Ninja Gaiden II/Chapter 5: The Aqua Capital

"Elizébet's whereabouts remain unknown, but her twisted plans continue to unfold as she unleashes the fearsome power of the Demon Statue. Wherever she goes, its power awakens one of the Four Greater Fiends from his long slumber. The roar of Greater Fiend Volf, Ruler of Storms, echoes throughout the beautiful city of canals, transforming a Gothic Castle into an evil fortress"

Part 1: Canals
After the chapter begins, head forward and you will be attacked by several Purple Ninjas and Claw Ninjas. Head along the walkway toward the stairs. To the right of the stairs ahead is a Muramasa Statue. If you have a good amount of Yellow Essence, I recommend saving it because you are about to get a new weapon. Head up the stairs and to the left, down some stairs. You will be attacked by some Werewolves. Their grab attack is pretty damaging, so keep them at a distance. At the bottom of the stairs is a corpse containing a Kusari-gama. Head across the water to the opposite platform and follow this platform to the end. Here is a chest containing Red Ki Essences. Turn right and run across the water for Crystal Skull (#10) and a 20 point achievement that goes with it. Head back to where you descended the stairs. On the way back, you will be attacked by some Water Scorpions. Dispatch them with your shiny new Kusari-gama.

When you reach the bridge head across and down into the market area for another skirmish with a larger group of Werewolves. Take them out, smash the crates and barrels in the area for some Yellow Essences and then head forward and left through the archway to find a Dragon Statue. Save/heal and head through the door at the top of the short stairway. Immediately through the door, you will be attacked by four Werewolves and a Greater Werewolf. Kill them and look on the table to the right of where you entered for another Crystal Skull (#11). Head over the bridge to the right and kill the four Werewolves that attack you. From here, head right and then right again. In the back left corner of the alley, perform a Flying Bird in the shaft and kill the two ninjas that attack you. Search the corpse for a Talisman of Rebirth. Drop down.

Back in the alley, walk straight ahead and down some steps. Head left at the bottom of the stairs and open the chest for an Herb of Spiritual Life. Head back up the stairs, right and across the bridge. When you enter the open area, you will be attacked by about 8-9 Werewolves. Stay on the bridge to prevent yourself from being ganged up on and just focus on cutting off limbs and doing Obliteration Techniques. Cross over the small bridge ahead and into a courtyard. Search the corpse there for a Spirit of the Devils. Return to the cobblestone pathway and head toward the colonnade and fountain ahead.

When you reach the fountain, you will be attacked by three more Water Scorpions. Hop into the fountain and toward the back to find a chest containing a Gatling Spear Gun. Finally you have weapon that is semi-usable underwater. Swim into the tunnel to the left of the chest. After exiting the tunnel, head left and take out several Squid with your new Gatling Gun. Water run past where you took out the Squid and to the left. Several more Water Scorpions will attack you here. Try not to do any ground thrust attacks or you will end up below the surface of the water while they pummel you from above. Turn right before going under the bridge to see several Squid. Kill them off with your Gatling Gun and swim into the alley they were blocking. Swim immediately left and down to find another Crystal Skull (#12). Swim out of the alley and right, under the bridge. Water run down the snaking canal until you come to a dead end and a gondola in front of an open door. Jump in and use the Dragon Statue inside to Save/Heal. Head up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, head through the door and you will be ambushed by Purple Fiends and several Bat Fiends as well. This is a pretty tough battle as the Bat Fiends will suppress you with fire breath from above while the Purple Fiends can get pretty grabby in these close quarters. If you have equipped your Talisman of Rebirth, I recommend unequipping it here as the Save Point is close by. When your foes perish, head right to find a Muramasa statue. At the top of the stairs, by the Muramasa statue is a door. Enter and open the chest within to find a Bridge Gate Key. Search the desk for Hinomaru's Notebook. Head out the door and left toward the large gate at the opposite end of the street. Use the Bridge Gate Key and head out onto the bridge.

When you reach the bridge, be ready for the fight of your life. A few large waves of Werewolves and Greater Werewolves will attack you here. Keep herding them back either with your Kusari-gama or Lunar Staff and try for Obliterations and Ultimate Techniques to get several kills at a time, but also rack up some Yellow Essence. Head to the door at the end of the bridge and enter.

Inside the door, head left and search the arrow-ridden corpse to stock up on some arrows. Head right and down the hallway. At the first bend, you will be attacked by four Werewolves: two from ahead and two from behind. Search the chest at the end of the hall for an Herb of Spiritual Life and head left out the door. Hit the two glowing orbs across the canal with your Bow. This will lower the bridge. You, unfortunately will have to climb under it. Jump up on the crates to your left and jump onto the pole to climb across. At the other side, drop down onto the platform. Open the chest there to attain a Life of the Gods. There is nothing more to do here, so drop down into the water and water run to your left. Take out the four Water Scorpions that attack you and proceed toward the water wheels. Be careful not to run into the Squid who are there. Take them out with your Gatling Spear Gun. If you get into the right spot, it appears as if these enemies will glitch respawn almost indefinitely. If you are close to leveling up a weapon, this can come in handy, but it will take a while. When you are finished, water run between the water wheels and left to the wooden platform. Jump onto one of the crossbeams inside the wheel and ride it to the wooden platform above. Jump off onto the platform and then across to the spinning gear ahead. Enter the door above the gear.

Once inside the building, jump across to the circular beam hanging below the turning gear in the center of the room. Ride the gear to the platform with the chest on the opposite side of the room. Drop down and open the chest for a Lives of the Thousand Gods. Hop down to the left and exit the door in this room. In the courtyard beyond, head left and up the large steps. You will be attacked by three Werewolves and one Greater Werewolf. Enter the doorway and use the Dragon Statue on the right to save/heal. Enter the courtyard beyond for a battle with numerous Water Scorpions. Keep them at bay with whatever technique you are comfortable and keep your guard up. If you are smart with your Obliterations and charged Ultimate Techniques you can rack up a good bit of Yellow Essences here. Kill them all to trigger a cutscene. Enter the doorway that opens.

Once inside, you will be ambushed by several Water Scorpions and Purple Fiends. Head into the room on the right for a Grains of Spiritual Life and into the room on the left for a Muramasa Statue. When you are finished, head out of this room and left down the stairs into the cask room. Purple Fiends and Water Scorpions will attack. Continue down the stairs and right. Head straight toward the gate ahead, killing another group of Purple Fiends and Water Scorpions. You can't enter this gate yet, you need a key. Head right and up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, kill the Purple Fiends and Water Scorpions and head right and then left into the door. Open the chest here for a Copper Key and return to the locked gate at the bottom of the stairs. Open the gate and search the corpse within for an Art of the Flame Phoenix Ninpo. Head out of this room, down the hall and right at the turn. Head up the stairs, killing Purple Fiends and Water Scorpions. Open the chest here for an Herb of Spiritual Life. Smash the cover on the well and fall through to the pool below. Here you will see the the portal for the Third Test of Valor. Before entering, save/heal at the Dragon Statue nearby. Enter the portal for some fun.

Test of Valor Three
This test is tougher than the last few. It consists fighting a massive pile of Werewolves and Flying Fiends. The Flying Fiends will circle and shoot fireballs at you while the Werewolves hold you down and pummel you. I recommend using a fully-powered Art of the Inferno Ninpo when you get cornered, as it will drop several of your foes in an easy swoop. Stay agile, keep your defenses up and use your most powerful weapon here, as with previous encounters with Werewolves. When you have finished, you will receive chest containing a Jewel of the Demon Seal. As before, don't use any healing/rejuvenation items just yet. You will be fully restored after you exit the portal.

Part 2: Underwater Ruin
After exiting the portal head straight toward the Dragon Statue. Save again, if you wish and head down the open canal. You will be attacked by several Water Scorpions and Bat Fiends. In the large open room beyond, jump into the ring surrounding the inner pool. Just below the surface of the water here is a chest containing an Herb of Spiritual Life. Nice, considering you probably blew through a few of them during the Test of Valor. Just beyond the chest is a hole in the center of the pool. Swim through it. You will be in a large room, containing numerous Ghost Fish. The fish will swarm you when you get close to them. Use your Lunar Staff to dispatch them quickly. Luckily for you, Ghost Fish are high in essential Yellow Essences. Swim just right of where you entered to see a chest on top of an underwater pillar. Swim down and open it to receive an Herb of Spiritual Life. Swim right and onto the walkway to the right. Run along the walkway until you reach a set of stairs heading upward. Go up the stairs and fight off the Ghost Fish here. When you finish them, open the chest here for a Talisman of Rebirth.

In the waters here are also a chest containing a Life of the Gods and a Devil Way Mushroom. To find them, just swim around until you are attacked by Ghost Fish, kill the fish, then swim below the surface to find the chest. When you are ready to battle the boss, swim into the large Collonade in the center of the room and open the chest on the fallen pillar. It will contain a Skull Key. This will immediately trigger a cutscene. I hope you packed some arrows.

Boss: Water Dragon
This boss is incredibly easy if you are cheap. Stand on the starting platform and fire charged arrow shots into the Water Dragon's mouth. Use your healing items if his breath attack wears you down, but if you are lucky he will just flail around in the water. If you run out of arrows, just leap into the water, equip your Lunar Staff and drill his underbelly with Y attacks until he drops. You will see a short cutscene and complete the level.