Samurai Ghost/Stage 2

Stage 2: Volcanic zone (The mountain province of Nine Fires (九焔山州) in Japanese version)

Kagekiyo has set foot on the ancient Japan. The first scenery is an erupting volcano.

Stage 2-1
You will face some new enemies. One is the claw demon which you must knock his claw back before killing. The other is the demon hand appearing in the sky and trying to attack you. Both will drop coins. Watch out for the lava pools, as you will lose life by standing on them. You need to pass some lava pools by using the platforms, floating rocks and flying rocks. A blue spirit, which drops a Mirror, appears at the end of stage.

Stage 2-2
Fire wall is chasing behind you, do not stay long. Aside from demon hands, you will encounter two more enemies. One is the skull spider that keeps shooting webs to stop your running, but you can cut the web. The other is the crow soldier that tries to fly to you and attack with his scimitar, but a close slash can scare him to put his blade behind, leaving defenceless for a while. Be careful of your life while collecting their coins and running away from fire. A rice bag can be found in the middle of stage. Another blue spirit carries a mirror at the end of stage.

Stage 2-3

 * Middle boss: Raijin
 * Life: 10

This drummer guy is the first strong enemy to take on. In addition to his lightning bolt attacks, he also wields two bars which can sometimes extend length. Beware of taking too much damage while reducing his life, but do not kill him too early. Instead, run farther and you will find some floating platforms, and two more blue spirits with mirror farther. Stop when you see platforms not moving at all, then finish Raijin off, then, you can collect the candle before entering the golden gate to the bonus stage.

Stage 2-4
Beware of crumbling ground. Spirits will appear in teams of three each, and there are more demon hands. Proceed until you see a blue spirit with mirror. Then, in additional to aforementioned enemies, you will find vortexes keeping shooting lightning bolts endlessly, and you have to kill the vortexes. Like in the prequel, the vortexes will drop Life. The second blue spirit will carry a random item, with possibility of being a power sword. If so, save it for next area and only use down thrust against remaining spirits and demon hands. You may also want to heal with rice bag, but not necessary.

Stage 2-5

 * Boss: Majin (The "Daimajin" in the prequel)
 * Life: 10

You will first encounter his head which keep firing fireballs. You can slice the fireballs safely, but if you still have a power sword, you would like to proceed with down thrust. After running a while, Majin will appear with parts combining into a complete robot. He will still shoot fireballs, but now he will be walking forward. His weakness is the head. If you have the sword wave or extended slash, simply jump and make short work of him, otherwise, be patient and wait until he stops spinning his arms, then you can jump and hit his head. Sometimes you may like to stand on his front leg, but do not stay long. Repeat until he is no more.