As per the tradition of the saga, even Kingdom Hearts III can count on its secret boss. This time it's not a shady hooded figure, nor a lingering feeling, "just" a powerful Heartless called Black Hell (Dark Inferno).
Like the others who carry on that reputation, Black Inferno is also placed in the post-game and is more challenging than the average level of the game. You can find it - and challenge it as often as you like - at Keyblade Graveyard in Battlegate # 14, the latest in a series of portals that appear in all game worlds after the credits roll. More precisely, from the first checkpoint in the world just go straight. It is not necessary to touch the thirteen portals that precede it, the only requirement is that you have finished the main story. A proper arena for face-to-face bosses, isn't it? As for the other portals, in fact, Donald and Goofy will not join the party.
In this guide we are going to see what is the best equipment, the best Keyblade and how to deal with the menacing boss.
Let's start from recommended level: 55-60 for a fair challenge, from 60 onwards to have an easier life. Speaking of lives: Inferno Nero has 19 (for comparison, Master Xehanort has 14). The best Keyblade for this battle is the Nano Gear, Keyblade inevitable since it is the reward at the end of San Fransokyo. The reason for the clear detachment is easy to say: unlike other Keyblades that are still valid, such as Eternity (Ever After), Rudder of Destiny (Wheel of Fate) and obviously the Ultima Weapon, Nano Gear has the Stun Protection ability. This ability, as the name implies, completely prevents the stun status, which immobilizes Sora for a few seconds. In fact, there is one attack in particular of Black Inferno that stuns 100% if hit, and rest assured that it will take advantage of it - except if you have the Anti-Stun ability equipped, in fact. Upgrade the Keyblade as much as you can to cause the boss as much damage as possible.
Speaking ability: In Kingdom Hearts III there are several, but some are fundamental. These are:
- Scan;
- Air jump;
- Parade (which we will call Hyperguard in honor of the previous chapters and to avoid the cacophonic expression “parry with parade”);
- Gransalto;
- Dexterity;
- Aerial dodge;
- Glide;
- Proteggicura;
- Emergency;
- A chance;
- Combo plus / Aerocombo plus;
- Combo + / Aerocombo +;
- Counterattack (any one).
This is the (advanced) setup we have challenged Inferno Nero with multiple times. In the guide we recommend armor and accessories that are still valid.
- accessories the following are recommended:
- Fiocco (30 lucky emblems) or Fiocchetto (Galaxy Toys, in the world of Toy Story);
- Hero's Glove (San Fransokyo, skill: Item +);
- Bronze Necklace or Silver Necklace (skill: PM Haste).
As objects equip yourself 3 Grand Potions and 3 Ethers (or Grand'Eteri), trying not to depend on Energiga but using Grand Potions and the combo with Items + when necessary. If you want a second chance, the Moogle sell a Kupo Coin for 400 munny (you can carry a maximum of one coin at a time).
Inferno Nero does predominantly physical damage and has three distinct phases:
- Colorless phase: the boss is not enveloped by any aura and has multiple openings;
- Blue phase: the boss will be enveloped in a blue / violet aura and has fewer openings (activates when about 6 health bars have been removed);
- Red phase: the boss switches from a blue aura to a red aura and has much fewer openings, is more aggressive, chaining attacks and gains immunity to Fire magic (it activates when 12 have been removed and only 6).
Inferno Nero will play in these three phases with three main attacks and he will use them until the end, obviously a bit reworked during the phases, not being able to count even on a desperation move, a devastating and personal final move. Regardless of the variants (for now), the attacks can be divided into:
- Multiple slashes;
- Dark spheres;
- Area attack.
Small tip: the second form of the Nano Gear, Nano Weapons, is strong and has a great ending, but it changes the parry into a shield around Sora making the character immobile which, paradoxically, row against in this boss fight. We advise you to take advantage of the epilogue of Nano Armi and return to the basic form of the Keyblade as soon as possible.
Let's see in detail how Black Inferno moves, this Heartless on wheels that looks like a grown Invisible, and the related countermeasures and punishments. The battle always begins with a series of slashes to parry with Hyperguard once. Don't fight back and wait for his next (sudden) move. Inferno Nero will always move quickly, sliding on the battlefield thanks to the "wheels" under the legs.
Black Inferno can be thrown at you in two ways, but the answer is the same: use Hyperguard against the slashes.
When after the blows the its blades will turn red then they will become unstoppable: immediately after a series of blows the boss will either throw himself at you like a tornado or he will make a double blow with a crossed sword. These attacks must be dodged with a somersault. In the case of the "tornado", rolling to the side or "into" it (there are invincibility frames on purpose) will save you from heavy damage. At that point, in the first phase that we have called "colorless" the boss will stop for a short time and you will be able to hit him: make a full combo and maximum two hits later, no more because the boss will cross the blades, a sign that the next hit will counterattack with a blow ... and hard too.
Use Dexterity immediately after slashing when Black Inferno's weapons turn red and as in this image he throws himself at you.
An attack that can give some problems is the dark spheres: The boss will disappear by summoning these search orbs that will surround Sora. There are two ways to parry and the first requires timing: it involves using Hyperguard when the orbs visibly accelerate. Two waves of orbs, twice Hyperguard. The second way he sees Sora blow up and use Glide in circles until all the spheres have missed their target. At that point the boss will reappear and if he's close enough you can punish him with another full combo.
Hyperguard or Glide will take care of the orbs.
The third main attack is that area: You'll see the boss get into position (sometimes jumping back) and create a fairly large red circle around him with a sweep of swords. This is, in essence, the attack you most want him to do. To avoid it, just jump with Gransalto, direct the jump towards him and hit him with a full combo of the Keyblade in midair.
Best time to attack him: Jump towards him and complete combo then.
Warning: this is also the 100% stun attack that we mentioned in the opening. If you get hit and you don't have Gear Nano equipped, Sora will be stunned and Black Hell will follow with his slashes. So:
It doesn't happen, but if it happens ...
The aforementioned constitute the main offensives of Inferno Nero. Now let's see how these offensives differ with the succession of the various phases. When Black Inferno turns blue the blows will remain the same, with the difference that at the end of his combo the boss will jump backwards effectively canceling the possibility of hitting him when he stopped in the first. The area attack will have a shorter intervention window, but the same effectiveness, while the spheres, which pass from two to three waves, are avoidable in the same manner described above.
Black Inferno goes to the Blue Phase: don't worry.
When Inferno Nero turns red, things get more complicated: he becomes much more aggressive, to the point that in a way the real boss starts here, 7 green bars after his defeat. All three listed attacks undergo changes.
Red phase, in which Black Hell will make three series of slashes to parry with Hyperguard and then Dexterity.
The blows tripled, to the point that this time they will be useful three Hyperguards in a row to parry them all and the classic roll to dodge the final tornado or crossed blades (which could do twice). Try never to fight in the air because you are more vulnerable. As in the blue phase, he will jump backwards to make more attacks then forget about all the opportunities to attack him other than the area attack, whose window is however very small. When he finishes swinging, follow him because there is a chance he will make the area attack - you want to get as close as possible, jump and hit him. Everything must happen much faster than the other two phases.
During the last stage it will be difficult to hit him as he will have far fewer openings.
Finally, another big change is the attack with the dark spheres. In this phase Black Inferno does not disappear but rushes at you along with the orbs. What you need to do is parry with Hyperguard the boss's only slash before he recedes, then jump and circle with Glide.
One of the most problematic attacks: Black Hell rushes at you (Hyperguard), retreats, and then the orbs arrive (Glide).
These are all arrows in the boss's quiver. Pay attention to the area attack, learn to use Hyperguard at the right times (which is only possible with practice), not to be too greedy and you will have defeated Inferno Nero, the designated secret boss of Kingdom Hearts III!
Victory!
As a reward for your efforts you will receive one poses for selfies and crystal signs, accessory that gives you PM Hastega.
Until next time, Heartless.
The approach chosen during the writing of this guide saw us empty the bars of the boss with the physical blows of the Keyblade sipping the use of magic because it is spammable and less fun (but damn effective). If you prefer a magical approach, equip a strong Keyblade in this stat as Eternity and use Fire (Firaga) up to the red phase and Blizzard (Blizzaga) from the red phase to death or simply alternate physical blows with the aforementioned spells.
The Fusion Rage (Rage Form) is a fusion that appears when Sora takes a lot of damage and can be useful to us even just because it restores HP and MP. The quick attacks of this form make the boss see the stars when used with knowledge but it is not a form to depend on, especially during the red form, this is because it is vulnerable and unable to use objects or magic. The same goes for the Counterattack: when used we found ourselves taking them more than the other way around, this is because the boss actually has so few openings towards the end that the invincibility frames do not protect Sora as much as they should.
Also, don't forget that you can also use the Focus bar, which if filled to the max can cause serious boss injuries up to two times - or more, if you've brought Rifocus with you. If not, save the focus bar for the last bars of the boss's life if you feel the situation is getting out of hand due to the excitement.
During the shooting commands Sora is invincible: to keep in mind.
Although Kingdom Hearts is often modest in describing the creatures Sora brought down, it is clear that the Dark Hell species is one of the Heartless Thoroughbred, beings of pure darkness such as the Invisibles, with whom they have many similarities, or the more common Shadows. A boss who certainly does not have the same charisma as those who preceded him, nor the uniqueness being multiple, but who in a sense redeems the Osaka Team, the team that brought Kingdom Hearts first to the PSP and then to the PlayStation: Birth by Sleep and with it the (secret) bosses most criticized by fans of the franchise.
May your heart be your guiding key.
► Kingdom Hearts III is an Action-JRPG game developed and published by Square Enix for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 25/01/2019
Kingdom Hearts III is a game to own at all costs: we decided to evaluate it with a 95%, if you are interested in learning more you can read the Kingdom Hearts III review
