PrinceWatercress plays Alisia Dragoon - Part 4 of 8

This stage is even faster than the last one if you know what to do.

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Stage 4

Go to the left at the start for some power-ups, including a blue fairy. Get ready to attack a worm that jumps in and out of the ground when you do, though. The head is the weak point. There's more if you stay at the bottom and go all the way to the right. When you go as far right as you can, go up and to the left. You'll find another health extension.

Other enemies include rocks rolling down the slopes, birds dropping said rocks, insects that fly at you, brown flea-like enemies that hop around after rising out of the ground. Take your time, and unleash a full-power attack when enemies start showing up in droves.

When you reach the top, you'll fight what looks like a slightly muscular but also slightly skeletal pterodactyl. You can only attack the head when the mouth is open. When the pterodactyl backs up and then darts right at you, stay on the lower level and duck. Stay on the lower level and be ready to duck and/or jump as the boss spits the big fireballs. When it starts spitting the smaller fireballs, you'll want to unless a full-power attack if you can and attack as many as possible; otherwise, stay in the center and duck.

After this, the boss will back up and then dive at you multiple times. Stay close and keep moving back and forth with it, and fire your thunder magic as you're moving back. After one big dive that you can avoid by staying on the move, the pattern repeats. As for companions to bring in, any of them will do, but the raven and the will-o'-the-wisp are best. Once you beat the boss, head further to the right and take out the rocks along the way to enter the next stage.

PrinceWatercress plays Alisia Dragoon - Part 3 of 8

Things get a little hairier on the airship...

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Stage 3

When you start the stage, you'll have three turrets firing at you. Shoot the two on the right first to make it easier to get around, and you can take out the one at the left. If you go to the left after going far enough to the right while taking out more turrets, insects will start flying out at you.

The blue fairy will give you maximum power for all your attacks for a limited time.

The purple soldiers will self-destruct if they get to the ground where you are, so shoot them down before they do.

On your way up to where the enemies on the platforms are, you'll want to get the item that brings your attack power to Level 3. As for the platform enemies, shoot them down so you can leap from platform to platform to continue on.

The boss is a bunch of purple bio-turrets or something. Bust out the raven companion and make sure they are at Level 3 to do maximum damage on all the turrets; the fewer that are active and shooting directly at you at once, the better. You'll also have to deal with orbs that slowly fly towards you as well as insects with multi-way shots that peek in and out of the walls. You'll need to destroy the turrets and the insects to beat the boss battle and jump off the airship and into the mountains for Stage 4.

PrinceWatercress plays Alisia Dragoon - Part 2 of 8

This stage gets a little bit easier when you take your time through most of it and look around for power-ups.

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Stage 2

Never stand on the lily pads for more than a fraction of a second. They're really monsters, and if you don't jump to the other side immediately, you're going to get chomped on.

Human enemies will pop up from out of the water when you start the stage, so take your time and attack with a full-power attack to hit them all at once if you can in case there is more than one on the screen.

If you see any nooks and crannies below any cliffs, search them for hidden power-ups. 

You'll soon face your first mini-boss. To defeat the worm, keep your distance as you fire at its head and watch the water to see where it is. The worm likes to fly around and also jump into you from the water. Be sure to charge your attack when the worm is not on screen, as the more powerful your shots are, the better. The water doesn't hurt you, but enemies can pop out of it, making it an unsafe place to be.

You'll soon be able to produce a platform created by two fairies. Shoot down the power-up globe, and fairies will appear on the right-hand side of where you fought the worm. Stand on the sparkles to get elevated upwards and go further.

If enemies are near the lily pads, the lily pads will start attacking without you having to be on them. Take your time and take out the nearby enemies before moving on.

When the humanoid enemies on the flying platforms show up, hit them with a full-power attack to decimate them immediately before they can fire projectiles at you.

Be sure to drop down into what seems like a pit when you see the humanoids on the flying platforms. One of the power-ups is a silver curled-up lizard, which will revive any defeated companions with full health. The only downside is that if you revive a companion, they will start over at Level 1, and you will have to power them back up again. You'll also find a health extension next to it.

You'll then face the boss. You'll want to shoot at the mouth when it opens while avoiding any clouds that fire out from it as well as the boss itself. Watch the water to see where it will pop out, and shoot down the fleas that it shoots out of its head. From there, get away from it when it moves towards you so you don't get hit. The pattern will then repeat itself. Full-power shots that cover the screen will work well against the fleas, and will also work well at hitting the boss in its open mouth as it lunges towards you.

When you beat the boss, you'll get on an airship for Stage 3.

PrinceWatercress plays Alisia Dragoon - Part 1 of 8

After seeing a few people play this game, it was only a matter of time until I played this myself.

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From the manual...

As Baldour, the prince of all things evil, near the end of his dormancy, the cocoon in which he rests is transported to Earth by his aide, Ornah. The world is still reocering from the devastating effects of Baldour's last visit.

Alisa Dragoon is the daughter of the magician who attempted to stop Baldour. When she was a child, Alisia's father was tortured to death before her very eyes. His final cries of agony ring in her ears even now. Inexplicably, Alisia's life was spared. She is now a woman with magical ability rivaling that of her father. "Baldour is going to wish he had killed me as well," she vows.

Alisia must find Oranh and the cocoon before Baldour awakens. Use her Thunder Magic to demolish enemies, and summon any one of the four friendly monsters to help you. If Baldour awakens before you can destroy the cocoon, there may be no more tomorrow...

Stage 1

Once again, the silver star fell from the sky, unleashing evil and destruction for the second time. The one person who can save the world must seek out this object. 

Whenever you see the word "Demo" in the lower-right corner, control of Alisia is out of your hands until it disappears.

At the top of the screen is your HUD. At the top-left is Alisia's health and attack power meter. As you hold down the attack button, you will strike the nearest enemies with bolts of thunder magic as the meter slowly drains. You'll need to stop attacking briefly in order for the meter to slowly refill. When the meter is full, it will flash, and if you attack then, you'll perform a thunder magic strike that circles across the screen. At the top right is the health and attack power of your monster companion, should you currently have one on-screen. When the companion's attack meter is full, the enemy will attack if there is an enemy on-screen.

Left and Right on the D-Pad let you move left and right. Down lets you duck, and you can turn around while ducking with Down-Left and Down-Right. The A button lets you switch between the four monsters with Up and Down on the D-Pad, and pressing A again confirms your monster selection. You can even choose to not have a monster companion on the screen at all, if you wish. B attacks with thunder magic, and C jumps. Start pauses the game.

You have four different animal companions. Dragon Frye is a dragon that can shoot fireballs in the direction you are facing. It is strong and has a high attack recharge rate, but it is the biggest target of the four companions. Ball O' Fire is a will-o'-the-wisp that has to run into enemies to attack and defeat them, and it is not very strong at first until you power it up. It can, however, take a lot of damage. Thunder Raven is a neon-colored raven that has an attack that affects the entire screen and hurts all on-screen enemies, but you will have to wait a while for the raven to attack again and it is another large target like the dragon. Boomerang Lizard is a flying lizard that fires boomerangs at enemies, and while it has a powerful attack that has some spread and some good recovery time, the boomerangs may not always hit their target.

When you start the stage, you will have insects flying at you. You'll want to duck down and shoot whenever you see them, and inch your way forward and take your time so the insects don't eat at your health.

Once you're down the slope, you'll see what look like yellow insects flying out from the left side of the screen as well as things that look like brains that shoout out spores that turn into mushrooms. The flying insects are bad enough, but the brain things need a bit of thunder magic to destroy. You'll want to avoid their spores as they fly out, and you'll also want to avoid the mushrooms that form when the spores hit the ground, as both things can damage you.

The flying winged globes with gold stars in them are power-ups. You'll need to shoot them to get the power-ups inside. Some of them will be in sight, while others have to be revealed by moving into specific spots, especially if you find a hidden passage. Shoot them with your thunder magic to open them. The blue potions will refill one rectangle of health for Alisia, while the meat will refill one rectangle of health for your current magical companion. If you need to heal a companion, switch to that companion before grabbing the meat. You'll want to keep your companions alive, as items that revive them are few and far between.

You'll need to duck down and attack to take out the black caterpillars as well as the bats that fly out from the top of the screen. The bats will swoop down if given the chance, and the black caterpillars can come at you from behind and even try to roll into you.

You'll soon enter a temple. Take your time, let your thunder magic recharge before forging ahead to take out any wizards that suddenly teleport into view, and explore carefully so you don't miss power-ups and hidden passages. You may have to leap into a wall or two to find some. You'll be able to find blue stars that will level up your current companion. Companions can be leveled up to Level 3, and by doing this, you can not only make their attacks stronger, but you can also change their appearance slightly.

The slimes will burst into flame when you hit them, so make sure you hit them from a distance.

The Alisia Dragoon doll acts as an extra life. In case Alisia loses all of your health, you'll have a continue to work with. Yes, the game does the "lives as continues" thing, but it takes a little while for Alisia to lose all her health if you take your time and don't rush through the game.

At the end of the temple, you'll run into Baldour, but you'll also run into Ornah, who will commend you for getting this far before fleeing with Baldour and daring Alisia to come to their palace. From here, you'll continue into what looks like a cave. Take your time and inch your way forward to hit the flying insects and the teleporting wizards. If you need to recharge your thunder magic, be sure to duck so you don't get hit by any flying enemies.

The square with the circle adds one rectangle to Alisia's maximum health. You can have up to six rectangles, and you're going to need all the health you can get. The orbs with the thunder bolts surrounding it will increase the level of your attack by one. You'll start out at Level 1, but by collecting these orbs, you can make your attack more powerful so it doesn't take forever to defeat enemies as you progress through the game.

The soldiers with the tridents will only be vulnerable after they stop flickering from teleporting on-screen. If given the chance, their tridents will extend forward slightly to hit you. Ditto with the wraiths who show up to drop bricks from above. Be ready to hit them or stay out of the way when they teleport in and stop flickering, as the bricks they drop can do quite a bit of damage.

The boss is a pair of assassins. Bust out the Dragon Frye and have the Dragon Frye attack the boss while you duck down and strike with full power thunder magic. You'll want to watch out for their daggers, as some of them will spin and fly around in an attempt to hit you, so you'll want to stay on the move when necessary. As for the ones that fly straight ahead, you can duck under them and they will just whizz past.

When you complete a stage, both Alisia's health and those of her companions will be fully replenished.

PrinceWatercress plays Power Blade II - Part 6 of 6

...and now, the epic conclusion of Power Blade II!

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Stage 6

For Area 2 (Area 1 is just you dropping in), you'll be jumping around in the red goop in order to not sink into it. If you want, you can latch onto the ceiling by holding Up and jumping into the ceiling with the Newt Suit, then holding Left or Right to climb across the ceiling. Destroy the long bugs with your boomerang as they pop up.

To destroy the worms in Area 3, throw boomerangs into the red eye. They will attack if given the chance.

For Area 4, the snake blocks make a return. When you reach some more permanent platforms midway through, take the lower set of blocks at first. This will make it easier to switch to the other set. You'll soon have four sets of snake blocks near the end; make sure you take a set that is heading to the right to get to the exit. Be careful with the moving platform at the end; you don't want your head hitting the ceiling spikes.

Area 5 is the same as Area 3. Area 6 is another "watch out in the goop below" area. Be ready to jump to take out some of the jets, and avoid the pincers in case they show up while you're in the red goop. Keep in mind that you can slide over the one-block-long gaps with the spikes in them to get past the spikes safely.

For Areas 7 and 8, keep your distance and repeatedly throw boomerangs with a full power meter in order to take out the enemies safely. When you attack the slime man in Area 9, jump over what's left of him so you'll be past him when he pulls himself together. To get the battery in Area 9, equip the Wet Suit and swim towards the right side of the platform, then switch to the Newt Suit so you can climb over the edge of the ledge and get the battery. Ditto with the energy tank in Area 10.

After defeating some enemies in Areas 11 and 12, use the Rocket Suit at the platforms. Slide off the moving platform on the left, then hold A once you're in mid-air to fly to the door.

For Area 14, use the Newt Suit's ceiling climbing ability to stay out of the goop and keep the pincers from hitting you. When you land on the platform in the spike pit before the final door, jump to the right immediately so you don't get caught out near the end and sent into the spikes for a cheap instant death.

From here, you'll have to go through a boss rush with all five bosses' battles being redone in order. When you beat a boss, you'll get all of your health refilled and a fair bit of energy back, but don't be afraid to press Select to use of your energy tanks. The same strategies for each boss battle still apply.

You'll then see the head of the Delta Foundation turn into an alien. To beat him, stay in the center of the room and keep on jumping. The boss will keep teleporting in and out, and his projectiles will temporarily freeze the goop that makes up the floor of the room so you won't slowly sink into it for a little while. Avoid the projectiles, keep on hopping up and down and keep shooting projectiles at the boss and you'll eventually beat the boss, which is a lot easier than one would expect.

Having saved mankind again, Nova heads back to headquarters just in time for Christmas, his accomplishments never being made public due to the nature of his work. You just beat Power Blade II!

PrinceWatercress plays Power Blade II - Part 5 of 6

After completing the first four stages of the game, we can finally play the fifth one...and this is where things get tough.

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Stage 5

Area 1 is fairly straightforward. Area 2...not so much. You'll need to jump from moving platform to moving platform to get to the top. Use a Newt or Patriot Suit to take out the enemy at the top without receiving damage.

You'll eventually run into Jacqueline, who tells Nova that the president of the Nova Foundation is really an alien from outer space who is now spreading his troops around in order to invade Earth, and that he was really trying to sell the fighting cyborg in order to raise funds for the invasion. If the Nova Foundation is not stopped, Earth's days are numbered.

From here, the stage gets more difficult. Area 5 introduces green snake blocks much like in Super Mario World, that you'll need to ride while avoiding the spikes on both the floor and the ceiling. You'll need to pay attention to where they are going in addition to keeping up with them to get to the other side. Make sure you don't go too far to the left, or else you won't have another snake block to fall back on in case you run out of room in that direction.

Use the Rocket Suit to get the battery at the bottom of Area 6.

For Area 7, use the Wet Suit to get to the bottom more quickly and get the energy tank at the bottom. Ditto for Area 8 so you can destroy the block near the exit.

In Area 9, stick to your suitless form. and destroy the doors spawning the orbs while using the platform to get to the bottom. Remember that the platform stops moving when you jump upwards. For Area 10, switch back to the Wet Suit and avoid the sparks while destroying the enemies from the sides of the platforms.

For the boss, equip the Patriot Suit. Shoot at the boss as it flies around, and always slide when the boss is directly above you so you don't get hit when the boss drops down. This will make it easier to destroy the boss.  The first time the boss passes by you leads to nothing, but the second time leads to the drop down. If you don't attack the boss after he drops down, he will rush towards you; if you do, he just jumps back up and starts flying back-and-forth again.

PrinceWatercress plays Power Blade II - Part 4 of 6

In this entry, we take on the fourth and last of the selectable stages.

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Stage 4

After dealing with the big round robots and the jetpack cyborgs in Area 1, Area 2 has you going underwater. Make sure your power meter is as high as possible before you attack or else your attack range will be seriously reduced.

Use the Wet Suit in Area 3. This will keep you from jumping into the ceiling spikes. As for Area 4, you'll want to be in normal mode for the start, then you'll want to use the Wet Suit to grab all the good stuff in addition to getting around. As for the rest of Area 4, the water will push you back, but you can get around slightly more quickly by jumping your way forward.

There will be double doors in Area 5. The dragon mini-boss here bounces around just like the dragons in the last two stages, but this time, you'll have water rushing across the floor that acts like a conveyor belt that constantly pushes you to the right. Keep that in mind while fighting the dragon mini-boss. Beating this battle will net you the Patriot Suit, which is much like the Newt Suit but has two protective satellites that reduce the damage you take in addition to tracking enemies and destroying them.

The rest of Area 5 has water continuing to push you to the right as you deal with slimes that hop around and stick to ceilings that split into two much smaller slimes when you hit them.

Area 6 has the disc-throwing cyborgs and the jetpack cyborgs. Use the Rocket Suit to get to the door at the bottom.

Area 7 has a floor that slowly rises and falls. Wait for the floor to move down before sliding down narrow corridors or you will get stuck, crushed and killed.

To beat the twin cyborgs in this stage's boss battle, come in with the Newt or Patriot Suit, then slide to the right and stay close to the twin on the right. Keep attacking the twin on the right and keep on moving so that the twin on the right doesn't jump into you. You'll keep hitting the twin on the right, but you'll also hit the twin on the left every so often, too. The twin on the right will go down first, and from there, you can easily destroy the twin on the left. The twin cyborgs only attack when you do, and you'll want to strike when in range and be ready to move. For the left twin, stay on the right and attack from a good distance. The twin on the left can only jump so far to the right before jumping all the way back to the left. Once the twin cyborgs go down, you'll complete the last of the stages and you'll be ready for Stage 5.