NG2 5-1

Ninja Gaiden II: Act 5, Stage 1
5-1 is a short stage with only 3 rooms, and the only stage with multiple music tracks, and the Spikes and Fire stage hazards. Although short, some of the most critical and challenging time-saving tricks are found in this stage. In any%, the goal is to obtain the Scroll in the second room, and reach the end of the stage with Invincible Fire Wheel with at least 2 HP remaining (ideally, at least 5 HP).

Room 1 (Sewer Exit)
The stage starts off intensely. You must scale the wall to the right as quickly as possible and jump over Bazooka Guy's first bullet, and then dispatch him. There are 4 Item Orbs hovering in the air in the next section; The second from the left is an Invincible Fire Wheel and must be obtained. With a very well-timed jump, the Item Orb can be slashed with the sword, but the timing is practically frame-perfect. Breaking the Item Orb with a Shuriken is preferred, either by throwing the Shuriken in mid-air, or landing on the ground and having one of your Shadow's Shuriken hit it. Note that Shuriken use leaves you with only 5 Ninpo, and therefore an additional 10 Ninpo pickup will be required at the beginning of Stage 5-2. You must leave the room with Invincible Fire Wheel and at least 5 Ninpo, or significant time will be lost in the following sections and in Stage 5-2.

Spike and Fire Hazards
This stage's walls, ceilings, and floors are often lined with large spikes or jets of fire. Touching either will deal 3 damage to you. It is interesting to note that you will always get damage boosted to the right when touching these, which is pretty convenient for a speedrun. However, take care not to take too much damage, since it can stack up very quickly. Be sure to leave the stage with at least 2 HP left if you are to survive Stage 5-2.

Room 2 (Fire Pit)
At the beginning of this room, you can Wall Clip over the ladder you start on to skip the lower spike section. However, the screen is locked against the left side of the room, so you must move at least half-way across the screen to the left to unlock the scrolling before returning to the wall to clip over it. After clipping over the wall, you can stand on an invisible platform just above the spikes, allowing you to jump and grab the wall from the opposite side. If your jump isn't timed correctly, you will miss the top of the wall and have to climb up, wasting a second. Break the second item orb to get 10 ninpo, taking care NOT to the break the first one, which could potentially replace your Invincible Fire Wheel with a Fireball.

You must use Invincible Fire Wheel at the right time (immediately before reaching the Axe Thrower) in order to break the Item Orb near the end of the room containing a Scroll. Damage Boost off of the right side of the skeleton to fall into the next room.

Room 3 (The Gauntlet)
The next Wall Clip can be very tricky, since the wall is lined with spikes. If you boosted into this room, you'll be invincible when you hit the ground. The idea is to move briefly to the left to unlock the screen-scrolling, and then move right and jump into the spiked wall. If timed correctly, your damage invulnerability will wear off at the peak of your jump, and the spikes will boost you over the wall. Perfect timing allows you to do this without stopping; if you're slightly off, you may land on top, but have to jump over an invisible wall to proceed. When on the ground, boost off of once set of flames to make it through to the end.

Note: There is a Health Vial and a Shadow Clone in this room, but they are far out of the way to pick up.