DEMONS CREST FAQ/WALKTHROUGH

By Squall Strife
squallstrife420@hotmail.com

Copyright Squall Strife 2000

Also, credit goes to Jeff and JJ Bogumil. Even though it gives you the names 
of the bosses at the end of the game, I used their Mini-FAQ to give me the 
names while I was playing through it, to make writing my FAQ easier. Also, 
while I was there I accidentally glimpsed the location of the Hand Talisman, 
so credit goes there as well.

As the manual states (I thinkI lost mine a couple of years ago) Firebrand 
is now entertaining the masses of the Demon Realm as a gladiator. A tough 
existence, but hey, as long as the fights are fair

Oh look, its an undead monster forty times your size!

BOSS: SOMULO

Fortunately for Firebrand, this guy has no imagination. Hell back you up 
against the wall (dont try to attack him before then) and then stand still 
and shoot fireballs at you. When he bends his head down to spit, simply jump 
up and shoot a fireball at his head. If he does get the fireball off, just 
hover until the flames go out.

After several fireballs to his rotten brain, Somulo will collapse, and a 
section of wall will magically crumble. What are you waiting for? Get outta 
there before they send in someone with a sense of tactics!

After you escape the arena, Somulo decides its not done playing, and sticks 
his head through the gap. In whats possibly the easiest boss fight in video 
game history (aside from perhaps The Hulk, where you simply walked up to 
Brainiac and punched him off a ledge) just hover next to the zombie dragons 
head and shoot him nonstop. Hell crumble in no time.

FIRST AREA: THE GRAVEYARD

Very short and very basic. Blast the ghosts and ogres, collect the money 
they give you, headbutt the statues and get what pops out, making sure not 
to miss the one containing a Spell Vellum. Youll eventually come to a very 
large statue. Bash it and watch the fun unfold!

BOSS: HIPPOGRIFF #1

Youll be seeing quite a few of these guys throughout the game. When he 
hovers in your range, shoot him a couple of times and drop down before he 
charges you. When hes out of range, just avoid his easy-to-dodge triple 
feather attack. Hell turn back to stone for a time-out, but bash the statue 
again to anger him back to (temporary) life. Deliver a few more hits and 
hell turn back into stone. Bash it a last time to smash him into flaming 
gravel.

Youll now go outside the graveyard. This area is a little tricky compared 
to the first one, but when you consider how tricky that area was was.

Anyhoo, just use the collapsing pillars to get across the carnivorous plant 
pits. Look out for the ogres axes though, as they can knock you out of 
mid-leap. And when you get to the final pit, go down the left side for your 
first Urn.

In the second area, just get up wall using the platforms, but take note of 
the different-looking sections of the main wall.

Secrets in this area:

AFTER YOU GET THE BUSTER: Theres a Life Vessel in the main wall of the 
second area.
AFTER YOU GET GROUND POWER:N/A
AFTER YOU GET AIR POWER:N/A
AFTER YOU GET WATER POWER:N/A

After you make it up, youll meet a soon-to-be-familiar face.

BOSS: ARMA, ROUND ONE

All hes got this time is a swoop and a single energy ball. Be careful when 
he does his swoop though, as if its too low youll have to jump. (Would it 
have killed Capcom to make Firebrand able to crouch?) Just keep pumping 
flame into him, and hell soon retreat, leaving behind the Earth Crest.

NOTE: If youre playing this as a ROM on a ZNES emulator, a glitch may make 
Arma invincible. If this happens, just use a different emulator.

DEMON TOWN

After you get the crest, youll take to the skies with breathtaking (for 
that time) Mode 7 graphics. Press start to take a look at the map. Looks 
like Demon Town is your next stop! If you want, theres also a spell shop, a 
potion shop and a gaming hut on the map.

Arriving in Demon Town (what a lively place!) there are a few things of 
interest. The demon beside the fountain will say different things to you 
depending on what form youre in, the Spell Shop will, duh, sell you 
spells-I suggest you avoid this place, Demons Crest spells are pretty much 
useless-the Potion Shop (inaccessible till you get the Buster-how do they do 
any business?) will sell you potions, and the Mystic will identify your 
talismans.

THIRD AREA: RESEVOIR

Youre probably itching to try out your new Ground power, but trying to use 
it here will get you killed over and over. If you do go ground, there are 
torches that can be slammed through the air. None hide secrets except the 
last one. Charge it and go in the revealed doorway.

HIDDEN AREA: CATACOMBS

Stay Ground Gargoyle for most of the first area, as youll be in many a 
position to attack from above. In the second area, youll have to keep the 
candles lit if you want to see (not to mention keeping the bats off your 
face.) For lots of quick illumination, blast the candelabras. When its 
dark, the bats come out, and when its light, the ghosts do. The ghosts are 
invincible to everything except G. Gargoyles shockwave.

AFTER YOU GET THE BUSTER: Theres a Spell Vellum early in the first area.
AFTER YOU GET GROUND POWER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET AIR POWER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET WATER POWER:N/A

BOSS: OVNUNU

Up till now youve faced weak bosses with predictable moves. Not this time. 
This guy is BRUTAL and you WILL die several times before beating him. Three 
flying eyeballs will surge up from the slime at once, flying around the 
screen trying to ram you. When an eyeball rotates, its trying to hone in on 
you, so fly out of its way once it stops. Kill them quickly as they will 
eat your health up like popcorn. It takes three shots to kill each eyeball, 
but given the painfully slow rate of fire on your default weapon (and dont 
bother going Ground Gargoyle-youll be doing a lot of flying in this fight.) 
youll be eye-frying for a while. The only good part is, theyll sometimes 
give up a small health orb upon death. Dont be disappointed if it falls in 
the slime, as you can land there briefly without getting hurt. When the last 
eyeball is toast, Ovnunu will be a little ticked that youve fricasseed his 
family, and rise out of the slime himself to deal with you. Hell fly around 
the screen and occasionally stop to shoot a venom stream at you. Hes easier 
to avoid then the eyeballs, but be careful because the venom stream can go 
diagonally. Hit him with 12-15 fireballs to destroy him and get the Buster 
power, a vast improvement over your default fireball.

With Ovnunus demise, youll be warped back to the world map. But we have 
unfinished business at the town, dont we? Back we go!

Go back to the reservoir and go straight past the statue this time to get to 
the second part, the Boneyard. You can use Ground power here to destroy the 
tombstones and bonepiles, but watch out for the zombie arms. If they snag 
you, hammer the jump button to get away before the zombie heads show up for 
a leisurely munch on your ankle. And be careful of the flying knights, 
Buster power is the only way to destroy them.

AFTER YOU GET THE BUSTER:N/A
AFTER YOU GET GROUND POWER: The top left bonepile in the Boneyard contains a 
Life Vessel.
AFTER YOU GET AIR POWER:N/A
AFTER YOU GET WATER POWER: An illusory underwater wall near the end of the 
Reservoir hides the Hand talisman.

BOSS: BELTH

First of all, dont even THINK about trying to fight this guy without the 
Buster power. It will be impossibly hard and youll most likely end up 
putting the controller through your TV. You may do that anyway though, as 
its still a hard fight.

First of all, Belth has got a LOT of stamina. Itll take about thirty Buster 
shots before he turns red, then about another ten to turn him into kibble, 
so be prepared for a long fight. Belth will walk across the ground swinging 
his sword at you. Thing is, the sword can hit you while youre in the air, 
so when you fly over him be sure he doesnt have time to prepare a swing. He 
can also jump. Back away when he does it-dont try running under him. 
Finally, when he gestures at you, jump straight up as high as you can and 
hover, and the charging slash wont hit you.

FOURTH AREA:  JUNGLE

Ah, straightforward stages, the FAQ writers best friend. You can slash 
through the vines with the Aerial Gargoyles air blasts. (thanks to Michael 
Gordon for reminding me of this) Theres an urn in plain sight (though 
youll need to walk on some thorns to get it) and the only thing about this 
first area that stands out is a doorway you can headbutt open to lead to:

HIDDEN AREA: AQUIFER

Of course, you could take the easy way and wait till you have access to 
Tidal Gargoyle.but what kind of gamer would you be then?

Hop on the platforms and avoid the deadly water (I thought Firebrand was a 
demon, not a witch) Go on to the second area, and be careful not to let the 
eyeball bats knock you into the water. Youll eventually come to.

BOSS: SCULA (TOSS AND ROLL)

You may be tempted to take out Roll first. Dont do it. Its a lot easier to 
simply blast Toss with nonstop Buster shots, then when he throws Roll, wait 
till he passes over you and then jump over Toss charge. When youve 
destroyed Toss, Roll will start shooting himself around the room-or thats 
what he WOULD be doing if you hadnt changed to Ground Gargoyle and sent 
nonstop shockwave blasts into Roll as hes on the ground, damaging him 
heavily and not even letting him get up. Simple.

AFTER YOU GET THE BUSTER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET GROUND POWER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET AIR POWER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET WATER POWER: A hidden door leads to a Life Vessel.

OK, now back to the main stage. Pass over the lake (its a lot easier to 
just fly over it then mess with the platforms) and go on to the last area. 
Suddenly the boss will fly in, but not for the fight-hell simply light up 
the whole area and leave. Youll now have to contend with falling flaming 
foliage, which can be a little difficult because its hard to see it coming.

NOTE: If you dont kill Flame Lord the very first time you fight him, then 
on your retry the forest will be gone (that fast? What were those, napalm 
trees?) and FL will have new tactics.

BOSS: FLAME LORD

Youve finally found this wicked arsonist. Lets show him how precious our 
forests are!

The strategy for the second form is the same no matter if the forest is 
there or not, but the first uses different tactics depending on the forests 
presence.

IF THE FOREST IS THERE:

FL will stand still and send firebirds up in the air, which will drop down 
as fireballs.

IF ITS NOT:

FL will send a wandering firebird or two out directly at you.

Either way, his first form is a pushover. Just stand next to him and hammer 
him with Buster power, but time yourself so you jump out of the way when he 
flies toward a new location.

After youve delivered enough damage, FL will transform into a flying fire 
skull. This one is a little tricky. It has three attacks: Swooping, which is 
easily jumped over: Weaving, which is a little harder to avoid, you should 
try running under him when hes in the high loop: and going across the 
screen dropping fireballs. Avoid the fireballs (try running past him just 
after one has fallen) and jump up to blast him. After sending enough Buster 
shots into him, youll extinguish this flaming freak and get the Tornado 
power.

AFTER YOU GET THE BUSTER: A door in the second area leads to the Skull 
Talisman.
AFTER YOU GET GROUND POWER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET AIR POWER: A Life Vessel in the last area is in the air just 
out of Firebrands reach. You can also snag it with the Tornado.
AFTER YOU GET WATER POWER: N/A

FIFTH AREA: TOWERS

Go up through the first area, and be careful of the pop-out worms-theyre 
invincible. Dodge the spikes and go on out to the balcony. Fly though the 
air blasting the zombie knights, but dont try to kill the flying bone 
demons, they have a lot of health. Eventually youll come to the end, but 
whats in that strange blue tornado? Lets go find out!

HIDDEN AREA: TOWER DUNGEON

Youll find yourself in on a long floor. Uh-oh, that music sounds like the 
prelude to a boss fight

Oh, its just a Hippogriff.

BOSS: HIPPOGRIFF #2

This Hippogriffs the same as the first one you fought, but this time he can 
do his charge attack high or low. Either way, its easy to avoid, and in 
very little time, you can turn this guy into the makings of a fine driveway.

NOTE: If you go through this area again, another Hippogriff will be waiting.

Now, youll find yourself in a large area with veiny walls and large towers 
with platforms that rotate around them. Use these to get up to the first 
doorway. When youre outside, immediately drop down to the bottom floor. Go 
in the door and bash the third statue for the Crown Talisman. Then, fly up 
to the top right corner and snag the Spell Vellum.

When you reach the end, Arma shows up again, itching for a rematch.

BOSS: ARMA, ROUND TWO

Armas still using his swoop and energy ball, but when youve depleted 
enough of his health, hell start throwing a tornado at you, to hold you in 
place for his swoop attack. You can usually get out of the way in time, 
though. Just keep pumping Busters into him to send him running, and the Air 
Crest will be yours.

AFTER YOU GET THE BUSTER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET GROUND POWER:N/A
AFTER YOU GET AIR POWER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET WATER POWER: N/A

Now, we come back to the Tower. When our intrepid hero left for the Dungeon, 
he was about to step up to the boss, so thats where well start.

BOSS: FLIER

This guy can be tough if you dont see his pattern. When he spins around in 
the air, watch what elevation hes at. If hes low, jump. If hes high, stay 
still. Once youve recognized this pattern, hes easy. Just keep shooting 
him, jumping over him and avoiding his flying claws, and the Claw power will 
soon be yours.

AFTER YOU GET THE BUSTER: An Urn is in the wall of the first area.
AFTER YOU GET GROUND POWER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET AIR POWER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET WATER POWER: N/A

IMPORTANT NOTE: Before you go to Area 6, stop by Demon Town and stock up on 
Ginseng. Youll see why.

SIXTH AREA: THE RUINS

In the first area, I suggest you go aerial to avoid the fishmen. Also, your 
air slash will destroy those pesky flying bone demons instantly. Once 
inside, youll be doing a lot of switching between Ground and Air, but it 
shouldnt be too much of a problem. However, once youre in a certain 
hallway, a massive lump of rotten flesh will drop from the ceiling and show 
you a whole new world of pain

BOSS: CRAWLER

I hate this guy SO MUCH!!! You can only hit him when his eye opens, but of 
course he only opens it to attack you. Hell throw land creatures in an 
overhand toss, release flying demons from his back, or slam his fist down 
and cause rocks to fall. This will be a LONG fight and youll probably use 
all of your Ginseng, as getting hit is unavoidable if youre trying to do 
major damage. About 50 Buster shots to the eye will crumble the Crawler and 
grant you a very nice reward-the Water Crest! With all three crests, theres 
nowhere you cant go!

AFTER YOU GET THE BUSTER:N/A
AFTER YOU GET GROUND POWER:N/A
AFTER YOU GET AIR POWER: Go up the shaft where the Crawler came out to reach 
a small area with a Life Vessel.
AFTER YOU GET WATER POWER: See below.

Now that you have the Water Crest, lets see what was in that lake the Ruins 
are in, hmm?

HIDDEN AREA: THE LAKE

Cruise through the water, being careful to avoid the spikes. Combat is no 
problem down here. Though the Tidal Gargoyles pressure blast attack is 
practically worthless up above, underwater itll destroy anything in one 
hit. Keep going, and eventually youll meet

BOSS: HOLOTHURION

This one is a cinch after the Crawler. Hell either exhale or inhale. When 
he exhales, he blows out toxic red bubbles, and when he inhales, hell pull 
them back in while attempting to devour you. His vacuum isnt too powerful, 
so you can stay back and get plenty of hits in. One thing to remember-Do NOT 
press A! This will make you very susceptible to the vacuum and you WILL get 
pulled in. Remember this, and youll have a quick victory.


SEVENTH AREA: THE MOUNTAINS

Hmm, this frozen ground looks kinda familiar! Oh yeah, saw the exact same 
thing in the ice stage of Super Ghouls n Ghosts. Silly Capcom, did they 
think we wouldnt notice?

An important hidden stage is in the air here. Just go Aerial, fly to the top 
of the screen, and keep going. Youll run into it eventually.

HIDDEN AREA: ICE PALACE

Go through the stage and eventually youll come to two doors. Go through the 
left one first to get a Life Vessel, then through the right.

BOSS: FLIER #2

This Flier is a bit tougher than his brother in the Towers, and the icy 
floor can also be troublesome. Also, he can now dive diagonally, which is 
next-to-impossible to avoid. Otherwise, use the same tactics as last time.

NOTE: If you pass through this area again, another Flier will await. Use 
Legendary Gargoyle for a quick win.

Going upwards is tricky. Youll have to use Aerial Gargoyle, but youll have 
to turn back to normal to ignite the candles and keep the bats from 
gangfanging you. Eventually.

BOSS: ARMA, FINAL BATTLE

This time, its to the death. Its a tough fight, so make sure youre well 
stocked with Ginseng. Arma will use all three of his previous moves, and 
when you deplete enough health, hell unveil his new attack, an wolf-shaped 
ice blast. It moves the same way as the energy ball, but is faster and 
stronger. Dodge it the same way you would the energy ball and keep blasting 
away to finish Arma for good and get the Crest of Time.

AFTER YOU GET THE BUSTER:N/A
AFTER YOU GET GROUND POWER:A statue in the upper right of the second area 
holds the Armor Talisman.
AFTER YOU GET AIR POWER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET WATER POWER:N/A

Now back to the main stage and on to the boss!

BOSS: GREWON

This guy is VERY tough if you didnt get the Legendary Gargoyle yet. 
Hopefully, you did. With the Legendary form, you should be able to finish 
him quickly. When you hit him, Grewon will turn green, indicating 
invincibility. Get to the wall and go up out of his reach. Then, fly out, 
let him get ahead of you, drop down, fire, turn Aerial, get out of the reach 
of his jumps, and hug the wall again. Repeat until hes dust.

For slaying Grewon, youll get the useless Dragon Fire. Why useless? Well, 
its weaker than the blast of the Legendary Gargoyle, which you had to have 
to win the fight.

However, its not quite useless-it will complete the Fire Crest. Just one 
more now, the Crest of Heaven. Time to pay a visit to our old buddy Phalanx!

Michael Gordon contributed an alternate way to beat Grewon.

I found an easy way to defeat Grewon without having to take the legendary 
gargoyle form. I'm sure you've noticed that certain enemies can be defeated 
with one hit from the ground gargoyle but take several hits to be defeated 
with buster shot, and the same applies for certain enemies and the air 
gargoyle. Well apparently Capcom decided to have this elemental thing apply 
to bosses too, because Grewon, as a creature of ice, is very weak against 
fire blasts. That's right, the pathetic little fireball attack that you 
start the game with is Grewon's weakness. I easily defeated him as a normal 
gargoyle using only 1 bottle of ginseng. I think that annoying boss that 
guards the water crest may have an elemental weakness too. Defeating Grewon 
first and getting the demon fire before going into the upper are of the ice 
level helps a bit.

Thanks, Michael! Sorry I didnt update for so long.

AFTER YOU GET THE BUSTER: N/A
AFTER YOU GET GROUND POWER: The last Spell Vellum is inside a bonepile in 
the middle of a floating platform above a spiky floor.
AFTER YOU GET AIR POWER: The last Urn awaits you on a platform above where 
you first start out.
AFTER YOU GET WATER POWER: N/A

FINAL STAGE: PHALANXS CASTLE

Blast the jester demons, and avoid the arrows, and youll soon see yet 
another Hippogriff. Ooh, this one is gold! How non-menacing!

PITIFUL EXCUSE FOR A BOSS: HIPPOGRIFF #3

Yawn. Jump. Shoot. Avoid charge. You know the drill.

NOTE: Another of these losers will try to take you on if you go through here 
again.

After you destroy the final Hippogriff, go into the tower and turn Aerial to 
ascend quickly. Before you leave, headbutt the bell for a Life Vessel. Keep 
your Aerial form in the next area to fly over the spikes, but keep checking 
down for the second spikeless area. Fall though the fake floor for the Fang 
talisman.

CONGRATULATIONS! Youve now collected every crest, urn, vellum and talisman 
in the game! Now, you get to be the Ultimate Gargoyle, and fight the 
insanely hard Dark Demon! Lucky you!

In the next area, turn Legendary again for a quick plummet down another 
tower. Fly across another spike area (dont bother with the zombies, its 
easier just to avoid them) and youll meet another Grewon.

BOSS: GREWON #2

The only problem this time is that there is no wall to climb up, so you may 
have to turn Aerial to avoid his attacks. Also, this ones green 
invincibility will last longer. You dont really have to use tactics, 
though, as a Legendary Gargoyle with the Fang Talisman can simply outlast 
Grewon. Just keep pumping Legendary shots into him to turn him into a fur 
coat. And then, its onto the  finale!

NOTE: Yet another member of the Grewon family will pay you a visit if you 
pass through here again.

FINAL BOSS: PHALANX

This fight is in three stages.

First, Phalanx will fly across the screen and swoop down on you. Hell also 
pause to shoot an easily dodged plasma ball at you. Hell also lay down 
bouncing spheres of energy, but if youre Legendary, with the Fang Talisman 
equipped, you should make quick work of him.

Phalanx isnt going to give up yet, though. He calls upon the power of the 
Heaven Crest to fill him, giving his skin a golden hue and causing the room 
to periodically fill with water. His moves are about the same, but his 
plasma ball now has some homing power. Turn Tidal when the water comes in, 
jump out of it, and turn Legendary for another few shots at Phalanx.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have not gotten all the crests, urns, vellums and 
talismans, the game ends after you defeat this stage. If not.

Phalanx will inform you that youve merely destroyed his shadow, and will 
take you to a lava pit to confront his obscenely powerful true form.

Phalanxs last form is tough, but there is a safe spot. Get on the same 
level as his head, and keep moving so the lightning doesnt hit you. From 
this position, youll also be able to blast the orbs before they can get 
you. When he opens his mouth, fire twice and drop down to avoid the beam. 
Repeat until hes dust.

Now the game endsor does it?

NO!

Since you got all the items and fought the true Phalanx, youll get a 
special code. (Do NOT press start during the end or youll miss it!) Use it 
to become the Ultimate Gargoyle.

NOTE: It turns out I did *not* miss the code by pressing Start after allyou 
also have to have all the Life Vessels, and I missed three. Jeff & JJ 
Bogumils Mini-FAQ should help you out in that department though.

Stock up on Ginseng, then fly back to the map. Heywhats that new location 
near Phalanxs old place? Land there, and go through a short area to find

THE ULTIMATE DEMONS CREST CHALLENGE: THE DARK DEMON

Meet the Dark Demon, aka the WEAPON of Demon Crest. This guy makes Phalanxs 
third form look like a Hippogriff. He is a NIGHTMARE.

First of all, you MUST have a full supply of Ginseng. If you die after using 
one of them, EXIT THE STAGE. Many of the Dark Demons attacks are simply 
unavoidable.

And needless to say, the Armor Talisman will be getting quite a workout in 
this fight. Also, dont bother trying to use Ultimate Gargoyles charge 
attack.

The Dark Demon has two forms: a large insect-like skeleton and a big demon 
with a vaporous lower body.

The bugs attacks:

A small energy ball that relentlessly follows you around and will take 4-5 
hits to destroy
A quartet of flying blades
A red tidal wave that covers the screen except for under the bug

The demons attacks:

Multiple flying blades
A dark orb that will turn the floor it hits into spikes

Strategy for the bug:

The bug will fly around the screen doing its first two attacks. Dont 
bother killing the ball, as another one will pop out the second that one 
dies, and itll disappear anyway when the bug goes demon.

There is one really good window of opportunity that happens in this 
fight-when its about to do its wave attack, it will stand still. Quickly 
switch from Armor to Fang and hammer away at it, then switch back to Armor 
and get under it.

Strategy for the demon:

The one good thing about the demon is that it cant move. However, its blade 
attacks are nearly impossible to avoid if youre trying to hit it, so youll 
take quite a bit of damage. It will eventually cover the entire floor and 
walls with spikes, making the fight even more hazardous. To add to the fun, 
hell fade in and out, and he cant be hit when hes faded. So I hate to 
tell you, but there really isnt a strategy for this form.

Thats all the advice I have on the Dark Demon, except one thing: Unlike all 
the other bosses, he doesnt turn red as he weakens, so dont be discouraged 
if you think youre not hurting him.

WHOA! You beat the Dark Demon! (Ooh, he turned red. Isnt that a cool 
death?)  Sit back and watch the true ending, and congratulate yourself on 
killing one of the most brutal bosses in action game history. Not to mention 
beating one of the most ass-kicking SNES games out there! A winner is you!
