Arcus Odyssey/Walkthrough

Part 1: Shrine Grounds
New enemies:

Dark Soldier: Slow and weak. You should be able to kill them before they get close. Watch out for the ones that hide behind buildings, though.

Sandpit: There are three creatures that lie in quicksand and hurl boulders at you. Dodge their attacks, move within range, and hit them until they go down. They have a lot of health, so keep pressing the 'C' button.

This level is pretty straightforward, just follow the path until you reach the shrine. Move next to the statue of Leaty at the end to get some story info and two magical power crystals.

Part 2: Shrine
New enemies:

Crawler: These monsters have ranged attacks, and cannot be hit while they are attacking. Fortunately, they cannot chance the direction of their attack once they start, so it's not too hard to dodge. Position yourself in front and slightly to the side of them to kill them - their attack has to hit dead on to damage, while yours does not.

Flies: They will appear out of the water and attack you at high speed--fortunately, they do not change direction, so as long as you keep moving you should be all right.

Giant Frogs: Very strong and very stupid. They only move or attack in two directions. Wait for them to jump past you, then hit them from behind or below.

Red moles: Slow and weak, like the soldiers in the last level. They take awhile to come out of the ground, so even the soldiers' element of surprise is lost.

Items: (All waterfalls are in the upper right.)
 * Medicine of regeneration, in the upper left by the lake.
 * Medicine of regeneration, in the upper right below the waterfall.
 * Magical fire ring, in the center.
 * Doll of life, next to right waterfall.
 * Magical power crystal, next to center waterfall.
 * Lamp of life, below the center waterfall.

This part of the shrine is a network of passages. The soldier in the center (not the same place that you find the fire ring) tells you that there his companions are being held captive behind a waterfall. The waterfalls are in the upper right, and being the good and noble person that you are, you can't refuse. There are 3 possible falls, and the correct one is random. Getting at the right and center falls requires some roundabout walking. You will have to travel the same path that leads to the one on the left, but take the bottom fork when the passage turns right. Your character will identify whether the you're at the right place when you approach each waterfall (if you've talked to the soldier). If they notice something strange, it's the right one.

Part 3: Shrine exit
As soon as you enter, you run into the stage boss. He has a lot of health, and his attacks bounce off the walls similar to the way the archer's do. Use the column of stone in the center of the room to keep him from getting close. Attack him a few times, then duck behind the column again before his attacks hit you. If you can find a place where he constantly attacks you but never hits, good. If you are in a position to hit him from that place, even better.

There isn't anything to do in this level other than kill the boss. After you defeat him the door leading to the next level opens up.

Part 1: Prison
New enemies:

Giant octopus: Slow, short range, only attacks on diagonals. Easy enough to kill, just attack it from the left, right, up, or down (i.e. off the diagonals)

Lizardman: They have a ranged attack, and will also try to close on you. They're not very fast, though. Just keep your distance, dodge, and return fire while they're trying to ready their next attack.

Anemone: They have a ranged attack that can go in any direction, and they use it often. However, they are very weak. Dodge out of the way, then get in a quick shot before they fire again. They appear in very large groups, so keep pressing that C button to cut them down before they all start bombarding you. Remeber, enemies take some time to notice you after they appear on screen.

Items:
 * Medicine of Regeneration, in the center.
 * Magical power crystal, in the center.
 * Another magical power crystal, up and to the right of the last 2.
 * Potion of invincibility, in the same place.
 * Magic of elemental summoning. It's in the upper left, but you have to go right and then all the way around in order to get at it.
 * The prison key, on the far right.
 * Medicine of regeneration, top center next to the door.
 * Lamp of life, top center, on the upper path that leads to that leads to the bridge.

At the start, move forward and defeat the octopus. After that, turn right. You should find a magical power crystal and the prison key at this part of the level. If you want, follow the path to its end to pick up a medicine of regeneration, otherwise backtrack to the first junction. Take a left, and keep moving until you reach the prison. There are plenty of dead ends on the way, but they are very short, so you will know as soon as you take a wrong turn. One of the prisoners will tell you the key to the resorvoir is located "at the end of the bridge"... hmmm. You can take any one of the three others with you--they will attack when you attack, but their movements will always be a step behind yours. Kahdega throws scimitars that will come back and boomerang in the other direction, Fureya has slow moving fireballs that will automatically seek out and hit enemies, and Nadiru has fast energy darts that explode on contact. I personally prefer Fureya.

Go back to the area you found the key, and take the path that leads to the upper left. Keep heading left - there are a couple of paths you can take, but they both lead there eventually - and you will find a bridge. Approaching it, you will pick up the exit key.

Now you can open up the door to the next stage. Go back to where you found the prison key, and follow the path that goes to the upper right. It will take you to the door to the reservoir.

Part 2: Reservoir
New enemies: Giant turtle: This thing will be your boat, once you convince it to lie down. It has two attacks. Its fireball is not very fast and easy to dodge, while its spikes come out in groups of 4 and move somewhat unpredictably. The best thing to do is hit it as hard as you can - you'll have your friend from last level to add to your firepower - and hope he dies before you suffer too much damage.

King Handagon (lizardman): He pops out of the water while you are on the shell to hurl tridents at you. You'll probably be too preoccupied trying to dodge them to fire back - unfortunately, you will have to, or else the level will never end. This is where Fureya comes in handy, because his fireballs will aim for him while your character is moving in circles trying to dodge. If you don't have Fureya, and don't want to use a potion of invincibility, watch where Handagon pops out closely, and move to his side (he always throws to the front) and attack. You will only be able to get a couple of hits in before he goes underwater again, so unless you're Erin you'll have to do this several times.

Act 3 "The Bad Dream"

Part 1: Pyramid

New enemies:

Worm: It is slow and has no ranged attack, but it takes a few hits to take down. Just open fire as soon as you see it, and you shouldn't have problems. Even if your first burst doesn't kill it, you can just fall back and do it again.

Skeleton: Similar to the worm - slow and tough. Use the same tactics.

Necromancer: He stands in one place and reanimates fallen skeletons. Very durable, but since skeletons are so slow you will get plenty of time to whack him. Back off if his skeletons come too close, but keep him within range.

Imp: Like the flies in part 2 of act 1, they will swoop across the screen very quickly. Unlike the flies, oftentimes you will not get any warning, so just try to keep moving as you explore the temple.

Items: -Magical power crystal, at the end of a path heading to the right. -Herb of purification, at the end another path heading to the right, -above the first. -Inside the second chamber: Lamp of life, herb of purification, anti- poison herb of wizardry, magical power crystal x 3, magic of elemental summoning, doll of life, potion of invincibility,

To start off, turn left at the first set of stairs, then just keep going up until you reach the door. It is on the far left, but there is some treasure to pick up if you bother to explore the right.

Inside, you will find an old spirit and a sword. The spirit informs you that you need all 5 swords to unlock the curse, and the doors of the pyramid. Out you go to find the other four.

Return to your starting point, then move right from the first set of stairs, along the bottom side of the pyramid. You will come to another bunch of stairs. It's a long climb, and imps will harass you as you move forward. Fureya is great for taking them out. At the end, defeat the two necromancers. You should stay a good distance away from them so their skeletons can't get close.

If you want to get some treasure, go left and down the stairs. Either Kahdega, Fureya, or Nadiru will be here, depending on your sex who you decided to take along with you. They will give you some information about themselves and thank you again, but that's about it. Enter the door, and loot everything inside. Continue down the stairs to claim the magical fire ring, if you still have room in your inventory.

Backtrack, then move to the upper right. The sword of the hero will open a new door for you.

Part 2: Tomb

New enemies:

Minotaur: Throws axes, and will also try to charge you. Use hit and run tactics to defeat him.

Statue: High health, but immobile. Throws projectiles at you, but time between attacks is high, giving you ample time to destroy it. Because they are so large, you stand in front of it and slightly to the side, and it will be unable to hit you while you hit it. Its attacks cause silence, blocking all magic except for Bead's level, which is designed to cure this sort of thing.

Items: -Anti-poison herb of wizardry, to the left and down some of starting position. -Another anti-poison herb, near the exit from your prison cell. -Medicine of regeneration and herb of purification, outside the sarcophogi/tombs on the far left. -Magical power crystal, on the far left beyond the sarcophogi.. -A magical power crystal and lamp of life, near the tombs below your starting point. -Medicine of regeneration, below starting point, one passage lower than the last two items.

Of course, it would be too simple if every sword was as easy to get as the first. From the start, go to the right and up to reach the only door in the place that starts out opened. Inside, you'll find the sword of ambition.

Work your way counterclockwise to the next door. The sword of ambition will open it up.

Part 3: Halls of darkness

New enemies:

Zombie: Slow moving, but tough. Never let it get too close, even if you think it's almost dead, because it might not be.

Specter: They fly around, ignore walls, and flicker in and out so it's hard to keep track of their movement. A major pain.

Energy swirl: Slow moving and weak, they shouldn't be much of a threat.

Death flower: Weak and stationary. It's easy to destroy, but that's exactly what you don't want to do. When it dies, it explodes, sending shots in three directions.

A pretty straightforward area, even if the enemies are tough. Just follow it through to the end, there are few dead ends and they are short ones. Because the zombies are so slow, you might want to just run through without attacking so you don't have to deal with the exploding flowers. Fureya has an annoying habit of taking them out when you don't want to.

Enter the door and receive the sword of darkness. However, when you pick it up, you will be surrounded by dark lords. Not good...

Part 4: Captured

The companion you picked up outside the reservoir will be taken away, leaving you to face this semi-boss alone.

The boss's energy bursts are huge and difficult to dodge. You're aiming for its head, in the front. Hit it directly from the left or right of it, then dodge up or down. Moving like this should keep it off balance, since it puts low priority on direct left/right attacks, shooting in that direction only if your character is directly in the line of fire. Magic attacks can also finish it quickly.

After defeating the thing, the exit is unblocked. The exit from the next set of passages is down and to the right of your starting point, but you need to pick up another sword to open it up. Head up and to the right - there are a bunch of dead ends. When you come to blue stuff flowing across the floor, you'll know you're on the right path. Dark lords respawn quickly here, so keep your guard up. At the end, you'll find the sword of the fighter. Grab it, retrace your steps, and get the heck out of there.

The tomb again:

Work your way clockwise. If you want, pick up the items lying outside the embalmed corpses on the far left. Eventually, you'll find another pedastal. Place the sword of darkness on it. This time around, there will be no extraneous fighting and exploring to do. Just go in and take the sword of peace, but be prepared to run for cover when the boulders come out of the wall.

The last door is a bit of a ways down from the entrance to the tomb, in the bottom right. There's some more treasure to be had on the way, if you want it.

Boss fight: Yodi

This guy is tough. He constantly summons zombies, energy swirls, and specters. The most annoying ones will be zombies, since they are incredibly hard to kill and have a tendency to swarm. Take cover in one of the corners to stem the tide of enemies. Whenever somethings steps in front of you, attack it. Otherwise aim to the side, at Yodi.

Act 4 "The Wicked Flame"

Part 1: Firewall

New enemies:

Fire dragon: Pops out of the lava to throw fire darts in a few directions, or pops out of holes in the ground to be annoying and block passage. They are difficult to kill, but their attacks are slow.

Fire ray: Flies slowly, even ignoring the walls that stop your attacks. Easy to kill, but leaves a trail of flame when it dies that is just as deadly as any enemy. It takes awhile to dissipate. If you run into one that is flying over a wall right next to the passage you're walking on, back off and wait for it to come out. Their movement is unpredictable, and you don't want it to pop out and hit you as you're walking past.

Fire beast: Charges toward you. Pretty fast, but dies quickly. They have a painful habit of hitting you from the sides or rear. Keep that C button pressing whenever you move forward.

New items:

-Magical fire ring, at the end of a corridor in the upper right. -Magical power crystal, one over from the fire ring. -Herb of purification, at the end of a long passage at the far left. You have to go up and slightly to the right of your starting point to get at it, though. -Lamp of life, up and to the right, near waterfall. -Medicine of regeneration, below the waterfall. -Magical power crystal, near the end of the winding corridor leading to the dark lords.

From your starting point, head right (it's not like you have much choice) and then take the first passage heading to the northeast. Follow it straight through, continuing in the same direction until you reach a corridor that is stuffed with fire dragons. Proceed slowly, and watch the ground for holes. At the end, you will find a doorway. Heal yourself if necessary, and enter. The reaction of those inside is the same no matter how you decide to answer.

New enemy: Cyclops

Those two guys are easy, if you know what to do. At the start, simply walk behind the tone block. You will have to approach it at a slant, otherwise you won't fit. Once you don't that, the cyclops are helpless. They're too large to get through, and you can cut them down at your leisure. Once they are both dead, approach the block from the top to get the water gate charm. You will now be able to knock down the various floodgates scattered across this level. The first one is right on the way back. Destroy it, and watch the sweet blue flow. From there, go down and take a left to bring you to the next gate. Knock it down as well.

Take a detour and head up, and grab the lamp of life. You'll need it. Go back down and follow the path, going left and then down, and destroy the third gate. Enemies are very thick around here, so proceed carefully. You can keep going down if you want in order to get the herb of purification, but you're probably getting tired of having to deal with constant waves of enemies. Backtrack a bit.

From your starting point, go all the way left, and then up. You'll find the next gate. Knock it down like all the rest. Return to the first junction yet again, and go up. Congratulations, the door is now accessible. Get the heck out of there.

Boss Battle: The arms will shoot largish energy balls at you, while the mouth hurls spikes in front of it. Moving to the left or right side of the monster protects you from the spikes, but it means confining yourself to a small space. Trying to dodge the energy balls in that condition is suicide.

Watch how the spikes fly a couple of times - it's always the same. Choose a spot between the center pair and the ones on either the left or right. Position your character so that the spikes always go around him/her, and time it so the energy balls and spikes come at different times. Shoot a few times, then move to the side. The boss is large, so you should be able to hit it even when you're not directly in front of it. Alternatively use a couple of magic crystals and blast away.

Act 5 "The Arrival"

Part 1: Sky Castle

New enemies:

Demon: Purple humanoids. They have a ranged attack, but will also try to close on you. Best defeated by putting something between you and it so it can't move closer, and dodging its shots while you hack away.

Flying sword: They float straight in one direction. Whenever they reach the edge of the map, or are hit by one of your shots, they fly back to in the other direction, at high speed. So don't attack the thing when it's already past you if you're behind it. If you're clever, you can use these things to kill demons by attacking them when a demon's behind them.

Dark Lord: Their attacks explode and split in three directions. If your character has a triple shot of some sort, you can beat them easily by attacking them from a diagonal and then moving when they shoot. Since you will be off to the side, you will have time to move out of the way before the thing explodes.

New items: -Magical fire ring, near start -Lamp of life and medicine of regeneration, on the white walkway. -2 Magical power crystals, up and to the right of the crystal room. -Doll of life, on the right, beyond one of the mirrors. -Medicine of regeneration, after the second dark lord. -Potion of invincibility, up and to the right of second dark lord. -Magical fire-ring and magical power crystal, beyond the potion of invincibility. (to the left)

From the start, go up and to the right to get the fire ring. You will find a demon imprisoned inside a cell - he will tell you some interesting things about Casomira's followers, and say that anyone who offers to help you is probably telling the truth.

Now, go back down and go right. You want to take the bottom path first. Follow it to the end to find two allies. Choose one of them - Keyami has an exploding attack that splits in three directions, and Vortek's is a simple straight shot. Either one is a extremely helpful, since enemies here are tough and you really need the firepower. I prefer Keyami.

Now, move onto the upper path. You will find a u-turn that will send you up and to the left, and face to face with a greater dark lord. Your battlefield is confined, there are no walls to bounce arrows off of, and his attacks explode and strike in three directions at once just Keyami's. Keep moving and attack him while his attack is recovering. Be sure to defeat any demons that are nearby before you confront him, or they will fire on the battlefield as well. If you took Keyami, or if your attack has three shots, then you will be able to hit the dark lord while moving past him without having to face him. Don't rely too much on Keyami, though, because the AI isn't very cooperative, and half the time he will be facing the wrong way.

Before he dies, the dark lord tells you about Casomira's magic mirror. It creates false exits. Once you break the mirror, you will be able to tell which exits are real. Moving up and to the right, you will find a mirror, but nothing you do will harm it. Moving right, you will find a walkway of a different color. Detour southward to get a lamp of life. There is also a medicine of regeneration to the north. Go east, and enter a room with a strange crystal formation. Destroy it, and you will be able to destroy the mirrors. Backtrack and get the two you passed, one in the center of the area right after the first dark lord, the second directly above the crystal room.

Go forward, and you will find a mirror blocking the passageway to the northeast. Destroy it, move up the passage, and turn left. Keep going up and to the left until you find another mirror. Take it out, then backtrack. From the previous mirror, just keep heading right (and down, since this is a slanted view) until you find another mirror. Destroy it, claim the doll of life, and challenge the dark lord. If you can catch him on the edge of one of the corners, you might be able to trick him into constantly firing to the side of you and missing. Otherwise, use the same strategy as against the last one.

Continue up and to the right. Take the medicine and potion of invincibility. If you're short on magic, go to the left to get another crystal, otherwise exit up the brown ramp. If the path is a dead end, it's because you didn't destroy all the mirrors. Backtrack and take them out.

Boss battle: Most of this thing's attacks only hit straight in front of it, so you can just sit a bit to the side and fire. You don't want to be too close to the edge of the screen, though, because you will have to dodge to avoid the creature's shockwave attack.

That last fight was only warmup. Now you have to fight Ginoban. He attacks often, in all directions, and is mobile. His frontal is attack is fast but easy to avoid... just avoid being in front of him =P. His spikes move in several directions, but are slower and can be dodged. He also periodically sends out whirlwinds. They cannot be destroyed, but are very slow. Evade them until they dissipate. He also constantly tries to close on you, so keep moving. Circle around - avoiding the front when possible - and keep firing. This is when having Bead's or Diane's multi-direction attacks is handy.

When he falls, take the power-up gem he drops, and move on. Your companion stays behind to stem the horde of monsters.

Act 6 "Dark minions" There's nothing to do outside, just head on in.

Round 1: 3 Golems If your character has a long range attack, fight as far away as possible, so that only one of the golems has you in its line of sight. Enemy fireballs split and bounce off of walls... you will be doing a lot of dodging in this fight. The fire darts are faster, but a lot easier because you only have to dodge them once. Attack from a diagonal, because you want as much screen space between you and them as you can get, so that you get plenty of warning when one of their fireballs streaks toward you.

Climb up the castle, and go onto the next fight.

Round 2: 4 Spiders These monsters will try to entangle you by spitting out web fluid. Fortunately, this only goes in 2 directions, so stay away from the bottom diagonals. They also have a non-entangling missile attack that goes in all directions, but they still rarely choose attack the sides. Try to bunch them together, so that by staying above one you stay above all. You're in way too small of a space to dodge attacks from every direction. Attack them from the top, and when they get too close, circle around and lure them down. Rinse and repeat.

You can defeat the first spider easily by trapping it on one of the corners near the entrance and then firing away. This also works if you manage to lure other spiders into that spot. Cheap, but it makes things a heck of a lot easier.

Round 3: 4 Worms You can only hit them when they are out of the ground. The worms throw rings which will speed towards you no matter what direction you lie in. If you ever collide with one of them, you will get hurt, so try to stay below or to the side of them if possible. Keeping to the bottom wall also means that you don't attract the attention of those that are further up until you're ready.

Round 4: ??? Whoever you chose as a companion back in act 2 will be here, having given him/herself over to Casomira. You will have to kill him/her. Kahdega and Nadiru are pretty straightforward, like the prison boss they put low priority on attacks that are directly to the left/right. Fureya is a challenge, since her attacks are nearly impossible to dodge. Invincibility and magic attacks are your best bet. This is why choosing Fureya might not be such a good idea even though she has the best attack of the three. After he/she falls, an extremely nasty monster will appear over the body, spraying the entire battlefield with shots. Fortunately, it only takes on hit to kill.

Answer your companion's question 'yes'. If you fail to console them in their afterlife, the game will end. Encourage them, and they will heal you to full.

Round 5: Slithe Slithe is fast, tries to close on you, and has many attacks. Don't let him corner you against the entrance, it bring you swift deah. Move the fight out into the open area behind him. Most of his attacks only go in straight lines, so stick to the diagonals and keep hitting him. The only exception is his spikes - if he throws them, you'll have as much chance to evade them standing still as moving. This is one of the better times to resort to using a potion of invincibility.

Act 7 "A Nightmare Castle"

New enemies:

Scorpian: Has a fast-firing ranged attack, but not very strong. Lead with your shots raining in front of you, and you should be fine. Its green attack explodes when it hits a wall - the purple one is normal but occasionally causes poison.

Exploder: These red swirls sit on the walls, waiting to get hit. When they die, they send shots in three directions.

New items: -Magic of elemental summoning, beyond the entrance. -Magical power crystal, up and to the right of entrance. -Herb of purification, in the center. -Medicine of regeneration, in the upper right. -Magical power crystal, in the upper left -Medicine of regeneration, lamp of life, and doll of life, at the end of the first tunnel.

Near the entrance, you will find one of your old companions, dying. There's nothing you can do for him/her. Keep moving, and go down the hall to the right. Your sight will be obscured somewhat by water, but you will be able to see well enough to hit your enemies. At the end, there will be a door (you might have to approach it at different angles to get in). Inside, you'll find Yodi. Ignore him, since your attacks will not be effective. Instead, aim for the sitting figure in the back of the room. When that is destroyed, Yodi goes with it.

Backtrack to the original room, and move up and to the right, going down the stairs. Follow the passageway to the end. You will emerge on a platform in another part of the dungeon. There are several healing items to pick up. Go left, and you will find Ginoban. Again, you must destroy the figure in the back of the room.

Go back to the first room yet again, and go left instead of right. Stay to the left, and eventually you will come to a door. Inside you will meet another old enemy, Slithe. Do the same to him as you did to Yodi and Ginoban.

Now head east. At the end of the corridor, you will find a large, empty room. Enter it. If you come here before defeating all 3 of the old bosses, you will get a message saying you sense something is wrong. This boss in its basic form isn't too hard - it pops in and out of the ground, but its attack is slow. However, it occasionally spawns creatures that will literally spray the entire screen. Kill them as quickly as you can, they should fall in one hit. You won't be able to hit the main enemy as often as you'd like, but it should fall eventually. Just keep circling it and dodge its attacks, while getting in your own.

Act 8 "The Full Moon"

New enemies:

Fly: Weak and not very fast, but they're numerous enough.

Hive: Constantly creates flies. It takes a lot of hits to kill.

Light barrel: Floats around, and occasionally sprays the surrounding area with fireballs. Try to destroy it as soon as you see it, because you can't hit it while it is attacking and it takes a long time for it to stop once it gets started.

Bloodstone: They float, move quickly, and take several hits to kill. Not much to do against them except make sure you're constantly attacking the area in front of you, and even that might not stop them.

Black hive: Stationary. It throws stones that explode upon contact, but like other immobiles, it has a slow firing rate.

New items: -Potion of invincibility and magical fire-ring, to the right of start, near the fly spawn. -Medicine of regeneration, at top of staircase. -Medicine of regeneration and magical power crystal, to the right and down from main path. -Lamp of life, to the left of main path.

This is pretty straightforward. The level is mostly one long path heading up, although there are a couple of places to detour to get extra treasure. If you're looking for treasure, always take the stairs that go up last, and explore in any other direction first.

At the end, you'll find Casomira herself. Answer her questions no like a hero whether you feel like one or not, because if you don't the game will end.

Casomira (Sorceress) This isn't too hard. Her most common attack is slow and easy to dodge. She also has an exploding four direction attack, but this is much rarer. She has few hit points. Occasionally, she will teleport to a different location, but the only thing this really does is give you a slight breather.

Casomira (Dragon) Stay a good distance away from this as often as possible. Its blades will rise and fall in an arc, but they do not travel very far sideways. The spikes and fireballs can be dodged, but only if you have ample warning - another reason to stay away.

Casomira (Demon) This is tough. All her attacks are somewhat hard to evade. Stay away from the sides of the screen, because that's where her laser attacks come from. Keep your distance, it makes dodging the laser attacks easier. Whether or not you win this battle depends a lot on how many potions/power crystals you have left. Since this is the last battle, you can go all out with everything.