...Jester (SE missions 5, 12, 17)
Jester Jester is the bonus boss in the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 3 and you face him three times throughout the game. He accumulates more attacks with each incarnation, but the strategy for defeating him remains the same. Jester has two basic modes. One is his "attack mode," where he casts a shield around himself and is highly resistant to damage. The other is his "recovery mode," where he stands off to the side to catch his breath and becomes highly vulnerable to damage. It can be said that he has a third "idle mode," where he basically stands around doing nothing but dancing away from your bullets, but it is not relevant to the battle except as a heads up that he is about to go into recovery mode.

Jester's attack mode typically involves some sort of damaging bouncing balls. They can be overwhelming if you are caught in their midst, but if you stay towards the outer rim of the circle and shoot at Jester from the sidelines, you can avoid most of them and have a better idea of when one is heading towards 
you. As befits his helper-hinderer nature in the game, Jester will often throw in an off-color green ball, and if you break it, it drops a small Green Orb to heal you. After attack mode Jester will go into idle mode, which is a kind of transition between attack mode and recovery mode. Keep shooting at him, and make your way to the center of the arena. When Jester appears panting at a random spot near the circle's edge during recovery mode, the center is the shortest potential spot between you and Jester, and you will want as much time as you can to pound on him during his moment of weakness. Devil Trigger and attack him until he goes into attack mode again.

Jester 1 is pretty straightforward, but in Jester 2 and 3, Jester summons a Giant Ball with eyes, nose, and mouth to stand upon. This makes life a little harder for you, because hitting his ball only marginally damages Jester. You have to actually jump and aim in order to reach him. You will know recovery mode is over when Jester disappears off of the ball. Jump away, because the ball will laugh and then explode. The ball also brings with it some extra attacks for Jester. I guess this can be called "ball mode."

Jester & Giant Ball

JESTER 1 (mission 5)
This is the first time you meet Jester, and he doesn't have his Giant Ball yet. Attacks:

Shooting Balls: Jester will go into a shielded attack mode and a single portal with his emblem will appear over his head. Rapidly shooting balls will go straight for Dante, so jump over them.

Bouncing Balls: Jester will go into a shielded attack mode and more than one portal with his emblem will appear over his head. The circular arena will be filled with slowly bouncing balls, leaving little room to maneuver without getting hit. Trail the outer edge of the rim to avoid the majority of them and to get a better perspective.

JESTER 2 (mission 12)
This is the first time Jester can summon his Giant Ball when he reaches half life. Jester 2 has all the attacks of Jester 1 plus:

Grasping Red Hands: during attack mode when the Giant Ball is present, the ball will concentrate and call forth phantom red hands from the floor that will grab at Dante in an attempt to damage him. They are slow, so stay mobile and you should be able to avoid them.

Giant Ball Explosion: at the end of recovery mode, Jester will disappear off the top of the Giant Ball, and the ball itself will laugh and then explode in Dante's face. Jump away from it before this happens.

JESTER 3 (mission 17)
Jester 3 has all the attacks of Jester 1 and 2 plus:

Spitball: during attack mode when the Giant Ball is present, the ball will concentrate and spit out an explosive red ball towards Dante. Stay mobile to throw off its aim and/or jump over the ball.

Red Cage: during attack mode when the Giant Ball is present, the ball will summon rotating phantom red walls to rise up from the floor to limit Dante's mobility by separating the arena into four quadrants. The walls are damaging so keep up with their rotation and stay clear of them.

Giant Bouncing Ball: during attack mode when the Giant Ball is present, Jester will make it bound towards Dante, crushing you if you get caught under its bounce. Stay away from it.

Giant Rolling Ball: during attack mode when the Giant Ball is present, Jester will make it rapidly roll towards Dante. Stay out of its way.

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