Cosmo Police Galivan (Famicom)/Area 4

Surviving in water
This is the first area where a little guess-work is required in order to complete it. This level also introduces many new increases in difficulty, and you will discover one shortly after you begin. When you run to the right, you'll encounter a griffon. Just beyond it, the small winged creatures from ../Area 2/ will return. However, when they start to fly towards you, they also spit out a fireball which you must either dodge or destroy. If you intend to use them for leveling, you will have to get a rhythm down or you will lose a lot of health.

These fireball shooters continue to appear in the elevator shaft, so be careful when travelling from floor to floor. To start out, ride the elevator down to the very bottom. On either side are two Cosmo Police who give you advice. The one on the left tells you that the water of the planet will harm you unless you wear the Cosmo Suit. The one on the right says that you need the Earth Crystal to reach the boss.

On the way back up the elevator, you will see a passage to the right, but that leads to a water-filled area. As soon as you set foot in there, you begin to lose health. Instead, take the elevator all the way to the top. While you're there, you may notice some platforms to the left of the elevator mechanism. If you jump on them and jump up to the ceiling, you will probably notice another section above that you can't quite reach. Head through the passage to the right.

This area is safe to run through. As you head to the right, you will begin to encounter strange insect-like creatures with long tails. They either float across the top or the middle of the screen, stop at some location and shoot a fireball at you, and then return to the side of the screen that they originated from. A short way in, you'll come to the end of the ledge, and you'll have to jump over pools of water to reach islands. If you miss the islands and fall in the water, you will start swimming through the water filled areas, slowly losing health. For this reason, it's extremely important to time your jumps so that you are not hitting the insects in mid-air, which will cause you to fall in the water.

You must jump across a series of island, which actually serve as the tops of pillars that extend into the water. When you reach the longest island near the end, you will encounter snail-like creature. This snail, by the way, is one of your only opportunities to obtain health in a water-free area. From there, you must jump to one more island, and then to the ledge that leads to the exit. In the next room, you'll find a warp gate. Utilizing the gate will send you... to the start of the area.

At this point you may be a little stumped, or feel that you are forced to wade into the water before you get the Cosmo Suit in order to make any progress. The fact is, if you do, you may be able to find an extra clue from the Cosmo Police locked away in a room M3. When you find him, he will ask you if you found the Cosmo Suit. If you say no, he'll advise you not to use the warp gate and to look for a hidden room instead. If you happen to reply with yes, he'll inform you that there are two walls in the water that can be destroyed with the Spark Ball.

Return to the warp gate. Clearly the wall on the right extends unusually far. Try out the various weapons you have three times. You will find that three Cosmo Boomerangs will destroy the wall. Beyond the wall, you'll find a boss who asks you if you'd like to know how to find the Cosmo Suit. If you say yes to this creature, he'll give you an explanation that is completely untrue. If you say no, you'll enter into a battle. The battle is quite easy, the creature arcs back and forth overhead without ever coming too close to the floor. You can wait at one of the endpoints and stab upward, or chase after the creature, jumping into the air while stabbing up, until the creature is defeated. Upon defeat, you will finally earn the Cosmo Suit.

Obtaining a new weapon
Based on the hint from the Cosmo Police in room M3, you're next objective is to obtain the Spark Ball. Now that you have the Cosmo Suit, you can survive swimming in the waters of this area. There are some new enemies to beware of. There are some octopus-like monsters that float around roughly in a circle, firing projectiles at you. There are shark-like creatures that do different things depending on where you meet them. In horizontal scrolling sections, they swim in figure eights from the top to the bottom and back again. In vertical scrolling sections, they swim up or down to your height and fire at you. And there is a manta-ray like creature which starts off low, and swims higher up when you get close, but it never comes back down again.

Your next goal is to reach the vertical shaft just before room M3. You can either use the warp gate to return to the beginning, run to the right, ride the elevator down briefly, and enter the water passage that you avoided before, or you can jump into the water just outside of where you obtained the Cosmo Suit, make your way to the right, and drop down until you pass through a false floor. Either way, watch your health and use Auto-Protect whenever you lose your armor.

Drop all the way down to the bottom and enter the passage on the right. By the way, if you're in need of health or CP, both the shark at the bottom of the shaft, and the octopus in the next room provide HP, while the snail in the room provides CP. Running back and forth between these two locations is also a good place to grind in order to get the Laser Blade to Rank A, or Galivan to Level 13. When you're ready, shoot the red gate on the left with three Hyper Ray shots.

In the next room, you will fight a mini-boss nearly identical to the one you fought in order to obtain the Cosmo Suit. The biggest difference will be, while you were able to prevent the first creature from shooting at you by hitting it, frequent hits will not stop this creature from shooting a projectile at you which is capable of a fair amount of damage. Defeat it using the same strategy as before to obtain the Spark Ball.

Destroying walls
Now that you have the Spark Ball, it's time to discover the two locations where the Spark Ball can be used to create new passages. As the Cosmo Police said, they are found within the water, so you can limit the range of your search. The fact is, you can't find the second one until you find the first one. In order to find the first one, you must actually return to the upper region where you had to jump from island to island, and fall into the water.

Once you jump in the water and see the pillar supporting the islands, head to the left. The left side of this corridor should be a flat wall. Shoot this wall with the Spark Ball three times, and a passage will be revealed. Inside this passage is a room with a computer, much like the one you encountered in ../Area 3/ with the extra gun mounted to the ceiling. Destroy the computer as quickly as possible, and destroy the gun if you wish. Unlike other areas, destroying the computer won't make a door open. But it will create a new passage.

From the computer room, return to the right, run all the way to the shaft at the end, drop down and pass through the false floor, and then enter the passage to the left across from room M3. Run to the left until you discover an elevator that wasn't there before. Ride the elevator to the very bottom. At this point, you actually have two choices. You can open the passage to the right by shooting the red gate with three Hyper Ray shots. Or, it just so happens that the long wall to the left is the second wall that you can destroy with three Spark Balls. If you're having trouble maintaining enough health to stay alive, it might be a good idea to go to the right first. If you're doing alright, explore the left first.

Left: Finding the next blade
Once you destroy the left wall with three Spark Balls, step inside. You'll face a few of the underwater dwellers until you reach a dead-end to the left. Surely there is more to this hidden passage than a dead-end. In fact, there is, but you'll need to try using a different weapon to uncover more. If you happen to throw a Capsule Bomber bomb near the dead-end, you will reveal another elevator that takes you deeper. Ride it down and head to the left to find a new warp gate. Jump through it to reach the alien dimension.

Hopefully your Laser Blade is Rank A so that you can make short work of the ghost creatures that greet you. When you reach the first elevator, ride it down. At the bottom, head to the right, as the left only leads to a dead-end. Make sure that you have plenty of CP at this time, you'll need at least 1000. Run all the way to the right, and you'll reach a room with a floating head who will offer to tell you a secret for 1000 CP. If you say no, she'll open the door for you. If you say yes, she'll take your 1000 CP and in exchange, tell you that the only thing she knows is that there's something about the eighth pillar, referring to the island tops of the pillars on the surface of the water.

Head back out and try to build your CP back up as quickly as possible. Ride the elevator back up and continue to the corridor on the right. (The first ghost that falls from the ceiling drops CP capsules.) Take the next elevator up, and visit the Cosmo Police to the right who warns you about hidden holes in the floor. This valuable information relates to the end of the area. Run back to the left, and as you cross the corridor, you will encounter two new creatures. One remains on the ground while the other floats vertically up and down over one spot. Both release a stream of electricity. Carefully remove them from your way and watch out for the bubble monster that appears next. Enter the door on the left, and you'll have to cross a lava filled room occupied by a few more of these creatures.

Far to the left is a room containing another crocodile-like mini-boss. Once again, he offers to tell you something from 1000 CP. If you say no, he will challenge you to a fight, and his attacks do a good amount of damage. Even if you beat the creature, you can leave and return to the room, and it will be back. Only by saying yes, and giving the 1000 CP will you obtain the creature's secret: the Thunder Blade. Now that you have a new blade, you'll need to start improving it. There are no falling mushrooms in this area, so it may prove to be a bit challenging at first, but most of the creatures here provide you with 3 blade experience points when defeated, even the ghosts. Use them for training until your ready, and then use the warp gate found to the far right of the middle level.

Right: The power to recover health
Once you blast through the red gate with your Hyper Ray, run to the right and cross the corridor until you reach the next room. You'll face a familiar mini-boss that you've seen twice before in this same area. The only difference now is that the floor drops farther below, so you'll be forced to jump in order to hit the creature. Once you defeat it, you will receive the Life Capsule, an item that will restore 1000 points of health in exchange for 500 CP. On top of that, the door to the right will open. Inside the next room is a shark and an octopus. Clear them both, and you will reveal another warp gate. Pass through it to reach another alien dimension.

Once you arrive, head to the right until you find an elevator. The room to the right is a dead-end, so ride the elevator up, and visit the room to the right where you'll find a Cosmo Police who informs you that you can damage the boss when it changes color. Head to the left, and you'll find another elevator. Beyond this elevator to the left is the warp gate that returns you home, so ride the elevator down.

The section below is filled with lava, and occupied by the floating electric creatures. Jump across the islands to the right and you'll find another Cosmo Police, who will give you the Earth Crystal. After you receive it, you're finished with this section. Ride the elevator back up, and head to the left to find the warp gate back home.

A hidden warp gate
Among the clues you received, you have to put two together in order to find the boss. One clue is that you need the Earth Crystal to reach the boss. Another more cryptic clue referred to the eighth pillar. If you return to the top of the first elevator shaft and jump across the pillar tops that create islands in the water, the eight island is the largest of the group. It is here that you are meant to use the Earth Crystal. Doing so will make a new warp gate appear.

When you jump through the warp gate, you will appear in another alien dimension. This one is very small. Run to the left, and you will have to cross over a lava filled corridor with floating electric creatures hovering over the islands. The next room contains two ghosts and two scorpions. These creatures are great for grinding if you would like to increase the Thunder Blade's rank to A. It's not required, but it will certainly help you in battle against the boss, as well as the area beyond. When you ready, continue on to the left until you find the warp gate that returns you to your home dimension.

When you reappear, you may not recognize your current location, but you are standing above the top of the first elevator shaft. Another clue that you received warned you about looking out for holes in the floor. In fact, there is such a hole just before the leap up to the ledge before the red gate. If you're unsure of where it is, you can throw Capsule Bombers on the ground until you see them pass through the floor. Make the jump over the false floor and break through the gate with Hyper Ray shots. In the next room, you'll encounter a griffon and another red gate. The boss lies beyond this gate.

Defeating the boss
It's a good idea to activate Auto-Protection here, and keep your item selection on Life Capsule in case you need to restore your health. The boss of this area is rather similar to the boss in ../Area 2/; it's a snake like creature which can only hurt you with it's head, and can only be harmed by striking it's head, and it must change color first before you can damage it with your blade. Unlike Area 2, no one mentions what to hit the boss with in order to make it change color, but the Spark Ball is a safe bet. Hit the head a few times with the Spark Ball, and it will change color, indicating that you can now harm it with your blade. The boss has two different patterns, one in which he moves in circular motions, and another where his movements are a bit more angular, like he's moving in the shape of the letter M. It's important to study which way the boss moves so that you can get out of its way to avoid taking damage, yet still be in a good position to strike its head as it flies about. The boss also occasionally fires a projectile that is equally as damaging to Galivan as colliding with his body. Once it is defeated, the way to ../Area 5/ will open up to the left.