PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Witch Class) - Part 8 of 8

...and for the fifth time, we've beaten this game. Three more classes to go.

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At Axis Castle, enter the doorway to the west of the one leading to the throne room. Go south, then go down the stairs. From here, you'll be in a very alien-looking dungeon. Be ready to tear through enemies and the enemy generators that spawn them, including brown bugs that just charge at you in non-diagonal directions. If you're lucky, you can get some rings off the yellow pillbug enemies that are here as well as the purple enemies.

You'll then face Judas. Stay on the move, run around the room in a circle, and keep as much distance as possible while attacking Judas and avoiding the multiple boomerangs he throws. Make sure you are not right up on the wall, or else you can get caught on the spaces between the pods that make up the walls, which can get you trapped and vulnerable to taking a whole bunch of damage. After the stat boost, you'll be in Ciria Village, where the villagers will be cheering you on while telling you to head east to Balamous Tower. East of Balamous Tower is a path leading to Melba Village, so if you need to heal up at the tavern, you can do that.

You'll have some very narrow areas to move and shoot through in the tower, so getting the reflect mirror that will let your attacks bounce off walls is a must. Also, be ready to blaze a path to a staircase and then get right to it, as you will be overwhelmed if you try to fight all the enemies at this point.

You'll then face Natas himself. Move from one lower corner of the room to the other while aiming diagonally north, and stay away from the hands. You'll take out the hands and even a few projectiles coming out then be able to aim at the ORA Stone, and while the hands will re-spawn, taking out both hands will make things easier. If all else fails, you may have to go up to an upper corner and aim at the ORA stone while absorbing all the damage in one last-ditch effort. Once you beat Natas, you'll be able to take the ORA Stone and beat the game! You've just beaten Dungeon Explorer!

PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Witch Class) - Part 7 of 8

Ah, yes. The maze. I managed to find another room that leads to power-ups this time around.

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If you talk to the king at Axis Castle, he will tell you to go north of the castle and enter Ratonix, and to watch out for Octopolus. You'll also get the magic charges, as usual.

Here, you'll have a dungeon with some of the darkest color schemes I've ever seen in a video game...and you'll also have a staircase maze. The skeletons drop White charges, while the mud creatures drop the Black charges.

Start by going west and going downstairs. From there, take the stairs that are further to the east. Go down the next flight of stairs, then go up the stairs to the north. Take the next set of stairs that you see, then take the stairs to the north. Take the stairs to the north, then grab the seed if you need to replenish your health and take the stairs to the north again. Take the stairs to your immediate east, then do it again. Go south to the next set of stairs, then go up another flight of stairs to the east. Go east down some stairs, then take the stairs going down to the south. Get the stuff to the north, then take the stairs to the south. Take the stairs to the west from here. Go down the lower set of stairs to the east (the higher set leads to an Intelligence crown, and while you will go back from this room, getting back isn't too hard), then go up the stairs to the immediate east afterwards. Take the next set of stairs that you see, do it again, then take the stairs to the east. Take the stairs to the south, then follow the path and take the stairs at the end. You'll face Octopolus.

To beat Octopolus, stay to one side and keep aiming at the eye in the center. You'll take out all the other eyes surrounding Octopolus' weak point before decimating the weak point itself before anything re-spawns, even though you don't need to do this and you can just destroy enough of them to get a clearer shot on the eye int he center. After the stat boost, you'll find out that you're on the way to Mistos and that you'll have to go underground and face Halatos. Follow the path to another dungeon.

Here, the ground is red and the enemy generators blend in with the floors rather easily, so watch for any part of the floor that is flashing. Despite the massive amounts of staircases here, it is easy to get to where you need to go. Just watch out for the massive amounts of blue eyeballs flying around, the flamethrowers and the orange demons that are very fast.

Near the end of this dungeon, you'll be dealing with enemy generators that spawn blue flames. If you see the blue flames, off-screen them immediately as you make your way to the south. You'll eventually face Halatos.

To beat Halatos, stay in one of the lower corners and fire diagonally to the north. You'll take out any flames that are shot at you while also slowly dealing damage to Halatos. Keep in mind that you can be poisoned during this battle. Once you beat Halatos, head all the way east and you'll find the ORA Stone! Grab it, then take the nearby stairs. You'll meet Judas, who tells you to head to Axis Castle. Just go east when you leave the house and you'll be there.

Of course, once you go to Axis Castle, you'll notice that the music in the castle is slower. When you talk to the king, you'll find out that he is Natas himself! The soldiers will tell you to go under the castle thru Roterroad to head to Balamous Tower, and to be careful of the plant pods.

PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Witch Class) - Part 6 of 8

Two more easy bosses...well, as easy as they're going to be.

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Once you go back to where you got back into Axis Castle from, go east. You'll eventually come across a wall of fire that cannot be passed through; turn back and go north as soon as you are able. Go east, then go north. You'll eventually find stairs leading up; take them. After another room, you'll be in Cursoka Village.

Watch out for the dwarves, spiders and worms and take them out on sight before they get you. Head to the northwest corner and enter the house you find there, then go down the stairs for another dungeon area. The skeletons with the purple shoulder pads are fast, and the fly enemies will bounce off the walls.

You'll eventually encounter the Splatter Slime. Keep your white magic ready, move around the room in a circle to avoid the Splatter Slime and the slime enemies that it spawns (in three new colors!) and hit the Splatter Slime when you get enough distance. The Splatter Slime will go down in no time, and once you increase one of your stats, you'll be able to go back to Axis Castle by going west, but if you go south, you'll head towards Raraport and face yellow pill bugs, gray soldiers, orange soldiers and red dwarves, the last of whom will overwhelm you if your strength isn't high enough and you're not using White magic.

To beat the Gargon, stay around the southeast or northeast corner and keep firing at the Gargon. You'll be hitting fireballs while trying to attack the Gargon, but at the same time, you'll be able to clear a path. The Gargon may move back and forth every so often, so be ready to change your aim if you need to. If you have the reflect ability for your attack, this is even easier. If you can heal with your magic, you can stay at the top center and keep firing from there. It may take a while, but the Gargon will go down long before you do.

You'll then go through yet another dungeon. Push the rock, go up the stairs, and you'll be east of Axis Castle.

PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Witch Class) - Part 5 of 8

In this entry, we take on Cyclopus and the Reaper of Death, and we have a fine time breezing through this part of the game.

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From here, head back to the fork in the road with the house that was near Cherry Tower. From here, take the path on the right to the north. From here, take out the enemy generators, the purple spiders (which can drop white charges) and the dwarves (which can drop black charges) who throw maces and the barbarians (who look like the Elf) as you head east. Sometimes, the evil dwarves will drop blue potions. You will eventually find a path to the north; don't take it yet. Instead, continue east. The man in the house you find here will tell you that the nearby stairway will take you to Karma Castle; from here, you can head to Stonefield.

The purple pillbugs are even faster than the silver ones, but they still drop white charges on occasion. The green guys in the armor are also fairly fast, and they can drop black magic charges. 

The oval shaped balls that bounce off the walls come out of generators that cannot be destroyed.

You'll eventually face Cyclopus here. The boss here will chase after you and will only fire diagonally, much like Bullbeast. Get a good distance away, hit him a few times, wait for him to teleport, then keep away from him and repeat the process.

You'll end up back outside, and you'll be able to head to the nearby Karma Castle. Go into the castle. You'll meet Judas, who tells you to go underground through Rallymaze.

The glowing white balls that shoot out damaging white orbs of light cannot be destroyed, and neither can the white orbs. At this point, you should have enough agility to run through rooms very quickly; it may just save you in case you lose a lot of health. Also, the purple enemies here can drop the occasional black magic charge and the occasional blue potion.

You'll soon face the Reaper of Death. He will split into four and have himself and his clones go after you; keep your distance and take them out one at a time. They'll all fall before you know it, but one of them takes for damage than the clones. You'll need to find out which one is real, then take out two of the clones so the clones can't be brought back. and you'll soon be back at Axis Castle. From here, you can go to other areas and also go to the castle proper. The side door areas are now open, so you can skip a good amount of the game in case you have a password that takes you this far.

The side entrances of the castle lead to the multiplayer arena, where you and a bunch of friends can fight each other. Also, talk to the King. The King will tell you to go to Cursoka Village east of Karma Castle - and beware of the Splatter Slime - if you talk to him at this point. Yes, you still get the magic charges.

PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Witch Class) - Part 4 of 8

I'm surprised I blew through the battle with Alexis so quickly.

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You'll now be in a very linear maze-like area. There will be purple soldiers coming out of the enemy generating holes, but there will also be purple worms that will come out of them, and they will be waiting to fire at you. You'll especially want to be careful against them, as they can poison you. If you're poisoned, your HP will slowly drain for some time as long as your HP is purple. Thankfully, you can fire over the rock walls, making getting rid of the enemy generators around here easier.

You'll be going between above ground and underground as you go through the maze. The red slimes are very easy to take care of. Once you get back above ground, go west. If you went here at the beginning of the game, you wouldn't be able to cross this river, but now that you have, you can walk onto a bridge and go west to the Water Castle. Be sure to take out the brown soldiers on the islands, as they can throw projectiles at you. Sometimes they can leave axes that increase your attack speed. You'll eventually come across a big opening in a castle to the west; this is where you go.

The gray pillbug enemies are a little faster than the ones you've seen earlier. There are also gray bug-shaped enemies that fire short-range beams; be sure to get rid of them too. There is also a lot of fire and conveyor belts around here, too, so watch your step.

Thankfully, the purple enemies here that are fairly fast have no projectile and only move towards you. They can also drop black charges, but they can also drop health potions if you're lucky.

The dark purple lizards are slightly faster than the green ones you've seen at the beginning of the game.

You'll eventually meet the Tigerbeast. Hope you have a high agility stat! From here, outrun the Tigerbeast, and when you reach the bottom of the screen, turn around and shoot. When the Tigerbeast gets close, run south again to the bottom of the screen. Be ready to heal, too. Keep repeating this until he dies. From here, you can keep moving south until you find a staircase in the floor. Enter it. You'll soon be able to get out of this castle. Sadly, you don't get a gem to improve a stat after beating the Tigerbeast, although I have noticed while making these blogs that you do get more health.

Once you're back outside, you'll start seeing zombie heads that come out of the ground and head straight for you. Kill them on sight as soon as you see them; as they are fast and can be trouble. You'll also start seeing metal slimes. Thankfully, they're the easier enemy here. You'll need to head west, where you will eventually come across a tower. The nearby house tells you that this is Cherry Tower, and not to fall for Alexis' beauty.

As you make your way up the tower (which has very nice walls that look like dice), you'll have to deal with more enemies, including cyan zombies, guys in green with white beards who shoot projectiles at you, yellow floating eyes with green irises who will poison you and sap away your HP if they touch you (your HP will be in purple if you are poisoned), spike ball spitters, a blue gnome much like the guy we saw near Princess Aki's prison cell who will also net you a stat-increasing gem and full health if you defeat him, and eventually Alexis herself. The yellow eye enemies will drop white charges, while the guys in green with the beards will drop black charges and the occasional crown of intelligence. 

As the Witch, you'll want to use your White magic charges to stay healed up whenever you can. If your intelligence is high enough, the Black charges will destroy everyone on-screen while you're here.

To beat Alexis, stay on the move and keep shooting when you can, always walking around in a circle and avoiding the black fireballs she shoots out that will follow you around. If you don't have reflective projectiles, you can stand in one of the upper corners and keep firing away, moving when you need to in order to take out projectiles. You may need to run away eventually, and if you do, just keep moving around the perimeter of the room. You'll eventually be able to improve one of your stats and level up. 

Once you're back outside, go southeast. You'll be at a fork in the road. Going south from here will take you back towards the village. The King will tell you to go to Stonefield east of Cherry Tower if you talk to him and to watch out for Cyclopus if you talk to him. He will also give you the two magic charges of both types as usual.

PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Witch Class) - Part 3 of 8

In this entry, we enter all new areas and take on new bosses as we strive to beat the game with the Witch class.

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Inside the dungeon, you'll meet a princess in a jail cell. If you approach her, she will introduce herself as Princess Aki and tell you to save her from imprisonment from Grimrose. There's nothing more that you can do here, so go south and go up the stairs.

The old man in the house that you see will tell you that if you destroy the statue guards, you'll be able to get past a sealed door. Head west. You'll see a castle, but you'll also see enemy generators lining the perimeter of the castle. The bugs and worms are pretty fast, and the worms will shoot at you, but your strength and attack should be high enough to take them down as long as you line yourself up with the enemy generators. The spiders will drop black magic charges, while the worms will drop the white magic charges and even gold rings. The worms' projectiles can also poison you. When that happens, your HP will be purple, and you'll have to wait for the poison to dissipate in order to get rid of it.

Eventually, you'll be able to go into the castle. The center door leads to the boss, but you'll have to go through the side doors and take out the statues first. The pots contain blades that bounce around the room, and you'll also have to take out some soldiers, too. If you need black magic charges, the soldiers may drop a few, and the blade-like enemies (which look more like bugs, now that I think about it) may drop white magic charges when destroyed.

If you find a mirror off of an enemy and pick them up, your attacks will bounce off walls. This can be a pain in your side at times, though, as they make your shots stick around just a little bit longer, forcing you to wait longer for your shots to disappear before you can attack again.

Once you take out all of the statues on both ends of the castle, you'll be able to go through the center door in the center of the castle. If you need to go back to the town and heal at the tavern, do so now; you now have shortcuts that allow you to skip the dungeons you had to go through and beat the bosses in to get to the destinations you've reached in the first place, and the Ruvis Statue in Melba Village should be gone by now, anyway.

Once you go through the center door, you'll need to go up stairs and destroy even more statues. The gray soldiers here throw axes at you, so you'll need to take them out as quickly as possible. Once you destroy the statues here, you'll be able to open the doors at the top and take the stairs leading up to the boss battle. To beat Grimrose, focus solely on Grimrose's three roses. You'll fire through everything and rip them to shreds soon enough, then you'll be able to increase one of your stats and become a little bit more powerful. Leave the castle and head back to where the Princess was. You'll find a note from Princess Aki thanking you, and gives you a password: JBBNJ-HDC0G. If you insert it after turning the game on, you'll be able to play as Princess Aki. You've unlocked a class for this game!

You can also move to the other side of this area, where you'll meet a little guy in blue that you saw earlier. Beware: this guy is pretty powerful and takes a lot of hits before he finally goes down. When you do defeat him, you'll get the gem that you get from the bosses to increase one of your stats and he goes down for good, and that is reflected in your password. From here, you can destroy the rest of the rocks around him and go up the stairs ahead.

You're in a new dungeon. Take out all the monster spawners, as some of them spit rocks forwards at you in an attempt to end your quest. The purple demons are pretty fast, so take them out as soon as you can. They can drop boots of agility if you're lucky, in addition to black magic charges.

The flashing green seed will bring you back to full health no matter how much health you have.

The flying pink enemies just slowly fly towards you. They can drop white charges randomly, but they can also poison you if they touch you.

You'll eventually face a giant caterpillar. This is the Catakiller. Run away from it in a circle (square?), and fire at the head from as far away as you can. You'll slowly take it down, so don't be surprised if it takes a while. After the battle (and the stat boost), Judas congratulates you on defeating the Catakiller, then says he doubts that your luck will continue before running away. Follow him to go through several flights of stairs upwards into a new area. The woman in the house nearby to the east will tell you that the Hermit House is nearby, and that the Hermit is not there. Since we're not playing as the Bard, we won't be seeing the Hermit, anyway. If you go east from the house that tells you about the Hermit House, you'll find the Hermit House. If you come here with the Bard and only the Bard, you'll be able to get a password that lets you play as the Hermit.

If you go west from here, you'll head back to Axis Castle. Here, the king will tell you to head west to the Water Castle and watch out for the Tigerbeast before giving you a White magic charge and a Black magic charge. From here, go west of the castle.

PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Witch Class) - Part 2 of 8

Now that the hard part of getting the game started is behind us, getting further into the game is a little bit easier.

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Now that you can access the other staircase at the start of the first dungeon, you can now push the rock to the left to access it. You'll find an ax and a crown for your stats along the way, and you'll eventually be at Melba Village.

The people of Melba Village are happy that you have beaten the Bullbeast, but warn that the Gutworm lurks below. You'll also find out about the Ruvid Statue that you'll have to destroy to get to Baron Castle.

To the south of the village is several blue slime generators as well as the nearby Ruvid Statue. You'll have to go down the stairs near the blue slimes; the Ruvid Statue will have to wait.

In this dungeon, there will be plenty of flamethrower statues that you'll have to keep your distance while destroying them. This is where your ability to aim your attacks diagonally will be put to the test for the first time. Also, the gaping spiral-shaped openings that open and close are enemy generators.

The winged boots increase your speed.

Some floors may move you slowly in a certain direction. These floors act like conveyor belts, so watch where you're going. Thankfully, you can move against them, though it will take some effort, depending on how high your agility is. If it's not high enough, you're not budging at all.

Aside from the soldiers (the red ones of which shoot projectiles at you). there are also gray pillbug-like enemies that will fire at you and also drop white potions.

Flames hurt. Be careful when grabbing stuff near the flames moving in a circle, and definitely be careful and get rid of the flamethrower statues from an angle whenever possible to take them out safely at this point. If your agility is high enough, you can skip the ones near the end entirely.

The blue potion will give you some health back.

To beat the Gutworm, get the most distance you can between you and the boss as you shoot at it. If it gets closer to you, move elsewhere and start attacking again. 

Now that you've taken care of the Gutworm, there are two stairways you can take at the end of the dungeon. One takes you to the Ruvis Statue so you can destroy it (destroying it is tied to your password) and the other one takes you to uncharted territory. Take out the Ruvis Statue first, then go back through the tavern and then through the dungeon again to get to the new land if you have to. Otherwise, just go back through the stairs you came out from and go to the new land. Also, some of the people of Melba Village will have new things to say once you defeat the Gutworm and destroy the Ruvis Statue.

If you decide to do the former, the King will tell you to go through Melba Village and enter Baron Castle to defeat the Grimrose before giving you a Black magic charge and a White magic charge.

If you see a stream with two bridges, then congratulations! You're in the new land! Continue east and go through the stairs for another dungeon.

PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Witch Class) - Part 1 of 8

Long long ago, there was a small and civilized country named Oddesia. This was a land of peace and harmony where people helped their neighbors and life was happy and tranquil.

The symbol of Oddesia's prosperity was the ancient and mysterious ORA Stone. The ORA was special because it controlled the power of the people's will. Whoever held the stone ruled the country and its citizens.

One day, unfortunately, aliens from another world heard of the stone's magic. These were wicked men with evil powers of their own. They wanted the stone so they could dominate the people. However, one man saw this danger and hid the ORA Stone so no one could ever find it. Terror reigned as the aliens became master of the dungeons and vented their aggression on the people.

The King of Oddesia saw the ruins of his once proud country and made a desperate plea for someone brave enough to defeat the aliens and retrieve the stone.

One day a visitor came to town and offered the trouble King his help. The King and his country placed their fate and only hope in this brave and gallant stranger. Thus the search for the ORA Stone begins...

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If you let the game's attract mode run past the story, you can see all of the eight character classes, their attacks, their magic and their starting stats.

Here, we'll be playing as the Witch. The Witch's White Magic is Magic Curing, which is a partial heal that also heals allies in multiplayer. The Witch's Black Magic is Alleviator, which does a random amount of damage to all on-screen enemies. I use the White Magic a lot more often as the Witch.

When you press Run to start the game, you'll see the opening cutscene of some of the playable characters looking over the land where the adventure will take place. You'll then be in the town's tavern. Hold the Run button until the number of times the word "OK!" appears matches the number of players you want to play with shows up. (We'll just be doing one-player mode for this Let's Play.) From here, you can choose your character class, or inputting a password. We'll be playing a new game as as the Witch. Button I confirms, Button II backs out, and the Control Pad chooses. You'll then have your character.

The Control Pad lets your character move in eight directions. Button I lets you use your currently equipped magic (assuming you have a charge for it), Button II does your regular attack and can be aimed by holding it down with a direction on the Control Pad (you cannot attack and move at the same time), and Select lets you switch between the White magic and the Black magic with a red arrow pointing downwards showing which one you currently have equipped. Pressing Run pauses the game and lets you choose between the current password, your current status and your current status level with the Control Pad and Button I. The password changes as you do things, so always make sure to check your password and write it down (thankfully, it's ten letters) for later use in case you have to turn the TurboGrafx-16 off.

The tavern is the inn, and is the place you go to if you need to heal, as healing your character is hard to do in-game. You'll always start here when you start a new game or continue a previous game. Once you leave the tavern, you'll be in the town. Unlike other games, you only talk to people as soon as you enter their house, and they only have one or two lines of dialogue. By talking to people, you'll find out that the King wants to see you in the rear room of Axis Castle to the north. You'll also learn about colored crystals that increase your stats, treasures that will help you fight, and that the devil himself Natas (which is "Satan" backwards) is looking for the ORA Stone.

The side rooms of the castle aren't of much use...yet. There is a multiplayer battle mode in the side rooms if you go north after entering them, but I cannot show it off due to playing solo. Instead, enter the bigger opening in the center, then go north and meet the King. Press Button I to go through the text slowly, or press Button II to go through the text more quickly. The King will tell you to go to the Loch Dungeon south of the castle, and that his man Judas (yeah, this sounds ominous) will be waiting there for you. He will then give you one charge of White Magic (signified by a white bottle with a W on it) and one charge of Black magic (indicated by a gray skull with a B on it). Be sure to talk to the King when you complete a task, as he will always give one charge of each magic when you get your next task.

From here, leave the castle and go south. The slime here can be defeated easily, and the man in the house will tell you that Melba Village will be to the west from the dungeon. Enter the stairs to go into the dungeon. Judas will be there, and will tell you that the King has sent him to tell you that Bullbeast is near and that he is mad. From here, you're on your own. Be ready to destroy anything that monsters come out of, as those are enemy generators. If it isn't obvious at this point, you're playing a clone of Gauntlet...but a rather good one. From the slime generator, go down the stairs going down to move further.

From here, you'll meet guys in gray armor who are a little bit faster than the slimes, but not impossible to deal with. Be careful when fighting enemies from a distance, as they can drop items. Unlike Gauntlet, where only one errant hit can destroy an item, it takes a few hits to destroy one, but even then it can be easy to destroy an item in this way. The blue potion briefly repels monsters away from you for as long as your character is flashing, and the blue winged boots increase your Agility. The gold ring refills your HP and give you a few extra HP beyond your maximum to work with.

It is possible to get a gold ring. It will refill a little bit of your health, and if you're at maximum health when you pick one up, you'll go slight above your maximum.

Thankfully, the dungeon layouts are pretty linear, and you can easily tell where you need to go and you are easily able to find your way to where you need to get to. 

The purple floating eyeballs go down in one hit, and there is a chance they can drop White Magic charges. The axe will increase your Attack. Rocks can be destroyed with your regular attack, and in the case that they can't, they can be pushed by just walking into them. 

If there are too many enemies on-screen and you're spending too much time near enemy generators, a blue fireball will eventually appear. It can go through walls and wreck your health if it hits you, and while you can destroy it, it does take a little bit of work to do so. Thankfully, you can off-screen enemies that come out of the generators to get rid of them if you need to.

The green lizard men tend not to move towards you, and it is really easy to off-screen them and have them disappear. They have a chance of dropping a White Magic charge. The crown increases your Intelligence.

You'll eventually meet Bullbeast. Stay on the move and run around the room in a circle, don't get cornered, and remember that the Bullbeast can only attack in diagonal directions. As far as hitting him goes, hit him when you have a bit of distance between yourself and the Bullbeast. As the Witch, you'll want to keep your White Magic ready, as you'll need all the heals in this battle that you can get. When you beat him, a magic crystal will show up and switch between four different colors. Orange is Agility, light blue is Attack, purple is Strength and green is Intelligence. Match the color up with the stat that you want, and grab the crystal while it is that color. Keep this and the colors of the status gauges in mind if you want to increase a specific stat. When you pick up a crystal, you'll not only refill your health, but you'll also increase your level, change your password and get some extra health to build on what you already had. You'll then be able to return to the first room of the dungeon after a little more exploration and head to Melba Village with the staircase to the west.

In case you die, you do have a few continues, which are indicated by the icons that look like torches (flowers?) at the top of the heads-up display at the bottom of the screen. Once you use them all, it's game over and you'll have to put in a password and get back to where you died. Keep in mind that any stat-boosting items that aren't crystals (such as crowns, axes, etc.) will not be saved to your password, and that you will have to get them all over again if you continue from a password.

If you go back to the King after beating Bullbeast, The King will tell you about Melba Village and the terrible Gutworm that lives nearby in addition to giving you a Black magic charge and a White magic charge.

PrinceWatercress plays Pokonyan! Henpokorin Adventure - Part 5 of 5

We play through the fifth and final world as well as the final bonus level, then check out and explain the post-game grading system.

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World 5-1

The big tree just after the first castle has the star above it.

There are plenty of slopes. Watch out for monsters around them. 

The warthogs are back, so don't get charged at.

There are a few pathways in the walls, so pay attention to your surroundings.

World 5-2

The star is on a cloud above the second big castle. Also, watch out for the sword and shield guys so you don't get stunned.

Holding Down and pressing R turns you into a hedgehog. I find this form the least useful of the three due to its slow speed.

World 5-3

There are plenty of places to run around here on both the ground and on the top of the castles.

The star is in the ground after the last five fruits, which are the cherries that are on the stars you can stand on. Stand above it, then hold Down and B to drop down and get it.

The blue fox boss will turn into a fireball that launches at you, a red energy ball that bounces to the other side of the screen, then changes into a sword that charges to the other side of the screen, in that order. The boss can only be damaged in fox form. The final treat is a macaroon.

Bonus World 5

6:14 - Push the upper-left block to the left, then push the block that was below it to the right. Push the upper-right block to the right, and there you go.

6:35 - You can push all of these blocks in the order that you see them. As for the two blocks on the far right, push the bottom one first.

6:56 - After pushing the middle block into the nearby gap, you'll have the five blocks afterwards. You'll need to push the other two blocks around you first. Push the right block to the right, then put the left block on top of the right block. 

Now for the set of five blocks. Push the block on the top to the left, and do the same for the middle left block. Push the middle right block to the right, the lower right block to the right, and the lower left block to the right to push the final block. Drop down and head left.

7:50 - Push the lower right block to the left. Push the lower middle block to the left. Push the upper right block all the way to the left, then push the upper left block to the left. 

8:19 - The first three blocks can be pushed to the left in the order that you see them. After pushing the middle block left, push the bottom block to the left so you can fill the rest of the game with the top block.

The bottom floor is just fruit, so just get everything and head to the exit.

After this, you'll come back home with all of the snacks, then take a nap. You'll get the credits, then you'll get a final score screen that shows how well you did.

There are five things you are scored on. From top to bottom, the first item is your final score. The second item is how many fruits you picked up in the game, with the max being 1000. The third item is how many times you were hit by enemies throughout the game. The fourth item is how many times you continued (this is my best guess, as I never continued). Below all that is your grade out of 100. Each item has a face, and the happier it is, the better you did in that category. The big open mouth with the triangular irises means that you have performed the best in that category. If you want to get a 100, you'll need to score a lot of points (defeating multiple enemies at once helps, as does jumping on multiple projectiles during the boss fights), collect all the fruits, refrain from getting hit, and refrain from continuing.

And with that, you've just beaten Pokonyan! Henpokorin Adventure!

PrinceWatercress plays Pokonyan! Henpokorin Adventure - Part 4 of 5

Yet another fun little world to get through. Also, I accidentally glitch through a puzzle in the fourth bonus level.

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World 4-1

There are a lot of birds and bunnies here. Stick to the clouds in this rainbow and ruins-decorated dream world, but watch out for the birds if you do.

There is a point in the middle of the level where there are four gray blocks on the ground side by side, and a fifth gray black on top. Push the block on top and drop down to get the bonus star.

The blimp in the background is the end.

World 4-2

Holding Up and pressing R will turn you into an owl and not a kangaroo, which allows you to fly around everywhere and zoom through the stage. You can still attack enemies from above, but you'll go through them if you do.

If you stay up top, you'll see three ramps, one above the other. To the right of them is the star.

The blue guys from the roller coaster track return here.

World 4-3

The sword and shield guys return, and in greater numbers. I found out at this point in the game that if they hit you, they actually stun you for longer than other enemies do.

The bonus star is near the end, at the last tower.

The white fox boss dashes in short spurts from one side of the screen to the other, then turns into an oni on a cloud who shoots lightning bolts downwards and brings down thunder directly underneath itself. Double jump to hit the boss while he is in oni form. If you're lucky, you can jump on the fox while he is in fox form. Six hits will net you the shortcake.

Bonus World 4

6:29 - Push the two blocks on the left so you can push the middle block. 

6:51 - Push the lower-right block to the right, and do the same for the upper-right block. That's all you need to do, really. Yet for some reason, I accidentally glitch through.

PrinceWatercress plays Pokonyan! Henpokorin Adventure - Part 3 of 5

The worlds aren't getting much more difficult, but getting all of the fruits and stars is getting a little tricker...and so are the bonus stages!

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World 3-1

The guys with the swords and the shields are back.

At the end of the first big ship is a crate. Push it and drop down to get the star.

Be sure to look high and low, as there will be a few crow's nests with treasure chests.

World 3-2

There are plenty of fish and squids to jump on in the water for some extra points, especially if you can jump on multiple enemies at once. The fish just swim forward while the squids will move upwards towards the surface of the water.

If you keep jumping in and out of the surface of the water, you can keep jumping forward perpetually and continuously.

Check the boats. Two of them will have treasure chests full of fruit that can be missed very easily.

At one point, you will reach dry land and find a rock on the ground. Push the rock, then keep dropping down to find the bonus star.

When you start seeing icebergs, you're near the end. If you missed anything, go back and get it, because the exit will be coming up very soon at that point.

World 3-3

There are penguins, but just like the sword and shield guys, they just slowly move forwards. 

At the second set of ruins, jump up with a double jump at the treasure chest at the far left. You'll find the third bonus star.

The light blue fox will turn into a snowman when you jump on him. Stay all the way on the side opposite the snowman and jump over the snowman's head when it is thrown at you, then double jump over the snowman and all the icicles when the snowman rolls at you. After six hits, you'll get the ice cream cone.

Bonus World 3

5:54 - You'll need to push the block in the middle so you can push the block at the top down to the bottom.

6:20 - Push the block in the middle left so you can push the top block left. That way, you can push the bottom block to the right and continue.

PrinceWatercress plays Pokonyan! Henpokorin Adventure - Part 2 of 5

There's not a lot of enemies for most of this place, so you can get through here fairly quickly...but don't forget to pick up the stars and beat the bonus area.

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World 2-1

World 2 takes place in an amusement park. Surprisingly, there are no enemies in this level. Just worry about getting all the fruit and getting through here quickly, which is something you can easily do in the amusement park due to the lack of enemies.

You can ride the rides, such as the rotating teacups and the Ferris wheel. You'll need to jump in order to get out of them, and you'll need to do that at the top of the Ferris wheel to get the bonus star.

World 2-2

The roller coaster may not have cars, but it has plenty of enemies in the form of the little guys in blue who slowly walk towards you.

Step onto the brown block with the white arrow pointing up above the start to be launched to the second bonus star.

The blue platform at the end is the exit.

World 2-3

There is a tree stomp on the ground shortly after the start of the level. Push it and drop down with Down+B where the stump used to be to get the third bonus star.

The birds are back, and you'll have to be around the blimps in the air in order to deal with them.

The fox boss here loves throwing stars, a boomerang that returns and a ball that bounces towards you. When he teleports into the screen, be ready to jump to the right and over the first set of projectiles as quickly as possible. After six hits, you'll get the lollipop. If you want, you can jump on the projectiles for extra bonus points before landing on the fox boss. 

Bonus World 2

At this point, things get a little tougher. 

6:57 - You'll need to push two blocks into the pit before you can leave. Thankfully, this is easy.

7:22 - Fill in the two gaps to the left, then push the left block at the top so you can more easily fill the gap and enter the next section.

7:40 - Push the left block at the top so you can push the bottom block, then push the right block on the top to the right (even though after you push the left block at the top, it doesn't matter which order the right-side blocks are pushed).

PrinceWatercress plays Pokonyan! Henpokorin Adventure - Part 1 of 5

Based on the anime of the same name, Pokonyan! Henpokorin Adventure got a video game adaptation for the Super Famicom. Believe it or not, there's actually slightly more to it than just being a simple Sonic clone.

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If you leave the attract mode running, the game will give you a brief tutorial.

Left and Right moves left and right, Up looks up, Down crouches and looks down, B jumps, and you can perform a double jump by jumping again while in the middle of a jump. The game is a bit like Sonic the Hedgehog or Bubsy in which you have to move in one direction for a little bit to gain momentum and speed, and the better and more momentum and speed you have, the better your jumps are.

Down+B lets you drop down platforms, including some hidden ones.

The R button allows you to transform. R on its own turns you into a kangaroo with a high jump, but there are other transformations that I learned about throughout the game, which the game does not tell you about in the tutorial. Transforming takes a few seconds, and if you press R again or get hit, you'll turn back into your regular tanuki form.

Holding Y will allow you to push blocks in front of you when you move them. 

Start pauses the game, and when you do, your character falls asleep. If you press any button while the game is paused, he wakes up, and the game resumes. Your score is in the upper-left corner, while the current amount of time is in the upper-right corner. Whatever you do, do not let the timer fall to zero.

There are fruits located throughout the levels, and they are always set up in groups of five. This makes it easier to find all fifty fruits in a level. Be ready to look high and low for them.

There is a star in each level of every world, and you can see how many you have in the lower-right corner of the screen. If you collect three, you'll be whisked away to a bonus level. If you know what you're doing and you know where all the stars are, you'll be able to do a bonus area after every boss.

At the start of the game, pastel-colored foxes show up and steal all the sweets in the house and take them to another dimension, and it's up to you to get them back.

World 1-1

The brown triangles with the white triangles inside of them launch you in the direction that the white arrow points. This can be used to get the fruits within the clouds.

Enemies here include rabbits that jump up and down, warthogs that charge at you and defeat themselves if and when they run into a wall, birds that fly around and dive at you if you are nearby. If enemies hit you, you don't die, but you will be stunned for a second. You still do not want to take hits from enemies, and you'll find out why later. By later, I mean the end of the game.

Treasure boxes spit out items when you run into them. Usually, they will be in groups of five and will usually be fruits.

There is a box with a combination left and right arrow on the ground midway through the level. If you push the box to the left or right, stand where the box originally was, then press Down+B, you can drop down to find a star. Jump back up to get out of the secret passage.

The sign at the end of the level is the exit. When you reach the exit, you won't be able to back to pick up everything you missed, as the game locks you on the screen where the exit is. When you touch the exit, you'll eat all your fruit. Hold down B to speed up the eating process.

World 1-2

Watch out near the waterfalls, as they can make it harder to see enemies.

Near the end of the stage is a small tree stump. You'll want to push it to the side like you did with the block in World 1-1, stand where the stump once was, then drop down with Down+B to get the star.

The brown triangle near the end of the stage will take you to the last bit of fruit you'll need.

World 1-3

The soldiers with the swords and shields advance slowly to the left.

The bonus star is in plain sight above the first tree in the level.

The boss is a brown fox. He will throw acorns at you, and you can jump on them for a ton of points with a progressive gain in points for each one you jump on without touching the ground. To defeat the fox, you'll need to jump on his head six times, but if you can get a lot of points off the acorns, you can get a few thousand points off the fox. When you beat the brown fox, you'll get the chocolate bar, then you'll head to the next world. But first, the bonus level!

Bonus Level 1

In the bonus area, you'll need to push blocks in a specific way in order to get all the fruits and move on to the exit. The first one is so dead simple that I don't even need to explain how to get through it, as nothing here resembles even the easiest of puzzles. Once you get to the exit, it's on to World 2.

PrinceWatercress plays Lock 'n Chase for Atari 2600 - The Longplay

And now, a short session of this game, minus commentary. Enjoy!

Let's Play

Lock 'n Chase for the Atari 2600 is based on the arcade game of the same name. You play as a robber, and you need to avoid the four cops that are moving around the maze as you grab all the gold bars and then get to the exit, which leads to the next level.

To start the game, just press the fire button on the joystick. Before doing this, you can also choose between a fast game or a slow game with the left difficulty switch, with B/Novice allowing for a slow game at the start and A/Expert allowing for a fast game. You can also switch between one-player and two-player mode with the Game Select switch. If you see no thieves at the bottom of the screen, you're in one-player mode. If you see two thieves at the bottom of the screen, you're in two-player mode.

The joystick lets you move, while the fire button allows you to temporarily close doors behind you, blocking the cops when you need to get them away. The black horizontal bars in the wall signify where doors can be closed, and if you are between walls and one of them has a black bar, you can close the door there. Just keep in mind that pressing the fire button lets you close the door on the last set of black bars that you passed by, and that it can act a little weird.

There are also exit tunnels to the side. If you take the paths on the center of the side walls, you'll come out through the other side. Be careful when using them, as the cops will be able to use them in later levels.

You start out with five lives. Whenever a cop catches you, you'll lose one of your lives. If you lose all of your lives, the game is over. In two-player mode, players take turns and control is switched from one player to the other upon losing a life.

Every so often, a treasure chest will pop up in the center of the maze that will give you points. It will only be on-screen for a short time, but if you grab it, you can get big points, and you'll move for about half a second before the cops start moving again. A red box will give you 500 points, while a pink box gives you 250. If you can collect the same box multiple times, you can keep doubling your score from each one up to three times, allowing you to rake in big points. If you go for the boxes, watch out for the cops, as they can be pretty crafty and will do their best to take the shortest route towards you...so keep slamming those doors in their faces and watch where you're going!

If you die while the exit door is open after grabbing all of the gold bars, you'll be sent to the next level automatically. Obviously, you're better off making it to the exit door.

The game starts out slow and the cops aren't so bright at first, but as you play more levels, they'll get faster and more cunning. Use the side tunnels carefully, close doors on the cops when you can, and watch where you're going as well as where the cops are going.

If you're looking for a good arcade port for the Atari 2600, this is definitely one to play. The action is simple, but it gets fast and frantic soon enough. Closing doors to block your enemies adds a new, interesting strategy to the Pac-Man style gameplay, especially when the enemies get smarter in the later levels. All in all, this is one Atari 2600 game you'll want to pick up.

PrinceWatercress plays Lock 'n Chase for Atari 2600

For an arcade conversion, this one isn't bad at all!

Longplay

Lock 'n Chase for the Atari 2600 is based on the arcade game of the same name. You play as a robber, and you need to avoid the four cops that are moving around the maze as you grab all the gold bars and then get to the exit, which leads to the next level.

To start the game, just press the fire button on the joystick. Before doing this, you can also choose between a fast game or a slow game with the left difficulty switch, with B/Novice allowing for a slow game at the start and A/Expert allowing for a fast game. You can also switch between one-player and two-player mode with the Game Select switch. If you see no thieves at the bottom of the screen, you're in one-player mode. If you see two thieves at the bottom of the screen, you're in two-player mode.

The joystick lets you move, while the fire button allows you to temporarily close doors behind you, blocking the cops when you need to get them away. The black horizontal bars in the wall signify where doors can be closed, and if you are between walls and one of them has a black bar, you can close the door there. Just keep in mind that pressing the fire button lets you close the door on the last set of black bars that you passed by, and that it can act a little weird.

There are also exit tunnels to the side. If you take the paths on the center of the side walls, you'll come out through the other side. Be careful when using them, as the cops will be able to use them in later levels.

You start out with five lives. Whenever a cop catches you, you'll lose one of your lives. If you lose all of your lives, the game is over. In two-player mode, players take turns and control is switched from one player to the other upon losing a life.

Every so often, a treasure chest will pop up in the center of the maze that will give you points. It will only be on-screen for a short time, but if you grab it, you can get big points, and you'll move for about half a second before the cops start moving again. A red box will give you 500 points, while a pink box gives you 250. If you can collect the same box multiple times, you can keep doubling your score from each one up to three times, allowing you to rake in big points. If you go for the boxes, watch out for the cops, as they can be pretty crafty and will do their best to take the shortest route towards you...so keep slamming those doors in their faces and watch where you're going!

If you die while the exit door is open after grabbing all of the gold bars, you'll be sent to the next level automatically. Obviously, you're better off making it to the exit door.

The game starts out slow and the cops aren't so bright at first, but as you play more levels, they'll get faster and more cunning. Use the side tunnels carefully, close doors on the cops when you can, and watch where you're going as well as where the cops are going.

If you're looking for a good arcade port for the Atari 2600, this is definitely one to play. The action is simple, but it gets fast and frantic soon enough. Closing doors to block your enemies adds a new, interesting strategy to the Pac-Man style gameplay, especially when the enemies get smarter in the later levels. All in all, this is one Atari 2600 game you'll want to pick up.

PrinceWatercress plays Kid Icarus - Part 15 of 15

...and with this video, the Let's Play comes to a close.

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Here it is! The best ending! We've finally gotten it!

World 4-1

Map (by Rick Bruns)

This stage plays differently compared to the others. B shoots, while the D-Pad moves you in all directions. You'll also have a shield in front of you, too.

The green enemies (Totem drop down in groups, while the flying enemies (Moilas) will come in from both sides of the screen and will come Pit. You'll definitely want to watch the flying enemies.

The one-eyed wizards (Erinuses) shoot fireballs, and they split into three when shot. You'll have to watch for those parts, as they will come at you as you try to shoot the parts down to get rid of them for good.

The flying enemies with the wings (Syrens) will move up and down as they fly at Pit.

The green plants (Daphnes) will move up from the bottom of the screen, float for a while, then come back down.

The ghosts (Zurees) just move up and down from the top of the screen to the bottom. That's it.

When the music changes, you'll face Medusa. In order to do that, you must defeat a lot of enemies. If you haven't enough enemies, the stage will loop until you do. Watch out for the green worm (Tanatos; which is a misspelling of "Thanatos") that bounces up and down, and use the shield to block the beams. There is a spot in the middle all the way to the left that allows you to continuously fire at Medusa's eye while avoiding all the attacks (while destroying the green worm at times if your arrow hits the head). After enough shots, Medusa's eye will be gone, Medusa will die and you will rescue Palutena. From here, Pit's appearance will change depending on how well you did (the tall, muscular Pit with the angels around the screen and Palutena kissing Pit is the best ending, and was added for the Western version), and the credits roll before the game loops with only the heart, points, strength upgrades weapons that you've gotten in your playthrough carrying over, even in the password that you get at this point. You'll have to earn back the barrel, any feathers you had and any Waters of Life that you had. 

This time around, I finally get the best ending where Palutena moves in for the kiss! And with that, we've beaten Kid Icarus!

PrinceWatercress plays Kid Icarus - Part 14 of 15

I pull off some odd stuff in order to stay at 999 Hearts...and it pays off! We're getting the best ending next time!

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For those wondering, I finally figure out how to get past the Eggplant Wizards in that one room in World 3-4. As for the rest of the video, I relied solely on the Waters of Life I had just so I could get to the hot springs in World 3-4 and heal-up from there...and it worked! Next video will absolutely be the last!

World 3-3

Map (by Rick Bruns)

Being able to destroy the Octos with your shield and get a ton of Hearts is fun. At this point in the game, I do a little better at using the rotating shield as a weapon.

The door to the left of the exit is the last regular shop in the game before the ones in the final dungeon.

World 3-4

Map (by Rick Bruns)

If you go down at the start, be careful! There are Eggplant Wizards in the room below that are waiting to turn you into an eggplant on your way down. If that happens, you'll have to go two screens down, one screen right, one screen up and two screens right to the nearest hospital.

The things that look like spinning shurikens are the enemies here that fly around in random patterns, and are known as Tros. They're worth shooting down for the points and the hearts. The guys with the beards (Uranos) just walk back and forth.

If you can quickly get to the top row of rooms in the dungeon, you can just keep going right to face the boss. The last room before the boss will be a store, so refill your health.

Near the end, there will be another room full of Eggplant Wizards, and you won't be able to avoid it. Believe it or not, the Eggplant Wizards have two kinds of throws - low and high - and you can tell the difference between them if you keep leaving and re-entering this room. You'll want the Eggplant Wizards on the left side of the room to throw high so you can immediately brute force your way to the right without stopping and shoot down Eggplant Wizards on the way to the door on the other side. I don't figure this out until my second loop through the game. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of this labyrinth, and I'm not a fan of the Eggplant Wizard placement here.

The boss here is Pandora. There will be two orbs moving in the room along with Pandora, and when Pandora turns black, he will be harder to see. Take your time, avoid the orbs and get a shot in when you're able.

When you beat the first three stages, Pit will equip himself with the three sacred treasures, then the game goes into horizontal shmup mode.

PrinceWatercress plays Kid Icarus - Part 13 of 15

We're getting a lot closer to our goal of the best ending. Now to get there and keep it that way...

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I chose not to spend as much time in World 3-1 as I did the first time around due to the nature of the level itself, due to the combination of how the enemies show up as well as the level design itself. If you want to get points and Hearts, you'll want to get them in the first two worlds.

At this point, I'm more careful on how I spend my Hearts, as we're getting close to the end of the end of the game again. 

World 3-1

Map (by Rick Bruns)

There is a hot spring at the very beginning of the level.

The knights with the wings (Collins) will have EelEyes circling around them. Be sure to take them all out to get them out of your way and get stronger.

The brown enemies that pop out of the ground (Holers) will shoot projectiles at you, but you can take them down for hearts and strengths.

The red things with the yellow tendrils sticking out of the top will damage you if you touch them.

The little light blue guys with the wings (Pluton Flys) will fly at you when you are lined up with them. They will also steal your weapons if they hit you.

The dark blue flying enemies (Keepahs) will dive down at you, but you can shoot them down from below if they happen to be above you and you happen to be close enough.

World 3-2

Map (by Rick Bruns)

The platforms at the beginning will stop and turn around when they hit a wall. Keep that in mind while fighting the Grim Reaper enemies.

Shortly after the start, there will be another training room. Shortly after that, you'll find another shop.

The blue Metroid looking things are called Komaytos. They fly around like the other flying enemies that always show up in fours. 

The orange octopi that leap around and keep moving their mouths (Octos) will keep leaping at you. They can show up with other enemies, and that can cause the game to slow down considerably.

You'll get one more chance to buy things in the middle of the level.

There is a hot spring to recover your health with near the end, and it is the last one in the game.

PrinceWatercress plays Kid Icarus - Part 12 of 15

While we can't get any more powerful from points, the amount of points that is possible to get after the first loop absolutely skyrockets.

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World 2-3

Map (by Rick Bruns)

The thorns in the ground will hurt you; try not to fall into them.

In the middle of the level, you'll need to watch out for the lava.

The upgrades from the training rooms where you have to shoot down the tiles do not work in the labyrinths.

If you wait long enough after buying something in a regular store (not a black market), you can buy something again. Also, if you press A and B at the same time on Controller 2 in the stores, you can lower the prices, but there is a 20% chance that the shopkeep will raise the prices instead.

Watch out with the platforms moving around near the thorns. Make sure the platforms are away from the thorns when you get on and jump off.

Near the end of the level where all the tombstones pop up, a gaggle of upgrade thieves will jump around. Tread carefully so they don't steal your stuff. Make sure you enter the Black Market in this area to get rid of them a little prematurely.

World 2-4

Map (by Rich Bruns)

The floating circle enemies with the one eye (Tamambos) fly back and forth the same way that the Specknoses do and take one hit to kill. The blue ones will drop five hearts each, while the red ones drop ten each.

The red mushroom enemies (Shulms) will take a quite a few hits before they go down.

You'll have to face off against the Eggplant Wizards before you make it to the boss, whether you like it or not. There are two hospitals in this labyrinth: one in the lower-left corner and one in the upper-right corner.

The boss here is Hewdraw. Hewdraw will bounce around the room, and you'll need to avoid him while hitting him in the head and also stay out of the lava. It will take a while, but Hewdraw can be beaten.

PrinceWatercress plays Kid Icarus - Part 11 of 15

I think it's safe to say I'm going to reach a million points before this is over.

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Now that I'm more used to the enemies' movement patterns, I'm able to get a lot more hearts to work with around here, and that allows me to buy multiple Waters of Life to more than adequately buffer myself against what the rest of the game is going to re-throw at me. I almost earned 100,000 points in World 2-1 alone! And I almost did it again in World 2-2!

World 2-1

Map (by Rick Bruns)

Compared to what we've experienced so far, this is easier. This time, you'll move from the left end of the stage to the right end, and you won't have to deal with many pits.

The little rock guys (they're called a Rokman) that fall down from the sky will come down from pretty fast. Thankfully, they go down in one hit and drop ten hearts each. They also give you 500 points each.

From here on out, you'll find the occasional hot spring with the orange water. Take advantage of it.

If you see any beetle-like jaws pop out of the ground, stay away from there so you don't get bitten when the bug actually pops out and shoots a projectile at you. Those are Girin, and they can be a bit of an annoyance.

There will be pink, circle-shaped creatures that will pop up from the bottom of the screen after the third door (the one with the flying nose creatures; they're known as Minos). They will soon slowly back down afterwards. Hit them if you can.

The green creatures with the big mouths (Micks) will fly back and forth across the level, and they do it pretty slowly, making them easy pickings. They move more or less like the one-eyed red octopi.

In the treasure pot rooms with the blue backgrounds, the rules change a little bit. This time, you'll want to hit the two pots above the entrance and the second pot from the top on the left side. From here, you're counting mallets again. If you see zero mallets, you'll have to hit the pot on the lower-right corner last. If you see one, it's the second one from the bottom on the left side you'll want to save for last. If you see two, you'll want to save the pot in the center for last. If you see three, you'll want to save the pot in the top-left corner for last. Failure to do so will cause you to see the God of Poverty and lose everything.

The credit card allows you to buy on credit at the black market, allowing you to get an item for free. If you want to use a credit card again, however, you'll have to pay back what you owe, and until then, your heart count will stay at zero (and will basically be in the negatives, as the can't show an integer less than zero) as you keep collecting hearts. If this happens, you'll have to keep collecting hearts until you hearts in the hearts counter again, and the amount of hearts you'll have to collect depends on how much the thing you bought with the credit card was worth.

The green frog-like enemies with wings (Kerons) will leap towards you. They take two hits to kill.

The third arrow upgrade will turn you a purple hue and allow you to do three times the damage that could deal at the beginning. You'll have a shot at getting it around 167,000 points. Keep killing those enemies to get those arrow upgrades!

If you can get 122,300 points, you'll get a fourth bar of energy.

World 2-2

Map (by Rick Bruns)

You'll need more than two bars of health to have the fireball activated if you have it. With this, your arrows can go through multiple enemies at once. If you have at least one or two arrow upgrades, this is a treat.

The little guy who hops around at a fast speed with a sack on his back (known as Pluton) must be avoided at all costs, as he can steal one of your upgrades if he runs into you. You can earn them back, but there are only so many rooms in the game where you fight flying tiles.

The guys with the red eyes (Snowmen) move slowly move towards you, and will shoot projectiles.

Whatever you do, don't fall into the water. Falling into it is not good. Take your time with the platforms, and remember not to press Down on the D-Pad while making your way through the very platform-y part of the stage.

If you can get 204,200 points, you'll get a fifth bar of health. This is the most health you can get in the game. If you can get 227,700 points, you can get the fourth strength arrow, the Gold Arrow, in the sacred chamber.

PrinceWatercress plays Kid Icarus - Part 10 of 15

Man, we're having a much easier time on the second loop than on the first, huh?

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Compared to my first trip through here, I've got a much better idea of what I'm doing now to the point that I can do the second loop of the game in seven videos instead of eight. I even blast my way through Twinbellows in record time. Now to ensure that I have 999 hearts when I beat the game...

World 1-3

Map (by Rick Bruns)

The red water is lava, and it will hurt if you land in it.

Halfway up the level, you'll be dealing with the Shemums and the Commylooses at the same time. If you can find a spot where you can somehow shoot down a good amount of enemies and avoid getting hit a lot, you can get a lot of points and hearts here.

You'll also see brown spikes coming out of the sides of the green platforms and walls. Touching those will hurt you.

Near the end, you'll find a training room. In the training room, you'll have to shoot down tiles (known as Monoliths) as they fly around. If you stand left of the center of the room, most of the tiles won't hit you, and if any do, it will be from the side. If you get the "Well Done" message, you'll be able to choose between one of three items: the Fire, which gives you flaming arrows that do more damage; the Sacred Bow, which increases the speed and range of your arrows; and the Protective Crystal, which spawns two crystals revolve that around Pit and destroy enemies while also acting like a shield. You'll need a certain amount of health in order to get these powers to work, or else they won't work.

If you can reach 56,600 points, you'll get a third unit of health for the health bar.

World 1-4

Map (by Rick Bruns)

The fourth level in every world is a labyrinth, and these will play differently from the first three levels. Here, you'll be going in a bit of a maze. On the lower-left corner, you'll have your current weapon and the amount of soldiers that you currently have free. In the bottom center, you'll have your hearts and current health. On the lower-right, you'll have the current level that you're on and the amount of hit points that the boss has left.

The one-eyed white skulls (Ganewmedes) that fly around will go around the room. Shoot them down for hearts. The ones with the bluish hue will drop five hearts each, while the ones with the reddish hue drop ten hearts each.

The one-eyed bugs (Kobils) slowly move back and forth, and the blue ones drop one heart each and the red ones drop five. The red upside-down vases will drop down the Shemums, which you can grind hearts off of as they drop down. They drop down indefinitely, so you can get as many as you need if you have the time and patience.

The gray statues of the statues with the spears are soldiers, or Centurions, that you can free. If you have any mallets, you can switch between those and the arrow with the Select button, then hit a statue with a mallet to free the soldier inside. The soldiers will then help you with the boss, but they will go down in one hit.

The blue, one-eyed men with the white capes and the staffs are the Eggplant Wizards. They will throw Eggplants up towards you at an arc, and if an eggplant hits you, you will be turned into an eggplant with human legs. When in eggplant form, you cannot attack, and all you can do is move around and try not to get hit a lot. Stay low and close so that the eggplant projectiles don't hit you. If you do get hit with an eggplant, you'll have to find the hospital inside the dungeon and go inside to get cured and turned back to your normal self. The hospital is an all-white room with red crosses in the upper corners.

The gray T-shaped pipes shoot spikes out. Watch them carefully so the spikes don't hit you as you get around in the current room.

The pool of orange water is a hot spring. If you find it, jump in and stay in there to slowly refill your health.

There are also stores in the dungeon, if you can find them. Use them to stock up on stuff you need before you fight the guardian of the labyrinth, because once you enter that boss battle, you can't back out and you'll have to fight your way out.

The fortress also have their own stores containing their own items. While you'll have to find the map somewhere in the dungeon, you'll have to buy the torch and the pencil. The torch lets you see your current position on the map, while the pencil lets you see which rooms you've visited (which will be in green) and which ones you haven't. If you draw your own maps while playing, or if you're using one off the Internet, however, it's pretty pointless.

The boss is Twinbellows. Twinbellows will slowly move from one side of the room to the other while shooting their fireballs in an upward arc. When you shoot and hit Twinbellows, he will go up slightly, and if you can time it right, you can avoid being hit by the low fireball that way. Having any soldiers accompanying to the fight can help, as they can do a little bit more damage and make the battle go slightly quicker, even if they go down in one hit. When you beat Twinbellows, you'll get the first sacred treasure.