Overworld[edit]
Your introduction to the overworld is short and simple. As you approach the first building, a small red enemy will run towards you. Hit it with your sword and enter the two doors of the building.
- The prophet introduces herself and explains that you are in Rock Zone.
- The Weapons Master also introduces himself as a weapons salesman.
When you get close to the second door, a yellow enemy will drop out of the sky. These are actually little cheetahs that uncurl and race along the ground when they land. Try to strike them as they are still falling. Another one will fall just as you approach the door of the second smaller building.
- Nurse Nancy introduces herself as a healer of wounds. She will offer to heal you for 200 coins, but you shouldn't need the assistance at this time.
Take out the small mole enemy as you jump up the ledges to the first of two challenges of this overworld. You must jump to and land on the hovering platforms in order to avoid the spikes below. Landing on the spikes will kill you instantly. Jump from the first horizontal platform to the second, and then to the safety of the ledge between, and then across the vertical platforms until you reach the other side.
One of each of the three of the enemies you've faced so far will appear before you reach the fourth door. It is a good idea to kill as many of them as possible in order to get a lot of coins. If you can amass 300, you'll be able to load up on 90 Bolt Bombs. It's important to understand that enemies will spawn continuously if you are standing in the right spot. Walk back to the foot of the hill that you just descended from, and moles will keep walking right up to you. If six of them drop coins, you'll have the money you need.
- The Wise Wizard offers to sell you Bolt Bombs. For 100 coins, you'll get 30 of them. This is actually a better deal than normal; for the rest of the game, he'll charge 200 coins for 40 Bolt Bombs. Take him up on his offer three times in order to get 90 Bolt Bombs. Don't go beyond this since you can't hold more than 99.
Now you will reach the final challenge of the stage. Jump on the individual platforms to climb up and over the spikes along the ground. Drop back down the right side to reach the hut that will transport you to the Underworld. Jump up on the ledge of the hut and push 
to summon the rainbow that unites you with the Nova Suit.
Underworld[edit]
The rainbow will deposit you in your Nova Suit. Each Underworld is more of a labyrinth than the Overworld. In this zone, the labyrinth simply winds back and forth as you go lower and lower. Start running to the right. As you do, pairs of floating skulls will travel across the top of the screen, drop down to your level, and chase after you. They are easily dispatched with one swing of your sword. You must also watch out for a small enemy that crawls along the ground to attack you from the front. It is also destroyed with one hit.
Keep running right and you will encounter your first major threat: your first Titan Guard. These look like squat mech suits fashions primarily after a pistol. They even shoot bullets at you from the barrel atop their head. These will take several strikes to defeat. Upon defeating them, they may leave behind a Bolt Bomb Type orb, or a heart. The first Titan Guard is not a good candidate for fighting frequently because of the skulls flying around. Defeat him and continue on.
Eventually you will reach a wall and be unable to proceed to the right any further. Drop down the pit, and you will reach a lower level where you must run to the left to proceed. Down on this lower level, if you stand halfway in front of the second column in the background, a Titan Guard will appear continuously to attack you. What you should attempt to do here is destroy them until one leaves a heart behind. Collect the heart. If it doesn't expand your health meter by one, return to the same position and try again. Once you have four hearts, proceed to the left and fight off enemies until you reach another wall and are forced to descend again.
Drop down and walk to the right. Once again, you must watch out for enemies, but now you must also watch out for small sets of spikes. You must leap over these to avoid instant death. Titan Guards will be waiting right on the other side of the first two sets of spikes. Jump over the third spike set and you'll reach the wall again. To descend lower, you must stand on the small gray platform and wait for it to disappear, which will drop you down to the next level. Walk carefully to the left, destroy more enemies as they appear until you reach the pit on the far right. Drop down this pit to reach the boss.
Boss[edit]
The boss of the first zone is actually a pair of robotic enemies who can fly. They drop down to the ground and shoot at you, before rising back up in the air, flying over your head, and dropping back down to shoot at you from the other side. Since two will be attacking you, you don't want to allow either of them to stick around for very long. They flight path is very predictable, so you should be able to rush to where they are going to land before they do so, and strike at them. Your strike will often disrupt their attack and force them to fly back over you before they have a chance to shoot you. Although it is difficult since both robots are identical, try to focus your attacks on one more than the other in order to reduce the threat you face as quickly as possible. Then focus your attacks on the remaining robot until you are victorious. These robots will soon become normal enemies that you face throughout the Underworld.