Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked Walkthrough guide by PikaKirby shadowchaotix AT yahoo DOT com ---------------- Version History | ---------------- *v 0.3 -- 3/30/06* FAQs started *v 0.5 -- 8/29/2006* Got the motivation to begin working on the guide again. Added incomplete weapon and track lists. Been busy with school but I'm still working on this. Expect some major updates in the near future like this one. Also revising some parts now that I have the American version. The guide will be helpful to those playing both the Japanese and American versions. *v 0.9 -- 12/xx/2007* Yeah... I seriously lost interest in the game. Sorry for the year-long wait, but I'm back sort of. I got really bored during winter break and I thought I may as well finish up Worso's section and the rest of the unfinished parts of the other characters' walkthroughs. I tried touching up a few other things as well as moving the "Press X Button" thing to the appropriate sections. Sorry for a year of people having trouble with that. For those who were reading the previous versions, it may help to go through the pre-walkthrough things again as I added a few things. *v 1.0 -- 6/27/2008* Yeah... didn't upload my guide when I was mostly done with it. I was playing through the American version to get the names of bosses and other things right. But since I've taken so long on it, a little more wait is nothing, plus no one really cares about the game anyway. Probably no more updates from now on. I'll still lurk the boards, but it seems like my guide already has done its work and made the board a ghost board since few people need help anymore. --------------- Copyright Info | --------------- This guide is Copyright 2006 Matthew Vanthaneeyakul a.k.a. PikaKirby This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. I will allow the free use of this guide on any website without my permission, BUT!!! DO NOT CLAIM THIS GUIDE AS YOUR OWN. GIVE ME CREDIT. DO NOT ALTER IT IN ANY WAY. THAT MEANS DON'T MESS WITH THE CONTENT AND KEEP IT IN TXT FORMAT. That is all I ask. So play nice, play by the rules, and you may use it. Use of this guide as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. The following site(s) will have the latest version of this guide: http://www.gamefaqs.com All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. ------------- Contact info | ------------- You may e-mail me at shadowchaotix at yahoo dot com E-mail me if you have something relavent to add to my guide. If you catch a tiny spelling error, I'll probably fix that too. E-mail me if you think you have a better strategy for something, or you want to add information I am missing, etc. Be sure to put "Samurai Champloo" in the subject line of your e-mail. ------------------ Table of Contents | ------------------ Use Ctrl+F to find a section quickly. Just type in the complete section label. If the section is a subsection, type in the subsection label. I. Intro II. Story III. Characters IIIa. Main characters IIIb. Non-playable characters IIIc. Bad Guys IV. Controls V. Menus 5a. New Game 5b. Continue 5c. Options 5d. Training 5e. Production sketches 5f. VS mode VI. Gameplay VIa. Town VIb. Weapon shop VIc. Record shop VId. Battle system VId1. Combos and Hyper mode VId2. Counter attacks VId3. Tate mode and Trance mode VId4. Results VId5. Death and Continuing VII. Walkthrough VIIa. Mugen VIIb. Jin VIIc. Worso VIII. Weapon list IV. Record list X. Item list XI. Secrets & Unlockables XII. Credits XIII. What's Missing --------- I. Intro | --------- This is my first FAQs and probably will be the only one I ever do. I am writing this because of the lack of help for this game on the message boards. Please be aware that I have little knowledge of Japanese and am writing this from what I've pieced together, but the game isn't terribly difficult to figure out. Don't bite my head off if I labled something differently from the American version, I'm sure you can figure it out. Just remember that some parts say things that may be obvious, but they are said for the sake of those playing the Japanese version such as selecting options on the menu. Also remember that the American version switches Circle's function with X and X's function with Triangle, so if you're playing the American version, take note of that switch. Also some things still talk as if you're playing the Japanese version, so ignore those if you're not. The only differences I can find so far between the American and Japanese versions other than language is that the Japanese version has no Pause function while the American version does not have stats for weapons. Also some things may be inaccurate. I played the game with Mugen first, then Jin, then the secret character. Some things I list as obtainable by Mugen, but it might not always be. Jin may be able to obtain those items if he was used before Mugen. Also you can stop one character's game before completing it and switch to another, so I don't know what is obtained by switching like that. Keep this in mind when I say something is obtained by one character or the other. I strongly recommend you read the sections before the walkthrough proper because I will assume you know those things before starting. This was made in a fixed-width font. So make sure the letters & numbers and lines below are the same width. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- II. Story | ---------- The game's plot is meant to be a side-story of the anime. The story starts out with our main characters Mugen, Jin, and Fuu wandering around in their search for the samurai who smells of sunflowers. They've been traveling for days with little food or money as always. Once in town, Mugen sees a boat and rushes toward it, thinking it's a giant roasted pig. Jin and Fuu are left standing there wondering where the boat goes to. Jin sees a sign and they all find out it leads to the island of Ezo. The boat also promises food and board. They look back towards Mugen who has latched onto the side of the boat, attempting to eat it, with a man trying to knock him off with a broom stick. They figure taking this boat may help them find what they're looking for, also it has food which they desperately need. Emaciated, they gladly take the boat to Ezo. After a long ride, the boat drops them off on the island in freezing cold snow. They walk through the bitter frost to find the nearest town, but strange enemies appear and attack them. At this point, you start the game. ---------------- III. Characters | ---------------- IIIa. Main characters --------------------- *Mugen* The hotheaded co-star of the show and game. He is very brash in personality with an outlandish fighting style to match. Often referred to as a womanizer, he has reckless disregard for anything, even his own life. He is a big-time subscriber to "grabbing life by the horns." His fighting style does not follow any formal discipline and is entirely self-taught. He mixes his swordplay with breakdancing-inspired movements which make him both an unprofessional and unpredictable opponent. This mixing of styles is said to be one of the reasons why the show has the word champloo in its title. Champloo (champuru) is an Okinawan word for mix. It is also used in the name of several Okinawan dishes that mix different foods together. Gameplay wise, Mugen moves fairly quickly and jumps great heights, allowing him to escape close-quarters if needed. At the start of the game, he encounters a witch who casts a spell to paralyze him and then tosses a snake down Mugen's throat which poisons and curses him. *Jin* The polar opposite to Mugen as well as co-star, Jin is cold and calculating. He is often reserved and thinks carefully before he speaks. Despite this, he is not afraid to occasionally show his goofy side. He has been trained in a formal sword discipline, as such he is all about efficiency. Gameplay wise, Jin is different from Mugen in that he utilizes rolls instead of jumping and has different sword stances opposed to Mugen's one-size-fits-all-opponents single sword stance. Early in the game, he is attacked by a bear and is saved by Nochiyu and her magic. He decides to help Nochiyu and her clan, the Tsurumaki. *Worso* Exclusive to the game, Worso shares much with Jin personality-wise in that he is very serious about his duty. He can be seen helping Mugen and Jin from time to time in their stories, but he has his own agenda. He is the leader of Ezo's native Tsurumaki clan. This clan is being oppressed by the currently ruling Matsumae clan. He helps Mugen recover from the witch attack and gives him valuable information to help him lift his curse as well as a red gem which he advises Mugen to keep until they meet again. To play as Worso, you must beat the game with any character. He controls exactly the same as Mugen as in he can jump like Mugen and not roll like Jin. IIIb. Non-playable characters ----------------------------- *Fuu* The third co-star of the show, Fuu is the one who got Mugen and Jin caught up in the search for the samurai who smells of sunflowers. She was a waitress before Mugen and Jin came crashing into her life as well as her shop. Although all three have big appetites from adventuring, she has by far the biggest. At any opportunity of a big feast, she pigs out and commonly walks away happy, full, and most noticibly fat. Her obesity is only temporary as she is seen at her normal size in the next scene. *Nochiyu* A girl of Worso's clan, also Worso's sister. She has magical abilities that saves Jin from a bear attack at the beginning of the game. She also has the blue gem which when united with the red gem in Worso's possession produce an unknown power. It's weird though because the end of Chapter One for both Mugen and Jin, Worso tells Mugen to keep the blue gem safe, contradicting what was told to Jin by Ranke at the start of Jin's chapter, however it appears Worso gave Mugen a red object at the start of Mugen's chapter. IIIc. Bad Guys -------------- *Witch* She meets Mugen early on and curses him by paralyzing him, then tossing a poison snake down his throat. Her motives are unknown at first. *Black Tengus* Generic pawns of the Matsumae clan. ------------- IV. Controls | ------------- In menus (Japanese version) --------------------------- Direction pad/left analog stick - highlight options Circle - confirm selection X - cancel selection The American version switches the functions of Circle with X and the functions of X with Triangle. In battle (default setting) --------------------------- Left analog stick - Movement Right analog stick - Move left and right to switch tracks X - Action (Jump with Mugen and Worso, backward roll with Jin) Circle - Technique (Parry, forward roll with Jin if it didn't parry.) Triangle - Branch attack Square - Primary attack Triangle + Circle - An attack you're going to need for Mugen's and Jin's Chapter 4 boss. It takes a bit of life to use. Can also be done with Square + Circle. L1 - Guard L2 - Use with Left and Right on the directional pad to switch weapons R1 - Lock onto nearby enemy R2 - Toggle no map, dynamic (moves as you change directions) map, and fixed map R3 (press down on right analog stick) - Toggle hiding and showing combo tree --------- V. Menus | --------- When first starting up the game, select the left option to create save data. On those menus, the left option is almost always Yes. When you start the game, the main menu will look like this: New Game Continue Settings Fujikawa Boyaki-ryu Kenjutsu Dojo Trailer (American version only) As you play through the game, you'll unlock various pictures which will be in its own option. When you beat a character's game, you will unlock the two player versus deathmatch mode. The final menu will be: New Game Continue Settings Fujikawa Boyaki-ryu Kenjutsu Dojo Special Reward Deathmatch Trailer (American version only) Va. New Game ------------ After starting New Game, hold left and press Circle to select Jin. Hold right to select Mugen. Pressing Circle while holding down the direction of the character you want will take you to their chapter select screen. You only have one chapter available for either character now. You can replay any mission you have beaten. After beating a chapter, it will take you to the chapter select screen. If you decide you want to change characters mid-story, then press X at the chapter select, then you'll be back at the character select screen. After you beat a character's game, Worso will be available for selection. You do not need to hold down a direction to select him, he'll be the center character. Vb. Continue ------------ On the continue screen, it will just automatically load the save data you have on your memory card. You can only have one file, but this file keeps track of all the progress you've made with all three characters. Vc. Settings ------------ The settings menu goes like this: Controller options Sound (Stereo, Mono) Vibration (On, Off) The controller options screen lets you choose between 3 different control schemes. Type A is the one listed in the above section. Type B switches Square and Circle's functions. Type C is the same as A, but switches L1 and R1's functions. Vd. Dojo -------- The dojo is a training mode and is a good place to mess around without dying. It will drop you into a dojo where you can run around for a bit. Then a man will talk and the game will stop your movement. A menu will pop up that tells you topics the game can teach you. You then go hands-on and the game tells you about the topics. The list goes: Combos Rhythm Track Counter attacks Tension Marks Hyper mode Technique Guard Technique Counter Tate mode Exit training *Combos is just basically pressing Square. You can also press Triangle to branch off and vary your attacks. *Rhythm Track. I think all there is to it is changing what track you have currently selected which changes your combo tree. Just use the right analog stick and press left and right to change your track. Press down on the right analog stick to hide your combo tree if you feel you're pro enough. *Tension Marks just means your combo tree has been extended and you can go into Hyper mode through comboing. Tension marks are indicated by that little thing in the lower left corner that looks like speakers. Above it is "Dance Man." When you max your tension, Dance Man will dance like crazy. Yellow boxes will highlight which attacks were added as a result of maxing tension. *Counter attacks will be explained later. *Hyper mode is when you hit an enemy (whether they blocked or not) with an attack in your combo tree that is boxed in red. I explain it later. *Technique Guarding is pressing Circle just as an attack will hit you. You will deflect the attack and you can press any button as if you are in counter mode (although the attacks aren't the same). This also works for Jin, but you cannot mash the Circle button like you can with Mugen and Worso since Jin's Circle is also his forward roll. *Technique Countering is going into counter mode, but a special kind. If the circle when countering is red, press Circle. Then you will see your counter options, but you should only be able to use Square which should also be in red. Press Square and you will be in Hyper mode. Activating Hyper mode this way makes Hyper mode last longer. *Tate mode is explained later. *You may also exit training mode during a tutorial by pressing Select and selecting Yes. Ve. Special Reward ------------------ As you play through the game, you'll unlock what the game calls Ukiyo-e pictures in this gallery for a total of 100. Any new pictures that you have obtained but have not yet viewed will have a checkmark next to them. If you view any checked pictures, the game will autosave when you exit. After you obtain weapons and other things from Trance mode, you will gain more pictures instead of weapons. Vf. VS Deathmatch mode ---------------------- Very plain. You unlock this when you unlock Worso. Each player selects a character and you both fight. No splitscreen and no combo tree to help you. I played this by myself at first and then with a friend and it feels like this mode wears thin after a while. It's very novel and should be played in small doses to get any enjoyment out of it. Most likely you'll play it once and never again. Vg. Trailer ----------- This only appears in the American version. A promotional trailer advertising the Samurai Champloo anime, localized by Geneon. DVDs available now. ------------- VI. Gameplay | ------------- One main thing you should note is that the game will NOT let you pause or save in the middle of a mission (in the Japanese version). The latter is a big pain as each character's final chapter are very long and must be completed in one sitting. The only way to leave the game sitting there without fear of being hurt is to run to an area you know there are no enemies. VIa. Town --------- You'll wind up in town before almost every mission. You'll at least be given a chance to buy something at the shutters that appear in the middle of the field. If you are not in town, you may only visit each shop once. The shutters will disappear after you exit the shop of its respective shutter. In town, there are two shops in the main area that sell the same things but at different prices. There are two entrances into the alleys where you can buy tracks and weapons. Also you may only change the weapons and tracks you are holding at their respective shops. In the Japanese version, much of the important shop options are in English as well as Japanese (such as Buy, Change, Repair). Most item and weapon names are also listed in Japanese with English. Track names are listed in either English or Japanese, but not both. They are obviously all in English in the American version. In the main area of town, you can play two mini-games. The stand on the east of the area is an eating contest staring Fuu. It's like Tate mode, so mash on the face buttons. You can get Ukiyo-e pictures from this. Perhaps weapons may be obtainable with this too, but I haven't gotten any. It takes 100 coins to play it. The stand to the south is a beetle wrestling game. After tinkering with beetles, I think Dead_Orion's tips are more wise. Trying to go for lower odd beetles will eat up more time than if you actually went out to get money the normal way. A quick way to check how much money you'll have if you win with a beetle is to take the amount you bet and multiply it by the beetle's odds. It's easier if you bet everything you have so it's simpler to calculate your money. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Dead_Orion's beetle wrestling tips* Dead_Orion Posted 5/4/2006 2:06:30 AM okay, thought i'd mention something about beetle wrestling. this part of the game looks like a bad DOS program, and at first i thought it was largely pointless, but beetle wrestling can be quite profitable if played correctly. Easy Money, yeah. the first thing you should know about beetle wrestling is that you cant control your beetle at all, so dont bother trying. the format is like some sort of awful turn-based RPG battle (this must be what playing pokemon is like). basically you get to pick from one of three beetles to go against the beetle stand dude. their conditioning determines their odds. the more the beetle sucks, the more it pays. you have a good chance of winning if you pick a beetle in great condition though you wont earn much. you can win with a beetle in decent condition if you get really lucky and feel like a gambler. you basically have no chance of winning with a poor conditioned beetle. the trick to earning money with this game is to try and find a beetle in great condition that gives you a decent return on your bet. for example, if you get a beetle in great condition with 1.7 odds, you'll earn a 70% profit on your bet. this may seem insignificant if you're betting a 100 coins, but consider that you can bet your entire purse...and well, you can see where i'm going with this. so what if the beetles the dude is offering you suck or only pay at 1.1 odds? well, you can just triangle out of your bet and conversation. talk to the guy again, and see what he has to offer. do this until you find a beetle you want. so just head over to this guy at the beginning of the stage, bet everything you have, find a beetle in great condition with decent odds, and prey. if you win with something like 1.7 odds, you'll earn a lot of money depending on how much you bet. obviously the more money you have, the more you'll make. and of course, you'll have to beat the level to save your game, so keep that in mind. if you lose, you'll have to reset your game unless you like being broke. that's mainly why gambling on mediocre beetles is a waste of time. but as long as you play it smart this is a ridiculously fast and easy way to earn a ton of dough compared to killing people over and over and over... credit Dead_Orion if this ends up in the community FAQ, since i probably wont be writing it. *End of Dead_Orion's beetle wrestling tips* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *InvalidUser's beetle wrestling tips* InvalidUser Posted 5/23/2006 7:21:16 PM Here's what you do. Step 1. Get about 100k Step 2. Go to Mugen Stage 2 (Because it's short.). Step 3. Bet all your money on the Beetle with the worst possible odds. (i.e. 6 - 9.9) Step 4. Cross your fingers. If your beetle won, congrats. Buy out the weapon store, and the music store, and laugh long and loud. Beat the level, save. If your beetle didn't win, hit reset, try again. EASIEST MONEY IN THE GAME. It's also a really cheesy way to do it. *End of InvalidUser's beetle wrestling tips* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you go north of the main plaza, turn right at the fork to enter the dojo. Not much use though, but it's the only way to get in with someone other than Mugen. Turn left at the fork then follow the path to outside of town where you will show up at the area of your next mission. VIb. Weapon shop ---------------- At weapon shops, you can buy and change what swords you have. You may have 3 swords at any time, one of which is always your default sword. Most other swords break after extended use which is determined by their durability. Weapon shops will also repair any broken swords you have from the previous mission. Note that if a weapon breaks and you repair it, you have to re-equip it. It doesn't automatically re-equip itself after repair. VIc. Record shop ---------------- At record shops, you can buy tracks and equip up to two tracks, each with a different combo tree and effect if any. Tracks dictate what moves you are able to use at any given time as well give you added traits if any. VId. Battle system ------------------ VId1. Combos and Hyper mode --------------------------- The combo tree will show you what buttons you can press at any part of the combo. A button boxed in red will, upon a successful hit of that boxed attack (whether the enemy blocked or not), put you into Hyper mode for a few seconds. In Hyper mode, the screen turns red and you can attack blazingly fast. Also just pressing attack will teleport you (to an extent) to the nearest enemy. I just recommend pressing Square throughout the whole thing unless there's some better thing to do that I don't know about. VId2. Counter attacks --------------------- Also if you are attacking at the same time as an enemy and are both going to hit each other, you'll enter counter mode. DON'T PRESS ANYTHING ONCE YOU GO INTO SLOW-MO! It will then show you one to four buttons you can press. Choose and press any one of them. You'll counter the enemy. In rare cases, you'll get hit regardless. This usually happens if there are many enemies around you and they are all attacking simultaneously, or if the enemy does not flinch easily and attacks through your counter. If you take too long or you press a button that's not shown or another enemy attacks you during this slow-mo mode, you'll get hit (either by the enemy you were trying to counter or the other enemy that hit you) and won't counter. Each button also has its own set move that won't change no matter which track you use, so learn which button does what and use each accordingly. Each character has their own set of counters. It appears you receive additional money when you counter as well as technique counter which is described below. While in counter mode, you can perform a technique counter. Go into a counter, but if the circle on screen is red, press Circle as soon as you see it. If you did it right, then you'll see that the only counter available is Square and it is also in red. Press Square and you will be in Hyper mode. Getting into Hyper mode this way also makes Hyper mode last longer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Conversation about Technique Countering on the message boards* Dead_Orion Posted 5/10/2006 2:13:31 AM i think this is one of the harder things to figure out in the game, especially since it is explained so poorly. so here are some tips to allow you to Technique Counter with better success. it really is worth learning since it does wonders for your trick points which leads to longer timers in tate mode. it also fills your tension gauge quickly so doing it at the beginning of levels is great. the one downside to Technique Counter is that you may easily get hit and blow your counter if you do it incorrectly. How to perform Technique Counters: 1. Enter counter mode. (you can do this by attacking and getting attacked at the same time - instead of trading blows, you will often enter counter mode.) 2. DON'T PRESS ANYTHING. This is the most important part and the part that is most poorly explained in the game. You are supposed to press circle after entering counter mode to activate your technique counter. However, as soon as you enter counter mode, the game slows down and the action stops. If you start pressing circle at this point, you will kill your ability to perform a technique counter. this is the part i could never understand at first; largely due to the fact that the game merely tells you that you were too slow and needed to press circle earlier when you do this in the dojo. Great advice since that's the opposite of what you need to do. you need to wait to press circle until the counter mode slow down ends. 3. Wait for the Circular Icon to Apper. It's in the middle of the screen and will have dashes surrounding it that disappear quickly. once all the dashes disappear - you can perform a normal counter by pressing a button that is shown on the screen. But to perform a technique counter, you need to press circle before the dashes disappear. If you do this correctly, the square icon will be displayed, and you will enter hyper mode as you mash square. Notes: A. Make Sure the Circular Icon is Red. if you wait to press circle until it appears, it should be red. if it is red, press circle to do a technique counter. if it is white instead, a technique counter will be impossible, so don't bother. B. Do Not TAP Circle REPEATEDLY. Even if you wait for the red circular icon to appear, if you tap circle, you are likely to screw up your technique counter. If the technique counter activates when you press circle, your next tap of circle will thwart your hyper mode since you should of been hitting square. You will likely get hit for this mistake. Basically, you should wait til you see the red circle. Anticipate it and press circle once, then mash square as you enter hyper mode. If something messes up, don't press anything, wait for the counter count down to end and perform a normal counter. C. Hyper mode seems longer than normal in technique counter. Could just be me, but you can get a lot of hits from technique counters. D. Be Smart. Don't try to constantly go for technique counters, it's not necessary. Regular hyper mode does just fine. My advice would be to just attack like normal and look to do technique counters when counter situations naturally come up. If you really want to enter counter mode, you can do slow triangle attacks repeatedly (especially effective if you do them when you see an enemy attacking, almost a guranteed counter). But flashyness kills sometimes so use your head. aznhick Posted 5/12/2006 2:17:23 PM it seems lik eif you're locked on u can't get the red circle when u tech counter. and the red circle is required for the tech counter.... while timing my pressing circle....i'll get the tech counter most of the time ...usually me missing the circle buttone to initiate the counter is what screws me over... try it out and let me know. Dead_Orion Posted 5/20/2006 11:16:08 PM i dont recall lock on being a problem, or at least i never noticed it. i had to return the game, if i still had it, i would test it out. but i use lock on a lot, so i dont think it prevents you from tech countering, though i could be wrong. Dead_Orion Posted 5/20/2006 11:50:30 PM on second thought i think i hold down the target button like 90% of the time while fighting enemies since it does a lot of good things for you. so it should be fine with tech counters, but someone should test it just to make sure. (like i said, i don't have the game anymore, so i cant) Tips on auto target: A. the problem with early kills - often and especially during the early stages, you will kill enemies quickly before you have finished your combo chain. holding down the target button ensures you seamlessly transition to nearby enemies once you kill your current victim, keeping your combo chain going; which makes hyper mode easier to enter. B. holding down the target button during hyper mode allows you to hit the maximum amount of enemies possible. as soon as you kill one, you start attacking the next one. with the small amount of time you have for hyper mode combos, this can help you get the max hits out of it. C. better defensive movement. holding down the target button allows you to strafe your enemy with lateral movement instead of running in whatever direction you press. you can use this movement to avoid attacks (and look flashy doing it with jin), but it's most practical use is that it enables you to better square-up to your opponent. this allows your attacks to hit cleanly and squarely so that your combos connect in their entirety, instead of having mugen breakdancing with his back turned to the enemy because you're in the middle of a combo chain. being squared-up also aids you in blocking attacks cleanly instead of getting smacked because you were turned sideways. though in close quarters with several enemies that may or may not be in the camera, it wont be of much help. D. the bad part. you move more methodically around your enemies while in lock on, which also means you move slower. so if you need to retreat quickly, tell your brain to release the target button and you won't have any issue with this. *End of conversation* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VId3. Tate mode and Trance mode ------------------------------- If you see a star over the little dancing guy in the corner, that means the next enemy will have a star over its head and hitting it will put you into Tate (pronounced tah-tay) mode. You and your opponent will rush at each other and you have to press a button on screen. If you don't press the button in time or press the incorrect button, nothing will happen but the enemy will die. If you succeed, you must mash the four face buttons as fast as you can to get 100 hits before the timer runs out. If you don't get 100 hits, nothing will happen and the enemy will die. Build up more trick points by attacking enemies and you will have more time in Tate mode. If you fail Tate mode, you keep any trick points you had before going into it. Higher comboes build up trick points faster. Technique counters and Hyper mode in general let you slash an enemy more times past the amount it needs for dying, so longer comboes can be done easier when in Hyper mode or technique countering. If you get past the single button press but fail to get 100 hits, the enemy will die and also leave a lot of money. Upon getting 100 or more hits, you will enter Trance mode. In this mode you have 3 hit points to kill 100 enemies. 1 hit will kill an enemy in this mode. You will get a bonus hit point at the 51st kill. If you run out of hit points, the enemy dies as normal and drops a lot of money. If you succeed, the enemy dies without dropping a lot of money, but you get a weapon (not necessarily). You don't automatically receive it. It will appear in the shop for purchase :) Also when in Trance mode, you can still go into Hyper mode. I don't think countering other than technique guarding works here. I believe the attack to trigger Hyper mode is the one that was marked as such before you started Tate mode. If not, just experiment until you find it. The difference is that if you enter Hyper mode during Trance mode, you permanently be in Hyper mode for the rest of Trance mode. However if you use a jumping attack, I believe that will end Hyper mode if you miss or it could end it no matter what. Also, I'm not completely sure but from what I've done, it appears that if you press Triangle as you enter Trance mode after getting 100 or more slashes in Tate mode, you will automatically be in Hyper mode when entering Trance mode. I haven't noticed it in the Japanese version or maybe I was pressing Triangle more in the American version, but that appears to be the case. So mash Triangle before going into Trance mode and see if that works. It can't hurt to try anyway. Sometimes it feels like it happens automatically. Don't be expecting it, but take advantage of it when it happens. It is possible to fail if you survive for long enough but don't kill any enemies for a long time. Sometimes the AI is stupid and will just stand there and not do anything. There are weapons to obtained from Trance mode each chapter. If there are no more weapons to obtain, you will instead receive a random Ukiyo-e picture. Once you have all the weapons for that chapter as well as all the pictures, you will receive 3,000 coins each Trance mode, regardless of whether you fail or succeed. You can tell if you're going to get a weapon if you see some wall behind the treasure chest at the end. If there is no wall, you will get a picture or money. It also appears, from my testing, that you may get a weapon from fighting a different group of enemies. Example: I was playing Worso's first chapter. I completed Trance mode in the first area and didn't get a weapon. This area had me fighting a two monkey maximum during Trance mode. I kept going and in the area before the boss, I was fighting a three monkey maximum during Trance mode and when I completed Trance mode here, I received the Golden Sword. So be diligent about completing Trance mode whenever you get to different areas if you want new weapons. Whether you fail getting 100 hits, run out of hit points, or succeed completely, you will return to the main field and will recover health. You do not recover health if you fail the single button press upon entering Tate mode. This is because the number of hits you get in Tate mode determine how much health you recover. VId4. Results ------------- At the end of a mission, the game will tally up some stats of that mission and you get money from that. Using continues will severely decrease your reward. The stats are: *Play time (Play faster to get more money) *Combos (your max combo) *Tate mode Combos *Trance mode Combos (never exceeds 100, proving which mode is Trance mode for those who think Trance mode is the one where you get over 100 hits to move on) *Deaths (Same as continues because quitting restarts the mission from the beginning) *Enemies Killed *Koban Coins (Occasionally enemies will drop a chunk different from the normal 1 currency pieces. Gives you more coins when tallied on this screen) *Total Cash The factors are considered in order listed, so even if you die a million times and get no money from all the categories before Deaths, you still get money from Enemies Killed and Kobans. After the results screen, you get a ranking. As far as I know, the ranking doesn't do anything and is just for fun. VId5. Death and Continuing ------------------------- If you die during a chapter, you will be brought to the continue screen (Continue as in keep going, not load game). The right option is to continue. The left option is to quit. It will ask you to confirm quitting. Press Circle to confirm, X to cancel (X to confirm, Triangle to cancel for the American version). When continuing, you keep all progress in the level including enemies killed up to the point you died, the money and kobans you collected, and your tension gauge's progress. The only catch is that you start at the last game-defined checkpoint and have to run back to where you were. Also if you die enough, the game helps you out. Since you probably won't be dying in the level and more likely dying frequently to some bosses, these will help you at the right time. If you're ill-prepared, the game will help with these boosts, but it comes out of your end of chapter money reward. If you get even one boost, then don't be surprised if you don't get any money at the end unless you collected a lot of kobans. ----------------- VII. Walkthrough | ----------------- I recommend starting out with Mugen as he is a fairly straighforward character to use. Jin is a bit more technical so save him for when you have a bit more experience when playing the game. Because of how the game is structured, you can stop playing one character's game and start another's at any time. If you don't really care to understand the story and just play, then I recommend completing Mugen's game first so you get the Flat Line track. It makes dealing with small groups of enemies easier. The gameplay is rather lackluster so the story is one of the few saving graces of the game so for maximum comprehension, I recommend starting with either character and as you complete one chapter, complete the same chapter with the other character. Each chapter is usually connected with the other character's same numbered chapter in some way so you get to see how they tie into each other by trading off. The general strategy is to go around killing everything and anything. If you are at the big red arrow on the map that tells you you're on the main path, backtrack to anywhere you didn't visit yet and kill the rest of the enemies if you want extra money and item boxes. Some sections are still incomplete or very generic and undetailed, but it will probably stay that way because the only trouble you'll probably have is with the bosses, and most of the tricky ones are covered here. VIIa. Mugen ----------- Chapter 0: Easy Come, Easy Go English name: Ships Come and Ships Go Straightforward, just kill. After you beat the enemies, that's the end of this chapter. The story gets picked up directly at the start of Chapter 1. End of chapter reward: Nothing Chapter 1: Watch for the Witch English name: Quick as Lightning You start in a big open area with lots to kill, so get to it. After clearing the field, you can access shop shutters and two healing items. After this, there's a straight path that leads to a fork in the road. The right fork has no enemies while the left does. The left leads to a straightaway with enemies while the right leads to a straightaway that has a dead-end turn with an chest of money. You can backtrack and take both paths if you want to kill more enemies. Both lead to the same screen where the two forks merge. There's two item boxes at the end, one with a full-heal ramen and one with a weapon-healing leaf. Pay the toll and move on to the boss of this level. Boss: Zenbanosuke Kurata Not very hard. He doesn't hurt too much so just bait technique counters and if the counters don't turn into technique counters, it seems the X button counter does quite a bit of damage to him. After he's gone, you must kill 20 enemies. Once they're gone, you run into the witch again who gets away. Worse shows up and tells you more and runs off. You then chase after him into the building. There's nothing outside so just run straight in. Run straight down the hall ignoring the hole in the wall for a chest with money. Go back to the hole and run through and a cutscene will automatically trigger. Oddly the enemies in the cutscene are gone after it is over and instead appear once you walk forward. To the right is a chest with a mushroom and then a slope you can use to walk up to the next floor. Clear the floor and pay the small toll. Continue past this pointless hallway to end the chapter. End of chapter reward: Track-Hot blast in the North Chapter 2: Hare and Hound English name: Wiles You're first stop in town. Walk around Ezo and see what there is to see. You'll be back here a lot, so you'll memorize the layout in no time. When you get into the actual level... there's not really much to walk you through. It's a straight path all the way through. Just kill everything in your path, break a few item boxes... not much else to it. Boss: Fuuga Tobimatsu RUSH HIM. RUSH!! Get a strong track and weapon combo and RUSH! Just attack and when he disappears in a cloud, run away and look for where he popped up. If you're having a lot of trouble finding him, check your map. Just don't be afraid of the bombs and rush. He's not too hard. Just try not to take too much damage. See if the block button works here... I never had to use it here though. If you're good, you could just run up to him, slash, he'll disappear, run up to him again and slash, and keep repeating. End of chapter reward: Track-Fox Trap Chapter 3: A Lonesome Lover English title: Good Medicine Goes Down Bitter At the start, Mugen talks to a fortune teller who eventually says he can neutralize the poison by finding a snake charmer. By luck, a young snake charmer named Yuu, who looks like Fuu, is right behind Mugen. Forced to appease Yuu, Mugen eventually learns he must go to Izumo Palace and find the European Gem. Once obtained, Yuu will heal Mugen. You crash Izumo Palace and start outside the gates. Take the right fork for two chests with money. Then go to the left until you reach the sewers entrance. Follow the straight path to the end. You'll see a glowing red tile. It will say "Push X Button" when you step on it. It doesn't tell you to press it twice which is what you should do. The second press should be near the peak of the jump. On the second press, Mugen will grab a ledge and hop up to the room above. If he doesn't grab it, then step off the tile until the camera changes and then step back on and it should say "Push X Button" again. For some reason it won't let you grab unless you step off and step on. Proceed to the next area. The dead end on the map has a chest of money. There's quite a few enemies here so decide what you want to do and get to the door at the end. Clear the halls and go into the dining rooms. You will be ambushed and then you have a choice of two exits. One is a toll door close to where you start this area. I think the game doesn't give you enough koban up to this point to pass, forcing you to go through to the other area. I don't think I've ever gotten a single koban from any of the enemies until this area. Anyway the other area holds six enemies, I think they're the same kind from Jin's Chapter One. They like to block but if you keep slashing, some attacks will eventually get through. Hyper mode isn't much more effective, but it gives you more advantage to avoid some back attacks. Once they are gone, you should have enough koban to pass, but you can't go back out the way you came until you go into another room. There you will get the gem which Mugen will give to Yuu later. Don't forget to go into the other room in this area before leaving for three chests. You can either get these before or after getting the necklace. You will be ambushed again, so fight or pay the toll. After you pay, you will be in a big lobby. Go into the hall behind the stairs for a chest with a leaf. Then head up the stairs and clear the floor if you want. There's a chest with money in the fork to your right when heading up the stairs. Head through the open door to end the chapter. End of chapter reward: Nothing Chapter 4: The Tale of Tails English title: Cruel and Inhumane Stock up, then start the mission. It's a straight path for most of the level. Once you reach the glowing red tile, ignore it and keep going down the path for a chest with ramen. Again, you must press the X button twice. If you mess up, step off and step back on and try again. The second press should be near the peak of the jump. After the second tile, there's a chest with a healing item. Then keep going up the cliff. A few monkeys may attack you on the way up,so watch out for that. Don't worry, this is the last you'll ever see of these tiles. Continuing on, there's no enemies on this screen. Just a toll and two chests with a riceball and leaf. Hopefully you have enough kobans because even though you can go back to previous areas, you can't jump back down the cliffs so hope you have been fighting and collecting kobans up to this point. It's a small toll, but a toll nonetheless. Boss: Boss/Alpha Monkey and gang You have to kill a few monkeys before the leader will come out, so do that. Try not to keep too much distance between yourself and the other monkeys or else they will toss stuff at you which has a habit of knocking you out of counters. After you get the leader out, he pretty much goes down in one technique counter, so mash square once you get one. Boss: Oni Tsubaki I'll tell you straight out, you're going to have to kill him many times until he decides he wants to die. Basically, just try to conserve as much life as you can when fighting him. Good thing is that if you die, you don't have to fight the Boss Monkey again. Bad thing is that if you die at any point when fighting him, you start from the first fight. The only thing you really need to concern yourself with avoiding is his unblockable tornado attack. Try Hyper moding the normal way and technique counters if you can. He's doesn't really pursue you too much, but you can easily outrun him, so feel free to run around if you can sense particular attacks. It helps to run circles around him and hit from behind. He does have projectiles though so be wary of that. Just run around and attack when he's open. Easier said than done, but you'll sort of get it after a while. Pretty much wait for him to attack first because he likes to start off each fight with a tornado. He tends to block when you get into Hyper mode, so while he's tornadoing the wrong direction, get into Hyper mode the normal way and then mash square. Keep this up for two fights. He doesn't seem to flinch or block at all during the third fight, so pick a strong weapon like Gladius and just try to dish out damage as fast as you can. In the fourth fight, he will not take damage at all, so try your best to stay alive and try to attack him. One full-on tornado is probably enough to kill you at this point if your health is in the red. Eventually, a message will pop up. At this point, run up to him and press Triangle+Circle (or Square+Circle) and you win. End of chapter reward: Track-Jaguar Batter Chapter 5: Doer of the Dreams English title: Pure of Heart This level is completely sidescrolling. You have shutters to do your shopping at (why you can shop and keep items and money you obtain in a dream is beyond me). After you stock up, you run into some weird enemies. They will jump and roll at you so watch out. Technique countering takes care of them fast. There are item boxes along the path so don't worry if you take a few hits. Just keep going through and you'll eventually get to a weird outer space area. At the end, pay the toll and get ready for the Witch. Boss: Witch A toughie at first. She casts spells, so forget about technique countering. Run up to her while avoiding the pillars of pain and attack. Use a strong weapon and a track that has fast startup attacks. Try to watch out for her fire breath, but if you attack her fast enough, she won't get a chance to use it. She will cast some very hard spells to avoid when she is visible. If she casts bouncing hearts, run around and try not to get hit :) If she casts more pillars, RUN. If she casts purple flames, RUN. They aren't really to hard to avoid, just hope you don't get sandwiched. Once she disappears, this is the easier part. She'll cast a random spell. The general rule is don't step on any of the magic circles that appear. Sometimes there will be purple flames following you, so obviously avoid those too. Eventually you will memorize how to dodge each spell. After the spell is over, run to the center of the map. Standing in the center will give you the best opportunity to run to where ever she appears next. This is the pattern for the rest of the fight. She appears, disappears, casts a spell, appears again, repeat. After playing a few more times, I actually found it very easy if you can get to the witch, then just keep doing slashes but only the first few. Pause a little after two or three hits and then start the combo tree over. It appears she can't teleport away while getting hit. So just do that and if you can get into hyper mode, the pause you need to start your combo over is even shorter so you can possibly kill her in one combo. Just don't leave too wide a gap between hits and you can possibly take her down very quickly. Here are some strategies posted up on the Samurai Champloo message boards. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Strategy by An Illuminati* An Illuminati Posted 4/26/2006 8:59:26 AM If you have not played Mugen level 6 [sic]: spoilers Seems like some people are having trouble with the Witch, so here is little trick. When you are facing an opponent that CHEATS like the Witch does, your best bet is to cheat right back by exploiting some AI flaw, more on that later. The Witch has a very set pattern. Part 1: She appears, waits a few seconds, then casts one of three spells: Blue heat-seeking balls, Blue Tornados, or the Rain of hearts. The Key to this battle is NOT letting her cast those spells. If you get a quick slash on her the Second she appears, she cant get'em off and you get to do extra damage. Part 2: After her "appear and Attack" she will disappear and cast one several "mega-spells" These you can learn to dodge with some practice, But the one that does the most damage is the "Rings of Death" attack. In this one, Several Massive rings appear and Fire shoots up, If you are in the wrong place you can lose HALF of your Health. The safest place to be is right in the center of the rings, you can dodge it else where, but if you can make it to the middle, that is where to be. After her Mega Spell, she will go right back into Part 1, So, as soon as her Mega Spell ends, you have to find her and attack before she can get off her Part 1 Spell again, THIS is where EXPLOITING her AI comes into PLAY: A: Because the Camera is Set for this battle, the worst place for the Witch to appear is the lower, left-hand side of the screen. When she appears their and starts firing hearts all over, you are going to takes some damage. B: The Witch (Because of her AI) will appear as far away from Mugen as possible. If you are way up at the top, she will appear at the bottom (which is bad) and vise versa (which is good). Therefore, you Must "OWN" the lower part of the screen. If you are always in that lower left-hand section, she won't appear there. She will be forced to appear in the upper left/right hand part, Because it takes her a second to appear (you can see sparks for a few second), and a few more to cast her spell, if you "Control" where she is going to appear (by exploiting her AI), you can almost ALWAYS stop her Part 1 spell, which saves you a ton of Health. But don't hang out Too Far to the bottom of the screen, you want to be almost in the middle (You should be able to quick dodge the Rings of Death with only 2 steps up), but be just far enough down to make her appear in front of you (i.e. near the top). Just watch map as her Mega Spell starts to end, OWN the bottom of the screen, and DON'T GET GREEDY. If you don't stop her Part one Spell, just get two quick shots in and head back to the Lower center of the screen and prepare for the Rings of Death mega spell, it always comes at the worst time Also, keep dying until you get the health time 2 or times 4 and you should be ok. Also use the Western Sword, your weapons also get recharged from Time to time too so go for the kill. *End of An Illuminati's strategy* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Strategy by Dead_Orion* Dead_Orion Posted 5/2/2006 5:45:17 AM hrmm...i was going to write a topic on this, but i got lazy and was beat to it. oh well, just have some stuff to add, okay a lot of stuff. i don't disagree with anything the op said but i don't think you really need to worry about exploiting where she spawns to thoroughly destroy her. i also dont think you need to worry about dying to get your health increased (supposedly there is a screen to notify you of this as you continue or something but i haven't encountered it). your standard health should suffice. the key to beating the witch is avoiding her attacks, so that's mostly what im adding to the original post. the witch has two attack patterns, character spells and field spells (which the op referred to as mega spells). i'll call them field spells because they blow up large portions of the map with fireballs. CHARACTER SPELLS (there are four of these) First of all, let me point out that while the witch is present on the map she will cast these spells given time and always has three yellow pillars surrounding her. As the op mentioned, you need to get in quick when she appears to prevent her from using these spells. Getting nailed by the yellow pillars as you rush in not only drains your health, but stunts your movement as well, so avoiding them is key. If you dont strike her in time once she appears, she will cast one of the following spells: 1. Blue Pillars - this is similar to the yellow pillars surrounding her except that there are many of them and they move freely around the map. this can be a pain, but if you are close to her, you might as well attack to get her to disappear. often you can get the spell to stop before the pillars reach her (and you). 2. Blue Fireballs - this is definitely my most hated attack of hers. Aside from doing good damage, the fireballs stun you which can get you hit by field spells quite easily if you are trying to avoid both at the same time. this 'pick your poison' situation occurs because the fireballs often linger on the screen after the witch disappears and casts her field spell. If she casts this, try to hit her a couple of times to make her disappear, avoid the fireballs, and prey that you dont have to choose between getting hit by a fireball or a field spell regardless of where you're standing. 3. Heart Attack - she fires a series of hearts that radiate outwards as they hit the ground. try to get in close and pound her to avoid this as you probably wont get hit standing by them if you're standing right next to her. 4. Flamethrower - this looks like a yoga flame. she basically breathes fire at you or shoots it out of her wand (i couldnt really tell). this attack sucks because you have no chance if she does this right in your face as you are rushing in. fortunately the damage is not that much, so just give up your attack and return to the middle to prepare for her field spell. FIELD SPELLS Everytime the witch disappears she will cast a field spell. when she begins to disappear you want to return to the middle of the screen (use the map as your reference). She has varied field spells which all cause magical fireballs to shoot from the ground. the similar thing about all the field spells is that there is a circle of light that appears on the ground immediately before a fireball launches up from that spot. so the basic idea is to never be standing over those circles. dont pay attention to the fireballs themselves, as they can be deceptive. just dont have a foot inside the circles of light and you should be fine. 1. Ring of Fire - this is the field spell she will cast most often and can be the most devastating. this is the main reason you always want to be in the center of the map as she starts her field spell. If you are in the center, you'll avoid the whole thing easily. If for some reason, you're not able to get to the center of the screen, don't panic. Think of the attack as a series of rings radiating outwards. If the rings were numbered, you could think about it as rings 1,3,5,7, etc... attacking you then rings 2,4,6,8,etc... attacking you. so if you're stuck on the outside portion of the map when she does this, just walk back and forth between even and odd rings, avoiding the lit up circles. if you get hit by this, you will often be nailed again as you fall down by the next ring so try to prevent this at all costs. 2. Flame Columns - this works similarly to the fire rings except that the fireballs shoot up in alternating rows. there is not a sweet spot that i know of to easily avoid this, basically you just want to walk up and down between rows. make sure your feet are not touching the circles of light and you should be fine. once you get the rhythm of this attack down it is not as hard to avoid as it seems. 3. Flame Wave - this is basically a wave of fireballs that flows in one direction. there are two ways of avoiding this. the simple one is to simply run around the wave, get to the outside of it, and let it pass by you. if you are in the path of the wave, you can just wait for the lit circles to appear right in front of your feet, then run past the wave as the lit circles disappear, letting the wave essentially pass right through you. 4. Close-In Fire - okay i need a better name for this. but basically the fireballs move from the outside of the map inwards towards you. If you are in the middle of the map (like you should be) avoiding this attack is easy. just wait for the fire to close in and move outside of it just before it appears under your feet. that's a poor explanation but basically you just want to wait for it to approach you and dart past it as it closes in on you. FIGHTING THE WITCH As soon as a field spell ends and the witch appears, use the map to locate her quickly and strike her ASAP. As the op mentioned, getting to her quick will thwart her character spells and let you score a couple extra hits. Once you get a feeling for her field spells, you should be able to avoid those 90% of the time, so whether or not she gets her character spells off will probably determine your success. When you do get in close to attack her, i would recommend using R1 to auto-target her. It can significantly improve the accuracy on the final few hits of your combo - so you won't be swinging wildly into space right next to her. Show restraint. the witch will often disappear before you get the last hit or two of your combo in. If you feel like this is going to happen, stop your combo. there's no reason to be swinging your sword after she begins teleporting away - as this will only prevent you from returning to the center of the map before her field spell. Use your music tracks to your advantage. I recommend using master swordsman FUJIKAWA for this battle, as it does seem to decrease the amount of damage you take from her attacks in my minor testing. In any event, you'll probably want the extra defense for the first part of the stage where you have to fight all those manakin puppets anyway. If for some reason you dislike the combo chains of that track, you can always use it while the witch is attacking you with magic and swap tracks right as you get in to attack her. Choose your weapons wisely. The correct weapons can make this battle much easier. I would suggest the Western Sword and Gladius considering the stuff you're likely to have access to at that point in the game. The western sword does noticeably more damage than your normal sword and has good durability as far as equippable weapons go. The gladius flat out owns her. It does big damage quickly and it's durability is adequate considering how quickly it eats her lifebar. I would suggest switching to the Western Sword once her lifebar reaches the yellow. Then use the gladius once her life is down to the last bar or two of yellow. You should be able to finish her off quickly with that gladius. And be smart about changing weapons. Look to swap during a field spell that you are safe from (like standing in the middle during the Ring of Fire). It would suck to get pummeled while trying to switch weapons... But if for some reason you dont have these weapons, you can honestly beat her with just your normal weapon without much trouble, it just takes patience. (However, if you have them, I would suggest holding off on using your extra weapons until you figure out how to damage her and avoid her. No sense in wasting them early on if you're going to die anyway). Once you can adequately avoid her attacks, you shouldnt have too much trouble beating her. Sure i got obliterated the first few times i tried her until i learned her attack patterns and what was going on in the battle. But once i figured her out, she seemed much more beatable. When i took her down, my life was still in the green, only got hit twice, both times by that blue fireball attack. So it is possible to go from thinking she's invincible to doiminating her in the span of ten minutes. If anyone is writing a FAQ for this game and wants to borrow anything I mentioned, feel free, just credit me. I would even be willing to rewrite this strategy for a FAQ if someone wants me to. *end of Dead Orion's strategy* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of chapter rewards: Track-Falling Star Weapon-Magic Staff Chapter 6: The Rose Room English title: Flowers Blooming in Profusion For those who want to know, the load screen says "El tiempo vuela como una flecha" Must be a very easy sentence because it easily translates through Babelfish as "Time flies like an arrow" A long chapter. It's sunset so beetle wrestling, the eating contest, and dojo are closed. You start out in a marsh with plenty of enemies. Explore the paths to get item boxes, then pay the toll. You will then be in a mountain area. It's a linear path for the most part, but make sure to explore before completely leaving any areas. Recovery items are sparse, so watch out. Usually long walkways lead to side areas with recovery items, so take them if you need it, but don't use the items unless you have to. You can always backtrack if you get low on health later. But if you see a jumpy tile (I lied, that monkey chapter wasn't the last you would see of them), go back and get any recovery items because you can't go back down later. You get a pretty tough boss battle after making it through this arduous path. Boss: Baraishi This is one of those bosses that feels like it should be easy but it's not. He has a pretty predictable pattern, so watch for it and technique counter. He'll also use tornados which you cannot counter and they will knock you down. When he loses a lot of life, you'll see a weird inverted-color counter mode. I don't know how this works yet, but if you mess up something, he'll go into a Hyper mode of his own. Sometimes he also does a triple illusion, triple tornado attack when low on life. Remember to have a good weapon and track and use them once you feel confident enough to beat him. End of chapter reward: Track-Jumble Song Weapon-Ibara Chapter 7: The End For End English title: A Fierce Battle Hell... I'm not bothering with this level of hell... All I'll tell you is set an hour AT THE LEAST to finish this level. There's no tricks, just a bunch of dead-end forks in the road you've come to know and love. Just don't leave an area until you've checked each path if you want to get more treasure chests. Other than that, it's just floor after floor after floor of hell. Pretty much all of the enemies you've fought throughout the game are present here. Get used to baiting technique counters because that's the fastest way you're getting into Hyper mode which in turn is the fastest way you'll get out of here. You could always run past enemies which will definitely make this faster and net you a good time bonus. It's just going to be a little hard because there's narrow corridors everywhere, so watch your back. It also doesn't help that there are many many toll booths along the way so you are forced to fight enemies to get kobans, thus wasting a lot of time. So unless you have a severe case of wannakilleverythingism or toomuchtimeonyourhandsism, I recommend just running straight to the exit of every area, finding out how much kobans you need, then just collect the bare minimum (usually six)... Save your time and sanity. Although the net amount of kobans you get at the end may be a lot, it's not worth it. Just make money by smartly playing beetle wrestling, it's a lot faster. Oh, and if you really want to kill everything to get into Trance mode and hopefully find weapons, remember to have a lot of time on your hands... Boss: Mecha-Higumadon Ehh... some find this hard, but it's not... The only thing is that he does a lot of damage if you let him hit you... just attack and stop when you think he'll attack and dodge accordingly. Don't try technique counters because, while it's possible, it's not worth it. Attack him regularly and go into Hyper mode that way. For attacks, he spits out bombs which you can outrun, though the smoke does make it slightly hard to see where you're going after the first few go off. He'll swipe at you if you're close and crush you in the corner. He'll also slap the floor multiple times and end with cupping his hands, so don't run up to him as soon as he's done slapping. End of chapter reward: Track-Flat Line VIIb. Jin --------- Chapter 0: Easy Come, Easy Go English name: Ships Come and Ships Go Straightforward, just kill. After you beat the enemies, that's the end of this chapter. End of chapter reward: Nothing Chapter 1: Close Crows English name: Once in a Lifetime You start out in town. Do the usual stuff and go out to the field. After Nochiyu saves Jin and many cutscenes later, you're outside Nochiyu's cabin and must kill 28 enemies. You then head out to Tsurumaki Manor. It's a straight- forward path there. The only fork just has ramen, which is to the left. Once there, you go through the interior of the manor until you encounter Worso. He'll ditch you and you have to fight 5 enemies. They like to block but if you keep slashing, some attacks will eventually get through. They fall pretty quickly when you use Hyper mode. After that, head out the exit and the stage ends. End of chapter reward: Nothing Chapter 2: Lousy Liar English name: Waiting to Pounce Kill 15 enemies, then stock up and head out. You are led to Mt. Sengen. It's a straight path for the most part. Flat Line it if you have the Flat Line track from beating Mugen's game. Boss: Rei He won't fight back but will block everything. Don't use Flat Line on him and just slash at him for a while and then a cutscene will occur. Boss: Hanaoka You have to kill a few easy enemies before he actually fights you but once he does, he goes down with one Hyper mode. End of chapter reward: Track-Home is where Weapon-Hanaoka's the heart is Katana Chapter 3: Wicked Weather English title: Gods of Heaven and Earth You arrive inside the main gate at Izumo Palace and you're greeted by goons. Kill everything up to the main door and go off to the left and right for item boxes and more enemies. When you're done, go to the main door and pay the toll to get in. In the lobby, kill more enemies. There's some boxes upstairs, but don't go up yet if you want to take a detour to kill more enemies and get more money. Go into the room with the open door in the back of the lobby for a box of money. Then go into doors on the east of the side of lobby that require you to press Circle to go in. If you took the south door, you'll have to kill enemies and you'll also fight those enemies that block a lot. It's not too hard, just annoying. Then go up the stairs in the lobby now and collect the item boxes. Go through the toll door to fight the boss. Boss: Bulykin Rossia I find it easy to just slash at him and block whenever you see him spin. Whenever he spins, he'll either shoot projectiles or a shockwave. To ensure you block it, hold the lock-on button and then block. This should make a hard fight into an easy one. End of chapter reward: Track-Shira-kawa-yobune Weapon-Wasp Stinger Chapter 4: Old Owl English title: Forbidden Place Stock up in town and head out. It's a straight path for each screen so just Flat Line your way through. The healing items and Trance mode chances you get will keep your health up sufficiently. Boss: Rei Don't waste Flat Line, just like before. Only this time, it's like Oni and you just keep attacking until a notice pops up. Then press Triangle+Circle (or Square+Circle) and you win. Easy boss, easy chapter. A fast level to use for beetle gambling if you want to use Jin for it. End of chapter reward: Weapon-Rei's Staff Chapter 5: Tagger's Tagging English title: Lost in a Haze You aren't in town so you must use shop shutters. I really recommend that if you didn't buy the Gladius yet, do it now and equip it. Don't use it until the boss. It's a straight path to the end so just Flat Line it. The toll booth is a bit pricey so be sure to fight. Boss: Great Oni It's a bit hard because the fire will not let up while you slash at the head, so bring a strong weapon like Gladius to end it fast. Flat Line doesn't work for some reason so don't try it. Well, you can use it anyway but the pseudo-Hyper mode won't kick in. If you don't have Gladius or anything, it's still possible to win with even your default weapon, just dodge the fire and slash at the head between safe periods when the statues are changing colors. Boss: BIG Mugen (Japanese narrator sounds like he says Mega Mugen which has better alliteration going for it) Not very hard. The floating head takes damage, so attack that. It'll run away with each slash, so just keep at it. Only getting stepped on by Mugen will damage you so that's all you have to worry about avoiding. Avoid that and the only trouble you'll have is waiting to get out from between Mugen's legs. Interpret that any way you want. End of chapter reward: Track-Salty Snow Chapter 6: A Dubious Deal English title: Moonlit Nocturne Pretty straightforward chapter. It's sunset so beetle wrestling, the eating contest, and dojo are closed. Stock up and start the mission. Just run around this big boxed area and kill every enemy. There a few boxes with health and weapon restoration items. After you're done getting 20 koban (or don't feel like fighting anymore), run to the north and you'll see another toll booth. After you pass, you'll go through a long straightaway. More boxes with items and one with money. When you get to the end of the straightaway, exit the area and you'll get another cutscene. Boss: Gekkou Don't forget you have a guard button. Attack and block like every two or three slashes. She'll then attack with a powerful attack. You can block each and every one of her attacks as long as you are facing her direction. Try to use a slow move, usually Triangle does the trick, and get into counter mode. Hopefully you will have a red circle so you may use a technique counter. This is very useful and whittles down her life quickly. Her attacks are very powerful, so don't be frustrated if you die a few times. Just block when you see an attack coming and be patient and trade hits with her. Flat Line is a bad choice for her because she counter attacks pretty quickly and she'll block a lot, rendering your small burst of speed useless as well as a drain on your health. Remember you can guard and this fight should be no problem. End of chapter rewards: Track-Lila-bie (lilas chill) Weapon-Izayoi Chapter 7: The End for End English title: A Fierce Battle See Mugen's section for this level. Boss: Higumadon See Mugen's section again. It's the same fight except this one has fire breath which you can block until it's over and it doesn't have bombs. There's also fireballs that follow you which you can outrun. End of chapter reward: Track-Unbelievable Thing VIIc. Worso ----------- Chapter 1: Walk in the Woods English title: All Things in Nature You start out in front of the three doors to shops, so stock up on what you need. Rei's Staff is a solid choice at this point and you should have it from Jin's story. Go forward while killing monkeys and take the right side of the fork for an item box. Go to the left side of the fork to continue. From here on is a linear path to the end. By now, you should be able to handle it. Boss: Bear God Easy. Just run around, attack. Any weapon and track will do. It doesn't block, but I doubt it knows how to. A few Hyper modes will do it in quickly. It's faster to try for a regular Hyper mode instead of a technique counter one. It rarely interrupts you if you try for a regular, so go for it. You can try for technique counters, but it attacks slowly so you'll spend more time than you have to if you try technique counters. End of chapter reward: Track-No Home Go Home Chapter 2: Word of Warning English title: Self-contradiction After you're little 30 man killing spree, the level is Chapter 1 all over again, except the monkeys are replaced by Black Tengus. It's the same up until you reach Nochiyu's hut. After your talk with Nochiyu, you're outside her hut but the path you took last time is fenced off. Go the other way and you're suddenly thrust into battle with Jin. Boss: Jin Hard to figure out at first, but mash your parry. Mash Circle until Jin hits you and counter with Square. He'll attack pretty quickly after your counter, so start mashing Circle after your counterattack. Keep trading hits and you'll eventually come out a winner. Just mashing Circle alone works too. After the battle, you're next to four item boxes. Two have money and the other two have a leaf and ramen. There's nothing to the left, so go right. Thrust into battle once more! Boss: Mugen Goes down easier than Jin. He doesn't counter as much, but he does like to jump backwards while being comboed which makes hitting him a bit hard. He blocks a lot, but it's no big deal. Just Hyper mode and Technique Counter and he goes down fast. I find that if you don't let up with attacks, he won't stop blocking and some attacks will get through. Again, nothing to the left. Go right and another four item boxes sit in your path. Again, two have money and the other two have a leaf and ramen. You meet up with Rei, talk, and he leaves. Worso senses the Black Tengus and calls them out. They appear alongside Kunnenishi who has betrayed you. Boss: Kunnenishi You can't hit Kunnenishi. She'll teleport when you get close. Just keep killing Black Tengus and they'll eventually stop coming. At that point, run up to Kunnenishi and attack with anything and you win. After a long talk, Worso gives Kunnenishi her comeuppance. End of chapter reward: Nothing Chapter 3: Bloody Blade English title: Elusive It's night time, so beetle wrestling, the eating contest, and dojo are closed. The shops are still open, so stock up. Once you exit town, you're still in town for some reason and now have to kill 30 people. Now for a boss gauntlet, you get a riceball at the start of each one, but still try to conserve health. It seems you start over at the boss you died at should you lose to one of them which is a nice thing. Boss: Zenbanosuke Kurata Seems you have to fight this dude from Mugen's story again. Not terribly hard, but he'll slash back at you during your comboes. Boss: Hanaoka Not hard, he pretty much goes down in one Technique Counter. Boss: Oni Tsubaki This dude again... You only have to beat him once though. Boss: Onis You fight these guys three at a time and they should consider a career in basketball. They have a habit of knocking you out of Hyper mode (that's not to say Hyper mode isn't effective) but they generally fall easy, even if you just recklessly slash. Try to deal with them one-on-one. There's nine in total: White Water Black Earth Blue Wood Green Wood Yellow Earth Silver Copper White Earth Purple Fire End of chapter reward: Track-Dawn Raid Chapter 4: Morning More. Morning Less English title: Dying in a Foreign Land After a talk with Nochiyu, you walk off to kill 30 more guys in town. Oh god, Edo Castle again. You know what you're in for, so just tough it out. Seems to be Mugen's route, but it doesn't matter because either one is stupidly long. Boss: Antonioni Pretty hard... Much harder than the bears... He has quite a big range of attacks compared to other enemies and even bosses. Weave around him and watch out for attacks. Pretty much all of them can be avoided just by not being anywhere near him. He's pretty hard to make flinch (I don't think he flinches at all) so dodge his attacks, attack when he's open, and use Hyper mode sparingly or at least block during Hyper mode when you're expecting him to do a slash, but anything else will bust through your guarding. Attacks: Three slashes - basic, just move around it or block. Whirlwind - Hurts alot if you're standing next to him. So don't be. Also appears to be unblockable. Slashes + energy wave - hurts as well, just don't get hit. Ground slam - He'll jump up and slam the ground which will hurt you unless you jump as well. Even if you're blocking, this attack will hit you if you are on the ground. This is probably one of the more important attacks to watch out for. Charging tackle - This is somewhat hard to avoid, but still possible. It appears to be unblockable. Energy charge - He will charge up and then glow either blue, green, or red. Blue speeds him up, green will heal him for the whole time he's glowing so try not to let him get the most out of it, and red appears to make his attacks stronger. Beat him? Good. Since you already beat the bears, you just see them getting beaten so you don't need to worry about that. The ending is pretty much the same as the other two except with stuff added after the credits. End of chapter reward: Track-Kick in da Game ------------------ VIII. Weapon list | ------------------ (in order it appears in the shop list) When you obtain a weapon from completing a chapter, it appears in the shop list, but you can't buy it because you already have it. Weird, but very good for you because they're very expensive. Weapons obtained from Trance mode however, you must buy. The attack and durability ratings are from the Japanese version of the game. They were removed from the American version. It is a 5-star rating system. Zero stars in attack rating does not necessarily mean it does no damage at all, it's just it's very weak. Furthermore, five stars in durability rating does not mean it's indestructible, it's just it will last you a long time. Typhoon Swell Used by: Mugen Price: None, does not appear in shop list Attack rating: Zero (guessing, not in shop list so it doesn't say) Durability rating: Infinity (not a real rating) Notes: Mugen's default sword, must be kept at all times. Indestructible, hence the infinity rating on durability. Jin's Taito (not sure on the spelling, the text is hard to read) Used by: Jin, duh. Price: None, does not appear in shop list Attack rating: Zero (guessing again) Durability rating: Infinity (not a real rating) Notes: Jin's default weapon, must be kept at all times. Indestructible, hence the infinity rating on durability. Worso's Katana Used by: Worso, duh. Price: None, does not appear in shop list Attack rating: Zero (guessing again) Durability rating: Infinity (not a real rating) Notes: Worso's default weapon, must be kept at all times. Indestructible, hence the infinity rating on durability. Wasp Stinger Used by: Jin Price: 30,000 Attack rating: Zero Durability rating: Five Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Three with Jin. The equip screen typos it in the Japanese version as "Waps Stinger" but it is correct in the buy screen. The American version calls it Sting of Wasp when you first obtain it at the end of Jin's chapter but it is called Wasp Stinger in the shop. Ibara Used by: Jin Price: 60,000 Attack rating: Zero Durability rating: Five Notes: Obtained by compelting Chapter Six with Mugen. Izayoi Used by: Jin Price: 60,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Five Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Six with Jin. Hanaoka's Katana Used by: Jin Price: 20,000 Attack rating: Zero Durability rating: Three Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Two with Jin. Uninscribed Katana Used by: Jin Price: 800 Attack rating: One Durability rating: Five Notes: Available for purchase at the start of the game. Muramasa Used by: Jin Price: 42,000 Attack rating: Four Durability rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Jin's Chapter Three. Kotetsu Used by: Jin Price: 3,600 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Four Notes: Available for purchase at the start of the game. Takemitsu Used by: Jin Price: 400 Attack rating: One Durability rating: Five Notes: Available for purchase at the start of the game. Oni Tachi Used by: Worso Price: 200,000 Attack rating: unknown Durability rating: unknown Notes: I obtained it in the American version by completing Trance mode in Worso's Chapter Two. Honebami Used by: Unknown Price: 100,000 Attack rating: unknown Durability rating: unknown Notes: I don't have this in the Japanese version yet, Shador42 has given me this information. Uninscribed Tachi Used by: Mugen, Worso Price: 1,200 Attack rating: One Durability rating: Three Notes: Available for purchase at the start of the game. According to Shador42, it is labled as Ainu Tachi in the equip screen. Western Sword Used by: Mugen, Worso Price: 1,200 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Three Notes: Available for purchase at the start of the game. Well balanced sword, a recommended buy early in the game. A good substitute for your default sword and at a bargain price. Golden Sword Used by: Worso Price: 120,000 Attack rating: Five Durability rating: Two Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Worso's Chapter One, second area. What I mean by second area is when in Trance mode, you fight three monkeys at a time instead of the previous area's two. I obtained it in the American version by completing Trance mode a second time in Mugen's Chapter Seven, in the courtyard before entering Edo Castle. Pretty much a more expensive Gladius. First submitted by Shador42 before I obtained it. Gladius Used by: Mugen, Jin Price: 20,000 Attack rating: Four Durability rating: One Notes: Available for purchase at the start of the game. Powerful sword that's a recommended early buy. Use only for boss battles since it breaks very quickly, but can do a lot damage in a short amount of time. Trance Sword Used by: All Price: 80,000 Attack rating: Zero Durability rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter One, in the area after the shops. I don't know exactly what it does. It could either make Trance modes more frequent or if you have it equipped during Trance mode then you get rare weapons or something. I got the Honebami with this equipped in Jin's chapter four when I got Kogetsu in the same spot last time I played it. Perhaps you get more weapons when you replay a level. Trying to duplicate this in the Japanese version, I kept getting Kogetsu, so I'm confused as hell about this sword. Flamberge Used by: Jin, Worso Price: 3,600 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Jin's Chapter Five. Frost Sword Used by: Jin, Worso Price: 45,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter Four, second area. A well balanced sword. Like the Western Sword for Mugen, this is a good substitute for Jin's default sword, albeit much more pricey. Firebird Used by: Jin, Worso Price: 45,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Jin's Chapter Seven. Another well balanced sword. I don't know if there are elemental differences between Frost Sword and this. Battle Axe Used by: Mugen Price: 12,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: One Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter Three, first area. Gold Axe Used by: Mugen Price: 55,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Two Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter Four, third area, the one that's not side-scrolling like the area before it. Silver Axe Used by: Mugen Price: 45,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: One Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter One, in the area after the shops. Shotel Used by: Mugen, Worso Price: 2,800 Attack rating: One Durability rating: Five Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter Four, first area. Karasu Used by: Mugen, Worso Price: 32,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter One, in the area after you take the left fork. Jamadhar Used by: Mugen, Worso Price: 15,000 Attack rating: Five Durability rating: Zero Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter One, in the area with the shops. Breaks VERY FAST. Use it like the Gladius. Cobra Used by: Mugen, Worso Price: 28,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode a third time in Mugen's Chapter Seven, in the first tower of the castle. Khora Used by: Mugen Price: 2,400 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter Two, first area. Dragon Sword Used by: Mugen Price: 36,000 Attack rating: Three Durability rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter Seven. A bit better than the Western Sword, but a lot more expensive. Magic Staff Used by: Mugen Price: 50,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Five Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Five with Mugen. Once you get this, throw out your old Western Sword, because this is just as powerful, but a lot more durable. Rei's Staff Used by: Worso Price: 40,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Five Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Four with Jin. Oddly Worso uses it, but Jin is the one who obtains it. Thief. Anyway, it recovers a small amount of health when you go into Hyper mode with it equipped. Nice Stick Used by: Mugen Price: 180,000 Attack Rating: Two Durability Rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode a second time in Mugen's Chapter Four. I obtained it in the American version by completing Trance mode in Worso's Chapter One, in the area before the green toll booth in the cave. First submitted by Shador42 before I obtained it. Laser Samurai Used by: All Price: 150,000 Attack rating: Three Durability rating: Five Notes: Ouch, better start saving up. The shop gets this pretty late in the game, so stocking up money for this one from the get-go is a good idea. Laser Samurai Neo Used by: Mugen Price: 500,000 Attack rating: Four Durability rating: Two Notes: Super ouch, even more expensive. I say it's not worth it just because of the poor durability rating compared to the regular Laser Samurai. Use Gladius instead, it's only one star less in durability, but it's a lot less expensive. Seiryu-to Used by: Mugen Price: 85,000 Attack rating: Three Durability rating: One Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode a second time in Jin's Chapter Seven. Sabre Used by: Jin Price: 800 Attack rating: One Durability rating: Five Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance Mode in Jin's Chapter One, in the first area where you must kill 28 enemies. Ja-to Used by: Mugen Price: 90,000 Attack rating: Four Durability rating: One Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance Mode in Mugen's Chapter Three, in the area where you fight the Black Tengus. Identical to the Gladius in rating, but is far more pricey. Kogetsu Used by: Jin Price: 3,200 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Two Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Jin's Chapter Four, first area. First submitted by Shador42 before I got it. Francesca Used by: Mugen, Worso Price: 62,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Four Notes: I obtained it by completing Trace mode a fourth time in Mugen's Chapter Seven, in the tower with all the Black Tengus after the bridge. Kukuri Used by: Worso Price: 8,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Two Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Jin's Chapter One, in the area after entering the burning manor. Barong Used by: Worso Price: 8,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Two Notes: I obtained it in the American version by completing Trance mode in Worso's Chapter Three, in the "kill 30 enemies" area. Makiri Used by: Worso Price: 600 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Three Notes: Available for purchase at the start of the game. Forcas Used by: Mugen Price: 7,400 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Four Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Mugen's Chapter Six, first area. Bokuto Used by: All Price: 300 Attack rating: One Durability rating: Five Notes: Available for purchase at the start of the game. Fake Swell Used by: All Price: 15,000 Attack rating: Zero Durability rating: Four Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode in Jin's Chapter Zero. Now Jin can use the Typhoon Swell, albeit a fake one. Mugen doesn't seem to be above using counterfeit products either. Susa-no-o Used by: Jin Price: 350,000 Attack rating: Four Durability rating: Four Notes: Obtained from Trance mode. Very good. Start saving up. Nagadosu Used by: All Price: 50,000 Attack rating: Two Durability rating: Three Notes: I obtained it by completing Trance mode a third time in one of Jin's chapters. My computer was reformatted and this guide had some data corruption in the backup process. This part was the only thing that was unfixable and I can't remember what chapter I got this sword in. If I had to guess, it was probably Chapter Seven, going by the previous sword notes. --------------- IX. Track list | --------------- (in order it appears in the shop list) Like weapons, anytime you obtain a track by completing a level, it appears in the shop list, but you can't buy it because you already have it... Weird, crazy game. Good for you as some are very expensive. Pretty much the tracks in the shop at the start of the game are the only ones you have to buy and you get every other track by beating all chapters with all characters. KUWAGATANK Price: None, does not appear in shop list Notes: You start the game with this track Strange Flower Price: 1,500 Notes: Available from the beginning for purchase. Back Side 540 Price: None, does not appear in shop list Notes: You start the game with this track Tenmoukaikai-isonishite-mosarazu Price: 1,500 Notes: Available from the beginning for purchase. Hot Blast in the North Price: 3,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter One with Mugen. Jumble Song Price: 12,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Six with Mugen. Once you have extended comboes, four of the final Triangle attacks are the four attacks from your character's Counter mode. Shira-kawa-yobune Price: 3,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Three with Jin. Titled "Fast Asleep" in the official soundtrack. Fox Trap Price: 3,600 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Two with Mugen. Jaguar Batter Price: 5,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Four with Mugen. Salty Snow Price: 8,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Five with Jin. Bird of Passage Price: 12,000 Notes: Available from the beginning for purchase. Extends Hyper mode. From my testing, it extends it to about the same amount (maybe shorter) as a hyper mode from technique countering. It doesn't appear to affect the length of hyper mode during technique counters. Home is where the heart is. Price: 3,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Two with Jin. Increases tension gain rate. Titled "Those Who Believe Their Hometown Is Distant" in the official soundtrack. Dawn Raid Price: 25,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Three with Worso. Increases money gained. First submitted to me before by Shador42 before I got it. Sword Master FUJIKAWA Price: 23,000 Notes: Available from the beginning for purchase. Raises defense. Lila-bie (lilas chill) Price: 36,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Six with Jin. "Makes enemy ranged attacks useless." Unless it applies to more than projectiles, it's a rather useless effect. The only projectiles I've seen are thrown by black tengus and monkeys when you run away far enough. Titled "Freezing Lilas" in the official soundtrack. Falling Star Price: 10,000 Notes: Obtained by compelting Chapter Five with Mugen. Raises weapon durability. No Home Go Home Price: 80,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter One with Worso. Increases tension gain rate. Flat Line Price: 76,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Seven with Mugen. Allows you to do a weaker, shorter version of Hyper mode (screen turns blue instead of red) upon hitting an enemy (blocked or not). The catch is that each time this psuedo-Hyper mode is activated, you lose a little life. Unbelievable Thing Price: 51,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Seven with Jin. Kick in da Game Price: 98,000 Notes: Obtained by completing Chapter Four with Worso. First submitted to me by Shador42 before I got it. ------------- X. Item list | ------------- Item shop items: You may only buy one of these per chapter. There are two stores that sell these in town. I shall call the item shop in the middle of town Store 1 and the item shop in near the south end of town Store 2. You will automatically go to Store 1 if you enter the item shop from outside of town through a shutter. The effects of these items only last until the chapter you bought them in ends. *Rock Candy* Raises defense Store 1: 500 Store 2: 1200 *Wooden Bear* Raises attack Store 1: 2400 Store 2: 500 *Good Luck Charm* Helps you get more money Store 1: 800 Store 2: 400 *Chick Doll* Raises tension Store 1: 1200 Store 2: 2400 Items from treasure chests in the field: *Shishkabob* Gives you a white glow. Recovers a little health. *Rice balls/Onigiri* Gives you a white glow. Recovers some health. *Ramen* Gives you a white glow. Fully restores health. *Leaf* Gives you a purple glow. Repairs any broken weapons you are carrying. *Mushroom* Gives you a blue glow. Maxes Tension -------------------------- XI. Secrets & Unlockables | -------------------------- Play as Worso To play as Worso, you must beat the game with either Mugen or Jin. Deathmatch mode Beating the game not only unlocks Worso, but also a deathmatch mode. You select it from the main menu. You and a second player select a character (you may both select the same character if desired, you'll both be a different color) and fight each other. The controls are exactly the same as in the main game. The catch is you cannot choose tracks, weapons, or items and you cannot see your combo tree. Matches are one round and they tend to go quickly, even if both of you know what you're doing. From my time with it, Worso seems to have insane attack power and can cut down Mugen or Jin quickly. ------------- XII. Credits | ------------- *Bandai for making the game as well as their website for the game at http://www.champloo-game.com where I obtained names for characters before the English release. *GameFAQs for hosting this *Gamespot for their preview information of the game. *Freakmasta2001 of the GameFAQs Samurai Champloo boards for the official spelling of Worso before the American version was released. *A member of the GameFAQs Samurai Champloo boards who's name I forgot for explaining Hyper mode within Trance mode. *Dead_Orion of the GameFAQs Samurai Champloo for being a big encyclopedia for this game before the American version was released. *Shador42 for a few weapons and tracks that I didn't have before he submitted them. --------------------- XIII. What's Missing | --------------------- Pretty much the a complete weapon list is the only thing that is missing. I don't know of any definitive list, however the game is easy to beat without getting every weapon. Most weapons aren't really worth getting so it's no big deal if all are not discovered.