_ _ _ / \ __| |_ _____ _ __ | |_ _ _ _ __ ___ / _ \ / _` \ \ / / _ \ '_ \| __| | | | '__/ _ \ / ___ \ (_| |\ V / __/ | | | |_| |_| | | | __/ /_/ \_\__,_| \_/ \___|_| |_|\__|\__,_|_| \___| |_ _|___| | __ _ _ __ __| | | |/ __| |/ _` | '_ \ / _` | | |\__ \ | (_| | | | | (_| | |___|___/_|\__,_|_| |_|\__,_| |_ _|_ _| | | | | | | | | |___|___| Boss FAQ Author: The Spelunker Copyright, 2003 - 2008. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: This FAQ is non-profit. The only site that has permission to use it is GameFAQs.com. Any site that uses this guide without written permission from the email address: lance3335@gmail.com, is breaking copyright law. The only conditions under which you may use this FAQ are for personal and informational purposes. TABLE OF CONTENTS: I. Version Info II. Introduction III. Basic Tips IV. Bosses I. VERSION INFO: Version 1.1 - corrected e-mail, rewrote some of the guide Version 1.0 - first submission II. INTRODUCTION: A boss is encountered at the end of each island. Losing to a boss means you will have to complete two stages in order to face it again. This can be potentially devastating on some of the more dangerous islands, so take the fights seriously. They can be tough. Contact: lance3335@gmail.com III. BASIC TIPS: - When you see a fire flower that you can't pick up, know that a groundhog is about to charge you from the left. Be ready to leap over him when he comes. - Always keep an eye on your food meter. It's okay to proceed cautiously in levels; in fact, I encourage it. But you need to be ready to make a break for it if you start to run low on food. - Never turn the NES off. Beating Adventure Island II in one sitting is pretty miraculous, but you can divide it into multiple sessions by leaving the console on. Your data won't be saved if you turn it off completely, though. - High-flying birds will sometimes carry dino cards; don't neglect them. - Frogs will only jump towards you if they're purple or blue. Frogs also stop moving, briefly, after making two jumps. IV. BOSSES: ((Island 1 -}Pineapple{-)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description: A large, yellow pineapple that spits out green circles, which, in turn, create vines. Difficulty: * out of ***** Attack: Spits green circles, which craft vines and spin at you when they come close. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy -- This is a large, yellow pineapple. To defeat him, you are advised to stay away from the green circles at all costs. If you have a dino here, you are in good shape and can take a hit. However, you may encounter some problems without a dinosaur. In this case, start the fight by jumping on the lowest platform. Once there, start to pelt the pineapple's large, middle, circular extension with hammers(you should have them at this stage of the game). Eventually, the green circles the monster is spitting will reach you. From here you have two options. Option A is the most effective and dangerous, whereas option B is slower but safer. a) Stay on the bottom platform, but only if you have confidence in your aim. You will have to beat back all four of the excretions when the pineapple releases them. However, you will be in an ideal spot to launch your attack from. b) When the green circles come near, go below the platform and take out the right circle first, then hop on the first platform again and take out the left. The two upper circles will probably come close to you now(they spin towards you diagonally usually), so be prepared to dodge, or mount the second highest platform and launch an attack from there. ((Island 2 -}Hermit Crab{-)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description: A medium-sized, sea green shell. Difficulty: ** out of ***** Attack: Fires small brownish-red balls, often in amounts of two. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy -- As you enter the boss area, you'll notice it's underwater. The entrance to it is much like the cavern water areas from before. However, there is one noticeable difference. There are stalagtites on the bottom level as well as the top. Make sure to avoid these. Proceed to the first bubble and trap yourself inside of it. Don't worry because the crab won't attack you in the first bubble, but the second is another story. After the first bubble is gone, approach the boss from the right of the second bubble(avoiding the bubble at all costs), then swim backwards when it opens its shell. At this point you can begin damaging the boss from the relative safety of where the first bubble was. He opens his shell at set intervals, then spits balls of damage towards you--this is your chance. I like to swim just below the middle of the screen before the crab peeks out of its shell. That way I can swim up to avoid the damage everytime, while tossing my axes at him. You could also go from top to bottom, but it's up to you. The Hermit Crab isn't terribly difficult once you how to beat him. ((Island 3 -}Anteater{-)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description: A bluish, scorpion-like creature that dwells in quicksand. Difficulty: * out of ***** Attack: Fires small brownish-red balls(one when Anteater is blue, two when Anteater is red) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy -- Beating Anteater is actually pretty easy. However, don't let yourself sink in the quicksand as you enter his lair. Upon entering, mount the lowest platform by jumping on it. Anteater appears from the sand for brief momements. When he does this, he will fire one ball of damage, then vanish. So you have to be quick if you want to hit him. This ball of damage is fairly easy to avoid even when you're in the sand--provided you keep your body from sinking. However, if Anteater appears on top of you when you're standing in the sand, it's game over. Knowing this, wait until Anteater fires his ball of damage, then immediately leap down and throw hammers at him. Leap onto the lowest platform when he vanishes and repeat. After a good many hits, Anteater will turn red. At this point he will start firing two balls of damage and disappearing almost immediately. afterwards. Capitalize on this by jumping into the sand after the first shot and unloading on him. Jump over the second ball of damage and mount the platform once again. Anteater will eventually die. Easy, huh? ((Island 4 -}Octopus{-)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description: A relatively small, purplish-blue octopus. Difficulty: *** out of ***** Attacks: Fires small brownish-red balls(one when blue, two when red), summons icicles to fall from the ceiling ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy -- Octopus is a very formidable foe, especially after the unrelenting trials of Ice Island. When the battle starts, walk towards the far right side of the screen, ignoring the platforms for now. Octopus will now appear, so go to the left platform, jumping on the bottom platform first. You should note that all of the ground here is icy. Also, the icicles at the top will reappear everytime Octopus teleports from right to left or left to right. Steer clear of these icicles and be aware that they do fall. The objective is to go from the left platform to the right platform, hitting Octopus with axes while dodging his energy balls and the icicles. Everytime Octopus disappears he is preparing to appear on the platform opposite the one he was just on. Knowing this you should be prepared to jump towards the platform he is disappearing from and continue your assault. However, don't push it. If there are still icicles hanging around, or if you missed the jump, stay calm. You can just rest at the bottom of the screen until Octopus' next disappearing act, then commence. This fight is difficult and losing it is VERY annoying, so do your best. ((Island 5 -}Giant Bat{-)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description: An odd-looking, blue bat. Difficulty: ** out of ***** Attacks: Fires small, brownish-red balls(one when blue, two when red), spike traps on floor ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy -- After the maliciously challenging trials of Cave Island, assuming you didn't skip it by using the Lava Cave secret, Giant Bat is a pretty easy boss. Watch out for the spike traps as you enter and mount the right platform. Giant Bat will appear on the far left first, then the middle and, finally, the right. However, when he appears in the middle, he will actually be under the middle platform. So, the middle platform will be your escape path during the whole fight. You can jump on it to avoid damage balls, switch sides or just get a better position. It's easiest to hurt Giant Bat when he's in the middle because you can unload on him from either the right or left with a 100% hit ratio. This battle shouldn't be terribly tough, but you may have to start over once. If so, you have my sympathy. ((Island 6 -}Hawk{-)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description: A blue hawk that fights you in mid-air. Difficulty: (with flying dino) ** out of ***** (without flying dino) *** out of ***** Attacks: Fires small, brownish-red balls, clouds(platforms you're standing on) constantly descend ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy -- If you don't have a flying dino here, this fight will be a bit more difficulty Most people will have a flying dino because that's the easiest way to get through Cloud Island. A high-flying bird in the first level carries the dino egg in case you're wondering. (with flying dino) Start the fight by jumping on the farthest right platform, right in front of Hawk's face. From here, you can hit him constantly while your dino companion does the same. You should be able to kill him before he can even get two shots off, if you're quick enough. Make sure not to fall as the clouds descend, though. (without flying dino) Okay, this will be a little trickier. You won't have the added firepower from flying dino, and you won't have the protection either. The best platform for you to operate from is the mid-left. You will have a pretty consistent hit rate if you choose to set up base there. Make sure to continually leap up as the clouds fall, and continue to pelt Hawk with axes. Hawk will probably miss a lot, but the rare shot can come dangerously close, so always be on the move. Try to stay calm so you don't fall. ((Island 7 -}Scorpion{-)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description: A blue scorpion with an oblong abdomen Difficulty: ** out of ***** Attacks: Fires small, brownish-red balls(two when blue, four when red), spike traps on floor ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy -- To defeat Scorpion, I prefer to go the slow, methodical route rather than charging him. This entails waiting in the lower left corner for the duration of the fight, dodging balls of damage and only attacking Scorpion when he appears on the lower platform. While this might be a little less efficient than attacking him on both fronts, it is a lot easier and you never have to worry about the spiked floor. Scorpion starts out by only firing two balls of damage, but when he turns red watch out because he fires four balls, now. You shouldn't have too many problems,although sometimes the damage balls come incredibly close to each other, and you will have to make a very small jump to avoid them. After beating Scorpion, you will reach the final island, Dinosaur Island. ((Island 8 -}Larva{-)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description: A large, green mosquito-worm hanging from the ceiling Difficulty: ** out of ***** Attacks: Fires small, brownish-red balls(two when blue, four when red), spike traps on floor, acid dropping from ceiling ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy -- Larva is the first of the two last bosses. He is the easier one, and you only need to operate from three of the four platforms to kill him. If you don't have an axe, jump up and get the visible one as the fight starts. Larva will appear in the upper-right. Jump onto the mid-right platform, but stay on the left edge of it. You can nail Larva really good from here, then fall back onto the lower platform when he starts to fire damage. After firing his two shots, Larva will disappear. He is going to appear in the lower-right, so mount the far left platform and start tossing axes. Make sure to avoid his damage, then repeat the process when he teleports to the upper-left next. Larva shouldn't be too much trouble, but make sure you're in a safe place after you beat him because next is... ((Last Boss -}Fly{-)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description: A rotund, blue fly Difficulty: **** out of ***** Attacks: Fires small, brownish-red balls(two when blue, four when red), spike traps on floor, acid dropping from ceiling ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy -- Fly is, by far, your most difficult boss yet. As such you should remain calm and repeat the following steps methodically. Fly, unlike Larva, appears in all four corners of the room. This makes him extremely challenging, and you will have to make use of the entire room you're in--while avoiding the dangers--in order to claim victory. Fly will appear in the upper-right soon after you beat Larva, so wait for him on the mid-right platform(left edge). Nail him with axes, then back down like before. Fly goes to the lower-right, then the upper-left and finally the lower-left. Here is a small illustration to help you: (_) = small platform (__) = large platform (_A/B_) = first number is the number of the location; second is what location can be attacked from there; if a number stands alone, it is the location number. (3/1_) (_1/2_) (_1/4_) 4 (_) 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Congratulations! You have beaten the game. Higgins has rescued his girlfriend and all is well. They're enjoying a nice day on the beach, and I hope you enjoyed this walkthrough.