Walker Boh's Guide to: Demon Sword on NES Contents Preliminaries 1. Legal stuff 2. Game Story 3. Controls 4. Items Walkthrough Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Stage 7 Other Stuff 1. Review 2. The Password Option 3. Contact Info and closing statement Legal Disclaimer This document is the property of me, Walker Boh. The game and the names of the characters are the property of Taito. Game Story Demon Sword is a tale of a world ruled by an evil demon. The people live in fear of the demon's wrath. But hope is not lost. From a small farming village in the High Hills comes Victar, a young man carrying the rusty hilt of a sword which is said to possess the power to destroy demons. The blade is in fragments though, so before Victar can vanquish the Dark Fiend, he must first collect the three fragments of the Demon Sword. The game is divided into three worlds, each with two stages. After defeating the boss of the second stage in each world, you will receive one of the blade fragments. When all have been collected, you will enter the last area of the game and make your way to the final showdown. Controls Here, I'll give a brieff synopsis of what the controls do. A Button: Swing sword, activate selected magic when in the Sub Screen. B Button: Throw darts. You have an unlimited supply of these. D-Pad Up: Jump, enter Mystic Gates if you have a key. D-pad down: Crouch. D-pad Left and Right: Moves Victar Left or Right. Start: Starts game and also brings up the Magic Screen if pressed during game play. Use Left or Right to highlight the magic you want to use. Press A to activate it Select: Uses the selected magic. Items There are two kinds of magic items in the game of Demon Sword. The most commonly found are the ones left by normal enemies. These items take effect either immediately upon acquisition or when they are needed. For instance, if you have a key and you walk up to one of the Mystic Gates, you'll automatically use one of your keys. The other kind of items must be equipped. I will refer to those items which take effect immediately or as needed as Regular Magic. Regular Magic Key: Used to open Mystic Gates. Phoenix: Found only in the first world, these will summon a Phoenix to rescue you if you fall off a cliff. Arrow: Increases the strength of your darts. Dart Wheel: Temporarily allows Victar to throw four darts. Arrow Beam: Temporarily changes Victar into three invincible warriors. During this phase, Victar will not be able to use most Special Magics except possibly the Power Dart. The Arrow Beams can be found everywhere in the game, but they're more commonly found from World 2 onward. Black Sphere: Restores one square of life to your health bar. Red Sphere: Adds one more square of life to your life bar. Special Magic These items must be equipped Fire Sphere: These will conjure up fireballs which will circle around Victar and protect him. While they are in use you cannot use other magics except for regular magic. Lightning Beam: These shoot bolts of lightning at enemies. Power Beam: The Power Beam is my personal favorite, as it is twice as strong as the Lightning Beam. It fires waves of energy at the enemies. Works well against bosses. Power Dart: This item is permanent once used. Your darts become much stronger. Walkthrough The game is divided into three worlds (each with two stages), and one final stage. Each of the worlds has two stages. In each stage there is at least one Mystic Gate, which you must have a key to open. Sometimes when you enter these portals, you'll enter a room with a Special Magic Sphere. These are parts of the Mystic Realm, and they don't contain any enemies. Other times however, the Mystic Gates will transport you to the Dungeon Realm where you must fight a minor boss. If you defeat it you will be rewarded with another special magic and your freedom. World 1 Stage 1: Bamboo Forest You begin in a forest. The music here is pretty cool. Kill the enemies and grab any items they drop. If you get any Phoenixes, use them to cross the chasms, or jump across them yourself. If you want, grab some keys and open the Mystic Gate. Either way you'll get a powerup. Miniboss: Scimitar Demon If you find yourself in the Dungeon Realm this is the creature you will face, at least in this world. The music in these battles is some of my favorite in the game. Anyway, this guy is fairly easy, but be careful. He does a lot more damage when he hits you than normal enemies. You can defeat this guy in one of two ways I know, three if you already have acquired special magics (if you were lucky enough to find a door to the Mystic Realm beforehand). One way is to keep your distance and pelt him with darts. If you do that you can cut down a bit on the damage you receive. If you're daring, get in close and hit him with your sword and then jump away when he tries to hit you. Your reward is one of two Special Magics, either Fire or Power beams. The others will show up later. Collect the magic and leave. If you use magic to defeat these guys, you can easily beat them. It takes four lightning bolts to finish one off, but only two Power Beams. After getting any magic if you want, continue on and you'll find a boss. Boss: Demon Warrior The music in boss battles is pretty cool. Anyway, this guy is fairly easy. Like his underlings in the Dungeon realm, he has a sword. Hit him with your sowrd or pelt him with darts. If you have any magics, use them. I like the Power Beams better, as it will take only two hits to finish off even a few real bosses. After killing the Demon Warrior, it's on to stage two. Stage 2: Cedar Mountain Same music as stage one. Note: Each world will have a different song that is used in both stages. Anyway, kill off the monsters and grab any items, particularly the Black or Red Spheres. The more life you have, the better. Also, I've occasionally gotten an Arrow Beam here as well. If you get one, you'll become three warriors, and the music during these transformations is pretty damn groovy. Use that to your advantage...the transformation, not the music. Anyway, if you want more special magic (you get a limited supply each time you find one), repeat the Mystic Gate routine. You'll fight another Scimitar Demon in the Dungeon Realms. Then it's onto the boss. Boss: Old Wizard He waits for you on a rocky promintory. Hit him with whatever you want and try to avoid getting hit. After you beat him, not only do you beat level two, but you've also completed World 1! Congrats! After this, you see a short cutscene. You receive the first sword fragment. After that, Victar will use his longer sword to slice open a treasure chest, revealing a strange sphere. But as he reaches in to grab it, a bird will appear and fly away...with the crystal. Then it shows Victar standing around as the bird escapes, and some cool music plays. World 2 Stage 3: Temple Graveyard The new music is pretty cool. You'll have to climb high walls and crumbling staircases. In the Dungeon realms (if you decide to enter any doors), you'll meet a new demon. This one uses a flail to attack you. This means his range is somewhat longer. Still, the same strategy that you used against the Scimitar Demons applies when fighting these stronger enemies. Hit them as much as you can as fast as you can but avoid their attacks. After you kill him, collect your reward. Continue on through the level and you'll reach the Temple, where you'll meet the boss. Boss: Dark Priest Attack him as you would any boss. Hit him and avoid his attacks. Again, Power Beams work very well. Stage 4: Fire Mountain Once again, work your way through the level and if you choose, grab more magic. I believe that here you will start seeing new magics available. Eventually you'll find the boss. Boss: Troglodyte Demon Attack it however you want and avoid its attacks. If you can find a good place to stand where you won't be harmed and still have a clear shot at the demon, take the chance. Just continuously fire whatever weapon you want at the boss. Eventually it will die, and it's on to world 3! The same cutscene from the end of world 1 is shown, and you have a much longer sword now! World 3 Stage 5: Bone Mountain Cool music, huh? Continue through the level, fighting the warrior in the dungeon if you wish to get more magic (I believe this one has a Morning Star, a stronger version of a Flail, either that or entering the mystic realm. When you reach the end it's time to face off against the boss. Boss: Skullkeeper Do I need to say it again? Fight him in whatever way works best. If you have managed to acquire power darts or fireballs, use them. Power Darts are the only special magic you can use while the Fireball spell is in effect, since you use them as you would your darts. If you have either, use them to aid you in the battle. Now, on to stage 6. Stage 6: The Castle This maze is rather confusing, but that's the only real puzzle you'll encounter. Fight the warrior in the Dungeon or enter the Mystic Realm if you want, then continue on to the boss. Boss: Harpee This demoness can be rather tough, since even if you are using a Game Genie her shields will harm you. Still, just thwack her until she dies, or use your magics. You've beaten World 3! The last of the Demon Sword Fragments is yours! Still, there's one last crystal ball, which is once again taken from you by that damn bird! Stage 7: The Brimstone Fortress This area has the best music in the game if you ask me. Anyway, you'll also encounter pools of poisonous stuff (lava probably). Avoid them. In the Dungeon Realms you'll encounter a new demon, one that I shall call Medusa for the sake of this guide. Just hit her hands to kill her, using...well...whatever you have. Note: Medusa dies differently than the others. She burns up. After you do all you want where collecting magic is concerned, proceed. Time for the final battle. Note: This area is rather confusing. Final Battle: Dark Lord What? Dark Lord? I thought I came here to fight the Dark Fiend. Nope, it's just his chieff servant. He can be tough, because part of the time he's invisible, for instance right after you hit him. I've been told by friends who have played the game that the Dark Lord rather resembles a giant bat with either a cape or wings. We'll call it a cape for the sake of convenience, though maybe he has both. Be careful with this guy though, because every now and then he'll shoot a powerful energy beam out of his cape. It's not as serious if you're like me and use a Game Genie against this guy, but if you don't you'll want to be careful. Just keep hitting him and he'll die. Note: If you read on, you'll spoil the ending for yourself, but it is your choice whether to read on. Ending: After the battle with the Dark Lord, it shows a new demon emerging from a door. This, I presume, is the Dark Fiend, but you don't actually fight it. Upon seeing the monster, Victar will throw his sword at the demon, which explodes.Its three eyes fly out and are revealed to be the crystal balls the bird kept stealing from you at the end of each world. Then Victar approaches the door and a girl emerges. Then it shows Victar and the girl riding away on a horse as the sun rises. Then the credits roll, to the accompaniment of the absolute best music in the game! Other Stuff Demon Sword Review For the longest time I had no idea what the game was about. But as you can see from the Story section of this guide, I've found it. Control 10-10. It's fairly easy to learn and works well. Gameplay 10-10. Fight your way through each of the seven stages, collecting as many items as you can. Audio 10-10. The music is quite excellent and gets me in the mood for battle. The SFX, though basic, are fitting. Overall 10-10. Try to at least download a ROM of this game or rent a copy. If you like it, buy the game or just keep the ROM if you can't find the actual game. The Password Option Like many action games, Demon Sword uses a password feature. In this section I will tell you how to access this feature and how to get a password after all your lives are lost. To get a password after your last game ends, as the Game Over screen is shown, hold down the Down arrow and press B, A, B, A. To input an already recieved password, do the following. At the title screen, hold Up and press the following: A, B, A, B. The Password Input screen appears. Use the arrows to select letters and stuff, and press A to input them. Press B to move back and make corrections. When you're done, move the cursor to End and press either A or Start. If you enter an incorrect password, you'll get the message, "Mismatch" Contact Info and Closing Statement I hope you have enjoyed this FAQ, but more, I hope you've enjoyed playing Demon Sword. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to E-mail me. My E-mail address is b-peterson@earthlink.net. I'll try to help you or point you to somewhere where you can get help.