Hanii in the Sky/Stage 7

After defeating the boss of Stage 6, you get a new weapon: the 3-Way Blade. This weapon is just like the 3-Way Sword, complete with built in shield, only stronger. However, you probably shouldn't switch to it right away, as the Spirit Sword is still the better weapon for the first set of enemies that you encounter. Having enough health to survive this stage is crucial. If necessary, you may want to go back to previous stages to earn enough points in order to buy more potion. With the 3-Way Blade, you should be able to breeze through the first three stages and earn enough to max out your health bar and your potion bar.


 * 1) The first enemy you encounter are groups of three enemies that appear from the top of the screen and drop straight down.  Along the way, they release slow moving large bullets which a shield can't absorb.  The 3-Way Blade won't be incredibly effective against them, so stick with the Spirit Sword, and try to line up directly beneath them.  If you know where they will appear, you can destroy them quickly enough before they shoot at you.  Otherwise, you're going to have to dodge a lot of bullets. You'll reach the first fork in the path.
 * 2) If you go left at the first fork in the path, you'll encounter a set of enemies which first appear in a straight line along the center of the screen.  They first appear from the top, but they will also appear from below.  They stay in formation until you get too close to them, and then they scatter, alternating between left and right.  The 3-Way Blade is good enough to use, just stay in the center and remember to change your weapon direction to attack both above and below.  Along the way, you'll find an item.  If you collect it, the floor will light up.  Then you will reach a dead-end and be returned to the fork.
 * 3) If you go right at the first fork in the path, you'll encounter a large number of dark enemies which appear from the top of the screen, and zig-zag on their way to the bottom.  They are very easy to defeat, but they can overwhelm the screen, and flood it with small bullets.  You can absorb them with your shield, but they shoot so many, they may come from behind.  You'll reach the second fork in the path.
 * 4) If you go right at the second fork in the path, you will go through a very short path with the same dark zig-zagging enemies, with an item.  Collect that item to obtain a Magatama bead, and then you'll be returned to the second fork in the path.
 * 5) If you go left at the second fork in the path, you will be attacked by a set of enemies that appear from every direction.  When they get close to Hanii, they curve around him and fly off in a different direction.  All the while, they shoot small bullets at you.  These enemies are tough to battle since they appear continuously and it's difficult to predict where the next group will appear from.  You'll eventually reach the third fork in the path.
 * 6) Going right at the third fork is not recommended.  If you go right at the third fork in the path, you'll encounter the enemies that greeted you at the start of this stage, as well as a set of the enemies described in point 2.  There's an item on the ground, and if you collect it, it will teleport you back to Stage 1.  While you can easily return to Stage 7, you'll have to start it over.  If you avoid the item, you'll be returned to the third fork.
 * 7) If you go left at the third fork in the path, you'll encounter another instance of the lone enemy which surrounds itself in particles that travel around it in the pattern of a six-pointed star.  Concentrate on shooting the enemy in the middle.  The Spirit Sword is very effective here, although you'll have to take some damage to use it against the central enemy.  You'll reach the fourth fork in the path.
 * 8) Hanii in the Sky Stage 7b.jpg If you go left at the fourth fork in the path, you'll encounter the four brain-like enemies that each face a different direction.  Once you get past them, you'll find an item on the ground.  This is the 4-Way Stars item, one of the two most powerful weapons in the game.  It shoots three shots up and one shot down.  Be sure to collect it and equip it before being transported back to the fourth fork.
 * 9) If you go right at the fourth fork in the path, you'll face yet another lone enemy like the one described in point 7, before reaching the fifth fork in the path.
 * 10) If you go left at the fifth fork in the path, you'll encounter a type of enemy that drops from the top of the screen.  Once it reaches the middle of the screen (or as soon as it is shot), it spreads into 8 copies of itself that expand outward.  Eventually, you will reach another item on the ground.  This one contains the extremely powerful 5-Way Stars item, the second of two powerful weapons.  This one shoots 5 stars outward ahead of you, but nothing behind.  As long as your threat is only coming from one direction, this is the most powerful weapon in the game.  You'll be returned to the fifth fork.
 * 11) If you go right at the fifth fork in the path, you will find the stationary enemies that you've previously encountered.  They spit a trio of fireballs either straight up, down, left or right.  They cannot release them diagonally, making a diagonal attack the safest approach to dealing with them.  Get all the way past them, and you will finally reach the boss of the stage.

Boss: あまてらす (Amaterasu)
Amaterasu takes the form of two objects which resemble faces. These faces can arrange themselves in different formations, either together or apart. As they do, they fill the screen with slow moving green bullets which can't be absorbed. It basically has four phases.
 * Phase 1 - Face to face: It starts off with both faces coming from opposite corners and joining in the middle. It moves in a wave-like pattern back and forth across the screen.  Do the usual clockwise circle around it, shifting your weapon around as you move.
 * Phase 2 - Opposite sides of the screen: Next, the faces split and travel to the left and right sides of the screen. They stay on their sides and move up and down.  Focus your attack on just one face until they move back to the middle of the screen.
 * Phase 3 - Rearrangment: When the faces come back together, they align back to back. Then they shift to face to face, before moving around the screen in a large circle to rearrange themselves to back to back.  The pattern of movement tends to fill the top part of the screen, making it difficult for you to circle around the faces without careful timing.  This will continue until you damage at least one of the faces enough.
 * Phase 4 - Center line: Once phase 3 ends, the faces split in half. Two halves join together and move around the screen firing green bullets.  The remaining halves move up and down along the middle of the screen.  They shoot beams at you which can be destroyed by your weapon.  You must do enough damage to both of the halves moving up and down while dodging the green bullets.  When you destroy those two halves, the remaining unified face becomes vulnerable, and you must shoot it to destroy it and complete the stage.