| ...Cerberus (mission 3) | |
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After trembling through Dante's shameless taunting of a giant, ice-clad, three-headed dog that you know you'll have to fight, you find yourself up against the game's first real boss. Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld, is chained to the gates of Temen-ni-Gru tower and has very limited mobility most of the time. Use this to your advantage by staying out of his range and hitting him with projectile attacks. Indeed, the safest way to deal with him outside of Dante Must Die mode is to stand back and assail him with an endless barrage of bullets, taking care to dodge his magical attacks. Most of his attacks telegraph from a mile away, so it shouldn't be too hard. Staying as far to the back and side as you can automatically avoids his ice ball, earthquake, and charging attacks. But this is a lengthy and boring process. |
Cerberus is highly resistant to damage while he is coated in ice, so the first thing you need to do is shoot off, switching between targets to be thorough. His heads are his most vulnerable part, but highly defended. Approach him from the side and slash at his leg (avoid his paw swipes) until the pain causes him to crash harmlessly to the ground. Then switch targets to one of his heads and swing away at it in the short window of time you have while he's down. The heads have their own invisible life bar and can be taken out one by one. Each of the heads also controls a different attack, so if you have an attack you particularly dislike, try to focus on destroying that head. Watch out, though, because when Cerberus recovers, he'll be raging pissed and erupt the floor into icicle spires before icing over again. There are also times when Cerberus breaks free from his chains and lunges out across the room. As he gets dragged back by his bindings, rush in and hack at his heads. Claw Swipe/Head Bite: If you get too close to Cerberus, you leave yourself open to his fast close-range attacks where he swipes at you with his paws and bites at you from above. Ice Ball: Controlled by a single head. Cerberus strains himself and releases a concentrated ball of ice that freezes you and shatters on contact. It can't hit you if you're standing off to the side, but if you're caught out in the open, simply move out of the way. Ground Freeze: Controlled by a single head. Cerberus blows cold air and turns a wide arc of ground to ice, freezing you in place and causing damage as the ice shatters. Double jump and stay airborne longer by shooting with Ebony & Ivory to avoid this attack. Icicle Shower: Controlled by a single head. Cerberus rears up as the ground beneath Dante frosts over and a shower of icicles rains down from above, causing considerable damage. The length of the attack makes it harder to dodge, but roll, dash, or wall run out of the way. It gets particularly annoying if you destroy the other two heads first and Cerberus keeps doing this attack over and over. Ice-quake: Normally a tame attack that erupts from a stomping of his paw, causing icicle spikes to shoot out in a single direction that could be avoided by standing far enough away. But if you tick off Cerberus enough, he will briefly turn red, howl "You're not human, are you?" and strike at the ground, releasing a devastating earthquake of icicle spires all around him that sometimes reach more remote locations, so jump into the air and stay airborne with Ebony & Ivory. Lunge:
Cerberus charges blindly across the room, easily crushing you if you get
caught in his path. A scary attack to be sure, but if you're standing
safely the side, you can relax and wave at him as he passes by. Make
sure to counter attack him as he gets dragged away helplessly by his
chains on his way back.
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