Gold Joe boss battle guide: tips, tricks, and strategies — No More Heroes 3

In Polygon’s No More Heroes 3 boss battle guide, we’ll show you how to defeat Gold Joe. We’ll demystify each phase of this magnetic battle by explaining each of the boss’s attacks, showing you how to avoid taking damage and sharing general tips, tricks, and strategies.

Gold Joe: Phase 1

In the first phase of the Gold Joe boss battle in No More Heroes 3, the boss uses North (red) and South (blue) polarity for a devasting attack. You have to counter his polarity to dodge that attack among his other abilities.

Grid View

• Image: Grasshopper Manufacture via Polygon
• Image: Grasshopper Manufacture via Polygon
• Image: Grasshopper Manufacture via Polygon

One of Gold Joe’s main attacks is a downward slash with the swords in his four hands. As long as you’re standing face-to-face with the boss, you won’t get hit. Your opponent also throws his swords at you in a swirling pattern. Dodge to the side to avoid them.

Gold Joe’s most devasting attack in this phase is his polarity attack. Along the floor of the boss battle arena are blue and red tiles. Stepping on a blue tile gives Travis southern (S) polarity, while a red tile grants northern (N) polarity. The giant colored letters above your head tell you your current polarity.

Every so often, Gold Joe covers himself in either a red or blue dome of polarity. When that happens, immediately rush to a tile matching his polarity so you get pushed away from him. If you have an opposite polarity, he’ll suck you into a powerful attack that you can’t avoid.

When you have the same polarity, run toward the boss. Since your equal polarities oppose one another, you’ll push him away from you and into the edge of the battlefield which damages him.

Gold Joe: Phase 2

In phase 2 of the Gold Joe boss battle in No More Heroes 3, your enemy performs the same attacks but adds an additional ability to his arsenal.

Image: Grasshopper Manufacture via Polygon

Gold Joe attracts crystals from opposite ends of the arena to smash into one another. Steer clear of the polarity lines so you don’t get hit.

Gold Joe: Phase 3

In phase 3, Gold Joe uses polarity against you even more. Gold Joe summons even more crystals throughout the stage to hit you. Not only that, but you have to be even more mindful of your polarity.

Image: Grasshopper Manufacture via Polygon

In this stage of the boss battle, Gold Joe does two different styles of polarity attacks. Your opponent either uses similar polarity to try and push you into the laser walls — just like you did to him in the first phase — or opposite polarity to try and get close to you for a slashing attack.

If Gold Joe stands still while casting his polarity field, switch to the opposite polarity so you get sucked toward him for a counterattack. If you’re the same polarity, he pushes you into the laser walls.

If he moves toward you while casting the polarity field, choose the same polarity to get pushed away so he can’t hit you. If you’re the opposite polarity, he pulls you into an unavoidable attack.