After the space cruiser deposits your ZED onto the surface of planet Altile, you will have the opportunity to collect 20 bombs, a Hyper Missile, and an Extra energy tile. Be sure to grab all of these before you pass through the entrance above. Although you could bomb the trees to your left and right, the chances of you obtaining anything worthwhile are minimal, so you can safely ignore them and proceed directly to the entrance to Period 1-1.
Period 1-1[edit]
Period 1-1 is a looping stage. This means you must locate the Chalice in order to prevent the stage from looping and make it to the end of the stage. The section of the stage that will loop is contained within the yellow dashes.
From the start, if you bomb the trees along the left side of the entrance, you should discover two candles. These will be an asset in the first underground tunnel that you visit. You can find the stairs to this tunnel just above the rock terrain along the bottom of the screen to the right of your starting location. Head down the steps and light the candle to search for more useful items. Don't forget to utilize the Super Charger boots if you have any in order to make your search more efficient. Don't risk running out of candles and being left in the dark. Towards the end of your second candle, be sure to locate the stairway exit.
You will find one Waterproof tile below and to the right of the steps, so be sure to collect it. Continue to the right of the small pool in the middle of the stage. You will find the Chalice that stops the period from looping to the right of the pool. Then approach the right side of the pool (1) and bomb the wall five times. You will create an opening that will allow you to step into the pool. Standing in this pool will actually kill all enemies on the screen, and double the number of items you have (with some exceptions).
The path splits into three sections. The lowest path presents the quickest route to the remainder of the period. Once you reach the small slim vertical path, bomb your way through the trees that block your progress. Along the top wall of the stage, you may notice one block that stands out from the rest (2). If you bomb this rock, you will be presented with the chance to enter the first treasure room. In this treasure room, you can collect a Hyper Missile and Megaton Bomb from the left and right statues respectively, provided that you do not bomb the middle statue first.
You can visit the second underground chamber through the set of steps that can be found below the entrance to the treasure room, provided you have more candles to use down there. When you are ready to proceed, there are six different paths that you can follow to reach the end. If you stand in front of the second path from the top, fire a Hyper Missile to the right to blow away all of the trees in your way. In the process, you will discover the Key which will open the exit from the Period. Collect it and bomb your way to the right end of the period. If you have a large supply of bombs, you can destroy the trees and search for more items. You can also stick around this area and shoot down the enemies which fly on to the screen to increase your bomb supply before you exit.