Wonderboy In Monsterland (C) Sega/Westone 1987 ----------------------------------------- Arcade Walkthrough v1.0 17th April 2003 by thePrimate lcovell@iprimus.com.au ----------------------------------------- Contents 1. Introduction 2. Story 3. Basic Gameplay (i) Movement (ii) Fighting Enemies (iii) Earning Gold 4. Miscellaneous Tips and Info (i) The Hourglass (ii) Health (iii) Doors and Shops (iv) Tips to Make Life Easier 5. Magic and Loose Fitting Gowns 6. Armour and Assorted Fashion 7. Monsters 8. Walkthrough ====================================================== 1. Introduction Welcome to my first ever FAQ! If it's incomplete, out of order or just plain "unFAQ-like", then go easy, I plan to get better at this. This FAQ is the result of boredom at work and my complete inability to find some decent documentation on the arcade original, or even the home conversions for that matter. Wonderboy in Monsterland is not a terribly complex game, but it does have a few areas that can be tricky to navigate for first timers. The overall length of this game is a little disappointing, especially considering that the original Wonderboy took almost twice as long to finish, albeit far more linear, but it can take some time to master and discover all (well, most) of it's secrets. This FAQ probably won't contain 100% of the game's hidden wonders, but it does contain more than enough information to help you defeat the level bosses, earn considerable gold and find the best items. If you know of anything that is missing from this FAQ, then please feel free to e-mail me - I would love to learn of a new secret that I never knew in the first place. On the other hand, if there's something that you disagree with or doesn't work, then, I don't know, I simply wrote what works for me. Let me know anyway, constructive criticism is welcome. As a side note, most of the techniques in this FAQ should work with the home conversions, although the "waggle" technique for earning 66+ gold was not present on most formats. Boo. Well, here goes, and happy gaming! Luke. ====================================================== 2. Story Well here's something new - save the world from evil monsters. Intricate story lines were never a primary feature of games from this era since their main focus was always the on-screen action, but for those that must know Monsterland has been invaded by, well, monsters and it's up to a young man named Shion(?) to save the day. The game begins with our fearless hero wearing nothing except what looks like a nappy and wielding a rather pathetic little knife to stab enemies with. If Shion is to defeat the evil dragon and it's mechanical alter-ego, then you're going to have to arm him with something a little more intimidating. Unfortunately these items aren't given over on a silver platter - they have to be earned, and items like the Legendary Sword aren't easy to locate by yourself. ====================================================== 3. Basic Gameplay (i) Movement OK, there's nothing complex here - joystick controls movement and buttons perform actions. Joystick left and right moves the little bloke left and right, up and down whilst on a ladder to ascend and descend, one button to stab and the other to jump. If you have any secondary weapons ie, fireballs then push down to activate them, and if you want to enter a door then push up to knock on it. Simple. (ii) Fighting Enemies No secrets here - just push the stab button to stab. Some enemies take more than one strike to kill and they can be defeated quicker by cornering them if you're able to. Using your secondary weapons on anything other than an end of level guardian (there is one exception to this, but see next on earning gold) is simply a waste as most enemies will keel over with little effort if you upgrade your sword at every opportunity. (iii) Earning Gold If you intend to stay alive then you need to upgrade your armour, shield and boots, and these cost gold. Gold is earned in one of two ways - defeating monsters and plucking it out of thin air. Quite how little Shion managed to learn the latter trick is beyond me, but it's one of the most effective methods of earning gold in the game and if done right, you can earn quite a lot. To pull of this feat, simply jump in areas that appear suspicious ie, under trees or in corners, and lump sums will fall right into your lap. And who says money doesn't grow on trees.... However, just jumping alone isn't really good enough. If you want to earn stupid amounts of gold then you need to perform what's known as the "waggle" trick - waggling the joystick furiously left and right whilst jumping in these special spots will sometimes earn you up to 68 gold in one hit, and if you want this kind of cash appearing more frequently then letting off one of your secondary weapons immediately before or during this acrobatic feat is highly recommended. More often than not each of these sweet spots will yield three coins or bags and using more than one (two is a good number, three is a waste) of your magics increases your chance of scoring highly on all three. For example, if you pull down on the joystick to fire off one of your special weapons followed by jump and waggle, there's a good chance your earnings will increase dramatically. Best results are usually to be had with the Whirlwind and Lightning, but since Lightning costs 50g a pop it's probably not worth it. Besides, it's best to keep the Great Flashing One until the end of the game - you're going to need it. Using a Fireball or Bomb will most likely give you the same result as if you didn't use the weapon at all, so you're better off keeping these weapons for something more useful, ie. killing something. The main walkthrough will reveal the location of (most of) these sweet spots, but for now just know that: jump + waggle + magic = gold. ====================================================== 4. Miscellaneous Tips and Info (i) The Hour Glass A feature of almost every coin-op ever manufactured is the game clock, and this one lasts around 37 seconds before going belly up and stealing one of your precious hearts. The following are the only methods of resetting the hour glass: - Pick up the hour glass placed in various locations throughout the game - Battle a Guardian - the clock is reset before and after the battle - Pick up a Heart, either large or small - Visit a Hospital - Enter a new area within a Round - Complete a Round Note: a small Heart will only reset the clock if it is picked up from a monster, NOT from a pre-placed hidden one. (ii) Health Little Shion begins his adventure with only 5 life-hearts to survive on, so if you want any chance of ridding Legoland of it's evil denizens, you're going to have to make him a little more durable. And the only way to receive extra vitality is to earn it through points (surprise, surprise). Here's what you need: 1st bonus heart - 30,000 pts 2nd bonus heart - 100,000 pts 3rd bonus heart - 200,000 pts 4th bonus heart - 300,000 pts 5th bonus heart - 400,000 pts (iii) Doors and Shops If you see a door, then knock on it to enter. What's behind most doors in Monsterland can be identified by the sign nailed to it, but not all doors are marked and even more can't be seen. Most of these hidden doors are revealed in the walkthrough, but the general rule for locating these secret entrances is almost the same for finding coins - if it looks suspicious then investigate. What's behind the doors with signs is pretty self explanatory but here goes anyway: - Shoe: purchase your shoes from here, and if you've already attained the Legendary Boots, the Wingboots will be for sale. - Shield: Shields and more shields. - Armour: Kit out the little feller with some body protection. Walking around in a nappy all day will probably get you hurt. - Red Cross: It's a hospital, and for a price the nurse will completely heal you. Remember though, every time Shion cashes in on Medicare the price increases for your next visit. Some things never change.... - Question Mark: The best way to increase your magic arsenal is to buy what these guys are selling. They're not cheap, but where else can you buy explosives from these days? - Cocktail: Even heroes on a quest need to stop every now and again for a rest and what better way to relax than throwing down a few at the pub? Drinks here will restore a small amount of your health, but it also serves as a way of obtaining information from the bartender if you shell out for the spirits. (iv) Tips to Make Life Easier - Whenever possible use a hospital just before completing a round. Finishing a round with full health will yield you 10,000 pts. - For the Guardians that begin the battle on the ground, walk over to them while they are materialising and stab them for one (cheap) free hit. - If you're going save a particular magic weapon (ie, Thunder) for the end then be advised that Shion can only hold so many magics at once. If you keep loading up on Whirlwinds, Bombs and Fireballs, then the first items collected will be the first items to go. Round 11 will cause most of your headaches - many of the monsters you fight are the Guardians from previous rounds and they almost always drop magic. Shion can carry quite a lot (it's hard to calculate how many, but at a guesstimate - around 20), however if you don't need it, get rid of it. - Monsters in Monsterland appear using the respawning method. In most cases if you don't kill monsters at the start of an area then there's a good chance that you won't come across any more until after you leave. If you're in a rush and not concerned about gold and points, then just avoid the monsters. I put this down to hardware limitations on the coin-op original - if the screen gets overloaded, it slows down (a lot). - Don't be too concerned if Shion has to use his resurrection pill. It can be re-obtained by purchasing it from magic shops, or fallen enemies will hand it over if you've gone for too long with out it. - Items like the Legend Sword and the Bell and Ruby are only available if you have achieved every related task along the way. Failing just one of these objectives will deny you from obtaining these items. ====================================================== 5. Magic and Loose Fitting Gowns Slicing and dicing isn't the only offensive manoeuvre available in the youngster's arsenal. Unleashing natural disasters whilst sneaking around unnoticed has long been a trademark of the wonderstump. With the exception of the invisibility cloak, all of the following items can be both bought in shops and picked up from your fallen foes: Bomb - 10g, sold in lots of 5 Fireball - 20g, sold in lots of 5 Whirlwind - 30g, sold in lots of 3 Thunder - 50g, sold in lots of 3 Pill - 100g, magic shops will sell this item when you lose yours Queergown - with a name like that, I'd want to disappear as well. It's regularly dropped by enemies from Round 4 on. Makes you invulnerable for 10 seconds. Get loose! ====================================================== 6. Armour and Assorted Fashion If the Boy Wonder is to succeed in freeing Monsterland from the evil invaders then he needs to protect himself from damage. The peddling inhabitants offer a great range of defensive and offensive goods for sale, but on rare occasions Someone from Above will arrange for the slayed monsters to hand over these items if Shion goes for too long without upgrading. Here's a list of what comes in our hero's size (in order of availability): The Shoe Shop: Cloth - 50 gold Leather - 80 gold Ceramic - 180 gold Legend - 380 gold Wingboots - 30 gold The Shield Shop: Light - 40 gold Knight - 120 gold Hard - 250 gold Legend - 360 gold Gauntlet - 20 gold The Armour Shop: Light - 60 gold Knight - 150 gold <- yes, it's available before the Heavy Armour. Heavy - 100 gold Hard - 360 gold Legend - 540 gold Helmet - 25 gold Unfortunately you just can't go and save up for the most expensive items. If you wish to purchase the Legend goods then you have buy the cheaper gear first, but you don't need every one. When you buy an item, the next two on the list will become available in the next shop you visit. For example, the quickest way to don the best boots is to buy the Leather first, the next shoe shop will then be selling Ceramic and Legend. The Wingboots, Gauntlet and Helmet are frequently dropped by fallen enemies so you shouldn't really need to buy them. They're also temporary, after too much use they will break. Hints are not given in the walkthrough on which equipment to purchase at any particular time due to the fact that the amount of gold earned can vary dramatically. For instance, if you are having a lot of luck pulling off amounts of 66+ then it's possible to be wearing the Legend Boots in Round 2, on the other hand there have been occasions where I've had to wait until Round 6. My preferred order of purchases and which round I usually obtain them in are as follows: (1) Leather Boots - Round 2 (2) Light Shield - Round 2 (3) Legend Boots - Round 2 (4) Knight Armour - Round 3 (5) Hard Armour - Round 6 (6) Legend Armour - Round 8 (7) Knight Shield - Round 8 (8) Legend Shield - Round 9 ====================================================== 7. Monsters What would a game with Monsterland in the title be without monsters? Not a lot, but this one has a diverse enough range of meanies to make our fearless hero really need that nappy..... Here's the bonus points you earn for knocking off members of the cast: Snake - 200 pts Mushroom - 200 pts Red Flame - 200 pts Jellyfish - 200 pts Arrow Pig - 300 pts Bat - 300 pts Strong Bat - 500 pts Pygmy - 500 pts Crab - 500 pts Octopus - 500 pts Mini Kong - 500 pts Mudman - 500 pts Spitting Plant - 500 pts Red Rat - 500 pts Blue Rat - 800 pts Mini Snow Kong - 800 pts Death - 2,000 pts Vampire - 2,000 pts Goblin - 2,000 pts Red Man - 3,000 pts Kraken - 3,000 pts Giant Kong - 3,000 pts Sphinx - 3,000 pts Demon - 3,000 pts Poor God - 4,000 pts Blue Man - 4,000 pts Ghost - 4,000 pts Snow Kong - 4,000 pts Silver Man - 5,000 pts Blue Flame - 30,000 pts Dragon - 30,000 pts The following items are only received from defeated monsters, they have no use other than to increase your score: Coins/Bags - 20 pts Yellow Jug - 500 pts Pearl Necklace - 1,000 pts Mirror - 2,000 pts Harp - 3,000 pts Scales - 5,000 pts Crown - 10,000 pts Like most games, every item you come across in Monsterland should be collected. Why? Because most of them are worth points and the higher your score, the more hearts you receive from the Almighty One. Trying to fight some of the larger enemies toward the end of the game with only a few hearts is suicide, but hey, if you're up for the challenge.... ====================================================== 8. Walkthrough Round 1 The first area of the game is rather short and you should be able to complete it without the loss of any health. - Proceed left straight away and jump at the tree for one gold coin - Go right and jump just past the Monsterland sign for one money bag - Push up to enter the door at the giant tree trunk and chat to the talking pig to receive your sword and resurrection pill - Jump on the levitating brick and onto the top of the giant tree trunk for three gold coins - Go right, kill the two snakes, jump down at the end (don't bother going in the pub, the hints there are useless and you shouldn't need any health) - Keep going right, kill the snake, go up the steps, kill the other snake and collect the timer - Enter the door to battle the first boss Round 1 Guardian - Death Talk about an unfair match - a baby with a butterknife versus a flying reaper weilding a sickle. Seriously though, he only takes 4 strikes. Simply jump then stab as he approaches and you should have victory with seconds, just make sure to grab all of the coins before collecting the key, because gold at the start of the game is vital. - Go right, kill the snake and jump at the last tree for a heart - Walk in front of the steel grille to complete round one ----------------------------------- Round 2 This is where things start to get a little tricky - it contains two guardian battles and the first of the hints toward the secret of the Bell and Ruby. - Jump between the tower and first tree for a coin - Go right, up the first ladder (buy some boots if you want) and jump to the right off the platform for a coin - Go right, jump up to the door with a shield (yes, you will need to buy one) and jump off to the left for a money bag and to the right for a coin - Enter the shop to the right to purchase a Whirlwind - needed for earning cash - Go right, collect the timer and enter the cave - Jump off the second step for a coin - Go right, and on the third platform above the lava you will be told "Somebody is there". Knock on the wall for the first secret door. The inhabitant will ask you to deliver a letter to Mary in Baraboro - Keep going right (again) and enter door for your second Guardian battle, this time not for the Round key, but for the Broad Sword Broad Sword Guardian - Vampire This round mound of pound is a pushover. Just stand in front of him and stab when he dives. If he decides to throw some fire then simply stand still - if you're positioned correctly, you'll never get hit. Once defeated, pick up your new sword to exit. - Go up the steps and on top of the Vampires' hut for 3 coins - Go right to exit the cave - Once outside the cave, go all the way to the right where the Hospital is and jump off the second step for a coin - Pay a visit to the shoe shop, if you've been lucky with the gold you should have enough to purchase the Legend Boots - Jump on the moving platform and go all the way to the top left cloud for 3 coins - Go right, pick up the timer and enter the door for the Guardian Round 2 Guardian - Goblin This hyperactive runt and his offspring can be a real pain if you don't maintain your composure. As soon as you can, move over to where he is materialising and stab him for one free hit. One way to attack is wait until he jumps then strike as he lands. Another is to jump up and strike him in mid-air. Either way, Goblin only takes 4 hits. If you sustain too much damage simply go back down to the hospital for some quality treatment. Beware though, if you used the hospital before the battle, you won't be able to use it again. - Go right and jump over the grille for a coin - Walk in front of the grille to enter Round 3 ----------------------------------- Round 3 There isn't really much to say about this Round - short and easy sums it up. - Go left, kill all of the Ghosts and jump off the top step for a coin - Go left to the next area and jump off the ledge for another coin - Jump over all the spikes and go up the first ladder. You can go up again to reach the pub, but the only hint you'll receive is the obscure "You can get armour in castle". There, I've just ruined it for you - Go right up the steps, up the ladder, left again and up another ladder - Go left into the passage and jump around the middle of the entrance for a heart - If you want, jump down to the Magic shop for some Fireballs and Thunder - Go right and jump on the rightmost platform for a coin - Go left up the steps, collect the timer and go for a ride on the hidden spring - About halfway between the arrow and conveyor belt knock on the wall for a hidden Armour shop. With some luck you should be able to purchase the Knight Armour - Go right to exit the castle and jump off the second step for a coin - Keep going right and enter the door to battle Round 3 Guardian Round 3 Guardian - Red Man If you were able to dress the Shion up in the Knight Armour then you don't have much to worry about. Simply get in your first strike and follow him around, stabbing in the process. Just collect all the coins to end the Round. ----------------------------------- Round 4 A lot of gold can be earned in this round if you're lucky to have a few Whirlwinds up your... sleeve. Just make sure to deliver your letter to Mary as promised. - Jump at the second tree for a coin - Keep going left until you reach Baraboro - on the way, jump at almost every platform for a money bag - When you enter Baraboro keep going right until you reach a ladder, go up and knock on the window above the pub to deliver your letter to Mary. She will give you a flute to use in Pororo so you can meet an "Old Man" - Jump off the left of the ledge for a money bag - Go left and use the spring on the platform to jump up to the second cloud for three coins - Go left, jump OVER the water and enter the door to battle Kraken Round 4 Guardian - Kraken Kraken can cause quite a bit of damage if you're careless. Just jump up and strike well before you get near him. If timed right, Shion will pass through the giant squid as it takes damage. The Kraken itself won't cause much damage but the bubbles that it spits out will, especially if he gets you jammed in the corner. - Go right and use the moving platform to jump up on top of Krakens hut for three coins - Jump off the top and down into the water on the right - As Shion falls undersea push left to drop into the cave for a shop selling Fireballs and Thunder - Go right, kill all the amphibious nasties (optional of course) and return to the surface - If you want, you can re-enter the door to battle Kraken again. He won't be any more difficult, however you can earn some more gold and instead of a key, either a large heart (hopefully, for the 10,000pts at the end of the round) or 3 Thunders will appear. This battle is purely optional - Go left and walk in front of the grille to proceed to Round 5 ----------------------------------- Round 5 OK, there's no free ride from here on in. Every round from here to the end has at least one feature guaranteed to take you down hard. - Jump at the first tree for a coin - Don't bother with the pub, the info there is useless and Shion needs to keep a sober head for his fight with Giant Kong - Jump at the third tree in the forest for a money bag - I know they're a nuisance, but knock off all of those jumping pygmies, or whatever they are. They drop some great items - Go left, jump OVER the well and grab a coin from underneath the last tree - Drop down into the well, moving left and right as you fall to confuse the ghosts - Go right and knock on the wall just after the third Mudman when the screen says "HA!" to battle Giant Kong for a new sword Great Sword Guardian - Giant Kong Remember when I said that there is at least one feature in every round that will cause you grief? This is the first one. Kong is really easy if you have some good boots, but if you don't fall into a (rather simple) pattern you're going to die. I usually use one of the following two techniques: First: move near him and get in your cheap first hit. When Kong jumps over your head, just follow him and stab when he lands. Kong will reel back, so just follow and stab again. When he gets pushed near the wall, he will jump back over your head so just repeat the above process. If you take too long to strike, he will throw rocks at you - just jump straight up to avoid them and as you approach the apex of your jump move toward him and strike, falling back into your pattern. You need to be quick, and this is why the Legend Boots are helpful (but not mandatory). Second Method: Move over and get your first strike, followed by a jump and stab to push him back to the wall. When you both land, continuously stab and with a bit of luck you should have him pinned against the wall where he won't have the chance to jump out. Kong doesn't have a striking attack as an offensive weapon, so if he can't get clear to throw his rocks, he's finished. Pick up your new sword to exit. - Go right and enter shop for armour - if you haven't upgraded your armour for a while you might want to visit this shop before you battle Kong - Jump up to the roof of the shop for a money bag - Go right to exit the cave - Go right, ignore the pub unless you need the health, and you will eventually fall down an invisible pit for the Round 5 Guardian Round 5 Guardian - Bats This would have to be the most piss-weak Guardian in the game. Kill all four Bats, collect whatever they leave behind and pick up the key. Weak. - Jump up the platforms to exit and if you're running low on dosh, slay all of the pigs, quite a few respawn before they stop handing over gold. - Jump in front of the first cactus to the right of the pit entrance for a gold coin - Go right to enter the Round 6 Pyramid ----------------------------------- Round 6 Ahh... the mysteries of the Great Pyramid, complete with a humanoid sphinx. Actually a really short round (this is getting familiar...), but there's a few secrets to be found. This is where Guardians from previous rounds start appearing as normal monsters. - Go all the way right, killing the two Deaths on the way for money bags - At the end of this area there is a hidden shop on the ledge above the middle sinking platform. The Whirlwind and Tornado can be bought here, or if you've lost it, the resurrection Pill - Go right to enter the next area FROM THE TOP, not the bottom near the spikes - Go right, jump over the first gap in the floor and collect the three money bags - Keep going right, jump down to the hospital, kill the snake and take a rest if needed - Drop down to the left - Jump just in front of the spikes 9 times and that many coins will appear from underneath the hospital - these will fall your way if you are facing right when you jump - Go left, jump over the gap in floor, kill the Snakes and Rat and knock on the wall between the two blue columns for a hidden armour shop - Go right and fall down the gap - Go right again, jump over the gap and knock on wall for a hidden shoe shop - Go left, jump over the gap, fall down to the left ledge and enter the pub - Make sure you buy the cocktail - the bartender will tell you a secret about the sphinx. Remember what is said, you're going to need it. - Drop down to the right and continue along until you have to move up the platforms to the Sphinx Round 6 Guardian - Sphinx Remember what the bartender said? If not, you're screwed. The sphinx will ask you a question about himself, and if you get it wrong, you'll have to do battle. Try using the following technique if you're after a challenge: The Sphinx only seems vulnerable right after he throws his Thunderbolt, so when he does this, jump over it and toward him to strike. If you fail to land a hit, he'll teleport and you'll have to try again. The Sphinx takes an enormous amount to kill, so good luck. A good shield is highly recommended for this battle, so if you actually manage to block his Thunder without getting hit, you won't get knocked back so far. Oh! Of course the easiest method to exit the pyramid is to answer his question. There aren't that many of them and the same two or three questions are almost always asked. Here's some answers: Bartenders Clue Sphinx's Question Answer Sphinx is on a Diet What was my supper? Pizza A Chicken Lost Yesterday What was my supper? Eat (the 2nd choice) Lately, not noisy at night What is my hobby? Pop Windows broken What is my hobby? Golf If you have any more please email me. Looking at the questions, it seems as though there may be another two to add, although I can't really remember seeing any others. ----------------------------------- Round 7 Not a lot to be worried about here, although the first guardian is more of a pest than anything. This is where you meet the Old Man (actually a goat) so make sure to use your whistle right at the end of the round. - Go right past all of the shops, kill the pesky rodents and knock on the second last door to fight Poor God for the Excalibur Sword Excalibur Sword Guardian - Poor God Poor God is, well, poor so he steals your gold every time he hits you. The only annoyance here are the Red Flames, however once these little mongrels are removed, there's little difference between how you battle Poor God and Death. Your prize is a new sword. - Go right to the last door. An elephant will tell you to "Go west and use cloud" - Go left and use the moving platform to spring up to the clouds - At any time you can drop down to the next area, however every cloud bar the first one contains a money bag, and the very last one, which is only accessible by using Wingboots, has three. Looks like every cloud really does have a silver lining.... or gold, whatever.... - After dropping down, go right past the tower grille and enter the first door to battle Blue Man for the key Round 7 Guardian - Blue Man Blue Man is identical to Red Man except he has a bigger sword, takes a little longer to defeat and is slightly more agile. Use exactly the same technique as you would against the latter. - Go right and up the ladder to use the flute - When the hidden area is revealed, go right and enter the castle. If Shion is wearing the Wingboots, glide over to the platform above the castle entrance for 3 coins, then enter - Kill the two Blue Flames - although they take some time to defeat, they're worth 30,000 pts each. Couple this with the third one at the end of the castle and you should earn enough to extend your vitality - Go left, kill the Red Man, pick up whatever he drops and enter the hidden door using the platform that appears - The Old Goat will give you a Star Pendant to deliver to Namas - Go left, kill the Blue Flame and jump just before the castle exit for a coin, money bag and heart - Once outside the castle, go left and re-enter the door to fight Blue Man again if you like. As with the Kraken, this battle is not compulsory but it's worth extra gold and the possibility of rejuvenating yourself - Go left to the tower grille to exit ----------------------------------- Round 8 Oh dear. Two of the most troublesome Guardians reside in this round and one of them holds the Legend Sword. Remember, the Legend Sword is only available if every other sword has been collected along the way. - Go right, enter the shops if you need to buy anything and attack the Mini Kongs at the cave entrance for more useful items - There is a money bag at the edge of the lava but it's only accessible if you jump down from the clouds above - Collect the timer and enter the cave - Jump over on the ledge to the far right past the Bat for a money bag - Drop down, but unless you're really short on gold don't bother killing anything. Remember, if you leave these monsters alone, you won't encounter any more until the next area - On the ledge below and to the right of the first platform that is sitting in the middle by itself, jump for a coin - Drop down to the second lonely platform (about 5 screens down) and knock on the wall to battle the Demon for the Legend Sword Legend Sword Guardian - Demon The Demon is really not that difficult, but he can do a good job of severely reducing your health which you need to battle the Ghost at the end of the round. Demon has a series of fireballs arranged in a circle that increases and decreases in size around him. At the start of the battle simply walk up and stab when the circle is at it's smallest size then back off and repeat. If he comes too close just throw some fireballs or whatever magic Shion may be carrying to force him back in the corner. As time passes the size of the circle becomes so large that you're going to get hit regardless of how far away Demon is, and this is his weakness. Just wander on in, stab away and you should be victorious within seconds. If you can walk away with the loss of only one or two hearts, you've done well. Pick up the last sword you'll ever receive to exit. - Drop down to the ledge on the left for a money bag - Drop down to the right to exit the cave - Go right ignoring the Mini Snow Kongs, unless you need gold of course, and use the three platforms to gain access to the second cloud to the left for 3 coins - Go right and enter the door to battle the Ghost Round 8 Guardian - Ghost This would have to be the most destructive Guardian by far. His lasers cause a lot of damage if you get caught up in them and he has all the speed of the Blue Man. Having anything less than the Legend Boots at this stage of the game isn't really good enough. To be perfectly honest though, Ghost can almost be fought using the same technique as Giant Kong - instead of bouncing rocks, you get lasers so speed is ever important. The only difference here though is that you won't be able to jump to avoid his shots - you have to strike before he even gets a chance so move quick. - Once defeated go right to enter the Ice Castle ----------------------------------- Round 9 Welcome to the shortest round yet, matching that of the first. The ice castle is just an excuse to power up, but placing one wrong foot on the slippery surface will land you in trouble. - There are four hidden shops throughout this round, each of them found on the single platforms so just knock on every one. They appear in the following order - Shield, Armour, Shoe and Magic. Purchasing the Whirlwind is recommended for taking on Snow Kong - Go all the way left to the ledge just beyond the Guardian door for 3 gold coins, then enter to battle Snow Kong Round 9 Guardian - Snow Kong This frosted mammoth behaves exactly like round 2 Guardian Goblin, except this time the little runts that are spawning out of big Papa are throwing popsicles at you. Just use the Whirlwind to take out the littlies whilst your attention is aimed at Kong. Quite simple. ----------------------------------- Round 10 By now you should be wearing the Legend Armour, Shield and Boots and have all 10 hearts. - Go right and enter the pub if needed. No hints will be given but at least you can buy some health - Kill the two Pygmies, use the platform to jump up to the roof of the pub and strike down the plants, grabbing 3 coins while you're up there - Go right past the first body of water and jump at the tree for a heart - Jump over the second body of water for 3 coins at the far right - Drop down into the pond and push left to drop into the cave - Enter the shop and buy the Fireball or Thunder if you like, exit and re-enter to talk to Namas. He will exchange the Star Pendant for an Eagle pin - Go all the way right to enter the cave - Keep going right once in the cave - a number of previous Guardians reside in here, but the Legend Sword will make short work of them - Jump in the middle of the ledge just before the final pit of lava for a heart - Jump over the lava pit at the far right for a coin - When you drop down into the lava, the area ahead is identical to the one where you fought Demon for the Legend Sword. All of the gold found there can be found in same location - Go straight to the bottom and right to exit the cave - Go right and, if you need to, enter the shops to upgrade for one last chance. The doors and what's behind them appear in the following order: 1 - Pub 2 - Armour, hidden to right of pub 3 - Magic, hidden to right of armour 4 - Hospital 5 - Boots, hidden to right of hospital 6 - Guardian 7 - Shield, hidden to right of the Guardians' lair 8 - Forturne Teller - Enter the door to battle Silver Man Round 10 Guardian - Silver Man This Guardian is just Red Man and Blue Man in yet another coat of paint, and as such should be confronted in an identical manner. The only differences are his increased speed and strength, but even then his abilities are minimal compared to previous Guardians like Ghost and Giant Kong. Just follow him and stab. - Go right and enter the last door to chat to the fortune teller. When she asks "Take the Better one", you will be given a choice of the following items: Bell - choosing the Bell will allow you to successfully navigate the maze in round 11. Even though the solution to the maze is given in this walkthrough, it may be worth selecting for the first few times to familiarise yourself. When you come before a junction in the maze the Bell will tingle if you are heading in the right direction. Ruby - the Ruby will assist in the battle against the Dragon at the end of the game. As you have to fight the Dragon twice, the Bell will make short work of the first battle. Roll on Meka!! - Go right and walk in front of the castle grille to enter Round 11 ----------------------------------- Round 11 The final castle maze was for a long time the source of many a gameplayers' headache thanks to three reasons: - It's a maze (duh). One wrong turn will put you back, and it can be a little difficult to reattain your bearings - Guardians from previous rounds are in abundance, and although individually they're not really a threat, it's their numbers that will wear down your vitality. The main source of hearts in the castle are from defeated Bats and there's not that many of them - There is no option to continue. If you die, you'll have to start over. If you don't have all 10 hearts by now, then make sure you pick up everything that is left behind by the monsters, because there are many chances to increase your score. Ok, here goes: - Go right, battle Poor God - Go right again, kill Snakes and take the bottom passage at the end - Right once more, kill the Pigs, battle the Vampires and keep going right - Drop down into the first well, there will be 4 Bats on the right then 4 on the left - When you land, drop down on the right side - At the bottom go left, killing all Flames - there will be a few red, then blue ones - Drop down into the well, push right immediately to fall onto the first ledge - Go right, fall down into the first well and push right immediately again to fall onto the first ledge. There should be 2 Blue Flames here - Go right, battle the Kraken and go right again - Kill all four Pygmies, then retrace your steps to where Kraken was to battle Ghost - Go right and use the platform to jump up into the well - As soon as you jump off the top of the platform to go up, push left to land on the left platform. Working your way up to the top of the well can be a little tricky, but if you keep jumping from one platform to the other, you should be fine. The trick is to jump back over to the other platform the instant you land, as it will sink to the bottom if you linger - As you go up there will be a Snake in a passage to the right. Kill it, and when you pick up whatever it leaves behind, a platform will appear allowing you to continue your journey upwards. Keep going all the way up - At the very top, go right to battle Giant Kong, then go right again - Kill all the Snakes, pick up their items and a platform will appear - Take the top passage - Go right to battle Demon - Go right again, jump down into the first well, slaying the Bats as you fall - Drop down into the left well, there should be Bats adorned on all sides. These Bats are a great source of hearts - At the bottom, slay those pesky Rats, then go left - If you've followed correctly, Shion will now be in a metallic passageway. Go all the way to the left and enter the door for the final showdown with the Dragon The Final Battle - Dragon The Mighty Scaly One is actually really easy, especially if you've chosen the Ruby. His only attack is to spit flame and if you stand at his feet the flames will almost alway pass over you. The Dragon can only be stricken on the head so you have to jump up to land a hit. He also hates the Thunder, so having a dozen or so of these stored away will make your job a little easier. When the battle begins, simply walk over to the Dragon, jump up and stab him on the nose. If you keep close, he will usually jump up to let loose his flaming fury. As he falls, jump and strike. That's it. Once you defeat the green Dragon, his Meka alter-ego will appear and you'll have to fight once again. As Meka uses an identical attack method, he can be confronted in the same manner. Good Luck. ====================================================== In Closing... I'd just like to thank Sega and Westone for creating such a timeless and entertaining masterpiece. And to the Navy for giving me nothing else to do at work. This Guide Copyright 2003 Luke Covell This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. (Thanks GameFAQs for this, I hope it works....) ====================================================== ====================================================== ======================================================