So what is the secret to defeating Esmeralda w. JK Clothes and Meltys Sword?
Here's my recommendations:
First off, do not fight her in True Princess Mode until you're pretty high stats wise. She hits hard and her additional fight will keep you too distracted to fight back. Stick to Kogal mode until you're confident with the fight. There's nothing additional you get from winning that fight in TPM.
Second, Gear. I'll list Best overall then second best if you're going for a win after your first playthrough.
- Weapon - Metal King Sword, Sonic Dagger. (Meltys Sword and Kogal Powah Sword are not advised as she resists light attacks)
- Armor - Purity Dress, JK Outfit (Yes, Purity Dress. She throws a lot of Eros attacks and it's the best defense. You need to do an S. Level 0 run in TPM mode though which is difficult so you're not doing it until your stats are high. The JK Outfit is your second best)
- Accessory - Healing Ring, Golden Cross (Healing ring boosts your heal spells so it's handy to have especially if you're using the Purity Dress. Esmerelda doesn't use any debuffs that can be resisted by accessories so otherwise a boost to your Eros defense is best.
Next up, Skills. I'll list which are the best for a standard fight and then what you'll want for a Purity dress fight (you get a limited set of skills going that route)
-Standard
- Dark Saber - Succubus Suit
- Cure Rich Heal - JK Outfit
- Double Strike - Chinese Dress
- Purity Dress
- Cure Heal - Maid Uniform
- Offensive Aura - Office Suit
- Omni Strike - Gym Clothes (TPM only, useless for Kogal mode)
Finally strategy. Esmerelda's a straight forward fight who is resistant to Light attacks, Nearly immune to Eros attacks and uses them liberally, and very weak to dark based attacks. Regardless of difficulty, for a regular fight use Dark Saber on Esmerelda, heal as needed, and restore MP as it gets low. In TPM she has an add that heals her regularly so use double strike on him (if you have offensive aura use that prior for a boost) then go right back to Dark Saber on the boss. For a Purity Dress fight it changes up slightly. Offensive Aura and regular attacks with the Sonic Dagger are your best bet for Kogal difficulty. For TPM when the add is up, either use Omni Strike to hit both or focus on him with the aura and regular attacks. If you're finding in TPM that she's healing for more than you can deal, then you need more levels and higher stats from the special food items.