Level Name:Temple Outpost.

The Ninja Temple is set deep in the Dark Forest of Japan. It stands as an outpost to keep the oni from this world. Hatsuma's clan was chosen eons ago to be the gaurdians, and so they built this temple as a front line against impending dangers. Only the most elite and skilled ninja are assigned to this outpost for training in the art of demon slaying and Ninjitsu.

The temple is set on the outskirts of the Dark Forest gateway which is rumored to be in the center of the Dark Forest. It sits a cross a brook of holy water which prevents an all out attack by the oni on the temple. Ninjas are sent out but Oni can't get it.

The temple itself is reminiscent of a typical stronghold seen in feudal Japan. It's about 10 stories high and reaches above the trees, giving an isometric view of the Dark Forest when seen from the very top of the temple.

The stage is quite massive. There are three ways to progress through it all depending on where the opponent is thrown. The fighters start on the roof of the temple, the background is gorgeous. Both fighters square off on a moon lit night, much like the Pit in MK1. The characters have a highlight on their bodies from the moons rays. The roof is big enough to allow free movement, but small enough to make a knock out possible. The opponent can either be knocked off the right side of the temple, hitting several of the lower alcoves below before landing in the training grounds. Or they can be knocked off the lefts side, causing them to fall out of the protective barrier of the temple and into the Dark Forest. The other way si if the opponent is uppercutted straight up and they will crash through the roof and down into the temple itself. The opponent will plummet through a random amount of floors, depending on the strength of the assault by the player. The music on the roof is serene and peacefull.

Courtyard:

If the player is knocked off to the right of the temple, they will land in the courtyard which serves as a training ground for the ninja elite.

The ambience is quiet endearing here. There are torches through out the courtyard to give light, cobble stone walkways are strewn through the courtyard. The entire place is boxed in with a giant wooden gate. In the background, you can see ninjas sparring with one another and others who are practicing their forms. Also, their are severl hidden hazzards in this stage. Land mines are expertly hidden under key points in the arena, if one is not carfully, they can trigger a mine and get a rude awekaning call to becarefull.

Weapon: In this area, the weapon is a Zanbatoe. A huge sword which is said to weigh several hundred pounds. Only the mightiest warriors can wield it efficiently in battle without tearing their arms from their sockets. The weapon is on a rack located on the east wall of the courtyard. However, if you're not carefull you can be in for a nasty surprise. The weapon does etreme damage when weilded but its weight make it a very slow weapon. Also, because of its size and weight, the weilder will take damage for using it. However, it can by pass blocking opponents with its immense size.

As a special feature in this part of the stage, it has a secret door that lets you enter the bottom floor of the temple.

Death Traps:

There are two death traps in this stage, depending on which gate the opponent is thrown through. The East gate leads to an archery range where the unfortunate opponet is skewerd by a rainstorm of arrows from above.

The West gate leads to a broken bridge. If the opponent is knocked through this gate, the bridge collapses and the opponet falls into a spike filled gorge at the bottom.

The music here is an orchestral theme, much like the ones heard in Onimusha

Dark Forest:

If the opponet is launched off the left side of the temple, they are sent into the outskirts of the temple and into the Dark Forest. In contrast to the courtyard, this is a very small battle field. Again, the battle field is lit by torches. The arena is surrounded by trees on three sides and the temple on the fourth. The temple serves as a backdrop with the brook, filled with holly water trickling in the background. There are demon eyes in the shadows of the forest, accompanyed by screams. The bodies of several demons are strewn through out the battle field. Body parts and gore is littered through out the arena. The fight can take place anywhere from the bridge to the entrence of the forest. The arena ends with a circle clearing, surrounded by torches. It's floor is shrouded by a low fog, and there are fire flies for ambiance.

Weapon(s)

This arena has several stage weapons which are imbeded in several of the demon bodies.

Runed Katana- The ultimate in japanes swords, infused with magical runes giving it a bue glow. The runes give the wielder a boost in defence, causing the opponet to do 50% less damage, but as a price, the opponent can only do 50% damage to the opponent.

Runed Dual Straight Swords- Probably the only other weapon that can stand to the Katana. These swords are infused with a magic that grows stronger each time an enemy is killed, causing their damage to increase exponentailly. The weilder will do 100% more damage but his life is drained 10% every successfull strike and he can't block, but neither can the opponent.

Death Trap: The death trap in this stage is a swift kick into the Dark Forest. The opponent is then showen being torn to pieces by demons, screaming in agony. A piece of the opponent, unique to each person is then thrown back into the light infront of the winner. (Inspired by the T-Rex fatality in E.C.)

The music here is very low, it has drum beats and a japanesse flute to give it an ominus feel.

Temple Chambers:

As stated before, depending on how hard the opponent is shot through the roof, the floor they land on changes. Somebody as poweful as Jax or Smoke could knock the opponented all the way down to the third floor, while somebody who isn't as strong like Sonya(no offence to the Sonya fans, just using anatomy as a reference) would knock the player down to maybe the 7th floor of the temple. The bottom floor of the temple is the most desired, and therefore hardest to get to. The floors themselves aren't very big, each one is about as large as the roof of the Sky Temple from Deception. So the stage, when taken seperatly is a medium size battle ground. The temple floors are made of a red wood. They have drapes in the distance and giant windows which let the player see what's outisde. The temple is well light with lanterns everywhere, each with its own kanji. The floors are aranged in a circular pattern, each one pressing against a different side of the temple. The temple has six walls, each floor, is more of a balconey and it's set against one of the sides. This makes the whole layout look like a spiral staircase. The floors are connected by stairs. If you wish to knock your opponent to a lower floor, you can knock them through the railing, causing them to fall directly to the floor below, or knock them down the stairs, causing thm to tumble down to the floor below. If you knock the opponent through the railing, where, you knock them through has a direct corollation on where the opponent lands. So knocking them through the railing at an angle from the 7th floor, may have the opponent fall down to the third floor, where as knocking them down to the stairs would only have them fall down to the sixth floor. Each floor has it's own unique design. One may be filled with armor, another maybe filled with weapons or items the players can use. Some have Easter eggs in the background, one of them has a "show" preformed by a random female fighter from the MK Universe. (That's right, Universe, she doesn't have to be in the game.) The show is obviously fan service, but don't get your hopes up. The bottom floor is the largest and is the most comfortable to fight in, but also the deadliest. The floor serves as an initail test to see a ninjas prowess in his skills by attacking him from all angles. The bottom floor jas spike traps which are activated by color coded tiles on the ground. The player must pay attention to the enviroment to avoid the traps. In addition to the spiked hazzards, their are also jets of fire that shoot from the ground. Others may have projectile traps where darts are shot at the players who stand on the wrong tiles. However, for all it's hazards, it has rewards as well. It has tiles that can regenerate some life, amplyfie damage, trap the opponent and so on. This bottom floor is the most amusing to fight in and has elements of Kombat Chess.

The music here is upbeat, with tiko drums, flutes, strings and other instruments to add to the atmosphere.

Weapon-

Knife Chain- The weapon is simple general. All it is, is a blade, connected to a zip chain. The weapon has an amazing attack speed and range, coupled by a descent amount of damage dealing. But it's nature requires a different control scheme. All of its attacks are done by rotating both analog sticks in different directions, making the player use the D-pad to move around. This gives the Knife Chain a unique experience when wielded.

Death Trap

A black tile is set in the center of the stage, making the players walk around the arena. Since black is the compilation of all colors, once the person steps into the black tile, a spiked cage shoots up from the ground, encasing the opponent.. The center of the tile opens and a jet of fire shoots from the center, incinerating the opponent. Then a hail storm of arrows shoots from the cieling, impaling the opponent, straight through his center. The spiked cage retracts and the opponents body falls to the ground.