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For the level of the same name, see Wheel of Fate (chapter).

I am Curien... I shall destroy everything, and... resurrect everything.

Wheel of Fate to Lisa Rogan and Daniel Curien.[src]

Type-0000, codenamed "Wheel of Fate" (ホイール・オブ・フェイト, Hoīru Obu Feito?), was the resurrected, computerized form of genetic engineer Dr. Curien. He is the final boss of The House of the Dead III.

Awakening 21 years after his death, Curien appeared as a metallic humanoid creature with electrokinetic and levitational powers, surrounded by a wheel that was spun to deflect and determine methods of attack. His weak point was the white sun-like symbol on his chest.

History

After his death on December 20th, 1998, Curien's body and all of his research were moved to the EFI Research Facility, which he once owned. There, the body was used as a test subject for his final creation, codenamed "Wheel of Fate" and underwent a nineteen-year resurrection process, beginning in 2000. Its incubation chamber was housed in a giant laboratory in the same facility and was heavily protected by a giant mutant.

In 2019, two weeks before G and Lisa's arrival, the being had become one with Curien himself as retired AMS Agent Thomas Rogan, who believed it to be the core source of the world's collapse, raided the facility along with his team. With the entire platoon killed, Rogan and Dan Taylor continued the raid, where they discovered the being still in incubation.

Reawakening in October 31 that year before his son, Daniel Curien, and Lisa Rogan, Wheel of Fate vowed to "destroy [and] resurrect everything." Upon defeat, he pleaded for mercy but was ultimately destroyed.

Appearance

Wheel of Fate is a metal humanoid surging with electricity, surrounded by a spiked wheel. He has long slicked, horn-like appendages on his head, glowing white eyes, and a sun-shaped emblem on his chest. In combat, he summons projectiles and shields, evading gunfire with fast movement.

Gameplay

Overview

With his high health and mobility, Wheel of Fate is one of the longest boss battles in the House of the Dead series. Two of his four attack patterns are determined by a random spin of his wheel; the last phase occurs at lower health. Fast, precise shooting is critical to avoid Wheel of Fate's attacks (especially on console ports of The House of the Dead III, whereupon reload speed is slower than the arcade version).

Phases

Wheel of Fate's fight is roughly divided into three phases, with the boss advancing to the next phase once a certain portion of his health is depleted.

  • Phase 1: When at or above 50% health, Wheel of Fate will perform one of three attacks. After each attack, he will spin his wheel to randomly select the next attack. When the fight begins, he will either start with the first attack or spin his wheel. The three possible attacks are:
    • Attack 1: Wheel of Fate stops and curls up, charging energy while protected by his wheel. Then, weak point exposed, he shoots two sets of arcing lightning bolts. This will mostly his first attack used. It is best to shoot the closest projectiles and not to miss any shots, or the player(s) can end up being injured multiple times. Shooting all the projectiles while persistently shooting his weak point will stop this attack.
    • Attack 2: Wheel of Fate will fly around, impervious to damage, before charging at players in an electrical shield. Players should just manage to halt his charge by firing all six shots, reloading, then continuing for another six. Each shot slightly pushes back the Wheel of Fate, but he will keep advancing fast. Shoot his weak point as quickly as possible, making sure the cross hair is never off target.
    • Attack 3: Wheel of Fate races across the room at high speed, passing several times before charging at players. Track his movements and fire carefully during the small windows of opportunity provided. This attack is much faster than his previous.
  • Phase 2: At less than 50% health, Wheel of Fate will begin to unleash a random amount of electric projectiles from the spikes on the wheel as he flies off-screen per pass. Similar to the 1st phase, it is recommended to shoot the ones closest and give oneself time to reload.
  • Phase 3: At 25% health, Wheel of Fate will charge up for the final time, refueling his life bar and turning orange. In this phase, he will allow the ring to charge with lightening bolts before releasing all at once to the other side of the screen. The bolts are brighter the closer they are to the player, so like the projectiles, shoot the ones closest so that there is time to reload.

Strategies

  • Every time Wheel of Fate does his roulette spin during the first, second and/or third phases, players can either let the needle stop after a set period of time or force it to stop by continuously shooting at his weak point. The spot which the needle lands on decides on the difficulty of his attacks. If it lands on a high concentration spot, he will turn red and his attacks are of high difficulty. If it lands on a mid concentration spot, he will turn silver and his attacks are of mid difficulty. If it lands on a low concentration spot, he will turn blue and his attacks are of low difficulty. However, in the third phase, both the wheel and the needle will spin as opposed to only the needle spinning during the first two phases and the wheel will continue to spin even after the needle stops. In that case, the difficulty of the third phase is determined when both the wheel and needle disappears.
  • Wheel of Fate can be difficult in that his attacks do not follow the typical scripted format of the other final boss battles. His speeds change throughout the course of battle, and his methods of attack for the first phase can change at random. Following the instructions outlined for the attacks in phase 1 will ensure a successful defeat.
  • Wheel of Fate leaves himself vulnerable for a few seconds between each method of attack in the second and third attacks of phase 1. After all his projectiles or lightening bolts have been hit, the player has a chance to shoot at his weak point before he flies off to attack again.
  • If the player is having difficulty aiming at the weak point, shooting at other parts other than the wheel deals chip damage. However, this keeps the boss fight lasting much longer than anticipated.

Quotes

I am Curien... I shall destroy everything, and... resurrect everything.

Wheel of Fate to Lisa Rogan and Daniel Curien.[src]

This is the world you humans wanted... The world... is overpopulated... Even you must realize that! Daniel, you need me...

Wheel of Fate after being defeated.[src]

Development

In his initial design proposal, Wheel of Fate wore armor. This idea was scrapped.[1][excerpt 1]

Trivia

  • Currently, Wheel of Fate is the last boss encountered in the main House of the Dead series; set in 2019, The House of the Dead III is chronologically the most recent. However, series director Takashi Oda does not consider the series over, so this will likely change in the future.[2]
  • Like all bosses of the House of the Dead series (prior to Overkill), Wheel of Fate's name is derived from a Tarot card in the Major Arcana. However, the name was changed (the original card being called "The Wheel of Fortune").
  • In regards to his weak point, the game states "Analysis is impossible". Magician and Emperor from the previous two games, in contrast, had theirs marked as "unknown".
  • Although it is unknown who resurrected Curien, the flashback teaser of the The House of the Dead 2 shows Goldman visiting Magician's laboratory and stopping before Curien's corpse, implying that the former was indeed the one who secretly resurrected Curien.
    • Another possible party that resurrected Curien was Thornheart, as he was seen in the House of the Dead 4 Special bonus ending visiting the laboratory where the Magician was fought, remarking that "the Wheel of Fate cannot be stopped". It thus implied that he continued this secret work after Goldman's death.
  • In the "good" ending of The House of the Dead 4 Special, Thornheart proclaims that Wheel of Fate "cannot be stopped."
  • Wheel of Fate's theme is a remixed version of Emperor's theme from The House of the Dead 2.
  • Wheel of Fate is the only boss who can refill his life bar as seen after his final charge. However, it comes at the expense of pegging his life bar to the cancel bar meaning that depleting the cancel bar proportionally depletes his life bar during the final attack.
  • In The Typing of the Dead 2, successfully typing words on the arcing lightning bolts also deplete his cancel bar.
  • In the chapter Carny in The House of the Dead: Overkill, the roller coaster Agent G and Isaac Washington board is called "Wheel of Fate".

Gallery

Concept artwork

Official artwork

Data

Screenshots

Sources

Excerpts
  1. Excerpt from The House of the Dead III Perfect Guide, p.75:
    "最終ボスの初期デザイン案。ごてごてした鎧のような装備をつけていたが、実際はなくなった。"
References
veTHoTD III logocontent
Characters
Lisa RoganGThomas RoganDr. CurienDaniel CurienThornheartDan Taylor
Creatures
Acid • Azteca (I - II) • Barry • Cain • CharlesDevilonEbitan • Frederic • Koebitan • Hugh • Jack • Julie • Kageo • Torso Kageo • Mark (I - IV) • Meat Man • Morkin • Morris • Murrer • Pico • Putti • Raymond • Rogan Commandos • Sunsun • Yukio
Bosses
DeathFoolSunWheel of Fate
Chapters
ReminiscenceChasing ShadowsBewilderment, Sensory Chaos, and Ultimate Challenge (EFI and DBR facilities - EFI BIO facilities - Information Systems Department)Wheel of Fate
Other pages
Lore (AMSEFI Research FacilityThomas Rogan's Private Division)
Game modes (Extreme ModeTime Attack)
Spin-offs (Darts of the DeadThe House of the Dead ReelsThe Typing of the Dead 2)
2 & 3 ReturnThe House of the Dead III Perfect GuideThe House of the Dead 4 Official Sound TracksUnused content
veBosses
The House of the Dead / Remake ChariotHangedmanHermitMagician
2 JudgmentHierophantTowerStrengthMagicianEmperor
III DeathFoolSunWheel of Fate
4 / 4 Special Justice (4 and 4 Special)The LoversThe EmpressTemperanceThe StarThe WorldMagician (4 Special only)
Scarlet Dawn ChariotHangedmanHigh PriestessMoon
Overkill / Extended Cut JasperCoco and Sindy (Extended Cut only)ScreamerNigel and SebastianMeat Katie (Extended Cut only)CrawlerLobberBrutusMother
Zombie Revenge UDS-03Warm Hedlin & Shell HedlinUDS-05UDS-02UDS-07 ("Nikelle")UDS-06BUDS-TP II 00 & UDS-TP II 01UDS-03 ("Neclien")UDS-04CZEDBlack Magician Type 01
Vampire Night Bathe'lemyGuillaumeRauoulDianeAuguste
Sega Golden Gun Zhang JiaoGao QiuDa JiDark Emperor
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