Author: Sashanan
Date: 22 September 2005
Version: 1.3
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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[1] About this FAQ
[2] Generic advice
[2.1] Weapons and shields
[2.2] Items
[2.3] Resting
[3] Boss-specific advice
[3.1 ] Cangrejo
[3.2 ] Pulpo
[3.3 ] Pollo
[3.4 ] Agar
[3.5 ] Vista
[3.6 ] Tarso
[3.7 ] Paguro
[3.8 ] Dragon
[3.9 ] Alguien
[3.10] Jashiin
[4] Revision history
[5] Final words
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[1] ABOUT THIS FAQ
===============================================================================
This guide came about during a particularly slow day at work. I chose to
write a guide about Zeliard because very few (if any) seem to be in
existence. The choice to write a boss guide rather than a full walkthrough
was made because it’s been a while since I played, and I cannot write a
full FAQ off the top of my head. This boss guide may grown into a full
walkthrough eventually, but right now, this will have to do.
I start this boss guide with some generic advice on how to prepare for a
boss fight. Then, I give specific instructions on how to beat each of the
ten bosses in this game.
This was my first FAQ, released in October 2000. Nearly four years and a lot of
experience later, after having played through Zeliard again, I have updated
my strategies where appropriate.
It goes without saying that you should prepare for a boss fight as well as
you can. Going into one of these fights without full health is foolish.
Going in without the best possible equipment and training can be dangerous
as well. Actually, training becomes less important later on in the game,
when a little more or less life (or a few extra spells) won’t matter much.
Equipment is important throughout the game. In general, try to get your
hands on the most powerful sword and shield you can get before challenging
an area’s boss. There are a few exceptions: you don't really need to get the
Illumination Sword in Dorado already (it is *very* expensive there), and you
can probably get away with getting the Wise Man's Sword, the Stone Shield and
the Titanium Shield late.
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[2.1] WEAPONS AND SHIELDS
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For each boss, try to get your hands on the following equipment before
challenging him:
* Vista can only be harmed with the Knight’s Sword. Earlier weapons, any
magic or the Magia Stone have no effect. In other words, you don’t have a
choice in this case; you must have the Knight’s Sword to win!
NOTE: AFranciskovic reports in his Zeliard FAQ (find it on www.gamefaqs.com)
that Vista actually *can* be harmed by other means. Please refer to my Vista
strategies in paragraph 3.5 for more info.
You should carry a few useful items to make your life easier. The most
obvious is some kind of healing item. Early on in the game, the Ken’ko
Potion can serve this role, but it becomes too weak to be useful fairly
soon. From the third town on, you should rely on Juu’en Fruit instead,
which will completely heal you. It pays to have two or three healing items
with you, more if you’re in doubt (but remember you can only carry 5 items
at a time).
If you are going to rely on spellcasting during a battle, two other items
are of interest. The Elixir of Kashi restores all spells of a single type.
Select the type you wish to refill as your active spell, then drink the
Elixir. The more powerful Chiriga Powder restores all your spells. It also
costs a bit more, though not prohibitively so. The only reason not to carry
plenty of Chiriga Powders is your limited inventory space.
A Sabre Oil will temporarily increase the damage done with your sword
(specifically, until the next time you visit a town). They are expensive,
but putting one on your weapon can help a lot in taking down a big boss
quickly. Sabre Oils are also cumulative, so putting two or three on your
sword helps even more; but make sure you leave enough space for healing
items!
Finally, the Magia Stone can help a lot against three of the bosses
(Cangrejo, Pulpo and Agar). It is moderately useful against Pollo and
almost useless against the others, though you may still find them useful just
to *get* to a boss in one piece.
The Holy Water of Acero (repairs 100 shield hit points) and the Kyoku Feather
(meant to return you to the last sage visited, but is bugged to always bring
you to Muralla) aren't particularly useful for any boss encounter. Don't bother
with them.
Choose the items you are going to take with you wisely, you can only carry
five at a time. I recommend at least three of those to be Juu'en Fruits at
all times.
You should always rest up your character before facing a boss. You can tell
you’re in front of the boss’ lair if you are at a red door and you hear a
rumbling noise. (You may have to turn the music off with F2 for a moment in
order to hear it, it’s not as loud as it should be.) Usually, you’ll be
able to find a safe spot nearby where no monsters will bother you, and you
can rest there. In some cases, there is a full healing potion hidden in a
wall nearby, so try to strike some walls near the door and see if you get
lucky.
There is one case in which you cannot safely rest in front of the door and
there are no healing potions nearby: in the Cavern of Peligro, before
fighting Pulpo. However, as you will see, you can actually rest DURING that
battle!
Cangrejo moves slowly, but when he feels like covering a lot of distance,
he will jump. His aim is to land on top of you, which is indeed quite
painful.
The best way to handle him is to go on the offensive immediately. Run up to
him, stop next to him and start hacking (make sure you *stop* in front of
him, continually running into him is bad for your health). When you see
Cangrejo tensing his legs to prepare for a jump, run away. You’re quick
enough to get out of his landing zone. When he lands again, run up to him
again and start hacking away.
Eventually, Cangrejo will drive you into the left corner, so you can’t run
any further. At this point, when he jumps, run to the right and pass under
him while he’s in the air. He’ll spit at you and he may hit, but that’s not
too painful. Just make sure that creep doesn’t land on you!
With a Wise Man’s Sword, you can take Cangrejo down before you know it.
Alternatively, with a Magia Stone, just standing right next to him and
watching as your aura does the hard work is enough. Cangrejo becomes a
pushover that way.
NOTE: A GameFAQs board member whose name I have unfortunately forgotten reports
that it is possible to bypass Cangrejo entirely. To do so, you'd collect the
key normally used to open his room, then get to the slope leading upwards to
the back of his room and the entrance to Satono. You would normally not be
able to get up here until much later, but supposedly you can lure a monster
over and have it knock you up the slope if you time it right. I haven't yet
been able to confirm this, but it sounds as though it might work. You could
then use the key to Cangrejo's room to open up Satono instead.
Pulpo is stuck in the right part of the cavern. He cannot move, and better
yet, he will not attack until you do! This means that you can rest up in
his cave before attacking him (which is safer than resting in front of the
door to his lair, where you will constantly be bothered by spitting frogs.)
When you are ready to engage, walk up to him and start slashing at his
tentacles. You’ll be able to do significant damage before he withdraws
them. At this point, he starts spitting at you, it is vital you jump over
his spittle. It will keep damaging you (and knocking you back, away from
Pulpo) until you do.
The best way to take Pulpo down is to jump up and down in front of him.
Straight up, that is; don't jump *against* him. Whle jumping, mash that space
bar and get in as many hits as you can. When he spits and you are driven back,
jump up and right to clear the spittle, run back up to Pulpo and repeat. Your
Stone Shield will last a lot longer than Pulpo.
Magic is worthless against this guy, all you have is Espada, and that
barely harms him at all. Just trust your sword for this one.
The cheap way to win this battle is to hit Pulpo’s tentacles with the aura
of a Magia Stone. He’ll be dead before he has a chance to withdraw his
tentacles and start fighting back.
Madre de Dios! Es el Pollo Diablo! The trick here is to hit his head, it is far
more vulnerable than his body. Approach him carefully and watch him. If he
flaps his wings once, a projectile is coming your way. Kneel to avoid it, then
continue your advance and hack away when you’re in range. Jumping up and down
while slashing is the best way to hit his head. Again, as with Pulpo, do not
jump against him. If he advances, retreat a few steps before you get into
actual physical contact, as that does a lot of damage to you and your shield.
You’re in trouble when Pollo starts beating his wings furiously. Immediately
withdraw to the left, because a swooping attack is coming up. Go back as far as
you can, and with luck, he won’t be able to fly the whole distance (chickens
can only remain airborne for a very short time). If he can reach you, press
your back against the left wall, then just before he pecks, jump up and stab
your sword straight down at his head. That’ll teach him! (This is a maneuver
you should practice, incidentally. It comes in handy against many foes. Jump
up, then immediately hit down and the attack button simultaneously.)
Magia Stone gets in a little damage against Pollo, but nothing spectacular.
Save your money for a Spirit Sword instead, it’ll help more. Also, neither
Espada nor Saeta is particularly useful against Pollo, so you will need to
rely on your weapon for the most part.
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[3.4] AGAR
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Type: Giant Ice Cube
Location: Glacial/Escarcha
Agar behaves similarly to Cangrejo, moving back and forth slowly, and
trying to crush you by jumping on you. The thing is that his jumps are
quicker and it’s harder to see them coming. Oh, and those ice balls he
occasionally sends your way do not help. If you do not have the Honor Shield,
you must kneel to dodge them, and Agar just loves to jump on you while you do.
That alone is plenty of reason to make sure you get that shield. When saving up
for it, remember to exchange your hard won almas in Bosque, not in Helada, for
the better exchange rate.
There are basically two things that hurt Agar. One is hitting him with your
sword, obviously. The other is a well-timed Fuego spell. If you can get
Agar to land on a burning Fuego rather than you, the impact on his health
is significant. Even better, if with spells (Saeta comes to mind) or sword
slashes you manage to drive Agar into the right corner, a Fuego will *really*
hurt him. The best way to go about killing Agar is to do just that; attack
aggressively, force him to retreat, then when he's pinned unload on him with
one Fuego after another. Just four of them should kill him at this point. Just
watch closely; if he manages to escape and jump, get out of there before he
lands on top of you, or it's you who gets really hurt. Instant death is likely.
Agar's all about preparation, really. Without both the Ruzeria Shoes and the
Honor Shield, you'll have a very hard time. With a Magia Stone, however, you
can get a cheap and easy kill on him. The Magia Stone's aura will drive him
back into the corner easily and kill him there, without giving him any chance
to jump out of his predicament.
One last thing: it is possible to get to Agar without the Ruzeria Shoes
found in the ice caverns, and it is possible to fight him without them. I
just don’t recommend it. The last thing you need is not being able to move
out of the way because of the slippery floor. Get those shoes before you
seek him out!
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[3.5] VISTA
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Type: Giant Fish
Location: Corroer/Cementar
Vista is an interesting boss, in the sense that only the Knight’s Sword can
harm him. Should you seek him out before you have it, you are officially
doomed. Only a Kioku Feather, which allows you to flee, can save you from
certain death. In my experience, none of the spells you have has any effect
on Vista, and neither does the Magia Stone.
The way to defeat Vista is to keep moving. Run in the same direction he is
moving to stay ahead of him, then suddenly turn around and run under him.
Immediately turn around when you’re out of his reach, jump up and slash. Do
a second slash if you’re very quick and confident, then start running away
again. If you keep moving, Vista won’t be able to hit you, and you can get
in at least one good hit every time he comes down to attempt to bite you.
Vista will always stop moving sideways and swoop down when you are under him.
If you don't like running around a lot, you can also run under him, immediately
run back, and slash at him once before he can move away again. Whatever method
you use, though, you want to be sure you are *not* under him when he swoops in.
Your shield will not adequately protect against an attack from above, and
damage will be massive. Furthermore, things get nasty once Vista drives you
into a corner, so don't let that happen. Try to stick to the middle of the
screen as much as you can.
You’ll never get to Vista alive without the Pirika Shoes, so look for those
first before you seek to challenge him. But you'll also need the Knight's
Sword, and you won't get your hands on that without the Pirika Shoes either,
so you'll probably have them by now.
NOTE: AFranciskovic reports in his Zeliard FAQ (find it on www.gamefaqs.com)
that Vista actually *can* be harmed by other means. According to his info, some
of the spells do a very minor amount of damage, and the Spirit Sword can in
fact harm Vista; *if* you've used one or more Saber Oils. I have not yet
verified this (and I seem to recall spells do nothing to Vista at all, but it's
been many years since I tried any), but this is an interesting challenge to try
out. You'll likely find the shorter reach of the Spirit Sword very limiting,
though.
Defeating Tarso is a long process, because he can take a lot of damage.
Spells or the Magia Stone will barely help you at all. Only Rascar does
reasonable damage, but your chances of hitting him with that are slim.
Just run up to Tarso and strike, and be ready to run to the left when
necessary. He will frequently attempt to step on you, and although a well-
timed sword hit will cause him to abort that move, you must always be ready
to avoid.
Occasionally, Tarso will toss a big gemstone at you. He’ll stomp his foot on
the ground, and the gem will come flying at you. Immediately run away and wait
until it has stopped bouncing (and begun rolling). Then turn around and jump
over it. It’s similar to Pulpo’s spittle at this point, just more painful.
Whatever you do, don’t attempt to kneel and dodge the gem while it is still
bouncing. That’s asking for it!
Although it is possible to get to Tarso without the Silkarn shoes, you cannot
leave the gold caverns without them, even after defeating Tarso. There’s no
reason to bother with Tarso until you have those shoes unless you need the
quick experience and almas boost now.
Paguro is hiding out in one of the larger houses in Llama. The inhabitant
will stand outside and ask for your help. The best way to beat Paguro is by
using the Agua spell, which the local sage will teach you. Allow Paguro to
get close, then throw an Agua at him for massive damage. Allow him to close
the distance again, and repeat. The 4 Aguas you get will be enough to kill
him.
Paguro is basically an Agar clone, only tougher. If you decide to go without
Agua, a few good hits from the Knight’s Sword will do the trick as well, but
be careful.
This is probably the hardest boss fight in the game. Dragon is very powerful,
and there is no cheap trick to defeat him. Even Agua will do little damage.
Nevertheless, using all your Aguas and Rascars on Dragon at the start of
the battle is a good way to soften him up, if only a little. The same goes
for a Magia Stone; it doesn't help much, but it helps.
Basically, Dragon has three ways to breathe fire at you. One is a diagonal
blast of fire far away from him, which he’ll use when he is far away from you.
Another is a vertical blast of fire directly in front of him, his favorite
when you are close in. The last one is a horizontal blast of fire which can be
avoided by kneeling. He will use this at moderate distance, or if you jump.
First rule with Dragon is: never jump. He’ll bring his head down if you
do, and touching Dragon is very, very painful. Second rule is not to get
hit by his fire, and if you must suffer a hit, catch it on your shield.
Fire on your unprotected back is very deadly, and that's one thing the Asbestos
Cape doesn't help with.
The only way to get Dragon is to maintain a moderate distance, prompting
him to use his "long range" fire. When he gets ready to breathe it on you,
dash forward. This requires good positioning, because if you were too close
already, he’ll use a "short range" fire blast instead, and you have to back
off in order not to get hit. If you can get him to use his long range blast
and you can position yourself between his fire blast and his body, you’ve
done it correctly. Use the time you get to hit him with your sword a few times.
Illumination Sword is a must, and a Sabre Oil on it won’t hurt! When Dragon
finishes his fire attack, retreat before he breathes right on your head.
And remember, don’t jump!
The biggest difficulty is finding the exact spot where Dragon will still
use his "long range" fire, but you can close on him when he does, without
getting fried. You must wait until he starts breathing fire (or he’ll
switch to a different attack when you come closer), but if you are too far
away, you’ll never get out of the blast range in time when he starts his
attack. Worse still, if you do make a mistake and either get caught between
close range fire and Dragon's body, or get hit in the back as you're running
away, you will likely be dead before you can even use a Juu'en Fruit.
You’ll need to develop some feeling for the strategy outlined above. Don’t
worry, this is the toughest boss of the bunch, and you can be proud of yourself
after beating him. For this battle in particular, remember than you can bring
the Game Speed down by pressing F9. At speed 0, the proper pattern is a lot
easier to pull off.
Alguien uses a non-avoidable breath attack on you which doesn’t do too much
damage. The trick is to jump right through it and slash his tail with the
Enchantment Sword. Try not to touch Alguien himself, that *does* hurt!
(Make sure you wear the Feruza shoes for this battle.)
If you can spare an Elixir of Kashi or Chiriga Powder, use the Guerra spell
instead. A mere three or four castings is enough to kill him, because this
spell does massive damage. Just use the appropriate item to restore your
Guerras afterwards, you’ll probably want them in the last battle.
One approach that worked for me recently was to hug the left wall and wait for
Alguien to come. As soon as he comes on screen, cast Guerra. Immediately after,
cast another, and then a third. By that time he's on top of you, so jump
straight up and slash at his tail once with the Enchantment Sword. That should
be enough to kll him, and all you took was one hit!
At the start of the battle, Jashiin is invisible. Just wander around a bit
and wait for him to appear. When he does, he will either be standing and
fire a Fuego, or he will be kneeling and fire a Lanzar-like spell. In either
case, jump at him quickly (he’ll only be visible and vulnerable for a second
or so), jumping over the spell and delivering a blow with the Enchantment
Sword. You need to wear the Feruza Shoes for this, or you’ll never get high
enough.
Alternatively, you can cast a Guerra to harm Jashiin while he’s temporarily
visible. This takes off only a little health, but with enough Guerras in
reserve and Elixirs of Kashi / Chiriga Powders to restore them when you run
out, you can beat Jashiin with Guerras alone. (It takes about 15 in total,
assuming you don’t miss. You must cast before Jashiin phases out again.)
When Jashiin is almost out of health, he loses the ability to phase out,
although he can still cast his spells. Mainly, however, he will be running
backwards, away from you, and he will jump over you when you corner him.
Also, he’ll be regenerating health at an alarming pace. If he manages to
recover it all, he’ll regain his phasing ability and you can basically
start the battle over again. The trick is to get him down to zero health
before he does. Your best bet is hitting Jashiin while he is in the air to
jump over you. And try not to touch him; Jashiin can kill you at full
health if he comes into contact with your unprotected back.
The easiest way to finish Jashiin off is to keep two Guerras handy. When he
stops using his phasing ability, cast them immediately before he can start
to regenerate. That will do him in, and save you the trouble (and danger) of
chasing after him.
Note: if Jashiin defeats you (or you bug out with a Kioku Feather), Alguien
is also revived. In fact, even if you kill Jashiin, then use a Kioku
Feather, both Alguien and Jashiin will be revived. You *must* collect the
last Tear of Esmesanti to end the game.
===============================================================================
[4] REVISION HISTORY
===============================================================================
v1.0: (20 Oct '00) First version of the FAQ.
v1.1: (23 Oct '00) A few small corrections.
v1.2: (29 Sep '04) Significant updates in both content and layout, as well as
an updated disclaimer and contact address.
v1.3: (22 Sep '05) Updated contact info, and added a comment to Cangrejo's
strategy.
I have no specific future plans with this FAQ or other guides for Zeliard at
this time.
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[5] FINAL WORDS
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ABOUT THIS FAQ
My first tentative experiments at FAQ writing date back as many as ten years
ago, long before I ever had an internet connection. Printed out FAQs coming
from various BBS sources inspired me. It wasn't until I became a GameFAQs
member, however, that I got into FAQ writing myself.
The Zeliard boss guide you are reading now was my very first published FAQ,
written in late 2000. Now, four years later, I've given it an overhaul,
correcting a few bits of inaccurate or incomplete information, clearing up
awkward wording (it's amazing what four years of net presence cab do for a
foreigner's grasp of English), and adapting the layout to a more readable
format.
For questions, comments, suggestions, praise and criticism, please contact
the author, Sashanan, at sashanan.faqs@gmail.com. This e-mail address is for
FAQ feedback only. Whatever you wish to share about this document or zeliard,
chances are I'll want to hear it. Any serious mail will be answered.
If you wish to do anything with this FAQ except for just reading it, check
the Disclaimer section at the top of the FAQ to find out what you can and
can't do. When in doubt, you can always mail me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sashanan was born in 1980 in the Netherlands and works as a freelance database
software designer and programmer. He prides himself on his unrelenting
eagerness to start on new things, though actually seeing them through is less
common. As a gamer, he's mostly interested in classic Commodore and PC titles,
but also has a major interest in RPGs of any kind and age.
This document is a copyright of Peter "Sashanan" Butter, 2005. All
rights reserved. Disclaimer at top of document.
