From: mattm@lure.latrobe.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: Wonder Boy V: SPOILERS
Date: 21 Jul 92 07:20:47 GMT
Organization: VAX Cluster, Computer Centre, La Trobe University

BIG WARNING: OUTRIGHT SPOILERS FOR WONDER BOY V FOLLOW.

I received quite a few questions/comments about Wonder Boy V, especially as to
the location of heart containers and hidden rooms etc. Here is what I know
about WB V.

Location of Heart Containers:
   You are permitted a maximum of 14 heart containers. You cannot get anymore.
You begin with 3 and I know of 11 more that you can find on your journey through
Monster Land. These heart container locations are listed roughly in the order
you would get them during normal game play. Note that if you already have 14
hearts (i.e. have bought some from the man in Purapril) and you open a heart
container chest, then instead of a heart container you will be given an elixer
unless you have one of those as well, in which case you will be given a big red
heart refill.

(1) In the 1st monster cave on the way to the 1st boss (Myconid) (can't miss it)
(2) In the 2nd monster cave on the way to the 2nd boss (Gragg & Glagg). You must
    have the dwarf boy Hotta with you (he breaks a hole in the wall). It is in
    the area where you turn solid bricks into white breakable bricks by standing
    on a lever.
(3) Under the ocean to the left of Alsedo. There are also 3 money chests and
    pygmy armour here as well.
(4) Poseidon's ocean below Purapril castle. There are two entrances to the
    ocean. The obvious entrance takes you to the Amulet and Poseidon etc. but
    the other entrance is hidden. It takes you to a heart container. The
    entrance is through a hidden door in a little pool in Purapril castle. The
    pool has the distinctive shape shown below.
                hidden door
    *********        \         **********
      	    *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
     	    *          \______ *
	    *	       |      |*
	    ***********|      |*
		      *|      |*
		      *|      |*
	              **********
(5) Poseidon's cave. Easy to find.
(6) Ice Castle. Also easy to find. In the far left room.
(7) Pyramid. You must be in pygmy gear. Go to the section of the pyramid where
    only the pygmy can go. You walk `into' one of the left walls (I can't
    remember which, but there aren't many to choose from).
(8) 2nd Monster Cave in Lilypad. You must be in pygmy gear. There is a little
    path leading left that only the pygmy can fit into.
(9) In the Tyrant Dragon's Lair. Fall into the fire at the far left corner near
    the lever that triggers off a moving platform. It is about 3 levels down in
    the lair.
(10)Up in the clouds above the bell tower. Easy to find.    
(11)In the castle leading to the 5th boss (The Almighty Demon King). You must be
    in pygmy gear. To do this you must find the hidden door that is located on 
    the far left edge of the bottom level of the trolley track. This room will
    convert you into a pygmy. Then as a pygmy  you can get into a little gap to
    the left of where you found the Legendary armour. 

The Man in the Hidden Room
Surplus Heart containers and magic can be obtained from the man in the hidden
room in Purapril (door located in the ivy on the bottom level of the town just
before the woods leading to Lilypad). If you have 1 charmstone, he will
exchange it for a heart container (but only if you have less than 14 heart
containers so it will not be necessary to do this if you get all of the heart
containers listed above) and if you have 2 or more charmstones, he will exchange
2 of your charmstones for a dose of magic containers that is made up of (3 fire-
storms, 3 Thunders, 2 shields, 3 quakes, 2 powers). He will continue to give you
magic each time you have 2 charmstones to exchange until each magic type has
reached a maximum of 12 (except the return spell that stays at 1). After that,
the man will not give you anything because you are fully powered. The big quest-
ion here is - how do you get all the charmstones since they cost a outrageous,
mind blowing 1/2 million each? Fortunately, you don't need many (or any) if you
get all the magic hidden along the way. Look under the magic section below to
see how to earn big bucks to buy charmstones.


Weapons:
gradius      - You begin with this.
small spear  - Buy for 80 in Alsedo.
knight sword - Buy for 250 in Purapril.
trident      - Earned for dispensing with Gragg & Glagg.
pygmy sword  - In Poseidon's world above the ocean to the far left.
excalibur    - Buy for 2500 in Purapril. This shop won't open until you have
               met with Poseidon.
battle spear - Buy for 10000 in Childam.  
Legendary    - Obtain from blacksmith in Begonia after obtaining the Old Axe
               and the Fire-Urn, and meeting with the Elder Dragon.


Armour:
leather    - You begin with this.
chain mail - Buy for 70 in Alsedo.
hard       - Buy for 220 in Purapril.
steel      - Buy for 800 in Lilypad.
pygmy      - In the ocean left of Alsedo.
knight     - Buy for 5000 in Childam.
flame      - Buy for 10000 in Begonia. This shop won't open until you have
             killed the 3rd boss (The Ice Bomber).
Legendary  - In the castle on the way to the 5th boss (The Almighty Dragon). 


Shields:
wood  	  - Buy for 50 in Alsedo.
shell 	  - Buy for 200 in Lillypad.
hard      - In a room broken open by Hotta (the dwarf boy) in the Monsters cave
 	    in Lilypad.
steel     - Buy for 2000 in Purapril. This shop won't open until you have met 
            Posiedon.
pygmy     - In the right entrance to the pyramid.
knight    - Buy for 3500 in Childam.
flame     - Buy for 8000 in Begonia. This shop won't open until you have killed
            the 3rd Boss (The Ice Bomber).
Legendary - In the castle on the way to the 5th boss (The Almighty Demon King).


Boots:
cloth     - You begin with these.
leather   - Buy for 30 in a shop in a tree trunk near the start of game.
ladder    - Buy for 50 in Purapril.
Marine    - Buy for 300 in Lilypad.
oasis     - In Poseidon's Cave. Easy to find.
ceramic   - Buy for 4000 in Childam.
pygmy     - Find in the far right room in the Ice Castle. Easy to find.
Legendary - Find on the Trolley track. Easy to find as well. 


Magic:
      Firestorm, Thunder and Quake always come in lots of 3, Shield and Power
always come in lots of 2, and you only get 1 Return spell in the game.

3 Firestorms   - Given to you by a man in a tree trunk at the start of the game.
3 Firestorms   - Earn for killing the 1st boss (Myconid).
2 Shields      - Buy for 500 in Lilypad.
3 Thunders     - In Poseidon's Ocean. Take the visible entrance to the ocean.
1 Return       - In Poseidon's Cave. Easy to spot.
3 Quakes       - In the hole in the Maugham Desert. Easy to spot.
2 Shields      - Underground section just left of the pyramid. Easy to spot.
{3 Firestorms,  
 3 Thunders,     In a room through a hidden entrance in the pyramid. In the
 2 Shields,    - section after you jump down a hole created by standing on a 
 3 Quakes,       lever. To the right is the moving roof with spikes. to the left
 2 Powers    }   is a small hole you can't fit through unless you are a pygmy.
                 The hidden door is as shown below.
                 
                 *******   hole you   **********
                       *   jump down  *
       hidden room     *              *
       in here.        *
                       *
                       *       ______     spiked roof
                       *      |      |    and to Sphinx -->
              **********      |hidden|*********** 
                              | door |*
                              |      |*
                              |      |*
              *************************

2 Powers       - After teleporting from the top of the pyramid, go left and fall
2 Shields        off the cliff and pull right into the cliff. There are two
                 hidden caves in the cliff. The upper cave has 2 powers, the
                 lower cave has 2 shields.
3 Quakes       - In the tunnel to the Ice World. Easy to spot.
2 Powers       - Volcano world on the way to the 4th Boss (Tyrant Dragon).

These are the only places that I have found where to get magic. This haul nets a
total of 9 Firestorms, 6 Thunders, 8 Shields, 9 Quakes, 6 Powers and 1 Return.
If you want full magic (which you don't really need), you have to get 6 charm-
stones and visit the man in Purapril 3 times to get 12 of each magic (except the
return spell - you only get 1). Since I have only found 1 charmstone, that means
that you have to buy 5 more, which costs you 2.5 million from the shop in
Purapril. Collecting this money takes a lot of time (about 2.5 hours) of tedious
killing of beasts in the maze leading up to the trolley area in the world above
the bell tower. This is the best place to earn money because the blue green 
beasts (the ones that take 4 hits from legendary sword) leave behind money bags
worth up to 2100 each. Note that you can only earn up to 999999 at a time, so 
you have to keep going back to Purapril and converting the coins to charmstones.
Again, I stress that you don't need all that magic. I just did it to see what
the maximum would be (I know, I'm foolish).

Items:
Ocarina    - In the monster cave of the 1st boss (Myconid) after being told
 	     about it by Sonia in Alsedo. Learn 3 tunes (BABABCB, ABCBCAB and
 	     ACCABAB) from Sonia which opens the 3 sealed doors in the monster
 	     cave. Later, swap the Ocarina for information about the Amulet
 	     (from Poseidon's daughter).
Lamp       - Earn in the monster cave of 2nd boss (Gragg & Glagg) after killing
 	     the Bat. It lets you see in the dark (no surprises here!).
Amulet     - In a room with a hidden entrance located between 4 palm trees on
 	     the far right of the overland section of Poseidon's world. It's
 	     location is revealed by Poseidon's daughter when you give her the
 	     Ocarina. Of course, if you already know where the Amulet is, you
 	     don't have to give up the Ocarina - but why keep it? The Amulet
 	     opens the door to Poseidon's cave.
Sun Key    - In the water in the underground section left of the pyramid. It
 	     opens the middle door of the pyramid.
Moon Key   - In the pyramid (middle entrance section). It opens the right door
 	     of the pyramid leading to the pygmy shield.
Star Key   - Earned after answering correctly 4 or 5 of the 5 questions asked by
 	     the Sphinx. It opens the left door of the pyramid leading to
 	     Begonia and the cliffs.
Bracelet   - Given by Elder Dragon in Begonia. Opens the way to the Ice world.
Gold gem   - In one of the rooms in the Ice castle. Obtained after killing a big
             monkey-like creature. Put in the left wall atop the ice castle.
 	     When both gems are placed the door to the 3rd boss (the Ice Bomber)
 	     appears.
Blue gem   - In one of the rooms in the Ice castle. Obtained after killing a big
             monkey-like creature. Put in the right wall atop the ice castle.
             See comment about gold gem.
Old Axe    - Earned for killing the 3rd boss (the Ice Bomber). Give to the
 	     Blacksmith in Begonia. He makes the Legendary sword from it after
 	     you have also given him the Fire-urn and have visited the Elder
 	     Dragon one last time.
Charmstone - Found in the section of the pyramid that you can only get to as a
             pygmy. There are also 5 money chests in this section. Use to get
             either a heart container or magic from the man in the hidden room
 	     in Purapril. See above.
Fire Urn   - Earned by killing the 4th boss (the Tyrant Dragon). Give to the 
             Blacksmith so he can make the Legendary sword from the Old Axe.
Elixer     - See the section below on recharge chests. The elixer is used 
             automatically after your life hearts have emptied. It will fill
             up half the number of hearts you have. Don't leave home without it.


Recharge chests and Money chests:
     These are distributed throughout Monster World. The rule for recharge
chests is: You will get an elixer if you don't have one otherwise you will get
a big red heart that totally refills all of your hearts. Every one of these
chests that I have seen in the game have been in obvious locations (i.e. not
hidden behind secret doors). Only three of the money chests presented any
difficulty in reaching. These were in the ocean left of Alsedo. Each chest
has a secret door. It doesn't take too long to find the secret doors (they are
all in the water at dead ends)  but it is a bit fiddly to describe them.


General Comments about the game:
     I think that WB V is a well put together game. The highlights are the music
(I dig the groovy numbers you hear in Purapril and in the last stage) and the
smooth controllable movement of Wonderboy. It has good replay value (I find new
things and better ways of doing things each time I play it). I love the bosses,
my favourite is the Tyrant Dragon (he has cute little wings) when he jumps up
and down on you. If you use the best weaponry, the bosses are too easy after a
while (big exception: the last boss), but you can counter this buy using your
weaker weapons to even up the fight a bit e.g. the gradius sword is 64 times
weaker than the legendary sword. You can determine the relative strength of 
your weapons by experimenting with the blue green monsters in the maze above
the bell tower. The lowlights are that you can only save one game at a time
and the uninspired ending but this may be due to memory limitations. There is
also some occasional slowdown but nothing that effects the game play.

Tim     email: mattm@lure.latrobe.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.games.video