Shadow of the Beast FAQ/Walkthrough Version 1.0 By edwithgames Created: January 2013 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****** Introduction ****** This walkthrough was created because Shadow of the Beast is one of my favourite games for the Sega Master System. I feel that I've mastered it and I want to share my knowledge and strategies of the game with others. Shadow of the Beast is a side-scrolling action adventure platform game and is one of oddest games on the system. The player controls a beast who must take revenge on the Beast Lord who transformed him from a man and killed his parents. The game includes different weapons, strange enemies, potions and keys. Unlike the Mega Drive/Genesis/Amiga versions of the game, items are not used immediately and must be selected from the menu to use them. Some keys are useless, while others are necessary to progress. Some of the items and potions are not only useless but evil and hinder you or hurt you. In this way, this version of Beast has RPG elements in it and trial and error is needed to complete the game. This walkthrough is split up into sections. These are: -Technical Information -My Experience With The Game -Story/Object Of The Game -How To Play -Health -Items -Walkthrough -Final Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****** Technical Information ****** Shadow of the Beast was developed by Reflections Interactive, published by Psygnosis and released on the Sega Master System by TecMagik. The game was also released on many other systems with the Mega Drive and Amiga versions being considered the best. The game was advertised in the instruction manual of another TecMagik release on the Sega Master System: Populous. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****** My Experience With The Game ****** As mentioned in the preceding section, the game was advertised in the instruction manual of Populous and as a child I was eager to play it. It wasn't until 2001 when I first played this and although at first I was disappointed, I became intrigued with the mystery and variety of different paths one could take in the game and soon became enamoured with it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****** Story/Object Of The Game ****** According to the instruction manual, a child who was snatched by the mages of Maletoth the Beast Lord is transformed into a bestial slave by dark magic and is forced to perform physical tasks. After witnessing the execution of his father, his memories return and he vows revenge on Maletoth and sets out on his adventure. So the object of the game is to seek out Maletoth and destroy him by travelling through various lands. It's a simple concept but the game itself is by no means simple. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****** How To Play ****** Before I explain the controls, it should be known that Shadow of the Beast is a type of game I like to call an Up-Jumper. This means that instead of Button 1 or 2 being used to jump, up on the D-Pad is used to jump instead. Other games on the Sega Master System that use this control scheme include Black Belt, Altered Beast and Lord of the Sword. This game is by far the worst offender for being an Up-Jumper because of the many difficult jumps that are made even trickier because of the control scheme. The game also effectively has two pause buttons: the Pause button on the console merely pauses the game and Button 2 takes the player to the item menu which effectively also pauses the game. Because Button 2 is used this way, it can't be used to jump. I think the game would've been better if the Pause button were used to bring up the item menu too, similar to Jurassic Park or Wonder Boy III on the Sega Master System. The controls are as follows: -Press and hold the D-Pad left or right to run in those directions. -Press the D-Pad up to jump and hold for continuous jumping or to climb up ladders. -Press the D-Pad up-left or up-right to jump in those directions. -Press the D-Pad down to duck or hold to climb down ladders. -Press Button 1 to punch or, while jumping, to kick. -Press Button 2 to bring up the item screen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****** Health ****** The player starts the game with three lives which are displayed at the top-left of the screen. Although more than three lives can be held, the extra lives will not be displayed. For example, if five lives are held, only three hearts will show in the top-left corner but two hearts will only be shown once the player has two lives so three lives will have to be lost from five held before the player loses a heart in the top-left corner. The player starts the game and each subsequent life with nine health points which are displayed at the top-right of the screen. Each time the beast is hit either one or two points will be deducted from the total. If the health points reach nought, a life will be lost and the player is sent back to the start of the current level. Once all lives are lost, it's game over. One health point is lost if the beast falls too far. This makes the tricky controls for jumping even more frustrating. Also, there is a glitch in the game that can save a few health points. It's quite useful and should be utilised whenever fighting enemies. If you punch at the exact moment an enemy or projectile touches the beast's body, you will not lose any health. The timing has to be pretty precise but once you get the hang of this trick, it'll almost become second nature, and it's worth it to learn, trust me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****** Items ****** Before I list the available potions and sundry items I will talk about the Item Screen quickly. Pressing Button 2 while playing the game will bring up the Item Screen. There are eight slots for storing items but one of them is always used for the OUT button. Pressing Button 1 while in this screen does nothing; pressing Button 2 will use items highlighted by the red square including the OUT button which is used for exiting the Item Screen. Because of the OUT button, there are seven slots left that can be used to store items. Items cannot be dropped and must be used to free the item slots they occupy. Because of this, it is important that only items that do no harm be picked up as harmful potions have to be used to discard them. Useless items such as keys that have no use and other red herrings can be used as they do no damage and will free the item slot they occupy without causing damage. It should be noted that items can only be used once. If they are used in the wrong place they will be wasted and the game may become unfinishable because needed items were wasted. Always make sure that the item you want to use is highlighted before you press Button 2 and, if using keys, you are standing in front of the door you want to enter before using them. Here is a comprehensive list of all the available items in the game, what they do and where they can be found. I will also mention them in the walkthrough found later in this FAQ. -Red Potion: Drinking this potion will restore up to four health points. They can be found throughout the game. NOTE: It is recommended that the Red Potion only be drunk when the beast has five or fewer health points remaining as drinking them with more health points will not utilise the full four points' worth of healing power. -Green Potion: Drinking this potion will restore up to eight health points. They can be found throughout the game. NOTE: It is recommended that the Green Potion only be drunk when the beast has one or two health points remaining as drinking them with more health points will not utilise the full eight points' worth of healing power. Although drinking Green Potions with two health points will waste one health point, some enemies and situations can cause the player to lose two health points at once. -Orange Potion: Drinking this potion will cause the beast to jump longer distances than usual. Only one of these potions is in the game and it's in level 2. -White Potion: Drinking this potion will grant the beast invincibility for twenty seconds. Two of these are found in the game: one in level 3 and another in level 7. -Blue Potion: Drinking this potion will cause the beast to lose three health points. It will therefore cause death if the player has three or fewer health points. Only one of these potions is in the game and it's in level 5. -Turquoise Potion: Drinking this potion will cause the beast to lose two health points when hit instead of one. Only one of these potions is in the game and it's in level 5. -Magenta Potion: Drinking this potion will cause the D-Pad controls to become reversed for twenty seconds. Pressing right will make the beast go left and so on. Only one of these potions is in the game and it's in level 6. -Purple Potion: Drinking this potion will cause the beast to jump twice as high for fifteen seconds. Only one of these potions is in the game and it's in level 6. -Clear Potion: Drinking this potion will cause the beast to become "surprised" although what effect this has on the game is unknown. Only one of these potions is in the game and it's in level 7. -Yellow Potion: Drinking this potion will cause the beast to die instantly regardless of how many health points the beast has. Only one of these potions is in the game and it's in level 8. -White Round Key: Use this key to open the "Home" door and enter level 2. This is found in level 1. -Yellow Round Key: Use this to open the well at the end of level 3 and enter level 4. This is found in level 2. -Green Round Key: Use this to open the door at the end of level 6 and enter level 7. This is found in level 5. -White Square Key: Use this to open the door to the castle at the end of level 5 and enter level 6. This is found in level 3. -Yellow Square Key: This is a red herring and has no use. This is found in level 6. -Green Square Key: This is a red herring and has no use. This is found in level 3. -Heart: Using this will give you an extra life. Three of these are in the game and are in levels 2, 5 and 8. -Book: using this will warp the beast back to the start of the current level with full health. Only one of these is in the game and it's in level 3. -Coin: Drop this in the well in level 5 to be given a Heart. Only one of these is in the game and it's in level 5. -Torch: Use this at the start of level 6 to light up the castle. Only one of these is in the game and it's in level 5. -Magic Wand: Using this will make the level go dark. The effect only wears off after you lose a life. Only one of these is in the game and it's in level 6. -Spanner: Use this to turn off the electrical beam in level 6. Only one of these is in the game and it's in level 6. -Gun: Use this to equip the gun which makes the beast fire shots instead of punching when Button 1 is pressed. The gun can be used from when it is found in level 6 until the end of level 7. Only one of these is in the game and it's in level 6. -Jetpack & Mask: Equip this before exiting level 6 so that you can breathe and move in level 7. If you get it but don't put it on you'll lose four health points immediately at the start of level 7. If you don't get it, the game will end after exiting level 6. Only one of these is in the game and it's in level 6. -Dragon Egg: This is automatically given to King Gargoyle when you meet him in level 8. Only one of these is in the game and it's in level 7. -Crucifix: Use this to summon King Gargoyle at the start of level 8. Only one of these is in the game and it's in level 8. -Green Orb: This is a red herring and has no use. Only one of these is in the game and it's in level 8. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****** Walkthrough ****** In this section I shall guide you through the game. Shadow of the Beast has no distinct levels although changes in background and music do occur. So for the purposes of this FAQ I make distinctions between eight different levels as it makes writing this guide and describing/explaining the game much easier. ******************************************************************************* Level 1 At the start of this level the beast is facing right and it is natural to assume that the way forward is to the right; if you do this however, you will get to the Beast Castle far too early and, without the key, you will be trapped and be forced to start the game again. So from the start, turn around and head left punching or kicking the grey boulders and flying monsters. Remember to utilise the glitch I mentioned above. After some flashing spikes on the ground, you'll reach a small building labelled "Home"; run past it to the left until you see a stack of stones. Further past the stones is a dead end - you can't run any further. Punch the stones and take the Round White Key then head back to "Home", stand in front of it, press Button 2, highlight the key and press Button 2 again to use it. If you use the key anywhere else you will waste it and you will have to start the game again. Once the key is used some text will appear. Read it and head into level 2. ******************************************************************************* Level 2 After reading the text, level 2 will start. This level is a bit of a maze and there are some important things to do and items to get before you can exit it. Head right and carefully jump over the flame that comes from the left. You can do the punching trick mentioned above on this flame if you want but I prefer to jump as it's easier. Head down the first ladder you see and do not keep heading right or you'll encounter the boss which you won't be able to fight yet and you will die. Anyway, go down this ladder and head left. Simply let the winged enemies fly over you while jumping over the gap. You can fall down this gap if you want but you will lose health so jump over it and climb down the ladder. Head right, killing several green enemies along the way and climb down the next ladder you see. At the bottom, head left (right leads to the boss again) and go down the next ladder. Head left after reaching the bottom of that ladder and punch the blue chest and take the Orange Potion which you'll need very soon. Keep going left until you see a ladder. Before going down the ladder, wait for the green serpent thing to move upwards. At the bottom of the ladder inch towards the edge of the platform but don't fall in or you'll die. Across the huge gap to the left is a chest with a Heart in it and at the bottom of the gap is a spike pit from which there is no escape. The spikes won't kill you instantly but will whittle your health down till you die as there's no escape. Anyway, to jump over the large gap you need to drink the Orange Potion so press Button 2, highlight the potion and press Button 2 again to drink. The potion lasts for twenty seconds so while standing on the edge, jump to the left over the gap, punch the chest, grab the Heart and jump back. Go into the menu to use the Heart and you'll get an extra life. Of course, you don't need to get the life and you can keep the potion but you'll never need it as its only use is for getting the life. Once back across the gap, head to the right and kill more enemies. Go down the ladder and go the left again. You can drop off the edge here instead of going down the next ladder as the drop is too short to hurt the beast. Don't head right as the items we need are to the left. Kill some more enemies and jump over the gap carefully. If you miss the jump and fall down, head to the right, climb up and go left to try again. Once across the gap you'll meet a sort of boss called The Keeper of the Orb. He's quite easy so take your time as you have no time limit. He will shoot a flame out under which you can duck. When his flame stops, stand up and punch the Orb which is quite tricky as he throws it in the air continuously. Punch the Orb (making sure the Keeper flashes white) twelve times and the Keeper will die and the battle is over. You now have the Orb's power: every time you punch, you will shoot a fireball. This power lasts until you do the next boss Death Skeleton so don't worry that it will run out like on the Mega Drive version of the game. After killing the Keeper of the Orb, head left if you wish and see the spikes that are at the bottom of the big pit you traversed earlier. Head back to the right and try to jump back over the gap and head back to the ladder from before. Kill the enemy that might be chasing you and climb up it, head to the right, drop or climb down and go down the first ladder. Once at the bottom, head left and drop or climb down. Head left and blue drops will begin to fall. This bit is quite tricky but the punching trick definitely helps here. Try to punch as soon as the drops touch you and you should avoid losing a lot of health. Keep heading left and you'll get to another gap. Jump over it and pick up the Round Gold Key from inside the chest. If you didn't make the jump, follow the next paragraph and you'll get back to where the blue drops are to try again. The trouble is you'll have to try and get past them again and will probably lose more health so it's best to do the jump first time. After getting the key (or if you didn't), drop down the hole and head right. Grab the Green Potion from the chest and head right. There are some spikes and some jumping green enemies here as well as some annoying pillars in the foreground which obstruct your view of the beast. The best strategy I find is to jump over the spikes and while doing so, kick the green enemies. You might still lose health but I find it's the best strategy. Focus on avoiding the spikes first and foremost as they're more dangerous. Once you reach a ladder, climb up it and head right (if you missed the Round Gold Key, head left to get back to the gap to jump across). Jump over the flame that approaches from the left and climb up the next ladder. Head right, kill or jump over the yellow spider that appears here and climb up another ladder. At the top, head left, punch the silver and red drum and take the Red Potion from inside. Climb the next ladder and head left when at the top. A bouncing grey boulder will come quite quickly so be ready for it and climb the next ladder. As you start to climb this ladder another boulder will appear most of the time; it usually will take some health away. Once at the top of this ladder a blue drop will fall and will also most likely cause some damage. Head left, climb one last ladder and head right once at the top to battle the next boss, Death Skeleton. Death Skeleton is extremely easy if you know how to get him. Stand on the left of the screen as Death Skeleton will appear from the right. He will appear three times, reach the mid-point of the screen and retreat back. The fourth time he appears, he will not turn back and he will attempt to crush you. Touching Death Skeleton will cause instant death for the beast so you must kill him before or during his fourth appearance. If you didn't get the orb from the Keeper earlier you will not be able to hurt him and will not be able to progress beyond this point. If you did get the orb, just shoot eight fire balls at him to kill him. I usually just go to the left of the screen and hold punch for auto-fire until he dies and depending upon the rhythm I get into, he either dies on his third or his fourth appearance. Anyway, after he's dead, read some text and go onto level 3. ******************************************************************************* Level 3 After reading some more text, head right and kill some more green enemies and avoid more green serpents that drop down to attack. When you get to the ladder, punch the silvery drum to obtain the Book. This is a very useful item as it not only restores all your health but will transport you back to the start of the current level which is very useful if you're trapped somewhere; hold on to it. Climb up the ladder and head left. This next bit is optional: before going up the next ladder, head all the way to the left killing the enemies on the way. You will reach a dead end with a switch and a notice that reads "Don't Touch". If you want you can press the switch by punching it. I explain later on what the switch does. The switch doesn't affect whether you can complete the game or not as it's a red herring. Anyway, go back to the ladder and climb it to the top. At the top, go right first (the grey stone is just in the background) and jump over the hole. If you fall in the hole you become trapped and will either have to kill yourself by standing in some poisonous green slime or you can waste your newly acquired Book and warp back to the start of the level; the choice is yours but it's best to be careful and avoid falling down this hole. Past the hole is some green slime. The green slime will slowly drain your health when you stand in it so jump over it. Punch the silvery drum and get another Green Potion. Head back, jump over the hole and go left this time. Here is a bit of a gauntlet: duck underneath the red winged creature, and run underneath the eyeballs when they bounce up as they can't be killed. Next are three jumps with some annoying red winged creatures to distract you. If you fall down, you'll be back near the start of the level minus some health so try to make them first time or try again if you don't. It can get quite frustrating so just relax and take your time as there's no time limit. In the silvery drum at the end is the Square White Key which is needed later on so get it. You can drop down afterwards and lose some health or you can jump back and head back to the ladders to climb down, it's your choice. Either way, when you get to the foot of the ladder which was where you found the Book earlier, head right and climb up another ladder. Head right, kill the snail or two and climb down the next ladder and head left. Try to kill or avoid the blue jumping demons here and jump over some more slime with a bouncy enemy on it that can be killed. Eventually you'll get to some bouncing balls that have the Psygnosis logo on them - an owl's face, kill them and jump over the gap to reach a ladder. Climb down it and head right. Kill the bouncing green thing, drop down and head right. Kill as many enemies as you can here while watching out for more green slime. Just past the ladder at the end is another Green Potion. Down the ladder head right, jump over slime and go down another ladder. Head left at the bottom and kill the little flying blue creature. Further on are lots of flames. Some are avoidable, some aren't; utilise the punching trick to minimise damage. Run past the ladder, jump over some slime and get the White Potion from the drum. Hold on to this as you'll need it later on. Down the ladder head left and quickly drop down before the enemy touches you. To get to the boss, head right; to see what pressing the "Don't Touch" switch did, head left. I will warn you that you will likely lose some health going left so unless you're curious, go right and you can skip to the next paragraph. If you go left, you'll have to fight some floating white ghost enemies and go up a ladder. Up the ladder, go left and climb down the ladder. Don't fall off the left edge as you'll land in some slime. At the bottom, go left and climb up the ladder on the left. The white ghosts here never stop coming so line up with the ladder, kill a ghost, then climb up to avoid the next ghost. If you did not press the switch earlier there will be an electrical beam blocking your path once you get to the top of the ladder. If you touch it you'll be instantly killed. If you did press the switch, the beam will be off and you can run past, jump over the gap and grab the Square Green Key from the drum. The Square Green Key has no use whatsoever and so the whole exercise is a red herring. To get back, jump back over the gap, climb down the ladder, avoid the ghosts, climb down the next ladder and head right. Kill the new enemies here that I like to call Green Bogeymen and run right and you'll reach a ladder that goes up. If you went right earlier and therefore skipped getting the useless Square Green Key, you would reach a ladder going down. Climb down this ladder and you will be at the location described at the end of the previous paragraph. So if you headed right back there, you would have ended up here. Anyway, head right and jump over the spears and slime to reach the next boss Hydrassas the Dragon. There are two strategies to defeating him: you can duck and punch him, jump back to dodge his fire balls and then jump forward again to punch him and repeat this until he dies and you might not lose any health, or you might lose a lot; the other strategy is just to duck and punch him until he dies while absorbing some fire balls. Because the beast is temporarily invincible after getting hit, and because each fire ball causes the beast to lose two health points, you should only lose a maximum of four health points if you kill Hydrassas this way. Just make sure you have at least five health points and that you punch Hydrassas non-stop until he dies. Once he's dead, read the text and run to the right so you're touching the door. Use the Round Gold Key here to open the door and exit the level. If you haven't the key I'm afraid you're stuck and will have to restart the game. ******************************************************************************* Level 4 After using the Round Gold Key and reading the text, the beast is at the bottom of a well. Climb the ladder all the way to the top, read the text and enter level 5. Yes it's not much of a level but there was a change of music and some text which I think defines a level in this game. Also, once in the well, there's no way back. ******************************************************************************* Level 5 Once out of the well, you'll find yourself in the same landscape as level 1 except the sky is a bit darker. If you go left, you'll find yourself at the start of the game and yes, it is possible to reach the top of the well from the start of the game but it's not recommended as you will be heading in the wrong direction. Anyway, this level is a bit of a gauntlet with lots of enemies. The plus side is that it isn't a maze: all you have to do is run to the right until you reach the Beast Castle. Run to the right, kill some enemies (you don't have to duck to kill the black spiders) until you reach some stacks of stones. Punch the first one to obtain the Coin then run back to the well while trying not to get hurt too much. Stand in front of the well and use the Coin and a Heart will be deposited in your item list automatically. Use the Heart to get an extra life. Afterwards, run back to where you got the Coin and punch another stack of stones to get a Red Potion. The next stack of stones has a Blue Potion in it. Either ignore the stack of stones, jump over the potion if you did punch the stones or take the potion and waste an item slot. The only way to discard the potion is to drink it and lose three health points for doing so. If you do have to drink it, make sure you have four or more health points or you'll die instantly once you drink it. Anyway, keep heading right, jump over some blood-stained green spikes. After one flying red creature, boulders appear with green bogeymen. In the next stack of stones is a Red Potion followed by a boulder then a Turquoise Potion. Drinking this potion will cause an enemy or projectile to take two health points away instead of one. The effect lasts until you die so avoid the Turquoise Potion. Further to the right is a spider, some green enemies and some new yellow jumping enemies. Either duck to avoid them or jump and kick them. If you do kick them, remember to time your attack perfectly or you'll take damage. Flying wasps and missiles appear next: some are avoidable, some aren't. After some green spikes, red rockets shoot from the left; again, some are avoidable, some aren't. Easily run underneath the wasps and keep going right while killing spiders and green enemies. Jump over the spears. After some more wasps, rockets, green enemies and yellow jumpers will be three more stone stacks. Inside are two Red Potions and the Torch. Make sure you have room for the Torch as it's essential for the next level. Kill some green jumping snakes and traverse some flashing spikes and eventually you'll reach King Gargoyle and some text to read. He wants you to fetch him a Dragon Egg from the Beast Castle so he takes you there. If you arrive here without the Square White Key, you cannot progress any further so start the game again. It is possible to get here from the start of the game by running right at the start but you won't have gotten the Square White Key and will have to start the game again. Stand in front of the door and use the Square White Key here to read some text and enter level 6. ******************************************************************************* Level 6 At the start of level 6, everything is dark so use your Torch to make everything bright again. If you don't have the torch, the game is unplayable. In theory, you could remember the route and the location of every enemy and hazard but that would take years of practice I imagine so start again if you don't have the Torch. This level is full of traps which are very unfair. It is only possible to learn how to get past these traps by making mistakes and trying new strategies for getting past them: effectively trial and error. I explain in the walkthrough of this level how to get past these traps. The object of this level is to get the Round Green Key and defeat the boss so you can exit this level. Unfortunately, to defeat the boss we need the Gun and to get the Gun we need the Spanner, so our first task is the acquisition of the Spanner. Head a little to the left and climb up the ladder before the green snake hurts you. The green snakes here cannot be killed - only avoided. Once up the ladder head right, kill some green bogeymen, a beige blob with wings and a bouncing beige head and climb down the ladder. Head right, jump over the flying sword and climb up the next ladder while also avoiding the swords. Once up the ladder, head left and stand near the edge of the platform. Be careful here because beyond the edge, at the bottom, are two pairs of crossed swords which, if touched or landed on, cause instant death. There are several strategies for getting past them: if you did not use the Orange Potion from level 2 and thus still have it, you can use it to perform a long jump over both pairs of crossed swords and land safely beyond them; you can use your White Potion to become invincible for twenty seconds and just fall off the edge where the two pairs of crossed swords will not hurt you; or you can try to land in the small gap between the two pairs of crossed swords. Since the Orange Potion is best used to get the Heart on level 2 and since the invincible is needed to complete the game, I advise using the third method. To land perfectly in the gap, stand directly underneath the middle of the above platform near the edge and, from this point, jump to the left over the edge. You should land directly in the gap between the two pairs of crossed swords. Once there, jump to the left over the swords to safety and head left. Towards the left, spiked daggers start raining diagonally and they're tough to avoid so use the punching trick to avoid getting hurt too much here. Just past another Red Potion red drops similar to the blue drops from level 2 start raining down but they're easier to avoid: just move gingerly towards the left, bit by bit and they should always fall a little bit ahead of you. Past them is a white floating ghost and once at the ladder, ghosts keep appearing non-stop. Kill one then start climbing the ladder. At the top, go right and avoid the chest. Inside the chest is a Magic Wand which, if used, will reverse the effects of the Torch and make everything dark. The effect lasts until you die and it works outside the castle too so avoid it. There's no way of knowing what it does without using it so the first time I played this, I was tricked by it. Further to the right, jump over the gap and grab the Square Gold Key if you want. The key has no use and so you can either avoid picking it up or avoid it altogether. Further on is a Green Potion so grab that and jump over the next gap. If you fall down here, you'll end up where it rained red drops and daggers earlier and you'll have to go all the way back so try your best to make the jumps first time. During these jumps, axes and skeleton legs start attacking. They never stop appearing so you'll have to bite the bullet and try to attack them while jumping over the gaps. Remember that making the jumps is more important and if need be, use your potions to regain health. If you make it past all the jumps, you'll get a chest at the end with the Spanner in it. Make sure you pick it up and then you can either jump back across the gaps which isn't recommended or you can just fall down the hole next to where the Spanner was and you'll be back near the crossed swords trap from earlier. This way is easier in my opinion. Make your way past the crossed swords trap again and then past the red drops and daggers until you can climb the ladder again. At the top, go left this time and jump over the green snakes until you get to a sitting coiled green snake. The snake cannot be killed and there is no way past him without getting hurt so bite the bullet and run through it. Very seldom, the snake is not there and you can go past without taking damage. I believe this is a glitch as there is no way I know to make this happen. You can of course waste a White Potion to get past the snake without getting hurt but it's not worth it. Go down the ladder just to the left of the snake and once at the bottom, go right and try to avoid the axes. Jump over the deadly pairs of crossed swords and open the chest if you wish. Inside is a Magenta Potion which, if consumed, will cause the controls to become reversed for twenty seconds; other than that it's useless. It's fun to try the reversed controls but be very careful not to run into the pairs of crossed swords. Although it doesn't do any permanent damage, it's best to avoid it for this reason. Jump over the last pair of crossed swords, punch the axe and climb down the ladder. At the bottom, head left and start punching the barrels that start coming towards you. Further left will be a dead end with a chest; inside this chest is the Round Green Key which is needed to exit this level. Sometimes, and I don't know what causes it, the chest will be either a quarter, a half, three quarters or completely inside the wall. This glitch can cause problems because although you can still punch it, the key may appear inside the wall too and if it does that, it's unobtainable and the game is effectively over because the key is needed. If the chest is only a quarter inside the wall, the key will still be obtainable but any more than that and I'd recommend not punching it, killing yourself and coming back to where the chest is and seeing if you're lucky enough for it to have moved position. The chest is usually outside the wall completely but this glitch does and can happen so beware of it. With the key, go back towards the right and use the punching trick on the barrels that come from behind. After two yellow ceiling monsters you will come to an edge. Jumping off this edge will get you back to the start of this level but you will take some damage. You can't go back the way you came because the ladder you went down to get here is slightly off the ground and can't be grabbed onto from the bottom. There is one more option however: if you still have the Book you got from level 3, you may use it and it will transport you back to the start of the level and restore all your health as an added bonus. I usually like to save the Book for this moment but if you've used your Book already, just make sure you have more than two health points and jump off the edge to go back to the start of the level. It's frustrating but these are the only two options you have: lose two health points or use your Book. If you do decide to jump off the edge, stand close to the edge, then jump off. Do not fall off the edge as a pair of crossed swords is directly below; jump off to the right to avoid the swords and land on the ground to lose two health points. You can of course use the Book as soon as you get the Round Green Key as there's nothing important between getting the key and going back to the start of the level. Now that you have the Spanner and the Round Green Key, you just need the Gun to go and tackle the boss. From the start of the level again, head left and punch some barrels and jump over some green snakes. Go down the ladder at the end and head right once at the bottom. There are lots of enemies to kill and avoid here such as barrels, axes and a new enemy: a blue flying demon with the head of an elephant. These are actually quite easy so punch them and head right till you get to another ladder. Climb down this ladder and head left at the bottom. Kill flying red creatures and barrels that are partially obscured by the pillars in the foreground and at the end will be a chest with the Gun in it. Like the chest that had the Round Green Key in it, this chest can sometimes manifest itself inside the wall although a lot less often. Use the Gun to equip it and you'll have endless auto-fire for the rest of this level and the next one too. The Gun is very liberating and since it has an endless supply of bullets, don't be shy about shooting everything mercilessly. With the Gun equipped, head right, kill enemies, jump over the pairs of crossed swords while shooting wasps and stop when you see an electrical beam. Touching the beam causes instant death so don't try and run past it. If you got the Spanner earlier, stand in front of the control panel and use it to turn the electrical beam off, then run past to the right. If you don't have the Spanner for whatever reason, you'll have to kill yourself and respawn at the start of the level. Anyway, past where the electrical beam was is a ladder, climb it to the top, jump left over two pairs of crossed swords, over the edge to the left, shoot some barrels and climb the ladder to get back to the start of the level again. Now that you have everything, run to the right and kill a lot of enemies with your Gun. At the end climb down the ladder and head left while shooting missiles with your gun. At the end is a chest and a ladder. Inside the chest is a Purple Potion and it's needed to kill the boss. The potion causes the beast to jump higher than normal and the only way to kill the boss is to shoot its head which can only be reached by using the Purple Potion. Very rarely, this chest isn't here and this renders the game uncompletable. Anyway, go down the ladder once you have the Purple Potion and head right. Jump over three pairs of crossed swords to reach the boss, Skarios the Slayer. Because the chest with the Purple Potion in it won't reappear if you die, you only get once chance to defeat the boss so make sure you have a lot of health (use a Red or Green Potion if necessary), use your Purple Potion and stand next to the boss. Skarios will have daggers fly at you from the top-right; all you have to do is jump very high and shoot his head with your Gun. Luckily, the daggers can be shot too so try and get into a rhythm in which you are shooting his head and the daggers so that nothing hurts you while you kill Skarios. After a few hits, Skarios will die and you can run further to the right. Be careful with the Purple Potion because it only lasts for about fifteen seconds and if you use it before the text screen warning you of the boss battle appears, it will have worn off instantly after the text screen goes so only use the Purple Potion once the battle with Skarios actually starts. Once the boss is dead, go to the right and get the Jetpack & Mask from the chest. Use them as soon as you get them to put them on in readiness for the next level. Once you've equipped them, stand next to the door and use the Round Green Key to exit the level and enter level 7. If you don't have this key, the game is effectively over. ******************************************************************************* Level 7 If you equipped the Jetpack & Mask before exiting level 6 you will not lose any health. If you got the Jetpack & Mask but didn't put them on, you will lose four health points or lose a life if you have four or fewer health points. If you didn't even pick up the Jetpack & Mask, the game will end and you'll have to start the whole game again so make sure you put them on before exiting level 6. The Jetpack & Mask are needed because level 7 is an airless void with I assume no gravity. The mask is needed to breathe and the Jetpack is needed to move about. With the gun, this level operates as a very basic side-scrolling shoot 'em up. It's quite short but a couple of key items are here. Go right and try to kill or avoid the enemies here without losing too much health. I find that going in a wave pattern while gingerly moving forward will kill most of the wasps and other enemies here. Inside some green balls on the ground ahead is a Green Potion so take that and move on. After three large green spikes will be another pile of green balls with a White Potion in it; grab it and move on. Further on is a Clear Potion which doesn't do anything. Drinking it brings up some text that says you feel surprised but apart from that it has no effect. Up ahead, avoid the spiky balls easily and grab the last item which is the Dragon Egg that King Gargoyle requested earlier. Make sure you get it otherwise he'll kill you later. Further on, you'll meet the next boss Corannis the Varg. Corannis is actually quite tough and so I recommend using one of the two White Potions you have to defeat him. Just drink it and continuously shoot either of his two heads to kill him. He will go down soon enough. If you have only one White Potion, do not use it and try to kill him by shooting at his top head while avoiding his projectiles. It's quite tough and you will lose health so use your Red and Green Potions as necessary if you have any left. The same applies if you have no White Potions obviously. If you have only one, you will need it for the final boss who is almost impossible to defeat without one so make sure you have at least one White Potion for the final boss. Once Corannis is dead, the level will end and you'll be transported back outside the Beast Castle again where level 8 starts. ******************************************************************************* Level 8 Outside the castle, grab the Crucifix from the gravestone and use it to summon King Gargoyle. King Gargoyle will take you to a new area with a black sky. Here, don't run left (it eventually reaches a dead end with no enemies on the way), run right and you'll meet up with King Gargoyle again who will take the Dragon Egg from you in exchange for letting you pass freely. If you didn't get the Dragon Egg or foolishly used it (it does nothing) and thus don't have it anymore, King Gargoyle will kill you and the game will end forcing you to have to start again. Past King gargoyle will be some gravestones: the first has a Green Orb which does nothing so either avoid it or use it to discard it; the next one has a Yellow Potion in it which causes instant death so avoid that; the third gravestone has a Heart in it so get that and use it to gain an extra life. Further on will be some tough enemies to avoid as many come from behind. Use the punching trick to minimise damage and keep heading right. Carefully jump past the flashing spikes as they're very close together and after a few more enemies you'll reach more flashing spikes. After these and a few more enemies you'll reach the final boss: Maletoth the Beast Lord. Maletoth is so big all you can see is his toe and his big hand holding a big club with which he tries to crush you. As soon as the boss starts, use your last White Potion and start ducking and punching his toe. The club won't hurt you. After twenty or so hits, he will die and after some text, the ending sequence will start. If you don't have a white Potion you will have a very hard time defeating the final boss. Try to avoid his club while punching his toe and in time he will die. Unfortunately, avoiding his club is random, unfair and slightly glitched. Not only is getting hit instant death but sometimes I've died spontaneously even after avoiding his club. Have a go at killing him if you don't have a White Potion but if you lose all your lives, start the game again and aim to have a White Potion for the final boss. The ending shows the beast running and turning back into a man again. It never ends so you'll have to reset the console to get back to the title screen. No credits are displayed. Congratulations on completing Shadow of the Beast! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****** Final Notes ****** This guide can be found on the following sites: www.gamefaqs.com www.gamewinners.com If you wish to post this guide on your site, please send me an e-mail first to the address below. I hope you enjoyed this. Although not as good as its Mega Drive/Genesis/Amiga counterpart, Shadow of the Beast provides a unique experience on the Sega Master System. My only complaints about the game are the glitches that cause some of the chests to spawn inside the walls and the final boss who is so glitched that you often die without even getting hit by his club! Having trouble? E-mail me at edwithmj (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk and I will respond. Thanks for reading. Good Day.