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This boss guide starts with Augus, and will eventually come to contain all of the bosses that required detailed explanation. First paragraph under each boss's name is what it can do to you; proceeding paragraphs are what you should do to beat it. If a boss isn't in here, it's because I deemed it simpler to just cover it in the walkthrough (detailed explanation of it is unnecesary).
Augus
Joker
Terapin
The Giant Worm
Kuwadora
Algernon
M.C. Tusk
Shupkay
Arhumel
Necromaster
The Guard Eyes
Habaraku
Barubary
Deathevan
or
This two-headed demon (680 HP) is a nasty one, and the only monster in the whole game with two actions per round. Either he'll attack twice, he'll cast Cure and then attack, or he'll "store strength" and make a hit that's double damage plus -- which I'll refer to as the power attack. Katt and Ryu are faster than he is, while Rand is slower (unless he's at level 10). Katt won't survive a power attack (unless she's outfited in Maniro stuff), while the guys can.
Without Katt: If Rand is level 10, he's faster than Augus. So is Ryu. Since Augus can't do serious damage to them at those levels, you've got it made. Just have Rand toss off a Cure when needed, and you'll grind da wolfie into paste.
With Katt: This is actually harder the fighting with just Rand. Rand is only level 6, and Katt needs the Silk Glove and Iron Mail that Maniro offers to survive a power attack. Ryu, however, can more or less shrug off the attacks. Rand can only hit for about 20 points, so he's delegated to healing duty. However, he's slower than Augus. So you'll either be trying to guess who Augus will attack next, or you'll be healing someone after Augus has made two rounds worth of attacks. If it looks someone is about to die, have Rand attack and Ryu or Katt cast Cure or use a Herb. Just remember that someone will need healing each round. Having a couple of Life Plants would be a real plus. This battle is hectic, but you'll probably win in the end.
Joker (580 HP) can do 2 things -- he will either strike you with his tongue, or he will make a Poison Chop attack. Poison Chop inflicts the tongue damage to all party members, and poisons them to boot. He'll only use it a couple times the whole course of the battle, though. Since poison doesn't do damage during the course of the battle, don't bother with Antidotes until the battle is won. In addition, Joker has a decent defense rating.
As for winning it... The person in front will take the brunt of Joker's attack. Ryu can endure it best, of course. If Nina is damaged, she'll need healing immediately. Have Katt use a healing item or have Ryu cast Cure 1 whenever someone needs it. She and Ryu should attack when possible. Nina should cast Cold every round, since Joker is weak against cold spells and will take double damage from it. The damage he takes from a Cold spell is equivalent to a critical hit from Ryu or Katt. Compared to Augus and the Terapin, Joker's a wimp.
I HATE THIS THING!
It has four attacks - Earthquake, Fire Breath, Mind Control, and a "normal" attack that involves launching one of those eggs at you. Earthquake (functions as a physical attack, and can be dodged) and Fire Breath (30 to 40 points) do damage to the whole party, while Mind Control causes one character to attack another. Control lasts for one round; the attack is made on the character's normal turn or immediately, if the character has already acted. At 1300, this creature has way too many HP. Only good thing about it is that it's slower than the entire party.
If Ryu's condition is Super, keep him alive at all costs -- his critical hits are your most damaging attack (Katt is almost as good, if she's in Super condition). If someone other than Ryu is in the front position, it will reduce the chances of Ryu being Controlled. If you still have the Mt. Fubi Fire Rock, now is the time use it. Ryu should keep attacking, Sten and Katt should either fight or use healing items (you'll probably need it), and Nina should cast Cold/Spark or use healing items. If she's been built up to the point that she's got S. Boom, cast that instead. Terathrim has no weaknesses. I hope you have many supplies, for you will surely need them. This is a long battle, and you'll have to outlast it.
The giant worm has a normal attack, it can critical hit (you'll see steam when that's coming), it can counter attack, it can poison your whole party, and it can put your whole party to sleep. It has 1103 HP.
If it puts you to sleep, it'll probably wake someone up by hitting them. You might want to have the awakened character hit one or two other characters to wake them up. What you basically need to do is have Ryu perform a Dragon Attack, and then build up his AP (2 white fruit ought to do it) so that he can make another Dragon attack. If that doesn't kill it, then it'll be on the verge of dying. A few normal ttacks will finish the job. Consider everyone but Ryu to be on healing duty, and you should be able to win.
He has a normal attack, and he has a Shimmy attack which damages your whole party (but it's considered a physical attack, and can be dodged). Also, when he's taken certain levels of damage he'll say something and the round will end (the Gold Fly did this, too). He's got 1650 HP.
Strategy is basically the same as the Giant Worm, but with one exception: if the 2nd Dragon Attack doesn't kill it, then power up for a third. The less Shimmy attacks you have to endure, the better. Once again, consider everyone but Ryu to be on healing duty, though you may wish to have another character using White Fruit, as well.
Three monsters here. The big, ugly head (Algernon itself), and two little blond girls (who are extensions of the head). The lower girl (Suiky) on the screen casts Thunder, while the higher girl (Danielle) on the screen casts Cure 2. Both girls have 100 HP, and are faster than you. The head can make a normal attack, or uses Cold Breath (which does around 30 to 40 points). It has 1549 HP. At the end of each round, one of the girls will be regenerated if one or both of them were killed. Additional note: Actually, the critter's name is Owljurnon. But since there's an eight letter limit for monster names in the combat screen...
Have Ryu Dragon Attack, and have a party member that's slower than he is use a White Fruit. Have the other two use healing items; you'll need it by the end of the first round. Now, order Ryu to Dragon Attack again, and have both a character that's faster than Ryu and a character that's slower than Ryu use White Fruit. Have the other character use a Help Ball (or an Extract or Roast) on Ryu, since he'll have lost 60 HP to White Fruit alone. If you still have a Van. Extract in your inventory, use that instead. If Ryu has less than 40 Ap, he'll be up to full AP when he makes the Dragon Attack. Now order him to Dragon Attack again, and have the faster character White Fruit Ryu again. If the head is moving faster than Ryu, use another healing item as well. When Ryu makes his third Dragon Attack, the boss will die (unless Danielle as able to cast Cure 2 on it). Hopefully, this won't get fouled up by Ryu dying on you. BTW, this is the boss that inspired me to center most boss strategies around Ryu's Dragon Magic.
Tusk has two attacks: he'll "get mad" (which is very rare but damages your whole party; seems to do a straight amount to everyone), or he'll punch you. M. C. Tusk hits incredibly hard; he can kill most of your characters with two consecutive hits (Ryu, Rand, and Bleu may require three or four). His HP is 1512. He's vulnerable to fire.
If you bought any fire-based equipment from Hekeller, be sure to equip it! This is where it'll pay off. Ryu should Dragon Attack, of course. Use F. Spice and your strongest fire magic as part of the offensive. Be sure to power up Ryu for a second Dragon Attack; you won't need another once he's fired it off. Put whichever of your party members that are faster than Tusk on healing duty. Unless he decides to shake things up, you'll be using a Help Ball every round. After Ryu's second Dragon Attack, Tusk will almost be toast (if he isn't already). If you actually bought some Fire Rocks from Maniro, this battle will be over in a hurry.
She has a normal attack, she can counter attack, she can cast S. Boom, and she can cast Death. She can probably do more, but I always kill her before I can find out. She has 980 HP.
If someone gets Deathed, use a Life Plant on them. Have Ryu Dragon Attack, and spare as many party members as you dare for White Fruit duty. Be sure to have at least one character on healing duty. You can finish her with two full power Dragon Attacks.
It has 1600. It has two attacks that I'm sure of: a normal attack and the "Forget your magic!" attack. The latter keeps you from using your most recently learned spells for the rest of the battle, and works down from there each time it uses this attack (or up, really). A spell cast in the round it makes you forget it still works.
Use a Dragon Attack and your most powerful attack spells (like Barbose's Missile spells) before you forget them. You can try to build up Ryu's AP for another Dragon Attack or a Puppy if you think you can do it fast enough. Have someone use a Help Ball if it bites you; if you have some Medicate use it on Ryu and then on whatever other warrior characters that you have (or on the healer). Use items or regular attacks to bring it down once you're barred from your magic. This boss will occasionally drop a Lop-Off Whip when vanquished.
It can make a normal attack, it can make the Rot Breath attack, and it can cast Death. It may be able to do more. It has 2400 HP.
If you have Wise Balls to burn, it would be wise to use them when powering up Ryu for Dragon Attacks. Life Plant will counter the Death attack. If it uses Rot Breath, you better use Tear Drop, Cure All, or Cure Poisen on all afflicted party members before they can turn into zombies. If you ignore it, this could wipe out your whole party. Aside from Dragon Attacks, use Fire Magic and blows from sacred weapons. You won't need to heal much. Consider everyone to be on anti-zombie duty.
The rightmost one (Cure Eye, for the sake of reference) casts Cure3, which heals the Eyes and the Man for 120 points. The one below the Man (Fire Eye, for the sake of reference) casts Flame (50 points), takes half-damage from any magic attack other than cold, and takes extra damage from cold. The leftmost one (to the Old Man's right) (Cold Eye, for the sake of reference) casts Freeze (100 point), takes half-damage from any magic attack other than fire, and takes extra damage from fire. All of the Eyes have 538 hit points. BTW, unless you made massive amounts of Dinkers, all three of the Eyes will make their moves before your party will do anything. They move in the order of Cure Eye, Fire Eye, Cold Eye. If the fight starts to drag on (and all three eyes are still active), they'll sacrifice their turns by drawing power from the Old Man and doing a lot of damage to the whole party (as a sort of combo-attack). The Old Man is supposed to have around 320 HP, and takes no actions.
G. Dragon will win the fight, but it'll kill the Old Man. Here's what I
reccommend:
1) Have Ryu FirePuppy the Cold Eye (a Puppy does double damage when the target
is weak against its element), and have someone either cast Flame, or use
F.Spice. Have a character slower than Ryu use a Wiseball on him, use a Holy
Shield on someone, or attack Cold Eye, if you don't want to use a Wise Ball.
Have the last character use Van. Extract, Moon Drop, or Biscuit (though
if someone can actually cast Cure3, feel free to use that instead). With
Cold Eye out of the way, you no longer have to worry about whether a character
can take 150 points in one round.
2) If you were able to use the WiseBall, have Ryu IcePuppy Fire Eye while
someone else Freezes it (via spell or Shave Ice). That should kill it. If
you didn't have a spare WiseBall, then try to hit it with 3 or 4 Freezes
in the same round. Or, don't bother with the WiseBall. Just make sure you
have 4 Shave Ices in your inventory, and use 'em.
3) If Fire Eye & Cold Eye are dead, then Cure Eye is helpless. Destroy
it. You'll have to do over 120 points every round though, or you'll never
kill it.
4) When all three Eyes are dead, the fight ends.
He has a normal attack. He can cast Sap, Drain, and Attack-Up. He can also cast Fire Ball and Bolt X, though it is a rare event -- he may go through the whole battle without casting either. Yes, they do the same damage as they do when your party members cast them. Fortunately, he can't actually get a critical hit with them. He has 2500 HP.
If you have Wise Balls to burn, then G. Dragon his ass into oblivion. Use Cure 3 for healing. Use Attack-Up on your fighting characters. Use Bolt X or Missile for attack magic. Ryu should attack or power up for another G. Dragon (you should have used it in the first round, of course). Or rather, have Ryu attack and have one of your other characters use White Fruit or a Wise Ball on him. Katt should always Keep. This can be one of the easiest or one of the hardest fights in the game.
Barubary has three attacks: Fire Breath for around 100 points, Bolt X, or a "normal" attack that does around 100 to 120 to the whole party. If you're fighting him as a group, he's got 5000 HP. If you're fighting him as just Ryu, his maximum possible Hp is 3750. Either way, the power of his normal attack goes up something like 30 to 40 points when he's down to his last 1000 or so. Barubary can also counter attack, though it'll only hurt whoever triggered it. If you have a vigor score above 90, you're faster than he is. After Barubary's power goes up, a character who gets hit with both the counter attack and the normal attack without healing in between will probably die.
Group battle: Hopefully, your party is shamanized. If Katt's in it, order her to Keep; Keep won't trigger a counter-attack. I didn't see it trigger one, anyway. If one of the characters who received Missile is in your party, have them cast it (unless they've got something better). You'll need to cast Cure 3 or use a group healing item every round. Have Ryu use Wise Balls on himself to build up his power for G. Dragon attacks. Or have someone slower than he do it, if you want to use G. Dragon every round. Consider your entire store of Wise Balls to be expendable. Sten, Bleu, or Nina should use their strongest attack spells or use a group healing item, if it's your healer whose using Wise Balls on Ryu. In essence, you'll have to heal your party every round while taking the best shots you can. Try not to use a normal attack on Barubary, if you can help it.
One-on-one duel: If you're even trying this, I'm going to assume you meet all the requirements I mentioned in the walkthrough. The first three G. Dragons are easy to make (a pattern of G. Dragon, Roast, Wise Ball, Roast will do it), since Barubary will only be inflicting a third of your HP in damage. Once his power increases, he'll be doing around 160 points every attack. You'll definately need to be using a Roast every other round. Be the end of the round in which you use a Wise Ball on yourself, you'll have lost about 320 HP. However, once you've built up your AP to max (and survived), you'll be able to finish him with one last G. Dragon attack.
His attacks are: a normal attack that does around 120 HP to one character, Cold Breath and Fire Breath (100 HP or so for both), Death, Drain X (my own name for it; he'll say "Be God's Power!" when he uses it), "Disapear" (cancels all enhancement magics), and Bone Lazer (does 120 to 130 to all party members). Drain X drains 60 HP and a varying amount of AP from each character. If AP is less than 100, then it drains 30 AP. If AP is at a certain point over 100, it'll drain 30 to 100(!) AP. This is his most aggravating attack. He has around 11000 HP, and a vigor of about 135. He'll start using Bone Lazer when reduced to about one third of his total HP.
If everyone in your party has a vigor of over 135, you've got it made (Have Ryu equip the Dragon Sword and Armor; his vigor will increase about 30 points if you had Life Armor equipped). Build up Ryu's power for G. Dragon (use Wise Balls, if you have them) as quickly as possible, and make use of whatever enhancement magic you have (especially Attack Up). If your healer is slower than Deathevan, have him cast Cure 3 every round. You can have a slower party member use a Wise Ball on Ryu each round, so that Ryu can perform G. Dragon every round. If Ryu's AP is drained, you can have someone faster than he is use a Wise Ball on him before he performs G. Dragon. If the slower person is your healer and you wish to attempt this, be sure you have at least ten group healing items.Yes, it is possible to perform ten (or more) consecutive G. Dragon attacks this way. You'll need at least 9 Wise Balls to do that, of course. If someone is Deathed, raise them ASAP. If you don't have Wise Balls, have Ryu either attack or use White Fruit on himself. Probably attack, because this is gonna take a while and your healer should have dibs on the White Fruit (Ryu will have to consume 4 or more to power a single G. Dragon). Have other characters attack or use magic -- whichever does more damage. Magic users that run out of AP should be put on White Fruit or healing duty. With Ryu attacking (Note: if you're gonna have him attack, equip the Empire Sword), you should do about 450 to 600 points per round. When the healer starts getting low on AP, give him some White Fruit and/or use healing items. Always use Help Balls or Roasts to heal individuals, instead of magic (unless you're doing the Cure 3 every round thing). It'll take a long time, but you can outlast him.