Kid Niki: Radical Ninja/Stage 3

Land of the Cliffs

• 10: You start on the left edge of a cliff. Walk to the right, and you will see members of the rock turtle clan poised to push boulders up onto the surface. One will climb up to arrive behind you, while the first climber waits for you to approach. To deal with the rock turtles, leap over the boulder and then turn around and attack them from behind where they are exposed.

• 9: More members of the rock turtle clan will scale the cliff to ambush you. Most will rise up in front of you although a few may appear behind you depending on how fast you run. Jump over them and retaliate if you wish, and approach the opposite edge of the cliff.

• 8: Leap over to the floating clouds. It is safe to land on them as they will sustain your weight. Time your jumps carefully so that you arrive at the next cloud while it is below you. Take out the two watch birds over the mountain peak before you proceed.

• 7: As you continue, an eye-patch bird will arrive with a bomb to deliver. Jump to a high cloud and let it approach you and drop the bomb when it gets close, then remove it. Carefully jump to the cloud that hovers near a watch bird when the cloud is rising or you may land on the bird. As you take out two more watch birds above, a second eye-patch bird will appear. Try to lure it into drop its bomb early so that you can avoid it and return to strike the bird. Then leap up to the next cliff and watch out for the rock turtle member that awaits you.

• 6: After you deal with the rock turtle member, a masked bird will appear to the right. If you manage to kill all of the birds including the last one which tries to escape, you can collect the silver bell it drops, and use the throwing star which will come in handy. A guerrilla kite ninja will make its first appearance. Attack it, and be om guard for the two rock turtle members lying in wait. If you have the throwing star, you can use it to push the boulders back and sometimes even break them.

• 5: Leap over the gap, attacking the watch bird as you do. Then prepare to face the next three rock turtle members. If you have the throwing star, use it to push them backwards and destroy the boulders instead of leaping over them. Watch out for another kite ninja as you approach the bridge.

• 4: As you start crossing the bridge, a Red fox clan member is likely to appear behind you. You can stop to deal with him, or let him follow you. He will attempt to navigate any of the jumps that you encounter as well. More kite ninjas will appear from the right

• 3: Keep an eye open for gaps in the bridge. You must leap over them and on to the solid planks. If you haven't dealt with the Red fox clan member chasing you, you may have to stop and turn around to deal with him. It is also likely that a Red fox clan member will appear from the front.

• 2: Another Red fox clan member will appear from behind as up to two kite ninjas attack from above. If they sweep above your head, they are likely to return in a wave pattern from the left, so be on the look out for their return. Three watch birds flying in formation signify the end of the stage.

Boss: Horned Witch

The Horned Witch is considerably easier than the previous two bosses, although you should not let your guard down. She is only vulnerable from the front; her cape shields her back from any attack. When she is struck in the front with your sword, she actually divides into two smaller witches. These two smaller witches will once again divide into two even smaller witches who will disappear when attacked. As the witch or witches bounce back and forth, their favorite attack is to send arrows downward to the floor. Watch out as they leap across the screen, and try to position yourself where they are about to land. While it is difficult to trap the witch during the first division, it is actually easy to make short work of the smaller witch and the two pieces she becomes by rapidly swinging your sword. The small witch will turn into a puff of smoke and divide, and you will kill the two resulting pieces if you are still attacking. Do this with both small witches and you will quickly defeat the boss and collect the scroll.

NES differences

• The rock turtle clan isn't quite as dignified in this version. Not only do they ride atop the boulders by bouncing on them, but the boulders are substantially lighter and easier to knock away with one swipe of your sword.
• There are no eye-patch birds will appear here, although there are a lot more watch birds to deal with during the cloud hopping section of the game.
• At 3-7 you must decide to take the high path over the plateau, or drop down and use the cloud below as a launching point.
• No more rock turtle members will be waiting for you before the bridge. Even better, you can collect a "gold" bell right at the start of the bridge at 3-9 (shown right).
• No Red fox clan members will appear on the bridge, but Eye-patch birds will appear to drop bombs off. They typically drop bombs off to the right.
• The Horned Witch breaks apart into further smaller pieces, including a set of three birds which circle around one another as they attack.

Secret Areas

3-4: When you reach the very edge of the first cliff, before the cloud hopping portion begins, fall off the edge of the cliff, jump up and down on the cloud below, jiggle the control pad left and right (air closer to the cliff edge) and swing your sword. If you hit the right place, you will be transported to a room much like the first secret of the second stage. Swing your sword in the spaces of the empty room to make scrolls appear. These scrolls will break open and coins will appear. Collect the coins from as many scrolls as you can find, and exit the room.

3-8: After the plateau, jump over to the bobbing cloud (be sure to take out the kite ninja that appears here). When the cloud is at the peak of its motion, jump up so that your head disappears off the top of the screen. Do this three times and you will be transported to a cloud area where you must dodge eye-patch birds and kite ninjas as you jump from cloud to cloud. If you make it all the way to the end without falling or getting killed, a princess doll will be waiting for you on the tip of the moon. Collect it to endure one extra hit throughout the rest of the stage. When you drop through the bottom, you will start at 3-10, thereby missing the gold bell.