No More Heroes 3 - Rank 1 Boss Fight Guide

SPOILER WARNING: Be careful! No More Heroes 3 is a game filled with surprises, and sometimes boss fights don’t always go as expected. In other words, we recommend not reading the boss strategy until you’ve actually started fighting the boss to avoid spoiling some of the game’s best moments!

Finally, it’s time for the showdown with the Asshole Prince of the Cosmos. The entire game has been building up to this battle, and you’d better believe that it’s going to be quite a challenge! For more guides, be sure to check out our No More Heroes 3 beginner's tips.

How to Defeat FU (AKA Jean-Baptiste VI)

As is fitting of a final boss, FU comes with an arsenal of extremely dangerous close- and long-range attacks. Close-up, he fights with blazing-fast claw swipes and hair whips. At a distance, he can summon a wave of huge spikes to emerge from the floor. He also creates drills out of wind energy and sends them to hone in on Travis. (Alternatively, he may send them out in a wide fan pattern instead.)

FU’s most annoying move is a wrestling grab, where he’ll dash up to Travis and headbutt him several times before tossing him to the ground. You can’t escape this once you’re caught in it--the only way to not take damage is to simply not get hit.

What makes this battle so difficult is FU’s rarely-relenting defense. Death Force is almost useless, and Death Kick is very frequently nullified when FU puts his guard up. You’ll need to counter when he’s missed a close-range attack, either with a Perfect Dodge or by catching him in his brief recovery phase (such as when he tries to grab you and misses). If you dodge and try to hit him while he’s still in his attack animation, you’ll find your strikes deflected. Do not attack until you are sure you have an opening because otherwise, you’re in a terrible position and will likely be eating a headbutt (or worse).

At 2/3rds of his life, FU gets two new attacks added to the mix. The first attack has his floating up into the air to shoot a massive blast of dark energy down to the ground. The blast radius on this attack is enormous, so once you see him preparing it, prepare to duck-roll and run far away! (Use the dodge+B button skill learned from the Power-Up machine for easy extra movement range.) The second new attack is a series of dark energy waves radiating out from his body. He’ll send out several of these in a row, and while the damage radius isn’t too large, it’s still not something you want to be caught in. For easy damage, get behind FU during this attack and use Death Rain, or use Death Kick to interrupt and potentially dizzy him.

At one-third life, he becomes his most dangerous. He’ll begin using a swift, leaping claw strike to try to catch Travis off-guard. Be prepared to guard if you see him rearing back. He also gains a technique where he’ll hover in the sky and cause pillars of spikes to emerge from the ground where Travis is standing, one after the other. Keep on moving during this attack, and you should be able to outrun the hazards.

Don’t get complacent, though--it’s not over yet! Prepare to take on FU’s final form!

The good news is that the second fight with FU is considerably easier. Fu’s claw will pop out of the rainbow-colored portals surrounding the arena. Sometimes it will retract, and other times, it will lunge out in a straight line to attack Travis. After this attack, the arm remains vulnerable briefly. Now’s the time to go in for some strikes. If you’re feeling saucy, you might try to hold a charged heavy attack until one of the arms lashes out, then smack it for a big chunk of damage--the hitboxes on the limbs can be a little wonky, however, so if you attempt this it’s best to go for the bigger hand part. You can also put yourself in a position to Perfect Dodge and work to score more damage that way.

When you’ve shaved off a quarter of FU’s life, he’ll opt to attack with a slower, meatier arm instead. It’s not too much more dangerous than the first phase, so just keep looking around to see where you’ll need to attack. At half of his life bar, he’ll add some dark energy lasers shooting down from the walls as an environmental hazard, restricting your movement space while also switching back to swift strikes. Finally, when he’s on the ropes at a quarter of his life, the big beefy fists will return to try to pummel you.

FU’s final form fight is more of a test of patience and alertness than anything else. Keep your wits about you and strike when you can to give FU a big ol’ F-U.