Deep Forest Area

VISUAL GUIDE:

After the intro you find yourself in a small room lit by a torch burning on the floor, but soon the torch goes out leaving you in complete and utter darkness. Slowly your eyes begin to get accustomed to the dark and you are able to see again. There is a message written on the wall in front of where the burnt-out torch is. Read it! Now it's time to head down the steps and into the unknown.

In the tradition of a true Kings Field/Shadow Tower game, death comes quickly if you don't watch where you go. A few steps down the staircase, you will hear a bit of mystery music and a statue on the left side wall crumbles to the ground. If you get caught under it, you will hear the famous "Death Scream." **Evil grin** Keep going down the stairs. Talk to the dying soldier, then pick up the knife from the ground. Equip it and set it as your weapon of choice. You will need to use it soon. As you turn around you can see the first creature (a Gapu) waiting in the next room. As soon as it catches a glimpse of you, it will run away and you will hear its shrills as it begins to call for backup.

Because of the narrow passage where your first encounter takes place, use thrusting and hacking motions; in other words, forward and back on the right analog stick. Do not use the left and right options as you will probably hit the wall and reduce the durability of your knife.
Follow the winding cavern to a small clearing, where two more Gapu are waiting for you. Here you will have enough room to maneuver and use your knife to the fullest extent. Refrain from using the gun at this point. Save your ammunition as you will need it for another purpose. Pick up the Green Hat next to the dead soldier, equip it if you wish and continue on your way. At the next bend, two more Gapu will rush you. Dispose of them and cut down the grass. A Healing Potion is hidden there.

As you continue, you will hear the gasping sound of someone breathing. Through an opening in the right wall, you can see a man sitting against a rock, his chest slowly going up and down. Look for a second; you can almost feel the hard time he has breathing. Keep going, as there is nothing you can do for him.
Soon you will begin to hear the sound of chanting. There is an opening in the wall to your right and through it you can see four creatures standing around an altar in the room below. For now stay away from the edge and do not go inside. Instead head towards the pillar just a few steps away and pick up the Cune from a skeleton on the floor. Notice the skull in the hollow of the pillar. If you touch it, it rolls to the ground but you can't pick it up. There is a Bullet Clip hidden in the grass behind the pillar.

Now you have to make a choice; go into the opening you saw earlier or ignore it and keep going down this corridor.

Choose the path of the chanting creatures. Arm yourself and walk slowly to the edge of the cave. As you step in, the floor crumbles and you fall without taking any damage. The creatures stop what they were doing and give chase.

Dispose of them as you can, always keeping an eye on the fourth guy (let's call him the Gapu Priest), as he likes to hide and shoot you from far away with an Ice Arrow spell. After you dispose of the three red Gapu, move on to the priest. When he is dead you can pick up the items on the floor: a Red Jacket, two Cunes and an Amulet dropped by the priest. The Brown Hat is a random drop; you might find it in a different location.

Get out of this cave and turn right. Soon you will come to the room where earlier you saw the dying soldier. You are too late! He died! (tsk, tsk, tsk) Time to start over. No, I'm just messing with you. There is nothing you can do to save him. Make sure to pick up the Bullet Clip next to him and check the message on the root of a tree. The rocks where the soldier is leaning form a semicircle. In the center is a stone with a sword in it. Carefully take the sword from the stone and move back. The stone will break, revealing an opening that you will come back to later. For now, go back the way you came.

Go past the cave on your left and follow the passage. On your way you'll find three Cunes lying on the floor. Pick up the Cunes and keep going until you find more Gapu (our favorite enemy) and a new kind of enemy. They look like harmless Gapu Babies that are barely learning how to crawl. But don't let them fool you! They attack by way of poison spray and rush towards you if you get too close. Dispose of them and keep going until you get to a large clearing. On your right you can see two Gapu sitting on higher ground. On your left is the first Save Point. Save your game and get ready. After the Gapu run in a cave to call their buddies, they'll return to kick your behind. Show them who the boss is.

There is a Bullet Clip on the body nearby. Pick it up and continue down the winding passage. On your way you will encounter more Gapu. You know what to do. You will get to a point where there's a Healing Potion lying on the ground. Notice how there is part of the wall that is different than the rest? Hope you saved your ammo. Change weapons so that you now have the gun, then take aim and shoot. The wall breaks and a new opening becomes available. Pick up the Healing Potion and go through the opening. There is another Healing Potion and a Jacket inside here.

Return to the main passageway and turn left. Now you will be confronted by a giant purple-looking creature with a large mace. Watch your head; this guy has a long reach. Sometimes two or three Gapu join him and they will try to pile up on you; so watch yourself. The Purple Giant sometimes drops a Silver Jacket. Keep your eyes peeled for it. After you dispose of them, continue up the slope until you find yet another dead soldier. Search his body for a Healing Potion. There is a Bullet Clip a few feet away and a Cune on the pile of trash.

Continue on until you come to a very large room. There are three more Gapu trying to make chopped liver out of you. Luckily you have plenty of room to maneuver. Search this big room. There are three dead bodies here. Two are in a narrow dead end and they have a Cune. The third one is on the opposite side and he has a Bullet Clip. There is also a message written on the wall next to him and a little to his left there is another section of different-colored wall. Remember what to do? That's right, shoot it! It will break and give you access to a small room with two Cunes inside. Return to the large room. If you go to the right, you will end up at the place where you first entered the room with the chanting creatures. But since we have gone through there already, let's turn left instead and go towards the Save Point. You might have to fight the Purple Giant again, that's ok.

When you reach the Save Point, save and go up the embankment towards a cave entrance opposite the Save Point. Follow the winding cave until you reach an opening. There is a chasm on your right and a pair of gloves on the edge. Be careful; you don't want to fall in. Notice the blood trail next to the gloves? Follow it up the slope, but don't go too far. There are two more Gapu waiting for you around the corner. Instead, get ready because a Purple Giant will attack you from behind. Chop him up into tiny little pieces and keep following the blood trail. It leads you to what appears to be a dead end, but it's another breakable wall. So go ahead and reduce it to rubble, go inside and continue on your journey.

Search the rotting body for a Cune and keep going until you reach a room with five statues of squatting Gapu. They are breakable and three of them hold items. In the next area you will encounter more of those cute little critters.

Some of them are hiding inside an egg-like shell that breaks open as you approach, freeing them to attack. Search the dead soldiers in this room for two Bullet Clips and a Helmet. Now it's time to go back to the room where you got the sword from the stone. Save your game on the way.

Jump into the hole in the ground and follow the narrow hallway until you reach the water channel and a waiting boat. Step into the boat and soon you will be on your way...Made it through the first section! Congratulations, but the journey is just beginning!