Dragon Spirit/Stage 2

The second stage starts out very much like the first one ended. Waves of Shellfish will swim underwater from the bottom of the screen to the top, and pop out of the water to attack you. Once you reach the land, the Shellfish will stop, and Graias will take over. They'll fly at you from both side of the screen until you get far enough inland, and you will see some of the projectile firing plants known as "Insect Love Earth." Weave in and out of the projectiles they fire and bomb them to destroy them.

Several groups of Koptera will begin flying towards you from either side of the screen. When you get to a final group of five Koptera, they will all be shining. While the power-ups they leave behind are usually random, most of the Kopteras will only provide you with the bonus point Dia orb. Only one Koptera will actually provide you with a true power-up orb.

Shortly after the Kopteras, you will see a red egg on the right which you can bomb for a fire power-up. At this point, giant fireballs known as Tumblers fill the sky and rain down toward you. Tumblers must be shot with great care. When they are struck, they break apart into four smaller pieces which fly off in each diagonal direction. These smaller pieces can be destroyed, and they're not usually a threat unless you're moving around a lot when you shoot the Tumblers.

The Tumblers will continue as you reach a cliff. Just before the cliff wall is a blue egg on the left. Unless you managed to obtain a blue power-up randomly from a flashing enemy, this is your first opportunity to grow a third head. While the added firepower is nice, remember that you will become a bigger target for enemies to hit. Once you are flying over the cliff, you will notice another red egg on the right. This may also be your first chance to obtain the third level of fire power. While this power is particularly useful against bosses, some players will find it more difficult to destroy waves of smaller enemies because it has a slower rate of fire. Many expert players will actually choose to stick with Level 2 fire power for this reason.

The Tumblers stop when you can finally see a river of lava dripping down the side of one of the volcanoes on the right. Groups of small firebirds known as Sparklers will begin to appear. They alternate between the left and right sides of the screen, always entering from the side, and sloping up to the top of the screen. They're easy targets to deal with. When the final group appears on the left (very quickly after a group on the right) a final single flashing Sparkler will appear from the right. Shoot it to obtain a random power-up orb.

Now the volcanoes that you encounter will be erupting. Whenever a volcano erupts (assuming it's still near the top half of the screen) it will emit a large firebird known as a Phoenix. Phoenixes rise into the air and then rush towards you. One will appear from each erupting volcano, so you may need to move around to avoid them all, or get beneath them to shoot them. As you fly over the river of lava, you will also notice Tyrannosauruses on the ground which you'll need to bomb to destroy.

Around the Tyrannos is a lone red egg, as well as two blue eggs on either side of the screen just before the next river of lava. Beyond this river of lava is another red egg. Throughout this portion, Phoenixes and Tyrannos will continue to appear. Around the time that you reach the next river of lava, a new enemy known as the Bio Cycler will appear. This flying creature can summon five rocks to rotate around itself to serve as a shield. They aren't too hard to destroy, but they can release a single indestructible thread of lava will snake its way down the center of the screen. It is impossible to destroy, so your only choice is to avoid it. A second Bio Cycler will follow the first.

After the Bio Cyclers have appear, another flock of Sparklers appears from the right, while a single flashing Sparkler will appear from the left. Shoot it to collect another random power-up. It's not uncommon for this power-up to be the Wide Fire orb which changes your normal breath weapon to a spread shot. After you collect it, more Phoenixes will appear from erupting volcanoes and another Bio Cycler will arrive.

For the remainder of the stage, you will encounter more Phoenixes, and another Bio Cycler will appear just before you encounter a heard of Tyrannosauruses on the ground. Phoenixes will continue to appear throughout this portion of the stage. When you reach the last river of lava, the first of three final Bio Cyclers will appear, with the other two appearing at intervals until you reach the boss of the stage. The third and final Bio Cycler will be flashing and provide you with a random power-up if you destroy it.

Boss: Round Phoenix

The Round Phoenix is a gigantic Phoenix that flies down from the top of the screen. It is surrounded by eight rocks which circle around its body. Four smaller rocks fly counter-clockwise close to its body, while four larger rocks fly clockwise further away from its body. Aside from these rocks and colliding with you, the Round Phoenix has no other form of attack. It's easy enough to slip inside the space between the large rocks and the small rocks, but you'll have to be careful when shooting the Round Phoenix on its way down to the bottom of the screen. It does not stop until it gets very close to the bottom, before it starts to climb back up to the top of the screen. Be sure to move out of its way and wait for it to rise and create a safe place for you to fly underneath of it and shoot at it. It has no particular weakpoint; you can damage it by shooting it anywhere on its body. It takes 8 Level-3 shots, 12 Level-2 shots, or 24 Level-1 shots to destroy it.