In a deserted war-torn field, the second Subspace Bomb detonates. In an abandoned fortress in the distance, Marth watches in horror as Subspace forces draw alarmingly close. As the sole defender of this stronghold, he must hold the Subspace Army back, and hopefully defeat their leader. He draws he sword, reflecting the sunlight with it, signaling a glimmer of hope in a battlefield of despair.
The abandoned fortress[edit]
Move to the right and defeat the Primids in your way. There are quite a lot more Sword Primids in the area, so you're on pretty even ground when it comes to fencing with the enemy. At the end of the hallway, drop down and run left. That hallway ends at a large hall, which is where another enemy is introduced: Armights. These twin-wielding blade users have extra range with their long swords, and they can even throw those swords as projectiles.
Go through the lower hallway to the right and fight off more enemies, then climb the ladder to an elevated platform. The item on the platform is the key, which you can use to unlock any locked doors by throwing at them. There just happens to be a locked door nearby, so throw the key at the door to unlock it and let you pass through the hallway beyond it. At the end of the hallway is a red door that takes you to a secret room. Inside the room is a gold item box and a blue item box located at the ends of the room. The center of the room is circled by Fire Jyks, so be careful when reaching the boxes.
Exit through the way you came. Back at the hall, go through the lower corridor until you reach a branching path. The upper path leads into a forced fight with some swarms of enemies while the lower path requires you to contend with Fire Jyks in a very narrow corridor. The lower corridor also happens to contain a blue item box which grant you an extra life. Go left a bit more to reach the door that will take you to the next section.
Outside the fortress[edit]
Your path is blocked by a giant gate, and the switch to open it is located at the other end. Fortunately, your ranged sword attacks should let you reach that button without much difficulty. Exit the fortress and go left, where you will soon encounter another new enemy. These red wheel enemies are called Roaders, and they can charge at you with unrivaled speed. Their attacks can knock you quite far, so it might be better to avoid them than try to fight them head on. Keep going left and ignore the switch in your path, as it will only spawn some enemies. You will encounter Spaaks as well as the usual Sword Primids and Roaders. The door to the next area will appear not long afterwards.
As he observes the devastation cause by the Subspace Bomb, Marth is suddenly attacked by a masked fighter called Metaknight. After a brief duel, they find themselves surrounded by Primids. Realizing that they have a common foe, the two swordsmen decide to work together to fight off this horde of enemies.
Unceasing waves of enemies[edit]
You will be forced in a continuous battle against tons of enemies. Other than the usual Sword Primids, you will also fight Scope Primids. These Primids can use their blasters to fire short bursts of weak shots or powerful charge shots. They don't have a close-range attack, but they can fire at characters directly above them. Other than Primids, you will also face several Buckots and even a Greap.
After the onslaught, you will have to move left across a barren landscape, fighting off more waves of enemies along the way. The second battle you're locked into will feature the first instance of an Autolance. These armored bulldozers can use their lances as a melee attack or throw them as a projectile. They take less damage than other enemies, but if you knock off their helmets, you can attack the emergency lights inside to deal more damage. You will also get an extra life from this particular battle.
After the fight with the Autolance, the screen will start scrolling automatically. It will gradually speed up, so focus more on moving forward than fighting the enemies. Don't forget to take the trophy under a small cliff. Once the scrolling ends, you still need to fight off more enemies in a series of forced battles before finally making it to the door at the end of the area.
Mining cave[edit]
After falling down a long vertical shaft, you will drop into a mine cart and ride along its tracks, defeating any enemies in your path. Once it reaches a dead end, jump out and enter the door nearby. Another mine cart inside will take you to the right end of the room, where you can find one blue and one gold item box. You have to make the trip back to the door on foot, though.
Outside, go right and you will be forced into battle with another group of enemies. Hop into the mine cart after that to ride on it. Watch out for the exclamation marks in this section. They indicate pits in the tracks where you must jump out of the mine cart to avoid plunging into a bottomless pit. You will have to switch between mine carts multiple times before reaching the red door that takes you to the next area.
Above ground[edit]
Simply run to the right to trigger a cutscene.
Marth and Metaknight closes in on the Ancient Minister, but the mysterious villain remains just out of reach. A voice calls out, accompanied by a spinning sword. Another swordsman makes an appearance, grabbing the spinning blade and bringing it down at the Ancient Minister, severing the bomb from his floating device. With a strong ally by their side, Marth, Metaknight and their new friend Ike continues their pursuit of the cloaked mastermind.
This last section of the level is exactly like most of the previous sections. Run to the right, fighting off any enemies you face. You will soon be locked in another battle, where you will encounter another new enemy, the Nagagog. Nagagogs fight like wrestlers and grow bigger the more damage they take, making them deal out stronger attacks. After the battle, run towards the light rays to end the level.
Despite their best efforts, Ancient Minister still manages to narrowly escape their three swordsmen. They can only watch helplessly as he flies off into the distance. Meanwhile, Luigi finds himself face-to-face with a much less threatening enemy, a Waddle Dee. The timid plumber is easily scared by these odd creatures, but the true danger lurks behind.
One hard hit with a hammer turns Luigi into a trophy, the wielder of which turns out to be King Dedede, Kirby's nemesis. He leaves the trophy on the road as Wario drives by. Wario, never the one to turn down something free, decides to take the trophy, but gets swarmed by an army of Waddle Dees. Dedede snatches the Luigi trophy back from Wario, then quickly drives away on Wario's own hovercar.
Having beaten the level, Marth, Metaknight and Ike will join your team!