How to Face Your Worst Nightmares in Mary Skelter

Once upon a time, a boy held captive inside a living Jail manages to escape his cell… only to be preyed upon by monsters called “Nightmares.”

Escape from the Nightmares and you’ll escape from the Jail in Mary Skelter: Nightmares, out today for the PlayStation®Vita in both digital and physical formats!

We’re not talking about the average monster in your closet here! Much stronger than normal Marchens you randomly encounter, the Nightmares are invincible prison keepers that patrol the dungeons and actively stalk you in real-time.

That’s right, Nightmares will chase you. Think survival horror chases in Clock Tower meets the classic dungeon-crawling Shin Megami Tensei.

You and your party of five Blood Maidens must use all of your arsenal to run away from, knockdown, and finally defeat the Nightmares. Sound pretty difficult? Need some tips?

Take a look at my “How To Face Your Worst Nightmares” Survival Guide below!

Facing a Nightmare can be broken into three parts.

1. Escape
2. Knockdown
3. Defeat Escape
   

1. Escape

During your first Nightmare encounter, the screen darkens, the minimap disappears (unless you’re playing in Easy mode), and a distance gauge will appear that displays your “Distance from the Nightmare” in meters.

If the Nightmare catches up with you during a Chase, you can either face it in a difficult battle (which never ends well) or escape. Run far enough away and you’ll be safe (for now)!

Battles occur through random encounters in Mary Skelter: Nightmares. While running away from the Nightmare, you may bump into the lesser Marchens! Be careful–Nightmares strike even when you’re in battle! Stay calm, remember your training, and end the battle with the Marchens quickly.

This doesn’t mean that you’re in the clear, however…

2. Knockdown

If the Nightmare catches you, you’ll have to try and “knockdown” the Nightmare by destroying its parts. Direct your whole party’s attacks at one of the different parts (for example, pieces of clothing) to destroy them. This will knock down the Nightmare. Once knocked down, the Nightmare will be stunned, buying you precious time to get away!

There are also a number of “Gimmicks” in certain dungeons, as well as your Blood Maidens’ “Blood Abilities” that can be used in dungeons, such as Poison Bomb (which allows you to set bomb in the Nightmare’s path) at your disposal–use them to momentarily trap the Nightmare!

The best strategy for Gimmicks and Blood Abilities is to fully explore the dungeon and interact with it, so that you’re prepared to use the dungeon itself against the Nightmare!

3. Defeat

After progressing through the dungeon, you’ll find the dungeon core, protected by a strong Marchen. This is your chance! Defeat the guardian Marchen, destroy the core, and then the Nightmare will finally lower its impenetrable defense.

The next time you encounter the Nightmare, you’ll be able to defeat it!

Conclusion

Whew, so that’s how to fight the toughest enemy in Mary Skelter: Nightmares. While the first Nightmare is probably the easiest, the chases and battles only increase in difficulty from here.

In fact, Nightmares even increase in size…

Just take a look at this Giant Nightmare! If anyone has played Trillion: God of Destruction, the screenshot above should look awfully familiar. These Giant Nightmares stretch across multiple dungeon floors and require you to use everything you know about dungeon gimmicks, Blood Abilities, and the map layout to take them down piece by piece.

Thanks for reading this Iffy-cial survival guide, and good luck facing the Nightmares! What’s your strategy for fighting the Nightmares?

Don’t forget to visit the Iffy-cial Mary Skelter: Nightmares site for more info about the game!