Unlicensed games on the NES get the cold shoulder too often. An interesting
argument arose in a NES message board recently, what was the Nintendo Seal of
Quality for anyways? Strict control of what was released on the console,
really.
Now, there are a fair few unlicensed games that deserve their reputation. Some
like Camerica are really good, others like Active are not so much. Thunder
Warrior form Micro Genius is somewhere in between. It's unstable at times but
also a fairly competent platformer. The controls are very jerky, but it has
some interesting gameplay elements (that seem heavily inspires by Super Mario
Land at times).
It's not a great game by any measure, but it's one that's possible to enjoy.
It does have a learning curve, however, and some very frustrating segments.
Still, it's worth a shot.
The gameplay in Thunder Warrior is simple, though requires some practice.
---*TW2.1: Basics*---
Control Pad Left/Right: Run
Control Pad Down: Duck (From a full stop)
Control Pad Up: Thunderbolt
A: Jump
A (After Jump): Double Jump
B: Standard Attack
Essentially you run and jump from one end of the stage to the other, attacking
enemies that might get in the way.
It should be noted that your running is kind of jerky. That is, it has some
considerable start-up and stop time as you accelerate and decelerate. This is
frustrating when you try to dodge an attack or when you can't duck because you
have to wait for him to stop running.
Essentially, if you want to be successful at this game, you need to learn to
predict enemies, preempt their patterns rather than react to them midway
through it.
Jumping will kill your deceleration by the way, if you are having trouble
keeping in edges a short hop might help.
So that in mind, you travel from one end of the stage to the other. You will
jump or double jump over pits, collect power-ups for your weapon, and destroy
enemies in your way.
Note that you cannot attack again until your first attack is offscreen.
There are a few bosses to destroy, and when you clear all nine levels the game
is over.
So in other words, a pretty typical NES platformer.
You -do- get a fullscreen bomb of sorts in this game. It is a thunderbolt that
relates to that white meter at the top of the screen. You can use if four times
per level, so choose wisely.
---*TW2.2: About Jumping*---
Jumping is extraordinarily important in this game. I should mention a few
techniques regarding double jumping.
1. Item retrieval:
B
-----+ C
| +----
A
Say you are at point B and want item A. Jump down onto item A, hit the double
jump to make it to item C. Simple.
2. Double air jump.
Think of the double jump as a counter of 2. When it is reset, it is "2." Every
time you jump it decreases by "1." When it is "0" you can not jump again until
you hit solid ground.
If you run off a cliff, you do not use any of the counters. So you can take two
jumps in midair. _Two jumps_.
This is very important for item retrieval in many cases, and will help you
with some standard jumps too.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| TW3: Items and Abilities |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Items and abilities are very important to your victory. Though I guess that's
the most profoundly obvious statement I've ever made.
---*TW3.1: Items*---
Items are hidden in green boxes. Crack them open to get the item.
1up: Gives you an extra life. Automatic.
Points: Worth points. Automatic.
Red Pot: Restores health. Must collect it.
Weapon: Confers a certain ability. Must collect it.
---*TW3.2: Abilties*---
Abilities are your weapons. Each has three levels, increasing their potency or
behaviour.
You gain a level by colelcting the same weapon you already have. You lose a
level by getting hit.
*Blue Orb:
A large, slow attack with a lot of power. Its levels seem more dedicated to
different paths of attacks.
1. Goes out and in like the boomerand, except actually useful with more rang.
2. Fires downwards at an angle.
3. Fires mostly straight but has a little loop in the middle of the path.
Great in a handful of levels with multi-hit enemies, but with multiple single
hit enemies it might be far too slow.
*Boomerang:
The boomerang is terrible. Lousy range and slow. It adds extra boomerangs when
it levels up, and can hit things JUST below it or JUST above it but the width
of attack is never very great. Stay away from the boomerang.
*Red Orb:
This orb fires straight ahead, the length of the screen. Highly useful against
bosses. The extra levels add extra width to the attack.
The main failing is that they cannot hit enemies above or below the line of
attack.
*Rock:
Your basic weapon that flies in everyone's favourite parabolic arc. Seriously,
can players just not aim in these games? I kid, the rock is pretty hateful
until you upgrade it.
When you have two or three rocks, this is actually a pretty excellent weapon
for standard level play.
The main flaw is that you can't hit enemies above you and it sometimes takes a
while to attack again if your rock is bouncing around.
-Each level is followed by a scene where it says "Push 'A' Key." Just jump on
the spirngboard until the picture piece inserts itself.
-This is followed by a Mario Land-esque random bonus selection. You can get
either 1000 points, 5000 points, 1up or 2up. The extra men are clearly better.
-When that urn picture is complete, you will have completed the game.
Your default weapon has an arced path, so keep that in mind. Learn the
trajectory now, rather than later.
Run to the right and break open the two boxes, there likely are no contents.
We need to cross that hole. Remember - you have a -double- jump. Tap the jump
button while int he air for a brief double jump.
However, when you approach the hole a bat will arrive. It's probably best to
jump over it, you can try to hit it but if you miss you must jump. There are
three more bats just ahead and after the hole, so step lightly.
Alright, so double jump past the hole. If you want the green box we just passed
you will have to turn around and throw your rocks at it. Throw rocks at the
blue circle to reveal a rock power-up. You can toss two rocks at once until you
get hit now.
How do you get it though? You need to reach it with your first jump then use
your double to get back up on the ledge. If it's too risky for you, then ignore
it. But it can be a benefit to an otherwise inacurate weapon.
Either way, jump back across the hole, then destroy the bat. Jump across the
next hole, deal with the next bat. Climb to the top of the stairs-like
structure and toss rocks at the green hand. Now, it is flinging projectiles
into the air so stay at a distance here and put the rocks to it. Staying at a
distance also helps you dodge, but due to the jerky controls of your character
you may get hit once or twice.
Before jumping over the hole, jump up and destroy the bat at the ceiling. That
done, pass the hole. Double jump to the next ledge, then head down the stairs.
Take it slowly here. You only want one bat onscreen at any one time. Just
slowly scroll them onscreen and destroy them as they appear. For the bat at the
end, you may have to jump and strike him. If you miss, you may have to run down
the tunnel a bit and turn to meet him.
Following the next "staircase" there is a green big hand. Stay at the base of
the stairs and the whole hand will be onscreen and it won't attack. Jump up and
toss rocks at it from here, never scrolling any farther tot he right. If it
does attack, retreat into the tunnel to dodge the falling globs if you have to.
Now, scroll right until you get the next hand onscreen. Again, just get it
oncreen and attack it from a distance and it should not return fire. Destroy it
before scrolling right. You should be standing ont he small rise right before
the pit of the previous hand when you take this one on.
Come to the staircase, then double jump up and toss rocks at the bats. Leap
over the next pit, dodge or kill the next bat. Jump up and toss rocks at the
hand you can see, it shouldn't be far enough onscreen to return fire. Then, go
a little bit further and double jump and kill the bat near it. The hand could
reappear, so destroy it again.
For the green box, you will have to duck and toss your rocks. A boomerang will
appear. It doesn't have the range of the rock, but it's a more straight flying
attack. It's actually kind of an immediate disadvantage, though not bad in the
long run. Still, I think an upgraded rock is much superior, and the boomerang
makes this level needlessly frustrating.
Anyways, if you want it run off the edge to collect it then use both of your
jumps to get back up.
Double jump across the hole to the right. Double jump and destroy the three
bats and across the gap. Jump across.
Destroy the bat in the tunnel, then move forward to see the big hand. This is
where the boomerang is a disadvantage, you have to get too close to the hand.
Hit him six times with the boomeraneg then run back to the ledge and double
jump up before it reaches you - it will CHASE you. The rock's longer trajectory
and ability to hit foes beneath you make this an easier fight. If you use the
boomerang you will have to get to the left side of the ledge, duck down and try
to hot the hand this way.
Either way, pass the tunnel when it's defeated. Watch out for the bat at the
end. Destroy the big hand in the pit. You may want to press Up and hit it with
Lightning if you are using the boomerang. Kill the bat near the hand before
passing the pit.
Ther eis a hp restoration in the box over the pit. Take it and continue right.
Hit that hand five times then use the thunder strike. Continue right through
the tunnel killing bats.
Destroy the next hand in the pit and kill the bat before crossing. In these
three boxes, you will discover a rock (in the top) and health (in the lower
right). If you want to pass without getting the rock, then simply reveal the
blue circles and pass them.
Destroy the next box for 200 points, you will see some white boxes. Double jump
to the highest boxes, then double jump across the gap before they fall into the
pit. Head off the right side of the screen to reach the next area.
Jump over the bat that attacks you the instant the level starts. Destroy the
green boxes you start near for points, health, and a rock power-up. The rock is
farthest to the right if you are trying to avoid it.
Let the rock head to the right drop and then pass under it. If youw ant the
rock upgrade from the green box, then pass the rock head, duck and toss rocks
to the left. When it is open, you will have to drop off the ledge then use both
of your jumps to reach the upper left ledge - you'll get hit by the rock head
otherwise making you power down. It's very risky.
The bats to the right. If you have rocks, you will need to jump right then
angle back left to draw them into a more battle-friendly position. Pass them
and head right.
Destroy the green block under the rock head for 100 points, and the next one
for another hundred points. Pass under the rock heads as they raise.
Head right, kill the spider when it drops to the ground. They drop like rock
heads but can be destroyed. So head right, destroying spiders. After the green
column there will eb a spinning blade coming in from behind. Jump over it, then
continue killing spiders.
Stop when you see rock heads. As always, pass beneath them as they raise back
up.
Afte rthe two rock heads, there are three green boxes blocking your path. These
are points but one has a red ball attack in it. Now, these fire a ball forward.
It's way better than the boomerang because it travels the length of the screen.
It doesn't hit enemies above or below you, however, so choose carefully. As you
get near it, jump over the fast spinning blade that arrives.
Let the next rock head start to raise, then pass on by. Get onto the stairs,
there is a horizontal rock head here. Now, they are basically the same crap,
different pile. You will want to provoke it into attacking, dodge to the left,
then drop into the hole as it recedes.
The green box you passed contains another red ball. Just jump up and open it if
you want it, don't jump intot he rock head though!
You will come to an assembly of horizontal rock heads. This is tough to pass
without damage.
|(B< Jump onto point 1 as Rock Head A (RHA) recedes.
+----- +------ As RHA shakes, double jump right. This will cause
>A)+ Rock Head B (RHB) to shake and attack. You will
+-+''''' be just ahead of RHB and RHA should attack, which
|1 moves it out of the way for your landing. Jump up
----------+ to the ledge and continue on your merry way.
After the assembly, drop down the hole to avoid the next rock head.
Now, the green boxes to the left. They contain points, health, and a rock (low
right). Get them if you need them.
The green boxes on the platform to the right. Destroy them before going over
there. they are just points.
Run right and jump up tot he green boxes you see, dodging the horizontal rock
head. Destroy the boxes for points, then continue right.
Jump onto the yellow platform. It goves away, so jump into the lover right
tunnel to save yourself.
There are some green boxes to the right, under a bat. Destroy them and jump
right... the bat should pass overhead. Turn and destroy the bat. Jump right and
the next bat will do the same.
Destroy the three green stacked boxes here. It's all points. Jump the gap and
kill the bat you see.
Scrollt he screen right slowly, getting only one bat onscreen at a time. Kill
them one by one and you will come to the exit.
Clobber that skeleton, and pass it before it gets back up. When you get to the
part where ghosts arrive, knock out the skeleton, toss your next attack and it
should hit the next skeleton in line. The ghosts are best simply avoided
because they spawn infinitely.
The green box up ahead has a blue orb. Take it. It is powerful enough at level
C to knock mosts keeltons down. Otherwise, this stage is a pain in the ass from
skeletons that toss bones at you after being hit. Take the blue and head right,
knocking out skeletons and destroying the ghost over the bridges.
The green box on the platform has a rock power.
Continuing to the right, destroy the blocks for some points then knock out the
two skeletons as you climb the stairs.
Drop down tot he right and take out the two boxes here for health. Continue to
the right. Watch otu as you head right for the spinning blade. Jump over it.
Knock out the skeletons as you head right, and with the blue orb we -can- take
on the ghosts. Just so long as you can hit them with your first shot. Otherwise
dodge them and continue right. Jump onto the blue blocks when you see them.
Scroll right, destroying any ghosts, until you see the blade rotating around
the red block. Destroy it with the blue orb or simply pass it by. Let the two
ghosts pass beneath you.
Scroll the next rotating blade onscreen and hit ti with the blue orb again, or
just pass it by. Knock out he skeleton and destroy the ghost as you head right.
***NOTE***
The next part is for use witht he blue orb. If you do not have this weapon, you
will probably take less damage from the skeletons if you simply jump beside
them and jump to avoid them.
These skeletons take multiple hits and toss bones at you after being hit. This
means you can knock out one just as another gets up. Not worth it, you will
take less damage if you pass them.
The blue orb should drop them in one hit.
***END NOTE***
Taking that note into consideration, knock out the skeleton across the way.
Jump and fire at the next skeleton, then look at that ghost group. Jump to the
right as it recedes.
Knock out the skeletons as you head right. When you get to the ghosts, hit the
first one then jump over the second. Now, look at the skeleton across the gap.
Crumble this skeleton across the gap, then leap over. Try to leap over the two
ghosts. Crumble the next skeleton, jump across, then approach the ghost group
up ahead.
Duck and destroy this ghost group, then leap across the gap. Keep heading right
for the boss.
******************************************************************************
BOSS 1
******************************************************************************
This large, four armed being will appear at the right side of the screen. This
can be hard to avoiud - unless you are patient. It can take a fair while to
beat - but if you are patient it should be without incident.
Basically, she rests at the side for a moment, and then raises up and crashes
down. This drops a group of skulls on our intrepid thunder warrior. The group
of skulls drops down and then bounces tot he left. This leftward motion can be
countered by leaping over them as they head down or running under as they
bounce up.
However, the skulls bounce in smaller bounds the more they bounce, so running
under them is not wise.
Instead, consider this: The skulls are dropped at roughly your Thunder
Warrior's position. So, what you do is stay near the left side of the screen
until you see the skulls drop, then run right. They should hit the ground to
the left of you, and bounce left away from you.
Now, while they bounce away, jump up and fire at the boss monster's face. The
boss is __only__ vulnerable in the face and will flash grey when hit. You might
get two shots in, then run left afterwards - or at least when you see it rise
up.
Keep the pattern up. Shoot twice, head left, dodge right. Repeat. If you have
the blue orb, this guy can take upwards of a few minutes, depending on which
level you have. But that's fine... If you are patient you can do this boss in
without ever getting hit.
Jump over the eyeball from the start, and destroy it as it passes to the left.
Run toward the green boxes and destroy them for points. Let the eyeballs pass
overhead and then jump up yourself and head to the right.
Drop down and head through the passage. The spiders at the very top cannot drop
through the wall after you. However, there are a few down in the tunnel with
you as well. Let these spiders drop, then scrub them.
Move quickly past the opening, turn and destroy the eyeball that bounces down
yo your left. Again, the spiders at the top cannot get you, but the bats in the
tunnel with you can - so destroy them before moving on.
Destroy the next few spiders from the safety of inside your tunnel. Move into
their tunnel and scroll the green rotating blade onscreen. Either destroy it
outright, or pass it as it moves around the left side. Either way, we're going
to continue tot he right as per usual.
To the right is a pit with a moving platform. I suggest you drop down to the
lower tunnel here. There are two eyeballs along the upper path and you may not
be able to recover from your first attack fast enough to deal with the second.
So either take the safe route and attempt to drop down, or go up and dodge the
eyeballs.
Moving on.
Scroll the screen slowly to the right and the eyeballs will drop from the
ceiling. You want this to happen at only one eyeball at a time, or else things
will get really dicey really quickly. So if you are strong enough to destroy
them in one hit, destroy them. Otherwise, avoid them.
there is a moving platform over the gap to the right. These move from top to
bottom, and disappear into the pit. Double jump up to one that is midway down,
and jump across the platforms to the ledge to the right.
Alright, jump ontot he platform down at the bottom. This is less difficult than
it may seem. The platform moves horizontally left, then right. Of course, you
have to jump off at one point and get back on the platform. __TAKE YOUR TIME__.
Concentrate on jumping up onto the forst "L" shaped platform you come to, then
jump up and wait on the "7" shaped platform. The moving platform will move
right past you, then come back left, then back right. You can drop down to it
now. If you try this in one pass of the platform, you are likely to die due to
the jerky start-up of your character.
At the end, jump to the next "L" then again wait ont he "7."
There will be a rotating blade down and to the right. There are multiple blades
around the same axis. Now, if you drop down next to the wall they cannot hit
you. Then you can time either destroying them or passing them at your leisure.
Heading tot he right, you will find a similar set-up. I do recommend destroying
these rotating blades if possible. This is due to what's just to the right.
See, there's this spike floor. This is one of the more difficult parts of the
game. Destroy the Eyeball that falls down, then get back a bit without
scrolling the screen. Run right and jump as you clear the black section around
the statue. Make sure you double jump to land on that platform up and over
there.
PLEASE NOTE. If you go to the very end of the ground and jump, the spikes WILL
get you. This part might take practice, so don't get flustered. The spikes are
an instant kill, so it can get frustrating. Believe me, I know. But it is
possible to clear this if you run and jump just past the statue, getting your
double jump in around the apex of the first and close to the platform.
You can get a ton of points if you continually hit these torches up here, by
the way.
On the platform, let the bats fly away. Scroll right and get the bat to fly at
you. Destroy it, then jump down (again, the spikes are instant death so watch
out). Scrollt he screen right very slowly because there are many bats here. We
want to deal with them one at a time. So destroy them as they appear.
Now, this reminds me of Super Mario Land's world 3 :). You will see a rock from
the start. The wall in front of you will protect you, so sleep easy. Jump up on
top of the wall.
Jump past the spike pit, then wait for the rock to head right. Jump on it as it
is partly over the spikes, then double jump right immediately. You can stand on
them, just like Super Mario Land, but very soon you slip off.
Up here, destroy the spiders while watching out for ghosts at top and bottom.
The birds that fly on move in sinusoids, just like the bats. However, they seem
to be able to go through platforms. So, avoid the birds and let's get going. I
would say, stick with the top route, making your move after the ghost passes.
Be careful, he's almost invisible against the sky.
As you leap across the platforms at the top, the Spider will -jump- to the left
after you. He is on the lower of the two platforms, so be ready to leap over
him.
Drop down past that platform and you will be faced with a green block. This has
a red orb power in it if you so choose to use it. Take it, then jump up onto
the bent platform.
There will be a rock here. Jump out onto it as it hits halfway across the
spikes, then jump roght. Use your double jump int his case to avoid the jumping
spider and flying bird.
Scroll the next spider onscreen and scroll a little more. Jump over the bird
that flies in. Keep to the top. You may have to jump over and back to avoid him
but getting hit once is a whole lot less troublesome than falling onto the
spikes down below. Remember, they can hit you even if you are on the edge of
the ground.
Scroll the next bird onscreen, deal with it. Then jump toward the spider and
back to provoke it into jumping and killing itself. Do the same for the next
spider and bird.
The three green boxes hold a rock power, points, and a 1up. The power-up is in
the lower left. Take it or skip it, and get to the high point of its platform
over the spikes. Jump up tot he next part.
This part can be hard. Jump onto the rock as it heads right and make double
jumps as it bounces right. Land on it each time. The jumping will help you
dodge the birds and not fall to your death. Double jump to the platform as soon
as you see it, let the rock head back left, then leap down tot he right of that
wall.
Carefully jump between the spike floors, and over the rock as you head right.
Jump up to the platform in midair.
Drop right and head right until you come to the next spike floor. Alright, the
spider over there. If you are feeling brave, you can leap over near that square
to make it jump, then use your double jump to get back to where you leapt from.
Or, if you don't mind taking the hit, just jump over there. It's up to you. Of
course, if you can kill the spider - that's the best possible route.
The next part is hard to do even with tricky jumping. Jump right to scroll all
three spiders onscreen, then use your double jump to get back. Use your screen-
wide thunder attack to kill them all then jump right.
Stay on this platform and focus on avoiding the birds for now.
Scroll the rock onscreen. When it heads right, double jump onto it, then keep
double jumping up and down on it until it reaches safe ground. Jump onto it
immediately.
Jump across the longer gap to the right, try to hit your double jump right on
level with the platform we are jumping to. Otherwise, you may miss it and have
to aim for the lower path. This path is thankfully high enough not to get you
killed by the spikes at the edge.
get teh rock onscreen, then get to the higher platform while dodging the bird.
As the rock bounces right, again we must make our jumps so that we don't fall
to our death as we ride the rock. Get to the high platform it comes to and jump
up to it,t he boss is just ahead.
******************************************************************************
BOSS 2
******************************************************************************
Harder to dodge, faster to kill than the first boss. This four armed boss moves
up and down tossing out bubbles in a predictable pattern.
Essentially, the bubbles are always in a group of four. the first two hit the
ground first, the second two converge and hit the ground second. You can jump
over the first group, then jump over the second group.
Not only this, but you can destroy the bubbles, so if you hit each group even
once, it is significantly easier to dodge bubbles each time.
You only have to hit the boss in his upper region, not an area as small as his
face.
Concentrate on dodging. Dodge the bubbles then head back a little left to
prepare for the next wave. As long as you are firing all the time, he will
eventually drop.
I recommend the red or blue orb for fighting him, so that you don't have to
take any special considerations into where you attack from (mostly).
And really, that's it. He has one attack, that may take some practice to master
dodging, but he's like a harmless kitten otherwise.
Ah, the required lava stage. From the start you will see a fireball shooting up
and down to your right. A tip: You can see them poking out of the lava so our
fiery foes won't hide for long.
When it goes down, leap over it. Now this weird pink ground and the yellow
platform will continually pull you in toward the left of the screen. Wait for
the group of fireballs to drop down, double jump up to the platform. Tap right
until the skeleton passes underneath, then kill the spider pass down and right.
Pause to catch your breath at the yellow face. Jump up to the next platform,
then back down to the face. This is to lure the bat out. Depending on your
weapon, you will probably fire as you land on the platform.
Either way, when the bat is dealt with jump up there and take short hops in
place to keep your footing.
Jump over to the next platform and run off the righthand side to dodge the bat.
Since you're getting both jumps here, bound onto the blue rock area as you
drop down.
You land next to a green box. Destroy it for some points. The green box across
the way has a rock power-up, but I really don't recommend trying to get it
unless you really, really want it. I would say open at this distance, then get
to the upper platform. Run off the righthand side, and double jump when you get
the rock. You will want to run off when the fire recedes.
If you miss the rock, don't push your luck. If you don't want it, then there's
no need to be so reckless.
Otherwise, if you are skipping the rock, just jump down beneath the spider and
keep running right until you hit the yellow face. The spiders will all miss you
and you can kill them at your leisure.
Start moving right, jumping where the fireballs drop. Fire in line with the
blue face to kill the first bat, then take your time to the right and make
_sure_ you kill the next two bats.
Passing teh fires near the drop into lava, you need to use your thunderbolt if
you want to make it safely. This is due to the sudden appearance of a low
ceiling. Land when the last fireball on the pink ground is as it drops and use
your screen-wide thunderbolt to kill the bat. Now jump right and double jump to
make it all the wya as the fire ahea dof you recedes. The next bat should fly
down, but miss you.
Otherwise, if you get hit once just swallow your pride and jump across.
You will land next to some green boxes. The right block yields a health
restorer. Dodge the skeleton and head right.
The block up here has a blue orb if you want it, it's helpful against
skeletons. Head right skipping skeletons and fireballs. Kill the spider near
the end and don't get fooled by the yellow face - there is no ground beneath
this one. Double jump right over the fireballs and further right to the next
platform. Finish your jumping right to the green boxes.
Destroy the skeleton here. There is health and a boomerang (right). Take what
you want, though I sorely advice against the boomerang.
Jump right, skip the first skeleton and scroll the next two onscreen. Smite
them with your thunder and continue right, moving over fireballs as they drop
below the pink bridge.
Kill the bat before you jump across. Jump across. Dodge the skeletons and the
exit is just to the right.
Alright, I actually kind of like this background music, though the stage's
openings cared the piss out of me. Your thunder warrior runs oncreen onto a
raft which is kind of hard to see unless you are looking for it. So no, he is
_not_ killing himself. But jump back tot he left ledge until you get your
bearings.
Jump to the very left edge of the first ledge after the raft. Destroy all of
the spiders you can from here before moving on.
Destroy what spiders you can near the moving platform and dodge the fish that
jumps up. The fish are visible at the surface of the water so you should be
able to see them coming.
Destroy the spiders as you ride this right, leap over the fish, and jump up to
the next ledge.
Destroy the spider, jump down, and attack the fish that jumps up. Destroy the
next fish before jumping out to the moving platform. Destroy the fish that jump
at you hear, then get up to the higher platform. Use your thunderbolt to clear
them out.
Land next to the urchin as it moves right. Shoot it, then shoot the next
urchin. Jump to the next ledge. The urchin at the ceiling will drop if you get
beneath it. Jump up and destroy it, jump to the right.
Keep it up until you get to the tall ledges.
Jump up and kill the first urchin here. Now look ebtween the tall, thin columns
to see urchins in the water. These will jump up at you as you pass over or draw
near. Just make a simple jump right, kill it as it jumps up then destroy the
next few urchins before the drop.
Jump down to the left of teh urchin, kill it. Open the green boxes for health
and points. Head right.
You will come to many platforms moving in a waterfall. For the fish, destroy it
before moving forward. Note the urchin. Land on the platform to the left of it
and fire as it jumps up. Either this, or jump over it as it does move in a
parabola.
There is a fish after the highest platform. Jump tot his platform, then jump
back left. Kill the fish from here. Jump to the platform the fish was under,
then shoot the urchin as it jumps up. Jump up and kill the urchin in the
ceiling before returning to the ground at the lower right.
Entering the save (behind the waterfall I guess) destroy the urchin you see.
Jump to the second platform and avoid the fish. Provoke the next fish to jump
over the column and dodge it. It should not return. Drop ontot he platform as
it heads right.
Ride it right. Jump ontot he "L" platform, kill the urchin ont he "7." Jump
ontot he "7."
Drop to the next moving platform. Get the points from the green block and
continue right.
Kill the spider, and wait beside the rock head. Pass it when it rises and kill
the next spider. Do the same for the next spider and two rock heads.
The boss is just ahead.
******************************************************************************
BOSS 3
******************************************************************************
This boss can be disorienting if you don't now how to handle it and it can be
tricky to dodge even when you do.
Essentially, it tosses four sets of thunderbolts. Dodge them as so:
1) The first set can be avoided by hugging the far left of the screen.
2) The boss bounces in. Go next to his tentacles to avoid the second set.
3) He heads away, head right and double jump up and left between the third set.
4) Head back right to avoid the fourth set.
Now of course, you should be firing at the the boss as much as possible. His
whole top half is vulnerable, so red and blue orbs are both highly recommended.
After his blitzkrieg, he will pause for a long time. Stay near the left side
of the screen if possible, but overall just pound him with attacks. The farther
away the better.
When it starts to move again, run back tot he lefthand side. Rinse and repeat
and it should drop in no time.
This stage is gorgeous, but holy hole in a doughnut! It moves! Some very
Marioesque platforms are up ahead. This is kind of scary since your character
moves so poorly, but it's possible comrade. Just grin and bear it.
Wait until three platforms are onscreen before jumping right. They will drop
slowly when you are on them, so you have a little leeway. It is almost worth
it to be lacsadasical so the branch scrolls onscreen. Jump onto the branch and
stay near the left.
There will be some eagles here. Jump over them as the meander to the left.
Shoot them as they pass to the left.
Alright, there is another dropping platform to the right, but what we are most
interested in are the jumping spiders past it. Let four of them scroll onscreen
then hit your thunderbolt power. The thunderbolt stops the autoscrolling so do
not worry about being pushed to your death. When the spiders are dead, jump to
the platform, then the logs.
You can take out the next four spiders more deliberately or just provoke them
into killing themselves. Stay on the top path.
Use adouble jump to get over the spiders near the boxes to the right. Get the
health from the box.
The next spider is a prick. He is at the bottom of the screen and strong
to lightning. In order to dodge him, you have to land on the extreme left of
the platform, move under him as he arcs toward you, then double jump to avoid
him as he swings back in. A prickish enemy in the truest sense, but it may be
just as well to take the hit if you aren't confident in your ability to land on
the ledge.
OTHERWISE, two thunderbolts WILL kill it. Blah.
Alright, from the ledge we will jump out and back in to cause the next two
spiders to kill themselves.
The green boxes to the right have a rock powerup and a health restore. You can
land next to them on the branch, but unless you need the rock it may be just as
well to pass it by unless you can strike down with your weapon.
Let the two dropping platforms scroll onscreen and a bit of the rock. There are
jumpign spiders on this rock platform and the log above it. Land on the
leftmost portion of the rock to avoid the first two. All there is now is to
get to the top and provoke them into killing themselves.
As this assembly ends, jump over the spider to the log structure. At the end of
it, drop in and head left. These green boxes have a blue orb (top), points
(middle), and a 1up (bottom). Head right and kill the normal spiders here.
Get to the top of their rocky section and let the screen scroll a bit. Jump to
the platform, and then tot he log. Duck and kill some eagles, then jump the
rest of them.
Drop down and wait until the spiders at the thin log with two spiders scrolls
onscreen. Thes etake two thunderbolts to kill, and due to the thin nature of
this column I suggest using two here. Jump over to the platform.
Jump from the log to the platform to the grassy ground.
Let three of the next platforms scroll onscreen before you hop. Start jumping
across them, a fourth will appear and then some more grassy ground to which you
will jump.
Alright true believers, this is it! Let the urchins to the right move off of
the edge before you head right. Head right and the fish will jump up on land.
It will continue to jump toward you so kill it.
For the purple columns to the right with the fish, jump to the column, then
jump back left, kill the fish. Do the same for the second column.
Let the next fish jump up on land and go unde rhim, turn and shoot. Destroy the
urchins on the purple columns as you head right. There's nothing in the boxes.
The eagles here dive and speed forward. Destroy the bottom Eagle and duck the
rest of them.
Have the urchin tot he right fall off of its perch, then jump across the gap (
or alternatively kill the urchin).
There is a platform that stretches in and out up next. Double jump up when it
is a single square and you should land on it a sit stretches out. Run forward
and double jump to the next singular square to avoid both fish and diving
eagles.
From your lofty position, note the next few squares. Jump to each one and jump
again when you land to dodge the fish. When you land on the rocky column, land
on the left side and you will have enough room to shoot the fish here.
Jump to the next stretcher. Jump to the right, use your double jump to head
back tot he left. This should activate the next fish. Jump to the next block
and then jump right again before the fish comes back. When you jump to the rock
outcropping, activate your thunderbolt to get rid of fish and eagle alike.
Move slowly right. Activate urchins one at a time. When they jump, dodge left
and turn right and shoot. Do this while jumping the gap as well. Jump in and
out. For the last urchin, run off the cliff, and use both jumps to get back.
The urchin should jump if close enough and a diving eagle will come down - you
will easily avoid it. Turn and shoot that urchin so you don't have to do this
again.
When all is said and done, make the jump to the platform on the far right. It
will be a double jump, make your second when your feet are in line with the
platform you are aiming for.
Let the urchin fall off, then drop down to its column. Double jump right to the
next platform and immediately attack the diving eagle that appears. Double jump
to the next platform to avoid the next eagle.
Attack the urchins up ahead and lure the fish into attacking. When they do,
turn and fire at them. Do this for the two small grassy rock squares.
HEading right, just kill any urchins in your way. The lower path is safer.
There will be an "Exit" sign.
This takes patience. Jump back and forth between the ground and the blocks. You
want to get the fish to rest near you and away from the urchins. When they do,
get them to jump and kill them.
The urchins should be attacked when there are no fish. Get them to jump up and
hit them. If you miss, jump uot and back in and the urchin should reset down
below for anothe rpass. Again, take your time.
The final boss is just ahead.
******************************************************************************
BOSS 4
******************************************************************************
The final boss, like others, is tricky but beatable with patience. This large
assembly of skulls on fire will immediately attack. It basically bounds forward
and launches fireballs, then bounds away and releases fireballs.
These fireballs can be destroyed. Basically, stay in the lower left corner and
attack the fireballs so that there are maybe one or two left. Do this quickly.
Take a small jump over the remaining fire to the right, then head left as it
leaves.
Jump right over the second wave of fire.
Now, the fireball of skulls should pause briefly. Lay into it with your attacks
while it pauses. I'd say get three attacks in then head back to the lefthand
side of the screen to repeat the dodging. Less if you have a short range
weapon.
That's it. Repeat until dead. You should try to destroy some of the first wave
of fire or else your single jump won't be long enough to clear the attack, and
your double jump will cause you to bump the boss.
If you have some thunder, then you may just want to cast down a thunderbolt
when the boss launches its first wave of the attack each pass until you've
exhausted it.
None of these enemy names are official. Enemies are listed in the order in
which they first appear.
---====*Stage 1*====---
*Bat:
Flies forward in a sinusoid. This is usually a very exaggerated path and it
might be best to leap over these bats more often than not. They have a smaller
path in tight corridors and it is best to kill them.
*Big Hand:
Stationary at most times. Flings green projectiles into the air which cause
damage. Best to stay at a distance for easier evasion. Lay into them with your
weapon - it's best to destroy them rather than trying to pass.
Those out in the open that don't fire will chase you after takinga bit of
damage (usually 6 hits total).
---====*Stage 2*====---
*Fast Blade:
A spinning blade that come sin from behind without warning. Note where they
appear and jump over them when you can.
*Rock Head:
Just like Mario Bros. Thwomps, these heads slam down. They will shake before
dropping, pass them as they rise.
Some will move on the horizontal axis instead, again you should pass them as
they recede unless the situation proves otherwise.
*Spider:
Move across the ceiling and drop after shaking. They are kind of like rock
heads in that respect, but can be killed. Kill them after they drop.
---====*Stage 3*====---
*Ghost:
Drops down then flies forward. Usually spawn infinitely, best avoided. Those
that do not drop are not infinitely spawning so just kill these ones.
*Ghost Group:
Regularly stretches out to hit you. Wait for it to recede then jump past it.
You can destroy it by destroying the origin ghost.
*Rotating Blade:
Roates around a certain point. They take a beating but can be destroyed.
*Skeleton:
Soem fire bones after being hit, other do not. They crumble when hit enough
times, but will eventually get back up.
---====*Stage 4*====---
*Eyeball:
A large eyball that bounces and rolls down structures toward you. Attack it, or
jump over it and attack it as it passes.
They cause very heavy damage if they hit you.
---====*Stage 5*====---
*Bird:
Flies in a sinusoid like the bats, but seems able to go through most platforms.
*Jumping Spider:
Leaps when you approach. Best to provoke them, then dodge.
*Rock:
Bounces across the ground. You can stand on top of them for a short second.
This is useful as a platform to cross spike pits, but don't try to ride them in
most cases.
Rocks may roll past you without incident but can crush you if they fall on you.
---====*Stage 6*====---
*Fireball:
Leaps up and down. Avoid them. You can see their top poking above the lava in
most cases so if you have a sharp eye they should be no surprise.
*Skeleton - Destructible:
Some of these skeletons are outright destructible.
---====*Stage 7*====---
*Fish:
Wait at the surface of the water for you, and jumps out when you draw near. You
should preempt this by jumping when it does or attacking it as it approaches.
*Urchin:
Moves back and forth across a surface. Best to jump down beside it then destroy
it asap.
Urchins on the ceiling will drop when you go beneath them, and the move off any
edges nearby.
Urchins in the water jump up and down.
---====*Stage 8*====---
*Eagle:
usually flies in groups in a tight hgorizontal sinusoid path. Jump to the safe
parts if you have to cross them, and keep jumping as the troughs become peaks.
If you have time to shoot at them, then rip into them with prejudice.
---====*Stage 9*====---
*Diving Eagle:
Dives down the flies forward. Best to duck if posible, shoot otherwise.
*Floundering Fish:
Jumps out onto land and continues to jump forward. Its jump height is usually
severe enough that killing it is the best course of action.
