__ _ __ / / ___ __ _ ___ _ __ __| | ___ / _| / / / _ \ / _` | / _ \| '_ \ / _` | / _ \ | |_ / /___| __/| (_| || __/| | | || (_| | | (_) || _| \____/ \___| \__, | \___||_| |_| \__,_| \___/ |_| |___/ ___ ___ ___ ___ /__/| / /\ / /\ / /\ | |:| / /::\ / /:/_ / /:/_ | |:| / /:/\:\ / /:/ /\ / /:/ /\ __| |:| / /:/~/::\ / /:/_/::\ / /:/ /:/_ /__/\_|:|____/__/:/ /:/\:\/__/:/__\/\:\/__/:/ /:/ /\ \ \:\/:::::/\ \:\/:/__\/\ \:\ /~~/:/\ \:\/:/ /:/ \ \::/~~~~ \ \::/ \ \:\ /:/ \ \::/ /:/ \ \:\ \ \:\ \ \:\/:/ \ \:\/:/ \ \:\ \ \:\ \ \::/ \ \::/ \__\/ \__\/ \__\/ \__\/ version 1.3 4.12.2013 Legend of Kage FAQ/Walkthrough by Robot2600 8bitcity@gmail.com For use on GameFAQs.com and 8-Bit City *********************************************************** Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Game 3. Story 4. Moves 5. Walkthrough 6. Characters 7. Secrets 8. Powerups 9. Game genie Codes 10. Manual 11. Game Facts 12. Credits 13. Outroduction 14. Copyright Information *********************************************************** 1. INTRODUCTION "You have to ask yourself, do you like ninjas? Do you like non-stop high paced action? Do you like gaming? Chances are that's why you're here. I've played this game for many hours, and was shocked to not see a FAQ/Walkthrough for it on the internet. So here it is: my gift to the gaming community; the one, the only, Legend of Kage Guide." It's been over ten years since I created this guide, and I hope it's been either helpful or enjoyable to a few people who still love playing Legend of Kage. My friend and I would spend countless hours playing this title. We declared it "so bad it was good," but as the years go by I'd have to alter that qualification to simply: "AWESOME." *********************************************************** 2. GAME Legend of Kage is a high flying ninja action game published and developed by Taito. It was originally released for the Commodore 64, an old system that didn't get much notice in the shadow of the NES. It was re-realesed on the NES in 1988, and since then it has apparntly been taking up space in used game shops everywhere. The Legend of Kage is a great game, despite the negative criticism it receives. *********************************************************** 3. STORY One day, the Princess Kiri was out walking in the forrest minding her own buisness, when all of a sudden an evil ninja flew down and took her (Oh no!) Many tried to rescue her, but they all died. After the original attempts, none would undertake the task of rescuing Kiri. Finally a young ninja named Kage said he would be the one to save the princess from the evil ninjas. So Kage set out to single handedly infiltrate the ninja-infested castle and rescue Kiri. Kage first set out in the forrest surrounding the castle, and ran very quickly through the trees, while fighting the ninja that dared to block his path. When he defeated the leader of the forrest guards, Kage gained access to the moat that led to the castle. Once he had killed all the guards he began the treacherous climb up the castle walls. It would take more than that to stop the brave ninja, for he soon was in the castle itself! He faced more oppenents than ever before, for the castle was the heart of the lair of evil. Up the levels he climbed, while both ninja, and feasome magicians tried to stop the brave warrior. Thier effort was in vain, however, for Kage reached the top of the castle, rescued Kiri and flew to freedom. All was not well, for once again Kiri was captured, and Kage was left to fight the summer demons. At first it seemed they could not be hurt, but then Kage saw the butterfly, remembering his training, he knew that things were not always as they seem; he saw the butterfly for what it was, the source of the demons power. The butterfly did not die easily, for it took many tries to break it's curse. Once the spell was broken, the demon fell easily. A season later, Kage set forth once more to rescue the Princess Kiri. The ninjas of the forrest and castle attacked just as they had before, but he defeated the evil ones, and rescued the Princess once again. But once more she was taken, and Kage was left to fight the Autumn demon. He saw through the demons butterfly treachery, and vaquished him. Finally winter arrived, and the brave Kage entered the lair and save Kiri once again, but alas, once again she was taken. Left alone, Kage defeated the most fearsome demon of all: the demon of winter. This demon, like the others, had a seemingly innocent butterfly as a protective spell. Kage had seen the spell before, so it did the demon little use. However, this battle was much harder than the others, the clash of their swords could be heard for days. Their yells filled the entire forrest, but in the end, it was Kage that walked away. All the evil had been defeated, and the princess was freed. Kage returned a hero, and in time... became a legend. *********************************************************** 4. MOVES As Kage the ninja, you come equipt with a number of moves that will come in handy on your quest. ::Running Kage is capable of running indefinatly without slowing down. When kage reaches level three his running speed will be increased. Press left or right on the control pad to run. ::Jumping Kage is also cable to jump much higher than the normal person. This is a skill that takes a long time of ninja training to master. To jump, push up on the control pad, if you would like to jump foward or backwards, push up and left, or up and right to jump accourdingly. Once Kage has started a jump he cannot chnage direction, so choose your path wisely. If you would like to grab onto a tree, and you are traveling down, let go of the directional pad, and Kage will cling to it. Otherwise, hold the directional pad in the down direction and you will continue until you reach the ground. ::Throwing shuriken This is Kage's main weapon, and can be thrown in any of the eight directions. Simply hit the B button. Only two of Kage's shuriken can be on the screen at once. ::Sword By hitting A Kage can swing his sword. This goes very underused, because people think that there is no use for it since it has no range, well guess what, they're wrong! I can block the other ninja's shuriken (but not fire), so it won't hurt you to randomly swing the sword around constanly. Also, it can help you defeat the monks, because they usually can't block a sword attack if they are falling to the ground. ::Death Run This should be what you primarily use throughout the game. Basically, you run straight foward and throw stars. In between each star you can swing your sword for added protection. This will get you through ::Most:: of the levels OK, so practice it. Try to time it so you always have your stars spaced out evenly. If you have a turbo controller, just hold down both buttons, and you'll be practically invincible. *********************************************************** 5. WALKTHROUGH Ok, here we go. Follow the instructions and strategy provided, and you should be ok. ::Forest This level is pretty straight foward for the most part (although I consider it the hardest level). Use the Death Run until you get to the end, once there turn around and run until you get to a clearing (it shouldn't be that far). Once here, simply run back and forth while killing ninja's and staying alive. After killing a few blue monks, eventually you'll see a Red Monk, kill him to finish the level. In all my time playing the game, I have yet to discoiver a way to make him come out when I want him, so it's pretty much luck. This is why I consider it the hardest level, sometimes he just doesn't want to show his face, and when your fighting ninjas it's just a matter of time before you get hit. This can also be a fun level, just to mess around in and climb trees, fly, kill ninjas etc. Though if you are going for a game completion, stick with my strategy. ::Moat In this level you have to kill ten ninjas, and in my opinion this is the easiest level. I recommend two ways of completion, the first is easy, but the second gives you a 1UP, which is very helpfull in this game. Easy way - get out of the water, and simply use Death Run until you get your ten ninjas. 1UP way - stay in the moat, and run, but contiuosly swing your sword (don't throw stars). If you kill 7 ninja, then a little blue guy will fly across the creen and you can nab him for a 1UP. Then finish off the remaining ninja outside the moat with the Death Run. ::Castle Wall You have to reach the top to pass this area. Alternate between jumping up and left, and up and right, don't pause in between, and you should be just fine. Don't bother with stars (unless you are using a turbo controller) and concentrate on swinging your sword. ::Storming the Castle Not much to say here, Death Run, go up stairs, watch out for fire. When you reach the top use your sword to rescue the Princess. ::Boss After Kiri is taken away again (c'mon on Kage get it together!) you have to fight a boss. Kill the butterfly to be able to harm him. Not to hard, you should be fine. The levels repeat through autumn, and the through winter, complete the winter stages to see the oh-so-short and inconclusive ending... CONGRATULATIONS, you just beat the LEGEND OF KAGE! *********************************************************** 6. CHARACTERS ::Kage The hero! ::Kiri The oh-so-helpless princess! ::Shinobi These guys come in three varieties: red, blue, and black. Basic enemy of the game. They can use swords and stars. The red ones have grendaes, which cannot be blocked by Kage's sword. The Red one's are also harder to defeat, as are the black ones. ::Monks These guys kinda look like pirates to me, but hey. They shoot fire that can kill you even if you are powered up, so be careful. Come in both Red and Blue variety. ::White Monks The boss (sometimes bosses) of the Summer. Just like the monks pretty much, except easier to defeat in my opinion... go figure. ::Evil Kage Looks like Kage in giant poofy pants. He is the boss of the Autumn. Not to bad to defeat. ::Blue Demon The ultimate baddy. Still, he's really not that big a deal, he can block better than most, but rarely if ever uses stars. Should be no match for your mad Legend of Kage Skillz. *********************************************************** 7. SECRETS ::1 UP Stay in any moat level and kill 7 or so ninja with just your sword. nab the little blue guy at the top of the screen. ::10 Lives To start with ten lives: hold SELECT, A, and B on Controller 1. Then hold A+B on Controller 2. Turn on the NES and wait till you see something on the screen, then let go of all the buttons. Hold A+B on Controller 1 and B on Controler 2 and you will start with ten lives. A whole lot to go through, but the ten lives are a definate help. ::Thanks to GameFAQs for the secrets. *********************************************************** 8. POWERUPS A powerup will randomly appear from time to time, sometimes when you kill enemies, sometimes for the hell of it. Since I don't know what they are called, shall call the little people that fly across the screen monsters :) ::Orb - 1000 points These appear randomly after kage kills an enemy. Get one to chnage to green and throw bigger stars, and two to change to orange, which gives you super jumping and running abilities :) if you are hit in either form, you will revert back to Red Kage (unless its a fireball, then you die). ::Grey Monster - 10000 points Gives you some extra points ::Blue Monster 1UP, ooohhhhh yea. ::Red Monster Either lets you throw eight stars (one in each direction), or creates a ghost to fight along side you (nothing can hurt you. ::Little Red Line Hard to see, but this powerup will make Kage cast a killing spell. The bodies really pile up... it last a long time, but you can't move. So basically it's really creepy and gives you points. ::30000 Points Collect 30000 points to recieve a 1UP! *********************************************************** 9. GAME GENIE CODES ::SXVALZVG Both players have infinite lives ::KEOATAVA Both players start with 28 lives ::GASAOLZA Super-ninja-power running ability ::YAKXYPGE + YASZAPGE + YASZPPGE Super-ninja-power jumping ability *********************************************************** 10. MANUAL UPDATE, 6-18-2007 The Manual used to be hosted by a 3rd party online, however, the site is now closed. If you know where a manual for Legend of Kage is hosted online, please let me know so I can add the URL to this section. *********************************************************** 11. GAME FACTS I have compiled a list of completly usless facts about The Legend of Kage, please enjoy :) :: The colors the butterfly changes to when it dies are: White, Red, Blue, Orange, Grey. :: There are 25 trees you can climb on in the Forest. :: There are 10 trees in the background you can't climb on. :: If you kill a Monk, their fire will disapear. :: The castle changes from Orange, to Brown, to Blue as the seasons progress. :: There are five columns on each castle level. :: There are 21 visible banister rails on each staircase. :: You can pass the third level in 7 jumps. :: Kage is pronouced "KAH-gay," not "CAGE." It is Japanese for "shadow." *********************************************************** 12. CREDITS ::GameFAQs, for a wonderful site. ::Taito, for making the game. ::NES fans everywhere, keeping the system alive. ::Ninjas, for being so damn cool. *********************************************************** 13. OUTRODUCTION The Legend of Kage is a wonderful game, and I am honored to be the one that had the chance to make this guide. No other exist like it online, and the experience of mastering the game to create this file was enjoyable in itself. I would like to say how important I feal it is to keep interest in old systems and games alive, and to remember the games of the past. For without the past, we cannot move foward into the future. I hope this guide helps at least one person out there, even if its nothing more than just to know that someone took the time to create a sort of "tribute" to a game commonly owned, yet seldom remembered. *********************************************************** 14. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Everything you see here is my own work unless cited otherwise. I give GameFAQs and permission to use this guide in any way they see fit. If you would like to put this guide on your site, I'd be honored. All I ask is that you leave it completely intact, and let me know about it (Mostly just for me to see your site and see my work on it, that'd be cool). Anything else you wanna use it for, contact me and we'll talk about it. 8bitcity@hotmail.com AIM: blue exit lights -Copyright Robot 2002-2013