RYUU GA GOTOKU KENZAN! F.A.Q. / Walkthrough by Patrick Coffman (ryled@yahoo.com) (hatoriki on PSN) Version 1.5 - Improved the "pleasure district girls" section. It's still going to be a bit annoying, but I feel that anyone who knows little or no Japanese can actually still pass these missions with the information provided. I've included a new approach to the "random conversation" moments that will hope- fully help people who can't read Japanese to find the appropriate responses. I also added the historical section and improved a few various odds and ends. 5/11/08 NOTE: This FAQ is based upon the Japanese version of the game and the trans- lations are the author's. They will be different from any official local- izations. Japanese text needed to make correct choices by import gamers cannot be displayed at GameFAQs. This version will, therefore, not include any Japanese text. NOTE (2): Sometimes I will call the main character "Musashi," and other times, I will call him "Kiryuu." I'm sorry for the confusion this creates! SPOILER WARNING!!!! If you don't want spoilers, well...this is the wrong place to check. Probably, the most spoiler-free place will be the "quick story walkthrough" part of this F.A.Q., but don't count on it! I'm sorry in advance. TABLE of CONTENTS: 1. INTRODUCTION 1a. How to Use This F.A.Q. 1b. A Word from the Author 1c. Mini-F.A.Q. 1d. How to Pronounce Japanese 2. The BASICS 2a. The Adventure 2a-I. Controls 2a-II. Display 2a-III. Start Menu Options 2a-IV. Building Up 2a-V. Story Progression 2b. Fighting 2b-I. Commands 2b-II. General Battle Advice 2b-III. Strategies for Enemies by Type 3. STORY WALKTHROUGH 3a. Prologue 3b. Chapter 1 3c. Chapter 2 3d. Chapter 3 3e. Chapter 4 3f. Chapter 5 3g. Chapter 6 3h. Chapter 7 3i. Chapter 8 3j. Chapter 9 3k. Chapter 10 3l. Chapter 11 3m. The Final Chapter 4. QUICK STORY WALKTHROUGH 5. APPENDICES 5a. Missions 5a-I. Favors 5a-II. Services 5a-III. Bounties 5b. Extra Skills & Power-Ups 5b-I. Revelations 5b-II. Gion Mute Doujou Training 5b-III. Zanki Doujou Training 5b-IV. Koetsu's Mansion Training 5b-V. Waterfall Training 5b-VI. Melon Cutting 5b-VII. Fighting the Man in the Tengu Mask 5b-VIII. Horseback Archery 5c. Houzouin Tournaments 5d. Romancing the Pleasure District Girls 5e. Skill Games & Gambling 5f. Storage Keys 5g. Maps 5h. Shops 5i. Items 5i-I. Weapons 5i-II. Armors 5i-III. Accessories 5i-IV. Healing Items 5i-V. Materials 5j. Main Characters List 5k. Completion Lists 6. EXTRAS 6a. Unlockables 6a-I. Unlockable Items 6a-II. Ultimate Fighting 6a-III. Galavanting in Kyoto 6b. The Hidden Boss 6c. Trivia 6d. Edo and Sengoku Period History 101 7. GLOSSARY 8. "THANK-YOU"'S ---------------- 1. INTRODUCTION ---------------- --------------------------- 1a. How to Use This F.A.Q. --------------------------- Navigating the F.A.Q. should be simple. Even notepad has the "Find" feature. I'd suggest using "Find" and typing in the exact text as it appears in the Table of Contents. For instance, if it says "8a-1. The Abyss," then typing in "8a-1. The Abyss" would get you there. Typing in "8a-1." would probably work, too. I know F.A.Q.'s can get rather lengthy.... --------------------------- 1b. A Word from the Author --------------------------- Well...time to dust myself off and get with this "next generation" of gaming. It actually made me a little angry to hear that Sega had announced a new Ryuu ga Gotoku game for the PS3. Why? Because...I didn't own a PS3 yet. *ahem* I'm a little cheap like that. But, I digress. Ryuu ga Gotoku has moved from the PS2. Those U.S. fans out there might have a little problem with this game because the first title was originally released as "Yakuza." Obviously, you don't play a yakuza this time around, per se; you play a ronin--that is, a member of a samurai household who was not currently in service to a lord. I do hope anyone who's played the other two games will have noticed that they weren't so much crime games, like GTA, where you played a Japanese crime boss; they were more like detective fiction games. This game is definitely in that same vein; you play a jaded vagabond who knows the world isn't as great as it appears on the surface trying to fulfill the desire to learn some deep, hidden secret. The same thing happens in this game, and I think you won't be disappointed if you like that sort of thing. You won't be disappointed if you like cinematic presentation, you won't be disappointed if you like great graphics, or great story. Most of all, though, the fighting has the Ryuu ga Gotoku 2 feel, but is improved (again). While it's still not the greatest system, it's very fun and showcases brutal attacks. So, here's my FAQ for this latest installment in this series. ---------------- 1c. Mini-F.A.Q. ---------------- Here, I'll post some common questions about the game. Forgive smarmy answers. OK; maybe, don't forgive them. It's your choice, I suppose. Have fun with that high blood pressure, though. Q: Ri-oo gookoo-koo-koo-koo, man--what's that?? A: First of all, games like this were designed with the Japanese market in mind. So, if it offends you that you can't say the title, I'm sorry. It's just that way sometimes. Such is the life for video game addicts. So, although X-Play will undoubtedly make fun of the name yet again, a Japanese title for a Japanese game makes sense. I only play the Japanese versions, so, a lot of the names and such will differ. As for the title, if you were curious, "Ryuu ga Gotoku" means "As A Dragon" or "Like A Dragon," or something like that, in an old-fashioned way. The subtitle, "Kenzan!" means something like "Behold!" or "(I Have) Appeared!" or "I Am Here!" ...something like that. It's an old expression, again, and exists pretty much solely as a stock phrase for samurai or ninja characters in modern-day pop culture. Q: So...are you Musashi?--as in, *the* Musashi? A: Yes; you do, indeed, play Miyamoto Musashi, a real, historical figure. Now, before you get all crazy making fun of Sony and crab bosses again, you should understand that just because this is based on an historical figure, that doesn't mean you should take this game as an account of the actual events that happened in that person's life. In fact, there's simply not enough documentation around, and we really don't know exactly what happened in the real Musashi's life. In other words, this is all gonna just be a story. I don't think we're supposed to think that Musashi is Kiryuu's ancestor, just as we're not supposed to think Haruka is the ancestor of the Haruka in the other games, Majima the ancestor of the Majima in the other games, Itou is Date's ancestor, or anything like that--so please, no long essays going over the specifics of why certain things are logically impossible, or anything like that. Think of this as a game where the actors playing those roles in the first couple of games were hired to play similar roles in a movie about the samurai days. In other words, don't think about stuff too much. Just enjoy it. You know, like a movie about time travel. Q: Um...why is Yakuza taking place in the 17the century? A: Becaue the series isn't "Yakuza." It's "Ryuu ga Gotoku," as I mentioned above, which means "like a dragon." Although you play an ex-yakuza in the first two games, and the plot seems to focus around secret crime syndicates in a modern Japan setting, this time, you don't, and it doesn't. This really does seem like a side game...although many things repeat from the previous series. The "zan" in "Kenzan!" (usually read "san") can be used to mean "three," so it's definitely a pun there. But will they come out with Ryuu ga Gotoku 4 after this, or will there be a game titled Ryuu ga Gotoku 3, or, like...what? Well...I guess only time will tell. Q: I hear samurai were all law-biding, good people, but ninja were treacherous assassins. So, which one are you? A: The samurai were actually a class of people in old Japan (until the mid-to- late 19th century). This was definitely a "clan" mentality; your caste was determined by birth. Actually, during those 250 years or so that the Tokugawa Shogunate was in place, there were very little military campaigns going on, and the "warrior" class consisted mainly of bureaucrats who managed the affairs of the various states, rather than warriors who went around, fiercely enforcing the law. As for ninja, I'm sorry to break everyone's heart out there who so wanted to hear explanations of the Koga and Iga valleys and how the clans used their magic and punished evil despots or whatever, but, the truth is that ninja did not exist--at least, not aything near the way you think of them. The truth is that "ninja" was just an older word that literally means "one who carries out clandestine things"--in other words, anyone doing covert operations could technically be called a "ninja." But, that's beside the point. The plain truth of the matter is that, although they appear in popular culture (that's the game you're playing), ninja didn't exist. There's much more information on Japanese history in my subsection of the "Extras" section. My point here is that the "traditional" view of old Japan is a little off in the West, and you'd probably just be best served by think- ing of this game as another "noir"-esque, detective fiction. Q: Are there unlockables? Extras? Hidden things? Hidden bosses? A: All the answers can be near the end of the FAQ in the "Extras" section. I don't want to put the answers too early on in the FAQ, because people may get mad that I spoiled it. Q: OK, so it's 1605. Is Kiryuu still a badass? A: Yeah--very much so. You still smash people over the head with things, you stab people a billion times or so, and you ram people's heads into objects over and over. If that were missing, this wouldn't be Ryuu ga Gotoku, now, would it? Q: How is this game compared to the rest of the series? A: It's got a much bigger setting and has tons of stuff to do, its graphics are great, and the fighting has been smoothed out some more. But, there are some things I really liked in Ryuu ga Gotoku 2 better. So, maybe, it's a little early to tell, but I think my favorite might still be #2. Having said that, this is an excellent game and everyone who has a PS3 should get it. I bought a PS3 just to play this game, actually.... Q: What are the good points of this game? A: This game has a great presentation, with a very good story acted by famous, talented performers, full of both good drama and a particular brand of humor I (usually) find pretty funny. It's also got various ways to slash people into a bajillion pieces (don't worry, squeemish types--nobody loses any limbs or anything, despite how brutal the attacks look). If you like Zelda-esque exploration or games with tons of stuff to do, there's those elements, too. In fact, there are lots of side games and items to find. If you like dungeon crawlers, where you just keep running around, fighting guys, trying to find items and such, well, that's in there, too. Those who played the second game know that there were completion lists offered in the start menu and that the game could be replayed over and over, so there was a lot of replay value to get 100% of everything. I know this is a spoiler, but, well, that's back again. One good change they've made this time is that the side quests will reappear in subsequent plays through--in the second title, you inherited the list from the previous play, so, you couldn't "right" any wrong choices. This way, if you play through the game again, you can redo things and hope to get "complete" in all of the side quests. Q: What are the bad points of this game? A: I'd have to start by mentioning that the fighting system, although it is fairly simple and vastly improved over the first game's, can still cause some irritation. This time, it's not so much the problems with the lock-on or with getting trapped rushing forward in one direction while enemies walk willy-nilly around you--no; this time, the frustration is simply in the attacks some characters have. Firstly, almost all characters have a quick hit that will cause Kiryuu to slowly collapse for a long time. This is inescap- able, and, although it almost never does a lot of damage, not usually even followed up by other enemy attacks, so it just seems to waste time while you pound on the buttons to make Kiryuu stand again. And, enemies seem to just wait around to hit you with this attack at the very instant you unleash a heavy hit on another enemy, thus leaving you with no defense against it. The other issue I had with the fighting was the sumo rikishi-type opponents, who could seemingly defy all the rules of the game and rush about, grabbing you lackadaisically, while being invulnerable to almost all attacks. Besides combat, there is an issue common to nearly all video games on the market these days: namely, overexpansion. Games these days have to have just tons and tons of stuff crammed into them so that you artificially are forced to take hundreds and hundreds of hours on each title. While it's good to have a game with hidden things or side quests to break up the action, I feel that today's trends in design sometimes make games more of a chore than something fun. For instance, Rogue Galaxy was a nice little title, but it seemed like after each ten hours of trying to do some menial, repetitive side task, some new element such as fish racing or bug raising would be introduced. This way, each town (planet in that title) took a long, long, long time to complete. There are definitely some things in this game that are like that. You will find yourself repeating some tasks over and over, and I think many players will be tempted to just go on with the main story. It turns out that that's definitely fine, because the game is never very difficult, even on the harder settings, but since almost no superfluous material is carried over from one play through to the next, you'll basically need to strive to complete every- thing all at once. Before, it was more cumulative, so, you could just keep playing through and focusing on specific instances each time. If you didn't get it, well, nevermind; you could just take care of other things left undone and get it the next time around. It doesn't work that way this time. Q: I don't like weapons brawlers--I like beatin' guys down. Would I still like this game? A: Well, I can't say who would and wouldn't like it, but, there's plenty of unarmed tecnhiques in the game, too. The fact is that even though you do mostly wield swords, you can use hand-to-hand combat most of the time, too. I think that the game feels more like the other, mostly hand-to-hand games, than weapons-based brawlers (i.e. Golden Axe, Crystal of Kings, Shin Sangoku Musou, etc). Q: I loved ________ in the last game. Is there a ________ this time? A: Probably. Even though the year has changed, pretty much all of the gameplay elements are back. Cabaret clubs have been replaced with ageya brothels, the fighting arena is now in a temple instead of underground in the River Styx area, there's still all sorts of weird things to buy around town and fill in completion lists, there are people who request your help for the side missions and such, etc., etc. You can even get mail the same as the cell phone; you get it delivered to you by pigeon. Q: Where are the stairs? Where can you jump off a high height? Where are the "bellows?" A: For those trying to complete the Heat Actions, let me just point out that everything will be explained in the completion lists section. The easiest spot to get the often-overlooked Heat Actions for pushing a guy down stairs or the one learned by watching the swallows fly around for single sword is at the Riverside Path. The other often-overlooked spot is the place where you can find bellows. There's a fight during the side mission "Riot at the Black- smith's" that takes place back in the actual forge. You'll see the pit of hot embers. Grab a guy and bring him by there, then hit Triangle in Heat Mode and voila! Q: OK, so...I got the last revelation from the bull, where he knocks the farmer up into the air. That one never works. Why? A: The instructions don't say so, but, it looks like you have to be drunk when you perform this Heat Action. I'm not sure if it has something to do with your Heat Gauge (since being drunk affects the gauge), but, you pretty much have to be drunk. Also, make sure you aren't locked on, because then you'll just do a different Heat Action. Q: OK, well, now I still have the revelation of the meditating monk (the one where I watched a dog sitting in a circle) to take care of. Why won't this work? A: This one's a little frustrating, as it's very picky and tends not to come out. It seems like you must be locked on to an enemy, even though the instructions don't mention that. The trouble is that you have to get a good distance away, and sometimes it just won't work because your Heat Gauge went down slightly in that time. All I can say is that you should remember to lock on and try it over and over. It'll eventually work. It's not even really worth it.... Q: OK, so...I got that special super move for completing all the Heat Actions. So...what's the deal? How do you dizzy people? A: This is very anti-climactic. The attack isn't anywhere near as useful as it was in Ryuu ga Gotoku 2. There are very few instances when a foe will be dizzy. One way to dizzy light and medium enemies is to do a charge attack (hold Triangle, release) with a bokutou-like weapon. Only some bokutou drop- ped by enemies or some of the swords you steal by doing the "Swordless Catch" super move have this effect. The sword you're looking for is the kind where when you attack, Kiryuu punches with the hilt rather than slashing (Tekken? Yoshimitsu? Wha--?). Even then, not all of the weapons of that type will dizzy opponents. Since this super move doesn't even show up on any list, it's just there for show, anyway. Q: I just cannot defeat that special, "secret-boss"-like opponent on Expert. What should I do? A: On Normal and Hard difficulties, you should learn to re-guard and to use the Tengu Ashi ("Tengu Step") moves to cancel attack strings. Bring lots of heal- ing items. Bring lots of Resurrection Amulets. But...going head-to-head with him on Expert is very, very tough. It can even be tough on the other difficulties if you aren't good at backstepping and keeping him at a certain range! So...if you just really need to defeat him, here's what I recommend: go through the game on Expert without fighting him. This will give you a rather powerful item that grants infinite super energy. With that equipped, you should be nigh invincible. Use the "Ascend- ing Fish" super move on him over and over. Q: Is this an accurate representation of life back then? A: Yeah. They had bowling in Japan at the time. Hang gliders, too--even baseball bats. The postal service was also extremely fast! No, it's not historically accurate, but...whatever. Just have fun! Q: What's with all the prostitution, man? Besides, they don't seem like pro- stitutes to me--they're just like cabaret club girls. Right? A: Well, yes and no. On one hand, you can claim that even cabaret clubs are a form of prostitution--it's all part of the sex industry, even if actual sexual intercourse is not involved. On the other hand, in those days in the pleasure districts like Gion in Kyoto, the ageya brothels did involve sleeping with the women--it's just a fact. From a world-conscious standpoint, this is part of the culture of the area and time. The women were not seen as dirty, horrible people, or put down so much as prostitutes have been in Western cultures--especially not as much as they are in America. Rather, they were seen as tragic figures who were doing what they could for their families, which was one of the noblest pursuits in Japan at that time. Most often, poorer families would have more daughters than they knew what to do with, since males inherited everything, and all they could hope for was that a nice man would come along and marry them. Many women were sold to brothels as a way to make money for their poor family rather than simply depend upon them. Also, consider the limited options the women of the time had--basically, they would need to marry into a nice house and take on the housework and home businesses such as home manufacturing or farming, or they could become a Buddhist nun or a prostitute. That's about all they could do for that period, which wasn't really so different from many other parts of the world. But still, it is a little difficult to get past. No matter how they trans- late this one, they're not going to be able to hide the fact that the women in this game live in the sex industry. It is a sad thing, and it was seen as a sad thing back then. But, this is the super-romanticized version of Edo Period history, after all, and probably, it's not really worth worrying so much about. In the game, after all, the women are shown as finding freedom through this industry. Q: I hate you and your blessed FAQ! A: OK! ------------------------------ 1d. How to Pronounce Japanese ------------------------------ I know many people take Japanese now, and are used to hearing it from their subtitled DVD's and such, but when I was growing up in America, there were many people who couldn't say anything right ever. "Ryuu" (the character from "Street Fighter") became "RYE-you," and his famous "Shouryuuken" move became all sorts of things--the "All You Can" is my favorite. Anyway, enough ranting. Japanese is a fairly monotone language filled with polysyllabic words. Here's how to pronounce the consonants: "k" = "k" as in "kite." The "k" sound is harshly aspirated in Japanese and sometimes sounds like a "t" to English speakers because of that. In other words, a strong puff of air comes from the lungs when saying this often. "g" = "g" as in "good." This is a voiced "k." Also, = "ng" as in "fang" when it comes in the middle of a word quite often, especially in the Tokyo area. "s" = "s" as in "lapse." The "s" in Japanese is a rather "hard" "s". It's actually with the tongue pressed up closer to the roof of the mouth than in English. = "sh" as in "shape." This occurs before the "i" and "y" sounds. TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "sh" IN THESE INSTANCES. "z" = "dz" as in "gadzooks!" The "d" is slight, so often it will sound just like an English "z;" a voiced "s." = "j" as in "jam." This occurs before the "i" and "y" sounds. TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "j" IN THESE INSTANCES. "t" = "t" as in "top." Actually, this "t" is not heavily aspirated, so it may sometimes sound like a "k" or a "d" to some English speakers. = "ch" as in "chopper." Again, not seriously aspirated, this appears only before the "i" and "y" sounds. TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "ch" IN THESE INSTANCES. = "ts" as in "lets" before a "u." TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "ts" IN THIS INSTANCE. "d" = "d" as in "don't." A voiced "t." "n" = ... This is difficult. There are two different sounds written "n" in Romanised Japanese. "n" at the beginning of a syllable = "n" as in "not." "n" by itself is its own syllable; no vowel is needed. This is a different "letter" in the Japanese writing system, and is similar to the French "n." In other words, the tongue doesn't touch the roof of the mouth and a nasal sound is produced. Before "p," "b," and "m," the lips close and this sound comes out like an "m." TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "n'" IF IT COMES BEFORE A VOWEL AND SHOULD BE PRONOUNCED AS THE "FRENCH 'N'." ALSO, I SHALL WRITE IT AS "m" BEFORE LABIAL SOUNDS. "h" = "h" as in "hat." This is actually a "hard h;" the tongue is, again, raised up agains the roof of the mouth (farther back than the "s") and the air almost hisses out. = "f" as in.... Well, our "f" is just an approximation. When the lips are pursed for "u," the air puffs out and sounds like an "f." The lip should not touch the teeth, generally. This occurs only before the "u" sound. TO AVOID CONFUSION I SHALL WRITE IT AS "f" IN THIS INSTANCE. "b" = "b" as in "boy." "p" = "p" as in "pad." "m" = "m" as in "map." "y" = "y" as in "you." Not that this comes right after other consonants frequently and should be pronounced the same but with the other consonant attached to its front; NOT AS ANOTHER SYLLABLE. For example, "kyuu" is not "KYE-you" or something like that; it's more like "Q" as in "the letter 'Q.'" "r" = ... Well, unfortunately, this one's a bit tricky. The tongue generally flaps against the raised ridge behind the front teeth on the roof of the mouth and sounds like the "tt" in "butter" in the middle of words, and comes fully in contact with them at the beginning of words to make more of a conventional "l" sound. "w" = "w" as in "wane." There are five vowels in Japanese writing: "a" = "a" as in "father." "i" = "ee" as in "feet." After a "voiceless" consonant (p, k, etc), the "i" sound is muted; almost whispered with no voice. To many, it sounds like it vanishes, but it doesn't completely. "u" = "oo" as in "loop." Just like "i," after voiceless consonants the "u" sound seems to vanish, but just gets quite muted and becomes almost voiceless. "e" = "ay" as in "say," sorta. It's kind of between there and the "e" in "bet." "o" = "oh" as in "oh, man!" Vowels are read each after the other (without the gutteral break in "uh-oh!"). This makes pseudo-diphthongs as such: "ai" = "ah + ee." Sounds similar to "eye." "au" = "ah + ooh." Sounds similar to "ow" as in "cow." "ae" = "ah + eh." No equivalent. "ao" = "ah + oh." No equivalent. Also, vowels can be lengthened. This means you say the vowel twice (again without a break); making it last longer. It doesn't mean there's some weird other sound (such as the difference between long and short vowels in English). Here is a list of the ways I will lengthen the vowels: "aa" or "a-" "ii" or "i-" "uu" or "u-" "ei" or "e-" or "ee" Note that "ei" is sometimes pronounced as two "e" sounds and sometimes as an "e" + "i." The difference is negligable and most Japanese people wouldn't distinguish it. "ou" or "o-" or "oh" or "oo" Again, "ou" is sometimes pronounced as two "o" sounds and someitmes as as "o" + "u." The difference, again, is negligable. The reason for "oo" to show up is because of the way the word would be written in Japanese script, usually using the word "big" ("ookii" or "ooi" [rare, but used as a prefix often].) In other words, it's not "GOW-key." It's not "GOO-key." It's "GO-key." (the "Street Fighter" character Gouki, that is.) Consonants can be lengthened, too. This makes it sound like the word has stopped and paused for a split second. Hold your mouth in the position of the consonant. Sometimes it makes it sound a bit more stressed; like the muscles were more tense than usual in the mouth. This takes a bit of practice sometimes. Most consonants can do this, and they will be written twice. Here is a listing of all the syllables that occur in modern Japanese: a ka sa ta na ha ma ya ra wa ga za da ba pa n(or "m") i ki shi chi ni hi mi ri gi ji ji bi pi u ku su tsu nu fu mu yu ru gu zu zu bu pu e ke se te ne he me re ge ze de be pe o ko so to no ho mo yo ro wo* go zo do bo po kya sha cha nya hya mya rya gya ja ja bya pya kyu shu chu nyu hyu myu ryu gyu ju ju byu pyu kyo sho cho nyo hyo myo ryo gyo jo jo byo pyo *--This is really pronounced the same as "o" except by some pre-WWII people. It's listed here because it's usually used as a "particle word." "Stressing" syllables should usually only occur with elongated vowels and syllables starting with a stopped (doubled) consonant. There are some words that have clear "stress," but many words have none at all. Lastly, note that I will use an apostrophe to separate sounds that I feel need to be separated so you can pronounce them correctly. This will probably only occur with "n" sounds in the middle of words (that's the nasal, solitary "n" that is its own syllable) and long vowel patterns. For example, "Ma'ou" should be pronounced "ma + oh (long)"--tho' I'll probably forget the apostrophe sometimes in this instance. "In'e" should be pronounced "i + n + e;" not "i + ne." -------------- 2. The BASICS -------------- ------------------ 2a. The Adventure ------------------ 2a-I. Controls --------------- D-Pad: In battles, press one of the four cardinal directions on the D-Pad to select your various weapons. You can equip three weapons to these slots from the "start button" menu. Hitting down will cause you to become unarmed, or to drop a weapon you've picked up off the ground when in hand-to-hand mode. Also used to navigate menus. Left Analog Stick: Moves Kiryuu around and moves the cursor in menus. Also, quickly move the stick back and forth to help Kiryuu stand faster when lying on the ground, or to make him recover more quickly from status ailments such as being made dizzy. Right Analog Stick: Moves the camera. You can't change the camera angle in enclosed spaces too much--they still haven't gotten the hang of transparen- cies, so the camera can't "move" through objects. You can't move the camera in certain other areas where it's fixed, such as near exits from areas. Start Button: Mainly used to pause the game and bring up the menu. Also brings the title screen when the attract movie is playing, starts the game from the title screen, and skips "cut scenes" (movies) if the correct option is set in the options menu. Select Button: Pauses the game and displays what chapter you're in and what your next objective is for the main story. You have two options on this menu. The right option is "cancel," but the left option is "to the Title Screen." After you select that, it will ask you to confirm. "Yes" is on the left, and "no" is on the right. Of course, you'll lose all unsaved data if you quit. Square: Mostly used to perform light attacks. Tapping this button quickly will also help Kiryuu recover from status ailments such as stuns and help him to stand more quickly. Triangle: Mostly used to perform heavy attacks. This is also the button that Heat Moves are assigned to. You will also be prompted to repeatedly tap it in certain events to escape holds and things like that, and you'll be prompted to press it to continue certain Heat Actions such as stomping on peoples' faces. Rapidly tapping this will help Kiryuu escape status ailments such as stuns and to stand more quickly. This button is also used for certain options in the menus, such as listing the places of interest on a map. Circle: Mostly used to attempt holds and throws, pick up and throw weapons, or kick when armed. On a Japanese PS3, this is the "confirm" button. On an American one, it's the "cancel" button. Similarly, this is the "examine" button on a Japanese PS3. Also, when held down while the R1 button is held down, you can rapidly skip all written dialogue (in the JP version; the U.S. PS3 needs the X held down)! X: Most often used to Sway or Roll, but you must also tap this button quickly to escape status ailments such as stuns, to help Kiryuu stand up when he's on the ground, or to escape throws. You can also use this to recover from being knocked in the air (the ukemi-like "Nekogaeri" move). On a Japanese PS3, this is the "cancel" button, but it's the "confirm" button on an American PS3. Similarly, this is the "examine" button on a U.S. PS3. It's also the button you hold down in the U.S. PS3 together with the R1 but- ton to skip written dialogue! L1: Press (and hold) to guard. Also, zooms out while viewing the map in the "Map" option from the Start Button Menu. L2: This "rights" the camera, setting it behind Kiryuu. Also used to "zoom in" when consulting the maps in the "start button" menu. L3 (press the left analog stick in): Toggles the on-screen mini-map between a wider view, a closer view, and no mini-map at all. R1: Hold down to "lock on" to the nearest enemy. Kiryuu can only sway to the side or backwards while locked on, and his moves set changes slightly. Also, zooms out on the map in the "Map" option in the pause menu. Also, you can hold this button and the Circle button down together to rapidly skip all written dialogue! R2: Taunt. This will build up your Heat Gauge slightly. This button will also "zoom in" when consulting maps in the "start button" menu. R3 (press the right analog stick in): "Rights" the camera, moving it behind Kiryuu. 2a-II. Display --------------- The orange, thicker bar on top is your health, and the lower, bluish-white bar is your Heat Gauge. The thinner atop the health gauge represents your ex- perience. The circle in the lower left-hand corner of your screen is the on- screen mini-map, upon which the blue dot is Kiryuu and the little, yellow dots are enemies. Glowing red dots and arrows pointing towards them at the edge of the circle are your destinations. Glowing green dots and their green arrows are destinations for sub-quests or optional events. 2a-III. Start Menu Options --------------------------- When you pause the game with the Start button, you'll get what I call the "Start Menu." It still displays your health, experience, and Heat gauges, as well as your current money, but it will also show you the map of the current area, your level and experience, and a hint as to where you should go to advance the main story. There are also ten options on the left side of the screen. Here are those options, from top to bottom: 1. Items Kiryuu can carry 15 items with him. Here, you can use them with the "confirm" button or drop them with the Triangle button. In addition, you can hit the R1 button to look at your "Important Items." These are story items, such as things required for side quests. You can view them with the "confirm" button (which will also display the text of books such as the ones needed to make different weapons), or return to the normal Items menu with the "cancel" or R1 buttons. 2. Equipment As you can see from the way they've displayed it on the right, the top four slots assign your weapons. You'll usually have two slots for the "dual wield" option (left on the D-Pad), one slot for the "miscellaneous" option (up on the D-Pad), and one slot for "single sword" option (right on the D-Pad). For more information, check the "combat" section. To the right of each weapon's name are their stats. First is Attack Power, then comes Sword Strength, then comes Speed. For more information, check the "combat" section. Below those lines is your unarmed attack, which only lists Attack Power. You can't select this line. Below that, there are three more slots. These are your defensive items. The first is your armor and the other two are for accessories. To the right of the item names are four statistics, which read (from top to bottom): Physical Attacks, Bladed Weapons, Bullets, and Fire. These obviously represent your defense against those different attacks. I should note that the above descriptions may make more sense outside of the Gion area. There are really two screens here--one for your equipment in Gion and one for your equipment wherever bladed weapons are allowed (pretty much everywhere else). Inside Gion, there are only a few weapons you can equip-- mostly, smoking pipes (kiseru). Since you don't have the option of dual- wielding, there will be one less slot in the weapons area. Defensive items are allowed, however. Press R1 to switch back and forth between the two equipment screens. 3. Map This will bring up the map of your current area. You can zoom in with the "confirm" button or L2 or R2, and zoom out with the "cancel" button or R1 or L1. You may want to use the R1/L1 method to zoom out, since hitting "cancel" will get you back to the Start Button menu, and you may want to zoom all the way out to the main map instead. Once you've zoomed in all the way, you can move the cursor around with the left analog stick. Passing over a street will tell you its name--and passing over a building you can enter will tell you its name, too. Once you've zoomed out all the way, you'll be on what looks like a painting of the entire area. You can select which map you'd like to look at with the D-Pad or left analog stick and the "confirm" button. Once you're looking at an area, you can also hit Triangle to bring up a list of the points of interest (such as shops). You can hit Triangle or the "cancel" button when in this list to exit, but if you just hit Start, you'll leave little arrows pointing at the shop you last highlighted. This way, you can find it a little more easily on your mini-map. 4. Check Abilities This option will tell you how strong you are. The left side of the screen will tell you your statistics. From top to bottom, it reads: level, total experience, experience needed to level up, maximum health, maximum fighting spirit (Heat Energy), your strength...and I'm afraid the final one is written in such small print that my poor eyes can't see the kanji. But, I think it's probably endurance? I don't have a high-definition TV. There are two main options here, below those statistics. The top one is "all of the Tiger Scroll," which basically will get you into a menu that will tell you about the various basics to the game. The bottom one will display the various skills you've been taught or learned through training. There are eight categories. From top to bottom, they read: Gion Mute-Style Techniques Learned, Zanki-Style Techniques Learned, fights with the man in the Tengu Mask, Scarecrow Formation Records, Jiraiya-Style Practice Records, Waterfall Training Records, Shugendo Training (Melon Cutting), and a Super Techniques List. 5. Letters Once you can receive letters, they will appear here, so you can check them later. Ones with the red mark on them have been read already. 6. Completion Lists These are lists in nine different categories. You can keep them as checklists so you can check how well you're doing. When you complete them, you just might get something good (hint, hint, without spoiling too much--check my "extras" section). I'll tell you what exactly is on each list in the appen- dices. 7. People This will give you a brief introduction for some of the key characters. 8. Memos This section tells you about most of the side quests you were working on. There are three options: Favors, Services, and Bounties. The actual Japanese word for the "favors" category is "requests," but, you are often not asked to do anything in these. Don't worry; you don't do much for free in this game. "Favors" are the "missions" of the previous games; people about town talk about things and you solve the problems. "Services" are jobs you undertake-- remember, Kiryuu is sort-of a "Jack-of-all-trades" and takes on odd jobs like collecting debts or being a bodyguard. These are tasks you'll get letters for. The actual words used in Japanese for "bounties" is "delivery orders," but it's not product you're delivering--it's people wanted by officials. I'll discuss this in the "Missions" appendix. Just so you know, there are 100 Favors, 20 Services, and 20 Bounties. This screen will also display what chapter you're in and point you towards your next story point. 9. Glossary If you're playing the Japanese version and you don't know any Japanese, this section really isn't going to help. I should note that even if you do know Japanese, you might not need this section, because archaic terms used in text will generally be highlighted, and you can hit Triangle while viewing that dialogue to have a box appear and explain the terms to you. 10. Settings There are seven different settings: Camera Control (Vertical) - Reverse, Normal ("Normal" is default), Camera Control (Horizontal) - Reverse, Normal ("Normal" is default), Mini-Map Display (Top of Mini-Map) - North, Forward ("North" is default), Subtitles - Off, On ("On" is default), Event Skip - Off, On ("Off" is default), Screen Brightness, and Font Settings - Auto, Mincho, and Gothic ("Auto" is default). Note that if you change the settings, the game will prompt you to save. This is only a system save--it does not save current game data. 2a-IV. Building Up ------------------- In previous titles, you assigned experience manually to build Kiryuu up in three different statistics, similar to an Onimusha title. This way, you could direct his development. However, in this game, you just level up, as in any RPG. When the bar at the top of the screen fills up, you'll gain a level. Text will appear on the screen to tell you what you gained. You can also check this out yourself from the Start Menu, bu choosing the fourth option from the top (Check Abilities). If you'd rather not rely on a vague bar, on the Start Menu, under the map on the right side, you can see your level and experience needed to level up. So, how do you build up? Well, go out there and fight guys! You'll see a lot of thugs and ruffians standing around, waiting to attack you. Fighting them will give you experience. Those who played the previous games will now probably notice that HEAT ACTIONS NO LONGER YIELD EXPERIENCE BONUSES. You are rewarded for the type of enemy you fought. Before, you could trap guys into getting hit with your super moves and get a little bit extra that way. Now, there is ONLY A BONUS FOR ON-SCREEN BUTTON PROMPT SEQUENCES (similar to Shenmue's Q.T.E.'s). Sorry to put that in all caps, but, it's pretty important. These on-screen button prompts can be from weapons lying around the stages that you pick up when in the "unarmed" style. When you use the heat action for rocks, for example, you break it over the guy's head, then you have to ram on the circle button until you run out of heat or he runs out of health. This will give you a bonus to your experience--but it only seems to do it once per battle. So, it's not really worth it to focus on Heat Actions--except for the heavy damage that they inflict. Now, to get your various attacks and skills and such, you'll need to learn pretty much all of them from specific occurrences in the game. Before, you could learn some from Komaki Soutarou. Well, he's back (as Komaki Souzaemon), but there are also a few other places to learn techniques, as well as techniques you learn from divine inspiration (Revelations). I'll detail all of that later, in the appendices. Just so you know, you now need to actually go out and learn the techniques; you don't get them through levelling up. That only seems to effect your statistics. Unfortunately, neither your skills nor your techniques will carry over in other plays through the game. So, you will always have the same set of tech- niques and skills and heat actions and such available at the various points of the game, pretty much. 2a-V. Story Progression ------------------------ As Musashi's story unfolds, you will often have to run from point a to point b and push things forward. However, you may be wise to notice that you do not have to run DIRECTLY to point b (most of the time). The glowing red dots on the map will show you your next story point (usually), but you're going to be thrust into a world that acts as sort-of the overworld map for RPG's. You'll want to explore everything you can and take care of the side stories that appear. By taking care of side stories, you will gain not only large experience bonuses, making you stronger for the next big fight just around the corner at the end of the chapter, but you'll also be able to get items and techniques you might normally overlook. In fact, you pretty much have to do side quests to get all of Kiryuu's techniques this time around. Pretty much every chapter starts with cinemas, leaves you on your own to wan- der about town in an investigations phase, and then goes back to cinemas and boss battles. So, taking care of whatever you want before fighting the next boss is advised. You can take care of side things later, but you don't really have control over one thing: the time of day. Certain events only happen at certain times of the day. You can change the time of day in the last chapter, but, you won't be able to go back into the Gion area, so if you want to leave everything until the end, bear in mind that you should finish up all the Gion events (including the items from the storage lockers) while you can in the storyline! This time, it's going to be difficult to get 100%. Most people will probably just race through the story after a while, since it's fairly easy to do so. It's up to you. You get some pretty cool items for doing 100% of the completion lists, which will be carried over into later plays, and there is a hidden boss who only appears if you do 100% of the side missions, so, you may want to try and check those out sometime. But, since completion lists don't carry over this time around, you'll pretty much have to do them all in one go, so, be care- ful! ------------- 2b. Fighting ------------- Fighting is still pretty much what the game's all about, even if they did include a large number of side games. Sorry to all you GTA fans; this still isn't a GTA game. It's a brawler, like Final Fight, Tenchi wo Kurau II, Spikeout!, Dynamite Deka, Double Dragon, or what have you. So, you should be familiar with the fighting system! 2b-I. Commands --------------- LEGEND (I don't think you can configure the controls, but just in case, I'll list the defaults) Square = Weak attack button. Triangle = Heavy attack button. X = Sway button. Circle = Grapple button. L1 = Guard button. R1 = Shift / Lock-On button. R2 = Taunt button. , = Then.... In other words, "Square, Triangle" means you hit square, and then after that, you hit triangle (you don't press them together) + = Together. In other words, "Towards + X" means you press towards the opponent and hit X; you don't a direction, let go of the stick, then hit the button. Hold = Keep the button held down for a duration of time. Hold long = Keep the button held down for a longer period of time than just "hold." Forward = Press the left analog stick in the direction Kiryuu faces. Back = Press the left analog stick away from the direction Kiryuu faces. Left = Press the left analog stick to the left from the way Kiryuu's facing. Right = Press the left analog stick to the right from the way Kiryuu's facing. (Back) = Press the left analog stick in a direction other than the one Kiryuu faces. (Free) = Don't forgot *not* to lock on; don't press R1. (Lock) = Must be "locked on"; while holding R1. (Behind) = When behind an enemy. Sidestep when they attack or while paralyzed. (Goku) = When prompted; while the "goku" kanji flashes. (Heat Move) = Move can only be done in Heat Mode. (Wall) = Near an environmental hazard such as a wall, bench, river, etc. (Down) = While Kiryuu's lying on the ground. (Falling) = While Kiryuu's flying through the air from being knocked down. Front = While the enemy is facing Kiryuu. Behind = While the enemy is facing away from Kiryuu. Light = Effects light enemies. Medium = Effects medium enemies. Heavy = Effects heavy enemies. Heat bonus = Increases your Heat Energy. High Heat bonus = Increases your Heat Energy noticeably. Heat cost = Costs Heat Energy. High Heat cost = Costs a large amount of Heat energy. Guard Break = Enemies who guard this move are temporarily stunned. Knockdown = Enemies who get hit by this will be floored. Dizzy = Makes enemy stand still a moment, seeing stars. Collapse = Enemy slowly collapses to the floor. Burn = Enemy becomes set on fire, taking extra damage. UNARMED STYLE ------------- Move: SINGLE-SWORD STYLE Command: Right on D-Pad outside Gion Move: GREATSWORD / KODACHI / MISCELLANEOUS STYLE Command: Up on D-Pad outside Gion Note that readying a greatsword weapon is an attack that hits nearby enemies. Move: DUAL-WIELD STYLE Command: Left on D-Pad outside Gion Move: READY GION WEAPON Command: Up or Left or Down on D-Pad inside Gion Obviously, which weapon you ready depends on which ones you have equipped for use in Gion. Move: TWIN JABS, UPPERCUT Commands: Square, Square, Square (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square Not too much to say here. Move: TENGU ASHI Commands: Square, X Square, Square, X Square, Square, Square, X (cancels last attack) (Free) (Back) + Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, X (cancels last attack) Heat cost. Directional input changes direction of sidestep. Acts as a sway. *Learn from sparring with the man in the tengu mask Move: STRAIGHT TOE KICK Command: Triangle Strikes through moves that evade Square attacks. Move: GION MUTE STYLE PURGATORY PALM (GION MUTERYUU RENGOKUSHOU) Command: Hold Triangle, release Hold until aura forms around Musashi. Light, Medium knockdown. High Heat gain. *Learn from Komaki Move: BACKSTEP Command: X Move: BACKFLIP Command: X (or any direction + X), X Move: SIDESTEP Command: Left or Right + X Move: SIDE ROLL Command: X (or any direction + X), Left or Right + X Move: FORWARD STEP Command: Forward + X Move: FORWARD ROLL Command: X (or any direction + X), Forward + X Move: PICK UP WEAPON Command: Circle near object with triangle marker -> "OTHER STYLES" section Move: GION MUTE STYLE BOWL SMASHER (GION MUTERYUU HACHI KUZUSHI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle near short elevation with enemy in front of you A good spot for this is at the Riverside Path, near the little tables for the tea houses. Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE HARQUEBUS MUFFLER (GION MUTERYUU HINAWAFUUJI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle near an enemy with a firearm Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn from Komaki Move: INFINITE HOPELESS WASTELAND (MUMYOU ARANO) (Heat Move) Command (Heat Mode) Triangle near an enemy who is dizzy Knocks down. Heat cost. "Mumyou" means "ignorance," in a religious sense; the ignorance of the fluid nature of the world and the impermanence of things. It is the basic, primary origin of suffering in the world. In a human life, it comes before birth; so, another name might be something like "The Big Sleep." *Learn by completing "Heat Actions" list Move: GION MUTE STYLE SWORDLESS CATCH (GION MUTERYUU MUTOU TORI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) (Lock) Triangle as sword-using enemy attacks Musashi Must be used against an opponent with a sword or a bokutou. Knocks down. Heat cost. Ends with Musashi holding the enemy's weapon. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE MUTE REVERSAL - GENBU (GION MUTERYUU MUTEGAESHI GENBU) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle as enemy attacks Musashi from the front Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE SWORDLESS SPINNING DEATH (GION MUTERYUU MUTOU TENSATSU) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle as enemy attacks Musashi from the front while health bar is flashing red Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE MUTE REVERSAL - SUZAKU (GION MUTERYUU MUTEGAESHI SUZAKU) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle as enemy attacks Musashi from the back Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE MUTE REVERSAL - SEIRYUU (GION MUTERYUU MUTEGAESHI SEIRYUU) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle as enemy attacks Musashi from the right side Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE MUTE REVERSAL - BYAKKO (GION MUTERYUU MUTEGAESHI BYAKKO) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle as enemy attacks Musashi from the left side Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn from Komaki Move: GRAPPLE Command: Circle Move: DRAG Command: Circle, (directional input) Move: IPPONZEOI Command: Circle, Circle Remember that directional input may be added. Tap circle to throw heavy foes. Move: ELBOW, STOMACH PUNCH, WILD HOOK Command: Circle, Square, Square, Square The first two hits leave the opponent grappled. The last hit knocks them down. Third hit has high Heat gain. Move: BACK KICK Command: Circle, (Back) + Triangle Light, Medium knockdown. Move: HEAVY SIDE KICK Command: Circle, Triangle Knocks opponent down. Heat gain. Move: BRAWLING SURE-KILL POWERFUL TECHNIQUE (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Circle, Triangle when "Goku" kanji flashes near certain spot in the environment such as walls or stairs Heat Action. See Completion Lists for the various actions that result. Move: STOMP Command: Triangle near downed foe Heat gain. Move: PURSUIT MASTERY (Heat Move) Command: Triangle near downed foe with "Goku" kanji flashing Heat Action. Two types--powerful face stomp for face-up foes, stomach kick for face-down foes. Move: GION MUTE STYLE BREAKING THROW (GION MUTERYUU TOKINAGE) Command: Circle repeatedly when grappled by opponent Knocks opponent down. High Heat gain. Move: GION MUTE STYLE CATFLIP (GION MUTERYUU NEKOZORI) Command: X when about to hit the ground when knocked down You can just tap X repeatedly when flying through the air to time this better. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE SURVIVING FIST IN DEATH (GION MUTERYUU SHICHUUKATSUKEN) Command: Triangle when about to hit the ground when knocked down You can just tap Triangle repeatedly when flying through the air to time this. Heat gain. Light, Medium dizzy. *Learn from Komaki Move: TAUNT Command: R2 Heat gain. Move: HEAT GAUGE CHARGE Command: Hold R2 down Gains heat as long as button is held down. *Learn from Waterfall Training SINGLE-SWORD STYLE ------------------ Move: GREATSWORD / KODACHI / MISCELLANEOUS STYLE Command: Up on D-Pad Note that readying a greatsword weapon is an attack that hits nearby enemies. Move: DUAL-WIELD STYLE Command: Left on D-Pad Move: UNARMED STYLE Command: Down on D-Pad Move: TRIPLE SLASH Commands: Square, Square, Square (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square Move: QUADRUPLE SLASH Commands: Square, Square, Square, Square (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Square *Learn from Scarecrow Formations Move: DASHING SLICE 1 Commands: Square, Triangle (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Triangle Hold Triangle on successful hit for Lingering Mind (Zanshin); charges Heat Gauge. Move: DASHING SLICE 2 Commands: Square, Square, Triangle (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Triangle Hold Triangle on successful hit for Lingering Mind (Zanshin); charges Heat Gauge. Light collapse. Move: DASHING SLICE 3 Commands: Square, Square, Square, Triangle (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle Hold Triangle on successful hit for Lingering Mind (Zanshin); charges Heat Gauge. Light, medium collapse. Move: DASHING SLICE 4 Commands: Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle Hold Triangle on successful hit for Lingering Mind (Zanshin); charges Heat Gauge. Light, medium collapse. *Learn from Scarecrow Formations Move: TENGU ASHI Commands: Square, X Square, Triangle, X Square, Square, X Square, Square, Triangle, X Square, Square, Square, X Square, Square, Square, Triangle, X Square, Square, Square, Square, X** Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle, X** (Free) (Back) + Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, X** Cancels final attack with Sway sidestep. Heat cost. *Learn from fighting the man in the Tengu mask **Once combo extension is learned from Scarecrow Formations Move: THRUST Command: Triangle Move: ONI-KILLING SWORD COMBINATION (ZANKIKEN) Command: Hold Triangle, release, Triangle, Triangle All three hits break guard and collapse. High Heat gain. *Learn from Zanki Dojo Move: ZANKI STYLE RUNNING SLICE (ZANKIRYUU SHISSOUZAN) Command: Running Triangle *Learn from Zanki Dojo Move: BACKSTEP Command: X Move: RETREATING HELM SPLITTER Command: X, Triangle *Learn from Scarecrow Formations (Sabakigiri) Move: BACKFLIP Command: X (or any direction + X), X Move: SIDESTEP Command: Left or Right + X Move: BACK-OF-THE-SWORD HIT Command: Left or Right + X, Triangle *Learn from Scarecrow Formations (Sabakigiri) Move: SIDE ROLL Command: X (or any direction + X), Left or Right + X Move: FORWARD STEP Command: Forward + X Move: HILT STRIKE Command: Forward + X, Triangle *Learn from Scarecrow Formations (Sabakigiri) Move: FORWARD ROLL Command: X (or any direction + X), Forward + X Move: SECRET SWORD - ASCENDING FISH (HIKEN - TENSHOUGYO) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) X (or any direction + X), Forward + X, Triangle Knocks down. Heat cost. Opponent must be facing Musashi. *Learn by Revelation Move: KICK Command: Circle Breaks armed opponents' guard. Move: STOMP Command: Triangle near downed foe Heat gain. Move: SWORD PURSUIT MASTERY (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle near downed foe Heat cost. Move: SECRET SWORD - SHADOW THRUST (HIKEN - KAGETSUKI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle with opponent on other side of paper door Knocks down. Heat cost. Move: SECRET SWORD - THE CAT LOOKING AWAY (HIKEN - YOSOMINEKO) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle when opponent attacks from behind Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn by Revelation Move: SECRET SWORD - DANCING SWALLOW (HIKEN - TSUBAME MAIZASHI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle when jumping from a high level to a foe on a lower level Knocks down. Heat cost. The easiest spots are at the Riverside Path and the action stage at the Kiyomizu Temple. *Learn by Revelation Move: SECRET SWORD - SOUNDLESS SNAKE (HIKEN - OTONASHI NO HEBI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle at a far distance from a dizzied opponent or an opponent getting up off the ground Kocks down. Heat cost. *Learn by Revelation Move: SECRET SWORD - DANCING SQUIRREL (HIKEN - MAINEZUMI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) (Lock) Triangle at a far distance Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn by Revelation Move: SECRET SWORD - WILD BULL (HIKEN - AREUSHI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle at a far distance, facing opponent, while drunk, with Heat Gauge filled to the max, then, when prompted, tap Square Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn by Revelation Move: SECRET POWERFUL SWORD - ONE WAVE (HIOUGIKEN - HITONAGARE) (Heat Move) Command: when a boss character's health is low enough, hit Triangle when prompted on the screen, first tapping R2 if necessary (follow on-screen prompts) Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn from Melon Cutting Move: SECRET POWERFUL SWORD - PULVERIZING THE DRIVE LEAF (HIOUGIKEN - KOUYOU MIJIN) (Heat Move) Command: when Inshun's health is low enough, hit Triangle when prompted on the screen, first tapping R2 if necessary (follow on-screen prompts) Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn from Melon Cutting Move: SECRET SWORD - ENSNARING KITE SLASHES (HIKEN - MAKI TONBIGIRI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle as sword-wielding opponent attacks from the front Knocks down. Heat mode. *Learn by Revelation Move: ZANKI STYLE PARRYING SLICE (ZANKIRYUU HIKIGIRI) Command: L1 as opponent's attack is about to strike Musashi, Triangle Light, mid knockdown. Heat gain. *Learn from Zanki Dojo Move: GION MUTE STYLE BREAKING THROW (GION MUTERYUU TOKINAGE) Command: Circle repeatedly when grappled Knocks opponent down. High heat gain. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE CATFLIP (GION MUTERYUU NEKOZORI) Command: X when about to hit the ground when knocked down You can just repeatedly press X to time this more easily. *Learn from Komaki DUAL-WIELD STYLE ---------------- Move: GREATSWORD / KODACHI / MISCELLANEOUS STYLE Command: Up on the D-Pad Note that readying a greatsword weapon is an attack that hits nearby enemies. Move: SINGLE-SWORD STYLE Command: Right on the D-Pad Move: UNARMED STYLE Command: Down on the D-Pad Move: TRIPLE SLASH Commands: Square, Square, Square (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square Move: QUADRUPLE SLASH Commands: Square, Square, Square, Square (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Square *Learn from Scarecrow Formations Move: QUINTUPLE SLASH Commands: Square, Square, Square, Square, Square (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, Square *Learn from Scarecrow Formations Move: WIDE HORIZONTAL SLASH Commands: Square, Triangle (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Triangle Hold Triangle on successful hit for Lingering Mind (Zanshin); charges Heat Gauge. Move: THRUST Commands: Square, Square, Triangle (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Triangle Hold Triangle on successful hit for Lingering Mind (Zanshin); charges Heat Gauge. Move: UPPERCUT SLASH Commands: Square, Square, Square, Triangle (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle Hold Triangle on successful hit for Lingering Mind (Zanshin); charges Heat Gauge. Move: TWIN THRUST TO BODY SLAM Commands: Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle Knocks down. *Learn from Scarecrow Formations Move: JUMPING OVERHEAD CHOP Commands: Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle Hold Triangle on successful hit for Lingering Mind (Zanshin); charges Heat Gauge. Mid, light collapse. *Learn from Scarecrow Formations Move: TENGU ASHI Commands: Square, X Square, Square, X Square, Square, Square, X Square, Square, Square, Square, X** Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, X** (Free) (Back) + Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, X** (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, X** Cancels last attack into Sway moves. *Learn from fighting the man in the Tengu mask. **Once combo extension is learned from the Scarecrow Formations. Move: TWIN OVERHEAD CROSSCHOP Command: Triangle Heat gain. Move: BACKSTEP Command: X Move: BACKFLIP Command: X (or any direction + X), X Move: SIDESTEP Command: Left or Right + X Move: SIDE ROLL Command: X (or any direction + X), Left or Right + X Move: TWO-SWORDS SIDE-ROLLING SLASH (NITOU SOKUTENZAN) Command: X (or any direction + X), Left or Right + X, Triangle Heat gain. *Learn from fighting the man in the Tengu mask Move: FORWARD STEP Command: Forward + X Move: FORWARD ROLL Command: X (or any direction + X), Forward + X Move: KICK Command: Circle Breaks armed opponents' guard. Move: STOMP Command: Triangle near downed foe Heat gain. Move: SWORD PURSUIT MASTERY (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle near downed foe Heat cost. Move: SURE-KILL SWORDS - OROCHI WHIRLPOOL (HISSATSUKEN - OROCHI UZU) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle very close to opponent Heat cost. Knocks down. *Learn by Revelation Move: SURE-KILL SWORDS - TRUE TWO-SWORDS DANCE (HISSATSUKEN - SHIN NITOU NO MAI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) With one opponent at your side and one in front, or with one opponent at the left and one to the right, hit Triangle Heat cost. Knocks down. *Learn by Revelation Move: SURE-KILL SWORDS - HEROIC TWO (HISSATSUKEN - GOUSOU) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle with opponent's back against a wall Heat cost. Knocks down. *Learn by Revelation Move: SURE-KILL SWORDS - ENMYOU (HISSATSUKEN ENMYOU) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) (Lock) with Heat Gauge filled to the max, from a distance, hit Triangle, then, when prompted, X, Square, Triangle, Circle, X Heat cost. Knocks down. *Learn by Revelation Move: SURE-KILL SWORDS - DANCING CAT (HISSATSUKEN ODORINEKO) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) while running, with opponent in front of Musashi, Triangle Heat cost. Knocks down. *Learn by Revelation. Move: SECRET POWERFUL SWORD - TWO HEAVENS (HIOUGIKEN - NITEN) Command: when a boss character's health is low enough, follow on-screen prompts and hit Triangle, first tapping R2 if necessary *Learn from Melon Cutting Move: SECRET POWERFUL SWORD - SNARE BREAKING SLASH (HIOUGIKEN - BAKUKAIZAN) (Heat Move) Command: when Shishido Baiken/Majima's health is low enough, follow on-screen prompts and hit Triangle, first tapping R2 if necessary Heat cost. Knocks down. *Learn from Melon Cutting Move: SECRET POWERFUL SWORD - SWALLOW DROP (HIOUGIKEN - TSUBAME OTOSHI) (Heat Move) Command: when Sasaki Kojiro/Munenori's health is low enough, follow on-screen prompts and hit Triangle, first tapping R2 if necessary *Learn from Melon Cutting Move: TWO-SWORDS YIN AND YANG SLASH (NITOU ONMYOUZAN) Command: L1 when opponent's attack is about to hit, Triangle Heat gain. *Learn by fighting the man in the Tengu mask Move: TWO-SWORDS INSTANT SLASH (NITOU SHUNZAN) Command: (Lock) Triangle when opponent's attack is about to hit Heat gain. Light, medium collapse. *Learn by fighting the man in the Tengu mask Move: SURE-KILL SWORDS - TATAMI FLIP (HISSATSUKEN - TATAMIGAESHI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle when opponent's attack is about to hit Musashi, while Musashi stands on tatami (straw mats) Heat cost. Knocks down. The easiest time to do this is in the room where you fight the armored warrior in the Tsuruya. Move: GION MUTE STYLE BREAKING THROW (GION MUTERYUU TOKINAGE) Command: Tap Circle when grappled Knocks down. Heat gain. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE CATFLIP (GION MUTERYUU NEKOZORI) Command: X when about to hit the ground when knocked down You can just tap X repeatedly when flying through the air to time this better. *Learn from Komaki GREATSWORD STYLE ---------------- Move: DUAL-WIELD STYLE Command: Left on the D-Pad Note that stowing the greatsword weapon is an attack that hits nearby enemies. Move: SINGLE-SWORD STYLE Command: Down on the D-Pad Note that stowing the greatsword weapon is an attack that hits nearby enemies. Move: UNARMED STYLE Command: Right on the D-Pad Note that stowing the greatsword weapon is an attack that hits nearby enemies. Move: DUAL HORIZONTAL SWINGS, OVERHEAD POUND Commands: Square, Square, Square (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square Move: TENGU ASHI Commands: Square, X Square, Square, X Square, Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, X (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square, X Cancels final attack into a Sway. *Learn from fighting the man in the Tengu mask Move: OVERHEAD POUND Command: Triangle Heat gain. Light, mid knockdown. Move: GREATSWORD TECHNIQUE MOWING SLICE (NAGIGIRI) Command: Hold Triangle, release Hold until blue aura forms around Musashi. Knocks down. Heat gain. *Learn from Scarecrow Formations Move: BACKSTEP Command: X Move: SIDESTEP Command: Left or Right + X Move: FORWARD STEP Command: Forward + X Move: KICK Command: Circle Breaks armed opponents' guard. Move: STRONG SWORD - FINE SPINNING MACHINE (GOUKEN - KIKOU MAWASHI) Command: with Heat Gauge at max, Triangle near foe Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn by Revelation Move: STRONG SWORD - MAKING FLIES CRY (GOUKEN - HAE NAKASE) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle with opponent's back against a wall Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn by Revelation Move: SECRET POWERFUL SWORD - POWERFUL SEVERING (HIOUGIKEN - GOUDAN) Command: when a boss character's energy is low enough, follow the on-screen prompts and hit Triangle, first tapping R2 if necessary Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn from Melon Cutting Move: STOMP Command: Triangle near downed foe Heat gain. Move: GREATSWORD PURSUIT MASTERY (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle near downed foe Heat cost. Move: STRONG SWORD - MONKEY FLIP (GOUKEN - SARUGAESHI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle when sword-wielding enemy attacks from the front Heat cost. Knocks down. *Learn by Revelation Move: GION MUTE STYLE BREAKING THROW (GION MUTERYUU TOKINAGE) Command: Tap Circle when grappled Knocks down. Heat gain. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE CATFLIP (GION MUTERYUU NEKOZORI) Command: X when about to land when knocked down You can just tap X when in the air to time this better. *Learn from Komaki KODACHI STYLE ------------- Move: DUAL-WIELD STYLE Command: Left on the D-Pad Move: SINGLE-SWORD STYLE Command: Down on the D-Pad Move: UNARMED STYLE Command: Right on the D-Pad Move: TRIPLE SLASH Commands: Square, Square, Square (Free) (Back) + Square, Square, Square, Square Move: THRUST Command: Triangle Heat gain. Move: BACKSTEP Command: X Move: BACKFLIP Command: X (or any direction + X), X Move: SIDESTEP Command: Left or Right + X Move: SIDE ROLL Command: X (or any direction + X), Left or Right + X Move: FORWARD STEP Command: Forward + X Move: FORWARD ROLL Command: X (or any direction + X), Forward + X Move: KICK Command: Circle Breaks armed opponents' guard. Move: STOMP Command: Triangle near downed foe Heat gain. Move: COMBINED KODACHI - ILLUSORY WOLF (KUMIKODACHI - GENROU) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle while 4 or more opponents are in front of Musashi, then Square, Triangle, Square Knocks down. Heat cost. Hits 4 opponents. *Learn by Revelation Move: COMBINED KODACHI - TOMOE CATCH (KUMIKODACHI - TOMOEGARI) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) against a guarding foe, hit Triangle Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn by Revelation Move: KODACHI RUNNING THRUST (KODACHI HASHIRITSUKI) Command: Triangle when running Heat gain. *Learn from Scarecrow Formations Move: COMBINED KODACHI - TWIN BONES (KUMIKODACHI - SOUKOTSU) (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) as sword-wielding opponent attacks from the front, Triangle Knocks down. Heat cost. *Learn by Revelation Move: GION MUTE STYLE BREAKING THROW (GION MUTERYUU TOKINAGE) Command: tap Circle when grappled Heat gain. Knocks down. *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE CATFLIP (GION MUTERYUU NEKOZORI) Command: X when about to land when knocked down You can tap X repeatedly when in the air to time this better. *Learn from Komaki MISCELLANEOUS (OTHER STYLES) ---------------------------- You can assign miscellaneous weapons to the "Up" slot for fights outside Gion and to the "Left," "Up," and "Right" slots for fights inside Gion. You can also pick up items found about the battle stages and in random fights in most areas when you're in the "Unarmed" style. There are ten different types of miscellaneous weapon. All of them have these moves in common: Move: MISCELLANEOUS WEAPON WEAK ATTACK STRING Commands: Square, Square, Square or Square, Square, Square, Square, Square (depending on the weapon) Move: MISCELLANEOUS WEAPON HEAVY ATTACK Command: Triangle Move: MISCELLANEOUS WEAPON KNOCKDOWN ATTACK Command: Hold Triangle, release Move: STOMP Command: Triangle near downed foe Heat gain. Move: PURSUIT MASTERY (Heat Move) Command: (Heat Mode) Triangle near downed foe Heat cost. Move: GION MUTE STYLE CATFLIP (GION MUTERYUU NEKOZORI) Commands: X when about to land when knocked down *Learn from Komaki Move: GION MUTE STYLE BREAKING THROW (GION MUTERYUU TOKINAGE) Commands: tap Circle when grappled Knocks down, Heat gain. *Learn from Komaki Depending on whether they were equipped weapons or weapons you found lying about in a stage, they react differently to how you hit the Circle button or to what happens to them when you hit the D-Pad. Here's what happens with EQUIPPABLE WEAPONS: Move: SWITCH TO ASSIGNED STYLE Commands: Left, Right, Up, or Down on the D-Pad Move: KICK Command: Circle Breaks armed enemy's guards. Here's what happens with NON-RETAINABLE, STAGE-ONLY WEAPONS: Move: SWITCH TO ASSIGNED STYLE, DROP WEAPON Commands: Left, Right, Up, or Down on the D-Pad Move: THROW WEAPON Command: Circle MOST weapons also have a Heat Action when standing close to the opponent with the weapon in hand, in Heat Mode, using simply Triangle. They also usually allow for Swaying, but, the heavier ones don't. Here is a list of the weapon types, what Circle does (i.e. if they're an equippable weapon or not), and how to perform their Heat Actions: JUTTE TYPE Circle: Kick (Heat Mode) Triangle when facing a sword-wielding opponent UMBRELLA TYPE Circle: Kick (Heat Mode) Triangle when a sword-wielding opponent attacks KISERU TYPE Circle: Kick (Heat Mode) Triangle near opponent SMALL WEAPON TYPE (i.e. small pots) Circle: Throw (Heat Mode) Triangle near opponent, repeatedly tap Circle BOKUTOU TYPE Circle: Kick (Heat Mode) Triangle near opponent, repeatedly tap Circle MEDIUM TYPE (i.e. rocks, pots held with two hands) Circle: Throw (Heat Mode) Triangle near opponent, repeatedly tap Circle BOX TYPE Circle: Throw (Heat Mode) Triangle near opponent, repeatedly tap Square, repeatedly tap Square, repeatedly tap Square, repeatedly tap X, repeatedly tap X, repeatedly tap X LONG TYPE (i.e. long tree branches) Circle: Throw (Heat Mode) Triangle near opponent SPEAR TYPE Circle: Throw (Heat Mode) Triangle near opponent HEAVY TYPE (i.e. logs) Circle: Throw (Heat Mode) Triangle near opponent The only other advice I can give you here is to watch the "use" number for the weapons you find lying about the stages. You can only hit people with them (even if they block the hit) a certain number of times. Once you've run out, the weapon will break. 2b-II. General Battle Advice ----------------------------- Slash, slash, slash, Triangle (hold). Slash, slash, slash, Triangle (hold). This is going to be what you're doing about 80% of the time you're fighting. You'll go through your strings either with the single-sword style or with the dual-wield style and look to land heavy attacks when possible, while moving around so as not to be surrounded, including swaying and rolling to get away or to get around enemies. You should learn the swaying, rolling, lock-on, and guard systems and become familiar with when to use them. Dodging is pretty essential, but, I do want to caution that all the "flips around and avoids your attacks" types of enemies are rather easily defeated just by continuing your strings, pressing towards them and following them around. Dual wielding can make Kiryuu guard from all angles, which is nice. It's also got the most varied heavy attack system; similar to the "Musou" / "Warriors" serieses, where you are in your weak attack string determines which heavy attack will come out. The single-sword style actually has slightly different proper- ties for its heavy attack during strings, but, they aren't as pronounced as in the dual-wield style. As soon as you can, you'll want to do the Scarecrow Formations in Kouetsu's mansion, so that you can build this attack string up and get the heavy attack that allows you to throw opponents down, as knocking people down is still key in this series. Single-sword style is, in my opinion, the best. You can use the heavy attack during a string to (usually) get pretty far away from enemies or to fly towards them quickly if they're being pains in the butt. Once you learn the Secret Sword: Ascending Fish technique (from the Revelation in the Riverside Path, after talking to Shichigorou at the Inari Shrine in Gion), that's probably your best Heat Action. It's very easy to land and it does decent damage. Sure, you can't guard in every direction, like you can with two swords, but, it's not that hard to roll away from clusters of foes, so you probably won't get hit too much, anyway. The greatsword style may seem like the worst, and I don't use it too much, to be honest. Having said that, it does have its place. When there are armored foes or those who guard a lot, swinging your huge chunk of iron around will usually do the trick. You can also guard bullets, but, why? There's almost no- one shooting at you until the very end of the game, and even then, you can just sway and roll to get away from the shots pretty easily. What's bad about this weapon is that it's slow (of course). You swing slowly, which is bad, but you also can't run while holding it (grr). This is why, when you need to break objects in the background, I just run up to them with some other weapon equipped and then quickly switch to the heavy weapon, then back. I should note that you can't roll while in this style...only sway (grr again). But, it's great at building Heat and has some pretty good Heat Actions. As for unarmed, I do use it often--probably more often than the single sword, actually. Why? Because you can throw guys. If a cluster of guys runs up to you, you can grab one, press towards the crew, and throw him over to them, which will either knock the group down or make them stagger long enough to get away. Stomp on the grounded foe, and you'll pretty much be invulnerable until they get up. If there aren't a lot of guys around, grab one guy and hit square three times to really build up your Heat Meter. Grab the stuff that's lying around--using weapons found lying around in stages might prompt you to hit buttons for their heat actions, which appears the be the only way to get exper- ience bonuses during fights. Throw, stomp, throw, stomp...this probably sounds familiar to those who played the other games, but, it's still wonderfully ef- fective. The bad side of being unarmed? Well...first of all, you don't do much damage. Once you build a weapon up and get it to around 100, you'll see that it takes much longer to beat some guy up than it does to cut him down. Also, you should know that you can't guard against a sword while unarmed (gee). Other than that, the best advice I can give you is that when you use pursuits (either the Heat Actions or normal pursuit moves), opponents will be forced to stand. This may sound like a useless revelation, but it means that you can trap many opponents into patterns this way, in which they will have almost no way to defend themselves. That's why I use unarmed a lot; you can throw someone down, stomp on him, grab him, throw him down, stomp on him, etc, etc, etc. Only the greatsword style seems to have no normal pursuit and isn't very good for this. 2b-III. Strategies for Enemies by Type --------------------------------------- Although there are many unique enemies and unique encounters in which you will need to use specific strategies (such as the fights against Majima--again), you will usually encounter one of six enemy groups. All of them seem to be able to use some quick attack to hit you right when you can't defend and make you col- lapse for what seems to be an eternity (especially since the A.I. is so bad that you won't even get hit with follow-up attacks). But, don't worry about that too much. Just make sure you don't get surrounded too much. Here are some of the types of generic enemy: 1. Generic Sword Guy. There are really two types of this guy--guys who hold their swords at their sides and guys who hold their swords up above their heads. Neither one poses a great threat. This is your typical swordsman, and shouldn't really be feared. Just watch for their attacks where they suddenly run at you and then chop. Just like in previous titles, these attacks seem to magically avoid everything and follow you, always right at your back. So, you'll want to let them come close and start to swing, *then* sidestep, otherwise, you'll roll out of the way too early and they'll just follow you. You do, of course, have the safety net of the roll after swaying, though, which can be delayed a little. 2. Judo Guy. Oh no, it's a judo guy! Too bad this isn't UFC; it's a game where you got swords. This guy likes to close in and suddenly grab you, so be ready with the X button (or Circle once you learn the technique to re- verse grabs). I say "judo guy," but I should just say "unarmed guy," be- cause you can use pretty much the same strategy for all unarmed ruffians except rikishi. They seem to all use strikes that will break your guard or knock you down, and a three-hit combo that looks like exactly like the ones used by the brawlers in the previous titles. Just bear in mind that the heavy kicks can break your guard. 3. Rikishi. I hate these guys. With a passion. For those who don't know, a rikishi is a sumo wrestler. You'll see them stomp their foot into the ground in a dohyouiri stance (for those who know what that is) and stand really squat and close to the ground. This enemy seems to defy almost all the rules of the game. They have a quick strike/grapple uwatenage move that cannot be broken and seems un- blockable. Even if you're trying to roll away from them, they'll grab you and throw you down. Their attacks seem to duck under your sword slashes. Since they can duck under your slashes and throw you at will if you're in range, it's a tough row to hoe with this guys. They're not so bad, really, if you can lock onto them and shift, and then sway right as they attack. This way, you can actually avoid even the aforementioned grapple--it seems to be that if you try to sway and *then* they grab, it'll hit you. Plus, single-swaying to the side will grant you access to their back and you can mess them up. What's wrong with that? Well, normally, you're mobbed by a whole mess of guys. It's very hard to single out the rikishi and then sidestep away when you've got a whole bunch of other guys running over to beat you up at the same time. Oh yeah; guess what else? You can't throw 'em. Don't even bother trying. They break your grapple the instant it lands. They're kinda rough in a group, but, if you're fighting them one-on-one (say, at the Houzouin), here's a little hint: learn the Tokinage from Komaki. Then, turn your back on the guy. I know--it sounds weird. But, this usually works. Stand at a certain distance and make sure to simply walk or sway away from their headbutts. They can slap you; all it will do is dizzy you so they can run up. What you're going for here is for the guy to attempt a throw from behind. From the front, you'll just automatically be thrown without any chance to escape. But, from the back, you actually can break their throw with X--or use Circle to throw them instead, once you've learned the Tokinage. This move also gives you a pretty good Heat Bonus, so, you can use Heat Moves on them more easily after doing it (I'd recommend stomping on them). One last piece of advice on these guys is that heavy attacks seem to work. Remember, their attacks will go under most of your weak slashes, but, you can hit triangle and make 'em suffer. A good strategy is to stay far away with the single-sword style, hit your weak attack button twice, and then rocket into 'em with heavy attack and make 'em fall down. 4. Ninja. That's right, folks--NINJA (omg hide the good stuff; the ninja are coming). This is another catch-all name; they can be any sort of flipping- prone, Sir Avoidsalot types. They roll and flip as you attack, throw darts, toss down bombs and smoke bombs, and are general pains. But, they're not really so bad. If you're unarmed, you can close in on them and grab them (shifting to avoid darts), but if you have the single-sword style, you can just be slow with your strings and follow them around as they flip about. You'll catch them as they land eventually, or just corner 'em and they'll have nowhere to go. 5. Bow/Gun Guys. This guy used to be obnoxious in the previous titles, but, he doesn't show up too much anymore. The only thing to be aware of here are that they will run away from you like mad so you'll want to grab them or hit them with a knockdown (single-sword square x 2~4, triangle, for instance or unarmed grapples), stomp on 'em, then knock 'em down again. You should also take 'em out first. That's because if you're in a crowd of melee guys, they'll keep interrupting you as you try to move and you'll be knocked about for a while. Usually, they stay on the edge of the action, so, it's pretty easy to break away from the group and get to 'em. 6. Heavy Arms Guys. These are actually fairly rare, and usually just like bosses or people in the arena, but I thought I'd list them in the enemy types just so that you know what to do. They absorb most hits, continuing with their attacks even if you're hitting them. So, a good strategy is to sway around 'em, guard (because the wind-up of their attacks will hit you behind them), and then beat 'em up while their slow attack comes out. Another strategy? Use *your* heavy arms. Towards the end, this type of enemy will appear with armor on, which will need to be broken before you can continue anyway. Just a few hits from a huge chunk of iron will do what would take maybe 15 hits or so with a single sword. After that's busted, these guys will stagger around after getting pummeled with your greatsword, so...use it on 'em. --------------------- 3. STORY WALKTHROUGH --------------------- ------------- 3a. Prologue ------------- The Dragon of Gion (Gion no Ryuu) Missions available: None Storage Keys: I-1 It's the Sengoku, baby. Time to throw on your armor and get your warring states on. The introduction scenes show men marching into battle at the final struggle in the Warring States Period, the Battle at Sekigahara, also called "The Realm Divide." It's called that because it is mainly from this battle where Tokugawa Ieyasu claims authority as the great kubou (or "shogun") of Japan. The Warring States Period is ending, and giving way to the peaceful, orderly Tokugawa Period (also called the "Edo Period"), in which different warlords would stay pretty much in power of pretty much the same areas for about 250 years or so. Then, we are treated to a little sweeping crane through the bustling pleasure district of Gion in Kyoto--the capital city. It's really the capital only in name. This is where the Emperor has his palace, but, you'll never even see him or the aristocratic nobility in this game at all. Why? Because in those days, it was the kubou, or shogun, who ruled; the military caste was in power and it was those people who were prominent figures. These women are being sold to the ageya brothels to become yuujo (pleasure district sex workers). This man sleeping is the main character of the game. Suddenly, we see a beautiful pleasure-district girl walking in a supposedly- elegant fashion (it's a little weird, actually). That's Yoshino, the head girl of the Tsuruya brothel. In order to win the war of the various brothels...they parade their beautiful Yoshino around in front of everyone so that the women who are being sold will want to become as beautiful as her. So, they sell them- selves cheaply to the okami (the boss of the brothel) of Tsuruya. Kiryuu, the main character of this game, is suddenly visited by this girl. She said she was taking a walk for the first time in a long while, and thought she should pay him a visit. But, Kiryuu tells her not to give them such empty dreams. She tells him, "What kind of thing is that for you to say--someone who only has a job because of us." The, she tells him that he was just some wishy-washy, naive samurai when he first showed up (meaning that she tricked him into being there). Before she leaves, though, he finds it in himself to hit on her. This next visitor is his friend, Itou. As he works for the Tsuruya, the most powerful ageya (a type of brothel in which you can meet exquisite girls and be entertained by them for dinner or "afterwards"), he is Kiryuu's senior. It seems like Itou often comes to the "Tatsuya," or "Dragon Shop," Kiryuu's little spot under the sun, and hires him for the Tsuruya. Itou offers him a job. It seems there are many places that owe the Tsuruya money. This is probably because the Tsuruya, being the most profitable venture in the area, is responsible for all the land there, and people pay them rent or some other such fee to open businesses. You have a choice: money, or a girl from the ageya? Well, no matter; it turns out that no matter which way you answer, the same thing will happen--you work for free, apparently. Kiryuu will accept the job, which entails going to three shops and asking the shopkeepers to give you money. The three shops are: Arigataya Market, Ebisuya Pawnshop, and Tenguya Pharmacy. You are now in control of Kiryuu Kazumanosuke, a kakemawari of the Gion dis- trict. "Kakemawari" means "affixing around" quite literally, and means a sort of odd job such as being a bodyguard, small investigations, collections--this sort of thing. It also refers to the person who undertakes these tasks, and I will usually say something like "jack-of-all-trades." This is because Kiryuu has said that he will do any task for anyone, so long as they have the money. Before you can even get to these shops, Kiryuu will be accosted by some guy who wants to give you information on Gion. I have no idea how a guy could be standing right next to a shop and have the owner walk out and then suddenly think he was new to the area and needed directions. Anyway, you actually have to hear what he has to say. Choose each option and then the final option should be not to ask him about anything. You're in tutorial mode, if you haven't realized it. This first little quest of yours is actually to teach you how to get around town, look at your map, and even brawl a little. So, it will force you to look at your map. The glowing red dots are "go here" points. Seems easy enough. The last thing of the map tutorial is pretty important: you can go to the "main map" by hitting either "L" shoulder button. This is the "overworld map," and you can use it to check out the various areas that are available to you. Why is that so important? Because if you go into the map from the start but- ton menu, and you want to scroll back to that map, but use the "cancel" button, you will just exit the menu (boo bad programming). When you're ready, go to the three shops. You can choose to go to them in any order, but I'll list them in order of the least complicated task to the most complicated. At Arigataya, simply talk to the owner, and you'll get the money he owes the Tsuruya. At the Ebisuya Pawnshop, talk to the owner. He'll tell you that he lost his storage key--the storage locker has the money you need. He recounts the places he visited, and mentions two that may have the key: the sakaya, Nakanokura, and the Gion Inari Shrine. They'll both light up on your map. His key is at the shrine, near the northern lantern. Pick it up, and take it to the Storage Lockers (located east of the middle of the map on the southern edge of town). Open Storage Locker "I-1" and you'll get the money. For the pharmacy, when you talk to the shopkeeper, he'll tell you the boy working there was sent to get the money, but hasn't returned. He might be out at the restaurant, Momijirou. Investigating there, you'll see the woman who works there standing outside. She'll tell you that the kid is probably at his favorite stomping grounds, the Suiten Inari Shrine are to the southwest. There he is, being picked on by a bunch of bullies. This is your battle tutorial. Once you beat them, you'll get the money--and a Strong Health Pills. First, you have to attack them 10 times with either the square or triangle buttons. I recommend using the square, as you can just do your three-hit string and get through it quickly. Next, you can grab an enemy and use the square to hit them, triangle to kick them, or circle again to throw them. Again, you have to do it 10 times, so I recommend using the square button and hitting them with your three-hit combo. Next comes weapons. Grab weapons with circle and hit the enemies 10 times with 'em. The buckets are infinite, but they break after one hit and you'll need to keep picking them up, so look for the baskets and branches lying around because they can be used more times. Now, you have to build up your heat gauge. To do this, I'd recommend grabbing guys and doing the three-hit square combo, becaue that gives a lot of heat bonus. You can taunt with R2, also. Now, it prompts you to do heat actions. You can do this with either the weap- ons strewn about the stage or by grabbing guys and leading them to either the shrine or the little wooden walkways. Lastly, beat the guys up! Once all three debts have been collected, you'll get a glowing dot indicating that you should return to the Tatsuya. But, along the way, a bunch of ruffians will attack you. Seems they didn't like you breaking up what was going on at the Suiten Inari Shrine. This is another fighting tutorial. The first one is a little weird. It says that when you see an enemy with a glowing gourd or other such thing on his belt, you should beat them and take their item. So, target those three guys and beat them, taking their items. Next, you have to guard. Guard five attacks with L1. Next, you learn how to shift (target). Hold down R1 and move around, target- ing for 10 seconds. Next, you have to learn to roll or sway. Sway or roll 10 times. Finally, beat them up! After beating the ruffians, go to the Tatsuya and talk to Itou. He does end up paying you 3,000 mon for your trouble. This is your basic monetary unit: the mon. 10,000 of them make up 1 ryou. Apparently, he was just testing you. Great, huh? Suddenly, there is a commotion outside. There is one lone girl causing trouble. Investigating, Kiryuu finds that the girl is asking to meet with Kiryuu Kazu- manosuke. "Well, I'm leaving," says Kiryuu. "I don't know that person." But, a man nearby says, "Oh--! Kiryuu!" The girl hears him. Angry, Kiryuu turns to the man, who argues that he should take care of the girl. Kiryuu holds his hand out to the man in a cartoonish fashion, noting that he will only do it if there's money involved. The girl has no money. But, when Kiryuu is turning away, he notices that the girl is carrying a wakizashi, a type of short sword, with a bell tied around the guard. He recog- nizes this weapon, and tells them to let the girl see him. Talking to the girl, Kiryuu finds out that her name is Haruka, and that she wants him to kill a man named Miyamoto Musashi. Kiryuu is quite upset by this. You can now ask her why she wants Musashi killed or why she came to see Kiryuu. Either one will start the ball rolling. It seems that her family was killed, and she found out from an old man that the man who killed them was named Miyamoto Musashi. Then, another man came to her, and told her that if she wanted to avenge their deaths, she should ask for Kiryuu Kazumanosuke at the Gion district in Kyoto. He refuses. He says that he do it for her, and she says "But...you would do anything if I paid, right?" "So, do you have money to pay me? In this town, money rules all." Just then, the madam from the Tsuruya brothel shows up with a bunch of kamuro. A kamuro is a type of hairstyle in old Japan, but in this instance, is jargon used to mean an apprentice at a brothel, a young girl of about 7 or 8 who is there to learn dancing and other arts. Kiryuu points out the young girls to Haruka, and explains to her that everyone needs to work to earn their living. The madam arrives at the Tatsuya and explains that Kiryuu will do anything if you pay him. She speaks of Kiryuu condescendingly and tells the girls not to ever rely on him. "If you do, I'm sure you won't be able to make it to the highest chambers in our brothel." As the madam walks away, Haruka suddenly runs out to her. She begs her to buy her, selling her own body over to the sex trade. Then, they leave, and Haruka gives a long, forlorned look to Kiryuu. -------------- 3b. Chapter 1 -------------- Miyamoto Musashi Missions available: None Storage Keys: None Here we find Kiryuu, under the name Miyamoto Musashi, teaching students in a small kendo club. He is showing them a sword dance, with both a dachi (the Japanese longsword) and a wakizashi or kodachi (a Japanese shortsword). Both are, of course, wooden, and technically called "bokutou" (wooden swords). We also see a man peeking in the window, watching Musashi dance around, al- though no-one seems to notice. The students question Musashi about using two swords at once. "It's just a dance," Musashi responds. "But you believe," says the man from the window, now inside the dojo, "that a man can fight with both swords, don't you, Miyamoto Musashi?" Musashi demands to know who the interloper is. After apologizing, the man reveals that he is Marume Nagayoshi, the swordmaster for the Tokugawa forces. In those days, the lands were fairly united under a single ruler, called the kubou (later called the "shogun" by those loyal to the emperor, because they wanted to emphasize the fact that he was just a general and not the ruler of the land). First, there was Oda Nobunaga, who used his military might to subdue others and thus became the most powerful warlord of Japan. After his defeat at the Honnouji Temple, he was succeeded by Toyotomi (also called "Hashiba") Hide- yoshi, the second great ruler of Japan. His military exploits went beyond the borders of Japan and into Korea, where he plundered great riches (and also killed many Koreans). But as his health failed, it seemed like the weak rule of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi was going to leave Japan once again in the hands of strong military conquest. Indeed it did, but the most powerful force of that time was commanded by Toku- gawa Ieyasu. From him came the "law of the land," and it was his rule as kubou that would really unify Japan with a strong government that lasted for over 250 years. Marume is his swordmaster, and he is visiting Musashi on the eve of the most decisive battle in Japanese history before the 19th century's skir- mishes: the Battle at Sekigahara. He has something to tell Musashi, but Musashi first has to contend with his students. This is another fighting tutorial--the weapons tutorial. First, show them how to draw and sheath your weapon. Press the D-pad right to get to single-sword style, then down to get to the unarmed style. Do that 5 times. It's pretty hilarious to hear them applauding and saying "Amazing!" when you just stood there drawing and sheathing your sword. Next, do your 3-hit square combo 5 times to the guarding student. Next, do a square string and end it with triangle. You can do 1, 2, or 3 weak attacks before the charge; it doesn't really matter. Next, use L1 to guard things in front of you and to your side (the single- sword style cannot guard attacks from behind, like the dual-wield style can). Next comes using circle to break your opponent's guard. Do so 10 times. "Zanshin," which is your primary way to gather heat guage energy (also called "touki" or "fighting spirit" in this game), comes last. After ending a string with a heavy attack, continue to hold the triangle button down to stand in a special pose and gather heat energy. After the students go home, no surprise, Marume tells Musashi he is looking to enlist him for the impending battle. But first, he needs to test his strength. Fight him...and don't worry too much. I'm not even sure it is possible to win this one--you just go down in health to a certain point and it ends. Marume tells Musashi that he will wait for his answer in the little shed out back. As you go there, tell the student at the gate that you're going to the Sekigahara, and then go up to the shed. Somewhere around it, you'll see a sparkling thing...this is a turtle, on its back. Flip it over. Talk to Marume inside the shed when you're ready, and Musashi will go with him back to the military's camp. At camp, Musashi refuses to drink. He won't drink before a battle, it seems. One of the other soldiers won't take that answer. This strange fellow, who seems like there's a madness lurking just under his calm exterior, is Majima Gorohachi, based on Majima Gorou in the previous titles. When Musashi throws the sake in Majima's face, it's go time. Majima likes to dash about a lot. You'll need to use techniques like the square, square, triangle to dash back towards him. You can even put your weapon away and grab him, then stomp on him, etc. This battle's obviously harder than the ruffians before, but, it shouldn't be impossible. After you beat him, Majima seems pretty impressed. Before the two can get really "chummy," Marume comes in and insists that they stop. He's followed by a condescending, two-faced shark, Tenkai, the monk. All the other soldiers quickly drop to their knees as if this were the kubou himself walking about, but Musashi stands there, looking at him. "Who is this one?" Tenkai asks, looking pleasant and impressed. When he is told that Musashi does not have a master, he takes Marume aside and whispers to him under his fan. "Are you sure we should trust such important matters to the likes of him?" But, Marume seems to favor Musashi. After Tenkai leaves, Marume starts to explain the operation for which he has them all assembled. It seems there's a traitor to the Tokugawa, and they need to take his head. He wants two volun- teers to enter the mansion and find the man, while the rest of the force stays at the gates and keeps the guards distracted. It's a very dangerous mission, and they can very easily be killed. So, nobody wants to volunteer. Seeing everyone just sitting there, looking nervous, Musashi volunteers. Of course, this causes Majima to volunteer as well. He bonded with Musashi very quickly, didn't he? I guess that's the way it is for people who are always looking for a fight. Before they go, Marume tells them they shouldn't worry, but then, as he's about to leave, he tells them to survive this incident. "What a strange thing to say!" says Majima. So, you set out for the mansion. As you enter, Musashi cuts down his first man ever with a sword. He pauses, staring at the blood, and Majima asks what's wrong and notes that you guys need to hurry. Go in, kill guys, grab any stuff you see on the ground, kill guys, etc. Even- tually, you'll reach a room where everything seems to pause. Search this room, because there are more items strewn about. When you're ready, talk to Majima and go down the hallway. Keep in mind that when you reach the red dot on this map, the chapter will end automatically--don't go there thinking that you can backtrack and explore later. Once you reach the room where your quarry lies, he'll draw his sword, and Musashi will dispatch him. He bemoans the fact that he could not protect his younger brother from Tenkai's grasp. Something's wrong here. This is no ordinary person--this is Yuuki Hideyasu, the eldest living son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was expelled from the Tokugawa house and adopted by the Yuuki clan, but he is still Ieyasu's son. Anyway, Majima and Musashi leap into the fray when the other soldiers appear, and decide to break free so they can meet up at the assigned point--an old temple down the road. -------------- 3c. Chapter 2 -------------- The Trap at Sekigahara (Sekigahara no Wana) Missions available: None Storage Keys: None Musashi and Majima race to the temple, where they are supposed to meet up with Marume and the rest of the troop now that their mission is accomplished. Majima sits in the temple and asks Musashi to please have a look around; he's too ex- hausted to do it himself. There are items hidden around here, so, go around and grab 'em. They're not the world's most important items, but...still. You'll also want to flip over the turtle in the middle of the yard. Once you've had a little snoop around, talk to Majima. Musashi tells him that he killed someone for the first time today. "Oh, and you were scared?" asks Majima. "No," says Musashi, "the opposite." He's started to realize that it's easy to cut someone down, and he's got a taste for fighting now. Majima frowns and cautions Musashi that he needs to give up on that line of thought. He says that all it will do is lead him to be- come a murderer. It seems Majima went a little crazy in his past--well, crazier. He earned himself the nickname "Majima the Ripper." Just as the two were wondering where the rest of the troops were, Marume suddenly appears. "So, you survived," he says. "You, the two who murdered Yuuki Hideyasu!" It seems that now he's come for vengeance on the person who killed his master's son. You have no choice but to fight the troops--and Marume himself. This time, you have to win. After defeating Marume, Musashi leaves the temple, only to be blocked by more troops. The troops are led by a strange man--young, arrogant, and pretty. This is Sasaki Kojirou, Musashi's greatest rival. It seems luck has run out on our hero. But wait--what's this?? Everyone is shocked as Musashi draws not only his dachi, but his wakizashi as well. That's right, it's time for the dual-wield style, baby. This means another tutorial. First, guard. You can hold down your guard button (L1) and guard from all directions. Next, hit 'em with square or triangle. Lastly, beat those guys! Kojirou is a very tough opponent. Musashi has no way to beat him, so, Majima jumps in the way, getting his eye slashed. Deciding that he has no way to win, Musashi turns to Marume, and says, "We'll take your advice. We'll survive!" With only Kojirou and Marume to stop him now, he limps over, grabs Majima, and leaps off the nearby cliff. Yeah, that's what I'd do, too.... It's always good to jump to your death. -------------- 3d. Chapter 3 -------------- The Oath (Chikai) Missions available: None Storage Keys: None Musashi and Majima are still on the run. Musashi holds Majima on his back, the wound at Majima's eye bandaged roughly. Majima seems to be really having a hard time--you would be, too, if your eye just got slashed, especially if you didn't have hardly any medicine available. Majima tells Musashi that he doesn't think he has much time left. He gives him his sword and asks him to bring it to Ukiyo, his younger sister. Musashi tells him not to think that way and stars to cross a rope bridge, when sudden- ly, troops appear before them. He puts him down so he can deal with the troops. After you defeat the troops, Musashi will look back at Majima, who seems to have gotten himself surrounded by troops coming from behind you. Majima tells you not to forget about his sister, and cuts the ropes to the bridge, plummeting down the ravine. Some time later, covered in bruises and cuts, obviously having endured many trials and tribulations, Musashi is in Majima's homeland, standing in a rice field. He approaches the woman and asks, "Are you Ukiyo?" When she says "yes," he offers her Majima's sword. But, she says, "I won't take that sword," and goes inside her house. While in the field, go back to the far wall away from the house, and you'll see another turtle. Save it, as you did the one before. Go inside the house and talk to Ukiyo. She still won't take the sword, but will take care of Musashi. He's obviously quite exhausted, needs a bath, and needs food. While he eats, she explains to him that Majima isn't her brother; he actually killed her father and took her in as a younger sister. She says that she doesn't blame Majima. Her father decided to fight him, and was killed in the duel. But, she won't take his sword because he's not her brother. The two seem to become quite close. Musashi works for her in the rice field, and she gives him room and board. There are two skilled swordsman who show up, apparently hot on your trail. You have to defeat them, but, from then on, Musashi decides to shun his swords- man life. One day, he is called in to supper, and finds that Ukiyo has tied bells around the guards to his dachi and wakizashi. "What's this?" he asks. "I thought it was about time for you to return to the life of the sword," she replies. But, Musashi won't hear of it. The way of the sword is meaningless to him now and he won't use a sword again. Ukiyo says that her father believed that only the strongest swordsman could protect people--that he needed to use his power to protect those stronger than him. She seems to believe Musashi can do this Bounty hunters appear. Seeking Majima, they go to Ukiyo's house, but are stopped by Musashi. Musashi himself has to ask them about the other bounty they have, and they seem confused. But, after looking at the portrait, they suddenly realize that he is Miyamoto Musashi and fight him. Beat these guys. Musashi still won't use a sword, but, they aren't so tough. With all the bounty hunters defeated except for one in the yard standing next to Ukiyo, one of the fallen men throws a knife at Musashi, making him fall on one knee. Their leader goes to strike Musashi, but ends up getting sliced ac- ross the back by Ukiyo. He turns, takes the wakizashi from her hand, and stabs her with it. Musashi rushes to Ukiyo and holds her in his arms. He hears her final wish-- for him to use his sword to protect those weaker than him. He pulls the sword that is stuck in her out, and an old man sees him. He pushes the sword into the ground and leaves, but the man cries "Murderer! Miya- moto Musashi has murdered her!" Yeah, I know...that old cliche'. I mean, really. This used to always make me roll my eyes in superhero stories. Who would believe that? The old man saw the bounty hunters coming and saw Musashi confront them. Why would he suddenly think that Musashi killed Ukiyo, when he knew that he was trying to protect her ten seconds earlier? Nonsense. -------------- 3e. Chapter 4 -------------- A New Life (Arata na jinsei) Missions available: None Storage Keys: None Musashi's really not having a great time out there. When he comes to this small temple, he is again attacked by bounty hunters. Beat them. An old monk shows up. This strange old guy seems to be actually very skilled; he can stop a sword with two fingers. He sends the bounty hunters packing, and brings Musashi inside, giving him a place to rest. The next morning, Musashi awakens to find a new change of clothes and a map telling him how to get to the pleasure district, Gion. It seems the monk will go on ahead and meet him there. Now, with new clothes, no more bounty hunters should be hot on his trail (I guess). You have to get to the Gate at Gion. Don't worry; the map will point you in the right direction. Basically, you have to run from the southern edge of the Mountain Road up to Kiyomizu Temple, through the Northern Mountain Road, to the Suburbs, and then to the middle of the north of that map, where you will find the gate to the Gion District. Along the way, be sure to get into scrapes with enemies so that you can test out your skill and level up a bit. Once you talk to the Mysterious Monk, the two of you will go into Gion. Yoshino, the tayuu at the Tsuruya brothel, appears, and Musashi is astonished. She looks just like Ukiyo. The monk looks to him, and says, "What, you want to go see her? Let's ask around and see where she works." You can talk to some men inside, and they'll direct you to the Tsuruya brothel. Talk to the monk again, and you'll be prompted to go visit the brothel. Run up there, and you'll meet up with Itou, who will let you go and see Yoshino. The monk leaves, saying he needs to pee, and Musashi is left alone with the beautiful Yoshino. He asks her about her past, but she cautions him that all the girls there have no past anymore; they've decided not to talk about that kind of thing anymore. When she asks him for a name, he gives the name "Kiryuu." There's a commotion outside. It seems a samurai has had a little too much and means to kill one of the girls. So, what're you waiting for? Go out there and throw that guy around and stomp on his face a lot! After talking to the monk, who was eavesdropping on you while you talked to Yoshino, by the way, Musashi decides to stay in Gion as a kakemawari named Kiryuu. He opens a place called Tatsuya, and stands there, marvelling at it. The monk shows up again. He has a present for Kiryuu--a fine kimono with a dragon embroidered into it. He also talks to him about his new name--and re- veals that he knew that he was Miyamoto Musashi. "Don't worry," he says, "I don't think I'll tell anyone. I just wanted to see what kind of man Musashi was." He then thinks of your personal name--Kazumanosuke. "Kazu" is written with the character for "one," and "ma" written with "horse." "-No-suke" was a common way to end male names in that time and just means "son" or something like that. The idea behind the name is that there is a lone warhorse, riding in a line, ahead of the others. The monk seems to think this fits Musashi, because he has such a direct approach to things. Congratulations, by the way. You've made it through the backstory segment. Now, you're in the "real" part of the game, where there will be a lot less hand- holding and a lot more side things to do. -------------- 3f. Chapter 5 -------------- The 1-Ryou Request (Ichiryou no negai) Missions Available: FAVORS The Little Girl Selling Tougarashi (Tougarashiuri no shoujo) The Seedy Merchant Tanaka Appears (Shaba nekkyou Tanakaya arawareru) Homework from the Terakoya - Reading (Terakoya no shukudai ~yomi~) Holes in the Paper Sliding Door (Shouji no ana) The Flavor of Candy 1: The Candy of Memory (Ame no aji ichi omoide no ame) The Flavor of Candy 2: The Candy Seller's Secret (Ame no aji ni ameuri no himitsu) The Fiance' (Iinazuke no otoko) Kennosuke Water from the Ladle 1 (Hishaku no mizu ichi) The Old Man of the Enchanted Swords (Youtou jiisan) Collecting the Enchanted Swords (Youtou shuushuu) The Pretentious Man (Mieppari) The Donations Box (Nagezeni no derudokoro) Hinakiku at Azamiya Hanamaru at Azamiya Shirayuki at Azamiya Kinuya at Yumejiya Suzukaze at Yumejiya Momochika at Yumejiya Asagiri at Yumejiya Gion Guidebook (Gion annaisho) Stairway to Adulthood (Otona no kaidan) SERVICES The Impenetrable Barrier's Debt (Teppeki no tsuke) The Man Who Wouldn't Move (Ugokanu otoko) Storage Locker Instructions (Azukarisho shinan) Chasing Away the Dog (Inuharai) A Call for Help (Tasuke wo motomeru koe) BOUNTIES None Storage Keys: I-2 to I-5, Ro-1 to Ro-5, Ha-1, Ha-3, Ha-5, Ni-1, Ni2, Ni-4, Ni-5, Ho-1 to Ho-4, He-1 to He-3, He-5, To-1 to To-4, Chi-1, Chi-2, Ri-2 to R-5, Nu-1 to Nu-4 Back to the present. Or...um, 1605...well--you know. One good thing that has happened now that you're not in flashback land is that you can use your bed- room to move items over into a sort-of items box (a la Biohazard/Resident Evil), so you don't have to keep dropping things all the time. New to this game, thankfully, is the fact that you can actually juggle between your storage and the items you are carrying at any save point (finally!). Kiryuu decides to go and look for Haruka and see what's become of her. To do that, you'll need to go to the Tsuruya. It's at the middle, on the north of the map, if you forgot. Visiting the Tsuruya, he decides to meet his friend, Itou, around back. The map will direct you to the right spot. Yoshino is there, smoking. She overhears the conversation and tells Kiryuu that the girl's name is Haruka. "My name's _Haruka_," she quotes, "not 'hey, you." This quote should be familiar from the first game. It seems Haruka's solder herself to the Tsuruya for only 1 ryou. Itou notes that the madam has taken advantage of the poor thing, who doesn't know the value of money. In those days, however, that was a lot--a year's salary for many people. At the brothel, they've given her the name "O-Haru." Yoshino puts Kiryuu at ease. "Don't worry about that girl; she's in our care, now." Itou tells Kiryuu he'll help him out if he can. Go back to the Tatsuya, and who should pay Kiryuu a visit but Haruka. She has on her new kimono and sports a new, clean hairstyle. She pays Kiryuu the 1 ryou and asks him if that's enough to hire him. Kiryuu explains that killing someone is a hard thing to do and that things might get messy, but he takes the job. Then, he sends her back home. He talks to Itou. Itou tells him that there's a way to find out information in this town, and says that he should visit Hon'ami Kouetsu, a famous artist in the area. Kiryuu is puzzled, but Itou tells him that once he gets there, he'll understand. As Kiryuu leaves the Tsuruya, a cat wanders by him, and then he notices a strange, old man standing there, apparently spying. When he asks what the guy's up to, he tells him that he's an artist named Shichigorou and that he paints animals, and notices their little worlds that most people overlook. He gives Kiryuu a brush, some ink, and a picture of a playful cat. This is the intro- duction of the Revelation System, new to Kenzan! Basically, Kiryuu will take a picture or parchment and write the name of a sword technique when he is in- spired. The picture is a clue to where you can find inspiration. Once you see the animal or person in the picture, Kiryuu will notice them doing something. After you correctly press the buttons that appear on the screen, you will then have to learn something from it. Three choices will appear and you have to decide within a limited time. If you choose the wrong ones, don't worry; just leave the area or enter a shop and then come back and you can have another chance. Then, Kiryuu will learn a technique from his inspiration. To try it out, find the cat in the Gion Inari Shrine, right near where you end up after talking to Shichigorou. You'll notice there's a little triangle pointing towards the cat just like he was someone you could talk to. Go and press the "confirm" button and watch the cinema. Hit "X" when prompted. The correct response starts with "Even with his prey behind him...." For more information, check the appendices. You can now use the exit at the Tatsuya that goes into town. Did you ever notice this little hallway that ends in a trapdoor that you couldn't interact with in your room? Well, that's where it is. Go there and confirm to enter the Suburbs. Musashi changes clothes and wears his weapons, now that it's not illegal to carry swords around. On a side note, it's doubtful that a place like Gion would be able to prevent samurai from walking around with their weapons. Besides when they were inside complexes such as the court or in their house, members of the samurai caste were actually expected by law to wear a sword. Be sure and do side missions. You probably won't be able to do all of them-- especially not the ones with the yuujo; that just takes too much money. But, they offer much more experience than random fights, and they give you some pretty keen items, too. Your mission now is to find Kouetsu's mansion. It's located in Kawara, the area of Kyoto off to the west, accessible from the northwest exit (at the west end of Shijou Street). For now, however, that exit is closed. A government official prevents you from passing. This was common in those days--not everyone was allowed to go everywhere. Anyway, you have to find a permit to show the guard at the gate. So, talk to the government official. A man will run up to you as you leave and tell you that there is someone in town who can make good forgeries of such documents. Go to the market on in the Higashiyama Shopping District and ask about the permit. A bunch of yakuza will fight you--seems they don't like weird people asking about their criminal activities. Beat them up to get a work order so that their documents forger will make the permit for you, then go meet him at the shogi parlor and he'll make you the permit. As you leave, the yakuza show up with bodyguards. Oh noes! Guess you'll have to fight them. Show the permit to the official guarding the gate. He pauses for a while, but doesn't notice that it's fraudulent. What a doofus. Now, you can finally go to Kawara freely. Kawara is a weird place; there's no real shops there. There's not too much of interest, really; just a huge bridge and the Koetsu mansion. You can talk to people on the way who will point to the mansion, but, it's the only point of interest in town, so.... Tell the servant you'd like to talk to Kouetsu and he'll receive you. He's a strange man, really, who seems to indulge all sorts of hobbies, such as epi- curean delights, glazed ceramics, calligraphy...and spying. You may recognize him if you played the previous games as Sai no Hanaya (a.k.a. Kage in the U.S. release of the first game). Well...he's not so different, really. Before he'll help you out, he asks that you do him a favor and return a fine piece of art to him that was stolen by bandits near the Forest Path. Did you notice that weird area there that went off to the east, but Musashi just plain refused to go there? ("I have no business there," he says, or something like that) That's where they are. Along the way, as you walk by the blacksmith's, you'll get stopped and asked to try out this huge sword the blacksmith made. Say yes (it's the top choice). The game will now demand that you equip the item. Go to the equipment menu, to the third line from the top, move to the left off the kodachi, and equip the Iron Greatsword. Oh, no--thieves! Beat them with the greatsword (it's tutorial time). First, hold down L1 and block their musket shots. Then...beat them up! The blacksmith's will be open now, and you'll get a book that details how to make treasure swords. When you visit the blacksmith, you can temper any of your weapons that can be tempered, and even build new weapons from them once you've built them up, provided that you have a "recipe" for a new weapon. That's what most of those weird, little items you've been getting from all the brawls were all about. You can talk to the blacksmith and get even more "recipes." Once you're ready, head out to the cave, which branches off from the Forest Path. Don't worry too much; there are healing items all over the place there. Once inside, beat everyone up. When you encounter chains, cut them. The greatsword is the best weapon to use on them. Be sure to collect everything, kill the archers first so they don't annoy you, avoid the huge, fiery, rolling boulders, and get to the inner sanctum. Here, you'll face Shishido Baiken. He uses a kusarigama (chain and sickle), a long chain with a weight at the end that can be spin around widly and really can be quite a nuisance--and yes, you're not confused. That's Majima Gorohachi, with a sword guard as an eyepatch. Musashi recognizes Majima, but, it seems like Majima still wants to fight. You really don't have a choice in the matter. He likes to sidestep all over the place. One technique that seems to work for this fight is to wait for him to finish his entire, long string, which ends with him striking the ground violently. After guarding the last attack, lay into him because he can't recover quickly. After the battle, he'll give up the treasure--a little, gold statue. He seems to have just wanted to have some fun, so he's glad he could fight a strong opponent. Musashi tries to ask him if he remembers him, but, it seems that Majima lost his memory after hitting the bottom of the ravine, and was saved by the leader of the bandits. Now that the leader is dead, he's become the boss himself. Musashi tells him his name is Kiryuu Kazumanosuke, and so, Majima (a.k.a. Baiken) uses the name "Kiryuuchan" for him...which is, for those who didn't play the first games, the way Majima called Kiryuu in those. When you leave Majima, you'll find some thieves harassing some palanquin carriers. Talk to the thieves and tell them about Baiken, and they'll leave. The carriers thank you. From now on, they'll appear at the various maps and you can use them to get from one point on most maps to another--shortcuts, basically. On the way back, a letter comes from Shichigorou. It seems he has more paint- ings for you. This will become a regular occurrence--you'll get letters from him and from Komaki, meaning you should visit both of them to help build up. Go to Kouetsu's and talk to him. Kouetsu asks "Why are you looking for Miya- moto Musashi? He's right here in front of me." Musashi loks upset by this. "How did you know I was Musashi?" "Because I drew this wanted poster," explains Kouetsu. But, it seems like he won't tell anyone your secret. He tells you that there is a man reportedly going about dojo-breaking who is calling himself Miyamoto Musashi. This person is supposed to next strike a dojo in the area, run by the Yoshioka family. -------------- 3g. Chapter 6 -------------- The Yoshioka Dojo Missions available: FAVORS The One with the Fairest Skin (Suitsuku you na hade no mochinushi) Izumo no Okuni Where's the Palanquin? (Kagoya wa doko da) The Dual-Wield Style Man (Nitouryuu no otoko) The Enchanted Sword Suiken (Youtou Suiken) The Cursed Tea Bowl (Noroi no chawan) The Golden Sword (Kin no Katana) A Treat from the Landlord (Jinushi no gochisou) The Man Who Wanted to Be a Robin Hood (Gizoku ni naritai otoko) The Man Who Couldn't Be Like Robin Hood (Gizoku ni narenakatta otoko) The Town's Famous Doctor 1 (Machi no meii ichi) Debt Collected (Ka