Kid Icarus/Stage 2-2

Much of this stage is frozen over with a thin sheet of ice. This means the floor will be very slippery and it may be hard to stop. Don't forget the technique of pressing up to stop short. But be especially careful about pressing down. There are many sections where you may slip through the floor and fall into a watery grave below. Snowmen will attack you while you float between moving platforms. Time your jumps carefully to make it back to solid land. A few Angel Feathers in your back pocket can save your life.

Part A

• This particular stage starts with a string of doors for you to explore, most before you even encounter the first outdoor enemy. As a result, this first portion is very straight forward. Just make sure you don't fall down between the gaps and into the pools of water. The doors are as follows:

A - Treasure Room

B - Specknose Nest

C - Specknose Nest

D - Arrow Upgrade Room

E - Pool of Recover

• You won't encounter an enemy until you get slightly past the first door. And this becomes somewhat important if you wish to impress the gods enough to earn a new level of arrow power so early in the stage. In addition to the large hearts that you collect from the Specknoses, defeating the falling Rokmen and collecting their hearts as well is key to earning enough respect of the gods that they grant you an arrow.
• If you have to get clobbered a little bit by the Specknoses and Rokmen to get the arrow, don't worry. The final door contains a Pool of Recovery. Watch out for the Minos that appear on your way to the entrance. Power yourself back up and proceed forward. Your second enchanted weapon should kick in if you have one.

Part B

• After the pool of recovery, get ready to continue jumping over pits. More Minos may appear and attack you if you didn't finish off all four groups before proceeding. If you stick around door E for a while and wait them out, you can cross this next section unhindered.
• Right when you reach door F (a third Specknose nest), you will come face to face with a very undesirable enemy: the Plutons. They can't be killed, and if they manage to touch you, they will actually steal away one of your enchanted weapons! Avoid them at all costs. They will never turn around and double back, so once they are past you, you don't have to worry about them. Jump them, or wait them out from a high platform.
• Advance very cautiously and let every Pluton you encounter bounce off the screen before inviting more to come after you. Eventually, they will stop appearing, and Micks will appear instead. Take out each group of Mick on their first approach to the left side of the screen.

Part C

• Two single block platforms lead you to the first snow capped platforms of the stage. Not only are these platforms slippery, if you squat on them, you will fall right through! For this reason, it is very important to avoid any unintentional press of down on the direction pad until you pass this section.
• It is also here that you will begin to encounter Snowmen. They walk back and forth and guard platforms much like Reapers do. However, rather than calling for assistance, they simply make use of the most obvious weapon available to them: snowballs. The snowballs they hurl are not difficult to avoid. Simply hop over them and resume firing your arrows at him until he is defeated.
• You will continue to encounter Micks and Snowmen all along the way through this section. When you reach the end, you will encounter a few Kerons as well. Take this section slowly, and attack your enemies thoroughly, so as to reduce the risk of making a mistake while jumping over the water.

Part D

• Amidst the Kerons, door G will take you to a Black Market. If a Pluton stole one of your weapons earlier, you're going to find that it winds up for sale here. If you have over 900 hearts, go ahead and buy it back, but if not, you may just wish to wait to find another training room and earn it back. Otherwise, don't buy anything unless you have 999 hearts and need to get rid of some. Earning hearts before 999 is a great way to impress the gods.
• After door G, you will have to leap across a series of short icy platforms. Stand still and take out the Micks if you have to, in order to ensure a safe journey across the area.
• Once you're past the small icy islands, the next section consists of consecutive floating platforms that oscillate up and down. If you continue to move to the right at a steady pace, it's not impossible to land every jump without actually timing them. But don't count on this to be the case all of the time. Make sure a platform is actually lined up for Pit before taking the leap. Tiny blocks interrupt the platforms, and sometimes Snowmen will occupy them. Take out the Snowmen before advancing.

Part E

• You're almost finished with the stage. This next-to-last section employs all the aspects of the ice that you've encountered up til now; small islands, long platforms, and floating platforms. Use the techniques that you have developed to reach this point, and you will do fine.
• Door H leads to yet another Specknose nest. If you already have 999 hearts, than it isn't very worthwhile to visit this nest, since you won't earn much in the way of points, and you put yourself at risk of getting hurt.
• When you reach door I, the last door of the stage, the hard part is over. This solid platform will continue, with tiny gaps, until the end of the stage. Door I is another black market. If you couldn't afford to buy back a stolen weapon and wish to now, this is your chance.

Part F

• Kerons, Minos, and even Girin make one final attemt to thwart your advance to the stage exit. Don't let them deter you. At this point, you should be close to the 200,000 point mark (if you're not there already), which is the final score at which you obtain a health meter upgrade. Stick around and fight more enemies until they stop appearing if you're close to the mark.