The House of the Dead 2: The Original Sin Boss Survival Manual For the Sega AM1 Arcade Game Compiled by Mark Kim (Agent Falcon) Gamma A.1.d Date of Last Update: June 11, 2000 (No Time Given) Date of Public Release: June 11, 2000 (No Time Given) Copyright Information --------------------- Unpublished work trademarked (tm) and copyrighted (c) by Mark Kim. All Rights Reserved. This file is SHAREWARE and is strictly for entertainment use. In addition, this file can only be HTMLized by the sole owner of the file (Mark Kim), regardless whether the content is good or bad. To top it all off, this file can only be shown at the following websites: * Verasnaship Interactive (http://www.verasnaship.net) * GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) * Secrets of the Game Sages (http://www.gamesages.com) It is a criminal act to reproduce and/or retransmit this file in any way, shape, or form (regardless of the medium) and it shall be a criminal act to to use this file at a password-protected site where either user accounts are utilized and/or money is made through these accounts. It is a direct felony to use this file for any profitable (even if you fail to make any money out of it), promotional, and/or commercial transactional purposes (including but not limited to giving this file as some sort of bonus, gift, or any other means to generate any money out of this document). It shall be a severe criminal act to incorporate any or all of this file into any gaming guides, game sites, magazines, or any other profitable and/or commercial transactional means that exists (including reprinting, OCR-ing, and the like). To conclude about this, it shall be a direct criminal act to make any money out of this document. Currently, this document is being maintained and is the sole property of Mark Kim, and this file is protected by all applicable copyright, trademark, and patent laws in addition to all International Treaties. Any breach of copyright, trademark, and/or patents (which includes but not limited to plagiarism, stealing, laming, pirating, or otherwise) and/or using this document for any other purposes other than personal and private purposes, and/or illegal mirroring of this file (other than the five aforementioned URLs as described in the beginning of this disclaimer) is a direct violation of all applicable copyright laws, International Treaties, Patent Laws, US Title 107, and the Berne Copyright Bill of 1976. Violators and Transgressors shall face severe civil and criminal penalties through the maximum extent possible by law. Mark Kim acknowledges and respects all copyrights, patents (pending or not), and trademarks whether if it's mentioned or not somewhere in either the FAQ Text File and/or site as no copyright infringement was intended. If for any reason I MUST USE any copyrighted resource, then credit will be given at the Acknowledgements Section for the common part. Note that whenever I give credit, I WILL NOT REVEAL ANY E-MAIL ADDRESSES AND/OR OTHERWISE in order to protect the privacy of the people for whom I give credit to. This file has been carefully written by Mark Kim in respect to all copyrights, patents, and trademarks. THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTY. MARK KIM ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR ANY INCIDENTIAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH, OR ARISING OUT OF, THE FURNISHING, PERFORMANCE, OR USE OF THIS DOCUMENT. The House of the Dead, The House of the Dead 2, The Original Sin, Agent G, Sophie Richards, the DBR Corporation, Thomas Rogan, James Pennington, Gary Riordan, Magician Type 0, Emperor Type Alpha, Roy Curien, Caleb Goldman, Amy Crystal, Harry Harris, and all House of the Dead-related characters, sceneries, stories, and other House of the Dead-related events not mentioned in this file are registered trademarks, patents, and copyrights of Sega Enterprises Limited. All Rights Reserved. House of the Dead 1 and 2 were developed at Japan under supervision and direction through Division AM1. Published solely by Sega. This document has been created by Mark Kim in respect to all AM1 Properties and Sega Properties as no copyright infringement was intended. Note: Special thanks to Guy Type R for pointing out notes about Amy and Harry. I'LL MAKE THIS SIMPLE: THIS FILE IS MINE AND THERE IS NO UNAUTHORIZED USE OF IT!!!! I DIDN'T WRITE THIS FILE SO THAT YOU CAN MAKE ANY CRAP MONEY OUT OF THIS WORK!!! I DIDN'T WRITE THIS FILE SO THAT SOME SORRY CRAP-WRITER CAN JUST PLACE ANY SINGLE DROPLET OF THIS FAQ INTO A COMMERCIAL PUBLICATION, SLACK-OFF, AND GET PAID FOR IT!!! AND I DIDN'T WRITE THIS FAQ SO THAT SOME COPYCATTER CAN JUST CLAIM CREDIT FOR IT, WHICH IS CONSIDERED STEALING AND PLAGIARISING. ONLY FIVE WEBSITES ARE ALLOWED TO MIRROR THIS WORK BECAUSE EITHER I OR ANY OTHER FAQ WRITER THAT I KNOW HAVE TRUST IN THESE SITES (a.k.a. The websites I've mentioned in this copyright header). I don't want to waste my voice anymore on this paragraph, though. It is to remain in one piece, free of charge, and in its original state at all costs. ======================================================================== GENERAL INFORMATION Make: The House of the Dead 2: The Original Sin Developer: AM1 at Sega of Japan Publisher: Sega of America Available Screens: 27-inch Monitor Upright, 50-inch Deluxe Controller: Light Gun Usual Cost per game: $1.00 US per game (Prices will vary) AAMA Classification: Very strong Life-like Violence. Not appropriate for minors under 18 years of age. Release Date: Late 1998 for the Arcade Versions Genre: Light Gun Number of Players: Up to two players can play at once in the same cabinet. Features: Continue Feature ======================================================================== HISTORY OF THIS FAQ July 27, 1999 ------------- After beating the game several times, scoring 95,082 points at Dave and Buster's, and finishing the game with the Thomas Rogan Ending WITHOUT ANY CONTINUES at GameWorks, maybe it's time for me to help scrubs into becoming cost-efficient marksmen at their local arcade. As with the original House of the Dead (all of us should know that by now since it's shown on the cabinet), the best way to clean up the road laden by zombies is to slam them at their head. This kills a zombie quicker and it is the cost-efficient way of cleaning up the streets. August 1, 1999 -------------- Actually, more of an update due to rants than a major update. I made a new personal record at Dave and Buster's. October 31, 1999 ---------------- Basically more of a fix of legal mumbo-jumbo than anything else. Not too talkative, ain't I? June 11, 2000 ------------- This is the final update. Since I don't have enough time to spend with the Internet at the weekdays anymore (I have a full-time job as of this update), I won't be able to create a PDF version of this one after all. I will only be creating PDF Files for reasonable games. This game was popular because of a lot of blood but I don't play this game anymore because it's boring. Please do not beg me for a PDF Version of this guide because I have no intention of doing so. I'd rather create PDFs for reasonable games. Let's just move on to other reasonable games, shall we? ======================================================================== CONTENTS OF THIS FAQ * Newsflash * Why I am creating a Boss Guide? * A reason why I'm not going to make a PDF File for HOTD and HOTD 2 at all. * Who makes House of the Dead Mastery Possible? * Judgment Type 28 * Hierophant Type B 05 * Tower Type 8000 * Strength Type 205 * Magician Type 0 * Emperor Type Alpha * Some Afterthoughts * Do's and Dont's * How to suggest suggestions * Resources of this FAQ * Acknowledgements * End of Document and One Final Warning ======================================================================== NEWSFLASH Please be warned that this FAQ can only be shown on the following locations: * Verasnaship Interactive (http://www.verasnaship.net) * GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) * Secrets of the Game Sages (http://www.gamesages.com) Instant legal action will be taken if for any reason I see this work mirrored on any site other than the above sites (which is also mentioned in the Legal Disclaimer and near the end of the document). Please let me know if this work is at another site other than the listed above. This has been a policy ever since I've adopted this and I will always use this policy in my future works. I'm not trying to be mean but for the interest in having only latest versions, this is necessary. I appreciate your cooperation in this matter. As always, newer versions of this FAQ can be found first at my own web site located at http://www.verasnaship.net. If you have any fixes or any other tralala you want to share with me, then use the convenient e-mail form at http://www.verasnaship.net/emailme.html. I grant you permission to e-mail me at the aforementioned URL as described herein. E-Mailing me directly to my mailbox using an E-Mail Client is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. Now please be aware that any fix suggestions are subject to verification. All tactics and strategies will be test-driven by myself. If my analysis comes that the fix suggestion isn't effective and/or cost efficient, it will not be noticed on this document. Both House of the Dead and House of the Dead 2 is NOT SUITABLE for minors under 18 years of age due to very strong life-like violence. This document, like all Video Game FAQs on the Internet, must be viewed in a monotype font or the alignment will not be correct. If the alignment isn't correct for any reason, then please follow these procedures: 1. On Netscape Communicator, click on Edit, then Preferences. 2. Click on Fonts at the Appearance Section 3. At the Fixed Width Font, select Courier New, and select size 10 point font. 4. If you see this sample bulk of writing aligned correctly, please proceed: 1234567890 ********** It is strongly advisable that you *do* view this document through the DOS Application Edit.COM or through the Apple Text Viewer SimpleText for alignment purposes. If you are planning to view this through the Windows Interface, then you are highly advised to open up WordPad and then open up the Text File. Set the font face to Courier New and set the font size to 10. ======================================================================== WHY I HAD TO WRITE THIS BOSS GUIDE FOR HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2? For about 3-6 months, House of the Dead 2 has been released primarily through High-End Arcades (because it's a Deluxe Machine) and the game is 150 times harder than House of the Dead 1 (because the Zombies here are a lot more resilient than in the first one). The bosses can be a real pain mainly because of their cheap patterns that you need to be aware of. The bosses is what generates the income of this Deluxe Machine thanks to their fancy patterns that are hard to anticipate at times. Also contributing to the income of this machine is the fact that many scrubs don't know that the best way to destroy a Zombie is to shoot ONLY at the head portion of their body. I am targeting this guide mainly at Scrubs so they TOO will become cost-efficient marksmen in this game. If there was a real reason why I had to write this one, it's because of Emperor Type Alpha, who's even cheaper than Magician. Thought that Magician was bad? Try Emperor at the end of Stage 6. He makes Magician look like a fudge brownie scout. I highly recommend looking at the PDF Version of this guide since the pictures do more justice than this file. For this guide, I will assume that I'm James Pennington right after the events that are related to House of the Dead 2. ======================================================================== A REASON WHY I WILL NOT BE MAKING PDF FILES FOR HOTD AT ALL Listen, I've been receiving e-mails regarding about releasing PDF Files for House of the Dead and House of the Dead 2. The reason why I have not been able to release them is because I now have a full-time job at Romeoville, IL USA. This means that I won't have a lot of time to spend around the Internet. Another reason why I won't be able to release a PDF version of this Boss Guide is because this game can become boring right after you master this game. I have not been an avid fan of this series because overtime blood can become a bore, and I think that the Zombie theme has been overly used (next to the First Family-protecting manifesto). I have not been playing House of the Dead ever since I've been overdosing myself with other games such as Silent Scope, Crisis Zone, Dark Silhouette, Mr. Driller, and other reasonable arcade games (not to mention that most of the classic arcade games are now available in its entirety for most consoles). This guide will always be here for archival purposes but please keep in mind that I don't want to talk about this game anymore because I am now bored with this one. Whatever you're trying to tell me, PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME E-MAIL REGARDING ABOUT HOUSE OF THE DEAD ANYMORE. It's time for me to move on. But still this guide will be up. ======================================================================== WHO MAKES HOUSE OF THE DEAD (AND HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2) MASTERY POSSIBLE? * Tyrone Rodriguez of Tips and Tricks Magazine (E-Mail Unknown) * Tristan Kinslow (His work is at http://www.gamefaqs.com) * F.Valenzuela * Guy Type R * YC Tan My highest score so far: 96,281, Rank 1 (Only 1 Continue, and that's at Dave and Buster's) My most cost-efficient game: 90,940, Rank 1, NO CONTINUES!!! (AT LAST! This was done at GameWorks) I was expecting a bug-free Ranking list from FValenzuela (His House of the Dead 2 Document can be found at http://www.gamefaqs.com) but since there were some errors, here's the actual ranking list: * Rank 8-Rookie Agent (You suck or played 2-player) * Rank 7-Average Agent * Rank 6-Standard Agent * Rank 5-Leading Agent * Rank 4-Master Agent * Rank 3-Expert Agent * Rank 2-Top Agent * Rank 1-Special Agent (And that's YOUR GOAL) Like House of the Dead 1, House of the Dead 2 has three endings based on your score. I found this out first at http://sages.ign.com, but FValenzuela, Tyrone Rodriguez, YC Tan, and Guy Type R also has it mentioned (Notice that Tristan Kinslow came up with the idea of the Continues determining your ending). Here's the Ending Model: * If you finish the game with less than 80,000 points and if the number of continues end with a 0, you will get the "Goldman is a Zombie" ending. I rarely see this ending now that I can score more than 80,000 points. * If you finish the game with less than 80,000 points and if the number of continues does not end with a 0, you will get the "Usual" ending, with G, Amy, Harry, and the civilians waving at you. * If finish the game with at least 80,000 points and if you qualify for the Rank 1 (Special Agent) rating, then you will get the "Thomas Rogan is waiting for us" ending. Definitely your goal and a must-do for Thomas Rogan fans. A rant about continues: Basically, unless you overcontinue on this game, you should always get at least 80,000 points once you finish the game with only one token since you've been killing punks in the head nearly all of the time and your reflexes were quick enough. The only time you will be able to see the bad ending is when you overcontinued and when the amount of continues end with a 0 when Emperor is defeated. Anyway, if the amount of continues end with a 9 by the time the Continue Screen rings out and if Emperor only has 10% energy left, then just game over the game and start the game all over. I don't think you ever want to see the bad ending ever. Usually, if you have not been overcontinuing (if your continue count is less than 10 as Emperor's life is only 10% or less) near the end of the game, then don't worry about it because you probably will get either a normal or the best ending. WARNING: Dave and Buster's, GameWorks, and Jillian's (I never heard of that name before) tends to overcharge you for a game or two of HOTD2, so be prepared to spend lots of money at these locations. Dave and Buster's: 5.2 Chips for Regular Card Swipes ($1.72), 4.7 Chips for Gold Card Swipes ($1.55) GameWorks: 7.5 Credits ($1.50) per Card Swipe ======================================================================== JUDGMENT TYPE 28 Appearance: End of Chapter 1 and before the bridge at Chapter 5 Defense: Annoyingly high Speed: Slow for Kuarl, big pain for Judgment himself Persistence: Surprisingly Resilient Attacking Power: Annoyingly high At the beginning of the game, it looks like Judgment has already disposed poor G. Not believing on what Judgment says, James and Gary goes to the library regardless of G's current condition. In no event shall the zombies get in their way--James and Gary are skilled fighters. However, it seems that G has been given several punches in his chest by the rude Judgment. G tells James and Gary not to underestimate these enemies, as these enemies are surprisingly resilient. Right after making through the corrupted streets of the city, Judgment feels embarrassed that James and Gary has been able to get past through the Zombies. Judgment then calls on Kuarl to do the dirty work. What a crappy mistake that could be for Judgment... Weak Point ---------- Kuarl can't take any damage. Only Judgment himself can take damage. If you didn't land your first hit by the time Kuarl cut you to smithereens, then you will wonder "Is he invincible?". Attacking Patterns ------------------ 1. Flying in an annoying figure-eight pattern, Judgment's movements are surprisingly fast and free, making himself a hard target to hit. 2. Judgment shouts out GO KUARL and then hides behind Kuarl. Kuarl then HACKS YOU HARD with that damn Axe. 3. Judgment repeats steps 1 and 2 until he takes enough damage. Then Kuarl dies. 4. Judgment will fly in a confusing pattern in the middle (either up or down or left to right) and he will kick you hard on the face. 5. Judgment will fly left to right and deliver a good blow to your face. 6. Judgment will fly right to left and deliver a good blow to your face. 7. Judgment will randomize steps 4-6 until he dies. Boss Tips (This applies to both appearances) -------------------------------------------- It's not a good idea to hit Judgment while he's flying at an annoying figure-eight pattern since he's fast and makes himself a hard target to hit. Instead, just wait until Judgment shouts out GO KUARL and let Judgment have it. Give the smack down on Judgment before he hides underneath Kuarl, this way you can prevent Kuarl from slashing you hard with his battle axe. When Kuarl dies, then he goes through a confusing pattern of flying kick attacks. When he flies from left to right and right into your face or if he flies from right to left and right into your face, try to land a good smack on Judgment before he goes to the next direction. If he has to charge from the center, just concentrate on getting a good shot from just right or left of the center or just at the center. Once you place Judgment to the cleaners, he'll beg Goldman for a second chance. Judgment can't have a third chance when you defeat him for the second time, though. Final comment about Judgment: He may seem hard at first because of the bat's confusing patterns but once you follow this piece of this FAQ as close as you can, then defeating Judgment should be all cake, and you won't be continuing as often as you did. A note from Fidel Estrella: You can shoot Kuarl as many times as you want if you want a higher score. Please be aware that even though you shoot Kuarl, you _STILL_ have to hit Judgment (the purple gargoyle) as he says, "Go, Kuarl". Have a really fast trigger finger if you want to earn a lot of points for this fight. This will also apply to the Stage 5 rematch. To summarize, you can hit Kuarl as many times you want for extra points but remember that you need to hit Judgment as he calls Kuarl to jack you up. As per Tristan Kinslow, YOU WILL LOSE 100 POINTS EVERY TIME YOU LOSE A LIFE SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU HIT JUDGMENT AS HE TELLS KUARL TO DO AN OVERHEAD SLASH. ======================================================================== HIEROPHANT TYPE B 05 Appearance: End of Chapter 2 and at the bridge at Chapter 5 Defense: Moderate (The gills can block his weak point!) Speed: Faster than Chariot in HOTD 1 Persistence: Somewhat Resilient Attacking Power: Moderate So somebody must have been causing chaos at the high seas or possibly at Sunset Bridge. Well all the chaos has been caused by Hierophant, a trident-wielding sea creature who can attack from up close and channel the pirahnas for assistance. In the middle of the conversation, Hierophant is responsible for much of the disruption. James told Amy and Harry that they'll discuss later after Hierophant is disposed of. As per Tyrone Rodriguez of Tips and Tricks Magazine stated out, the battle can take place at different places depending on what route you have taken. Weak Point ---------- The Red Center is the area you have to slam at Hierophant at but his shield-like gills act like an agent that can block a shot at his heart. Since the gills will open and close pretty often, try to slam Hierophant when his red center is exposed. Patterns of Attack (End of Chapter 2) ------------------------------------- 1. Hierophant has a moving pattern that is a lot more confusing than Chariot's from House of the Dead 1. He moves on a zig-zag pattern and when he's close enough, he'll stab you with that damn Trident. 2. Hierophant will repeat step 1 until he loses enough energy. 3. If he loses enough energy, he'll then call out his pirahnas to attack you at all costs. 4. If Hierophant loses more energy or if he runs out of pirahnas, then he'll start his jumping Trident Stab. 5. If the battle takes place at Sunset Bridge, Hierophant will dive somewhere at the water and dive back in the flat air with his damn Jumping Trident Stab. 6. In between Jumping Trident Stabs, Hierophant growls and his gills open and close and when he's ready, he'll repeat his jumping Trident Stab and/or dive into the water and come back up in the air and do his trademarked Jumping Trident Stab. 7. Hierophant will repeat steps 4-6 (depending on the location where you are fighting Hierophant at) until he's toast. Patterns of Attack (Bridge of Chapter 5) ---------------------------------------- 1. Hierophant has a moving pattern that is a lot more confusing than Chariot's from House of the Dead 1. He moves on a zig-zag pattern and when he's close enough, he'll stab you with that damn Trident. 2. Hierophant will repeat step 1 until he loses enough energy. 3. If Hierophant loses enough energy, then he will do his Trident Bomb Attack once again. 4. In between Jumping Trident Stabs, Hierophant growls and his gills open and close and when he's ready, he'll repeat his jumping Trident Stab. 5. Hierophant will repeat steps 3-4 until he's toast. Tips on defeating Hierophant (End of Chapter 2) ----------------------------------------------- This boss shouldn't be that tough. All you have to do while he's trying to get close and do a Trident Stab at you is to continuously slam his weak point continuously hit after hit. If you are good enough to slam his weak point hit after hit, then you don't have to worry about being stabbed or losing any lives. Since his walking pattern is a lot more fluid than Chariot's of House of the Dead 1, try to slam him as early as you can. When Hierophant starts calling out his Pirahna buddies to attack you, don't bother slamming at Hierophant--just prevent the Pirahnas from biting you. After you destroy all the Pirahnas, get ready for the interesting part. All you have to do during Hierophant's Trident Bomb is to slam Hierophant at his red heart before he can slam you with the Trident. In between Trident Bomb attacks, Hierophant will growl. When his red heart is exposed, try to lay the smack down on him. And when he once again does his Trident Bomb attack, slam him before he slams you. Repeat the process of slamming while he's growling and when he does his Trident Bomb attack until he's toast. Tips for the Bridge of Chapter 5 -------------------------------- You shouldn't be taking too long with Hierophant when he destroys the bridge at Chapter 5. All you have to do in Stage 1 is to just slam at his weak point before he can stab you with his Trident. Keep on slamming his weak point continously until he starts his Trident Bomb Desperation Attack. When Hierophant growls, his gills will open to expose his Red Heart. You can injure him while he growls (provided that the shot DID land right at his Red Heart). Now when he does his Trident Bomb, slam him before he slams you. Hopefully, the Chapter 5 battle should be shorter. My final rant about this Hierophant: He's not hard to my tastes. Not even the Pirahnas were that hard. I had a hard time taking him out first but right after finding out the exact strategies to defeat this prick, Hierophant became my second nature. ======================================================================== TOWER TYPE 8000 Appearance: End of Chapter 3 and after you see the Biohazardous Chambers at Chapter 6 Defense: Somewhat high Speed: Somewhat impressive Persistence: Very high Attacking Power: Rather High After rescuing a hostage nearing the end of Chapter 3, you find out that "His friends went outside, but they're not back yet". It's evident that "He told them not to go" as his friends try to escape. Unfortunately, Tower was quick and the dragon has bitten two victims already. Weak Point ---------- Open wide and say ah. Feed the bullets on each of the Tower's heads. The best time to feed them is before they try to bite you. Attacking Patterns (End of Chapter 3) ------------------------------------- 1. One of the SLAVE heads will try to bite you. However, only one slave head will bite you at a time. 2. Once all the slave heads are toast, the master head will then do charging bites at you. 3. The master head will continue to do charging bites until he's no more. Attacking Patterns (The Biohazardous Room at Chapter 6) ------------------------------------------------------- 1. Any of the heads will try to bite you. However, only one head will bite you at a time, sometimes they may try to bite you simultaneously. 2. These heads will repeat the pattern until they are no more. Boss Tips (End of Chapter 3) ---------------------------- All you have to do is to just slam the attacking head before it bites you. Just feed the heads when their mouth opens. You can also try to injure them while they are not attacking but this requires higher accuracy so the best time to slam them is when they are about to attack you. Be careful if more than one head will try to bite you because even though one head has been fed with your shots, the other head will chop off a life away so be ready for anything. After all the slave heads are destroyed, all you have to do is to just feed the master head with bullets AS HE'S CHARGING AT YOU with energy channeling within his head. Again, when he's growling to bite you, feed him with your bullets. Repeat all of this until he's done for. Boss Tips (Biohazardous Chambers at Chapter 6) ---------------------------------------------- All you have to do is to just slam the attacking head before it bites you. Just feed the heads when their mouth opens. You can also try to injure them while they are not attacking but this requires higher accuracy so the best time to slam them is when they are about to attack you. Be careful if more than one head will try to bite you because even though one head has been fed with your shots, the other head will chop off a life away so be ready for anything. There's no Charging Bite Attack this time around so all heads will try to bite you. Slam the attacking head before the head bites you. Once all heads are done for, keep fighting since Goldman is dying to show you his masterpiece. I have no final rantings about this boss but if you have any afterthoughts to share about this boss, please send them. ======================================================================== STRENGTH TYPE 205 Appearance: End of Chapter 4 Defense: Really High Speed: Impressive Persistence: Bad news because of its high resiliency Attacking Power: Average (Can attack close and far range) Uh-oh, Amy and Harry are in deep trouble. Harry has taken massive damage from Strength. Goldman leaves Strength for James and Gary to dissolve as a gift "from Goldman to the AMS". After the destruction of Strength, Amy is OK, but Harry is severely wounded. Harry tells James and Gary to drive the car and to just proceed into Goldman's domain and not to let the AMS down. Weak Point ---------- The head is the weak point of this creature. It's really hard to get those clean shots in since the chainsaw and certain camera angles can block the head shot. Patterns of Attack ------------------ 1. Strength will charge up at you and he will skewer you with his Chainsaw. 2. Strength will chase after you as you travel backwards. If he slices you, he will growl with his head exposed. 3. If you are far away from Strength, then he will throw some weird projectiles at you. And then Strength finds a way to ambush you. 4. Strength will break through from the wall and then he will try to attack you with his chainsaw. 5. Strength has the right to do his Chainsaw Bomb move which he jumps in the air and will do a hefty slash at you. 6. Strength will repeat Steps 4 and 5 until he's near death. 7. Strength will do some desperate Chainsaw slashes at you until he's done for. Boss Tips --------- Now we have a REAL BOSS in the game. He's bad news since he's really fast and resilient. The camera angle and his chainsaw can really block his weak point so try to get slam on his head continuously. For the charges before he throws his projectiles at you, just try to get some clean shots at the head. It's not easy because certain camera angles and his chainsaw will try to block those head shots. While he throws projectiles, all you need to do is to just repel any projectiles he throw at you and just slam him at the head if by all means necessary. When Strength breaks through the wall, you should have a good portion of the head on the screen. Slam his head as many times as you can before he slashes you. The camera angle isn't that bad when he slams through a wall so get some much-needed hits on him. If Strength performs his Chainsaw bomb at you, then it's bad news since he performs the attack rather quickly and it's hard to get a good shot at his head because of the camera angle. Try to slam his head before he lands and then slam on him to keep him away from you. Repeat the above two paragraphs until he begins to do his desperate Chainsaw slashes. When he's near death, he'll become quicker and he'll have more reaction time, so try to get some good shots at his head. Try to slam him before he gets too close to you (not to mention the fact that the closer he is to you, the harder it is to get a clean shot). Be aware that his chainsaw can block a head shot. Once Strength goes down, be proud because you've passed one of the game's tough bosses. Note about this toughie: Guy Type R told me that Strength should be the reason why I'm writing this. However, I don't think Strength is that tough. The only reason why he is difficult is because of his height and his quick movements. The difficulty of this boss depends on how fast you can react and how quickly you can pound his head. As long as you have rescued 3 hostages in this stage, you should be able to fight a Strength that's considered noticeable to my tastes. ======================================================================== MAGICIAN TYPE 0 Appearance: End of Chapter 5 Defense: Somewhat High Speed: Insane Persistence: Very Resilient Attacking Power: Rather High Curien showed Rogan and G this "Masterpiece". However, a bug on the Magician's programming contributed to the death of the master of Chaos in House of the Dead 1. Right after ending the chaos at the DBR Mansion in House of the Dead 1, G took extra notes about the Magician and even spotted the weak points of this cheesey-monster so that his fellow AMS Subordinated would not have much trouble with this interloper. However, it is suspected that Magician ONLY takes orders from either Goldman or Emperor. This could be the reason why Curien died before the final battle in House of the Dead 1. While creating "the ultimate creature that will rule over nature" with the EMPEROR Serum, Goldman realized that the leftover noodles of the serum that created the body of the Emperor would be used to create a more obedient Magician, a far cry from the Magician from House of the Dead 1. Unlike the Magician from House of the Dead 1, the programming for this Magician was perfect. No bugs. The Magician still had a mission: To protect nature and to destroy Mankind. The Magician is also loyal to both Goldman and Emperor (IMO he is more obedient to Emperor than to Goldman). After his completion, Magician went down to confront both James and Gary and pronounced that either he or the Emperor will defeat them. "I have been waiting for this time to come. There's no future for you people. Either the Emperor or myself will defeat you. Either way, there's nothing you people can do." Weak Points ----------- If you have played House of the Dead 1, then the weak points are at the areas outside of the armor (hence, the areas with the Soft Black Wires surrounding it). G has done a good job pointing it out on his Boss File Booklet he gave to both James and Gary back at Stage 1. To be more descriptive, the weak points are at his upper left arm, the lower right arm, the left thigh, and the right shin. About G's discovery on Magician's weak points, You should read Guy Type R's FAQ located at http://www.gamefaqs.com. Patterns of Attack ------------------ 1. Magician turns around and tosses two Fireballs (REPPUU-KEN!!!). 2. Magician charges his left hand and once it's fully-charged, he then performs the Reppuu-Ken with two fireballs that leave his hand. 3. Magician charges both of his hands and when it's fully charged, he then lets loose with four fireballs through an enforced Fire Force Wave. 4. Magician then repeats steps 1-3 until he loses enough energy. 5. Magician then dashes REALLY FAST (This Magician is faster than the Magician in House of the Dead 1) three times and charges from either the left or right side of the screen to deck you with a Dragon Hook. 6. Magician then continues to deck you with Dragon Hooks until he loses more energy. 7. Magician will once again do a turnaround toss of fireballs. 8. And then again Magician will charge up his left hand and then follow up with a fully-charged Reppuu-Ken, letting go of two fireballs. 9. Magician will charge both of his hands for his Fire Force Wave and will toss four fireballs when he's finished charging. 10. Magician will repeat steps 7-9 until he loses enough energy. 11. Magician will then go into his very fast tri-dash and almost immediately deck you hard with his Dragon Hook until he's somewhat near-death. 12. Magician will then fly to a safe spot so that he can begin his desperation attack, which is the Inferno Shower. This Magician only needs a shorter charge time before he lets the Shower Loose this time around. He's a lot harder to hit and you may not have enough time to nullify the entire shower. 13. Magician will then reposition himself somewhere in the air (but not at an area where he can't let the shower loose the sooner the better) and then he will repeat his desperate shower attack until he's no more. Tips on defeating Magician -------------------------- Magician will dash in between attacks so you can't injure Magician while he is dashing. His dashes are quicker this time around and your reflexes need to be persevered if you want to defeat Magician with the least possible quarters onto the Machine. When Magician does his turnaround Reppuu-Ken (Turning around and tossing his fire fists at you), it's nearly impossible to hit him anywhere at his weak points so just concentrate on hitting his fireballs for now. When Magician does his higher-charged Reppuu-Ken (He doesn't turn around but charges his left hand with fire before letting loose), hit him at either the left thigh or the right shin before he can let loose with those damn fire waves. After he throws his fire waves at you, hit the fire waves. The best time to lay the smack down on Magician is when he does his dual-palm Force Wave. When he starts charging, slam him continuously at either his right shin or his left thigh until the Magician says OUCH!. When the Magician says OUCH, then the fireballs are nullified as well. That's great because his fireballs are a lot faster than in House of the Dead 1. Now if Magician loses enough energy, get ready because it's Dragon Hook Time! Magician will make three dashes from left or right and from the left or right side of the screen he will charge at you and do a flaming Dragon Hook at you which will damage both players. Magician will be quicker this time around as he will attack you immediately after making three dashes so you have little time before he decks you. If the Magician's final dash is at the right side of the screen, then you should concentrate hitting him at either the left thigh or at the right wrist. You can also hit him at the Upper Left Arm but that takes more effort. If the Magician's final dash is at the left side of the screen, then you should try to aim and tag Magician at either the Upper Left Arm or at the Upper Left Thigh. You can also hit him at the lower right arm, but that's more effort since Magician charges right at you quicker than he did in House of the Dead 1. Just remember the safe spots to deck Magician at before Magician decks you. Magician will repeat his Reppuu-Kens after losing enough energy for his first time aroundside his Dragon Hooks. Magician will go through a faster chain of Dragon Hooks when he loses more energy through his second chain of Reppuu-Kens. When Magician is getting close to his death, he will start a chain of his trusty desperation attack, called the Inferno Shower. He will fly high in the sky this time around, which makes him a harder target to hit. Magician claims that this position will prevent players from hitting him at his weak points. He has a shorter charge time than in House of the Dead 1 so you need to keep that in mind. While he's charging for his Inferno Shower, I personally would slam Magician at his right shin since other parts outside of his armor is difficult to get a clean shot at (because of the Cam Angle). Don't get careless landing too many shots at his weak points since the shower happens much sooner than in House of the Dead 1. The shower is a lot faster this time around which means that you're not given any time for error as opposed to the first House of the Dead. Reading Guy Type R's and FValenzuela's House of the Dead 2 FAQs, the center (and lighter) shower balls must be completely nullified. Ignore the side Fire Shower since they don't damage you. FYI If Magician's about to be finished with his shower, then don't bother slamming him at his weak points since the shower's also quicker. Right after he does one shower, he will hover either up or down and he will perform another shower. He can't be injured while he's hovering in the sky so keep that in mind. Once he starts the shower again, jack him again at his right shin and when he's about to let the shower loose, nullify the center fireballs. Repeat all of this until Magician is no more and listen to the trash James and Gary have for Magician before Chapter 6. James: "Only man himself can control its fate. YOU'RE NOTHING!!!" Gary: "You're THE ONE who ALWAYS gets defeated, Magician!!!" Final Rant: He might be hard at first but he *should* be second nature if you have defeated him in the first House of the Dead or if you have spent enough time improving your skills. Now here's a state of confusion for me: Guy said that you can score points by defeating the fireballs alone. However, I don't think this will improve your score. It becomes boring and you might waste quite a bit money doing this. You're better off just jacking Magey up at his weak spots before he finishes charging up his Inferno Shower. I don't think that the Fireballs might have an impact on your score--only the Magician has an impact on your score. He's worth about 5000 points so just kiss the Magey's butt as quick as you can. :) ======================================================================== EMPEROR TYPE ALPHA Appearance: End of Chapter 6 Defense: A big pain Speed: Rather insane Persistence: Really insane Attacking Power: Better than Magician's A monster that was programmed by Goldman to rule over nature and to despise Mankind at all costs, Emperor is determined to follow Goldman's idea of restoring order back to Nature. However, he is not completely developed just yet due to the fact that both James and Gary forced Goldman to rush Emperor into the market. Goldman claims that the destruction of Nature's Life Cycle is the original sin that Man has committed. In order to correct these errors, Goldman has created a monster to rule over nature. Goldman has made it clear that this would be the final battle of fate and asks the Emperor to awake so that he (The Emperor) can show his power over James and Gary. Face it. Violence isn't the way to help restore order to Nature. There are plenty of non-violent ways to help restore order to Nature, but I don't think that Goldman's idea of using Zombies to help restore order to Nature is a good idea. I'd rather find a non-violent way to restore nature than to set up some monsters to protect nature at all costs. Weak Point ---------- Reading Guy Type R's, YC Tan's, and FValenzuela's HOTD2 Documents (as well as Tyrone Rodriguez's Tips and Tricks 2-parter HOTD2 Article Coverage), PLUS Game Sages (http://sages.ign.com), YOU CAN ONLY INJURE EMPEROR AT HIS RED ORB-LIKE HEART concealed behind his chest (It's visible so try to slam him only at his orb-like red heart). No other parts of the body will hurt Emperor. Although G has this creature billed as an UNKNOWN (Guy Type R told us that G has never seen the monster before), the Orb-Like Heart is what makes Emperor flash red. Even a beginner would notice this in an instant. Patterns of Attacks ------------------- 1. Emperor will dash rightwards and toss four really fast orbs right at you. 2. Emperor will dash rightwards and toss four medium-speed orbs right at you. 3. Emperor will dash rightwards and throw hard-to-nullify orbs right at you. 4. Emperor transforms all of his orbs into a deadly lance and then he charges right at you, and then does a slash right at your face. 5. Emperor can randomize steps 1-4 until he loses enough energy. 6. Emperor will then begin cloning the orbs into a past boss from Chapters 1-4 by channelling all his stamina into an orb and he will try to jack you with the boss's best attacks. 7. Emperor will transform all of his orbs into Strength: Overhead Chainsaw attack. 8. Emperor will transform all of his orbs into Hierophant. Jumping Trident Stab. 9. Emperor will transform all of his orbs into Tower. Twisting Neck Bite Attack. 10. Emperor will transform all of his orbs into Judgment. Gargoyle Charge Attack. 11. Emperor will randomize steps 7-10 until he's near death. 12. Emperor will transform into a confusing droplet of plasma and orbit around the screen. He moves back and forth to inflict heavy damage at you. 13. Emperor will continue to move back and forth as a plasma droplet until he's done for. Tips on defeating Emperor ------------------------- During his Orb Toss attack, all you have to do is to slam Emperor as many times as you can at his red orb-like heart until he starts throwing a range of orbs at you. When he starts throwing orbs at you, concentrate on nullifying the orbs so that they don't hit you. During his Spear Charge Attack, try to slam Emperor as many times as you can before he transforms the orbs into a stabbable spear. When he charges at you, slam on Emperor's Red Orb Heart continuously. If you can slam the heart before he slices you, then you don't have to worry about losing too many hit points. When he loses enough energy, then you will have to deal with his intense Orb Metamorphosis Attacks. He will transform the orbs into either Tower, Strength, Hierophant, or Judgment by channelling some of his energy into the orbs to give the orbs the will to morph into a past boss. When the orbs transform into Strength, try to position your shots in between the head and the hands that are holding the Chainsaw. This way you can guarantee that you will repel the orbs by the time Strength comes charging at you. When the orbs transform into Tower, try to position your shots *a little bit* to Tower's right side, but make sure that the shots are at the same height as Tower's mouth because the only way to injure Tower (as you recall from Chapter 3) is "Open Wide and Say Ah". If the timing of your shots are correct, then you should be able to repel the orbs. When the orbs transform into Judgment, try to hit Judgment fairly close so that you can repel the orbs. Among the four metamorphic forms of the Orb Attacks, this form is probably the toughest to repel due to his tricky movements. When the orbs transform into Hierophant, all you have to do is to just slam at his weak point before he stabs you with a Jumping Stab. This is definitely the easiest way to repel the orbs. Timing is everything while repeling the orbs and if you can repel the orbs, you'll also injure Emperor (since he needs to use some of his vitality to give some life to the orgs). Once you've repelled his orbs long enough, he'll transform into a droplet of moving Plasma Energy. This is probably the most frustrating attack Emperor has. Your best bet is right after he starts his Plasma Ball Attack is to slam Emperor as many times in the overly-exposed Red Orb as much as you can. Be careful because the Orbs spin around like an Orbit and will block an entire shot at the Red Orb. If you hit the Red Orb enough times, then you won't sustain a hit. Emperor will go back and forth and charge at you with his Plasma Ball Attack until he's no more. The best way to dispose Emperor from the start of his Plasma Ball Attack is to slam his weak point continuously from the start of his Plasma Ball Attack. When you landed enough hits to prevent Emperor from attacking you, slam his red orb again (He should be close enough) and he shouldn't be that tough. Note about such hypothesis by G: I found it quite laughable to see that G doesn't know anything about Emperor. You can see his weak point exposed from the start of the battle and it's kind of noticeable because once you hit him at the red orb, then you know that it's his weak point. However, I thought that Emperor will not be losing energy while you repel his orbs in Stage 2 of his attack but later on when I got better in the game, Emperor began to lose it if I had to repel the orbs from him. In other words, Emperor has two weak spots: His heart, and when you repel his morphing orbs. Basically, on the final stage, you can just slam at the Emperor continuously (he always loses energy every time you hit him) without slight penalty. You can just finish the Emperor quickly if you have a good accuracy rating and a quick trigger. He won't get hard on Stage 3 unless you take too much time to defeat him. ======================================================================== SOME RANTINGS House of the Dead 2 isn't too difficult. The only difficult aspect of the game is to get used to the confusing patterns of the Zombies and the Bosses. Once you learned how to defeat Zombies without wasting too much time and bullets and once you memorized the patterns of the bosses, then it's all second nature. The only reason why you should be wasting too much money on this game is mainly because of the gun. The gun tends to break down at certain times of the game so there may be times when your performance is not up to part. The bosses, while seemingly cheap, are not too difficult. You only need to study their patterns and improve before you dish them out blatantly. They only make themselves difficult because either you didn't take time to nail them before they nailed you or because you are trying to take too long on a boss fight. If you have any more rantings to share, please do so. ======================================================================== JUST A REMINDER... Again, this FAQ can only appear in the following sites: * Verasnaship Interactive (http://www.verasnaship.net) * GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) * Secrets of the Game Sages (http://www.gamesages.com) This is strictly enforced. If you see a copy of this FAQ other than the sites listed above, please notify me PDQ. Thank you. The latest version of this FAQ can always be picked up at my website first (http://www.verasnaship.net) since I run that website and I always post them instantly right after finishing a version of my FAQ. GameFAQs does a good job keeping the files up-to-date at all times and is regarded as the most visited "stable" for FAQ-related walkthroughs, original work, and the like. Secrets of the Game Sages is a "Code-related" partner to GameFAQs since both GameFAQs and Secrets of the Game Sages share the same information, links, and tricks-to-date. From time-to-time, I might elect to do PDFs on certain games. You can always get the latest version at Verasnaship Interactive (that's my website) and I'm planning to give GameFAQs my permission to mirror my PDFs in the near future. A few things to keep in mind: * DO NOT PLACE THIS FILE IN YOUR WEB SITE. Only the sites that are listed are allowed to place this file in their sites. * You can make a link to my FAQ Library Page. The only rules that I would like to enforce is that you link ONLY to an HTML or an Interactive Web Page. The link to this page is: - http://www.verasnaship.net/text/arcade.html For more details regarding about this matter, please visit the following URLs: = http://www.templetons.com/brad/linkright.html (Brad Templeton's Linking Rights Essay). ======================================================================== SUGGESTING SUGGESTIONS AND OTHER TRALALA Sending UCE to any of the mailboxes that I have is not tolerated. Period. I report any incidence of spamming by checking the header on where you originated the message at and then report the incidence to the server you originated your message at (which is more likely to get you in deep trouble) or I can just slam you by sending complaints to the following: The server you originated the message at, to your provider, or possibly the Free-Mail Service that you use. Don't spam me. It's not worth it. See http://spam.abuse.net to see why it's bad. ======================================================================== RESOURCES OF THIS DOCUMENT * Tips and Tricks Magazine, courtesy of Tyrone Rodriguez (Exact Date and Issue Number Unknown) * Tristan Kinslow (His FAQ can be found at http://www.gamefaqs.com) * FValenzuela, YC Tan, and Guy Type R (Their FAQs can be found at http://www.gamefaqs.com). * Secrets of the Game Sages (http://sages.ign.com) ======================================================================== ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS * AM1 for creating a Light Gun game which requires fast reflexes. * Tyrone Rodriguez, FValenzuela, Tristan Kinslow, YC Tan, and Tips and Tricks Magazine for useful House of the Dead/House of the Dead 2 Mastery * Dave and Buster's and GameWorks for 50-inch versions of House of the Dead and House of the Dead 2. AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you are hungry, I would go ahead and eat something before playing this game. I would eat a Salad or anything that provides Vitamins A and B before playing this game. And only Dave and Buster's and GameWorks have restaurant-type food that you can eat in the event you become hungry. * Enchanted Castle Pizza for their past stocking of the 27-inch version of House of the Dead. * Great Odyssey Naperville for being the first arcade to have House of the Dead at display. * Myself for the many test runs while fighting the bosses of the House of the Dead * Fidel Estrella for pointing out a high-scoring trick during the fight against Judgment * GameFAQs for being the largest stable of original work * Kao Megura for being the most prolific FAQ Author * The guns themselves for making me adjust to much of the Calibration change in the game, requiring me to persevere game after game!!! Now I realize that I only need to point the lens outside of the screen to reload!!!! NOT BAD AT ALL!!!! This document is dedicated to the loving memory of Princess Diana of Wales and Fashion Designer Gianni Versace. We need to stop destroying people for a stupid reason right now. ** END OF DOCUMENT AND ONE LAST WARNING ** This Electronically Published Document is copyrighted (c) 1999 Mark Kim. All Rights Reserved. This document is protected by applicable copyright laws and international treaties. Unauthroized reproduction, retransmission, and/or a breach of copyright, partial or full, may result in civil and criminal penalties and is subject to maximum punishment and prosecution to the highest extent possible by law. Please credit Mark Kim as Vesther Fauransy where credit is due. This document is the sole property of Mark Kim. House of the Dead and House of the Dead 2 (c) Sega. All Rights Reserved Kim.