Sword of the Berserk FAQ/Walkthrough (actually some hints)
"MICHAEL LO"
Sword of the Berserk can be really difficult especially on
the harder settings. I hope that my faq (if you can call it
that) will be helpful.
NOTE THAT THIS FAQ CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS
The Attacks:
Since I played Sword of the Berserk on a friend's DC, I can't
readily recall the letters of the buttons but here's what the
buttons do and I probably don't have the right terminology.
Oh well, you'll know what I mean once you play.
-sheathe/unsheathe sword: this lets you put away your sword and
you'll be using your fists and crossbow instead. You move faster
when you're not carrying about Dragonslayer. Drawing your sword
can harm your foes if they're within range
-weapon: hold this button down and press the corresponding buttons
to use items from Gatts's inventory. Limited items have the
oppurtunity to be restocked under certain conditions.
-guard/cannon: this will put you in a guard stance protecting you
from many types of attacks. When you hold the weapon button, you'll
fire your arm cannon. Also guard allows you to use slide kick and
sidestep/retreat
-attack 1/throwing knives: when Dragonslayer is equiped, you'll do
a vertical slash that can result in a 5-hit combo, when unarmed this
is your punch which can do a 3-hit combo. When you hold down the
weapon button, you'll hurl a throwing knife
-attack 2/smoke bombs: with Dragonslayer equiped, this'll be a horizontal
slash that can be made into a 3-hit combo, unarmed you'll use your
crossbow. Using weapon will result in Gatts throwing a smoke bomb
-jump/healing powder: use this to jump (Gatts is a surprisingly good
jumper) and holding weapon will use your healing powder.
The Weapons
Dragonslayer-this is Gatts's main weapon and the weapon of choice for
hand to hand. Because of his wild swings, Dragonslayer can easily
nail enemies trying to surround Gatts and knock projectiles out of
the air. Also the Dragonslayer is far more damaging and lengthy compared
to Gatts punch attacks. The only time you'll want to avoid using
Dragonslayer
is when you're fighting in extremely tight spaces (even then Dragonslayer
can still be semi-useful) or need to run. The biggest problem with
Dragonslayer
is that it'll tend to strike walls in confined space and you move slower
with it.
Note that your slashes are more damaging if you are moving than if you are
stationary so try not to stand still if you can help it.
Fists-because of Gatts's superhuman strength and the fact that one of his
hands is steel, his punches are really strong. However they don't come
close to being on par with Dragonslayer in terms of damage or range. Also
he can only hit enemies directly in front of him so avoid going bare-knuckle
if you can help it.
Crossbow-with Dragonslayer out of the way, Gatts will fit a rapid-fire
crossbow on his steel arm. Because of the magazine and winch, the crossbow
can shoot quarrels very rapidly. Best of all is the fact that Gatts has
unlimited ammo with the crossbow. Also crossbow has a fairly decent
auto-aim
and Gatts will fire it in a slight spread. The weakness of the crossbow
is that it has a fairly long reloading time when the magazine empties, also
the quarrels don't have knock-back and will only stall an enemy for a short
time so it's not effective against groups. Also individual quarrels are not
powerful and so you must use a full magazine to do real damage. Best used
for
sniping or shooting foes who have been knocked down.
Throwing Knives-Gatts has an unlimited number of these as well. He can't
throw
them as rapidly as he can shoot the crossbow but he doesn't have the
reloading
delay. Also the throwing knives are fairly damaging and they have the same
auto-aim feature as the crossbow. The Throwing Knives are best used for
some
initial sniping damage before getting ready to go hand to hand, also you
can throw a knife at downed foes for extra damage.
Smoke Bombs-these create a very powerful explosion that's more damaging
than even the Dragonslayer. While they explode immediately if they hit
an enemy dead-on, there'll be a delay before an explosion if it just hits
the ground. Great for hurting the masses, only problem is that the limited
number of bombs you have
Arm Cannon-Gatts's prosthetic arm has a cannon built into it. It fires
an insanely powerful blast that kill normal opponents and severely injure
Bosses (except for Zodd). The cannon blast has a wide arc and so you
can take out more than one with a single shot. You unfortunately have
even less cannonballs than smoke bombs
Healing Powder-magic Elf dust that will instantly bring Gatts to full
health. Like the Cannon, you have a very limited supply of these so
use them sparingly.
To restock your limited supplies, some enemies will drop items and also
some boxes/doors will have items when you smash them. Also clearing
an area will not only replenish your health but may restock some items.
So don't be too miserly with your weapons.
The Moves
-Slash 1: this is a vertical slash that can nail people behind you
as well. The slashes are rapid and you can get a nice 5 hit combo.
The power is less than that of the horizontal slash but when you're
fighting bosses, the quickness of these slashes will help prevent them
from counterattacking. Also this slash is more useful in close-quarters
as you are less likely to hit walls. Last but certainly not least,
Slash 1 can be used to hit downed foes. Remember for Slash 1 & 2 you do
more damage when you are moving than if you stand still and attack.
All slashes with Dragonslayer will cause Gatts to move forwards so keep this
in mind, getting out of position at the wrong time can be dangerous.
-Slash 2: this is a horizontal slash. The damage is powerful and the
wide arc is great for dealing with crowds. Unfortunately the swings
are quite slow and you can do a maximum combo of 3 slashes. This is
attack though is perfect for large numbers of weak or medium foes.
-Punch: unarmed Gatts will do a right-left combo ending with an uppercut,
effective against single foes that lack long attacks. One nasty tactic
is to punch an opponent down and then use the crossbow on the downed
foe until it's dead
-Double Swing: hold slash 1 for a bit and then release. Gatts will
spin forwards twice and he'll cut through enemies around him for
sizeable amounts of damage. Not only that, but the double swing
even works in close quarter fights and will knock down most foes.
When you are charging for the Double Swing, Gatts will move even
slower than normal.
-"Get out of my way!!!": press jump and slash 1 together and Gatts
will do a double swing without charging. This will cause the screen
to flash and he'll yell "Get out of my way". The thing is this will
use up health but you can't die from using it and you can use this
attack even if you have just a bit of health left. One tactic is
when you are badly hurt and heavily surrounded is to keep using this
until all the enemy are dead and then heal yourself.
-Jump Slash: just press jump and when you're coming out of your jump
hit a slash button. You'll do fairly good damage plus knock down
most foes. Can nail downed foes
-Leaping Dual Slash: press jump and on your way up hit Slash 1 and
hit Slash 1 again to get the 2nd slash out. This move resembles
the Dragon punch of Street Fighter and is very devastating, the
2nd slash in particular. Can nail downed foes with the 2nd slash
-Shoulder Charge: when you're unarmed, hold forward and hit punch.
You'll push forward with your shoulder and will instantly knock
over most enemies. You won't go far forwards though so keep that
in mind.
-Slide Kick: hold forward and guard. Gatts will slide quickly
and will knock over most foes. This only does a little bit of
damage (though it'll kill mandragora saplings instantly as does
any attack). Best used for escape
-Sidestep/Retreat: hold joystick to one side and guard, Gatts
will do a quick sidestep that, while hold back and guard will
make Gatts leap back. These moves can quickly can Gatts out
of danger especially when going one on one, so they are quite
useful.
Enemies
-knights: the only danger they present to you is that they
come in large numbers and can do a combo on you with their sword
-crossbowmen: these guys are annoying as they like to run off
and snipe a few shots at you. They'll avoid close combat but
will occassionally swipe you with their crossbow. Their crossbows
aren't rapid fire like yours though
-swordsmen: these soldiers carry two swords and can do large leaps.
They always use combos to attack you so watch out for them.
-assassins: guys with hats and fancy clothes, they attack from
long range with these bladed yo-yos. However if you close-in they're
a push over.
-halberdmen: these are gigantic knights who use large halberds. Their
halberds are as long as Dragonslayer and cause heavy damage. Worse
yet, they can do this 3 swing attack. Best to block their 3 swings and
counter or kill them from afar.
-bandits: spear wielding wusses who are fodder for your sword. From
a distance though, they have a nasty habit of throwing axes at you.
Close in and they're toast
-normal mandragoran-these aren't all that dangerous other than spitting
slime at you. They're the guys with a tentacle in place of one arm
-head-handers: these giants have a huge head mounted on one arm. They
take a lot of punishment and will try to run you over. So watch it.
-3 headed giants: luckily these guys aren't too common. They are extremely
hardy and will flail away at you with long tentacles.
-tentacle ladies: I really hate these. They take incredible amounts of
punishment to kill and have long ranged attacks with their tentacled
heads. Worse yet, they can strangle you for continuous damage and
are often located in tight corners limiting Dragonslayer's effectiveness.
-squatties: these mutant midgets just flail at you but sometimes they
do this whirling rush that is quite fast. So beware.
-Fat ladies: these mandragorans in white aprons will puke up slime
and belly bump you. Fairly hardy.
-Mandragoran soldiers: these are giant mutants in plate armour. They're
tough and strong and can hurl barrels at you. To make matters worse, they
are often backed up by crossbowmen and halberdmen. Just great
-mutant dogs: they are fairly easy to kill but can clamp onto your leg
so take some precaution
-mutant turkeys: these guys are a joke to kill. They will try to rush
you from a distance, but avoid it and they're simply swordfodder as they
lack endurance
-mutant bears: these are another matter entirely. They're strong and
can squish Gatts. They take a lotta hurting to kill. Buggers
-mutant frogs: I hate these guys. They take only a swipe to kill
but because of their small size, it's hard to nail them. Also like
to pounce on your back and clamp on you. Kill 'em if you have to
but I usually just run off
-slithers: these are very rare. They're these low to the ground
tentacle monsters that really easy to kill. Unfortunately their
blood is acid so beware of splattering them too close
-ground clams: they don't move and are easy to kill. Only dangerous
because you're under pressure from other things and so might blunder
into 'em. When you do they bite your legs and hold you for other
monsters to pummel you.
-saplings: these guys are the wussiest monsters in the whole game.
Even a slide kick will instantly kill them. Unfortunately they're
so small they are hard to hit. Also they come in large groups dropping
from the skies. Worse still there's no limit to them. So you have
to eventually run off.
-zombies: these guys are a cakewalk. Kill 'em at your leisure as
they are slow as hell.
-ghosts: they disappear and reappear at will but a single swipe
will dissipate them.
Walkthrough:
Prologue
You'll fight a large group of bandits. If you just really on using
Swing 1, you'll have the chance to Berserk. Otherwise they die
off too quickly on the easier levels.
The real beginning
After the cool, yodelling gunslinger theme score you get to fight
a boss
BOSS
Jacques
Poor Jacques, he doesn't mean to be harmful as he was just protecting
himself from others. Unfortunately he met you.
-killing Jacques is easy. You can block all his attacks except for
his tentacle grab. If you just use Swing 1, he won't have much
oppurtunity to attack if he does at all. If you use your arm cannon
on him, the fight will be almost over
-later a bunch of FMVs you'll have to battle a group of mandragoran mutants
the toughest of which are the head-handers. After killing these guys
you must find Casca
-to find Casca you must follow Rita's dog. Unfortunately he leads you
through a gauntlet full of soldiers. Making matters worse is the tight
areas. Remember that the dual swing can be effective still and don't
forget about smoke bombs. Move about looking for the dog and once
you've killed enough foes you'll be able to find Casca.
-after the FMVs with the resistance you'll get to fight a whole slew
of undead. Kick them around at your whim.
-Next you are on a mission to find the heart tree in the Mandragoran
village. You'll have to beat a path through a forest of mutant animals
and then you'll have to take on an army of bandits. Close up the
bandits are no match but many of them will be sniping you with throwing
axes so remember to dodge or block. Kill 'em all and you make your way
to the mandragoran village. On the way you have to take on a trio
of 3-headed giants and their cronies
At the village someone will pull out a sapling and this will kill your
party members and awaken the villagers. Fight time.
The meanest mutants here are the head-handers and the fat ladies. Luckily
you'll have plenty of oppurtunity to go berserk. Make use of that.
Also there are plenty of boxes that might contain items to resupply with.
So leave one mutant alive until you restock yourself and then kill it.
FMV follows which send you down the church looking for the heart tree.
This time things get real annoying. First off break through the
slithers that block your path. You'll plummet through a hole in the
ground and end up in a pit with 3-headed giants, mutant frogs and
saplings. Unfortunately the saplings keep raining down so you must
escape quickly. Keep wandering about the pit (I recommend increasing
the brightness or contrast for this), you'll find a tunnel leading you
out. Now you have to brave a gauntlet of ground clams, that'd be easy
enough but unfortunately if you aren't moving constantly forward,
an earthquake will drop a ton of rocks on your health weakening you and
possibly knocking you into the clams. Making things even worse is the
3-headed giants lurking about. My advice is to jump through and attack
the clams only if they are in your way. When you reach a doorway covered
with vines, cut through and go on.
The Boss
The Heart-tree
Now before the actual fight you must survive 3 time trials. Fail
any and you instantly perish. If you survive, you now fight the Heart-tree.
The Heart-tree is actually a really easy boss. It consists of 3 parts-
the flower/heart and two vines. The vines thresh about constantly trying
to whap you but the damage they're easily avoided and the damage isn't
too severe. You can nail the vines with the leaping dual slash and use a
combo
when the vines rest on the ground. The Heart-tree will attack with
an unavoidable sonic shriek and dislodging the roof on you. Annoying
as these are, they're not that damaging. Destroy both vines and now
the flower/heart is vulnerable to attack. You can move up to the heart
and combo it. It'll try to defend itself by sweeping with a large
tongue-like
appendage or spinning its petals about but these are nothing.
You can take a small breather and watch the FMV. I suggest you take a
break because you now face...
The Boss
Nosferatu Zodd
Errrr, this is the boss to beat. Zodd is simply the meanest, toughest
boss in the whole game by far. On easy mode, you can try to trade blows
with him and save yourself with berserk mode and healing powder. But
hard and very hard mode is another matter altogether.
BEATING ZODD ON HIGHER LEVELS
You must be methodical. First off Zodd has incredible strength and he's
pretty darn fast. What really makes things suck is that he is extremely
resistant to your attacks, even the arm cannon only does wimpy damage.
Since damage is severely reduced what this means is that Swing 2 does
no more damage than Swing 1 or most other attacks. To harm Zodd means
you must get in a lot of attacks rather than just one big strike.
-taking him on. The first blow does the most damage so start off by
firing your cannon at him. Move about him and use up all your cannon
shots, once you do so I suggest you throw all your smoke bombs at him
FROM SAFETY. That means throw your bombs only if you face his back
or flanks from a fair distance. Once you use up all your exhaustible
weapons, I suggest either using your throwing knives or crossbow.
I'd prefer the crossbow as it shoots multiple quarrels. If he closes
in on you then use Dragonslayer's Swing 1. As always make sure to
be in a safe spot. Now as for trying to stay safe, here's the following
tips. You can block Zodd's tail swipe and his slap combo, but his
backhand, horn gore, grabslam, leap attack and punch ending of the
slap combo cannot be blocked. If you stick to Zodd's side that is
missing the horn, he cannot use the horn gore or grabslam on you.
Zodd will wind up before using his tail swipe so you can read
it and block before countering it with Swing 1. If he uses his slap
combo, he'll stand up and so watch out as the combo does the most
damage and is really fast. What you should do is block and then
sidestep away from Zodd so he won't get you with his unblockable
punch ending. The punch comes from his horned side. So stay on
his hornless side but not too far to the side or he'll nail you
with the unblockable backhand. Also watch out when he poses and
roars, that means he's going to go for either a leap attack, horn
rush or slap combo. As much as possible stay near the centre of
the battlefield. If you are too close to the wall or other objects
you might not be able to sidestep away. Also because of camera
angles, when you are backed up against a wall, Zodd can move up to
you and obscure your sight with his bulk, which is really disorienting.
Probably the most amount of damage you cause to Zodd will be through
using up all your cannon/smoke bombs and going into berserk mode
then going all out with Swing 1. If you have to go hand to hand
stick to Swing 1 as every other hand to hand attack puts you at
great risk (not to mention doing little damage).
If you defeat Zodd then congratulations, now you face even more
shit. Now you must face a huge legion of soldiers who now have
the halberdmen and mandragoran soldiers. Hopefully you have some
continues left. Anyway, kill only as many soldiers as you need
to before continuing. Once you reach an area blocked off by
a wall of wooden spikes. Shatter the wall and kill all the soldiers.
In this area there's a stairs that leads to a wooden door. The wooden
door houses a healing powder if you need it. Shattering through, you
now get to battle a host of awaken mandragorans since you're now in
the dungeon/laboratories. This is where you'll be introduced to
the tentacled ladies and squatties. You'll learn to hate the tentacle
ladies especially when fighting them in the laboratories. Slaughter
your way through and you now enter a hall. The hall is guarded
by soldiers and the old man assisting Belthazar (is that the guy's name,
I can't remember). The old man though he is not a boss has phenomenonal
endurance and he's quick and packs a crossbow as well. I suggest isolating
him in a corner and keep hitting him while he's down until he's dead.
With luck the other soldiers won't help him. Kill everyone with the focus
being the annoying halberdmen and now you meet...
The Boss
Mandragoran Belthazar
He has imbibed the Mandragoran essence in his bloodthirsty madness and is
now more than human. Well so are you so no need to fear. Belthazar will
come at you with his two halberds and because of his skill with them you
won't be able to block his attacks. No matter, that's becasue Belthazar
likes to leap around and often has his back to you. This gives you ample
oppurtunity to backstab him. Once you're berserk, have at him and soon
he'll be lying in a pool of his own evil blood
Unfortunately now you meet...
The Boss
Mandragoran Heart Baby
This evil bugger has Casca. Since the bum likes to float upwards I suggest
you use the leaping dual slash until he comes to the ground then you can
nail him with combos. The baby will protect himself by sonic shriek and
when his health is low he'll try to grab Gatts with his fronds. Oh well
this boss ain't much. Having rescued Casca, you now face
The Boss
Demon Belthazar
(final boss)
That evil bastard, he has sacrificed his wife to the behelit and the
demons of the netherworld. Belthazar has now been made into a disciple
and so he's one ugly demon. Unfortunately for him he's one ugly and
IMMOBILE demon. Don't be intimidated by his looks just throw everything
you got at him. He tries to use his halberds on you but since he's immobile
it's easy to evade them. The only danger is he tries to suck you into
the mouth of one of his demon heads. I'm not sure if you can avoid the
sucking vortex but you can endure it with the help of healing powder.
Get ready to see the FMV, the credits and then the finale involving a
certain character from the comics.
