Ninja Gaiden II/Chapter 8: Submit, or Die!

"Several hundred kilometers north of the snowy crash-site of the Daedalus, Greater Fiend Zedonius has awakened to threaten a once-great military state. The malevolent Ruler of Flame issues an ultimatum handed down from the Infernal Priest Dagra Dai to the people of the world: Accept the yoke of the almighty Archfiend, or die. And so Earth's baptism by fire begins. The taunts of the Greater Fiend of Flame fill Ryu's mind."

Part 1: Fortified Streets
After the intro cutscene, you will begin this level facing a Muramasa Statue. Drop in and stock up if you must, and open the chest to your left for some arrows. You'll soon need them as when you head toward the fortification ahead, Rocket Soldiers will attack you from behind it. A solid charged arrow will take them out, or you can try to hit the barrels next to them to take them both out. When you do, another group will back them up. Kill them and advance quickly to the fortification and look behind you. Depending on how many Rocket Soldiers you have killed so far, you may be attacked from behind by another group of Rocket Soldiers. Continue around the corner to be attacked by four more Rocket Soldiers. Seek cover and take out the barrels near them to clear the area. Head to the fortification that they were shooting from. Jump over it and enter the open area.

In this open area, you will be attacked by several Mecha Fiends, backed up by Rocket Soldiers. Take out the Rocket Soldiers with Ninpo from a distance and then move on to the Mecha Fiends. Move forward and head right. At the turn, in the right corner, there is a chest containing Red Ki Essences. Move forward to be attacked from the front and behind by several Rocket Soldiers. Head through the door on the right and then use the Dragon Statue to save/heal. Continue down the hallway to a courtyard.

In the courtyard you will be attacked by several Zombie Dogs. As usual, they are annoying customers, but there are only a few of them this time. When they are finished off, look to the left of the tunnel through which you entered the area. There is a chest here containing an Herb of Spiritual Life. Enter the door across from the tunnel exit.

When you enter this room, you are in for a fight. Cyber Ninjas and Rocket Soldiers are waiting within. Falcon's Talons are a good bet here. Take out the ninjas on the ground first, quickly dodging when you hear the rockets fire. When the ground ninjas are dead, take cover behind the large fountain in the center of the room and take out the Rocket Soldiers with charged arrows. When they are dead, check the room to the left of the fountain to find a Muramasa Statue. Head out of this room and left to exit the area.

This next area requires some care. I recommend heading back to the last Dragon Statue and saving so that you don't have to go through the last few battles again. When you walk out into the area, you will see a brief cutscene highlighting some mines laid carefully on the ground. They are easy enough to spot on concrete, however, the path that follows goes over some snow. Follow the path of footprints over the snow through the alley. Be careful, however, as you will be ambushed by Rocket Soldiers immediately upon exiting the alley. Resist the urge to duck back into the alley, or you may become your own worst enemy. Head to the left wall and try and stay covered by the small outcropping near the sandbags. It's not great, but it provides cover from the leftmost column of windows. After killing about 20 or so randomly spawning Rocket Soldiers, head forward, either following the footprints on the left or doing a wall run on the right wall. Past this patch of snow, beside a mine, is a corpse containing a Devil Way Mushroom. You should see a Crystal Skull (#18) beyond the next row of sandbags, on your left. Don't just jump out there, however. There are two turrets to the far right. Use charged arrows to take them both out and then return to where the Skull is. Jump over to it and try to land right on it. It is surrounded by mines, so you will probably absorb a good bit of damage if you are not careful.

After collecting the skull, cross the snow by following the footsteps again. On the right platform, where the turret was, there is a corpse containing another Devil Way Mushroom. Drop down and kick open the gate. Use the Dragon Statue ahead and then enter the door to the right of it. Inside the large room here, you will be attacked by several Explosives Ninjas. I recommend hitting them with Falcon's Talons or your strongest ninpo to make this battle rather short. Continue through the door to your right to access the stairs. As can be expected, they are mostly broken. Use wall runs to reach the top. Enter the door here. Between the two large bells here is a circular ring. Jump out to grab it and head to your left. At the first accessible platform (past the first bell) jump off and head left to find a corpse with a Life of the Gods. Jump back on the ring and continue left. Jump through to the other accessible platform. The door here on your left is locked, so head out the window and across the balcony left to the other window. Enter and examine the corpse here to obtain a Bell Key. Return to the locked door and open it with the key. Head right and down the stairs. A few flights down, you will see a Crystal Skull (#19) in an alcove by a candle. Collect it and continue down the stairs. Exit the doorway and you will be on the stage in the first large area of this building. Open the gold doors in the center of the stage and drop down the shaft.

Once inside the tunnel, proceed forward while killing off several waves of Bats. Eventually you will reach a large hallway. Head left and continue down the hall all the way to the end, past the large subway train on the right. Here in the alcove at the end of the hall, you will find a chest containing Red Ki Essences. Approach the train to be attacked by several Explosives Ninjas. When you have killed them off, use the door to the far right on the train. Enter and head left. In the first room on the right, to your right, you will find a Crystal Skull (#20). Enter the door on the opposite side of the room and watch the brief cutscene. Examine the corpse here for the Dignitary's ID Card. Head back out into the hallway on the train and head right. Open the chest here for a Grains of Spiritual Life. Exit the door and leave the train. Head right to the stairs at the far end of the room. Climb them and head through the left door. Use the Dragon Statue here to save/heal. Head up the stairs and out the door for a miniboss fight.

Miniboss: Blind Giant Fiend Redux
Whip out your Eclipse Scythe, it's time for a miniboss do-over. You'll be facing the Blind Giant Fiend from a previous chapter, but this time several Rocket Soldiers and Mecha Fiends jump in at the halfway point to aid him. If you can get behind him and quickly deal a few Y combos with the Eclipse Scythe, fighting everyone at once will never be an issue. Once he falls, clean up the remaining soldiers.

Part 2: Undercaverns
After the short cutscene that follows your boss fight, enter the hole in the wall of the far building. Once inside, drop into the hole there. Examine one of the books on the ground to receive The Rule of the King of Darkness. Head down the hallway to be attacked by several Explosives Ninjas. In the last cell on the right, search the corpse to fill your stock of Incendiary Shurikens. Continue down the stairs. Examine a corpse in another cell on this level to find a Life of the Gods. Continue down the hall and head left. Enter the last cell on the right and use an Incendiary Shuriken on the wall to reveal a hole. Jump through.

In the next room, make your way to the platform directly across from where you entered this room, head left and examine the chest near the gate to receive a Lives of the Thousand Gods. Take out the Water Scorpions that attack you here. Head down the long canal, killing the Ghost Fish that impede your progress. Climb the stairs at the end of the tunnel and reach another, narrower tunnel. At the end of this tunnel do a Flying Bird technique. In the room at the top of the shaft, use an Incendiary Shuriken on the wall crack to expose a hole. Enter. In the large room here, head left to find a chest containing an Herb of Spiritual Life. Head down the stairs and use the Dragon Statue to save/heal. Head right from here and out the door to find the Sixth Test of Valor portal and a chest containing some arrows. Use the portal to begin your test.

Test of Valor Six
A tedious combination of Walking Turret Fiends and Rocket Soldiers, this battle seems more like Test of Patience Six. There is really no strategy here other than to take your level 3 Dragon Sword and run around in a circle doing triple Flying Swallows on all of the Rocket Soldiers until there are no more. Then turn your attention to the Walking Turret Fiends. This will take a while since it isn't a stand-up fight like previous tests. When you are done, two chests will appear. The one on the right contains a Jewel of the Demon Seal and the one on the left contains Ghost Fish. Head out through the portal when you are done.

Part 3: Showdown at the Mansion
Head up the stairs behind the Dragon Statue and out the door at the top. On the balcony here, head left and you will fight a small group of Explosives Ninjas. Take them out and continue along the balcony, back into the mansion. Head right to see a Muramasa statue and a ladder to the right of it. Use the shop if you need to and head up the ladder. You should see several gears in this room. Head to the lowest one and jump up on it. Kill the Explosives Ninjas that appear and jump up to the next gear and then the next. You will be attacked again by a few more Explosives Ninjas here. After they are dead, jump up on the large vertical gear that is turning away from you and quickly jump up onto the horizontal pipe that is above it. Jump from pipe to pipe until you reach another horizontal gear. Jump up on the vertical gear ahead and then quickly jump back to engage several more Explosives Ninjas. When they are dead, jump back on the vertical gear and wait until you reach the top to either jump or Flying Swallow to the next gear in order to avoid being crushed between them. Jump to the next horizontal gear and take out any remaining Explosives Ninjas. Jump onto one of the poles on the ferris wheel gear and wait to reach the gear ahead. Collect the Crystal Skull (#21) here. Jump to the metal platform above.

On the catwalk here, examine the corpse in front of you to receive Izo's Notebook. The small book in front of him is Koshimaru's Notebook (1), collect it and head to the vertical gear nearby. Jump up on it and land on the horizontal gear above. Jump right onto the circular ring beside you and wait until you reach the vertical gear ahead to jump off. Climb the vertical gear and jump off to your right onto the horizontal gear here. Kill the Explosives Ninjas and examine the chest for a Grains of Spiritual Life. Climb the three horizontal gears ahead and onto the vertical gears. Be careful not to end up between the two vertical gears as you jump between them. On the platform ahead is a Dragon Statue. Save/heal and head up to the platform ahead for a cutscene.

Boss Fight: Greater Fiend Zedonius
Zedonius is a bit tougher than previous bosses if you get unlucky. Try and stay close to him to avoid his ranged fire attacks, which can be quite devastating when combined with his drop attack. He's pretty adept at blocking your Flying Swallow attack, so this doesn't work as well as for previous bosses. Get close, dash to avoid his attacks and strike with long combos when he is prone. Avoid landing too many combos on him when he is in the air, or he will summon some Water Scorpions to make this a very short battle for you. Watch the cutscene after he falls to finish out the chapter.