Infernal Engine

The Infernal Engine is an Emblem Heartless that is found in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. It is one of the bosses at Beast's Castle.

Design
The Infernal Engine is a large, box-shaped, apparently mechanical Heartless with four black wheels, two on either side of its body. It appears to be predominantly made of wood. Its face takes up its entire front side, with a large, red, jagged mouth with yellow "lips" on its lower half, and a black "forehead" with silver, metal additives on it. Its eyes are a glowing yellow color and its Heartless emblem is in the middle of its face. There is a wooden guardrail on its top decorated by yellow and red patterns as well as four white spikes. The Infernal Engine is able to release a battering ram, hammer, and boxes from its mouth.

Riding atop of the Infernal Engine are several smaller Heartless, referred to as "archers" in the Journal. Each of these Heartless wear silver armor, including a bullet-shaped helmet with an opening for their black faces and glowing yellow eyes. All of their helmets sport two short spikes and a curled, black antenna, and they do not seem to have legs, instead balancing on a spike. They wield large, indigo weapons that fire projectiles and each sports a Heartless emblem emblazoned on their chests.

The Infernal Engine's name has several potential meanings. "Infernal" could refer to the fireballs its fires, as "infernal" can mean "of a great fire", or it could refer to its antagonistic nature, since infernal can also mean "fiendish" or "of or relating to hell". "Engine" is a reference to its apparent mechanical nature and its use as a vehicle by the smaller Heartless archers. The Infernal Engine's Japanese name, "Demon's Fortress", reflects its massive, sturdy construct and the way the archers use it as a "fortress" of sorts. This name and the Infernal Engine's behavior are also reminiscent of the Demon Wall enemy from the Final Fantasy series. The English name may be a reference to another Final Fantasy enemy, the Doomtrain.

Strategy
The Infernal Engine's attacks are as follows:


 * Shoots arrows that rain down from above. This attack can be avoided by standing still until the archers have locked onto Roxas's position, then rolling away at the last moment.
 * Spits out rolling bombs. This can be blocked with the Block Ability.
 * Extends a giant hammer, smashing the ground repeatedly and creating shockwaves. This can be avoided by Blocking.
 * Extends a battering ram. After a number of seconds, the Infernal Engine charges forward to trample Roxas. This can be avoided by moving away from the Heartless before it finishes charging.
 * Extends a cannon, firing cannonballs in succession. The cannonballs can be reflected using Block to destroy the archer Heartless.

If all three archers are destroyed, the Infernal Engine begins to spit out boxes containing Soldier Heartless, which stop spawning after a period of time. After the Soldier Heartless stop spawning, the Infernal Engine resumes attacking; the archer Heartless respawn after about two attacks.

The Infernal Engine's battering ram is its weak point. Compared to attacking the Engine normally (when the ram is retracted), attacking the ram deals substantially more damage in a short period of time, and is the quickest way to defeat the Engine. However, the Engine only performs this attack when it has been pushed back to the opposite end of the bridge. To bait out the battering ram, attack the Engine repeatedly, pushing it back while dodging or blocking its attacks. When the Engine starts to use its battering ram, land as many attacks as possible, then immediately run away to avoid the attack. Repeat this process as many times as needed to defeat the Infernal Engine.