Oh Spelunky, how you taunt me with promises of endless gold before throwing me into a pit of spikes, then rearranging everything House of Leaves style. Every time I try to conquer your caves, a new hurdle is thrown in my way that makes everything just plain hell. However, you keep it fair enough. If I’m diligent, I can come across one of the following items that will severely help my journey.

Here are the Top 5 Spelunky items:

5) Shotgun

A no brainer. I mean, shotguns are a staple of video game lore. They are worshipped as more than just a shell blasting metal tube, and more like God’s arm flowing down from heaven to smack the hell out of anything that stands in your way. This is also true of Spelunky. The shotgun is an insanely useful item. Boasting pretty much unlimited range (which is sort of an oddity in video game culture), the shotgun allows you to blast away most nasty enemies.

The trick behind mastering the shotgun is simply finding one. Shopkeepers wield these beasts in order to take you down when you try to steal that bomb bag because you just ran out. Luckily, they sometimes even sell shotguns (which you can steal, then destroy the shopkeeper if you are low on cash. You didn’t hear it from me.). If you are even luckier, you can obtain one from a crate, or by simply bombing the grave marked “Ash” on a Dead Are Restless event in the Jungle.

4) Ankh

I’m very seasoned when it comes to European culture, but I wonder if somewhere there is a requirement to include in Ankh in your dungeon crawler rogue-like. Just like the Binding of Isaac, the Ankh is also present in this XBLA gem. In fact, it even has the same effect.

The Ankh grants the user a second life. You will effectively respawn with 4 remaining hearts and limited resources. However, the catch is that this item is only collectable by accessing the Black Market level hidden in the Jungle. To access it, you must have the Udjat Eye from the mines. Oh, and it will also set you back 50,000 gold. Luckily, it does have some use, for example getting you to the elusive City of Gold level.

3) Sceptar

The mysterious golden sceptar is a powerful weapon indeed. It allows you to take control of those psychic impulses that cause you so much trouble. The psychic shots seek out and destroy enemies. In many ways, the Sceptar outclasses the Shotgun. The only catch, you have to kill a powerful Anubis enemy in the temple to acquire one of these bad boys.

Did I mention it also has to do with finding the city of gold?

2) Jetpack

What if you didn’t have to worry about fall damage, plummeting idiotically into unseen spikes, or evading ground-bound enemies? The jetpack allows you to do exactly that. This super versatile transportation item allows you to fly for short bursts to outmaneuver enemies and traps. The downside is that you have to have scored over 20,000 gold, or be an exceptionally good thief.

1) Kapala

An item that I didn’t discover until later, Kapala, the bloodthirsty goblet, is one of the best items in the game. If you take a lot of damage like me, Kapala could be exactly what you need to carry on. The item collects the blood from defeated enemies, and when it fills you gain an extra heart. Couple that with damsel collecting, and you have a run where health isn’t your main issue.

To acquire this item, you simply need to sacrifice two damsels at the alter. Simple enough, right?

What items allow you to conquer the caves of Spelunky? Leave a comment below.

Also, while you are at it, check out our review of this great XBLA game: http://gamingunwrapped.com/review-spelunky/