THE NETHERWORLD - Pillars of the Underworld
This level is very challenging and even deadly until you learn a few secrets. Your goal is to make your way across to the Emperor's Crypt. Along the way you have will four major encounters (five if you go for the artifact) with a new enemy, the Blue Ghost. This ghost isn't particularly tough - you can kill it with two hits of your Pa Cheng - but unless you are very fast the ghost will summon a pair of Orange Ghosts that will possess any nearby Terracotta statues. If you are quick you can strike down the Blue Ghost and any orange spirits, thus avoiding a lot of unnecessary combat.
Continue to the end of the stone path and approach the three Prayer Pillars. You need to spin these pillars in a certain order to raise stone columns that allow you to jump across to the next section of the path. The trick is that these pillars only stay up as long as the pillars are spinning, so you have to make sure you spin the pillar of the closest ledge first and the further column last. In this case, start with the right pillar then the middle and finally the left. Quickly jump across the first two columns and whip-swing to the third. Turn and jump to the left to reach the next stone walkway.
You now have four pillars to spin and the order becomes more critical. Spin them in this order: 2-4-1-3 then quickly jump across the first two sections. The second jump is a long one and you may end up grabbing. Don't worry - you still have time to complete the series. Whip-swing across the third gap and angle to the right to jump off the extended section of the final column and land on the next stone path.
Another Blue Ghost appears and there are three statues waiting to be possessed. Fire off that first shot at the Blue Ghost then attack the third statue that didn't get possessed (usually the one on the right). Finish off the Blue Ghost and the remaining two statues. Now it's time to get some artifacts. The first one is easy. Look over the wall in the direction where the Blue Ghost was floating a moment ago and spot a small ledge with the Hidden Artifact: Halberd Plate. Carefully climb over the wall and retrieve this treasure then prepare for the toughest artifact in the entire game.
Make the dangerous swing back to the previous stone walkway and continue to the set of five Prayer Pillars. Spin them in this order: 3-5-4-1-2 then make the series of jumps and whip-swings required to reach the Black Pagoda on the far side and end this level.
Don't worry. These statues won't attack you...yet. Head through the door and into the long chamber leading to the throne room. When you begin this puzzle you will be put into Adventure Mode so your movement will be restricted to the four basic directions and one square at a time. Equip your Mirror of Dreams so you can see the tile with the green circle. When you stand on this tile the large section of tiles ahead will pulse and reveal another tile with a green circle. Quickly move to this new tile before the floor disappears. The tile with the green circle is the only safe place to be standing when the floor vanishes.
Continue moving from green circle to green circle and watch out for the electrical energy coming out of the dragons. The dragons will zap you if you take to long to cross the black bridges between each of the floor sections. It's not terribly lethal but it can add up if you aren't careful. Things get faster and trickier the further you go. Watch for tiles that actually appear behind you forcing you to backtrack.
When you reach the safety of the throne room visit the Water Fountain in the alcove to the left and search the matching alcove on the opposite side of the room to find the Hidden Artifact: Shi Huangdi Cong, the final artifact in the game. Approach the stairs to trigger the movie.
A picture is worth a thousand words and this one sums up the entire level. Once Marshall Kai imprisons Mei-Ying, summons the giant dragon, then starts flying around shooting energy and fireballs at you it's Indy's turn to fight back. Your Pa Cheng cannot penetrate the shield that protects Kai, so you need to visit the various shrines surrounding the central platform and charge your weapon with mystical energy. When you pass through the blue glow of the altar your Pa Cheng will automatically equip, so spin around and locate Kai and fire.
After you fire the Pa Cheng equip your whip and seek out the next closest shrine. After you visit each one they will stop glowing, so you can always tell where you've been and where you need to go. Try to dodge the attacks of Kai and the dragon and especially watch out for when the dragon does his charge attack. If he hits you with this you will get knocked down and take a great deal of damage. Kai also attacks with a dangerous shockwave that will knock you off your feet if you are in the blast radius.
Continue to each of the shrines and strike Kai with the charged Pa Cheng until a movie triggers with Mei-Ying giving you a valuable clue just before Kai silences her. Only one more shrine to go.
Check your Artifact display case from the main menu. If you found all 30 of the Hidden Artifacts you will now have access to a special Art Gallery in the main menu. |