Ninja Gaiden II Walkthrough



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Ninja Gaiden II Walkthrough
Welcome to the Ninja Gaiden II Guide!

Chapter 1: Sky City TokyoKey Items

* The Art of the Inferno
* Lunar Staff
* Lives of a Thousand Gods (1)
* Life of the Gods (2)
* Crystal Skull (2)

Objectives

* Head towards the top of the building.
* Find the Card Key in the stairwell.
* Defeat the Shadow Ninja.


Muramasa House

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Ryu before the camera surrounded by the Black Ninja Clan.

A group of Black Spider Ninjas stand outside Muramasa's house. If
you want to kill them quickly, perform repeated Flying Swallows
and Obliteration techniques. Otherwise, use them as practice --
block and counterattack, slash and combo. Before running into
Muramasa's house through the crack on the door, head around the
house, towards the left, until you spot the Statue of the Earth
Dragon, a save point that not only saves progress but refills
health. Press the RB button to save your game.

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Statue of the Earth Dragon: Enemies must not be around when using
the Statue of the Earth Dragon. Get rid of the enemy before using
the statue; otherwise, the Statue won't work!

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Enter Muramasa's house through the front door.

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"You don't know her?" says Muramasa, talking about the woman
kidnapped by the Black Spider Ninja Clan.


Stairs

The cut-scene ended, you must head through the gate in the
distance, and then descend the stairs where Black Spider Ninjas
will try to ambush you. Perform Flying Swallows or Obliteration
Techniques while using the walls to your advantage. (Run across
the walls to create space between you and the ninjas.)

Look for a chest containing the Reverse Wind Technique by the
door at the bottom of the stairs.

Chest: Reverse Wind Technique
LT + L to perform a quick dash in the direction indicated by the
Left Stick. Used to dodge enemy attacks or to get close.

Achievement Mastered Wind 5G: Stay in guard while moving the left
analog stick towards the left or right direction. You'll dodge to
the sides and unlock the Achievement.


Hallway

After kicking down the big wooden doors, prepare for danger in
the narrow hallway, as Black Spider Ninjas will immediately rush
towards you. Kill them quickly before entering the room down the
hall, where in the middle of the room is a cluster of Blue
Essence in a chest.
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"...prepare for danger in the narrow hallway, as Black Spider
Ninjas will immediately rush towards you."

Chest: Blue Essence
Blue Essence heals you, and is found in chests or dropped by the
enemy.

The Wall Run (Technique of Shadowless Footsteps): The room leads
to a narrow hallway filled with ninjas, and a hole on the ground
near the end of the hallway. The gap is too large to jump over,
so what should you do? Use the Technique of Shadowless Footsteps
to run across the wall. Run towards the wall at an angle before
jumping on it. By holding the left analog stick in the forward
direction, Ryu will run across the wall for a limited time.
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Use the Technique of Shadowless Footsteps to run across the wall.
Run towards the wall at an angle before jumping on it.


Down into the gap

Don't panic if you drop into the gap. Search the ground for a
chest containing the Technique of Shadowless Footsteps. Carefully
read the instructions explained on the scroll, then apply the
techniques on the two walls located closely together. Jump from
wall to wall in order to propel your body to the top.

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Bird Flip up the wall to get back on the top floor.

The Technique of Shadowless Footsteps
Jump with the A button towards a wall, then hold the L analog
stick forward to run along the wall.
You can unlock the Mastered Shadowless Footsteps Achievement by
jumping from wall to wall towards the top of the platform.

Across the gap

The room after the gap contains the scroll the Furious Wind
Technique in a chest, and the Art of the Inferno, a Ninpo
specializing in fire attacks, in a chest by the shrine. Grab the
Art of Inferno before moving onto the wooden balcony, where
you'll see a secret surprise.

Chest: The Furious Wind Technique
Location: In the small alcove past the gap on the floor.
Press LT + L while blocking an enemy attack to quickly dash away.
When your defense has been broken, use it to swiftly avoid
further damage.

Chest: The Art of the Inferno (Ninpo)
Location: In the room past the gap on the floor.
The Inferno's blaze reduces your enemies to ashes. (Press Y + B
buttons to activate the Ninpo. You must have Ki to use Ninpo.

Standing on the wooden balcony, look in the background for a
glowing white object. A Crystal Skull sits on the roof in the
background. Stand on the edge of the wooden deck and look for
small wooden roof on the far right of the Crystal Skull -- that's
your target, and where you must land. Should you fall when
attempting the jump, get back to the balcony by climbing the
ladder near the wooden railing.

Crystal Skull
Location: On a roof.

A legendary out-out-place artifact known since the ancient
times.
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Situational: If you fall off the balcony when running across the
wall for the Crystal Skull. You could also run towards the skull
when you first see it then at the edge of the balcony jump and
press Y to perform the Flying Swallow move and that will get you
behind the Crystal Skull.

270x200Don't feel bad if you don't get the Crystal Skull on your
first try. In fact, falling to the bottom floor can bring great
fortune. By going up two sets of stairs from the bottom floor,
you'll find the Lives of a Thousand Gods, an item increasing
overall health, in a chest by the foot of a shrine.

Up a set of stairs and by the door is a chest with the Herb of
Spiritual Life, an item restoring a small amount of health. Going
through the door, you'll be in a narrow room and see a pole over
a large gap.

Narrow room

More Black Spider Clan Ninjas will attack you in the narrow room.
They're not too hard, and will easily die by a combination of
Flying Swallows, decapitations, and counters. Kill them before
running across the wall to get to the other side. If you fall
during the wall run, look for a ladder against the wall and use
it to climb back to the floor.

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Jump towards the pole and Ryu automatically grabs the pole,
swinging in a loop until you decide to jump off.



Gymnastics 101: The gap in the floor is too long to jump, but
wait, there's a pole jutting from the wall. Jump towards the pole
and Ryu automatically grabs the pole, swinging in a loop until
you decide to jump off. And don't worry about looking for
treasure if you fall off the pole; you won't find anything on the
bottom floor. When you've crossed the gap, look for the corpse on
the ground holding the scroll of the Obliteration Technique.
Next, run on the scaffolding and past the big barrels until you
see a corpse next to the Statue of the Earth Dragon.

Scroll: The Obliteration Technique
Location: Found immediately after swinging on the pole.
Press Y button near an enemy that has lost an arm or leg to
finish them off.
Unlock Master of Obliteration Achievement.

Scroll: The Flying Bird Technique.
Location: On the corpse by the Statue of the Earth Dragon.
Jump at a wall and press the A button repeatedly to scale two
opposing walls. Allows you to reach higher ground without using a
ladder.
Mastered Flying Bird Flip Achievement.

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The Flying Bird Technique.

In a yard

Save your game at the Statue of the Earth Dragon before
performing the Flying Bird Flip on the wall behind the statue. By
scaling the wall, you'll be under a cherry blossom tree in a yard
above ground. Be prepared for the archers shooting flaming arrows
on the second floor. When you feel as though all the enemies are
killed, jump down into the water way and go right into the open
area where you will be attacked. kill these guys and then walk
round the corner to the wooden platform, there will be a chest
with a 'Life of the Gods' inside. After opening the chest head
back to where you just came from but this time continue to the
far left side on the waterway to get another chest filled with
yellow essence. Cross the stone bridge and carefully walk across
the cobbled road, where more ninjas will appear.

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Jump towards the pole and swing yourself over to the other side.

On the path sloping downwards, you'll see a pagoda in the
background, and archers firing flaming arrows. This area is a
good place to farm yellow essence. Merely walk onto the sloping
path to spawn footsoldiers, and then retreat , avoiding the
archers/ rocket launchers (Path of the Mentor). Between two and
four soldiers will chase you, making each fight fairly easy.

On the pagoda where the archers stand there is a 'Crystal Skull'
. To reach it you have to walk a little down the hill untill you
see a tree on your right, there you will have to do a Flying Bird
Flip off the tree to land on a ledge leading to the pagoda.
continuing on you'll soon encounter a set of wooden stairs and
platforms, and a pole over a gap. Jump towards the pole and swing
yourself over to the other side. The next obstacle involves two
swinging poles, but before you swing across the gap, head down
into the gap to find a Life of the Gods in the chest by the end
of the room. To get back on higher ground, head in the opposite
direction of the chest, past the guys in the hallway, until you
see a ladder at the end of the room.

270x200Chest: Life of the Gods
Location: On the bottom floor under two the swinging poles.

Chest: Blue Essence
A chest filled with blue Essence is by the ladder.

After maneuvering past the two poles over a gap, climb the ladder
and turn right for an Herb of Spiritual Life. And don't forget to
save your progress at the Statue of the Earth Dragon at the top
of the stairs on the floor below the Herb of Spiritual Life. Just
past the Herb of Spiritual Life is a corpse holding the scroll of
the Flying Swallow Technique.

Scroll: The Flying Swallow Technique
Location: Examine the corpse found after the Herb of Spiritual
Life.
Jump forward and press the Y button to attack enemies from above.
Must have Dragon Sword equipped.
Mastered Flying Swallow technique Achievement.

On a balcony overlooking the Tokyo skyline

A battle takes place on a balcony outside the room containing the
Lunar Staff, a long two-handed weapon harnessing the power of the
moon. Before receiving the Lunar Staff, you must battle a group
of Black Spider Clan Ninjas and flame ninjas, and when they're
defeated, the large wooden doors will open.

Make sure to kill the ninjas firing flaming projectiles before
killing the supporting ninjas. The ninjas firing projectiles will
teleport around the area, but you can track them by using the
Flying Swallows. Be careful not to abuse the Flying Swallow,
because a mistimed, poorly executed Flying Swallow will leave you
vulnerable to enemy attacks.

The doors will open after all the ninjas are defeated, revealing
a large shrine in the middle of the room, flanked by a chest
containing red Essence and the Statue of the Earth Dragon. When
you've removed the Lunar Staff from the statue, exit the room and
head around the building, where you'll see a set of stairs under
an opened gate. The Ultimate Technique scroll is found on the
corpse at the bottom of the stairs.

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The doors will open after all the ninjas are defeated, revealing
a large shrine in the middle of the room, flanked by a chest
containing red Essence and the Statue of the Earth Dragon.
Weapon: Lunar Staff
Location: From the statue.
A staff said to harbor the mysterious powers of the moon.

Scroll: The Ultimate Technique
Location: Past the room with the Lunar Staff, on a corpse at the
bottom of the stairs.
Hold Y button to charge, then release. The longer you charge, the
more powerful your attack.
Master Ultimate Technique Achievement.


The bridge and the house

The notebook of Obliteration Technique is found after the bridge
on a corpse lying in a yard. Just beyond the corpse in a house
with an opened door. While entering the house, immediately look
down at the corpse on the ground under the door, his arm
clutching the scroll the Technique of Ultimate Guidance.

Notebook: Obliteration Technique by Zenimaru
Location: On a corpse at the end of a bridge.

Scroll: The Technique of Ultimate Guidance
Location: On the corpse lying by the door.

When there is Essence nearby, hold the Y button to absorb and
charge your Ultimate Technique. Your Ultimate Technique will
charge faster, and any enemies hit with the attack will drop more
Essence than usual.


Inside the house

The house has an entrance and exit, and a secret room covered
behind a panel containing Grains of Spiritual Life in a chest and
yellow essence in three big jars on the ground. The secret room
is on the opposite side of the exit, behind a small panel that
can be destroyed. Grab the Grains and the Yellow Essence before
heading into the yard filled with enemies.

Secret Room
Location: Starting from the corpse in the doorway, turn right and
slash the panel to uncover a secret room.
Grains of Spiritual Life in a chest, which restores a moderate
amount of health.
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Backyard

Kill the ninjas in the backyard before entering the second house.
Inside the house, pick up the Yellow Essence in the chest, then
slash the wall panels to uncover a narrow hallway leading to
another yard, where you'll see Muramasa's Shop under the trees by
a large boulder. By now, you should have enough Yellow Essence to
upgrade the Dragon Sword. Why upgrade? Upgrading increases the
power of the weapon, so the more upgrades, the more powerful the
weapon is.


The water well

When you're done shopping at Muramasa's shop, look for the hidden
well near the boulder on the right of the shop. By jumping into
the well, you'll fall through a long shaft populated by bats.
Don't ignore the bats but kill them for their Yellow and Blue
Essence. Afterwards, exit the well by going through the door, and
look for a corpse holding the notebook of Shadowless Footsteps on
the scaffold several feet away from the well. Now, make your way
to the top of the scaffolds.

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Jump into the well near the boulder on the right of the shop.

Notebook: Shadowless Footsteps by Hikage-o
Location: Outside the exit of the water well.

Chest: Devil Way Mushroom
Location: Down the ramp and by the iron rods.
Restores a small amount of Ki.


The suspended wall

Chest: Blue Essence

The scaffolds beyond the water well will take you to a wall
swaying in the air -- a natural environment obstacle testing your
ninja mobility. Run across the wall using the Technique of
Shadowless footsteps, and proceed to the end of the scaffold for
Blue Essence in a chest.

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To proceed farther into the level, you must jump off from the
disconnected guard rail.



Along the way to the Blue Essence in a chest, you may have
noticed a section of the guard rail is missing, disconnected,
mangled, stray bars jutting in every direction. The location is
hard to see, especially since the camera is behind your shoulder,
obscuring that vital location. To proceed farther into the level,
you must jump off from the disconnected guard rail. Fall of the
scaffold, then battle the enemies down below. And, oh, look for
the corpse on the ground holding the notebook Furious Wind.

Notebook: Furious Wind by Hayate-maru
Location: After jumping off the disconnected section of the guard
rail. On a corpse on the ground.

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The Tokyo skysrcaper.

Skyscraper

Key Points

* Find the cracked Card Key and use it to unlock the door.
* Get to the Elevator Control Room.

In the skyscraper, you must find the cracked Cark Key to unlock
the Elevator Control Room. To find the Card Key, go up three sets
of stairs to the top of the stairwell, where a chest contains the
crack Card Key. (At the bottom of the stairwell is a dead end
room with a Devil Way Mushroom in a chest.)


Elevator Control Room

Return to the elevator lobby, and head towards the right into the
hallway. Ahead of you will be a large window overlooking the city
skyline, and on your left will be the Elevator Control Room,
where you'll see a damaged elevator control, and a corpse holding
the notebook Flying Bird by the foot of the ladder. After
climbing the ladder, go down the hallway, and when you reach the
end of the hallway, perform the Flying Bird Flip to go up shaft
towards the top of the room.
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The elevator control room.

Notebook: Flying Bird by Mogura
Location: On the corpse by the ladder in the Elevator Control
Room.

At the top of the shaft are ninjas, Muramasa's Shop, the Grains
of Spiritual Life, and the Statue of the Earth Dragon. Remember,
you can't use the Statue of the Earth Dragon if there are enemies
in the room, so kill them all to save your progress and to
replenish your life. The ninjas in the room are aggressive and
will attack relentlessly. If you're feeling overwhelmed, do you
best to counter their attacks, perform constant Flying Swallows,
and instant charges into Ultimate Techniques. And make sure to
target the Flame Ninjas before attacking the ancillary ninjas.
After that, save your game at the Statue of the Earth Dragon
before heading up the stairs, where you'll fight the first boss,
Shadow Ninja Rossetsoul.

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The Shadow Ninja.


Boss: Shadow Ninja

Boss attacks

* Throw: A sudden lunge taking you close to the boss' jaws.
Look for both arms extending horizontally. Can't be blocked. You
must have quick reflexes to react and dodge the throw.

* Throw: A quick lunge ending in bear hug. Can't be blocked.
This throw is much harder to spot, since the boss telegraphs the
attack for a brief second. The best strategy is to stay mobile,
dashing to the sides whenever you get in a few slashes on its
body.

* Jumps: Jumps on you, of course. The boss will place all
four feet on the ground before jumping towards your location. To
dodge the attack, perform repeated dashes until the boss stop
jumping. Alternatively, you could wait until the last second to
dash away from the attack, but this strategy is risky.

* Wind Blades: You must dodge the Wind Blades. Fortunately
for you, the boss hardly performs the Wind Blades.

* Cartwheel attack: The boss executes a slow moving cartwheel
across the ground. Since it's slow, you can easily spot it and
react with a block. Plus, upon blocking, you may execute a
counterattack.

* Roar: The bad news: the boss regains energy if left
uninterrupted. The good news: while in the roaring animation, the
boss won't attack or move for a short time -- the perfect
opportunity to attack it with a light slash combo.

Blocking and attacking with light slashes (X button) are the two
main strategies in the fight against the Shadow Ninja. You must
block the boss' attacks while waiting for the right moment to
strike; otherwise, the boss will block most of your attacks,
placing you in a very vulnerable position.
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To avoid the bear hug, stay mobile, dashing to the sides whenever
you get in a few slashes on its body.

Guard and move: Stand in guard and wait for the boss to come to
you. Block the attacks, then counterattack or combo with light
strikes, followed by an immediate jump or dash to the sides in
order to place a safe distance between you and the boss.

When you should strike

* Attack after the boss whiffs its attacks in a lengthy combo
string.
* After blocking the cartwheel attack, perform a
counterattack or use repeated light slashes (X, X, X, X button).
* Attack during the boss "roar" animation, in which the boss
stands on its two legs, its arm stretched in the air,
replenishing its health if left uninterrupted.

Attack and runaway: When slashing at the boss, you may have
noticed the boss will try to counterattack during your combo, and
often times, knock you out of your combo. Don't get too caught up
in the slashing frenzy; be prepared to stop the attack, and to
dodge or jump away from the boss. Remember, you can cancel the
lag after a light slash by dodging to the sides or by throwing a
Shuriken.

When its life is low, the boss slumps to the floor on its knees,
vulnerable for a short time. Take advantage of the situation and
slash the boss!

Beating the boss unlocks the Achievement Finished Chapter 01 for
10G.

Chapter 2: The Castle of the Dragon

Key items

* Falcon's Talon
* Fiend's Bane Bow
* Rod of Trial
* Crystal Skull (2)
* Life of the Gods

Objectives

* Shoot the Fiend's Bane Bow at two green targets.
* Solve the dragon puzzle.
* Defeat Genshin.

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"Corruption of the soul is a fate that befalls the weak."

The hunt for the Demon Statue takes Ryu to the Castle of the
Dragon, where Genshin, the leader of the Black Spider Ninja Clan,
and Joe Hayabusa are embroiled in a struggle for dominance in a
room lit on fire.

You'll find the notebook of the Flying Swallow on a corpse lying
past the red pillars near the start of the chapter. The stoned
stairs, filled with ninjas and bats, leads to Muramasa's shop in
a village. If you've fought most of the enemies, you'll have at
least 10,000 Yellow Essence, just enough to upgrade the Dragon
Sword, or if you don't want to upgrade the dragon sword 10,000
Yellow Essence is enough to upgrade any weapon to level two. The
double doors nex to Murasama's shop leads to a chest containing a
Life of the Gods; there are several ninjas that attack. Down the
road from the shop, look at the ground for another corpse on the
road. This time, you'll find the notebook of Reverse Wind by
Sanyodo.

Notebook: The Flying Swallow by Tori-no-Shin
Location: Near the start of the chapter, on a corpse lying past
the red pillars.

Notebook: Reverse Wind by Sanyodo
Location: On a corpse past Muramasa's shop, right before the
first battle against a wolf pack.

Chest: Life of the Gods
Location: A chest through the double doors next to Murasama's
shop.


The wolf pack

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Keep moving and dodging to the sides, and make sure to perform a
finisher with the Y button when a wolf has been amputated.

The wolves are dangerous, to say the least. Gnawing, clawing,
pouncing -- part of the pack will be dangerously offensive, while
the others stay in the background waiting to pounce when a
teammate is in trouble. The best way to handle them? The Art of
the Inferno. If you don't feel like wasting your Ninpo, perform
multiple Flying Swallows, keep moving and dodging to the sides,
and make sure to perform a finisher with the Y button when a wolf
has been amputated. An Herb of Spiritual Life is on a corpse by
the wooden railing.

A nasty bite: When the wolves have you in their jaws, immediately
mash all the buttons and the Left analog stick. If quick enough,
you'll kick the wolves in the face and get away with minor
scratches.


The river

A Crystal Skull is on the floor in the river. Hold the Left
Trigger and the A button to dive towards the Crystal Skull on the
bottom floor, then run on the water, past the archers, and
towards the pier. The dirt path from the pier leads to another
village. Before reaching the Statue of the Earth Dragon, make
sure to inspect the corpse for the Counter Attack Technique
scroll.

Crystal Skull

Location: In the river near the beginning of the chapter.
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Running across water: Press the A button to jump, then rapidly
press the A button to run across the water.

Scroll: The Counter Attack Technique
Location: After the river and before the Statue of the Earth
Dragon.
While blocking an enemy strike, press X or Y button to counter
attack.


Inside the house

Inspect the front yard for a corpse holding the notebook Ultimate
Guidance.

Inside the house, you'll find Blue Essence in a chest, Grains of
Spiritual Life in the corner, and Falcon's Talons on a table in a
tiny nook in the corner. Get all the items before exiting through
the door and entering the yard.
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The Falcon's Talons is on a table in a tiny nook in the corner.

Corpse: The Ultimate Guidance by Oshi-no-Juo
Location: On the frontyard right before the entrance of the
house.

Weapon: Falcon's Talons
Location: On the table in a tiny nook by the corner.
Short-ranged claws meant for combos.


Outside the house

Don't run up the stairs just yet! This part of the chapter is
very important if you want the Rod of Trial, an item granting
access to the Test of Valor, a series of challenges found in
several chapters that, upon completion of a test, will generously
reward the victor with rare and useful items.

Rod of Trial: In order to get the Rod of Trial, defeat all the
enemies running down from the stair and into the yard. When
you've killed all the ninjas, the candles behind the fence will
light up and the Rod of Trial will appear. If you're having a
hard time defeating the enemy in the yard, target the archers
around the perimeter before killing the ninjas rushing towards
you. The arrows from the archer are difficult to spot, especially
if you're surrounded by a group of ninjas.
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In order to get the Rod of Trial, defeat all the enemies
running down from the stair and into the yard.



"A rod symbolizing the fighting spirit, cast from the purest of
gold. Those upon whom it is bestowed face an endless path of
battle, as though they walked through the underworld itself. It
is said that those who carry it must face hordes of opponents in
fights to the death known as Tests of Valor. According to legend,
this treasure was one possessed by the god of war himself."


Stairs

Now, with the Rod of Trail in your inventory, head up the stairs
and through the hills. Flaming archers shoot arrows from a
platform, and are too high too be hit. Ignore them and run past
them until you see the Statue of the Earth Dragon and Muramasa's
Shop near a house on fire, or if you really want to kill the
archers Bird Flip up to one of the platforms, kill the archer and
then jump over to the other platform. Save your game and shop for
items and before walking through the cave. The path in the cave
leads to a house overlooking a snowcapped mountain, possibly
Mount Fuji, and a corpse holding the Counter Attack notebook.

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Ignore the archers and run past them until you see the Statue of
the Earth Dragon and Muramasa's Shop near a house on fire.

Notebook: Counter Attack by Inoshis
Location: Between the two stairs, next to the house on fire.


House

Around the house are more stairs to run, more archers to fight,
and more ninjas to kill. If you're not worried about collecting
Yellow Essence and Karma points, you can run through the house
without killing a single enemy. Ignoring the enemy can be a
valuable strategy, especially when your life is low, or when the
situation is too dangerous. In the screenshot, we ran past the
archers in the house, because there was no easy way to breach
their defenses, but if you have time jump and throw your
shurikens to kill all the archers and get a easy Feat of a
Hundred Slashes Achievement.

You can find a Devil Way Mushroom near the stairs, beyond the
room with the flaming archers.


The wooden planks

After running up the stairs, you'll be in a yard enclosed by a
wall, where enemies will drop from the roof and attack. Also, the
notebook Ultimate Technique is on a corpse lying by the door to
the house. Take the notebook before running up the wooden planks
against the wall.

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Take the notebook before running up the wooden planks against the
wall.

Notebook: Ultimate Technique by Tsuneckichi
Location: Under the torch and by the door.


Roof of the house

By walking up the planks, you'll end up on the roof of a house.
There's a hole on the roof at the end of the section, so jump
through it to enter the house.
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Jump into the hole on the roof.


Inside the house

Objective: Pick up the bow by the stairs, and shoot arrows at the
two green targets.

Be prepared for the enemy once you drop into the house, because
enemy ninjas will attack immediately when you land on the floor.
Stick to Flying Swallows and counterattacks, and you should be
fine. If you're low on life after the battle, save your game at
the Statue of the Earth Dragon in the end of the room. Your life
healed, go towards the base of the stairs and look for the
Fiend's Bane Bow on the wall. You'll need the bow for the
upcoming puzzle.
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Go towards the base of the stairs and look for the Fiend's Bane
Bow on the wall.



Weapon: Fiend's Bane Bow
Location: By the stairs, on the wall.
A powerful bow decorated with twin dragon head

Well, the puzzle isn't so much a puzzle as to an introduction in
arrow and bow game design. Your objective is to shoot arrows at
the green targets on the opposite side of the house. Go up the
stairs, then press and hold the B button for a behind the
shoulder view. Take aim at the green target and fire! Zooming on
the target helps, too (press the R shoulder button). And if you
need more arrows, take the arrows by the gate.
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Take aim at the green target and fire!

Save often!: Remember to save your game. Often! After knocking
down the green target, head back to the Statue of the Earth
Dragon to save your game. You'll need a fresh start for the
upcoming miniboss.

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Miniboss: The spider from chapter 1

What's the best strategy to defeat the spider miniboss? The
answer is crude but simple: three Art of the Inferno and several
slashes with the Dragon Sword. That�s it! At the start of
the match, run around the room in order to find a safe spot where
you can cast the Art of Inferno. After the first Art of Inferno
strikes the boss, repeat another one, then another. The result of
three attacks is astonishing -- about 75 percent damage! Now, for
the last quarter of health, get close to the spider boss and
slash the crap out of it.


Inside the house

Objective: Slash the wall panels to uncover hidden rooms.

Find the room with the large dragon (behind the panels).

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Slash the panels, then head to the top of the stairs, where
you'll see a corpse with the Technique of Unrivaled Soaring, and
a destructible wall panel across the large picture of a tiger,
revealing a giant dragon statue in the middle of the room.

From the doorway, take the right path for Red Essence in a chest
by the burning wall. Next, take the left path for Grains of
Spiritual Life under the stairs, and to fight two archers in a
room. Behind the archers is an arrow dump by the wall,
accompanied by destructible wall panels painted with in tree
motif. Slash the panels to uncover a Statue of the Earth Dragon
and a set of stairs behind wall panels.


Stairs

Objective: Slash the panels near the corpse at the top of the
stairs.

Solve the pedestal puzzle by finding the Vermillion Jewel and the
Ultramarine Jewel.

At the top of the stairs, you'll find a corpse with the Technique
of Unrivaled Soaring, and a destructible wall panel across the
large picture of a tiger, revealing a giant dragon statue in the
middle of the room.

Scroll: The Technique of Unrivaled Soaring
Location: Slash the panels near the Statue of the Earth Dragon,
and head towards the top of the stairs.
While running on a wall, press the A button to jump, then hold L
to run along the next wall.

Puzzle: The pedestal

To solve the puzzle, you must acquire two jewels, the Vermillion
and Ultramarine Jewel, found on either side of the room with
giant dragon. Starting on the balcony with the pedestal, perform
the Technique of Unrivaled Soaring to run across the wall and
onto the adjacent balcony. Tear down the panels, fight off the
archers, and grab the glowing jewels from the mantle against the
wall.

* Left side of the room: Vermillion Jewel.
* Right side of the room: Ultramarine Jewel

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To solve the puzzle, you must acquire two jewels, the Vermillion
and Ultramarine Jewel, found on either side of the room with
giant dragon.
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Starting on the balcony with the pedestal, perform the Technique
of Unrivaled Soaring to run across the wall and onto the adjacent
balcony.



Arrows in your face: Archers are annoying, especially when they
shoot you during the Technique of Unrivaled Soaring, so kill the
archers with arrows before running across the wall.

Crystal Skull

Location: After picking up the Ultramarine Jewel, walk through
the adjacent storage closet and inspect the wooden counters for a
Crystal Skull.

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When both jewels are in the pedestals, the dragon will lower its
mouth, and a green circle will appear by the dragon. Shoot an
arrow at the green circle. Now, Fast jump (X+A button) into the
dragon's mouth, then climb through the hole in the wall to go on
the roof.


On the roof

Head towards the top of the roof and enter a hole in the wall.


Top floor

Objective: Collect the Life of the Gods and a Lives of a Thousand
Gods before going up the stairs to the top floor. There, open the
screen door to trigger a cut-scene depicting Joe and Genshin
fighting.

Through the hole, you'll see stairs on your right, a Lives of a
Thousand Gods in a chest beyond the stairs, and a hole on the
ground taking you to the bottom floor, where you can save your
game at the Statue of the Earth Dragon, and buy items from
Muramasa's Shop. Climb the ladder between the Statue and the shop
to get back to the top.


Up the stairs

Head down the stairs for the Life of the Gods on a corpse near
the flaming wall.

Open the screen door on the other side of the room, triggering a
cut-scene depicting Joe and Genshin in a conflict.
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The screen door.


Boss: Genshin

Attacks

* Flying Swallow: It's hard to tell when Genshin will perform
a Flying Swallow. The best advice is staying in guard and dodging
to the sides.
* Back evasive, then charge attack: A fakeout move. Genshin
jumps back, evading most frontal attacks, then executes a quick
charge attack. Don't bother guarding the charge attack. When you
see Genshin jump back, dodge to the side and attack him after the
charge attack.
* The Wind Blades: Keep running or dodging to the side.
* Cartwheel attack: A slow moving cartwheel across the
ground. Since it's slow, you can easily spot it and react with a
block or a dodge. After blocking, you may execute a
counterattack; after dodging, combo with Light attacks.
* Five or six hit combo: Genshin loves this five/six hit
combo string. He'll attack you whenever you're close, and will
perform the combo in its entirety even if he misses and whiffs
the entire combo. When you see him begin the combo, immediately
dash around him, and attack with Light slashes after he completes
the combo. Rely on this strategy to deplete most of his life.

Risky tactics you should avoid

* Jumping is risky; he'll catch you in midair.
* Arrows are worthless; he'll Flying Swallow before you get
off a shot.
* The Art of the Inferno won't work well. As an offensive
strategy, the Art of the Inferno is not the greatest thing to use
but a good strategy is get him close and use it he will dodge it
but then you can let loose at him with your sword, but be quick
about it because he recovers fast.It wont work every time but it
works for me a lot. As a defensive strategy, the Art of the
Inferno is a success!



Usually, Genshin's first move is a Flying Swallow. Immediately
dodge to the sides when the match begins. Wait for Genshin to
begin his combo string, and then attack him with HEAVY (Y)
attacks when he whiffs the combo. Keep moving around the room
while staying in guard, and never jump to avoid his attack.

On the Mentor difficulty setting Genshin is joined by Flame
Ninjas. If you dash twice directly away from Genshin two Flame
Ninjas will jump right in front of you. It is possible to kill
them both quickly using the ultimate technique or obliteration
strategy before Genshin attacks you. There are several more Flame
Ninjas in the room and you should kill them before you go after
Genshin. If you plan on using Nimpo use it to kill the Flame
Ninjas, since it doesn't ever hit Genshin. Once all the Flame
Ninjas are dead you can focus on Genshin using the tips above.

Chapter 3: Thunderclap of Catastrophe

Key Items

* Art of the Wind Blades
* Crystal Skull (2)
* Test of Valor

Objective:

* Explore the sewers.

Alexei, one of the Four Greater Fiends, appears in New York,
where the Fiends are transforming New York City into a Fiend
Realm. Meanwhile, Elizebet has the Demon Statue.

From the start of the level, look straight and toward the right
for Muramasa's shop by the Fortune store. There's an Herb of
Spiritual Life behind Muramasa's shop in alley blocked by
building debris. Up ahead, you'll fight a menacing purple
creature, the Imp.
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The Imp.

With long sharp claws, gaunt arms, and an emaciated face, the Imp
is a tough opponent who relies on strong attacks and throws.
Blocking and counterattacking are almost useless, since Imps will
throw and break your guard. Stay on the move and slash their
bodies until a limb falls off, then execute an Obliteration. Or
use the Ultimate Technique (charged instantly if essence is
around or after a jump). You may use a Flying Swallow to get in
close, but don't spam it -- Imps block occasionally, and will
counterattack the Flying Swallow by hitting you in the air.

One of the most usefull weapons against Imps is the staff.
Crushing their arms and legs works better than cutting them off.
Also with the XXY attack you got almost an 80% chance of smashing
their heads and therefore killing them instantly! But don't
forget to keep on moving because they like to grab you a lot and
fire purple flames at you when far away.

Art of the Wind Blades: When you see the words Light Step in
yellow on a red sign, turn left and head down the alley. Take the
Art of the Wind Blade from the corpse on the ground under the
doorway.

Archers and Flame Ninjas will attack you in the alley. Refer to
the enemy section on how to attack them.

You can find a blue essence in a chest behind a taxi, near the
yellow Woodgroue Bank sign.


The stairs

While going up the stairs, you'll fight Flame Ninjas throwing
Incendiary shuriken, and several archers at the top of the floor.
Keep moving and dodging when fighting the ninjas, and try to
execute Obliterate kills and Ultimate Techniques. At the end of
the floor is a Statue of the Earth Dragon, and at the end of the
stairs is a Crystal Skull.

Crystal Skull

Location: At the top of the stairs.

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Statue of the Earth Dragon

After acquiring the Crystal Skull, go to the Statue of the Earth
Dragon, and look for a tiny alley by it. Perform a Flying Bird
Flip on the walls to reach the top of the building, where you'll
battle Flame Ninjas and Mages and Dragons.

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Look for a tiny alley by the Statue of the Earth Dragon, and
perform a Flying Bird Flip on the walls.


Dragons

A dragon flies in the air while spitting fireballs toward your
location. The fireballs move slowly, and can be dodged easily by
moving in a lateral direction. To kill a dragon, use a projectile
weapon -- an arrow, Incendiary shuriken, or a projectile Ninpo. A
fully charged arrow will kill a dragon; two Incendiary shuriken
will kill a dragon; and the Art of the Piercing Void or Art of
the Inferno will kill a dragon.

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To kill a dragon, use a projectile weapon -- an arrow, Incendiary
shuriken, or a projectile Ninpo.

If you're out of arrows, grab more arrows off the corpse on the
ground near the railing. Next, jump off the building and land on
the platforms below, not the streets. Before landing on the
streets, run across the wall towards the chest with Yellow
Essence on the adjacent platform. Then, prepare for a fight
against murderous wolves on the city street.


Wolves

The wolves are dangerous, to say the least. Gnawing, clawing,
pouncing -- part of the pack will be dangerously offensive, while
others stay in the background waiting to pounce when a teammate
is in trouble. The best way to handle them? The Art of the
Inferno. If you don't feel like wasting your Ninpo, perform
multiple Flying Swallows, moving and dodging to the sides, and
make sure to perform a finisher with the Y button when a wolf has
been amputated.

A nasty bite: When the wolves have you in their jaws, immediately
mash all the buttons and the Left analog stick. If quick enough,
you'll kick the wolves in the face and get away with minor
scratches.

Lost a lot of life? Open the chest at the back of the alley for
five balls of Blue Essence.

Shimmy across the wire

Now that the wolves are dead, return to the rooftop where you had
fought the dragons, and look for a long wire connecting two
buildings together. Be careful when you're shimmying on the wire,
because archers will shoot fire arrows. Shoot the archers with
arrows before shimmying across the wire. (Press the R trigger to
zoom in on a target.)

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Shimmy across the long wire connecting two buildings together.


The streets

Before jumping off the building through the break in the railing,
grab the Herb of Spiritual Life in the chest in the corner of the
rooftop. Then jump down to the city streets, where you'll battle
a group of Imps.
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Jump through the break in the railing.

The Herb of Spiritual Life is by the NYPD sign. When you see the
Litware and M Electronics signs, turn right and look for a corpse
carrying the notebook the Four Greater Fiends, part 1 in the
alley.

At the end of the street is a large hole on the ground leading
into the underground sewer. Jump down the hole.


Sewer

Save your game at Statue of the Earth Dragon before exploring the
narrow sewer. If you're having problems fighting the Imps, refer
to the Enemy section. Don't get trapped in the corner, and use
the Art of the Inferno if you don't have time to dodge.

The corpse by the ladder carries a Jewel of the Demon Seal. Next,
get above ground and look for an opened cell door, which takes
you further down into the sewer.


Running obstacle

Use the Technique of Shadowless Footsteps to run across the brick
wall, followed by a jump towards the pipe. Repeat this step to
cross the gap.
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Use the Technique of Shadowless Footsteps to run across the brick
wall, followed by a jump towards the pipe.

If you fall off, swim to the surface, and grab the Notebook
Unrivaled Soaring from the corpse near the stairs. The path
towards the top is disconnected, so you must run across the wall
and jump to the adjacent wall.

Notebook: Unrivaled Soaring by Heijuro
Location: After falling off the wall, you'll land in a pool of
water. Climb out and look for the corpse by the stairs.

Run across the brick walls

All the obstacles in the sewer involve running across the wall
and/or grabbing onto a pipe. Remember, if you're standing before
a large gap, look for a brick wall to run on. If you see an enemy
on the opposite side, shoot charged arrows before crossing the
gap. (Headshots with a charged arrow work beautifully.)

Notebook: The Technique of the Invisible Path
Location: After the Statue of the Earth Dragon, before you shimmy
across the wire.

Crystal Skull

Location: A bit past Muramasa's shop. Run across the two brick
walls and jump from one wall to the other wall.
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When you've acquired the Crystal Skull jump in the waters below,
and swim around the area for the Life of the Gods in a chest.


The fan room

Objective: Shoot the glowing blue orb on the fan.

The room is divided into sections and blocked by spinning giant
fans. To stop a fan, you must shoot the blue orb with an arrow,
upon which opens a new section of the room. Explore the room and
shoot the blue circles on the fan. When you're moving under the
fan blades, look for a hole in the top left corner of a fan. You
can't reach this area by jumping alone, though. Run across the
wall and jump towards a pipe jutting from the wall before jumping
through the hole. Falling down the shaft, you'll land in a pool
of water. Continue to be submerged under water and look for an
opening along the walls, then swim through the pipe until
emerging onto a dilapidated part of the sewer. There, you can
save your game at the Statue of the Earth Dragon.

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Run across the wall and jump towards a pipe jutting from the wall
before jumping through the hole.

At this point in the sewer, dive under water and look for an
opened pipe that you can swim through. Save your game at the
Statue of the Earth Dragon before going up the brick building,
where archers and Imp will try to ambush you.


The brick building

Archers and Imps are found throughout the building. To kill the
archers, shoot them with charged arrows; the Imps, kill them with
Ultimate Techniques and Obliteration kills, and if you're far
from them, shoot their heads off with a charged arrow. Finally,
when you've killed them, run across the walls before jumping onto
another wall. Outside the building is a Statue of the Earth
Dragon on a platform that's out of reach. For now.

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Archers and Imps are found throughout the building.

Up ahead on the path, you'll see large stairs crafted into a
rocky hill, on which is a corpse carrying the notebook of the
Invisible Path.

Notebook: Invisible Path by Sadamichi
Location: On the rocky stairs below Muramasa's shop.


The rocky hill

On this hill are Statue of the Earth Dragon, Muramasa's shop, and
the Test of Valor. The Test of Valor can only be initiated if you
have the Rod of Trials found in Chapter 2. Don't have the Rod of
Trials? Sorry, but you'll have to reset your game and play
Chapter 2 again.

Test of Valor

Reward: Lives of a Thousand Gods

Mages and Flame Ninjas are your first test, their sheer number
overpowering those who are too slow to reach to their advances.
Flame Ninjas are naturally aggressive, so be prepared to dodge
and jump a lot during the battle. Read the enemy strategies in
the SuperGuide for detailed instructions on how to beat the
Archers and Flame Ninja.

The best way to handle the mobs of regular ninjas is as follows:
If the Falcon's Talons upgraded to level 2, you have access to
the very powerful Izuna Drop technique, with the added benefit of
it being very easy to pull off with the claws. Simply jump
towards an enemy and press the Y button (as if you were doing a
Flying Swallow with the Dragon Sword). Ryu will zoom towards an
enemy and automatically knock them upward, after that quickly
press X then Y to have Ryu deliver a powerful spinning
piledriver. Not only does it grant you invincibility frames
during the throw animation, but also has a high chance of
outright killing the enemy you grabbed upon completion of the
throw. As a bonus, it does splash damage to surrounding enemies
when you impact the ground, affording you valuable breathing
room.

Another useful technique is the Guillotine Throw. When you have
the Dragon Sword equipped, jump towards an enemy and press X and
A simultaneously. Ryu will toss the enemy, using them as an
improvised projectile against other enemies and putting distance
between you and the target. Remember, if you a Flame Ninja sticks
you with a Incendiary shuriken, hold block (R shoulder button)
until the shuriken explodes.

And don't worry about wasting Ninpo! Your Ki will refill in full
after the test.

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Train tracks

Save at the Statue of the Earth Dragon before exploring the train
and the train tracks, where you'll fight a group of Imps. Beyond
the Imp is the chapter boss, a flying metallic �fish?


Boss: Fish
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Attacks

* Flying fish: Can't be blocked. You must run and dodge to
the sides. When killed, the Flying Fish may give you Yellow or
Blue Essence. Can be killed with a single uncharged arrow. If
you are quick enough you can tap B to rapid fire arrows at them
as they approach.
* Electrocution: The fish sends out electricity when you're
too close to its body. Can't be blocked.
* Electric Balls: Dash to the sides in order to avoid the
electric balls.
* Ram: Catches you in his mouth and scrapes you against the
wall.
* Ghost Mask: A slow moving projectile that tracks your
movement. Use Ninpo to avoid the mask. The mask has a hard time
making sharp turns, if you are quick you can easily avoid it by
running to the side of it. It will explode before it has a
chance to turn around and you will avoid the blast. This tactic
works best from the center of the room.

Weakpoint: The head and when it's upside down.
Strategy: Shoot the head with arrows and hit the body with your
melee weapon ONLY when it's upside down.

The boss battle is dependant on arrows. But what if you don't
have any arrows? Luckily for you, there are corpses on either end
of the tunnel that replenish your arrow supply. Arrows will
provide a reliable source of damage, however the boss will
occasionally flip upside down and become vulnerable to melee
attacks. While the boss is upside down the electrocution attack
becomes disabled temporarily. During this time melee attacks
will deal crushing blows to the boss.

Once you have the arrows, get into the corner of the room (we
chose the left corner at the starting point) and shoot arrows at
the fish's head. Remember, the head is the boss' weakest point,
so don't waste your shots by shooting anything but the head.
Charge your shots fully before firing. If you're having problems
aiming, zoom in on the boss by press the R shoulder button. Some
players may prefer to stand around the middle of the room,
especially if they want to try the melee tactic. It is easier to
avoid the boss's attacks in the center of the room and you won't
have to rely on ninpo invincibility either.


Watching the video, you can tell that our strategy was crude yet
simple. We stood in the corner firing charged arrows at the boss'
head, and once in a while, executed an Art of the Inferno Ninpo
whenever the boss attacked us. The reason for the Ninpo? The
Ninpo wasn't meant for damage but for protection. When activating
a Ninpo, you'll immediately enter an invincibility state,
interrupting any enemy attack, until the Ninpo completes its
animations frames. The invincibility advantage is incredibly
helpful in this boss battle!

Read the boss thread for more information about the boss.

Chapter 4: A Captive Goddess

Key Items

* Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang
* Life of the Gods
* Jewel of the Demon Seal
* Crystal Skull (3)
* Test of Valor

Objectives

* Get out of the sewers.
* Explore Liberty Island.
* Beat Alexei



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"Even the greatest slumber can be disrupted."

Subway

Greater Fiend Alexei has transformed the Statue of Liberty on
Liberty Island. The subway is a linear path leading towards
street level, and throughout the chapter, you'll fight Flame
Ninjas and Imps. Before fighting the Flame Ninjas in the subway,
upgrade the Dragon Sword and buy health items at Muramasa's Shop.
For most players, the difficulty will get much harder when
fighting Imps and Dragons in the subway boarding stations. (Refer
to enemy strategies for ways to beat them.) Eventually, you'll
have to go through an Exit sign, and run up a flight of stairs,
where you can save your game at Statue of the Earth Dragon.


The turnstile

You'll fight Mages and Black Spider Ninjas in the boarding area.
Keep moving and target the Mages first before killing the Black
Spider Ninjas. Refer to the enemy strategies if you want specific
ways to kill them. Just remember: Ultimate Techniques and
Obliteration kills are your best friends. In the office is an
Herb of Spiritual Life in a chest by the wall. Finally, exit
through the turnstile below the red Exit sign. A Devil Way
Mushroom is at the end of the hall. Use the save spot again
before you leave the subway.
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Exit the subway through the turnstile below the red Exit sign.

Clue: Explosive force is needed to break through this grating. So
stand close to the grating and throw an Incendiary shuriken, then
walk up the stairs to street level.
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Stand close to the grating and throw an Incendiary shurikenl.


The streets

Wolves with knifes and Incendiary shurikens will immediately
attack you outside the sewers. Use this strategy: In the air, use
repeated Flying Swallows. On the ground, run around the perimeter
and blindly throw Incendiary shurikens. If the wolves have you in
their jaws, immediately mash all the buttons and the Left analog
stick. If quick enough, you'll kick the wolves in the face and
get away with minor scratches.

There's an Herb of Spirtual Life on the corpse in the narrow
alley past the Coin Laundry, and Red Essence behind some
barrels.

Crystal Skull

Location: Be sure to grab the Crystal Skull here in this same
alley. It's sitting on a fire escape platform above the alley
facing the corpse. Just look up and you can't miss it. You will
need to come from the far left alley, facing the direction of the
skull. Use the Invisible Path jump technique here. Start with the
right wall, jump across to the left, and then around the corner
to the right, landing on the left side of the platform with the
skull.


Rooftop

When you see the Statue of the Earth, save your game before
climbing up the adjacent ladder. On the rooftop, several feet
from the ladder, you'll see the Jewel of the Demon Seal on the
corpse pierced by a sword. And a little bit beyond the Jewel of
the Demon Seal, inspect the corpse by the guard railing for
Incendiary shuriken. After you defeat the enemies go back to the
ladder from whence you just came. If you look you should see
another ledge across the way from the ladder. This may only apply
to mentor I'm not sure, but you get a Talisman of Rebirth in the
chest to the right as you land.

The end of the rooftop is blocked by a yellow car and a chest, so
you'll have to find another way out. By following the wall, you
should see a flattened section of the wall, and a ladder and a
Crystal Skull in the background. You can jump down near the
crystal skull to find Muramasa's Shop and a chest with Life of
the Gods (you will also encounter a few more Imps here). Use the
Flying Bird Technique to reach the top of the building, fight
through the Imps. Then climb a ladder up to another rooftop,
where you'll see a Statue of the Earth Dragon. Save you game now,
just in case you die during the fight against miniboss.

Crystal Skull
Location: On the rooftop across the building with the yellow car
and the chest.

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Miniboss

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Attacks

* Wind Breath: You can't block the Wind Breath. Dodge to the
sides and keep running in one direction.
* Grab: A sudden grab that takes a substantial amount of
life. The grab is hard to dodge.
* Rock throw: The miniboss hurls rocks. Pretty simple, right?
Run and dodge to the sides in one direction to avoid the rock.
* Ground pound: The miniboss throws its hands in the air
before slamming them to the ground. The ground pound has limited
range, but it comes out fairly quickly, and inflicts moderate
damage. React with a dodge or a Ninpo when you see the boss
throws its hands in the air.
* Giant Swing: Swing its hand across the floor, sweeping
anything around it. The Giant Swing is a quick attack, and hard
to predict. The best strategy is too jump up once in a while
after an attack. Usually, the miniboss will retaliate with a
Giant Swing after you've attacked it. Guess its behavior, and
jump to dodge the attack.

Strategy: Stay close to the miniboss and slash its weakpoints.
Stay close to the sides and back of the miniboss, even beneath
the boss, and slash its weakpoints. By staying close to the
miniboss, you limit its options to just close range attacks.
Which means: No rock throws! When you sense an attack, use the
Art of the Inferno Ninpo for the invincibility, then continue
your assault. After several slashes, the miniboss will slump to
the ground and be inactive for a brief time. Take advantage of
the situation and mash the slash!

Alternate Strategy: Stay as far away from the boss as possible
running around the periphery of the map, run on the walls and
stuff. When you get as far away as possible release a charged
arrow into his head. He should got down in about ten charged
shots. If you keep running you won't even get hit.


The Statue of Liberty

The museum inside the Statue of Liberty contains several
interesting items. First, you can save your game at Statue of the
Earth Dragon behind glass. Just break the glass to use it.
Second, pick up the Incendiary shuriken in the glass case. Third,
grab the weapon Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang behind the glass
next to the Incendiary shuriken. Finally, if you have the Rod of
Trials, take the Test of Valor featuring tons of dangerous Imps.

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Incendiary shurkens on the left; Dragon's Claws and Tiger's Fang
on the right.

And, oh, slash the panels in the back of the room for a special
surprise: an Easter egg shaped as the Xbox 360 logo.

Easter Egg: Xbox 360
Location: In the museum in the Statue of Liberty. Slash the
panels in the back of the room to uncover the Easter egg.

The Easter egg restores life, not Ninpo.

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Notebook: The Vigoor Mythology
Location: On the wall near the Xbox Easter egg.

Test of Valor
Reward: Talisman of Rebirth\Yellow Essence 20'000 (Possess
Talisman of Rebirth already)

Close attacks are dangerous when fighting Imps, whose arms have
incredible range, and enough strength to seriously drain your
health. This may sounds like a paradox, but using repeated Flying
Swallow, and dodging to the sides after landing on the ground
will decrease the chance of being hit by a random melee attack.
If the risk involved in a Flying Swallow bothers you, try your
best to use Obliteration Kills. Refer to the general strategies
section for offensive tips such as Incendiary Shuriken spamming
and Obliteration Kills.



Outside the museum

Remember to save your game at the Statue of the Earth Dragon
before heading into the next room, where you'll fight a big
battle involving Mages and Black Spider Ninjas. Spend your time
hunting the Mages around the room, and kill them first before
attacking the other ninjas. If you're badly hurt, return to the
Xbox Easter egg or the Statue of the Earth Dragon in order to
refill your life. A Devil Way Mushroom is on a corpse on the
bottom floor. Finally, when you're ready to leave the room, head
up upstairs to the second floor, where you must wall run across a
gap, and then exit the room through an opened door.

Outside the statue

The Imps here are nothing special. Refer to the enemy strategies
on how to deal with them. There's an Herb of Spiritual Life in a
chest by the stairs. Then, run up the stairs towards the Statue
of Liberty.


Statue of Liberty

Ignore the flying creatures and get inside the Statue of Liberty;
they won't hurt you if you're standing outside the door of the
Statue of Liberty. Inside, ignore the elevator shaft in the
middle of the room (for now), and look for the Lives of a
Thousand Gods in an alcove on the first floor. But wait! We have
other things to do before heading up the elevator shaft. Run up
the stairs towards the Statue of the Earth Dragon and save your
game. Now, here's the crucial part: look over the railing to spot
the faint image of a Crystal Skull in the corner of the room. Get
it!
Crystal Skull
Location: On the rafts in the corner of the room. Go up the
stairs towards the Statue of the Earth Dragon, then look over the
railing and towards the right corner in the room.

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Finally, the Crystal Skull collected, you're ready for the
elevator. Get inside the elevator shaft in the middle of the room
and perform the Bird Flip to the top of the second floor. Be
prepared for archers and other ninjas.

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Bird Flip to the top of the second floor.

On this floor is a door leading to a balcony, where a pack of
dragons hover above the door and a chest contains the Life of the
Gods. Don't waste your time attacking the dragons! Just run
towards the chest and grab the Life of the Gods without fighting
the dragons.

Before the stairs is Muramasa's Shop.


The stairs

Instead of walking up the stairs, you could use a shortcut and
save yourself some time. Pay close attention the guard rail when
walking up the stairs -- there's a cut in the railing that you
can use as a shortcut. Jump over the cut in the stairs, and align
your body to the vertical beam that acts like a long wall. And
guess what? Since it's like a long wall, you can use it to Bird
Flip to the top.
600x290
First pic is the cut in the railing; the second, the path on
which to Bird Flip.


Boss: Alexei

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Attacks

* Tornado: Alexei spins like a tornado across the floor,
tracking your location. The move is easy to spot due to its long
start up time. When you see Alexei start to spin, don't think
about dodging but immediately execute a Ninpo for its
invincibility. Alexei is very vulnerable after the Tornado
attack.
* Grab: A quick short range grab that inflicts tremendous
damage. The throw's quickness makes it hard to react accordingly.
So, as a preemptive measurement, you should constantly dodge to
the sides in order to avoid the throw.
* Lightning: When Alexei flies in the air, he'll attack by
throwing lighting that tracks onto your last location. Run and
jump in one direction to avoid the lightning attacks. But the
easiest strategy is to use Ninpo when he gets in the air and when
you see Alexei gather electricity in his hands.
* Electric balls: Projectiles that can't be blocked. Dodge to
the side to avoid them, but don't jump during the evasion! After
the electric balls, Alexei may execute a flying grab to snatch
you out of the air.

Risky tactics you should avoid

* Don't throw arrows and Incendiary Shuriken -- they're
worthless against Alexei.
* Counterattacking is very difficult. Don't try it on Alexei,
as he'll block the counters and respond with a grab.

Weakpoints: His body.

Strategy: The Flying Swallow works well. Light Slashes (X button)
at his body.


Alexei loves to start the round with a bang -- when the match
starts, Alexei rushes towards you with a grab. So, predicting his
behavior, open the match with a quick dodge to the sides,
followed by three Flying Swallows. If the Flying Swallow connects
when Alexei is executing his move, he should be temporarily
stunned, on his knees, vulnerable to attacks for a long time. Get
in close and hack away. When you see Alexei recover, immediately
back off the attack and dodge to the sides, just so you can avoid
his lethal grab.

Chapter 5: The Aqua Capital

Key Items

* Kusari-gama
* Spirit of the Devils
* Crystal Skull (3)
* Life of the Gods (2)
* Talisman of Rebirth(2)
* Gatling gun
* Test of Valor

Objectives

* Go through the Aqua Captial
* Get the Gatling gun in waters surrounding the water
fountain
* Get the Bridge Gate Key in the room by Muramasa's shop
* Fight the water dragon

Elizebet plans to unleash the power of the statue. Meanwhile, the
Greater Fiend Volf, Ruler of Storms, has turned a Gothic castle
into an evil fortress. You'll find nothing interesting at the
start of the Aqua Capital, a Venice-like city punctuated with
water canals, except the occasional Yellow Essence from the
enemies and Muramasa's shop by the stairs. The gondolas around
the perimeter have nothing in them, but later in the chapter, you
should take the time to inspect every gondola in case something
wonderful happens to be there. Case in point: a Crystal Skull.
The large reservoir is empty of any items.

Take a minute to look around and move down the path while
avoiding the water. You are attacked by several Flame Ninjas and
Ninja Mages. Take them down in any way you see fit. Head up the
stairs after purchasing items from Muramasa.

Running across the water: Jump on the surface of the water, then
move the analog stick in a direction while repeatedly pressing
the A button.

Flying Swallow over water: Repeated Flying Swallow is much faster
than running on water. Run across the water, and then press the Y
button over and over.


Up the stairs

Before you cross the bridge, follow the guard rails around the
path and down the stairs. Here, you'll fight against a new enemy:
the Giant Wolf Fiend. Despite their menacing appearance, the
Giant Wolf Fiends are slow but powerful, relying on sudden grabs
and throws, and much like the Imps. Keep agile but beware of long
combos. The Dragon Sword seems to be the best weapon for them.
Isolate a Giant Wolf Fiend and focus your energy on executing the
Obliteration kill strategy. The hard part, though, is fighting
them when they're in packs. Some Giant Wolf Fiends stand in the
background, watching your actions without showing the slightest
signs of aggression, while others will actively pursue you with a
languid claw strike. If the Giant Wolf Fiends surround you, jump
and bounce off their hands to land behind their backs, then
attack.

When you've killed the Giant Wolf Fiends, make sure to pick up
the Kusari-gama, a weapon made from a sickle with a chain and
weight, off the corpse, then head towards the canal, where a
Crystal Skull is on a seat of a gondola. You can find Red Essence
in a chest by a gondola in the area across the pier, where you
had fought the Giant Wolf Fiends. Grab it. Flying fiends, a new
foe, will attack you, but they are fairly easy to defeat; just
try and avoid water combat. Continue back up the stairs and cross
the bridge.

270x200Weapon: Kusari-gama
Location: Head up the stairs, and look for a corpse before the
bridge

Crystal Skull
Location: Found near the start of the chapter. Walk up the stairs
by Muramasa's shop and follow the guard rails to the part of the
level away from the bridge. Head down the stairs and towards the
water, where the Crystal Skull sits in a gondola.
600x290


Over the bridge and into the marketplace

Cross the bridge and head through the marketplace, where you'll
fight a pack of Giant Wolf Fiends. Try not to die in the
marketplace, as you'll be forced to repeat everything you've done
in the chapter -- getting the Crystal Skull, fighting off the
Giant Wolf Fiends, and picking up the Kusari-gama. The Statue of
the Earth Dragon is in a small room at the end of the
marketplace. To your left there will be a door. Kick it in and
defeat all the Wolf Fiends using quick rolls and moves with the
Dragon Sword.

Random acts of destruction: Destroy the wooden crates for Yellow
Essence.

Café

A reservation for�one? Well, more like a reservation for
10, considering the amount of Giant Wolf Fiends in the café.
Repeat the Obliteration kill strategy on the Giant Wolf Fiends,
and before leaving the café, check the table by the entrance for
a Crystal Skull.

Crystal Skull

Location: On a table by the entrance of the café.
600x338


The streets

The street splits into two directions after the bridge. The left
path continues farther into the city; the right path leads to a
street that splits into two dead-ends. Turn right after the
bridge, then travel across another bridge, and take the right
path. Bird Flip up the narrow alley towards the patio, where a
corpse on the ground holds the Talisman of Rebirth. Get back to
street level and walk to the opposite end of the street, where
you'll find Yellow Essence in a chest. Now, retrace your steps,
going back to the bridge, to take the left path found after the
first bridge.

600x290
The street splits into two directions after the bridge. Bird
Flip up the wall for the Talisman of Rebirth.


Water fountain/ mausoleum

Be on the look out for such rare items as the Spirit of the
Devils and the Gatling gun in the area with the water fountain.
The Gatling gun is in a chest submerged under water around the
water fountain, while the Spirit of the Devils is on a corpse in
the area across the water fountain. When you have both items,
dive into the water surrounding the fountain, and swim through
the corridor next to the chest containing the Gatling gun.

Spirit of the Devils

Location: A corpse on the opposite end of the water fountain.
Purpose: Use it to increase Ninpo.
600x338

Weapon: Gatling Spear Gun
Location: Found under water in a chest around the water fountain
Note: In order to use the gun, you must be in the water, not on
land.

Head into the mausoleum and be prepared to face the flying fiends
and more Wolf Fiends. Kill them. In the center is a fountain.
Jump inside and open the chest to receive the Gatling gun, a
weapon you will use in many underwater confrontations. Swim
through the whole and into a new area. There are some floating
enemies who do not attack you, but will explode if you go near.
Shoot them and test out your new weapon.

600x338
The fountain.



Canal

As you swim through the canal, Water Wyrms will immediately come
from the opposite direction and attack. A Water Wyrm has
incredible speed and strength, gliding over water effortlessly,
and slashing opponents with long, sharp claws. It's a rare to
see Water Wyrms attack in big packs. Instead, they travel in
groups of three or four, all rushing towards your location with
murderous intent, and if you're not careful, you will immediately
die. To fight the Wyrms, fire the Gatling if you're in the water
-- spin Ryu around while firing shots into the water. If you're
on land, perform repeated Flying Swallows and dodge when you
land. Obliteration kills work well, too.
Crystal Skull

Location: There is a Crystal Skull under the water. Once you
clear the first rush of Wyrms in the water, find a short alley to
your right, where a number of floating jellyfish swim. Unload
your gatling gun on them and they will respawn for a while. Once
they're dead, swim down the alley and a Crystal Skull awaits you
in an alcove to your left.


600x338
A Water Wyrm has incredible speed and strength, gliding over
water effortlessly, and slashing opponents with long, sharp
claws.


Street

Objective: Open the locked gate

At the end of the canal is a Statue of the Earth Dragon in a room
by the pier. Run up the stairs and exit the door to the streets,
where you'll fight Imps and dragons. Refer to the enemy
strategies on ways to beat them. At the end of the road, you'll
see Muramasa's shop by a gate, and a building with a slightly
opened door. Inspect the door to make Ryu kick it open, and then
search the desk to grab Hinomaru's Notebook. Now, check the
corner of the room for a chest containing Bridge Gate Key. Use
the key to unlock the gate in the opposite area across Muramasa's
shop.
600x338
Inspect the door to make Ryu kick it open.



The coliseum

The Giant Wolf Fiends after the locked gate aren't much of a
problem. Sure, you could fight them to collect Yellow Essence and
risk getting hurt, but you could simply run through the coliseum
without fighting a single Giant Wolf Fiend. Well, that is until
you reach the bridge over the green water. Here, the objective is
to shoot the glowing green orbs on the other side of the bridge.
By shoot the green orbs with arrows, a wire stretching from your
location to the other side will magically appear.
600x338
Shoot the glowing green orbs on the other side of the bridge.



270x200 But what if you don't have any arrows? Head back to the
entrance of the coliseum, where a corpse on the ground can refill
your entire supply of arrows.


The wire

Shimmy across the wire and onto the other side. When you're about
to get off the wire, look below your feet to spot a chest
containing the Life of the Gods. Jump into the water after
picking up the Life of the Gods, and follow the canal to the
watermills.


Watermill

Jellyfish infest the water around the watermill. If touched, the
jellyfish explodes like a mine. Fire the Galting gun before
venturing towards the left side of the watermill; otherwise, a
stray jellyfish may appear out of nowhere (they respawn in the
weirdest places) and hit you out of the water!

Essence Farming: The jellyfish appear to spawn for quite some
time, though it may seem like for ever, around the watermills.
Keep shooting them with the Gatling gun until you're tired of
farming for Yellow Essence.

Standing on the wooden platform before the turning watermill,
time your jump so that you catch one of the many iron bars on the
wheel. Then, when the wheel takes you higher up, swing off the
bar and land on another wooden platform. There's a smaller wheel
by the wooden platform -- use this to reach the wooden cog laid
horizontally over the smaller wheel. Jump through the little slit
in the wall to enter the building.

600x290

Standing on the wooden platform before the turning watermill,
time your jump so that you catch one of the many iron bars on the
wheel.

Inside, jump towards the spinning circular bar, and ride it
towards the chest containing the Lives of a Thousand Gods on the
wooden platform. Get outside and kill the Giant Wolf Fiends
before saving your game at the Statue of the Earth Dragon. The
next battle will be tough.


Wyrm Battle

The Water Wyrm is a creature possessing incredible speed and
strength. It glides over water effortlessly, slashes opponents
with long, sharp claws, and burrows under the ground only to pop
up with a vicious rising attack. They travel in groups of four
or five, all rushing towards your location with murderous intent,
and if you're not careful, you will immediately die.

600x338
The Water Wyrm is a creature possessing incredible speed and
strength.

To fight the Wyrms, perform repeated Flying Swallows and dodge
when you land. In short, you must constantly move and dodge in
order to avoid their fast attacks. Another strategy, while risky,
is to use Obliteration kills. But that means one thing: staying
close enough to hurt them with slash attacks. When you spot a
group of Wyrm, use repeated Flying Swallows; if you can isolate
one or two Wyrms, use Obliteration kills.


Wine Cellar

The wine cellar has a total of four rooms, each containing
something special such as an Herb of Spiritual Life or Blue
Essence. But, above all, the most valuable commodity is the
Copper Key that unlocks the chest containing the Art of the Flame
Phoenix, a Ninpo calling on the powers of the phoenix that
envelop your body until being hit by an enemy. Before exiting the
wine cellar through the well, make sure to get the Copper Key and
the Art of the Flame Phoenix.

Room 1: Muramasa's Shop
Room 2: Blue essence in a chest

The first two rooms are separated by a storing room filled with
large wine barrels. There are two additional rooms after the
storing room, one of which contains the Copper Key.
600x338
Picture of the storing room filled with large wine barrels.

Room 3: Copper Key in the chest
Location: Immediately after the storing room, turn left and head
up the stairs, where the copper key is placed in the chest.

Now that you have the copper key, back track to the storage room,
and look for a gate. Behind the gate is the Art of the Flame
Phoenix.
270x200Scroll: The Art of the Flame Phoenix
Location: Open the gate near the storage room with the Copper
Key.
Summon birds of fire to defend you and set your foes ablaze.

Room 4: Herb of Spiritual Life and Yellow Essence and the exit.
Location: Beyond the room with the Copper Key.

In this room is a well covered by a cracked wooden panel. You
must apply vertical force to break the cover open, so stand on
the panel, then jump and press the Y button for a hard vertical
slash to the ground.

600x338
Stand on the panel, then jump and press the Y button for a hard
vertical slash to the ground.


Underground

Down through the well, you crash into water, several hundred feet
below the city. Right when you land, you'll see a Test of Valor,
and a Statue of the Earth Dragon just beyond it. Save your game
before attempting the Test of Valor. This time, the Test of Valor
will be your hardest challenge yet.

Test of Valor
Reward: Jewel of the Demon Seal

The combination of winged creatures and Giant Wolf Fiends makes
this Test of Valor very, very difficult. Both enemies can shoot
projectiles: the winged creatures spews projectiles from its
mouth, and the Giant Wolf Fiends throws any body parts it can
find -- arms, legs, torsos, heads. A dangerous team, they will
drive you towards the edge of frustration.

Approach the fight in a systematic manner. Isolate one enemy as
opposed to tackling everyone at once. In this case, the easiest
enemy is the winged creature, who can be killed by firing arrows
or Incendiary shurikens. Run around the area while firing your
projectiles at the winged creatures. In other words, execute the
Incendiary shuriken spam strategy. We'll worry about the Giant
Wolf Fiends later, when you've killed all the winged creatures.

Fight the Giant Wolf Fiends when you've killed all the winged
creatures. Now the fight is much easier. Refer to the enemy
strategies on how kill the Giant Wolf Fiends. The gist:
Obliteration kills. Watch out for random bodies thrown in your
direction -- an annoying tactic, sure, but a manageable problem
if you're constantly dodging. Also, don't be stingy with the
Ninpos! After the test, your ki will be replenished in full.
600x338

After the test, get to the end of the room and dive in the water.
Swim through the water tunnel and find the Skull Key in a chest.
A cut-scene depicting the boss will start after you pick up the
Skull Key.

Before grabbing the Skull Key, look for the Talismen of Rebirth
at the back of the room/ center of stadium seats, and swim in the
water, both to the left and the right, for two chests containing
a Devil's Ways Mushroom and a Herb of Spirtual Life.

600x338
The Skull Key.



Boss: Water Dragon

600x338

Attacks

* Tentacles: Long pieces of hard skeleton from the dragon's
back. If you touch the tentacles in the water, the water dragon
will toss you in the air and catch you in its mouth before
crushing your tiny body in its jaw.
* Flying Ghost Fish: Annoying little creatures, the Ghost
Fish fly from the water dragon's body to your location, tracking
wherever you go. When hit, you're pulled down into the water,
suffering minor damages from their tiny jagged teeth. Best way to
avoid them is to slash the air when the fish are flying towards
you.
* Spike projectiles: Long white projectiles that hurt more in
the water than on the surface of the water. Hard to avoid and
painfully damaging, the spike projectiles is one of the dragon's
most damaging attacks, second only to its powerful jaws. Dodging
to the sides is too risky. Instead, execute a Ninpo when you see
the projectiles flying towards you.
* Breath attack: One of the few attacks that you can go for
head shots. The breath is unblockable, so avoid it by activating
a Ninpo.
* Falling move: Falls on you and somehow grabs you in its
jaws. Mash to escape before the dragon crushes the life out of
you.

Weak spot: The head

Run while slashing: Ryu can still slash at an enemy while running
across the surface of the water. Repeatedly press the A button to
initiate a run, then hold the analog stick in a direction while
pressing the X or Y button.


Strategy

The water dragon usually opens the match with projectiles. As a
preemptive maneuver, dive into the water to avoid the
projectiles, then pop back to the surface, and run on the water
while slashing its body or head. In an ideal situation, the
dragon's head should be around water level, which is the right
height to connect with standing slashes. The volley of
projectiles is usually followed by the unblockable breath attack.
At this point, Ninpo or try to dodge and immediate counterattack.
The breath attack is one of the few moves exposing the dragon's
head. Take advantage of this situation and slash the head!

Another risky strategy is executing repeated Flying swallow on
the water. (Run across the water and press the Y button.) The
Flying Swallow has a good chance of targeting the dragon's head,
though the strategy is inconsistent. Sometimes you hit the head;
sometimes you'll completely whiff the Flying Swallow, exposed to
a dangerous counterattack.

Another strategy is to stay on the ledge at the beginning of the
fight. Use nimpo for invincibility. Then hit the dragon with your
charged up bow. If you jump of the ledge, you won't be able to
return to it, so shoot the arrows and then finish it off up close
with the Dragon Sword.

I found the newly armed Kusari-gama worked very well here due to
its tremendous reach, you can attack the Dragon without having to
enter the water right away, perhaps if this is combined with bow
attacks it could work very well, but I didnt even find that
necessary.

Alternate Strategy: Immediately dive into the water and swim as
close as possible to the dragon. You can swim right into his
chest at the base of his neck under water. You can now simply
attack at will. Occassionally you will be pulled away by the
boss' grab move and attacked by the ghost fish but you are much
less vulnerable here than anywhere else in the room.

Chapter 6: The Lycanthropes' Castle

Key Items

* Crystal Skulls (3)
* First Crystal Skull: You will see Muramasa' Store at the
top of the ruins. If you are facing the store turn the camera
180 degrees and you will see the skull directly across from you.
There is a small ramp leading down to it across the gap from the
store.
* Second Crystal Skull: Outside the cavern, you will see a
guillotine near the Statue of the Earth Dragon. Hit it and a
Crystal Skull appears on the floor.
* Test of Valor-Lives of a Thousand Gods
* Third Crystal Skull: In one of the destructible bookcases.
* Life of the Gods
* Scythe attained after beating Volf.

Objectives

* Bird Flip up chimneys.
* Find the Cast Iron Key in the statue room.
* Kill Volf.

In the water

Pay close attention to the ending shot in the cut-scene. Two
pillars are pictured at the end of the cut-scene, a clue that you
must Bird Flip towards the top of the ruins. When the level
begins, swim towards the ruins to the rock between the two
pillars. Approach the rock but don�t jump on it. Instead,
nudge the analog stick towards the rock and Ryu will
automatically climb it. On the rock, you must Bird Flip between
the two pillars and land on the top of the ruin.

600x290
Two pillars are pictured at the end of the cut-scene, a clue that
you must Bird Flip towards the top of them ruins.



Top of the ruins

The first thing you'll see is Muramasa's shop, but if you inspect
the area around the shop, you'll find a Crystal Skull in an area
slightly below the floor. A little further down from the ramp
for the skull, there's a small drop down to a chest containing a
Talisman of Rebirth. When you're exploring the top of the ruins,
be careful of the Ghost Fish in the air. They're an annoyance,
for sure, but easily beatable by repeated standing slashes. Then,
farther into the ruins, you'll jump from ruin to ruin in a
platforming sequence, where you'll find an Herb of Spiritual Life
and Yellow Essence in a chest.

Crystal Skull

Location: Once you get on top of the ruins, you will immediately
see Muramasa's Shop. Facing Muramasa's Shop, turn the camera 180
degrees to see the Crystal Skull directly across from you. There
is a small ramp leading down to it across the gap from the
store.
600x338


Cave

Objectives:

* Kill the miniboss
* Bird Flip up to the higher section of the cave

Save your game at the Statue of the Earth Dragon at the front of
the cave, then carefully walk into the cave, where Water Wyrms
will attack. Use the Obliteration kill strategy, or repeated
Flying Swallows. Just ahead of the Earth Dragon statue is a Jewel
of the Demon Seal on a corpse on the ground, and a pile of
skeletons in a room with a locked door. To unlock the door, you
must have the Skull Key�but where is it? Meanwhile, bone
creepers rise above the skeleton pile, and all must be destroyed
in order to initiate the minboss.The best way to defeat the bone
creepers is to get some distance from them when the first appear,
then bust out the Kasuri-Gama and hold Y to fully charge an
Ultimate Technique. This will kill a lot of them, allowing you to
quickly charge another UT with all the essence now in the air.
Keep using this UT chaining technique to kill them all while
sustaining minimal damage, allowing you to be at full heath when
you fight the miniboss.

Miniboss: Dino Skeleton
600x338

Attacks

* Bone projectiles: Bones, kicked by the miniboss, fly
through the air in a horizontal spread. The attack is difficult
to dodge on reaction, but you can dodge it if you sense the
attack and run before the attack comes out.
* Throws: The miniboss will grab you if you're standing
before it. Mash the buttons when you're in stuck in its grip to
minimize the damage.
* 360 attack: Spins around in one spot, knocking anything
around it with its arms. The attack comes out quick without
warning. You can't block the attack, so the only option is
dodging to the sides or using Ninpo before the attack hits you.

Don't try�

* Arrows or Incendiary Shruikens don�t work

Weakpoint: The yellow heart

Strategy

Run through its leg or around the sides, and attack the back of
the boss at its tail or legs. Responding to your attacks, the
miniboss will execute a 360 degree attack, and at this point, you
may a) dodge to the sides or b) activate a Ninpo targeting the
miniboss' yellow heart. Should the Ninpo hit the yellow heart (we
used the Art of the Inferno), the miniboss will slump over on its
butt and pause, exposing its weakpoint, the yellow heart, for a
few moments. At this time, immediately get under the heart and
jump slash it (X button). Repeat the jumping slashes to take away
a chunk of its health, and make sure you get as many hit as you
can before the boss regains its active status.

An alternate strategy involves constant Flying Swallows while
standing under its body. Although risky, the Flying Swallow may
autotarget the yellow heart, and kill the boss in a faster time
than the first strategy mentioned above.


After the miniboss

The next set of challenges involve frustrating, platforming
sections in the caves, where scorpion skeletons spawn
indefinitely, blocking your path, and serving as a general
annoyance. If you want Yellow Essence, the cave is a great place
to essence farm, but don't lose too much life in the process. You
can't save your game until you find the Statue of the Earth
Dragon outside the cave. And if you fall off the cave and back to
the area with the skeleton pile, you must repeat the process by
climbing towards the top of the cave, and fighting the scorpion
skeletons who've respawned.
600x338Execute a Bird Flip up the wall.

To get to the top of the cave, go towards the skeleton remains of
the miniboss and inspect the wall for an area where you can
execute a Bird Flip. Go through the caves and try not to get hit
by the scorpion skeletons. Remember, if you die, you'll repeat
everything you've done -- the boss battle, the climbing sequence,
the fight against the scorpion skeletons. When faced with a gap,
run across the walls to the other side. And at the end of the
cave, you'll see a long bricked chimney that you must Bird Flip
on. Jump towards the opposite wall, then run up the chimney
before Bird Flipping to the other wall.
600x290
Jump towards the opposite wall, then run up the chimney before
Bird Flipping to the other wall.


Outside the castle

Save your game at the Statue of the Earth Dragon, and buy items
at Muramasa's Shop. Then, go up the watchtower to initiate a
cut-scene, and to pick up the Yellow Essence in a chest.


The locked castle gate

Now, run into the watchtower and down the stairs, fighting the
Werewolves and Water Wyrms in your path. Eventually, you'll come
to the other side of the castle, where winged creatures in the
air shoot fireballs, and a locked caste gate issues a cryptic
message about finding a different path. From the gate, head right
and towards the ladder, where you'll see the Statue of the Earth
Dragon surrounded by Werewolves. You may kill them using the
Obliteration strategy, or climb the ladder if you don't want to
be bothered.

After going through the previousley locked door, fight your way
to the top of the stairs where the flinging monsters are. Far to
the right is a Test of Valor. This test pits you against Wyrms
and bats. I used the Kusari-gama's UT repeatedly and got an easy
100 Slashes achievment.

Award: Lives of a Thousand Gods


Flags and the stained glass window

Objective: Bronze Key

The next puzzle takes place on long flag poles high above the
ground, set against a beautiful, enormous stained glass window.
Climb the flag pole closet to the stained glass, and line up Ryu
with the window. Now jump. Ryu breaks through the window and
lands in a room fraught with Wyrms. Use the Obliteration strategy
and repeated Flying Swallow to kill them. Then, before leaving
the room, grab the Bronze Key from the chest in the back of the
room.

600x338
Climb the flag pole closet to the stained glass, and line up
Ryu with the window.


Through the door

270x200Just outside the room is a corpse holding Inukoma's
Notebook, followed by Werewolves in the kitchen. Look in the
pantry for a Life of the Gods behind the barrels in the corner,
then run out of the room and enter the hall. Don't forget to save
your game at the Statue of the Earth Dragon before the entrance
of the Great Hall. Again, more Werewolves will attack you in the
hall, so kill them with whatever strategy you feel comfortable
with: Obliteration kills, Ultimate technique, or repeated Flying
Swallows.

The hall has four rooms:

1. Dining Room
2. Living Room
3. Statue Room
4. The Library (second floor)

The following section explains the sequence of events you must
complete.

Dining room
Location: Facing the stairs, head to the left of the stairs and
enter the door in the wall.

You must begin the sequence from the Dining Room. From here,
after two rooms, you'll find the Cast Iron Key that unlocks the
door on the second floor in the Statue Room. Go through the
Dining Room, and head through the door on the back wall.


Living Room and Statue Room

Now, you'll be in the Living Room. We're almost at the Statue
Room. Go through the adjacent door and enter the Statue Room,
where you'll be surrounded by Wyrms and statues on high
pedestals. Kill all the Wyrms to reveal the Cast Iron Key on the
floor glowing in green light.

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Kill all the Wyrms to reveal the Cast Iron Key on the floor
glowing in green light.


Second floor, up the stairs

Key interests:

* Locked door on the second floor
* Blue Essence in a chest on the left of the locked door

Use the Cast Iron Key on the locked door on the second floor, and
deal with the Flame Ninjas throwing Incendiary shuriken. The room
may appear like a dead end, but the exit lies in the chimney
across the bookshelf that holds the third crystal skull. Enter
the chimney and Bird Flip to the top, where you'll fight more
Flame Ninjas. And, the same as before, you must exit the room by
Bird Flipping up the chimney.

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Exit the room by Bird Flipping up the chimney.

Scrolls: The Four Greater Fiends, Part 3
Location: In the room that you'd unlocked with the Cast Iron
Key.


Flags obstacle

Don't worry if you fall below the flags. In fact, it's better if
you fall of the first time, since you can get the Yellow and Red
Essence in two chests, and buy stuff from Muramasa's Shop. Climb
back to the top, and then kill all enemies for the Golden Key to
appear

Dodge to the sides after the cut-scene, as werewolves will begin
their offensive as soon as the cut-scene ends. Kill them using
the Obliteration kill strategy. When they're dead, interact with
the chair for a trap door on the ground leading to the sewer.

600x338 Interact with the chair for a trap door on the ground
leading to the sewer.


Sewer

You can find Blue Essence in a chest and a Statue of the Earth
Dragon in the sewer. Make sure to save your game before venturing
past the sewer -- you'll need your strength for the upcoming Test
of Valor.

Test of Valor

Enemies: Bats and Wyrms
Rewards: Lives of a Thousand Gods

The bats can't throw, but can bite when you're blocking. The best
way to kill them? Throw Incendiary shurikens. The bats aren't
much of a threat, killed easily by standing slashes. You should
be afraid, however, of the Wyrms. If you're not careful,
disregarding your blind spots, they can easily overwhelm your
defenses. Which is why you should be on the move, constantly
dodging to the sides, and jumping through the air. Obliteration
kill, Ultimate Techniques, repeated Flying Swallows -- implement
these techniques to kill the Wyrms. Remember, use Ninpo to blow
through an enemy's attack if you think they will hurt you.

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Before the boss fight against Volf, you must fight several
dragons on a bridge using the bow and arrow. There's a corpse by
the foot of the entrance who will supply you with arrows. To kill
the dragons, allow autoaim to target the dragons while you
blindly fire arrows at them. Jumping while shooting arrows helps
to dodge the fireballs and target the dragons in the air.

600x338
To kill the dragons, allow autoaim to target the dragons while
you blindly fire arrows at them.



Boss: Volf

Volf is armed with a massive scythe, a powerful weapon that
you'll attain after beating the berserker in the arena of death.
But Volf doesn't live up to his frightening appearance -- he's is
one of the easiest boss in the game.


The secret? Repeated Flying Swallows. Get close to him and
perform three Flying Swallows in a row. When you've finished the
third Flying Swallow, jump right back in the air and repeat the
strategy. Volf will die in minutes.

Save your Ninpo for the fight after Volf, in which the werewolves
will try to revenge their leader's death. Use Ninpo until the
cut-scene is triggered.

Chapter 7: The Flying Fortress Daedalus

Key Items

* Life of the Gods
* Lives of the Thousand Gods
* Art of the Piercing Void
* Tonfa
* Crystal Skull (2)

Objectives

* Destroy control panels in the flying fortress.
* Beat Genshin.
* Beat the Armadillo.

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The gun turrets

Landing on the flying fortress Daedalus, Ryu will fight several
gun turrets, some high on a roof above the ground, others on the
sides. For cover, use the barricades outlined in yellow and black
stripes, and shoot arrows through the trapezoid in the top corner
of the barricade. If you don't have any arrows, you can find them
in the box by the barricade on the right. All the turrets must be
destroyed before the doors to the flying fortress open.
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For cover, use the barricades outlined in yellow and black
stripes, and shoot arrows through the trapezoid in the top corner
of the barricade.


The machines

270x200Robotic droids on four legs, carrying two machineguns in
the front, can be a challenge unless you're properly equipped
with a damaging weapon. In this case, the scythe will tear them
apart through repeated use of heavy slashes (the Y button.) The
bullets fired from the machinegun can be blocked, but if they hit
you, you'll be immobile until you break the stunned state with a
jump or a dodge. Flying Swallows works well, too. Just remember
to dodge the explosion after their death. Incendiary shuriken
will not damage them.

An alternative strategy if the two barricades have not been
destroyed is to use them for cover and shoot the machines with
the bow. They will eventually flank you so you have to shoot them
quickly. Eventually you should go up and fight the remaining
machines up close with the dragon sword or the scythe.

Purchase a Life of the Gods in Muramasa's shop by the entrance
into the fortress.

Inside the fortress



The fortress is a controlled environment sectioned by open or
closed rooms. The light by the door, red or green, will tell you
if the door is open or closed. In this case, green means open;
red, closed.

Infantry soldiers will rush through the halls. Guard their
bullets while moving closer to their location, close enough to
slash their limbs off and to perform an Obliteration. If you're
having problems closing in the distance, use the Flying Swallow
and land behind their backs. There, you can surprise them with
several light slashes before killing them in one strike with an
Obliteration.

The room contains three sections: the left hall, the right hall,
and the middle room. In the left hall is a Statue of the Earth
Dragon, and in the right hall is Red Essence in a chest. In the
left hallway with the Statue of the Earth Dragon, enter the door
with the vertical green bar into the middle room.


Middle room

The middle room contains Blue Essence on the side wall and a
Devil Way Mushroom by the other door. Grab the mushroom before
exiting the room. Once you come out the door, follow the guard
rail around the room, past the door with the green bar, and
towards the end of the hall on the opposite end of the entrance,
where a Life of the Gods sits in a chest against the wall. Now
head back the other way and enter the door with the green bar
that you just passed.

600x336
Follow the guard rail around the room, past the door with the
green bar for the Life of the Gods.


Room filled with droids

270x200Droids. Lots of them. Be careful when entering the room,
because the droids can easily overwhelm you. In case that
happens, don't feel bad about using a Ninpo to get out of the
situation. When you've destroyed the droids, press the button on
the floor switch to lower the floor, then prepare for the next
fight against a mechanized serpentine supported by several
Infantry soldiers in an ammunitions room.


After the lift, in the ammunition room

Concentrate your efforts first on the mechanized serpentine. To
beat a mechanized sepentine, you must study and remember their
attack patterns and behavior, which consists of a three or four
hit combo. Block the combo string, and after the third or fourth
hit, dodge to side, and counterattack with hard slashes (the Y
button). After the fourth hit with the scythe, dodge to the sides
immediately before blocking an incoming combo. For a quick
solution, two Art of the Inferno Ninpo will take it down.


Cockpit

Objective:

* Destroy the controls
* Pick up the Crystal Skull

The cockpit will kick start a theme threading the rest of the
chapter: destroying control panels. After you've killed the
Infantry soldiers and collected the Crystal Skull on the left
side of the control panel, destroy the control panel until smoke
rise above its circuits. Save your game at the Statue of the
Earth Dragon, then retrace your steps to the ammunition room.

Crystal Skull
Location: In the cockpit room, on the left side of the control
panel.

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Ammunition room

Run past the mechanized serpentine, past the large ammo silos,
and towards the guard rails. By following the guard rails, you'll
run into a Life of the Gods in a chest, and see a green vertical
bar on the ride side of a door. Through the door, look around the
room for another door with a green bar -- this time, the door
leads to a sky bridge connecting one part of the flying fortress
to the reactor room.


Reactor Room

In addition to the control panels, you must destroy the plasma
cooling -- long cylinder pipes with white gas running through
them, surrounding the reactor flanked by blue lights. Take the
arrows off the corpse by the door, and shoot the plasma cooling
around, behind, in front, and to the sides of the reactor. After
that, head back to the sky bridge, where rocket infantry men will
shoot rockets at you. Use Ninpo to kill them instantly, or kill
them with Flying Swallows or Obliteration kills before exiting
through the door. Past the rocket men and the door, take a right
and go through the door with a green light at the end of the
hall.
600x336
Shoot the plasma cooling around, behind, in front, and to the
sides of the reactor.


The long hallway and the elevator

The first room on the left contains a Statue of the Earth Dragon
and Muramasa's Shop. Further down the hall, you'll see a door on
your right leading into an infirmary, where a corpse holding
Yogenta's Notebook is in a bed in the right corner. Now, look at
the other side of the room, towards the wall, to spot an elevator
boarded by a green light in a white case. Take the elevator down
to another reactor room.


Control Room

270x200Break all the control panels before climbing up the ladder
by the elevator. The next room contains such valuable items as
the Art of the Piercing Void, a powerful Ninpo harnessing the
power of emptiness that pierces the enemy's core.

Yellow Essence: In a chest in the first room.

Lives of a Thousand Gods: In a chest by the Yellow Essence in the
first room.

Statue of the Earth Dragon: Near the control panels in the corner
of the second room.

Art of the Piercing Void: In the room with the green light by the
Statue of the Earth Dragon.

Test of Valor: In the same room with the Art of the Piercing
Void.

Test of Valor

Reward: Jewel of the Demon Seal
Enemies: Infantry Soldiers and Mechanized Serpentines

Equipped with rockets and machine guns, the soldiers have
tremendous range over you, forcing you to cautiously approach
them while dodging any projectiles sent your way. They're an
annoyance by themselves. Now imagine the situation when large,
powerful enemies join in the fray. Rather than fighting the
soldiers face-to-face, use the Incendiary shuriken spam strategy
while running around the area. Don't bother fighting the
Mechanized Serpenties; kill the soldiers first, so you can get
rid of the threat of projectiles.

To beat the mechanized serpentine, you must study and remember
their attack patterns and behavior, which consists of a three or
four hit combo. Block the combo string, and after the third or
fourth hit, dodge to the side, and counterattack with hard
slashes (the Y button). After the fourth hit with the scythe,
dodge to the sides immediately before blocking an incoming combo.
Repeat the strategy for each serpentine, and try to isolate each
serpentine by itself, as tackling several of them at once is
considerably difficult.

600x336

Finally, when you've completed the Trial of Valor and collected
the items, go towards the two green circles on the control panel,
and activate the switch that opens part of the floor by the
Statue of the Earth Dragon.


Down the shaft

Two corpses are in the room, one carrying Incendiary shuriken,
the other holding the weapon Tonfa, a close ranged weapon meant
not for attacking but for comboing. Exit the room by going
through the door with the green light. (If you didn't pick up the
Art of the Piercing Void, climb the ladder by the corpse to go
back to the control room.) Follow the hallway until you see a
door that leads to the airplane wing.

Crystal Skull

Location: After dropping down the shaft, exit the room and walk
down the hall and towards the rubble. A Crystal Skull is buried
under a large pipe and a file cabinet.

600x336



Airplane wing

270x200Get ready for two mechanized serpentine on the airplane
wing. Upgrade the scythe at Muramasa's Shop before using the
control switch to lower the floor boarded by alternating strips
of yellow and black, taking you down into the engine room. Be
careful when you arrive at the engine room, because three large
mechs firing powerful rockets will immediate attack. Target them
all with an Art of Inferno to kill them instantly. By the door
with the green light is a chest containing arrows. Grab the
arrows before exiting the room. You'll need them for the next
fight.

Opening the door, you'll see rows of gun turrets synchronized
towards your location, each firing a stream of bullets. Use the
narrow space of the door as cover. Stand before the door, off to
the sides, and fire arrows at the turrets. Remember to charge the
arrows to its full potential before firing. Destroy them before
running across the wing and climbing the ladder to the room with
a Statue of the Earth Dragon. Don't forgot about the Devil Way
Mushroom on the corpse near the Statue. Now run through the hall
and to the door in the section D2-11.

600x336
Stand before the door, off to the sides, and fire arrows at the
turrets.


Reactor room

Remember this room? The reactor room. Previously, you'd destroyed
the control panels and the plasma cooling. Well, there's nothing
to see here. Run past the panels and cooling, out the exit, and
onto the sky bridge, where a cut-scene will start.


After the cut-scene

The port engine has been jettisoned. Get to section D2-6 for
further development on the drama aboard the flying fortress! The
Infantry soldiers in the room are a pain if you don't use the
Obliteration kill strategy. Remember to use it!

When you reach Muramasa's shop, be sure to buy the Talisman of
Rebirth! You'll need it for the two part fight against Genshin
and an oversized Armadillo.

Boss: Genshin


The scythe is the best weapon in the fight, unmatched by any
weapon in terms of power (save for the True Dragon Sword). Focus
on Genshin -- and only Genshin -- while ignoring the ancillary
enemies in the room. If timed correctly, you can kill Genshin in
a matter of minutes. Begin the match by pressing the Y button to
combo Genshin. When the fourth attack of the combo ends, hold
block while dodging to the side, avoiding a potential
counterattack, and then dash back in range with Genshin. Repeat
the strategy -- dash in, combo, block and dodge to the sides,
then repeat the combo. And never, ever, jump when dodging.
Genshin will immediately counter any jump or jump attacks with a
quick Flying Swallow, knocking you down to the floor. On the rare
occasions Genshin summons magic, execute a Ninpo to protect
yourself. Don't use your ninpo often, however. You'll want all
your ki for the next boss, the Armadillo.


Boss: Armadillo
600x336

Attacks

* Giant roll: Curls up in a ball and bulldozes across the
land. He will hit you if you're standing idly, so run to the
sides in one direction to avoid it.
* The bite: Get too close to its mouth, and the Armadillo
will snatch you, gnaw on you, and spit you out. And, oh, take off
an insane amount of damage. It's hard to avoid the bite,
especially when you're hacking away at its head.
* Magma blast: Chunks of fire and molten lava erupt off the
Armadillo's back and sides, blanketing the sky with projectiles
that can only be dodged, not blocked. When you see the magma
blast erupt, immediately run in one direction or activate a
Ninpo.

Weakpoints: The head. Art of the Piercing Void to the head.

Strategy

The strategy neither requires finesse or skill. Go for the head.
Whatever you do, focus on attacking the head relentlessly with
the scythe or with the Art of the Piercing Void. The tricky part,
though, is avoiding the Armadillo's long legs. Try to catch up to
the head after a four hit combo string (use the Y button string)
by jumping or dodging. When the Armadillo curls in ball, drop
whatever you're doing and immediately jump and run to the sides
until it stops.

A strategy that can sometimes work is to strike the back of the
rear legs. It is sometimes possible if you find the right
location to repeatedly hit Y without moving the stick to take the
first half of its life while it walks in circles. At some point
it will turn reddish and roll around more. When this happens
start aiming for its head.

And, by now, you've probably experienced the nasty surprise after
the Amarillo's death: an explosion rippling across the land,
killing anyone standing too close to the impact. There are three
ways to avoid the explosion: 1) Get as far away as possible when
the Armadillo falls to its knees on its last breath. Run, dodge,
and jump out of the way; 2) Activate a Ninpo before the explosion
hits you; 3) Just blocking the explosion will keep you alive as
well.

Another way:

Instead of the strategy above you could just kill the Amarillo
with explosive shurninkens.

Ryu will autoaim the amarillo's head if you jump close to it and
throws the shurninkens into its head. (Just not to close or it
will do the bite thing!) The best thing with this strategy is
that it will not harm you at all and every blow from the
explosions will cansel the Amarillo's attacks. (Exept the rolling
attack which you will have to dodge!)

To survive the explosion at the end just block it because it
takes no Ki and you have 100% chance to survive no matter how
close to it you are.

Chapter 8: Submit or Die!

Key Items

* Crystal Skull (4)
* Life of the Gods (2)
* Life of a Thousand Gods

Objectives

* Survive the mines in the snow.
* Grab the Bell Key in the bell tower.
* Get the Dignitary's ID Card in the train.


600x336

The city covered in a thick blanket of snow is filled with
enemies spawning in front and behind you. To counter their
placement, be sure to check behind your back in case an enemy
magically appears from nowhere. Another important focus of
Chapter 8 is its emphasis on long range fighting. Throughout the
level, you'll rely heavily on projectile weapons such as arrows
and Incendiary shuriken to battle soldiers behind sandbags, in
buildings, in the background. So make sure you are fully stocked
from Muramasa's Shop.

Muramasa's Shop is in front of your starting position. Buy
health, arrows, and Incendiary shuriken before moving into the
city.

The sandbags in the level offer some protection against the
rockets fired by the Infantry Soldiers. While the bags may
shoulder some of the impact, it will not protect against splash
damage from rocket explosions. The best strategy to approach the
Infantry Soldiers behind the sandbags is to run at a slant,
jumping and dodging, and get in to their location with a Flying
Swallow.
600x336
The best strategy to approach the Infantry Soldiers behind the
sandbags is to run at a slant, jumping and dodging, and get in to
their location with a Flying Swallow.

Another way to tackle the Infantry Soldiers is standing behind
cover while firing charged arrows. The risky part, though, is
being hit out of the arrow stance by a stray rocket.

Up the path is a dangerous area populated by three mechanized
serpentines, supported by several Infantry Soldiers -- one of the
hardest battles you'll fight in Chapter 8. If you're not worried
about your Karma score, use the Art of the Piercing or Art of the
Inferno. Otherwise, equip the scythe and focus your attention on
the mechanized serpentines (apply the strategies in the enemy
strategies section on them). Worry about the ancillary enemies
around the area later. Around the corner of the building is a
chest with blue/red essence. You must defeat all the enemies for
the gate to open, through which is a Statue of the Earth Dragon.
600x336
Equip the scythe and focus your attention on the mechanized
serpentines



The shopping center

One of the more frustrating sections in Chapter 8, the little
shopping center is home to Infantry Soldiers armed with rockets
on the first floor and second floor. To tackle the men on the
second floor, use the Incendiary shuriken strategy while running
around the center in order to avoid the rockets. (Note: staying
under the bridge protects you from the rockets.) If you don't
have any Incendiary shuriken, you may buy them from Muramasa's
Shop in the only opened store in the center. Head deep into the
center and scan the walls on your left. You'll see a room with
Muramasa's Shop. And since you're here, you can head up the
stairs adjacent to the shop, and reach the second floor, where
you can battle the Infantry Soldiers.
600x336
Muramasa's Shop is on the left by the water fountain.


The mines in the snow

Look carefully at the footprint indented on the surface of the
snow. This marks the path you must take in order to avoid the
mines in the snow. Deviate off the path and a mine will explode.
But as you follow the footprints, Infantry Soldiers fire rockets
through windows in a building, impeding your progress. The worst
plan is to run quickly across the snow, where you'll be exposed
in the open, targeted by the snipers in the building or behind
the sandbags.
600x336
The footprint indented on the surface of the snow marks the path
you must take in order to avoid the mines in the snow.



Mechanically and systematically, shoot arrows at the men in the
building while standing behind cover -- a sandbag, a wall, a
tank. Take note that more men will replace a fallen soldier, so
focus on the windows until everyone is killed. It's a bad idea to
rush through the alleys when men continue to fire at you.

600x336Mechanically and systematically, shoot arrows at the men
in the building while standing behind cover -- a sandbag, a wall,
a tank.

Be prepared to seek cover behind a sandbag after collecting the
Crystal Skull. Infantry Soldiers firing rockets will appear in
one of the six large widows in a building. And if you get hit by
one rocket, expect more rockets coming your way. Two sandbags are
positioned on the road, one further up the path, while the other
is near the area with the Crystal Skull. Seek cover behind the
sandbag nearest the Skull, since you'll find a box containing
arrow behind the bag. Your arrows in stock, hold the R shoulder
button to zoom in on the building. Inspect the windows for men
while charging an arrow shot. As soon as you see someone move,
fire! Kill everyone before moving down the road.

Crystal Skull
Location: Starting from the first set of footprints in the snow,
go down the road, and look towards the left when arriving at the
first corner. The Crystal Skull is near the wooden barricades.

600x336

Kick down the large gate boarded by two guard towers. You can
throw Incendiary shurikens to kill the men in the watchtower.
Remember to save your gate at the Statue of the Earth Dragon
before heading into the bell tower.


The Flame Ninjas in the bell tower

Read the enemy strategies on how to deal with the Flame Ninjas.
Block whenever an Incendiary shuriken clings to your body; move
often, to avoid being hit, while using the Flying Swallow to get
close to their position; repeat the Flying Swallow as a main
offensive. Or use the Art of the Inferno!

To exit the room, you must kill all of the flaming ninjas to
unlock the door to the right of the entrance. Then walk up the
stairs and onto bell room. Once in the bell room, you will notice
a ring around the center of the 3 bells, If you go left, you
will find a corpse with a Life of the Gods. After that, go back
to the ring and move back right, where you will find a locked
door and a window leading onto a balcony that wraps around the
sides. Get on the balcony and jump through another window into
different section of the bell room, where you'll see a corpse
holding the Bell Key. Backtrack out of the window and to the
first bell room. Now, from the window, look on your left for a
door across the bell. Open the door to the stairwell.
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The picture on the left shows the the narrow slit in the wall; on
the right, the window leading to th balcony in the bell tower.


Stairwell

270x200Don't ignore the stairs. Walk down the stairs, passing
each candle along the way, and look for the sixth candle for a
surprise: a Crystal Skull! Then, when you reach the bottom floor,
open the brown panels on a shrine surrounded by long green
pillars.

Crystal Skull
Location: By the sixth candle in the stairwell.




Train station

270x200You've dealt with the Flame Ninjas before. Here is no
exception. If you're still wondering on how you to beat the Flame
Ninjas, read the enemy strategies for the strategy. After the
battle, you'll watch a short interstitial spotlighting the door
to a train, which is in the same room where you'd fought the
Flame Ninjas. Enter the train and be sure to check each room for
items. In the train, you'll find three objects of importance:

* Grains of Spiritual Life
* Dignitary's ID Card on corpse in the bedroom
* Crystal Skull



Crystal Skull
Location: On a seat at the back of the train.

600x336

You'll need the ID card to unlock the door at the top of the
stairs.


Miniboss

The miniboss acts similar to the miniboss in Chapter 4: A Captive
Goddess. (Maybe it is the same boss!) But this time, the fight
is a lot easier through the power of the scythe. Hack the boss'
limbs with the scythe while avoiding the mechanized serpentines.
Several slashes with the Y button should kill the boss in a few
minutes. As for the mechanized serpentines, use the strategy in
the enemy strategies to beat them.
600x336
Hack the boss' limbs with the scythe while avoiding the
mechanized serpentines.

The next destination is a holding cell under the city streets.
But where could it be? Look for the big gap in the wall by where
you defeated the miniboss and enter the room. On the floor is a
hole that goes to the holding cells.


Holding cell

270x200In the cells you'll find two items:

* Incendiary shuriken
* Life of the Gods

On the floor of the cell is a notebook titled the Rule of the
King of the Darkness. At the end of the hall, you must break the
crack in the wall by throwing an Incendiary shuriken, opening the
way to the sewers.


Sewer



In the Sewer, you willl find:

*
Life of a Thousand Gods.

After you enter the door, look across from where you are standing
and on the ledge to the left by the gate, is a chest with the
Life of a Thousand Gods. Ghost Fish and Water Wyrms will attack
you in the sewers. Get to the end of the sewers, then climb the
stairs to a long hallway in a cave. Travel to the end of the
cave, and there, you will Bird Flip to the top. Start by jumping
towards the wall, and run up the wall a bit before Bird Flipping
to the opposite wall. At the top is another crack in the wall.
You know what to do: throw an Incendiary shuriken at it.


Palace

Nothing much to see here. Flame Ninjas, an Herb of Spiritual Life
in a chest, Muramasa's Shop, and the Statue of the Earth Dragon.
And, oh, a Test of Valor!
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The Test of Valor is through the door by the Statue of the Earth
Dragon.

Test of Valor

Location: Walk through the door by the Statue of the Earth
Dragon.
Reward: Jewel of the Diamond Seal
Enemies: Droids and soldiers with rocket launchers

This Test of Valor is unfair. Each enemy is equipped with a long
range weapon, either a machinegun or a rocket launcher, shifting
the fight in their favor. You, on the other hand, have no option
but to fight close to the enemy. What an unfair fight!
600x336

Complaining aside, the most effective approach is isolating the
soldiers armed with rocket launchers. If you can get rid of them,
the droids will be much easier to handle. Use the Incendiary
shuriken strategy on the soldiers while trying to run and dodge
the projectiles. Keep moving around the ring; otherwise,
something will hit you. If you run out of shurikens, don't fight
them up close but employ a hit and run strategy: Flying Swallows
followed by a dodge and jump.

Finally, when the soldiers have been killed, destroy the droids
with the scythe. Several slashes should destroy them. Just watch
out for the explosion at the end.


600x336

To leave the palace, find the ladder by Muramasa's shop on the
second floor, and climb it to reach the clock tower filled with
spinning gears and cogs.


Clock tower

A simple exercise in platforming. Climb on the gears, run on the
gears, swing on poles -- stuff you've done in the past and stuff
you shouldn't have any problems with. Of particular importance
are the three items you'll find in the clock tower:

* Crystal Skull
* Izo's Notebook
* Grains of Spiritual Life

Crystal Skull
Location: While hanging on a pole attached to a spinning gear,
you'll see the Crystal Skull in the center of a gear.

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Save your game at the Statue of the Earth Dragon before fighting
the boss


Boss: Zedonius
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Attacks

* Fireballs: Zedonius shoots fireball while on the ground or
in the air. To dodge the fireballs in the air, watch carefully
for the small pause before he launches a fireball. During these
few frames of animation, immediately run and dodge to the sides.
Or, if you have Ninpo, shoot the Art of the Piercing Void.
* Lands on you after flying: A nasty attack tracking your
last location. It's very hard to dodge the move.
* Throw: Look for a low crouch before the throw -- a clue
telegraphing the throw.

What not to do

* Don't ever Flying Swallow; Zedonius will block it.

Strategy

Wait until he is on the ground before striking him, and when he
is in the air, focus on avoiding his attacks. To take off an
enormous amount of health, use the Art of the Piercing Void when
Zedonius is preparing for a fireball attack in the air, or when
he's advancing towards your location on the ground. The second
best strategy, a strategy that doesn't involve Ninpo, is slashing
the boss with the scythe. Get close, execute a four hit combo
with the Y button, and dodge. Simple.

An alternate strategy that I used was to use the Lunar Staff
here, Zedonius seemed to block other weapons a lot, so I switched
to the staff, I beat him in 10 seconds. As was stated, dodge any
air attacks, he usually will try to stomp you right away anyway,
but when he does, do your best to dodge, then immediately close
on him with Heavy attacks, land a few and he will drop to his
knees, stunned. You can cram in so many strikes with the staff (
Y, Y, forward Y ) you can finish him before he recovers.

Chapter 9: Heart of Darkness

Key Items

* Vigoorian Flail
* Crystal Skull (4)

Objectives

* Beat the worm in the cave.
* Beat the two dragons.



The path to the river

The jungle in South America repeats two design patterns: a narrow
path filled with enemy ninjas, and a body of water inhabited by
jellyfish and Reptile Fish. The limited space on the dirt path
forces combat fought up close, as opposed to the long range
fighting in Chapter 8, where arrows and shuriken were essential
in an offensive strategy against rocket men hiding in buildings
and on platforms above ground. Naturally, in close range
fighting, the strategy shifts to a technique able to kill an
enemy quickly: Obliteration kills. But in the water, close range
fighting is useless. No more Obliteration kills! Instead, fire
the gatling gun on the jellyfish and the Reptile Fish in the
water.

The path takes you to the banks of a river, across which is
Muramasa's shop guarded by a single soldier armed with a rocket
launcher. Run across the water, alternating your direction in
order to avoid the rockets, and kill the armed soldier, then
purchase and upgrade your weapons from Muramasa before venturing
down the river.

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The path takes you to the banks of a river, across which is
Muramasa's shop guarded by a single soldier armed with a rocket
launcher.

The jellyfish in the water respawn indefinitely. If you're low on
Yellow Essence, shoot them with the gatling gun until you're
super rich�or until you're super bored.

The watchtowers

Objective: Get the Jade Mask to open the locked gate.
Requirements: Must have the Jade mask; kill everyone in the area
to proceed.

270x200Remember to save your progress at the Statue of the Earth
Dragon, and grab arrows from the corpse in the other room before
moving past the house. Once you move beyond the house, you can't
come back! The guards in the watchtower will be alerted, droid
armed with rockets will come at you, and rocket men across the
river bank will fire rockets in every direction. Well, maybe not
in every direction, but close enough.

Run to the top left: The Jade Mask is in a tiny cell behind a
watchtower and a boat docked at the harbor, on the top left of
the area. The hard part, though, is getting to the dock without
being hit by a rocket. Zigzag across the water, running at a
slant, never stopping to fight the droids hovering across the
water. And, even when you get to the dock, be careful of the
rockets! From the dock, run up the stairs and hide behind the
watchtower, its structure offering some protection against
incoming rockets (watch out for splash damage). By following the
path behind the watchtower, you'll find the Jade Mask in a chest
behind a locked gate.
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The Jade Mask is in a tiny cell behind a watchtower and a boat
docked at the harbor, on the top left of the area.

Crystal Skull
Location: As you enter the area with the two spotlight towers go
to the tower on the far right and behind it you will locate the
Crystal Skull.

Everyone must die: Now, we must meet the other requirement:
killing everyone in the area. Comb the houses for enemies; use
charged arrows on the droids flying above the water. Finally,
when you've killed everyone, a gate by a watchtower on the left
side of the area will open.

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When you've killed everyone, a gate by a watchtower on the left
side of the area will open.

270x200Place the Jade Mask in the decorated shine. Then, looking
at the screenshot, find the green sculpture crafted on the rock
wall and dive into the water. There should be a small hole that
you can swim through.





Tree branches and the rope bridge

You'll see an Herb of Spiritual Life after coming up to the
surface. Follow the path, on the ground and across water, until
you see a series of branches extending from the right of the
screen. Jump and grab the tree, then swing across the branches to
the other side. There, you'll fight several ninjas on a small
path, followed by a short climb across a rope above the water. Be
careful of the guys carrying rocket launchers on the other side.
If you spot them, shoot charged arrows at them before crossing
the rope bridge.

Crystal Skull Location: Halfway across the rope bridge turn
right and you can flip to some more tree branches to reach a
Crystal Skull and Maramusa's shop.

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Jump and grab the tree, then swing across the branches to the
other side.

Near the Statue of the Earth Dragon and off the path is Red
Essence in a chest. Save your game before going into the next
area! You won't have a chance to save in a long, long time.


The fissure in the boulder

Creepy crawlers storm below the boulder and into the area. Equip
the scythe and do your best Dynasty Warrior impersonation --
slash, slash, slash, slash, slash. (Slashes with the Y button
work the best.) Then examine that same boulder for a clue.
Extreme force should blow open the boulder weakened by several
fissures and cracks on the surface. Charge and release an
Ultimate Technique to blow open the boulder.

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Charge and release an Ultimate Technique to blow open the
boulder.



Cave

Objective: Defeat the worm boss
Achievement 100 hit combo unlocked: Throw shurikens at the
crawlers, abundantly supplied throughout the cave.

At first glance, the cave seems endless. Turn after turn, room
after room, the cave appears to stretch into infinity, a maze of
rooms filled with Red and Blue Essence, each section a duplicate
of the previous section. It's easy to feel overwhelmed. But don't
panic! You can ignore the creepers! You can ignore the rooms!
Your goal is to kill the worm in the cave.


Miniboss: The worm

The worm is found in the same spot right after the cave starts to
split. Before you see the worm, the background music changes, and
a low rumble can be heard through the cave, so pay attention to
your speakers for those signs. Soon after, the worm appears
before you, rushing at you at great speeds.


When you hear the sudden change in music, when you hear the
rumble, immediately stop whatever you're doing and change for an
Ultimate Technique (scythe UT) while standing in its path. The
next part will be tricky. It's hard to predict when the worm will
hit you, but if you sense its presence, execute the UT, which
gives you temporarily invincibility against the worms attack. The
UT will not only protect you, but also stun and damage the worm.
Do not attempt any combos on the worm at all.

Instead, you must immediately perform one of the two strategies:

* A) Dodge the worm's rush by running into a room.
* B) Execute a Ninpo for temporarily invincibility.

We chose method B, stopping the worm with a Ninpo.

The cave is so narrow that it's easy to be disoriented, easy to
lose track of the worm, easy to feel absolutely powerless. Just
remember, the worm can only approach you in two directions: from
the back or from the behind, never from the sides. By focusing on
those two directions, you'll have a better time predicting the
worm's behavior.

Alternate Strategy: Duck into one of the rooms branching out
from the main hallway. From there stand near the entrance of the
the room and charge an Ultimate Scythe, aiming toward the main
tunnel. Use the sound and rumble to time the release, hitting
the worm as it roars past. Occasionally it might stop and try to
hit you, just dodge out of the way until it leaves and repeat,
you don't have to lose a sliver of life defeating this one.

Another Option: I hid in one of the rooms close to the entrance
but far enough to keep out of harms way. When the worm went by I
hit it with charged arrows. You get one shot a pass. It takes
maybe 8-10 hits. Timely but safe. And don't worry, when that
centipede thing comes crawling to your feet, it never actually
attacks if you are far enough away from the entrance. Plus the
same charged arrow you shoot at the worm will kill the centipede
by default Two bugs with one stone.




Outside the cave

Crystal Skull
Location: Coming out the cave, you'll see a body of water
inhabited by large serpents, and a Crystal Skull on the left.

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Up the hill

Past the cave, you'll walk on a dirt path up a hill, and will see
a corpse on the ground holding the weapon Vigoorian Flail.

Pool of water

Achievement: Unlock the Feat of a Hundred Slashes Achievement by
shooting the serpent creatures with the gatling gun. Fire with
your back against the back, and let the serpents come to you.

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Another strategy is to dive underwater and head right, there is
an underwater enclave that will protect you from the serpents,
allowing you to kill them as you please, there is a chest there
as well.


In the water is a Grains of Spiritual Life.

Just ahead is a Statue of the Earth Dragon and the Test of
Valor.

Test of Valor

Reward: Yellow Essence
This is the easiest Test of Valor. Equip the scythe and hack
through the crawlers. If you're bored repeating the same tactic,
mix up the strategy by including Ultimate Technique.

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After completing the Test of Valor, you must conserve your energy
for the upcoming boss fight against two dragons, so ignore the
enemies on the path. When you see Muramasa's Shop, stock up on
Devil Way Mushroom, because the strategy that you're about to use
on the dragon revolves around Ninpo, more specifically the Art of
the Piercing Void.

Crystal Skull Location: After watching the short cut-scene of
ninjas floating down the river, jump into the river and diveunder
it is located on the left hand side you will see a dead body
examine it and you will recieve the skull.

Boss: The two dragon

If you don't have Art of the Piercing Void, the battle will be a
pain in the ass. As you can see from the video, the Art of the
Piercing Void does mega damage. Out of Ninpo? The two dragons can
be killed with fully charged bow shots.

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The Art of the Piercing Void does mega damage on a dragon.

If you have very little Nimpo, you must fight the smaller
dragons. The best strategy is to jump to avoid the slow moving
flames, and shoot the bow while in the air to kill off the small
dragons. When they are gone, you can focus your fire on the big
dragons by charging up your bow. If you have plenty of Nimpo,
then just use the Piercing Void and cheat yourself out of a tough
boss fight.

Chapter 10: The Temple of Sacrifice

Key Items

* Crystal Skull (2)

Objective

* Get to the Temple of the Sacrifice.
* Hit the pressure pad to get the Bone Relief.
* Beat Elizebet.

Up the hill

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As blood drips from the sky to the ground, you must make your way
up hill to the Temple of Sacrifice, fighting Blood Wyrms and
Dragons peppered on the path. To prepare for the Temple of
Sacrifice, be sure to buy health items and the Jewel of the Demon
Seal at Muramasa's Shop in the beginning of the level. When you
climb the hill, be on the lookout for the Blue Essence in a chest
by the edge of the hill. And if you look at the area beyond the
chest, you'll see two chests, one containing the Life of the
Gods, the other Yellow Essence, in a secret area below the hill.



Blood Wyrms and dragons

You'll fight Blood Wyrms and dragons in the area past the chest
with the Blue Essence. Their numbers are overwhelming, to say the
least. Don't be afraid to use the Art of the Inferno when you're
surrounded, and don't be afraid to spam the Ninpo if you're
losing the battle. But, eventually, you may run out of Ninpo, and
have to rely on other strategies. In this case, hop around the
area to avoid the fire breath from the dragons, and execute
repeated Flying Swallows. If you're close to a Wyrm, hack their
limbs off before issuing an Obliteration kill. When you're done,
look for the Denji's Notebook on a corpse on a small patch of
vegetation near the rocky wall. Up ahead, you can save your game
at Statue of the Earth Dragon.
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Don't be afraid to use the Art of the Inferno when you're
surrounded.


Spamming the Ultimate Technique
Six spider creatures that you'd fought in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2
will come down the long narrow strip of land en masse. The best
way to kill them is through the scythe's Ultimate Technique. When
you see the spider creatures, charge for an Ultimate Technique
and release it when they're in range. Keep spamming the UT --
charging the UT, unleashing the UT, and charging again. If done
correctly, the projectile from the scythe UT will kill the spider
creatures before they have a chance to get close to you.

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The best way to kill the spider creatures is through the scythe's
Ultimate Technique.

Up the path, grab the Devil Way Mushroom and Grains of Spiritual
Life off the two corpses' body, then save your game at the Statue
of the Earth Dragon.


Water worms and bone creatures

In the water are bone creepers and water worms, two creatures
that are easy on their own, but annoying when combined in a
group. The bone creepers appear in the cave, not on the water,
while the water worms are, uh, in the water. Use the environment
to your advantage. Attack the creatures when you're in the cave,
and don't venture into the water. Not yet, anyway. But here's the
trick: when you've killed the bone creatures, stand on the shore
and charge for a scythe Ultimate Technique before releasing it on
the water worms. Charge, UT, repeat. Easy kill. After the battle,
run across the water, then Bird Flip up the hill.

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Charge, UT, repeat.

Crystal Skull

Location: The Crystal Skull is found after the green pool of
water infested by water worms, and after the section where you
performed the Bird Flip. You should see the Skull on a platform
above you. Run across the wall before jumping up to reach the
Skull, but if you fall when running across the wall, you'll see
Muramasa's shop and a bunch of bone creepers on the floor below.

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Next, spam the scythe Ultimate Technique on the water worms, then
lower the pillar to the ground by going up to it and pressing the
RB button. After saving your game at the Statue of the Earth
Dragon, you'll watch a short interstitial showing the Temple of
Sacrifice surrounded by an army of dragons in the air.


Dragons above the bridge

Don't bother attacking the dragons; you can't kill every dragon
out there. Run down the hill while ignoring the dragons. Coming
down the hill, you may have noticed a Crystal Skull below the
hill on your left. Round the corner, to the left, when you get to
ground level, then search the walls for the Crystal Skull.

Crystal Skull
Location: As you run down the hill, you'll see the Crystal Skull
below you on the left side of the area.

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The pressure pad

270x200You've seen this type of puzzle before. Use force and
something will happen. This time, you'll have to land on the
pressure pad with a jumping Y attack. Stand on top of the pad,
then jump and press the Y button.

The scythe UT

In area between the first instance of the pressure pad and the
Statue of the Earth Dragon on the bridge (the Statue is also near
a Test of Valor), the enemies are slow and dumb enough to fall
for the scythe Ultimate Technique. Spam the crap out of the
technique and you should be fine when you reach the Test of Valor
on the bridge.

Test of Valor

Location: Near the Statue of the Earth Dragon on the bridge.
Reward: Yellow and Blue Essence.
Enemies: Ghost Fish and Blood Wyrm

A simple Test of Valor. First, kill the Ghost Fish with the Art
of the Flame Bird, a Ninpo surrounding your body with a fleet of
flaming birds. But don't get hit while the Ninpo is activated, or
else you will lose the Ninpo ability. When you run out of Ninpo,
equip the Dragon Sword and execute standing slashes at random.
The Ghost Fish will come to you, only to be slashed and killed.
Next, for the Blood Wyrm, spam the scythe Ultimate Technique
while standing in one place. Scythe UT for the win!

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270x200There's another pressure pad after the Statue of the Earth
Dragon and Test of Valor. Hit it with a jumping attack (the Y
button) to lower a net, then walk across the net and find a
jagged opening in the wall. Up ahead, you'll see a huge yellow
dragon in a cage, and a corpse on the ground possessing arrows.
Grab the arrows and head up the path, which triggers a
cut-scene.


Before the temple

The green mechanism on the wall needs something to complete it.
What you need is the Bone Relief, a tablet carved with an
unsettling picture of a skeleton on its back, its knees to its
chest, and its arm stretched in the air. The Bone Relief is found
after you beat the dragon. And where's the dragon? Hit the
pressure pad near the edge of cliff, and you'll see the dragon be
released from its cage.


The dragon and the Bone Relief

270x200The easy way: The Art of the Piercing Void kills the
dragon in two hits. That's it! If you don't have the Art of the
Piercing Void, consider yourself screwed. (There are arrows on
the corpse before coming to the Temple of Sacrifice.) Place the
Bone Relief on the green mechanism to open the doors of the
Temple of Sacrifice.



The stairs

This war of attrition begins at the bottom of the stairs and ends
at the top of the stairs, and in between, you'll experience the
game crumbling under the weight of the slowdown. Get to the top
of the stairs first, and try to ignore the slowdown along the
way. At the top, spam the crap out of the scythe Ultimate
Technique over and over. The doors to the Temple will only open
when you've killed all the ninja soldiers, but before you enter
the Temple, grab the Red Essence in a chest by the door. Up the
stairs and down the stairs in the Temple, you'll eventually reach
the room where you'll fight Elizebet. (There's a Prayer of the
Nercomantle before the room with Elizebet.)

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At the top of the stairs, spam the crap out of the scythe
Ultimate Technique over and over.


Boss Elizetbet

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Attacks

* Charge: A quick charge attack followed by a potential
throw. Before charging at you, Elizebet will lower her shoulders
and hunch forward, a sign that you should block or dodge.
* Flying Swallow or Dive: To counter your Flying Swallows or
jump attacks, Elizebet will execute her own Flying Swallow, which
usually beats your attack. (Save the Flying Swallow when she's
forming her red blood magic in the air.) When she lands, Elizebet
will swoop down towards the ground, hitting you if you're in the
way. Dodge to the side to avoid.
* Multihit combo: Three to five hit combo ending with a tail
attack. If she whiffs the combo, it's your chance to attack! Make
sure to dodge each attack, then counterattack quickly before
Elizebet has a chance to recover.
* Red blood magic: A circle of blood appears in the air,
streaming red projectiles randomly around the area. The red blood
magic is very difficult to dodge, so take the easy way out: use
Ninpo. When Elizebet forms the red circle in the air, immediately
execute the Art of the Piercing Void. Sometimes, she'll avoid the
Piercing Void. Sometimes, she'll get hit. If you don't have
Ninpo, perform a Flying Swallow to hit her out of the air!


Our strategy relied on close range fighting. Stay close to her,
blocking and dodging her melee attacks, and attack with the
scythe or the Dragon Sword when she whiffs her combos (the
preferred method from MyCheats is slashing her with the scythe).
Save Ninpo to counter her red blood magic -- an important
strategy if you're terrible at dodging projectiles.

Chapter 11: A Tempered Gravestone

Key items

* Omusubi
* Wind Shuriken
* Crystal Skull (3)

Objective

* Make it down the hill.
* Find the Kureha's Room Key to unlock the room with the Wind
Shuriken.
* Beat Genshin.



600x336
The True Dragon Sword.

Ayani gives you a jewel completing the Dragon Sword. Now, you
have the True Dragon Sword, a sword powered to Level 4, far
stronger than the normal Dragon Sword, whose strength is only
matched by the combination of the Dark Sword and True Dragon
Sword (acquired in Chapter 14).


Scythe UT on the stairs..and everywhere in between
Objective: Go down the stairs and reach Muramasa's shop in the
house on ground level.

And you'll need the extra strength for the Tempered Gravestone, a
brutally difficult level that requires strength over finesses. As
you walk down the stairs through the village, mobs of Flame
Ninjas and Archers will attack ruthlessly, throwing projectiles
from every angle, swarming your immediate position. In this
situation, the worst strategy is to run. The openness of the
cliffs creates a tempting allure that you can run past the enemy,
but they will find you, and hunt you, and kill you.

600x336
Use the scythe UT.

Instead of running away, approach the village systematically by
killing each group one at a time with the scythe Ultimate
Technique. The projectile from the UT will give you a safe
distance from the incoming enemy, while killing those standing
before you. Spamming the scythe UT is a great strategy when you
don't know the position of the enemy, thanks to the autotarget
mechanic. Plus, when you kill a group of enemies, your life will
regenerate.
Scythe UT for the win: The projectile from the scythe UT can go
through walls. If you know an enemy is coming towards you, hide
behind a wall and arbitrarily execute the UTs. Some UT will hit
the enemy; some won't. But you'll live in the end!

For situations when you don't have enough time to charge the
scythe UT, immediately retreat and create space between you and
the attacking enemy. Backtrack up the stairs. Find a safe
location where you have enough time to charge and release the
scythe UT before the enemy can hit you. When you cleared a group
of enemies, look at your life bar and see if it had been
regenerated. If so, proceed further in the village, walking
slowly and cautiously, while looking for Archers and Flame
Ninjas. Remember, don't rush things. Take your time.

When you've reached the bottom of the stairs, look for Muramasa's
Shop and the Statue of the Earth Dragon in a house. Save your
game and buy health and items before going farther into the
village. You'll need a full stock of weapons for the upcoming
epic fight against Flame Ninjas and several spider bosses.


The cluster of houses in the village

There's nothing in the house with the opened door, but there's
something special behind the closed door of the house on the left
side of the village. (Curious? The special items are Jewel of the
Demon Seal and the Windmill Shuriken.) But in order to open the
doors, you must have the Kureha's Room Key, found by interacting
with the gravestones on a hill.
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The Kureha's Room Key is found by interacting with the
gravestones on a hill.

To get to the gravestones, run through the house, across the
wooden bridge, past the locked house, and up the stairs on the
hill. Up the stairs, you'll see a Jizo Statue Head on the ground
before the turn. Then, past the Statue Head, look for several
gravestones off the path, one of them containing Kureha's Room
Key.
Did you know?: If you examined the gravestone with Kureha's Room
Key back in Chapter 2, you would have read this interesting
snippet of Ninja Gaiden history: "This is the grave of Kureha,
Ryu's childhood friend and shrine-maiden of the Dragon Lineage."

600x336
The Jizo Statue Head.

Now that the key is in your inventory, backtrack down the hill,
across the wooden bridge, and back to the cluster of houses. The
locked house is on the left (direction assumes you're facing the
hills). Unlock the door and grab the Windmill Shuriken and Spirit
of the Devils. Now return to Muramasa's Shop to replenish used
items and depleted health for the next battle in the area with
the locked house. (The battle is triggered when you get the Wind
Shuriken.)
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Behind the locked door is the Windmill Shuriken.

Save the Spirit of the Devils: Don't use it now! Save it for the
next boss battle to replenish your Ki in full!



The showdown in front of the locked house

Forget about using the Art of the Inferno; it has little affect
on the spider boss creatures. Instead, use Art of the Piercing
Void, which should kill them in one hit. To maximize efficiency,
line up the spider creatures in a line before firing the Art of
the Piercing Void. When you run out of Ki, use the Spirit of the
Devils that you found in the locked house to refill your Ki, as
well as adding one more stock of Ki! For the Flame Ninjas, run
around the area while throwing Incendiary Shurikens. Eventually,
their numbers will dwindle, and you can finish the rest off
easily by using the scythe or the True Dragon Sword. When you've
killed all the enemies, the locked door will be unlocked.

HINT!! If you look along the water you will see 3 circles on 2
posts that look like targets.....hmmm. Shoot the targets and get
rewarded for your cunning and accuracy with full health, ninpo
and a nice hunk of Ki to spend!

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To make the battle a lot easier, focus on killing the spider
bosses first.


After the battle and through the door

Climb the ladder. You'll see a corpse by the window with the
History of the Castle Dragon, then jump out the window.

Explore the perimeter around the house by the cliff for a Crystal
Skull. By following the path that wraps around the house, you'll
see a corpse holding an Herb of Spiritual Life, and a bit beyond
it, a Crystal Skull behind a wooden wheel in a corner of alley.
Once you past the boundaries of the village, you'll swim through
a cave and run up a hill packed with shrubs before seeing a
Statue of the Earth Dragon under the entrance of a cave.

Crystal Skull

Location: The house by the cliff. Behind a wooden wheel in a
corner of alley.

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Crystal Skull

Location: In a house on the grassy hill. Break the door to
uncover the Crystal Skull.
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The cave

Before you enter the cave, save your game at the Statue of the
Earth Dragon by the cave's entrance. The cave is a loop that
comes back to the entrance, so don't worry about being lost. Just
beyond the Statue are Blue Essence in a chest on your right, and
the Test of Valor on your left.

Test of Valor

Reward: Lives of the Thousand Gods
Enemies: Dogs and Flame Ninjas
The entire fight is based on mobility. For the first half of the
fight, runaway from the dogs and the Flame Ninjas while spamming
the Incendiary Shuriken strategy. When you run out of shuriken,
take the strategy to the air and use repeated Flying Swallows
on�everybody. Although it's risky to continually perform
the Flying Swallow, this fight forces you to make an exception.
The dogs are too dangerous to fight up close, and the Incendiary
Shuriken from the Flame Ninjas makes it too dangerous to stand
still. Which is why you should always be on the move, dodging,
jumping, and Flying Swallowing. Use the Art of the Inferno to
target and kill multiple enemies at once.


Outside the cave

Stuck? Unsure on where to go? Look to the left of the Statue of
the Earth Dragon under the cave's entrance for the answer. Climb
the rock stairs towards the top of the house, where you'll find
the Hachijuro's NotebookGrains of Spiritual Life on a corpse in
the corner.

600x336Climb the rock stairs towards the top of the house.


The rope climb

The house leads to two mountains connected by a long rope.
Naturally, you're supposed to climb the rope to the other side,
where you'll find the Statue of the Earth Dragon. But before you
shimmy across the rope, explore the area below the rope to find
something special. A Crystal Skull! There's also a Life of the
GodsBird Flip up the shaft and you should see it in a chest.

Crystal Skull

Location: From the first mountain, drop down through the shaft,
and search the scaffolds for the Crystal Skull.
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270x200Muramasa gives you the Muramasa's Omusubi, an item that
completely restores Ryu's health and heals all lasting damage.

Go up the hill while fighting the wolves, and you'll eventually
see Muramasa's Shop.



The battlefield

You'll fight white ninjas and Flame Ninjas in the area marked by
hundreds of arrows in the ground. The strategy relies on staying
mobile by constantly running and dodging the Incendiary Shuriken,
and attacking with the Flying Swallow. If you're feeling
overwhelmed, use an Art of Inferno to target multiple enemies at
once, but don't rely on Ninpo as a crutch -- the boss Genshin is
up next, and you may want to use a Ninpo in the battle. Throw
Incendiary Shurikens while running away from them, and when you
run out, switch strategies and kill them through repeated Flying
Swallow.

There's a corpse by a huge rock holding Koshimaru's Notebook.


Boss: Genshin

Genshin is easy. Just remember this simple yet effective
strategy: attack with the scythe. That's it. Stay close to
Genshin and repeatedly slash him with the scythe. You won't have
to block, either. Assault him relentlessly, and execute a Ninpo
for invincibility and to avoid his attacks, then dodge to the
sides. Wait until Genshin whiffs his combo before getting in
close and repeating the strategy.

Chapter 12: Quickening Devastation

Key Items

* Heart of the Malevolent Flame

Objective

* Beat the Two Armadillos
* Beat Zedonius
* Beat Volf

Quickening Devastation is the first of two chapters featuring a
gauntlet of bosses. Here, you must conserve your health for the
grueling boss fights, restock health items and offensive weapons,
and save your energy for only -- and only! -- the bosses. Thus,
the strategy for the first part of Chapter 12 is to run past the
dragons without fighting them, conserving your health, until you
get to the first boss, the Armadillo. If you want to get another
Master Ninja score at the end of the chapter, maybe you want to
strike the dragons with arrow from afar. That should give you a
save distance. If one of the wounded dragons decide to run toward
you, just prepare your Scythe's ultimate techniques, which should
take care of them all.

This time, however, you'll fight not one but two Armadillos.


Boss: Two Armadillos
600x336

Attacks

* Giant roll: Curls up in a ball and bulldozes across the
land. He will hit you if you're standing idly, so run to the
sides in one direction to avoid it.
* The bite: Get too close to its mouth, and the Armadillo
will snatch you, gnaw on you, and spit you out. And, oh, take off
an insane amount of damage. It's hard to avoid the bite,
especially when you're hacking away at its head.
* Magma blast: Chunks of fire and molten lava erupt off the
Armadillo's back and sides, blanketing the sky with projectiles
that can only be dodged, not blocked. When you see the magma
blast erupt, immediately run in one direction or active a Ninpo.

Focus on one Armadillo at a time without distributing your attack
effort on the other one. Why? You'll have an easier time
attacking an Armadillo when you're not worrying about the other
one attacking your blind side. Be patient when you're setting up
your attack and choosing which Armadillo you want to kill first.
Wait for a lull, when the Aramadillos have stopped shooting Magma
blasts, then go for their head by slashing it with the scythe or
shooting an Art of the Piercing Void.

Attacking the head with the scythe is neither finesse nor skill.
It's brute force. The tricky part, though, is avoiding the
Armadillo's long legs. Try to catch up to the head after a four
hit combo string (use the Y button string) by jumping or dodging.
When the Armadillo curls in ball, drop whatever you're doing and
immediately jump and run to the sides until it stops.

And, by now, you've probably experienced the nasty surprise after
the Amarillo's death: an explosion rippling across the land,
killing anyone standing too close to the impact. There are three
ways to avoid the explosion: 1) Get as far away as possible when
the Armadillo falls to its knees on its last breath; 2) Activate
a Ninpo before the explosion hits you; 3) Block the explosion.

The easiest strategy is blocking the explosion after you kill an
Armadillo.


After the battle: run!
Be sure to reuse the save location near the Armadillo boss fight.
There are several moderately difficult fights between this battle
and the next save point.

Again, repeating the strategy used at the beginning of Chapter
12, run past the enemies without fighting them. You'll need to
conserve your energy for the next boss, Zedonius. And don't worry
about the lava below your feet; it won't hurt you. Also, you can
find Red Essence in a chest along the path.


Boss: Zedonius

600x336

Requirement: To trigger the boss fight, move beyond the corpse
holding arrows.

Attacks

* Fireballs: Zedonius shoots fireball while on the ground or
in the air. To dodge the fireballs in the air, watch carefully
for the small pause before he launches a fireball. During these
few frames of animation, immediately run and dodge to the sides.
Or, if you have Ninpo, shoot the Art of the Piercing Void.
* Lands on you after flying: A nasty attack tracking your
last location. It's very hard to dodge the move.
* Throw: Look for a low crouch before the throw -- that's the
sign telegraphing a throw.

What not to do

* Don't ever Flying Swallow; Zedonius will block it.

Strategy

To take off an enormous amount of health, use the Art of the
Piercing Void when Zedonius is preparing for a fireball attack in
the air, or when he's on the ground advancing towards your
location. The second best strategy, a strategy that doesn't
involve Ninpo, is slashing the boss with the scythe. Get close,
execute a four hit combo with the Y button, and dodge. Simple.

After the battle, Zedonius will place the Heart of the Malevolent
Flame on the ground, one of four pieces you need to unlock the
door to the Underworld.



The cave

Watch out for mines in the cave. You can save your game at the
Statue of the Earth Dragon, and pick up Red Essence in a chest by
the Statue.


Outside the cave and in the forest

A fog blankets the forest masking the enemies lurking in the
background. Since you have limited visibility, and you don't know
the locations of the enemy, creep through the forest while
executing the scythe Ultimate Technique, letting the UT autotrack
the position of the enemy. Walk a few steps, execute the scythe
UT several times, then walk forward a bit. Repeat the UT strategy
throughout the forest.

Herb of a Spirtual Life by the left wall.

Yellow essence in a chest by the left wall.

Repeat the UT strategy throughout the forest.


Boss: Volf

Volf is accompanied by a group of Centaurs, whose main attack
consist of running you over under their hooves, and attacking you
with a long staff. But don't let the Centaurs distract you from
your objective: to kill Volf. Focus your effort on Volf, and only
Volf, by staying close to him while slashing him with the scythe
(use the Y button combo). Dodge to the sides when Volf attacks
you with his multihit combo. When Volf whiffs his combo,
immediately get close to him and slash him with the scythe. If
you see an opening, when Volf stands still or slowly walks to the
side, shoot the Art of the Piercing Void.

Alternate Strategy: If you want to wipe most of the Centaurs in
one strike, on the very beginning moment of the battle, charge up
your Scythe's Ultimate Technique until it maxed out, and release
before the horde of Centaurs approach you. With good timing, that
should wipe them out with only very few left. From then on, it's
going to be Volf's turn. One of the best technique for the
Werewolf is the True Dragon Ninja's Flying Swallow. One of the
easiest NG II boss fight.

Chapter 13: The Underworld Abyss

Key items

* None.

Objectives

* Beat Alexei.

At the start of Chapter 13, examine the glowing red object for
the Heart of Bestial Storm, a reminiscence of the defeated boss
Volf, which you'll need to escape the Underworld. Then, go up the
hill and purchase items and weapons at Muramasa's Shop. You'll
need full health and items for the next several battles.


In the narrow hallway

Half mechanical, half organic, the mechanical spiders are quick,
lethal, and intimidating. In a pack, they can tear you apart with
their flying attacks, and interrupt your attacks with their quick
slashes. So, keep that in mind when you're fighting them up close
-- a situation that's fairly dangerous and is more trouble than
its worth. Instead of close combat, you should look at your
environment for the strategy. The narrow hall is a perfect
opportunity to spam the scythe Ultimate Technique. Run to the end
of the hall, and when you have enough distance between you and
the enemy, charge and release the UT or you could also try
attacking with a a fully charged windmill shuriken provided your
targets (half mechanical, half organic, the mechanical spiders)
are stationary. If they're too close to you, run back to the
other side, and repeat the strategy. Also, try to line them up in
a single path and shoot the Arrow of the Piercing Void.
600x336
Half mechanical, half organic, the mechanical spiders are quick,
lethal, and intimidating.

Area with centaurs

270x200There are two rooms: one locked, the other opened, on
opposite ends of the room. The opened room has the Statue of the
Earth Dragon and three chests, and when activating the Earth
Dragon, the locked room will open. If you're having a hard time
with the Centaurs, execute repeated Flying Swallows. Or equip a
scythe and perform the Ultimate Technique over and over.You could
also try attacking with fully charged windmill shuriken but be
careful when there is more than one centaur charging at you.


The cave

The cave has two paths: left or right. The left path leads to a
dead end with a Devil Way Mushroom on a corpse. If you don't want
the extra work, avoid the left path and take the right path all
the way to the exit. Also, the cave is filled with webbed balls
hanging from the ceiling. Destroying a ball will uncover a
surprise: a ninja, a group of ninjas, or a spider creature.
Although the spider creature is a pain to fight, you can kill it
quickly by slashing it with the scythe. Whatever you do, don't
use your Ninpo in the cave; conserve them for the upcoming boss
fight.
600x336
The webbed balls contain a ninja, a group of ninjas, or a spider
creature.


270x200Outside the cave

Dragons fly above a giant hole in the ground, their numbers
seemingly endless. You don't have to fight the dragons. Just jump
into the hole and you'll fight Alexei. But if you want to kill
them, stay in the cave and shoot arrows right by the door, which
offers some protection against the dragon's fireballs. Outside,
look for an Herb of Spiritual in a chest near the wall on the far
left.



Boss: Alexei
600x336

Attacks

* Tornado: Alexei spins like a tornado across the floor,
tracking your location. The move is easy to spot due to its long
start up time. When you see Alexei start to spin, don't think
about dodging but immediately execute a Ninpo for its
invincibility. Alexei is very vulnerable after the Tornado
attack.
* Grab: A quick short range grab that inflicts tremendous
damage. The throw's quickness makes it hard to react accordingly.
So, as a preemptive measurement, you should constantly dodge to
the sides in order to avoid the throw.
* Lightning: When Alexei flies in the air, he'll attack by
throwing lighting that tracks onto your last location. Run and
jump in one direction to avoid the lightning attacks. But the
easiest strategy is to use the Art of the Piercing Void when he
gets in the air and when you see Alexei gather electricity in his
hands.
* Electric balls: Projectiles that can't be blocked. Dodge to
the side to avoid them, but don't jump during the evasion! After
the electric balls, Alexei may execute a flying grab to snatch
you out of the air.

Don't throw arrows and Incendiary Shuriken -- they're worthless
against Alexei.

Counterattacking is very difficult. Don't try it on Alexei, as
he'll block the counters and respond with a grab.

Weakpoints: His body.

Strategy: Scythe (Y button) up close.

Stay close to Alexei while slashing him with the scythe (the Y
button), and after the end of your combo, try to tack on
additional hits, though this may be risky and expose you to a
counterattack. A four or five hit combo with the scythe should
take half of Alexei's life. Pursue him, be aggressive, and hack
him away.

But you can't be single minded in your approach. Evasion and
blocking are equally important. For instance, you must watch out
for his tornado move, an invincible attack that blows through all
your melee attacks. The tornado is such a threat that you should
activate a Ninpo to protect yourself against it. Otherwise, do
your best to block and dodge to the sides.

Chapter 14: Poisoned Blood

Key items

* Heart of the Azure Lightning
* Blade of the Archfiend
* Heart of Crimson Blood

Objectives

* Beat Genshin
* Beat Elizebet
* Beat High Priest
* Beat Arch Fiend
* Beat Dragon Arch Fiend

You start the level by picking up the Heart of Azure Lightning.
Head to down the path to the left and through the door. Here you
will face half mechanical, half organic, the mechanical spiders.
They are quick, lethal, and intimidating. In a pack, they can
tear you apart with their flying attacks, and interrupt your
attacks with their quick slashes. So, keep that in mind when
you're fighting them up close -- a situation that's fairly
dangerous and is more trouble than its worth. Instead of close
combat, you should look spam the scythe Ultimate Technique you
could also try attacking with a a fully charged windmill shuriken
provided your targets (half mechanical, half organic, the
mechanical spiders) are stationary. If they're too close to you
move back and repeat the strategy. Also, try to line them up in a
single path and shoot the Arrow of the Piercing Void. When you
have killed them all pick up the Devil Way Mushroom found on the
body.

Go through the door to reach Muramasa's shop. Buy plenty of
supplies for the up coming areas. You will pass through yet
another door where you fill face the centaurs yet again.

Area with centaurs

If you're having a hard time with the Centaurs, execute repeated
Flying Swallows. You can also equip a scythe and perform the
Ultimate Technique over and over. Another method you can try is
attacking with fully charged windmill shuriken but be careful
when there is more than one centaur charging at you. Be sure to
pick up arrows and the Devil Way Mushroom found on the two bodies
in this area.

Just ahead is a Statue of the Earth Dragon save your game before
going on.

Pool of blood


The pool of blood has several serpent creatures so equip the
gatling gun. Fire with your back against the wall and let the
serpents come to you. There is nothing on the floor of the pool
so don't waste your time looking. Head up the stairs. At the
top of the stairs on the left there is a box of red essence on
the right a body with Herb of Spirtual Life. Head through the
door and you will begin your first boss battle.


Boss: Genshin

Genshin is easy. Just remember this simple yet effective
strategy: attack with the scythe. That's it. Stay close to
Genshin and repeatedly slash him with the scythe. You won't have
to block, either. Assault him relentlessly, and execute a Ninpo
for invincibility and to avoid his attacks, then dodge to the
sides. Wait until Genshin whiffs his combo before getting in
close and repeating the strategy.

After killing Genshin for the last time, you will be given the
Blade of the Archfiend. If you are attempting to get x-weapon
achievement make sure you switch your weapon back before the next
battle.

Boss: Elizebet

Attacks

* Charge: A quick charge attack followed by a potential
throw. Before charging at you, Elizebet will lower her shoulders
and hunch forward, a sign that you should block or dodge.
* Flying Swallow or Dive: To counter your Flying Swallows or
jump attacks, Elizebet will execute her own Flying Swallow, which
usually beats your attack. (Save the Flying Swallow when she's
forming her red blood magic in the air.) When she lands, Elizebet
will swoop down towards the ground, hitting you if you're in the
way. Dodge to the side to avoid.
* Multihit combo: Three to five hit combo ending with a tail
attack. If she whiffs the combo, it's your chance to attack! Make
sure to dodge each attack, then counterattack quickly before
Elizebet has a chance to recover.
* Red blood magic: A circle of blood appears in the air,
streaming red projectiles randomly around the area. The red blood
magic is very difficult to dodge, so take the easy way out: use
Ninpo. When Elizebet forms the red circle in the air, immediately
execute the Art of the Piercing Void. Sometimes, she'll avoid the
Piercing Void. Sometimes, she'll get hit. If you don't have
Ninpo, perform a Flying Swallow to hit her out of the air!

Our strategy relied on close range fighting. Stay close to her,
blocking and dodging her melee attacks, and attack with Dragon
Sword and Cursed Sword when she whiffs her combos. Save Ninpo to
counter her red blood magic -- an important strategy if you're
terrible at dodging projectiles.

After killing Elizebet you will find the Heart of Crimson Blood
lying of the floor. There is nothing else in this room so don't
waste your time looking head into the void that was created after
Elizebet's death.

Inside the Void

Once in the void you with find box containing Herb of Spirtual
Life, Muramasa's shop, and Statue of the Earth Dragon. Make sure
max out your inventory. You will not find any extra's from this
point until after the next boss battle. Follow the path to a set
of stairs where you fill finally make use of the Heart of the
Azure Lightning, Heart of Crimson Blood, and the others you have
collected.

Next you will find pass through an extremely long tunnel. You
fill fight imps and dragons. Use the same techniques you have
always used to defeat them. At the end of the tunnel you will
face your next boss. The High Priest.

Boss: High Priest

Spiral Staircase

After killing the High Priest you will begin in a pool of water.
Head to the closest land where you will find a box full of red
essence. Head up the spiral staircase made out of vines or rock.
Once you go up far enough you will face the Arch Fiend.

Boss: Arch Fiend

How to kill the Archfied

Autoaim for the win: In the video, the player zooms in when
targeting the head and the blue core, the weakspots of the
Archfiend. But there's a faster way. You don't need to zoom in,
as Ryu autoaims. Autoaim is much faster while zooming leaves
room for error and, well, death. Also, use the Art of the Flame
Phoenix to protect you from the miniskulls that fly at you, in
addition to slashing them or running and dodging to the sides.

The attack pattern: The attack pattern should revolve these basic
concepts: Shoot him in the face, dodge his spew, then shoot him
in the orb. Dodge his spew again, and if you're quick, you can
shoot him again, as long as the orb is still blue.

When you've knocked a considerable amount of health, the
Archfiend will move up the level, forcing you to run after it.
Repeat the strategy mentioned above. And, on the last level, the
third level of the stage, you'll find a corpse with arrows near
the edge of the stage.

Boss: Dragon Arch Fiend

How to beat the Final Arch Fiend

Strategy 1: An easy way to beat the final arch fiend is by using
the Eclipse Scythe and pummeling the Y button. If you time it
right, the game gifts you the most awesome Obliteration to finish
the Arch Fiend off, and to end the game! Good luck!

Strategy 2: Run directly to the Arch Fiend's left and stand next
to its hand. Immediately start slashing him up with the Scythe.
When he lifts his hand to grab you, activate your Ninpo (any will
do) and he wont harm you. If you have five scrolls, use you can
pretty much beat him without being hit.

And that's it! Hope you found this walkthrough helpful and
useful during the game. Constructed with the help of mycheats.


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