_____________________________________________________________________ | _ ___ _______ ____ _ | | |\ | | /\ | \ /\ \ \ / /|\ | | /\ | | | | | | / \ | \ / \ \__ _\ / __/ | | | | / \ | | | | | | | _ \ | |\ | | _ \ | | | | | | | | | _ \ | | | | / / | \| | | | | | | \| | | | | |_ | | / / | \| | | | | |/ / | | | |_| | | | | | | | / | |/ / | | | | | | |\ \ | |\ | | | | |\ | | | | | | |\ \ | |\ | | | | | \ \ | | | | | |\ / | | | | | | | |___ | | \ \ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | \\ | | | | | | | /| | | | | | | | | | |/ | | |/ |_| |/ \| |/ |_| |/ |_____/ |/ |_| |/ |_| | | \ \ | | \ \_______________________________________________________ | | \ / | | \_____________________________________________________/ | | | |_____________________________________________________________________| Copyright Jordon Mechner 1984 Written By Brian P. Sulpher E-mail: briansulpher@hotmail.com Version 1.1 Dates Written: April 9th, 2005 I dedicate this to the NES fans out there, as this one is part of the NES FAQ completion Project of 2004-2005, courtesy of the FAQ Contributor Board. We honour the most truly awesome and great system... the Nintendo Entertainment System! Never mind about Atari, Commodore 64, Colecovision, Sega Master System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, or any of the newer systems, we all know that the good old NES is where true gaming is at! Also, for Cougar, Howler, and Koonce. I miss you, and I hope you are living it up in the afterlife as you did in this world. You will always be in my memories, and you will never be forgotten. ----------- Version 1.0 ----------- -Submitted guide on April 9th, 2005 ----------- Version 1.1 ----------- -Submitted guide on July 16th, 2005 -I added in Retronintendo and Honestgamers as sites allowed to use my FAQs -Altered the format to make it easier on the eyes of the reader ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------Table Of Contents------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Introduction 2) Controls 3) Walkthrough 4) Fighting Strategies 5) Final Word ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------Introduction--------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) The following story is direct from the game creator and is in no way the work of Brian P. Sulpher: High atop a craggy cliff, guarded by an army of fierce warriors stands the fortress of the evil warlord Akuma. Deep in the darkest dungeon of the castle Akuma gloats over his lovely captive, the Princess Mariko. You are one trained in the way of karate: a Karateka. Alone and unarmed, you must defeat Akuma rescue the beautiful Mariko. Put fear and self-concern behind you. Focus your will on your objective, accepting death as a possibility. This is the way of the Karateka. Somewhat grim in it's description, it is a fairly good assessment. You will face death in every duel, so you better be the one focused and dishing out the pain, not your opponent. Bring forward your courage and wisdom, setting out to teach the evil doers that your land will not be terrorized! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------Controls---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) This section will look at the basic controls and advanced controls for taking out the bad dudes as you try to rescue the lovely Princess Mariko from the clutches of the vicious Warlord Akuma. o----------------o | Basic Controls | o----------------o D-Pad...: LEFT and RIGHT will move your character in those directions. DOWN will enable the fighting stance of your character, meaning he can throw punches and kicks, but he will move slowly to the left or right. UP will bring your character out of his fighting stance, meaning he can not throw punches or kicks, but he can move left or right at a speed far greater than he can in his fighting stance. SELECT..: No apparent use. START...: Pauses/unpauses the game. B Button: Throws a Punch. A Button: Throws a Kick. o-------------------o | Advanced Controls | o-------------------o High Kick.: While holding UP, press the A Button to send a kick towards the head of an opponent (or at the obnoxious Eagle). Low Kick..: While holding DOWN, press the A Button to send a kick towards the feet of an opponent (or at the obnoxious Eagle). High Punch: While holding UP, press the B Button to send a punch towards the head of an opponent (or at the obnoxious Eagle). Low Punch.: While holding DOWN, press the B Button to send a punch towards the feet of an opponent (or at the obnoxious Eagle). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------Walkthrough-------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) This section will take a look at the journey through the impressive soldiers and even more impressive Warlord Akuma to reach Princess Mariko, freeing her and your land from tyranny. Note that the walkthrough will talk about strategy for the guard's fighting skills in the area you are in, also talking about specifically located obstacles. o-----------o | Courtyard | o-----------o To your left is the impressive cliff the fortress ahead is perched upon, so do not walk left unless you wish to swan dive into the rocks below. Anyway, run to the right, stopping when the guard appears and pressing DOWN to enter your fighting stance. Now, for every single fight you will face in the Courtyard (numbering at least four in total), you have one simple motto for the entire time you fight them: Low Kick, Low Kick, Low Kick. Just keep firing off Low Kicks and you will barely receive any damage what-so-ever from the rather useless soldiers in the employment of the Warlord Akuma. Now, as soon as you defeat a guard, run forward (meaning you have to press UP to enable the upward position as opposed to the fighting position) for as long as no guards appear in front of your character. Once the next guard has ran out to meet you, quickly press DOWN to switch to a fighting stance, and then repeat the advice given above. Keep up this pattern of fight and run, fight and run, allowing your character access to the complex ahead. o---------------o | Fortress Hall | o---------------o Almost immediately within the hall is a guard that fights just like the guards that were outside (that is, very, very badly). So, use the Low Kick repeatedly to knock the guard down, but enjoy the last fight you will have that is pathetically easy. Continue to the right after the cut scene, running to cover as much ground as possible. However, be wary of the Eagle, as it will make a huge charge at you as you go (listen for a distinct beep to signal he is coming), so press DOWM to enter a fighting stance, and then deliver a Kick at whichever level it attacks your character at as it nears to chase it off. Start running again (press UP to get back into run mode) to go a few more spots before the new guard appears, so press DOWN to get back into a fighting stance. The new fighting type of guard is much better at combat, so you are better served by a more conservative fighting style. Stand and wait for the enemy to come to you, throwing Kicks as he tries to get near, which will drive the fighter backwards most of the time. However, if your flurry of kicks fails to drive him backwards, back off yourself before he begins using his combo attacks, then repeat the pattern of wait and kick with the occasional retreat, felling the guard in no time. Now, repeat the pattern of running forward, listening for the noise of the Eagle appearing, entering a fighting stance to knock the Eagle away (at whichever level of attack he chooses), and then run forward again to meet the new guard. Once you have finally reached the gate that lies ahead, take a fighting stance, advancing slowly till your character is below the gate (but not directly below), then step forward and quickly step back, which should draw the gate into falling. Now, the chances of timing this correctly is nearly impossible, but if you manage to get it correct, switch to running mode and burst through the narrow opening as soon as it opens, getting out of the area for good. o------------------o | Fortress Dungeon | o------------------o By now, the repetitive run and then fighting stance will be second nature, BUT now the enemy is at their smartest tactics yet. They will no longer approach you with the same reckless abandon they showed earlier in the fortress. No, instead they will stand there, waiting for you to come after them. What this means for you is that you will have to watch them do their combos of kicks/punches, then, when they throw their fourth one of the combo you charge in to land one or two kicks/punches before you retreat. What this also means for you is that if you are low on life (which is easy now that your life meter has been shrinking continually), you can sit back and refill your meter (just note that the enemy will also regain health while you do this). Anyway, continue the cycle of events until you find a large door, which hides that old friend from the previous area... the Eagle! Yes, you will finally get to fight that irritating Eagle, so try to time the bird's charges by using triple kick combos to hit it, repeating until it or you are taken down. It really comes down to the games finicky hit detection in relation to the Eagle smiling fortune upon you. Now head on through the door to find... o---------------o | Warlord Akuma | o---------------o The man how took Princess Mariko is a feared man through out many lands for his fighting prowess, and he fights very well. In fact, he is the one who trained those you fought previously, so the elites you just faced are comparable to his skills, meaning he is another opponent who will sit back and wait for you to go to him. This means that you will have to wait for his three/four hit combos to subside, leaving an opening for you to charge through and crank him wit two hits before retreating out of range to repeat the pattern. Once you have defeated the evil man, you can just walk on over to the Princess Mariko and re-unite with her, right? Well, if you walk over to her (like 99% of all players will do after the long and furious struggle), she will immediately lash out and kill you in one hit! This of course raises numerous questions, the foremost being: "if she has such a lethal attack, why did she need rescuing from the likes of you?". Anyway, to avoid this problem, simply switch to the running mode (Press UP), and run forward to take her in your arms and complete the game! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------Fighting Strategies---------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) This section will look at the different fighting strategies needed for the different type of enemies you will face in the game. o-----------------o | Area One Guards | o-----------------o Now, for every single fight you will face in the Courtyard (numbering at least four in total), you have one simple motto for the entire time you fight them: Low Kick, Low Kick, Low Kick. Just keep firing off Low Kicks and you will barely receive any damage what-so-ever from the rather useless soldiers in the employment of the Warlord Akuma. o-----------------o | Area Two Guards | o-----------------o The new fighting type of guard is much better at combat, so you are better served by a more conservative fighting style. Stand and wait for the enemy to come to you, throwing Kicks as he tries to get near, which will drive the fighter backwards most of the time. However, if your flurry of kicks fails to drive him backwards, back off yourself before he begins using his combo attacks, then repeat the pattern of wait and kick with the occasional retreat, felling the guard in no time. o-------------------o | Area Three Guards | o-------------------o The enemy will no longer approach you with the same reckless abandon they showed earlier in the fortress. No, instead they will stand there, waiting for you to come after them. What this means for you is that you will have to watch them do their combos of kicks/punches, then, when they throw their fourth one of the combo you charge in to land one or two kicks/punches before you retreat. What this also means for you is that if you are low on life (which is easy now that your life meter has been shrinking continually), you can sit back and refill your meter (just note that the enemy will also regain health while you do this). o-----------o | The Eagle | o-----------o Yes, you will finally get to fight that irritating Eagle, so try to time the bird's charges by using triple kick combos to hit it, repeating until it or you are taken down. It really comes down to the games finicky hit detection in relation to the Eagle smiling fortune upon you. Now head on through the door to find... o---------------o | Warlord Akuma | o---------------o The man how took Princess Mariko is a feared man through out many lands for his fighting prowess, and he fights very well. In fact, he is the one who trained those you fought previously, so the elites you just faced are comparable to his skills, meaning he is another opponent who will sit back and wait for you to go to him. This means that you will have to wait for his three/four hit combos to subside, leaving an opening for you to charge through and crank him wit two hits before retreating out of range to repeat the pattern. Once you have defeated the evil man, you can just walk on over to the Princess Mariko and re-unite with her, right? Well, if you walk over to her (like 99% of all players will do after the long and furious struggle), she will immediately lash out and kill you in one hit! This of course raises numerous questions, the foremost being: "if she has such a lethal attack, why did she need rescuing from the likes of you?". Anyway, to avoid this problem, simply switch to the running mode (Press UP), and run forward to take her in your arms and complete the game! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------Final Word--------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) As is the usual, this walkthrough is copyright property of Brian P. Sulpher, 2005. The only website, group, person, etc. to have access to post it is www.gamefaqs.com, www.ign.com, www.retronintendo.com, and www.honestgamers.com. You must ask for permission before posting this, as doing so without consent is a violation of international copyright law. If you liked it, hated it, have anything to add, then please E-mail me at briansulpher@hotmail.com. You can also contact me through MSN messenger through the same E-mail address. An incredibly fun game that was the work of the creator of the now famous game "Prince Of Persia". You can see quite a few ideas that were transferred from this title to Prince of Persia, so it is sort of an experimentation game for the creator Jordan Mechner, but it has it's own unique flair that makes it stand all on it's own. Try this one out and lay a good beating onto the opposition, saving your lady... just be sure to run to her and not go in a fighting stance! :)