Walkthrough

Prelude to the
Dark Abyss		 House of
Sacred Remains		Anti-Soul
Mysteries Lab
Dark Palace
of Waterfalls		Garden Forgotten
By Time		Ghostly
Theatre
Pagoda of the Misty Moon




GHOSTLY THEATRE
The Opening Act
From the Castle Entrance, head back to the platform room and take the right-most platform to be taken to the Ghostly Theatre.  The entrance room holds two Skeletons -- easy prey by now.  Destroy them quickly and head through the doorway to the south and into the hall.  Entering the southern doorway of the hall brings you into a room with a narrow walkway guarded by a trio of dragon skulls that breathe out jets of force.  First, jump down to the ground where a Skeleton Hunter, a slightly tougher version of the Skeleton Archer, accompanies a group of Skeletons.  Destroy them, and pick up the Heart Repair found in the northeast corner of the lower level.  Now, you can double-jump back up to the broken staircase along the western wall, and return to the front of the doorway.

Now that you've collected the Heart Repair, you need to get past the skulls.  The key to this lies in the fact that the skulls do not shoot out beams when Leon is facing them.  Stand just before the skulls on he walkway, then turn to face in the direction of the skulls.  Hold down R1 (or R2) to hold a Guard Stance, then edge your way past the skulls.  Once you've made your way safely past, you can release the Guard Stance, and continue normally.  don't try to jump over the jets -- this just causes a higher jet to be released from the higher skulls on the stack, and knocks Leon back down to he lower section of the room.  Once you've passed the skulls successfully, head through the door at the south end of the room.

You now find yourself in a long T-shaped hallway with a Buckbaird waiting near the entryway to greet you.  Destroy it with quick attacks (a combo such as A Extension 2 is good if you have it), and avoid its spinning tail attacks.  Just past the Buckbaird  claim a Crystal from the yellow candle, then continue along the hallway and turn right.  Take the western doorway into the next section.

Here you face one old enemy and one new one, the Ghost and the Skeleton Warrior.  Remember that when the Ghosts begin to burn and disappear, they throw their lanterns out a short distance in front of them, damaging Leon if they connect.  The Skeleton Warriors are fairly standard skeletons, but they can use the violet special attacks, and defend themselves with shields.  When they take enough damage, they break down into bones and float around in a swarm before reassembling.  After this they are fairly low on HP and you can finish them off quickly, destroying them for good.  With the foes gone you can leap down beside the staircase, near the western wall to pick up a Potion from the floor there.
Tricks and Traps
Continue west through the door opposite your entry point, where you enter the first of many arched hallways.  These short, curved halls hold only candled an no enemies, often a welcome respite from battle.  Run along the curve, through the door at the other end, and you emerge into a room holding more of the dragon skulls that you needed to work you way past.

First, jump down to the floor below.  Here you can make short work of a group of Skeletons accompanies by a Skeleton Archer.  Pick up the High Potion that sits just behind the small stone pedestal at the western side of the room, then jump onto the stone pedestal.  Now, double-jump, and use your whip to grab onto the small bar above the pedestal to swing onto the next stone outcrop.  You can also grab onto th ledge and jump over the bar without using your whip.  Repeat the process for the next ledge, and swing up to the walkway in front of your entry point.

Now you must make your way across the room to the other side.  The trick to this is the same as in the previous room of this sort -- face each stack of skulls a you come to it, and use a Guard Stance to continue facing in the same direction as you edge your way past.  Even if you can't see the skulls, you can tell their location by watching where the beam is coming from.  When you reach the door in the eastern wall, step through to enter a hallway, which bends toward the south halfway down its length.  Although this continues on to another room, stop within the hall for now.  You enter the large room to the south later on through another route.  Since there is a tough fight waiting within, and you still have a long road ahead until the next Save Room, you should save your HP for now.

Mapping Things Out
If you do wish to face a stronger fight, and feel better having a partial map on your screen to supplement the maps within the is guide, you can find Map 5 inside the second room to the south.  To get it, however, you must fight a Red Ogre and Cyclops both on the way there and on the way back.  The choice is yours, but be careful.

Return to the skull room, and turn to the north to follow the short walkway to he northern wall.  Follow this walkway as it runs along this wall, down a slope, then across to where you can leap up onto a new section of walkway.  Once you are on this walkway, turn to face he north side of this room.  Use the Guard Stance one last time to edge past the final beam of force before continuing along the walkway and exiting the room through the southern door.

After the dragon skull room, you find yourself in a hallway with a door along the western wall.  When you enter this room, a group of Ghost Soldiers attacks you along with a group of Skeleton Warriors to keep them company.  The Ghost Soldiers are fairly standard spectral monsters, but you do need to watch for their ability to float through the wall and back out to surprise you.

Once you defeat them, jump down to the side of the staircase (nearest the eastern wall) and you find a grab of 400 Gold.  Next, remain on the ground level to grab the Holy Water from the candle near the door.  This is a better weapon against many of he ghostly and skeletal foes that inhabit these coming areas.  Now, go on through the door in the northern wall.

You now stand in a room that holds a group of Zombies and Spirits.  Remember to avoid being grabbed and held by the Spirits because it leaves you helpless for a few seconds.  Run to the northwestern corner of the room to find a nice new accessory, the Aroma Earring.  This item increases your Intelligence by 10, handy if you use a lot of magic.  Now return to the previous room, fight off the enemies, and climb back up the stairs to take the door in the western room.

Go though the arched hallway, and through the next door to find yourself in a strange new type of room.  Here, glowing targets appear under Leon while boulders fly from the ceiling, which means that you should keep moving from the moment you enter the area.  There are two sets of statues here, one red, and one gray.  While the red statues are easier to find, concentrate on the gray ones for the time being.  You find one in the very southwest corner of the room, on a small ledge, close to the ground.  Destroy this statue by standing behind it while the target appears partly on the statue, causing the boulder to crash down on top of it.  After destroying this statue run along the ledges toward the north of the room, and double-jump to pull yourself up onto a ledge next to the entry point.  Her you can destroy a second gray statue in the same manner.  Take a step further to the north to pick up the Ancient Text 2.  This helpful item tells you to ring a bell three times under the stage in order to make the curtain rise -- advice that will come in handy further down the road.

Now, leap down to the floor and run to the center of the northern wall, where you can jump onto a small raised area with a clock.  Double-jump up to the right, and you can latch onto a small metal bar with your whip, flipping up onto a small ledge in th northeast corner of the room.  Destroy the statue standing here in the usual fashion, then double-jump across to the west to latch onto a higher bar and flip onto yet another ledge.  Here you cause the fourth gray statue to crumble, unsealing the door in the eastern wall.

As you move through the door you find a valuable Heart Max Up to claim, replenishing your Hearts and increasing your Heart Meter.  Now move back out into the room of statuary.  This time, destroy the four red figures, all found on the normal floor level.  With the western and southern doors unlocked, take the door to the south into new territory.  Here you find a group of Ghosts and Spirits to fight, using your Holy Water to great effect if your health is running low.  A Potion can be found on the floor alongside the stairs to the west.  Pick it up, then move through the door to the south on the ground.

Now you face a new pack of Shadow Wolves with Spirits to accompany them.  As you fight, continue using Holy Water liberally if you are running low on HP.  take he door along the western wall from this room, and you find yourself in a short, peaceful hallway.  While there is a room at the end of the hallway, as yet unexplored, it is added to your map later via the second floor.  If you have health to spare, and want the extra combat, you can enter the room just to fight th Shadow Wolves found within.  Otherwise, leave the door unopened and return to the room with the Spirits and Shadow Wolves that you just left, and leave through the southern door.

Heading along a short hallway and through the door at the end brings you to another room with enemies.  There is a large group of Astral Knights and an Axe Knight here, which means that you're in for a tough fight.  While your Holy Water is useful, it may not keep the foes away.  You need to watch out for the Axe Knight's special attacks, even though these heal your MP when blocked.  When the fight is finally over, head north briefly to add the last of the arched hallways onto your map, then return through the same door, and move through the southern door into a new hallway.
Exploring Above
Here in this short hallway you face a much simpler prospect -- two Ghosts float within the hall, guarding the stairs leading up to the second floor.  Defeat them, then head up the stairs into a small section of the upper level.  Another pair of Ghosts greets you here, but defeating this duo leaves you free to restore you health at the Save Room at the top of the stairs.

Now head through the door at the eastern end of this short hall, where you face the dragon skulls once more.  First leap down to the lower floor to fight a large group of Hanged Men, two of which return many times in a seemingly endless wave (although they do eventually stoop resurrecting, if you're patient enough to destroy them all).  Collect the Mana Prism from the center of the room, then return to the upper level via the stairs along the south wall.

Now use the usual method of guarding and moving to get past he Dragon Skulls.  This time break off your Guard Stance a few times, just long enough to jump over some narrow gaps while facing the stacks.  Make your way to the door in the north end of the room and head through.  In this small room you find the precious Black Turtle Key.  Take it, then head back through the doorway and retrace your path all the way back to the first floor and the original T-shaped hallway.  If you have a Magical Ticket it is safer to simply use this, save your game in the Entrance Hall of the castle, and return to the T-shaped hallway from the platform -- although this way you miss out on fighting the various enemies a second time.
Act Two
Once back in the Buckbaird's diverging hallway, head through the eastern end where you face another set of Ghosts and Skeleton Warriors.  In this room, move to the southwest corner at the top of the stairs to pick up the Marker Stone 7.  Then jump down from the staircase by the eastern wall of the room to pick up a bag full 400 Gold.  Return to the top of the stairs, and continue on through the eastern doorway.

You now find yourself in another arc-shaped hallway that only hold candles for you to destroy.  Follow the curve, take the door at the far end, and be prepared to move quickly.  The next large room hold four more of the strange red statues, and as soon as you enter the room the rock bombardment begins.  As you did before, stand by the statues in order to have the rocks slam down onto the stone figures, destroying them.  AS the last statue crumbles, the bombardment stops and the doors are unsealed, allowing you to continue along through ht door to the south.

This doorway leads you to a new hallway, one with two new doors leading out along he eastern side.  Before you can take any doors, however, you must defeat the two Shadow Wolves lurking here.  Because of their dark coats they are sometimes difficult to see in this dim hallway.  If you have trouble spotting them, watch for the dust raised by their paws.  Or, watch for the flames that sometimes line their coats before they launch an attack.  Once you've managed to wipe them out, take the first doorway to the east into the Save Room.  Return to the hall, move on the the second door along the east wall, and step through.
More Dangerous Puzzles
The architects of this theatre apparently love their deadly mechanical tricks, and you face another room full of the m now.  As you enter the door, stand motionless to gain your bearings, because the room is filled with spiked slabs (falling from the ceiling and being raised back up in a relentless pattern).  As you stand by the door you are safe for the moment, and you can watch the pattern of the spikes falling to gauge their timing.  When you've got the rhythm down, head for the space in the center of the first spiked slab, diagonally to Leon's front, and right -- you can tell where the spikes do not hit by the lighter square on the floor.  You should be able to make it to the first safe square between the time that the spikes lift and fall.  When the spikes lift again take the opportunity to make your way to the longer safe area by the western wall.  Her at he end of this space you can just reach a short bar along the wall if you double-jump and latch on with your whip. Flip over the bar, and you stand on a short balcony leading into a secret room.  Enter the door and claim the HP Max Up standing on the short pedestal inside.

The Shortest Route
Sometimes you must take a slightly back-and-forth pattern to safely navigate through the gaps in the spikes.  A route that seems like a fairly straightforward dash to an area that you want to visit may end up leaving Leon under the crushing spikes halfway to his destination.  Check carefully for the "safe square" closest to your current location, and don't be too impatient to take a roundabout route.

After claiming your prize, return to the room with the spikes, and jump down from th balcony through the small gap between the ledge and the southern wall in order to avoid being struck by the spikes.  Now return to th safe square that you moved to first, moving southeast through the room in order to reach a larger safe area in the center.  You have to make three shorter trips eastward between more safe squares before making one final run to the clear area in front of the eastern door.

With the spiked room behind you, you have a brief opportunity to catch your breath as you run through another arched hallway.  When yo reach the end of the hallway, and enter the next door, you are greeted by another group of Ghost Soldiers and Skeleton Warriors.  Once all of the foes are gone, move to ht southern area beside the staircase and claim the 400 Gold from the floor, then climb the stairs to where you can claim an Axe sub-weapon along the northern wall.  After you take the Axe, move south through the doorway, and into the next room.

This time a group of Spirits joins the Skeleton Warriors to greet Leon upon his entry.  Once again, avoid being grabbed and held by the Spirits -- not a good situation to be in with the tougher Skeleton Warriors around.  You can claim 400 Gold on eastern side of the floor below the staircase, then take the door through the south.

A pack of Shadow Wolves, joined by Zombies, make their residence in th room.  Once they are all gone take the western door to a hallway, so it appears on your map.  The door at the end of the hall requires the White Tiger Key, which can be found in the House of Sacred Remains.

UNLOCKED AREA:
WHITE TIGER DOOR		ITEM NEEDED:
WHITE TIGER KEY
With the key from the House of Sacred Remains in hand it is a simple matter to unlock the door and step through into the small room beyond.  Here the Heart Brooch lays waiting for you, its new owner.  This accessory decreases the amount of Hearts used in various sub-weapon attacks -- quite helpful for fights where normal whip attacks just don't cut it.  With your new acquisition in hand, return through the door to the empty hallway in order to continue on your trip through the Theatre.

When you are done in the hallway, return to the room with the wolves and Zombies, and fight them off, or avoid them before stepping through the doorway to the south side of the room.

This door leads to a mercifully empty hallway, at the end of which is a second doorway.  This leads to a larger room filled wit ha nastier proposition -- a group of Astral Knights and a larger, lumbering Armor Knight.  Once more, keep the fight away form the slower enemy and concentrate on the Astral Knights.  Luckily, your various Axe sub-weapon attacks damage all of these foes quite nicely, so don't be afraid to use them.

Once you are victorious, take the northern doorway to add one small connecting hallway to your map, then return back through the same door and take the door on the southern wall.  You now stand in another short hallway, this one contains two of the lantern-wielding Ghosts.  You should be able to make short work of them and then head up the stairs to the second floor.
Above the Stage
The first brief hallway on this new level also holds two Ghosts, so be ready for a fight as soon as you emerge.  With the combat out of the way, continue along the hall into a new room with rising and falling spikes.  This time, dart straight ahead once you get your bearings to the first safe square, then take a short run to the next square just diagonal from it.  Continue to tread carefully until you reach the door.  Don't step through yet -- instead continue to weave your way around to the eastern wall, where an empty space free of paintings can be seen on the wall.  Perform a double-jump, and you can just barely reach a bar fastened to the wall overhead.  Latch onto this with your whip to flip up onto a hidden ledge -- don't get discouraged, as it's very hard to grab onto and may take multiple attempts.  Try to stand as far back from the wall as you can without taking damage before making the jump.  Be careful not to drift too far to the side as you leap, or you're setting yourself up for spike damage.

Once you've flipped up onto the ledge, jump up along the rising blocks to th est to reach a section of ledge holding an MP Max Up.  Claim this prize, then jump across to the east by flipping over he bar jutting from the wall.  You can then enter a door to claim the Lucifer's Sword relic inside a hidden room.  Now return to the main room and either jump off the edge of the platform to the south where you can safely drop down by the entrance, or try to make your way back down to where you originally swung onto the ledge -- a more dangerous proposition.  When you are safely on the ground make your way back to the door that you saw along he northern wall of the room, and step through.

Inside this next room you fight against a group of Spirits accompanied by an Axe Armor.  When th Spirits are out of ht way, concentrate on the larger monster, watching out for his long reach and unexpected backslash, as well as his special attack.  Now go through the door to the northwest, and into the next hall.

Once more this hallway is blissfully empty of foes, although it does hold a Knife sub-weapon.  Take this weapon, and then enter th door halfway down the hall, along the southern wall, where you are greeted by a deep darkness.

As you step forward, a spotlight can just be seen shining dimly on a platform to the front.  Make a single-jump to it, then a second to the smaller platform that quickly appears just to the east (Leon's right as you enter the room).  Another platform appears just beyond the current one, which you can reach with a more careful single-jump.  Leap slightly to the south to reach another.

Now, double-jump to a slightly larger platform along the eastern wall, and turn to reach a small platform at the room's southeastern corner with a second double-jump.  Double-jump again, along the wall, to a platform along the south wall.  Enter the door that you find here to claim the Curtain Time Bell.  This item can be used form the Item Real Time Window, and does not get used up in the process.  It has no immediate use, but it comes in handy soon enough.

Head Over Heels
If you fall while jumping through the darkened area don't worry too much -- you don't die or take any damage.  Falling does force you to start the journey over from the last door way that you walked through -- use this to your advantage.  If you want to try to reach the second doorway along the south wall after retrieving the Curtain Time Bell, head out through the northern door into the hall when you reach the north side of th room, so that if you fall in your leap of faith, you don't have to navigate the entire room again.

The second room on the south wall is the exception to the above rule -- if you fall after exiting that southwestern door, you automatically return to the platform in front of the northern entrance.  Thus, you don't need to worry about getting stuck if you run out of MP before leaping back.

UNLOCKED AREA:
DARK PLATFORM		ITEM NEEDED:
WOLF'S FOOT
Make your way back to the platform nearest the entrance of the room -- the first large platform that you leaped to while following the path to claim the Curtain Time Bell.  When you are ready, activate the Wolf's Foot and leap from the first large platform diagonally toward the southwest corner.  Although you can't see it from your starting position, another platform is out of reach of a normal jump, but accessible with the help of the relic.  If you judge this leap of faith correctly, you land on the platform with a door that hold the Brisingamen.  This handy accessory allows you to use relics for longer before your MP drains away -- especially hand with such MP-heavy relics as your current Wolf's Foot.

Now return to the entrance and step into the hallway, from there moving through the western door into the next new room.

Inside this next room you face another round of combat -- this time it's a fight against a group of Buckbairds and another Axe Armor.  AS before, fight the smaller opponents first and as far away from the Axe Armor as possible, watching out for his spinning Axe throw.  Unfortunately your Knife isn't very useful against the Axe Armor, so if you need some extra punch use the Lightning Whip to help you.

Now head into he hallway found south of the room.  Here you need only defeat a pair of Skeletons before taking a well-earned rest in the Save Room found along the southern side of the hall.  Save your game, regain your HP, then go back into the hall and through the second, westernmost door along he north wall.  From this point on try to be especially careful, as this is your last Save before the final fight of the area.
The Final Act
Although it sounds simple, you must watch out for the moving beam that makes a slow sweep along eh walkway.  Luckily, there are plenty of shields to keep Leon safe as the beam passes.  You really just need to be patient to keep from being struck, and remember not to jump.  If you jump and land on the brown wooden platform it crumbles beneath you, taking you to a room in the first floor.  For the record, this is the room with the Shadow Wolves that you may have passed by on your trip through the first floor once before.

Once through the door at the far end of the walkway, run along the short hall that you find, and take the door at the far end along the east wall.  Her you enter another room that is connected to the first floor, but as it is the last room along your sweep of the second floor, this time you want to leap down.  Before doing so, run along the west wall of the room from the entrance, and when you get to the end of the walkway you see an HP Max Up waiting for you to jump across and claim.  Once you have picked up this helpful item and restored your HP, leap down to where you find a Cyclops and a Red Ogre waiting for you.

The two foes that you find in this location are both and and nasty, but thankfully a bit slow.  With this large room you can dodge them fairly well, running in frequently to pester them with combo attacks.  Watch out for their special attacks, and use their weaknesses against them.  Once both have fallen, step through th southern entrance.  You should already have the hallway to he north added onto your map from your previous run through the first floor.

AS you enter the next room, move directly to the northwest corner where you see the Map 5 sitting in the corner.  This is a bit late now, but there's no reason not to go ahead and collect it.  Now walk through the next door, which by the skull motif you can probably tell is the room that holds the final boss encounter.
The Final Curtain
When you enter the room, it is at first empty, consisting of an audience area, a stage, and nothing more.  Before doing anything else, equip any items that you need for the coming fight, such as the Sacrificial Doll.  There are quite a few accessories that are also good choices as secondary items, such as the Heart Brooch, Bloody Cape or Megingjord.  The Svarog Statue is a useful relic for use in the fight as well (the Draupnir is a good choice too if you've already obtained it from the Dark Palace of Waterfalls).  Now equip the Whip of Flames.  Between this and the Knife, you can exploit both weaknesses of he Boss.

When you are certain that you are ready for the fight, move to the audience area below the stage and open your Real Time Window in order to use the Curtain Time Bell.  AS you select it, it rings out three times, and "the play" begins.  After a cutscene, Leon now faces the Boss Battle for the area against a sly creature -- the Succubus.

SUCCUBUS
HPTOLERANCEWEAKNESS
1000NONEFIRE, KNIFE
The Succubus has a very few HP for a Boss creature, and with two items that exploit her weaknesses (three if you trigger the Svarog Statue), this fight can go quite quickly.  As the Succubus' own attacks aren't exceptionally strong for the most part, you should focus less on defense this time around.  Launch Knife sub-weapon attacks toward the foe whenever you get a chance, and move in between her attacks to hit her with the Whip of Flames.  The Magic Missile Knife attack is a good choice her as it automatically targets the Succubus, meaning that you don't have to try to stop and aim in the middle of a hectic fight.

As the fight begins you may notice a few large flowers sprouting from the floor.  Ignore these blooms and concentrate your attacks on the Succubus, but just be careful not to bump into them, as they damage Leon and inflict Poison upon him.

The normal attacks of the Succubus consist of a spread of three "chains" of green energy that shoot out toward Leon.  Guard against theses when you can, taking a moment to shoot off a sub-weapon attack toward the Succubus if you have time.  She can launch a similar strike using the special violet energy that marks a special attack.  Be sure to block the violet attack because it restores your MP.

Another special ability that the Succubus has is to split herself into mirror images,each of which acts independently.  Only one of these is the real demon, while the others are illusions.  Attack one, and if it is a fake it vanishes without an effect on the Succubus.  If it is the real thing, the Succubus takes damage the the fakes disappear.  Be careful -- when the Succubus has a mirror image on the field with her, the two of them can call down a paralyzing attack upon Leon, forcing you to move your left analog stick around quickly in an attempt to break free.

Strikes to watch out for are those that are preceded by a yellow glow, followed by a quick whirlwind, as she swoops toward Leon.  Try to avoid these attacks with Quick Steps because blocking against them may not work -- the attack knows Leon off balance when it first strikes his guard, and the Succubus can then move in again to strike him when he is vulnerable.

The Succubus has one other attack at this point, during which a cloud of hearts appears over her head and she swoops in to deal a light amount of damage to you.  This continues over a short period of time, making it one of her more damaging attacks overall, but it is only performed rarely.  Still guard against it if you can manage to do so in time.

Once you've taken the blue HP bare completely away to reveal the yellow, the Succubus adds a new attack to her repertoire.  She lets off a jolt of green energy into the ground, at which point a large thorned vine erupts from th ground, burrowing back in and rising once more.  This repeats for a total of three attacks.  Move out of the way of these damaging vines as they are about to erupt from the ground, or block for the entire time, as they can damage Leon repeatedly or the worst damage that the Succubus can dish out.

Even with this harder-hitting attack added to the list, take your attacks frequently while using her weaknesses against her and the Succubus rapidly falls.  As her last bit of health drains away she collapses, exhausted, and you can relax and watch the aftermath.

As the Succubus falls at your feet, in her disappointment she lets an interesting comment slip out.  Leon presses her for more information, but the Succubus is too far gone, and slips away in a cloud of petals.  Return to the center of the carpet, below the stage, where the Yellow Orb is waiting.  Leap up as usual to collect it.  With your HP restored, step into the circle of light nearby to be teleported outside the cabin.  As before, make certain that you step inside at this point to view another cutscene that gives you another small piece of the puzzle surrounding Rinaldo, Walter, and the powerful whip.

With a bit more of the story out in the open for you to mull over, replenish your supplies at the shop, then return to the Castle Entrance and save your progress before proceeding back to the main hall.
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