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 on 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 demon Loki on his throne.
Story[]
The Mushroom Kingdom Coalition and Richter Belmont reach Loki's castle on top of the mountain. Richter uses his Hydro Storm magic to eliminate the monsters guarding the gate to the castle. This clears the path for the Coalition to enter the castle, but Richter is ambushed by more demons and gets badly wounded. Arthur and Firebrand team up to take out the remaining monsters, and Arthur tells Richter he is not strong enough to fight any further in his current condition. Richter is still resilient that he can fight alongside the Coalition, but collapses on his knees right before the Coalition prepares to enter the castle. As a result, Professor Hector tells him that he needs to rest and stay behind while the Coalition goes inside the castle to confront Loki. Richter reluctantly agrees to stay behind along with Professor Hector as the Coalition enters the castle.
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.
If cleared for the first time, several cutscenes play. Firstly, Princess Prin Prin's soul, now free from Loki's clutches, floats around, and a bird brings her body to the Coalition. Shortly after, Richter arrives and uses his holy water to reunite Prin Prin's body and soul. She regains her consciousness, much to the delight of the Coalition, especially Arthur. Now noticing Arthur's presence, Prim Prin immediately hugs him and thanks him for rescuing her. She also admits that she was put under an evil spell while asleep. Richter responds that he helped cure Prin Prin from her curse. Prin Prin thanks Richter for his contributions but soon notices that he was in pain. She also notices that Richter is under some curse, and he tells her that even he cannot heal himself from this curse. Prin Prin asks Arthur if he will stay with her, but he responds that he cannot due to the greater threat at hand. Professor Hector explains the Fusion merging all realities together, to Prin Prin. She is upset, as she and Arthur have just reunited, but Richter informs her that he has to go on the journey to stop the Fusionist and praises Arthur for being a courageous hero who never gives up. Prin Prin is convinced that the Fusion is as bad as it sounds and tells Arthur to continue on his quest alongside the rest of the Coalition. In the meantime, the Coalition prepares to part ways with Prin Prin and Richter as the latter two stay in their current place, with Prin Prin promising to heal up Richter with her magic.
Professor Hector soon realizes where Firebrand went as the Coalition prepares to leave the Demon Realm. Loki's giant throne is empty as a group of demons and monsters led by Vire surround it. Firebrand enters the room and is greeted by Vire, and the two soon approach the throne, where Vire addresses the other demons. Vire announces that Loki has been defeated by Firebrand but does not mention the rest of the Coalition, making it seem that Firebrand took out Loki single-handedly. As a result of Loki's demise at the hands of Firebrand, Vire nominates him to be the new Demon Lord. However, Firebrand rejects the throne and declares that the demons don't need a lord. Soon after, the demons go berserk and cause mayhem, with Vire conceding that demons live off of chaos. Suddenly, Firebrand is reunited with the rest of the Coalition, and Professor Hector informs him of other demons causing a ruckus at the castle, but both Firebrand and Vire don't seem bothered by it. Vire is soon shocked to learn that Firebrand plans to join the Coalition and help defeat the Fusionist, largely to prove himself to be a strong warrior. However, Vire changes his tune and is proud to see Firebrand prove himself worthy as he departs with the rest of the Coalition to their next destination.
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.
- In the v0.92 update of MKF, the cutscenes of Richter leading the Mushroom Kingdom Coalition to the castle and Princess Prin Prin being rescued after defeating Loki were added. Out of the Mushroom Kingdom Coalition members, only Professor Hector, Roll, Mario, Luigi, Arthur and Firebrand are seen due to MKF's non-linear gameplay mechanic of unlocking various playable characters at any time in any order.
Gallery[]
Revamped Version[]
Original Version[]
Video[]
RCBlazer Plays MKF v0.92: Heart of Darkness Cutscenes
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