Olympus Coliseum

Upon entering the new world, Donald sees a bulletin board with an announcement that speaks of a contest called the Olympus Coliseum Survival Cup. As you expect, Sora and the guys will need to enter this to progress through the story. Reading further gives details about the great hero, Hercules, who is also entering the competition for the Cup. Sora has a bit of a competitive personality, and cannot pass up this chance to challenge a demigod. However, before entering the main event, a preliminary course must first be completed—and it is straight ahead.

Unfortunately, Hades has other plans for you. He has hired the Final Fantasy hero, Cloud, to thwart your efforts. If you’re not careful, you might get Omni slashed in the spleen. Apparently, Hades hired Cloud to take out Hercules. Cloud made the deal with Hades so that his memories would be restored. Seems like everyone is having a little trouble recollecting his or her past.

When you gain control of Sora again, you now have the Key of Beginnings. In this new area your destination is the door to the right of the middle of the room.

Fight a few Heartless if you like, and then pass through the door.

Once through the door, smash a few Greek statues and barrels on your way for more Moogle Points and possibly a few Cards. You do not have the special Keycard to open the crown door, so the only way from here is through the numbered door. Use a Card to gain access to the next room.

From here you only have one route, since the crown door is not available at this time. A special Card to open crown doors is needed to enter here, so go through the next numbered door and on to the next room. Just as before, the crown door is inaccessible, so once again move through the numbered door, using the corresponding Card. In the next room, you will finally be able to access a crown door by using the Key of Beginnings.

Use the Key of Beginnings Card along with two other number Cards to open the special door. If you do not have a high enough number Card, then you will have to fight a few more Heartless to gain one.

Soon after you enter the room, you are greeted by Phil, the gruff friend of Hercules. He talks about canceling the competition for the Cup since nobody could get through the “prelims”, however the entering of Cloud encourages Hercules to continue the games. You gain the Key of Guidance and are directed back to the second room on the map, where you will eventually face Cloud.

After preparations are complete, use the Key of Guidance to enter the crown door on the map and get ready for a fight! Cloud is waiting for you as you enter. He mentions that he is not there to fight you, but is waiting for Hercules. And he is playing for keeps.

Boss Battle: Cloud

While Cloud Strife was quite the warrior in Final Fantasy VII, he has lost some of his skill, as this fight is not very difficult. There is no real excellent strategy to defeat this spiky haired blonde, except for the usual standby strategy of attack often and heal when necessary. Cloud’s attacks include an easily dodged three- to four-hit combo that he finishes with a dive attack. His other move is another combo attack where he dashes at you several times with his blade. Be sure to bring in some 0 Attack Cards if you have any so that you can break Cloud’s attacks as often as possible. Use Fire Magic from a distance and then, when he is recharging, run in close and use Sleights or combos to inflict major pain. Cloud’s moves are not difficult to break or dodge, so do what you do best and swing away with your Keyblade to your heart’s content.

After finishing the battle, Sora receives the Key to Truth Card. Beside the locked door that requires the special Key to Rewards Card to access, the only other door that’s left is the crown door at the top left of your map.

Proceed to that door and use the Key to Truth Card to enter. This is where it gets a little more difficult as your next boss battle is about to begin.

Boss Battle: Hades

While this battle is a bit more difficult than the fight with Cloud, it’s not all that difficult if you know what you’re doing. Hades has two color modes: blue and red. While he is blue, he will mostly be floating around and using a close-range fire attack that should not be too hard to break. After you have delivered a large enough beating, Hades will change colors and begin using more devastating attacks.

Try to get behind him while he is in his red form and deliver as many blows as you can.

Eventually Hades changes back to his original form. Hades attacks are as follows:

• Hades uses a close-ranged attack where he points his finger at Sora and launches a flame attack. (Doesn’t he know that pointing is very impolite?)
• Hades throws a large ball of fire that is pleasantly easy to dodge.
• Hades changes into his enraged red form, which makes his attacks much more powerful.
• Hades creates a wave of fire that extends from his arms and spins around in a circle. This is especially difficult to dodge or break, so you might have to take a beating with this one until you get the hang of it. The trick is to roll under the flame just before it gets to you. He performs this attack during his transformation, so when this is occurring, give the man some space!

Once the battle is over and you have succeeded, Sora will gain the Hades Card as well as Cloud, your new Summon Card. This concludes the Olympus Coliseum. Don’t forget to save before you move through the last door to Castle Oblivion.

Once Sora is back in the castle, run past Donald and Goofy and up the stairs to have a run-in with Axel and Larxene, a female member of the Organization. After their discussion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy have another conversation about forgetting the memories they forgot to remember to forget…or something like that. Suddenly, a mysterious blonde woman comes to Sora in a vision and then quickly disappears. Who could it be? Once Sora snaps out of it, you are now in the fourth floor Entrance Hall. Time to move on to the next world—Wonderland.