PrinceWatercress plays Alisia Dragoon - Part 8 of 8

It's time for the final battle with Baldour!

First | Previous

Stage 8

You'll soon enter Baldour's chamber, where you'll also meet Ornah. To defeat Ornah, duck down and shoot at him at first. When he lands on the ground, jump over the energy waves he produces while letting your magic recharge. For best results, lightly tap the jump button. Sometimes he shoots two waves; other times, he shoots three. When he floats upwards and raises a hand, get to the other side, and get the dragon to fly around in a circle as he follows you. You'll have to jump over the dragon twice. When the magical dragon explodes, duck down and attack to hit Ornah while avoiding the fireballs that spew out. You may have to jump in case a projectile is low to the ground. The pattern will then repeat. If you know what you're doing, you'll be able to beat this phase while losing as little health as possible.

When Ornah starts exploding, get under him when he teleports to the center of the room to avoid his projectiles, then start fighting him again like you have been. Second verse, same as the first. Oran will explode again, and this time, he'll be done for good.

You'll then face Baldour. Stay near the center when he flies all the way to the left, and keep tapping the attack button so that your attack power is near the red. Be ready to duck all the time. Jump over the worms and attack while in mid-air, then jump over the dark maroon projectiles that Baldour fires towards the ground. If you're far enough away from him, the fireballs that drop down won't even hit you, especially if you just keep on ducking.

You'll eventually do enough damage that Baldour flies towards the center. When that happens, head to the left side of the room and keep tapping the attack button like you did with Ornah. This will allow you to destroy the rest of him. This is the time to bust out the raven companion. Have the raven take out everything on-screen every so often, and when you see four dark red projectiles fly out from Baldour, you'll want to run to the side to avoid them when they come down. Baldour will fire other projectiles forward, some of which will be hard to see, such as the feathers from his wings. Staying crouched down on the far left will help after a while, but you'll still have the problem of Baldour lunging at you. You'll want to get to the right once Baldour is right next to you so you can give yourself some room, then head back to the left while avoiding attacks so you can destroy what's left of him. As you keep attacking, parts of Baldour will explode, and he'll eventually stop shooting out those smaller fireballs that flew towards the ground at the beginning of the battle. Once enough of Baldour is destroyed, Baldour finally falls. You just beat Alisia Dragoon!

PrinceWatercress plays Alisia Dragoon - Part 7 of 8

This is where the game really starts getting tough. Not only do you have three tough guards and a boss battle, but you also have to get into the final chamber, all without losing a ton of health.

First | Previous | End

Stage 7

Tread carefully at the start of the stage and be ready to avoid projectiles as you shoot at the green blobs. Some of them will generate other slimes as they take damage, and when that happens, you'll want to attack them from far away with a fully-powered attack.

The three guards with the spears that teleport in and out will also shoot out a blue homing shot. You'll need to go back down to either outrun it for long enough of go so far back down that the projectile is forced off-screen and forced out of existence.

Hitting the dark gray titles on the ceiling when your magic is fully charged will turn them into a staircase. If you're wondering why you can't go further up after defeating the three spear guards, that's why. You'll then face another boss. Stay to the side when he teleports in and do whatever damage you can before he raises his hands to throw down explosive projectiles, then get to the center and damage the four smaller guys that show up with a fully-powered screen-affecting attack from your thunder magic. The will-o'-the-wisp is the best companion for this battle, as it will take bullets for you like a sponge. 

Once you beat the boss, use a fully-powered attack to turn the ceiling into stairs, then quickly jump up the stairs and heal yourself with the power-up globes that you come across. Avoid the guys who teleport in on the way up entirely, as it makes it so that you don't have to fight them when you get into the final chamber for this stage. Have the raven by your side as you go left and jump from one spinning triangle platform to another while avoiding the flying machine guns that zoom at you. There will also be small orbs flying around, but you can easily destroy those. Once you reach the final platform, you'll enter Stage 8.

PrinceWatercress plays Alisia Dragoon - Part 6 of 8

Be ready to take damage...a lot.

First | Previous | Next | End

Stage 6

Progress slowly as you go through this stage. Some of the robots in the background will come to life and attack, and you'll need to be ready. You'll also see ordinance that will explode if you touch it or attack it from nearby. Keep in mind that you'll be travelling diagonally through all of this stage.

Picking up health extensions while having maximum health will still refill one unit of health, so continue picking them up.

In the second section, you will see blue clouds that turn into monsters that pop up in certain places as well as blue zombie-like humans with guns that spawn endlessly when you are in certain hallways. Tread slowly and always be ready to attack at full power.

You'll soon face the boss. The boss will summon two machine guns than teleport and fire at you while he flies around and shoots projectiles at you. You want to be able to see him and fire at him as much as possible. The raven's full-screen attack will help, as will full-power thunder magic attack. Even though the machine guns will keep coming back, you'll still want to shoot them down along with the boss.

When you beat the boss, continue to tread carefully to preserve your health and more easily defeat the zombie soldiers. When you find a platform, jump on it to entire Baldour's fortress for Stage 7. 

PrinceWatercress plays Alisia Dragoon - Part 5 of 8

We enter a cave for Stage 5...and it soon becomes apparent that we're getting close to Ornah and Baldour.

First | Previous | Next | End

Stage 5

As soon as you start the stage, you'll be seeing stalactites falling from the ceiling and bats swooping towards you. Be ready to attack at full power.

If you jump past the first gap and shoot the wall, you'll be able to give your max HP a boost and get two level-ups for your companions, should you need them. Make sure that you thoroughly explore every path, as an attack power-up will reward the curious.

The floating boulders will create slightly smaller rocks to spin around them. You'll need to destroy them to get to the boulder in the center, and that will take a lot of attack magic. The more powerful your attack is, the better. Get away when the center boulder explodes so you don't get hit by the revenge shots. Some of them just jump up and down instead of creating a barrier; they still send a projectile at you after they die.

You'll need to run and blast through the green eye enemies to get through them before they come back while taking as little damage as possible, as they cannot be destroyed.

The little guys in brown and green will run and jump around in addition to throwing projectiles that fly around in "S" patterns. Nothing less than a full-power strike will do. You'll have to get past them to reveal a platform that will get you past the narrow cave-like paths.

You'll soon enter a volcano. Avoid falling into the yellow lava as well as the flames that come out of the lava pools. There will be quite a few green eye enemies at the start, and you'll want to speed past them.

The human enemies that teleport in and out will shoot projectiles between teleports. Wipe them out as soon as possible so that you don't take a lot of damage.

The lava section leaves a lot of blue potions, in case you couldn't tell. There's also an attack power-up that you'll want to collect here, too.

Near the end, there will be a group of seven boulder monsters near each other. Move past them so they don't fall down on you. Take out the group that's dead ahead.

You'll then face the boss: an attack tank. Have the raven ready for battle at full attack power before jumping in. Attack the top of the front of the machine, and use the platforms to jump over the tank as it moves around. You'll want to attack the top of the machine on each side while avoiding the numerous projectiles that come from the tank's cannons. The tank can move forward as well as in reverse, which can throw you off as you're fighting it.

You'll then find what looks like a wrecked spaceship. You'll be going in there for Stage 6.

PrinceWatercress plays Alisia Dragoon - Part 4 of 8

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

First | Previous | Next | End

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...

First | Previous | Next | End

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.

First | Next | End

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.

Next | End

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.