Chapter 15: The Caverns
Fire, ice, and ugly, ugly freaks of nature await you in the caverns. This is another fairly long stage, with a few mini-boss fights scattered throughout, as well as one really difficult 60-enemy challenge.
Ryu starts off where he slayed Doku in Chapter 13. Lying next to him is Doku’s accursed blade, the Kitetsu. Take it and use it if you’d like (though at this point it’s probably horribly outclassed by other weapons in your possession). Head through the doorway into the next area. There’s a Golden Scarab hiding behind a pillar here, as well as a lever. You know what to do with levers by now! Give it a good push and platforms will shift around a bit in the room you just came from. There’s a whole lot of treasure there waiting for you now!
Ah, but it’s not quite that easy. There’s also a new 60-enemy challenge in this room, and this one’s a doozy. You remember those red-skinned, fire-breathing lizard fiends you’ve fought before? You’ve got to kill 60 of them now. We won’t lie to you – this one’s really tough. If you feel like it, you can just attempt to skip the challenge and simply try and get the treasures on the roof, but you’ll miss out on a Lives of the Thousand Gods, arguably the most valuable item in the game.
If you do opt to try your blade at mass dinosaur genocide, be prepared for a very long and difficult fight. These guys can guard a lot of attacks, and are completely impervious to distance attacks with any kind of shuriken. They are, however, vulnerable to arrows. If you ever need to escape from the thick of the fight, you may just want to try hopping on one of the suspended platforms. The lizards won’t be able to follow you up there, and if you’d like, you can pick them off from there at your leisure using your arrows of choice. You’ll run out, eventually, though, and be forced back into melee combat, so don’t rely on these too much. After you finish the challenge, your prize will appear in a treasure chest in the upper portion of this room. To get up here, you’ll need to do some strategic wall-runs and wall-flips to the suspended platforms hanging about the room. Among the items you’ll get from here are two Golden Scarabs and two Lives of the Gods. If you find yourself having trouble, you can simply pass on these items for now – they’re available up until you finish Chapter 18.
Go back into the room where you flipped the lever. Exit this area to reach the Imperial Palace Stairway and... another 60-enemy challenge? So soon? Fortunately, this one’s considerably easier. It’s basically a hack-fest against the fiends you’ve been fighting in previous chapters. Keep those attacks flowing, and they should fall without too much of a hassle. Your prize for winning is another Lives of the Thousand Gods.
There’s a dead body lying around here, so stop to search it. Continue along the path until you reach the Outer Caverns. Nearby is a Dragon Statue, a fallen ninja’s corpse (search it for the level map), and a bunch of suspicious-looking boulders. These boulders can be destroyed to find a Golden Scarab and a Life of the Gods. Proceed onwards to a small lake. You can dive underwater here to find another Golden Scarab and a chest containing still another Life of the Gods.
Backtrack to the area with the two statues. Make sure you’re in good shape, then save your game. Nearby is a button you’ll need to slam down on in order to create a series of platforms in the lava. Do so, then hop across them to a platform with a strange door. Use the Eye of Flame and Eye of Ice on it, and it will open for you.
Backtrack to the area with the two statues. Make sure you’re in good shape, then save your game. Nearby is a button you’ll need to slam down on in order to create a series of platforms in the lava. Do so, then hop across them to a platform with a strange door. Use the Eye of Flame and Eye of Ice on it, and it will open for you.
Fire, ice, and ugly, ugly freaks of nature await you in the caverns. This is another fairly long stage, with a few mini-boss fights scattered throughout, as well as one really difficult 60-enemy challenge.
Ryu starts off where he slayed Doku in Chapter 13. Lying next to him is Doku’s accursed blade, the Kitetsu. Take it and use it if you’d like (though at this point it’s probably horribly outclassed by other weapons in your possession). Head through the doorway into the next area. There’s a Golden Scarab hiding behind a pillar here, as well as a lever. You know what to do with levers by now! Give it a good push and platforms will shift around a bit in the room you just came from. There’s a whole lot of treasure there waiting for you now!
Ah, but it’s not quite that easy. There’s also a new 60-enemy challenge in this room, and this one’s a doozy. You remember those red-skinned, fire-breathing lizard fiends you’ve fought before? You’ve got to kill 60 of them now. We won’t lie to you – this one’s really tough. If you feel like it, you can just attempt to skip the challenge and simply try and get the treasures on the roof, but you’ll miss out on a Lives of the Thousand Gods, arguably the most valuable item in the game.
If you do opt to try your blade at mass dinosaur genocide, be prepared for a very long and difficult fight. These guys can guard a lot of attacks, and are completely impervious to distance attacks with any kind of shuriken. They are, however, vulnerable to arrows. If you ever need to escape from the thick of the fight, you may just want to try hopping on one of the suspended platforms. The lizards won’t be able to follow you up there, and if you’d like, you can pick them off from there at your leisure using your arrows of choice. You’ll run out, eventually, though, and be forced back into melee combat, so don’t rely on these too much. After you finish the challenge, your prize will appear in a treasure chest in the upper portion of this room. To get up here, you’ll need to do some strategic wall-runs and wall-flips to the suspended platforms hanging about the room. Among the items you’ll get from here are two Golden Scarabs and two Lives of the Gods. If you find yourself having trouble, you can simply pass on these items for now – they’re available up until you finish Chapter 18.
Go back into the room where you flipped the lever. Exit this area to reach the Imperial Palace Stairway and... another 60-enemy challenge? So soon? Fortunately, this one’s considerably easier. It’s basically a hack-fest against the fiends you’ve been fighting in previous chapters. Keep those attacks flowing, and they should fall without too much of a hassle. Your prize for winning is another Lives of the Thousand Gods.
There’s a dead body lying around here, so stop to search it. Continue along the path until you reach the Outer Caverns. Nearby is a Dragon Statue, a fallen ninja’s corpse (search it for the level map), and a bunch of suspicious-looking boulders. These boulders can be destroyed to find a Golden Scarab and a Life of the Gods. Proceed onwards to a small lake. You can dive underwater here to find another Golden Scarab and a chest containing still another Life of the Gods.
Backtrack to the area with the two statues. Make sure you’re in good shape, then save your game. Nearby is a button you’ll need to slam down on in order to create a series of platforms in the lava. Do so, then hop across them to a platform with a strange door. Use the Eye of Flame and Eye of Ice on it, and it will open for you.
Backtrack to the area with the two statues. Make sure you’re in good shape, then save your game. Nearby is a button you’ll need to slam down on in order to create a series of platforms in the lava. Do so, then hop across them to a platform with a strange door. Use the Eye of Flame and Eye of Ice on it, and it will open for you.
