"Prepare to face your demons!"  Rear box insert,
DMC4
Devil May Cry 4
FAQ/Walkthrough
Version 0.70
by lastfirstborn (Joe Barbee)
other info listed at the bottom of the guide
February 11, 2008
Ver. 25  -  Frame work for the guide, various files
inputted, FAQ section updated, Tips updated.
February 12-14, 2008
Ver. 40  -  Main body of the guide updated to halfway
point of the main missions.  Full blue orb and secret
mission guide complete.  Added more files, more
tips, more FAQs.
February 15-17, 2008
Ver. 70  -  Updated enemy and boss information to
almost full.  Polished up tips and FAQs sections.
Added Bloody Palace section (coming soon).
Finished up the main Missions of the game in
guide.  Added techniques for both Nero and Dante to
every aspect of the guide possible at this point.
February 18, 2008
Ver. 80  -  General polishing up.  Added some
thanks and advice from emails I got from other
players.
February 20, 2008
Ver. 85  -  Worked on Bloody Palace section.
Added a little to File section.
-------------------
LEGAL INFORMATION:
Disclaimer: Please do not use this FAQ on any other
site than gamefaqs or gamespot.  You may email me
for permission to use this FAQ on your site, but
please contact me, give me full credit, do not alter the
guide in ANY way at all, and wait for my email
response over all else.  See bottom of FAQ for more
info on copyright.  This game was made by Capcom,
and everythingis also under copywrite by them
(in this game, that is).
This guide is my intellectual property and is
protected by the law.
It's come to my attention in the past years of writing
guides for games, as both a hobby and a passion
for the things we all enjoy, that some individuals
take it upon themselves to steal guides and print
them out or sell them in
pdf format over ebay and sites like that.  While we
can't completely put a
stop to things like this, if the guide bears incredible
similarities (style
of writing, typos, exact wording), please let me
know.  It is greatly
appreciated and if possible I will take the most
appropriate actions.  I urge
you to do the same for any writers you find out
there.  This is meant for
enjoyment and to help others, this is not intended
to make any amounts of
money, especially not for the con artists and liars
out there.
-----------------------------------------
I like any and all input so long as it makes sense
(pertains to this guide and/or the game itself).
My inbox stays pretty busy around the time I write
guides, so please bear with me if I don't get back to
you.  I appreciate any
input you all present, but if I do not answer I was
either too busy, or have
already addressed the issue in my guide.  I am
aware of the fact that there
are several methods for playing all the games of
today, the nextgen, so if I
don't get back to you on that, also, please bear with
me, as I may never cover
that, or I may have already covered it by that time.
Anything about grammar
or typos will be pretty much ignored, as will anything
hateful or unreadable.
Forgive me on that one, you know how it is though.
If something in my guide
seems absolutely, positively hard to understand, and
your primary language is
English, let me know then.  But I'll do my best to
avoid that kind of thing.
All of that said, let me stress again, I do READ
many of the letters, even if
I don't respond, and I thank you for it.
I know this isn't the flashiest guide, but it'll likely end
up pretty big, so I want it to
load smooth and be a simple read.
And yeah, being a DMC fan and all, I have put several
quotes throughout this guide from
all of the games.  I hope you enjoy it!
(keep in mind, most of the few DMC 4 quotes I use
don't give away much or any storyline)
If you enjoy this guide and found it helpful, feel free to
rate it up on gamefaqs by using the thingee at the
top of this page!  Thanks.
Copyright 2008  Joe Barbee
Please remember that pressing ctrl F at any time on
this page
will allow a search box function.  Look in the table of
contents and
put in Mission keywords to skip immediately to the
mission you need!
====================
Introduction
Hello and welcome to another guide by me,
lastfirstborn.  Thanks for bearing with me through all
that stuffy stuff above.
This is my first guide of 2008, and I hope to make it
the best one I've
written yet.  I'm not entirely inexperienced with writing
FAQs for this site,
but I am still a little rough around the edges.  I will do
my best to present
a complete, understandable guide with multiple
combat methods, the best ways
to complete difficult sections, good techniques for
gaining skills and health,
along with any other things that will enhance and
improve your gameplay.
There are already a couple of good guides out there,
and if mine isn't working
for you, give them a look.  I feel that everyone
deserves a chance at
different strategies, so I thought I'd give writing this
guide a shot, in case the others weren't working
for you.  I plan to deal with multiple difficulties, a
complete mission guide, where to find
the hidden stuff, and talk a little bit about the story.
There will also be
a skills and combo list for both characters, an enemy
list and guide, achievements, and
any other little tidbits I feel like adding later on.
I hope to get this
guide out to you all as soon as possible, because
there are tons of the same
question floating around the message boards right
now.  Hope this helps some.
I've been gaming since the good ole NES days, and I
have enjoyed many a Capcom
game.  I've played every installment in this series,
and gotten S ranks for
mostly every mission up to (and all of) DMC 3.
I'm not trying to brag, so much as I want to assure
you I will do my best to
offer you top notch service during this guide.
A brief warning, this guide WILL contain spoilers.
In fact, by the time it's done, it will tell all.  Please do
not read too far ahead unless you want to know the
story, enemies, weapons, items, etc. in advance.
Capcom is a long standing, good company.  They
have brought us many solid hits since the very
earliest
days of home gaming.  Things like the popular Mega
Man series, or how about that little gem known to
very small circles as Resident Evil?  Onimusha is
quite good as well.
How about Dead Rising on the 360?
There's really
too much to list, but as far as flagship series go, I'd
consider the Devil May Cry games in that catergory,
though most would just call it niche gaming.  There is
a nice History of Devil May Cry in the hidden features
of this game, once you beat it on any difficulty.  You
can learn a great deal about the series there.  I also
suggest checking out some gameplay vids from all
of the games, there's serious action to behold.
Dante
is a thirllseeker, demon slayer, half human, half
demon, hero of the people.  His skills with a blade,
fire arms, taunts, and overall finesse are second to
none.  He has a very twisted and powerful family tree
in his past, and buckets of blood and steel in his
future.  He runs a small business out of an office
called the Devil May Cry (which is more like a
hangout
joint), and if you call him with a demon problem and
the password, he'll hunt them down to their last
breath.  He often doesn't even accept much
payment.
Anyway, I can elaborate more in my story section.
Let's dive into the guide, shall we?
Here's to a good game!
IMPORTANT
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Note:  PLEASE GO LOOK AT THE END SECTION
OF MY WALKTHROUGH FOR MORE DETAILED
INFORMATION ON BLUE ORB LOCATIONS AND
SECRET MISSIONS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS.
This game allows you to replay missions so don't
fret
if you miss something on the first play of a mission.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------
"You got a trick up your sleeve."  Dante, DMC 4
"I thought the cat had your tongue.  But if it's tricks
you're after, TRY THIS!"  Nero, DMC 4
---------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents:
I. Controls  (Xbox 360 default layout)
II. Basic tips and survival techniques
(pretty simple, but give it a skim, new or vet alike)
III. The Missions (main guide)
Mission 01
Mission 02
Secret Mission 01
Mission 03
Mission 04
Secret Mission 02
Mission 05
Secret Mission 03  (can also be done during
16*Dante)
Secret Mission 10  (*Nero Only)
Mission 06
Secret Mission 04
Mission 07
Secret Mission 05 (*Nero Only)
Mission 08
Mission 09
Mission 10
Secret Mission 06 (also can be done during
12*Dante)
Secret Mission 07 (also can be done during
12*Dante)
Mission 11
Mission 12
Mission 13
Secret Mission 08 (*Dante only)
Mission 14
Mission 15
Secret Mission 09
Mission 16
Secret Mission 11
Mission 17
Secret Mission 12
Mission 18
Mission 19
Mission 20
Hell or Hell mode tips and tricks
Blue Orb fragments  (many are found within secret
missions, but some are not, read on...)
Ranks  (what you need and on what difficulty)
The Bloody Palace  (a section dedicated to the
enemies, strategies, and all around insanity of the
Palace)
IV. Files (enemies, skills, items, etc.)
V. Storyline and Character layout  (a few things you
may have missed, some theory, and alot of fun!)
VI. FAQ section  (Frequently asked questions,
please take a look at this if you're new or want tips)
VII. Achievements  (the list, since many are secret at
first, and maybe a few tips from yours truly)
VIII. Thanks and Ending Notes  (I'd like to thank the
Acadamy.)
=================================
I.  Control Layout for the Xbox 360
"With a spirit unlike any other, and wielding the
sword
that bore his own name, Sparda eradicated the
demons..."  Narrator, DMC 2
=================================
Nero:
Y button  -  Close range attack
X button  -  Long range attack
B button  -  Examine / Devil Bringer / Cancel
A button  -  Jump / Examine / Confirm
Right Bumper (RB)  -  Lock on target
Left Bumper (LB)  -  Devil Trigger*  (DT)
Left Trigger (LT)  -  Exceed
Left Stick  -  Move / Change lock on target by
pressing in
Right Stick  -  Move camera / Reset camera by
pressing in
Start button  -  Pause menu
Back button  -  Taunt
*later in game, not from the start
----------------------------------------
Dante:
Y button  -  Close range attack
X button  -  Lang range attack
B button  -  Examine / Style action / Cancel
A button  -  Jump / Examine / Confirm
Left Bumper (LB)  -  Devil Trigger  (DT)
Left Trigger (LT)  -  Switch long range weapon
Right Bumper (RB)  -  Lock on target
Right Trigger (RT)  -  Switch close range weapon
Left Stick  -  Move / Change lock on target by
pressing in
Right Stick  -  Move camera / Reset camera by
pressing in
D-pad  -  Change style
Up - Trickster
Right - Sword Master
Down - Royal Guard
Left - Gun Slinger
Double tap any already entered style direction -
Dark Slayer**
Start button  -  Pause Menu
Backt button  -  Taunt
**Dante will not gain this style until later, not his
from the start
----------------------------------------
Pause Menu:
A button  -  Confirm
B button  -  Cancel
Right Bumper (RB)
>>>>>both cycle pages
Left Bumper (LB)
Left Stick
>>>>>both move selection cursor
D-pad
----------------------------------------
There is a very good in game tutorial as well as
several good details to learn about in the File
menu, found on the mission select / difficulty
screen.
I will cover those aspects more in detail in their
respective sections of my guide.
===================
II.  Basic Tips and Survival Techniques
"It looks like we have a winner." Trish, DMC
"Jackpot!"  Dante, DMC
===================
IMPORTANT
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Note:  PLEASE GO LOOK AT THE END SECTION
OF MY WALKTHROUGH FOR MORE DETAILED
INFORMATION ON BLUE ORB LOCATIONS AND
SECRET MISSIONS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS.
This game allows you to replay missions so don't
fret if you miss something on the first play of a
mission.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First of all, let me say, go down and see my FAQs
section for more tips.  Things are a little more in
depth there.
----------------------------------------
The guns are more useful than you'd think.
Especially
with level 2 charges.  Learn to incorporate gunplay
into your combos, not only to keep the style string
high from afar, but also to vary your moves so that
you can taunt sooner and more often.
Charging the guns takes time.  Rearrange your
controls if you have to, but try to learn when facing
certain
demons, to hold the charge down while dodging
and
even comboing!  It can be done and will really
make
you stronger for it.
---------------------------------------
Go see my enemies section of this guide for some
tips and tricks on taking down lesser demons and
bosses!
----------------------------------------
Learn to Instant Rev with Exceed.  I will try to get
more in depth on this one later in the guide, but for
now,
know that if you press LT down during the right
window (varying for each and every attack animation)
as
you fight, you can keep your gauge charged.  So if
you go into battle fully charged up, and continue to
IR
correctly, you can technically have a fully powered
up Red Queen for every hit!  This also dramatically
increases style if used properly.
Don't feel bad if it doesn't come easily, this takes a
ton of practice.
Speaking of Exceed, the Red Queen features many
good hits and combos.  In EX, there are twice as
many varied moves to use, and they can be charged
further by holding Y during the move!
----------------------------------------
Dante is a bit slower than Nero and seems to have
less varied moves upon first getting him.  Keep in
mind
that later, he will be able to switch between three
Devil Arms and three guns at a time, during combos!
He techinically has three times the ability this way.
Add in the fact that Dante can switch styles during
gameplay, and you have even MORE moves open to
you!
Switching styles with the dpad will come naturally as
you play.  Learn to do this constantly, specifically
between Trickster and Swordmaster.  As you master
the Pandora gun, incorporate Gunslinger.  Royal
Block is very hard to use, especially for beginners,
so I recommend using it and ONLY it if that's your
thing.  Switching in time to block can be very difficult.
It can, however, be done.  (Dante only)
Dark Slayer Style DOES carry over after you unlock it.
Enjoy!  Forward Y and Back Y work wonders on
bosses, and YYY in the air and on the ground adds
variety and sheer power to your combos!
(Dante only)
----------------------------------------
Learn Buster moves and learn them well.  Every
lesser demon and boss demon has unique windows
for a
massive Buster attack, and Busters get even
stronger (and sometimes completely different)
when you're
in Devil Trigger mode!  Also, many bosses have 2 or
even 3 different Buster-able weaknesses, for even
more damage and style!  (This applies to Nero)
On many levels, time and style matter the most,
especially when added to No Item, No Damage
bonuses.
You should still aim for at least a B in orbs,
which comes well if you Style enough during combat
as it is.
-----------------------------------------
When any character purchases items, the price for
that item goes up.  For big name items like Blue and
Purple Orbs or Holy Water, the price goes WAY up.
Plan ahead on what you have to buy and what you
don't need.
The same as above applies for skills and proud souls.
When you purchase a move, skill, or whatnot,
the number of Proud Souls to purchase remaining
skills goes up a bit.  Plan your character well, and
keep
in mind you can, at any time, pull out all the points
spent at once and respend them.  This is a great
feature for beginners and veterans alike, as you can
rebuild your character and take back mistakes
specific to every mission if need be!
----------------------------------------
Whenever either character sucessfully taunts, or
dodges a near hitting attack, your DT gauge will
increase.
----------------------------------------
When in DT mode as Nero, hold down the shot
button whenever you possibly can to fire out
tons of swords (just like Vergils!).
----------------------------------------
When either character calls DT form, if you're
standing still or jumping straight up (no directions),
lightning is called down on them and hurts the
enemies around you to a very small degree.
----------------------------------------
The hard and fast rule for Nero is, if you run up on
tough foes, use that buster and grab move!  Don't
forget.
The hard and fast rule for Dante is, if you really run
into trouble, vary your style and weapons.
Consult your skill screen (or my in guide section)
regularly.  You may forget about alot of moves or
skills
you had, and some of them can really spice up
gameplay or even just plain help you survive.
The double jump (air hike) is a must have for BOTH
characters.  Not only does it help you find tons of
items throughout gameplay, it is great in combat.
Remember, in combat, just because you can jump
really high with it doesn't mean you should, or
have to.
Light taps of double jumps can lead to prolonging
combos or even your survival!
----------------------------------------
Combos work best when varied.  For Nero, YYYY,
back Y, YYY in air, Taunt while foe is on ground,
jump up, grab, buster, shoot them, taunt again if
applicable, YYY,Y, or in air YY, Y.  Watch that style
soar!  Keep in mind this is just a very basic example,
but you still have to purchase many of these
moves.
For Dante, Rebellion YYYY, back Y, Y, forward Y,
Trickster Dash to downed foe, Taunt, Swordmaster
and
B, then hold B as they come down,  jump up while
Gunslinger, B twice, land with Trickster, run up
enemy,
Swordmaster and Gilgamesh press B, forward Y,
taunt.  Again, a fairly simple move in practice.
This is
just to give you a basic idea of what you can do.
These combos both sound like alot, but in game you
will get a natural feel for what your characters can
each do, and you will flow from form to form and move
to move.  Don't focus too much on reading this
kind of stuff until you experience it for yourself, and it
will come very easily to you in time.
-----------------------------------------
Play on Human mode first if you plan on hitting
harder
modes and/or Bloody Palace.  Get all your health,
most of your moves, all your devil trigger gauge, and
learn your characters and how to both dodge and
stylishly attack and taunt.  This mode is VERY easy
and forgiving if you mess up anything.  Keep in mind
on higher modes you will meet different enemy
groups and even find harder foes earlier on.  Also,
you
won't even see certain bad guys abilities
(bosses especially) until you move up to harder
modes.  But,
since all your skills and items (not key items) carry
over to the next difficulty, raising up a character
in Human is a good idea.  Especially if you're new to
the series.  Also keep in mind foes die very quickly
in this mode, so while you can learn alot of stylish
skills, know that it gets better.  And if you're all about
the achievements, this game will basically hand them
to you if you spam the lower two difficulties, at least
for most of the achievements.  Just takes time.
-----------------------------------------
On Dante Must Die difficulty, you can feel free to
use up any items you have accumulated.  However,
if you don't, there's a good bonus at the end of a
mission.
-----------------------------------------
MORE TIPS COMING
====================================
III.  Walkthrough
"You wanna play huh?  Alright, I've got some time to
kill..."  Dante, DMC 4
"Tough guy, huh?  Well...I'll just have to take you
down a couple notches!"  Nero, DMC4
"Whatever you say kid."  Dante, DMC 4
====================================
Welcome to the main guide.  I will be playing at first
on Devil Hunter difficulty.  Keep in mind, at the bottom
of this guide you will find, in this same chapter after
the final mission, where to find EVERY blue orb
fragment and how to find and beat EVERY secret
mission.  I know that scrolling through the entire thing
can be a pain, so remember to use the Ctrl F function
on your keyboard and then type in the Mission
number or secret mission number, and it'll take you
right to it.  I will cover what it's like to play the main
game for the first time, and what it's like on
subsequent playthroughs with more skills and
weapons open.
Even though this is the main walkthrough, I cannot
stress enough for you to go through and look at the
other sections of this guide for tips and tricks.
With all that said, let's begin!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IMPORTANT
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Note:  PLEASE GO LOOK AT THE END SECTION
OF MY WALKTHROUGH FOR MORE DETAILED
INFORMATION ON BLUE ORB LOCATIONS AND
SECRET MISSIONS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS.
This game allows you to replay missions so don't
fret if you miss something on the first play of a
mission.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am playing on the default normal mode, Devil Hunter.
I may come back to add some notes for other
difficulties, though much remains largely the same
until DMD mode and Hell and Hell mode.
Also, if you want to know about story, please go past
the walkthrough chapter and find the appropriate
story area I have typed out.
-----------------------------------------
Mission 01:  Birds of a Feather
This mission isn't rough at all.  If you're new or have
tutorials set to ON, the game will have Dante spar
with you a bit and you will learn the basics of
attacking and dodging.
BOSS:  Dante
The actual battle and ranking time starts up when
Dante's life bar appears.  If this is your first time
playing,
you won't have much in the way of in game skills or
attacks.  Just do what you can.  Keep moving, and
when you see him do things from the tutorial, dodge
accordingly with rolls, though I think jumps are best
for everything but his helm splitter, which is an
overhead air sword attack.  When he taunts, gets
into a
corner, or if you get a rare window of opprotunity to
hit his back after his misses with a stinger (dash
sword attack), unleash a three or four hit combo and
hop away.  Taunt here and there, in close, and
destroy all the benches for orbs.  If you get a lucky
shot at using the Buster on him in close, you can
see a cool sword fight sequence and you'll push him
away and he loses lots of health.  If you get him in
the air he'll lose a fair amount as well.  Slam dunk!
Try to finish this within 2 minutes if possible, and you
will likely get an S rank if you got the orbs and C
style.
If this is your second time through, you can finish this
quickly by using devil trigger mode, snatching with
the arm, and using DT Buster moves to slam Dante
over and over into the ground.
He likes to shoot in two random patterns rapidly,
block you bullets (cool huh?) with bullets of his own,
rush in for a stab, do a three or four hit combo, air
attack to slam into the ground, taunt, and dodge alot.
None of these attacks should kill you, but if you are in
the fight with him for longer than 3 minutes and you
consistently get hit it will add up.
Ng Jeremy (manwithmustache(at)hotmail(dot)com)
wrote to let me know that on ocassion, you can and
will lose if you clash with Dante during a Buster
attack!  He always follows this loss up with a ground
combo that you can avoid by jumping!  Thanks
Jeremy!
-----------------------------------------
Mission 02:  La Porte De L'Enfer  (note: this actually
means The Gates of Hell)
Repeat the first mission as much as you like, until
you're bored of skipping cutscenes with start and
briefly loading again and again.  You will build up
some nice orbs and proud souls along the way.
Purchase whatever you can, I highly recommend
saving Red Orbs up for Blue Orbs and later on after
Mission 6 the Purple Orbs.  As for Proud Souls, go
for Red Queen stuff.
Pretty simple stuff here.  Fight off your foes to open
the way, smash the trash cans and benches for orbs.
Try to combo worth at least a C through here.
Get the gold orb shown in the cinema by wall jumping,
smash the barrels, go upstairs and smash the
crates for even more orbs.
In this small room, try not to take any hits if you can
help it.  Nero is built for speed, just roll and lightly
hop about, trying to combo your style up to a C.
When you get the final of the three scarecrows on
the
ground, taunt him for as long as you can.  Vary the
combos and Buster/Air Busters and your score
should
improve.  Smash up everything in this space and
continue forward.
Along the linear path you will eventually get "stuck",
you need to go down into a tiny lobby and examine a
blue sphere to gain the Evil Legacy.  Now you can
grapple around in style, and even use this to snatch
enemies over to you!  This grab is great.  You can
(after this mission) now upgrade the grab's length in
the
store as well.  Continue through, destroying furniture
and using Snatch to get far off orbs.  At a fountain
you'll find a piece of paper with red writing on it.
This is a secret mission, number 1.  See my special
section devoted to this stuff and more below the
main walkthrough guide.
Go along the
path using the Grim Grips and you'll fight a pair of
demons.  Combo and continue on to fight five or six
more weak scarecrows.  Try for an A combo style
rank here if possible.  Using Buster from the air can
make everyone fall briefly if you line it up right,
and you can taunt them all.  Using Snatch also
leaves
most demons on the ground for a few seconds.
Pass through, drop down, clear the alley of the three
demons and the smashable objects.  Then attack
the red orb statue up in that corner.  If you're on
another play and have DT, use it to gain around
4000 orbs!
If not, just use plain Y Y Y Y combos on it until it
breaks.  Go straight ahead from the mouth of this
alley
to see a wooden watch tower.  You can double jump
(using the wall jump you come with) to get into it.
There's a ton of red orbs from thin air!  If you have air
hike (double jump in air), get to the very top of the
hut by hopping out and holding down jump hard to
rearrange in a U shaped jump.  More orbs!
Also, just past the red orb statue in the alley back a
bit, if you follow the tiny red orbs you'll find a blue
orb fragment.  Continue along the path, in the next
area hang left and jump up high off the wall for a big
red orb.  Stay away from the large area on the right
for now and follow the skinny docks to a grim grip.
Shoot over and go into the building on this side of the
docks.  Meet the new, faster scarecrows!
Combo them all with style and try not to get hit by
them.  Isolate one in the corner at a time if possible.
Taunt often, but only between every five or six attacks
Taunting too much in a row is useless.  Go for an
A rank here.  You may need to buy some new
combos by now to vary your moves and keep them
from
hitting you.  YY, YYYY is good for that.
Now, hit that blue switch on the wall until all the
flames go around and then enter it.  You will get a
scene
for this that opens your path.  Get up to that door
that was previously blocked and go to the switchbox.
Activate and watch the scene, then leave this building
Fight a few more demons outside and go back
across the grim grip.  Go for an A rank again against
these three.
Now go to the large dock area.  Time for a real fight.
You'll face off against eight or so scarecrows of
varying types, mostly the agile leg blade type.
Just use your best judgement about when to combo,
taunt, buster, or snatch.  The gun is great for
extending combo time briefly, and if you have a
charged
shot you can put down one or two in one good blast.
Once on their backs, taunt away!  Just watch your
back, that's a big thing in this game.  The enemies
are all quick for the most part, and they love to hit
you
from off screen sometimes.  If this is your second
time through, go for an S rank.  If not, try to hold a
solid
A rank.  Don't worry if you take a hit and lose the
score, it happens.  Just practice on this level a few
times and try not to take hits for a bonus at the end.
Their hits won't hurt too much anyway, but more
than four can really add up on a new character with
no extra health bars.
Continue across the bridge you lowered, destroying
the dumpsters for orbs.  In the next room drop down
into the waterway for several orbs, then use the
Grips to get up top for a green orb and a combat
adjudicator statue.  I cover this in my blue orb
section below.  Buy health at the statue if you're
doing
poorly, but I recommend you save your red orbs for
permenant health extensions.  Head into the Ferrum
Hills map.
BOSS:  Berial
Another basic boss battle.  This one is to acclimate
you to the big, often slow bosses.  Capitalize on
their slow speed and any openings they leave you.
Berial loves to swing that massive sword around and
destroy the buildings.  They have small health orbs
(green) in them.  Shoot him constantly during this
fight
to chip away at him and keep yourself floating if need
be.  If you have double jump it can be a help, but it
isn't needed.  Use the snatch to grapple up to his
head level and use air combos on his face, or better,
the back of his head and upper back region.  Come
down and strike his back legs if you get a chance,
and
repeat, trying to time your grabs to get airborne for
when he just swings at you.  He also likes to swirl
through the air very briefly (he's so big he can't stay
up long!) and swing his blade eratically.    Just
keep up the hits and around a quarter off he'll be
stunned and his fire goes low.  Grapple up to face
level
and use a normal buster attack (just B, not lock on
B) and you'll do a special slam hit.  Brutal!  If you get
him weak you can also grab his tail and slam him into
the buildings around you for big damage.  If this is
your second time through and you have DT available,
be SURE to go into DT mode when using the Buster
for even more damage and a more brutal attack.
When his head is down on the ground after your slam,
rush in with Forward Y (streak) and use Buster again
for yet another big attack!
When he stands, be careful.  He'll taunt you and fire
out a massive burst of flames to renew his power.
If you get caught in this it counts as a hit and ruins
the no damage bonus, plus stuns you AND hurts
your
style by two or so ranks.  He can also send up
massive pillars of fire.  It's nice to have double jump
to
avoid this, but you can just roll to the sides and rush
him to try to get away.  Keep in mind while he
keeps you busy with this, he will do a bull rush of his
on right into you, and this can deplete a couple
bars of health!  Plus a flame pillar will likely hit you
during this time, meaning you lose nearly four bars
on DH mode alone!
If you can finish him without taking a hit you will
easily score S or SS without even using incredibly
varied
combos, so long as you Bustered properly.  Even
with one or two hits, you can finish with a C rank if
you kill him WITH a buster attack.  He's pretty
durable but he goes down hard.  Just try not to
deplete
him to a quarter of his energy until you can stun him
again, then use Buster.  When he drops to around
a quarter of his remaining health, he will constantly
use fast, powerful strikes and it's a pain to try and
keep a good style rank during that barrage of
random attacks.
Good job, your first actual boss battle is complete!
Head into the wood building that opened and follow
the
path on your minimap to end the mission.
I had a time of 12 minutes, a style of above 6000
points total, and 95 percent orbs found, which is an
S
rank!  Make this your goal if you're on DH difficulty.
I also had the No Item bonus.
-----------------------------------------
Mission 03:  The White Wing
Power up if you can.  Try to buy a little health in
terms of Blue Orbs to extend your overall bar.
Get some more Red Queen combos and consider
upgrading your Devil Bringer's snatch to 2.  Makes
things easier in combat and in the platforming
sections of grapple, coming up soon.
It's good to have Air Hike by now also, if you can.
In fact, priority should go to it first.
As you enter this mine shaft, on the left is a dead
end with tons of extra orbs if you hit the statue
enough.
If you are replaying and have DT, go into it for
several thousand red orbs.  By the way, the orb
statue is
behind a flimsy fence you can knock down.
Now, kill the three scarecrows with a B rank if you
can, A is preferred.  Then use the series of Grim
Grips
to reach the top platform.  Please see my Blue Orb
section at the end of this Walkthrough chapter for
how to get TWO fragments right in this room.
You will need the approriate skills for Nero.
Head into the next, larger room, and face off against
five scarecrow demons.  Remember to try and stay
moving, so you don't get hit from off camera.
They like to lunge at you and can do it from pretty
far off.
Go for that A combo rank!  Hope up into the little
opening and look to the immediate left tunnel for a
Vital Star S.  Proceed forward into the next area by
knocking down the fence.
Snow eh?!  Look on the map for an open spot
nearest you, jump up to nab a red orb.  Continue
along the
long path (I like to have Run by now to make the
game go a bit quicker), and go to the bridge for a
cinema.
Frosts.  They are faster than you've seen yet and
pretty strong, plus a bit durable.  Good all around
soldier demons.  They have long range attacks for
ground and air, so watch your back.  They like to
jump
high and slam down with a wide area of effect ice hit,
and many of their ice attacks "stick" to the area for
a bit and will also harm you.  Keep moving, try to
concentrate on one at a time, and to finish them off
with style try using Buster on the ground and near
walls or objects to slam them around a bunch.
You
can even throw them at each other!  Go for an A
here if you can.  Climb on top of the two back most
large
pillars here for hidden red orbs.  The tiny pillars you
destroy have green health orbs in them sometimes.
Head forward to the castle and meet Gloria.
Good stuff.  Head inside after the scene.
In the Grand Hall, take out all the chairs and
benches for tons of orbs.  You can't do much else
here so
pick a door (I choose the door on the West side of
the minimap).  Note the giant Gyro Blade statue at
the
front of this room.  Anyway, there is also a gold lion
time statue, but I doubt you'll want to buy anything
since you probably just did at mission start.
In this hallway, kill off the enemies and smash the
mirrors hanging on the walls.  One at the very end
can't
be broken yet.  Two can, one has red orbs in it.
The other has nothing.  Smash all the furniture
(candles)
you can and try for a B or even A rank while you're at
it.  Now go into that mini-hall and enter the torture
chamber.  Time for some fighting.  I like how
everyone is bunched up here.  Try for group hitting
combos
and clumped together Buster hits from the air.
Don't forget to taunt.  You can score an A here if you
don't take a hit.  If you have five combos open and
don't get hit, you can manage an S rank with the right
taunts.  Get up the stairs when the path opens and
get ready for some trap action.
Up top you will have to use the grim grip of varying
patterns to get across.  Be SURE you tap the Grip
button and not press slowly, or you slam into the
spiked ceiling.  This damage hurts, takes away your
no damage bonus at the end of the mission
(if you earned it otherwise), and puts you back
downstairs, for
ANOTHER identical scarecrow fight in the chamber.
This goes on until you die, so watch it.  On the third
grip set, the far grip moves left to right slowly and
back.  Time it and tap B quick while locked on and
you
can make it.  The next set with three grips slowly
forms then they all dissapear.  Be fast!  The very
next
set  has the nearest grip to you dissapear and is
pretty simple.  The final set consists of three grips,
with
the final one moving slowly back and forth to prevent
your from landing at the end.  Line it up and just go
for it, the final grip hesitates some for you so don't
worry!  Follow the upper hall path (linear) and grab the
orbs by using the Snatch on the top one after a
double jump or wall jump.
Outside, head up the side area and kill the Frosts.
The Buster works really great here.  Also, if they
encase themselves in ice, BREAK IT fast for style
points and to stop them from healing up.  Go for an
A rank or even S here and move on.  Outside near
the falls, go towards them and double jump in front of
that purple statue object, use your Grab and nab the
Vital Star S.  Head around to the opposite of where
you just came from and into that door, kill the
demons on that side of the courtyard, doing what
you did
before.  Back inside the hall but on the other side of
the barrier, head around and hit the blue switch until
the barrier opens for you.  Before you go into that
door though, go on past it and destroy the wall mirror
here for a blue orb fragment.  Again, if you want a
comprehensive, detailed guide on this subject,
see the
end of the walkthrough section.
Now go into the door there to reach a well lit room
with paintings and lots of furniture to smash.
If you don't take a hit in this small brawling area, and
taunt a few times while group comboing and
bustering the group together, you can get an SS
rank here with enough varied combos.  If you don't
own
that many, don't worry, you can come back later for
practice.  Go for an A rank instead.  Clear the room
of furniture for orbs (knight armor has health in it) and
move on through the newly cleared path.
Outside, go to the second pillar with a lion face on it
and jump up one level, then jump up to the next one.
You need air hike to double jump there.  Hidden orbs!
Now, enter the library and after the scene get ready
to battle.  These Bianco Angelos are the elite units of
the Order, though these are not the men Nero knew!
If you can Buster thier backs you will ram their own
lances through their weakpoints and rev it, sending
them flying.  Speaking of flying, they love to fly about
the room and come at you from all angles, and can
also rush along the ground.  Their shields block
many attacks but you can force openings and hit the
side
and back free of pentalty.  By forcing I mean Back
and Y for high time, or Charge shot 1 or 2 to send
them
reeling.  You can also break the shield and buster
from any direction, but it takes time!  Lastly, they
like
to knock you off guard using their shields and then
combo you, so be careful.  They are quite durable
and
strong enough to give you a problem in five or so hits.
If you use a charge shot 1 on them in the air, they
will go flying down to earth and be stunned for a
moment!
A pretty good rank is
possible in this room if you don't take a hit, but it
takes alot of practice.  You can get an SS here,
even
if your combos aren't too varied.  If they overtake
you, you could use a holy water, but I don't
recommend
it.  After you knock out the little bit of furniture down
and upstairs, go into the new room here and
get your Anima Mercury for the Gyro Blades of the
castle and the end mission screen!
I had a time of 16:42 (taunting takes time you know!),
which was S rank on DH mode.
My stylish was around 10000 I think, which is an S
also.
My orbs were at 86 percent, which gave me an A.
No item bonus and no damage bonus with that, and
I had an overall S rank!  You don't need the no hit
one.
Aim for that if you're playing on DH mode or Human.
I used to have a pretty high score on the
leaderboards for that one, but people have gone
way beyond me
as of this writing and I've dropped down into the
late hundreds.
-----------------------------------------
Mission 04:  Cold Blooded
Do the usual power up thing here.  Try to save red
orbs to buy blue orbs, and to later on get purple orbs
in a couple more missions.
Red Queen combos are important but by now you
probably have the basics to keep you busy for a
while.  Get the arm to level 2 if you haven't already,
and get charge shot level 1.  You should also have
Air Hike, but it's no big deal if you don't yet.
Time to use that Gyro Blade.  A rule here is, if you
hit it with the sword, it'll spin a bit after you activate
it using buster.  Up to three sword hits controls the
speed of the Gyro.  Hit it once then buster, line it
up with the exit door gate, and buster it into that.
Head out.
Get into another fight in that well lit room, this time
there are a couple scarecrows and two frosts.  Style
up
to an A if you can, and an S is very possible as well.
If you choose to activate the Gyro, be quick about it
and remember that the more your sword strikes it the
faster it goes when you Buster.  You can kill
everything in the room like this and gain an instant
A rank if it works out.
Retrace your steps back out to the grand hall
(remember all my red orb locations from the previous
mission) and activate the Gyro Blade.  You want to
eventually manuver it into the coffin, but you can
also
use it to take out all the chairs on both sides of the
coffin for massive orbs.  Now go into that winding
hall
we were in before to get a few things done.
Enter through the eastern door of the grand hall
ground floor this time and locate the brown double
doors
leading into the dining room.  Kill the pair of Bianco
Angelos and try to Buster slam them into the center
dining table to get tons of orbs.  By hitting the
shields, knocking them down, and taunting a bit,
you can
get an S here, at least an A.  Follow the path and
use the Gyro Blade as a shield, hit it once or
twice
with your sword and use buster to fly into and
through fire balls.  Go all the way to the hall's end
and
you destroy the fire maker.  There is also a secret
mission to be found here.  For more information on
that
and other blue orb fragments, please see my section
below this walkthrough.  Head on through the door.
Go immediately to the right of the door and activate
the Gyro Blade and send it flying after a good whack
with the sword first.  Do this three times and the
room should be cleared of all demons and you'll have
an
easy A rank!  Of course, if you combo and taunt well,
you can manually score better.  Clear the furniture
for more orbs and use the blue switch to open the
gate.  Now, kill everything that moves with the Gyro
and
get to the faaaaaar end of the hallway here.  Break
open your other Gyro Blade.  Send them both to the
central area where the two Gyros are already on the
purple, glowing floor pads, do this however you want.
Once in place, the way to the courtyard opens.
There is a boss behind this door, so if you want to
use
that gold statue now to power up or buy an item,
do so, but this boss isn't so bad.
BOSS:  Bael
The demon is hidden at first.  Fight the blue ladies
and enjoy the orbs, do alot of damage and it applies
to
the boss in a minute.  Careful too, these ladies can
put up a bit of a fight.
Suddenly, the demon frog shows his true form.  Now
the real battle begins.  Another slow, big demon,
he will telegraph most of his moves like all the big
guys do.  He's a bit faster than Berial though, so
watch
out for him.  Start by using the grab to fly at his head,
and attack the upper region with air combos.
Watch out for his spitting attacks, they will freeze
you in place and he'll jump on you.  He also likes to
run from you alot, since he's not a straight forward
killer, using his lures on prey and all.  Try to corner
him
to score a couple air combos and he'll likely jump
away to spit at you more.  Keep pursuing him and
dodging his attacks.  If he leaps forward he can
swallow you so try to keep above and to the back
of him
using the Buster snatch.  You can charge shot 1 at
him a bit, but mostly you want to strike the icicle
head
area with air combos.  There isn't much time to taunt
yet.  If he dissapears on you after swelling up, streak
at his feelers and avoid their strikes and ice attacks.
Enjoy the red orb shower!  Be ready for him to jump
back into the battle, he can swallow or crush you like
this easily and that damage adds up fast.  You may
notice his feelers turning red from the pain you inflict.
If they go down to a sitting position, be sure to
Buster them so that Nero can yank Bael foward hard.
This is a smart way to stun him and gain lots of
style points in the process.  At this stage in the
battle he will likely add a new move to his arsenal,
if not
sooner.  He can fire icicle blasts from his head and
they arc up and land on your head if you aren't
moving.  Try to Table Hopper dodge this attack and
his lunging gulp attack for big style points.
If you hit his front constantly you will stun him.
Now you can Buster his fat tongue for alot of damage
and style, or head around to his rear and buster his
tail and throw him around the area like a ragdoll.
If you have DT mode from another play through
(if this is your first time you won't have it), activate
that
for even more violent Buster moves.  At his tongue
you will crawl into his mouth willingly (wow) and stab
out of his head eventually.
By now he's likely turned red and his speed has
increased a bit.  He'll send out his lures to do more
of the
fighting for him and he will like to try to swallow you
alot.  The lures can grab you and freeze you in place,
which lets him swallow you up very easily.
Just keep going, you're almost done, use the same
tactics
as before and he will die.
When it's over note your new ability after you pass
through the newest door available to you.
At 14 minutes, style of 6000 or more, and 90 percent
orbs found, you'll snag the S!
-----------------------------------------
Mission 05:  Trisagion  (this name means Thrice Holy
, an ancient latin anthem)
Do the usual power up thing I've mentioned in past
mission start points.  You now probably have a good
feel for Nero, so start branching out and doing what
you like, but keep in mind in the next mission (well
two technically) you'll gain more abilities to buy and
another item that costs tons of red orbs.  Don't forget,
you can replay past missions for orbs and proud
souls.  The better you do in the mission, the better
the
payoff in proud souls at the end!
Your main goal now is to get through this graveyard.
You meet some new demons here called the
Mephisto.  Use your Snatch arm on them to lower
the cloak, then combo the body.  It is possible to
destroy the body before it can heal, but they do like
to heal quick sometimes, other times it takes a
while.  Keep moving.  They dive bomb from any
direction, shoot a laser finger at you, and use their
tails to slash.  Taunting them while down works well
on style points.  They recover with an upward claw
attack, so watch that.  Also, a direct Buster attack
destroys the cape immediately.
Keep in mind EVERYTHING can be destroyed here.
The top of the fountain, the graves, the statues, the
ice in the fountain itself.  Get on top of the fountain
by destroying the statue and look over at the awning
near where you came from.  It is possible to EX
charge up full, charge up an EX Streak, shoot off the
edge,
use the Roulette move in the air, and finish with a
double jump, landing on the awning topside.  On
one
end is a large red orb, on the other is a more
important Gold orb!  The jump over to it is tricky and
it's
frustrating if you fall, take it easy.  Your life bar will
probably block your jump, so you kind of have to
feel it out.
After you conquer all that you will probably find a
hard Secret Mission under and back of the steps.
You
can't physically do it yet unless you have Table
Hopper 2 and lots of taunts ready, I'd come back
when
you gain the shield skill in Mission 9.  See my
blue orb fragment section at the bottom of this
walkthrough
for much, much more detail.
Head up the steps and into Sanctus' bedroom.
There is yet another secret mission here behind
the mirror,
again I direct you to the end of the walkthrough
section.  Time to fight some more knights.  These
Biancos
are the same as before, so just use charge shot
1 when they fly, snatch to get behind them quick,
high time and streak to knock them off balance,