Adventure Island/Enemies

Living threats

Sneil

• 10 points.

The Sneil is the first enemy that you will encounter. That travel to the left at an extremely slow pace. They are so slow, that you may treat them as a stationary object. They are easily defeated by one hit from a stone ax or fireball.

Cavas

• 100 points.

Cavas are crows that like to fly to the left in a wave-like pattern. They bob up and down as they approach you, which means you must carefully time the tossing of your weapon if you intend to hit them. Alternatively, you can jump up in the air as your throw your weapon to ensure a successful hit.

Cobra

• 100 points.

Cobras are stationary enemies for rattle back and forth in their designated areas. Although they can't approach you, the cobras of Adventure Island can spit fire at you! And nothing can be done to deal with the fire, so you must jump over it as it draws near.

Kello

• 200 points.

These frogs are particularly dangerous. They take two hits to kill. They start out green and remain stationary. Once you hit them, however, they turn brown and begin to leap towards you. They leap quite high and can hit you easily. A second hit to a brown frog will kill them.

Octopi

• Red: 100 points.
• Blue: 200 points.

Blue and red Octopi occupy the ocean waters around Adventure Island. They like to hop out of the water in attempt to grab a meal in the form of a hapless island adventurer. Red Octopi only require one hit to kill, while blue ones take two hits, turning into red Octopi after being hit once.

Pooter

• 100 points.

Pooters occupy several small islands in the water stages. They rush forward in small groups, trying to trample Master Higgins. It is important to react quickly to their appearance and take them out or jump over them before they get a chance to attack.

Waler

• 100 points.

Waler are rather large swordfish that like to hop out of the water while Master Higgins is cloud hopping through a water stage. They leap out in a giant arc, attempting to skewer Higgins and bring him back down into the water. If you're very high when they appear, they are easy to avoid. Otherwise, toss a weapon at them before they reach you.

Basser

• 50 points.

Bassers are a type of bat that occupy the cave stages. They are typically found hanging from the ceiling, but they will immediately descend to attack Master Higgins whenever he gets nearby. Be sure to slow down when you see them lined up along the ceiling, and throw a weapon at them when they drop to your height.

Skull

• 10 points.

Skulls are stationary enemies that occupy many of the paths throughout a cave. They don't present much danger to Master Higgins, but they do tend to occur in groups. Remember that your weapon flies forward faster when you're running, so make sure that you toss your weapons accurately when they appear in your way.

Coyote

Left: a collectible flower. Right: a running coyote locator.

• 500 points.
• 2 HP.

Coyotes are the tricksters of Adventure Island. They will sneak up on you by rushing in from the left side of the screen, but you can be prepared. You can locate them whenever you see strange flowers which you cannot pick up. They only ever attack from the left side of the screen. When they appear, they come charging out, and attempt to run into Master Higgins. They will always be faster than him so at some point, you must jump over them and allow them to pass beneath you. However, in later levels, some of them will have a different attack pattern and will attempt to jump over your head instead of running straight through you. These jumping coyotes can be identified before they appear by identifying strange flowers with brown leaves. If you're not careful, you may jump up just as they do, only to be killed. You can wait to kill them when they're ahead of you, or try to knock them out as they approach you.

Coyotes start out red, and take two hits to defeat. After getting hit once, they will change to a blue color. Killing a Coyote not only awards you 500 points, but also the chance to collect a 1000 point control pad icon if you knock them out from behind.

Zigmo

• 100 points.

These spiders will either be moving or stationary when you encounter them, but beware the ones that start to move when you approach. They are found in the fourth area of each world, and should be taken out with a weapon. If you don't have one, make sure you time your jumps well.

Inanimate objects

Rock

Rocks may seem fairly benign at first glance, but they have the ability to ruin Master Higgins day. Higgins can't be directly killed by hitting a rock, but doing so will cause him to trip. This costs him precious bars of vitality, and will make him lose control until he regains his balance. During this time, it's quite possible to fall headlong into a fire or a Sneil. Stone axes are useless against rocks, but the power of fireballs can destroy them for 100 points.

Fire

Fire is a stationary and deadly trap. Simply put, you can do nothing more than jump over them. They are typically positioned in difficult places that you are likely to jump towards, or slide into. Do your best to predict where they might end up, and avoid them.

Boulder

Boulders typically roll down hills. If you ever find yourself walking up an incline, you are more than likely to encounter large boulders. One touch from a boulder will flatten Higgins, so he must jump over them to avoid them. Like rocks, boulders can be destroyed by fireballs for 100 points.

Icicle

Icicles are only found in the frozen regions of the caves. Like the Basser bats, they appear on the ceilings, and only drop down to the floor once Higgins gets close enough. If you're moving fast enough, it's quite possible to run beneath them as they fall down. However, if you decide that you need to come to a stop instead, decide early because the floor is typically icy and slippery, and it will be harder than usual to stop in time so that you won't get skewered by the icicle.

Bosses

The boss of the 1st world

All bosses are worth 5000 points. Bosses in Adventure Island always occur in the final section of the fourth stage of each world. They are all pretty much the same, although their walking speed and rate of fire will vary slightly. The only vulnerable location on each boss is their head. You must strike their head with enough weapon throws, and knock their heads off, whereupon the head will be replaced with the head of the next boss, and you will be permitted to proceed to the next world. Bosses have the ability to toss fireballs at Higgins, and they throw it in a slight arc. As a result, Higgins is usually quite safe from being burned while he stands at the bosses feet; the fireballs will sail over his head.