Olympus Coliseum (Revisited)

Opponents

Items

No.	Item	Location	Condition
	Firaga-G	4-1	Extinguish the eight flames with Blizzara
	Holy-G	4-1	Extinguish the eight flames with Blizzaga
	Mega-Potion	4-1	-
	Orichalcum	4-1	Win Hades Cup
	Olympia	4-2	Win Phil, Pegasus, and Hercules Cups

Characters

No.	Character	Location	Purpose
	Hercules	4-1	After battle with Cerberus
	Phil	4-2	-

Special Objects

No.	Prop	Location	Purpose
	Billboard	4-1	When Phil Cup begins
	World Exit	4-1	-

Trinities

Trinity	Location	Purpose
	4-1	Mythril Shard
	4-1	Dalmatians 22, 23, 24
	4-1	Mythril
	4-2	Seals Keyhole
	4-1	Violetta

Objectives

1. Understand the rules of engagement

2. Beat the Phil Cup

3. Beat the Pegasus Cup

4. Beat the Hercules Cup

5. Beat the Hades Cup

6. Win the Gold Match

7. Win the Platinum Match

Step 1: Rules of Engagement

Watch for Chip and Dale to announce new Coliseum tournaments while traveling through gummi space. If you are interested, return to Olympus Coliseum and speak with Phil to see which tournaments are open.

Your first time through a Cup, you automatically enter with Sora, Donald, and Goofy. After you win a Cup, you can enter again with only Sora. Obviously, it will be much more difficult, but you can earn greater rewards. If you beat a Cup with the whole party and Sora alone, you can enter a third time as a time trial. Clear the tournament before time runs out to win more rewards. Finally, if you’ve accomplished all that, you can choose specific fights in the tournament.

Once in the arena, opponents will not drop HP balls, MP balls, or munny. You are left to your combat prowess to avoid damage, healing and defensive spells, and whatever items you have equipped to restore HP and MP. Regular opponents will not drop items either, but you can gain items from bosses.

Step 2: The Phil Cup

After you seal the keyhole in Traverse Town, you can venture back to Olympus Coliseum for the Phil Cup. There are only nine rounds with normal opponents; it shouldn’t be much of a problem if you’re loaded up on items and ready to smash.

For winning the Cup with a full party, you receive the Gravity spell or a Gravity spell upgrade. Beat it alone with Sora and you receive a Mythril Shard. Complete the time trials in under three minutes and you earn an AP Up.

PHIL CUP TOURNAMENT

Step 3: The Pegasus Cup

After you escape Monstro, you can return to Olympus Coliseum for the Pegasus Cup. There are only nine rounds in this tournament too, but this time you have a tough boss fight at the end.

For winning the Cup with a full party, you receive the Strike Raid ability. Beat it alone with Sora and you receive Mythril. Complete the time trials in under three minutes and you earn a Defense Up.

PEGASUS CUP TOURNAMENT

Boss Fight: Leon and Yuffie

Leon

Yuffie

You face Leon and Yuffie as the final round in the Pegasus Cup. You can’t stand long against them as a team, so it’s best to eliminate Yuffie first.

Use Dodge Roll to avoid attacks and wait for Yuffie to stop moving. She will begin to heal herself and Leon, and that’s the time to strike. If you hit her while she’s casting, you inflict damage and prevent her spells from going off. It won’t take long to defeat her this way.

At the start of the fight, Leon acts very similarly to how he did when you fought in Traverse Town. Keep out of range from his big blade; listen for his attack announcements and dodge immediately to avoid them.

After Leon takes some damage, he begins to rely on his gun-blade and swings it in a wide arc. Dodge Roll when he rears back to launch this attack and try to slide in behind him. When you do, barrage him with a quick combo and get out. Keep up this hit-and-run tactic to defeat Leon before he knocks you out.

Step 4: The Hercules Cup

After you seal both Halloween Town and Neverland, you can come back to Olympus Coliseum for the Hercules Cup. There are nine rounds in this tournament too, but this time you have two bosses to overcome if you want the prize.

You face Cloud again in the fourth seed. Battle him the same way that you did the last time you fought in the Coliseum. He has added a new combat wrinkle, though: He can glide. Since you can too, being airborne should not be an issue. Defeating Cloud wins you the Metal Chocobo key chain and 500 experience.

For winning the Cup with a full party, you receive the Herc’s Shield for Goofy and the whole team can now use yellow Trinity Marks. Use the yellow Trinity Mark in the Lobby to seal the Olympus Coliseum keyhole. Beat the Hercules Cup alone with Sora and you receive an Orichalcum. Complete the time trials in under three minutes and you earn a Power Up.

HERCULES CUP TOURNAMENT

Boss Fight: Hercules

Hercules is generally a good sport. He’s not out to hurt you, but he does challenge Sora alone to prove who is the best in the arena.

Whenever Hercules glows yellow, he’s invulnerable. Wait for him to stop and admire his muscles, then pick up a barrel and throw it at him. This shakes Hercules up for a short time and you can land normal damage on him. Try to toss the barrel at Hercules from close range so that you can immediately strike with combos when the invulnerability drops.

You don’t want to get hit by the serious damage that Hercules’ attacks can put on you. Dodge his close-combat attacks, and when he charges, Dodge Roll to the side or Glide up and out of the way. Also avoid his tornado attack, though when he ends his spin, Hercules gets dizzy for a few seconds and may be vulnerable to counterattack.

If barrels get destroyed, wait a few seconds and they will reappear. Stay away from his offensive might and wait patiently for those moments when Hercules stares at his biceps. Hit him with enough barrels and combos and you can beat one of the most powerful heroes in the game.

Step 5: The Hades Cup

After you seal Hollow Bastion and beat all previous Cups, you can return to Olympus Coliseum for the Hades Cup. There are a whopping 49 rounds in this tournament! You want to be around Level 60 before attempting the tournament—there are many boss fights in the Cup—but once you beat certain bosses, you can reenter the Cup without having to fight those bosses again.

Bosses give you the special items in the tournament. Beat Yuffie to gain the Genji Shield for Goofy; defeat the Behemoth to upgrade your Blizzard spell; silence Cerberus for an upgrade to your Thunder spell; and conquer both Leon and Cloud to receive the Lionheart key chain. Beat the Hades Cup alone with Sora and you receive Donald’s Save the Queen staff. Complete the time trials in under 20 minutes and you earn Goofy’s Save the King shield.

HADES CUP TOURNAMENT

Boss Fight: Hades

You face Hades, not in the final round of the Hades Cup as you might expect, but in the tenth round. Hades is one of the most difficult bosses you will face; he can defeat you with a few blows of his fist or one fiery breath hit. Save your magic for your Cure and Aero spells, and don’t worry too much about Donald and Goofy—use your items to keep yourself alive!

You are going to have to risk death each time you attack Hades. He can only be damaged while he is attacking. Run toward Hades to get him to fire his flame breath at you, then dodge and score a quick combo against his unprotected flank. If you make a mistake and can’t avoid the flame breath, trigger off your Blizzard spell to cancel the effects of the attack.

His spinning column of fire will destroy you if you let it rip over you. As soon as you see Hades spread out his arms to let loose the flames, Dodge Roll behind him (or in front of him, if you have no choice) and stay parallel to him as he spins around. Pull this off and you won’t be touched by the flames and you’ll be all set for a counterattack when the flames cease.

It is going to take a long while to chip away at his HP total. You must be patient and always think defense first; one aggressive mistake and you’re toast. Keep up the pressure when Hades is vulnerable and you can have the lord of the underworld on his knees. Beating Hades earns you an upgrade for your Gravity spell and Ansem’s Report 8.

Boss Fight: Rock Titan

If you want to earn to earn an incredible ability, you must first defeat the Rock Titan in the final round of the Hades Cup. That’s no cake walk considering the size of this thing!

Target one of the Titan’s giant feet and attack it relentlessly when damage is heading your way. Ars Arcanum, Thunder spells, Gravity spells, and good old-fashioned combos after combos all work well. Eventually, you will deal enough damage to topple the Rock Titan over on its back.

When the Titan falls over, immediately Superglide up to its heads. Attack one of the heads from the far side as much as you can while avoiding the head’s counterattacks. You can only damage its HP meter with attacks to the head directly.

The Titan will send out shock waves to damage you, and a single foot stomp can destroy more than half of your HPs. Use Curaga and Aeroga as often as necessary to stay in the fight, and run through all your items to maintain high HP and MP. It’s the final fight, so hold nothing back. If you can pound the Rock Titan into rubble, you earn the fantastic Trinity Limit ability.

Step 6: The Gold Match

To open the Gold Match, you must win the Hades Cup. You get the privilege of battling the Rock Titan’s cousin—the Ice Titan! For defeating such a foe, you earn the Diamond Dust key chain, which raises max MP by three.

Boss Fight: Ice Titan

As you might guess from its name, Blizzard spells won’t be effective against the Ice Titan. Fire spells, however, deal double damage. If you have moments during the Ice Titan’s frantic attacks, Fire spells make a great alternative damage source.

The Ice Titan pelts you with an almost continuous barrage of ice shards. These shards will cut you to pieces if you let them. Instead, deflect them back at the Titan with a well-timed strike. You will protect yourself from damage, and the ice shard will rebound and strike the Ice Titan for damage. Be patient and stay on your toes to deflect any ice shard headed straight for you.

Deflect enough ice shards and you’ll stun the Titan. It kneels over, giving you the opportunity to jump on its head and attack. Rain as many combos as you can before the Ice Titan starts its attacks up again.

The Titan can also freeze you solid with a special attack if you don’t immediately sprint away from it. You’ll take a lot of damage, but don’t panic. Heal yourself quickly and begin deflecting ice shards to stay alive. If your heart burns for victory, you will ultimately shatter the Ice Titan’s hold on the title of Gold Match champion.

Step 7: The Platinum Match

To open the Platinum Match, you must seal Hollow Bastion. Though you can conceivably compete in this Match before the Ice Titan, you shouldn’t. Sephiroth is the most difficult foe in the game; you should try him last, and you may need to be upwards to Level 100 to defeat him. For besting the best of the best, you earn the One-Winged Angel key chain and Ansem’s Report 12.

Boss Fight: Sephiroth

Before you battle, equip yourself with as many Elixirs as you can and make sure your spells are customized as you like them. You may find it extremely helpful to have the Second Chance and Ars Arcanum abilities equipped. Throughout the fight, keep up Aeroga and use Curaga as needed.

Sephiroth starts out with three main attacks. First, he walks around swinging his long blade. Dodge Roll away from it to avoid damage. Second, he may cast a pillar of fire. If you get caught in this, use Ars Arcanum to inflict damage while you’re invulnerable. Third, Sephiroth will start teleporting behind you when you start hammering him with damage. When he disappears, immediately expect an attack from behind and dodge to the side.

When you knock Sephiroth’s HP meter under purple, he gains the “Sin Harvest” attack (he will say this before each attack). As he attempts Sin Harvest, Superglide toward Sephiroth and strike him to disrupt this devastating attack. When you knock Sephiroth’s HP meter into the orange, he will move quicker and execute attack flurries that are difficult to dodge. Defend as best you can with abilities like Ars Arcanum and Sonic Blade, and don’t forget your items for healing.

When you knock Sephiroth’s HP meter down to the yellow, you’re getting close to finishing him off, and Sephiroth knows it. He now has access to his final attack—a meteor shower that will defeat you quickly if you get hit, and during the show, Sephiroth is invulnerable. Survive this and the dark orbs he begins to cast at you with your dodges and special abilities. If you are the ultimate champion, you will have the wits and finesse to finish the villain off and earn a long-deserved rest.