderbird@yahoo.com and must contain FAQ somewhere in the subject. Emails requesting permission to host this are exempt from that requirement. I welcome emails describing strategies for beating the bosses in addition to what I have here. The following sites are authorized to host this guide without advance permission: www.gamefaqs.com www.neoseeker.com faqs.ign.com Other sites, please ask first. I'd like to thank Capcom for making this game, and it's prequel, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory.