Karnov/Stage 8

The arcade and NES versions of Stage 8 are quite different. Both walkthroughs are described here, arcade first, and NES second.

Arcade walkthrough

 * This is a short, straight-forward stage with no path decisions to make. That's a good thing because you'll be too busy defending yourself to make decisions.  From the start, walk right and some knights will appear, and smalled winged demons will fly overhead.
 * As you continue right, you will reach a tree where a spirit (the collection of circles that you first encountered in ) will rise up and then fly down to attack you (shown right). Stand still in a safe place where neither the demons or the spirit can hit you and fire continuously until they are all defeated.  Then collect the Red Orb behind the tree, and use a ladder to collect four K marks up in the tree branches if you like.
 * As you walk forward, you will see a large statue with a blue eye that spits a trio of needles at you. You can stop the statue from spitting needles by shooting the eyes until they go gray.  If you use a ladder between the first and second statues, you will find a mask and wings in the air (shown left).  The wings can no longer help you, but there's an opportunity to use the mask at the end of the stage.
 * After shooting the third statue, be sure to grab the free boomerang tile. Beyond that statue, you will find another impostor woman lying on the ground by a shoe and ladder tile.  When you get close, it will leap back and transform into a fire-spitting lizard.  Shoot it and continue right.
 * Next, a trio of brown tree demons will fall from the branches above, hit the ground, and run toward you. They can take a few shots to destroy, so be sure to fire at them rapidly in an attempt to remove them before they reach you.
 * After this trio of tree demons, another spirit will be waiting for you, followed very closely by a red flame riding demon. Be prepared to dodge the projectile that the flame riding demon shoots at you as you battle the spirit.  Two more red demons follow, and they fire almost immediately upon entering the screen, so be prepared to jump.
 * The flame riding demons are followed by four more tree demons dropping to the ground in quick succession (shown right). Don't press forward unless you are sure that you can destroy each tree as they fall down.  This is followed by a group of small winged demons flying in from the right.

Boss: Tyrannosaur
In a small act of mercy, the boss for this stage is a single Tyrannosaur. Since you have plenty of experience with these, you will know which strategy to employ; either take it out with a single throw of a boomerang, or carefully attack it with fire on your way down from jumps. It just so happens that right before the boss appears, your mask tile will blink if you have one. This will create a small group of tiles for you to collect, but the wisdom of collecting them is debatable. Because of the dinosaur's presence, they may be more dangerous to collect than they are worth. However, if you don't already have a boomerang, this is your chance to get one and make quick work of the boss. Make this decision carefully.

NES walkthrough

 * The eighth stage of the NES version is much more of an aerial stage which requires you to rely heavily on wing tiles. Fortunately, you can store more than one wing tile in the NES version, and there are plenty of wing tiles to collect throughout the stage.
 * Most important of all, remember that even when you pause the game, you can change the selected inventory item that you would like to use. If Karnov loses his wings and begins to fall in mid-air, it is best to pause the game, select the wings, and activate them before you unpause.
 * From the start, you must jump off a platform and use wings. You can jump above the right side of the platform to make a hidden wing tile appear.  This will permit you to proceed even if you reached this stage with no wings.  As you fly through the air, small winged demons will appear, as well as red flame riding demons.  Always fly upward as you attack the flame riding demons in order to avoid their projectiles.
 * Soon you will come to a large statue of a head that shoots at Karnov (shown right). If you touch this statue before you defeat it, you will take damage.  Aim at the blue eye to destroy it.  It is easiest to shoot at it from higher up, letting your lower fireball drop down on it.  A pair of wings can be found below the statue on the left side, but you must fly to them.  If you fall down, you'll miss them and die.  They are best ignored.
 * Past the statue, drop down to the section below and watch out for a brown stone thrower to appear. You can find another wing tile on a small ledge below the pillar to his right.  If you fly up to the section above (or use the jump shoes to jump up), you can find another wing tile guarded by another brown stone thrower (shown left).  This stone thrower is so close to the ceiling, that his boulder will be unable to reach you.
 * Continue flyign right, activating a new pair of wings if necessary, and up to the second head statue. Be careful of any red flame riding demons that you encounter along the way.  Defeat the second statue the same way you did the first.  Beyond the statue, you have a choice between the low path and the high path.

High path

 * The high path is safer because it contains fewer enemies and drops, but it rewards you with fewer power-ups. You'll first encounter a demon disguised as a crying woman.  Defeat it when it transforms back to its true self.  Then shoot the small winged demons that appear as you continue right.
 * You will encounter a small room containing a large number of bomb tiles. Collect them all, and begin bombing the wall on the right side (shown right) in order to make a tunnel through the wall.  You will collect a Red Orb along the way, and another wing tile when you make it through to the other side.
 * You are best off activating the wing tile immediately and flying through the high portion of the stage until you reach the boss. You will encounter very few enemies, and you can collect a shield and a boomerang along the way.

Low path

 * If you fly below where the crying woman lies, you will find a cache of K marks and other power-up tiles (shown right). Collect as many as you can, including the wings, and be prepared to activate a new pair of wings if your current wings run out.
 * Beyond the tiles is a spirit. It is best to shoot it until it is completely destroyed before you attempt to advance right.  Collect the Red Orb by the pillar then walk to the edge of the platform.
 * Between the next set of pillars are rocks that fall intermittently. Study the timing at which they drop, and jump from pillar to pillar, or merely fly, just after a rock has fallen immediately in front of you.  You will end up collecting another pair of wings along the way.
 * Once you make it through here, you can continue along the ground if you like, battling fire breathing demons, but it is far more ideal to activate your wings and fly up to the top of the stage. You will have to fly up eventually in order to reach the boss, and doing so earlier helps you avoid more enemies that might harm Karnov.  (Note that you can fly up and collect the wing tile that awaits players after they bomb through the tunnel in the upper path.)

Boss: Two-headed dragon
The after waiting until the seventh stage to appear, the two-headed dragon appears for a second stage in a row to challenge you as the stage boss. It is recommended that you let your wings run out before you actually scroll the screen over to show the boss. Your strategy against this dragon should be no different from the previous dragon. Jump over the bullets that it shoots at you and fire at its head as rapidly as possible. Activate the shield if you want to give yourself a better chance of defeating the dragon unharmed. If you have plenty of wings left, you could choose to activate one and attack the dragon while flying. This won't stop the dragon from shooting at you, but it may make its projectiles easier to dodge.