Live A Live (SNES) Walkthrough

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Live a Live (Super Nintendo) Walkthrough

~by tankMage (October 2018)

Introduction

Live A Live is somewhat unusual for a game of its time, because it allows the player to complete the stories of seven different characters in any order, before facing the final portion of the game. Unfortunately, this title was never officially released outside of Japan, but English speakers can still play and understand it thanks to Aeon Genesis, who translated the text. This guide is based on the Aeon Genesis translation, so names may vary from other translations or guides.

Note: Live A Live has seen an official port in recent years. Some of the info in this guide may conflict with any changes made to the official release of the game.

1. Walkthrough

This game is split into several section which players are free to explore in any order via a character select screen. To keep things simple, this guide covers each character in the order they are shown on the character select screen. Once all of the character scenarios are complete, the player will be able to begin the final portion of Live A Live.

a. Caveman: Contact

Part 1: Pogo’s Cave

Items

Big Stick x3

Hard Rock

Hide

Bone

Pogo will wake up after you name him. Walk over to Gori and press A to wake him up. Search the stone drawers to west to find a Big Stick. Leave the room via the small opening to the south and wake up the sleeping caveman blocking your way by hitting A again. There’s another room to the east, go in and check the shelf to get a Hard Rock, another Big Stick, and a Hide. Put the Hide on Pogo.

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Caveman Tag Mini-Game

Reward	Big Stick	Bone	Beast Horn
Beast Fang	Hide	Tough Hide	Hard Rock

A caveman is running around willy nilly in the room where you found the Big Stick and the Hide. Talk to him and another caveman will enter the room and start running around. Yet another caveman will show up if you talk to one of them a third time. In fact, a grand total of 19 caveman will enter the room if you keep repeating this process. Talk to the 19th caveman to enter the room to get a Big Stick, Bone, Beast Horn, Beast Fang, Hide, Tough Hide, and a Hard Rock. The easiest way to do this is to stand in front of the door and count as you tag the cavemen. Once the 18th caveman has been tagged, let them rush into the room, then block the entrance again. Tag a caveman as he runs past and then tag the one standing in the door to get your prize. Make sure there aren’t any other caveman adjacent to you or you may accidentally tag the wrong one. Save your game before talking to the final caveman so you don’t have to repeat the entire process if something goes wrong.

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Leave and enter the third room by the eastern wall. Talk to the three caveman inside and they’ll run out so you can grab a Big Stick and Bone from the shelves behind them. Exit this area via the door in the southwest to enter the main cave.

Part 2: Main Cave

Items

Big Stick

Talk to the people in here to get some comical reactions. The guy standing between two white stones in the northern end of the room will tell you to go see the elder. The door to the northeast leads to where the cavemen keep their food, enter if you want to see a few amusing cutscenes, otherwise go to the room in the southwest to find the craftsman, who will make weapons and armor for Pogo. Below is a list of items you can make at the moment:

The elder’s room is in the northwest, go in and grab another Big Stick from the shelf to the left of the entrance. Talk to the elder and he’ll tell you to go do some hunting. Return to the two white rocks, the door behind them is no longer blocked. Go in, follow the hallway, and go through the door to the east.

Part 3: Hunting Grounds

Items

Meaty Bones

You’ll see the elder talking to a caveman in red to the south. Talk to the red guy and a short sequence where he will sniff around to find a deer will take place. Have a word with the elder and he’ll tell you to push the Y button to sniff. Puppies will attack, defeating them should be easy, because they barely have any HP. Use Y to find some more prey. Move over to where the white clouds appear to fight more puppies. About three battles will earn you enough food to make the elder happy. Return to him once you have three Meaty Bones, then go back to the Main Cave.

Part 4: Main Cave/Pogo’s Room Revisited

Items

Stone Knife

Leather Cord

Bone

Meaty Bone

Everyone is asleep, so head back to Pogo’s cave and hit the hay…literally. Pogo will awake in the middle of the night. Go to the elder’s throne room and into his bedroom by going through the door to the north. Search the shelves to find a Stone Knife and a Leather Cord. Head over to the room in the northeast corner of the main cave to find Gori and hit A to wake him up. Check the bone sitting just right of Gori, then leave the room and reenter. Another piece of meat is missing, search the Bone to pick it up, then sniff around with Y.

Check the scent cloud that pops up, sniff again, and poke the haystack next to the last piece of meat by pushing A. Sniff again and you’ll see more scent clouds come out of the haystacks, poke the haystack and sniff again. In fact, keep doing it until one of the stacks runs over to the eastern side of the room. Pick up the last Meaty Bone, then walk over to the haystack and select the Meaty Bone from your inventory. Leave the room again and re-enter. Walk up to the haystack a final time and Bel will join.

Be sure to collect Gori and equip Bel before leaving the room. Walk over to the southeastern door and you’ll see that you cannot take Bel into Pogo’s room, so go back to the food storage room in the northeastern part of the main cave. Grab a haystack and go back to Pogo’s room yet again. Wake the sleeping caveman blocking your way by pressing A, then go into Pogo’s room and into bed. You’ll find Bel under a haystack in the northwestern part of the room. Bel will stay in the haystack until you give her a gift like a Meaty Bone or Gigigaga Wakka.

Part 5: Leveling Up

Bel will react in amusing ways to different items, but it’s best to keep things simple for now and get a Meaty Bone for her. Head out to the hunting grounds and do some fighting to get some materials as well as level up. Try to get to level six or seven. It’s also a good idea to try for another hide or two so you can make some armor.

Return to Pogo’s Cave and give Bel a Meaty Bone, since they are the most plentiful of the items you can offer her. You can watch a funny scene if you give her a Wild Dress or some of the other craftable items, but you’ll permanently lose whatever you give her so it’s best to give her something inconsequential.

Part 6: Battle at the Cave

Enter the room that leads to the hunting grounds and talk to the caveman guarding the northern exit after giving Bel her present. An event will take place, head back to the main cave and watch another cutscene. Walk back into the main cave and examine one of the blue carts to start a fight with the Ku cavemen. Move Bel into the northeast corner of the screen or some other safe place, because the bad guys can make quick work of her with their long range attacks. Use Gori’s Eeh! attack and Pogo’s Bang Bang attack.

Odds are the blue guys won’t last long in combat and their boss, Zaki, will attack after the battle. Keep Bel in the back again and have Gori and Pogo step forward. Zaki’s Baridreen! attack has a range of about five diagonal spaces and deals roughly 80 damage. Use Pogo’s Boom Boom tech on Zaki, which can deal upwards of 150 damage depending on your gear and levels. Have Gori use any skill that seems appropriate. The battle should end after a few rounds. Watch the cutscene afterwards and save your game right away.

Part 7: The Savanna

Equip Bel right after the party is thrown out of the cave. You’ll do well to put a Wild Dress on her if you made one, because it’ll boost her defense to 48. Otherwise she’ll have to stay in the back until she is level six. At level three, Bel will learn Wavewave, which can heal her and any adjacent party members. Try to avoid the Sabre Tooth Tigers until Bel is at least level 5. A craftsman is hanging out slightly to the northwest of where you enter this area. Visit him and make some gear after grinding a bit. I suggest making any of the previously mentioned items that you could use a copy of as well as a Burning Club for Pogo’s left hand by combining the following:

Burning Club = Big Stick + Hide

Head northeast until you see a cave opening in the corner of the map. A brief cutscene will take place inside the cave once you enter. Check the pile of sticks and Pogo will light a fire. Another cutscene will ensue and the bad guys will snatch Bel again. Try to leave through the door in the northwest and Zaki will attack. This time Pogo is by himself with Bel gone and Gori out cold. Luckily, Zaki should be easy to fight, especially if you use Boom Boom on him, which should knock him out in two or three hits. Collect Gori, who is passed out by the southern exit, and examine the hidden door to the north to open it.

Part 8: The Hidden Cave

Items

Meaty Bone x2

A brief series of events will take place after you enter the hidden door and Pogo will find himself in a field of flowers. Walk southwest and you’ll eventually see Bel, which will snap Pogo out of his dream. The room you are in is dark, but it is possible to make out faint outlines of rocks, especially if you turn the brightness on your TV up. The room will brighten on its own over time as well. At any rate, sniff around and you’ll see puffs representing enemies, you’ll also find one that represents Zaki which leads to the exit. Some Meaty Bones can be found on the ground in here, but they really aren’t worth picking up unless you are in a pinch.

Go over to the northwestern corner of the room and you should find the way out by using the A button to bash the wall a few times. The door should be in the corner formed by the western and northern walls of the cave. Try hitting a few sections of the wall multiple times if you are having trouble finding the exit. Eventually Pogo will bust the door down and return to the room where Bel was abducted. Head through the northern door and hop over the hole to reach the cave exit.

Part 9: The Northern Pass

At this point you are nearing the end of Pogo’s story. Tough enemies inhabit this area, make sure you are around level 10 and have decent equipment. Take some time to level up here and make the best equipment possible for Pogo, so he can face the trials ahead as well as the final portion of the game. You’ll want to farm tough hides and bones in particular. Go west and you’ll see a crafting NPC, be sure to have him make the following for Pogo and the team:

Ooh! Mask = Beast Horn or Fang + Tough Hide

Wild Armor = Tough Hide + Stone Knife

Follow the path north and go into the door north of the craftsman. You can sneak past the sleeping guard in the next area by walking northeast. An event will take place once you reach the end of the road and Gori will stay behind. Head south and Gori will steamroll Pogo once he reaches the end of the path. You can walk through the gate now that the guard has been defeated. Do not enter the cave to the northwest or the one directly north of the gate, because you’ll have to fight an endless chain of Ku tribesmen. Leave the area to escape the Ku if you happen to enter one of those caves. Instead, enter the cave in the northeast.

Part 10: Ku Cave

Items

Stone Knife

Hide

Hard Rock

Check the shelves near the entrance to find a Stone Knife, Hide, and a Hard Rock. You’ll see Gori and a few…er…friends of his in a small room just northeast of the entrance. Talk to Gori about five times to get his attention. From here you can either complete Pogo’s quest by going through the skull door to the east or grab some powerful hidden items.

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The Monolith

Items

Basic Rock

Make sure you have a bone and return to the cave where Pogo fell into a dark room and watch the brief cutscene with two cavemen, then continue south to exit the cave. This should bring you to the savanna where you levelled Bel up. There’s a rock that looks a lot like a face just south of the cave exit. Walk up to the rock and press A 100 times. You should hear an audible click on the 100th press. Stop hitting A as soon as the click sounds, because the door will close if you press the A button again.

Walk west to where the craftsman hangs out. You should see a small cave entrance near him, go inside. Approach the monolith inside the cave and offer it a bone to get the Basic Rock. When equipped the Basic Rock will boost the user’s IQ, when used as an item in battle it will display the target’s HP and lower some of its stats. Have Pogo equip it so he can use it in the final chapter.

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Secret Boss: King Mammoth

Items

King’s Fang

Soda (Random drop)

Preparation: King Mammoth is one tough customer, so make sure you have the best gear you can get on Pogo and Gori. Try to boost Pogo’s IQ as much as possible, it will serve you well in the battle with this boss. Be sure to get the Basic Rock from the Monolith and have Pogo wear it as an accessory, since it will massively boost his IQ. Bring a few Giant Meaty Bones along to keep everyone alive. Level 15 is perhaps the lowest level the player should attempt this fight at, because Pogo and Gori will need a decent HP pool to survive in case something goes wrong with the battle strategy that is outlined below.

Finding King Mammoth: Return to the area where you were exiled from the village (the face shaped stone is also located here) and sniff for enemies. You may notice one of the clouds displays a mammoth symbol when examined, which is a good estimate of where the King Mammoth is located. This guy is super fast and can only be engaged in battle if you push the A button while touching him, which is difficult to do since you cannot see him. The easiest way to catch this boss is to run around pressing the A button once you’ve located his general vicinity. It may take a few minutes, but you’ll eventually start the battle if you keep searching.

King Mammoth’s Abilities and Stats: The King Mammoth uses several attacks, Trunk Whip, Huge Explosion, Great Eruption, and Flame Thrower. Trunk Whip is a damaging single target move that can deal 70-120 damage. Flame Thrower is a fire based attack that has a range of about three spaces and hits for upwards of 120 damage; it also hurts any characters standing adjacent to the target. Huge Explosion can inflict between 200 and 300 damage (depending on the target’s stats) in a 4×4 area that will also turn into a fire field. Finally, Great Eruption dishes out 100-200 damage to everything on the screen and turns the entire battle field into a fire field.

King Mammoth has a staggering 992 HP and is immune to most negative status effects. He also has massive defense and attack, which makes it hard to damage him. To top things off, he’s pretty fast and will often get turns as frequently as Gori and Pogo. Damaging this boss is made even more difficult by the fact that he is healed by the fire fields he generates and often counterattacks with Huge Explosion.

Defeating King Mammoth: This boss may seem impossible, but he is actually quite easy if you use Pogo’s Push Push technique. Have Pogo rush the boss right away and use Push Push on him. If you are lucky the move will deal 70-120 depending on your level/IQ and paralyze him for a turn. When Gori’s turn comes up, move him towards Pogo a few spaces then select “pass” so Pogo can use Push Push again. The attack should connect automatically if the boss is still paralyzed. This will allow you to keep passing Gori’s turn in order to use Push Push, which will keep the boss stun locked until he dies.

Lower level characters may have trouble getting the paralyze effect of Push Push to proc. Have Gori heal any major damage with a Giant Meaty Bone and pass his turns if you miss or the boss resists the paralysis effect. DO NOT use Gori to attack under any circumstances (unless you want to use a Shock Caltrop to hurry the process along), because it will disrupt the process and likely give the boss a chance to counter with Huge Explosion. At any rate, King Mammoth will go down in 10 to 20 turns and you’ll get the King’s Fang for your trouble. You may also win a Soda, which boosts speed and can unleash a powerful attack if used as an item. Be sure to put both of these on Pogo before the end of the chapter so he can use them in the final portion of the game.

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Part 11: The Ku Tribe

Items

Big Stick

Bone

Preparation: Make sure you’re around level 15 and have made or acquired any important items. Place anything that’s rare and powerful on Pogo, because you’ll lose everything he isn’t wearing after the chapter boss.

Return to the northeast cave where you found Gori with the female apes if you left to do side quests. Go through the door with the skull over it, then enter the small room directly to the north. Search the shelves to find a Big Stick and a Bone. Exit the room and go east to find another skull door. Beyond this door is a long room filled with Ku tribesmen, who should be easy to beat. Keep pushing north towards the door as quickly as possible, because Ku tribe will keep flooding from the doorway until you reach it. Go right through the next room, there’s nothing in it aside from some fires. A brief cutscene will take place once you enter the final area and Zaki will fight Pogo one on one. Zaki has a lot of HP, but really isn’t a match for Pogo at this point. Hit him with Dodegesden a few times if you have it to wrap the battle up.

Boss Fight: O-D-O

Pogo, Bel, Gori, and even Zaki participate in this battle. O-D-O can deal some serious damage with his Dive Bomb attack, which he can use to hit your teammates if they are diagonal to him, so try to keep your weaker characters in a safe spot. Dive Bomb does roughly 150 damage. Anyone standing by O-D-O’s legs or head is vulnerable to his Rend attack, but it only deals about 70 damage, so Gori and Pogo should have little to fear from it. Pogo’s Push Push can paralyze this boss for a couple of turns and you can even keep O-D-O from attacking if you are willing to spam the move, but it doesn’t hurt him much. On the other hand, Dodegesden can defeat this boss in two or three hits if Pogo is well equipped. Have Bel heal if necessary and Zaki use his ranged attacks. Gori should be up front with Pogo using skills like Eeeh! and Blum Blum. Keep the heat on O-D-O and the battle will end without incident. The chapter will end once O-D-O has been defeated.

b. Cowboy: Wandering

Part 1: Showdown With Mad Dog

A brief intro will run, then a battle between Mad Dog and our hero, Sundown, will take place. Move Sundown south two spaces and fire a Single Shot at Mad Dog. Mad Dog will attack, but it should only do about 40 damage. Step forward when Sundown’s turn comes up and use Double Shot, which will likely defeat Mad Dog. Afterwards, Sundown will ride away.

Part 2: Success Town and The Crystal Bar

Items

Bourbon

Most of the buildings in Success Town are locked up…except for the Crystal Bar to the west. Sundown will get a cold reception here and the locals won’t have much to say. Most of the doors in here are locked aside from the middle door at the top of the steps, which leads to a funny scene, but is not important. Check the white container behind the bar to get a Bourbon, then talk to the barkeep. A lengthy cutscene will take place and you’ll be offered a glass of milk. You can drink the milk or send it back, but sending it back is the only way to advance the story. Pike will confront you after you send the milk back, tell him to “Get Lost” to start your second battle. Single Shot should be enough to end the battle in a single turn. Another scene will play and you’ll be asked a question, answer with “It’s true”, then follow Mad Dog outside. Yet another cutscene will take place.

Part 3: Eight Bells Until the Showdown

Items

Peacekeeper Badge

Have a word with everyone in the bar, then talk to Mad Dog a couple of times to get the Peacekeeper Badge after more dialogue. Take the advice Mad Dog gives you when he joins and save right away. From this point on, the player will be on a time limit. A bell will sound every few minutes and the player must explore Success Town quickly to acquire traps, which can make the showdown much easier. Keep count of the bells, because your time is up after the eighth bell and the Crazy Bunch will attack. Be sure to give the traps you have found to each townsperson so they can set them and thin out the Crazy Bunch a bit. It’s most efficient to distribute all of the traps at once, so keep gathering items until the sixth bell tolls.

Part 4: Success Town (North)

Items	Bourbon x3	Tequila x2	Oil x3	Slingshot	Jacket	Empty Bottle x2
Cigar x3	Barman’s Poster	Dynamite	Peacemaker	Carrot x2	Buntline	Coal Tar

The best place to start searching is the Crystal Bar, since you’re standing in it when the countdown begins. Go through the door behind the band and check the three boxes along the wall to get a Tequila and a Bourbon. Check the white jars to find an Oil. Leave the room and talk to Billy to get a Slingshot, then go into the room behind the bartender.

There’s a bookcase in the lower right hand side of the bartender’s room, walk up to it and hit the A Button to move it. Go through the door behind it and check the bookcase along the north wall to find a Jacket. Check the box and white jar below to find an Empty Bottle and more Oil. Mad Dog will offer to make a Molotov Cocktail out of these items, say “yes”. Go back to the bartender’s room and check the chest behind the desk for another Bourbon.

Go back to the main room of the bar and up the steps. Walk over to the door on the far left and grab a Cigar from the box, then go into the middle room and check the wardrobe to make Annie yell at you. Check out the last room, but do not touch the money bag (someone will ask you to leave it alone, wasting precious time) instead search the wardrobe behind it to get the Barman’s Poster. Now leave the bar.

Go into the house just east of the tavern and enter the door behind the staircase. Search the box near the entrance of the room to get another Cigar, then run over to the door to the west. You’ll see a box behind the counter, open it and have Mad Dog make another Molotov. Leave the room and go up the stairs, but ignore the room at the top of the steps. Enter the room to the west and grab a Bourbon from the box near the door. Exit the building and go into the Sheriff’s Office to the east.

Check the box to the right of the desk to find some Dynamite, then search the desk to get a Cigar. There’s a Peacemaker on the weapon rack behind the desk. Walk up the steps and enter the room to the right. Grab a Buntline from the weapon rack near the entrance and leave the building. Now run over to the barn to the west and grab a Tequila from the box at the back of the building. Set out for the house with two trees in front of it just east of the barn. Enter the door that is partially hidden by the stairs and grab some Oil from the jar on the left. There’s nothing else in this house, so leave. Explore the last building on the north side of town, which is another barn. Grab a Carrot from one of the boxes in the northwest end of the room, then search the barrel east of the cart for some Coaltar. That wraps up the north end of town.

Part 4: Success Town (South)

Items	Carrot x2	Empty Bottle x2	Horse Dung
Rope	Oil	Frying Pan	Shovel

The building in the southwest is another barn, grab a Carrot from the box near the cart. Next go up the steps and pick up an Empty Bottle from the chest, then have Mad Dog make another Molotov. Check the second haystack from the western wall on the bottom to get some Horse Dung, then leave the barn. Search the building east of the barn (it looks like an Inn) go into the room to the south. Walk behind the stairs and press against the wall to enter a hidden room. Take the Rope from the box and leave the inn.

The next house to the east is some kind of store. Take some Oil from the white jar behind the counter, then go through the door to the south. Take the Frying Pan from the wall and ignore the box with the Carrot inside if you already have one. Leave and check the cart in the small building to the east to get a Shovel. Finally, go into the last building to the east and enter the room at the back of the house. You’ll see a box to the east of the door, open it to get an empty bottle and have Mad Dog make one last Molotov. Now hustle over to the Crystal Bar to prepare for the showdown.

Part 5: The Crystal Bar (Revisited)

Items

Annie’s Nightie

Make sure you put everything you want to keep on Sundown. You can even take Mad Dog’s gear and put it on Sundown, just be sure to put Sundown’s old gear on Mad Dog so he can fight. Talk to the Sheriff twice and answer “Yeah” to his question so you’ll be able to start handing out traps. Below is a list of characters, their appearance, trap setting speed, and what you should give them. You can go to Annie’s room and steal her Nightie while she is setting a trap, giving it to her later will solicit an amusing response. Hopefully you returned by the sixth bell, because it will take even the fastest characters time to set their traps.

Name	Appearance	Speed	Recommended Traps
Annie	Blond Hair, White Shirt	Very Fast	Frying Pan, Molotov
Bartender	Guy Behind Bar	Fast	Barman’s Poster, Molotov
Gene	Blond Hair	Fast	Shovel
Sheriff	Brown Hat	Very Fast	Dynamite, Molotov, Carrot
Wayne	Blue Hair	Medium	Molotov
Wayne’s Wife	Yellow Dress	Medium	Coaltar
Clint	Brown Hair	Slow	Rope
Gibson	Green Hair	Slow	Horse Dung
Billy	Child	Very Slow	Slingshot
Sancho	First Musician From Left	Slow	Any
Pancho	Third Musician From Left	Slow	Any
Delos	Second Musician From Left	Randomly Very Slow or Very Fast	Any

Make sure the very first thing you do is give Sheriff the Dynamite, which can blow up four members of the Crazy Bunch. Billy is the only person who can set the Slingshot and Annie is the only one who can use the Frying Pan, so give it to her. Give Molotovs to fast people and spread the rest of the items around as you wish. Keep in mind that giving someone more than one of the same item won’t work and only one Carrot trap can be set, so don’t waste time passing around Carrots or giving a fast person like Sheriff a second Molotov. Double check your gear while everyone sets traps and get ready to fight. Pass the time by talking to the bartender after you have set all the traps.

Part 6: Showdown With the Crazy Bunch

The Crazy Bunch will ride into town on the Eighth Bell. Any traps set by the townspeople will take effect at this point and incapacitate some members of the gang. The more traps you manage to get set up, the fewer members of the Crazy Bunch you’ll have to fight in the big battle. In fact the final battle can be nearly impossible if you did not manage to take out at least half the enemies with traps. Your response to Billy’s question when Dio calls you out will slightly alter the last scenes of the chapter, but you’ll have to fight either way.

Boss Fight: Dio

Hopefully there will only be Dio in this fight (and maybe one or two of his lackeys) because this guy is tough on his own. You’ll need a lot of strategy and luck if the field is filled with Crazy Bunch thugs, in fact I wasn’t able to beat the entire gang. There may be two boulders on the field which do not serve as cover, but they will block your shots. DO NOT move into Dio’s diagonal line of sight, he will insta-kill your character with his Gatling Gun if you do. Move Mad Dog and Sundown right up to Dio and have Sundown use Double shot on him. Mad Dog should use Texas Jitterbug on the boss. Dio will use Molotov on anyone standing adjacent to him, which is nearly worthless. Have Mad Dog clean up any Crazy Bunch dudes if there are more than one left while Sundown concentrates on Dio. About eight Double Shots should be enough to slay Dio.

It’s likely that you will not have to heal if Dio is alone, but use the Cigars first if you’re hurt, because they will boost your stats. Plus Bourbon and Tequila will get you drunk and make it impossible to use anything but single shot for a few turns. The Tequila should only be used if you nothing else left or if someone falls, because it’s your only area of effect heal. At any rate your healing items should be enough to get you through the battle if there aren’t too many bad guys left.

Part 7: Epilogue

After the battle Sundown will have to fight Mad Dog again. Just use Double Shot to end things quickly. You’ll be able to answer certain questions with the usual “…” or “Yeah”, but it won’t change things much. The town will thank their hero and send him off, ending the chapter. Save your game and choose another chapter.

c. Kung Fu: Inheritance

Part 1: Xin’s Abode

Items	Kung Fu Shoes	Kirin Shoes	Meat Bun x2
Sweet Bun	Kung Fu Suit x2	Clover x2	Bird’s Eye

The default name of this chapter’s hero is Xin Shan Quan…we’ll call him Xin for the sake of brevity. Any way, you’ll start out in Xin’s house, which has a few goodies you should pick up before leaving. Examine the cabinets in the northwest part of the room to get a pair of Kung Fu Shoes and Kirin Shoes. Equip Xin with the Kirin Shoes, then go through the purple curtain in the northeast. There are two Meat Buns in the jars to the right and a Sweet Bun in the jar to the left. Check the cabinets in the northwest corner of the room to get two Kung Fu Suits before leaving the house.

Search the plants on the west side of Xin’s house to get two Clovers. There is no reason to go up the steps to the north at the moment, so go down the steps west of the house and grab the Bird’s Eye plant just west of the steps. Now go south and down the steps to the lower half of the mountain. Follow the steps south and you’ll reach a sign that has directions to three different places: Wong Town (Southwest), Yuan Hua Street (Northeast), and the Bamboo Forest (West). You can visit these areas in any order you like.

Part 2: Yuan Hua Street

Items

Meat Bun

Porcelain Bowl

Sweet Bun

Take the steps that are to the southeast of the sign post and follow the path east. Turn north and you’ll see a sign indicating that Yuan Hua St. is up ahead. Talk to the townspeople for some gossip and keep moving north. Eventually you’ll come to a red banner and an event will take place. Talk to the blue guy and you’ll have the option of fighting Sammo Hakka or talking to him. Sammo is easy to beat and fighting him is a good way to try Xin’s skills out. Either way, Sammo will join Xin.

Walk north a bit and you’ll see a building on the east side of the street with some wrecked baskets in front of it. Talk to the person standing near the shop to get a Meat Bun. Have a word with the old man standing near a little girl to the northeast of where you got the Meat Bun. He’ll give you a Porcelain Bowl. Now head south and talk to the old man standing by a cart of apples on the east side of the street to get a Sweet Bun. Leave Yuan Hua Street.

Part 3: Bamboo Forest

Items

Healing Plant x5

Clover

Bird’s Eye

Shepherd’s Purse

Return to the signpost at the foot of the mountain and go west to reach the Bamboo Forest. Check the tuft of grass near the entrance to get a Healing Plant, then fight the tiger to the northwest. Don’t worry, tigers drop in one or two hits. The plant to the north of where you encountered is nothing special, so keep going west. You’ll find another Healing Plant to the north after passing through a gap in the trees. There’s also a Clover in the same area just southwest of the Healing Plant. Follow the winding path west of the Clover and go south west when you reach a fork in the road. Fight the tiger, then grab the Bird’s Eye and Healing Plant to the south. Head back to the fork in the road and go north.

Pick up the Healing Plant from the small clearing to the northeast, then head west. Walk over to the gap in the trees and a bandit will stop you. You can either give the bandit your money or fight. Do not give her money. Start the fight with Lao Hu Zhi Wu since Xin will be alone. The bandit, Li Kuugo will join you after the battle. Check out the area to the north and collect the Healing Plant and Shepherd’s Purse. Return to the foot of the mountain.

Part 4: Wong Town

Items

Sweet Bun

Chinese Pot

Meat Bun

Catfish Whisker

Take the steps to the southwest and follow the road to Wong Town. You’ll see two sick people behind counters on both sides of the street, give them Healing Plants to get a Sweet Bun and a Chinese Pot. Two more sick people are lying around nearby, give one a Healing Plant to get a Meat Bun and trigger a necessary event. Give the old lady in the southwest one last healing herb to get a Catfish Whisker. You can give the very last sick person a Meat Bun, but you won’t get anything in return. Talk to the guy blocking the way south and a cutscene will take place. Choose the “pardon me” option after the cutscene, then approach the group of kids to the south. You’ll get into a fight with Sun Zi Wang and some Ruffians who are ridiculously easy to defeat.  Pick the second option after the battle and Yuan Jou will join you.

Part 5: Choosing Xin’s Heir

You can return to Xin’s home on the mountain now that you have all three students. You’ll have to fight them in order to train them in Kung Fu, so take everyone’s gear off except Xin to make the process easier. Consider each character’s strengths (which are listed below) and choose the character you like best*.

Li Kuugo: Most powerful techniques, but learns new skills very slowly. Middling stats.

Sammo Hakka: Good stats, especially strength, HP, and defense. Learns skills slowly.

Yuan Jou: Excellent stats, but starts with only two techniques.

*All of the students are fair choices, but I recommend Sammo, because his high HP is really helpful down the road.

A brief conversation will take place once you enter Xin’s place, then you’ll have to spar with each of the pupils, starting with Li. Once Li is defeated you’ll fight Sammo, then Yuan. The students should be pushovers, especially if you took all of their gear, but watch out for Sammo, who can inflict a fair amount of damage. Everyone will retire for the night after the battles and start the next day at the mountain top.

Xin will fight four matches with the pupils up here. It’s important to know who you want as the heir, because the person you fight most will become Xin’s heir. I recommend fighting the student you want all four times, because he or she will gain stat bonuses and new skills with each battle. Keep in mind that students only learn Xin’s skills when they level up. Choose the skills you use on your heir wisely, because they will learn them from Xin. Lao Hu Zhi Wu, Squirrel Kick, and Lion Hand are a few good choices. At any rate try to use a variety of skills to teach the heir as much as possible. The heir will usually gain a level and 5 vitality after each battle.

Everyone will go to the forest after the set of matches on the mountain. This time the pupils will gain 5 points to speed with each match. Be sure to only fight the person you want to be Xin’s heir so they learn his skills and get the full 20 point speed bonus from the four matches. You may have to be more careful in these fights, because your student will have become more powerful at this point, especially if you chose Li or Sammo. A cutscene will play after the training session in the forest. Xin’s house is the scene of the final round of training. This time the pupil’s power will increase after every match. Fight your heir four final times and enjoy yet another cutscene. Head over to Yuan Hua Street.

Part 6: Yuan Hua St. (Revisited )

Items	Panda	Chow Chow	Peach Bun
Fukahire Bun	Martial Arts Tome	Laojiu	Pot Lid
Meat Bun	Peking Pot	Sweet Bun	Tiger Clothes

There’s a group of thugs causing trouble in the north end of the street. Stride up to them and talk to the Tiger King who is in the center of the group. Xin will have to fight Sun Zi Wang and his Ruffians again. Talk to the girls standing around to get a Panda, Chow Chow, Peach Bun, and a Fukahire Bun from the owner. Go south and talk to the old man by the apple cart to get a Martial Arts Tome. The man in yellow just south of the old man will give you a Laojiu. The guy across from the old man will give you a Pot Lid and the man standing just north of him by some baskets of yellow fruit will give you a Meat Bun. The person standing to the south with purple hair has a Peking Pot. Go south and get a Sweet Bun from the purple haired person in white standing by an awning. The old people near the gate will give you Tiger Clothes and a Tiger Gauntlet. Equip your new items and leave Yuan Hua St.

Part 7: Yi Po Men Dojo

Items	Sweet Bun	Fukei’s Feather	Kung Fu Shoes
Peach Bun x3	Kirin Shoes	Gourd	Meat Bun

Note: The events in this portion of the game change slightly depending on who you chose to be Xin’s heir. Just explore Xin’s house and the story will advance.

Go back to Xin’s house, which is in shambles, and talk to your students several times. Watch the scene with Xin and his heir, then visit the graves at the mountain top north of Xin’s house. Set out for the Bamboo Forest and check out the Yi Po Men dojo in the northwest. Xin’s successor will join him near the entrance to the temple, but each one shows up in a different spot. Equip your heir right away after they join.

Fight the guards at the gate, who are just about worthless, then approach the guys training in the courtyard. These guys are pathetic as well and present no challenge. Fight the last guy left in the courtyard, who is a Yi Po Men Fighter. He’s a bit tougher than his students, but you’ll take him down with ease. Some guards will sic fierce tigers on you when you reach the steps to the north. Fight them, the exp will come in handy. There are also a few Yi Po Men Fighters you can beat up. Enter the main door to the north. More fighters will attack. There are some items in the pots on the western wall that contain a Sweet Bun, Fukei’s Feather, and Kung Fu Shoes.

Go through the door to the north and follow the hallway to the next door. Take out the Fierce Tiger that attacks and go east, then through the door in the north. Fight the guys that rush you in this small room. Loot the jar to the right to get a Peach Bun. The ornate chest east of the door has some Kirin Shoes. Walk through the door and get ready to battle a few waves of fighters in the next room.

Press onward until you come to a room with a table by the eastern wall and three jars along the western wall. Search the table to get a Fukahire Bun. The jars contain two Peach Buns. Exit the room via the door to the north. More fighters line this hallway and you’ll have to defeat five of them. Have Xin and the heir use their best attacks so these guys can’t whittle away at your heroes. Keep moving until you reach the end of the hallway and go through the door to the north.

Destroy the tiger patrolling this tiny room and go into the next chamber, which is dominated by a huge table. The warriors within this room will attack Xin on sight. This will be the first challenging fight in the chapter, because these guys can deal quite a bit of damage from afar with their Fei Zhua skill. Hit them with Squirrel Kicks or an area of effect attack if you are surrounded.

Examine the pots in the northwest part of the room to find a Gourd and a Meat Bun. Head north and fight yet another tiger. There are also some guards that will attack from the north. Take them down and go through the curtains at the end of the hall. You’ll meet Odi Wang Lee in the audience room beyond the hallway, who will introduce you to his strongest fighters. You’re free to move around after a brief conversation, but you’ll be attacked if you talk to anyone. Here are the battles in order from first to last. Save between each fight in case something goes wrong. Completionists may want to reload certain battles, because some of these enemies drop powerful items.

San Xi and Si Xi: This duo isn’t very threatening. In fact you can split up to fight them. Both San and Si will collapse after taking about 120 damage.

Yi Xi and Er Xi: Xin and his heir will face a greater challenge in this fight. Take out Er first, then approach Yi very carefully by staying away from spaces diagonal to him. Yi can hit your heroes with an attack that does upwards of 100 damage to them if they step into spaces diagonal to him, so hit him from the sides or top and bottom to stay safe. Neither of these guys have high HP, so the battle will end quickly.

Dong Jia and Xia Jia: Dong and Xia have high defense and are faster than they look. Go after Xia first and try to stay out of Dong’s direct line of sight so he can’t hit you with his long range attack. Rush Dong once Xia is defeated. Use Lion Hand on these two and heal up when necessary.

Bei Jia and Nan Jia: Save your game before fighting these guys. Both Bei and Nan pack a punch, but they seem less dangerous at close range. Have Xin and the heir focus on one, then the other. Use Long Hu Liang PoWan on the enemy a few times to soften them up. You’ll probably need to heal a bit over the course of the battle, so don’t be stingy with those Sweet Buns. They’ll drop a Dragon Gauntlet at the end of the battle if you are lucky.

Lin, Shan, and Chan: Go after Lin, the sword user first, because she uses deadly long range skills. Long Hu Liang PoWan will prove useful in this battle, be sure to hit each enemy with it a couple of times to weaken them. Don’t use AoE techs on Lin unless you’re sure it’ll kill her, because she tends to counter such moves with Twin Swords, which can easily kill one of your fighters. Go after Shan, the mace user next, then finish the battle with Chan. Another good way to fight this battle is to spread out and have your heroes use Squirrel Kick to whittle away at the sisters. Just watch out for Lin’s Waterfowl Dance if you do so. Lucky players will get Dragon Clothes at the end of the battle.

**Important**

Make sure the heir is wearing all the best equipment before you talk to the old man. Put cheap gear on Xin, because you’ll lose anything he’s wearing after this battle.

Lei Bei Kou: Lei may be old as dirt, but he can hit like a truck. Do not position yourself diagonal and below Lei, because he will use an attack that can turn its victim to stone if you do so. He also has a tech that can prevent its target from using hand techs, though the character will still be able to kick. Squirrel Kick seems to work really well on this guy, but you need to hit him with it a lot. He also has high evade, so this battle may take a while. Use the Gourd item on Lei if you are having too much trouble

**********

Boss Fight: Odi Wang Lee

The first thing you should do is use Xuan Ya Lian Shan Quan on Odi, which will inflict massive damage on him. Odi has a number of techniques that deal considerable damage to the heir, who must fight him alone. The Long Hu Liang Po Wan technique can make him less dangerous, but don’t waste too many turns using it. Instead go with Lion Hand or another strong skill. Heal when you get down to about 90 HP to prevent Odi from killing you with a strong attack (players with high defense can get away with less HP) and pummel him with attacks. Be very careful if you do not have the Dragon Clothes, because Odi can inflict a lot of damage on you. Defeat Odi and the chapter will end.

d. Mecha: Flow

Part 1: A Walk in the Park

The chapter starts out with a bit of dialogue and a question. Answer however you like and enter a name for your character, this guide will go with the default name, Akira. After some more dialogue, you’ll be prompted to press the Y button, which activates Akira’s ability to read minds. Akira will be free to explore the park after the intro. Talk to the NPCs, practice reading thoughts with the Y button, then follow the path leading east.

Akira will be waylaid by some Crusader punks. Use Y to read the thoughts of the punk on the left and Matsu will come to your aid. A battle with three Crusaders and a Crusader Leader will take place. Let Matsu do the heavy lifting in this confrontation, because Akira is pretty fragile at this point. Matsu’s Pissed Fist skill can knock out a few of the thugs in a single turn, but you have to hit the leader three or for times to knock him out. Akira may get a Mantango Light for his efforts after the brawl. Walk up to Matsu after the fight and hit Y to hear his thoughts.

Part 2: Chibikko House

Items

Shower Cap

First Aid

Akira is free to leave the park and explore town, but there isn’t much to do aside from fight the Crusaders that patrol the streets. Take a look around Chibikko House when your ready. Taeko will stop Akira briefly, then you’ll be able to look around. You can check the rooms in the west wing if you wish, but there’s not much to see. Enter the room in the northeast, talk to Taeko if you like, then go into the room to the north, and check the table by the bathtub to find a Shower Cap.

Return to the main area of Chibikko House and talk to Watanabe, the kid in green, who is standing in front of a TV. Watanabe will run off to the other room to get a First Aid kit. Now visit the first room in the west wing hallway and talk to Watanabe again, then return to the dining room where everyone is watching TV. Check the TV and Watanabe will return. Talk to Watanabe again to get the First Aid kit, he’ll also mention the sick turtle Tarokichi when you speak to him after he gives you the kit. You can visit the director in the room right next to the dining room if you like, otherwise head over to the last room in the west wing. Talk to Kaori, then read her mind. Akira will decide to ask the guy at the antiques shop for help. Leave Chibikko House and enter the map by going south. Now is a good time to save and get in a fight or two.

Part 3: Tarokichi the Turtle

Items	Director’s Boxers	Watanabe’s Boxers	Taeko’s Jeans
Taeko’s Stockings	Taeko’s Punch	Taeko’s Panties	—

Watch out for the patrolling Crusaders. Kill the Crusader if you get in a fight and the machines it controls will be destroyed as well. The Antiques Shop is to the west, walk up to the door on the north wall and press Y. Toei will pop out of the room and tell you to meet him in the basement. You’ll find the stairs to the basement to the west, step onto the teleport pad in the basement and watch it explode. Now go back to Chibikko House.

Revisit the room Kaori was in earlier and talk to her. Toei will show up and ask Akira to plug his robotic turtle into an outlet. Now go to the lower left corner of the room, face west, and examine the wall to plug the turtle in. Read the turtle robot’s (Taro) mind to get it to join you*. You should also read Toei’s thoughts and he’ll leave the room. Exit the room and Taeko will tell you it’s nap time.

Go into the dorm room Taeko just left and talk to the kids who all want taiyaki, which you don’t have at the moment. Be sure to talk to Watanabe who wants you to meet him in the bathroom…ok. Go over to the laundry room in the far eastern end of the building, talk to Taeko, then check the washing machine to get the Director’s Boxers, which aren’t really worth equipping. Now go into the bathroom to the right.

Sit on the toilet and Watanabe will bring you Watanabe’s Boxers. Sit on the toilet again (something I never thought I would say in a guide) and he’ll bring you Taeko’s Jeans. Do it again to get Taeko’s Stockings. Use the toilet yet again to get Taeko’s Punch, which you should put on Akira. Sit on the toilet one last time to get Taeko’s Panties.

*About Taro: Unlike the majority of playable characters in this game, Taro does not level up. Instead he will need power parts (which can be used in the item menu to boost his stats) and accessories like the 100V Laser to boost his stats and give him skills.

**********

Matsu’s Taiyaki Mini Game

Items	Taiyaki	Banana Crepe	Gutsy Taiyaki	Misawa Taiyaki
Glove	Cap	Misanga	Power Wrist	—

Go back to the park, which is the lake on the western end of the map, and talk to Matsu if you want some gear and healing items. However, you’ll have to work for them by selling Taiyaki to people at the park. Simply stand behind the counter next to Matsu and a customer will come up to you each time you press the A button. You’ll have to select the correct price for each NPC that comes to the stand (each NPC has two prices) which are listed below. Matsu will give you an item for each successful sale.

Customer	Item/Price 1	Item/Price 2
Boy	Taiyaki, 100 Yen	Banana Crepe, 300 Yen
Girl	Banana Crepe, 300 Yen	Gutsy Taiyaki, 1000 Yen
Man	Gutsy Taiyaki, 1000 Yen	Misawa Taiyaki, 10000 Yen
Old Woman	Taiyaki, 100 Yen	Misawa Taiyaki, 10000 Yen

You can sell as much Taiyaki as you want and stock up on plenty of healing items. The kids at Chibikko House will ask you for a snack if you talk to them. Akira will get special items if he gives certain kids the correct snack. You’ll find Kazu standing near the sandbox and the rest of the kids in the dorm.

Child	Snack	Reward
Kazu	Gutsy Taiyaki	Glove
Akki	Taiyaki	Misanga
Watanabe	Banana Crepe	Cap
Yuki	Misawa Taiyaki	Power Wrist

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Part 5: The Docks

Pay Chibikko House another visit and walk up the main hallway a bit. You’ll hear Taeko scream, so go back outside. Talk to Taeko and read her thoughts afterwards. You’ll have to fight a Crusader, which should be laughable at this point. A brief cutscene will play after the fight and Akira will ride over to the docks. This area is a small maze where you’ll have to follow Kazu and his captors around. All you need to do is walk around until you see him then go over to each place he pops up.

Walk over to the tree to the west, then head south. You should see Kazu with some Crusaders, go south then east and you’ll spot him again. Next go north, then west and you’ll see Kazu on your right. Now go south and you’ll see him to tree north. Head north to the spot where he popped up, then go east. Go south to spot them and south a second time to get closer. This should bring you to the entrance to the second part of the docks where Matsu is waiting. Approach Matsu and a fight with the Crusaders will break out.

The Crusaders are similar to those you fought in the park and will be no match for your party. Kazu will be free after the battle. Walk up to one of the Crusaders and press Y to read his thoughts, then talk to Matsu. Read Matsu’s mind and he’ll walk off, so follow him home to Chibikko House. Visit Kaori in the last room on the left once you get to Chibikko House and press Y to find out where Matsu went. Talk to everyone at Chibikko House if you want to get their reactions to recent events, then set out for the facility.

Part 6: The Facility

Items

Throwing Knife x4

Hand Grenade x4

Napalm Bomb x4

100V Laser x2

Plasma Spark

Preparation: Make sure Akira is at least level 10 before entering the facility. Everyone should have some decent equipment too, especially Shinju Shirts as well as healing items.

The Facility is just east of Chibikko House. Some Men in Black will stop you at the entrance, say “nope” to their question and pound them to dust. The MiBs should not pose a threat to Taro and Akira, in fact Taro’s Plasma Spark should be able to defeat then in a single turn. Two more MiBs will charge you after the battle, take then out and enter the building to the north.

Another MiB will attack Akira once he enters the building, this time he’ll have an ally with him that is scaled to your level, so be careful. I recommend using Akira’s best skills and the Kintoto or Hiyokokko Cannon on these enemies. Use the escalator by the desk to get to the second floor and battle another guard. If you want some experience enter the first door to the east. Get on the toilet and another guard will engage you (you can do this as many times as you like), otherwise ignore this room. The second room on the right has a Throwing Knife and Hand Grenade hidden in the lockers on its north wall. Ride the escalator back down to the first floor when you’re done exploring.

Enter the room to the east and go through the first door you see in the hallway. Check the lockers inside to get another Hand Grenade and Throwing Knife, then return to the hallway. Another escalator is located on the eastern side of the hall, use it to reach the second floor. Defeat the MiB that attacks Akira and go through the door to the south. A covered bridge will take you to the next section of the building. You’ll come to a room with two escalators and a door in the center. There are also two guards that will assail Akira. The door leads to a dead end of sorts, so go down the escalator on the right, then enter the door in the eastern part of the room after dealing with the guard. Sit on the toilet and Matsu will join. Take a moment to give him some equipment before leaving.

Now go into the room directly south of the escalator. Head over to the door in the center of the room and fight the guard to get inside the room beyond. Check the lockers that flank the door to the north to get a Throwing Knife and Napalm Bomb. The room on the other side of the door contains a Hand Grenade x2, 100V Laser x2, and a Throwing Knife. You can also read the files to get some clues about what is going on. Leave when you are done and check out the room on the right. The lockers near the entrance contain 3 Napalm Bombs and a Plasma Spark.

Go back to the room with the escalators and up the escalator to the right, then go through the door in the center of the room to get to the chamber you came from. Take the left escalator and go through the only door in the room after dealing with the guards. You’ll run into some Crusaders, defeat them and go into the room to the northeast. Several Guards in green will attack, but they are not very dangerous. If you enter the first room on the left and talk to the girl inside, then read her mind, she will call a swarm of guards. Use area of effect attacks to defeat them quickly, because their gamma ray move can deal a lot of damage. You can fight these guys as many times as you like by reading the girl’s thoughts.

Leave the room and check out the locked double doors to the left if you like. A password is required to open the door. Fight the General in front of the door to the west. Generals have a fair amount of HP, but do not differ from Guards in any major way. The room the General was guarding is filled with computers and workers. Check the comps and read a few minds to get an idea of what’s going on, then enter the room on the left. Liquid filled tubes are clustered in here, read the mind of the guy standing in front of the tubes near the west wall. Akira will learn the passcode from him, which is F49F. Return to the hallway with the locked double doors. Save your game in case things go badly. Examine the door and select the correct passcode from the list that comes up, then go through the doors. A trio of weirdos is hanging out in this office. They’ll conveniently explain their plans before siccing one of their creations on Akira.

Boss Fight: Liquid Human W-1

W-1 won’t be particularly hard if you made the Hiyokokko gun and have Holy Blow. It does have 900 HP and powerful techs, so be ready to heal. You’ll need to watch out for his attacks unless you’re a really high level, though. He also tends to shuffle around the field a bit so try to aim your attacks at his upper half. That way they’ll still hit him if he moves up a space while they are charging. Keep everyone spread out if possible. Dizzy shot does over 200 damage to W-1, have Taro spam it. Akira can heal everyone with his powers and Matsu should use healing items if necessary. Potion No.9s are really helpful here. Matsu’s Lightning Upper seems to prompt W-1 to counter with Vaporizer Bomb, which deals a lot of damage, but destroys the boss in the process.

Part 7: Chibikko House, Antique Shop, and The Bar

A meeting with Toei will take place in Chibikko House after Akira flees from the facility. Talk to everyone in the room if you want, then leave Chibikko House. Visit Toei’s shop and read his mind, then check out the bar. It’s an inconspicuous building north of Chibikko House. Look for a squat building on the corner. Talk to Matsu who is at a table in the west, then read his mind. All the enemies will be gone when you leave the bar. This is a good time to remove Taro’s gear and give it to Akira. The Plasma Spark, Kintoto Cannon, Hiyokokko Cannon, Kotobuki Lacquer, and Stone Cannon are good choices for Akira.

Head down to Chibikko House. Have a word with the director who is standing outside, then enter the building. A fire is blocking the center door in the west wing. Check every room and talk to everyone you see to make the flame vanish. Enter the center room, which is the dorm and talk to Kaori who is face down on the floor. Read her mind to get her to respond. Watch the cutscene then read Matsu’s thoughts.

Part 8: Odeo Temple

Akira will be in control of Buriki Daioh after the cutscene with Matsu. Go north to the temple. Tanks and fighter jets will attack at random. Use Halogen Laser to wipe them out quickly. Donryu will attack once you reach Odeo Temple, so save your game before stepping up to the temple.

Boss Fight: Donryu

This tough opponent has quite a bit of HP and fires a Maser at Buriki that deals 100-220 damage. Luckily, Buriki can take a lot of damage. Use Babylon Kick on Donryu. About six of them should destroy it.

Save again and step into the temple. Watch the cutscene and get ready for the final battle.

Boss Fight: Great Inko Statue

The statue can bind Buriki’s hands with his Liquified Man Curse attack, which also does roughly 200 damage. Keru story will bind Buriki’s legs and deal about 50 damage, which is a problem because he won’t be able to use Babylon Kick. The boss will also use Namu’s Parting blow, a tech that deals about 150 damage and Keru Kick, which only inflicts about 80 damage. Use Babylon Kick whenever possible during this battle. Hit the boss with Jomjom Bullet if Babylon Kick is unavailable. About seven Babylon Kicks should be enough to end the battle and the chapter.

e. Ninja: Secret Orders

Out of all the chapters in this game, this one is the most complex, because the player is given the option of sneaking past every enemy, killing them (there’s a kill counter that tops off at 100), or doing a little bit of both. While the style you choose will affect the chapter in a number of subtle ways, the main prize is a powerful sword the player that’s awarded for ending with zero kills or for defeating a mighty boss. This guide only deals with the middle path for the sake of brevity and so players can familiarize themselves with the chapter in case they want to take on the zero or 100 kills challenge. Keep in mind it is possible to redo this chapter by re-selecting it if you do not like the results or want to try the other methods. Also, the special sword is helpful, but it is not the ninja’s best weapon. I caution players that want all of the game’s endings to actually avoid making the ninja too powerful, see Section 2c for more information.

Part 1: The Gate and First Building

Items

Chain Mail

Watch the opening and name your ninja. The default name, Oboro, will be used to refer to the ninja throughout this guide. Oboro will be asked if he knows what he must do to complete his mission, answer “Once more” if you want instructions or “Yes sir!” if not. Oboro will be given a cloak of invisibility before setting out for Ode castle. Press and hold the Y button to use it. Enemies will not be able to see Oboro while the cloak is active.

Oboro will land at the entrance of Ode castle in between two sets of guards. It is possible to abandon the mission by going south. You’ll be prompted several times to verify that you actually want to leave. Powerful Enma Minions will attack Oboro after he flees and you will likely die in battle at this point in the game. A tough boss and a bad ending (that doesn’t count as a completed chapter) await players who manage to defeat the ninjas, so go north unless you are really curious about the bad ending.  

Fight the guards to the north. Be careful when battling these guys, they hit hard at this point. Cross Slice is a fairly useful technique in this fight. Enter the building and listen to the conversation about the passwords. When someone says “Mountain” respond with “River”. The password will change to “Origin” when the bell rings and alternate between the two passwords with each subsequent chime. Take note when the bell rings so you know which password is correct.

Check out the door to the east to find a Chainmail in a box near the lamp and a hostile guard. The middle room contains a samurai you can fight and nothing else. Use Cross Slice if you fight him, since he is stronger than the average guard. Now follow the hallway to the left of the middle room. A guy is patrolling the hall to the north, watch out for his Diagonal Slice, which can do about 40 HP worth of damage to Oboro. A man and a woman are in the room to the south. You can kill them both, but you may want to avoid killing the woman since you’ll get a special gift if you get through this chapter without slaying any females. Run from the battle if you are attacked and don’t want to harm anyone. Go through the north doors when you are ready to leave the building.

Two samurai can be found wandering around the courtyard. Be careful fighting them, because they can deal almost 60 damage which is about half Oboro’s HP at this point. Water Arts can push them back and you can use Cross Slice when they step back into range to make the fight safer. The building to the southeast is guarded. You can walk past them if you have been keeping track of the bells and know which password will work, or you can cut them down, either way enter the building.

Part 2: The Second Building and Castle Wall

Items	Castella x4	Suijin’s Tabi	Money x2
Genji Gauntlet	Storehouse Key	Basement Key	—

A samurai patrols the hallway near the entrance. From here you have a choice of four doors and whether or not you want to blow past this area. If you want to do some fighting, enter the second door from the right. Don’t touch the guy in orange sitting on a chair yet (trust me, you’ll get an item later on, but you won’t be able to get it if you even enter combat with him) then return to the hallway. The third door from the right leads to a room filled with women, leave them alone if you want that reward I mentioned. Head over to the fourth door from the right.

Three more doors await Oboro at the northern end of this hallway. Feel free to fight the guard standing in front of the far western door, there’s nothing in the room he is guarding…yet. Go into the middle room and leave the guy in the bed alone, he’s too tough to fight right now. Walk up to the wood panel in the top right corner of his room and hit A to find a secret passage. Climb the ladder and open the box to get Suijin’s Tabi and equip them. Return to the hallway.

Go through the first door to the east and walk north to get to a hallway with three doors along it’s southern wall. The second door from the left leads to the room filled with women from earlier. The third door leads to a room with two men inside and two chests. Open the chests to get two Castella. Kill the two men if you wish, the one on the right is a wimpy merchant and the one on the left is a samurai who is really vulnerable to Cross Slice.

If you want more kills, go back to the hallway and through the north door, then fight the guy wandering around the courtyard as well as the two guys to the north. Either way, return to the hallway near the entrance of this building and enter the first door on the eastern side of the hallway. Kill the guy in this room if to want, then check the panel on back wall to find another secret passage. A ninja is in here, he’ll ask for the password, but isn’t tough to fight if you get it wrong. After that climb up the ladder.

Crawl east a bit and a cutscene will take place, but only if you kept the orange dude from before alive. Afterwards, grab the boxes to get some Money and a Castella. There are several peepholes in the attic that you can check, the one by the ladder to the northwest will trigger an event that will cause two NPCs to appear in the room that was guarded by a samurai. Go over to the northwest corner. Be ready to turn invisible or fight the ninja that emerges from the exit in the corner. Look out for this guy’s flamethrower move if you fight him, it can do nearly 70 damage.

Push against the wall in the northwest corner of the attic to get outside. Oboro will find himself on the castle wall. Walk south along the wall until you reach a small building. Press against the wall of the building to get inside. Prepare yourself for a dangerous fight. Five ninjas will drop from the ceiling and attack Oboro. It is impossible to run from this battle. The ninja in the upper left corner of the battlefield is your target, slay him and the rest will vanish. Unfortunately he is hard to reach and you’ll have to cut your way through a couple of ninjas to get him. Use Cross Slice and heal up if necessary. The boxes in this room contain Money and a Genji Gauntlet.

Return to the building with the attic and kill the people I told you to hold off on, just ignore the couple in the northwest room you saw in the peephole. Watch out for the guy sleeping in the bed, two ninjas appear when you approach him. Pick them off one by one, then attack the sleeping samurai. Shuriken Storm will take him out in a hit if you have it. Return to the castle wall via the attic and go south, then east. Enter the small building over the gate. Crawl along the floor and avoid the center of the room or you’ll fall through to the gate below.

Follow the wall as it winds east, north, and then west until you reach another small building. Crawl into the attic and open the boxes to get the Storehouse Key and a Castella. Leave the way you came and purposely fall through the floor in the building over the main gate, then go through the first building as if you were heading towards the second building. Check out the structure in the southwest corner when you get to the courtyard. Hit A when facing the center of its west wall and use the Storehouse Key to unlock the door.

A ninja will appear when you get near the box in this small building, use the cloak to dodge him if you do not want to fight, then open the box to get a basement key. Keep your distance and use Shuriken Storm on the ninja, do the same with his two friends that attack Oboro after the battle. Four more ninjas will assail you after you win. This time move to the left or right and use water arts to push one of the ninjas away from you, then start pummeling them with Shuriken Storm. You can stand on the water and get healed for 8 points every few turns if you are wearing Suijin’s Tabi, but do not stand too far from the enemy or they’ll clobber Oboro with a move that deals 130 HP worth of damage. Get the key and leave once you’re done.

Part 3: The Hidden Tunnel and the Moat

Items

Top Knot

Money

Ode Shuriken

Genji’s Tabi

Izanagi’s Scroll

Tenmusu x2

Use the northern exit of the second building to get to the entrance to the third building, but do not try to enter the third building. Instead, go over to the small structure to the east and use the Storehouse Key to get in. Check the boxes and clay jars to get a Top Knot, Money, Ode Shuriken, Genji’s Tabi, Izanagi’s Scroll, and two Tenmusu. Do not kill the woman in the corner, she spawns the ghosts wandering the room, which you can use to level up by leaving and reentering the building. Put on the Top Knot and Genji Tabi, which gives you fire field immunity. This makes it possible to use the Blazing Firefly tech to create a fire field that will heal Oboro and damage enemies, which can help turn the tide of tough battles.

Head back over to the attic and onto the castle walls from there. Go, south, east, then north along the wall (watch out for the center tile in the gatehouse attic) and you will see a tree by a small statue in the northeast corner. Press A to climb down the tree and check the statue with the A button. The statue will move, revealing a hidden staircase. Go down the steps into the secret passage. Follow the long corridor that leads south and you’ll eventually reach the moat.

**Warning**

A powerful boss is hidden in the secret passage. Right now you cannot possibly defeat him, so just follow the hallway to the moat. We’ll revisit this area later in the guide, because the reward for beating him is the powerful Muramasa Sword. There’s also a dangerous fish boss in the moat, just beyond a fence on its west end. It appears as a shadow in the water. Swim past it quickly to stay safe and come back to fight it for Suijin’s Scale later on.

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Enemy ninjas are hiding in this moat. The reeds they use to breathe will give away their position. The Stealth Cloak doesn’t work here, so you will have to run if you are not willing to fight. Go west via the moat and turn north. A fence of sorts divides the waterway in half here and serves as a warning. A giant fish that can easily kill you skulks around the area beyond the fence. Keep your eyes open for a shadow in the water and avoid it. Luckily the fish is slow and Oboro can get past him without any trouble. Go east and you’ll see a door, go inside.

Part 4: The Third Building

Items	Kotetsu	Izanagi’s Scroll	Shinobi’s Birdlime	Money x2
Tenmusu	Ode Shuriken	Fudo Myoo’s Fuda	Fujin’s Scroll	Genji Armor

Follow the hallway and you’ll see a door that faces south. This door leads to the prison. Look out for an aggressive samurai that rushes you when you enter the room. The samurai always seems to drop a Top knot, so equip it if you don’t already have one or save it. Leave the cells in this room alone for now and proceed up the stairs. Pass through the hallway to another jail area. The samurai in this area can wipe the floor with Oboro at this point, so stay away from him. From here you can either use the basement key to kill the prisoners or move on to the exit in the west. The prisoners are easy wins and you can get a Flap Lapel from the guys in the southwestern cells.

Return to the first floor of the jail and open the cell to the left of the one that contains a ninja (leave the ninja alone for now) then run up to the person in the cell. You’ll fall into a spooky room filled with bones and Lost Souls. Walk up to the steps in the north and a boss will show up. Do not fight this boss until you kill all the spirits in this area, because they allow him to respawn. The spirits themselves tend to respawn, so you’ll have to run around the room holding B to get them. Oboro has about 2 or 3 seconds to initiate battle with another spirit after defeating one or they will all come back at once. Hurry over to the boss once they are all dead.

Tip: Use the spirits to level up a bit. Oboro will need the level 7 “Strength of Ninja” tech for this fight. The boss is pretty dangerous, so it’s a good idea to get to level 8 or even 9 before fighting him if you are patient.

Boss Fight: Amakusa Shiro

Amakusa is quite dangerous at this point, but he isn’t too difficult if you stay in the corner. Try to position yourself out of his diagonal line of sight or he’ll hit you with Reverse Cross, which knocks Oboro back and takes about 30 points of health depending on your level. He also uses Gorgotha’s Thorns if Oboro is standing next to him, which does a small amount of damage, restores a bit of Amakusa’s HP, and knocks both parties back. Avoid standing in the area in front of the boss, because he’ll use Electric Barrier which does roughly 100 damage and creates an electric field…not cool man! Sometimes Amakusa will use Shadow of the Dead, which has a wide range, but deals little damage. Hit the boss with Strength of the Ninja or even Sand Arts (though Sand Arts requires careful positioning) to end him in three or four turns. Amakusa’s knockback abilities tend to cancel Oboro’s attacks if they are charging, but staying in the corner by the edge of the screen will sometimes keep Oboro from being knocked back.

Oboro will find a powerful body armor called Maria’s Veil after defeating Amakusa. Ryoma will join after the battle, give him any spare equipment you happen to have. Go up the steps to get back to the first floor of the prison. Take the steps nearby and pay the guard you couldn’t beat before a visit. With better armor and a few more levels under his belt, Oboro has little to fear from the guard. Use Strength of Ninja or Chill Wind on the guard and have Ryoma support Oboro with attacks. You’ll get another Basement Key after this battle.

Go west, then through the door and follow the path. Eventually you will get to a room with a lone samurai and a box. Take the Kotetsu and put it on Oboro. Two ninjas will come to the samurai’s defense if you talk to him, but they should be easy targets now. The old samurai has high defense, but Oboro’s techs work well on him. Exit the room via the door to the south. Walk south along the hallway and turn east at the end of the path. Move Oboro over to the eastern wall, then press on the wall to the south to find a secret room. Open the box to get Izanagi’s Scroll. Move on, leaving the woman in this room alone. Go through door to the west and follow the path in the next hall east, then go through the door to get to a chamber filled with samurais. There are four of these samurai, but they should be easy with Ryoma’s help.

Whatever you do, stay away from the doors in this hallway, unless you like backtracking or killing females and losing your prize. Head over to the eastern end of the hall and go through the brown sliding door to the north when you reach the end of the hall. You’ll end up in yet another hallway lined with doors, talk to the man in front of the westernmost door. He’ll ask for a password, either kill him or give him the right password.

The room the man was guarding is home to two boxes that contain a Shinobi’s Birdlime and some Money. Check out the center room after returning to the hallway and kill the old guy inside if you want some exp, then enter the room on the right. A guy will flee the room when you enter and you’ll have to fight a trap master if you step on the blue tile he was sitting on. Wooden posts will surround Oboro and Ryoma if you trigger the trap. Kill the Trap Master to end the battle. This won’t count as a kill and you can keep triggering the trap to earn exp if you like.

Head west and up the steps, then south. At the end of the hall is another brown sliding door on the right, go inside to find a room with a woman and some loot. The pot has a Tenmusu and the box holds an Ode Shuriken. Leave the lady alone, the money in the pot she is guarding isn’t worth it. Now return to the hallway and go through the door to the south to enter a room with four doors. Pass through the series of doors (ignore the small passage to the west) and exit the hall by going through the door in the south.

Kill the samurai in the next room if you wish. There’s a woman in the second room to the right, she’s actually a monster, so kill her if you have Ryoma or happen to be a high level. Have Ryoma paralyze her with Polaris Single Blade, but keep Oboro close for heals in case she breaks out of it or paralysis fails to proc. After the fight, leave the room and go east, then north to the last door, which is protected by an orange guy who will ask you for the password. Go through the double doors after dealing with the guard and proceed through the hallway, which is just a series of doors. Be ready to fight or evade another guard after leaving the hallway. Go up the steps in the northwest and follow the small hallway to a room with another samurai, then proceed through the door to the south.

You’ll come to another hallway, walk west a bit, then south. A woman will spot you and summon some guards. You can charge in and fight these guards or let the dude who emerges from the room to the north of them do all the fighting. It’s also possible to fight the masked warrior. The masked warrior is pretty easy, just spam powerful attacks on him and move on. Enter the room masked warrior came from if you want to fight more.

The dumb monk (yes, that’s his name) inside the room will summon a tiger. Have Ryoma and Oboro take down the tiger first, then start spamming Shuriken Storm at the monk to end the battle. An old man is in the next  room. He’ll give you ten Castella’s if you didn’t kill anyone. If you fight and kill him you’ll get an Izanagi’s Scroll. Leave the room and return to the hallway.

Visit the third and final room in this hallway. Open the two boxes to get Fudo Myoo’s Fuda and a Fujin’s Scroll. Exit the room. Go up the steps to the east. Enter the door to the west to get to short hallway. Go through the southern door in the hallway if you are looking for a fight. The samurai sleeping in this room will attack Oboro if talked to enough. Watch out for his special diagonal attack, which can put your party to sleep. Hammer him from a distance to win the battle. Head back to the small hall and open the hidden door directly north of the entrance to the sleeping samurai’s room.

Walk north along the narrow passage to the back wall and press A to activate the secret passage. Climb the ladder to enter an attic. You may want to save at this point. Crawl south from the entrance and fight the first set of red traps. Use Shuriken Storm to punch a hole in the line of fire traps and have Ryoma ready to heal, because these things use flamethrower, which deals a lot of damage. Hit the Trap Master with Shuriken Storm to kill him and end the battle (the fire traps break down once the Trap Master dies).

Crawl south a tad more and into a mixture of traps. Use Shuriken Storm on the trap in the lower right corner and have Ryoma pass his turn, then use Shuriken Storm on the Trap Master. Make your way to the box in the southwest corner and open it to acquire a Genji Armor, which Oboro should equip right away. Then make your way east to fight a set of statues. The Shura statue should be your target, a hit or two should destroy it, causing the rest to break down. Further to the east is another set of statues, this time they are fire statues that can inflict serious damage on the party. Position Oboro in the center of the battlefield and use Cross Slice to kill ‘em all.

You can fight the other traps in this room for more exp if you want. Climb down the ladder in the southeast when you are done here. You can only go north in the next room, so just keep pushing forward until you reach a room with a table and a teapot in it. Approach the door to the north and someone will invite you to sit down for tea*. Don’t listen, you’ll be sent all the way back to the basement if you do! Instead, press A at the door. Eventually they’ll ask if you trust them, say “Not at all!”.

*Save before waking up to the door.

Boss Fight: Clockwork Gennai

This boss can be killed in a number of ways, but only the following method awards the player an extra party member called O-Robo.  Clear out the electrodes using Shuriken Storm and Quick Draw Wolf Fang. Then focus on Gennai once they are all dead. About four Shuriken Storms should be enough to put Gennai down. Have Ryoma heal using Tenmusu throughout this fight. Gennai should drop an item called the Zenmai, if not reload your save and try again.

Part 5: The Third Building (Continued)

Items	Genji’s Helm	Grappling Hook x2	Shinobi Gauntlet	Fudo-Myoo’s Fuda
Fujin’s Scroll	Fuma Shuriken x2	Castle Gate Key	This is Awesum!	Money

After fighting Gennai, go through the door in the north you tried earlier to get to a small room with a cushion. Take the door in the northwest corner to a hallway with two staircases, one leading up and one leading down. Take the steps going down and walk through the small hallway to get to a room with a woman surrounded by four ninjas. Open the sliding doors and the ninjas will attack you. The princess will ask you to stay with her, say “no” twice. Speak to her one final time and select “kill her”, which won’t count as slaying a woman.

From here you can go south and kill a couple of people. The first one is a ninja guarding the room. To get to the second one, go up the steps and give the wrong password to the guard by a door. Do not go through the door he is guarding, it’ll just take you somewhere you’ve already been. Either way, head back to the room with the teapot where you fought Gennai. Exit the room via the southern door and go up the rope ladder to the attic, then crawl over to the northwestern exit.

You’ll end up in the secret passage room you first entered the attic from, go down the steps to a small room with another ladder. Climb the ladder to get to another attic. Crawl over to the southwest corner to find a chest with a Genji’s Helm. Open the box in the northeast to get a Grappling Hook. Use the ladder near the center of the southern half of the attic, then go down the steps. Climb up the ladder to the east to get to another attic.

Open the box in the southeast corner to get a Shinobi Gauntlet. Go all the way to the northeast to find a Fudo-Myoo’s Fuda. You’ll find a Fuma Shuriken just south of the box you just opened. Now go down the ladder in the northwest part of this attic and down the stairs in the north end of the hallway. The steps will take you to a small room with a ladder. Go up the ladder. You’ll come to a room filled with gears. Open the box just east of where you entered to get a Fujin’s Scroll. You can crawl over the gears in this room, so use them to get to the box in the northwest corner and open to receive a Grappling Hook.

Now go back down the ladder from whence you came and back up the steps. Push against the wall in the southwest corner of the hallway to find a secret passage that will take you to a hallway filled with a series of doors. Walk south and exit the hallway. This hallway has a row of rooms along the north wall, go into the third room from where you entered (small brown door) and you’ll see three treasure chests. Check them to get two Fuma Shurikens and a Castle Gate Key.

Turn left from the room with three boxes and go through the double doors to the north, which is where you came from. Go through the sliding doors and you should see a small passage on the west side of the hallway after going through the third set of doors. Touch the wood panel at the north end of the passage to get to a hallway with a rope ladder and climb the ladder. Shimmy your way to the box in the southwest corner of this room (which is already open at this point) and fall down the hole that is two spaces to the north of it.

Stay still when you enter a tiny room with a box or you will fall through the floor and miss the treasure. Move one space west, two spaces south, and one space east to reach the box. Inside is an item called This is Awesum!, which absorbs damage from every type of elemental field. Have Oboro wear it and fall through the floor on purpose. Oboro will land in a cell, use the Basement Key to unlock the door.

Head over to the eastern wall of the room, face north, and press A to activate a hidden passage. Go down the steps. Talk to the ninja (Goemon) in the cell to the west and he will refill some of the treasure chests in the castle if you free him! You can also kill him, but it’s more worthwhile to save him in my opinion. Goemon will refill the following boxes; I’ve excluded those containing money since you only need four stacks of it:

It’s a good idea to grab these items, since they are helpful for fighting the hidden bosses.

Part 6: O-Robo and the Optional Bosses

You’ll need the Zenmai and four stacks of money to get O-Robo. The three guards near the end of the castle should also be alive. Return to the room with the teapot (in building 3) where you fought Gennai. Enter the room to the north and examine the slot in the northeast wall. Select the Money in your inventory and you will hear a chime, put two more in to make the room descend like an elevator. Go south (without stepping on the blue pillow on the floor…It’s a trap!) and you’ll enter a small wooden room with what appears to be a puppet inside. Examine the puppet and insert the Zenmai into it.

The puppet will spring to life and you’ll have to fight it. A few vollies of Shuriken Storm is enough to end the battle. O-Robo will join after the battle. Do not step on the tile O-Robo was sitting on, go around it. Put some gear on O-Robo and keep in mind that staying in water for long periods or falling will destroy him. Also O-Robo tends to spaz out and attack you if the party touches a mouse. Return to the room with the Money slot and insert another bill to go back up to the main building. Take some time to level O-Robo up by fighting the ghosts in the storage shed before attempting the optional bosses, an average party level of about fifteen should be good enough.

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Note About the Money Jar

Players who wish to do battle with Majin Ryunosuke will encounter a blue jar in the magical hallway that leads to the boss’s lair (more on this below). The jar will ask for money upon being examined. Putting 1 Koban in the jar does nothing. Putting 6 Koban in the jar will grant Oboro the Shadow Mirror skill and putting 10 in will teach him Bronze Leaf. Oboro will get nothing if he already knows these skills. While Bronze Leaf and Shadow Mirror could theoretically make it possible to defeat Ryunosuke at a lower level, players should be careful with their Money, since at least four are needed to get O-Robo.

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Secret Boss: Majin Ryunosuke

Reward

Muramasa

Remember the secret tunnel you used to get to the third building? Go back to the castle wall and climb down the tree, then examine the statue next to it to reveal the secret passage. Go down the steps and walk to the silver diamond near the end of the hallway. Move north until the diamond is just barely visible at the bottom of the screen, then take two more steps north. Now go south, somehow a blue jar (the money jar) will appear in the back of the hallway. Leave the jar alone and head north until you hit a wall, then press A. You’ll come to a room with a sword hanging on the wall, touch it and Majin will appear. Talk to him and the battle will commence.

Boss Fight: Majin Ryunosuke  

Majin has roughly 1200 HP and seems resistant to just about every status ailment you have at your disposal, so the outcome of this battle is going to be determined primarily by damage. Luckily, you have O-Robo leveled up to about 15 (assuming you’ve been using this guide) and can take advantage of his Fuma Shuriken attack, which deals about 400 damage to Majin. You’ll still have to play defensively, however, Majin’s Rockbreaker attack deals around 300 damage and can kill most party members in a single blow. He can also put player controlled characters to sleep with his Half Moon Slice if they happen to be diagonal to him, though it deals little damage and O-Robo is immune to the sleep effect. The boss sometimes uses a similar attack called Sound Killing Slice that is more damage oriented. Both moves affect a small area, so watch out for collateral damage. Majin’s Road to Ruin is probably his most devastating move, since it has long range, hits everything in a straight line on the plane he occupies, and deals about 150 damage. Even worse, Road to Ruin will diminish the target’s strength, speed, and constitution, so try to avoid it.

I find that it’s best to cluster everyone together a few spaces away from the boss (despite the fact that you’ll take more AoE damage this way) with O-Robo positioned diagonally to Majin. Have O-Robo use Fuma Shuriken and everyone else heal with Tenmusu or Castella. Ryoma may as well pass his turn unless someone needs healing, while Oboro can support the party worth Bronze Leaf when possible. Three Fuma Shuriken vollies should kill Majin. Grab the Muramasa from the wall once the boss is dead. Return to the blue jar when you are ready to leave and walk up the hallway so that the jar is just visible on the southern edge of the screen. Take two steps north, then go south to return to the secret passage leading to the third building.

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Secret Boss: Lord Iwama

Reward

Suijin’s Scale

Lord Iwama isn’t necessarily a hidden boss, since he is a fairly conspicuous giant fish that will try to attack players traversing the moat, but he is generally too powerful to defeat early on and some players may forget about him. This boss has a massive amount of HP and players should try to beat Majin Ryunosuke before challenging him. It’s also a good idea to be about level 16 and have O-Robo as well as Ryoma in your party. Finally, be sure that you are done with O-Robo when you go after Iwama, because O-Robo will likely break down after being exposed to water.

The best way to get to Iwama is to return to the dungeon where you found Ryoma. Go into the hidden room of the dungeon via the secret door to the east, then check the eastern wall of the secret part to find the trap door that leads to the moat. Quickly make your way west, then south to find Iwama, who is the huge shadow by the barrier in the moat. Time is of the essence, O-Robo will not last long in water, so save before stepping into the moat.

Boss Fight: Lord Iwama

Iwama uses his Water Call skill frequently. Water Call deals moderate damage (about 50 points) and turns most of the field to water, which heals the fish very slightly. The main feature of Water Call is that it tends to knock back the party, canceling any techs you may have charging. He will also use Poseidon’s Whip, which damages a single target for about 30 HP and has chance of inflicting paralysis. The last of the boss’s moves is Throw Down, which does about 90 HP and pushes its victim back. Iwama’s most intimidating feature is his ~2200 HP which is further bolstered by high defense.

Oboro’s Top Spin does a fairly good job of disrupting Iwama’s Water Call attack, so use it every time his turn comes up to make this battle really easy. O-Robo should use Fuma Shuriken and Ryoma can use Polaris Single Blade. This fight will take awhile, but you can hurry it along with Bronze Leaf, though it’s likely that Iwama will cancel your attack with Throw Down or Water Call. Spam Fuma Shuriken and the battle will end after about 10 rounds, netting you Suijin’s Scale, which adds to IQ and unleashes a powerful attack when used as an item.

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Part 7: The Final Stretch

Assuming you got O-Robo and cleared the secret bosses, you now have the option of keeping O-Robo or purposely killing him, if he didn’t die already. If O-Robo is still alive when you enter the final area, he will allow the party to bypass three enemies. You’ll have to fight them if he is dead. Dropping into a hole or staying in water too long is an easy way to kill O-Robo if you want to fight. For the sake of completeness, this guide describes the three enemies O-Robo allows the player to bypass.

Note: You are now nearing the end of the chapter, be sure all of your important pieces of equipment are on Oboro.

Return to the room with the teapot, where you fought Gennai and go through the north door to get to the room with the money slot, then head through the next door to the north. The next room has a staircase leading up and one leading down, take the one leading up. You’ll see three monks guarding a door to the west. O-Robo will eliminate the monks for you, then leave the party if he is with you. Otherwise you’ll have to fight Clementis, Water Lily, and Plantain. Spread out to minimize the impact of their AoE attacks which inflict status ailments like poison and use Shuriken Storm to dispatch them. Go through the doors once the monks have been cleared away. Eight samurai are waiting in this room and will attack Oboro as soon as he reaches the center of the chamber.  These guys are weak and AoE techs will kill them quickly. Afterwards, Ode will call in Miyamoto Musashi and flee the scene.

Boss Fight: Musashi

While his reputation is intimidating, Musashi is not a threat if you followed this guide. His attacks deal almost no damage and Strength of the Ninja will sap his HP very quickly. In fact it can probably one hit kill Musashi if you are around level 16 and have things like Suijin’s Scale on Oboro. Musashi’s techniques have a decent reach, but will hardly damage you if you are wearing things like Maria’s Veil and Genji Armor.

Examine the red wall hanging to the east of the throne to uncover a secret passage once Musashi is history. Go through it and follow the hallway beyond to a set of steps. Yodogimi will appear at the foot of the steps and attack Oboro.

Boss Fight: Yodogimi

Yodogimi is another pushover boss. Once again this boss’s attacks are negligible if you followed this guide and a single Strength of the Ninja should put her down. If not, use Polaris Single Blade, Quickdraw Wolf Fang, and Blade of Wind on her while keeping your distance.

Walk up the steps after the battle and try to go through the door to the north. A woman will stop you and offer you a gift if you didn’t kill any females. Accept the gift (there is really no point in killing her if you follow this guide) to get a Maid’s Obi. Wait about 20 seconds without leaving the room and she will return with a Medicine Box which adds a massive bonus to your IQ, give it to Oboro. From here you can go about killing all of the women, but there’s no point in it in my opinion, so go through the northern door. Here Oboro will cross swords with Ode Iou himself.

Boss Fight: Ode Iou

Ode is even more inept than his underlings and you can kill him quickly with Bronze Leaf or just about anything. If you aren’t an overpowered killing machine, use Ryoma’s Polaris Single Blade and one of Oboro’s ranged attacks. Ode has a few of his own ranged abilities, but they deal little damage.

Ode will run away yet again after the battle. Use the door to the south to exit the room and go through the door on the southern wall of the hallway to reach the balcony where the final battle will take place.

Boss Fight: Frogsnake Demon

You won’t have much to fear from this boss if you have high levels and good gear. Frogsnake can lower your stats with his Croak tech or create a poison field with his Poison Serpent Whip, which deals moderate damage as well as poisons anyone it hits. He can also drain your HP and use it to heal himself with his Drink Blood skill. It’ll take two Bronze Leaf attacks to destroy this boss. If you don’t have Bronze Leaf, use Strength of the Ninja and Polaris Blade. Have Ryoma heal everyone with an Izanagi’s Scroll or anything else you have if he and Oboro get weak.

Ryoma will ask you a question after the battle answer however you like, it has little impact on the game. Congratulations, that’s it for this chapter!

f. Sci-fi: Mechanical Heart

Part 1: Cube

Try moving as soon as Kato stops talking and he will continue speaking, eventually naming your character Cube; sorry you can’t choose your name…yet. Kato will leave the room and you can explore. Examine the purple circle near the door to read Kato’s notes. Walk…er..roll through the door and talk to Kato who is standing on the east end of the hallway. He’ll take you to the main computer room, talk to him again and you’ll be able to name your character, but I’ll stick with Cube to keep things from getting confusing.

Cube can explore the ship on his own now. Take a look around and check the purple orbs out to get some info. From now on I’m just going to call the orbs terminals. Keep in mind that the southern walls of the ship also have terminals, but you can only see their tops, which look like lighter grey rectangles. Watch out if you visit the airlock on the first level, it is possible to open both doors and get sucked out! It’s also a good idea to avoid the room just north of the computer room where you named Cube, because Kato will stop you.

Part 2: Waking the Crew

Items

Coffee

Go see Kato when you are finished exploring. He’s on the east side of Deck 2, just north of the computer room. Kato will ask you to wake the rest of the crew, who are in the room just north of where he is standing, he’ll unlock the door using the terminal so Cube can enter. Enter the cold sleep room and hit the switch near the top of each capsule to wake up the crew members. They’ll have little to say if you talk to them. Kato will enter the room once everyone has been awakened. A conversation will take place and you’ll be asked to wake up Huey. Cube is basically trapped, so just go over to Huey and hit the A button.

Everyone will head to the break room which is in the western part of Deck 2. Go through the door to the north, then into the circular hallway in the northern part of the next chamber, which should bring you to the elevator room. Roll through the door in the southwest and you’ll come to another chamber. The door to the break room is on the southwestern wall of the room. Enter and talk to the crew. You can play Captain Square, a video game which Kirk is standing in front of in the southwest corner of the room. Talk to Huey and read the book to get your next assignment: make coffee! Walk up to the counter left of Kato and hit the A Button to make some coffee. Talk to the Corporal after making the coffee and enjoy the brief cutscene. Everyone will go their separate ways after the meeting. Kato will ask you to meet him in the central computer room on Deck 3.

Part 3: The Cargo Bay

You can explore some more before visiting Kato. Rachel’s room can be entered by accessing the terminal now. Her room is on the western side of Deck 2, just north of the rear elevator, second door on the north wall. She’ll invite you up to the cockpit after talking to you, but go up to the main computer on Deck 3 first. Just head north until you reach a hallway with a circular room in the center.

Kato is waiting inside the computer room, talk to him. He’ll ask you if you want him to take you to the cargo bay on Deck 1. Say “yes” and you’ll automatically go to the cargo bay, but you may want to walk if you wish to see some secret dialogue. Just go to the elevator, choose Deck 1, then walk north until you see an open container to the east, go inside to see the Behemoth. You’ll be ordered to the cockpit afterwards. Cube can use the console in the container to examine the Behemoth before leaving. Use the elevator to the south to go up to Level 3, then go north to the front of the ship. The cockpit is the west door, go inside and talk to everyone. Kato and Huey will leave for the airlock. Rachel will stay behind, talk to her for a bit more plot development. Leave for the airlock on Deck 1 when you are ready.

Part 4: The Accident

Visit the airlock, which can be found on deck one at the back of the cargo bay. Take the elevator next to the cockpit, go down to Level 1, and through the door to the west to save time. Watch the cutscene and talk to Kirk or Huey, then return to the cockpit. Another cutscene will take place and everyone will head for the sick bay or airlock.

Go down to Deck 2 to get to the sick bay. From the elevator, go through the southeastern hallway, past the cold sleep room and through a long passage. The sick bay is the door across from the entrance to the cold sleep room on the other end of the long passage. Talk to Rachel once reach the sick bay, then talk to Corporal Darth. Set out for Rachel’s room on the west side of Deck 2 and talk to her.

Part 5: The Behemoth

Items

Memory Card

Now go back to the cargo bay and talk to Darth in the container. Return to the cockpit yet again and talk to Huey then Kato. The scene will automatically transition to the break room. Give Huey some coffee. Visit the airlock if you like, then go to Kirk’s room which is next to Rachel’s room on Deck 2. You’ll have to enter your name into the terminal to get inside. Input the password “Warp” into the terminal next to Kirk’s bed to get a clue, which hints at the memory card hidden at the foot of the bed. You can take this to the break room and reformat it by placing it in slot next to the Captain Square game. It will allow you to save while playing Captain Square. Talk to Darth and Kato before leaving Kirk’s quarters.

Note: This guide does not cover how to beat Captain Square, because there are no rewards for doing so aside from the satisfaction of completing some challenging battles. Those in need of advice for Captain Square should visit the sites listed under “References” at the end of this walkthrough.

Return Rachel’s room to find it locked, then visit the sick bay where something is amiss. Have a word with Darth and Kato who are still in Kirk’s room, then return to the sick bay. A cutscene will take place and everyone will go to Rachel’s room. Check out the airlock, then go to the Behemoth’s container. The behemoth will be wandering around the cargo bay when you leave its room. DO NOT let it touch you or it’s Game Over. Head back to the airlock and let the team know what’s going on.

Part 6: The Captain

Items

Power Jack

You’ll end up in the break room once again. Give everyone in the room a coffee. The group will leave after a discussion, follow them through the south door and into the hallway to the south. Kato will ask Cube to go to the main computer on Deck 2. Now is a good time to save. The computer is on the east side of the ship, just north of the rear elevator. Watch out, the Behemoth is near the door to the computer room! It will come towards you, but luckily it’s slow. Once inside, check the terminal in the center of the room to get the password: OAKFDE.

From the computer room go north through the corridor. Save before exiting the corridor, you’ll be sealed in the next chamber with the Behemoth. Go around him and into the door to the cold sleep chamber. Talk to Kato who will take you to the Captain’s room and give you the Power Jack. Go south and check Darth’s room which is next to Kato’s quarters. Enter your name to open the door and check the terminal inside.

Part 7: 01-DO

Items

Transponder Unit

Leave Darth’s cabin and visit Kato in the Captain’s room. Cube will end up in the northwest corridor, walk up to the bulkhead and examine it. Select the Power Jack when Cube’s inventory screen comes up. Move quickly, because the Behemoth is right behind you. Head north until you get to the front elevator. Take the elevator down to Deck 1 and pass through the cargo bay to get to the rear elevator, watch out for the Behemoth. Enter the elevator and take it up to Deck 3.

Go north all the way to the front elevator near the cockpit. You’ll have to use another Power Jack charge to open the northernmost bulkhead. Take the elevator down to Deck 2 and run down the western corridor to Kato’s room, in fact you should see him running down some of the corridors if all went well. Check out Huey’s room on the way for some plot stuff if you haven’t already.

A scene will take place when you enter the cabin, check the other robot and name it Rover after the cutscene. The Corporal will take you to the main computer room on Level 3. Before entering the mainframe, go to the front elevator (avoid the southern path, the bulkhead will seal Cube in if you take it and water will block the way south) and use the Power Jack to open the vent next to the elevator door.

Enter the vent and go down the ladder, which will take you to the ventilation shafts above Deck 2. Climb down the ladder a second time to reach Deck 2 and exit the shaft. Take the southwest corridor to Kato’s cabin and talk to him. Return to the hatch near the front elevator (watch out for the behemoth) use a Power Jack to open the bulkhead that drops in the corridor. Climb back up to Deck 3 and see Darth again. This is your last chance to explore, so check anything you want to see (like Captain Square) before talking to Darth.

Talk to Darth to get a Transponder Unit. He’ll call you after a few seconds,  just activate the Transponder on the item screen to talk to him. Go back to the vent near the front elevator and down to Deck 2. Head down the southwestern corridor to the break room. Save your game and activate Captain Square. The Corporal will call you again, then the battle will commence.

Boss Fight: Mother Computer OD-10

OD-10 tends to use High Speed Analysis to lower Cube’s stats and inflict about 50 damage to him. The 8 Stabilizers that flank the boss will heal it from time to time. Cube’s Upgrade tech heals him slightly and buffs his stats, so use it a few times before attacking if you want to crush this boss. OD-10 will also use Hard Protect to deal about 60 damage to you. Use Maser Cannon to knock the Stabilizers out. Maser Cannon will also damage OD-10 but it will be able to heal itself with its System Recover counter unless you used Upgrade a lot. Watch Cube’s HP and heal with High Speed OP when his HP gets near the 100 mark. Stand next to OD-10 and keep using Upgrade once the Stabilizers are gone. Cube will automatically counter OD-10’s attacks with Anti Field and wear it down.

You’ll be free to move around again after defeating OD-10. Darth will ask for some coffee, hold off on giving it to him if you want to talk to Kato who is in his room. You can also go to the Level 2 computer room to get a password which will let you back into the Deck 3 mainframe. Enter the password JUDGE into the terminal to get into the main computer room and use the password OAKFDE to view the Captain’s log. Give Darth that coffee when you are done.

g. Wrestler: The Strongest

Part 1: Getting Started

As usual, this guide will use the default name for the main character, which is Masaru. A menu screen where you can select Masaru’s next opponent will come up after the prologue. You can fight these guys in any order, but some are easier to defeat early on than others. Masaru learns special techniques from being hit with them. I will not focus on how to learn every special move from the other contenders, because he learns them upon reaching higher levels in the final chapter. The opponents are listed in order from left to right.

I recommend fighting these guys in the following order:

Jackie Iaukea > Tula Han > Moribe Seishi > Namcat > Max Morgan > Great Asia

Note: Fight Moribe Seishi first if you think you can win. His Tsuda and Abise-Geri moves are devastating.

Part 2: Jackie Iaukea

Skills

Ogre Grip

Aloha Clap

Earth Rending Fury

Try to learn Ogre Grip right away by standing diagonal to Jackie and spamming Battle Cry until he uses it. Fall back a few spaces once Masaru gets the technique and let Jackie close with him. Use Ogre Grip to knock Jackie back and he’ll move right back into the space you just pushed him out of since he lacks ranged abilities. Keep using Ogre Grip and you’ll win this match without breaking a sweat. Sometimes you’ll get a run of bad luck and Ogre Grip will fail to push Jackie which will allow him to counter with an Ogre Grip of his own, heal with Battle Cry if this happens.

Part 3: Tula Han

Skills

Armlock

Cross Heel Hold

Tula uses his techs frequently so it’s likely you’ll learn them over the course of the fight. Tula’s skills can disable Masaru’s arms and legs, so watch out. Buff up with Battle Cry a few times while Tula moves towards you, then start hitting him with Ogre Grip to push him back just like Jackie. Tula seems harder to knock back with Ogre Grip so be ready to heal if he hits you. Masaru will counter with Cross Heel Hold from time to time after he learns it, which will keep Tula from moving. Use the opportunity to move to a safe distance and heal.

Part 4: Moribe Seishi

Skills

Abise-Geri

Tsuda

Moribe’s techs, Tsuda and Abise-Geri are very important, so learn them. Tsuda can be obtained by standing just under or in front of Moribe. Make sure your HP is full when you go for Abise-Geri, because it deals about 150 damage. Stand in front of Moribe, with a space between Masaru and him when you are ready to learn Abise-Geri. Take advantage of Moribe’s slow movement speed and run to a safe place to heal. Use Tsuda on Moribe whenever possible to defeat him.

Part 5: Namcat

Skills

Punchama Kick

Spiral Knee

Hit Namcat with Tsuda right away, then use Abise-Geri on him to keep him from attacking. Keep your HP high, because Namcat’s techs deal a lot of damage.

Part 6: Max Morgan

Skills

Max Bomber

German Suplex

Max Morgan ain’t no joke, so save before challenging him. His skills can paralyze and even knockout Masaru in a turn or two, so you may want to learn them by leveling up later on. Ogre Grip works well on Max thanks to the knock back it inflicts. You may miss, so be ready to back away and heal.  About ten Ogre Grips will defeat Max.

Part 7: Great Asia

Skills

Frankensteiner

Tornado Press

Great Asia uses Bite frequently, which does about 20 damage from about three spaces and can poison Masaru. You can heal the poison with Battle Cry,  but odds are you’ll get poisoned again when Asia gets another turn. Abise-Geri will own Asia, so use it about 10 times to beat him.

Part 8: Odie Oldbright

Odie often uses his Gu Fa Tie Pao which only does about 30-40 damage from a range of two spaces. He’ll use Death Scythe if you are standing next to him, which does about 90 damage. Do not stand diagonal to Odie or he’ll use his Arco DDO attack that will hit Masaru for 300 HP. Abise-Geri will shred Odie, but it may miss and he will sometimes move closer to Masaru. Do not let the boss corner you, because he’ll start using Death Scythe. Odie will heal himself with Terrible Shout once his HP gets low,  luckily he’ll only get about 20 HP from it.

2. Final Quest Walkthrough

A new character, the Knight, will open up once you complete the initial seven chapters. Make sure you are done with the other characters before starting the knight’s story line, because you will not be able to replay them afterwards.

The minister will ask for a name right away, Oersted is the default name for the Knight that this guide uses. Oersted will have to fight Armstrong right away, just hit him with V Shine twice. Oersted’s next opponent is Straybow, whose Red Bullet attack does about 40 damage. Two V Shines will be enough to beat him. A cutscene will play after the battle and you will have to fight a Dragnon. The Dragnon uses Rend and can spit poison, but only deals about 20 damage. Once again, two hits with V Shine will do the trick.

The prologue will roll after you defeat the Dragnon and Oersted will appear in the throne room. Head south through the castle until you reach the village. Villagers are waiting to see Oersted off, talk to them to get items. Here’s a list of which villagers give you items and what they give you.

West Side: Fourth Person = Naorigusa

East Side: Second Person = Defender (Equip in left hand), Third Person: This Thing (Accessory, you can collect as many as you want), Fourth Person = Disrobed Clothes, Fifth Person = Joshua Seed

Part 2: Hero’s Mountain

Items

Hero Shield x2

Keep going south after talking to the villagers to leave town. Straybow will join up after you go through the gate. Take a few more steps south to get to the forest. Fight random battles in the woods until you get to level 3 or so. Don’t touch the bushes in the forest if you are trying to save the items in this chapter for later. There’s a signpost just south of the forest entrance, use it to find Hero Mountain to the northeast. In fact you’ll see the path leading north to the mountain right next to the sign.

Follow the path and you’ll come to a sign announcing that Hero’s Mountain is just north. Go north to the base of the mountain and follow the winding path here to a screen transition that leads to the next part of the mountain. Watch out for the bears that sometimes appear in random battles, they can trounce Oersted and Straybow. Take a few steps north and then west to find a cabin with someone standing outside. The guy standing by the wood pile has nothing to say right now, so enter the cabin and look at the shield hanging on the wall.

Leave the mountain and set out for Familia Village on the western side of the forest. Visit the house on the western end. Talk to the old man inside and examine the shield on the wall to get Uranus to join the party. Grab the Hero Shield from the wall before leaving. Return to the cabin on Hero Mountain. At this point you can fight Nuggiebears, just have Uranus use Voice of God, Oersted use Moon Down (if you are at least level 6) and Straybow should cast Red Cage. This should keep the Nuggiebear stunned, granting the team an easy win. At any rate, enter the cabin and Uranus will talk to Hash. Try to leave and Hash will join you, take the other Hero Shield from the wall before leaving.

Part 3: The Forbidden Land

Items

Naorigusa  (infinite)

Swap Hash’s gear with Oersted and head to the northern tip of the mountain, where you will find a grave. Hash will obtain the Brion Sword after you examine the grave. You may want to grind a few levels on the mountain before leaving; the Cool Bulbs here sometimes drop Ice Helms, which are quite useful. Head back to the forest and walk east to find the road to the Forbidden Land.

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Secret: Naorigusa Patch

On the forest path to the Forbidden Land there is a hidden trail that leads to a clearing with several Naorigusa plants that can be harvested until the player’s inventory is full. The trees are a lighter shade of green near the entrance to the Forbidden Land, the hidden path is located south of where the lighter green trees appear. You should see a single light green tree just south of the main path, walk over to it and push against the darker trees to the west to find the hidden trail. You will have to poke around the patch of trees a bit to find the way, but you’ll get to a clearing if you keep pushing west. Once you are in the clearing, head south and you will find the hidden Naorigusa Patch. You can pick these and return to the patch to make them respawn. Gather a lot of Naorigusa, you’ll need it.

**********

Enter the Forbidden Land and walk up to the gate in the north. Check the demon face to open up a secret passage and go inside. You may want to level up a bit before going any further; Level 9 or even 10 is good if you have the patience. Do not touch any bone piles or chests around here. Turn west from the entrance and go north when you hit the wall. There will be a staircase to the northwest when you get to the point where the path forks, go up the steps and through the door.

Ascend the steps to the north, then go through the first door you see to the northeast. Go down the steps to the east and walk east until you find two sets of steps that lead to a door with torches on either side of it to the north, head through the door. The next room is just a small chamber you can pass through. There are two paths you can take here,  choose the one to the west and follow it north. Turn west at the door to the north and go inside the door on northwestern wall a few steps away. Go straight up the hallway to the next door.

The party will be in a large room with braziers and an inner chamber. Do not let the boxes tempt you into opening them and go east. Turn north at the wall and enter the door at the end of the path. Enter the door on the other side of the small chamber, follow the hallway and go through the door to the north to a room filled with creepy statues that should be familiar. Make sure Oersted and Uranus have the Hero Shields equipped and put everything you want to keep on Oersted, save your game, then go through the door behind the statues and talk to the demon.

Boss Fight: Demon Lord

This guy is brutal. Melt Breath deals about 240 HP damage, hits characters adjacent to its target, and inflicts poison. Sonic Boom affects a wide area and knocks its victims back. He also uses Beguiling Eyes, which will put one of your heroes to sleep. Hash’s Death Trail does the most damage, but the Demon Lord will counter it with Barrier Break and turn Hash to stone. Luckily, Uranus can cure it with his healing spell. Arrange the party in a vertical line with Oersted on top, then Straybow, Uranus, and Hash on the bottom. Have Oersted use Spindle when the boss is in range, otherwise pass his turn. Pass Straybow’s turn as well so Uranus can heal and Hash can use Death Trail. About 500 damage should kill the demon.

Part 4: Lucretia Castle

Items

Brion

Oersted will receive Brion after the battle, have him equip it. Leave the Forbidden Land and revisit Hero’s Mountain. Visit the grave at the summit and watch the cutscene, then set out for the Lucretia castle. Walk all the way back to the throne room and talk to the king, who will tell you to rest in the room west of the throne. Walk into the bed and watch the cutscene, then fight the demon in the throne room. Run south out of the castle and visit Familia Village. Talk to the family in the big house near the village entrance.

Now, return to the castle and the guards will throw you in prison. Talk to Uranus in the cell to the north. The door to Oersted’s cell will open, go up the steps to the east and fight the guard in the room above. Go through the door to the south and fight the guards that rush in through the hallway. You can fight your way to the throne room, but nothing much will happen, so go through the door in the center of the hallway to the south. Two guards will attack when you enter the town, defeat them. You can explore town a bit, but there isn’t anything very important here. Leave Lucretia via the south gate when you are ready. Two more soldiers will attack. Return to the Forbidden Land. Revisit the hidden Naorigusa Patch first if you need healing items.

Part 5: The Forbidden Land (Revisited)

Warning: Some challenging battles await in the Forbidden Land. Try to get Oersted to about level 11 or 12 before engaging the bosses.

Go west then north from the entrance to the Forbidden Land just as you did before to find some steps leading to a door. Save before entering the door.

Boss Fight: Claustrophobia

This boss has a devastating arsenal of moves. Throw Down can deal about 80 damage and knock Oersted back. Earthquake can hit you for roughly 150 HP from anywhere on the field. Finally, her Gyro Breath attack does between 200 and 250 damage in a 3×3 area in front of the boss and creates a shock field on the ground. Worst of all, she can turn Oersted to stone with Cement Attack, ending the fight instantly. Stand under her and use Hammer Power, which should keep her from attacking, though she may get a Gyro Breath or Throw Down off. Three Hammer Power hits should kill this boss. You can also use Hexaflange if you are level 12 or higher.

Note: This boss supposedly drops a Rockfist, but I was not able to get the drop, even after fighting her multiple times. You can reload your save and fight her until she drops it, but it may take many attempts.

Enter the next area after beating Claustrophobia and walk up the steps, then go through the first door you see in the northeast. Go down the steps to the east and keep walking east until you come to the end of the road. Turn north and you’ll see the doorway flanked by torches from before. Pass the door, walk up the steps and save before touching the stone door.

Boss Fight: Scotophobia

Scotophobia is far less imposing than Claustrophobia. The boss will frequently use Dark Sphere which drains a small amount of HP and stats. It will also counter certain attacks like Dragon Sword and Hexaflange with Magic Absorb, which drains about 110 HP. Close with Scoto immediately and begin pounding him with hammer blow. He won’t even get an attack in if you are lucky. He also drops a Demon’s Cloud from time to time, but the item is not particularly useful.

Head west like you did before and you’ll come to a room with three doors, two on the north wall, one on the south wall. Enter the northwest door. You’ll end up in a small hallway, save before approaching the door to the north.

Boss Fight: Acrophobia

Four Acrobats and an Acrophobia Container challenge Oersted in this battle. You can end the battle quickly by destroying the Container, which is the green plant monster in the back, but you’ll miss out on the Flame Armor if you do so. To kill the Acrobats quickly,  use Jump Shot or Hexaflange if you have it. The Acrobats throw Boomerangs that do 140 damage and perform the Acrobat attack that hits for 240 HP. Heal with Naorigusa as much as possible and keep pummeling the Acrobats, they’ll die eventually. The Container can be killed with a Jump Shot or two if the Acrobats prove too difficult. I recommend grinding to level 12 if you can not beat the Acrobats; the Flame Armor is well worth it.

If you weren’t level 12 before, take a few minutes to fight some random battles to get there. Even better, get to level 13 or even 15, the next boss is vicious. Walk east, then north to reach the door to a small chamber. Head through the door in the west and go to the door at the end of the central hallway…after saving your game.

Boss Fight: Gynophobia

Gyno likes to use her Sweet Whisper attack often. Sweet Whisper will put Oersted to sleep and seal his special attacks; it also does about 150 damage. Her Melting Love technique will drain over 130 HP from Oersted and heal her for the same amount, which really makes this battle drag out. Dragon Sword hits her for upwards of 200 damage depending on your level and equipment. She is also slow, so stay out of her range and nail her with Dragon Sword from a distance.

Beyond the door Gynophobia was guarding is the statue room from before, go through it to where you fought the demon. Examine the statue in the back of the room to open up a secret passage. Run up the long hallway to get to the summit of the Forbidden Land. Check the massive demon statue to initiate the final battle.

Boss Fight: Straybow

Straybow loves to use Silver Fang which deals water damage (about 100 HP) and creates a water field in a 3×3 area. He will also counter with Black Abyss for ~150 damage. Straybow will also use Brown Swirl if you are close to him and Amber Storm, which creates an electric field. Hexaflange works great on this boss, just be ready to use Naorigusa frequently. The medieval chapter will conclude once you defeat him.

b. Final Chapter (Finale)

The Finale is a little different from the rest of the game. You can choose any one of the main characters from the other chapters as your protagonist, just make sure you save in a different slot if you choose Oersted. The other six heroes can be found scattered around the area, which is the map from the medieval chapter, and recruited into the party. You can only have four characters in your party at a time, but you’ll want to have everyone in the party at least once to get the best ending. It is possible to revive characters from your party if you try to recruit someone else while you have a full party.

Every hero has a special dungeon you can explore; doing so will net you their best weapon which can also be equipped as an off-hand by the other heroes. The rest of this guide covers the final party/starting character I recommend, where to find each hero, how to clear their dungeons, and the final dungeon. I do not go into detail about the items scattered around the map for the sake of brevity, just make sure you check every chest, barrel, bone pile, and objects hanging from walls to get all the goodies.

Part 1: Getting Started

Pick a protagonist as usual and watch the initial cutscene. No matter who you chose, you will end up in a dark place. Just walk north for a long while and you will see some steps eventually.

There are a few things to look out for in this chapter.

-Tough enemies that can pose a real threat depending on your party and equipment.

-A secret boss called Death Prophet, who will attack if you run from 100 battles. The game will warn you when you get near the 100th battle, so there is no need to count how many times you flee.

-Power Parts. These are dropped by robot type enemies and can be used to increase Cube’s HP. Hold onto them if you plan to use Cube.

-Akira’s dungeon can only be reached if you use his teleport ability to run from battle. You’ll randomly be transported to his dungeon when you flee with him in the party, so be careful when running with him in the party.

Recommended Party

This is the party that I used and had success with. With that said any combination of characters can complete the game, it’s just a matter of how well prepared the player is to deal with the final chapter.

Sundown  (Cowboy) – Choose him as your starting character, because he is somewhat annoying to recruit. While Sundown has horrendous HP, his level 16 technique, Hurricane Shot can obliterate enemies in a single use and is quite possibly the strongest move in the game.

Cube (Sci-fi) – Cube is an excellent healer. Akira should be wearing several pieces of gear (if you’ve followed this guide) that will boost Cube’s stats.

Pogo (Caveman) – Strong techniques, high HP, and powerful items like the Basic Rock make Pogo a great ally.

Oboro (Ninja) – Not only is Oboro a great companion, he’s also a good character to start with if you don’t mind chasing Sundown around. Oboro’s combination of powerful ranged attacks and melee techniques make him an effective character in general.

Part 3: Recruiting Your Party

You can find the other heroes in scattered around the medieval chapter. You’ll need to have each character in your party and complete their dungeon (more on that later) to get the best ending. Of course, you can only have four people in your party at once, so you’ll have to swap characters out as you go along. A good way to do this is to decide who you want in your final party, recruit two of the members and save the third one for last. If you’re using the party I recommend or plan on using Cube with another party combination, you should make him your last party member. Cube does not need to be leveled up, just remember to take all of the accessories off of Akira and place them on Cube. The following is a list of heroes and where/how to recruit them. Oersted the knight (who cannot be recruited) has been excluded from this list and can be found in Section C of the Final Quest Walkthrough. Save your game in a different slot if you decide to start with Oersted.

Pogo (Caveman) – Remember the hidden Naorigusa patch in Oersted’s chapter? Pogo is hiding in this patch and you will have to chase him around as he hides in the trees. Just watch where he runs to and press the A Button to talk to him. It takes a little patience, but he’ll stop running and eventually fight you. Pogo is really strong and it’ll be your main character fighting him solo. Sundown, Oboro, and Cube can take him down without too much fuss. Masaru and Xin’s Heir may need to level up a bit before challenging Pogo. As for Akira, well good luck fighting Pogo with him unless you have some decent equipment from the dungeons in this chapter. If you chose Li as Xin’s Heir and made her your main character for this mission Pogo will join without a fight!

Sundown (Cowboy) – This guy is a real pain to recruit, which is another bonus of starting as him. You’ll have to follow him around the medieval map and talk to him at a total of nine locations. The plus side to this is he is sometimes in close proximity to other heroes and you can snatch up treasures while chasing him around the map. Here are the places he appears in order from first to last:

-Hash’s Cabin

-Foot of Hero Mountain

-The Forest, near the sign in front of Lucretia Castle

-Lucretia Village, northwest corner

-Lucretia Castle Treasury, near entrance to the castle

-Throne Room

-Lucretia Castle, left bedroom

-Lucretia Castle, right bedroom

-Outside of Lucretia Village

Xin’s Heir (kung fu) – Who you get here is dependent upon who you chose as Xin’s Heir in the Kung Fu chapter. You can find the heir at the summit of Hero Mountain regardless of who you chose. How the recruitment process goes is contingent upon the heir’s personality.

Yuan- He’s easy to recruit, just talk to him.

Li- You’ll have to fight and beat her to get her to join. Most of the heroes should have an easy time doing this if they are well prepared.

Sammo- You’ll have to feed this guy to get him to join. Meaty Bones found in the castle treasury or even Naorigusa will do. Just be aware that you’ll need to keep giving him food until he is satiated to get him to join, which can take a while if you’re giving him Naorigusa.

Akira (Mecha) – Go to Familia Village to find Akira outside Uranus’ house. You can fight him, but there’s not really a point in doing so unless you’re curious. Just pick the second dialogue option to refuse to fight him, then select the first option to recruit him.

Oboro (Ninja) – Check the signpost near the entrance to the Forbidden Land in the forest. Oboro will drop from the foliage and attack your hero. Make sure you are well prepared before fighting Oboro, he’s a deadly dude, especially if you got good weapons and items for him in his chapter.

Cube (Sci-Fi) – Save Cube for last if you intend to take him into the final dungeon. He does not level up and it’s better to have your other three heroes gain exp from exploring dungeons. Cube is sitting in the northeast corner of the top floor of Lucretia Castle, where the princess was abducted in Oersted’s story. Unfortunately he is deactivated and you’ll have to find his battery, which just east of the path leading to the summit of Hero’s Mountain. The battery will sparkle occasionally, which should make it easier to find. Your main character will call the battery a different name depending upon the era he comes from. Pogo calls it “????”, Xin’s Hier/Sundown/Oboro will refer to it as an “Iron Box”, it is an “Odd Part” according to Masaru, and to Akira it is a Battery. Go to the castle and use the Battery on Cube to make him join. Be sure to equip him with the weapons from Akira. If you didn’t equip Akira with the accessories in his chapter, you can still acquire some from the robot type foes in this chapter. I also recommend upgrading his HP with Power Parts dropped by enemies, even if you do not plan on keeping him.

Masaru (Wrestler) – Check out the dungeon in Lucretia to find Masaru working out in a cell. He will attack you if you are not playing as Sundown or Cube. Masaru has a ton of HP and some strong moves, but he lacks equipment, so prepared players should be safe. Just make sure you gain some levels and have decent gear before fighting him. Masaru will offer to join after you defeat him.

Part 4: The Dungeons

Each hero has a dungeon that contains a special weapon and powerful armor. It’s a good idea to complete each dungeon even if you do not want to use the character for the final dungeon, because the items in the dungeons are very useful and it seems that you must complete them in order to get the best ending. I highly recommend taking a few minutes to recruit a party, level up to 16, and pillage items from the area before attempting a dungeon. These dungeons can be challenged in any order, but I’ve listed them in an order that I had success with.

The Dungeon of Mind (Akira)

Items

Nightmare Helmet

Holy Water

Bloody Magic Robe

Gutsy Glove

Teleport from battle with Akira in the party and there’s a chance that you’ll land in the Dungeon of the Mind. There are several possible start points in this dungeon, which makes it incredibly complicated to write a guide for, so I’m going to just provide a general description of the dungeon. There isn’t really much of importance in here anyway. Let me know if this description is helpful or not and I’ll try to improve it if it is not clear enough. The enemies in this area are tough, so be sure you have a full party with everyone at least level 16. You’ll see blue flames scattered around the dungeon, talk to them, then press Y to have Akira read their thoughts.

Look for a large room with a number of blue flames and waterways. There should be a pilar near the northern end of the room on a small square island. To the south is another pillar near with a path leading from it in each of the four directions. Follow the eastern path until you can turn south, then turn west, and go through the door on the southern wall. You’ll come to a small room with two pillars on each side of the door you entered from, walk down the steps to the south. Go north and turn east when you reach a blue flame. Take the steps east of the flame down to a room with two blue flames and two pillars on either side of a central path. A red glove is sitting on platform at the end of the path, which is Akira’s ultimate weapon, the Gutsy Glove. A person will appear when you pick up the glove, press Y to have Akira read her mind and you will leave the dungeon.    

The Dungeon of Strength (Masaru)

Items	Super Bandage	Mermaid Bottoms	Ice Helm	Bloody Magic Robe	Gold Top Knot
Amethyst Shield	Goddess Gauntlet	Chario Boots	Holy Water	Magic Pendant	—

In the forest, close to the entrance to Hero Mountain you’ll see a bird-man sitting on a bright red fish in the trees to the east. Talk to him and you’ll have to fight. Apophispho (this name may differ depending on the translation) is really easy if you are using the recommended party. He also sometimes drops Mermaid Bottoms, which are decent footwear. Go into the cave behind him after you win. Just walk straight through the cave for about three screens until you reach the Super Bandage at the back of the cave. Don’t bother with the boxes, you cannot open them until you get the bandage. Make sure you get the Golden Top Knot which is located in a chest on the west wall of the second screen of the cave.

Note: Put some gear on Masaru before he leaves if you do not plan on keeping him in the party, but intend to get the best ending.

The Dungeon of Instinct  (Pogo)

Items

Alice Biscuit

Unicorn Horn

Astrapia Plume

Bone Ax

With Pogo in your party,  go to the base of Hero Mountain and walk up to the northeast corner of the area. If you follow the path you’ll come to a wall flanked by trees. Sniff the air with the Y button and a cloud will pop up near the wall if you are checking the right place. Check the wall and Pogo will open the door to the dungeon. Try walking around the far eastern side of the area and sniffing around if you are having trouble finding the entrance.

Take the path leading northwest once in the cave. Pressing the Y button near a door is helpful in this dungeon if you get lost, because a scent cloud will appear in the door if it leads to the Bone Ax. In the next room, enter the door west of the steps, then go through the southwest door in the next hallway. Follow the path west and down the steps, then go through the door in the northwest.

You will come to a chamber with three doors. Enter the western door first and follow the pathway through the small chamber to a larger one with a chest containing an Alice Biscuit. Return to the room with three doors and enter the eastern door. Follow the path until you reach a chest with a Unicorn Horn inside. Go back to the three doors again and into the middle door. You can read the minds of the statues here if you have Akira.

Go through the door east of the statues and then enter the first door you see on the north wall in the next room. Continue down the path as it leads east until you reach two doors to the south. One is on the north wall and the other is on the south wall. Check the north door first to get an Astrapia Plume, then go through the south door. Go south through either doorway to get to a room with three doors, ignore them and take the path leading south. Follow the pathway as it turns east then north until you come to a small chamber with a bone sitting on a pedestal. Check the bone to get the Bone Ax, Pogo’s best weapon.

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The Ariel Ring

Hopefully you took my advice and grabbed the Gold Top Knot from the Dungeon of Strength, if not leave this dungeon. Head south again until you reach the three doors and go through the western door. Walk north until you get to an underground pool with a huge shadow moving around in it. Talk to the shadow and it will ask for a Gold Top Knot. Say “yes” to both of his questions after you give him the Top Knot and get ready for a fight.

Boss Fight: Amlucretia

This boss will only use close range attacks like Tail, Crushing Bite, Body Bash, and Poseidon’s Whip. It’s best to have Pogo tank him and use his Dodegesden technique, because Amlucretia can deal a lot of damage. Amlucretia has crazy high defense and HP, so you’re in for a long fight. The rest of your party should back off and use long range attacks. Have Akira or Cube heal if they are in your party.

The fish will give you the Ariel Ring after you win, if you lose you can challenge him again. You can also ask him a number of questions.

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The Dungeon of Technique (Xin’s Heir)

Items	Dynamite	Clack Case	Master’s Nunchaku	Mermaid Bottom	Maria’s Veil	Baal Blood
Goddess Gauntlet x2	Amon Blood	Holy Water	Thick Chest Hair	Golden Hairpin	Chario Boots	—

Why not visit the mountain summit and recruit the Xin Shan Quan heir while you are in the area (if you haven’t already)? Take some time to level the heir up to level 16, then look for a huge rock on the western side of the base of Hero Mountain. Check the rock and the Heir will smash it. There’s a rock directly to the north, examine it and use Xuan Ya Lian Shan Quan to shatter it.

Enter the doorway, then fight Voice Heart who is patrolling the hallway. Follow the corridor west, then south and open the box near the steps to get Dynamite and exit via the southern door. You’ll see another rock just east of where you enter, use Long Hu Liang Po Wan to open the way. Go inside,  head north, and fight Voice Heart again. Open the box to get a Clack Case, then go down the steps and through the door to the southeast.

In this next room you will see two boulders nearby, south of them is a narrow passage, go down the passage. Climb up the steps to the east when you reach the end of the passage. Walk east a bit more to find a stone with a column on each side of it. Use Lao Hu Zhi Wu on the rock to break it and enter. Voice Heart will approach you and ask if you are angry, say “yes” to fight him a final time. Walk up to the pedestal and grab the Master’s Nunchaku. From here you can explore more and gather items, but none of this stuff is very useful.

The Dungeon of Keys (Oboro)

Items

Parasite Sword

Murasame

Remember Oboro’s chapter? This dungeon is much like it, though far shorter. As with his chapter, the following is my take on this dungeon and it probably isn’t the best way to complete it. Go back to the houses behind Lucretia Castle’s walls and enter the northwestern most home. There are other ways inside, but this works well enough. You’ll enter a small chamber with a locked door. Walk around and a Shadow will attack though it may take a while to find one since the encounters are random, kill it to get a rusted key. Open the door with the key. Go down the steps to the northwest, you’ll come to a room with a set of steps to the south and a door to the southeast. Use another rusted key to open the door. Take the eastern route in the next room, then turn north when you see an open door to enter a small chamber. Open the box inside the chamber to get a Genbu Key.

Exit the chamber, go west and enter the door to the north, which should bring you back to the room with the fountain from earlier. Go down the stairway to the south. Follow the path south and ascend the stairs at the end of the line. In this room you’ll see a set of steps going up and a door to the north, unlock the door and enter. Walk north and go into the open door. There’s a locked door that needs a rusted key in this chamber, grab the Suzaku Key from the box on the other side. Leave the chamber, go south, and reenter the door you came from.

Now take the steps to the left to get to a small room with a locked door, open the door and step in. Take a few steps east towards the fountain then go through the door to the south. You should be back in Lucretia Village. Remember the northwest door you used to enter the dungeon? Go in the door to the right of it, which is attached to the same building. Open the door east of the fountain in this room, then head west and descend the steps. There’s a staircase to the southwest and a door to the south in this room. Unlock the door and pass through it. Go east along the walkway, then south until you reach an open door. Enter the room and unlock the door to the north, then open the chest for a Seiryu Key.

Leave the chamber and go back up the walkway. Enter the door to the northwest, which will bring you to the room with a stairway in the north and one to the south, use the southern steps. Continue down the walkway as it runs east and go up the steps flanked by two columns, then turn west once in the room with the fountains. Ascend the steps and walk east, unlock the door to the north at the end of the hall. Enter the next room, walk north through the open doorway across from where you entered. Take a few steps west and enter the first door you come to (the center door).

Just walk south through this chamber and you’ll find yourself in a room with three doors on the north wall. Go into the middle door and open the box for a Parasite Sword. Leave the room with the chest and head back into the chamber you came from, then go into the door to the east. Go through the door to the southeast and walk west down the hallway. There should be some steps leading down to the north at the end of the hallway, descend them. Walk through the door directly to the south and go east.

Enter the door to the north. The chest inside this room holds a Byakko Key. Exit the room and go down the steps to the south. To the south is a huge door, unlock it with the Genbu Key, then walk up the steps to the north. Follow the path south, then west and unlock the next door with the Byakko Key. To the north is yet another door, use the Seiryu Key to open it. Keep moving north and unlock the next door with the Sazaku Key. Take the Murasame sword from the altar.

Walk back through the series of doors and down the steps, then through the next hallway and up the steps. This should bring you back to the area where you got the Byakko Key. Head west and go into the doorway with some steps leading up to it, it should be the the first door you see. In the next room go up the steps to the north, then unlock the door south of the stairs and continue south to escape the dungeon.

The Dungeon of Time (Sundown)

Items	Ariel Gloves	Venus Figurine	Algo’s Eye
Chario Boots	.44 Magnum	Magical Wood	Holy Water

With Sundown in your party walk towards the entrance to the Forbidden Land. A horse should run through the trees as you approach the signpost, follow it into the narrow gap in the trees. Take few steps south into the trees, then try to find a path through them to the west. Take a few more steps south and you should see the horse running north. Go east, then turn north and take about three more steps east. Walk south a step or two and the horse should appear again. Step east one space, then south and walk east through the fairly open path in the trees. Go south when the path ends. Push east a bit, then go north until you enter the dungeon, which is hidden in the trees.

Sundown’s dungeon is timed and you will hear a bell toll every 12 seconds. Each toll of the bell will darken the dungeon, making it hard to navigate. The party will be attacked after eight bells, but the enemy is not much of a threat if you have a few level 16 characters. They also drop the Ariel Gloves, so it is worthwhile to fight them. Walk north and open the box for a Venus Figurine at the end of the hall once you enter the dungeon. Follow the hallway west and you will see another chest near the north wall, open it to get Algo’s Eye.

You will see two doors west of the box that contained the eye, go through the one closest to the western wall. Walk north in the next room and go down the steps, which may be hard to see, because they are facing south. Head south and you will find a chest with Chario Boots inside. Go the the southern end of the room and enter the western door. Go in the door to the south and you will find the .44 Magnum.

Head down the steps to the east and check the box to get Magical Wood. Exit the room via the southwest door and head east. Go through the northeast door when you get to the end of the passage, then continue up the steps in the northeast. Walk east, then north from the steps and go through the door to the north. Follow the pathway in the next room north, then east, then south. You will see a box to the south, open it to get Holy Water. Go through the northeast door at the end of the passage. Go west to find the door that leads to the dungeon entrance. Head southeast to find the exit to the dungeon.

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The Ariel Gloves

The Ariel Gloves can be acquired here in the dungeon of time. Let all eight bells toll and the party will be attacked by four Jaggy Eggs. Jaggy Eggs will use Laser Sonic which deals damage to a large area. Their Space Phage tech can seriously damage, poison, and paralyze a target, so try not to stand diagonal to them. The Jaggy Eggs tend to use their Spin Dive move frequently, but it only deals about 80-120 damage to a single target. Use your best moves on these guys and they will die quickly, leaving behind the Ariel Gloves.

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The Dungeon of Intelligence (Cube)

Items

17 Diode

The entrance to the dungeon of intelligence can be found in Familia Village, just go inside one of the houses. Descend the steps in the first room and walk west. You should see a door with a red curtain to the north after walking a bit, go inside and talk to the Cube clone, then enter the north door. Take the steps leading down and check the chair to get instructions for the first test.

Test 1

Enter the door north of the chair. Your objective here is to reach the door in the northwest part of the room. The red colored floor will alter the way your controller’s D-Pad functions, so making your way to the door can become difficult. The first red area switches left and right on the controller. Press Up twice when you enter the room, then press Right, Up, Up, and Left, Up, Up*. This should bring you the normal part of the floor north of the pillar.

*This guide assumes your starting position is the center tile.

Step onto the next red area which swaps Up and Down on the controller. Press Down twice, then Left, Left, Down, and Left to get to the grey floor to the west. Step onto the red floor to the west and press Left, Left, Up, Left, Left, and Down, Left, Left to get to the grey floor. Now walk onto the next red floor to the west and hit Left, Left, Down, Down, Left, Down, Down to get to the grey floor to the north.

The final patch of red floor is to the north. You should see a bed with a door just above it. Every direction is switched around when you are on the red floor. Step onto the floor and hit Left, Left, Down, Left, which should position you next to the bed. Now press Left, Left, Up, Left to go through the door. This should bring you to a room with another chair and some spheres to the north.

Test 2

Examine the chair and you will be told what to do in this room. ..sort of. An image of Cube will appear in the mirror in the northeast corner of the room. Mimic its movements to solve the puzzle, but keep in mind you will have to walk up when mirror Cube is looking down and down when he is facing up. Press Right, Right, Up, Up, Up, Left, Up after you check the chair to solve the puzzle. Go up to the sphere and examine it to make it disappear. Check the next orb in the hallway to enter the next chamber.

This time two reflections will appear after you check the chair. The mirror image on the west side is the real one. Press Right, Up, Up, and Left, Up, Up to solve this puzzle. Hit A to make the next set of spheres vanish and look at the next chair. Three mirrors will display Cube facing in three different directions. Move in the direction not shown in the mirrors or just go Right, Right, Up, Left, Up, Up, Right, Right, Right, Up, and Up to get to the next room.

Test 3

You may notice a red arrow pointing to the door at the back of this room. The objective is to enter the door the arrow is pointing to in each room. Easy peasy. Go north, north, south, south, north, north to get to the next area.

Test 4

Check the chair to get another cryptic hint and note the spheres all over the place. All you have to do is examine the spheres in clockwise order, so check the northeast sphere and you will be transported to a small square room. Walk south to find another square room with a sphere in each corner, check the southeast sphere to be transported again. Walk north to another sphere room and examine the southwest sphere. You will be transported yet again, go north and look at the northwest sphere. Now go south and check the sphere sitting in the center of the room. The party will be transported to a large chamber with a door on its north wall. Go through it to find the 17 Diode for Cube. The party will warp to Hash’s Cabin after you get the weapon.

**********

The Ariel Helm

Return to the dungeon of intelligence after you get the 17 Diode if you want the Ariel Helm. Go down the steps and head west, then enter the door to the north. Go into the red tile room, make your way to the second row and look for a robot. Talk to him to begin battle.

Boss Fight: Erauqs

This boss is easy if you keep your distance, because he mostly uses Missile. Huddle everyone around Cube and use his High Speed OP to keep the party’s HP topped off; Erauqs’ Missile attack is very random and can hit hard. The boss does not have a lot of HP, so techs like Hurricane Shot and Dodegesden will kill him pretty quickly.

**********

Part 5: Death Prophet and the Ariel Mail

Items

Ariel Mail

This section is optional, so skip it if you are not interested in the Ariel Armor. Death Prophet will attack the party after you run from 100 battles. The game will start counting down after 95 battles, so you do not need to keep track of how many times you flee unless you run very frequently. Make sure you have three or four pieces of Ariel Armor and have three of your party members wear a piece of the set. Ariel Armor makes the wearer immune to petrify, which Death Prophet uses frequently.

Boss Fight: Death Prophet

Death Prophet uses Dimensional Rift which does about 300 HP worth of damage. He also uses Hu Xing Quan which doesn’t do much damage, but lowers stats. Petrify Sphere is his most dangerous move, since it can turn a target to stone, but you should have Ariel gear on at least three of your party members, so it’s not a big deal. Use your best techs on Death Prophet and he will go down fast. Unicorn Horns are really helpful if you don’t have Ariel gear, since they can de-petrify your heroes.

Part 6: The Forbidden Land

Items	Alice Biscuit	Demon’s Cloud x2	Fujin’s Scroll	Unicorn Horn	Fudo-Myoo’s Fuda
Izanagi’s Scroll	Gold Topknot	Golden Robes	Venus Figurine	Algo’s Eye	Potion No.9

Visit the summit of Hero Mountain and examine the grave to get the Brion Sword. Walk up to the entrance of the Forbidden Land and hit A to open it. Choose the eastmost path upon entering and follow it north through a door, then up some steps to a pile of bones. Check the bones to get an Alice Biscuit. Return to the entrance and take the center path. You will find a Demon’s Cloud at the end of the central path if you follow it north.

Revisit the entrance one last time and take the western route, then turn north at the end of the road. Stop when you see a door to the northeast. Go through the door and check to bones to get a Fujin’s Scroll. Return to the path and go up the steps to the northwest. Walk through the door to get to the next area. Walk up the steps and go into the doorway to the northeast. You’ll see another door northeast of the one you came through that leads to a pile of bones, check the bones to get a Unicorn Horn. Leave the room and go down the steps to the southeast, then enter the room to the south. Check the bones in the corner to get another Demon’s Cloud. Exit the room and go north via the narrow passage above. Check the bone pile at the end of the passage to get a Fudo-Myoo’s Fuda, then return to the intersection.

Head east, then north up some steps to find a door with torches on each side. Go in the door and walk through the narrow chamber to get to the next room. Walk through the corridor across from the entrance to find a door to the north. Go inside and open the chest to find an Izanagi’s Scroll, then return to the previous room. Walk south through the corridor and you should see a door to the west. Enter and walk north through a hallway lined with pillars. You’ll find a chest that contains a Gold Topknot at the end of the hall. Leave the room.

Back in the main room you’ll see a path to the west that leads to an open area with several doors. The door in the northwest corner leads to another hallway. Enter the door at the northern end of the hallway and you’ll come to another large room with multiple paths. Go in the door west of the entrance and open the box to acquire Golden Robes. Leave the room with the box and walk west, then north. You will find a room with three treasure chests that contain a Venus Figurine, an Algo’s Eye, and a Potion No.9.

Exit the treasure room and go south, then east. Follow the passage as it turns north, then enter the door at the end. Walk through the tiny room and go north to reach the statue room from the medieval chapter. Make sure everyone is wearing a piece of Ariel Armor, then go through the north door. The next room is empty save for a statue of the demon lord. Examine the statue to reveal a secret passage. Follow the long hallway in the secret passage north and save your game before entering the door. Walk up to the statue at the summit, check it, then head south. Odio will introduce himself just before you leave. From here you can either go back through the door to the south and fight a secret boss to get the Ariel Boots or talk to Odio to fight him.

**********

The Ariel Boots

Note: This side quest really is not worthwhile unless you want to complete the game 100%.

Leave the summit after Odio appears (you will have to walk all the way back up to the summit if you leave) and you will be transported toa dark void. Walk around or just wait a few minutes and Head Plucker will attack.

Boss Fight: Head Plucker

Have someone with a powerful level 16 tech like Oboro or Sundown move to the southeast corner of the battlefield and move the rest of the party towards the boss. Head Plucker can only hit targets close to him. His Wesan Blade tech deals heavy damage, but it can also lower his stats. Pogo, Maseru, and Sammo are well suited to tanking Head Plucker thanks to their high HP. If you heal them regularly with Cube or Akira they may even survive the battle. Placing good armor on your “tank” also helps and you can achieve a defense of about 80 using Ariel Gear. Your damage dealers (Sundown, Oboro, Xin Quan heir) should charge up their techs between heals from Cube or Akira, so you will need to pass a lot of turns for the sake of strategy. Do about 500 damage to Head Plucker and he will be history. The party will obtain the Ariel Boots after the battle.

Once the battle is over, head north and you will find the steps from the beginning of the chapter. You’ll end up back at your main character’s starting point and will have to walk all the way back to the Forbidden Land Summit.

**********

Part 7: The Final Battle

Double check your gear and make sure you did everything you wanted to in Live A Live, because the last battle will commence once you talk to Odio.

Final Boss Fight: Odio Eye x2, Odio Mouth, Odio Mole, Pure Odio

Phase 1

Odio is split into four parts. Leave the Mole alone and aim your AoE attacks carefully, so they do not hit it*. The Mole will counter your attacks with a powerful healing spell and you won’t get anywhere fighting it. Concentrate on the eyes first, which use Deathber Space and Life Eraser to turn targets to stone, which shouldn’t be a problem if you have everyone equipped with a piece of Ariel Armor. Refrain from using Sundown’s Hurricane Shot if you have him and use Neo Shot Storm instead. Skills like Dodegesden, Bronze Leaf, Tsuda, and Xin Ya Lian Shan Quan will make short work of each Odio part. Cube or Akira should focus on healing. Destroy the Eyes and Mouth to start the second phase of the battle.

Phase 2

This is where Pure Odio enters the fray. Try to use instant attacks mixed in with charge attacks, because Odio can cancel charging techs with Cancel Ray. He also uses Life Eraser and Saint Alicia, which deals about 100 HP of damage as well cause status ailments like sleep. Sundown’s Hurricane Shot and Dodegesden deal a lot of damage to Odio. If you picked up a Parasite Sword in your travels, use it as an item to deal 999 damage to the boss, just be sure someone strong like Oboro uses it. If you are not wearing Ariel Armor you may get petrified, do not hesitate to use powerful healing items or Cube’s High Speed OP to heal petrified characters. Odio isn’t all that tough compared to some of the secret bosses and will drop quickly if you can keep up an offensive.

*It may be possible to kill the Mole according to other guides. Doing so will end the battle.

Part 8: Endings (No Spoilers)

You will get different endings depending on your actions, here are the two main scenarios without spoilers.

Best Ending

Recruit every character into your party in the final chapter  (I think you need to do their dungeons as well) and defeat Odio. He will ask a question after the battle, answer “no”. Walk back to the statue room, save your game, and there will be a cutscene. You will have to fight some easy battles and the game will end.

Not So Good Endings

You will get a lame ending if you do not find all of the heroes in the last chapter or answer “yes” to Odio’s question.

c. Oersted’s Finale

Oersted’s finale is different from the rest. You will start in the tunnel leading to the statue room in the Forbidden Land. Check the statues to initiate combat with the heroes of Live A Live. Most of the battles are ridiculously easy, but a few may give you trouble, depending on how well you built up the heroes. In fact, I was not able to defeat Oboro who could do 260 damage to me, while I was not able to damage him at all aside from poison, so let this serve as a warning. There are two possible endings for Oersted, here’s how to get them.

Good Ending

Fight and defeat each of the seven heroes in combat. While I have read that this is supposed to be very easy, I hit a barrier with Oboro and was unable to get the good ending, but according to the sources referenced at the final section of this walkthrough, it should be possible.

Bad Ending

In cases where the heroes manage to inflict a lot of damage on Odio, you will gain an option on your command screen called “Armageddon”. Select it to get the bad ending.

3. References and Further Reading

While this guide is the product of my own experience with Live A Live, some of the information contained in it was gathered from or tested using two other guides. Both of these guides are useful and go into greater detail about weapons and items than this one, which was designed to focus primarily on strategy.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/snes/562650-live-a-live/faqs/16730

http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/snes/lal/nearwalk.shtml

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