Kid Icarus: Uprising/Pandora's Labyrinth of Deceit



This level is called "Pandora's Labyrinth of Deceit." This is an apt name. Over the course of the chapter, various twists are made on the game's established formula, though the overall structure remains the same.

Air Section
The action begins when a portal in the sky opens up. Inside are flying polygons and enemies. Be sure not to hit any obstacles, which are unfortunately common in this level; hitting them can drain your health surprisingly quickly. When you enter the labyrinth proper, these will include red posts in the middle of the corridor you fly down.

After a few turns, you'll have to fly down through a few doorways. Be sure only to go through the doors that are opening. When the path branches, go left. Next, you'll see several giant octagons spinning around in the passageway. Avoid them by flying towards to openings in the bottom right, bottom, far left, right, and then left parts of the tunnel. After encountering a batch of Handoras, you'll be able to collect some Recovery Orbs and shoot down a Belunka. When the path branches again, go right. Don't worry, the characters always think they've reached a dead end here.

This section generally has a few tricks, but there are no radically dangerous enemies. Just be sure not to hit anything while flying through the air.

Ground Section
Enter the room ahead and eat the food. While clearing the area of enemies, you'll be introduced to Pandora, the boss for this stage. The next few rooms is more complicated. Some of the doors are fakes, and will either hurt you, lead back into the room, or have a trap door inside. Fortunately, you can dodge the doors' counterattacks and can tell where a trap door is if you have the 3D on. This part can be frustrating, but is unlikely to kill you.

In another room, you'll be introduced to a new enemy: the Girin. This bug hides under the ground and comes up to attack anyone foolish enough to stand over it. Fortunately, its jaws are visible even when underground, and their area of damage is limited. Be sure to stand right next to, but NOT on top of it, and watch it pop out. It will then be vulnerable to a few melee attacks.

Next up are moving walls. So long as you move quickly, the first room or two shouldn't be a problem. The third room, however, tempts you with a sometimes accessible treasure chest. If you want it, just be sure to watch the floor and the wall to get your timing right. Falling down hurts.

The next room contains an Exo Tank. You can simply drive it to the other side of the room, but you can also go around and destroy enemies by simply running them over. You can also use the tank's boost ability while climbing up the ramp to get on the floating platform. Get off, and food and a treasure chest will appear.

The next room can be tricky. There are floating platforms that spin in a circle. Be sure to dash quickly from one non-mobile platform to another. On one of the still platforms, be sure to snipe off the enemy that occasionally takes shots at you; it probably won't kill you, but it will interrupt a delicate platforming section. Also, be sure that the next platform is close enough to jump to. Sometimes, you'll just have to wait a few seconds.

The next room seems endless. Just keep going, and you'll get there eventually. The room after that contains trampoline floors. Be sure not to jump off of a platform. If you stick to the right, you'll find a Level 4 intensity Gate. Keep on attacking enemies from a distance to ensure safe platforming, and then travel carefully. Next up is another Exo Tank section. Eventually, a ramp will appear. Go up it. If you boost at the very end, you'll land higher up, and will be able to open a treasure chest.

The final trial is a room with invisible walkways. Shoot them in order to make them visible, and then plan out your approach carefully. Be sure to approach the Girins slowly! In general, it might be a good idea to be constantly firing your weapon this level. At one point, you'll be able to go left instead of forward, and can grab a treasure chest. However, do not just rush to it because an Orne will suddenly appear, but not to worry, it won't chase you. It will just move forward down the invisible path a little and back and then disappear. Just make sure you stay out its way. This is only one room, so it shouldn't be too long before you reach Pandora herself.

Boss: Pandora
Pandora might be a bit harder than previous bosses. Your attacks do limited damage, and she shoots a variety of physical and energy based projectiles. Try knocking the physical ones back at her. When she dives underground, run away to avoid a Girin-like attack from below. Halfway through the fight, you'll be joined by an ally. He'll help distract Pandora, but Pandora will pick up some new attacks in the meantime. One of them is a vacuum attack that should be dashed away from. Likewise, run away from her close range melee attacks. She'll also start teleporting around, making it hard to get a lock on her. However, her weakness to her own projectiles remains.

If all else fails, Pandora can be taken out with long range attacks while avoiding her attacks. This takes longer than knocking her own projectiles back at her, but is not a bad choice for the defensively minded player. Either way, just be sure to watch your health. Pandora is a two-part boss, and as such can be a fairly long fight.