Bakugan: Defenders of the Core

There are 17 story battles in the game. Every time you complete one, you receive a grade, with "S" being the highest possible grade. The goal here is to receive an "S" in all 17 battles.

Getting an "S" the first time you win a battle in Story Mode isn't necessary. You can replay all story battles in Interspace, which is accessible from Marucho's ship. It is actually easier if you wait and try to perfect many of the battles later when you are more proficient at the game and have stronger Bakugan.



The grade ranks are affected by three factors:

• Combo: The longest combo you execute in battle is worth 50 points per hit.
• Health: You receive a bonus for your remaining health percentage. 100% remaining health is worth 2000 points.
• Buildings Destroyed: There is a negative bonus for the percentage of buildings on the map that get destroyed during the battle. If no buildings are destroyed, it's zero deduction. 10 points are deducted for each percentage lost. (ex. if 30% of buildings are lost, it's -300 to your total score).

The guide on xbox360achievements says that "clear bonus" is based on how fast you win the battle. I believe this is incorrect. I think each level just has a base amount of core energy it gives you for winning the battle, and that this has nothing to do with grade rank.

By far the most points to gain are from health. A 15-hit combo is worth 750 points, but 90% health is worth 1800 points. So priority #1 in all battles should be to finish with a lot of health.

Once you get hologram towers, they replenish your health as long as you stand next to them. Use this to your advantage, especially near the end of battle. On maps where the last thing you kill is a Vexos crystal, stand next to a hologram and get back to 100% health before winning. Even when the last thing standing is another Bakugan, it might be better to try and recharge while blocking enemy attacks.

It is hard to keep from destroying buildings in some crowded maps, but it sometimes helps to switch to a flying Bakugan if you're using a ground-based Bakugan. Battles that take place on the ground are sure to knock over some buildings.

For combos, make sure you bring a combo ability card and use it at least once. Sometimes I get "S" rank without a good combo of better than 5, so you may not have to be anal about it. It depends on the level.

For which Bakugan to use, it depends on the stage. If you wait until you finish Story Mode the first time, you can use Maxus Dragonoid in any map you choose, who is tied for the strongest Bakugan in the game along with Maxus Helios. Magma Wilda is one of my favorite Bakugan to use because not only does he have strong combo attacks but high defense as well. That defense usually means a few extra health points at the end of battle. The downside to Wilda is that he's ground-based, which makes him unsuited for protecting buildings in crowded levels.

One last thing I'll note is that increasing maximum health will NOT help your score. Your points are based on percentage of maximum health, not total health. Also, your landmark's health does not affect the building score. The landmark could be down to 10% health, and you could still get a perfect building score.

This is the biggest challenge in the game, perfect combo breakers notwithstanding. Good luck.

("S" Rank on Final Boss)

This deserves its own mention, because getting an "S" Rank on the last battle is hard. It took me many tries. Here's the strategy I used.

Use Maxus Dragonoid. Why? Because he's immune to lava damage and he's really strong. I tried Cross Dragonoid and Maxus Helios as well but noticed that neither of them could take down the crystal nearly as quickly.

Do not try to combo the boss to death. You can do it that way, but he is so good at breaking combos and obliterating your shield that you will lose tons of damage in the process. Taking lots of damage means no "S" rank, after all.

Instead, take a run-and-gun tactic with uncharged shots. Go in circles around the level, and the boss should not be able to hit you that often. Before the crystal becomes targetable, the map is smaller and harder to get away from the boss. When the crystal becomes the target, the map becomes larger. Make sure the crystal is between you and the boss at all times. Smack the crystal once or twice, then move clockwise or counterclockwise around it to stay away from the boss.

When the crystal is down, resume run-and-gun tactics. You SHOULD NOT use the combo ability card to get a high combo. Why? Because when you use a card, he uses a card, and there's a 75% chance that this will make your attack unable to hit and instead take a laser to the face.

Instead, get combo points this way. Wait until he uses his ability card (giant laser beam thing), dash sideways to hopefully avoid it. Then quickly charge your projectile attack to maximum and let it go. If you do it correctly, the boss should still be recovering from his special attack and a sitting duck for your own giant laser beam. If it's a direct hit, it can hit 21 times! The lowest score where I got "S" Rank was with 65% life, 21 max combo, and 0 building penalty (there are no buildings on this stage). However, using the same strategy I've won with over 90% life left. 65% is just a minimum to shoot for.

Make note that there are power-ups in rocks floating in the lava. If you are desperate you can destroy some looking for health powerups.