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Oichi character FAQ

by Arcueid Brunestud

                 ---------------------------------------------
                              Samurai Warriors 2
                               (Sengoku Musou 2)
                            Playstation 2 / Xbox 360
                              Oichi Character FAQ
                                 Version:  1.01
                        FAQ Created by "Arcueid Brunestud"
                 ---------------------------------------------





===============================================================================
0.  Table of Contents
===============================================================================

#.   Section Name                                                  Search Index
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.   General Introduction                                              [IN001]
2.   Update History                                                    [UP002]
3.   So Who is Oichi?                                                  [WH003]
4.   How do I play as Oichi?                                           [HO004]
5.   Why would I want to play as Oichi?                                [WY005]
6.   Statistics                                                        [ST006]
      6.1 Stat Overview
      6.2 Notes on What Stats Do
      6.3 Comments on Oichi's Stats
7.   Skills                                                            [SK007]
      7.1  Ability Skills
      7.2  Growth Skills
      7.3  Battle Skills
      7.4  Special Skills
      7.5  Personal Skill
      7.6  Tips on Learning Enemy Skills
8.   Moveset                                                           [MO008]
      8.1  Overall Move List
      8.2  Normal Attacks
      8.3  Charge Attacks
      8.4  Musou  Attack
      8.5  Special Moves
9.   Weapons                                                           [WE009]
      9.0  Introduction to the Kendama
      9.1  General Notes on Weapons
      9.2  First Weapon:   Cup and Ball
      9.3  Second Weapon:  Cup and Stone
      9.4  Third Weapon:   Cup and Iron
      9.5  Fourth Weapon:  Cup and Gold
      9.6  Fourth Weapon Acquisition Method                            [WPACQ]
10.   Story Mode Walkthrough                                           [SY010]
      10.1  Village Rescue                                             [SY110]
      10.2  Retreat From Kanegasaki                                    [SY120]
      10.3  Battle of Anegawa                                          [SY130]
      10.4  Siege of Mt. Usa                                           [SY140]
      10.5  Siege of Odani Castle                                      [SY150]
      10.6  Oichi's Dream:  Incident at Shizugatake                    [SY160]
11.   Thanks and Credits                                               [TC011]
12.   Contact Info and Copyright                                       [CC012]




===============================================================================
 1.    General Introduction                                            [In001]
===============================================================================


Hello and welcome to my first FAQ.  After years of lurking, I randomly decided
it was time to put something out of moderate usage.  To be blunt, this FAQ
contains a plethora of information regarding Oichi in Samurai Warriors 2. Along
with the Story Mode walkthrough, you can also find some general information
and playing tips for Oichi within the depths of this FAQ.  The latter is one
of the primary reasons this was constructed.

Xbox 360 players keep this in mind.  The entirety of this FAQ was done with the
help of this giant black box called a Playstation 2.  However, I am fairly 
certain that there is no substantial differences between versions regarding
Oichi in any way, shape, or form.  That said, you can pretty much use this
as well as any PS2 user.

I will be referring to the Playstation 2 controller button layout throughout
this FAQ.  If you play the Xbox 360 version of Samurai Warriors 2, refer to
your buttons accordingly.

PS2 Layout -->  Xbox 360 Layout       -->   Function on both

S(quare)   -->  X                           (Normal Attack)
T(riangle) -->  Y                           (Charge Attack)
X          -->  A                           (Jump)
Circle     -->  B                           (Musou)
L1         -->  Left Shoulder Button        (Default: Guard)
R1         -->  Right Shoulder Button       (Default: Special Stance)
L2         -->  Left Shoulder Trigger       (Default: Map toggle)
R2         -->  Right Shoulder Trigger      (Default: Roll)

I'm pretty sure that's correct.  I haven't owned a Xbox 360 in several months,
so correct me if I'm wrong there.

On a unrelated matter, for the record, I will be using the proper method of
using Japanese names (surname first, given name second).  The only time I
will not use this is for the stage overviews.  So if you're confused about
a name, just reverse it!  I will also be spelling "No's" name as Noh, as
per the original spelling in Samurai Warriors.  This is easier than trying
to use accented characters.


===============================================================================
 2.    Update History                                                  [UP002]
===============================================================================


Version 1.01 (12/02/2006):  Very minor updates.  Nothing too important.
                            Edited a stat note and removed a section.

Version 1.00 (10/01/2006):  Got a bit busy with other stuff, but this is
                            finally finished.  Everything is 100% complete.
                            I may add a few other things in the future, though.
                            Many things have been spruced up.


Version 0.71 (09/27/2006):  Fixed some minor errors, cleaned some things up.
                            Will begin working on the Story/Musou Mode
                            Walkthrough tonight.


Version 0.7  (09/26/2006):  First version of this FAQ constructed.
                            Everything but the Musou Mode walkthrough is done,
                            and I will add that as soon as I can (tomorrow?).
                            Now is the time to catch errors!


===============================================================================
 3.    So Who is Oichi?                                                [WH003]
===============================================================================


Historically, Oichi is the sister of Oda Nobunaga and eventually had a very
important role in history.  Born in 1547, she eventually became the wife of
Shibata Katsuie after his failed revolt against Nobunaga.  After some time,
approximately 1567, Oichi was stripped from Katsuie and offered to Azai
Nagamasa as a wife to bring peace between the Oda and Azai-Asakura alliance.
Thus, the marriage was said to be completely political in nature.

With Azai Nagamasa, Oichi had four children.  Three daughters, Cha-Cha,
O-hatsu, and O-go, and a single son, Manjumaru.  In 1570, Nobunaga decided
to attack the Asakura, which were allies of the Azai.  IN response, Azai
Nagamasa set forth to defend his allies against his brother-in-law.
Eventually, the Asakura were destroyed and most of the Azai army as well.
Nobunaga encroached upon Odani Castle where Nagamasa and Oichi remained with
their children.  Although Oichi had intents to stay with her husband, Nobunaga
demanded her return, and thus she was allowed to leave with her three
daughters.  Azai Nagamasa and his and Oichi's only son were killed in Odani
Castle.

Oichi returned to Shibata Katsuie as his wife and remained at his side until
their deaths, forced by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.  After the assassination of Oda
Nobunaga at Honnoji, Shibata Katsuie and Toyotomi Hideyoshi struggled for
succession of their fallen leader.  In 1583 at the Battle of Shizugatake,
Hideyoshi defeated Katsuie and forced him to flee to his castle with Oichi.
Katsuie implored Oichi to take leave with her daughters, but she denied and
only sent her daughters to leave the castle.  Shibata Katsuie and Oichi died
together at the castle in Kita-no-Shou.


===============================================================================
 4.    How do I play as Oichi?                                         [HO004]
===============================================================================


Oichi is one of the first unlocked characters in the game.  There is no special
way to unlock her, she is there from the get go.  Pop in the disc, start the
game, and press right on the d-pad twice, assuming you have an initial save,
and you'll be on Oichi.  In the words of new Nobunaga, "It's just that simple."


===============================================================================
 5.    Why would I want to play as Oichi?                              [WY005]
===============================================================================


It goes without saying that Oichi isn't exactly the most powerful character in
the game.  However, what she lacks in that department is made up for with her
other qualities.  Oichi is an interesting, fun character with a decent combo
ability and fairly useful Special Attacks.  She's a refreshing break from the
norm who decide to cut each other apart with gigantic, oversized polearms and
swords.  Nothing gives a Nelson "Ha ha!" more than emasculating Honda Tadakatsu
or Maeda Keiji by beating them in the head with a toy Kendama.  That aside, 
she's also easy on the eyes.  If you're tired of all the man meat in Japan,
Oichi is there to brighten your day with her cute appearance and colorful
clothing!


===============================================================================
 6.    Statistics                                                      [ST006]
===============================================================================


---------------------------------------------
6.1 Stat overview
---------------------------------------------


Oichi's beginning stats:

   Title:  Lady of Odani
   Life:     103
   Musou:    106
   Attack:   84
   Defense:  85
   Ride:     90
   Speed:    124
   Dex:      126
   Luck:     105



Oichi's maximum stats:

   Title:  Light of Hope
   Life:     261
   Musou:    318
   Attack:   169
   Defense:  171
   Ride:     178
   Speed:    194
   Dex:      196
   Luck:     200


---------------------------------------------
6.2 Notes on what statistics do what:
---------------------------------------------


Title does nothing.  It's just there for look to upgrade per certain ranks.


Life:    The big green bar in the lower left of your screen.  As long as its
         not empty, you stay alive, when it's not, Oichi plops down and all
         is lost.  As this increases, you get more life to take more hits!


Musou:   The initially not so big red bar below the big green bar.  This is
         required for Musou Attacks.  The longer the bar, the longer the
         length of your Musou Attack.  The flames underneath the bar denote
         to what level your Musou Attack will be when performed.  I will go
         into this more in the Moveset section below.


Attack:  This is, quite obviously, your attack power.  As it increases, you
         will do more damage.  As with any stat, the more the better.


Defense: Defense determines how much damage you will take and how much of
         your life meter goes boom when you get hit.  The more defense you
         have, the less you die.


Ride:    Horsie stats.  The higher your Ride stat, the more damage you do
         while riding horses and the less damage you take.  All in all, this
         really only matters if you spend most of your time atop a steed.


Speed:   Running speed.  With higher speed, you run faster.


Dex:     Dexterity.  This can also be referred to as Jump, as it determines
         how high you can jump.  As per suggestion of the removal of Jump
         items in Dynasty Warriors 5, most. Useless. Stat. Ever.  However,
         at least you can dodge some high-rising attacks and giant hand
         slapping sumos with higher Dex.

         Some people say that Dex affects rolling.  In what way, I have no
         idea.  A base level Oichi rolls the same as a max level Oichi with
         nearly max Dex.


Luck:    This determines a lot of stuff, mostly regarding items and skills.
         With higher luck common items such as Attack, Defense, Speed
         increasers, life, and Musou restoration items will drop more
         frequently.  Luck also has some domain in obtaining better weapon
         drops and the ability to learn skills from enemy generals.  A pretty
         important stat if you like getting items and skills.  Luck also
         affects the occurrence of critical hits, which do double damage.


---------------------------------------------
6.3  Comments on Oichi's Stats
---------------------------------------------


Oichi's stats are somewhat average.  Her Luck and Musou are pretty much maxed,
and her Dex and Speed are pretty near maxed.  She lacks in Life, Attack,
Defense, and Ride but these can be made up for with her weapon stats
(especially her fourth).  She's a fast little comboing machine with a long
Musou Gauge and has a decent chance of obtaining good weapons and learning
skills.  In comparison, Oichi actually has very similar stats to Ginchyo,
including max Attack power.

===============================================================================
 7.    Skills                                                          [SK007]
===============================================================================



In Battle Skills, Oichi begins with Chaos 1 and True Power 1.  In the realm of
Special Skills, she begins with Cutthroat 1 and Discern 1.  That means...

Chaos 1:  Increases damage from combos.
True Power 1:  Increases elemental damage from True Musou.
Cutthroat 1:  Restores some life every 100 KOS.
Discern 1:  Allows for better weapons to be found.

Thus is your starting Oichi, already well-tuned for combat.

This section will go over all of the available skills of Oichi and comments
on their usefulness and such.


---------------------------------------------
7.1  Ability Skills
---------------------------------------------


Vitality
Description:  Length of life gauge increases.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional (3/10)
Comments:     Vitality immediately raises your max life, a little bit more
              per level.  However, it will not raise it beyond the pre-set
              max.  Buy this only if you get hit a lot and are in dire need
              of a longer life bar, otherwise I'd just learn it from enemy
              generals when possible.  It is not an entirely essential skill,
              but is recommended for beginners.

Focus
Description:  Length of musou gauge increases.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional (7/10)
Comments:     Focus raises the max of your musou gauge immediately.  As with
              any ability skill, it will not raise the stat beyond its
              pre-destined max.  With that said, though, more Musou is always
              a good thing.  This will help you get higher levels of Musou
              Attacks quicker, so I suggest buying it.  If that is not an
              interest of your's, just try and learn it from enemy generals,
              of course.

Potence
Description:  Attack strength increases.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional (7/10)
Comments:     Potence raises Oichi's max attack power on the fly.  While this
              is optional due to the inherent problem with ability skills,
              you may want more attack power for Oichi as soon as possible.
              She does, after all, start out somewhat weak.

Fortitude
Description:  Defense strength increases.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional (7/10)
Comments:     Fortitude raises defense.  Like Potence, it can be seen as
              relatively useful due to Oichi's low starting defense.  If that
              isn't a problem for you, because you know how to guard and roll,
              then pass it.  Otherwise, Fortitude is made just for you.

Cavalier
Description:  Abilities when mounted increases.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional (1/10)
Comments:     Cavalier will raise Ride.  Personally, I would say just don't do
              it.  Oichi is not Ma Chao.  Very few people are.  She is not a
              goddess atop a horse, and as such, very little emphasis should
              be spent on her Ride stat.  Only get this if, for some reason,
              you feel inclined to fight on horseback.

Impulse
Description:  Speed increases.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional (3/10)
Comments:     Impulse increases running speed.  Oichi already has a fairly
              decent running speed to start with, but she could stand for more.
              I would suggest getting perhaps level 1 or 2 from the shop, then
              worrying about 3 as the need arises.  If you really can't stand
              having low running speed or have problems getting to mission
              objectives, then by all means max this as soon as possible.

Grace
Description:  Dexterity increases.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional (1/10)
Comments:     Grace raises Dexterity, which makes you jump higher.  SW2 is not
              a basketball game, and Oichi doesn't have the need to go shoot
              some hoops.  Let Dex raises itself naturally, don't worry about
              getting Grace.

Karma
Description:  Luck increases.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional (6/10)
Comments:     Karma raises luck.  Luck determines numerous things, as stated
              above.  Obtain Karma if you would like to try and learn skills
              easier and try and get better weapons.  If you're not worried
              about that, don't worry about Karma.

Sensei
Description:  Guards' abilities increase.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional
Comments:     Sensei will increase your bodyguards' overall stats.  Other than
              that, I have no real opinion of this skill.  I have no concrete
              proof that you can ruin a bodyguard without this skill.  If you
              want your bodyguard to be stronger, by all means get Sensei.

Master
Description:  All abilities increase.
Max Level:    4
Usefulness:   Optional
Comments:     Master raises all stats at once.  This skill can either be
              really useful or really useless depending on when you get it.
              You really have no choice in when you get it, because Master is
              a rare skill that can only be obtained by learning it from an
              enemy general.  If you get it, that's great.  Sit yourself down
              and have a cookie and a glass of milk.

              Master 4 is a special skill that has to be unlocked in Survival
              Mode before you can even get it.  Once it is unlocked, you can
              buy it for 10,000 Gold in the shop, but... why?  By the time
              you have Master 3, unless you're extremely super, special lucky
              Oichi should already be nearly or AT max stats. If you are one
              those really lucky people, get the 4th level.  If not, only get
              it for completion's sake.

              If you need help getting this skill, it is referred to as
              Eiketsu no Gi in EChang's skill FAQ.


---------------------------------------------
7.2  Growth Skills
---------------------------------------------


I will say this regarding Growth Skills.  Besides, possibly, Sensei and,
absolutely, Acclaim, all Growth Skills are 100% optional.  I will not give
usefulness or comments upon any but Sensei and Acclaim.

All growth skills will give you a better chance of raising your stats more
at a level up.  They will not affect Oichi's max stats, they will just help
her get there earlier.  Get them if you absolutely want to get higher stats
quicker.  If that is not a problem, because you're probably an advanced or
veteran player, don't worry about it.  With that said, I suppose Growth Skills
are recommended for beginning players.


Vitality
Description:  When leveling up, life gauge grows more easily
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional

Focus
Description:  When leveling up, musou gauge grows more easily.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional

Potence
Description:  When leveling up, attack strength grows more easily.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional

Fortitude
Description:  When leveling up, defense strength grows more easily.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional

Cavalier
Description:  When leveling up, mounted abilities grow more easily.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional

Impulse
Description:  When leveling up, speed grows more easily.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional

Grace
Description:  When leveling up, dexterity grows more easily.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional

Karma
Description:  When leveling up, luck grows more easily.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional

Sensei
Description:  When guards level up, their abilities grow more easily.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   Optional (?)
Comments:     This version of Sensei will allow your bodyguards' stats to
              raise better per level.  Some people swear you can ruin your
              guards' stat without this skill, but I have no evidence of this.
              All of my guards have big red stats, meaning they're maxed,
              and each guard above the other has slightly higher stats than
              the one below it.  Get this skill if you would like your guard
              to be better more quickly or if you follow the myth of ruination.
              I will make a note if the ruination is proved or not.

Acclaim
Description:  Amount of EXP earned increases.
Max Level:    4
Usefulness:   Optional (9/10)
Comments:     Acclaim raises the exp you get by a certain percentage, which
              increases with each level of the skill.  This is one of the few
              Ability/Growth skills that is useful when Oichi is maxed. While
              the primary function is to help you level faster, once you are
              level 50 you will still gain experience.  At this time, though,
              the only use experience has is to fill your exp meter. When it
              is filled, you will still get the power-up item bonuses and
              full musou as you would from a level up.  This is extremely
              useful some times, especially when you're comboing in Survival
              Mode and suddenly get this five seconds of extra Musou and
              doubled attack power to boot.

              Unfortunately, Acclaim is another rare skill that you can only
              get by learning it from generals, and level 4 must be unlocked
              through a special method.  If you require assistance in getting
              level 4 Acclaim, check EChang's Skill FAQ, wherein it is
              referred to as Risshi no Sai.


---------------------------------------------
7.3  Battle Skills
---------------------------------------------


Reach
Description:  Attack range increases.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   10/10
Comments:     Mmmmm.  Increased attack range.  Get it.  That is all I have to
              say.

Sickle
Description:  Critical hits occur more often.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   6/10
Comments:     Some people don't even know Critical hits exist in SW2 without
              such a suggestion from this skill's description.  I would
              suggest getting it for the heck of it in the chance that a
              critical hit does pop up.  There's no harm in getting it besides
              the damage to your wallet, but the shopkeeper will thank you.

Rage
Description:  Musou gauge fills faster.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   10/10
Comments:     Mmmmm.  Musou.  All Battle skills are pretty useful, really.
              Rage will help increase your Musou meter, which is always a
              good thing.  This will make you get a full level Musou meter
              from about one good six hit combo against a mob in Survival
              Mode, which could mean the difference between life or death
              some times.  A must.

Chaos
Description:  Damage increases with each hit in a combo.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   10/10
Comments:     Oichi begins with Chaos 1, so don't worry about getting that.
              Do get Chaos 2 and 3 soon, though.  Oichi is capable of
              devestating combos, especially in mobs, once she is levelled.
              Chaos will make those combos do more damage with every single
              hit, which could ultimately end some poor enemy general's life
              relatively quickly.

Resilience
Description:  Character is more resistant to being stunned.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   6/10
Comments:     Resilience has two effects, really.  One, is that you won't get
              stunned (stars above Oichi's head) as easily from attacks that
              do stun.  However, I find it relatively rare that these even hit.
              Besides that, Resilience will also make you not flinch as both it
              and Oichi reach higher levels.  Not a high priority, but
              important nonetheless.

Element
Description:  Elemental effects occur during normal attack.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   10/10
Comments:     You cannot use elements on your weapon without this skill. Oichi
              gets element in her normal attack string at about the 7th or 8th
              hit.  By the time you get a weapon that has element on it, she
              should have those moves available, so get the skill to use them!

Ele-Charge
Description:  Elemental effect occur during charge attack.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   10/10
Comments:     Same deal as with Element, just regarding charge attacks.
              Another must have skill.

Musou Power
Description:  Elemental effects of musou attack strengthened.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   8/10
Comments:     Handy.  That's all I have to say about it.

True Power
Description:  Elemental effets of true musou attack strengthened.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   8/10, 10/10
Comments:     Also handy.  This gets two usefulness ratings for a simple
              reason.  It's called Awakening.  While you may not have much use
              for True Power if you never got knocked into critical health,
              you will have a use for it once you get Awakening 2.

Awakening
Description:  Musou attack strengthened.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   11/10
Comments:     Awakening works like this.

              Level 1:  Simply raises the attack power of your Musou.
              Level 2:  Changes your Musou to True Musou regardless of
                        health.
              Level 3:  Changes your Musou to True Musou regardless of
                        healthy AND makes all hits death/shura element.

              Awakening is the definition of awesomeness, especially for
              Oichi.  Unfortunately, it is a rare skill that must be learned
              from enemy generals.  Do so.  Hunt them down and get it as
              soon as humanly possible.  Oichi will love you for it and, in
              turn, you will love Oichi for it.
              


---------------------------------------------
7.4  Special Skills
---------------------------------------------


Gluttony
Description:  Healing items have more effect.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   5/10
Comments:     Gluttony adds a certain percentage to the health items you
              find on the battlefield.  It also adds 20% to what you gain
              from Cutthroat.  Get it if you have problems with living.

Cutthroat
Description:  Life partially restored every 100 KOs.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   10/10
Comments:     Cutthroat may be overlooked by some people, for which I
              spout shame upon them.  While it may not be overly useful in
              Story or Free Mode, it means a world of difference in Survival
              Mode.  All of those enemies?  Potential health restorations.
              If you get beaten to hell and back by a hyper general in any
              mission, proceed to kill every little peon around you until you
              get to an interval of 100 in KOs.  You get a good chunk of life
              when you do, and this can make up for the lack of health refils
              found in Survival Mode.

Equestrian
Description:  Abilities of mounted horse increase.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   1/10
Comments:     Recall my comment about Cavalier in Ability Skills.

Opportunity
Description:  Life refils after being depleted once.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   8/10
Comments:     If you die, this will bring you back to life instantly.  The
              amount of life it restores increases with each level.  Accidents
              happen.  Might as well have insurance.  Opportunity is another
              learn-only skill, though.  Keep an eye out for generals that have
              it.

Ration
Description:  Healing items have more effect on guard.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   4/10
Comments:     A self-explanatory skill.  If your guard gets a hit a lot, this
              will keep them alive.  I've gone through numerous characters with
              numerous bodyguards without it, though.  It is not absolutely
              essential.

Prodigy
Description:  Easier to learn skills by defeating enemy officers.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   10/10
Comments:     This skill is pretty self-explanatory.  If you want to get skills
              from generals, this is pretty much a requirement.

Discern
Description:  Easier to obtain powerful weapons.
Max Level:    3
USefulness:   Mixed Feelings
Comments:     Discern is a cruel master or mistress.  Some times it is like it
              doens't even work.  That aside, just get it.  Maybe it will help
              you find better weapons, maybe it won't.  If anything, you'll
              have a higher chance.

Greed
Description:  Amount of gold obtained increases.
Max Level:    4
Usefulness:   11/10
Comments:     More money is good.  That is all I will say.
              I will add, however, that Greed is another rare skill that can
              only be learned from generals.  Along with that, level 4 must
              be unlocked.  It is referred to as Senken in EChang's Skill FAQ
              if you need help getting it.

Fitness
Description:  Power-up items have more effect.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   7/10
Comments:     Prolongs the effects of power-up items.  Mighty useful any time.

Plunder
Description:  Items within close range are shown on map.
Max Level:    3
Usefulness:   5/10
Comments:     Another rare skill that must be learned from enemy generals.
              Plunder is useful if you're too lazy to look around for items.
              With each level, the range in which the items are displayed
              becomes larger.

---------------------------------------------
7.5  Personal Skill
---------------------------------------------


Oichi's Self skill is Finesse.  It allows you to jump during Charge Attacks.
To some, that might sound useless, but it does have a couple of uses.  First
off, it will allow you to quickly escape a bad scene if you need to after a
Charge Attack in a crowd of rowdy enemies.  That basically means that Oichi
has no lag time after any Charge Attack since she can jump right after it.
This will help you combo to, as you do not have to pause after a Charge
Attack and can immediately jump off to attack enemies. I'll go into this 
more in the Moveset section.


The other "cheap" factor of this skill will also be mentioned there.


---------------------------------------------
7.6  Tips on Learning Enemy Skills
---------------------------------------------


The first thing to do when you want to learn a skill from a General is to have
the Prodigy Special Skill.  Raise it as high as possible since it will be a
great asset to you.

The next thing to do, of course, is get to the General that has the skill you
want.  You can find this out by checking the Officers list when you pause the
game.

When you get to the General of your choice, do not get hit, defeat them
quickly, and perform as high a combo as possible.  All three of these factors
seem to affect one's ability to learn a skill.  While taking damage is some
times unavoidable, make it avoidable when you really want to try and learn a
skill from  an enemy.

When you intend to fight a General for their skill, it is a good idea to enter
the battle with a full Musou Gauge for two reasons.  One, it will help you in
case you almost get hit.  Musou or Roll immediately as you see the enemy raise
their weapon.  When you have your enemy in a good combo, try and finish it
with a Musou if you can't throw in another Charge or Normal Attack.

Keep in mind that Difficulty has an obvious factor in getting skills.
Primarily,  every level of Difficulty adds an available skill to all enemy
generals.  In Hard mode, most will have three, for example.  In Normal mode,
they'll usually have only two.



===============================================================================
 8.    Moveset                                                         [MO008]
===============================================================================


---------------------------------------------
8.1  Overall Move List
---------------------------------------------



Oichi's initial Move List:

Normal Attacks:  S -> S -> S -> S
                   \    \    \
Charge Attacks:  T   T    T   T

Special 1:       R1+S

Special 2:       R1+T



Oichi's complete Move List:

Normal Attacks:  S -> S -> S -> S - > S -> S -> S -> S - > S -> S -> S -> S
                   \    \    \    \     \    \    \
Charge Attacks:  T   T    T   T    T     T    T    T

Special 1:       R1+S

Special 2:       R1+T


Oichi is a Normal Growth type character.  As such, her emphasis is on Normal
Attacks and her Charge and Special Attacks are limited.  However, Oichi does
get a goodly number of Charge Attacks to go along with her Normal Attacks,
giving her a wide array of moves and easy ability to combo.  Her special
moves really don't need any upgrades.

While she is somewhat hindered at the beginning, she does indeed get better
as she gains her additional moves.  She has her complete move set by about
level 30, I believe.


---------------------------------------------
8.2  Normal Attacks
---------------------------------------------


SSSS String (Initial String)
Description:  Oichi swings the ball on her kendama around three times then
              finishes with a slight revolution.  This is fairly straight-
              forward and keeps the enemy back with the last hit.  It's
              easy to start up a combo from this since it generally doesn't
              knock the enemy away.  Once you have a longer string, this is
              a safe place to stop if the enemy is guarding.

SSSSSSSS String
Description:  Oichi continues with four more wide-range swings that can
              keep the enemy from hitting her while she performs them.  An
              easy way to keep up a combo from the beginning.

SSSSSSSSSSSS String
Description:  The Element Oichi has in her Normal Attacks kicks in at the 8th
              hit in her Normal String where she starts swinging the ball on
              her kendama overhead.  This lasts for three attacks, then she
              slams the ball straight down.  While the last hit is a decent
              combo finisher, it does in fact end the combo then and there.
              If you wish to keep the combo up, stop at the 11th hit.  The 
              12th hit has limited range since it hits right in front of her,
              but the element will spread out once it hits.
Running S:
Description:  Oichi rushes forth and spins around in a complete circle with
              her kendama.  This is a decent crowd clearer, but knocks the
              enemies away, making it difficult to combo from unless you
              perform a Musou Attack.

Jump+S:
Description:  Oichi leaps and attacks downward at an angle with her
              kendama.  This has a habit to knock the enemy away, but can
              be used to chain into another combo if you jump into a mob
              with it.


---------------------------------------------
8.3  Mounted Normal Attacks
---------------------------------------------


SSSSSSSSSSSS String
Description:  Nothing particularly flashy here.  Oichi just repeatedly
              swings her weapon to the right side, keeping the enemy in
              a 12 hit combo.  After the fourth hit, she takes time to
              charge, though, and this can screw up combos as it gives
              the enemy time to block or roll.



---------------------------------------------
8.4  Charge Attacks
---------------------------------------------


[ Charge 1 ]
T
Description:  Oichi starts swinging the ball on her kendama to the side then
              lashes out with it in front of her.  This has good range and
              generally stuns the enemy if they're not blocking and don't die
              from it.  If they are guarding, it usually staggers them and
              opens the enemy up for attack.


[ Charge 2 ]
S->T
Description:  Oichi swings forward, then forcefully swings upward to knock
              the enemy into the air.  As launchers go, this is pretty basic.
              You can do any amount of attacks afterward if it doesn't happen
              to throw them too far away.


[ Charge 3 ]
S->S->T
Description:  A forceful third swing after two weak swings.  The Charge Attack
              stuns the enemy when it hits.  It is advisable to use this when
              you want to start a combo from stunning the opponent, and that's
              about it.  Oichi's C3 does not make a very good addition in the
              middle of the combo unless you can jump out of it (with Finesse)
              and whack someone almost immediately after it strikes.


[ Charge 4 ]
S->->S->S->T(T)(T)(T)
Description:  Oichi's first mob clearer, she begins to spin around in a circle
              with the kendama outstretched.  Although the Move List only shows
              her able to do one Charge from this, she can actually do it a
              total of four times with each button press.  The last hit has
              elemental properties.


[ Charge 5 ]
S->->S->S->S->T
Description:  Oichi's second and probably easiest mob clearer. After the normal
              swings, she spins around and emits a green wind-like aura that
              sends enemies flying away. The full Charge has elemental affect.
              While a good crowd control technique, the downside is that it is
              somewhat difficult to combo from this attack.  With Finesse, it
              it is possible to do a Jumping S then continue a combo once Oichi
              lands, but it must be timed well.


[ Charge 6 ]
S->->S->S->S->S->T
Description:  Oichi slams the kendama ball down HARD after the normal swings.
              This attack stuns the enemy and has elemental properties that
              spread from the point of impact, but only if it actually hits
              someone.  Since the enemy is stunned after this, it's easy to
              start a combo from this Charge even without Finesse.  This is
              one of Oichi's attacks in which the A.I. has a little problem
              dealing with. Half of the time, they will stop blocking and get
              hit by this, thus leaving them open to further attack.


[ Charge 7 ]
S->->S->S->S->S->S->T
Description:  Oichi spins the ball on her kendama and thrusts it forward after
              the normal swings, which flings a projectile straight forward.
              This particular attack has various uses since it too has
              element and spreads from the target.  The projectile can hit
              an enemy within a range of about 10 squares away.  Also, the A.I.
              seems to have a problem guarding this attack.  In fact, they
              almost never will.  So if you have a pesky General that keeps
              blocking, just use this on them to open the enemy up for attack.
              On the downside, this is somewhat difficult to combo from without
              using a Musou Attack.


[ Charge 8 ]
S->->S->S->S->S->S->S->T
Description:  After the normal swings, Oichi takes to the air with a aerial
              spinning attack with the kendama ball.  This has a large range
              and elemental properties, but has a tendency to knock enemies
              too far away to combo them well.  However, you can do a Musou
              almost any time during the attack to start up a good combo,
              and with Finesse you can jump out of it at almost any time to
              do whatever you want.


[ Jump Charge ]
Jump+T:
Description:  Possibly cheap.  Oichi jumps and stomps down quite forcefully,
              knocking nearby enemies down.  Not only can this be used to
              hit enemies on the ground, it can be used to do so infinitely.
              With Finesse, Oichi can jump out of this immediately after the
              attack and continue to do so indefinitely until she gets hit
              or you get bored.  As such, if you are in a bind, you can use
              this method to stomp multiple Generals to death when you get
              mobbed.  The range only seems to allow for four very near
              enemies at a time, though.


---------------------------------------------
8.5  Mounted Charge Attacks
---------------------------------------------


[ Mounted Charge 1 ]
T
Description:  The default horse stomp.  Knocks nearby enemies down.


Running T
Description:  The default horse jump.  Knocks down whatever is nearby.


[ Mounted Charge 2 ]
S->T
Description:  Oichi charges and swings her kendama to the side in a
              somewhat wider ranger than a normal swing.  Flings
              enemies into the air and some times stuns or breaks the
              the guard of stronger enemies.


[ Mounted Charge 3 ]
S->S->T
Description:  Oichi strikes downward forcefully with the kendama.  Stuns
              the enemy it hits.


[ Mounted Charge 4 ]
S->S->S->T
Description:  Oichi widely swings her kendama to both sides, knocking away
              enemies on either side.


---------------------------------------------
8.6  Musou
---------------------------------------------


Level 1 Musou
Description:  Pretty straightforward.  Oichi swings her kendama around
              overhead and strikes nearby enemies, then finishes with a
              short pose accompanied by a burst that knocks enemies away.
              Oichi has a problem regarding range and her Musou that all
              should be weary of.  Some times, she just won't hit nearby
              enemies because the actual ball of the kendama is not
              touching them.  As long as they aren't blocking, to fix this
              problem just walk away until the actual ball hits them, then
              they will be juggled along with the rest.

Level 2 Musou
Description:  Basically the same as her level 1 Musou.

Level 3 Musou
Description:  Similar to the other levels of her Musou, but accompanied by
              pink bolts striking down from the heavens at random that hit
              surrounding enemies and open them up for hits by the rest of
              the Musou.

True Musou
Description:  A large burst at the beginning the Musou sets enemies aflame
              and helps take care of the range problem Oichi has with her
              Musou.  After the obligatory continuous wide range swinging,
              she finishes with a few fancy swings and ends with another
              burst.

Double Musou
Description:  Similar to Oichi's True Musou, but with lightning element which
              can help get some pretty nasty combos off, especially in
              Survival Mode missions where she is just surrounded by enemies.


---------------------------------------------
8.7  Special Moves
---------------------------------------------


R1+S
Description:  Oichi proclaims "We can win this!" along with a cheering pose
              that emits a shiny aura that empowers surrounding allies that
              is not the second player (blah).  This will work on your
              bodyguard, allied peons, and allied Generals; just not the
              second player for some reason.  With this technique, Oichi can
              give allies Attack x2, Defense x2, Speed x2, or a +50 life
              restoration.  Very useful for keeping your allies alive and
              works with her other special move.  Whenever she actually boosts
              someone, she gains some amount of Musou relative to the amount of
              officers she boosts.  As such, as long Oichi has her bodyguard,
              she can have an unlimited supply of Musou!

R1+T
Description:  Summons three allied peons, ranging from solders to ninjas, and
              sumos.  While this may not sound useful, it gives Oichi an edge
              in combat if she's going it solo (such as in Survival Mode).
              The Sumos are quite powerful, actually.  Oichi's Cheer special
              can be used on them to power them up and give her REALLY quick
              Musou Gauge fill.  Extremely useful in Survival Mode.


===============================================================================
 9.    Weapons                                                         [WE009]
===============================================================================


---------------------------------------------
9.0  Introduction to the Kendama
---------------------------------------------


For some reason, Koei decided not to mention the word "kendama" in reference to
Oichi's weapon.  In fact, their translation decisions in SW2 are very odd in
general... ANYHOO!  What Oichi uses as a weapon ingame is a kendama.

What is a kendama, you ask?  Why a kendama is fun a little Japanese toy.  The
two primary parts of the kendama are the ken (stick) and the dama (ball). The
ball is attached to the stick by a simple string (ito).  The stick is shaped
sort of like a hammer and has three cup-shaped ends and a point in the middle
at the top.  The point is called ken-saki, the smaller cup on top is ko-zara,
the bigger-cup on top is o-zara, and the bottom cup is called chu-zara.  When
not in use, the ball generally rests on the ken-saki.

There are several methods of playing with a kendama.  One is to use hold the
stick and get the ball onto the cups, while another way is to hold the ball
and land the stick on it properly.  These are only beginner techniques though,
and there are several more advanced techniques that involve trickier placement
and multiple landings.

We won't go into whether or not a kendama can be used as a real weapon, but be
weary of the ball when playing with it at any rate!


---------------------------------------------
9.1  General Notes on Weapons
---------------------------------------------


Oichi begins with a weapon and more powerful weapons can be found in weapon
boxes.  These are found in special boxes hidden in stages as well as dropped
from some enemy generals upon defeat.

Certain weapons differ in Element and amount of available upgrade slots.  More
upgrade slots are always good as it can make a lower end weapon better than a
higher level weapon.

Let's go into an example of that.  You get a Cup and Ball with 6 slots and are
able to fill them with +6 ATK, +10 ATK, and some other junk.  You have a Cup
and Stone, but it has only two slots which are filled with +3 DEX and +5 Musou.
By most logic, the Cup and Ball with the +16 ATK is still better than the
second weapon because it has higher attack power.

Always go with your play preference.  I would rather have an elemental level
one weapon with high ATK and RNG than a level two weapon with no bonuses.

Element-wise, I can say little than go for Lightning or Death/Shura element.
Fire seems to add more overall damage and dwindle very slightly, Ice freezes
enemies for a short period of time, Lightning stuns enemies momentarily to
help combos, and Death/Shura either adds damage or outright kills an enemy
in a single attack.

For the purpose of combos, Lightning is the way to go for Oichi.  Ice may
help, but I have personally found Lightning to be far more useful.  If you'd
rather just kill things and not worry about combos, Death/Shura element is
the most optimum pick besides Lightning.  It can some times mean the difference
between a 20 second fight or a two minute long fight.


---------------------------------------------
9.2  First Weapon
---------------------------------------------


Weapon Name:         Cup and Ball
Base Attack Power:   19
Acquisition Method:  Oichi starts with this weapon.  You can obtain others with
                     elements and higher upgrade slots from item boxes
                     scattered throughout stages.
Comments:            One of the weaker starting weapons, but it serves its
                     purpose.  If you are unable to obtain a more powerful
                     weapon with an element, there's nothing wrong with
                     sticking to the old Cup and Ball until you do.  Once you
                     do however, kick old faithful to the curb.


---------------------------------------------
9.3  Second Weapon
---------------------------------------------


Weapon Name:         Cup and Stone
Base Attack Power:   27
Acquisition Method:  The second weapon must be found from weapons boxes.
Comments:            Only a slight increase in damage over Oichi's first
                     weapon.
 

---------------------------------------------
9.4  Third Weapon
---------------------------------------------


Weapon Name:         Cup and Iron
Base Attack Power:   35
Acquisition Method:  The third weapon must be found from weapons boxes.
Comments:            Still one of the weaker third weapons, but what do you
                     expect from a toy?  Once again, it will do until you can
                     get Oichi's fourth weapon and, unfortunately, for most
                     people that will be a long time. It is possible to get a
                     third weapon than the fourth some times.
                     I would say shoot for a third weapon with high ATK
                     and preferably Death/Shura element as a back-up weapon.


---------------------------------------------
9.5  Fourth Weapon
---------------------------------------------


Weapon Name:         Cup and Gold
Base Attack Power:   42
Element:             Lightning
Bonus Stats:         Life + 20
                     Life + 14 (34)
                     ATK  + 20
                     ATK  + 18 (80)
                     DEF  + 20
                     DEF  + 16 (36)
                     MuCh + 19
                     MuCh + 13 (32)
Acquisition Method:  The fourth weapon gets its own little section below.
Comments:            A good, balanced weapon with a decent element.  The
                     Lightning element will help Oichi pull off some insane
                     combos once she has all of her Charge Attacks, and by
                     the time you get this weapon you should have them anyway.
                     While I would prefer RNG to Life or Musou Charge, you
                     can't really complain.  It keeps Oichi alive longer and
                     helps her gain Musou faster.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.6  Fourth Weapon Acquisition Method                                  [WPACQ]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


A special method must be performed to get Oichi's fourth weapon.  Let's go
over it!  Keep in mind that the Difficulty must be set on Hard to get Oichi's
or anyone else's fourth weapon.  They cannot be obtained in Easy or Normal
difficulty.  Since this weapon has to be obtained in Oichi's dream, it's
quite obvious that you have had to already finished her Story Mode (which is
a requirement of getting any fourth weapon).

Thanks go to EChang for originally providing the method.

Stage:        Oichi's Dream:  Incident at Shizugatake
(If you need this stage unlocked, I will go over that in the section below.)

Quick Guide:  Defend Azai Nagamasa when he charges and gets ambushed.  Defeat
              Oda Nobunaga.  Defeat Noh ONLY.  Defeat Tachibana Ginchiyo and
              Ina when they appear.  Defeat Mori Ranmaru when he shows up and
              defeat Okuni when she turns hostile.  Finally defeat Nene.  The
              Transport Unit will show up.  Defeat them, get the weapon, then
              beat Noh's face in.

In Depth:     Oichi will start near the right side of the stage near
              Kaiho Tsunachika.  For the time being, just go around and beat
              up some nearby generals for a little while. Okuni will show up
              to help Oichi and her cute face out while Nene shows up for Noh.
              
              At some point, Nagamasa gets the bright idea to charge out to
              help Oichi and gets ambushed.  Defeat his ambushers and Nagamasa
              will realize he's a nuisance and return to his base.  With that
              done, go defeat brother Oda Nobunaga in his base and avoid
              fighting Noh and Nene.  Once Nobunaga is gone, you can finally
              defeat Noh.  Nene will probably be tailing alongside Noh;  DO NOT
              DEFEAT NENE AT THIS TIME OR YOU WILL NOT GET THE WEAPON.

              Noh retreats, Ginchiyo and Ina will show up on respective sides
              on the right of the field.  Defeat them both WITHOUT DEFEATING
              NENE. Since you have three Generals fighting you at once, it may
              be a good idea to dump one or two on Okuni or Azai's remaining
              troops.  Either or should provide them with sufficient
              distraction.  It's also a good idea to have a second player do
              the distracting, but do not allow them to actually the defeat
              the other girls.

              Once Ina and Ginchiyo are defeated, Ranmaru will show up and
              Oichi will be forced to fight him.  Defeat him, then Okuni
              will decide she wants to participate in the contest.  Give her
              what she deserves for turning against Oichi!  Afterwards, you
              can finally defeat Nene, but only after beating Okuni.

              The Transport Unit will show up with the weapon box from a gate
              near the middle of the left side of the field, I believe near
              Miyabe Keijun's starting point.  Go defeat them and grab Oichi's
              weapon.  Now it is time to teach Noh a lesson about who's the
              most beautiful woman in Japan.  Finish the stage and you will
              have Oichi�s fourth weapon


===============================================================================
 10.   Story Mode Walkthrough                                          [SY010]
===============================================================================


This section will be a general walkthrough for Oichi's Story Mode with
instructions on how to go about certain missions and deal with any problems
that might occur.  The primary walkthrough will be listed and eventually so
will any alternate missions that show up due to changes in circumstances.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.1  Village Rescue                                                   [SY110]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Overview:            In his campaign to unify the land, Nobunaga formed an
                     alliance with the Azai.  The Azai agreed to this alliance
                     on the condition that they would not attack their long
                     time friends and allies, the Asakura.

                     Nobunaga agreed and as a show of his good faith, gave his
                     sister Oichi to Nagamasa Azai, the clan's lord, in
                     marriage.

                     Nagamasa loved Oichi dearly.  Although Oichi did not fully
                     trust her brother, she too came to love her new husband
                     deeply.  Many peaceful months passed and eventually it
                     seemed nothing would ever disturb their happiness.

                     Then one day a report arrived that bandits had entered the
                     Azai territory.  Nagamasa prepared to hunt them down at
                     once and Oichi, concerned for her husband's safety, also
                     reached for the closest weapon she could find...


                     "I will repay his tenderness with my strength."

Time Limit:          60' 00" 00

Victory Conditions:  Defeat the Marauder

Defeat Conditions:   Nagamasa is defeated, Main Camp is captured, or all
                     peasants are eliminated.

Initial Officers:

-----------------------                  -----------------------
       Azai Army               VS               Bandits      
-----------------------                  -----------------------
  Azai Nagamasa                            Raider
  Oichi                                    Raider
  Isono Kazumasa                           Raider
  Akao Kiyotsuna                           Raider
  Peasant                                  Raider
  Peasant                                  Raider
  Peasant                                  Raider
                                           Raider

Walkthrough:

Oichi begins in the Azai Main camp along the Northwest wall of the map, north
of Nagamasa's actual location.  Head south and you will get a mission to
Rescue Nagamasa.  Do so by dispatching the two Raiders surrounding him.  You
will get 200 gold for this mission.  After this, Nagamasa will head toward
the village in the center.

An ambush of two Raiders will appear as you move along toward the village,
and you will be given a mission to defeat them.  Defeat both of them and you
will be rewarded with another 200 gold.

Head north from the ambush point to the village and you will be prompted to
rescuge the village from the bandits.  Defeat both Raiders in the village to
fulfill this mission.

With that done, Oichi will suggest going to the East Garrison located in
the south-east corner of the map. Once you enter, the doors will close and
you will be told to seize the garrison.  Once again, defeating the two Raiders
within will get this done.  It may be a good idea to take care of the
Reserve Captain here before going off.

Since the East Garrison was a trap and bandits surrounded the village for
infiltration, it's itme to take care of them, so head for the central village
again.  A Marauder will appear near the main camp, but it is safe to ignore
him for now; continue toward the village.

At this point, Oichi will be told to defeat all the bandits.  A few of them
should within the village, so take care of them first, then get the ones
surrounding the outside of the village.  They're all glowing red dots, so
they'll be easy to spot.  While you're defeating the bandits, Nagamasa will
probably head for the Marauder.

As you head for the Marauder at the Azai Main Camp, Sasaki Kojiro will show
up and make some rude comments.  Defeat the evil vampire clown wannabe and
move on to the Marauder.

Although the Marauder is in Hyper mode, he's still not very difficult.
Defeat him and the stage is over.  After he is defeated, make sure to
run while you still can since the defeated super generic is so fearsome.







-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.2  Retreat From Kanegasaki                                          [SY120]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Overview:            The bandits were quickly defeated by Nagamasa and his
                     dear wife Oichi.  However, the peace that followed
                     would not last for long.

                     Nobunaga broke his promise with the Azai and attacked
                     the Asakura.  

                     Nagamasa was forced to decide whether to side with
                     the Asakura or Nobunaga.  Although he dearly loved
                     Oichi, when he finished preparing for battle he went
                     to pursue the Oda Army.

                     The Oda were devastated by the Azai's unexpected attack
                     and were forced to retreat from Kanegasaki.

                     Nagamasa led his army in pursuit. Right by his side was
                     Nobunaga's own sister, Oichi.

                     "This is my destiny, to fight by the man I love."

Time Limit:          60' 00" 00

Victory Conditions:  Defeat Nobunaga.

Defeat Conditions:   Yoshikage, Nagamasa, or Oichi is defeated, or Nobunaga
                     reaches the Escape Point.

Initial Officers:

-----------------------                  -----------------------
    Azai-Asakura               VS              Oda-Tokugawa      
-----------------------                  -----------------------
  Azai Nagamasa                            Oda Nobunaga
  Asakura Yoshikage                        Tokugawa Ieyasu
  Oichi                                    Hashiba Hideyoshi
  Isono Kazumasa                           Oda Nobuatada
  Akao Kiyotsuna                           Hori Hidemasa
  Endo Naotsune                            Sakakibara Yasumasa
  Shinjo  Naoyori


Walkthrough:

Before this stage begins, I suggest getting a speedy horse to make this all
go a little easier.

Oichi starts alongside Azai Nagamasa and Endo Naotsune in the lower right of
the field.  Move north with Nagamasa and Naotsune and eventually Hideyoshi
will decide to charge for Nagamasa.  Defeat him and Hori Hidemasa, then
continue north toward the Yoshikage.

As you approach, Tokugawa Ieyasu will block entry into the Asakura Main Camp.
You will also get a mission to request reinforcements from the Asakura.  To
do this, simply defeat Tokugawa Ieyasu and Sakakibara Yasumasa, whom are at
each gate of the camp.  After this, Asakura Yoshikage will join in pursuit
of Nobunaga.

As you move west toward Nobunaga, Akechi Mitsuhide, Saika Magoichi, and Noh
will appear as reinforcements for Nobunaga.  Defeat Mitsuhide once asked to,
then move on to Magoichi directly south.

As you head south, Shibata Katsuie and Mori Ranmaru will arrive for the Oda.
Ignore them both for now and quickly go and defeat Magoichi for the fire
tactic to succeed.  Once that is done, return to Shibata Katsuie and Maeda
Toshiie.

Proceed to the west where Mori Ranmaru and Noh are, whom should now be
attacking Azai Nagamasa.  You will be told to defeat them both.  If they
both center their attention on Oichi, you may want to try and dump one on
Nagamasa; he's strong enough to distract one of them while Oichi takes on
the other.

Head south and defeat Oda Nobutada and Oda Nobunaga before they retreat.
If all went well, your allies should be distracting them fairly well,
so Nobunaga's retreat shouldn't be hard to foil.  Defeating Nobunaga will
end the stage.





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.3  Battle of Anegawa                                                [SY130]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Overview:            The battle of Kanegasaki ended in favor of the Azai Army.
                     However, they were unable to kill Nobunaga during the
                     battle.

                     Once back in the capital, Nobunaga met with his ally,
                     Ieyasu Tokugawa, and the two declared war on the Azai
                     and Asakura.  The two alliances clashed at Anegawa.

                     The Azai-Asakura forces were outnumbered nearly two to
                     one.  Despite these grim conditions, Oichi swore to aid
                     her beloved husband.

                     "I will give my own life if it means protecting his!"

Time Limit:          60' 00" 00

Victory Conditions:  Defeat Nobunaga and Ieyasu.

Defeat Conditions:   Nagamasa, Oichi, or Yoshikage is defeated.

Initial Officers:

-----------------------                  -----------------------
     Azai-Asakura              VS             Oda-Tokugawa     
-----------------------                  -----------------------
  Azai Nagamasa                            Oda Nobunaga
  Asakura Yoshikage                        Tokugawa Ieyasu
  Oichi                                    Hashiba Hideyoshi
  Isono Kazumasa                           Saika Magoichi
  Endo Naotsune                            Shibata Katsuie
  Kaiho Tsunachika                         Akechi Mitsuhide
  Asakura Kagenori                         Honda Tadakatsu
  Asakura Kagetake                         Ikeda Tsuneoki
  Uozumi Kagekata                          Sakuma Nobumori
  Tomita Nagashige                         Mori Yoshinari
                                           Sakai Masahisa
                                           Sassa Narimasa
                                           Kani Saizo
                                           Niwa Nagahide
                                           Sakai Tadatsugu
                                           Ishikawa Kazumasa
                                           Sakakibara Yasumasa
                                           Ogasawara Nagatada


Walkthrough:

Oichi starts off in the north central garrison on the field.  If you wait a
little, Kani Saizo should come to you.  If he does, defeat him, if not, head
toward Yokoyama Castle in the upper right corner of the map.  Along the way,
defeat Ikeda Tsuneoki since he's there.

Once you get to Yokoyama Castle, you will get a mission to defeat Niwa
Nagahide to rescue the castle.  Niwa is fairly easy to defeat, so beat him
then go south to take care of Sakai Masahisa, whom is guarding one of the
gates to the Oda Main Camp.

Once you defeat Sakai Masahisa, the gate will open and Shibata Katsuie will
be right in front of you.  Defeat him, but you won't be able to get in that
way.  Head around and take one of the nearby rivers leading south.  Defeat
Sakuma Nobumori, then head inside and beat Akechi Mitsuhide to open the
other gate.

After this is done, Hideyoshi will throw open the central garrison and
charge the Azai Main camp, where Oichi started, and the Mino Three will show
up in front of Yokoyama Castle.  Back track a little and intercept Hashiba
Hideyoshi and Saika Magoichi.  Defeat them both to defend the Azai Main
Camp.

Head north up a small river with an upstream current, then approach the Mino
Three:  Inaba Ittetsu, Ujiie Bokuzen, and Ando Morinari.  Although Oichi will
have to take all three on at once, they're not really that strong and you
should have Isono Kazumasa and Kaiho Tsunachika to help you.  Dump one or
two of the Mino Three on them if you're having trouble taking on all three.

Head all the way West toward the Asakura Main Camp and a mission to
prevent Sakakibara Yasumasa from entering the Asakura Main Camp will appear.
Go ahead and defeat him; his glowing red dot gives him away.

The Asakura will claim the Oda are nothing and take leave. Move to the front
of the main camp and defeat Sakai Tadatsugu, Ishikawa Kazumasa, Sassa
Narimasa, and Ogasawara Nagatada for the heck of it.

By now, Honda Tadakatsu will be charging toward the Azai Main Camp.  If you
are inexperienced or Oichi is still low level, I advise avoiding Tadakatsu
at all costs.  He's in Hyper mode and very painful to fight.  If you decide
to fight him, I'll address that below the main walkthrough here.  If not,
read on.

For now, we'll choose to ignore him and head straight to Tokugawa Ieyasu in
his main camp.  If you outrun Tadakatsu well enough, he should ignore you and
Oichi can defeat Tokugawa with little problem.  Once Tokugawa is defeated,
Tadakatsu will retreat.  If you can catch him before he disappears, you can
beat him with a one hit; however, if he's too far away, he'll just disappear
from the map entirely.

Head toward the Oda Main Camp, where Azai Nagamasa should be fighting
valiantly.  If Mori Yoshinari is still alive, which is doubtful, defeat him
and gain entry into the main camp;  Nagamasa usually takes care of Yoshinari
though.  Enter, defeat Nobunaga, and the stage will end.


Alternate Missions:


So you decided to fight Honda Tadakatsu . . .

Very little changes if you decide to fight Tadakatsu.  Be ready for a long,
hard fight if you do choose to fight him.  He will hurt if he touches you,
so try to guard or roll if he tries attacking you.  When he pulls his
spear back and charges, roll around to avoid it, because it will break your
guard.  Even with a level 50 Oichi with max stats, Tadakatsu will be somewhat
resilient to attack.  Some times, not even her C1 will stun him.  If he guards,
realy on her C7 to break it and either begin a normal combo or Musou to
follow it up.

After, or if, you defeat Tadakatsu, go defeat Tokugawa and carry on the rest
of the stage as normal.





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.4  Siege of Mt. Usa                                                 [SY140]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Overview:            Thanks to Oichi, the Battle of Anegawa ended in favor of
                     the Azai forces.  Nagamasa, however, still wonder if he
                     couldn't have a better solution for handling his
                     impuslive brohter-in-law.

                     The news of Nobunaga's defeat quickly spread.  Those whom
                     he had previously conquered now began to revolt against
                     him.  Surrounded, Nobunaga was in serious danger.

                     Yoshikage, head of the Asakura, set out for battle so that
                     he could personally deal the final blow to Nobunaga.

                     He would ride to Mt. Usa to launch his attack.  Naturally,
                     he asked Nagamasa and Oichi to assist him in this fight.

                     "Be careful, Nagamasa. Do not let your kindness work
                      against you."

Time Limit:          60' 00" 00

Victory Conditions:  Defeat Yoshinari.

Defeat Conditions:   Yoshikage, Nagamasa, Oichi, or Magoichi is defeated.

Initial Officers:

-----------------------                  -----------------------
    Anti-Oda Army               VS               Oda Army      
-----------------------                  -----------------------
  Asakura Yoshikage                        Mori Yoshinari
  Azai Nagamasa                            Hori Hidemasa
  Oichi
  Saika Magoichi
  Asakura Kagenori
  Isono Kazumasa
  Akao Kiyotsuna


Walkthrough:

Once again, a fast horse is suggested for this stage to make it go smoothly.

Oichi begins in the Azai main camp in the south west corner of the map.  Take
the north exit up to Mt. Usa at the beginning of the stage.  As you make your
way up the road leading to Mt. Usa, a lot of allies will show up for your side.

Stall a little while while making your way up the mountain until Hori Hidemasa
begins walking along the path south of Mt. Usa.  By now, Yoshinari will begin
to charge toward the Asakura main camp.  Turn around and leap off the hills
to catch him before he enters the Asakura camp.  When you get the mission to
defeat him, do so.

After Yoshinari is slain, the rest of the Oda Army shows up in the lower right
garrison.  From where you defeated Yoshinari, head South and intercept Niwa
Nagahide and Sassa Narimasa.  Akechi Mitsuhide should show up while or after
you defeat those two;  defeat him as well.

Defeat Sakuma Nobumori as he comes up;  he should come to Oichi during or
after the fight with Mitsuhide.  Go to the far east side and catch up to
Hideyoshi and Ikeda Tsuneoki.  Defeat Hideyoshi when it asks you to do so
to prevent him from entering the camp, then also beat Ikeda Tsuneoki.

After defeating Hideyoshi, head toward Oichi's starting point, where you
should run into Shibata Katsuie and Takigawa Kazumasa.  Defeat them both,
then quickly head to the castle at Mt. Usa where you will have to defend it
against Ando Morinari and Mori Ranmaru.  Ranmaru will be in hyper mode, so
be careful while fighting him.

After you've defended the castle at Mt. Usa, run to the Asakura main camp
and beat Inaba Ittetsu who may already be fighting with Yoshikage.  Head south
from there and directly to the Oda Main Camp.  Noh and Ujiie Bokuzen will be
defending the gates;  defeat them to pass through.

Enter the Oda Main Camp, defeat Maeda Toshiie, then defeat Nobunaga.  This
will end the stage.  Besides some running around, this is a pretty simple
stage.






-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.5  Siege of Odani Castle                                            [SY150]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Overview:            The battle of Mt. Usa was a great success, but still
                     no one had managed to kill Nobunaga.

                     Burning with desire for revenge against Nagamasa,
                     Nobunaga quickly regrouped and subdued the rebellions
                     within his own territory.  Before long, he and a massive
                     army had surrounded the Azai stronghold at Odani Castle.

                     Knowing he had no chance to survive, Nagamasa ordered
                     Oichi to return to her brother and fight with the Oda.
                     As painful as this decision was, it was the only way to
                     save her life.

                     Nobunaga, eager to make Nagamasa suffer as much as
                     possible, then ordered Oichi to lead the attack on
                     Odani Castle.

                     "As I approach the battlefield, my heart is numb..."

Time Limit:          60' 00" 00

Victory Conditions:  Defeat Nagamasa.

Defeat Conditions:   Nobunaga is defeated, or Main Camp is captured.

Initial Officers:

-----------------------                  -----------------------
      Oda Army                VS               Azai-Asakura
-----------------------                  -----------------------
  Oda Nobunaga                             Azai Nagamasa
  Akechi Mitsuhide                         Asakura Yoshikage
  Oichi                                    Azai Masazumi
  Hashiba Hideyoshi                        Atsuji Sadayuki
  Shibata Katsuie                          Shinjo Naoyori
  Mori Ranmaru                             Kaiho Tsunachika
  Niwa Nagahide                            Miyabe Keijun
                                           Asakura Kagetake
                                           Uozumi Kagekata
                                           Tomita Nagashige
                                           Asakura Kageakira
                                           Yamazaki Naganori
                                           Maeba Yoshitsugu
Walkthrough:

Oichi begins to the east of the Oda main camp, directly in front of Asakura
Kageakira.  Waste his face, then go onward to the north, then west.  Defeat
Tomita Nagashige, Maeuba Yoshitsugu, and Uozomi Kagekata as you go along.

By the time you get to Kagekata, Hideyoshi should have decided that he's
going to build something at the Yamada Garrison and engineers will be
dispatched to head there.  If you have defeated the above three generals,
ignore the engineers for a moment and go defeat Yamazaki Naganori north of
Hideyoshi's position.  This will ensure that you do not fail the "Prevent the
Asakura Army from entering Yamada Garrison" mission.

After that, go meet up with the engineers, led by a Spy Captain, and escort
them to the South gate of Yamada Garrison.  You may have to defeat every
peon in their way because they like to stop for every red dot.  Once you
get to the South gate, you will be ambushed by Kawai Yoshimune.  Beat him then
lead the Spy Captain into the Garrison.

Leave through the north exit of the Yamada Garrison and head to the Asakura
Main camp in the north west corner.  Inside the camp, defeat Asakura
Kagetake and Yoshikage.

After Hideyoshi blasts a hole through a wall in the Yamada Garrison, return
there and pass through the new path.  Head straight forward to the Inner Ward
and defeat Shinjo Naoyori to seize and fulfill that mission.

After seizing the Inner Ward, exit west and go north to the Minor Ward.
Defeat Atsuji Sadayuki to capture it.  An Azai ambush party consisting of
Akao Kiyotsuna and Isono Kazumasa should appear.  Ignore them very briefly
and head all the way to the Kingo Ward in the south east corner.  Defeat
Miyabe Keijun there, then go take care of the two ambush troops.

Wrap around and enter the Main Ward in the center from the north gate.  Oichi
will be closed inside the Main Ward while Nagamasa exits the south gate,
leaving you with two generals.  Defeat them, then exit through the south gate
and make your way to Nagamasa.  Defeat him to end the stage and bring this
dramatic story to an end.





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.6  Oichi's Dream:  Incident at Shizugatake                          [SY160]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unlocking Method:    Although you usually just have to finish a character's
                     Story Mode to unlock their dream/gaiden stage, to
                     unlock Oichi's you must also finish Noh's Story Mode
                     and Dream stage.

                     To unlock Noh, you must first finish the game with
                     Akechi Mitsuhide to unlock Saika Magoichi.  Finish it
                     with Magoichi to unlock Date Masamune and Oda Nobunaga.
                     Finally, finish Nobunaga's Story Mode and Noh will be
                     available.  Now onward through her Story Mode.

Overview:            The two women closest to Nobunaga Oda - his wife Noh
                     and his younger sister, Oichi - were both famous for
                     their beauty.  In fact, most people considered either
                     one or the other to be the most beautiful woman in all
                     the land.

                     But which one was truly the more beautiful?  That was a
                     question that secretly ate up each one of them inside.

                     With no way to find a definitive answer, the two
                     magnificent women met at Shizugatake to personally
                     settle the score.

                     "This is a foolish quarrel!  Everyone knows I'm more
                      more beautiful!"

Time Limit:          60' 00" 00

Victory Conditions:  Defeat all enemy officers.

Defeat Conditions:   Nagamasa or Oichi is defeated.

Initial Officers:

-----------------------                  -----------------------
       Azai Army               VS               Oda Army      
-----------------------                  -----------------------
  Azai Nagamasa                            Oda Nobunaga
  Oichi                                    Noh
  Miyabe Keijun                            Takigawa Kazumasa
  Endo Naotsune                            Sassa Narimasa
  Akao Kiyotsuna                           Niwa Nagahide
  Kaiho Tsunachika                         Mori Yoshinari
  Atsuji Sadayuki                          Maeda Toshiie
                                           Hori Hidemasa

Walkthrough:

This will be the easy way to get through this stage, unlike the method to
get Oichi's fourth weapon.  Well, relatively easy.  This method will allow you
to keep all allied generals alive, although it isn't important.  Feel free to
let them die if you wish.

Oichi starts near the center with Kaiho Tsunachika.  Quickly make your way
to Atsuji Sadayuki and save him from Hori Hidemasa lest you want Sadayuki to
fall, because Hidemasa will MURDER him almost immediately if you don't stop
him.  After this Okuni should show up as an ally for you.

Go east and defeat Sassa Narimasa before he defeats any of your friends,
then go get Mori Yoshinara before he ends Endo Naotsune's life.  Now run
south west and beat Maeda Toshiie.  Nene should have showed up as an enemy,
but you can ignore her for now.  While you're fighting Toshiie, Nagamasa
will stupidly charge out of his main camp.

After Nagamasa charges, quickly go to Miyabe Keijun in the garrison on
the far left side and defeat Nene and Niwa Nagahide to save him, then 
rush back to the central garrison and defeat Kazumasa Takigawa. Now go
rescue Azai Nagamasa to the north by defeating Ikeda Tsuneoki and the other
general that show up as ambush troops.

After rescuing Nagamasa, go south and dispatch Noh.  She's probably fighting
with Akao Kiyotsuna by now.  After you defeat Noh, Tachibana Ginchiyo and
Ina will show up after Nobunaga's and Nagamasa's troops retreat.  After you
defeat one of them, Mori Ranmaru will show up.  Just defeat the remaining girl
then worry about the wannabe-girl.  While you're fighting the gender confused
Ranmaru, Okuni will defect.  Beat both of them as you wish.  Ranmaru's in 
hyper mode, so he may be a little harder to beat then the others.

Noh will reappear.  Beat her to end the stage and settle the contest.






==============================================================================
 11.   Thanks and Credits                                              [TC011]
===============================================================================


Koei and Omega Force
  For allowing another foray into wholesale slaughter.

EChang
  For his thorough weapon unlocking guide.

My Brother (whose GFaqs name shall remain unknown)
  Because single player mode doesn't always keep the game entertaining.

GameFAQs
  Because without GameFAQs, this FAQ would still be on my hard drive.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8A%E5%B8%82%E3%81%AE%E6%96%B9
  A Japanese Wikipedia entry regarding Oichi's history used for the purpose of
  retelling it above.

Someone
  Someone sent me an e-mail reminding me about luck affecting criticals.
  Unfortunately, I was busy at the time, skimmed it, told it to keep it new,
  and AOL eventually owned it because their software is incompetent.  If you
  wish to claim credit for that, send me an e-mail reminding me (I do
  remember what mail service it came from).


===============================================================================
 12.   Contact Info and Copyright                                      [CC012]
===============================================================================


If you have any questions, comments, corrections, or other suggestions about
this FAQ, feel free to e-mail me at:

thebajidancer at aol dot com

Yes, we all know AOL sucks, but that e-mail actually gets checked.  Anything
sent to the e-mail listed in my GFaqs info will most likely never be seen
by any living soul.

Appropriate credit will be given for corrections and suggestions, and questions
that actually need answers will be tossed into the Q&A Session section of the
FAQ.



Copyright 2006 "Arcueid Brunestud"

This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
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