Holy Diver/Stage 4 Ougonno Shinden

No level in Holy Diver starts out as difficult and relentless as Stage 4. It throws so much at you at one time, just making it to the first entrance on the other side is an accomplishment. The best way to ensure your survival is to heavily rely on the magic that you just obtained. Overdrive is the key to success throughout much of this stage, as well as the two beyond.
 * Ougonno Shinden (黄金の神殿)

1: Right off the bat, you have several things to contend with. Stacks of breakable bricks, boulders, the burrowing lizards that pop out of the ground which you met in the previous stage, and a new enemy that flies in the sky. You start with the breakable bricks and the boulders. Breaking the boulders with a shot is easy, but dodging the resulting debris can be a challenge, the debris can hurt you as much as the boulder itself, so try not to destroy the boulders at close range. In fact, sometimes you're better off jumping over or walking under the boulders and leaving them unharmed.

To get started, fire up your Overdrive and let it clear a path away through the blocks. If they happen to hit some of the boulders for you, even better. Once you get all the way through the bricks, you encounter the first flying demon of the area. These demons like to hang out just slightly out of reach, like the demon knights of the first stage, and fire projectiles at you. After some time, they dive in to attack. After they stop, they pause a moment before firing one additional wave attack straight ahead. When newly deployed, your Overdrive magic has enough reach to strike them, so use that to your advantage and clear them away. Climbing up the last step before the first gap can be a challenge, as a boulder tends to fall right there. If it hits you, you will get pushed back and forced to face the same boulder over and over until you successfully avoid it.

As you jump over the first gap, have Overdrive deployed so you can use it to simultaneously remove the breakable bricks on the next pillar, as well as attack the lizards which pop out from the column beneath. You will see a moving platform to the right. Hop down onto it, and up to the next column, but stop there. Another demon will appear. Try to use Overdrive to clear it away before you continue. Then make your way to the next moving platform and up the next two columns to contend with another demon. Getting struck anywhere around here is a dangerous situation, as you are likely to get tossed into a pit if you are unlucky.

2: By this point, you should have just removed two flying demons in a row, and are now faced with a column of breakable bricks. If you've been relying heavily on Overdrive, your magic may be a bit low, but you should still have enough to make it through. Destroy the bricks on the next column and jump up to it but don't advance right away. You want to leap to the right just enough to trigger the appearance of the next flying demon, and then drop back to that same column in order to deal with the demon more safely. Rely on Overdrive to remove it at a distance.

Once it's gone, it's time to jump to the next column, but you will notice lizards popping out of it, so be careful as you approach. As before, Overdrive can protect you here. Beyond that column is a moving platform which leads to more solid ground, but you won't have to walk far before you encounter two flying demons simultaneously. You should take them out any way possible, including Overdrive if you have enough magic to use it. The lower of the two demons drops a red potion when it's destroyed, but depending on where that takes place, it may drop down a gap. Once the demons are removed, you face substantially less threat to the end of the section. Several more boulders will appear, and there will be two more locations where a trio of lizards pop out, but the door to the interior is just ahead.



3: You may be battered and bruised by the time you get here, but congratulations for making it past the previous gauntlet. From here, things are a bit more manageable. You start by facing a bat near the entrance. Take it out before dropping to the floor below. As you approach the next column, more boulders will appear. The column contains more lizards. Stand next to it, and then crouch down and face left to destroy any oncoming boulders, along with the lizards once they jump down. Then hop up onto the column to avoid the boulders and remove the next bat. Drop down again and head to the staircase leading up. Take out the last bat, which is likely to drop a blue potion upon defeat.



4: As soon as you arrive, instantly activate Overdrive and walk to the left to destroy the wall of breakable blocks. There's little value in taking time to deal with the enemies on your right, which includes a new one you haven't seen before. The bouncing metal faces look new, but they behave identically to the bouncing green bushes from the previous stage. Crash through the wall, and watch out for the bat on the ceiling beyond. Carefully hop onto the next column to remove it, and then you must contend with a bounding metal face to the left. If you luck out on the timing, the bullets it shoots won't necessarily be at a height that's a threat to you and you can remove the face safely. Then proceed to the left and remove the last bat before climbing up the steps.



5: Stop on the step just below the main floor, and turn left. Patiently take out the bouncing metal face on the left and it will drop a red potion to restore your health. Collect it carefully, and then approach the column to the right and leap up. There will be two metal faces beyond the column. If you have enough magic, cast Overdrive to help you remove the faces and make your way to the right. As you approach the steps, boulders will appear from the left. Along the far right wall, you will find a mana extending wing. Be sure to collect it before you continue up the steps.



6: Back outside, begin walking to the right and leaping over gaps from one column to the next. As you do this, a snake-like string of flames will rise up from one of the gaps. It will fly to the middle of the screen and coil around in loops. You can activate Overdrive to protect yourself from the fire elemental, but even if you destroy it, another one is likely to fly up from a gap and take it's place. Focus on approach the doorway on the right.

7: When you arrive here, you have two options; Continue straight ahead, or explore the region above. The path ahead leads to the rest of the stage, but you will be well rewarded for your exploration if you head to the top of this room first. To do so, you'll first have to deal with some bats and flying demons, along with breakable walls. The Overdrive spell is a useful tool to deal with all of that. Be especially careful of the flying demon that guards to region above the breakable blocks. He also guards a valuable item: the Wizard Staff. Possession of this staff cuts the amount of mana needed to cast every spell in half. Collecting it improves your chances for success substantially. Once you obtain it, make your way back down to the bottom, and head to the right.



8: After you jump over the gap, you land on a long platform. But upon approaching the right side, a very large humanoid enemy will appear. It spits twin fireballs at you at an angle, and has it's own version of the Twin Fire attack. You need to remove this enemy, and you should try to do so as quickly as possible. One of the safest ways to do this is to fight Twin Fire with Twin Fire. Make it appear and then stand back by the entrance (but not so close that if you get hit, you'll be sent back through it, undoing any progress you make against the monster) and pelt it with your Twin Fire magic.

Once destroyed, it will drop a magic spell, but this is a special magic spell. It costs no mana to use, but you don't get to keep it. Upon collecting it, you will transform into a dragon and gain the ability to fly. and breath fire. You attack button will cause the dragon to breath a fireball that travels straight forward. As soon as you transform, head for the top of the screen where you are safest. A number of rings will fly toward you. Keep breathing fire to clear them out of your way. A fire snake will appear from one of the gaps. You're better off ignoring it and continue to fly to the right. When the screen stops scrolling, head down to the final ledge and press to transform back into a man and continue on.

Note: There is an extra life doll that can be found near the end of this area, but it does not appear while Randy is a dragon. To make it appear, you must leave the area and then return. To collect it, you must jump to the left from the very edge of the ledge and hold the jump button down for maximum height. If you find that you are too low on health to survive the next area, you can return here when you die to restore the life you just lost.



9: At the foot of the steps, you can fall off to the right to easily collect the next mana extending wing. Then activate Twin Fire magic and fall down further to the right to make another humanoid monster appear. Pelt it with Twin Fire, and (assuming you have a full, or near full health meter) don't worry tremendously about how much damage you take in the process. Upon destroying it, switch to Overdrive and cast it to protect yourself from the energy rings which will approach you while you're in midair leaping over a short gap. Without Overdrive, it is highly likely that you will get hit and get knocked back into the gap.

Once you arrive safely, you can leap over the next gap to collect a red container which will add another meter to your health bar, along with healing all of your damage. From there, you must continue right and face another humanoid monster. Use the same strategy as before, and clear out the remaining energy rings before proceeding down the steps.



10: Only one more area stands between you and the boss of this stage. Energy rings fly through the area. Only one major enemy, a final large humanoid will appear. If you defeat it, it will drop a blue potion to restore your mana. Collecting this is important prior to facing the boss. If you are worried about health, you can attempt to stand on the first lower column and shoot up at the rings in hopes of one dropping a heart when destroyed. In general, it's best to keep Overdrive cast and active, to help you navigate your way through the rings as you jump over the gaps. Without this defense, the chances of you getting hit and knocked back into a gap are quite high. When you reach the door, pass through it when you're ready to take on the boss.

Boss: Eye Column
Easily one of the most difficult bosses in the game, the eye column can be very confusing to deal with at first. Upon arriving, you notice four moving platforms, two on the bottom, and one on either side of the column, and the column itself which rises up and down, as well as spin around its own center. There appear to be three layers to it, and each layer contains an eye. The eyes are the only vulnerable targets on the entire thing. So you want to focus as much of your firepower on these eyes as possible.

The eyes fire projectiles at you, and standard collision rules apply here: getting struck will pop Randy up and backwards. Since there is no floor to this room, getting hit in this manner is often fatal unless you are standing in just the right place to avoid getting knocked off. Such a location would either be the very edge of either of the side platforms closest to the column itself. Getting struck here should cause you to catch the opposite edge rather than plummeting to your death. But as soon as you get hit and tossed back, your highest priority should be to return to the previous position in order to survive another hit.

Projectile cancelling spells such as Overdrive are very helpful here, but your ability to remain as close to the edge of the platforms is pivotal to your survival. In order to ultimately defeat the column itself, you must pelt the eyes with as much firepower as possible. Here again, Overdrive can be substantially useful here, as it has the ability to reach and hit eyes that you might otherwise have difficult reaching. As you damage each eye sufficiently, that layer of the column will cease to spin, and that eye will no longer produce projectiles to attack you.

Defeat only occurs when you do sufficient damage to all three eyes. That will cause the column to explode. You will then have the chance to collect the Thunder spell, before being instantly transformed back into a dragon, and soaring through the night sky to reach your next destination.