| Heart of Darkness | |
| |
| World 4-WB | |
| Universe Based On | Super Ghouls n' Ghosts |
| Level Designer | Gladiacloud |
| Exits | 1 |
| Mini-Boss(es) | Astaroth |
| Boss(es) | Loki |
| Difficulty | Hard |
| Introduced in Game Version | v0.7 Grand Shroom (original), v0.85 (minor revamp) |
| Red Coin Reward | None |
Heart of Darkness is the final level in the World 4: The Demon Realm and it is based on the many levels found in Super Ghouls n' Ghosts. This is also where the player confronts both the Demon Lord Astaroth and the World 4 Boss Loki.
Layout[]
This level takes place in a huge demon castle at the top of the Hellfire Peak mountain.
The first two areas take place in a boiling hot lava cave that is based off the Stage 3 Crucible of Flame from Super Ghouls n' Ghosts. The player travels around the cave, breaking some Red chests for power-ups/sub-weapons while dealing with fire-themed demons, such as the bear monster Gririan, Fire Bats, Bone Towers, and Fire Demons. There are also little lava demons called Fire Killers that come out of the lava to attack. If the player has already unlocked the Yellow Switch Palace, there are some yellow ! Blocks that can be used for some shortcuts. At the end of the second area, the player has made it to the entrance of the castle.
Upon entering, Astaroth will appear to stop the player from ruining his and Loki's plans, and the player must fight him. He attacks by spitting flames out of his stomach-like mouth and shooting purple lasers from his eyes. Astaroth's top face is the only way to hurt him. After being defeated and failing to stop them, Astaroth's body starts to crumble before exploding as they continue to enter the castle.
The next area takes place inside the castle hallway, which is based on Stage 7 Hallway of Ghouls. The player climbs around the ladders of each floor in the hallway while avoiding the Skull Coins when climbing the ladders. Also, the player must deal with more demon enemies, such as Skeleton Murderers, Living Flames, Carnivorous Plants, and Imps.
At the end of this room, the player has to do some platforming underneath the bed of spikes while dealing with the Flying Knights and other demon enemies. Once the player makes it to the top, they enter and go down the stairs to the next area.
The last area takes place in what looks like a sanctuary room, for it is demon-laden with many art paintings and chandeliers in the walls. This area is based on Stage 6 Castle of the Empire. The player will explore this room while fighting the strongest demon enemies of this world, such as Hell Knights, Big Men, Red Arremers, Cacodemons and Pain Elementals. After getting through all that, the player makes it to the last hallway with the last checkpoint and some red chests to be prepared for their fight in the throne room.
Once entering the throne room, the screen slowly auto-scrolls in the black background, and once it stops, a pair of red eyes appear before the lights turn on to reveal the flame demon Loki in his throne chair as they start their battle. He attacks by shooting lasers out his finger while worm-like creatures call Maggots falling on top of what seems to be a nest for them. The only way to damage Loki is by either having a character that has the ability to attack upwards, like his arch enemy Arthur, or a power-up, like Hammer Bro. Suit or pick up the Maggot and throw it at his face. Upon losing a quarter of his health, he will raise his foot, stop on one of the two sides of the area, and cause the floor to collapse to the lava to make it harder for the player while summoning some Lost Souls to help and shoot fire out of his mouth. Once Loki has half of his health depleted, he will stomp another floor on the side of the area, only leaving the center to increase the chance for them to fall into the lava. Some of the fireballs will also start leaving a small flame behind before disappearing after a short time. After a tough battle, Loki starts to explode as his chair slowly starts falling into the lava pits below, and underestimating Arthur and the other heroes leads to his death. The player ends Loki's evil empire and saves all the demon realm lands as all of the portals close to cause no more harm between them, completing World 4 and getting the World Key.
Enemies[]
Ghosts 'N Goblins enemies:
- Fire Killer (Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts)
- Gririan (Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts)
- Big Man (Ghosts 'n Goblins)
- Fire Bat (Ghouls 'n Ghost)
- Red Arremer (Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts)
- Skeleton Murderer (Ghouls 'n Ghosts)
- Flying Knight (Ghost 'n Goblins)
Black Tiger enemies:
Demon's Crest enemies:
Castlevania enemies:
Doom enemies:
other enemies:
Boss[]
Trivia[]
- Mud Knights from Ghouls 'n Ghosts were originally found in this level but were replaced with Big Men.
- In the v0.85 update of Mushroom Kingdom Fusion, Astaroth now appears as a Mini-Boss of this stage instead of Inner Turmoil, where he was replaced with Ghost Fireman as that level's boss.
Gallery[]
Revamped Version[]
Original Version[]
Video[]
MeR!X Plays MKF v0.88: Heart of Darkness
MeR!X Plays MKF v0.8: Heart of Darkness
RCBlazer Plays MKF Part 31: Heart of Darkness