You've arrived just in time for the tournament. Unfortunately, you're not invited, so you will need to do some work before Phil will allow you to enter. Start towards the Coliseum Lobby, and look under the right guard statue to find a Blue Trinity containing Dalmations 22, 23, & 24. You will be coming to the Coliseum quite a bit. Talk to Phil, and then head over to the pedestal. Attempt to move it, then return to Phil and speak to him once again. Following the cutscene, speak to Phil once more to start the trials.
Getting into the Tournament
Beginner
This first test is rather easy. You have a certain amount of time to break all the barrels in the area. You shouldn't have any difficulties with the first trial.
Advanced
The next round is a little more advanced. Here you'll need to concentrate by using one barrel to destroy a group of others, and you must be quick about it. This might take several attempts to complete, but don't give up.
Once you have completed both training exercises, head back to the Coliseum Gates to speak to Hades. After receiving the ticket to the Preliminaries, head back to the Coliseum Lobby and speak to Phil once again to start the Preliminaries.
Preliminaries
| Round | Name | Enemies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shadow Scout |
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| 2 | Sinisters |
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| 3 | Heat & Freeze |
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| 4 | Shadow Platoon |
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| 5 | Blue Revenge |
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| 6 | Big One |
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After six rounds of battling Heartless, you will be faced by a seventh round in the form of a boss battle - Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife.
- HP: 300
- EXP: 80
Similar to Leon, you don't need to defeat Cloud to continue the story. Regardles of who wins, the real battle will come after Cloud. Here is the strategy to defeating Cloud. First, when Cloud jumps in the air to do his Braver attack, you will need to back off, as his impact will cause a shockwave. It can deal quite a bit of damage.
Second, Cloud will charge through you several times. Should you have Guard, you can use it to interrupt Cloud from charging, or simply dodge roll to evade the attack. Here's how Cloud will go down. Wait for Cloud's Braver, then jump in the air in the same direction where Cloud landed.
Quickly strike at Cloud while he pulls his weapon out from the ground, and then back off.
As soon as that round ends a cut scene plays where Hercules goes after Cerberus. The entire battle is optional but heavily recommended as it give you a lot of experience. You may head through the gate to initiate the battle but saving is recommended prior to the battle. Before actually going into battle know that you can choose to move on.
- HP: 600
- EXP: 80
This is by no means an easy battle. Fortunately, this battle is optional, so walk out of the Coliseum with your head held high. But where is the fun in that? You will need to keep moving, as Cerberus has one of several attacks that will hit you directly, should you stop for a brief amount of time.
First, Cerberus will spew out enormous fireballs that, and will thereafter follow you until you either dodge roll out of sight, or reflect it back towards Cerberus. Next is Cerberus's Shadow Breath attack. This will cause quite a few dark auras to burst out of the ground beneath Sora. You will see the attack coming once Cerberus begins to inhale a black substance. You will then need to start running.
This is where Cerberus makes a third attack. Cerberus makes an aggressive stance on the ground. This is where you can either decide to run up and start attacking, or play it safe and stay back. Winning will get you an Inferno Band.
After a cutscene, you'll be free to leave the world and move on to the next. Click here for the optional cups that come after the Preliminaries.