Wizards and Warriors II: IronSword FINAL BATTLE STRATEGY By James Dziezynski Bruplex@AOL.COM Or BRUPLEX@YAHOO.COM This Mini FAQ, small as it is, is Copyright 2001 James Dziezynski. It may not be reproduced or hosted without written approval of the author. I am quite liberal with my game guides, as long as you are courteous enough to ASK. As always, this mini-guide MAY NOT appear on Megagames.com or gameshark.com. If you see this there please contact me. Updates will be hosted at www.gamefaqs.com. Ironsword—Copyright 1988 Rare/Acclaim. All rights reserved. <>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<> STRATEGY: FINAL BATTLE: <>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<> As it is, Wizards and Warriors II is a frustrating game. You can't swing your sword effectively, you can go from full health to dead in one hit from 50 % of the enemies, and Fabio is on the cover! Ugh! Despite the flaws, this is a good addition to your NES library; it has its good points. Good graphics and music, interesting quests (finding a bear stein for a bear?!), and that overall RARE quality. HOWEVER... The Final Battle is annoying enough to make you want smash a bucket of country crock non-butter spread all over Fabio's face. After four relatively easy encounters against the giant elemental bosses, their tiny counterparts beat you harder a goose smashing into your face while speeding along on a roller-coaster.* http://srd.yahoo.com/goo/Fabio+Rollercoaster/1/*http://www.pigdog.org/a uto/animal_rampage/link/14.html Or http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/news/archives/april99/stories/0401 99_01.html Anyhow... Back on topic—the last fight is quite tough, but here are a few pointers before the battle even starts. ? Hopefully you've collected the best Helmet and Shield you could. If not, use an old password and go back to get em' (or use mine: GZZMJXMQQGRX) ? Remember: changing the 5th letter in your password to J will give you 2 lives to start off with. This makes up for the game's very cheap continue policy (apparently whenever it wants to.) I do not think you can continue on this stage. ? I find leaving TURBO off on your controllers is helpful. ? Get FULL MAGIC while you have FULL HEALTH; this will ensure your MAGIC automatically refills when it runs out, making it unlimited and thus one less thing to worry about. Use the DRAGON'S TOOTH spell on the snow ghosts if you need to make up some health. ? Finally, take heart—IT CAN be done without cheats. I'm living proof! <>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<> HERE WE GO! <>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<> As mentioned, get your magic up to max while maintaining full life. There are a few streams of magic bubbles, two of which are easily reached on the third (right-most) mountain. If you catch them all, you will be one unit away from full, which you can get from killing the snowballs and snowmen. Once filled with magic, use the DRAGON'S TOOTH spell if you need to make up life. When you are ready to, head up the middle mountain!! You will know the battle is on when the snowmen disappear and the four elements appear on your screen with blue health bars. As quickly as you can, drop down fast to your left. Your goal is to get on the level ground on the bottom. You will also be pursued by the Earth elemental first. EARTH ELEMENTAL-Your goal is to beat this guy without dying, plain and simple. You have 3 lives total, so if he beats you you'll have a hard time against the other three. Once on level ground let him circle you, jumping a bit away from him as he sneaks up from under you. If he pops you up in the air you're slightly screwed. If this happens try to recover and get back to your level ground. Don't forget you can fire bursts of energy UPWARD by holding up and B on your controller. Get in your hits as he orbits you. Stay calm and don't run around, control is the key Danielson!! After beating him… FIRE ELEMENTAL-This guy is the easiest to beat because he has a tight orbit around you, meaning he won't go off the screen much. Add to that he isn't terribly fast and you will have an easy kill. Your goal is beat him and the Earth elemental in one life, or at least as close as possible. WATER ELEMENTAL-The hardest elemental to hit, the Water Elemental also takes more damage from your sword than the others. Now is a great time to use your Silver fleece; I'm not 100% sure it even protects you but it gives me a mental edge. I like to stand dead still against him and fend off his water attacks by firing early, therefore sneaking in whatever hits I can. He moves fast, so fire well in advance to score hits when pressing UP and to the sides. By now, you will probably died at least once. If not, way to go—you are a better player than I! If you can get to the final elemental with ½ health and one life in reserve, you have a great chance of beating the game. WIND ELEMENTAL-The last elemental is not the fastest but will orbit you in a tight oval shape, making it hard for you to leap up to get in hits. Use your Up and B attack along with side hits. With a little practice, you'll find his attack is somewhat easy to avoid. He'll usually drop "mystery pellets" straight down, giving you time to nudge out of the way. He's difficult to hit with diagonal shots, so stay calm and get in hits when you can. If you have a whole life left over, stand still and make certain each blast from your sword hits him. VOILA!! That's it! A little patience, a little practice, and you got it. Despite what people say, the Ending is actually sort of cool. Remember this game was made in 1988 (wanna see a bad ending? Try Ultima Exodus for the NES.) Good luck and feel free to email me at BRUPLEX@AOL.COM if you need a hand or can think of any good Fabio jokes. Fini! **PS- I CAN believe it's not butter; REAL butter isn't day-glow yellow. ***PSS- As you plunge your throbbing sword into the soft yielding flesh of the quivering elementals, your heart pulsing like a sweaty jungle beast, don't forget to take your purple-headed cartridge out of the tight grip of your NES (because leaving your games in damages and pins and makes your NES flash, silly!) Copyright 2001. James Dziezynski