After starting the game, head north in the village and defeat the group of monsters here. Make use of the dagger's special attack using 
+
. It will help to protect you, knock all enemies away from you, and it deals a lot of damage. One on one, the best way to handle enemies is by first dashing towards them by double tapping a direction on 
and then pressing . You will deal damage, knock them into the air, and allow you to get right next to them. When they get back up, walk into them while pressing to use fast melee attacks that will defeat them quickly.
With the enemies cleared, head into the house at the top of the village. Talk to the old man there, then get the Cheese from the crate. Head west. Run along the path, ignoring the monsters (although your Rank increases as you kill enemies, there is little benefit).
In the new town, head North into the castle. You can get some supplies from the door at the top left (the food and weapons here can be acquired each time you enter the room, so stock up!), but head to the top right to continue with the plot. Work your way around the castle until you reach the king and your sister. Speak to both. Your sister will heal you and tell you to go read the books in the room through the door at the top right. The books, from left to right, tell you about running, the dagger's 360° attack, and ??. The king will tell you about the water spirit. It is your quest to hunt down all of the spirits to give you the power to defeat the person who has the silver armlet. The king will give you a red key used to open the water spirit's fortress.
Onwards to the Water Shrine[edit]
Head out of the castle and back east towards the first village. Make note of the river; you'll come here after you get the water spirit. From the village, continue east.
Run to the right and down a bit, then go up the stairs where the crossbowman is. Continue to the right to the next area.
Head right again and down the stairs next to the fire surrounded by the hedgehog creatures. Defeat them if you like and continue south...
Water Shrine[edit]
When inside, note that your goal in most fortresses is to find all of the keys necessary to open all of the required doors to find the boss guarding the spirit. Keys are found in chests and some enemies drop them when defeated, so kill all of the enemies!
Slime room[edit]
You will need to crouch to be able to attack the slimes. The red ones will attack you if you are slow so try to hit them once before retreating and trying again.
Flood room[edit]
As you head north a wave of water shoots down the room, pushing you back to the start. Stand to one side so it doesn't throw you through the door. Run up the room and just as you see the water coming, jump. Continue through the door.
Crab boss[edit]
Water spirit[edit]
Head up and talk to the blue cube. It will form into a faerie and tell you that it is Dytto, the water spirit. It will join you and the game will then show you the three abilities that Dytto has: press 
once for a bubble/water projectile attack, tap twice to heal yourself, and hold for 2 seconds to make Dytto spin around the area in a tornado.