hehe, great game! and it's Ninha Gaiden, and this should be in the Games section if I'm not mistaken...
Here's a guide: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 9: Heart of Darkness (C9HOD) 4 Skulls
Elizebet's trail leads to an ominous realm in South America. This unholy land conceals the final component to resurrecting the Archfiend. Ryu Hayabusa penetrates its dark mangroves that teem with the heavily-armed forces of the Black Spider Ninja Clan on a path to the lair of the Archfiend. Ryu journeys through a jungle far from civilization, a mysterious place where the secrets of the ancients dwell. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Move through the trees until reaching a large swamp area, killing the attacking tactical and rocket ninjas on the way. Shoot an arrow at the rocket ninja from across the swamp. Take a look at the water before jumping in; you will see octopuses under the water. You can use your Gatling Spear Gun to kill them. They will respwan for awhile, however. There is a shop next to the building but nothing else, so continue through the water. There will be more octopuses ahead. You can either kill them or just avoid them.
Eventually you'll come to another shack with two rocket ninjas. Inside the building is a save/heal statue and a dead ninja with arrows. From the back of the porch, approach the water and prepare to be annoyed. Several rocket launchers will appear and they respawn for awhile. You have to kill all of them. You probably will only be able to shoot an arrow at one or two of them, so you'll have to run around on the water and throw incendiary bolts and/or attempt to run up on them. Either way, keep moving to avoid the hundreds of rockets. If you run low on health you can move away from them, to the area you started in and the game will consider you to be far enough away to refill your health bar, even though the rockets can still reach you. Just when you think it's finally over and all the rocket launchers are dead, hovering mechs will attack you on the water. Did I mention that also fire rockets? They aren't as hard as the rocket launchers. You can cast Ninpo from the water to help take care of the hovering mechs. They explode when they die, so stay away. You will see a short cut scene when everything is dead.
Now to expolore the area... There is a chest containing an Herb of Spiritual Life and Crystal Skull #22 on the walkway with the search light post across from your entrance area. Follow the assortment of shacks from here. The next one has three chests with arrows, Blue Essence, and a Devil Way Mushroom. There is another chest up the stairs from here with a Life of the Gods inside. Go to the right after coming back down the stairs and jump up to the floor of another shack with a chest filled with Red Essence. Perform a wall run here to reach the next shack. There is a dead ninja and a chest; each have an Herb of Spiritual Life. Move through this shack and jump down to the second searchlight post. Kick open the gate behind it to find a chest the Jade Mask inside.
Head back towards the water and what do you know... there are more hovering mechs. Take them out with ninpo or regular attacks. Enter the area next to the second search light and place the Jade Mask on the god circle on the wall. Enter the now open gate and swim a short distance to land. There is a chest to the left containing Blue Essence. Tread through the water, if you like, but there are only a few octopuses and a large tree at the end. Instead, swing across the tree branches in front of you to cross over the water and reach a path ahead.
Kill the tactical ninjas along the path. When you reach the end, shoot charged arrows at the two rocket ninjas across the water. Jump up and grab the rope above you. Pay close attention to the surrounding area as you move across the rope; there is a short series of branches you can swing to from the rope, to reach Crystal Skull #23 and a shop. Continue along the rop when you're finished.
Head up the path and kill the tactical ninjas that attack. There is a small sidepath to the left, just before the save/heal statue. Follow it to find a chest containing Red Essence. Go down the path next to the save/heal statue. A bunch of spiked bugs will attack you here. Spam the Flying Swallow on them. Perform an Ultimate Technique on the large, cracked boulder to break it. Fall down the hole after you've busted your way through.
Run through the cave, killing the bats and spiked bugs as you go. Eventually there will be a small side room on the right. I am not going to mention these side rooms as there is one almost every two feet, and I didn't find anything of real intrest in any of them. Much further down the cave you will hear a rumbling sound and see a boss health bar pop up on your screen. Enter a nearby side room when you hear the rumbling to avoid getting rolled over right away.
Boss Fight: Cave Worm
This is probably the easiest boss in the game. Stand in the tunnel after the worm passes and charge an Ultimate Technique. Release it when the worm gets close to you. You can tell which way he is coming from by how loud his 'sound' is. Watch down the side with the loud sound for the worm. Slash him as much as you can after releasing the technique and use the Flying Swallow to get close to him if you are too far. Rinse and repeat this until he's dead. To make it even easier, most of the side rooms have eggs inside. You can break these and kill the spiked bugs for Essence.
Follow through the rest of the tunnel and jump down the hole. If you are walking for a long time you are going the wrong way. Use the save/heal statue at the bottom. Enter the water before you. Crystal Skull #24 is on the outskirts of the swamp. Several worms will attack you from the water, often emerging under you. Flying Swallow works wonders on them. Proceed up the path. You'll find a dead ninja on the way. Take the Vigoorian Flail from him. Continue down the path until you reach a large lake.
There are large, red, fish like enemies in the lake. Jump in the water and kill them with the spear gun. There is a chest at the bottom of the lake on the small pillar ruin. You'll find Grains of Spiritual Life inside. Get on the land next to the building with the large skull. There is a dead ninja with a Devil Way Mushroom and a chest containing a Jewel of the Demon Seal. Climb onto the ruined bridge. There is a shop, save/heal statue, and a blue portal here. Step on the portal when you're ready to begin the Test of Valor.
Test of Valor 7
Yes, they are serious: just skeleton scorpions and spiked bugs. You should be able to clear them out within a minute or two, without using any items or Ninpo. Two chests will appear: a Talisman of Rebirth on the left and, what do you know, ghost fish on the right. Step back on the portal when you're finished.
Examine the decorative wall next to the shop. Kill the chainsaw wielding fiends in the area. Use Obliteration on them when they're missing a limb. They're fairly easy enemies. After dealing with them, kill the red fish that reappear in the previous lake. Open the wall once everything is dead.
Proceed left out the door to find a chest with Yellow Essence. Jump into the water and swim through the long tunnel. Climb onto the land and follow the path along the stream until you get a cut scene. Jump into the lake to find Crystal Skull #25 on the left wall, next to a dead ninja. Kill the chainsaw aliens that attack and continue forward. Kill the two chainsaw aliens along the stone path. There is a dead ninja with arrows in the stone circle ahead. Step in the center of the circle for a scene.
Boss Fight: Gold Dragons X2
The dragons will shoot lasers and fireballs. Both are easily avoidable, but very damaging if they do hit you. You can fire arrows at them, though you probably won't be able to charge them while both dragons are still around. If you have a level 3 Fire Ninpo, use it to deal massive damage to both dragons. When only one dragon is left, fire charged arrows until it dies as well.
Hope this helps you! I wrote guides for all the chapters... Keep in mind that this is based on the 2nd easiest difficulty.
