Full pause screen:
Pause game play, then press X + Y. 

Screen saver:
Leave the game idle for a long time and a screen saver will appear.

Hidden characters:
Unlocking the four hidden characters; Falconess, Minotaur, Tigress, Jackal, is a fairly
easy process. Just get to level 25 with each of the four original characters. Load your
level 25 character and start a new one through character management. Hold Turbo
and you will notice your character has turned into its counterpart. For example,
Barbarian becomes Minotaur and Wizard becomes Jackal. They can be selected with
any color. 

Hint: Using two-player bridges:
You can use the two-player bridges in single player mode in two ways:

Step on the switch, and if you are very lucky, you will make it. 

With an enemy on the other end of where the bridge would be, step on the
switch, lure it onto the bridge, then cross. 

Hint: Maximum levels:
Note: A controller with an auto-fire feature is useful for this trick. Begin game play in
the first level in the mountain world. Go to the second set of stairs. Stand in front of the
stairs and keep holding Fire. Unlimited green trolls will keep coming at you. Leave the
game in this position for as long as needed to maximize your levels.

Begin game play in the fourth mountain level, the volcanic cavern. This trick allows you
to gain up to three levels each time that you visit it, and works well when at a high level
that requires a lot of time to gain more levels. Open the first death treasure chest and
kill all the monsters up until the first switch for the rotating platform. Be sure not to step
on the switch. Return to the first chest containing the Anti-Death Halo. Kill the first
Death and if you are fast enough, get the other two Deaths in the stage. One is
located in the area with the three normal barrels, in the middle one. The other Death is
in a chest before it, but only at certain times depending on what time you open it. A lot
of money can also be accumulated, because of the number times used to visit the
stage to acquire the levels.

Hint: Fighting the dragon:
Every time the dragon shoots fire, run behind a rock. You will get the timing correct if
you practice. Soon you will know exactly when to run. When it shoots a fire ball (not a
fire flame or anything else) and if you have successfully got behind a rock, it will hit the
rock which will turn red. Do it again and the rock will break. One of the rocks has
3-way shot inside. Take it and fire the 3-way shot at the dragon to kill it quickly. 

Instead of allowing the dragon to destroy the rock, simply run behind the first middle
rock to get the 3-way shot. Keeping the rock intact makes it a good place for hiding to
avoid the shockwave created when dragon smacks the ground.