Dragon Spirit/Stage 1

Old version intro
The old version of the game includes a portion of the first stage that isn't present in the new version. In this intro, you fly over a body of water until you get to land (where the new version of the game actually begins.) As you fly over the water, you will be attacked by a series of Graia who fly in from the left or right sides of the screen, sometimes alternating, and begin to fly back to the sides of the screen when Amul is directly below them. It's difficult to destroy all of them, so it's safer to stick to one side and ignore the other.

You will eventually come upon a group of seven Aquasauruses swimming in the water. Some of them will spit projectiles at you. You'll need to bomb them to get rid of them. After that, a group of Kopteras will fly towards you. Unlike the Graia, they retreat to the top of the screen when Amul lines up directly below them. More Graia will appear from the top of the screen, this time shooting at you. Around this time, the first Red Egg should appear on the land to the right of the river. Drop a bomb on it to crack it open, and collect the red orb which you've released to begin progress towards your first fire upgrade. From this point on, the stage resembles the entirety of the new version of the game.

New version
A pair of Graias will attack, first from the right and then the left, while an Alligator swims down the river. A second Alligator will appear, accompanied by a group of Kopteras that fire bullets at you. A Blue Egg will appear on the left river bank. Bomb it to obtain a blue orb and increase the number of heads you have by one. Remember that every time you grow a new head, you also become a larger target so be careful. Around this time, more Kopteras and another Alligator will appear, so collect the orb with caution.

You'll soon encounter a new enemy, the Tobo. Tobos start out on the ground, standing in formation. When you start flying close enough to them, they begin to move and leap off the ground to attack you in the air. If you strike early enough, you can remove them from the ground with bombs. Otherwise, you'll have to shoot them out of the sky. They start on the right side of the screen, but you'll see another group on the left as well. You can easily lure them to one side of the screen, and then bring yourself back down to the center in order to strike them as they fly by.

When the Tomos are finished, a Tyrannosaurus will appear on the right bank, followed by an Alligator in the water. A group of more Tyrannosauruses appear on the right just before the river veers off the screen to the right. Another Alligator will appear as more Graia fill the air. The last Graia that you encounter will be flashing, and will provide a random power-up orb if destroyed. When the river leaves, the ground is occupied by a tall plant whose name is "Insect Love Earth." These plants are stationary, but fire projectiles at Amul. Behind the first pair of plants will be more plants on the left, as well as a group of Tyrannosauruses on the left. Two more Tyrannos are found on the left side, guarding a red egg which you can shoot for a red orb, the first of the new version, or the second of the old version.

A new enemy will appear, know as the Apterex. These birds fly onto the screen and perform a loop in the air two times before retreating back through the top of the screen. When they are shot, they burst into an explosion of eight feathers which spread out. The feathers can damage you and must be avoided. Ideally, you should move just a short distance to the right or left of the feather which heads straight down. Several of these will appear until eventually, one Apterex will be flashing. Destroy this one to receive a random power-up orb. Since it's different every time, this guide can't incorporate the result into the strategy offered.

After the Apterex, more Kopteras will appear. Another red egg will appear on the left side of the screen as more Tomos gather on the right side, and gear up to jump into the air and attack you. If you're playing the old version and haven't missed a red egg, your fire level will advance, but you will lose it any time you are struck. More Kopteras will fly at your from the left, followed by more Tomos on the ground. And Alligator will swim through the river that has returned to the right side of the screen, and more Tomos will take off from the right river bank.

Another new enemy will appear, this time known as the Favos. These purple creatures appear from all sides of the screen (except the bottom) and slowly glide through the air to your current location. You'll need to move around a bit in order to lure them to some location on the screen before you swoop down below them and blast them. The Favos will appear for some time, even as a few more Alligators swim through the river. The end of their appearance is marked by two plans near the coast of a large body of water.

The water is occupied by a large number of Aquasauruses which shoot at you, coupled with the appearance of more Kopteras flying over the water. The Aquasauruses only shoot diagonally, so their shots are fairly easy to avoid. Apterex birds will join the fight again and loop over the water. Remember to avoid the feathers they shed when defeated. The second to last Apterex will be flashing, so shoot it to receive a random power-up orb.

As a bank of land appears on the left side of the screen, you will see a red egg resting there. This is the first chance in the new version to upgrade your fire power. The purple Favos enemies return here and fill up the screen while you shoot them out of the sky. The land on the left will disappear again as the last new enemy appears. Looking like a shadow under the water, the pointed Shellfish enemies swim below the surface until they reach the top of the screen, and then burst out of the water and fly straight towards you. While you can theoretically bomb them in the water, they move too fast for that to be an intentional strategy. Wait until groups of them appear at once, and fly out of their way. After the last batch of Shellfish fly away, the first boss of the game will attack.

Boss: Plesiosaurus
The Plesiosaurs swims into view from the top of the screen. His head is his only vulnerable point on his body, and he attacks by spitting large fireballs at Amul. Plesiosaurus always tries to keep the head on the end of his long snake-like neck pointed at Amul, but in truth, he can only point in forward or at fourty-five degree angles, making it a bit easy for Amul to slip into a zone safe from attack by moving just to either side of his head. Concentrate your fire on the head whenever it is safe to attack. It takes 48 regular shots, or 24 upgraded shots to destroy Plesiosaurus and advance to the next stage.