Your long journey has at last brought you to this point. After you have invested in any desired upgrades, you're ready to advance the tower that has been your intended destination for the entirety of the adventure thus far.
Leap along the platforms to the right while a green-tinted rain lights up the sky in the background. As you advance, do so cautiously. There are fish enemies that will launch from the openings to attack. You can bounce along their backs to proceed, while also watching out for magicians that will toss gears toward you.
On the next screen, you'll find one of the books you can strike to produce ledges. Bounce from it to the first of the ledges and start right, leaping along them. At about the screen's halfway point, the ledges will start to flicker, and you'll encounter more fish that leap out of the pit beneath you. Bounce from the two of them to reach the ladder to the upper right, which you can climb into the next screen.
Here, you'll find that very nearly all of the darker purple ledges drop almost immediately after you put weight on them. You need to jump left to the second purple ledge, which is lighter in color and will remain in place. From there, defeat the rats that drift toward you. Then jump onto the moving purple platform and ride it up to the higher ledge. Leap out and bounce from the top of the skeleton, then right to another portion of the purple ledge and then right once more to reach the higher ledge and ladder. Climb it.
Here, you'll find more of those purple ledges that drop, along with flying rats. You can bounce along the rats and ledges to reach the ladder to the left. It's a treacherous run, and you'll do best if you attempt it all at once.
Climb that ladder to reach an overhead chamber where a gryphon is perched to the right. As you start toward it, you'll want to pay attention to the cauldrons near the top of the screen, which periodically dump their molten contents on your head. You also want to watch for bursts of fire from the gryphon himself, which could knock you into the pit. If you do fall that way, it's not the end; you can potentially still leap left past the rats and climb the ladder again for another attempt.
Once you defeat the gryphon, or take damage running through him, you can reach a screen where a bird in a cowl stands on some blocks and tosses explosive vials. There are statues along the ceiling that drop fire here, so pass underneath that (the Propeller Dagger ability works well with this) and make your way to the platform on the upper right side of the room. You can stab its side to snag some turkey. Then drop to lower ground and pass through the opening to the right and tag a checkpoint.
Further right, there is another set of statues dribbling fire, and beyond those a ceiling that will raise and lower with crushing power. You want to leap across the pit as that ledge has raised enough to provide an opening, just after some fire. Then rush to the right and through to the next platform (mind the fish that jump out of pits here).
Just to the right, there's another of the ledges. Wait until it falls into place at its lowest point. Then start right, bouncing from the fish so that you land to the right as the ledge is making contact with the overhead ceiling. Now you need to rush right as an opening starts to appear. Keep moving to reach solid ground, not far from where another flying enemy is approaching. Take care of him, and then look right. A fish jumps out here, and you can bounce from him to the ledge just to the right as it rises. Then jump from that at its peak and bounce from a bubble to high ground. Run to the right.
As you proceed in this direction, you need to be quick on your toes. You are still quite a way from relief. First, you'll need to run right and break some blocks, then drop down to a lower ledge. Wait for a rising ledge below that to crash into place. Then drop to it and run right. Leap over a pit in that direction and you're on another of the moving ledges.
This ledge must be negotiated with extra care. First, let the ledge carry you up into a recess on the overhead ceiling. Then as it drops, follow it right and into a recess to the lower right. You have to move quickly so you're not deposited on the bed of spikes. Then as the ledge rises again, make your way to the next recess in the ceiling. Then as it drops, run right and destroy the lower purple block with a downward slash of the shovel. Finally, let the ledge carry you back up and to a safer platform.
From there, you'll need to continue right and deal with a green knight. Fortunately, the ledges here (except on the far sides of the area) won't crush you under their weight, so you can battle fairly effectively. There are actually two knights, and to the right from there you'll find and tag another checkpoint.
In this area, you'll see the chandeliers that drop when you put weight on them. Wait for flying enemies to reach you first, and defeat them. Then drop to the chandeliers and cross to the right so that you land on a barrel while its lid is down. Let the lid erupt and carry you up higher. Then jump left onto that ledge. Cross to the ladder and climb it into the next screen.
Here, there are three enemies with swords. Two of them are immediately visible, so take care of them as they rush you from the platforms to the right. Then you'll need to jump toward the upper left. Be ready for the strange coloration to turn into a third of the enemies. Defeat it, then climb the ladder it was guarding.
In the next screen, lure another of those enemies out of its hiding place (you'll see it hanging from the ceiling just to the right) and take out a flying enemy also. Do both of those things from your vantage point, and then you should jump to the first chandelier. Wait for it to drop, and as it nears the bottom of the screen, jump right to the second chandelier so that you don't hit your head on the overhead spikes. Then jump again to reach a ledge. Pass through that opening.
This is a long corridor with a few of the hiding swordsmen placed along it. Advance right, eliminating them and jumping as needed to avoid arrows fired by archers. There's a flying enemy here, too. You can descend to a lower portion of the chamber here and break open a wall to find a turkey, if you need it, just to the left of a long bed of spikes. Then climb to high ground once more and continue right, so that you're standing and facing the archer with the bed of spikes to your lower right. Here, you can drop the Mobile Gear onto the spikes. Jump onto it carefully, and ride it to the right and pass through an opening.
In the new room, you are not far left of a checkpoint. An icy ledge slides back and forth here. You can pass onto it as it nears the far left side of its path, then jump up and tag the checkpoint. If you prefer, use a gear as the platform slides back to the right. That seems to be the safer approach.
Continue right to the next room. Here, you'll find that you are a silhouette. To the right, a skeleton waits to greet you. Defeat him and press onward, also taking out a knight and another skeleton. Just to their right, there's a fishing spot you should fish. I got a
Music Note from that hole, though I'm not certain if that will be the case for you or not.
Further right, you'll find more knights and also a falcon that likes to dive bomb you. Be careful here, because the knight throws anchors and could knock you into a pit (or so could the bird, for that matter). Defeat those enemies, and wander right until you reach a stone column. Jump and slash at it to make an opening, then keep moving.
There are more knights here. You'll climb some steps and come across a series of several horizontal corridors on the same screen. Here, you can fall through the platform at key points. Those points are just to the left of where any water gathers, just so you know. Battle the knights in the confined space and descend along the ledges, then work your way right.
You'll pass into another screen. Leap across a gap, then head right. The apparent ledge along the wall to your right isn't a ledge at all, but the wall is low enough that you can leap up onto it and continue right. You'll drop down to a lower ledge, where rain is gathering. It's worth noting that wherever you see the rain gathered, you have found a genuine ledge. As you leap along platforms to the right, keep to those platforms that the rain confirms as genuine. Watch out for the flying enemy along the way as you go. Then you'll pass into another screen and can tag the final checkpoint before advancing to a boss battle.
Black Knight
How surprised are you to find yourself facing yet another confrontation with this persistent fellow?
This will be the most dangerous confrontation with the Black Knight yet, but first you'll witness a scene. When it concludes, the battle begins in earnest.
The Black Knight is capable of firing waves of the pink fireballs. Be ready to jump and run under them as you advance toward the right. If the Black Knight dashes toward you in a pink blur, wait for the dash to end before you hit him with a downward strike. He's invincible while in a blur.
When the Black Knight begins to turn into a bird, you can hopefully be over his head and bounce from him several times with a downward strike to get in a few hits. When he drops rocks onto the screen, note that you can bounce from them to get elevation, which makes it easier to hit him as he charges back and forth, gaining elevation with each trip to and fro across the screen.
Despite all of the fancy moves, Black Knight still isn't an especially lethal foe. You should be able to defeat him fairly easily, as long as you don't waste too much time taking damage when you're not close enough to return the favor. Downward shovel strikes are definitely your friend here.
When the fight concludes, a scene follows and then you can access the next point on the map.
NEXT: Tower of Fate: Ascent
