Siberia シベリア
The memorable "Big Run" section
Spinning Gear Room
Vital statistics
Stage	Stage 02: Running through Siberia
Location	Siberia
Sub-Boss(es)	Mecha Pon Solo
Boss(es)	Kuniang M.A. Team

Siberia (シベリア) is the second stage from the original Arcade game and all its ports. The stage's official name is Running through Siberia (シベリア走破) in Japanese^[1], and Siberian Wilderness in English^[2]. The intro text shown at the beginning of the stage is the Russian writing for Siberia (Сибирь).

Following the destruction of St. Petersburg and the elimination of its whole officer council, Hiryu leaves the city behind and heads to Siberia as it is said that one of Grandmaster Meio's secret bases is found there^[3]. Pursued by Meio's men, as well as bounty hunters and assassins, Hiryu runs into the Siberian tundra in order to shake his enemies off^[4]. In his travel, he comes into the mountain-side secret base, climbs to the top of the mountain and battles bounty hunter Solo.

Running down the side of the mountain, Hiryu reaches an abandoned power plant with electric generators and is faced with an entire air force, led by the trio of martial artists, the Kuniang. Ascending through the smaller Flying Tortoises, Hiryu reaches the main ship, the Sky Thunder Mk-II, and defeats the three sisters and the pilot, taking control of it just as the greater threat of the Flying Battleship Balrog makes its appearance.

LayoutEdit

Note: Area names are not official

Secret Base
One of Grandmaster Meio's secret bases^[3], built within a snowy mountain. Hiryu starts off in a short snowfield area, a small section with a single platform (containing an Item Box) where Siberian wolves attack relentless. At the end of the path is a metal portal which Hiryu must break down and quickly slide under before a new gate falls down from the ceiling. The entry hall is guarded by Mecha Pon, and beyond there's a long ascending shaft filled with small machines known as Wall Crawlers. The upper engine room has a few stairs and two spinning gears with platforms, some of which have spikes that damage upon contact. Some Russian Infantrymen appear around to attack. A small passage in the upper part leads into the mountain top.

Mountain-side Descend: The Big Run
One of the more iconic and memorable scenes in the game. After reaching the mountain's peak, Hiryu is confronted by Solo; and while one has the option to ignore him and proceed, he'll pursue Hiryu until either of them is killed. After the top, there's a very long descend on the mountain's other side, covered in mines. Hiryu runs through the minefield, outrunning the explosions and gaining acceleration, until he reaches the end and makes a jump over a long chasm to reach the other side.

Abandoned Power Plant
This section is a tall structure with several platforms said to be an abandoned power plant used as a takeoff platform^[3] (stated to be a loading dock in the English manual^[5]). Small generators are spread all over and shoot a lightning bolt at the four directions every few seconds, blacking out the whole area in the process. Hiryu has to face more wolves in its base, and the Frog robots throughout the structure. This area also holds the only 1UP item in the whole game.

Once at the top, Hiryu has to climb through several small flying airships while avoiding parachute bombs. Item Boxes are seen in some of these airships. Eventually, Hiryu reaches the Sky Thunder Mk-II and gets into a confrontation with the Kuniang trio. After defeating them, he destroys the cockpit's door and kills the pilot in order to take over the ship.

Stage EnemiesEdit

Enemies present in this stage include:

• Siberian Wolf
• Mecha Pon
• Wall Crawler
• Russian Infantryman
• Solo
• Frog
• Parachute Bomb
• Battery
• Kuniang M.A. Team

ReferencesEdit