The Challenge

It is here that Xena must use her skill to unravel the secrets to the Gates of Kalabrax. The Ogre Protectors will not reveal these secrets without a fight. The Lyre of Orpheus is the key!

Sketch: As the title suggests, this level is one heck of a challenge. After being teleported by the magical dais, you must defeat five Ogre Protectors. Each defeated Ogre will cause a magical musical note to pop out from the ground in another area. (The fifth Ogre can be accessed by getting the Harmonic Gate Key, hidden in a secret place behind the third Ogre.) Play the Lyre of Orpheus to get to know the magical melody and hit the musical notes in the right order to finish the level.

Walkthrough: To make it through this level, it's advisable to set the default move to walk, or you'll have a much higher risk of falling off the treacherous edges.

Jump off the dais that got you to this place. From this mountain top, you can see five different paths leading to different areas. Let's look at them in anticlockwise order from now on. The different paths will be referred to as 1,2,3,4 and 5.

Take path number one, walk carefully. See that scarcely clothed ugly monster up there? That's an Ogre Protector. Geez, he could have the decency to put some clothes on! He can give some nasty blows. Here are some defense and attack strategies:

Defense: The attack an Ogre Protector uses is a club attack. You can easily see it coming when he rises his hand to strike. Just press to avoid this blow, or else you'll be smacked so hard you'll drop off the ledge (and this is not a good thing). Make sure you have a couple of Armour Upgrades or you can kiss Gabrielle goodbye! Use the stylobats (the structure the pillars rest on) as your back cover from falling off. Unless there's a stylobat behind you, do not let the Ogre drive you into a corner. Always check the vases for health power-ups (which are spread random every time you restart the level).

Attack: Have a stock of Sword Upgrades to scare off the Ogre. Don't try the usual fighting tactics. Just like the Ogre Protector tries to push you off the edge, you must do this too. Tit for tat, pesky Ogre! Haha! Drive the Ogre toward the edge of the platform and give him a couple of final blows. You can recognize it when he's almost falling off; he'll be clumsily balancing one one leg then. At this point, just keep hitting, but do not run or walk or you'll risk falling down too. Also, sword blows are preferable to kicks, since they are more lethal. Who cares about a full Karma Meter at a time like this, right? Double-strenghth attacks won't even be of any help right now since the only way to defeat an Ogre is to push him off the edge.

After the first Ogre is dead, take note of the musical note that pops up from a jar-like structure in another area. There are five of these "jars", each hiding a different note. Try to memorise the location of the note that comes out (do this for every note you uncover in the rest of the level), as in; "second from the left, first from the right" etc.

Return to the main platform and take path number two this time. Another Ogre Protector is waiting. He's pretty much the same as the first one. Kill him and return to the main platform (take note of the musical note that appears). Now take the third path, and watch out! A couple of nasty Dryads are flying ahead, trying to push you off. They can be just as annoying as the Ogres, so repeatedly sword-bash them. Jump over a couple of patches and get ready for Ogre Protector number three. You'll have a bit of an easier time with him since the platform is slightly bigger, so you have more space to run around. Use the same tactics. When the Ogre's dead, again memorise the third note. Jump over another series of patches (the one the sign points to). Do careful jumps or all your work will be for nothing. At the end, grab two health power-ups, the Harmonic Gate Key (behind the stylobat) and a Resurrection Jewel! Wooh-hooh! Could you ever use that jewel! Also, get the Hand of Zeus. Carefully retrace your steps to the main platform. Take the fourth path, but don't go too far as yet. As well as the fourth Ogre Protector, a few Dryads are flying around as well. Hit them with the Chakram to make your upcoming fight easier. Then fight the Ogre and remember the note location. Approach the Harmonic Gate, which will open if you got the key prior to this. Get ready for the very last Ogre Protector and use the Hand of Zeus if you hadn't already. Finish the Ogre off. Now, being very careful, go back to the main platform and kill any Dryads on the way. When you're there, take the fifth path (you'll have to jump). Hey, you're at the musical note spot! First, you'll be forced to chat with Ares.

(Ares appears before Xena.)

Xena: "Ares! Just what enfoldment do you have with Kalabrax and her cult?"

Ares: "I have no interest in them...except that this Kalabrax is getting on my nerves. If you need it, I'll help you get rid of her."

(Xena doesn't think it fit to even react to Ares' words. Ares disappears.)

If you still remember the order in which the notes popped up, hit the notes in that very order. If you don't remember, there's no need to worry; you can simply play the Lyre of Orpheus from the inventory to remind you. If you hit a wrong note, two Dryads will appear out of nowhere for each time you miss, so I suggest you get it right the first time or you'll unnecessarily risk being pushed off by those silly Dryads.

When the notes are hit in the order as the Lyre plays, go up the steps and play the Lyre of Orpheus one more time. This will open the exit. Go through, and don't you forget to save your game, or you'll be pretty mad at yourself...!

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