The Mysterious Murasame Castle/Aosame

'Takamaru's journey begins at the outskirts of the Blue Castle, Aosame. The castle is surrounded by low lying plains and a few rivers. The defense around and inside the castle is not particularly high, but it will train Takamaru for more difficult encounters to come. He will only encounter bomb throwing Shinobus when he gets close to the castle, but they will arrive much sooner later on. The biggest danger that Takamaru must face inside the castle are sword wielding Samurai that must be quickly attacked twice in order to defeat them.'

Part A

 * Start out by walking west for two screens. Be sure to pick up the Blue Sandals that allow you to run through water in the first pond that you encounter.
 * You may then choose to take the north path or the west path. They both contain the same items, except for the valuable White Crossbow which is only found in the west path.  If you take the north path, be sure to travel south  to pick up the crossbow before you move on to part B.
 * Along either path, you will have the chance to collect the Shogi piece that grants you 3-way firing capabilities. Don't pass it up.
 * Be sure to collect the Red Sandals, which improve your running speed, just before moving on to part B.

Part B

 * At the start of part B, you will have another opportunity to collect the Blue Sandals if you missed them earlier, as well as a White Pillbox which will restore any lost health.
 * On the next screen, you can collect a helmet for limited invincibility before deciding to take the north path or the south path. If you haven't collected the White Crossbow yet, take the north path.  Otherwise take the south.
 * Be sure to visit the right gray screen in order to collect the Inazuma Lightning technique which allows you to instantly destroy every enemy on the screen, as well as reveal the locations of any hidden gift boxes. You must locate the hidden Tanooki first in order to obtain it, and you must trade it for your invisibility technique if you haven't used it all up yet.
 * Beware of the Bomb Shinobus that show up toward the end of the stage. Don't get hit by their bombs.  And don't collect the Red Crossbow near the end if you still have 3-way fire capability.

Indoors

 * Start out by moving north, defeating the Samurai along the way in order to open the doors. You have your selection of flames or the windmill sword in the first screen above the start, and the choice of 3-way or 4-way fire in the second screen.  The first princess can be rescued three screens above.
 * Return to the screen above the start and move two screens to the east. This is your first opportunity to collect the Shogi piece that grants triple fire in one direction.  This is very valuable for defeating tough enemies when you must fight them head on.
 * Return one screen to the west, and travel one screen to the north, where you can reveal a gift box that contains a White Pillbox in case you need to restore your health. You'll need it for the screen above, which will be the first scene where the Daimyo escapes through the back door and you are left to fight the Porters in order to advance.  Don't run out into the middle of the room.  Instead, fight the side Porters from beneath, and save the top Porter for last.  Watch out for the flames flying out of the statues.
 * From that room continue traveling north, fighting the Samurai to open the doors aboves. When you can no longer travel north, travel east one screen, and north once more to rescue the second princess.  The chances of the princesses turning into jealous spirits are very low in this castle, but it's still possible, so be on your guard.
 * Complete the journey through the castle by traveling south, west, and south again before proceeding west two screens, where you can obtain Red Sandals and a White Pillbox in preperation for the Porter and Daimyo fights ahead. Travel north one screen for the fight with five Porters.  Then travel north once more to face the Blue Castle Daimyo.
 * Dodge the Daimyo's bombs at all costs, and attack during the breaks when he stops throwing them. Follow the strategy outlined on the enemies page, by alternating between attacking him from the front and attacking him from the sides until he is defeated.  Then slash the blue orb to continue.