Tail Concerto - Strategy Guide (Page 02)

Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for Tail Concerto - Strategy Guide (Page 02).

   Ok, sports fans. This is the first major challenge area of the game. If you aren't
careful or accurate enough, be prepared to use quite a few whistles here. Various perils
such as dangerous jumps, tanks, and other threats will test the Robo's limits. Keep your
nerves steady cuz here we go.

Factory West Side 1- The door is locked (big surprise) so Waffle suggests using the pipe to
 the left of the entrance. The pipe will begin to flash when you approach it, jump on and
 hoist the Robo up. Jump off to the right when you reach the top and you will land on a
 platform above the door. Walk a few feet and you reach a group of pipes. This is the
 first series of many difficult jumps you will make here. Climb on the first pipe and
 slide to the right just a bit, calculating where the next pipe is and jump off with the
 X and right buttons. If successful, you grab hold. If not, then watch out below!
 From here, have the robo face in a south-east position from Pipe 2 and jump towards
 Pipe 3. Here nudge the robo to the "bottom pipe platform" where a bone awaits. Take it
 if you made several errors while jumping. Grab hold of the pipe near the bone and nudge
 the Robo in a northeast trajectory with the following pipe. Jump off and cling to it.
 A solid platform with a door is found when you leap from this final pipe. Land and go
 through.

Factory Passage 1: Here you see 4 Red Vests...and 2 Tanks! These tanks slowly move across
 the floor while the guns home in on Waffle and shoot out Skull bombs his way. Unlike 
 other Skull bombs, these explode on impact with Waffle or the floor. There are two ways
 with dealing with these tanks. Take the long and hard path by using bubbles *OR* if you
 are daring and lucky enough, place yourself between two tanks and they will accidentally
 fire bombs into each other while trying to hit the Robo. Once these bad boys are
 destroyed, the Blue Overalls kittens piloting them will be exposed and you can nab them.
 With all the kittens captured, the left-hand door is unlocked. Go through.

Factory West Side 2- Pipes and a bone (in case the tank battle was hard) to the left of
 you and a elevator platform to the right. If you try to climb the pipes from here, the
 scalding steam coming from the vents will damage you. First go up the elevator platform
 and headleft. You find a red valve there. Use the Circle button near it and Waffle will
 turn the valve, shutting off the steam in a vent above you. Head back down and climb the
 pipe with the vent. before reaching the steam vent, carefully turn to the south-west and
 jump to the next pipe. Swing around in a space where the steam won't hit you and climb
 up. Once out of the steam's range, swing to the north-east and jump back to the first 
 pipe and climb on up. The next jump is a bit tricky. You must face in a spot between
 north east and east itself (tough to describe, huh?) and leap to the pipe that had the
 steam shut from the valve. Climb until you find another platform with a door. Enter.

Factory Assembly Line 1- Jump onto the treadmill and immediately get off at a solid
 catwalk located south at the end of the treadmill. If you keep going down, you find a
 much-needed First Aid kit. Go back to a wall with a shutter in front and jump up, the
 Robo will latch itself to the railing roof. Carefully swing through the roof while
 avoiding the steam bursts from the vents. Wait until the vent in front of you stops
 before going further. When you see a solid catwalk below you, press X to let go.
 Another treadmill, going in the opposite direction is here, with steel pounders going up
 and down trying to flatten unsuspecting Robos. Carefully walk and keep momentum on this
 opposite-motion catwalk while avoiding the pounders. When you reach a pounder that has
 landed, keep holding the right button and once it starts to go up, try doing small jumps
 to give you a bit more boost. When you reach a solid space, you see ahead a broken
 treadmill. If you stay more than a second on top of these broken platforms, they will fall
 with you on them. Jump and move across them until you reach a high ledge. If you are
 lucky, you landed on the third broken platform and is ready for a final jump to the
 ledge. Hoist the Robo up from the ledge and you reach a door. Go in. 

Factory Passage 2- Again you face 4 Red Vests and 2 Tanks. Use the same strategy as
 explained above. Head right when the doors unlock.

Factory East Side 1- Go the rightmost pipe and you find a platform with a Food Can. Take
 it if your HP is low. Then go left. Hoist up this pipe and jump off when you face west.
 Climb up Pipe 2 to have a clear jump away from the steam vents and jump off when you
 face westward. Jump from Pipes 3 and 4 also facing west while avoiding the steam. When
 you are finally on Pipe 5, you see platforms coming in and out from the wall. Jump as
 soon as the first platform starts coming out and quickly move towards the second platform
 part. When Plat. 1 start to move back in, jump towards the incoming Plat. 2. Do the same
 while moving to Plat. 3 and you find a solid platform when you get off. A bone nearby 
 will replinish your energy. More pipe-climbing action awaits! Here, check the design in
 the center of the platform and move towards the center of the upper "cross" and carefully
 face right. Here, use the R1 button to have the Robo move towards the edge. Take "manual"
 control from hear and jump off! If you did it correctly, the Robo will latch onto the 
 pipe. Climb up and up until you see a pipe to the left. Jump off from a south-west angle
 and climb up Pipe 2. Here, swing until you face west and slide down until you land on a 
 tiny pipe platform. It will be easy to jump to Pipe 3 from here. Here will one of the
 toughest jumps. Face the west and jump in a north-west angle and you might catch hold of
 Pipe 4. When you do, a platform with a door are here. Go in. Rejoice as these are the
 last set of pipes with sky below as your challenges!

Factory Assembly Line 2- Three treadmills are here. The first one goes up so keep moving
 down to avoiding falling at the top. The second treadmill goes down and will contiously
 drop Skull bombs with short fuses on you. My advice is go compeltely down on the first
 treadmill just near the edge. Face right and as you automatically go up, jump towards the
 second treadmill when you have a clearing between bombs. The next treadmills also goes
 up, but with a tank on the solid platform next to it! However, this tank is colored 
 purple so it doesn't move and only fire. These tank-types are compeltely automated so no
 kittens to nab when you destroy them (The orange-hued tanks however are controlled by
 Blue Overalls kittens). It will be a challenge to attack it while you're on the treadmill
 so keep moving down when you reach the top of the treadmill, shoot bubbles with no
 stopping and avoid the skull bombs it shoots. With the tank destroyed, climb any of the 
 two pipes you see up. A treadmill with bombs going down is at the top. Wait until you
 have a clear jump and go for it. Next you have a platform with a railing the Robo can
 latch on below. The trouble is if you try to jump onto it when you are below or above
 the range of the platform, you will not be able to. The trick is to move up the
 treadmill, jumping over the bombs until you are at the exact center of the treadmill and
 stay there. Soon the platform will come and you can latch on to its bottom. Ride it out
 and drop when you reach a stable platform with a ladder. Climb up and you find a First Aid
 Kit. Take it and wait until the top of the sliding platform comes towards you and get on.
 When you reach the opposite side, you find a door protected by another Purple Tank.
 Quickly get out of its range and get on the platform it's on. Move around it as you blast
 it with bubbles and it will be destroyed in no time. Go in through the doors.

Factory passage 3- A trio of Red Vest and a Trio of Orange Tanks are here as your final
 threats before goin further. Go through the final set of doors when you clear the room
 of the kitties. Here there is a box and a ladder. Break the box to get a Food Can and 
 climb up the ladder to the Top Floor.

Factory Top Floor- Waffles notices the Black Cat Mecha-III on his arrival to the top.
 He deduces they just keep rebuilding the robots he scraps. Before he could ponder some
 more, Blue Overalls kittens riding Planes appear. Waffle then chooses to destroy the 
 Mecha first before it becomes operational. A boss fight begins!

FOURTH BOSS: UNFINISHED BLACK CAT MECHA

   This is possibly one of the easiest battles if you keep your wits about you. The Mecha
 itself does no damage but the Planes dropping Skull bombs do. You can't damage the
 planes even if they get to your level. Just avoid them and their bombs. Also, a wrecking
 ball in a crane will ride around the floor attempting to drop the heavy iron ball on
 Waffle. Since it is so slow and with the ball's shadow visible, you can easily avoid it.
 However, the impact of the ball landing will send out a shock wave that Waffle must jump
 over or it will damage the Robo. 

    You can damage this Mecha by either Bubble Blasting it or grabbing the Skull bombs
 and chucking them at the Mecha. Just keep an eye out for the wrecking ball and planes,
 and leaping over the shockwave. When the Mecha blows up, it damages the entire Top Floor.
 Taking the Planes and the crane out of commision!

   Amidst the rubble of the Top Floor and dazed kittens, a voice laughs at Waffle from
 afar. The voice is impressed at his "entrance" and will keep an eye on the cop. Waffle
 demands the voice to show itself and we pan to a purple balloon in the distance. The
 occupant goads Waffle to catch him (you already know who *this* is) and the dog-boy
 obliges. We now head towards the Secret Base.

*******************
*   SECRET BASE   *
*******************

Entrance- A view from afar show this to be an island occupied by a giant cliff with two
 waterfalls at its side. Upon landing, Waffle suggest to save and I suggest you do it too.
 After braving the dangers of the Factory and what will happen soon, it is imperative you
 save! After doing so, Waffle walks towards the entrance and a trap door opens up beneath
 him!

Cellar Entryway- You really won't get hurt when you land but the "voice" will taunt Waffle
 for coming. He then says he will be waiting for the cop in the study on the top floor...
 if he can make it. Brush off that threat and climb up the pipe towards a door above you.

Piston Room- Pistons repeatedly going up and down as elevators are your only way of
 getting to the next door. But your "friendly ally" camera will make going through this
 room a tough one. Not to mention constant steam vents blowing the scalding stuff
 everywhere. Wait until the initial steam vents stop until going towards the main piston
 area. Carefully get on one of the first pistons and accurately do a short jump
 towards the next one despite the bad camera angles. Keep doing accurate small hops and
 you reach the door. If this gets frustrating and you get scalded a few times, there's a
 First Aid Kit here to heal up.

Cellar Chamber- For lack of a better name, this is the Cellar Chamber. When you enter, hit
 the pink panel and it will turn green. Get on the piston and go up. A chain-link platform
 will move from side to side here. Grab hold of it when it is near and swing until you
 reach an extension of another chain-link platform if you move fast enough, you latch unto
 this new platform before the one you currently are on moves back towards the piston. From
 here, move left and up (while avoiding a steam vent shooting steam up) until you reach a
 hidden alcove with another panel. Smack it and the platform you were recently on begins
 to move. Get on it and ride while avoding the three steam vents towards the "front below"
 area where a stationary chain-link platform awaits. get on this one quick and swing
 towards the door at the end. Before you leave though, get a good head start in the small
 break of the platform near the door and leap. You will be on top of the platform and you
 can grab hold of a Bone, Whistle and Food Can respectively. Just avoid the vents!

Heat Panel Chamber- The entire floor of this room has red hot heat panels that will harm
 the Robo and make it jump if touched. There are two ways of going about this chamber. Use
 the moving platforms to ride it through to the next door *or* take punishment by leaping
 *INTO* the heat panels until you reach platforms near the door. Your choice. There is a
 Food Can and a whistle lying around here as well. Once you head through the doors at the
 other side, the real danger begins...

Danger Room 1- When you enter, the voice commends Waffle on reaching this far...and 
 presses the Self-Destruct switch for the base! You now have exactly 5 minutes to find
 your way out or else you will find out really if all dogs go to heaven (bad pun again)!
 From here go straight towards the pipe and climb up towards the sliding platform. Wait
 until it fully extends before jumping  towards another sliding platform. Move north to
 another pipe. Jump towards its curve and you land a firm area. Climb up the pipe to
 find another platform with yet another pipe to climb. When near the top you see an
 elevator platform move up and down with steam vents  shooting out at random. Carefully
 jump on and avoid the vents. Keep moving and you see another elevator platform with more
 steam vents. Carefully jump here and avoiding being steam sprayed. You don't want to head
 back all the way down! From here, ride up to reach one final elevator platform. Once at
 the top of this one, walk towards the door.

Danger Room 2- Here you must make your way through the sliding platforms while avoiding 
 gigantic spiked balls on pendulums. Should they hit you, you get knocked down the floor.
 Don't fear because a ladder leading back to the start of this room is nearby. Just 
 remember you are on a timer so be careful. Wait for opening between platforms and
 pendulums and you will make it. A bone & First Aid Kit will tantalize you nearby. If you
 have more than 3 minutes left on the clock, you can be daring and get them. If you make
 it, head through the doors.

Danger Room 3- This is short but tricky. Climb up the ladder and you will see spiked 
 panels coming in and out of the wall. Stand close to the edge of the first panel when 
 it extends and start moving when it is both moving back in and where the spikes don't
 hurt you. You will make it across all four panels easily if you keep moving. Once out
 of harm's way, climb up the pipe (if you go all the way up, a whistle will be waiting
 for you at the end of the horizontal curve), and land on top of the fourth spiked panel
 as it extends out. If you move quickly you will make it across the other three before 
 they all move back into the wall. Leap from the first panel and you will land on the
 platform with doors. Go in.

Top Floor- You may be at the study but of course your "host" is nowhere to be found. There
 is nothing of value here except books (and a picture of your host). Go quickly through 
 the other set of doors since you are still on a timer. Once you go out here, you escape
 from the base in the nick of time as it explodes.

  As Waffle escapes, the purple balloon piloted by Fool (if you didn't guess he was the
"voice", then you have trouble...) is seen. He commends Waffle's luck and vows they will
meet again. Congratulations my friend! You have passed one of the hardests "arcs" of the
game. Time to relax with something a bit simpler now. Here you return to the map. Head to
Porto.

Porto Return 4- When you go to the airship this time, a message from Russell comes 
 through. He wants Waffle to meet him at the Ferzen mine and hangs up before Waffle can
 answer back. The dog-boy reluctantly agrees to go with the hopes he can take the
 Crystals for analysis. Here, the next "arc" begins.

***********************
*   ROUTE TO COOLANT  *
***********************

Ferzen Camp- Talk to Russell at the entrance. He was searching the Giant's head and wants
 Waffle to go see a man named Gray, who has translation references Russell wants. He also
 says they don't get along well so he wants Waffle to do it for him. Gray, he says, is
 doing research in the northern island of Coolant. Before leaving, Waffle gives Russell
 the 3 Crystals to check them out. Russell says these crystals were made with the same
 technology as the Giant. A connection perchance? Perhaps. For now when the conversation
 ends, head back to the airship and go to Coolant. It's way up north on the map. You
 can't miss it.

Coolant Main Area- This place looks more like a floating iceberg than an actual island.
 When you land, you find the Black Cats already here as you face 2 Red Vests and 2 Blue
 Overalls-driven sleds with Black Shirts on top. Use the same strategies you used against
 the Ferzen mine chariots here. Once kitten-cleared, enter the doorway in the middle of
 the island.

Gray's Shack- As Russell says, Gray isn't too hospitable and asking him for the references
 will result in nothing. However, if you get all the kittens from the island, he might be
 more willing to help. Head out.

Coolant Main Area Return- Before reaching the doorway at the far end, 4 Blue Overalls
 Balloons show up. Unlike their Archeonis cousins, these do fire Skull bombs instead of
 firecrackers and you can still damage them with the spinning Robo Arms. Get rid of them
 and their pilots and enter the far end doorway.

Inside Iceberg 1 - This is the only area of the game where Red Vests fight back! If you
 leave them be for too long, they begin to make snowballs on the ground and throw them at
 you. If they land on the floor, they will roll and get big. If these snowballs collide
 with the Robo, you get damaged. Get all 6 Red Vests before they start making snowballs.
 If one already holds a snowball and you grab it, the snowball the Red Vest was holding
 wil be thrown and you get hurt. Wait until the Red Vest throws it and dodge or jump out
 of the way. With the kitten pack gone, you can go on ahead. Hmm...another broken crystal
 pedestal is here. That means you must get every kitten to get the Crystal they stole.

Inside Iceberg 2- 6 more Red Vests with snowball throwing abilties are here. The walls
 surrounding this area are covered with spiky icicles so stay clear from them. Once you
 nab the final Red Vest, you get the Yellow Crystal. Go back to Gray.

Gray's Shack Return- Gray reluctantly congratulates you on your feat and gives *YOU* the
 references and not really to Russell. Talk about a rivalry! Well, you got what you came
 for so head back to Ferzen and Russell.

Ferzen Camp- When the references are delivered, Russell will solve more mysteries of the
 Giant. He will pronounce his findings when they both return to Porto.

Porto Return 5- At Waffle's house, Russell arrives to unveil his research on the Giant.
 From how the parts found in Prarie and the ancient civilizations at war to actually
 what the Crystals were used for. In a dramatic anime sequence, we learn how the ancestors
 of Prarie's people made the Iron Giant as a weapon to aid them in the war with the other
 civilization, but the Giant was too strong to be controlled and destroyed them all. The
 survivors took to the skies and waited for the Giant to sleep. When they did, they took
 from the Giant its power source, the *FIVE* Crystals and scattered them. Hopefully to
 make sure nobody would collect them and reawaken it. Still in the cutscene, we cut to
 Waffle and Russell as the dog-boy deduces that the Black Cats apparently want to reawaken
 the Giant. Before anything else happens, an explosion rocks the peaceful island and we
 see the same Airship Fortress that we saw during the beginning of the Ferzen episode with
 Terria attacking Porto! We close in on the ship to see the sisters (with Flare back) at
 the helm. Alicia boldly demands Waffle to surrender and return the Crystals. Waffle
 knows he can't do that and takes to his airship to stop them. In pure cinematic fashion,
 he zooms in on the Fortress and flies around its side towards the back, ending the anime
 sequence. The final battle with the Black Cats Gang is about to take place!


*******************************
*   ROUTE TO FLYING FORTRESS  *
*******************************

Flying Fortress Backway- Waffle lands here and swears he will stop Alicia. Before going
 inside, head back to the ship and save. Go right in afterwards.

Fortress Passage 1- Upon entering, Alicia talk to Waffle through an intercom and a shutter
 opens up above the doors on the other side. 7 Planes fly out. With such a multitude of
 planes tossing bombs and with the tiny space you're in, you're bound to lose some HP if
 you aren't agile enough. Capture the 7 Blue Overalls pilots and the door below the
 shutters open.

Fortress Hangar- Well, seems we found the hangar where the Planes are. They are all lined
 up ready for you to Bubble Blast them to scrap. Unfortunately, 2 Purple Tanks are here to
 guard them from saboteurs. Also the Planes still will damage you if you walk into them.
 You can destroy the tanks right away or have their bombs accidentally destroy the planes
 or themselves (if you're fast enough) for you. With the tanks and planes gone, head
 through the doors the tanks were posted at.

Trapdoor Passage- Do you see the grap squares on the floor? If you step on them, they open
 up and you fall the floor below. If that happens, just climb the ladder nearby and you'll
 be back at the Hangar. This passage also has 3 Purple Tanks that will try to blast you
 into the trapdoors if you aren't careful. To make matters worse, cat bombs are also
 present and will run after you, pump themselves up and explode just like in the first
 boss battle. Try running along the safe areas of the floor while blasting the tanks.
 You can try grabbing the cat bombs and lobbing them at the tanks too, but with constant
 running, it will be hard to aim. When the tanks are gone, go through the doors or go
 back down to the cellar to grab the many power-ups and the whistle here in case you got
 hurt. Once back at the passage, both tanks and bombs will be gone.

NOTE: A new strategy I learned is to "lead" the cat bombs by having them follow you and
 stop around a tank. When you stop, the bombs will stop, pump and detonate, damaging the
 tanks! Of course, you'll take some damage, but this kamikaze strategy will mostly drain
 you out of 30 or 40% of energy rather than countless higher percentages if you just blast
 them with Bubbles while avoiding the trap doors!

   When you enter the next passage, Cyan comes charging in from behind and decides to
 go on ahead of you. (On a side note, how did Waffle know of Fool? The only instance when
 he even heard the name was in the conversation with Flare. Guess the scriptwriters made
 a goof. But eh, why should I nit-pick?) When he goes through the next door, you hear
 his bloodcurdling scream, kitten voices and plenty of explosions. He then goes out,
 bruised of both his Robo and ego. He claims he was ambushed and his Robo breaks down.
 Leaving Cyan to rest nearby, Waffle goes on ahead.

Fortress Passage 2- Cyan may have been ambushed but he possibly might have cleared some
 of the enemies here. You fight here 6 Orange Tanks. These move unlike their Purple
 versions so keep moving, blasting with bombs or trick them to fire at each other.
 Capture their kitten drivers and go on through.

Fortress Underside- You are now underneath the Fortress. Jump up from where you stand and
 you will latch onto a chain-link platform. While swinging, you see short-fused skull
 bombs falling down on top of the platform and detonating. Keep moving to avoid having
 them blow up on you. Once you a solid platform below you, drop down immediately. You'll
 have another chain-link fence with more bombs here. Use the same strategy and you reach
 a platform with doors.

Fortress Ramp Complex- This is place is truly a puzzle. If you are below a ramp, giant
 cannonballs will roll down the slope attempting to squash the Robo. Go up the ramp on
 head to the left. From here go down the next ramp and go through the door on the right
 ( to Waffle's immediate right from this point). Then go all the way up the new ramp to
 the doors in the middle.

   Upon entering, the "voice" (Fool) talks through speakers and congratulates Waffle on
 making it this far. He then apparently says he will defeat you personally and the boss
 music starts up...only for it to die down and the "voice" saying he won't defeat him
 after all and leaves! Waffle goes through the door as he hears an explosion. He then sees
 that his section of the Fortress has been detached from the entire ship! As the back part
 of the Fortress explodes, Waffle manages to get to his airship and leaves.

  We then cut back to Porto with Waffle safe. He wonders where the Fortress went and
decides to investigate. Talking to a Dog-lady outside tells him that the Fortress flew off
to Airleaf. Hence, that's where we are headed for.

Airleaf- Upon entering, Waffle is talking with Dr. Jones and learns the doc has seen the
 Fortress. Dr. Jones then installs on the Robo his newest invention, a Fortress Detector
 which will show the Fortress on the map. He also fixed the jet-pack to hold more power so
 it won't break down as quickly as it does. You finally can be able to explore Airleaf
 better (for the photo-pieces of course) or go straight to the map to find the Fortress.
 On the map, you see the familair cat-headed ship. Land there.

  Before Waffle even arrives, we have a small anime cutscene with Alicia in her room
holding the same blue pendant she recieved from Waffle many years ago (or in the first
cutscene of the game. You make the call). She holds it close to her and sighs. Guess she
is not as tough as we thought. She then gets startled as the door opens and finds no one
there.

Fortress Backway- As Waffle enters he is resolved to capture them, but has worries if he
 is doing the right thing. He enters. Pass through this small area to the next doors.

Fortress Arena 1- Just as soon as you enter you find Stare & Flare waiting with a strange
 looking mecha that has the cat's head, a magnet for one hand, a mallet for the other, and
 two legs. Flare says they must fight. Waffle tries to talk her out of it but she is
 adamant in her resolve to do what Alicia says. Waffle then asks Stare if she will fight
 and she says she wants him to "show his beliefs through his actions" (very cryptic words
 from her...). "Prepare" she finally says and that's what you must do. The fight begins!

FIFTH BOSS: BLACK CAT MECHA-X ("Magnet/Mallet" Walker)

   This fight is possibly even harder than the one with the Mecha-III. The boss has three
strategies and that's all it needs to put Waffle out of commission. When Flare says "Here
I come!" she starts up the magnet and attracts the metallic Robo to her. Hold down the
direction button opposite to the attaraction of the magent to avoid getting pulled in
close to the Mecha. While the magnet is on, and even if you are near or close, Stare will
pound the mallet down with her "Yah..." towards the ground. If it connects with you, it
does *MASSIVE* damage! Even if it doesn't connect, the pound sends out 3 shockwaves like
the wrecking ball back at the factory. The shockwaves can hit you up to three time if they
hit. To avoid them, jump as soon as the first shockwave is almost beneath you and start to
flutter, you will avoid all three of them with this move. Stare may pound the mallet once
or twice depending if you are far away from the magnetic field.

  When the magnet turns off and the mecha walks, the mallet may continue to be pounded.
Soon, the cat's head will begin to move and the mouth opens. Flare says "Fire!" and a
cat-headed homing missile will shoot out directly for you! This missile will prove to be
a hard weapon to avoid at any time. You can try to fake it out by jumping aside as soon as
it nears you (but it's tricky) or you can actually wait until it's close and accurately 
grab it before it hits. If successful, the missile will take the Robo around the arena
in a crazed path. When you have the Mecha in front of you, let it go and it will explode
on the Mecha.

  After the missile is launched, the magnet will be turned on again and the pattern will
be repeated. This will be a long and hard battle if you use only bubbles, but if you are
careful enough to avoid the magnet and mallet, and successful in grabbing the homing
misssiles, you'll pull through. 

NOTE: A new strategy I found is to be extremely far away from the Mecha when the magnet
 turns on and immediately hold down the R2 button (backwards motion) while facing the
 Mecha. The robo will be able to avoid the majority of the magnetic pull and be drawn to
 it at a very slow speed. While holding the button, start blasting with the bubbles.
 However, once you see the mallet start to lift, be ready to jump and flutter. If you are
 too close to the Mecha even with the R2 Button held, revert to manual directional button
 movement. 

   With the Mecha destroyed, Flare asks if they will be arrested and Waffle answered he
 will wait for the day they become friends with the Dog-people. The two girls soon leave
 with a final word from Stare that they will meet again. Two down and one to go! Go on
 through the door and leave the arena.

Fortress Passage- When you enter you see a box shaking in the center. Head to it and it
 starts to hiss and explode. High on a beam, Panta appaears and does another explosive
 victory pose. Another failed ambush attempt it seems. When he comes down to talk, he
 mentions Alicia possibly behind the door in front. Save right now and take the First
 Aid Kit from the box in the corner. After fighting that Mecha piloted by Flare & Stare,
 you need it! Once you are ready, head to the door and voices will be heard.

Fortress Arena 2- Alicia is talking with Fool here with the latter having a plan to both
 destroy Waffle and get the Crystals. Alicia seems hesistant until Fool reminds her of 
 their deal. The Crystals will be the key to create a homeland for Cat-people, just what
 Alicia wants. Waffle immediately burts in and Fool introduces himself (here is the
 formal intro to his name unlike earlier with Waffle & Cyan...), and Waffle recognizes
 the name as that of a illegal relics merchant. He tries to sweet-talk saying he is a
 "warrior for Cat-people". Alicia then gets defiant and has Fool leave so she can take
 of Waffle herself. When he leaves, Waffle tries hard to make her stop becuase she's being
 used, but she doesn't listen and is ready to fight. The second boss battle in minutes
 starts now.

SIXTH BOSS: BLACK CAT MECHA-X mk.ii (Megaphone/Mallet Walker)

  Seems Fool made two walkers for the gang and here's the second. However instead of a
magnet, this one has a megaphone for a hand. You may think without magnet capabilties
that this fight will be easy right? Not a chance. If you see the megaphone reach the
Mecha's head and you hear static, DODGE LEFT OR RIGHT IMMEDIATELY!! Alicia will send out
powerful insult soundwaves that does huge damage. (She packs three different insults, by
the way. But you'll have to play the game to know what they are). The soundwave doesn't
do as much damage as a direct-hit mallet pound but it's close! Aside from the megaphone,
she also pounds the ground with the mallet sending shockwaves (you hear her gibberish)
and of course shooting the homing missile when the cat head opens and she yells "Fire!".

  Same strategy works here. Move to avoid the mallet and jump & flutter to pass the
shockwaves. Avoid the missile or be lucky enough to catch it and throw it back. Just
remember you have to avoid the soundwaves from the megaphone too! Depending on how fast
you move and fire the Bubble Blaster, this one should be easier than the  first Mecha-X
battle.

  When the Mecha explodes, Alicia gets thrown out rather painfully. Waffle pleads with her
to stop, but she still is no mood to talk and feels hurt. The arena roof opens and Alicia
flees via a balloon piloted by Fool. When the two leave, the Fortress starts to self-
destruct and Waffle hightails it out of there. Once on his airship, the Fortress starts
to explode and is no more. The Black Cats Gang is officially destroyed...but what about
the Priss Sisters and Fool?

*****************************
*   AFTERMATH OF FORTRESS   *
*****************************

Porto- Waffle is back here and ponders over Alicia and wishes things between them could
 be like before. He resolved to go look for her. Back on the streets, talk to a fat 
 Dog-man and he will tell Waffle about a story of his past involving a certain Cat-girl.
 After this dialogue, we now know just why she hates Dog-people so much *and* why she was
 crying in the first anime sequence of the game. Arriving at his airship, Waffle recieves
 a message from the Chief congratulating him on breaking up the gang and to go look for
 the 3 sisters, who fled in seperate balloons. That's Waffle's new mission. Time go to
 find them. Head to the map.

Ferzen- No sisters or airships here.

Airleaf- Nothing here except Dr. Jones and the jet-pack.

Coolant- Gray is still researching here. Besides, it's too cold.

Egg Stone- Nothing but the enigmatic relic. Hmm...two places left...

Grimto: A-ha! A blue airship is seen. That means Stare is here. Simply head right to
 the broken pedestal passage and she is there. Up to the point, Stare asks Waffle what
 he thinks of Alicia. Stare goes on to say how Alicia feels and how her heart aches over
 her youth (Remember the story of the dog-man in Porto) and asks if he is capable of
 healing that pain. He is doubting but says he's a good listener. He tells if there is no
 way to talk about your feelings that it will be painful. Stare admits his honesty in
 return and agrees to follow him. They both return to Porto.

Porto Return- Waffle lets Stare stay in his room despite being small and she comically
 responds to his words. He then goes to find the rest. Already there is one last place
 to go.

Resaca: You probably wouldn't come back here right away since it has been a while since
 Waffle came here. Anyways there is a yellow airship which indicates Flare's here. No
 Flare at the harbor or in the Central Plaza. Going up the tower to the ruins also shows
 nothing. There are two places to go now. The locked house in the middle of the Plaza or
 the servant's entrance found aside the doors in the Downtown district. Either door you
 choose you will lead to the same thing. A ladder going down where you see Flare in the
 corner. (Note: choosing the servant's room entry will lead to a group of pounders you
 must carefully watch out for. The other entry will give you a clear path).

   Waffle now talks with Flare. She is saddened over everything and wonders if she is
was wrong in follwing Alicia's mode of thought that Dog-people would harm Cat-people.
Waffle restates his claims that they don't hate each other at all like he did at their
prison chat. She agrees and Waffle takes her back to Porto.

 NOTE: You can take either one of the girls in any form you choose. You can get Flare 
first in Resaca and then Stare in Grimto or do what I wrote above. Getting Flare first
provides a less-humurous reply that the one Stare gives. For laughs, bring the silent
middle sister first. Either way, it will take you to the next step.

LAST WARNING: If you need to find any more photo pieces, do not find the second sister
 yet becuase from here on, the game will take over.

  With the two younger Priss girls reunited Waffle wonders about Alicia. Nighttime soon
arrives to Porto and Alicia appears pacing back and forth in front of Waffle's house until
she finally knocks on the door and he answers. He brings her in to see her other sisters.
They tell her Waffle brought them here and she seems quiet and softspoken. He then 
announces he will talk to the King and Flare gets scared if they will go to jail. He says
to not worry if they feel sorry and pay for the damages they caused. Even after the talk,
Alicia still looks quiet. Stare asks what's wrong and Alicia just silently says she's 
fine. Waffle proposes for them to rest. During the night as Waffle sleeps in the Robo's
garage, he feels the presence of someone who was there and finds the Crystals gone! We cut
to the outside with Alicia running towards her airship and apologizing for what she did.
Waffle then appears and sees her balloon flying off and calls her name in vain. (RPGs, eat
your hearts out!)

Egg Stone- We cut here with Alicia arriving and running up to Fool. She gives him the
 four Crystals as her promise. He cackles and says his plan is finally coming together.
 Alicia yells that he should escape since Waffle is on his way, and the arrogant cat-man
 says with ultimate power there is no need to run to Alicia's surprise. Waffle then
 arrives a moment too late. In one of the most dramatic anime sequences of the game, Fool
 announces he will finally awaken the Iron Giant and he tosses the four crystals into the
 Egg Stone and they start to shine. As Alicia is perplexed over all this, Fool laughs and
 announces the fifth and final Crystal was....the pendant! Alicia gasps as she finds it
 no longer with her. Fool snickers saying the Crystal was "under his nose" all the time.
 he tosses the last Crystal in the center and the Egg Stone starts to shine brightly while
 Fool cackles wildly. From all around Praire, the pieces of the Iron Giant begin to come
 to life, breaking apart the islands they were enshrined in and start forming the
 formidable behemoth. It then walks towards the Egg Stone and the trio. Fool starts to
 command the Giant to kneel before its new master and starts to smile as the monster
 approaches him. Waffle tells Alicia they should leave right away. Fool's smile turns to
 fear. His name comes through as he forgot one fact Russell gave us: The Iron Giant could
 never be controlled by anyone, let alone a stupid-named cat who awakened him! It grabs
 the island with Fool still on it, crushes it, and swallows the Egg Stone. The camera goes
 for a faraway shot as the Iron Giant roars ending the sequence.

Praria Castle- Waffle announces the Giant is back to life and destroying Prarie. He 
 wonders what everyone can do about it. Here, you find your allies and Flare and Stare.
 Alicia & Cyan are nowhere to be seen. Talk to everyone but leave the King for last. When
 you talk with Hound III, Panta runs up to give Waffle a message he recieved. In an anime
 sequence, Alicia is on her balloon and says she's going to ge the pendant back despite
 Waffle's warning. She get swallowed by the giant and Waffle is shocked. We then cut back
 to the initial cutscene of their childhood. Waffle now realized what Alicia meant by
 being the only one who cares for the Cat-people and we return to the present. Terria
 snaps Waffle from his thoughts and says to him to go after her. The scene cuts to outside
 as the Giant draws near. The castle rumbles at his coming and Waffle bravely goes towards
 the Giant. The behemoth fights back with its sword and it proves impossible for him to
 enter. Who should appear but Cyan! He wants some of the "glory" as well and will be
 distracting the giant while Waffle enters. The dog-boy sees an opening and goes inside 
 the  Giant and after Alicia with the anime sequence ending. This is the final level!

********************
*   THE IRON GIANT *
********************

  Waffle lands in the liquid interior of the giant. His airship no longer working. he then
looks up and we see a series of different platforms above him with Alicia's airship at
the top. That's where he should be going now. The controls are different here inside the
Giant. When you jump, it seems like you are in a zero-gravity zone so it makes precise
jumps difficult. Don't worry about falling from heights here. It's liquid so you'll float
down. Also, the Bubble Blaster no longer fires Bubbles, but Plasma Shots! Awesome! Use
these to destroy the strange worm creatures that float around the Giant. These will hurt
you if you aren't careful!

  First head off towards the green platform surrounded by four spikes. Don't worry, there
is ground as you walk to it. When you walk into the circle on its center, you are
instantly teleported to a higher level. A series of blue platform float around this area.
Jump carefully into one and ride it out, shooting any worms that approach you. You can
jump off to a red teleporter from here or try jumping from platform to platform to reach
a light-green one. I explain walk throughs through each of the teleporters.

Red Teleporter- You arrive in an area with red platforms placed at different heights. Jump
 on from one to another until you get to a yellow teleporter.

Light-Green Teleporter- Two red platforms await here. When you step on one, it carries you
 to another set of red platforms. Keep going until you get to a yellow teleporter. Step
 right in.

Yellow Teleporter- A green platform below you. Step on it, and a bridge of green platforms
 forms. Carefull jump from each one to reach Alicia's Airship and a blue teleporter. You
 made it!

Iron Giant's Core- You get teleported here and find Alicia lying unconscious nearby. 
 Waffle runs towards her and a drop of energy drops from the ceiling and onto the ground.
 Soon, a giant robot begins to appear from below and appears in front of Waffle. This is
 the Guard for the Core and it won't let Waffle through without a fight! SAVE WHEN YOU
 HAVE A CHOICE OF DOING SO AND HOPE YOU BROUGHT ENOUGH WHISTLES!

FINAL BOSS: IRON GIANT CORE GUARD

   The robot has a pattern that will be repeated throughout the battle. First he will 
hover around and shoot a laser at the floor. Where the laser went, a trail of fire will
burst forth. Try to avoid being on the path of the laser so you won't be burned by the
incoming fire. His next tactic is to tuck in its arms and form a series of bombs, which he
then launches at the Robo in a row. This can be easily avoided if you jump away in the 
nick of time to the sides. The final and most difficult attack to avoid is its "torpedo
charge" where it will spin and ram into you. Try running and jumping to dodge this attack
and don't ever get cornered! If he misses you, it's a perfect time to retaliate. After
this attack, he returns to sending the laser and starts the pattern all over again.

  Your only weapon (and that's all you need) is the Plasma Shot Blaster. Keep firing them
at it when you can. If you hear a loud explosion while shooting it, it means you disrupted
that attack pattern and will switch to the next. For example, if it shoots lasers and
"explodes", it will send out the bombs in a few seconds. Follow these strategies and the
Guard will be sink back to the ground!

  Waffle goes to check on Alicia and sees the Egg Stone (the "heart" of the Giant, of
course) glimmer and starts to beat. Suddenly, the 5 Crystals appear, begin to swirl...
AND BRING THE CORE GUARD BACK TO LIFE WITH FULL ENERGY!! (I panicked and broke into a
sweat at this point!) Here you are with minimal to almost empty HP and the boss completely
revived! What do you do? If you notice this time around that the Crystals are exposed.
All you must do is shoot or slap away at one of them and destroy it. With one of its 5
Crystals destroy the Giant can't function properly and the Guard will disintegrate!
(What a relief!) The Crystals fall to the ground and the Iron Giant collapses!

  Watch the final anime sequence (even I won't spoil this one!) and the credits soon
after. Oh, and save soon after to enjoy the "bonus" section. Congratulations!! You have
officially won the game!!  


6) Disclaimers & Copyright info (Where Credit is given where Credit is due)
===========================================================================

BANDAI: Aside from Power Rangers and the humungous action figure line-up, thanks for
        creating the game!

Nobuteri Yuuki: For creating wonderful characters and visual eye candies this game can't
                do without.

ATLUS: Thanks for bringing this game to the American Shores for the fans to enjoy!

SONY & PSX: For having the game in the console.

GameFAQs: For hosting this walkthrough for all to read and enjoy

The "Man Above": For all He is...



FINAL WORD
============

Let's hope the sequel do the game justice!