Super Hydlide/Memorial Cave

Having figured out the secret of the Subterranean City warehouse, you are now able to access the cave below the city.

This cave extends quite a bit more than the first floor of Havel Tower. There are many corners of the dungeon which are trapped with poison, so it's a good idea to know the Detoxify spell, or carry a lot of Antidotes with you. Additionally, it's not wise to enter here without knowing the Move spell, as getting out if you are injured or weighed down can be a little tricky

It is also quite dark. This is the first location that will require some form of light in order for you to navigate it. If you are a Cleric or a Monk, it is worth it to learn the 10th spell, Flash, from the Heavenly City. Flash is far better than a Lamp in that it lights up the entire screen while the spell is active. Fighters and Thieves have no choice but to use a Lamp. But not all oils are equal. Ordinary oil will only allow the lamp to shine light in a one-tile radius around you, while Super Oil extends that light much farther. If you are exploring the cave for the first time, Super Oil is highly recommended.

The next important thing to know is who you will encounter in the cave. There are four different types of monsters in here. If you're worried about attacking the wrong monsters, the good news is that three of them are evil and only one is good. The bad news is that the one good monster closely resembles one of the evil monsters. There are two ghost-like enemies. The slow ghost that is pure white is a Phantom, and is the good enemy that should not be attacked. It's slightly faster cousin, the Wraith, is more lavender in color and should be attacked. Joining them are Evil Eyes and Zombies. Zombies and Wraiths are worth a lot of experience points. It's worth grinding here for a little while, at least until you reach level 10.

From where you start, you have the option to explore up, or to the left. You won't find much of interest to the left, other than a useless Stick in a treasure chest, and wall with runes that you can't read. If you head up, you enter a room where you see a treasure chest that looks isolated. You can reach the chest by walking down through the northern wall. This chest contains a Ration of Food.

Continuing up, you reach a room where you have a lot of options:

Up

Heading up through the upper right corner ultimately leads to a dead-end, but along the way, you'll discover a chest with the incredible Magic Armor, which offers good defense at a fairly low weight. You should consider equipping it right away, and selling whatever armor you happen to be wearing.

Right

If you explore the paths to the right, you will have to walk down any one of the three long corridors to reach the far side of the cave. There's a treasure chest in the lower right corner, and if you open it, you will find a Cure all medicine.

Left

A treasure chest along the bottom may intrigue you, but if you examine it, you will find the Silver Armor, which is incredibly heavy. It will undoubtedly weigh you down and make it hard to move. If you have the magic and don't mind the detour, you can collect it, cast Move to return to Forest City, and sell it at the general store for approximately 32,000 coins, depending on your Charm level.

With all these directions explored, it may not be apparent how to reach your ultimate destination. It happens to lie to the left of the Silver Armor chest, and you'll have to take the upper branch to reach it. To the far left side of the cave, you will see a path that leads to a room above. In order to reach it, you will have to pass down through a secret opening in one of the walls, which deposits you on the lower path that rises up the left side of the room to the entrance above. Step through and your goal awaits you.

Boss: Dragon

Once you enter the room, you will begin a boss battle with a three headed dragon. This means once the battle begins, you will not be able to escape, and you will not be able to use magic. However, you may cast any spell you like before you enter the room, and it's effects will last the normal duration.

Your goal will be to destroy all three heads. Each head has its own health points, so you must attack each one individually. The dragon has a certain behavior where one head will spit fire while another head prepares to extend its neck before breathing fire at you as well. You can usually tell which one will extend by watching the eyes. The best bet is to stand in front of, or along side, the extending head, and attack it with your weapon as quickly as possible before it returns. Unless you are positioned just right, you are likely to sustain damage from fire while doing this, but if you are quick enough and healthy enough, you should be able to defeat all three heads before you get too close to dying.

Be very careful when approaching one of the dragon's heads. You take damage from fire, but you sustain far more damage by colliding with the heads. Take a step away from the heads before returning to face them so that you don't collide with them. As you destroy each head, the dragon will change color. The more heads he loses, the more likely he is to aggressively advance down the screen towards you. Adjust your strategy by backing up a bit before continuing to strike each head.

If you succeed in destroying all three heads, you will earn a ton of experience points, and the room will become a normal room with enemies. A single trapped treasure chest will remain, and if you disarm the chest, you will find the Dragon Fang inside.