Otogi - Myth of Demons Version 1.5 Guide by CLLi a.k.a. sunny_d2 ----------------- Table of Contents ----------------- I. Introduction II. Basics A. MP and Life B. Ground Attacks C. Air Attacks D. Magic III. Advanced A. In-Stage Status B. Combo Efficiency C. Notable Hazards D. Dash Jump/Attack E. Weight and Vitality F. Experience Sites and Gold Mines G. Abusing Slam Attack H. Grown-up Raikoh I. Theories IV. Stage Walkthroughs A. Stage Elements B. Stage Walkthroughs 1. Bamboo Thicket 2. Forbidden Mansion 3. Mountain Gates 4. Ancient Capital 5. Palace of Gold 6. A Clouded Moon 7. Restless Sea 8. Tower of Water 9. Floating Tomb 10. The Green Cave 11. Spirit Wood 12. Untamed Winds 13. Valley of Flames 14. Scarlet Path 15. Sea of Fire 16. A Chilled Moon 17. Eternal Night 18. Darkfire Cave 19. Golem's Ravine 20. Inner Sanctum 21. Red Sea 22. Lair of Fire 23. Canyon of Death 24. Forest of Wind 25. Spirit Tower 26. Valley of Prayer 27. Sealed Palace 28. Ethereal Palace 29. In The Heavens C. 2nd Play Walkthrough Introduction V. Weapons, Magic and Accessories A. Weapons B. Magic C. Accessories VI. Miscellaneous A. Credits B. Legal C. Version History D. Contact ______________________________________________________________________________ I. Introduction This is my first FAQ for a game. Though not the first one I've read. I just thought to make one for Otogi, a game I recently got and beaten. Yes I beat my games. The court only allows me to see my games once a week. Raikoh is part of a clan who worked for the Imperial Court assassinating people. Raikoh has killed many people, many whom were innocent. He is considered "unclean", and is somehow dead. The Princess brought Raikoh back to life using her magic. The Great Seal has been broken and the Princess needs a tank to kill the demons. And also to save humanity. Also, in some parts of the walkthrough, I will describe what to do using terms and techniques stated in the Basic and Advanced sections. So if you are ever confused, check back in those sections. Well that's if you read this Intro... In this guide, I shall be using the default button layout to describe what to do. A - Jump B - Light Attack X - Magic Y - Strong Attack L Trigger - Lock on R Trigger - Dash Left Thumbstick - Movement of Raikoh Left Thumbstick (Click) - Center Camera Behind Raikoh Right Thumbstick - Movement of Camera Right Thumbstick (Click) - Toggle Enemy Health Bar [Unused] - Black button, white button, Select, D-Pad The main menu consists of the.. Stage menu - moves you to next stage Equip menu - change your weapon, magic and/or accessory Shop menu - shop for weapons, magic and/or accessory AND repair weapons Cleared Stages menu - replay completed stages Options menu - save, load, change configuration [Important] The only way to save your game is to go into the Options menu and select Save. The "saving" that you see after completing a stage only saves the condition of that stage, not your game. [Important] ______________________________________________________________________________ II. Basics A. MP and Life Raikoh has two meters that you need to watch. His MP (magic) meter and his Life Orbs (life meter). Both must be constantly looked at when you play this game. These meters are located on the bottom right of the screen. Everything is within the spiral. Mentioned in the first two stages, Raikoh needs MP to survive. MP is the inner blue ring that is constantly going down. MP is used to sustain your body (meaning your health won't go down when you have magic), for casting spells and for dashing. When you run out of MP, due to time, mana leeching attacks, excessive spell casting, etc. then you start to lose health until death, or when you obtain more mana. Health is the factor determining whether you stay in the stage or not. You can never have too much life, but then again, you can never have too much mana! The health meter are the orbs that are spiraling on the outside. Raikoh starts with two life orbs. As you take damage, your health goes down. If the health inside an orb empties out, then you hear a sharp clash of metal and that orb is broken. Your health deteriorates and then regenerates when Raikoh is not getting hurt. But your health only regenerates in the life orb that sustained damage. So to make a long story short.. -Don't take too much damage to break a life orb because you can't regenerate it back.- Life orbs may be found in predetermined areas of a stage. They are floating orbs that have a lily on top. Life orbs give you another orb to work with, but they cannot increase the maximum amount of orbs you can have. When enemies are killed, they drop colored orbs that automatically come to Raikoh when he's near. Enemies drop experience, MP, and gold. B. Ground Attacks Raikoh can string up to four different attacks together. The basic attack being.. Light Attack ..then moving onto more damage dealing combos.. Light Attack - Light Attack Light Attack - Light Attack - Light Attack Light Attack - Light Attack - Light Attack - Light Attack Heavy Attack Light Attack - Heavy Attack Light Attack - Light Attack - Heavy Attack Light Attack - Light Attack - Light Attack - Heavy Attack Magic Attack Light Attack - Magic Attack Light Attack - Light Attack - Magic Attack Light Attack - Light Attack - Light Attack - Magic Attack C. Air Attacks Air attacks are basically the same as ground attacks. They differ in that everytime you finish an attack/combo, you drop a couple of feet. Heavy attacks are also different when done in air. A sword's and dual wield sword's heavy attack in air is a downward slam; taking you and whatever you hit to the ground beneath you. Be careful not to do this over no ground; you will slam to your death. A staff's and the Orchid Malevolence's heavy attack in air is a horizontal swing. The Golden Dragon's heavy attack in air is a vertical slam, just like the swords. D. Magic There are four different kinds of magic in this game. They are separated into their own houses and each has three levels. Three being the strongest. Dragon Spell (House of Soryu) - releases dragons that chase down enemies, lock-on not required Chimera Spell (House of Byakko) - summons down a ring of lightning around you to strike enemies, may not hit enemies directly next to you Phoenix Spell (House of Suzaku) - releases three phoenixes that deal damage upon impact Butterfly Spell (House of Genbu) - releases many butterflies that deal damage upon impact, large knockback -To charge a spell, hold down X- Charged Dragon Spell - Level 1, releases one giant dragon that chases down enemies, Level 2 releases two, and Level 3 releases 3 Charged Chimera Spell - summons giant bolt of lightning at Raikoh, damaging enemies around you AND next to you Charged Phoenix Spell - releases giant phoenix in front of you Charged Butterfly Spell - releases more butterflies that do more damage ______________________________________________________________________________ III. Advanced This section is a detailed explanation of how Raikoh works, a strategy guide, and a random tips/trick joint. A. In-Stage Status Raised Attack - Attack is greatly increased for a period of time Raised Defense - Defense is greatly increased for a period of time Sustained MP - MP degeneration stops, infinite mana for a period of time Red Flames - Life goes down for about 2/3 of a life orb Blue Flames - Life goes down for about 5/6 of a life orb Purple Flames - Life goes down for about 4/3 of a life orb Black Flames - Life goes down for about 3/2 of a life orb Frost - MP degeneration speeds up for a period of time Cursed - Attack, Defense and jump height greatly reduced B. Combo Efficiency There are many ways to hurt enemies, but here are some efficient ways to do them. For lighter weapons, 4x light attacks or 3x light attacks and 1x heavy attack work best against non-boss units. They also work wonders in groups of enemies. Just be a little patient towards high-health enemies. For heavier weapons, 1x or 2x light attacks and a heavy attack work well against most enemies. Regarding magic in combos, there is a special combo which releases a charged spell when completed. Light Attack - Light Attack - Light Attack - Magic Attack Doing three light attacks and then your magic attack releases a fully charged spell! It saves a lot of time when you don't have to stand there vulnerable, charging up a spell. This combo is now referred to as ~mCombo~. Try ending a combo with the enemy being slammed against something. This deals additional damage along with your weapon's/spell's damage. Alas, this applies to Raikoh too, when he gets hit. C. Notable Hazards -standing in deep water drains your MP extremely fast -fire ignores defense and cuts your health mercilessly -when you're on fire, try not to get hurt by anything else, because that just adds to the permanent damage of the fire, risking a (or another) broken life orb -stun locks are common when surrounded by enemies, dashing is a solution -getting hit in midair makes Raikoh drop several feet, keep in mind when trying to reach places -killing an enemy with a ground heavy attack will push the enemy far away, leaving their souls far away too D. Dash Jump/Attack Dash Jump is a jump that has an attack, a gain of altitude, and an MP requirement. Dash Attack is the same as a Dash Jump without the gain of altitude. Dash Jump (dJump from now on) is useful for cornering an enemy, gaining altitude, or just stringing up a combo. -Press R and either X or Y simultaneously to use dJump or dAttack- On swords, dJump to do an uppercut that gains a little altitude. On staves, dJump (R and X) to gain an impressive amount of altitude. dAttack (R and Y) to do a heavy horizontal attack. Careful not to abuse this ability because it's the same as dashing, MP required. E. Weight and Vitality Weight of a weapon effect's Raikoh's attack speed, movement speed, dash distance, and jump height. The heavier the weapon/acc is, the larger the decrease from normal. Vitality is basically a weapon's durability. A weapon functions at 100% efficiency when at full Vitality. With no vitality, a weapon could work at 20% of maximum efficiency. To restore Vitality, repair the weapon in the shop. A weapon can never break. F. Experience Sites and Gold Mines Stated below, it is extremely difficult to beat the game without replaying stages. Replaying stages allows you to get missed items, get spirits, and accumulate EXP and gold. There are certain stages that are made for replay. Stage 4 - infinite skeleton mages, high EXP, medium Gold Stage 8 - infinite serpents, low EXP, medium Gold Stage 9 - 2000 Gold Stage 10 - 2000 bonus EXP, 4000 Gold Stage 16 - 1400 bonus EXP, 2000 Gold Stage 24 - 2000 bonus EXP, 3000 Gold Stage 26 - infinite MOS Stage 28 - infinite MOS G. Abusing Slam Attack The vertical slam attack is a wonderful attack to use. You can do it anytime while airborne. It's used to stun enemies so you can dash after them afterwards and combo them. It's used to repel enemies. When locked on, you can jump behind an enemy and use it. Raikoh will automatically spin 180 and hit the enemy. And it's also great for creating craters everywhere. H. Grown-up Raikoh As Raikoh levels up, his stats naturally increase. He is able to dish out more damage, take more hits, and survive longer. Raikoh's jumping ability improves greatly, almost to the point that it ignores weight. I. Theories This section is a list of possible events that might happen, possible mechanics behind the game, and possible glitches. This is also a great section to email me about if you have any ideas on what I list here. Or if the reader has some theories of his/her own. These are in no particular order. -2nd Play shop sells items at higher prices -Accessories have weight -getting 100% souls on 2nd Play will give you a better weapon, Sword of Seven Stars maybe? ______________________________________________________________________________ IV. Stage Walkthroughs A. Stage Elements Time - time taken to complete stage, important for acquiring special items Objects Destroyed - percent of objects destroyed, optional goal, no reward Spirits Released - spirits hide in objects, destroying the object releases them Enemies Killed - enemies killed Before we begin, remember these things.. -Playing through the game without replaying any completed stages will be very difficult -Don't expect to get an A in destruction, 100% spirits, and every special item the first time you play the stage -The object destruction grade is a percent B. Stage Walkthroughs The "++" in front of the stage number indicates the stage difficulty. One + being the easiest and Six + being the hardest. ================ The Living World ================ +1. Bamboo Thicket Objective - kill the Ravens Creatures - Talon Raven Yasha, Mercy Orb Symbol (MOS) Suggested Equipment - any weapon, any spell, any accessory A In Destruction (AiD) - destroy all bamboo trees and the stone lanterns Spirits - easy enough Special Item - none First level is always easy right? Listen to the Princess while you kill the Ravens. There will be a cutscene then more Ravens will arrive. Before killing all the Ravens, make sure to kill the Mercy Orb Symbol and pick up the mercy orb, increasing your life. ++2. Forbidden Mansion Objective - kill the two giant red Ravens Creatures - Yasha Ravens Suggested Equipment - any weapon, any spell, any accessory AiD - walls, lanterns, walls, jugs, trees, stone lanterns Spirits - easy enough Special Item - none The second stage is a sharp spike in difficulty. This is the first time you experience the dangers of fire. These Ravens are more hostile than the serene Bamboo Ravens. Some will shoot fireballs at you. Watch out for the lanterns. They drop flaming debris. To complete the stage, kill the two giant Ravens. One Raven drops Dragon Level 1. Their charging attack will take away a life orb when they hit you, so be careful. +3. Mountain Gates Objective - destroy the copper mirrors Creatures - Skeleton Mages, Demon Weeds, Armored Skulls Suggested Equipment - any weapon, any spell, any accessory AiD - so many trees.. all need heavy attacks, bridges, houses, walls, shrines, lanterns Spirits - in walls, trees, and bridges Special Item - Rune Scimitars, 20 hit combo. You can get it by the first copper mirror. Wait for all the skulls and skeleton mages to swarm around you and then give em' hell This stage can be completed in 30 seconds. You can go for just the mirrors or try to get the extras, AiD, spirits, special item.. The first mirror is directly in front of you. It's a shiny mirror in a mini-shrine. The second mirror is in a ditch underneath a bridge. The third mirror is on the left side of the giant building, close to the edge of a drop. If you're low on MP, the Demon Weeds give a ton of MP. ++4. Ancient Capital Objective - kill the old man on the pillar/throne Creatures - Jyosei, Skeleton Mages, Demon Weeds, Lionette, MOS Suggested Equipment - any weapon, any spell, any accessory AiD - houses, walls, pillars Spirits - easy enough Special Item - none A quick and painful stage. You start off with Jyosei launching giant fireballs at you. If one hits you dead on, a life orb will be broken. Watch out for the splash damage. Don't worry about the enemies now, just run past them. At the top of the rise, Chimera Level 1 awaits you in a shrine. Get it and head left toward the lionettes and the walls. Killing them is optional, but after you pass the lionettes and the walls, a MOS appears. Kill it to get a Mercy Orb. This next area allows Jyosei to target you again. Keep island hopping your way up to the bridge and gate. An easier way is a low path on the left. Check your map for the location. When you get to Jyosei, he'll probably still be firing fireballs at you. Attack Jyosei from his right, your left when you approach him. Lock on to him and hit him with heavy attacks. You'll get knocked back everytime you hurt him. Ignore the skeleton mages for now, their attacks drain MP. +5. Palace of Gold Objective - destroy the golden vases to get the essence Creatures - Lionettes, Skeleton Mages, Armored Skulls Suggested Equipment - vertical R+Y dJump weapon, any spell, any accessory AiD - a little tough b/c most things regenerate, which don't count toward the grade. lanterns, boxes, wall, ceiling lanterns, mirrors Spirits - boxes, ceiling lantern to be noteworthy Special Item - Dragon Staff, completion time under 3 min. This shouldn't be too hard. It would have to be a replay stage so the extra destructibles don't get in your way. Jump up on top of the pillars and onto the second floor to destroy the jars. Another level where you can rush through it without doing much. Destroy all the glowing golden jars. Right when you start, there will be two lionettes. Easy, but as you walk further, a roaming lionetter appears. These are harder and will charge at you. If you get hit with the charge and collide with a pillar/wall, then a life orb will break. There are jars on the second floor, supported by pillars. You can jump up there, dJump probably, or you can destroy the supporting pillars. After a while, a freaky red haired Demon will attack you. Hit him once or evade him for awhile to get rid if him. He can't hurt you.. much. Again, watch out for fire. MP is often a problem here, so when in doubt, destroy all pillars. The Mystical Beads are located in a hidden room with a breakble wall as a door. It's in the room with all the skeleton mages. +++6. A Clouded Moon Objective - kill the freaky lady Creatures - Serpents, Soul Caller Suggested Equipment - any weapon, phoenix, any accessory AiD - HELL! Impossible to get A in one or even three tries. Bridges, water lamp posts, the floating lanterns Spirits - good thing no spirits are in the floating lanterns.. stone lamp posts, bridges Special Item - Needle of Fury, completion time under 1 min. difficult to get early on b/c of low attack. dash right away, if you get hit with 2 or more fire balls, then it's gonna be really tight at the end. equip items that give you the highest attack. try 3x light, 1x heavy combo'ing her. dJump her works nicely too. Difficult stage that requires tricky jumping and dashing. Here's where you can test your dashing and jumping skills; go across when the moon's hidden. As you get near the two islands, Serpants will break away some parts of the bridges, so careful. If you touch the water, your MP will decrease quicker than normal. Fighting the Soul Caller is annoying. She turns invincible and starts shooting fireballs at you at a high rate when the moon is hidden. Make sure to stay on land. The Serpant's charge attack knocks you back and the SC's fireball attack stuns you. If you do land in water and that freak is following you, don't be afriad to dash in water and get to land. There are steps on both islands. mCombo works nicely, but that uses a lot of mana which you may not be willing to spare. +++7. Restless Sea Objective - keep the ship afloat by knocking off blobs, Kesans Creatures - Kesan, Serpents Suggested Equipment - heavy weapon, phoenix, Mystical Beads AiD - hard stage to get A in. rock arches, ship masts, crystals Spirits - also hard to get 100%. a couple are in crystals, couple in ship masts, and I think one in a rock arch. don't go for 100% in one try, your MP will run out or your boat will sink Special Item - Dragon Point, kill 30 enemies. not too hard, but you shouldn't try it when you are barely killing the Kesans. use high attack weapons This stage is so dull. Kill the blobs that land on your boat. It may take two full combos to kill one Kesan the first time you do this. The Kesans land on the front of the ship, the roof, and the back. Occasionally check the roof and the back because the Kesans usually land in the front. If you have too many Kesans on one part of the ship, that part will start to sink, you'll notice. Try to group Kesans together when attacking them so you'll hit multiple Kesans. Serpents don't pose that much of a problem, but if you have some extra time, go kill them. At the end of the stage, a giant Kesan will land on the front of the ship. Make sure to not have too many little Kesans on the front when the large Kesan lands. Kill him quickly because if he stays on for too long, your ship will sink regardless of weight. ++8. Tower of Water Objective - destroy the pillars underneath the tower Creatures - Serpents Suggested Equipment - light weapon, chimera, Belt of Good Omen AiD - crystals, make sure to dJump to get high ones Spirits - easy enough, just a lot of destrutibles Special Item - None A straight forward stage. Destroy the pillars in the water, and on the platform. The serpents come endlessly. Destroy the pillars on the platform first, when all the serpents are just appearing. It's difficult later on when you're constantly being bombarded by green spheres. +++9. Floating Tomb Objective - injure or kill Kudara, the huge flying insect Creatures - Kudara Suggested Equipment - vertical slam weapon, chimera, Mystical Beads AiD - stone pillars, fence, floating rocks Spirits - I think three spirits are released in the center shrine, easy to find Special Item - Sutra of Aggression, kill Kudara. when Kudara starts charging fast at you, that means you have a limited amount of time to kill him before he runs away. raise your attack to the fullest A stage completely dedicated to killing a boss. To hurt Kudara, you have to attack him in the head when he charges at you. Lock-on to him first of all. When he dives at you, do a heavy attack on his head. A vertical slam weapon would be best. If you heavy attack too early, you won't hit him; if you heavy attack too late, you risk collision with Kudara. Be careful of his giant tail. It has odd physics. Whenever you see a white flash of light on your screen, keep moving. Because in the next second, a bolt of lightning will strike where you just stood, taking out one life orb. If you're low on life, unlock-on Kudara and grab a few orbs floating about. ++10. The Green Cave Objective - destroy the boulder at the end of the stage Creatures - Yasha Ravens, Stone Diety, MOS Suggested Equipment - high MP weapon, dragon, any accessory AiD - spores, bridge, statues, wooden arches, crystals Spirits - spore, wooden arch Special Item - none Pretty fun stage. In the tunnel, there are spores that explode when you hit them. They don't damage you much but they stun you. Through the second spore located on the left wall, the Butterfly Staff awaits you. After the tunnels is the giant room with the waterfalls and bridge. The MOS is floating about, but this is the first time it'll attack you. Watch out for its spin attack. From now on, MOS' will attack you. The Archer Ravens are really annoying, they'll knock you about so much that you will drop down to the water. Try to land on the water as little as possible. Touch down and jump up and attack them. Don't try to kill the Ravens the first time, it will drain too much MP. The next room is full of Ravens. Kill them if you want. Grab the Raise Defense orb or the Raise Attack orb on your way out. The final room is full of crystals and Dieties. The Dieties can be ignored and you can head for the giant boulder. Everytime you hurt it, it will repel you. The Boulder can be destroyed with a charged up spell. Stone Dieties drop a lot of MP, that's if you need MP. +11. Spirit Wood Objective - destroy the cursed rock and survive Creatures - Wood Diety, Stone Diety Suggested Equipment - long range weapon or dual wield, butterfly or chimera, Belt of Good Omen AiD - arches, trees, bridge Spirits - easy enough Special Item - Wooden Training Sword, get 400+ hit combo. I have not gotten this weapon yet. To get this high number, or a high number, you need to destroy the rock and let them swarm you. Long range weapons, or dual wield weapons are prefered. Butterfly or Chimera should be used. Try to avoid getting hit. This, I think, would be easier to get early in the game because later on, one light attack of yours will kill them. So therefore you have to kill essentially twice the number of Dieties. As you start the level, hug the right wall to find an alternative path that goes over the original path. The bridge collapses when hit with a light attack so jump over that. You'll meet up with some Stone Dieties that are guarding Jaws of the Mountain, a heavy dual wield weapon. After this, head towards the evil stone tree. A cutscene happens, then go for the tree. It'll repel you everytime you hurt it. When it's destroyed, you just have to survive for about a minute. Except there will be an infinite amount of Wood Dieties trying to kill you. Easy. Trick: After you destroy the cursed rock.. The gap where you jumped down from is where the Dieties are pouring out from. You can't go back up there, there is an invisible ceiling. But, if you keeping dJumping there, you'll hit the Dieties there and you won't get hit so easily. Don't worry about MP. ++12. Untamed Winds Objective - kill the Yasha Raven King Creatures - Ravens Suggested Equipment - any weapon, dragon, Belt of Good Omen AiD - logs, arches, trees, statues Spirits - easy enough Special Item - none This stage has a movement altering effect. The wind blows you a certain direction. So adjust your jumping and combo skills to this change. Two ways to beat this, run through the intended areas or dash south and arrive at the giant tree trunk from it's side. The Raven King is not hard to kill, just hard to get in range. He keeps running away and either charges at you, or shoots spears of magic at you. To counter his charge, just move. His spears are harder to dodge, so you can dash around it or hit them back at him. Try to stay upwind from him so you can quickly dash in when you see an opening. Completing the stage gives you the Sword of Binding. ++13. Valley of Flames Objective - kill the Ogres Creatures - Ogres, Flame Wisps, Viper Head Suggested Equipment - any weapon, phoenix, White Serpent Amulet AiD - torches, pillars, statues, arches Spirits - easy enough Special Item - none Ogres are the large beasts with huge arms. Be careful of their attacks. Jump or dash behind them to hurt them. Do an mCombo with the phoenix spell and then a couple of combos. They drop a load of MP, gold, and experience. When you get to the tunnel spewing flames, destroy the statues on either side to stop the flames. Inside is the Flame Staff. If you can't find the last Ogre, he might be on a rise near the far end of the Stage. +++14. Scarlet Path Objective - reach the end of the guantlet Creatures - Viper Head, Ogre, Fire Wisp, Water Spawn Suggested Equipment - high MP weapon, no spell, White Serpent Amulet AiD - you have to play this stage multiple times to get all the destrutibles Spirits - preseverance, keep at it Special Item - none Two seconds into the stage, black demons will start draining your MP like crazy. Run and jump through the boulders and enemies. Destroy something when you need to. The arches where a blue swirl awaits you refill some MP, once. So keep running. Don't worry if you run out of MP, the whole stage can be done without dashing or dJumping. Careful not to touch lava when you have no MP. Trick: Since the stage zig zags back and forth up the mountain, you can cut across most of the corners. Just tilt your camera up to see the path, and use dJump to get up there. ++++15. Sea of Fire Objectiv - kill the Water Spirit Creatures - Water Spirit, Water Spawn, MOS Suggested Equipment - high MP weapon, phoenix or dragon, Mystical Beads AiD - bridges, fireballs, pillars, fire urns, rocks Spirits - easy enough Special Item - Holy Staff, completion time under 2:30. dragon spell is the recommended method. use the dragon staff and at least level 2 dragon. all you have to do is lock-on to it, and use mCombo just to release the charged spell quicker. charging takes too long A tough stage indeed. The main problem here is MP. You lose MP when you touch lava, you lose MP when you get Frosted by the Water Spawns. Chase down the Water Spirit and mCombo it. Without MP, it is extremely hard to catch the Water Spirit, in that it stays at a high altitude and moves around a lot. The Water Spirit will shoot homing ice missiles at you. They can take out a life orb, but the real harm is getting Frosted. Now for items, there is a lone fire urn at the back of the big statue. It stands out. Destroy it to grab Butterfly Level 2. Inside the caves is a MOS. ++++16. A Chilled Moon Objective - kill the Crimson King Creatures - Crimson King Suggested Equipment - any weapon, any spell, any accessory AiD - bamboo, ice, bridges, arches, fence, tombstones Spirits - easy enough Special Item - Prayer Beads, completion time under 1:10 min. easy to do if you equip all your attack items. remember where he runs to At first it may seem that he is smarter, quicker, and more powerful than you. Well he's just programmed to be that way. Learn his moves and habits. To hurt him, you must hit him from the side or back. If you hit him in the front, he'll block it and charge at you. To get the Providence Mirror, break the fence in front of it. It's somewhat underneath the golden arches. Fun stage. =============== The Outer World =============== +++17. Eternal Night Objective - kill the Axe Blackwing Creatures - Skeleton Mages, Lionettes, Blackwing Suggested Equipment - any weapon, any spell, any accessory AiD - torches, floating rocks, houses, shrines, walls Spirits - easy enough Special Item - none First stage in the outer world. The outer world is a reflection of the living world stages, but harder and weirder. Most outer world stages have floating rocks with plants growing on them in addition to the ground destrutibles. Anyway, your vision is down to about 4 yards ahead of you. This stage is stage four. On top of the stepping stones hill, near the gate and bridge, is the Phoenix Level 2. Once you pass the stepping stones area, there is a lone light way out there. Dash to it and grab the Jeweled Goblet, it's a trap so dash outta there asap. This is the first time you'll be experiencing black fire. Which will burn away at least one life orb. +++18. Darkfire Cave Objective - kill the Ogres, enter the tunnel Creatures - Ogres, Viper Head, Blackwings Suggested Equipment - any weapon, Phoenix Level 2, any accessory AiD - torches, pillars, arches Spirits - easy enough Special Item - none A stage that has even more black fire than the previous one. The Blackwings occasionally throw black fireballs at you. Ogres are easily killed with a Phoenix mCombo and some regular attacks. Kill the Blackwings before tackling the Ogres. Ogre's Horn is dropped by an Ogre, and a Phoenix Staff is dropped by some enemy. When you can't find any more Ogres, then go to the black flame spewing tunnel. It will no longer be spewing out flames. Enter and complete. ++++19. Golem's Ravine Objective - kill the giant Stone Diety, called Omni Diety now Creatures - Blackwings, Dieties Suggested Equipment - staff, any spell, any accessory AiD - spores, bridge, crystal bamboo, statues (including the boss room) Spirits - one in spores, statues, statues in boss' room Special Item - Skylarks, completion time under 1:50. not hard, equip your high attack weapons, and run through. easier when Raikoh Level 20+ A messy stage. The Green Cave stage with a lot more destructibles. This is the first time you see the eerie crystal bamboo. The tunnel is very annoying. Spores stun you, Blackwings hurt you, and black gas vents drain your MP. By the time you get out of there, your MP will probably be half way gone. Not much to see until the boss. Avoid the light beams the Omni Stone shoots through the ground. The boss is floating in midair and if you do a vertical slam, then you will die. Just light attack him in the forehead. He can't hit you up there. +++20. Inner Sanctum Objective - kill the golden Lionette Creatures - Mist Lionette, Blackwings, MOS Suggested Equipment - any weapon, chimera, any accessory AiD - pillars, lanterns, floating rocks, ceiling lanterns, mirrors Spirits - don't forget the mirrors Special Item - Chimera Level 3, completion time under 1 min. Needle of Fury needed A simple chase and kill level. Only weapon attacks will hurt him. He runs away a lot. Just go after him. Watch out when you get near him, he shoots a black fireball at you. Where the Mystical Beads were in stage 5, is where the MOS is. Also where the Crimson King rested in Stage 5, is where the Golden Dragon is. ++++21. Red Sea Objective - protect the Purifying Spirit until it reaches the islands Creatures - Skulls, Blackwings, Serpents Suggested Equipment - any weapon, chimera, any accessory AiD - if you thought getting the floating lanterns in stage 6 was tiring.. stone pillars, bridges, crystal bamboo, floating lanterns Spirits - all on mainland, none on floating lanterns Special Item - none Every game has to have a protect "thing" scenario. Well here it is. The skulls and serpents may not do much damage to you, but they will kill the Spirit if it gets swarmed. Staying with the Spirit loses you no MP. If you stray too far from it, you will start losing MP very quickly. Water has the same effect on you as usual. Careful when walking with the spirit, your attacks will hurt the spirit. An alternative method would be to dash to the end of the stage, killing the blackwings and skulls and serpents along the way, and wait for the Spirit to arrive. Do not panic if you have no MP, if you got all the Mercy Orbs, it will take awhile for you to die. Plus there are life orbs around. Feel free to wade in the water when your MP depletes. Again, don't step in deep water. The deep water is marked by light pillars. Punisher Sword on right island. ++++22. Lair of Fire Objective - kill all Blackwings Creatures - Blackwings, Viper Heads, MOS Suggested Equipment - any weapon, any spell, Cleansing Bell AiD - crystal bamboo, pillars, floating rocks, bridges Spirits - easy enough Special Item - Phoenix Level 3, completion time under 1:39 min. The only way to kill them quickly is to use dragon equipment. Instead of charging up the spell, lock-on and use the mCombo. you don't have to hit them with the weapon Here's another stage with movement affecting elements. Low gravity and heat distortion. Everytime you dash, you gain about 7 feet. Starting out, you will be attacked by a couple of Blackwings. If you try to hit them in the front, they will block it and you'll be sent upwards. Try to catch them off guard. The Blackwings are located in the four corners of the map. The Thunder Sword is located just above the lava, close to the center island. The MOS is on one end of the row of pillars. +++23. Canyon of Death Objective - kill all Blackwings Creatures - Blackwings, Serpent Suggested Equipment - any weapon, any spell, any accessory AiD - crystals, pillars Spirits - easy enough Special Item - Butterfly Level 3, completion time under 1:39 min. done by using dragon equipment or needle of fury. be careful when using needle of fury. dash a lot and slam the Blackwings into the ground Another hunt and kill the Blackwings. They are the floating black clouds. When you first start the game, turn around and head back. Kill the serpent and get the Black Swallows. After you kill 2-3 Blackwings, the lightning will start. It's kind of sporadic so you can't predict when the lightning will hit. The lightning does follow you, so keep moving. To avoid the lightning, stay under the tower. But just kill the Blackwings quick before the lightning hits you and threatens a restart. +++24. Forest of Wind Objective - kill the three Wind Slashers Creatures - Wind Slashers Suggested Equipment - Dragon Staff, Dragon Level 2, Prayer Beads or Mystical Beads AiD - logs, floating rocks, statues Spirits - easy enough Special Item - Dragon Level 3, completion time under 1:39 min. spam dragon spell This could be one of the hardest stages ever if you didn't use Dragon. I first beat it using normal attacks, which was insanely hard. Spam Dragon. One will eventually hit the Wind Slashers. When this happens, either cast Dragon toward the Slasher, or lock-on, and cast Dragon. They circle you in a counter-clockwise direction. To get the Staff of Duality, go into the narrower canyon. Follow it to the cliff, then take a left. Then take another left. Go through the hollow log and arrive at the edge. The Staff is right above you, on top of the log. Careful not to fall down. ++25. Spirit Tower Objective - destroy the Lilac spawners, run Creatures - Lilac Spirits, Hydra Suggested Equipment - light weapon, no spell, no accessory AiD - candles Spirits - candles, right after the 2nd cutscene a spirit is on the very top left, let the hydra reach it for you Special Item - Orchid Malevolence, kill Hydra. I think the only way to kill the Hydra is with the Moonlight Sword. Just heavy attack it. Don't worry about MP. Just kill the knobs on the walls that are spawning Lilac Spirits. The Hydra appears and all you have to do is run. Jump occasionally over the candles. ================ The Living World ================ ++++26. Valley of Prayer Objective - collect 5 stone orbs Creatures - MOS Suggested Equipment - any weapon, any spell, Providence Mirror AiD - walls, houses, arches, lanterns, jars, "sky" dock Spirits - easy enough Special Item - Sword of Voracity, kill 60+ enemies. Another stage where you can rush through it. The stone orbs look like life orbs without the lily on top. One is in a MOS, one is in a house directly in front of you when you start, one is on the high rise near the "sky" dock, one is on the far high rise, and one is in the lower left corner, next to the jars. The MOS' spin attack will take out one life orb. If you get slammed into something, which you probably will be, you'll lose even more health. Once you get down to two life orbs, the Providence Mirrow will save your ass. You will be surprised how much it takes to kill you. ++++27. Sealed Palace Objective - rehammer the nails back into the demon Creatures - Demon God Suggested Equipement - not heavy weapons, no spell, no accessory AiD - nothing you can do Spirits - nothing you can do Special Item - none Here is where your coordination, jumping, and attacking skills come into play big time. No enemies in this stage. Just hit the nails to seal the demon. It takes 4 heavy attacks to drive one nail fully in. The nail turns red when it's sealed. A staff is more accurate than the sword. It can allow you to swing twice before dropping down. But the sword lets you hit two nails at once, if you line them up. Strange orbs will fly out at you, but don't worry about those. The hard part is avoiding the Demon God's lightning attack. Every 10 seconds or so, he fills an entire area full of white lightning. If you're in the middle of it, instant death. If you're on the edge, you'll lose life orbs and will get knocked back. Each time he does this attack, he increases the area of effect. Hurry or else you'll be pushed far back everytime he attacks. +++++28. Ethereal Palace Objective - kill the four bosses Creatures - Soul Caller, Wind Slasher, Blackwing, Raven King, MOS Suggested Equipment - any weapon, Dragon Level 3, Providence Mirror AiD - torches, arches, railings, fire urns, crystals Spirits - easy enough, none in railings or torches Special Item - none Revisiting the previous bosses, except they're harder. You are dropped on a ledge that leads into the main room. In the main room, there are an infinite amount of MOS. There are also an infinite amount of MOS' when you fight any boss. Ignore them and take a path that leads to any boss. Each boss will drop a life orb. These are in no particular order.. -Blackwing- He's in a furnace like room. With four fire urns in the corners. A simple boss, you've fought many before. Quick way to defeat him is to dash to his back or side, dJump him, and vertical slam him into the ground. -Raven King- Tougher than the Blackwing. He can do a spinning charge attack that does a load of damage. He can shoot those infamous spears at you. And he can curse you, the worst. When you're cursed, run around a lot and avoid everything. -Soul Caller- Glad she doesn't talk in this stage.. Simplest of the four. You can mCombo her up close or from far away. She takes her time after she dies. -Wind Slashers- Just like the Forest of Wind stage, they fall quick to Dragon. But, getting to them is such a pain. There are nine or so glass panes that have to be broken to get to the Slashers. These panes can only be broken by knocking MOS into them, or getting yourself knocked into them. I prefer the second method. Stand there and wait for an MOS to hit you with their spin attack. Usually you go through 2 or 3 panes of glass. You'll probably lose 2-3 life orbs, but the Slashers drop 2 life orbs. Head back into the main room and step in the center of the circle. ++++++29. In The Heavens Objective - kill Michizane Creatures - Michizane Suggested Equipment 3 sets - Dragon Staff, Dragon Level 3, Providence Miror - Soul Seal, Dragon Level 3, Providence Mirror - Black Swallows, any spell, Needle of Fury AiD - nothing you can do Spirits - nothing you can do Special Item - none A very difficult boss. You fight on islands floating in space. They will respawn if too many are destroyed. Michizane has three forms, each form is harder than the former. He uses a variety of attacks. His purple fireball, his quick slash, his combo, his mirror image.. and some other jumping stuff. I will write two guides that match the set that is equiped. -Dragon Mage Combo- Your primary way of damaging Michizane is your Dragon spell. Always use the mCombo method to launch your charged Dragon. Never charge up. The =first= thing to do is to reach the higher islands. Once you're up there and have islands beneath you in case yours gets destroyed or you fall, then you can start attacking. Lock-on to his first form and do your mCombo. Dash backwards if he starts charging at you and dash sideways when avoiding his purple fireball. That fireball will take awhile 1 life orb upon impact and it will burn for 1 more life orb. When he duplicates himself, it shouldn't be a problem because you're still locked onto the real one. Take them down. His =second= form requires even more manuevering. In addition to having the same attacks as the first form, Michizane can now combo you. Usually taking away 2 life orbs if he completes his combo. When you get close, try to stun him with a light attack. And do your mCombo. His =final= form is very difficult. He has all the moves you've so far survived and now he has more... He can dash like you. It is impossible to keep Michizane locked-on the entire time. When he appears in front of you and rushes you, simply hop behind him and try to mCombo him. If you haven't seen him in awhile, dash directly behind you and start doing light attacks. It never hurts to guess. :D Clicking the left thumbstick is important. That's the only way to lock onto him when he's rushing you from the side or behind. As you nick at him bit by bit, he will summon an artificial ground. This you can stand and dash on. It goes away after awhile so make sure to find an island to land on. As his health gets lower and lower, he will become more and more powerful. Now he will send out charged Dragon spells to chase YOU down. Those things break islands. At this point, don't worry about hitting him with your weapon. Spam Dragon with mCombo and hope it kills him. It took me 8+ tries at max level, so don't be too frustrated after 5 tries. -Melee Combo- This way is harder, but deals more damage to Michizane. If you're good at weapons and dashing around, then try this more challenging way. Michizane's fireballs become even a greater threat when you need to close in on him. His melee attacks shouldn't be too hard to dodge since, well you're good at dodging and jumping! Michizane's final form is a pain to beat with melee weapons. At first it's fine, but once he starts casting Dragons, it will be hard to get close to him. Sneaking up on Michizane from underneath is the safest method, but it's hard to combo him after doing some inaccurate dJumps. This way is 3 times harder than the Dragon spell method, but ultimately very rewarding. Your Soul Seal against his Sword of Seven Stars. Ahwoo! -Insane Combo- This method was suggested to me by a reader, but pardon me, I lost the email and could not recall the name. If you read this again, feel free to remind me. Any whoo, this combination of equipment and strategy is for the experts who need a challenge. The Needle of Fury allows for insane attack damage, but you need to dodge every attack of Michizane's. Usually two hits of anything kills you. This combo draws from the skills of using melee weapon and the skills of a spellcastor. You need to be really offensive and at the same time, avoid everything Michizane throws at you. Good luck. The ultimate weapon against Michizane, and against anything, is the Moonlight Sword. It kills every form of Michizane's with one heavy attack. The ideal time to strike Michizane is when he's charging up for his fireball attack or when he's charging up for his Dragon attack. The Dragon charge time is obviously shorter than the fireball charge time. When the Dragon hits you, you'll be knocked back quite far. C. 2nd Play Walkthrough Introduction 2nd Play is a mode you unlock once you beat the game. You play through the whole game again, but with a higher difficulty and with all the items you obtained during "1st Play". Some constant differences in 2nd Play.. -MP goes down quicker -Raikoh takes more damage -Light Attacks can now destroy objects that previously needed a Heavy Attack to destroy Getting all the items, if you didn't get them all before, will be much harder to accomplish in 2nd Play. ______________________________________________________________________________ V. Weapons, Magic and Accessories ===A. Weapons=== Single Swords -Soul Shrine- Starting weapon that Raikoh uses. This doesn't have the best stats and it's quite fragile. Also very costly to repair. Started with it -Soul Seal- Excellent weapon that can be used throughout the entire game. Raises attack when injured. This is the better version of Soul Shrine. Bought in store -Locust Wing- Excellent weapon for item hunting. Light and high MP. Bought in store -Helmet Splitter- Great weapon for abusing the slam attack. Very durable and raises defense. Bought in store -Fanblade- Weak attack, best used to keep enemies away. Repels enemies even with light attack. Bought in store -Training Sword- Poor attack, but durable. 400+ hit combo in stage 11 -Sword of Voracity- Good attack, but drains mana when swung. Even when not hitting an enemy. Enemies drop more MP than normal. Kill 60+ enemies in stage 26 -Orchid Malevolence- One hit kill against any enemy. Raikoh dies when damaged by anything. Even falling debris. Makes the game more fun and challenging to play. Kill the Hydra, stage 25 -Moonlight Sword- Max attack, defense, and MP. When doing a heavy attack on the ground, the sword unleashes a slice of moonlight, killing anything in one hit. Obtain 100% spirits in stages 1-28, sword will be awarded when completing the last stage to get 100% spirits Heavy Weapons -Demon Crusher- High attack beginning weapon. Bought in store -Indigo Fang- Heaviest weapon in the game. Deals extra damage when doing heavy attack. Bought in store -Golden Dragon- Weapon with high physical attack. Great for killing bosses quickly. Good when used with Needle of Fury. Found in stage 20 -Sword of Binding- Stuns the enemy when they're blocking. Allowing you to attack again, striking them. Obtained when completing stage 12 -Heretic's Blade- Prone to status changes (silence, curse, etc.), works great with Cleansing Bell. Bought in store Staves -Flame Staff- Sets enemies on fire upon contact. Medium damage. Found in stage 13 -Holy Staff- Speeds life recovery and allows for higher jumping. Complete stage 15 in under 2:30 -Double Dragons- Wide range, reliable. Staff you will use for awhile. Bought in store -Dragon Point- Reliable, high MP boost. Staff that replaces Double Dragons. Kill 30+ enemies in stage 7 -Ogre's Horn- Easily broken, repair frequently. High damage. Found in stage 13 -Staff of Duality- Neutral magic caster's staff. High MP boost. Low Damage. Found in stage 24 -Three Winds- Attack increases each consecutive strike upon the enemy. Stops when Raikoh gets hit. Weak initial hit. Bought in store -Dragon Staff- Increases damage of Dragon spells, weak attack. Complete stage 5 in under 3:00 -Phoenix Staff- Increases damage of Phoenix spells, weak attack. Found in stage 18 -Chimera Staff- Increases damage of Chimera spells, weak attack. Bought in shop -Butterfly Staff- Increases damage of Butterfly spells, weak attack. Found in stage 10 Twin Blades / Dual Wield -Twin Flashes- Colorful blades that decreases recovery time of status changes Bought in store -Twin Rays- Similar to Twin Flashes, increases resistance to status changes Bought in store -Rune Scimitars- Huge scimitars, beginner's dual wield weapon. 20+ hit combo in stage 3 -Jaws of the Mountain- Heavy dual wield weapon, boosts defense. Found in stage 11 -Black Swallows- Very reliable dual wield weapon. Can be effectively used in later stages. Found in stage 23 -Skylarks- Difficult to use dual wield weapon. Can be thrown when doing 3x light, 1x heavy attack. Complete stage 19 in under 1:45 ===B. Magic=== Though this was skimmed over in the Basic section, here is a more indepth analysis of the magic spells. Dragon Spells These spells shoot out several dragons that twist and twirl in the general direction you are facing. If it's close to an enemy, it will automatically home in on them. A charged dragon spell releases fewer dragons but they are bigger, do an AoE and they do more damage. Level 1: Found in stage 2 Level 2: Bought in store Level 3: Complete stage 24 within 2:00 min Chimera Spells The chimera spells call forth a ring of lightning to strike around you. If the enemy is close enough to you, it may not necessarily be hit. A charged spell is a large lightning strike right at Raikoh. This does significantly more damage than just a regular cast. Level 1: Found in stage 4 Level 2: Bought in store Level 3: Complete stage 20 within 1:39 min Phoenix Spells Probably the most powerful spell. It fires 3 phoenicis that knockback and set enemies on fire. The charged Phoenix is the spell to use. It sends a giant destructive phoenix that charges through ranks of enemies and sets them all on fire. Works great close range. Level 1: Bought in store Level 2: Found in stage 17 Level 3: Complete stage 22 within 1:40 Butterfly Spells This is a great defensive spell. It doesn't do that much damage, but one little butterfly will send enemies flying. A charged spell releases bigger and more damage butterflies that can actually kill! Level 1: Bought in store Level 2: Found in stage 15 Level 3: Complete stage 23 within 1:40 ===C. Accessory=== -White Serpent Amulet- Repels red fire. Very handy towards the beginning of the game. Bought in store -Prayer Beads- Reduces MP requirement for spells. Fun for playing with spells or for serious work. Complete stage 16 in under 1 min -Mystical Beads- Raises Attack. One of your 3 regularly equiped accessories. Found in stage 5 -Summoning Statue- A statue that gives more experience. Bought in store -Belt of Good Omen- Raises Defense. One of your 3 regularly equiped accessories. Bought in store -Needle of Fury- Increases attack like crazy, lowers defense like crazy, silenced. Complete stage 6 in under 1 min -Providence Mirror- A real life saver late in the game. When Raikoh's life is low, raises attack, defense, and spell damage. Found in stage 16 -Jeweled Goblet- Increases money obtained from enemies. Found in stage 17 -Bell of Cleansing- Prevents any status effects on Raikoh. Slows life recovery. But you never notice it. One of your 3 regularly equiped accessories. Bought in store -Sutra of Aggression- Raises attack depending on level of Raikoh. I don't think the raised attack is shown on screen, because it appears that Mystical Beads are better. Clearly the Sutra is more valuable. Kill Kudara, stage 9 ______________________________________________________________________________ VI. Miscellaneous A. Credits Thanks to Software and Sega for making this game. Thanks to StA71k for providing all the stage completion times required to get items. And for inspiring to create a new term for dash jumping, dJump and dAttack. Thanks, again, to StA71k and Val for providing the number of hits needed and the time requirements for getting special items. B. Legal The explanation of game mechanics, the tips and tricks, the walkthrough and the opinionated description of each weapon/magic/acc belongs to CLLi (Charles Li). This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. Sites Allowed To Post My Guide - GameFAQs.com - SuperCheats.com [m.i.a.] - 1UP.com / MyCheats.com - Neoseeker.com All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. � 2006 Charles Li C. Version History 8/20/2006 Version 1.00 Written 8/31/2006 Version 1.20 Updated stages: 2, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29 Updated weapons, spells & accessories Updated and renumbered Advanced Added new section, "Abusing Slam Attack" 9/9/2006 Version 1.30 Updated version numbering Updated Introduction and Legal 4/29/2007 Version 1.40 Added 2nd Play Introduction Added a new way to fight Michizane New section: Theories Plan for future section: 2nd Play Walkthrough 9/8/2009 Version 1.50 Corrected some errors Changed Magic Section Added stage names in table of contents Changed Legal Section D. Contact I have yet to add the FAQ portion of this, since no one has asked me anything yet. I am available for questions, comments, criticism and suggestions. Feel free to email me, I will try and respond within the same week. email: [email protected]