Meikyuu Jiin Dababa/Area 1

Area 1-0

 * You will start off in the lower left corner of the upper left section. You will encounter basic enemies in blue garb, and their faster brethren dressed in red.  Before you follow the path south, you can shoot the lone statue at the top to reveal a mystery bonus award.
 * Once you enter the lower left section, you can explore the left peninsula to find the statue which will provide you with a heart. It is the center statue in the top row.
 * Hop to the lower right section via either pathway. Once you are there, you can visit a dead end region in the upper right section where you can reveal another heart by shooting a nearby statue.
 * Back in the lower right section, shoot the statue in the center of the circular path to find your first weapon exchange. A lotus blossom will appear in the upper right corner of the path.  Collect it to upgrade to flames.  Then follow the path south and back around to the north on the right side.
 * When you reach the upper right section, the lone statue in the water can be shot for a very valuable potion. However, do not shoot it from the spot marked with the X, as this tile will disappear when the potion appears.  Instead, shoot it from above across the water, and collect the potion to remain safe.
 * Finally, follow the remainder of the path to the left. Avoid hitting the flame jets, and proceed back into the upper left section where the entrance lies.  Jump in the entrance to reach the next area.

Area 1-1
From the start, you will see nine tiles ahead of you. The center tile, and the top middle tile both have items hidden in them, a heart and a mystery tile respectively. Watch out for the small enemy which typically occupies the center tile. The seals that keep the door hidden are found on the right side of the room. There are four, found on the corner tiles around the center tile. The center tile contains a lotus blossom in case you didn't collect the first one from the previous area.

Area 1-2
Near the entrance to this area, you can find a new weapon, the monk beads which gives you the ability to hurl a large heavy boulder down a lane. It is in the low tile to the far left. Collect it, and get used to the way it works, and the way it stops when it runs out of tiles. The four seals which lock this room are found on each side of the tile which splits up into four smaller tiles. Beware of this tile; it is only solid and safe to jump on when it appears as one tile. Even enemies will fall through it and die if they jump on it when it is broken apart. The book which unlocks the room will appear on this tile, so you must time your jump to collect it very carefully. Don't be in a rush to exit the area, however. Before you leave, investigate the right side of the room. Although the mystery tile is not a huge discovery, this is the only area where you can collect an extremely valuable item, the defense cloth which cuts the amount of damage you receive in half. The only reason to avoid collecting it is if you like a challenge.

Area 1-3
This area is unique. It contains no enemies. From your arrival on the left, you must hop to the right, but access to certain rows of tiles is limited once you jump beyond a certain point. From the moment you arrive, the floor will be swallowed up, one tile at a time from top to bottom, and from left to right. Therefore, you only have a limited amount of time to complete this stage. You must reveal the three seals on the bottom of the room, as well as the one seal below the door. There is one item that will aid you by buying you a little extra time. Jump on the tile to the right of the top seal to discover a blue orb. Collecting this blue orb will freeze time temporarily, allowing you to make some progress without having to worry about the tiles to the left getting swallowed up too soon.

Area 1-4
This room introduces a new type of enemy. The demonic heads that float about cannot be destroyed by weapons. Every time they get hit (or whenever they hit you) they alternate between flying horizontally and vertically. There are five seals to reveal in this room instead of four, but they are all clustered close together on the left side. The book will appear right in front of a locked door, but if you explore the right side, you will discover another locked door. The left locked door will actually take you back to Area 1-3. Only the right door will advance you on to the boss fight. Before you leave, be sure to collect the potion hidden in a tile near the seals. There is also a red orb which clears the room of enemies, although for much less time than the book. You can find the original weapon across from the potion, which you may want to collect if you have the monk beads. Although it is weaker, the boss can be very difficult to defeat with boulders since they always fall to the ground.

Area 1-5
The boss of the first Area is a giant Buddha head. It hovers just slightly above the floor and sticks its tongue out to the ground twice before leaping high into the air and repeating the pattern. If you get caught by its long tongue, you will stick to it, and it will lift you high above the ground and swallow you briefly before spitting you back out. A slow strategy is to jump over it and try to hit it with weapons that you throw at it from the side. A faster, albeit more risky strategy is to face up, and throw weapons at it as soon as it gets very close to you, but before it licks you. If you throw the weapons rapidly enough, you can actually freeze it in place and destroy it before it has a chance to move again, but you must time the first hit correctly, and you must not slow down when you fire.