Arumana no Kiseki/Stage 4

Part 1

In the fourth stage, you will have to scale a very high cliff in order to access an entrance at the top which leads to a waterfall. You will have to grapple to reach the higher ledges which lead to a series of floating platforms. When you finally make it to the entrance, you will have to drop down a deep chasm alongside a rushing waterfall. After a short ride on a raft, you will drop down to the boss' lair.

Point A

You start out on the bottom of the map. Your first priority should be to make it to the highest point on the leftmost side of the cliff. Here you will find a life extending pendant. You will also see the rare Holy Crystals suspended in the air, but it's not possible to collect these without climbing higher and jumping down from above. In general, it's not worth the effort.

Point B

Before you access the ledge to the right in order to advance, be sure to throw Mines at the wall just below. If you do, you will be able to collect more Mines, as well as Bombs. Then jump over to the small platform on the left and fire your grappling hook over to climb closer to your goal. Avoid the jets of flame that shoot out of the ground and run to the floating platform that will elevate you to the ledges above.

Point C

It's possible to take a shortcut from this position. You will see a floating platform flying overhead. If you shoot a grappling hook to the right, and jump as it's about to hit the wall, it's possible to line the grappling hook up with the floating platform. Then, as you climb up the rope, and pull yourself up on the hook, you can jump to the left and land on the floating platform, bypassing a good portion of the stage. Once you're on the platform, wait until it goes back to the right, and jump into the entrance on your right.

Point D

If you decide to take the long way around, you must advance to this location and ride the floating platform upward. You can collect a piece of Meat if you are in need of health. Then you may either attempt to ride one floating platform to the next in an effort to reach the entrance to the right, or you can climb even higher, jump across the highest ledges, and try to drop down on top of the final platform from above. If you miss, you will have to repeat the process over again.

Part 2

Point E

As you jump off from the mouth of the cave and drop down alongside the waterfall, push yourself to the right. The first ledge you pass will have a 1-Up on it. It can be extremely difficult to properly time the firing of the hook so as to grab the ledge and climb up, but it's possible. Whether you manage to collect the 1-Up or not, be sure to continue moving to the right as you fall so that you land on the next ledge with Meat. Then drop down to the raft below.

Point F

No matter where you fall, the raft will be waiting for you beneath your feet. You must then ride through a snake infested river, in a cavern that contains loose and falling boulders. Try to eliminate the snakes with either your knives or your gun before they have a chance to leap at you, and don't miss the opportunity to restore your health with Meat just before the raft-riding portion of the stage ends. Once it does, simply walk to the right to find the entrance to the boss lair.

Boss: Poison Spider

The boss of this stage is a giant poisonous spider. It's taller than you at full height, and it quite naturally shoots webs at you. It will walk around on the ground or on a ledge for a short while before hopping into the air, either landing on a different ledge or the ground. It will shoot a web at you if it can, and then repeat the process.

Despite the fact that this boss is big and fast, there's isn't a lot of strategy to defeating this boss. It takes 16 bullets to defeat the spider. Your best bet is to let it hop around the stage, and shoot it when it lands. If you prefer, you can use Bolas to attack it as it jumps up, and as it is falling down, although the timing is much more difficult. You do not have to fear the spiderweb so much, as it can only hurt you if it is a direct hit. Even if one is flying toward you, you can usually crouch down to avoid it.