Secret of Mana/Witch Elinee
Haunted Forest
The haunted forest is located to the north of Gaia's Navel. You will arrive in the lower left corner of the map shown to the left. The only enemy that occupies this area are Chobin Hoods, forest creatures who attack with bows. They like to barricade themselves behind plants in order to make it difficult to attack them. You can either hit them over the plants with long range weapons, or chop down flowers with a sword or ax to gain access to them.
If you're arriving here shortly after the Sprite joins you, be sure to attack as many Chobin Hoods as you can, and the Sprite will rise very quickly in levels. Also be sure to rotate weapons around to give everyone a chance to reach level 1 with the new weapons.
Depending on how aggressive you've set your partner's AI to behave, you may begin to notice some problems with them not necessarily following you, and getting stuck on plants in an effort to attack Chobin Hoods. If this happens too much, remember that you can switch characters and manually take over whoever is stuck, in order to move them where you want them.
Head up along the left side of the woods, and then make your way to the right, clearing away any flowers that get in your way. You will eventually encounter Neko. Even if you buy nothing from him, be sure to ask him to save your game. Then continue up the stairs behind him, and over to the left, where you'll find a spot on the ground, teleport A, that takes you to the next area.
You arrive at the top of the area shown to the right. Near this location, you will encounter a Mushboom and a Blat. From here, there are two ways to go. You can head to the left, but that path is blocked by some barrier which can only be removed with the ax. Even if you have the ax and chop the barrier down, the teleport will lead to a dead-end unless to do some work first.
Instead of heading left, follow the path to the right first, and head down the steps. You'll see a Chobin Hood on the ledge as you go down. This Chobin Hood can't be approach and can only be hit by ranged weapons, so you have to decide if he's worth the effort to fight. Down below, you'll find more Chobin Hoods, along with a Mushboom and a Blat. Approach teleport B in the lower left corner.
Taking teleport B will deposit you in the lower left corner of the third area. You can't travel far in this small isolated section of the map. After walking up a short distance, you'll encounter an Eye Spy. These small eyeballs can generate Chobin Hoods. Attack them as quickly as possible to limit the number of Chobin Hoods they produce. Beyond the Eye Spy is what looks like a teleport spot, but is actually a kind of switch. Stepping on this switch causes some land to shift over, making it possible for you to reach the other side of the ground beyond teleport C.
Having stepped on the switch, you must now travel back to teleport B, and return to the second area. Walk back around and up to the barrier that you need the ax to cut down, and step on teleport C to go back to the third area. Now you can follow the path down the stairs, and on to the right before it leads back up again. Eventually you will encounter a set of stairs that lead to a pole in the ground. You can grab hold of these poles if you have a whip, which would enable you to cross over the gap and reach the "!" teleport spot on the other side. That teleport takes you back to the area just outside of the Water Palace.
For now, ignore these stairs and continue right until you reach teleport D. This will lead you to the fourth and final portion of the Haunted Forest. Head to the right, down the stairs, and follow the path as it leads you upward. Continue to fight every enemy that you encounter in an effort to increase your character's levels. Follow the path as it leads up, to the left, and back down to the bottom. Then follow the left side of the forest up to the top, and on to teleport E, which leads to the witch's castle.
Castle
- Caution: Once you reach the castle, and need to retreat back through the forest, the magic rope will return you to the castle. To avoid being trapped, do not equip both the Axe and Sword.
The castle is the home of Elinee, and is well guarded by enemies. The direct route is blocked, but you can follow the path leading right to the main entrance. Inside the castle, take a left at the first branch.
When you first see two Werewolves, you are close to the save point. They are more powerful than enemies already encountered, but can still be defeated. Whne you see the floor button that doesn't seem to work, head down the stairs. Speak with the soldiers to learn about the button and the Neko to save and resupply.
Spiky Tiger
Return to the button to create the bridge. Take the center path, and you should eventually encounter Elinee.
After a short scene where Elinee teleports the mana knight south of Pandora, she will call her pet tiger. The Spiky Tiger is a dangerous opponent even if you can handle nearby enemies without problem, since most of his attacks cause unconsciousness.
When it jumps onto the platforms, it can only be hit by the Chobin Bow and Boomerang. It will also cast Fire Bouquet and Fire Breath. It is best engaged by trying to avoid the tiger, building up attacks to their maximum charge, and attacking once ready. You can have the AI do the same by setting their action grid to AWAY/ATTACK. However, you may want to ensure that at least one of the bow and boomerang are free.
Heal anyone below 40HP, or possibly higher if the Spiky Tiger is inflicting more damage than what you can handle.
Upon defeating the Tiger, you will get the Boomerang Orb and the Whip. When you exit the castle, Luka will call you back to the Water Temple.
