Super Black Onyx(NES) FAQ/Walkthrough
version 1.3.0 by [email protected]

Please do not reproduce for profit without my consent. You won't
be getting much profit anyway, but that's not the point. This
took time and effort, and I just wanted to save a memory of an
old game and the odd solutions any way I could. Please send me an
email referring to me and this guide by name if you'd like to
post it on your site.

This guide has a corresponding maps on GameFAQs. You can refer to
them to decide where to go. I have a big-picture map and also a
color-coded map of each of the eight individual levels, which are
threaded together to create a 62-level game.

Important references in Japanese that helped me figure out the
rules of the game:

http://www20.cds.ne.jp/~yugen/sbo/index.htm
http://www.e-tokyo.prug.or.jp/~peki/gmemo/blackonyx/nesonyx.html

================================

           OUTLINE

 1. INTRODUCTION

 2. CONTROLS

   2-1. GETTING AROUND

   2-2. PARTY FUNCTIONS

   2-3. COMBAT

 3. STATISTICS AND STRATEGIES

   3-1. COMPANIONS AND THEIR STATS

   3-2. ITEMS

     3-2-1. IKONS

     3-2-2. GEMS

     3-2-3. WEAPONS

     3-2-4. ARMOR

     3-2-5. HELMS/SHIELDS

   3-3. MONSTERS

   3-4. SPECIFIC STRATEGIES

     3-4-1. GAINING EXPERIENCE

     3-4-2. CROSS-CLASS

     3-4-3. COMMON COMBAT MOVES

 4. MAZE(TEXT REPRESENTATION)

   4-1. BIG PICTURE

   4-2. BY-LEVEL

   4-3. UNACCOUNTED AREAS

 5. WALKTHROUGH

   5-1. FLOOR 1

   5-2. THE DUNGEON

   5-3. GOING UP!

     5-3-1. TOWN AREA

     5-3-2. FOREST AREA

   5-4. ORANGE

   5-5. THE SKELETON AREA

   5-6. THE ICE

   5-7. MORE GOING UP

   5-8. RUNNING THROUGH THE FIRE

   5-9. CITY OF GOLD, FIRST BIT

   5-10. THE TEMPLE

   5-11. WATER

   5-12. CITY OF GOLD PART 2

   5-13. OPTIONS POST-CITY

   5-14. USING THE CORE TO MOVE AROUND

   5-15. EARTH, OUTSIDE AND BLACK ONYX

   5-16. BY-LEVEL WALKTHROUGH

 6. CHEATS

   6-2. IMPORTANT APPLICATIONS

     6-2-1. COMBAT

     6-2-2. GETTING THROUGH THE GAME

   6-3. HTML MAP FROM GAMEFAQS MAPS

 7. VERSIONS/CREDITS

================================

 1. INTRODUCTION

Super Black Onyx is a nice big map to sink your skills into. It's
got great, expressive graphics and even good sound. While
sometimes it's confusing what to do, or even if you're doing
anything, it's one of the most worthwhile games I've played, and
it even has some English bits in it to make things clearer, too.
Part of that was probably out of necessity, Japanese hiragana and
katakana not being terribly widespread back then. I can't hope to
give the whole story. But I hope to give the whole map and at
least the important parts of the story in this guide.

At heart, SBO is just a dungeon crawler where you don't even have
annoying people to save. Pretty much everything goes into the
gameplay. You get to choose your party from a selection of player
characters randomly hanging around, and then you go right into
the dungeon. Players get killed and maybe regenerate--as their
original weak selves. Scenery changes as you move up or down.
There's even a core stairwell in the center. It connects many of
the levels. Oh, and there is Black Onyx, to save where you are in
the maze. You'll need it, because it's a big maze, and you'll be
healing in town a lot.

Combat is action- and turn-based, where you can choose an enemy
before you start to thrash them. Combats general end with one
party fleeing, unless your leader gets killed, in which case your
game is over. You need to be careful about enemies in a new area,
and you also need to make sure you don't get lost mapping. The
whole game is 8x32x32, which is not impossible, but the constant
stairs up/down can make things very confusing indeed. There's not
that much branching of stairwells, but

Without much text the game has to establish atmosphere other ways
and it does, with a periodic vista into the cosmos, out a castle
tower, or into the sky. You start looking out on a river, and the
views, such as they are, change with the walls. Eventually you
work your way up to find a sword, a gem and an ikon not available
in stores. They are all in what seem to be dead ends. You visit
the city of gold and then go to the top level where the Black
Onyx is waiting for you.

I enjoyed SBO before I really knew what I was doing, and
afterwards, it was even better. While mapping without armor, I
enjoyed the enemies that whipped me, then I enjoyed figuring out
how to whip them back.

Much of the information from this FAQ is taken from the now
defunct website at http://www20.cds.ne.jp/~yugen/sbo/index.htm.
It had a lot of maps and information, and it is gone now, but
hopefully this FAQ makes everything permanent and accessible to
everyone who wants to play the game in English.

http://www.e-tokyo.prug.or.jp/~peki/gmemo/blackonyx/nesonyx.html
had maps and controls too. Most of it was in Japanese. Google
Translate helped a ton.

   1-2. THE NOTATION

NSEW = north, south, east, west. There's no compass in the game
but I assume you start facing north, and I assume you are using
my maps.
3E, etc = 3 squares east
UD = up/down
* = all the way in 1 direction.
- = just before the first door
= = just past the first door
== = just past the second door

Note that there is some awkwardness in discussing how to see a
fountain--the game kicks you back a square. So 3S after this
really means move 2 squares that way.

 2. CONTROLS

   2-1. GETTING AROUND

left/right arrows move left/right
up/down move forward/back
(A) kicks you up a level
(B) takes you to the party screen
On the party screen each character has 3 sets of bars, maybe 4.
The top is life(12 per bar in all cases.) Then dexterity, then
strength. When full they are yellow. When partially drained they
are red. Combat drains them. The fourth potential bar is
experience, which is much thinner than the others. Bars don't
tend to grow until you pass a multiple of four.
STRENGTH affects damage done.
DEXTERITY affects how often you attack.

There's no penalty for waiting around, but you also don't
regenerate(1 dex/str every 4 moves, not counting portals.) Combat
is based on some random seed that depends on the moves you make
and the area/level you're on. This has emulation cheat
implications discussed later.

up/down selects between items in a shop, then when you click A on
an item, it selects between party players and leaving(which
doesn't charge you.) If you don't have the money for an item, you
can't select it.

   2-2. PARTY FUNCTIONS

Party functions are like combat functions below only there is no
flee/stand/attack option and you can't shield either.

Go left once to get to the position exchange icon. To use it,
push up/down to the person to exchange with and push B.

Go left twice to get to the potion icon, if you have one. If not,
the game skips to monk ikons and mage gems. Again you can push
up/down to see whom to use the potion on.

Go to the left to see your ikons, gems and weapons. You can't
ready anything in noncombat mode.

   2-3. COMBAT

There are no fixed combats in Super Black Onyx. However, there
are zones that are more combat-prone than others. I am unable to
find which squares give the most combats. However, it stands to
reason that those who want to improve their party should find
these squares, and those who want to rest up should avoid them.

At the start you have a choice of fleeing(run away icon,)
standing your ground(sword down,) or attacking(sword up.) You can
scroll through them with left/right. If you push B or A, that
activity is chosen to start battle. However, whenever you next
push B, you can edit it.

FLEEING is best if the monsters are more powerful than you. You
can be killed while fleeing, but if you got yourself stuck and
have no other options, this is okay.

The disadvantage to fleeing is that you go one square in a random
direction, and you need to get your bearings afterwards. Use the
maps to see which walls are where and deduce which of the four
squares you WERE next to that you are currently on. Take your
time. You can't be attacked while standing still, but you can get
lost making a mistake and then hastily trying to rectify it. And
anyway, practice helps it get a lot easier.

STANDING YOUR GROUND works well for friendly PC's (mage, monk or
hero) and also for monsters you know you can whip. The monsters
flee, leaving treasure. And you don't have the hassle of combat!

ATTACKING gets you into combat proper.

You can push B at any time during the activities to get back to
this menu, and the next player that attacks will get this icon.
It doesn't matter who gets it, as you can always flip around
orders for your next player at any time. Changing stuff in the
heat of battle will cost a move. The B button works as a de facto
pause.

You can also push B to change things for each of your players.
Depending on the monster type, some items are more effective than
others. Scrolling right lets your player use his shield. You can
scroll left through Monk ikons, then Mage gems, then Hero
weapons, then back to shield. However, make sure you have the
right icon chosen to negotiate with the monsters beforehand,
because you have to change that before you start tinkering with
your party. Yes, you can change it with your next character that
moves, but why give the monsters anything?

When you attack, a weapon/spell will fly at the enemy and hover
there. A attacks when the weapon is hovering by the enemy. B lets
you change and choose what items your characters use as in the
start of combat. Offensive spells work the same way. Defensive
spells hover in the center of the combat screen, and if you don't
push A, you don't cast them.

As your players get better, they will get more than one attack.
Then you can hit A a few times and sometimes kill an opponent
with a few blows at once. The downside of this is that you lose
that much more strength and dexterity from your maximum. That
means the next hit won't be nearly as powerful. This works for
offensive spells as well.

By default, player #1 attacks monster #1, #2 gets #2, #3 gets #3,
etc. If there are fewer monsters, your man will attack the
monster closest to him, going down instead of up. If there are
only four monsters in the playing field, #5 attacks #4 by
default. If there are only three, #5 and #4 attack #3.

Players may switch the order they take turns as one player's
dexterity drops below another's.

Here is how to operate attacks on multiple enemies: push A, push
down twice quickly, push A. Your level and dexterity, along with
how good the weapon is(the better, the fewer attacks--unless your
level is high enough) affects how many times you can hit the
enemy.

This also works to change the initial enemy to attack, and you
can move up/down before your battle icon gets there, though this
is not as discrete as after you've hit an enemy. You can also
scroll off the top and bottom of the screen to reach another
enemy. So no enemy is further than two up/down ticks away.

Sound is important to tell you if 1) you damaged your opponent
and 2) you killed your opponent, and you don't have time to react
to what's visually on the screen, so you really need to play the
game with the sound on.

By the way, watch out fleeing into the onyx! If you flee on an
onyx square, it may act as though you ran into an onyx panel
while fleeing. This shouldn't mess you up too badly, as you can
just go back, but it may flip you over the first time you see it.

Combat enemies fill slot, don't move up. This is critical to
strategy to remove an annoying guy focusing on your mage.

 3. STATISTICS AND STRATEGIES

   3-1. COMPANIONS AND THEIR STATS

                                           K |PO|
               STR   |  DEX   |  LVL   |LI|AR|TI|
 NAME  |CLAS|        |        |        |FE|MA|ON| WEAPONS |
IKONS  |  GEMS   |
--------+----+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---------+-----
----+---------+
01234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234
567890123456789
                                           K |PO|ASH|
               STR   |  DEX   |  LVL   |LI|AR|TI|RHE|
 NAME  |CLAS|        |        |        |FE|MA|ON|MIL|WEAPONS |
IKONS  |  GEMS
--------+----+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--------+--
------+--------
NOLAN    HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 710 kcm      R
g
IGOR     HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 03 010 kcm      R
g
ZULAR    MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 100 k        Ra
g
JAMES    HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 02 110 kcm      R
g
OLAF     MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 100 k        R
gt
AMOS     HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 410 k m      R
g
JAMIHR   MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 000 k
RaH      g
JOVAN    HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 310 kcm      R
g
RODNEY   HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 510 k m      R
g
DOMINIC  MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 200 k        R
gt
OLRIC    MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 100 k        R
H      g
ROGAR    MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 000 k        R
gtz
LEONARDO HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 020 k m      R
g
PYOTR    MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 100 k        R
g z
REGINALD MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 200 k        Ra
g
RANDALL  HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 210 kcm      R
g
DANIEL   HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 03 010 kcm      R
g
TATYANA  MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 100 k        Ra
g
WILLIAM  HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 02 110 kcm      R
g
MARCUS   MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 100 k        R
gt
ERIC     HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 410 k m      R
g
ANDREAS  MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 000 kcm
RaH      g
KILIAN   HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 310 kcm      R
g
EWALD    HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 510 k m      R
g
TARAMIS  MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 200 k        R
gt
DEMOS    MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 100 k        R
H      g
ALI      MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 000 k        R
gtz
JACQUES  HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 020 k m      R
g
ESTEBAN  MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 100 k        R
g z
TAFFEY   MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 200 k        Ra
g
ARTHUR   HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 210 kcm      R
g
SVENSON  HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 310 kcm      R
g
FABIANO  MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 100 k        Ra
g
FREDRIC  HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 02 110 kcm      R
g
OLSSON   MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 100 k        R
gt
KELLY    HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 410 k m      R
g
HEDROS   MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 000 k
RaH      g
KIRK     HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 310 kcm      R
g
TANYA    HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 510 k m      R
g
SPENCER  MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 200 k        R
gt
JASON    MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 100 k        R
H      g
HILRIC   MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 01 000 k        R
gtz
ROBERT   HERO 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 020 k m      R
g
GIORGIO  MONK 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 100 k        R
g z
NORMAN   MAGE 12 12 12 10 10 10 01 01 01 10 48 00 200 k        Ra
g
====end town recruits
JOAN     HERO 18 12 12 18 10 10 02 01 01 18 48 00 310 k  s     R
g
JACKIE   HERO 18 12 12 17 10 10 02 01 01 18 48 00 410 kc s     R
g
KYLE     HERO 20 12 12 16 10 10 02 01 01 18 48 00 520 k ms     R
g
BRANDON  HERO 20 12 12 19 10 10 02 01 01 18 48 00 620 kcm      R
g
BORIS    HERO 24 12 12 18 10 10 02 01 01 18 48 00 720 kcm      R
g
HOMAN    HERO 18 12 12 21 10 10 02 01 01 18 48 00 320 kcm      R
g
PIERRE   HERO 20 12 12 20 10 10 02 01 01 19 48 00 420 kcm      R
g
KEVIN    HERO 22 12 12 19 10 10 02 01 01 18 48 00 510 kcms     R
g
DIEGO    HERO 24 12 12 18 10 10 02 01 01 17 48 00 520 kcms     R
g
REGINALD HERO 28 12 12 26 10 10 03 01 01 26 48 00 620 kcms     R
g
GRIMSON  MAGE 12 18 12 10 17 10 01 02 01 19 48 00 200 k
RaH      g
HERCOMIS MAGE 12 24 12 10 18 10 01 02 01 18 48 00 300 k        Ra
D     g
MESOS    MAGE 12 22 12 10 19 10 01 02 01 17 48 00 000 k        R
HD     g
IGMAR    MAGE 12 20 12 10 21 10 01 02 01 18 48 00 200 k        R
HD     g
KATRINA  MAGE 12 18 12 10 22 10 01 02 01 18 48 00 300 k        Ra
D     g
PHRSAO   MONK 12 12 16 10 10 17 01 01 02 17 48 00 000 k        R
gtz
PRAHIN   MONK 12 12 22 10 10 18 01 01 02 17 48 00 100 k        R
gtz
ELIAS    MONK 12 12 20 10 10 19 01 01 02 17 48 00 200 k        R
g zs
METHOR   MONK 12 12 18 10 10 20 01 01 02 18 48 00 200 k        R
gt s
TIMOTHY  MONK 12 12 24 10 10 19 01 01 02 19 48 00 300 k        R
gtzs
====end dungeon recruits
TERRY    HERO 30 12 12 27 10 10 03 01 01 25 48 00 420 kcms     R
g
REKOS    HERO 28 12 12 28 10 10 03 01 01 26 48 00 520 kcms     R
g
WANDA    HERO 26 12 12 26 10 10 03 01 01 27 48 00 620 kcms     R
g
DAMIAN   HERO 28 12 12 25 10 10 03 01 01 29 48 00 720 k ms     R
g
HURCS    HERO 32 12 12 27 10 10 03 01 01 23 48 00 720 kc s     R
g
ORAC     MAGE 12 30 12 10 26 10 01 03 01 26 48 00 100 k
RaHD     g
TRACY    MAGE 12 28 12 10 27 10 01 03 01 26 48 00 100 k
RaHD     g
WENDELL  MAGE 12 26 12 10 29 10 01 03 01 26 48 00 200 k
RaHD     g
ROBERTO  MAGE 12 28 12 10 28 10 01 03 01 26 48 00 200 k
RaHD     g
PETROS   MAGE 12 30 12 10 26 10 01 03 01 26 48 00 300 k
RaHD     g
JUGAR    MONK 12 12 30 10 10 28 01 01 03 26 48 00 200 k        R
gtzs
JHAVIS   MONK 12 12 28 10 10 27 01 01 03 26 48 00 200 k        R
gtzs
SUKHAMAR MONK 12 12 32 10 10 26 01 01 03 26 48 00 200 k        R
gtzs
MHEHIN   MONK 12 12 34 10 10 24 01 01 03 26 48 00 300 k        R
gtzs
SHORAC   MONK 12 12 36 10 10 25 01 01 03 26 48 00 300 k        R
gtzs
====end forest recruits
ALEXEI   HERO 40 12 12 32 10 10 04 01 01 35 48 00 620 kcms     R
g
SILVO    HERO 38 12 12 33 10 10 04 01 01 34 48 00 720 kcmsh    R
g
LORENZO  HERO 36 12 12 34 10 10 04 01 01 33 48 00 820 kcmsh    R
g
ZEMECKIS HERO 34 12 12 35 10 10 04 01 01 36 48 00 930 k m h    R
g
JULIAN   HERO 32 12 12 36 10 10 04 01 01 36 48 00 930 kcmsh    R
g
GREGORY  MAGE 12 40 12 10 33 10 01 04 01 34 48 00 200 k
RaHD     g
GILBERT  MAGE 12 38 12 10 34 10 01 04 01 34 48 00 200 k
RaH A    g
ODIN     MAGE 12 36 12 10 36 10 01 04 01 34 48 00 200 k
RaHDA    g
ARAMIN   MAGE 12 34 12 10 37 10 01 04 01 34 48 00 300 k
RaH A    g
LEANDROS MAGE 12 32 12 10 35 10 01 04 01 34 48 00 300 k
RaHDA    g
RHAMIS   MONK 12 12 40 10 10 33 01 01 04 34 48 00 200 k        R
gtzs
NEHIR    MONK 12 12 38 10 10 34 01 01 04 34 48 00 200 k        R
gtzsS
ISZAL    MONK 12 12 36 10 10 35 01 01 04 35 48 00 300 k        R
gtzsS
HELOSIS  MONK 12 12 34 10 10 36 01 01 04 34 48 00 300 k        R
gtzsS
AH LUNG  MONK 12 12 32 10 10 37 01 01 04 34 48 00 400 k        R
gt sS
====end woodlands recruits
WARREN   HERO 44 12 12 41 10 10 05 01 01 43 48 00 820 kcmsh    R
g
LESTER   HERO 42 12 12 42 10 10 05 01 01 42 48 00 930 kcmsh    R
g
SEAN     HERO 46 12 12 43 10 10 05 01 01 41 48 00 a30 kcmsh    R
g
MONICA   HERO 48 12 12 40 10 10 05 01 01 44 48 00 b30 kcmsh    R
g
HECTOR   HERO 46 12 12 44 10 10 05 01 01 44 48 00 b40 kcmsh    R
g
SALEM    MAGE 12 46 12 10 41 10 01 05 01 42 48 00 200 k
RaHDA    g
SCOTT    MAGE 12 44 12 10 42 10 01 05 01 42 48 00 200 k
RaHDA    g
CORTEZ   MAGE 12 42 12 10 43 10 01 05 01 42 48 00 200 k
RaHDA    g
HELVOS   MAGE 12 40 12 10 44 10 01 05 01 42 48 00 300 k
RaHDA    g
MIRIAM   MAGE 12 48 12 10 43 10 01 05 01 42 48 00 300 k
RaHDA    g
JAMAL    HERO 44 12 12 42 10 10 05 01 01 43 48 00 930 kcmsha   R
g
COVAK    MONK 12 12 46 10 10 41 01 01 05 42 48 00 200 k        R
gtzsS
HANNIBAL MONK 12 12 44 10 10 42 01 01 05 42 48 00 200 k        R
gtzsS
ULYSSES  MONK 12 12 42 10 10 43 01 01 05 42 48 00 300 k        R
gtzsS
IRSUS    MONK 12 12 48 10 10 40 01 01 05 42 48 00 300 k        R
gtzsS
====end skeleton recruits
DENNIS   HERO 54 12 12 49 10 10 06 01 01 50 48 00 920 kcmsh    R
g
TYRONE   HERO 52 12 12 50 10 10 06 01 01 50 48 00 a30 kcmsha   R
g
VITTORIO HERO 50 12 12 51 10 10 06 01 01 50 48 00 b30 kcmsha   R
g
VLADIMIR HERO 48 12 12 52 10 10 06 01 01 50 48 00 c30 k  sha   R
g
GORDON   HERO 56 12 12 50 10 10 06 01 01 50 48 00 930 kcms a   R
g
ABRAHAM  MAGE 12 54 12 10 49 10 01 06 01 50 48 00 400 k
RaHDA    g
MARCO    MAGE 12 50 12 10 50 10 01 06 01 50 48 00 400 k
RaHDAJ   g
HILDA    MAGE 12 52 12 10 50 10 01 06 01 50 48 00 400 k
RaHDAJ   g
LEE      MONK 12 12 54 10 10 49 01 01 06 50 48 00 400 k        R
gtzsS
SALOMON  MONK 12 12 50 10 10 50 01 01 06 50 48 00 400 k        R
gtzs A
====end ice recruits
CHARLES  HERO 62 12 12 58 10 10 07 01 01 58 48 00 c30 kcmsha   R
g
LEON     HERO 60 12 12 58 10 10 07 01 01 58 48 00 c30 kcmsha   R
g
NICHOLAS HERO 58 12 12 57 10 10 07 01 01 58 48 00 c30 kcmsha   R
g
PATRICK  HERO 64 12 12 56 10 10 07 01 01 58 48 00 c30 kcmsha   R
g
CAMERON  HERO 62 12 12 59 10 10 07 01 01 58 48 00 c30 kcms a   R
g
ATHOS    MAGE 12 62 12 10 57 10 01 07 01 58 48 00 400 k
RaHDAJ   g
DIMITRI  MAGE 12 60 12 10 56 10 01 07 01 58 48 00 400 k
RaHDAJ   g
HELGA    MAGE 12 58 12 10 58 10 01 07 01 58 48 00 400 k
RaH AJ   g
MIKOS    MAGE 12 64 12 10 59 10 01 07 01 58 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJ   g
ORSON    MAGE 12 62 12 10 60 10 01 07 01 58 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJ   g
VINCENT  HERO 60 12 12 58 10 10 07 01 01 58 48 00 c30 kcmsha   R
g
KORAX    MONK 12 12 62 10 10 57 01 01 07 58 48 00 400 k        R
gtzsSA
ARTISUS  MONK 12 12 60 10 10 58 01 01 07 58 48 00 400 k        R
gtzsSA
WALTER   MONK 12 12 58 10 10 59 01 01 07 58 48 00 500 k        R
gtzsSA
LIONEL   MONK 12 12 56 10 10 60 01 01 07 58 48 00 500 k        R
gtzsSA
====end grey area recruits
WAYNE    HERO 70 12 12 72 10 10 08 01 01 67 48 00 c30 kcmsha   R
g
TREVOR   HERO 78 12 12 73 10 10 08 01 01 67 48 00 d40 kcmsha   R
g
JOEL     HERO 76 12 12 67 10 10 08 01 01 67 48 00 d40 kcmsha   R
g
SILVIA   HERO 74 12 12 69 10 10 08 01 01 67 48 00 d40 kcmsha   R
g
RAYMOND  HERO 72 12 12 68 10 10 08 01 01 67 48 00 d40 kcmsha   R
g
CHRIS    MAGE 12 66 12 10 64 10 01 08 01 66 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJ   g
VAMIHR   MAGE 12 64 12 10 65 10 01 08 01 66 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJ   g
SAMAHL   MAGE 12 62 12 10 66 10 01 08 01 66 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJ   g
ROGAR    MAGE 12 60 12 10 67 10 01 08 01 66 48 00 600 k
RaHDAJ   g
GLORIA   MAGE 12 68 12 10 68 10 01 08 01 66 48 00 600 k
RaHDAJ   g
RAFAEL   HERO 68 12 12 66 10 10 08 01 01 66 48 00 e30 kcmsha   R
g
SATOR    MONK 12 12 66 10 10 68 01 01 08 66 48 00 500 k        R
gtzsSA
BASTIAN  MONK 12 12 68 10 10 67 01 01 08 66 48 00 500 k        R
gtzsSA
WILTON   MONK 12 12 70 10 10 66 01 01 08 66 48 00 500 k        R
gtzsSA
RAOUL    MONK 12 12 72 10 10 65 01 01 08 66 48 00 600 k        R
gtzsSA
====end temple recruits
NATASHA  HERO 76 12 12 74 10 10 09 01 01 74 48 00 e40 kcmsha   R
g
ISAAK    HERO 76 12 12 74 10 10 09 01 01 74 48 00 d40 kcmsha   R
g
WILLARD  MAGE 12 76 12 10 74 10 01 09 01 74 48 00 600 k
RaHDAJ   g
BENRAD   MAGE 12 76 12 10 74 10 01 09 01 74 48 00 600 k
RaHDAJ   g
ULMAR    MONK 12 12 76 10 10 74 01 01 09 74 48 00 600 k        R
gtzsSA
====end fire recruits
RODRIGO  HERO 84 12 12 82 10 10 10 01 01 82 48 00 e50 kcmsha   R
g
NIKOLAI  HERO 84 12 12 82 10 10 10 01 01 82 48 00 e50 kcmsha   R
g
ESTHER   MAGE 12 84 12 10 82 10 01 10 01 82 48 00 600 k
RaHDAJ   g
AXEL     MAGE 12 84 12 10 82 10 01 10 01 82 48 00 600 k
RaHDAJ   g
MORGAN   MONK 12 12 84 10 10 82 01 01 10 82 48 00 600 k        R
gtzsSA
====end outside recruits, I think
ROBIN    HERO 86 20 12 82 16 10 10 02 01 86 48 00 e50 kcmsha
RaH      g
LEROY    HERO 88 18 12 83 20 10 10 02 01 79 48 00 f50 kcmsha
RaH      g
BRADLEY  HERO 90 20 12 84 17 10 10 02 01 85 48 00 f50 kcmsha
RaH      g
JEAN LUC HERO 84 22 12 80 18 10 10 02 01 84 48 00 f50 kcmsha
RaH      g
GRADY    HERO 84 18 12 81 19 10 10 02 01 82 48 00 f50 kcmshaS
RaH      g
GRAHAM   HERO 86 24 12 80 18 10 10 02 01 82 48 00 f50 kcmsha
RaH      g
RUSSELL  HERO 88 22 12 86 18 10 10 02 01 82 48 00 g50 kcmsha
RaH      g
SHERWOOD HERO 90 20 12 85 18 10 10 02 01 82 48 00 g50 kcmsha
RaH      g
HELMUT   HERO 92 18 12 84 18 10 10 02 01 82 48 00 g50 kcmsha
RaH      g
CYNTHIA  HERO 84 18 12 83 18 10 10 02 01 82 48 00 h50 kcmshaS
RaH      g
SIMON    HERO 90 12 20 79 10 16 10 01 02 87 48 00 f50 kcmsha   R
gtz
DOUGLAS  HERO 92 12 20 82 10 18 10 01 02 84 48 00 f50 kcmsha   R
gtz
RICARDO  HERO 86 12 18 85 10 17 10 01 02 81 48 00 f50 kcmsha   R
gtz
PERCIVAL HERO 80 12 22 81 10 18 10 01 02 88 48 00 f50 kcmsha   R
gtz
DARCY    HERO 78 12 20 80 10 19 10 01 02 80 48 00 g50 kcmshaS  R
gtz
LAWRENCE MAGE 18 94 12 16 86 10 02 10 01 88 48 00 500 kcm
RaHDAJ   g
VANNA    MAGE 20 92 12 16 85 10 02 10 01 79 48 00 500 kcm
RaHDAJ   g
TUGAR    MAGE 20 90 12 18 84 10 02 10 01 80 48 00 500 kcm
RaHDAJ   g
BATOS    MAGE 22 88 12 18 83 10 02 10 01 81 48 00 500 kcm
RaHDAJ   g
DALAC    MAGE 16 66 12 18 82 10 02 10 01 82 48 00 500 kcm
RaHDAJC  g
DUNCAN   MAGE 12 94 20 10 81 18 01 10 02 81 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJ   gtz
LUCAS    MAGE 12 92 22 10 82 19 01 10 02 80 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJ   gtz
DANTOS   MAGE 12 84 20 10 82 17 01 10 02 79 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJ   gtz
AXTON    MAGE 12 88 18 10 83 18 01 10 02 79 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJ   gtz
HAROLD   MAGE 12 90 22 10 80 16 01 10 02 88 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJC  gtz
THAINE   MONK 20 12 86 18 10 85 02 01 10 85 48 00 600 kcm      R
gtzsSA
GABRIEL  MONK 22 12 88 18 10 83 02 01 10 85 48 00 600 kcm      R
gtzsSA
SAXON    MONK 18 12 90 18 10 81 02 01 10 85 48 00 600 kcm      R
gtzsSA
SANTOS   MONK 12 20 92 10 18 79 01 02 10 85 48 00 600 k
RaH      gtzsSA
EGON     MONK 12 20 94 10 18 87 01 02 10 85 48 00 600 k
RaH      gtzsSAR
====end city of gold recruits
DEREK    HERO 92 28 12 85 28 10 10 03 01 85 48 00 g50 kcmsha
RaHD     g
SHELDON  HERO 94 12 28 85 10 27 10 01 03 88 48 00 h50 kcmsha   R
gtzs
ELMER    MAGE 28 90 12 27 85 10 03 10 01 80 48 00 500 kcms
RaHDAJ   g
PLATEK   MAGE 12 88 28 10 85 25 01 10 03 81 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJ   gtzs
JEREMY   MONK 28 12 72 26 10 85 03 01 10 83 48 00 600 kcms
RaHD     gtzsSAR
====end deep water recruits
ETHAN    HERO 94 28 28 82 27 26 10 03 03 84 48 00 g50 kcmshaS
RaHD     g
IVAN     HERO 88 28 28 80 27 26 10 03 03 84 48 00 h50 kcmshaS
RaHD     g
TOBIAS   HERO 92 28 26 88 27 26 10 03 03 84 48 00 h50 kcmshaS
RaHD     g
MURRAY   HERO 96 28 28 86 26 27 10 03 03 84 48 00 i50 kcmshaS  R
gtzs
RANDY    HERO 90 28 28 84 26 27 10 03 03 84 48 00 i50 kcmshaS  R
gtzs
DANA     MAGE 28 84 28 27 83 27 03 10 03 83 48 00 500 kcmsh
RaHDAJC  g
SELWYN   MAGE 28 86 28 27 81 27 03 10 03 83 48 00 500 kcmsh
RaHDAJC  g
LEOPOLD  MAGE 28 88 28 27 79 27 03 10 03 83 48 00 500 kcmsh
RaHDAJC  g
JOSHUA   MAGE 28 90 28 28 87 27 03 10 03 83 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJC  gtzsS
VICTOR   MAGE 28 92 28 26 85 27 03 10 03 83 48 00 500 k
RaHDAJC  gtzsS
IBRIM    MONK 28 28 78 30 27 81 03 03 10 84 48 00 600 kcmsh    R
gtzsSAR
ROCCO    MONK 28 28 82 30 27 79 03 03 10 84 48 00 600 kcmsh    R
gtzsSAR
GIRAUD   MONK 28 28 86 30 27 87 03 03 10 84 48 00 600 kcmsh    R
gtzsSAR
SHOR     MONK 28 28 90 27 27 85 03 03 10 84 48 00 600 k
RaHDA    gtzsSAR
ZED      MONK 28 28 94 27 26 83 03 03 10 84 48 00 600 k
RaHDA    gtzsSAR
====end earth recruits
ARMANDO  HERO 90 36 28 83 34 25 10 04 03 86 48 00 i50 kcmshaS
RaHDA    g
MAURICE  HERO 94 36 28 81 34 26 10 04 03 78 48 00 i50 kcmshaS
RaHDA    g
ROSSITTO HERO 78 36 28 79 34 27 10 04 03 80 48 00 i50 kcmshaS
RaHDA    g
DWIGHT   HERO 82 28 36 87 26 34 10 03 04 82 48 00 j50 kcmshaS  R
gtzsS
GERARDO  HERO 84 30 36 85 27 34 10 03 04 84 48 00 j50 kcmshaS  R
gtzsS
BENEDICT MAGE 34 86 28 32 81 26 04 10 03 83 48 00 600 kcmsh
RaHDAJC  g
GEOFFREY MAGE 36 90 30 34 80 27 04 10 03 85 48 00 600 kcmsh
RaHDAJC  g
TRESA    MAGE 38 94 32 36 84 28 04 10 03 87 48 00 600 kcmsh
RaHDAJC  g
JULIUS   MAGE 28 78 36 26 85 34 03 10 04 79 48 00 600 k
RaHDAJC  gtzsS
HAROLD   MAGE 28 82 34 27 83 34 03 10 04 81 48 00 600 k
RaHDAJC  gtzsS
BRUNO    MONK 32 40 90 34 34 81 04 04 10 83 48 00 700 kcmsh    R
gtzsSAR
LAO TSE  MONK 36 36 92 34 34 80 04 04 10 83 48 00 700 kcmsh    R
gtzsSAR
MAHATMA  MONK 40 32 86 34 34 82 04 04 10 83 48 00 700 kcmsh    R
gtzsSAR
ELIJAH   MONK 32 32 78 25 34 79 03 04 10 83 48 00 700 k
RaHDA    gtzsSAR
ZHORA    MONK 24 38 80 28 34 84 03 04 10 83 48 00 700 k
RaHDA    gtzsSAR
====end onyx recruits

k=knife c=club m=mace s=sword h=hammer a=axe S=sword A=war
axe(none)
R=rheden a=avalon H=havoc D=dylan A=athena J=jumala C=Caribe
L=Luxor(none)
g=garnet t=topaz z=zircon s=sphene S=spinel A=sapphire R=ruby
D=Diamond(none)

Friends always have their highest possible item for their main
class readied before they join you. Also, the last in any set may
appear in the next dungen, for some odd reason.

   3-2. ITEMS

     3-2-1. IKONS

??see about spell points

Rhedea
 cost: everyone has it at the start
 in combat: small heal
 noncombat: save the game

Avalon
 cost: 10
 in combat: turn undead
 noncombat: small heal

Havoc
 cost: 30
 in combat: raises everyone's defense
 noncombat: detect enemies that may attack in a few turns

Dylan
 cost: 100
 in combat: drains an enemy's DEX
 noncombat: increase everyone's defensive level(?v?)

Athena
 cost: 300
 in combat: offensive spell
 noncombat: lets you read ancient inscriptions(cast??)

Jumala
 cost: 1000
 in combat: flee combat immediately
 noncombat: raises everyone's DEX temporarily

Caribe
 cost: 3000
 in combat: party enhancement/enemy attribute decrease??
 noncombat: allows you past level 7(cast??)

Luxor
 cost: 9000
 in combat: big damage
 noncombat: (none)

Cudgle [sic]
 cost: found in Deep Water, L-17
 in combat: big damage
 noncombat: (none)

     3-2-2. GEMS

Garnet
 cost: everyone has it at the start
 in combat: ??
 noncombat: tells current level

Topaz
 cost: 10
 in combat: STR attack
 non combat: run into an onyx wall with one and get transported
to the last onyx wall
   --cast a spell, and it sends you to the previous onyx wall

Zircon
 cost: 30
 in combat: LIFE attack
 noncombat: (avoid the enemy??)

Sphene
 cost: 100
 in combat: enchants weapons to attack enemies
 noncombat: weakens number of enemies that appear(??)

Spinel
 cost: 300
 in combat: kills fire-type enemy(nice against dragons)
 noncombat: looks behind door

Sapphire
 cost: 1000
 in combat: lower enemy DEX
 noncombat: find what a spell does(??)

Ruby
 cost: 3000
 in combat: lets you flee
 noncombat: can breathe underwater if karma is good

Diamond
 cost: 9000
 in combat: big damage to enemy
 noncombat: none

Star Stone
 cost: found L35 greywall, mages only
 in combat: big damage to enemy
 noncombat: no effect??

     3-2-3. WEAPONS

How many times you can attack depends on strength. Remember a bar
of strength is about 12 units.

??weapons vs levels
??l5 can get 2 shots in with hammer L4 can't
??l5 hammer can't get 3 shots in
??L4 axe can't get 2 shots in


Knife
 Cost: everyone has it at the start
 DEX/STR for 2 hits:
 DEX/STR for 3 hits:

Club
 Cost: 10
 DEX/STR for 2 hits:
 DEX/STR for 3 hits:

Mace
 Cost: 30
 DEX/STR for 2 hits:
 DEX/STR for 3 hits:

Sabre
 Cost: 50
 DEX/STR for 2 hits:
 DEX/STR for 3 hits:

Hammer
 Cost: 120
 DEX/STR for 2 hits:
 DEX/STR for 3 hits:

Axe
 Cost: 300
 DEX/STR for 2 hits:
 DEX/STR for 3 hits:

Sword
 Cost: 800
 DEX/STR for 2 hits:
 DEX/STR for 3 hits:

War Axe
 Cost: 2000
 DEX/STR for 2 hits:
 DEX/STR for 3 hits:

Calibur
 Cost: found in skeleton, level 12
 DEX/STR for 2 hits:
 DEX/STR for 3 hits:

     3-2-4. ARMOR

Buying armor can change your class. Also, if you are a mage or
monk, buying armor will get rid of your helm and/or shield.

??does this mean they're worthless for mage/monk

 0 = 20 gold
 1 = 40 gold
 2 = 75 gold
 3 = 150 gold
 4 = 400 gold
 5 = 1200 gold
----------cassocks
 0 = 30 gold
 1 = 50 gold
 2 = 100 gold
 3 = 180 gold
 4 = 320 gold
 5 = 600 gold
 6 = 1200 gold

     3-2-5. HELMS/SHIELDS

??try damage taken with no shield vs very good shield, no armor
vs very good armor, helm etc, shield up vs shield down

   3-3. MONSTERS

??monster AI can be smart or stupid

BAT
KOBOLD
WOLF
GOBLIN
ZOMBIE
SKELETON
VAMRAT
COBRA
WOLK
SPIDER
DWARF
WEREFLY
LION
OGRE
GORILLA
RATMAN
SCORPION
DEADMAN
SPIRIT
SLIME
ORC
GHOUL
GHOST
GRUELL
SKORSE
SPECTER
MEDUSA
GARAGUL
DRAAK
TAKOID
ICEMAN
VAMPIRE
TAURUS
LIZMAN
TROLL
EYEGER
MUMMY
LOOKER
GARGOYLE
NAZGUL
HOUND
GOMMY
DRAKE
DEMON
DEVIL
GHOBLIN
GRIFFON
DRAGON
KIST
PEGASUS
KINKER
SEADEAD
KRAKEN
SEAHULK
FRYSKER
GRELL
TAGOR
ZORK
HUFTER
GRAUL
LEEUW
ARCHON
GIANT
NIDHOGGR
MAGUS
NOBODY

   3-4. SPECIFIC STRATEGIES

     3-4-1. GAINING EXPERIENCE

You get a new level at 96 experience, no matter what your
starting class. However, it gets harder to gain experience the
tougher monsters get. The more damage you do to a monster, the
more experience you will get.

You get 50 experience points in each class for discovering the
following:
--a deep-space view in the levels up to
--the deep-water fishies, evenif you don't have caribe
--Calibur, the sword, if you have a hero who is a sage
--the Star Stone, if you have a mage who is a sage
--Cudgle, if you have a monk who is a sage
--any one of the fire area tower squares
--an outside view, when you get near the top

The experience will not put you over the top of the next level,
so try to clear what half-levels you can

Experience is at a premium in the game, so the more you're able
to use it later, the better.

You can attack potential PC's, but they don't give gold, only
experience. Gold can be converted to better weapons, which give
you more experience when they strike, though.

If you want to spread experience throughout your parties, put
different heroes in the first slot. Healing spells that overflow
go to them and restore their STR/DEX, making them do the most
damage.

     3-4-2. CROSS-CLASS

This generally isn't terribly useful except for monks. Everyone
should have avalon, rheden and havoc. Avalon turns undead in
combat and heals outside. Havoc is a useful protection spell.
They're both quite cheap.

Extra mage levels aren't too useful, but you can pick up a few
switching classes after finding two of the locations above. Your
best bet is to fight relatively easy monsters for classes you
want to get at a lower level. Though for Monk, it is easy enough
to turn undead. Remember to switch everyone over at the start of
the fight to use their side class--or switch back to the regular
one, depending on the monster.

     3-4-3. COMMON COMBAT MOVES

The first time you see undead monster type X, have everyone use
Avalon on it. It's worth the time for a quick change as you get a
nice experience boost and you get powerful enough for the next
random undeads.

Hitting a monster, tapping up twice, and killing him next is the
easiest and most important. It can get 1 EXP where there was
none. Later on, both easy and tough monsters alike will do this
for you.

Steer your fighter weapons into the same enemy, if you can't kill
it with one blow. Similarly, judge how magic and weapons can beat
up one.

Plan to get rid of enemies across from your monk/mage if they
fire at the person opposite them. Gorillas do this. It makes them
easier to beat but likelie to kill one of your guys.

You also may want your monk to start with havoc and mage with
heal. Don't use the heal spell in combat unless you really need
to restore someone's dexterity/strength.

Don't be scared to try out a new spell on progresively stronger
opponents. The effect is random and while numbers can be given to
approximate it, you need a feel for what does what with how much
energy for one player.

Stand down for weak monsters to gain gold. If you're worried
about serious damage, don't do so yet. You can also find if
monsters flee by not throwing everything at them when you know
you can beat them. Some tough ones like gargoyles run, too, after
they are exhausted. These monsters are also good for a quick 1
EXP.

Better for spellcasters to have low energy than fighters.
Fighters do the main damage, but spellcasters support them.

Put shields up when spellcasters tired, if they have shields.

When in doubt, pick up a new level before next area chopping up
weaklings. They always get 1 experience per fight. If you got a
level in the natural order of things, don't worry, you're
probably okay.

     3-4-4. GOING EVIL(FOR NOW)

You can kill potential party members, it being 5 on 1, for quick
gold. But you get no experience, and karma is reset to zero. As
you need 60+ karma for the special items, and gold comes along
handily with being able to stand down, don't do this unless
you're willing to build back up, or you really want to grind
through the game and be able to win a lots of fights. It's fun,
and it's relatively quick, but you don't seem to get items out of
it at all.

 4. MAZE(TEXT REPRESENTATION)

The most important thing to realize about the maze is how the
onyx panels work. They send you back to the last onyx panels you
touched. So, for instance, if you wanted to visit continually
deeper levels of a dungeon, you could. Go 2 levels down, touch a
panel, heal up in town, touch the big onyx panel on that level,
go to the dungeon, go down a level, etc. Later on you'll be able
to navigate non-town bits easier, allowing you to go both up and
down at the same time.

If you use a topaz, you go back to the last onyx panel you
touched, but you don't have the ability to warp from that panel
any more.

The first onyx panels to go back to are the ones in the southeast
of the opening level area.

   4-1. BIG PICTURE

There appear to be two areas that are actually inaccessible
without cheating(Hah! Serves me right for trying that!) but
overall the map of actual stair branches is pretty
straightforward.

   4-2. BY-LEVEL

D=dead end or Detour
== = can move laterally
O  = black onyx squares

WATER(7)          27,02 (treasure here)
                   |
WATER(8)   26,04==27,02
            |
WATER(1)   26,04==24,01
                   |
WATER(2)   23,29==24,01
            |
WATER(3)   23,29==(zigzags)
                     |
WATER(4)   24,08==(zigzags)
            |
WATER(5)   24,08==19,12
                   |
WATER(6)   22,08==19,12
            |
WATER(7)   22,08==20,10
                   |
WATER(8)   23,08==20,10
            |
WATER(1)   23,08==26,07
                   |   (change background)
DUNGEON(2) 08,17==26,07
            |
DUNGEON(3) 08,17==18,26
                   |
DUNGEON(4) 01,11==18,26
            |
DUNGEON(5) 01,11==07,15
                   |
DUNGEON(6)        07,15==03,14
                          |
TOWN(7)         (stores) 03,14==28,06==30,06==========22,10
(TEMPLE)
                                 |      |              D
TOWN(8)    18,04         00,06==28,06==30,06 (stores)
22,10==24,10
            D             |                                   |
TOWN(1)    18,04==00,09==00,06 <== START HERE
23,21==24,10
                   |                                   |
TOWN(2)    02,02==00,09
23,21==23,19
            |                                                 |
TOWN(3)    02,02==11,06
27,23==23,19
                   |                                   |
TOWN(4)    14,06==11,06==21,07
27,23==28,05
            |             D                                   |
TOWN(5)    14,06==08,00  21,07(shops)
26,05==28,05
                   |      ^                            |
FOREST(6)  17,10==08,00     <<<<<20,08                26,05
(Moondog 25,07)
            |                     |
FOREST(7)  17,10==14,03          20,08==20,03
                   |                     |
FOREST(8)  09,03==14,03          18,02==20,03
            |                     |
FOREST(1)  09,03==05,05          18,02==18,00
                   |                     |
FOREST(2)  15,14==05,05          17,30==18,00
            |                     |
FOREST(3)  15,14==12,14          17,30==26,25
                   |                     v
                   |                     v
WOODSY(4)  04,21==12,14          25,13==26,25
            |                     |
WOODSY(5)  04,21==30,11          25,13==01,22
                   |                     |
LEVEL 14   23,13==30,11          06,17==01,22
            |                     |
LEVEL 15   23,13==20,13          06,17==02,11
                   |                     |
LEVEL 16   19,23==20,13          02,10==02,11
            |                     |
LEVEL 17   19,23=====10,23       02,10==12,06
                      |                  |
LEVEL 18   17-18,23==10,23=======07,02==12,06==15,11
            ^ 1 way               |             D
LEVEL 19   17-18,23==28,25=30,15 07,02==03,05  15,11
                      |   down/           |
LEVEL 20   30,16=====28,25 dead  11,04==03,05
            |              end    |
LEVEL 21   30,16==27,18          11,04==12,08
                   |                     |
LEVEL 22   00,22==27,18          12,14==12,08
            v                     |
LEVEL 23   00,22==28,18          12,14==14,14
                   |                     |
LEVEL 24   29,17==28,18          15,09==14,14
            |                     |
LEVEL 25   29,17==28,13          15,09==22,12
                   |                     |
ICE(2)            28,13======26,14======22,12               31,19
                              |                              D
ICE(3)     31,13=============26,14==============29,05 00,14=31,19
            |                                    |     |
FIRE(4)    31,13=11,28========13,28=11,30=13,30 29,05=00,14=29,02
                   |           D     D     D                 D?
FIRE(5)           11,28=06,25 18,25 06,01 18,01       00,06=29,02
                          |          |     |           |
FIRE(6)           11,28=06,25 13,28 11,30 13,30       00,06=01,09
                   |           |     |     |                 |
FIRE(7)           11,28=10,27 14,27  END   END        31,00=01,09
                         |     |                       |bkgd
FIRE(8)           05,30=10,27 17,30                   31,00=28,27
                   |           |                             |
FIRE(1)           05,30=03,25 END                     04,28=28,27
                         |                             |
FIRE(2)    03,18========03,25                         04,28=27,27
            |                                                |
GOLD(3)    03,18=09,22                                      27,27
                 |                                   (gem in NW)
GOLD(4)    13,21=09,22
            |
GOLD(5)    13,21=EARTH=05,28=======16,00=31,04=26,21=21,27
                        D           D     D     O     E
EARTH(6)         01,30=05,28=08,26 16,00 31,04 26,21=21,27=16,19
                  |           |                             |
EARTH(7)         01,30=18,28 08,26=10,19             16,18=16,19
                         |          |                 |
EARTH(8)         14,19=18,28       10,19=======16,01=16,18
                  D
ONYX(1)    05,20=14,19
            |
ONYX(2)    05,20=23,14=13,31
                        |
ONYX(3)          15,03=13,31
                  |
ONYX(4)          15,03=find the black onyx

   4-3. UNACCOUNTED AREAS

There are two unaccounted areas in the game. They have one-way
stairs at the end of each of them. If I could figure how to get
to them, it could make part of the game easier. There's one on
the forest(floors 6-11) and one in the woodlands(19-21, ice 22)
and they take up map space that, as I see, could've been used to
torture the player even more.

 5. WALKTHROUGH

This walkthrough will be presented with the help of the maze
decoder above and the maps on GameFAQs. It will hopefully help
improve your characters sufficiently as they get through the
maze, and it should also point out shortcuts for experience,
which gets at a premium later on.

A rough by-level walkthrough is below. You don't have to stick to
it, but I found that getting one level for each later area is a
good pace, especially since there are places to get 50 of the 96
experience points you need. Near the end, you should be able to
flee/retreat as necessary. Technically you can eke through with
flees alone, but I don't recommend doing so. You also don't
really need a powerful mage, but I had one in the party, just
because it seemed the right way to do things. In fact, I wound up
with a mage whose level was almost equal to his monk level for a
while.

I'll need to micromanage the walkthrough to save you time, so
I'll describe how I went through it. Fortunately there are a lot
of items you can skip buying, and your personal dexterity for
multiple attacks is at least as important as the stat itself.

   5-1. FLOOR 1

Use Nolan to start. He has some good weapons. You could also use
a monk, as a priest gives your leader the Caribe Ikon later, but
this worked for me.

Enjoy the lake view, and note that the starting orientation for
this game as according to the walkthrough will be north. Then hit
any key and go through the door to get into the tower. Go right
then forward at the passage. Through the door, go right to the
wall, and right again and to the wall. Through the doors you have
the main town section. Take the left ones.

This level has nothing but recruits, so your first job is to fill
out the party. Go forward and backwards through the long passage
until you have four recruits. The straightaway is the best place
to do this. So when you see one, put your character at attention.
I think a good mix is to have

HERO
HERO
HERO
MONK
MAGE

You can switch the order of players here, though if you want to
cheat, you may be better off just waiting for the right
characters to come along, as shuffling the party leaves the
character order in the RAM scrambled. If you attack by mistake,
abort and run away. Only won fights drop your karma. Fighting
recruits is a valid strategy later on, but right now we want to
keep it simple.

It doesn't matter which hero you pick up. Some have different
items than the others, but nothing costs too much to pick up.
There are some zones that have no fights/encounters and some that
have a lot, and you will want to find the hot spots when you need
a fight/encounter, and the cold ones when you don't, when you'd
rather just heal up undistracted. Here, the double doors in the
first big room lead to a hot spot(left door) and a cold one(right
door.)

The really important thing is to get your characters that first
level-up, after which they can kill most of the monsters in the
town area. Here is how to get to the fights: at the far end of
the straightaway, turn right, go through two doors, 1W and 2N to
a portal up. Now you can go two forward and through the door and
back until you get an encounter.

There aren't really any bad encounters. Kobolds are very easy,
and skeletons are undead. So are Zombies. Those guys give you
quick level-ups. But watch your priest around the undead. Wolves
are a bit tougher. It's probably best to run from them if there
are a lot of them, as they take time. Be sure to have your monk
and mage firing off spells. Even if they aren't terribly
effective, they'll get experience for them. In fact, after a bit,
you should buy up each of the first two spells for your mage and
monk. The mage should use zircon as soon as possible, the monk
Havok, a great protective spell.

To get to the basement once you have about 50 gold, 2S E 3N W 2N
from the portal up. Then: E 3S 2W N to get to the ikon shop for
your monk. You may also wish to buy Havok and Avalon for everyone
else, too. They are cheap, and in later phases of the game it's
useful to have someone who can cast the jobsworth spells. From
the ikon shop, 2W 3S 3W 4N to the weapon shop. You can buy each
of your fighters a sabre or even a hammer. Anything more and they
might not be able to attack twice. It's good to keep up to date
on weapons, at least up until the Hammer, for the starting bit.
The more damage you can do, the more experience you can get.

Going in and out for fights is pretty efficient. You will want to
attack early and often, with the best weapons you have. You can
always go down the portal, muck around, and come back up. If
anyone gets hit in combat, you can have your monk/mage use Rheden
to heal people up.

Simply mucking around above town should get your characters to
level 3 pretty quickly. If one of your fighters is lagging, have
the other two defend until his attacks catch up. You'll gain more
experience overall that way. You may wish to stock up on potions
for the next bit below, although that may be more for insurance
than anything. Once you get your guys to level 3, it may be more
efficient to go below. One of the toughest things in the game is
knowing when to switch strategies and floors so that the gold
keeps coming. Try playing around with multiple attacks for a
while--this is critical to make tough fights easy. You can go to
the level below. 2E 3N D from outside the weapons shop.

If you have nine potions, you may be able to walk through the
first part of the deep dungeon and get to the fountain.

In level -1, the temple to the west is accessible if you have an
Athena ikon, but the monsters there are way too difficult at the
moment. Athena is a handy offensive spell, but right now your
monk is sorely needed for defense. If you are impatient for new
items, then you can fight around level -1 for a bit.

so, from the stairs down from level 1, go E 3S 4W 3N E D. Then N
2E 4S 3E 2S. Look, onyx walls.

   5-2. THE DUNGEON

You will now want to touch the onyx walls for the first time. If
you did so in the town, nothing would happen. Here, you get
teleported back to town. Touch the walls in town and it's back to
level -1! This provides an easy bailout if you are stuck in the
dungeon. You can also have a mage use a topaz, but that takes you
to the last place you went and kills any possible linku[ between
two separate places.

For starters, keep running along the main tunnel of level -2,
with two doors to the side, until you feel confident you can whip
the monsters. They should fall to multiple hits. If you get to
level 4, monsters will run, but actually it may be best to try to
shoot the gap and get to level -5 as quickly as possible. That is
where the first fountain is. If you're lucky, along the way
you'll get some random items, too. On the way, take on all
comers.

Your ultimate object here should be to get to the bottom of the
dungeon. There are some fish past a black onyx hallway on level -
6. You want to touch that black onyx hallway.

Here are directions:

L-2: 2nd door on the right, or, S 2W 4N 4E S W 3S 3E D. Here is
your first chance to hit the onyx, get healed and go back down.
The town above should seem extra easy.

L-3: 2N W* 2N D. Easy enough.

L-4: There is nothing worthwhile to the south of the entrance.

2E N E N and touch the onyx. It's worth saving in every level,
because you never know what might happen.

S W S E* 2S E* 3N 2W 3N 3E S* E* S* 3E

Detour here: N W E S detour should give 50 experience for finding
your first room. The game will not roll a level over, so if
someone is near a new level, wait til they get it. Then revisit
that room.

S D.

L-5: Lots of dead end areas here, too. 2W 4S 3W N* 2E N* 2W 2N
W*. Now you can go S N for the fountain. The fountain is great,
because it heals your life, strength and dexterity AND it gives
you five potions. That saves a lot of money in town and allows
you to be more aggressive with fights. You can hang around the
fountain a bit if you'd like, or if you're close to a level.

4N 3W 3S 2E 2S D. It will not be hard to backtrack to the
fountain.

L-6: W 5N 2W, touch the onyx twice and heal in the meantime,
though you should not need to.

W* 3N 2W N W N E and you get 50 experience for the fishies.
Again, make sure your guys get their levels first, as experience
will rapidly be at a premium. Incidentally, now you can switch
classes and pile up experience on other classes. This is useful
to have all your heroes and mages be good at turning undead with
Avalon.

Good job! You've made it to the first fountain and onyx walls.
The deep water is below, so this seems like a dead end. But it
isn't, really. Your plan as you go back up the stairs will be to
use the onyx to flip back here, backtrack to the fountain on
level -5, and return to where you are. This is a better plan than
retreating to town, as the fountain gives everyone five free
potions. These potions can be used when the party gets tired.

You probably have a nice stash of cash right now, and here is a
shopping list.

1. hammers and sabers for fighters ($510) so they can attack more
than once. Buying all items is worthwhile, as the right item for
your current level will optimize your attacks and damage...and
experience
2. Athena for your Monk ($300)
3. best kaftan/cassock for monk/mage ($1200 each)--take care of
the mage first, as he will have fewer hit points
4. RUBY($3000) lets you flee from anything, but you probably
don't have the money. A speedy emulator will let you stand down
against enemies.

Helms/shields don't seem worthwhile to buy. You acquire them
naturally and don't need them before if you take combat
aggressively. Not sure if spellcasters can actually use them. But
they can buy them.

It's worthwhile to take a detour from the quest for any of this
when you need to recharge. When you do that, work on multiple
enemy bashing. You shouldn't need more than a hammer for a long
while, as you can just use the big sword for enemies that take a
lot of damage, and enemies that do a little damage will be done
in by multiple attacks from a weak weapon. As time goes on,
you'll find the level -6 to level -1 trek very easy as time goes
on. The fights here will get downright silly once you've gotten
the level after finding the fishies. So get used to the onyx
corridor on level -6. You'll be seeing a lot of it.

When you're done with all this, touch the onyx on level -6 to go
back to the town. You're going back up, and you'll be exploring
more than just the small level 2 area this time.

   5-3. GOING UP!

     5-3-1. TOWN AREA

The green foresty area is the next to explore. Some of the
monsters here can really get to you if you don't heal up and keep
fresh. You'll be visiting the fountain in the dungeon a bit, as
explained below. There'll be some passageways with black onyx as
you make your ascent. You'll want to use them whenever you see
them. But first, up through the town. It will be a doddle.

L2: N* 2E U

L3: S* E* N* U. You could touch the onyx here, but quite bluntly
there's nothing to be scared of. And there's onyx just above.

L4: 2S 2E, touch onyx twice. 2E S 2E 2N W 3N 3W 2S E U. You may
not even need to touch the onyx here, but this is the last one
before you reach the forest. There are actually two ways up here.
The other leads to another pair of letter shops.

L5: E N 2W 5N W* U. There are two shops off to the side, but they
only have letters. Incidentally, there is another way up from
level 4 that leads to another shop with two letters.

There seems to be a 1-way stair that drops down to the east area
here, but I can't figure out how to get to that area at all. So
for practical purposes, you just need to visit the west side of
level 5 in town.

     5-3-2. FOREST AREA

L6: Look, different background. S 6E 8S W 2S E and if you can
make it to the black onyx, great. Don't be shy about using
potions after each fight. Dwarves and Deadmen are beatable, but
Ogres and Scorpions are brutal if your strength is low. If you
get an encounter, proceed as before. Just heal afterwards if the
fight takes more than a round. You can probably afford one potion
per tough fight, and you can get away with not healing if a fight
did you no damage or took just one round. Walking will regain
your energy.

Touch the onyx and touch the wall again and you are that much
further into the maze. And the fountain on level -6 is relatively
nearby now. Level 7 is a long walk, so build up. You can take
advantage of "eeking" here by touching the near onyx, going to
the fountain and coming back, then moving two right and touching
it again. Eeking is more useful elsewhere, but the point here is
that you can move a few squares down the whole onyx corridor
without risk.

3E N U.

L7: 4N E 2N W N W N W* S* E 2N E*. You may wish to flee if there
are a lot of enemies around, because the next part is probably
the trickiest. It's a winding path.

L8: W* N 2W N* E* S* W S 2E N* (if you make it this far, you can
go on without worrying about things.) W* S* 2E U.

L9 has a fountain. 2W 2N E* N* W* N* E* gets you there. W* S* W.

L10 has onyx. Touch it. 2S, get to the dungeon fountain, and come
back. E* N E S* E 2S 3E U.

L11 is easy and has more onyx. Touch it. 3W U.

   5-4. ORANGE

The orange bit is a pretty easy area to get through. I just
needed the five potions from the fountain and got through it in
one push, right after the forest. You have some enemies to watch
out for, but if you are saving regularly, they should not be a
problem. Lots of undeads, so if everyone has Avalon, you should
mow the enemies down. There's only one fountain along the way
here, and there aren't many twists and turns. This and the
skeleton area are connected by a door and not stairs, which is
unusual.

Around here you should also start fleeing if there are 8+ enemies
you cannot beat up easily. They may simply just tire you down.

L12: 2E 2S W N W 2S 3W 2N E N W* 2S 2E S*

L13: E 2N 2W N 2W N W 6N 2W

L14: 3W 5N E N (fountain) S W S* W* N W- 3S 3E U.

L15: 3W U.

L16: W S* U.

L17: N 3W 2N 3W 5S W= 2N U.

L18: 3N 8E N. This transfers you to the skeleton area. You will
of course want to hit the onyx right away so you can double back
to the dungeon. Make sure you are fully healed before you go
forward! Then, if you lose your potions, refresh them. The
monsters are a bit tougher here, and you have a long way to go.
But you should be okay.

   5-5. THE SKELETON AREA

You'll need to use potions aggressively here, and again Avalon is
a boost. Unsurprisingly, there are lots of undead here. Against
monsters like ghosts, everyone can ready Avalon and gun the
ghosts down within one turn. This also confuses the ghosts, who
generally attack your monk to avoid the turn undead spells. They
don't know who to attack! You should get a monk level or two from
all this. You also will want your heroes to have karma of 60+, so
they are sages and can receive the sword Calibur, which is the
object of the skeleton area. You can return to town any time
while recharging.

It's useful to have people at level 2-3 to take out ghouls and
ghosts and spectres with Avalon. You can
You may occasionally get to fight easier monsters like ghouls,
but don't count on it. Spectres are vicious if they hit you as
are Medusas, one of the few undeads.

L18: E N* W* N W and touch the onyx twice and heal up. This is
mostly precautionary, but the monsters can wipe you out quickly
if you're not rested.

L17: 4W S W 2S W 2S 4W N D.

L16: 2N, touch onyx, visit fountain in lower area, then 2N 3E 3S
W and touch the onyx again(eeking again, if you need to.) Then 3S
E N for the fountain. You want to be extra careful, as I
mentioned before. But if you do things right, there are big
potential gains. S 3W N D.

L15: Yuck, big chance for a bad fight here, so you may want to
retreat and heal if you get caught out here. In fact, there is a
big long stretch right here of three levels, so you may want to
try things, see if they work, and if they don't, buy a few more
potions after visiting a fountain. This strategy also applies to
levels later in the game where you'll be without a fountain for a
while. You can also branch and futz with emulator save states and
so forth, but this is the first real dry spell in the game.

W S* E 2S E 3S 2E 4N E.

L14: E S* 2W 2S W*.

L13: N 2E 3S W* N* W N* 4W N E to the fountain. W S 3E D.

L12: This is a nasty level where you have a lot of back-and-forth
throughout, and if you have to flee from a fight, it is very
possible you'll get turned around. So here is a rule about
fleeing: know where you are and which way you were facing.

If you have a door 1 square ahead and on the right, then if you
flee, you will flee to either in front of a door or with a door 1
square ahead. If the first, you have moved forward. If the
second, you moved backwards.

If you have a door just in front of you, then you will have moved
forward if you still are by the door after fleeing. Otherwise,
you moved backwards. For having a door in back of you, it is the
reverse.

S* 3W S 3E S 3W S 3E S 3W S 3E S 3W S 3E S E and there you have
the sword. Now you need to get back.

Now you have a bit more to go up, but I bet it's a lot easier now
with those swords. They aren't always the best weapon, though.
They only attack once. If you need to fight a bunch of enemies
with few hit points and big damage, go with the best you've got
where you can attack thrice.

The road back is pretty brutal. You don't want to use a topaz
here, and you may have to flee or use a few potions to get back
to the fountain on level 13. But once you do, you may be able to
go back to town and buy armor for your other spellcaster. The
monsters on the ice will be a bit tougher and more likely to
focus on your spellcasters, or be able to kill them with one hit.

   5-6. THE ICE

You may wish to buy up potions to 9 for parts of this run, too.

L20: A quick fountain here is 6E N. Then S 2E N U. You may wish
to get the hang of fights and monsters here by hanging out near
the fountain.

L21: S W* 2S, touch the onyx, and now here's where you may wish
to stock up on the potions. You can probably jig the combats or
eek save states/games to push up to level 25, but if you want to
be honest, you may have to go with the extra potions. The
encounters in the time it takes to get there and back should make
up for what you need to pay for the potions, and you may be ready
for a new axe or sword anyway. 2S E* N 3W U.

L22: N W S= 2E S W U.

L23: W S 4E N W U.

L24: 2S 2E N* E N* W 2S W N U.

L25: 2S 2E 3N 2E S to the fountain. N 2W 3S E S 4E U.

L26: N E S 2E 2S E U. The stair to the east of this leads to a
dead end, so don't worry about it.

L27: 4E and now the game branches. E N leads to the fire area.
You're not ready for that yet. You probably want to visit the
grey-wall area, called the Face area by maps in websites about
the game that are in Japanese.

2N and touch the onyx. I don't think you necessarily need 9
potions here. You just need to go 3N E* N* W* U.

   5-7. MORE GOING UP

This was the most annoying part for me, because my map kept going
over the boundaries, and I couldn't read what was there. But it
is not so bad. There are two paths up: one leads to the Fire area
and eventually the City of Gold, and the other leads to what
others call the Face area and I call "grey part 2." The Face area
will be first, as it has an item you want for your mage. There's

L28: 3N U. The southeast leads to stairs down to a dead end. You
can follow it on my map if you want.
L29: N 2E 6N E S, fountain, 3N 6W 2S E 3S W.
L30: E 3S U. Although you can go 2E, touch the onyx, and come
back, if you really need a break and a recharge at a fountain.
L31: There's more onyx here just ahead, and there won't be a
break for another couple of levels. You'll have some walking to
do. Again, a good place to go back for nine potions if you want,
but if you save regularly, you shouldn't need to. 6N W 2N 2W N E
U.
L32: 2S E 5N 3W 2S 2W 4N E U.
L33: E 6S 3E 2N 2E 2N 2E N U.
L34: 2N 4W 2N, fountain, 2S 3W N W 2S W U.
L35: S W 2N 2W and get the star and get out as you came in.

The Star does pretty good damage on enemies, as your mage is
probably behind the curve. Just let him smack whomever you fight
with it, especially when you know you can win, and he will catch
up a few levels pretty quickly. Once you've got the star, your
mage will probably still use monk spells a lot, but whenever
possible, slip the star in.

The way back down should not be too bad. I don't think you'll
need to
use the Topaz. You may need to save the game a few times. You
will want to move back down to level 28.

   5-8. RUNNING THROUGH THE FIRE

Note an alternate strategy is to run to the city, get your mage
killed, and get it replaced by a much better mage. I haven't
tried this, but it seems an easy trade-up, and the City of Gold
is lousy with non-lousy party character wannabes. You could
replace almost your whole party like this, but you might lose
your special items. So, for the purposes of this walkthrough, I
will keep the old party.

For this one you probably really will want nine potions, to make
sure of things. The experience you get along the way for beating
up random easy monsters cannot hurt. The fire area is pretty
tough, and you'll want to run from kists, for instance, or lots
of drakes. All other monsters are manageable. Fire is eight
levels, and there are four towers. Three are dead ends. One leads
to the City of Gold. You'll probably have a lot to buy after
making it through here.

If you are having trouble getting through, you can go back to the
temple area and poke around. For the moment, you may wish to
touch the onyx on level -2 so that you can go back and forth more
easily between either the Ice and the Temple, or the City of Gold
and the temple.

You can probably hack one fight at a time in the temple, and if
not, no big deal. You have the game saved. A few fights, and you
will probably gain a few shields and helms that will serve you
well. But it really depends on luck of the draw, which monsters
you get. There's probably enough for a new level, and you can
probably buy swords for your fighters by now.

Here are directions from the onyx passage on level 27.

L27: S* E N U
L28: N E 3N E 5N E 2N 2E N* E- 2S 3E S for the fountain. N 3W 2N
E and now you have a choice of four stairs up. The right one is N
U.
L29: 2W N 2W S W 3N U.
L30: E 3S 4E S U.
L31: N W U.
L32: 5W 3S U.
L33: 5N 2W U.
L34: 2N 2W N and I'd use the onyx just in case here.
L34: (part 2) 2N 2E 2N U. Hooray! You made it to the City of
Gold!

   5-9. CITY OF GOLD, FIRST BIT

The City of Gold is safe. You will only meet other player
characters here. They are very good, so do not fight them. Well,
not yet, anyway. They're pretty much all over, which gets
annoying if you are wandering around.

If you can, buy a ruby for your mage(best) and JUMALA for your
monk. These let you flee from battle. The ruby is slightly
better, as it does not drain energy as quickly. If your monk can
use a shield while your mage uses a sapphire, or the mage can use
a shield while the monk casts JUMALA, so much the better. In that
way, you can escape whenever too many enemies come at you.

L35: E S 3W S W 2S 2E 2S 6E 3N E U.
L36: 5E 2N W S U. There's nothing to do here, so don't bother.
L37: 5E 2S 2W 2S 4W 3S and tap the black onyx if you want. The
next part, with earth, is tough, so it's a good thing you have
the temple and deep water below to take care of. Note you now
have a safe place you can go back to if you touch the onyx in the
temple.

   5-10. THE TEMPLE

Be sure you have a ruby for this, so you can flee easily. It's
worth taking the damage to make sure you can flee. The advantage
of fleeing with the ruby is that you do not move one square
afterwards. Your party should be strong enough to withstand a few
hits per round before fleeing. Obviously, you'll want to keep
your mage healed here.

Scramble back up to level -2 from the dungeon and now go all the
way west from the corridor you're in. You will enter the Temple
of Athena. Don't mess around here. You will want to go forward
and climb up the portal.

Tough monsters here include kists or, if there are a lot of them,
drakes. Anything that breathes will be very nasty.

L-1: not much to do but 2W U.
L0: 2E U. Trying for random encounters here is not recommended,
but you can touch the onyx just to the side of the stairs if you
want.
L1: W, S* to the small pagoda, U. Again, touch the onyx if you
want/need.
L2: 2N U.
L3: S E 2N W N 2E 4S 2W 2S for the fountain. 2N 2E 2S 2E U.
L4: This place is so symmetrical that it is tough to figure out
which way you are going. Go forward. 18N(9 blocks on the right)
and then 1E you have a stairway up. If you need to flee from a
fight, remember it won't be apparent if you went 1 square north
or south. Saving an emulator state is good here. Also, before a
fight, if you must flee without the ruby, remember which side the
open space was on, so you can determine if you are on the west or
east of the main corridor.

Again you can figure out where you are even without location
spells. It requires some heuristics.

-|
|- <-you are there
-|

Now, if you flee forward, the view will be different. A door will
be on the left. If you flee backward, a door will still be on the
right, as when you started. So you can tell which direction you
went after fleeing, even though the area seems too symmetrical to
sort out. Unfortunately, there are no location spells to help you
with this.

L5: 2W U. Well, you deserved a break.
L6: 2S W through the only door in this level. Moondog gives your
leader Caribe. No matter who you put in slot 1, your first player
created gets it.

I got to level 9 poking around at a few fights here. However, the
shields/helms are just as important. You don't want to buy them,
since you can find them poking around in the deep water.

   5-11. WATER

You can now get past the fish that are at the west end of this
tunnel. It's worthwhile to go to level 6, touch the fountain, go
to the City of Gold, buy potions, and keep on going. You will get
the 200 gold back after a couple of tough fights.

Run/use the ruby if you face 6+ monsters you've never seen
before. They have the potential to wear you down. Accidents will
happen, and you'll get caught occasionally, but the monsters are
slow down here. Running is actually an option. Heal fully after
every battle. Battles are worth fighting if there are not too
many enemies, because you will get good items at random. And in
fact once you get to the bottom, you can use the rest area in the
City of Gold and the Onyx there above to fight enemies until you
get the items and experience and gold you want.

First, go back down to where the fishies were(W* 3N 2W N W N 2E)
and CARIBE lets you through to the stairs down.

W* 3N 2W N W N E and then east of that are stairs down to the
deep water area. The best idea is just to run from all fights til
you get the item in the treasure chest, although a very good
option is to just get your feet wet fighting, get some experience
and gold, and run all the way down. There are no fountains here
and no onyx walls before the final bit. But on the bright side,
the levels are not too big.

L-7: 5S 2W N E 2N 2W N D

L-8: S 3W S D

L-9: S 2W S D

L-10: S 4W 3S E D

L-11: W 3S 4W S D

L-12: W 2S 3W S D. As far as I know, none of the portals down
makes a difference over any of the other. Maybe they are trying
to create the atmosphere of sinkholes.

L-13: W* S* E* 4S E D

L-14: S E 3S D

L-15: E 3S E D

L-16: 2N 3W 5S 2E N D

L-17: If you're low on gas, touch the onyx walls and heal up. If
you think you can get in a fight or two before running out of
potion, then run the gauntlet and go west to the onyx box after
completing this. I would not risk it right now. I'd just heal up,
buy potions and hack my way through. Whatever you do, though,
don't touch both sets of onyx walls in the area, or you'll just
bounce between them, and that would be awful. Unless, of course,
you don't mind changing the X- and Y- locations in the RAM.

Here is what to do: W* S= W* S W* N W* 5N 2E N and you will see a
flash and hear a blip. Your priest now has Caribe! It's a good
idea to have this equipped. Now retreat, using the same fleeing
guidelines as before if you touched the onyx. You can, if you
want, go S 4W 2S and touch the onyx on the west side, heal up,
then go back 2S 4E S etc. I am inclined to believe that the deep
water is a better place to build your party up than

Once you are able to pass through the temple on level -1 of the
town, you can climb up pretty easily.

   5-12. CITY OF GOLD PART 2

Take the northwest tower and climb your way up. That gets you to
the City of Gold. You can get new companions and items there, but
your current guys should be better. Level 35 and 36 are a walk,
but level 37 has the goods. Go south from there to get back in
the maze.

First, you need to get up to 90 charisma for your monk. Nobody
else matters. It is not hard to do this. Just wander around in
the city for a while. You may already be at 90, but the game
doesn't flag this. You get +1 karma for each NPC you stand down
to.

So the question is, how to tell how much to get? If your monk has
60 karma, then he is a sage. He needs to get to 90 karma, which
the game keeps track of internally without telling you. So you
just need to contact 30 NPCs when your monk is a sage. No other
classes need this. It shouldn't take too long, especially with an
emulator. If you want to peek, 0x75d has player 1's karma number.
But then, if you've peeked, you're probably going to wind up
cheating. And I can't blame you.

Incidentally, players start with 48 karma, so it is not hard to
build up. And if you know you're not good enough, you can just go
fight in the maze, recuperate in the City of Gold fountains, and
talk to whoever passes by, and that'll probably get you where you
need to be.

However, here is a wrinkle. You can actually fight them to build
up gold. They are pretty easy if your front player is armed
sufficiently. He doesn't even need too-strong armor, though the
$800 stuff will help ensure he's not killed by just one hit. Just
have everyone hack at the enemy/rejected PC, and you'll win the
fight and 100-200 gold. It takes one round and is relatively low-
risk. Just hang around a fountain and go along the row/column by
it, and you can pile up a lot of gold pretty quickly. This avoids
nasty fights with monsters. You may actually be able to sneak
past enemies above the City of Gold to get to the Black Onyx,
especially with emulator save states, but I enjoyed building my
characters up like this. There is onyx near the end if your
characters are not good enough, so you can return here.

I didn't find Luxor and the Diamond to be worth saving 9000 gold
each for, but you can get there pretty quickly, since Karma can
only sink to zero and builds up quickly once you're in the City
wandering around.

By the way, the 3 squares north of the onyx tunnel are NPC-
encounter free and a great place to restore life, dexterity and
strength when you don't want to build your karma. Then it's a
short jump to outside. You can probably only take one earth fight
at a time, for starters.

   5-13. OPTIONS POST-CITY

The City of Gold mope-quest aside, you're ready to tackle the
next area. There are areas outside the tower where you can see
what's going on. They look a lot like earth, which doesn't make
sense given you're so high up in the tower, and Japanese websites
about the game call them "Alien," but I have no documentation for
that and besides it looks like earth to me. The outside area has
a lot of cloud barriers and there's nothing behind them. The
higher levels link the earth with the big Black Onyx maze which
actually takes up a good relative chunk of the map. If the tower
were represented physically by the relative sizes of the areas,
it would make the Seattle Space Needle look pretty anemic.

Fights here are pretty awful, but they give a lot of gold, which
lets you fill in the super items you haven't found already. You
won't really get any extra experience, either, so maybe it is
best just to fight relatively low-level monsters. The temple is
much gentler on you than the city of gold, as is the deep water.
So you have a few solutions here, in order of how good I think
they are.

1) re-establish the onyx link between City of Gold L37 and
Dungeon L-6. Use the fountain on Dungeon -6 and see the deep
water in -7 to pick up experience. Win fights along the way. Use
your leader to kill multiple enemies, which should give you 1 exp
per fight, which is enough. A lot of fights with 9+ monsters get
experience all around. You can put shields up for players who
don't need experience, but really, it's best to get your leader
to level 11, as he gets the most DEX/STR points per level. Once
he does, he should be able to wield the Calibur sword and kill a
few tough enemies at a time.
2) fight in the temple. There are some nasty enemies here, but
they give good items. If you're trapped low on potions, that is a
problem.
3) fight enemies in earth one at a time.

I would recommend resetting the lower onyx to the dungeon before
moving along. You may get stuck in the Onyx as you move around.
If you are satisfied you've made enough levels, you can use the
topaz after touching the City of Gold onyx. You can actually undo
this, so don't worry--but with just the one location in the City
of Gold, you can go as follows to get to a fountain:

Level 37 back to 35: 3N 4E 2N 2E 2N 5W D.
Level 36 back to 35: N E 2S 5W D.
Level 35: W 3S W N to the fountain, S E 3N E.

Then back up to level 37.

As mentioned above, you will want to get to level 11 for your
front man before doing anything, but it is not too bad since each
fight should give your front man 1 exp. There's also a short cut
for 50 EXP. Read level 40 of the section 5-15. First, though, a
detour on what to do if you feel stuck on the City of Gold and
want to get back below to more livable fights.

   5-14. USING THE CORE TO MOVE AROUND

The way the onyx is set up for you right now, you can flip
between the City of Gold and the deep water, temple, or dungeon.
Or, if you used the topaz, you're stuck with the City of Gold.

Unless you know about the core portal shaft. It allows you to
hyperspace between levels. It allows you all the options above
and more, and it works roughly as follows:

Town L1
 |
Skeleton area L16
 |
Deep water L-17
 |
Onyx L38
 |
Ice L21
 |
Dungeon L-4
 |
Town L3
 |
Forest L10
 |
Town L1

So what does this mean? Basically, you can enter the core only at
the onyx. But you can move up and down as you please. Some areas
are better to move to than others. You've probably seen most of
them before. They are the ones where you walk around a 2x2
square. Well, you can't get inside it til the onyx. Of these
above, Deep Water is good for fights, the Skeleton Area is ok for
fights and is near a fountain(and Calibur, if you missed it,) and
Ice is good for fights and exiting near a fountain. You can bail
out back to town L1 if you have to, but it doesn't have anything
the City of Gold doesn't, other than proximity to the Temple.
Dungeon L-4 is probably as close, though. You just need to be
able to count floors, though if you mess up, you can of course
use the topaz and try again.

You may also wish to go down the shaft into Fire to get 50
experience. Down 5 levels, then W* 2N and you will be looking out
a tower. Then use the topaz to get back up.

So: from City of Gold, S W* N U S E= N* 2W N* 2W N 2E 5N 3W N 3W.
It's a bit of a trek, so you may need to fight through. But of
course you can use a topaz or a fleeing spell to buy time.

   5-15. EARTH, OUTSIDE AND BLACK ONYX

I think you can just plow through the upper levels of the Black
Onyx without many fights, if you know where you are going. But
getting there is tricky, and the monsters can be nearly
impossible. The fountains are badly spaced from level 37 to 41,
probably on purpose with this being the last bit and all. But you
don't seem to have many monsters to fight once you get to the
last level. You can probably flee from most of the ones you do
fight. I was able to flee my way through at level 10. I think you
need to be a pretty good level in order to have the dexterity to
flee. In a way, it's disappointing there isn't more fighting. On
the other hand, Magus and Nidhoggr are very hard, so you can't be
honor bound near the end to fight everyone. It's justifiable to
buy potions if you think you can make it through. After all, they
are really quite cheap now, and with the five free from the
fountain $200 a pop. You really only have body armor for your
fighters left.

Once heroes are at level 11, the Calibur sword can hit more than
once, so you may want to re-train in the Deep Water for the big
bad monsters.

From this point on:

Level 37: Touch the onyx in the City of Gold, then use a topaz,
before moving on. This resets your new position to the onyx by
the City of Gold. Everyone probably found a topaz randomly, so no
matter how lost you are, someone can cast the spell to get back.
The earth level is a bit trickier than the previous monsters. The
way to level 38 isn't, though. 7W S.

Level 38: S 7E(Touching the onyx doesn't seem like a great idea
here. You're better off using the topaz if you have to flee.
Besides, there's a fountain just beyond here, and if you can't
make it there, you're not going to make it to level 44 yet.) E 5N
2W S 2W (2N 2S fountain) S.

Level 39: E N E 6N to level 40.

Level 40: N and west to the outside. If you can get to the
outsiHook around the clouds, W* 2N E* N* E* N 2E 2N W and up, to
level 41. Be sure to touch a cloud on the way. That gets you 50
experience free.

Level 41: S* W N W 2S 2W 3S W 2S 2W N 2W 2S E 3S 8W S and now 9E.
This is an annoying 1-way passage and you may have trouble
judging things. When you just passed a door on the right, and
there is a door on the left, turn right, go 2S and go west all
the way. It doesn't seem like a passage with all the open spaces,
but it really has a bunch of one-way doors north and south out of
the passageway. So you need to be a little careful. You also
cannot run from a fight, though using the ruby is okay.

Level 42: I didn't run into a lot of fights here. So even if you
get lost, it's not a huge deal. 2N W 3S 2W S 3E 3S E 6S 3W S 4E
4N E* S W 3S 2W N E U.

Level 43: 2E 4S U.

Level 44: 3E N and touch the onyx if you want and go S. You're
very close now, and while there are no encounters, you may want
to risk as little as possible. E* S* W S W S E 3S 3W 2S W S E 3S
(W E fountain) S* 4E S 5W 3N W S.

Boom! The black onyx. If your monk has 90 karma, you win! If you
have more than one monk, only one of them needs the karma to win.

   5-16. BY-LEVEL WALKTHROUGH

--fighters are your main hombres. Mage and Monk do a lot of
healing and protecting
--player 1 gets most EXP, hit pts heal him first and recharge
strength/dexterity, so switch player 1's to balance party
--all level 3 except maybe mage to start out above town. This
will be quick.
--get to about level 6 in the dungeon, or 6-5-5 with using the
experience boosts carefully
--armor for mage and monk. Stand down to get the rest
--8-6-6 or so while getting the sword, counting the 50 experience
--run through ice and face as quickly as possible but pile up the
money for Ruby. Get ATHENA along the way. It's a decent offensive
spell.
--touch the onyx in Gold and return quickly, then go down to Fire
--you can beat up potential party members here if you want gold,
but unfortunately it gives you no experience, and building the
karma back up is tricky
--level 9-7-7 on completing temple, then jump to 10-8-8 after
completing fire(gold +50,) then 11-9-9 after completing
water(fire +50 first)
--plow through for the onyx, using the ruby with abandon

 6. CHEATS

   6-1. HEXADECIMAL VALUES

0x5d2 = x
0x5d3 = y
0x5d6 = floor, sort of. It's actually
 (level + 1) mod 8. So valid values are 0 through 7, 0 is the
bottom of deep water, and 2 is the starting floor.

0x612 = player 1's equipped type
 0 = weapon
 1 = rune
 2 = gem
0x63e/0x63f = low/high byte of party gold
0x655 = player 1 hero strength /2 (max)
0x65f = player 1 hero strength /2 (cur)
0x669 = player 1 mage strength /2 (max)
0x673 = player 1 mage strength /2 (cur)
0x67d = player 1 monk strength /2 (max)
0x687 = player 1 monk strength /2 (cur)
0x691 = player 1 hero dexterity (max)
0x69b = player 1 hero dexterity (cur)
0x6a5 = player 1 mage dexterity (max)
0x6af = player 1 mage dexterity (cur)
0x6ba = player 1 monk dexterity (max)
0x6c4 = player 1 monk dexterity (cur)
0x6cd = player 1 hero level
0x6d7 = player 1 mage level
0x6e1 = player 1 monk level
0x6eb = player 1's current class
0x6f5 = player 1 maximum life
0x6ff = player 1 current life
0x709 = player 1's armor
0x71d = player 1 copy? of weapon/gem/ikon type
0x727 = player 1 weapon/gem/ikon type
0x731 = player 1 name
0x739 = player 2 name
0x741 = player 3 name
0x749 = player 4 name
0x751 = player 5 name
0x759 = player 1's position in party(4 = top, 0 = bottom)
0x75d = player 1's karma (0-1f = evil, 20-3f = good, 40-5f=sage,
60+=i!wa e.g. nonsense)
0x763 = player 1's potions
0x768 = flags for which weapon you have
 1 = knife
 2 = club
 4 = mace
 8 = sabre
10 = hammer
20 = axe
40 = sword
80 = war axe
0x76d = flags for which gem you have
 1 = garnet
 2 = topaz
 4 = zircon
 8 = sphene
10 = spinel
20 = sapphir(e)
40 = ruby
80 = diamond
0x772 = flags for which ikon you have
 1 =
 2 =
 4 =
 8 =
10 =
20 =
40 =
80 =
0x781 = player 1's shield
0x786 = hero experience
0x78b = mage experience
0x790 = monk experience
0x795 = player 1's helm
0x79a = hair hi byte = color lo byte = style

0x709 values
 0 = 10 gold
 1 = 20 gold
 2 = 35 gold
 3 = 50 gold
 4 = 70 gold
 5 = 90 gold
 6 = 120 gold
 7 = 150 gold
 8 = 180 gold
 9 = 220 gold
 a = 270 gold
 b = 350 gold
 c = 500 gold
 d = 660 gold
 e = 850 gold
 f = 1100 gold
10 = 1400 gold
11 = 1800 gold
12 = 2300 gold
13 = 2900 gold
14 = 3600 gold
15 = 4400 gold
----------kaftans
 0 = 20 gold
 1 = 40 gold
 2 = 75 gold
 3 = 150 gold
 4 = 400 gold
 5 = 1200 gold
----------cassocks
 0 = 30 gold
 1 = 50 gold
 2 = 100 gold
 3 = 180 gold
 4 = 320 gold
 5 = 600 gold
 6 = 1200 gold

0x70a = player 1's armor type
 0 = armor
 1 = kaftan(mage)
 2 = cassock(priest)
0x71d = player 1's gem
 0 = topaz (10 gold)
 1 = zircon (30 gold)
 2 = sphene (100 gold)
 3 = spinel (300 gold)
 4 = sapphir(e) (1000 gold)
 5 = ruby (3000 gold)
 6 = diamond (9000 gold)
----------
 0 = avalon (10 gold)
 1 = havoc (30 gold)
 2 = dylan (100 gold)
 3 = athena (300 gold)
 4 = jumala (1000 gold)
 5 = caribe (3000 gold)
 6 = luxor (9000 gold)
----------
 0 = nothing
 1 = club
 2 = mace
 3 = saber
 4 = hammer
 5 = axe
 6 = sword
 7 = war ax
0x781 = player 1's shield
 0 = 0
 1 = 30
 2 = 100
 3 = 200
 4 = 400
 5 = 700
 6 = 1100
0x625/0x795 = player 1's helm
 0 = 0
 1 = 125
 2 = 500
 3 = 1000
 4 = 2000
0x786 = player 1's hero experience
0x78b = player 1's mage experience
0x790 = player 1's monk experience

   6-2. IMPORTANT APPLICATIONS

     6-2-1. COMBAT

While WHEN combat appears is based on a random seed you can't
change, whether you flee or not is based on a time-seed. What
this means for emulation is, if you saved and got in a battle a
few moves later, you can't escape the battle. But if you tinker
with the timing, you'll eventually be able to flee before anyone
does you damage, unless you got in WAY over your head.

If you switch floors, that seems to muck up whom you face, too.

Also, if you have an emulator and a fast computer, you can breeze
through the quick fights and through scrolling in a hallway to
regenerate STR and DEX. This piles up gold at an alarming rate
and may allow you to get the very best armor you can.

     6-2-2. GETTING THROUGH THE GAME

Create a party with at least one monk.
byte 5d2 = 13
byte 5d3 = 1a
byte 5d6 = 05
bytes 75b-75f = 5a (only your monk needs this, actually)
Face the door and enter it.

Well, you can actually win the game with just a monk, but that
feels a bit too artificial.


for ($i = 0; $i <= 7; $i++)
{
 $i1 = $i + 1;
 open(FI, ">super_black_onyx_$i1.htm");
 $j = ($i+1) % 8; $j++;
 $k = ($i+7) % 8; $k++;

print FI "<html><body><center>Level $i1<br>\n";
print FI "<img src = super_black_onyx_" . ($i + 1) .
".png><br>\n";
print FI "<a href = super_black_onyx_$k.htm>Prev</a>\n";
print FI "<a href = super_black_onyx_$j.htm>Next</a>\n";

close(FI);
}

   6-3. HTML MAP FROM GAMEFAQS MAPS

End of FAQ Proper

================================

 7. VERSIONS/CREDITS

1.3.0: sent to GameFAQs 5/20/2009, even more done, more stuff
spelled out, including icons and gems
1.2.0: sent to GameFAQs 5/19/2009, walkthrough spelled out with
details on when to use which onyx
1.1.1: sent to GameFAQs 5/18/2009, more combat details.
1.1.0: sent to GameFAQs 5/15/2009, adding all NPCs and with maps
fixed a lot
1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 5/14/2009, walkthrough sufficient but
terribly proofread.

Thanks to:
http://www20.cds.ne.jp/~yugen/sbo/index.htm
http://www.e-tokyo.prug.or.jp/~peki/gmemo/blackonyx/nesonyx.html
Thanks to the usual GameFAQs/honestgamers gang, current and
emeritus. They know who they are, and you should, too, because
they get/got some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer,
falsehead, Sashanan, Masters, Retro, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego,
ZoopSoul, War Doc, Brian Sulpher, AdamL, odino, JDog and others I
forgot. OK, even Hydrophant in his current not-yet-banned message
board incarnation. I am not part of his gang, but I want him to
be part of mine.
Thanks to the NES Completion Project for keeping it going.
Thanks to odino for pointing this game out to me.
All you people at honestgamers, YELL AT ME if I forgot you and
you deserve to be in there. I mean, it's partially because of
HGWars I wrote this FAQ, and I want to add to this in the future.

You are viewing proxied material from tilde.pink. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.