Karnov/Stage 1


 * You will begin the first stage just outside of a town. As soon as you move, two birds will advance towards you from the right.  Take them both out before moving on.  If you drop to the ground, four swordsmen will appear, two on either side of you.  Once again, clear them out before you continue.
 * Jump up to grab the ladder, then continue until you see a gray stone thrower appear on a ledge above a bomb. Jump up and fire at the stone thrower until it is defeated, stopping only to destroy any boulders that it throws at you.  Then collect the bomb.
 * As you jump up to collect the bomb, a shoe tile should appear by the small trunk beyond. Collect it, and return to the ledge where the stone thrower stood.  Activate the ladder and the shoes, and climb up the ladder to find a Red Orb (shown right).  Collect it to double your firepower.  Then climb back down the ladder to reclaim it.
 * Walk to the right and take out the four soldiers that appear, as well as the fire demon that starts out perched on a dead tree branch. Keep firing at the ostrich-riding skeletons as you approach the next Red Orb, and collect it to triple your firepower.
 * A second gray stone thrower will appear on the ground. A brown stone thrower will appear on a ledge behind him.  While the gray stone thrower will only throw boulders at particular intervals, the brown stone thrower will throw a boulder whenever it is shot with a fireball.  Be prepared to shoot down the boulders it throws as you hit it.
 * More ostrich-riding skeletons will appear until you reach the steps. (Jump in front of the ledges to make a random item tile appear.)  At that time, flame riding demons will appear.  They don't shoot anything, but they take many hits to defeat.  Stay on the ground and jump up before the first pipe in the wall until a mask tile appears (shown left).  Collect it, and return to the foot of the stairs.
 * Jump on to the lowest step, and then climb the stairs until you are walking on top of the wall, shooting the demons that appear. A gray and brown stone thrower will each appear.  Bombs are barely visible at the top of the screen on either side of the last black window.  Use the ladder to collect them if you wish.  Take out the fire-breathing demon before descending the stairs.  (Jump at the top of the stairs to make a shoe tile appear.)
 * As you descend the steps, small winged demons will fly about, and ostrich-riding skeletons will greet you at the bottom. When you reach the bottom, take a few steps back to the left, and the mask tile should begin to blink.  Activate the mask and continue walking left to find a cache of tiles (shown right).
 * Return to the bottom of the steps and continue to the right. More small winged demons and ostrich-riding skeletons will attack, along with a brown stone thrower.  If you jump in front of the door in front of the gray building, a random tile will appear.  The stage will finish off with a couple of flame riding demons.

Boss: Merman
The Merman is a large and somewhat imposing enemy, but it has a basic pattern of behavior. It starts by moving toward Karnov and shortly after, it fires a projectile from the jar that it carries. Then it leaps toward Karnov, jumping high into the air. When it jumps, this is your chance to direct Karnov to run beneath the Merman in the opposite direction. Instead of turning around as soon as you pass below the Merman, continue running away until the next projectile is shot. Then jump over the projectile and turn around to get a number of shots in before the Merman leaps into the air. Repeat the pattern of running below the Merman, running away and jumping over the projectile, and turning around to shoot at it until it is defeated.

NES differences

 * Aside from having a plethora of more K marks available for you to collect, the NES version also includes a Red Orb right at the start of the stage. If you jump up to the top of the columns near the beginning, you will find the orb just below the jump shoe tile (shown left).  In addition to this orb, you can still collect a second orb by using the ladder where the first stone thrower appears.
 * You will generally encounter fewer enemies and no ostrich-riding skeletons in this version. When swordsmen appear in front and behind you, they do not appear in pairs.  Brown stone throwers are generally easier to deal with since they are prevented from throwing multiple boulders, even when they are hit numerous times in a row.
 * The mask is still available in front for the gray staircase; you must jump in front of the pipe to make it appear, and it does not fall to the ground. In addition to the items that you find when you activate the mask on the other side of the water, there is a free Red Orb for you to collect.
 * The hidden random tile which you can make appear toward the end of the stage now appears when you jump up to collect a K mark sitting between two buildings, rather than in front of the door of one building. You can use the exact same strategy against the Merman boss (shown right) as described above for the arcade version.