Apollo Ascent

The Apollo Ascent (アポロンのふもと, Apollo's Foothills) is a huge mountain which reaches into the heavens, leading up to the Apollo Sanctum and serves as the pre-final dungeon of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. It is only reachable by high ledges of the Endless Wall.

The complete mountain is shrouded in mist and clouds. Most of it is covered by buried or scattered remnants of giant Apollo Sanctum statues.

Walkthrough
Upon entering the first screen with a waterfall and river, hop right across the river and cast Crush on the boulder, then climb up the linear route up the mountain walls, casting Growth on a plant to turn it into a ladder along the way. At the dead-end at the northeast corner of the screen, Crush the cracked rocky slab to expose a statue head, and interact with it to make a stone hand extend out of the waterfall, which you can easily hop across. Proceed north to the next screen.

In the second screen, which also has a river, Crushing the first boulder you see ahead of you lets you claim a Mythril Silver forgeable item. Hop right across the river and go northwest, and hop left back across the river and climb the tree at the left area to go through the clockwise route along the area's perimeter up until you can face and Crush a boulder at the upper edge of the screen. Then slide down the cliff slide and hop right back across the river, turn the plant into climbable ivy with Growth, and follow the remaining route into the next screen to the right.

In the third, maze-like screen, navigate through it until you get past a Crush-able boulder at the center left end of the screen, and follow the winding linear path until you hop left across the stone statue foot so that you face left toward the elevated earth pillar. Cast Move to move it one space left, then slide down the cliff slide to your right and Move it one space left again, completing a hoppable path. Go up the small stairs to the southeast and cast Grip on the wooden branch to your left, which acts like any other location's Grip spires, then Grip your way to the spire northwest of that. Hop right across the earth pillar you set up and Grip the spire north of that, then Crush the boulder at the upper right corner of the area to reveal a chest containing the Aeolian Cassock. Grow and climb up the plant to the left, then stand at the tip of the stone statue hand so that you face a spire poking horizontally out of the wall. Casting Grip on this will cause you to perform a "grip-swing" to the right. Crush the nearby cracked stone statue foot to enter the next screen.

In the fourth screen, proceed along the linear route, along the way Crushing a cracked stone statue hand, Grip-swinging to the left, and Crushing another cracked stone statue foot. Go along the route west of the foot and reach the headless statue at the left edge of the screen, and walk up it so that you can reach yet another cracked foot to destroy. Go right past that and climb down the winding wall ladder to reach an out-of-the-way boulder that conceals a chest containing the Valkyrie Mail. Climb back up and go up to face the cracked mass of stone to your left, and Crush that to reveal a state head lying on its side. Cast Growth on the hanging plant to create a ladder down, which will easily let you climb the wall ladder to this statue head. Interact with this to make another hand appear out of the waterfall, and slide down the cliff slide so that you can climb up to the spot right of this hand quickly. Grip-swing left across its extended index finger and climb up to the final screen.

The final screen's layout resembles a skull when viewed on the top-screen map, and going up against the female statue head at the top end of the screen shows a message that instructs you on what to do and in what order to progress past this area. To "bring fire to the deceased's eyes", go to the center left structure representing the left eye, Grow a vine, and cast Fireball on the black torch at the top. Then climb up the short wall ladder at the top right edge of the screen and follow the elevated route clockwise so that you can get onto the structure representing the right eye by Gripping a branch spire, and Fireball its torch. To "cleanse the forehead with a drop of water" next, slide down and cast Douse on the water bowl just below the statue head at the top. To "blow a cool breeze across the nose", climb the center structure to the elevated fan and cast Whirlwind on it, and the game indicates that an aroma now hangs in the air. Finally, to "walk the path described by the scent of mourning incense", cast Sveta's Track Psynergy and follow the aroma path relatively closely, going through the areas of the screen as directed. When you approach the stone statue head, it should lower down and reveal a stairwell to the Apollo Sanctum Gate.

Enemies
Enemy Formations
 * Group 1: Death Scuttler x1-2


 * Group 2: Fury Demon x1-2


 * Group 3: Death Scuttler x1-2, Fenrir x1


 * Group 4: Death Scuttler x1-2, Fury Demon x1


 * Group 5: Fenrir x1, Fury Demon x1

Items

 * Aeolian Cassock
 * Mythril Silver
 * Valkyrie Mail