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 battle with the Infernal Engine can be quite difficult. When the three "archer" Heartless drive the main boss, they can allow it to perform a variety of attacks. These all appear rapidly, and the flurry of moves can only be slowed by defeating the three lesser Heartless. When the archer Heartless are in control, the Infernal Engine's attacks are as follows:


 * Shoots arrows that rain down from above. This can be avoided by staying mobile.
 * Summons rolling bombs from the Infernal Engine's maw. This can be blocked with the Block Ability.
 * Causes a giant hammer to appear from out of the Infernal Engine's maw, smashing the ground and creating a giant shockwave. This can be avoided by staying as close as possible to the Infernal Engine, or 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 charges.
 * Extends a cannon, firing cannonballs in succession. The cannonballs can be reflected using Block to destroy the archers.

If all three archers are destroyed, the Infernal Engine will spit out boxes containing Soldier Heartless until the archers revive. Ignore them and keep hitting the Infernal Engine with aerial combos. The Soldiers will eventually disappear. The three archers will respawn in a short time. Utilize the Limit Break should Roxas hit low HP, and remember to heal periodically.

The best tactic to defeat the Infernal Engine is to stand still until the archers have locked onto your position, then roll away at the last moment. This will manipulate the Infernal Engine's AI to use the bomb attack; use this attack to lower Roxas's HP into Limit range. (At level 9, three or four of these should put you into Limit range, depending on your difficulty.) After the bomb attack, stand at the back of the room without attacking the Infernal Engine, in order to manipulate the Infernal Engine's AI into launching cannonballs. Kill all the archers by reflecting them with Block. Once the crate phase has started, ignore the Soldiers by using Air Dash and High Jump, and attack using only aerial combos; this will manipulate the boss into doing the battering ram attack. Once the battering ram appears, use Roxas's Limit Break for high damage. Be sure to retreat to a safe position when the battering ram's ring turns white, and the Infernal Engine begins to charge forward. After the ram attack, return to using solely air combos until the ram reappears. This will send the Infernal Engine into a loop, in which it will solely use its battering ram attack. Repeat as many times as needed to defeat the Infernal Engine.