SHINOBIDO: TALES OF THE NINJA / SHINOBIDO: HOMURA Comprehensive Walkthrough, Controls & Movelists, Information Guide and Secrets/Codes Guide v1.0 Authored by Zephranthes, 09.13.10 Disclaimer: This guide contains spoilers from Shinobido: Way of the Ninja. Then again, so does Shinobido: Tales of the Ninja since its a psuedo-sequel which summarizes the plot of Way of the Ninja almost immediately. Read at your own risk, I'm not spoiler-tagging everything. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ TABLE OF CONTENTS ///////////////////////////////////////////// +Introduction +What's Different From Shinobido: Way of the Ninja? +Main Menu +Mission Controls -Basic Controls -Item Actions -Movement Actions -Stealth Actions -Combat Actions +Abnormal Status Conditions -Negative Character Status -Status Ailments -Enhanced Status +Alert Modes and Enemy Vigilance -Presence Icons -Vigilance +Chimatsuri-Sappo -What is Chimatsuri-Sappo? -Chimatsuri-Sappo Controls and Advice +Chimatsuri-Sappo Techniques -Asuka Chimatsuri-Sappo Techniques -Other Chimatsuri-Sappo Techniques +Ninja Tools -Grapple Hooks -Throwing Weapons -Potions and Drugs -Throwing Spheres -Sushi -Land Mines -Ninpo Scrolls -Gadgets -Mushrooms +Standard Enemies and NPCs +Unique Characters +Traps & Hazards -Basic Floor Traps -Hazardous Smoke Traps -Beneficial Smoke Traps -Other Traps -Hazards +Techniques and Tips +Difficulty Modes +Mission Types +Mission Points +Shinobido: Tales of the Ninja Story Mode Walkthrough +Extra Missions +Playable Characters & Movelists -Asuka Ninja -Ninja Clans -Swordsmen -Archers -Riflemen -Samurai Generals -Feudal Lords -Other Characters -Special Characters +Glitches & Bugs +Cheats +Exploits +Single Mission Mode +Multiplayer Mode +Extra +Thanks and Legal Stuff \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ INTRODUCTION ///////////////////////////////////////////// Well, better late than never. The game was released in Europe in 2007 and its a shame that it still doesn't have a FAQ so here it is. (Imashime: Referring to the PS2 title "Shinobido: Imashime" or as it is known in the west, "Shinobido: Way of the Ninja". Imashime is quicker to write. Homura: This game. Same as Imashime, it's easier to refer to "Shinobido: Tales of the Ninja" as simply "Homura.") Shinobido, meaning "Way of the Ninja" or path of the shinobi is a stealth action game made by Acquire, relatively well known for their Tenchu and Samuraido (Way of the Samurai) series. Shinobido: Imashime is the first game in this two-part series, made for the Playstation 2 and only released in Asia and Europe. The game featured a custom mission editor, much like the ones from Tenchu: Shinobi Gaisen (JP released only), Tenchu 2 and Tenchu: Shinobi Taizen (aka Tenchu: Time of the Assassins.) You could use this editor to make one-shot missions with pre-determined item loadouts and enemy placement with customized level terrain and an objective that the player would have to complete. Shinobido: Homura (Way of the Ninja: Flame) is a PSP port of the Imashime game engine with a collection of developer-created mission editor levels tied together with a loose plot as a continuation of the PS2 title. Though it primarily abides by the limitations of Imashime's mission editor, it does feature some new enhancements (and deficiencies.) It also features a multiplayer mode that supports up to 4 players via WLAN. Last of all, Imashime and Homura can interface with each other using the respective game console devices and a USB cord to connect them in order to import missions from Imashime to Homura (but not vice versa.) This is a neat feature but due to the trimmed-down inventory system and the weak physics engine, the missions won't necessary play as intended without some foresight. Overall, fans of Imashime aren't necessarily going to enjoy Homura but its a pretty faithful port of the custom-mission engine that provides some great ninja stealth action on the go. Now, let's get started shall we? \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ WHAT'S DIFFERENT FROM 'SHINOBIDO: WAY OF THE NINJA'? ////////////////////////////////////////////////////// This section will only really be of interest to people who have played Imashime's mission editor mode since I'm not comparing Homura to Imashime's story mode. + An automap for every single mission...no more being utterly lost on those complicated maps! + A mission compass that directs you to objectives, just like in Imashime's story mode. + 'Retry' option in the pause menu to make restarting a mission much quicker. + 3 selectable difficulty modes and removal of the 100 point score cap (only on HARD MODE) + 36 playable characters. + New attack each for Goh and Kinu. + Adhoc Multiplayer Mode that supports custom missions. + Kidnapping targets don't auto-alert just from being picked up. + Slight changes to status ailment effects. + No more auto-kicking prone enemies. - Only 4 item slots. - No inventory. - Only one skybox for all tilesets. - No rain. - Character audio has been reduced greatly. - Simplified object physics. - No ragdoll physics. - Shoji doors are now indestructable. - Some Chimatsuri-Sappo techniques removed or altered to be faster. - Greatly reduced random item drop rate, no ingredient or scroll drops. - No high score name entry. - No Crazy Ninja mode. - No Japanese audio option. - All merchants look like Ichijo Merchant regardless of faction. - Enemies do not disarm land mines. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ MAIN MENU ///////////////////////////////////////////// [Story Mode] A single player campaign of over 60 missions and 36 playable characters. [Single Mission Mode] Play levels that you've imported from Shinobido: Way of the Ninja's Mission Editor but with Shinobido: Tales of the Ninja's enhancements. [Multiplayer Mode] Play Shinobido: Tales of the Ninja with up to three others over adhoc multiplayer. [Download] Import Shinobido: Way of the Ninja mission editor levels from your Playstation 2 via USB connection. [Options] Change game options: difficulty, controls, volume, save settings, etc. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ MISSION CONTROLS ///////////////////////////////////////////// =============== Basic Controls =============== -Analog: Movement (Walk/Run) -D-Pad: Use Item -Square: Attack/Draw -Triangle: Contextual Action -Circle(O): Draw/Sheathe Weapon -Cross(X): Jump -L Trigger: Hold for Target Mode, release and hold again quickly to switch targets. -R Trigger: Hold for Stealth Mode, makes you less visible. Tap to align the camera to your character. -Start: Pause Menu -Select: Toggle Automap -R+O: First Person Mode, items can be manually thrown and placed in this mode. ============= Item Actions ============= [Use Item] Press the corresponding direction on the d-pad to use an equipped item. -Many items can be manually aimed while in First Person Mode. -While in Target Mode, throwing objects will automatically be aimed at your current target. [Pick up Item or Object] Press triangle while near the item or object. Note that there are small objects and large objects. -Items will auto-stack with any that you already possess or automatically be placed in an empty item slot. Otherwise, you cannot pick up the item. -While carrying large objects, you'll be slowed and unable to perform most actions other than hopping and using items. -While carrying large objects, you're more vulnerable to heights and any damage recieved will cause you to drop the object. -People count as large objects, however they can only be picked up if they are dead or a kidnap/rescue target. [Throw Small Object] Press triangle while holding a small object to fling it. Can be done while in midair. -This will cause explosive objects to detonate. -Using your grapple hook or certain items while holding a small object can cause you to drop it safely. [Place Large Object] Press triangle while holding a large object to set it down carefully. -This will not cause explosive objects to detonate. -Using First Person Mode can help for precision object placement. [Throw Large Object] Press triangle + direction while holding a large object to heave it in that direction. -This will cause explosive objects to detonate. -You cannot throw large objects very far and throwing explosive objects on level ground will probably catch you in the explosion. [Auto-Grapple] Activate your grapple hook while not in Aiming Mode. It will automatically attach to the nearest ledge or wall (but not necessarily the one you wanted.) [Grapple Cancel] Press X while grappling to release the grapple. -This can be useful to intentionally fall short of your target and enter a ledge cling instead of exposing yourself by rolling onto the top of the place you grappled. [Grapple Attack] Manually aim and fire your grappling hook at an NPC to yank them off their feet and launch them towards you. -This doesn't alert an enemy but they may spot you while in midair or prone. -The place you aim on the target will affect their trajectory. [Autoaim] Throwing items (shuriken/spheres) will automatically target the nearest NPC when used without Target Mode. -This can be used to accurately hit enemies far outside Target Mode range. -Shuriken will track moving enemies unless thrown in Aim Mode. -Spheres will rarely hit targets at range or moving targets. -Autoaim will target the nearest NPC, even if they are behind a wall. [Air Item] Throw an item while in midair, consumables will be thrown instead of eaten when you do this. -Items like mines and scrolls cannot be used in the air. -Autoaim applies to air items. -Using spheres in midair can actually make them more accurate at mid-ranges. -This is a more convenient way to use drugs (potions with a negative effect) on the enemy without resorting to Aim Mode. -This is a more convenient way to use potions on friendly NPCs (useful in the event you run out of health spheres.) ================= Movement Actions ================= These actions are largely restricted to ninja characters only. [Dash] Press Circle while moving normally to begin a dash. -While dashing, you are faster but less maneuverable and can trip over objects and collide with walls. -Very unstealthy and will make you skid noisily when you change directions or stop. -Causes weariness and can make your character to become fatigued sooner (though not by itself). -Use R to stop a dash quietly and quickly. [Dash Jump] Press X while dashing to perform a long-distance somersault jump. [Backflip] Jump directly backwards. Looks cool but has no helpful function but can be dangerous if you're not expecting it and there is a pitfall behind you. [Wall Jump] Jump against a wall and press X again to rebound off of it with a second jump using analog to control the direction. This can be performed repeatedly. [Climb Jump] Jump directly against the wall and press X and up to jump again vertically. Good for scaling walls of a specific height. [Wall Run] Press against a wall at an angle while in midair (jumping or falling). Youll run along the wall in an arc for a short distance. -You can wall jump off of a wall run. -You can initiate CS during a wall run which is good against many enemies with high vigilance. [Ledge cling] Jump or press against a ledge to automatically grab it. Pressing left or right on analog will move you along the ledge. Mantle up by pressing X or drop down by pressing X while holding down on analog. -You can enter Target Mode and First Person Mode while ledge clinging. -You can also perform a ledge cling by sneaking off a ledge in stealth mode. -You can use consumables and throwing items while ledge clinging. [Air Grapple] Perform an Auto-Grapple (see above) while in midair. -This can be handy while falling unexpectedly. -Used along with wall jumps and wall runs can be very effective (and dangerous.) [Head Bounce] Jump on someone's head to get a bit of a boost, especially during a dash jump. -This will alert an enemy and make rescue charges complain. ================ Stealth Actions ================ These actions are largely restricted to ninja characters only. [Sneak] In stealth mode, use analog to creep quietly and slowly. Back+Right or Back+Left is used to turn. [Quick Turnaround] In stealth mode, press X to do a 180 degree roll. [Roll] In stealth mode, press X + analog to roll in that direction. -Can be used to move through water quietly and faster than sneaking. -In combat when paired with Target Mode, rolling can be used as an evasive maneuver or for flanking your target. [Wall Hug] In stealth mode, press up against a wall to place your back against it. Analog will move you along the wall. Release stealth mode to exit the wall hug. [Corner Peek] During a wall hug, move to the end of a wall and you will automatically peer around it. -Does not expose you and you can throw items around the corner. [Open/Close Door] Triangle when facing a door. Press it lightly to open the door a crack, press it hard to open the door completely. =============== Combat Actions =============== Specific attack moves are covered in the "Playable Characters and Movelists" section of this guide. [Combat Movement] While in Target Mode, use Analog to move in relation to your target. -You can sneak or enter a dash during this mode. [Guard] Hold or tap L while facing the attack. -Some attacks are unblockable like fire or smoke. -Some attacks should be unblockable but can be blocked (bullets, explosions.) -You can guard while in sneak mode. [Air Recovery] Press Triangle, Square or X when you are helpless in the air to regain your balance. -You can immediately perform an air attack or air item/grapple upon recovering. [Ground Recovery] Press Triangle, Square, X or analog when you are knocked down to stand back up. [Recovery Attack] Press Triangle, Square, X or analog when you are prone to stand up and kick anyone nearby. [Recovery Roll] While prone, simply perform a roll in any direction. [Warrior Climb] (Asuka Ninja and Miroku Only) Roll into someone to run up their chest and vault over their head, landing behind them. -This move is very good for interrupting an enemy attack or combo. -It doesn't actually alert an enemy so it has stealthy applications too. -Many enemies have turn-around attacks specifically to deal with this sort of situation. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ABNORMAL STATUS CONDITIONS ///////////////////////////////////////////// ========================== Negative Character Status ========================== -Fatigued: Character is tired and their movements are slowed. If they do not rest, they'll eventually be forced to stop for a moment to recover but will be unable to take any action other than guarding. This condition is caused by strenuous activity though different characters have varying levels of endurance or may be completely immune to this status. -Knocked Down: Character is sitting on the ground and unable to do anything but stand up. This condition is caused by certain attacks, explosions or by dashing into an Wall. NPCs in this state can often use a stand-up attack. -Prone: Character has collapsed on the ground. This condition is caused by certain attacks, explosions, knockout, falling from a high place or tripping over objects while dashing. NPCs in this state can often use a stand-up attack. -Launched: Character has been propelled into the air by an attack and is helpless. In this state they are particularly sensitive to falling damage. This condition is caused by certain attacks and explosions. -Knockout: Character is prone for a time and completely helpless and senseless. This condition is caused by certain attacks. -Burning: Character has caught on fire and will continuously lose health for a short period of time. Fire cannot be quenched with water but will go out on its own. This condition is caused by coming in contact with fire. -Deceased: Caused by total health loss or falling into a pit. NPCs become prone indefinitely and count as a large object (except bears which cannot be picked up.) Players in this state automatically fail the mission (unless objective was achieved simultaneous to death.) ================ Status Ailments ================ These can afflict both you and NPCs though they may have completely different effects on NPCs. They are caused by status items or traps. A depleting bar will show you how long the status will affect you. -Weakening: Hands glow blue and attack power is reduced. -Confusion: Players uncontrollably move in random directions during this state but can still control their other actions. NPCs in this state will act insane, attacking anyone and running around aimlessly. -Amnesia: Players will have only their movement and item controls reversed in this state. NPCs in this state will remain motionless and senseless for the duration of effect and will not even respond to pain. They will stare blankly at the sky unless they are knocked prone. -Unconscious: Same as knockout. ================ Enhanced Status ================ Like status ailments but these have positive effects. A depleting bar will show you how long the status will affect you. -Strength: Hands glow gold and attack power is increased. -Speed: Character moves at a far faster rate and everything they do is sped up. -Potency: No visual indicator. Many used items will be more effective and/or much larger than usual. -Cure: No visual indicator. Immune to negative status ailments though resisting an ailment depletes the duration of immunity. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ALERT MODES AND ENEMY VIGILANCE ///////////////////////////////////////////// =============== Presence Icons =============== The rectangular icons on the top of the screen notify you of nearby NPCs (except cats). The color of the eye will tell you their state of alert and the opacity of the icon indicates proximity. Icons with three points signify hostiles, icons with nine points signify extremely dangerous hostiles. Curved icons represent friendly/neutral NPCs. The color of the eye will indicate the alert state of the NPC. -Unalert (White): Enemy is utterly unaware of immediate threats. In this mode they will guard or patrol as usual and pick up items they come across. -Curious (Purple): Enemy has heard a suspicious noise or caught a glimpse of a suspicious item or person. In this mode, they might turn towards the disturbance, peer at it, walk or run towards the disturbance or continue to behave normally but at a raised level of vigilance. After satisfying their curiosity and finding nothing, they will revert back to Unalert. -Searching (Orange): Enemy knows there is danger nearby from having seen a corpse, being injured or having lost sight of their target after having gone hostile. In this mode, they will search for targets with their weapon drawn. If they cannot find anything for an amount of time, they will revert to Unalert and sheathe their weapon. -Hostile (Red): Enemy has a target and is intent on killing it. In regards to the player, this counts as being spotted. In this mode, they will chase and attack until they lose sight of their target for an amount of time at which point they revert to searching status. Keep in mind that enemies can become hostile to you without line of sight such as when an elite warrior activates an alarm, and will head to your current position with all possible haste. Also in escort and protect missions, enemies will spawn in permanent red alert though their target is not immediately you. **These colors only appear for friendly NPCs** -Friendly Searching (Green) -Friendly Hostile (Yellow) ========== Vigilance ========== Vigilance is the general level of awareness and suspicion of an enemy. It is different from alert status but can be raised due to disturbances and will affect the enemy's level of perception and reaction to threats as well as their resistance to Chimatsuri-sappo (see below). Initially enemies begin with a low vigilance level and will not notice small noises or be as attentive to their surroundings. Putting them into a higher alert mode will also raise their vigilance level and sufficiently disturbed, they will notice even the slightest sounds like running footsteps, a weapon being sheathed, the sound of you landing from a jump, or even stealth rolling. Other behaviors involve looking around more frequently, hesitating to pick up items, running to investigate sounds and remaining in alert status for longer periods of time. It is in your best interests to not just avoid being spotted, but to avoid drawing any attention at all as it will only make the enemy more dangerous and on guard. Making loud noises, being glimpsed or leaving corpses for the enemies to find is a fast way to cause increased enemy vigilance. Note that dangerous hostiles usually have a raised vigilance to start with. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ CHIMATSURI-SAPPO ///////////////////////////////////////////// ========================== What is Chimatsuri-Sappo? ========================== This is an important element of Shinobido, the "Victim Execution Technique" (not a precise translation.)* They are similar to Tenchu's Ninsatsu (stealth kill) & Tenchu 4's Hissatsu (certain kill), however there are some major differences even though 'Shinobido: Way of the Ninja' and 'Shinobido: Tales of the Ninja' both localized the term as "stealth kill," likely for familiarity with players of the Tenchu series. Ironically, Tenchu 4 began using the term 'Hissatsu' and for the first time in the series, made the enemy able to resist stealth kills rendering them 'uncertain kills'. Shinobido's Chimatsuri-sappo is not activated with your attack button and unless you recieve the certain-kill indicator (gleam of light over your head and a shrill sound), you are not guaranteed to slay your victim as they might struggle and overpower you. Also unlike Tenchu, even unaware opponents are capable of resisting Chimatsuri-Sappo (hereforth abbreviated as CS) if their vigilance is particularly high and Chimatsuri-sappo can be attempted even on an alert foe. Chimatsuri-sappo is not merely a stealth assassination technique, it is also a combat option that can be utilized to finish off a weakened or careless opponent. A clever ninja can use his superior mobility to exploit a missed attack to instantly finish the enemy or use only his strength and endurance to force a wounded opponent to succumb. You can initiate basic CS at any time though certain techniques are only available in precise situations. It may seem like quibbling over semantics on my part, but the difference between Stealth Kill and Chimatsuri-Sappo is an important feature of Shinobido and more relevant than it may seem from playing localized versions of the games. *Literal translation of the kanji is 'Victimization Killing Law' or 'Blood Festival/Sacrifice Killing Law'. ===================================== Chimatsuri-Sappo Controls and Advice ===================================== Initiate CS: Triangle when near a target. Force CS: Press Triangle rapidly if enemy resists. Cancel Force CS Attempt: Do nothing. -Be careful when using CS during a mission with friendly NPCs (not counting Rescue) since for some stupid reason, they're as vulnerable to it as the enemy is. -CS scenes can be interrupted by either person involved taking damage. If a CS scene is interrupted before the enemy actually recieves the lethal blow, they will not be killed, but they will probably be angry. -You can be spotted during a CS scene so make sure there are no witnesses during the particularly long ones. -CS techniques will reliably place you somewhere in relation to your victim at the end of the animation. If there is a pitfall where the CS places you, guess what? Keep this in mind when choosing your approach. -Concerning the resulting corpse, sometimes it might get flung into the midst of the enemy or slide off the rooftop you're on to be immediately discovered by enemies below. Choose the right CS for the situation. -Failing a forced CS will leave both you and your enemy exhausted. Sometimes it will leave just you exhausted. It's good to know when to cancel a forced CS attempt. -Don't press triangle too early or your character will try to grab the enemy and miss! A simple but embarrassing error that can get you spotted. -When a large enemy throws an Asuka shinobi off their back after resisting the CS, as long as they weren't alerted beforehand, they won't even notice the assassination attempt and you are free to try again. -Assassinating Generals (Asuka Only): Sometimes Samurai Generals in unalert mode will resist your air or frontal CS for no reason. The best thing to do is not try to force it as you will likely fail and be thrown off and fatigued. Instead, let the Samurai General throw you off almost immediately and before he can become alert, you will get a certain-kill prompt which succeeds easily. -The Hungry Well Technique (Asuka Only): Set up a corpse where someone will find it and hide in a nearby well. When whoever comes to dispose of the corpse, ledge CS them and pull them into the well and they'll drop the corpse for someone else to pick up. If you can draw more victims by using doghouses or throwing potions, even better. Note that you can't use this tactic on enemies that aren't susceptible to ledge CS and it's less effective on enemies that don't carry corpses like Samurai Generals or Yojimbo (though if you can lure them close to your well some other way...) -CSing a Caged Bear (Asuka Only): Easier than CSing an uncaged bear. Open the cage with triangle and then target the bear who will be in orange alert as he walks out of the cage, right through you. Start mashing triangle while jumping up and down and you should enter CS as soon as the bear is out but before he goes into automatic red-alert. Keep in mind like any bear, sometimes he'll just throw you off no matter how hard you try to force it which in this case is an instant red-alert. -Rapid Approach CS (Asuka Only): CS can be performed when dashing, dash-jumping over an enemy or grappling near them, however if not done perfectly, you run the risk of alerting them or worse. The advantage is that this method can close distance very quickly and reduces the chance of you getting spotted by a random glance to the sides. Use L targeting to improve your chances and try not to actually make physical contact with the enemy while still passing close enough to be within CS range. -Reversal CS (Asuka Only): If an unaware enemy's position is disadvantageous in some way such as CSing them would cause you to fall into a pit or throw the corpse in front of other enemies, you can perform a Warrior Climb and CS them either during or after it to change their facing...the maneuver itself doesn't actually alert them (though you think having a ninja running up your face would be a cause for concern...) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ CHIMATSURI-SAPPO TECHNIQUES ///////////////////////////////////////////// Of course while waiting for the certain-kill indicator is ideal, it is not always necessary or possible. In the case of certain techniques, they can be initiated under any circumstances though the results are not guaranteed to be favorable. -Can be resisted: Though there are no restrictions on initating, the victim can fight you off (which also means you can force it.) -Cannot be resisted: The victim cannot fight you off once initiated and it will succeed unless interrupted by something. -Not always possible: Can only be initiated in certain circumstances dependent on factors such as the victim's vigilance, alert state and facing. -Can Miss: Though there are no restrictions on initating, you can miss the victim completely with no chance of forcing it. -Can be dodged: Though there are no restrictions on initiating, the victim can avoid it completely with no chance of forcing it. ================================== Asuka Chimatsuri-Sappo Techniques ================================== These techniques are only applicable to the Asuka clan shinobi (Goh, Kinu, Zaji and their variants.) Zaji and Goh use the same techniques while Kinu (due to her unique weapon) has her own set though they function mostly the same. [From the Back] Initiated from behind or the sides of the victim. Can be resisted. -Goh: Activated from behind or the sides of the enemy, Goh places his hand on the enemy's shoulder, barely giving them time to glance backwards in surprise before killing them with a powerful turning slash. A relatively quick CS that throws the corpse forward and places Goh slightly behind them. -Kinu: Kinu wraps her chain around the enemy's neck, then with her back to theirs, heaves them over her head. Not a fast CS but it flings the corpse far to the rear making it a great CS for taking out an enemy entourage from behind one-by-one. One of the best reasons to use Kinu. [From Above] Initiated from above the victim by ledge clinging, jumping or wall running. Even standing on a low ledge above them. Can be resisted. -Goh: Goh grabs the enemy's head in both hands, twisting his body to snap their neck. A quick CS that leaves Goh behind the enemy's corpse. One of the best CS in the game due to its method of approach (above enemy line of sight) and large activation radius. -Kinu: Kinu clutches the enemy's head between her thighs and flips them onto the ground before snapping their neck. Not a fast CS and it places Kinu and the corpse far forward which can be dangerous, however it is just as effective as Goh's Above-CS for the same reasons. [From the Front] Initiated from the front of the victim. Can be resisted. -A variation of the Above-CS, fundamentally identical to it in every way. [From Behind or Above Large Enemy]* Initiated from behind, the sides or above a large enemy. Can be resisted. -Goh: Goh leaps onto the enemy's back (or suddenly appears there when approaching from the air), trying to gain his balance before plunging his sword into their spine. This CS is very slow and leaves Goh to the front and left of the corpse. Terrible, but its one of the only CS that work on large enemies. -Kinu: Activated when approaching a large enemy from the back or the air. Kinu clambers onto the enemy's back and slices their throat from the side. Looks like she's opening a tin can when she does it to a Taraba. Just as bad as Goh's CS. [From in Front of Large Enemy]* Approach the large enemy from their front. Can be resisted. -Goh: A variation of the From Behind or Above Large Enemy CS, fundamentally identical to it in every way -Kinu: Jumps over a swing from the victim and lands on their back, neatly cutting their throat. Can be resisted. Just as slow and obnoxious as the other Large Enemy CS. [While Down]* Initiate while near a victim laying or sitting on the ground. Can miss and can be dodged. -The ninja rises into the air and stabs his weapon into the downed victim with great force. Oddly this can hit multiple downed victims. [From Below] Initiated while ledge clinging, a victim who is standing above you may be vulnerable to this. Cannot be resisted but is not always possible. -The ninja reaches up and grabs the enemy's hand, pulling them down and snapping their neck with his or her legs, then dropping the corpse. This is a great CS, perform it whenever possible. [From the Right] While peeking around a corner, a victim to your side may be vulnerable to this. Cannot be resisted but is not always possible. -Slamming the victim against the wall, the ninja stabs them in the chest with their weapon held in both hands. [From the Left] While peeking around a corner, a victim to your side may be vulnerable to this. Cannot be resisted but is not always possible. -Slamming the victim against the wall, the ninja stabs then in the chest, one-handed without even looking. [While Examining Item] Initiated while victim is looking closely at an item they just picked up. Cannot be resisted. -More comical than the other CS, the ninja walks up to the preoccupied victim and smacks them in the face with the item before taking his time to lethally slash them with a flourish. This CS takes a while and it leaves the ninja to the left and rear of the enemy. Not great and more for comedy than utility. * These techniques are the only ones that work on large enemies. ================================== Other Chimatsuri-Sappo Techniques ================================== Non-Asuka shinobi (Hebitonbo, Kenobi Ninja, Usuba, Mosu Ninja, Ninja Bear) and Yojimbo all have only one general-purpose CS each. While lacking in versatility and being restricted to being performed on solid footing, they can't be resisted. Also they can be activated when standing on a ledge directly above an opponent and will 'pull' the enemy up to your level (wait for the certain-kill indicator) though you might have to shift around a bit to find the sweet spot. It can work from very high above the enemy though. The other good thing about these CS is that unlike Asuka CS, their animations are all relative to your character's facing which gives you more control on where you and the corpse will end up. However, since they cannot be resisted or avoided, you can't initiate them at will and usually have to wait for the certain-kill indicator, limiting their utility in combat. Hebitonbo CS: Hebitonbo simply extends his glove weapon into the back of the enemy with lethal force, letting them fall to the ground as he retracts it. One of the quickest CS around, this one has an added bonus of not moving Hebitonbo but dumping his victim several feet away which often negates the need to hide the body but sometimes places the body right in plain sight of the enemy. Still, a great CS. Kenobi CS: The Kenobi Ninja flips the enemy over his shoulder and plants a sword in their chest. Fast, efficient, places the body directly behind the Kenobi who barely shifts position. An excellent CS, one of the best. Mosu Clan CS: The Mosu Ninja swings around the enemy's neck before wrapping her legs around them and smashing their head into the ground with a cartwheel. Takes forever and causes the ninja to end up pretty far to the left from where they started the CS. Also if you miss the CS, she'll turn her back and often alert the enemy in the process. Lousy. Bear CS: The bear knocks the enemy off their feet with a powerful swipe and mauls them to death. It's hard to manage because the Ninja Bear is so big, you can rarely see who you're trying to kill and you'll possibly barge into them before you get the prompt. The actual CS itself takes a long time but leaves the bear where the enemy was and dumps the corpse in front of the bear. Not very good but what did you expect from a bear? Tip: Mash triangle while running towards the enemy to intitiate CS the moment you're in range and avoid bumping into them. Yojimbo CS: Yojimbo chops the enemy on the neck, bringing them to their knees. He then cruelly digs his sword into their back before pushing them off with his foot. A somewhat slow CS it doesn't move Yojimbo or his victim too far but still leaves him left of where he started the CS. Not great. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ NINJA TOOLS ///////////////////////////////////////////// This section only covers items that appear in Story Mode. ============== Grapple Hooks ============== Perhaps the most important and essential tool in the game, you'll be using these often for climbing. They can even be used on enemies to yank them off cliffs or make them drop their cargo. [Short Grapple Hook] "A useful item for getting to higher places." -Gets the job done. [Grapple Hook] "A useful item for getting to higher places. The chain is longer than the basic version." -Gets the job done slightly better. [Long Grapple Hook] "A very easy to use item that helps in getting to higher places. The chain is much longer than the basic version." -Oh yeah, now this is what we're talking about. This grapple hook will take you almost anywhere and let you harass enemies from very far away. ================= Throwing Weapons ================= Shuriken are very good for distracting enemies or setting off land mines and explosives. Terrible for killing people though. Can be enhanced with potency (looks cool!) to become super-sized and actually capable of dealing significant damage! [Shuriken] "A relatively weak throwing weapon that is useful for attacking enemies from a distance." [Improved Shuriken] "A throwing weapon that is more powerful than the basic version." [Asuka Shuriken] "A throwing weapon, spoken of in Asuka legend, that is unrivalled in its power and usefulness." -Er...not as wonderful as the description suggests but it is the strongest throwing star. [Money] "Used to buy items. Can also be thrown like shuriken." -A leftover from Imashime's shop system, money can be used much like shuriken in a pinch though they can't set off explosives. +Trivia: Historically, ninja would make shurikens out of sharpened coins however the money item in Shinobido appears to be Ryo/koban (not Mon) which was made of gold and worth A LOT. Ninja wouldn't throw those away! [Mushroom Shuriken] -You can get these from town girls. They're just improved shuriken that look like black mushrooms in Imashime, but here they look like scrolls for some reason. [Caltrop] "Used by scattering on the ground for enemies to step on, thereby stunning them. Helpful when escaping." -Don't expect to kill people with these though they are good for distractions and slowing pursuits when you're carrying cargo. Potency will work on these to make them comically huge and a bit more dangerous. By default, you scatter them behind you, three at a time but they can also be thrown in aim mode. ================== Potions and Drugs ================== Drink them or throw them, they have a range of effects both harmful and beneficial. Most potions can be thrown to cause a significant distraction when it breaks, though sometimes potions bounce instead... [Health Potion] (Pink) "Restores HP when used. Can also be thrown to other characters for them to use." -Simple enough. Good for topping off your health at the end of the mission so you get the full health bonus and of course, patching yourself up in combat. [Speed Potion] (Purple) "Increases speed." -Can be very handy, especially when you're carrying cargo or trying to CS an entourage since everything you do is sped up. [Potency Potion] (Green) "Increases the power and effect of items." -For a time, they make certain items very powerful (and comically jumbo sized.) They don't affect land mines or scrolls though. [Strength Potion] (Yellow) "Increases attack power." -These can make fights a little easier. Can also be used for non-CS characters who need a little extra oomph to one-shot enemies from behind. [Cure Potion] (Blue) "Cures fatigue and abnormalities and prevents other abnormalities for a short time." -Not very useful and rarely supplied when they would be. Most status ailments that are inflicted on you don't last very long anyhow. [Explosive Drug] (Red) "Explodes when consumed." DON'T DRINK THESE. Obviously! If you try to use this item normally, you'll take a big swig of kaboom. Strangely they're worse for distractions than standard potions...apparently explosions are less cause for alarm than glass breaking? ================= Throwing Spheres ================= These rolling round balls contain a dangerous or beneficial payload which will be released upon impact (or after a time) in a cloud that affects an area. Though meant to be thrown, you can also roll them. They're not very accurate at long range though and they make noise when they activate. [Explosive Sphere] (Red) "A explosive ball that releases a cloud of smoke." -They're good for pissing off enemies but bad for killing people due to general lack of damage and the inherent inaccuracies of spheres. At least you can't drink them by accident. Keep in mind that the extremely strong variety (+300) are very good for killing people though you rarely get them. [Knockout Sphere] (Dark Purple) "A ball that releases a cloud of smoke. Knocks out anyone who breathes the smoke." -These are fantastic. Even the weak ones are good enough to drop an enemy long enough to sneak by or CS them. The strong ones are wonderful but be careful you aren't standing too close to your victim or you'll wake up with them. [Amnesia Sphere] (Green) "A ball that releases a cloud of smoke. Causes amnesia in anyone who breathes the smoke." -These are even better. They make your target stand around like a dope, ready to be CSed or kidnapped, stabbed or whatever. They tend to last longer than unconscious status as well. Unlike knockout spheres, if you accidentally get caught in the effect, you can still operate well enough to CS or escape. [Confusion Sphere] (Dark Blue) "A ball that releases a cloud of smoke. Confuses anyone who breathes the smoke." -Great for causing widespread mayhem, especially the strong ones. Not so great for creating a situation which you have much control over. Handy for getting guards to abandon their duties though they're just as likely to pop up again where you least expect it. [Sphere of Weakening] (Brown) "A ball that releases a cloud of smoke. Decreases attack power." -Good for a hard fight but you're just as likely to hit yourself or your allies with it. [Health Sphere] (Pink) "A ball that releases a cloud of smoke. Restores HP." -You'll be throwing a lot of these at those damned oxcarts on escort missions. Keep in mind it's area-of-effect so make sure you're close enough to get healed too if you've taken damage. [Cure Sphere] (Pale Blue) "A ball that releases a cloud of smoke. Cures fatigue and abnormalities." -Theoretically you could cure an ally of an ailment with this but I can't think of a situation where you'd ever need to except for one horrible mission which is the only time you get them. ====== Sushi ====== You can throw it on the ground and enemies will investigate it. Hungry ones will eat it. If that sushi had an effect attribute, it will inflict that on the eater. Be careful though, sushi sometimes bounces far from where you wanted it to land. Note: Most enemies are only hungry enough to eat one sushi after which they'll pocket them to save for later. There are exceptions though... [Plain Sushi] "Sushi that can be filled with different substances to give it special properties." -The basic sushi that does nothing when eaten. [Explosive Sushi] (Red) "Explodes when eaten." -The only sushi that has an area-of-effect. Explosive Sushi +300 can be extremely useful for wiping out groups. [Knockout Sushi] (Purple) "Knocks out anyone who eats it." -A nice quiet way to incapacitate someone. [Sushi of Amnesia] (Green) "Causes amnesia in anyone who eats it." -Same as above. [Sushi of Confusion] (Dark Blue) "Confuses anyone who eats it." [Sushi of Strength] (Yellow) "Increases attack power when eaten." [Sushi of Curing] (Light Blue) "Cures fatigue and abnormalities when eaten." =========== Land Mines =========== A good defensive item, these can be paired up with elements of the environment to become even more effective. Stack them on top of each other to create one big instant detonation or put them a short distance apart to create an extended chain reaction. [Weak Land Mine] "A land mine that explodes when stepped on." -Yup. Not much better than a caltrop really, but can be useful when deployed in numbers or as a fuse to detonate explosive barrels. [Land Mine] "A land mine that explodes when stepped on." -Better. These can kill pretty well though you usually need a couple. [Powerful Land Mine] (Red) "The ultimate land mine. Completely undetectable and extremely powerful." -They aren't kidding. These things will pretty much kill everything that isn't a bear. [Invisible Weak Land Mine] "A land mine that is almost impossible to find." -All this means is that Mosu and Kenobi Ninja won't notice if they step on one. Unlike Imashime, enemies don't disarm land mines. ============== Ninpo Scrolls ============== These magic items contain secret ninja techniques of a variety of uses. [Ninja Flame] "A ninja art that can be used to set fire to anything." -Basically creates an explosion around you. Not a very powerful explosion either but helpful if you're surrounded. It comes in a standard red variety and the stronger black variety which isn't actually in any of Homura's missions. [Cicada Shell] "A ninja art that is used to fool an enemy into thinking that he has your dead body while you make your escape." -That's not what it does at all! This item is more commonly called an 'extra life' or even '1-up' in video game terminology. Very useful in dangerous battles of course, but it won't save you from bottomless pits. [Invisible Shadow] "A ninja art that gives you the ability to hide yourself in a cloud of fog." -These descriptions are terrible. This scroll will make you invisible for a pretty long time until you attack someone or it simply wears off. You can use attack items with impunity though, unlike Imashime, and in addition to being immune to explosions, you don't set off traps (except for mines). [Double Jump] "This ninja art gives you the leg strength of a giant and allows you to do another jump in mid-air." -Well I don't see what leg strength has to do with it, but this is a fun scroll. Sadly you only get it in one mission where you don't really need it. ======== Gadgets ======== These toys can be used for distraction, luring or scouting. They have a limited operation time: twenty seconds. Using one will place it on the ground but they can be thrown as well. [Wind-up Chick] "A wind-up toy that charms everyone who sees it into picking it up." -Good for leading enemies astray or setting them up for a convenient CS. Recommend against throwing them as then you have no control over their direction and it may just lead an enemy straight to you instead. [Remote Wind-Up Chick] "A remote controlled wind-up toy that is useful in reconnaissance." -A handy gadget that you gives you manual control over the chick. You can throw these ones as their jump will get them back on their feet. Mind their limited operation time though. ========== Mushrooms ========== Part of Imashime's alchemy system, mushrooms were an ingredient that could be used mid-mission as an impromptu status item. Their effects aren't very powerful though but they work as well as anything for baiting guards though not many are hungry enough to resort to eating one. [Health Mushroom] "Mixable. Adds healing effect when mixed. Can be eaten in its current form for a slight effect." [Mushroom of Potency] "Mixable. Increases the power and effect of items." [Mushroom of Strength] "Mixable. Increases attack power when mixed. Can be eaten in its current form for a slight power up." [Mushroom of Curing] "Mixable. Cures fatigue and other abnormalities when mixed." [Knockout Mushroom] "Mixable. Adds a knockout effect when mixed. Dangerous when consumed in its current form." [Mushroom of Confusion] "Mixable. Adds a confusion effect when mixed. Dangerous when consumed in its current form." [Mushroom of Weakening] "Weakens attack power when mixed. Dangerous when consumed in its current form." \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ STANDARD ENEMIES AND NPCs ///////////////////////////////////////////// [Warriors] They come in three factions (Ichijo, Akame, Sadame) with three different classes (swordsman, archer, rifleman.) Fodder and your most common adversaries, I don't need to tell you how to deal with these guys as they're lazy, slow and not very strong. Sometimes they take a big stretch which can make their patrols slightly unpredictable. In combat they can be troublesome since they'll scream for help and then mob you when their friends show up. They even have an enemy-only move where they'll pin you from behind while their fellow warriors take a free shot at you (mash triangle to throw them off). While fundamentally identical in capability, each of the three types of guardsmen have special abilities. Akame guards can throw attack spheres and use strength potions, Sadame guards can plant land mines and Ichijo guards have a special sword technique. [Elite Warriors] Slightly tougher, stronger and more wary guards. Not only are they less susceptible to being lured or CSed, they can see you on rooftops! They're commonly assigned to carry valuables, man lookout towers or tend bear cages. When they spot you, they'll rush to their duties before fighting you, often pulling out a conch horn and putting the entire level on alert. They can be identified by their slightly different gear from ordinary warriors: Ichijo elites wear headguards and red headbands, Akame elites wear iron helms, Sadame elites have a monk necklace (yuigesa.) [Samurai General] Much more powerful and vigilant than your average soldier, samurai generals are frequently the target of assassination missions. While they're still susceptible to the same tactics used on guardsmen, they look around more often and have much better vision and hearing. When alerted, they'll call to any nearby companions to come to their aid. Samurai Generals also have a resistance to CS in general and you cannot Ledge-CS or Corner-CS them if they are facing your direction. Sadly the various Samurai Generals all use the same sword style (high stance) rather than occasionally dual-wielding like in Imashime. This does make them a bit more predictable in combat though. When their HP is low, they'll frequently use health potions. Weak Spot: If you get behind them the exact moment they attempt to hit you with their jumping guard break attack, you will get a certain-kill prompt. [Barbarians] Stupid and wild, barbarians are slightly more durable than guardsmen, fast and good jumpers. They also have an annoying habit of sporadically turning when stationary and their patrol routes can be frustratingly quick. However their vigilance is awful and Chimatsuri-Sappo is even more effective on them than on warriors. In combat, they're pushovers unless you've alerted several of them. They can be knocked out by throwing any object at them and many attacks will easily put them out cold as well. They're hungry fellows and they'll eat up to two sushi or even a mushroom. Weak Spot: Their back! Barbarians will almost always give you a certain-kill prompt from behind. [Barbarian Chieftain] These big guys are much like their smaller kin except that you don't want to tangle with them in combat...they have some powerful moves and a lot of HP, however they will sometimes strike a victory pose which gives you an opening for attack. They can also be a real nuisance when they're patrolling as they are fast and their vision is rather good. However their vigilance is poor and subsequently they can be CSed relatively easily. They have the same appetite as their smaller brethren. [Mosu Ninja] I love these gals. Their lazy pace makes them easy to approach and their attention span is very short, they won't stay in alert for very long. Mind the sexy stretching though, they're actually having a look around and it makes their patrols very unpredictable. In combat, they hop around a lot and evade constantly while throwing kunai or rushing in and attacking with some rather effective guard breaking combos. In a pack, they can chew up an oxcart in seconds, or you for that matter, some attacking you at close range while others pelt you with kunai. Fighting multiple Mosu is no good, do your best to get away but remember they can follow you wherever you go, unlike warriors. For fun, set a landmine down and lure a Mosu on to it and torment them as they're frozen with fear, they won't move an inch if they know they've tripped a mine. Note that their leader Usuba has no such awareness of mines. [Kenobi Ninja] I hate these guys. Their sprinting patrols and keen vision make them really difficult to avoid. If you purple-alert one of them, move! Kenobi never walk anywhere, they always dash and their jumping ability ensures that you're not safe even on rooftops. They even eat quickly and efficiently, a Kenobi will gobble down food with little hesitation and quickly move on, which can be a benefit to you at times. In combat, these guys are fast and throw ailment spheres and shuriken. Fighting more than one at a time is not a wise course of action and they're very good at tracking you if you flee. Like Mosu, they also have awareness of land mines and will freeze if they step on one. Another odd behaviorism of theirs is that they attack when drawing their sword which can cause them to hit allies when entering orange alert, or chop down a door that you're hiding behind. [Taraba Ninja] More like TERRIBLE ninja, har har. They're huge, noisy, slow and sitting ducks for assassination. Those incredible jumps can surprise you though when you think you're hidden and safe, keep an ear out for the tell-tale grunt and don't rely on rooftops to hide you when they're around. While patrolling Taraba make such a racket its impossible to ignore, stationary Taraba can be so quiet and still they're easy to overlook. Their vigilance level is terrible though (probably thanks to those confining helmets), a Taraba in orange or purple alert mode can be CSed very easily and forced CS from behind succeeds frequently even against alerted and healthy Taraba. In combat, don't bother with shuriken or arrows, that armor isn't just for looks...but it does weigh them down pretty well and make them unable to perform standup attacks which is always exploitable. Aside from cannon spam from multiple Tarabas they're pretty easy to take down as long as you keep them down. Unblockable flamethrower attacks and their spammable throw can be a real nuisance otherwise. Oddly enough, they dispose of their corpses not by dumping them down wells but by incinerating with flamethrowers, same with disarming mines. Also, they can't eat with those steel buckets on their head so they'll just pocket any sushi you throw at them for later. They have a catastrophic weakness to spike traps due to their size, stepping on one causes them to take multiple hits frequently killing them instantly. Also since they cannot ledge cling, pitfalls are their bane. Weak Spot: When they hunker down to fire their cannon at you, you can recieve a certain-kill prompt from the front but you have to be fast and close. [Yojimbo] Master swordsmen and some of the most dangerous foes in the game, Yojimbo (bodyguards) are people you don't want to mess with if you can help it. They aren't easy to CS as their vigilance, hearing, eyesight and awareness are very keen. Approaching them from the ground may draw their attention before you get a certain-kill prompt and forcing a CS is difficult. However CSing them from above can kill them reliably and easily though keep in mind they can spot you on rooftops. They never patrol but they do wander randomly and rest in the strangest places, be sure to watch for Yojimbo hidden under eaves. Also, never try to surprise-CS them from the front, they can't be startled...they draw instantly the moment they see you. Cool and unflappable, Yojimbo are disdainful of food and items found on the ground and tend to discard them after examining it (except coins which they'll pocket.) Luring can sometimes backfire as Yojimbo don't always return to their post but may settle down in an even more inconvenient spot. In combat...well, just don't fight them. Their combos and guard breaks can be classified as 'unfair.' They're easy to escape as they lack the acrobatic abilities of ninja, though they will pursue you onto rooftops. Its rather easy to wait for them to lose interest and sheathe their sword and then take them out with a simple CS from above. Note: They're worth more points for killing than your usual enemies. [Bears] Utakatan Brown Bears are like mythical beasts of pure destruction. You do not want to fight one directly and even CSing one is incredibly difficult...approaching them from above or behind is your best bet, preferably while they're intent on devouring some salmon. Their vision is the best and they're incredibly quick to alert...one of the most vigilant foes in the entire game. However they're ravenous creatures and will eagerly devour any food you toss out though not before having a good look around. They can eat up to five times before becoming satiated. Bears have high resistances to status ailments though so don't be surprised that special sushi does nothing to them, not even the explosive type (however spheres do work.) In combat, they'll crush you in record time unless you have some good moves or a cliff to throw them off of. Escaping them can be difficult as they are extremely fast and do not tire, however their inability to scale large obstacles makes them very easy to evade in most missions, as long as they haven't torn you to shreds yet. You can also try to lead them over a corpse, it will trip them leaving them prone long enough to escape. Bears will attack any NPCs that are not also bears so keep that in mind, one bear can wipe out an entire guard contingent without you having to lift a finger, and it is most amusing to watch. Note: They're worth more points for killing than your usual enemies. [Merchants] These fat fellows are frequently the target of kidnapping, assassinations or even rescue. They have very keen vision and frequently wield pistols or throw money, not that they can fight at all well. They also have a tendency of panicking when in trouble so its best to stay out of their sight unless you feel like chasing them all over a level. Being rather portly, they run out of breath quickly which leaves them panting and vulnerable in a fight. Still, be careful around them as the pistol does a fair bit of damage and their pistol whip can easily catch you off guard. Also they make a ruckus while running around which can attract unwanted attention. Well fed, merchants will never eat anything they find on the ground, however they'll put it in their pockets for later. They also have a large stash of potions on them which they will use when injured. Of course the rescue version will have none of these comforts and will be content to stand around while they're carved into pieces without trying to fight back or escape. [Town Girls] Often a target for kidnap or rescue but just as often you'll find them as hostiles in a total destruction mission. Not much of a threat but they'll still run around screaming if they spot you. They're armed with shuriken disguised as mushrooms (you can actually pick these up) and have a pathetic karate kick but are more of a nuisance than anything. However they're worth points, unvigilant and easy to kill and unlike Tenchu, there's no penalty for taking out innocents...Assuming they ARE innocent. They'll occasionally trip and fall down for no reason, making them even easier to CS. They come in two flavors: bright pink kimono wearing girls and haggard servants in olive drab with blue aprons. [Princess] She more or less behaves the same as a Town Girl (so much for fine breeding.) [Oxcart] I'm not sure why these vehicles are called oxcarts but they're heavily armored against projectiles and armed with a rotating cannon on top. They're not much of a threat themselves since the cannon will only hit you if you're at a distance and standing still (or on their side and trying to kill an enemy), however the armed contingent that usually accompanies oxcarts are the true threat. Oxcarts have good forward vision but getting too close to it from behind or the sides will instantly alert it as well. Alerted oxcarts tend to speed up which is a good thing if they're on your side, but bad if your mission is to stop it. Being a vehicle, it is immune to Chimatsuri-Sappo but its fixed path means that it is pretty much forced to run over any land mines you put in its path, assuming its guards don't disarm them. Keep in mind that despite being a vehicle, oxcarts are susceptible to status ailments. They are highly vulnerable to melee attacks but projectiles are only effective from the front. [Spawn Point] These only appear in Guard and Escort missions. They look like ordinary bushes however enemies of a specific type (Barbarian, Kenobi Ninja, Mosu Ninja or Taraba Ninja) will appear in them at intervals. Spawn points can produce an infinite number of foes, however only four can exist at a time. Additionally to succeed the mission, five spawned enemies for each point in the level must be killed. Note: Putting sufficiently hidden landmines on a Kenobi or Mosu spawn point will cause a ninja that spawns there to freeze. However in the case of the Kenobi who draw their swords with a slash upon spawning, a second Kenobi spawning on a trapped spawn point will accidentally hit their ally, causing them to set off the land mine and potentially kill them both. [Cats] Not enemies persay but they do have the capability of giving you up to -23 points should you decide to torment one by throwing a shuriken at it or kicking it. Serves you right! They're indestructable and immortal, but they'll flee if you attack them. They can also trigger traps without being affected by them and if they fall into a 'bottomless' pit, you can see them walking around down there. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ UNIQUE CHARACTERS (SPOILER ALERT) ///////////////////////////////////////////// [Kabuto] You meet him early on and he's not worth tangling with...he has a massive arsenal of attacks that can annihilate you at low level. Unlike the playable version, Kabuto has his sword but tends to discard/lose it early on (he often starts the fight by throwing it at you but I've never been hit, even when standing still.) He also has an arm-mounted flamethrower as well as fire breath. His melee combination is utterly devastating and he can pelt you with bombs from afar with surprising accuracy. Either carefully CS him or avoid him completely, though keep in mind he is far more resistant to CS than your average Taraba and paranoid too. [Hebitonbo II] Not much better at fighting than his late brother, he does have a few effective attacks which he tends to ignore in favor of spamming his basic attack repeatedly. He isn't too difficult as long as you don't try to take him on at the same time as his partner, Uzumushi. Though that often results in Hebitonbo taking as much of a beating from Uzumushi's iron ball as you. CSing him isn't too large of a problem though, he doesn't stay alerted for long and he saunters around at a downright leisurely pace. [Uzumushi] He was a real powerhouse in Imashime and things haven't changed in Homura. He hits hard and his iron ball is surprisingly fast. He can be difficult to CS as he waddles around quickly and has pretty sharp eyesight. However as you can expect, he LOVES food and is the only person in the game who's stupid enough to eat explosive sushi multiple times. He'll eat three sushi before he's sated. [Usuba] The last surviving Mosu triplet, she can be a problem if her Mosu Ninja underlings are fighting alongside her as she prefers a combat support role, peppering you with homing kunai from a distance and creating obnoxious clones. She can't block so once you get in close, she'll be fairly helpless. Careful you don't get a faceful of confusion mist though. Preventing her from creating clones should be high priority. [Nobuteru Ichijo] This high-strung feudal lord is comparable to a Samurai General in nearly every way. If your mission is to protect him, keep your distance as his special attack combo hits rather indiscriminately. [Lady Sadame] An accomplished swordfighter with unique attacks, watch out for her flying jump kick as it can knock you silly and leave you helpless on the ground while she kicks you repeatedly. She also has a twirling kick/slash combo that she likes to spam. Her vigilance is on par with that of the other lords so treat her with caution. [Priestess Miroku] More dangerous than a yojimbo, unfortunately its hard to arrange a fair duel with her since her dwelling is swarming with guards and doghouses. A stealthy CS is probably best for your health, she's surprisingly susceptable to them. She's immune to guard breaks so throws work well to get through her defenses. [Zaji the Blackhawk] Once again, Goh gets to show his best friend and rival who the better Asuka is. He's a lot like a Kenobi with a bit more HP and some pretty effective attacks. That's assuming you even bother to fight him, he's susceptible to almost every CS. [Memory of Gamuran] Nearly impossible to sneak up on and immune to all Chimatsuri-Sappo. He's even worse than he was in Imashime! If he grabs you with his soul sucking move, mash the action buttons to escape. Fortunately he uses his borderline-useless telekinesis attack frequently but beware of his melee attacks, they're fast and they hurt. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ TRAPS AND HAZARDS ///////////////////////////////////////////// ================== Basic Floor Traps ================== These rusty iron floor gratings are easy to spot but hard to tell what they do until stepped on (or near.) Throwing a corpse on one is a safe way to find out. They can only trigger at intervals and are as hazardous to NPCs as they are to you. -Spike Trap: These basic traps shoot up a multitide of sharpened bamboo spikes when stepped on. While not terribly damaging, they should be avoided if possible. -Fire Trap: They burn and set you on fire! Not too badly though. When they trigger, a random number of flames will be emitted at random places on the trap and its possible to stand on one without getting burned at all...but its all random. ====================== Hazardous Smoke Traps ====================== These floor traps emit status ailment inducing smoke when stepped on or passed near and look identical to other floor traps. The magnitude of the ailments are not very strong and will wear off within seconds. Note that triggering one by proximity is not safe like it is with other floor traps, the smoke can still get you even if you aren't standing on the trap. -Confusion Trap: Gives a puff of blue confusing smoke when stepped on. Doesn't last long but dangerous when placed near pitfalls or other traps. -Weakness Traps: Gives a puff of yellow weakening smoke when stepped on. Since it wears off so quickly and is only relevant during combat, these traps are pretty pointless. -Knockout Trap: Gives a puff of purple knockout smoke when stepped on. More of a nuisance than a danger though. You can even use them to set up easy CS. -Amnesia Traps: Gives a puff of green amnesia smoke when stepped on. Similar to the knockout trap in terms of being annoying but not too dangerous (except to the enemy.) ======================= Beneficial Smoke Traps ======================= Just like hazardous smoke traps but stepping on these will help, not hinder. The hard part is finding out if they are beneficial or harmful without risking yourself as they are mostly identical. Note that these make ringing sounds when activated while hazardous smoke traps make a different noise, however only living bodies will cause these sounds. -Curing Trap: Gives a puff of blue immunity smoke when stepped on. Can protect you from status ailments for a short time. -Potency Trap: Gives a puff of green potency smoke when stepped on. Doesn't last long enough to be very useful usually. -Strength Trap: Gives a puff of yellow strengthening smoke when stepped on. Like their hazardous trap counterparts, they're rather pointless as well. -Speed Trap: Gives a puff of purple smoke when stepped on. Gives you a short-lived burst of speed. -Health Trap: Gives a puff of pink healing smoke when stepped on. Very handy! This is the only smoke trap that you can't mistake as it has a unique color. These can heal you back up to full in seconds. ============ Other Traps ============ -Cannon Trap: These huge traps fire spiked iron balls when they detect anything passing in front of their openings. Needless to say, getting hit by one hurts pretty badly and will make you drop anything you're holding. They have openings on only two sides and are rather noticeable and passing in front of one at point blank range will not trigger it. After some time, the iron balls will explode so make sure you're not around for that. -Pitfall Trap: These false wooden floors will first creak and shift when stepped, then plummet, leaving you standing on nothing. They are often placed over bottomless pits or other traps. If you're quick, you can jump off before they fall completely and air grappling or holding R to ledge cling is a good way to save yourself. They're easy to mistake for ordinary wood flooring but there are ways to tell them apart. -Log Trap: These wall mounted one-shot traps will collapse and unload a payload of heavy logs at the slightest disturbance. They're not very reliable or predictable though so be careful when using them against foes and be sure to avoid them yourself as they can potentially kill you in seconds. -Land Mine: Same as the ones you use except much weaker. These aren't a real danger on their own but the noise can bring enemies running. You'll frequently find these paired with other explosives which is very dangerous. -Explosive Barrel Pile: Consists of two large explosive cans and three small ones. Can be set off with shuriken or a nearby explosion, you can make some rather powerful traps with these. -Bomb Pile: A box full of bombs, much like the explosive barrels and very VERY powerful. You can take each individual bomb and throw it (dangerous!), or place them in a trap of your own devising. Very versatile. -Dog House: A compact little dog house with two hatches and a shiba inu in it that will bark if it sees you and bring anyone within hearing distance running. These dogs are not a ninja's best friend! Approaching them from directly above or the sides without hatches will cause the dog to hide with a whine. Picking them up and setting them back down will disable them. However they are often placed in tricky locations or with a guard. ======== Hazards ======== -Bottomless Pits: A ninja hazard since the ancient days of Ninja Gaiden on the NES. Fall down one and you will die, simple enough. Same goes for the enemy though. Still, be very careful around pits especially when using Chimatsuri-Sappo or during open combat. Remember your air-grapple. -Water: When you walk or land in it, it goes splish-splash like you'd expect. Of course, it'll draw the attention of anyone within earshot which can be very bad. There are two types of splashes, big and small. Small splashes are caused by moving in the water and will just cause nearby enemies to look in your direction. Big splashes can be caused by a body landing in the water and that's enough to cause enemies to come and investigate. Keep in mind that once you're already in water, you can move silently by sneaking or rolling. -Torches: These things are stupidly easy to walk into and catch yourself on fire. You can even climb onto one just by bumping into it...just keep your distance to avoid hurting yourself unecessarily. -Barbarian Huts: Primitive little thatched huts, opening one up with triangle will cause alerted barbarians to come piling out. Five to be exact. There is really no advantage to messing with these things unless you like beating up barbarians or are starting a hatchet collection. Elite warriors can be assigned to open these if they spot you and apparently the barbarians are well trained as they will not attack other NPCs and will obediently return to their hut if they lose you. -Bear Cage: They seem placid enough while inside the cage but no sooner are they free then they turn on you! Be sure to have a plan and an escape route if you decide to open one of these, if the bear cannot find you, it will proceed to destroy anyone else it comes across making it a wonderful diversion/weapon. Like Barbarian Huts, elite warriors may be assigned to cages and will open them if they spot you, often becoming the bear's first victim. -Wells: The place where the dead are buried in Utakata, these contain bottomless pits and aren't really a hazard to you unless you're careless around them. However, they provide a wonderful hiding place by ledge clinging to the inside and those who wander nearby can be pulled in. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ TECHNIQUES AND TIPS ///////////////////////////////////////////// [Killing Them Softly] Some characters have knockout attacks, attacks that will put an enemy into a state of unconsciousness while dealing some damage. You can use these attacks on unaware enemies without alerting them but rarely are these attacks enough to kill in one hit. However, if you hit the unconscious enemy again and fail to kill them with that strike, they'll wake up and be in red-alert. Instead you can just hide and wait for them to get back up on their own to knock them unconscious again. And again. And again. However many times it takes. Eventually the enemy will die without ever having known who killed them. [The Kenobi Maneuver] Certain shinobi have homing dash attacks that can guard break or launch. A great way to catch enemies off guard with this is to lock on to them and begin sprinting away and as soon as they give chase, press square and you'll home in on them with an unexpected dash attack before they can put up a guard. However keep in mind that repeated dash attacks can fatigue even an Asuka shinobi. [Two Enemies, One Sphere] An easy way to get enemies to cluster together in order to hit them all with one ailment sphere is to throw a potion first. The sound of it breaking will cause all nearby enemies to run over and stand in one place, sitting ducks for whatever you have planned. [Magic Pickup] At points you'll need to carry a heavy object over a ledge that is just a little too high for your character to jump. No problem, just put the object down as close to the ledge as possible, jump onto the ledge and pick up your object! You'll be surprised at how much leeway you get here. There's a knack to doing it but it is a vital skill to learn. [Stacking Items] You can stack heavy objects to use as simple steps or even stairs if there are enough available. However Homura's physics are a little toned down from Imashime so expect significant strangeness and unpredictability when messing with this. [Safe Mine Detonation] All you have to do is step on the mine and hear the click of it arming, then grapple away. Keep in mind that though that explosion won't hurt you, subsequent explosions from a chain reaction caused by it can. [Pit Trap Technique] By getting close enough to a pit trap so that one foot rests on it, you can 'prime' it so that the moment an enemy steps on it, they will instantly fall. [Mine Jumping] Stacking several mines on top of each other then stepping on it yourself can blow you sky high and even through ceilings! Just make sure the explosion leaves you with enough life to survive the landing... [Targeting Through Obstacles] Sometimes its handy to know exactly where the enemy is even when you can't see them. If you make a sound, just enough to put them in blue alert, you'll be able to target them through walls and solid cover and stay targeted even when they return to unalert status. Most characters will make some sort of yell when they perform a kick attack, this is perfect for getting just enough attention. [wall Jump Boost] Sometimes you'll be without a grapple hook but you need to clear an obstacle that is a tiny bit higher than your character's double jump. Perform a wall run and jump off from that, it should give you the extra height you need to grab the top of the obstacle. [Dealing with Confusion] If confused, you can avoid randomly running around by immediately entering First Person Mode. Using L to target in this mode will still allow you to guard in the event you are fighting an enemy. Another way to deal with confusion is to enter stealth mode to move slower and enter a wall hug or ledge cling if possible. -When using a scroll of Invisible Shadow, you can attack enemies without ending the effect by placing mines under them and startling them with noise, or even triggering mines yourself as you are immune to the explosions. Explosives can also be triggered with shuriken without losing your invisibility. Pushing enemies off cliffs or using your grappling hook on them is another way. -Enemies actually take more damage from the front than they do the back. Kamikaze: Some characters have this type of attack which is activated by (L+Back+Triangle.) This attack sacrifices the character's life in order to do sizeable explosive damage. However, the area of effect is not large and the damage falls off from the center of the explosion. Additonally using Kamikaze will cause the loss of the health bonus (+20) and if anyone is killed by it, the No Normal Kill bonus (+10). Also if the explosion does not cause the success of the mission, you get a mission failure of course. All things considered, there's usually a better way to do things. Kamikaze can be canceled by pressing any other action button or direction before the actual detonation. Here are the characters with the attack: Kenobi Ninja Mosu Ninja Sadame Samurai Sadame Archer Sadame Gunman Keep in mind that attack strength of the character affects the power of the explosion but strength potions will not. In combat, the enemies have some huge advantages: - They can perform a better standup attack, even when only knocked down. - They have invincibility frames during their attacks meaning they can interrupt your combos easily. - They have invincibility frames during their evasion actions meaning they actually have a reason to do it. - They can instantly recover out of a guard break, making guard breaks less useful than they should be. - They do reduced damage to allies so they can mob you easier. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ DIFFICULTY MODES ///////////////////////////////////////////// [Easy] Enemy vision, health and damage is reduced and your mission point reward caps at 50. [Normal] Mission point reward caps at 100. Getting 100 points (or more) turns the map marker for a mission gold, though that doesn't seem to have any effect even if you clear all missions this way. [Hard] Enemy vision, health and damage is greatly increased. No point cap though! I recommend this mode if you're trying to level up your CS-capable characters as you can get 135+ points on average. You have to unlock it first by beating the game. You can change difficulty modes freely just by returning to the title screen so if you're aiming for 100 points only, there's no point to playing HARD other than for the challenge. The game is strongly biased against characters with no Chimatsuri-Sappo capability and they can seldom get over 100 points and never much more than 110 or such, so don't feel bad switching to NORMAL for those characters. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ MISSION TYPES ///////////////////////////////////////////// [Assassination] A ninja speciality, this mission requires you to eliminate a single target (specified) by any means. Don't expect it to be simple though, the target is often accompanied by numerous bodyguards. [Guard] Now you're the bodyguard. Enemy ninjas or barbarians will continuously pursue your target until they accomplish their objective (to assassinate your charge), or you manage to kill enough of them. Take advantage of the fact that the enemy isn't too interested in you to assassinate them from behind while they're fighting others, just don't get hit by your own allies in the process. Certainly don't kill any of your allies either! Mission fails if your charge dies. [Thievery] Another ninja speciality, this mission requires you to obtain an important object (documents, safe or rice) and deliver it to a dropoff point (marked by the red bullseye flag.) Don't expect the object to be unguarded or easy to get to though and often reaching the object itself is the easy part. Mission fails if you lose the object. [Robbery] Same as thievery except the object is being carried by the enemy, often accompanied by a guard contingent and you have to find some way to get it from them before they escape, then take it to your dropoff point. Mission fails if you lose the object or the enemy reaches their destination with the object. [Transport] Same as thievery except you already have the object! Hooray! Still, these missions can be even more difficult than thievery somehow... Mission fails if you lose the object. [Total Destruction] Kill everyone. About as straightforward as a mission can get really. On rare occasions, these missions will give you a specific target such as 'kill all warriors' so its safe to avoid anyone who isn't a warrior. On the other hand, everyone is hostile and worth points, so might as well... [Travel] Reach the destination, simple enough right? Expect the destination to be in a really inconvenient place. These missions frequently test your acrobatic abilities. [Kidnapping] Find the target, sling them over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes (with triangle) and deliver them to the dropoff point. A little bit like a thievery mission except for the fact that your cargo will scream for help, run away and possibly attack you on sight. Mission fails if the target dies. [Rescue] Find your charge, free them from their prison and deliver them to safety. It's like kidnapping except your charge is a little more cooperative and screams less often. They're worthless in a fight and terrible at following you and have a tendency to wander after items they find on the ground, so try to keep them on your shoulder as often as possible. Mission fails if your charge dies. [Escort] Your job is to protect a slow, rickety oxcart as it meanders its way through a gauntlet of hazards, savages or ninjas. Sometimes you get an entourage but don't expect them to last long. One of the more infuriating mission types. Mission fails if your oxcart is destroyed. [Attack] Time to take revenge against all oxcarts! Blow it to smithereens before it gets away, that's your only requirement! Any collateral loss of life is just gravy. Note that like robbery missions, the target may be accompanied by a guard regimen. Mission fails if the oxcart reaches its destination intact. [Collection] Gather X number of item Y and deliver them to the dropoff. Sounds simple and usually is. Usually. Mission fails if there are not enough objective items left in the level to succeed. [Duel] Defeat the enemy, one on one! No obnoxious bodyguards to interfere! And best of all? No rules against sticking a sword in the opponent's back when they aren't looking. Of course you can be all honorable about it and face them head on but that is not the way of the ninja... In these missions, you and the opponent are the only ones in the level, however there may be bear cages or barbarian huts as well. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ MISSION POINTS ///////////////////////////////////////////// I still haven't figured out all the variables governing score (mainly on escort and protect missions) but this is a fairly accurate breakdown of the point system. During the mission, these points are awarded as they occur and even if you are killed or fail, they will still register on the mission results: Escort's Health (variable, up to +20 if you end the mission with full health)* Normal Kill +3 Chimatsuri-Sappo +7 Normal Kill Special +7 Chimatsuri-Sappo Special +11 Spotted - 3 per enemy Betrayal - ? Upon mission success, these points will be factored in to your existing score: Mission Success +50 Not Spotted +20 Health (variable, up to +20 if you end the mission with full health)** No Normal Kills +10 Attack CS Bonus (variable, up to +9 is as high as I've gotten)*** * Only on Escort and Protect missions. ** Only on missions that are not Escort or Protect. *** Only on Attack missions. The first CS will add +5 with each CS afterwards giving +1 until an unknown limit cap) The end result will be capped according to the difficulty you are playing on, Hard Mode has no cap. Concerning the "No Kill No Spot" strategy: It's obvious that the point system is heavily biased against characters who have no Chimatsuri-Sappo. In fact, normal killing a standard opponent after being spotted will result in a zero point gain; the only way to obtain higher than a 100 point score for a non-CSer is to make undetected kills with normal attacks or items which is far more difficult than CS. Even then, making any normal kills at all results in the loss of a +10 bonus meaning you have to kill 4 ordinary enemies undetected, just to break 100. Since being spotted results in the loss of a +20 bonus, being detected even one time can ruin a character's score. For non-CS capable characters, getting through a level without killing and without being spotted: No Kill No Spot (NKNS) is the best course, aiming for a humble 100 points. This allows for play on Normal Mode which makes up for some characters' stealth deficiencies and lack of mobility and in many cases, this is easier than clearing out a level. Besides, even the most enemy-packed stages will only give your non-CSer a paltry few extra points in exchange for an absolutely perfect playthrough. Of course the NKNS strategy pretty much restricts you to certain mission types but it should be enough to max out your character's level. Besides, there are ways to kill without being held responsible for it such as enemies being killed by other enemies or dying from fall damage or falling into a well. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ SHINOBIDO: TALES OF THE NINJA STORY MODE WALKTHROUGH ///////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// This guide will tell you a reliable way to clear a mission, preferably with 100 points as well as supplying additional information about the mission and the plot segments. You should be able to get all gold ratings by following this guide and not being a bad ninja. Also, there are plenty of cheats and exploits to help you beat the game easier if you're weak, but this guide is for doing things legitimately. ============================================================================= The time is the Period of Warring States. The place is Utakata. Ichijo, lord of Utakata. Akame, lord of a neighbouring province. And Sadame, leader of the religious cult known as the Amurita Faith. These three leaders were supported by a group of warriors as they vied for control of Utakata. These warriors were called the Asuka Ninja. As the strongest group of ninja in Utakata, they had the power to change the fate of the entire province. One day, a mysterious ascetic known as Gamuran appeared in Utakata. He and his men destroyed the Asuka Ninja, and the few surviving members were scattered to the winds. with the Asuka Ninja gone, Utakata was plunged into war. To Ichijo, Akame, and Sadame, Gamuran was a common foe, and his appearance seemed to mark the beginning of a truce between the three lords. But their conflict resumed with even greater force once Gamuran was defeated at the hands of Goh the Crow, one of the remaining Asuka Ninja. Once again, these three warring powers would require the services of those dark warriors known as ninja. Goh reuinites with his Asuka Ninja companions Zaji the Black Hawk and Kinu the Golden Canary. They complete all of their missions diligently with the mutual goal of restoring the Asuka village in mind, not only for themselves, but also for their friends and their honoured dead. One day, Goh hears a strange rumour... ============================================================================= +PROLOGUE: INFERNO Assassination: Merchant Max Score: 135 ============================================================================= By defeating Gamuran, the Asuka Ninja had prevented war in Utakata. Yet, the peace was still fragile. It was during these troubled times that the Asuka Ninja began to rebuild their hometown. However, the rebuilding process was slow since their services were constantly required. One of their first tasks was to seal away the sword that killed Gamuran in a shrine so that it would forever remind the Asuka Ninja of the great dangers that come with a lust for power. ============================================================================= -Ichijo Swordsman (4) -Merchant (1) This is the tutorial mission. It's about as straightforward as you can get. The merchant won't eat the sushi by the way, but you can use it to set up an easy ledge CS. Easy 100 points for anybody: IF you can get to the end without killing or being spotted (easy), you can pepper the merchant from afar with your weak explosive spheres. Each time one hits him, it'll launch him slightly and he'll take a bit of falling damage. If you can lower his health to the point where the falling damage from launching is what actually kills him, that's 100 points. If you screw up and blow him up, it's 93 points which isn't too shabby either. +MISSION 1: DEFEAT ALL ENEMIES Total Destruction Max Score: 135 -Barbarian (5) Fortunately, all the barbarians in this level are easy to approach from behind or above and are stationary. A neat trick is knocking out a barbarian with one of their own axes, then ground CSing them. Always be careful when approaching a barbarian because they will randomly turn 90 degrees in either direction. They startle easily so even if you are seen, there's still time to CS them if you're fast. For fun: To showcase the stupidity of barbarians, run around and get all of them to chase you (on hard, you only need to alert one), then jump on top of the roof of the well and wait. 65 points without lifting a finger. +MISSION 2: DEFEAT ALL ENEMIES Total Destruction Max Score: 135 -Ichijo Swordsman (5) If you take out the guard in the tower quickly (use auto-grapple), you can race down to the other side of the house and kill the patrolling guard easily as he should have his back turned at that time. The two guards in front are easy. The guard inside the house is a bit tricky...you can lure him out with items (throw a potion against the wall or use the chick) or sneak in through the entrance in the roof at the back of the house. If you have an Asuka ninja, you can ledge cling right above him and get a CS prompt, otherwise just drop down in front of him and CS him in the face. This mission is so easy that as long as your character can 1-hit kill, they can earn 100-105 points just through normal kills. The only difficult part might be the guard inside the room but if you throw a potion outside, he'll run up to the door and pause before opening. Simply use your killing move right through the door before he opens it. +MISSION 3: GET THE CHEST Thievery: Safe Max Score: 135 -Ichijo Swordsman (4) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) The only difficulties here are the Samurai General and the last guard on the right. Both can be lured easily by throwing a potion in the right place, and CSing them as they return to their post. A fast shinobi can actually perform a dashing jump off the roof of the east shrine, and air grapple to the westshrine ending up behind the Samurai General for an easy CS. Easy 100 points for anybody: Start by heading down the right route and use the rooftops to avoid the first guard. The second guard is a bit more tricky but throwing a potion or shuriken will budge him from his station, allowing you to slip by. Now that you have the chest, wait for that guard to return to his post, then toss a shuriken past him. He will run to investigate. Take the LEFT outer edge of the low wall to completely circumvent that area, it will allow you to emerge on the walkway behind the first guard. Throw a shuriken into the bushes (clang?) to get him out of your way and your path is clear! Now I wonder what is inside the bushes to make that kind of noise...? +PART 1: YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE I CAN COUNT ON Thievery: Documents Max Score: 142 ============================================================================= A letter arrived from Sadame. It appeared to be a simple retrieval mission... "I have been the victim of a crime recently. Some relics very important to the god Amurita himself have been stolen from my private chambers by Kabuto of the Taraba Ninja. Surprised that he is still alive? Well me too. He blew some big holes into my residence. All that noise, typically him... Not very secretive. I hope you will be somewhat more discreet than that when you return the relics. They are in Lord Akame's possession right now. It is of the utmost importance that I have them returned to me as quickly as possible." ============================================================================= -Akame Swordsman (4) -Kabuto (1) -Village Girl (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: Start by climbing the wall and going north all the way. There are patrolling guards on both sides who should be avoided. Continue west down the wall until you're near the room where the chest is located and go inside. Open the doors to the courtyard of the house, then grab the chest and quickly run to the room located to your southeast. A guard might get suspicious but you shouldn't have to worry about him. There's a doorway in that room with a guard posted outside. Use a chick to lure him away and make a dash for the exit. Don't let your guard down though, there's a patrolling guard right outside the gate but he often gets stuck in the trench. Taraba Ninja simply need to grab the chest and hop onto the outside wall, then walk to the objective point. Max Score Strategy: Take Kabuto out first, watch his patrol and CS him from the air if possible, otherwise take him from behind. There is a guard behind the bamboo fence who is easy to take out. Next try to figure out where the patrolling guard is, climbing the east wall should give you a vantage on his patrol route. Kill the remaining stationary guard and the girl, then lastly the patrolling guard in the trench outside the wall. ============================================================================= Lord Akame: "Take what you came for. Useless ninja... You are playing right into her hands." ============================================================================= +MISSION 4: DEFEAT ALL ENEMIES Total Destruction Max Score: 142 -Barbarian (5) -Mosu Ninja (1) This mission is annoying if you can't CS. You have a bunch of barbarians, mostly on patrol and on roofs. It's not that hard but I recommend observing their patrol routes first before charging in. Also if the Mosu Ninja is doing sexy stretches, hit her with the knockout sphere or wait for her to stop before rushing in. +MISSION 5: DELIVER THE CHEST Transport: Safe Max Score: 147 -Ichijo Swordsman (2) -Bear (3) This is the easiest mission to get a fast 100 points on as you start with an Invisible Shadow scroll which makes you completely invisible to others. A good thing too because this is the first mission with BEARS, a ninja's worst enemy. Easy 100 points for anybody: Pop your Invisible Shadow Scroll, pick the chest back up and run past all those bears. Avoid the landmine at the gate if you feel like it and run the chest into the shack. That's all! On Hard mode where you can actually break 100 points, you can CS some guards for some extra points if you want, particularly the one at the end with his back turned. Max Score Strategy: Ugh, BEARS. All within line of sight of each other. With a doghouse to boot, what a terrible situation. Using an Asuka shinobi is easier since air CS are the only reliable way to take down bears without alerting them. Also kill the guards first since they often get killed by the bears, robbing you of the points. It's advisable to divide and conquer the bears and luring one into the maze can be done by tossing a potion into a hole on the east side of the map. Oh, and don't forget to tip the doghouse while you still have Invisible Shadow on. +MISSION 6: COLLECT MUSHROOMS AND DELIVER THEM Collection: 3 Mushrooms Max Score: 142 -Barbarian (6) -Cat (1) The only tricky area in this level is the bridge since there is a barbarian watching it on the other side. On HARD, he'll get suspicious before you even get halfway across. Some characters can actually dash jump air-grapple across the chasm to get behind him or wall run against the edge of the map and then wall jump onto solid ground, others will have to distract the barbarian by conventional means. Easy 100 points for anybody: Proceed forward from the start location past the barbarian until you see a log. There is a mushroom on the other side of it. Jump up on the log and throw a potion at the first barbarian, it should attract all the barbarians on that side of the bridge. Quickly now, proceed to the bridge and hug the left side. The barbarian shouldn't even see you. There's a mushroom before the second bridge and you can get your final mushroom past the stupa statues right near the objective point. Note: There's a cat prowling around. It'll attract attention if you throw a shuriken at it and try to run away. Often it falls into the abyss. Also there are little barbarian huts. You can open them with triangle but I'd recommend against doing so. +MISSION 7: DEFEAT ALL ENEMIES Total Destruction Max Score: 135 -Ichijo Swordsman (4) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) If you hurry to the entrance of the maze with a fast character, you should be able to get there in time to CS a handful of the guards. You can also make noises on top of the maze to get them to all come out. Use corner CS and amnesia sushi to make quick work of the others, they all have rather predictable patrols. Just be careful where you leave bodies. Kabuto and Taraba Ninja can get a lot of free kills by standing at the side of the doorway and using the flamethrower through the wall, but will still have to fight the general since he can't be one-shot by any of their moves. +MISSION 8: DELIVER THE CHEST Transport: Safe Max Score: 128 -Ichijo Swordsman (4) Easy 100 points for anybody: Just run to the exit! On normal, guards are so blind, you'll get some suspicious looks but that's about all. Plus you have knockout spheres though you don't even need them. +MISSION 9: ASSASSINATE: CHIEF Assassination: Samurai General Max Score: 139 -Ichijo Swordsman (3) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) -Yojimbo (1) Max Score Strategy: This one takes a tiny bit of finesse to max score since it might prove difficult to kill the Yojimbo and the Samurai General at the end. After disposing of the common guards, open the door to the General's room just a crack, then back off. Try to get the Yojimbo to see you without being seen by the General. The Yojimbo should very slowly, come out to investigate, closing the door behind him. The moment he loses interest and turns around, CS him. Now enter the roof entrance in the back of the house to access the General's room. Tossing a coin in will draw his attention and you can drop down for an easy CS. +MISSION 10: COLLECT MUSHROOMS AND DELIVER THEM Collection: 3 Mushrooms Max Score: 135 -Ichijo Swordsman (5) Easy 100 points for anyone: Go forward and take a right at the lantern. There's a mushroom right next to a guard and you should be able to snatch it without him noticing. Now walk behind him and follow the stream. There's another mushroom by the willow tree. Use your grappling hook to cross the stream silently and continue west until you see a guard by a small house. Use your knockout sphere on him and quickly grapple over the roof of the shed and the last mushroom will be right on the other side. Hop back onto the roof, jump over the now-awake guard and cross the stream at the same place as before. There's a little alley near the well that will take you back to the starting area. +MISSION 11: STEAL THE RICE Thievery: Rice Max Score: 135 -Ichijo Swordsman (4) -Ichijo Elite Archer (1) Tip: There are actually two rice parcels in this level. Easy 100 points for anyone: Enter the gate and run up the stairwell, hugging the left side to avoid the first guard. Once you are safely past him, cross over to the right side of stairs. You'll pass a willow tree with some crates, and then see a willow tree followed by some bushes and a patrolling guard. Past those bushes is a hidden niche with a rice container in it. Now you can pick up the rice container without actually going down to it (see TECHNIQUES: Magic Pickup) which is handy because otherwise you'd need a crate or a character with good jumping skills to get back out with it. Once you have the rice, just head back down the stairs and watch out for the first guard. +MISSION 12: ASSASSINATE: BARBARIAN CHIEFTAIN Assassination: Barbarian Chieftain Max Score: 135 -Barbarian (4) -Barbarian Chieftain (1) This mission is really annoying to max score because of the little barbarians all patrolling in one area. Easy 100 points for anybody: Immediately auto-grapple to the topside of the structure. We want to get behind the chieftain and set up a crate on the dirt ledge. At this point we stand on the crate and shoot him point blank with the grappling hook and he tumbles over your head and into the abyss. It helps if you immediately hop down in front of your crate, otherwise he might spot you on his way down. Since you technically didn't kill him...NKNS! +MISSION 13: ASSASSINATE: CHIEF Assassination: Samurai General Max Score: 135 -Ichijo Swordsman (4) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: This is a very amusing assassination but we need to do it on HARD*. First, grapple onto the top of the gate and follow the fence to your right until you find a well. Carefully place your sushi on the rim of the well, but not on the front or back of it and not on the corners. Now throw a potion at the fence near the General's room (if you do it right, only he will hear it) and he'll come running out to investigate. Try to be out of sight at this point obviously. Now on his way back to his chambers, he'll catch sight of your tantalizing sushi with his keen HARD mode vision and walk over to it. If you placed the sushi properly, he will climb onto the well and eat it, immediately falling unconscious and slipping into the well to his death. Note: Different characters throw items differently which may make it very hard or very easy to place the sushi. *You don't really have to do it on HARD but on NORMAL, you will have to lure the General closer to the well. +MISSION 14: KIDNAP: MERCHANT Kidnapping: Merchant Max Score: 128 -Akame Swordsman (4) -Merchant (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: This seems almost too familiar to PART TWO level except this time you're snatching a plump merchant. Your only obstacle here is a patrolling guard but if you do everything quickly, he shouldn't ever be a threat. Anyway you start outside the complex. Proceed around the outside of the wall until you are near the merchant's room. Hop the wall, open the right-most sliding door and there he will be with his back turned to you. Walk into him pressing triangle repeatedly and you should sling him over your shoulder with no fuss. Now just jump back over the wall (even lousy jumpers can do this) and return the way you came. Easy! +MISSION 15: DELIVER THE CHEST Transport: Safe Max Score: 149 -Ichijo Swordsman (5) -Ichijo Elite Swordsman (1) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: This one is a piece of cake. Just head down the slope and in through the front gate and swing a right. Follow the fence until you reach the general's building and peek down the alley to be sure a patrolling guard isn't there. At this point, just run to the gate, you shouldn't even need to use the rather powerful knockout sphere they gave you. Max Score Strategy: Ditch your chest at the front gate and CS that first guard. Run around behind the buildings and grapple onto the roof of the second building and CS the guy in the lookout tower. Now look down and you should see two patrolling guards. One should catch sight of your first corpse and run over. CS him at your leisure. Jump onto the roof of the nearby bunker and toss a mushroom to lure out the guard inside. He'll run over to his two dead buddies and soon the corpses will number three. Grapple back onto the building and jump two fences towards the exit and you'll end up near a well. There will be a stationary guard and a patrolling guard nearby who can easily be taken out. Pile their corpses near the General's office and call him out with a mushroom from atop his building. When he draws his sword, nail him with the knockout sphere (though don't be too close) and make sure he doesn't wake up. All that's left is to retrieve your chest and run it to the exit...don't forget your speed potion for convenience! +SPECIAL MISSION: A CHANCE MEETING Assassination: Hebitonbo Max Score: 142 ============================================================================= Kinu: "The old farmer village is on fire. Look, heavy smoke is billowing into the sky." Zaji: "Let's hurry. We must help the villagers to extinguish the fire." The Asuka Ninja hastened to the old village. As they came closer, Goh sensed that something wasn't right. Goh: "Stop! Get down! Can you see the Kenobi Ninja over there?!" Kinu: "This makes no sense. Why would the Kenobi NInja attack a farmer village? There's nothing of value here." Zaji: "We'd better split up and infiltrate the village from three different sides. Let's get some answers!" ============================================================================= -Kenobi Ninja (4) -Uzimushi (1) -Hebitonbo (1) -Cat (1) Well, well, if it isn't the Kenobi Ninja. About time we got to kill something other than barbarians and samurai! ============================================================================= Uzumushi: "I told you this was the wrong village." Hebitonbo: "Every child knows that ninja are farmers by day and, well, ninja by night. This is the right village. Why are you always so negative? We killed all the filthy Asuka Ninja and avenged my brother's death. This was easy!" Uzimushi: "Oh no... This is a real Asuka Ninja. We are in trouble." ============================================================================= Max Score Strategy: Just start off by hopping over the stream...there should be a stationary Kenobi on rooftop there. CS him and if he falls off the roof, seek higher ground. A patrolling Kenobi will be along shortly and will find the body. Suspicious Kenobi tend to jump on top of nearby roofs. After you kill him, head towards the objective and you'll see another Kenobi dashing up and down the stairs. He can be a little tricky but you can outrun him or ambush him. The last Kenobi is hidden on the side of the stairwell and is perfect corner CS fodder. Now if you head up the stairs and peek around, you'll find Hebitonbo and Uzumushi surrounded by a ton of dogs. They both have great vision as well, which will actually work in your favor since you want to lure them out of this kennel one at a time and CS them (lure Uzumushi first as the mission ends when you kill Hebitonbo.) As always, a thrown potion does wonders and baiting them with Kenobi corpses works too. ============================================================================= Uzumushi: "You killed Hebitonbo again. I mean, it's not him exactly, but they looked so similar that we called them by the same name. Anything else would have been too complicated. I will get you for this one day! Maybe..." ============================================================================= How are you still talking Uzumushi? You just got CSed and thrown down a well! +MISSION 16: DEFEAT ALL ENEMIES Total Destruction Max Score: 142 -Barbarian (6) Incredibly simple mission. Just proceed clockwise around the map and CS all the barbarians. Hell, you can even do this with non-CS characters for a max of 108 points. +MISSION 17: DELIVER THE CHEST Transport: Safe Max Score: 135 -Barbarian (2) -Barbarian Chieftain (3) Easy 100 Points for anybody: Jump on the first log you come across and double back. The objective will be on your right and all you have to do is drop down when the chieftain isn't looking. Note: lousy jumpers will have to hit the log at just the right place to get on top of it, but it is possible to do it consistently with any character. +PART 2: BALD DANCE Total Destruction Max Score: 170 ============================================================================= Lord Ichijo met with his advisors constantly to discuss how to secure Utakata's borders. Eventually, he discovered a way to achieve that goal. Tasogare, a big and wealthy province in the North of Utakata was ruled by Lord Uzuki. So far, Tasogare had remained neutral during previous power struggles. It was well known that Lord Uzuki was looking for a suitable husband for his eldest daughter Princess Azami. Seeing this as an opportunity to earn the support of Tasogare, Lord Ichijo sent a messenger to Lord Uzuki to offer the princess his hand in marriage. Surprisingly, the offer was accepted, but under one condition. Lord Uzuki: "The Kenobi Ninja have served my family for many years, but recently they have been nothing but a constant annoyance. Even the simplest order results in embarrassment and failure. One of them, Uzumushi, would have made a great sumo. You can imagine how qualified he is to be a ninja though, when he can hardly fit through a door. Unfortunately, he has a habit of 'accidentally' killing innocent villagers, making the streets even more dangerous instead of securing them. Sadly the other Kenobi Ninja are not any better than him. Nobody can possibly predict what disaster is going to happen next. The Kenobi Ninja are useless and, more importantly, a threat to my subjects. Therefore I wish them all to be eliminated once and for all. Do me this favour and I will agree to the wedding." ============================================================================= -Kenobi Ninja (9) -Uzumushi (1) Oh man, what a nightmare. Kenobi everywhere with overlapping patrols and Uzumushi to boot. Well, at least they gave you plenty of explosive sushi if you're not worried about score. Note that if an enemy gets blown into the air but they actually die from hitting the ground, you get no points for that. Max Score Strategy: This is a tough mission, but doable. And worth lots of points as well. Start off by killing the Kenobi that is hidden in between the buildings nearby, then the stationary one at the edge of the cliff. Find a good place to hide and wait for someone to notice the corpses. There's a Kenobi who does a circuit of the entire level, he should be the first to show up, CS him the moment his alert goes grey and then toss his corpse closer to the bridge to annoy the other two patrolling Kenobi. Since there's a well nearby, they will try to dispose of the bodies which makes them easy kills, because you'll be hanging inside the well mashing triangle you nasty sneaky ninja you! Once you've cleared the bridge, you've finished the difficult part, but don't neglect the Kenobi further down the row of houses. Cross to the other side and take care of the patrolling Kenobi by air CSing him when he reaches the end of his patrol. He has a friend hiding in a niche nearby who is easy to take care of, then another Kenobi overlooking the cliff. Last of all is Uzumushi who can be a real problem since his vision is great and he's surprisingly fast for a grotesquely obese manbaby. Biding your time for a CS is your best bet but luring him to the bridge with potions for a ledge CS works well also. ============================================================================= A letter of thanks arrived from Ichijo. He is nothing if not predictable. "Soon I am going to be married to the lovely Princess Azami. Her father, the mighty Lord Uzuki, will help us against our enemies and peace in Utakata will soon be established. Though I had always wished to marry because of true love, the benefits of this excellent connection are much more important. Rejoice, my subjects!" ============================================================================= +MISSION 18: KIDNAP MERCHANT Kidnapping: Merchant Max Score: 149 -Sadame Swordsman (3) -Sadame Elite Swordsman (3) -Sadame Samurai General (1) -Merchant (1) Here's our first encounter with the sinister Amurita sect, led by the beautiful and utterly mad Lady Sadame. Easy 100 points for anybody: Auto-grapple over the wall, then grapple onto the rooftop of the storehouse in front of you. Chug your potency potion, run over to the edge of the roof near the house and look down. There will be a stationary guard and the merchant walking along. Wait for the merchant to get close enough to the guard and hit the guard with a gigantic amnesia sphere. Hop down and grab the merchant who should have been hit as well (though even if you mis-timed it and he goes into blue alert, you can still grab him from behind.) Now simply exit the front gate and try not to step in the moat. If you're playing Taraba, use your jumps to get into position but be careful of the guard in the tower. Max Score Strategy: Doing things quickly here is important. Rapple up to the tower on your left and CS the guard. Go to the back corner of the map where the general and doghouse are via the 2 storehouse rooftops. Hit him with a potent amnesia bomb and he'll be so stoned he won't even notice you land in front of him (close enough to the doghouse so it doesn't go off). CS his face but beware if you're Asuka because he'll struggle a bit. In fact, if he resists, don't mash triangle, it will only tire you out. Let him throw you off and you'll immediately get another CS prompt...which will succeed. Proceed clockwise around the two storehouses and CS the patrolling guard. Take care of the two guards in front of the house, then the two guards in front of the gate. Grapple onto the rooftop of the house. The merchant should be wandering around behind the house by now if you haven't wasted any time. Amnesia sphere and snatch him, then leave the level. +MISSION 19: STEAL THE RICE AS IT IS BEING SHIPPED Robbery: Rice Max Score: 163 -Barbarian (6) -Ichijo Swordsman (2) -Ichijo Elite Swordsman (1) Max Score Strategy: This one is easy and worth lots of points. Just dash to the left at the start of the mission and get behind the procession and CS them one by one. Then CS all the barbarians. For the last two, corner CS them if you're Asuka, but frontal CSing them by surprise works well too. Note: The elite swordsman carrying the rice is easily alerted and more resistant to CS attempts. If he's in blue alert, think twice about trying to CS him. +MISSION 20: GET THE CHEST Thievery: Safe Max Score: 149 -Ichijo Swordsman (5) -Ichijo Elite Swordsman (1) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) There are actually 3 chests in this level, one in each storehouse with a guard, and one in an underground bunker guarded by a samurai general and a doghouse. Easy 100 points for anybody: You start off on a roof, how nice! Throw a potion at the elite swordsman down there. It'll scare him and bring two other guards, one of which is from a nearby storehouse. One amnesia sphere will put them all in daydreamland giving you enough time to loot the storehouse of its chest and flee out the front gate. Careful not to goose the gate guard by accident though. Max Score Strategy: The samurai general is rather easy to CS since he has a long, exposed patrol route alongside a rooftop. Murdering all the outside guards is no problem either but the storehouse guards require some special care. Open the storehouse door from the left side and corner peek. Toss an amnesia sphere inside and listen for the telltale sound of a guard going catatonic, then dispose of him however you'd like. That works for both storehouses. Now that everyone is dead, take whichever chest looks the shiniest and get out of there. +MISSION 21: COLLECT MUSHROOMS AND DELIVER THEM Collection: 3 Mushrooms: Town Max Score: 149 -Barbarian (4) -Ichijo Swordsman (2) -Village Girl (1) When did Barbarians and Ichijo faction start getting along so well anyhow? Maybe Ichijo stopped putting them in storage sheds... Easy 100 points for anybody: Immediately drop down near the bushes on your right and follow them until you find the mushroom near the house. Go left and near the gate you'll find a second mushroom. Turn around and cautiously head back towards your starting point and wait for the patrolling barbarian in the lower ground to turn his back, then run in and grab the last mushroom that is in the corner near the objective. The whole thing should take less than 20 seconds. Max Score Strategy: Take out the patrolling barbarians first, preferably out of sight of their friends, then go around the map killing all the stationary people including that nice gal in pink. So easy, I didn't even need to write this down! +MISSION 22: PROTECT: ICHIJO Guard: Nobuteru Ichijo: Fortress Max Score: 170 -Kenobi Ninja Spawn Points (2) -Ally Ichijo Swordsman (4) -Lord Ichijo (1) I really hate escort and guard missions due to their unpredictable and chaotic nature (and the fact that the stupid allies are vulnerable to CS as well as hitting me whenever I'm trying to perform one). Hence, I am only giving general information on these. In this mission, you are protecting the well-meaning but incompetent Lord Nobuteru Ichijo. Your opponent are the formidable Kenobi Ninja who will be infiltrating from three points. Don't even try to patrol all three entrances. Fortunately you're loaded with defensive items so go wild. Your best bet is to hide with Ichijo and corner CS incoming Kenobi. You can use caltrops to slow them down and mines to kill them, but keep in mind that the idiot guards will fall victim to them just as frequently. Also blowing up the enemy is worth less points than CSing them. Tossing corpses in the doorway will trip the ninja as they come sprinting in, which isn't really that helpful but its rather funny to watch. As long as you don't get in their face, the Kenobi won't spot you and any that you can't ambush can be backstabbed while they're fighting with Ichijo. Note: Since Kenobi are scared of land mines, you can plant them on both their spawn points and cause them to freeze the moment they appear. However the mission won't end until 10 Kenobi have died so... By the way, don't try too hard to max score this level, some of the Kenobi are probably going to fall into pits which is totally unpreventable. +MISSION 23: ASSASSINATE: CHIEF Assassination: Barbarian Chieftain: Mountains Max Score: 149 -Barbarian (6) -Barbarian Chieftain (1) Looks like the barbarians are having some sort of pow-wow in the forest. Max Score Strategy: Take out the patrolling barbarians first, then the two cronies surrounding the Chieftain (both can be corner CSed.) Take advantage of the fact that barbarians can be CSed even while blue/orange alert or knocked out with axes and CSed. It's harder than it sounds though. You can also use your sushi to lure barbarians to more secluded spots. Once everyone else is dead, the chieftain himself is a piece of cake. +MISSION 24: ASSASSINATE: MERCHANT Assassination: Merchant: Town Max Score: 170 -Akame Swordsman (3) -Akame Elite Swordsman (2) -Kenobi Ninja (4) -Merchant (1) Max Score Strategy: There's no real strategy other than taking out the big threats first (the two patrolling elites) and then mopping up all the small fry before taking out the merchant himself. It's a tricky mission but worth a lot of points. Watch out for the guy in the guard tower, kill the southmost Kenobi before you take out his brother to the north and do not let the merchant see any corpses or he will totally freak out and start randomly running around the map. And don't forget the two Kenobi in the northwest, take out the one standing in the water staring at nothing AFTER you kill everyone within earshot because his corpse will make a splash. +MISSION 25: OBTAIN THE SECRET DOCUMENTS Thievery: Documents: Residence Max Score: 149 -Ichijo Swordsman (5) -Kenobi Ninja (2) Easy 100 points for anybody: Climb the pillar on the far right and follow the Kenobi Ninja down the rooftop while maintaining your distance. Hop off at the end and enter the house from the back, taking the chest with you. Go back to the side you came from and wait for the Kenobi to pass, throw down a piece of amnesia sushi as insurance and head towards the gate. Use your knockout sphere on the patrolling guard at the gate or throw a potion to draw both guards away. Don't take long, that amnesia sushi only lasts so long. Max Score Strategy: Ledge hang on the pillar to the left, wait for the Kenobi to pass and then toss a piece of sushi up there. The Kenobi will come along and unhesitatingly eat it, allowing you to CS him (don't ledge CS him or his corpse will fall in the water and make a lot of noise). Now look down at the two guards. While the patrolling guard's back is turned, CS the stationary guard and then hide in the well. Both the other Kenobi and the guard will attempt to dispose of the corpse allowing you to drag them each into the well. Proceed down the left side of the path and CS another guard, then hop up onto the wall and get behind the next guard. Enter the house from behind and take out the last guard and retrieve the chest. That was fun! +SPECIAL MISSION: THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE PRINCESS Rescue: Princess: Town Max Score: 144 ============================================================================= A couple days before Lord Ichijo's wedding, bad news arrived in Utakata. Princess Azami and her entourage had been ambushed. An investigation revealed the princess was still alive, but held captive in a small village high up in the Utakata Mountains. Free the princess and return her to Utakata safely. ============================================================================= -Yojimbo (3) -Bear (1) -Princess (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: Either distract the first Yojimbo with a health sphere or jump over him completely and land on the roof of the gate. Continue north and stay close to the wall of the long building on the left. There is a doghouse at the end, it should hide the moment you round the corner. Take it with you. Around the corner is a pit, hop down and set up the doghouse as a stepstool (not necessary for strong jumpers), go deeper into the dungeon and rescue the princess. Pick her up and hop out of the pit and return to the front gate. Nail the Yojimbo with your knockout sphere (throw it at the wall behind him) and proceed past him to the objective. Max Score Strategy: This is frustrating, solely because of that damn bear. Frequently it will see a Yojimbo within the first few seconds of the mission and begin a battle royale, making it impossible to get your points for CS. Your best bet is to run towards the bear's starting point a ways, then chuck the knockout sphere in its general direction. Often, the bear will run over to it and catch a face full of purple gas, allowing you to kill it quietly. If it rages instead, restart and try again. Afterwards its a matter of killing the three Yojimbos and rescuing the princess. Not that Yojimbos are easy to CS for non-Asuka; make frequent use of the vertical CS glitch. +MISSION 26: STEAL THE DOCUMENTS AS THEY ARE BEING SHIPPED Robbery: Documents: Mountains Max Score: 177 -Ichijo Swordsman (4) -Ichijo Archer (1) -Ichijo Rifleman (4) -Ichijo Elite Swordsman (1) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) There are actually 3 dropoff points in this level. Easy 100 points for anybody: At the start, take a peek down the left passage (but don't let the patrolling guard see you) and chuck some confusion spheres at the area near the log in the distance. This should cause the entourage there to break down into a chaotic mess with the chest being dropped right near a dropoff point. Head over there and perch on the log a bit and wait for the fighting to move away from the chest (and sphere anyone who's still sane). Once the opportunity arises, hop down, grab the chest and walk several steps to the objective point. Max Score Strategy: Very difficult! Begin by dashing forward and circling around behind the patrolling guard near you and CS him. You should see someone running off into the distance during this time; if you don't, he's hiding in a sunken niche nearby with bushes concealing him. It's pretty random. Take out the patrolling archer to the northwest by circling behind him, then quickly head for the log and try to get behind the procession so you can CS them one by one. The leader of the entourage might give you trouble but be patient and consider hiding once you take out the chestbearer. Once they're all dead, there are three guards and a samurai general down a side passage, all patrolling. If you can find the niche with the gunpowder around the central pit, there's a ledge right above it that will give you access to the top of the level, making it a lot easier to plan out your assault. Eitherway, it won't be easy. +MISSION 27: MAKE IT THROUGH THE DANGEROUS PATH Travel: Mountains Max Score: 160 -Kenobi Ninja (7) -Bear (1) If you just want to 100 point this, the bear is your best friend. If you want to get max score, the bear is your worst enemy. Easy 100 points for anybody: Throw a potion near the bear's den and the curious Kenobi and angry bear will begin a huge noisy battle that will pretty much empty the way to the exit in a manner of seconds. Taraba Ninja can actually jump on top of the level at the start and walk to the exit. Gamuran can do it too but he needs some help...like those gunpowder barrels in the bear's den. Max Score Strategy: Oh ho ho...what a pain. There's certain priorities you need to attend to in order to recieve a full score for this level. First is the bear. On hard, it will frequently spot you as you try to take the second passage right which will call for an immediate restart. Second is a particular patrolling Kenobi who almost always gets himself killed by traps if you don't kill him first. After this, you have a pair of Kenobi, one of them glitched, who are extremely difficult to CS without being spotted. After you kill trap ninja, kill the bear so it doesn't wander into any other Kenobi. Afterwards, you shouldn't have much trouble until the Kenobi duo. The stationary one can be taken down with a ledge hang behind him (tricky!) but this often causes the other one to become alarmed and go running into traps. Tossing a corpse down the hallway he's in will prevent that though and the ninja that's stuck in the wooden platform is perfect for this. In the event he doesn't notice the death of his partner, you should creep out of there, climb to the top of the level and drop down the hole behind him and perform a ledge CS (as any others might cause you to fall in a pit.) It doesn't make a lot of sense right now but trust me, this is the most reliable way. +PART 3: BUDDHA'S HAND Guard: Nobuteru Ichijo: Residence Max Score: ??? ============================================================================= The wedding day was approaching fast and Princess Azami's was expected to arrive at any time. Not everybody was as delighted about this as Lord Ichijo. The balance of power in the region would change drastically in Lord Ichijo's favour if the wedding took place. His enemies had to hurry if they wanted to prevent this. An attempt on Lord Ichijo's life was likely. Watch out for intruders and protect Lord Ichijo's life by any means necessary. ============================================================================= -Mosu Ninja Spawn Point (?) -Ally Ichijo Swordsman (4) -Ichijo (1) Blah, another protection mission. Once again you're best off hiding with Ichijo and using him as CS bait and hoping he doesn't hit you too much. Mosu Ninja will come through the hatch in the ceiling and consistently land in the same place which lets you immediately CS them. Other Mosu will come in through the doors though the first few will get tied up fighting the guards outside. You can help them if you want. Note: At the start of the mission, there's a guard and a bush in front of the house you begin in. If you wait around a bit, a Mosu will spawn in the bush and you can immediately CS her and still have time to make it to Ichijo before he gets in trouble. ============================================================================= A letter of thanks arrived from Ichijo. Hopefully this won't make things more complicated... "Although I gave the order to double the guards, the assassin still managed to get to me undetected. If it weren't for you, I might be dead by now. I need to know if anyoune assisted my attackers from the inside. Investigate tonight's events and report back to me as soon as possible." ============================================================================= +MISSION 28: KIDNAP: MERCHANT Kidnapping: Merchant: Fortress Max Score: 174 -Sadame Swordsman (6) -Sadame Archer (1) -Sadame Elite Swordsman (2) -Caged Bear (1) -Merchant (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: Quickly jump up to the wooden staircase behind you on the right and run to the overlook. Throw your potion at the cliffside across from you. This will cause the entire entourage to cluster around it, totally preoccupied. At this point you hop down and grapple hook the merchant, causing him to roll right into your arms. Mash triangle to catch him and run to the dropoff point before anyone is the wiser. Max Score Strategy: Quickly get to the top of the cliffs with an auto-grapple and wait for the entourage to begin moving. Hop down and quickly CS all the guards behind the merchant, then grapple out of there because the merchant will startle at this point and turn around, noticing the corpses. While he's busy, dash towards the north over the clifftops and take a flying leap over the wall, landing near an archer who will promptly get CSed. Quickly CS the two guards in front of the gate and grapple up to the cliffs on the right and make your way back to the beginning where the merchant and what's left of his retinue are just now starting their journey again. At this point you want to kill off the one or two guards you missed earlier as well as the two stationary guards, but be careful as the merchant is very jumpy. The speed potion is worth saving for this part as it makes you CS faster as well. After all the guards are dead, CS the caged bear and then just snatch the merchant and leave the level. +MISSION 29: PROTECT THE ARMED OXCART Escort: Mountains Max Score: ??? -Barbarian Spawn Point (?) -Taraba Ninja (2) -Oxcart Ugh, I hate escort missions. But at least you finally get to meet the Taraba Ninja. Start off by CSing the two Taraba Ninja. Then wait around as barbarians appear and do your best to CS them before they reach the oxcart. The barbarians spawn from the summit of the mountain which is also the destination of the oxcart. Try not to get spotted...a shinobi can accrue a lot of points on these levels. I got 228 without really trying and getting spotted several times. These missions are nearly impossible to do with non-CS characters as you end up doing a lot of accidental damage to the oxcart just bt trying to kill the enemies attacking it. +MISSION 30: DEFEAT ALL ENEMIES Total Destruction: Barbarian: Mountains Max Score: ??? -Barbarian (12) -Bear (1) This missions begins with an enraged bear fighting a bunch of barbarians. Now that's awfully nice of him but you don't get any points for those kills. Theoretically you can dance around the melee and CS a barbarian whenever the bear isn't looking but good luck not getting spotted and/or eaten by a bear. Other than that, the mission isn't terribly difficult. The surviving barbarians are mostly scattered and if you want, you can lead the bear to the barbarian village which is the trickiest part, with potions and/or explosives. +SPECIAL MISSION: ICHIJO'S POOR LIFE Thievery: Rice: Mountains Max Score: 163 ============================================================================= Last night, bandits attacked some of Lord Ichijo's villages, They stole the entire harvest and killed many villagers who were trying to protect their property. A famine in those areas are likely, unless you retrieve the crop. The bandits are trying to smuggle the stolen goods out of Utakata. Be quick! ============================================================================= -Barbarian (4) -Barbarian Chieftain (5) This mission is a real headache. Max Score Strategy: Walk down the pathway before you and when you hit the corner, dash! You should be able to catch up with the first chieftain and CS him in the back. Now, grapple up the huge pillar nearby and look around until you see the dropoff point. Throw a shuriken over there to distract the chieftain that's up there and grapple over using the tree to cover you. The tricky part is CSing the chieftain without getting hit by a trap as an Asuka shinobi as they dismount from the CS in the exact same place every time. You'll find in this level, many of the chieftains just happen to have bottomless pits in those places. Whoever designed this level is a jerk. The shuriken should have moved the chieftain from his post so hopefully you can CS him without landing in the cannon trap. From that point on, traverse the level backwards, clearing out all the enemies. Spamming the jump button helps you get out of those pitfalls you'll find yourself in when you finish a CS. When you get to the barbarian village, take out the barbarian in the corner, then the chieftain, then the barbarian to his left, then the other one. The rice will be hidden in the corner and now you have the onerous task of hopping across pillars and traps and trick floors etc to reach the end of the level. There is no trick to this, only your familiarity with your character's jumping abilities. However near the end, throw the rice off the dropoff into the path of the cannon, then hop down on the grassy areas beside the pit traps and pick up the rice when it is safe. Note: Goh's Lv.10 special move can knockout the chieftains, allowing you to perform a ground CS which makes things quite a bit easier. There's also the technique of using the Asuka Reversal move to turn the chieftains around, then CSing them which works wonderfully. +MISSION 31: STEAL THE CHEST AS IT IS BEING SHIPPED Robbery: Safe: Town Max Score: 149 -Akame Swordsman (6) -Akame Elite Swordsman (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: Take all those explosives they gave you and blow everyone to hell. Then waltz out with the chest, that is all. Max Score Strategy: Man, this is easy. Head towards the entourage and CS the stationary guard on the way. Take a dash jump behind them and start CSing one by one. If you're fast, you won't even need to distract the forward guard. Then go back to the beginning and CS the two chumps there. +SPECIAL MISSION: AKAME'S SECRET TREASURE Travel: Residence, 2:00 Time Limit Max Score: 163 ============================================================================= While hunting for deer, Lord Akame's son Toramaru and his companions accidentally crossed the borders to Utakata. While on Utakata soil, the group came across one of Lord Ichijo's samurai groups who suspected the hunters to be spies and captured them. They were taken to a nearby village and held captive for interrogation. Lord Akame: "It is only a matter of time until his true identity is discovered. If he were to become Ichijo's captive... The consequences... I am not willing to let it go that far." ============================================================================= -Ichijo Elite Swordsman (7) -Ichijo Elite Archer (1) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: Run around the pool to your left and hop the fence at its corner. Go around the guard and climb the wall, then run up the grassy area a ways. Hop the wall, hopefully the patrolling archer there isn't looking at you. Hop the next wall and run to the left where you'll see yet another wall that you should be able to climb up. From there, you can leap to the rooftop of the objective building and drop down next to the doorway which will cause the dog to bark and the Samurai General to come running out of the house. Use your knockout sphere on the surprised guard in the corner and stay against the wall. As the Samurai General comes out, he will have extreme tunnel vision and you can actually just run behind him and open the door he just closed. It's a lot easier than it sounds, I only had problems with Taraba because they're huge, and Uzumushi because he's noisy. Max Score Strategy: Be fast! The 3 guards before the storeroom are the most difficult part but it is possible. Stage your attack from the rooftop and don't forget you still need to deal with the Samurai General inside. ============================================================================= Inside the building, Lord Akame's son and his hunting party were imprisoned in cages. Goh released them from their prisons quickly. Toramaru: "Quiet everyone. We need to escape this town quickly. Let's follow our saviour to the border of Utakata. Lead the way." For some hours no-one said a word. Without any disturbance, they finally reached the border of Utakata. Toramaru: "Stop. From here we will go our separate ways. Thanks for the rescue by the way!" ============================================================================= +MISSION 32: STEAL THE RICE Thievery: Rice: Town Max Score: 181 -Sadame Swordsman (1) -Sadame Rifleman (5) -Sadame Elite Swordsman (2) -Sadame Elite Rifleman (1) -Sadame Samurai General (1) -Yojimbo (1) This is a fun mission and worth a lot of points. Easy to NKNS as well. Easy 100 points for anybody: Start by hopping down and heading to the rooftops by the well. You can hop over the street to the rooftops to the east where you'll see a Yojimbo. Toss him a piece of sushi to occupy him or he tends to wander out of his enclosure and muck up your escape later. Continue east along the low wall and jump over the patrolling guard when he isn't looking. From that rooftop you should be able to jump right behind the rice guards and take your pick. Now go around the wall to where the three willows are and enter the small gap between the wall and house. You may have trouble fitting, but even Uzumushi can squeeze in there if you approach from the proper angle. Wait until the patrolling guard in the street turns his back and run straight across (this is important) to the low wall and stay against it. Squeeze past the lantern and take a left. There should be a patrolling guard in the distance and no Yojimbo lounging around, you should be able to reach the dropoff point easily. Max Score Strategy: Not too difficult. Head immediately south and CS the patrolling guard away from the eyes of the gate guards. Grapple onto the roof of the building there and find the Samurai General, try not to CS him where his corpse is going to make a splash. Now hide his body, put a piece of sushi close to the corner of the storehouse and splash in the water to attract the attention of the nearby guard. By the time he turns around, be wall hugging and ready to corner CS him when he comes to get the sushi. You can also just let him eat the sushi if it's the knockout flavor. Now leave the way you came and head towards the Yojimbo enclosure. You should be able to easily CS both him and the patrolling guard there. Head southeast and CS the patrolling guard, then jump over the fence to where the rice is and CS both guards there. Your final two victims are guarding the gates and are easily dispatched from behind. Grab your rice and go. +SPECIAL MISSION: MOSU NINJA AND THE SEALED SWORD Total Destruction: Town Max Score: 156 ============================================================================= During the night, the sword that killed Gamuran was stolen from its shrine. The Asuka Ninja followed the thief's traces to a town in the southwest. KInu: "This is the Mosu Ninja's home town, or at least their current location. They are known for changing their whereabouts frequently." Zaji: "This sword... Who knows what evil can be done with it if it falls into the wrong hands? We must get it back. It's our legacy." ============================================================================= -Mosu Ninja (7) -Usuba (1) These Mosu are real animal lovers. They have 7 doghouses placed around this level! Also Usuba is wandering around too. Max Score Strategy: I recommend ignoring the lower level and going to the upper area where Usuba and 3 Mosu are patrolling. The Mosu nearest Usuba can be ledge CSed and there are nearby rooftops to assist your CSing of the remainder. The one doghouse in that area can be easily avoided. On the bottom level, there are three patrolling Mosu and one stationary on a rooftop. They aren't difficult to take out as long as you mind the doghouses; simply drop down on the doghouse's blind side so that it hides just as a Mosu is passing and quickly tip the doghouse, then CS her. You can even use the doghouses to draw the remaining Mosu to one area and then CS them as they lose interest and wander off. ============================================================================= It was unlikely that Usuba had spoken the truth about the sword, but it wasn't in Mosu Ninja Town, either. Goh: "They must have delivered it to whoever ordered the theft already." Zaji: "Or we have been set up by someone to believe that it was the Mosu. From now on, the Hawk's eye will be watching every of their steps." ============================================================================= +MISSION 33: ASSASSINATE: CHIEF Assassination: Samurai General: Fortress Max Score: 156 -Ichijo Swordsman (1) -Ichijo Elite Swordsman (6) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) This is an odd level. Not only do you have these weird sunken guard towers, the samurai general's location is rather elaborately hidden. Too bad about that huge compass indicator, Mr. General. Max Score Strategy: Firstly, save your potion and sphere until the end. Head north a ways and then drop down so you're outside the compound. Dance in front of the gate until a guard sees you and wanders over for a closer look, at which point you CS him and leave his body in plain sight. This should attract the attention of another two guards who will run over and look for you, not realizing that you are now perched on top of the gate, observing them. Once they lose interest and head back to their posts, you can CS both of them. There's a guard in the large storeroom that you need to lure out. Tossing a body in front of the open door tends to do the trick. After you take care of him, head south and kill the last two topside guards, you only need to be careful about the patrolling one. Now that's all taken care of, head back to the storehouse and look near the wall across from it. There's a pitfall trap there which is the entrance to the secret underground hideout. Don't die trying to get in, that'd just be embarrassing. It might seem like there's nothing down there but find the big green square on your map and look up. There's a raised entrance to a room in the main hallway and I bet you can guess who's inside. Chug your potency potion and throw a big 'ol knockout sphere up there and move away a bit (it has a massive area of effect). Your cue is the sound of bodies hitting the ground, grapple up there and make sure you kill the General's assistant first. One more CS and it's Mission Successful! +MISSION 34: PROTECT THE ARMED OXCART Escort: Residence Max Score: ??? -Barbarian (?) -Barbarian Chieftain (3) Oh boy, oh boy! A protection mission! When you begin this mission, your oxcart is across a chasm from you with a barbarian chieftain ahead just waiting to smash it to kindling. If you're playing as a shinobi, there's a couple places ahead where you can diagonally dash-jump across the chasm and catch the ledge and unite with your oxcart sooner. Otherwise you have to take the long way around, protecting the oxcart with potency-charged explosive spheres and hopped up on speed potion. There's only three chieftains and plenty of spawning barbarians. I find that riding the oxcart is advantageous in that the enemy won't notice you as easily and it's the perfect place to stage an air-CS. Also its fun. Try not to fall into the chasm though, there are only two ways to get out and meanwhile the oxcart might be getting busted up. An odd detail: there's a well under the bridge. Who put that there and why? The world may never know. +MISSION 35: MAKE IT THROUGH THE DANGEROUS PATH Travel: Mountains Max Score: 118 -Ichijo Elite Archer (2) -Bear (1) This is the first of the trick jump missions and probably the easiest one. The others will probably have you pulling out your hair at some point. Keep in mind that having a fast character is almost a detriment in this sort of map as you'll frequently overshoot your target and fall to your death, or wall run where you didn't want to, or wall jump instead of ledge cling, etc etc. Make sure you know how to grapple cancel and undershoot your target. Easy 100 points for anybody. Head down to the end of the little cliff you're on. Jump or grapple to the last of the series of ramp-like structures and go almost to the peak of it. There's a three-pronged structure to the north and you want to grapple between two of the prongs to the pointed structure behind it. You should be able to see the full moon between the prongs. Grappling to the pointed structure should actually propel you over it and onto the next structure where you'll see a guard on a pillar. Carefully jump to the next structure and stand near the back edge of it. Use your grappling hook on the guard and immediately stealth walk backwards into a ledge cling. Either the guard will immediately fall to his death or he'll land where you were standing (hence the ledge cling), stand up like nothing happened, and dutifully head back to his post (which he will never reach). Now jump to the pillar where he was standing and you'll be able to grapple onto the large land mass to the north where a bear resides. This bear is very buggy and random, he essentially determine whether you can clear this mission without being spotted. Sometimes he gets his head stuck in a tree, other times he sits in your path staring at the place you need to go and refuses to move. If you can make your way to the raised east peak of this land mass, you can pull him around with your grappling hook from above which often fixes the problem. Anyway, the destination is just a grapple away from here, get as close to it as you can on the raised edge that is facing it before you grapple; if you screw up here, you're dead meat. Assuming you didn't, you'll be standing by the flag with nothing stopping you from leaving with a NKNS 100 point score. Max Score Strategy: CS the guard, and CS the bear. Simple. Mind you on the guard, Asuka Shinobi should either perform a back CS or ledge CS and Mosu Ninja and Usuba should initate their CS from the guard's left side. Otherwise you'll end up in the abyss along with all the other ninja with awkward CS animations. Note: There's another guard in the level who I can't figure out how to CS without being spotted. He's on a tall pillar to the south of the objective and the only way I can reach him is with a dash-jump-grapple from the front. +MISSION 36: DEFEAT ALL ENEMIES Total Destruction: Fortress Max Score: 149 -Ichijo Archer (2) -Ichijo Elite Archer (1) -Ichijo Elite Swordsman (3) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) This is a quick and fun total elimination mission. You're given some potency potions and some knockout items which is always a good time. There's a doghouse hidden in the corner of the map that you can use to lure enemies, though there really is no need. Max Score Strategy: Immediately grapple over the fence to the left and try not to land on the torch. CS the patrolling guard and his neighbor to the right. There's a patrolling archer further north, CS him as soon as he turns around. Now there are four guard towers and two of them are occupied with guards who are both facing north. Grapple up there and take them both out. Now all that's left is the Samurai General and his assistant. Considering your arsenal one or two potent knockout spheres should be enough to take them both down. +MISSION 37: DELIVER THE CHEST Transport: Safe: Fortress Max Score: 149 -Ichijo Elite Swordsman (7) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) They couldn't have made this easier with all the sushi of amnesia they give you. Easy 100 points for anybody: Timing and speed are important here, and remember that guard patrols might change if they decide to yawn and stretch. Immediately start forward and hang a left at the guard tower. There's an elite guard coming from the west and you want to slip past his patrol so wait by the wall at a safe distance until you can make your move. You'll find yourself in a larger area with another guard tower; your destination is the shack in the northwest. There's a guard with a very short patrol in front of it but its a simple matter to either wait by the wall next to him and sneak in behind him, or to follow him and pass him on the left when he turns around. You should be able to do this all in under 30 seconds, this is a great mission for leveling up characters. Max Score Strategy: Well, you have so much sushi of amnesia as well as a really long lasting potency potion so this should be no trouble, right? Potent sushi is so effective, you can put all your ninja stars into someone and they won't so much as blink. There's someone in the central guard tower who needs a good killin' and you can get up to the top level in various places though there are some sneakily placed cannons you should watch out for. Just take your time. +PART 4: BETRAYAL Escort: Mountains Max Score: ???? -Taraba Ninja (?) -Ally Ichijo Swordsman (2) -Ally Oxcart (1) ============================================================================= Thanks to the Asuka Ninja, the wedding of Lord Ichijo and Princess Azami took place without further disruption. For the first time, peace was truly established in Utakata. However, this moment of victory for Lord Ichijo was overshadowed by the results of his investigation regarding the attempt on his life. Apparently, three of his generals had secretly converted to the Amurity faith and conspired with Lady Sadame to gain control over Utakata. Goh received a message from Ichijo. "Offer my generals a chance to surrender and live the rest of their lives in exile as monks in service of their god. I owe them that much. However if they reject this offer, do what needs to be done. Dealing with Sadame will prove more difficult, I'm afraid. Amurita's followers are many. If they lose their spiritual leader and find out that I was responsible, riots will break out. I do not want to use force agains my own subjects if I can avoid it. We must find another way to avenge the deaths of the men who lost their lives protecting me." ============================================================================= General Advice: Oh yuck, it's a mandatory Escort mission. Well, fortunately this one is rather easy. you begin with the Oxcart and two guards who are more of an annoyance than a help. Your foe are the Taraba Ninja clan who will spend as much time falling off ledges and bumping into each other as they will actually attacking. I recommend going on the immediate offense: travel to the west over the chasm and you should see a waiting Taraba who's just begging to be CSed. Try not to fall into the chasm because there's bottomless pits down there and its a real hassle to get back up top. Patrol the area and kill accordingly. Keep in mind there's a couple minefields near the end that you'll want to clear before your oxcart gets there. That's as simple as stepping on one of the edge mines and grappling away from the whole mess, chain reactions will wipe out the field for you. Note: The guards can make it really difficult to perform a CS on an enemy they're attacking, keep in mind that you can grapple them into the chasm at the start of the mission for convenience. +MISSION 38: DESTROY THE ARMED OXCART Attack: Mountains Max Score: 150? -Sadame Swordsman (2) -Sadame Rifleman (5) -Oxcart (1) General Advice: Well after several oxcart escort missions, we finally get to blow up one of the damned things up ourselves! Sounds fun in theory but Attack missions have some problems of their own. First of all, the target, the oxcart has a lot of HP and you can't CS it. In fact, you are forced to normal kill it so you lose a 10 point bonus. It also has a 360 degree field of awareness and will raise the alarm the moment you get close enough for an attack. And unless you have some means of one-shot killing it without being detected, you can't get through one of these missions with a perfect score. In fact, just like Escort and Protect missions, I don't know what the max score even is. Anyhow in this mission, you begin across a chasm from the enemy Oxcart which has a way bigger entourage than any of ours ever got. Well we'll show them! Aside from the entourage itself, there are two patrolling guards on higher ground across the way so might as well kill them. You can then drop down behind the entourage and kill off the rear guard, then grapple back up and over the high ground so that you're well in front of the Oxcart. If you ledge cling by the chasm, you can CS the forward guard into extinction leaving just you and the oxcart for some quality time alone. Slip into something more comfortable and take your time dismantling it, you should have plenty of time left. +MISSION 39: PROTECT: ICHIJO Guard: Nobuteru Ichijo: Fortress Max Score: 190 -Barbarian (10) -Ichijo Swordsmen (4) -Nobuteru Ichijo (1) Well so much for that truce between Ichijo and the Barbarians. General advice: For a protection mission, this one isn't so bad. The enemy only spawns from two places outside the front gate. You can monitor them both easily from the roof of the gate and air CS them almost immediately, then return to your post and wait for the next one. As a precautionary measure, you might want to detonate all the explosives in the field at the beginning since if Ichijo and his retinue hear a fight or a barbarian slips through, they're likely to blow themselves sky high by rushing out to meet them. +SPECIAL MISSION: ANGRY KENOBI Total Destruction: Mountains Max Score: 142 ============================================================================= The Asuka Ninja's success in Utakata was a thorn in the side to those who also made their living in the shadows. Many admired the Asuka Ninja, but there were also those who were envious of their success. As Kinu was on her way back from the herb merchant, two ninja suddenly jumped out of the nearby trees and blocked her way. ============================================================================= -Kenobi Ninja (6) This one is a Kinu-only mission. Max Score Strategy: On hard mode, you'll be noticed by Kenobi on both sides of the bridge you're on immediately. Don't wait for them to come investigate, quickly jump backwards and to the right where you'll land on the grass near a tree and very steep hill. Climb that hill while the tree covers you and wait for things to calm down before you go and eliminate the Kenobi one by one. It won't be easy though, Kenobi are very jumpy and any sort of ground approach is likely to attract their attention. Air CS are reliable as usual. Using their curiosity and keen sight against them is effective as well, lure them away from their brothers and hold their attention with a corpse, then CS them the moment they let down their guard. Still, getting a max score on this mission will take a lot of tries due to simple bad luck or Kenobi being supernaturally aware. +SPECIAL MISSION: A WISH GRANTED BRINGS LITTLE PLEASURE Transport: Safe: Town Max Score: 149 ============================================================================= Kinu was quietly enjoying her evening bath when a carrier pigeon landed near her window. Reluctantly, Kinu got out of the water, grabbed a towel and picked up the note that was attached to the pigeon's foot. "To Kinu. This is Usuba of the Mosu Ninja clan. I am sorry to disturb you but I require your unmatched expertise in herbal lore. During the last hour, ten of my girls have fallen sick and are showing signs of poisoning. I have no idea how this happened but I feel the situation is urgent. Help us, and I promise that the Mosu Ninja will come to your aid if you ever require our assistance. I would be grateful if this would stay only between the two of us. -Usuba" Kinu wrote a short reply to Usuba. "Meet me at the Castle Town warehouses in one hour." ============================================================================= -Kenobi Ninja (7) Ugh, what is it with Kinu and Kenobi? Maybe they're just lonely. Fortunately you don't have to use Kinu for this mission. All the Kenobi here are set on random behavior. Sometimes they just stand in one place. Other times they'll beeline staight for you, seemingly by accident. In addition there are landmines which they frequently set off, calling every Kenobi in the level to that location. Also there are four doghouses about and the streets are very cramped and full of dead ends. Fortunately the 'hungry well' maneuver works magnificently in this level and there happens to be a doghouse right next to the well which is the best setup you could possibly ask for. Still, this level will make you hate Kenobi if you didn't already. Note: These Kenobi are well fed and will only pocket your sushi. Easy(?) 100 points for anybody: In this mission, easy is random depending on what the bird-brained Kenobi end up doing. There's only one street you can really take and a landmine going off near it makes it essentially unpassable. You can use crates to build a staircase onto the rooftops but that'll only get you so far and there are even more Kenobi on the rooftops than there are on the ground. All things considered, your best bet is to immediately throw your potion into the distance to draw off the two Kenobi who start near you, and make a beeline for the dropoff point. If you get spotted, restart and try again. And again and again. Sometimes you don't even see a Kenobi, other times they literally rain from the sky. If you manage to make it to the well/doghouse, be sure to run straight over the doghouse so it doesn't bark. However there is another doghouse around the corner to the left but run past it anyway and hide in the little waterway, that dog will draw any Kenobi at the dropoff leaving you free to run for it. Just watch out for the land mines and pitfall traps surrounding the flag. Max Score Strategy: This is actually pretty easy. Using an Asuka Shinobi, you can ditch the chest and quickly make your way to the well and create a corpse as bait, place some sushi near the well, alert the doghouse, or all three! You'll be yanking so many ninja into the well, you'll wish you had another hand. You might need to get out of the well at some point to finish off a straggler, placing a sushi and triggering the dog should do it. I wouldn't recommend going for a max score with any other characters though, the Kenobi are so unpredictable in this level and the terrain is well suited to their agility, you'd be relying completely on luck. ============================================================================= Kinu: "I couldn't tell what kind of poison from the letter, but this medicine acts as an antidote for many types of poisons." Usuba: "Thank you! I will never forget you! I'm in a hurry so I have to go... Thank you!" Kinu: "I hope that does the trick. Oh, and..." Usuba: "What?" Kinu: "I had to, uh, borrow it from the merchants.... Don't be surprised if you recieve a visit from the bailiffs next full moon!" ============================================================================= +MISSION 40: RESCUE: PRINCESS Rescue: Princess: Mountains Max Score: 149 -Merchant (4) -Mosu Ninja (3) -Caged Princess (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: Immediately follow the border of the map counter-clockwise until you see the objective flag. Hop up the columns until you see a merchant and throw a sushi so that he runs off his platform. Continue around the map edge until you see two Mosu ninja which are easily lured away from their post by throwing your potion at the cliffside. Behind the logs is the princess. Sling her over your should and simply travel back the way you came and be careful for the few tricky jumps. Max Score Strategy: On HARD, you'll immediately be noticed by a merchant who will slowly close in on your position. Quickly make your way to the right, or hide behind a tree. There's a Mosu who regularly patrols past the area, try to kill the merchant before he returns to his post and you can use his corpse as bait. The Mosu's corpse can then be used to bait the merchant patrolling the bridge. After you've disposed of them, cross the river at the north and there will be a portion of high ground with a merchant watching the way up. If you have wall mobility, you can grab onto a small branch on the edge of the map and jump up well behind the merchant. Otherwise you'll have to toss a sushi to make him abandon his post. Asuka Shinobi can deal with the remaining merchant with a corner CS, then ledge CS the two Mosu with some sushi as bait. Others will just have to rush the merchant when his back is turned and lure one Mosu away from the other. Letting yourself be noticed on the bridge, then ledge clinging until the Mosu loses interest works well. After that, just save the princess and you are done. +MISSION 41: COLLECT MUSHROOMS AND DELIVER THEM Collection: 3 Mushrooms: Fortress Max Score: 135 -Kenobi Ninja (5) Easy 100 points for anybody: Pop your Double Jump scroll and grapple to the ledge on your left, there's a mushroom there. Drop back down and head to the middle of the level, staying on the slopes so the patrolling Kenobi doesn't see you. Use your long grappling hook to pull yourself up to pull yourself up to the northeast plateau. There's a patrolling Kenobi guarding the mushroom. Toss a sushi onto the landmine at the edge of the cliff, then a sushi within view of the Kenobi but when his back is turned. He'll come to take a look, letting you sneak in behind him and grab the mushroom at which point he should have gone for the second sushi and gotten blown up. Quickly use your double jump to leap to the northwest plateau where the final mushroom will be, totally unguarded. The earlier explosion will have attracted every Kenobi to investigate. With all three mushrooms, just drop down to the flag in the center. +MISSION 42: DESTROY THE ARMED OXCART Attack: Residence Max Score: 129 -Kenobi Ninja (4) -Oxcart (1) This is a strange level. You begin in a subterranean labyrinth without any oxcart in sight. There is a patrolling Kenobi around the corner who can immediately be corner CSed and another one pacing further in. Then there is another who is...staring at a wall in a dead end. It goes without saying that he's not too difficult to take care of. Your map will show you the way out, the path with two pits to the east. Use a speed potion to hasten your escape from the labyrinth as far above, the oxcart is steadily approaching its objective. There is one more Kenobi and he is in the house on the topside, next to the oxcart's destination. Enter the house from the back to take him out. Since you are equipped with knockout spheres, you can actually get a max score in this level with an CS-capable character with a powerful one-hit attack. Unfortunately there is only one character that meets that criteria. Alternate Kinu can one-shot the unconscious oxcart with her Lv.10 attack. By the way, every pit and dead end in the labyrinth has an access to the topside directly above it, however you have to be a wall-jumping prodigy to make it all the way up there. The topside is worth a gander as it isn't as plain as one would expect and you're usually too busy trying to stop the oxcart to explore it. +MISSION 43: STEAL THE CHEST AS IT IS BEING SHIPPED Robbery: Safe: Fortress Max Score: 157 -Akame Elite Swordsman (1) -Akame Samurai General (4) -Yojimbo (2) This is one of the stranger looking missions, full of nonsensical structures and stairwells into nowhere. When you begin, the carrier is above you to the left, you can grapple up and CS him easily. There are two Yojimbo nearby who can both be ambushed from above. Further in you'll find lots of Akame Samurai Generals instead of ordinary guards. Divide and conquer, they're not too hard when they're by themselves and with the carrier dead, you have all the time in the world. At the end, the dropoff point is atop a small platform which is too high to jump onto with a chest in hand, however there are some crates stored on the structure to the east, grapple up and toss one off to use as a stepstool. You can heal any damage with the convenient health trap next to the flag. Not so easy 100 points for anybody: You can NKNS this level but it's difficult since you'll need to either be able to knock out the carrier without killing him, or grapple him off the platform without him spotting you. Then you'll have to deal with the added challenge of him chasing you through the level, trying to get h chest back. While he'll be stuck on the ground level, there aren't any reliable high routes to take through the entire level and eventually you'll have to come down where he can find you. Since there's a healing trap at the end, you can use your potions to distract the samurai generals at the end but you'll have to work quickly to get a crate down before you're found. +MISSION 44: ASSASSINATE: CHIEF Assassination: Samurai General: Fortress Max Score: 149 -Mosu Ninja (6) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) LOTS of doghouses here. Now why couldn't those Mosu gals be cat people instead? Max Score Strategy: There are 2 Mosu past the first gates who can easily be lured into corner CS (though don't do it near the torches, trust me) and one to the south east that doesn't even need luring. One more Mosu is patrolling the corridor before the Samurai General's building. Two more Mosu are up above where there are doghouses everywhere. You need to get up there somehow to start tipping and a good place to begin is at the front gates of the level. If you look up, you can see two of the nasty little mutts watching you. Grapple up from between them and tip them both. There's a Mosu who patrols nearby and take her out once you've made the place a little safer. Proceed to the north, strategically approaching doghouses from the sides and tipping them, you'll find the last Mosu patrolling near the General's area. Now before you hop down to confront the general, notice the doghouse in the corner. Drop down on top of it and tip it. Then get on top of the General's building and throw a mushroom out. You know the rest. +MISSION 45: STEAL THE RICE Thievery: Rice: Fortress Max Score: 156 -Sadame Elite Swordsman (1) -Sadame Elite Archer (5) -Sadame Samurai General (2) This fortress is one big downward spiral with plenty of pitfall traps to make rice-carrying a real hassle. Of course there's a dropoff flag at the very top and rice at the very bottom, uh oh! But wait, that's not the only dropoff point and you'd have to be crazy to use it! Still, this is a tricky and long level, especially if you aim to max score it. Easy 100 points for anybody: Turn right and jump off the platform you're on. Don't worry, the second level is there. Southwards, just past the two pitfall traps, there's a bale of rice on a small ledge to the left. Drop down on it but leave the rice. It's more of a decoy than anything else (though convenient for Taraba Ninja). Now jump down to the ramp going to the bottom level and look for the ramp leading into the rice storage. Down there you'll find one bale, take it with you and head topside. Mind the pit traps and get close enough to the doghouses to set them off. That will throw everyone into a great tantrum and clear the guards from your path. Head back up the spiral and beware pit traps. At some point you'll find a ledge you might not be able to jump up while carrying the rice. Use the 'magic pickup' technique to pass it. Past the next pit traps will be a dropoff flag and weird ramp sort of thing, both on the right. Certain characters can run down the ramp to land on the flag, others will have to carefully drop the rice off the edge and onto the flag, then drop down after it. Then of course if you don't mind being a couple points short of 100, just drop down onto the flag while holding the rice. You'll take a few points of falling damage but still get mission success. Max Score Strategy: Head down the spiral and CS the three archers you come across. At this point you want to backtrack a ways so you can jump onto the lower level behind the swordsman (he's the one next to the second dropoff flag.) After CSing him, jump onto the western building and ledge cling onto the back of it in the very center. You'll be able to see the back of a samurai general who has a bad habit of randomly glancing to the sides. You might want to wait until he actually does this so you can CS him from his right side while he's looking left. There's an archer on the left who might go blue alert meanwhile, don't worry about him but don't let him get a closer look either. Now exit the building and climb on top of it. If the archer is still blue, wait for him to settle down, then CS him. Now go to the eastern building and ledge cling on one side of the door, directly above the doghouse. Ledge crawl left until the general goes into blue alert, and crawl back to the right so you're concealed. He should walk up to the door, take a look around and then head back to his post. Drop down and CS him, then go and tip both dog houses. The final enemy is the archer, you need to get behind him which is easy to do from the top of the eastern building. While you make your way to him, be real careful not to disturb any of the pitfall panels, you'll be coming this way again with the rice. If you're patient and you haven't messed up any of the pitfall panels, you might consider running the rice all the way to the start of the level. The second dropoff point is a little risky but all actual shinobi should be able to make it using the slide. +MISSION 46: DESTROY THE ARMED OXCART Attack: Mountains Max Score: ???? -Ichijo Swordsman (3) -Yojimbo (2) -Oxcart (1) This simple level features a long bridge, enemies, and not a lot of time or options in which to get your work done. You have a scroll of Invisible Shadow in this mission so immediately you can get 93 points with anyone who can one-shot an oxcart and 70 points with anyone who can kill an oxcart fairly quickly. The other way to get 93 points is to pop your scroll, chug the potion of potency and start flinging explosive drugs at the front of the oxcart. You'll have to use a lot of them and it isn't terribly exciting. 100 point strategy: If you want 100 points, you're going to have to one-shot the oxcart as well as kill at least one Yojimbo all undetected. A strong gunman can accomplish this, ending the mission by using the scroll and firing an explosive shot point blank into the front of the oxcart. Another way to get 100+ points is to use a shinobi and throw a potion at the oxcart to distract its guards, dash to the end of the bridge and CS the yojimbo and guard, then dash back and CS the yojimbo at the midway point. At that point, the oxcart should be near you with no guards. Quickly smack it to pieces before they realize what's going on. Really, time is what limits you the most in this level, once the oxcart gets scared, it'll speed for the destination. +MISSION 47: PROTECT: MERCHANT Guard: Merchant: Town Max Score: ???? -Mosu Ninja (?) -Ally Merchant (1) No guard retinue, wide open area, a merchant as your charge, tons of Mosu ninja? This is the Guard mission from hell!! First, get an idea of the mission layout. Your charge, the fat merchant, will abandon it pretty quickly once ninja start tearing at his bum. There are health traps around which is great because Mosu can tear you up pretty good and they didn't give you any healing potions, just three +10 health spheres which is pretty terrible. There are bushes around the edges where the Mosu spawn and they're way too numerous to keep an eye on so just hang around your merchant, try to stay in high places, and CS those Mosu before they can touch him because this is a long mission and your merchant is too stupid to use the health traps and 3 +10 health spheres is nothing. The rooftop across from the shrine is a great place to wait, you can air-CS approaching Mosu but you'll have to force them and that tires a shinobi out so try to conserve your energy. You can also tell where a ninja might be approaching by the splashing of the moat. In the event your merchant getting mobbed, lob a knockout sphere at him and quickly CS his assailants but be real careful you don't CS him by accident, obviously. It's important to try and take down any assassins before they get close to him for a lot of reasons, the fact that you can and will get CS prompts on your merchant is one of them. Another is that your merchant can't block so he will always get hit. Honestly this mission stinks and you can't count on having much of a health bonus left at the end so make sure you get in a lot of CS. Using Goh might be a good idea so you can knockout-strike anyone who tries to fight you, that way you get CS points and not a long drawn out duel. Now that we've got all that done with, I'll tell you a secret. Just use a gunman. Happy guarding and see you next mission! +MISSION 48: DELIVER THE DOCUMENTS Transport: Documents: Town Max Score: 163 -Sadame Swordsman (2) -Sadame Rifleman (5) -Village Girl (1) -Sadame (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: Start by alerting the doghouse on your left, that should bring all the guards running. Just go around them and hide behind the house on the right while the village girl passes you by, then continue down past the bridge and trigger the doghouse on the right. Lady Sadame and guards will come to see what the hubbub is, meanwhile you can squeeze through the alleys around her encampment, travel up the incline and jump onto the houses on the right (takes some maneuvering but any character can do it). Make sure you don't screw up the jump to the flag though, that's a bottomless pit. If you really need help on those jumps, you can go fetch a doghouse to use as a step. Max Score Strategy: Start by waiting patiently for the village girl to show up, we don't need her interrupting us while we're making corpses. Afterwards, carefully CS the guard on the right roof and be sure not to let the dog nearby see you. CS the guy on the ground next, then cross the street and do the same over there. Once you cross the bridge, avoid the dog and get onto the other side of Sadame's encampment and CS the patrolling guard on the incline. If you try to CS the stationary guard, Sadame will spot you so lure him out of her view with some sushi. After he's taken care of, lure out Sadame by using yourself as bait and wait on a roof for her to lose interest, then CS her. All that's left is the final guard who's pacing furiously in the encampment, utterly unaware of his impending doom. +SPECIAL MISSION: MATOYA, ARMS DEALER Escort: Town, Time Limit: 03:00 Max Score: 121? ============================================================================= Merchant Matoya: "I am expecting a large delivery of gunpowder thhis week. I have good reason to believe that Kabuto will send a bunch of his metal heads to steal it from me. It has happened before. Their need for gunpowder is endless; if only they paid for it... I could make a fortune! But, with things the way they are, I need you to protect the caravan with the gunpowder until it reaches my warehouses." ============================================================================= -Taraba Ninja (3) -Ally Oxcart (1) This mission is more of a race against the clock and poor oxcart pathfinding than an actual escort mission. The Taraba aren't any threat at all and left to their own devices, they'll fall to their deaths. Mostly you'll be playing nanny with the oxcart who is not very cooperative, throwing cure spheres at it to counteract the amnesia and knockout traps. Don't try to ride it, otherwise you'll go flying the next land mine it rolls over. Also don't be surprised when the oxcart AI glitches out near the very end for no reason and it just...sits there while the timer ticks down and you waste all your cure balls trying to get it to move again. I hate oxcarts. This mission is so stupid and broken. Tip: If you're just trying to beat the level, betraying the oxcart will make it panic and it will start driving faster. Otherwise you have to rely on the Taraba to alert it which rarely happens because they're stupid. Max Score Strategy: You have enough time to CS the Taraba before the oxcart reaches the amnesia/knockout traps. Good luck taking out the one at the shrine without being spotted and before he stupidly falls to his death. This mission sucks! +MISSION 49: ASSASSINATE CHIEF Assassination: Samurai General: Mountains Max Score: 151 -Bear (4) -Sadame Samurai General (1) Landmines, pitfalls and bears, oh my! Easy 100 points for anybody: Once you find the entrance to his cave (it's not hard), perch on the ledge above it and try to attract a bear near the hole with sushi. Once it gets near, start shooting your grappling hook at it (aim for the center of mass!) Eventually you should be able to yank it into the pit where it will promptly begin to maul the Sadame Samurai General which is fun to watch while hanging from the opening of the pit or even in the pit if you're brave. Sometimes you'll need to get closer to the pair in order for them to start fighting for some reason, once you see both their awareness icons go red, you're good. Mind you, other bears might be attracted by the noise...don't be afraid to put them in the pit either. Because the more the merrier...and sometimes in a rare blue moon, the Samurai General actually manages to take out the bear! Since you technically didn't kill anyone and weren't spotted, you get the NKNS 100 points. Max Score Strategy: This level is difficult to max score due to a combination of bears being serious business on HARD as well as the added complication of having every bear go into high alert if another bear happens to wander across a land mine somewhere in the level. Assassinating the Samurai General at the end is by far the easiest part. As always when fighting bears, Asuka ninja are recommended. You'll have the easiest luck if you start with the bear to your north who frequently sets of a land mine within the first seconds of the mission. Then get to the bear by the cliffs so it doesn't commit suicide. Then the other bear at the very start of the mission who you can now take care of since the real threats are gone. Lastly the bear near the general and then the general himself. +MISSION 50: OBTAIN THE SECRET DOCUMENTS Thievery: Documents: Residence Max Score: 149 -Sadame Samurai General (6) -Sadame (1) This isn't the easiest mission. But it can be done consistently if not quickly. Before you start, I'd take a shinobi and scout the compound so you know where everything is and where everyone is as it is fairly complicated. Easy 100 points for anybody: Head right and follow the wall until you reach the gate. Inside there is a stationary general guarding an inner wall and gate. Quickly run to the west and jump up onto the low wall. Now there are two things you can do at this point depending on your character's jumping ability. You can leap south and ledge cling onto the rooftop of the main house, or you can jump over the patrolling samurai general's head and rush into the courtyard of the main house and hide in the vacant rooms to the left. Eitherway, the dog will bark at you and everyone will scramble to see what's wrong. Now we work quickly: if you did the first method, you want to run across the roof to the south and jump off, landing directly on the doghouse there so the mutt stays quiet. If you did the second method, you'll leave one door of your hideout open and watch until either a lone general or a general and Sadame run through the area. At that point, go through the main doors and staight through the house to the south wall and grab the doghouse for use as a step stool. The chest is in a pit there with a long incline to it. Set the doghouse down inside, go get the chest, hop out of the pit and run behind the storehouse in the southeast and follow the main wall all the way back to the inner wall with the gate. By this time everyone is wandering back to their patrol routes but they won't be able to see you in the bushes there. Look to see if the gate guard is at his station or stuck walking against the wall further down. If he IS at his station toss a mushroom over the wall to make him move, then make a break for the main gate. All that's left is to travel around the entire outer wall to the destination flag. Max Score Strategy: Using a shinobi, you'll be able to jump onto the top of the front gate and then on top of the outer wall. This gives you a good view of things. You want to CS the gate guard when none of the other three patrolling generals are looking, then use his body as bait. All three generals can be taken out this way and by dropping behind them from a rooftop along their patrol route. There's a general inside the storehouse that you'll want to lure out, and another patrolling general by the objective who can be easily taken down at many points along his route. Last is Sadame who is inside a small room in the southwest. She has good peripheral vision so I recommend opening one of her doors and throwing a mushroom past it to draw her out, then CS her when she goes back into her room. Afterwards, just complete the mission as normal. +MISSION 51: OBTAIN THE SECRET DOCUMENTS Thievery: Documents: Residence Max Score: 149 -Kenobi Ninja (7) This level is a testament to the utter stupidity of the Kenobi Ninja clan. Easy 100 points for anybody: Jump up on the ledge on the left, let the dogs bark at you. It'll draw every Kenobi Ninja in the mission leaving you free access to the rest of the level. Try to stay on the ledge while all the Kenobi pass you though, but don't waste any time either. You'll probably need to snatch a crate to use as a step, but the objective is inside the small house and the dropoff point is reached through a low ledge in the wall which leads onto the roof. The hardest part of this stage is not falling off here which will only happen if you're drunk or something. Max Score Strategy: Too easy. Even on hard, the Kenobi can't see you if you're standing on the white ledges, leaving them totally vulnerable to your CS. Mind your timing though, the third Kenobi will notice if you CS the second one at the wrong time as will the fifth Kenobi. Moving bodies and luring the enemy with sushi can make it a bit easier. Not that its actually hard. +PART 5: MELANCHOLY SAMURAI Assassination: Samurai General: Fortress, Time Limit 03:30 Max Score: 154 ============================================================================= Three samurai generals had set up camp in Todoroki Pass to wait for the Asuka Ninja that Ichijo had sent. General Sanin: "Only a coward like Ichijo would dishonour himself by becoming a monk to escape a fight with a ninja." General Tojo: "A monk of Amurita? Me? He really doesn't understand. He is even more foolish than I expected." General Koume: "Of course he is. Who would send one ninja to deal with all three of us at once?! I do not even feel like drawing my sword. Let's get this over with." ============================================================================= -Village Girl (2) -Yojimbo (3) -Ichijo Samurai General (1) Time for this samurai to eat his words! Max Score Strategy: Don't enter the compound through the front gates, there are DOGS. Instead, climb up onto the roof of the gate and then jump up the cliff on the right and run across the top, then jump to the guard tower. If you haven't wasted any time, you can immediately jump off it to the south and CS the hapless girl who's wandering that way. Climb onto the top of the structure nearby and head inwards where you will see the back of a Yojimbo. There's a patrolling girl near him so you'll want to time your kill and if possible, hide the body. If you can't, you can crouch behind the railing and CS the girl when she runs over, but don't go to her since the General's room is right there. Now there's a Yojimbo on top of the structure too but doing standard Asuka CS will cause you to fall off the roof and get spotted by the General. Instead, you can get him to move by whizzing a shuriken past his ear and stealing up behind him while he stares at it. He should then go unalert and wander towards the shuriken at which point you can CS him easily. In fact, make it an Item-CS, doing that to one of those arrogant Yojimbo is priceless. The last Yojimbo is right on the side of the General's room, leaning on the south end with a doghouse covering him in a way that if you get anywhere near that Yojimbo, you're gonna get barked at. So climb to the top of the cliffs from that roof, and toss a shuriken into the crevice with the bush next to the doghouse. The Yojimbo will rush over while you immediately make a big jump and land on the doghouse. The exact moment the Yojimbo goes unalert, Air-CS him. And tip the doghouse for good measure. Now it's just you and the good General and you have to get him out of that box somehow and breaking a potion or making a dog bark will do the trick. He has a habit of running against the railing in one spot for a long time if he is agitated in any way...don't try to CS him in that state as he'll resist it. You should have plenty of time left, he'll stop eventually. Once he goes unalert, you know how to dispose of this scum. Easy 93 points: If you have a non-shinobi character who can one-shot a samurai general with a move that has a bit of reach, you can kill the target with minimal fuss. Simply enter the gate and hug the left side so you don't alert the doghouse, head to the guard tower and grab the doghouse that's there. Bring it to the General's room and use it as a step to get on top. Drop down behind the General's room...the fool has his back to the wall and you can stab right through it and kill him. Simple! See the 'EXPLOITS' section for more information. ============================================================================= General Tojo: "Please, wait! I changed my mind, but I can't become a monk of Amurita. Let me explain. Before we agreed to help Sadame, we told her that we needed some kind of guarantee that she would not betray us. Sadame confessed to us that the Amurita faith is nothing more than a creation of hers. And I can prove it. Actually, you had this proof in your possession. Those would-be relics you retrived from Akame were her diaries. Apparently, she wrote down every little detail of her scheme as a homage to her "genius". I don't know what happened to the diaries after you returned them. This information is probably kept between Sadame and the Amurita Priestess Miroku. She was the one who organised the assassination attempt on Lord Ichijo on the orders of Lady Sadame." ============================================================================= +MISSION 52: STEAL THE RICE AS IT IS BEING SHIPPED Robbery: Rice: Fortress Max Score: ???? -Akame Elite Swordsman (1) -Taraba Ninja (4) -Yojimbo (2) This mission sucks. There's no trick to it and no way to really get through it unseen because you start in a small tunnel with 2 Yojimbo and 2 Taraba Ninja, and none of them have their back turned. Also your items suck; the Yojimbo won't eat your knockout mushroom and all in all, you have about 1:30 before mission failure which means baiting the Yojimbo won't work because it takes too long. A gunman can clear this mission rather easily, go wild with the explosive shot since you have health potions. There's two Yojimbo in the first part of the hallway and two Taraba in the second. Outside there's a stationary Taraba with his side to you and on the middle there's one Taraba who you can grapple up to. Lastly is the carrier. Normal killing all of them will get you 119 points. Ah well, can't stealth your way through every level I suppose... +MISSION 53: DESTROY THE ARMED OXCART Attack: Residence Max Score: 170 -Sadame Rifleman (2) -Yojimbo (7) -Oxcart (1) Not a whole lot of ways to do this level, it's about as linear as they get. Just be sure you know how to handle Yojimbo... Max Score Strategy: There's a Yojimbo right outside the door so open it carefully. CS him once he settles down. Outside, climb onto the roof and CS the Yojimbo up there and then CS the Yojimbo leaning outside the front wall. On the thin walkway up ahead, there is a Yojimbo patrolling; dash CS him the moment he turns his back. The next Yojimbo is stationary...get as close as you can and then ledge hang and creep up to him for a ledge CS. The next two Yojimbo patrol and you can CS them in the back. If you're fast, the Oxcart hasn't even started moving yet and you can go and ledge CS the two guards, then have your way with it alone. If the Oxcart does begin to move, make sure you aren't hanging on the left edge when it passes or it will run over your fingers and you will fall to your death. +MISSION 54: KIDNAP: MERCHANT Kidnapping: Merchant: Town Max Score: 156 -Taraba Ninja (8) -Merchant (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: Head forward and jump onto the roof of the house (watch out for the landmine) and follow the wall left, behind the Taraba Ninja. Jump onto the low wall there and cross the giant pit by hopping between platforms. Move towards the doghouse and make it bark at you, then hide behind the surrounding wall and watch as most of the Taraba in the level come dropping into the pit like metal-clad lemmings. After you stop laughing hysterically, simply proceed to the merchant's pit and don't forget to bring a stepstool with you. Max Score Strategy: First of all, you cannot let a single dog bark in this mission or Taraba are going to be falling into pits by the droves, robbing you of points. There are three sections, each can be done in any order really. The first section, the one you start off in, proceed forward and jump onto the rooftops. There's a Taraba on the rooftop with you who can be approached from behind. If you're playing as Asuka, you must time your CS with the patrolling Taraba on the ground because the CS will force you off the roof. CS the patrolling Taraba, then come up behind the other rooftop Taraba. That's it for that section. Now you can access the shrine area by jumping up the high wall. There's a stationary Taraba by the shrine, CS him when the patrolling Taraba is not looking, then wait on top of the shrine. The other Taraba will come over to check out the corpse. You can immediately jump and air-CS him. Head to the last section via the north edge of the map. This is certainly the most unpredictable part with three patrolling Taraba. Your best bet is to kill the one that frequents the rooftop nearest you and dump his corpse on the ground to attract the other two. You'll have to wait for opportunities, keep in mind that Taraba in blue or orange status can easily be CSed and that one is likely to jump up onto the nearby roof during his investigation. Now that all the Taraba are dead by your hand, you're free to grab your merchant. Don't stupidly forget to bring something to step on (like I did) after you grab the merchant. +SPECIAL MISSION: NO ONE BETRAYS THE AMURITA FAITH Total Destruction: Fortress Max Score: 170 ============================================================================= A letter from Lady Sadame arrived in Asuka Ninja Town. "The name of Amurita has been disgraced. Common bandits have robbed several of Amurita's temples. On top of that, they are now posing as Amurita representatives, collecting money from the faithful. Their greed knows no end. Take care of the sitation for me. Enclosed is a map with the exact location of the thief hideout. -Sadame" ============================================================================= -Mosu Ninja (4) -Sadame Samurai General (6) Max Score Strategy: This is a bit tricky. There are a lot of patrolling samurai generals within eyesight of each other. You'll need either very good timing or find some way to isolate them. The Mosu are easily lured out, especially since they'll go back to unalert within seconds. The front gate is a perfect place to pull two of them. There are two generals in each of the storerooms and they can be easily lured with mushrooms. Watch out for the doghouse on the west side though. Also your inventory is random rubbish and of little use. There's no perfect or easy way to do this mission, but its doable. +FINALE: EPHEMERA Assassination: Miroku: Residence Max Score: 177 ============================================================================= General Tojo's revelation about the Amurita faith made it clear that whoever was in the posssession of Lady Sadame's diaries would have immense power over her. Unfortunately, the location of the diaries remained unknown. A message arrived from Ichijo. The end seemed to be in sight. "For all we know, the diaries might have already been destroyed. At this point, dealing with Sadame's Priestess is of more concern to me. I have learned that she leads an Amurita convent only an hour away from Lady Sadame's residence. Though you in age, she has accomplished much in a very short time. She is known to be overly ambitious and it is said that her insanity even exceeds that of Lady Sadame herself. Her convent is a madhouse. Be prepared for anything." ============================================================================= -Ichijo Rifleman (4) -Ichijo Samurai General (6) -Miroku (1) Max Score Strategy: This mission is brutal. The first part is rather simple, dash up the left side of the steps and CS the first general. Continue up the steps on the right side and climb up onto the rooftop of the gate to CS the second general. Roll at the very edge of the map past the next two generals and hide on the top of the wall until they lose interest, then CS them from behind. But once you reach the second gate and have a chance to look at all that nonsense surrounding that one little house, you'll understand why this mission sucks. You'll have to get a little lucky from here on out, but start by watching for the patrolling general...he'll be your first target and you have to know where he'll be in a few seconds. With a dashing jump onto the roof of the house carefully back-CS a guard with his back turned and don't get close to the edge of the roof there or the dog will see you. In fact, do not set off any type of broad alert at this point or everything goes upside-down. That includes throwing potions. Now I hope you were keeping track of the patrolling general because you're going to wall cling down the front of the house when the patrolling guard in front isn't looking, and drop down to get into position to corner CS the patrolling general. Do not frontal-CS or air-CS him or you'll end up hopping over the railing. Assuming all went well, go to the rear of the house and stay crouched (sometimes the guards can spot you over the railing if you are standing,) your next target is the northwest guard. Throw a piece of sushi near his doghouse, preferably when his back is turned. You can either play it safe and wait until he's snoozing peacefully to kill him, or perform an item CS to save your sushi. The dog should give you no trouble as long as you keep close to it the whole time. Run up the west side of the house and check on our patrolling guard, we want to make sure he won't interfere with our next kill who is the northeast guard. You'll be taking care of him in the exact same fashion as the northwest guard though I advise you leave a sushi there and just take the body with you. The patrolling guard will be along shortly, having spotted the sushi. After you CS him, there's only one minion left to execute, the stationary general in front. Unless you have really bad luck or forgot about the doghouses, he should be taken out easily. Now that everyone but the head honcho is dead, its time to deal with her. You can peek in the side windows to see what she's doing; sometimes she'll be walking into a wall for some reason, other times she'll just be standing there, watching both doors. Take the appropriate actions, she's susceptible to every CS in the book and there's nobody to interfere at this point. Hell, you can even duel her in the front yard if you don't care about your max score, you'll still make 100+ (assuming she doesn't kick your ass.) ============================================================================= Priestess Miroku: "I appreciate your puncutality. You have been of some use to us in the past, so why don't you forget about these false accusations made by General Tojo? Oh, that's right. You don't know yet. We caught your little bird friend while he was fleeing the country. General Tojo recalled every single lie he told you about us Amurita. As proof of his honesty, he demanded to write down his confession with his own blood. Here, take a look for yourself. Anyway, I hear that you are fond of reading these days, isn't that right? Lady Sadame considers herself the proprietor of an extraordinary library, but you wouldn't know about that, would you? So what do you think about my little offer? Oh, I see. You're not convinced. A pity... Is there anything in particular you want me to write with your blood?" ============================================================================= Nice girl, eh? You can't guard break her but she doesn't have a stand-up attack which means you can air juggle her to hell and toss her around like a ragdoll. ============================================================================= Dawn had broke, but Goh had not yet returned home. Kinu was worried. She and Zaji went to search for him at the convent. There they found the dead bodies of Miroku and all of the Amurita followers who had lived at the convent. But there was still no sign of Goh. "Goh clearly did this... But where is he?" Zaji wondered. Kinu replied with a quiet voice: "Maybe he left us...again." Zaji's face hardened as he turned away to search the convent once more. ============================================================================= What the hell Goh? Well congratulations, you 'beat' the game, what sort of ending was that, huh? But it's not over yet... \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ EXTRA MISSIONS These unlock after you clear 'Finale: Ephemera' ///////////////////////////////////////////// +MISSION 55: MAKE IT THROUGH THE DANGEROUS PATH Travel: Mountains, Time Limit: 02:00 Max Score: 121 -Kenobi Ninja (3) Easy 100 points: Don't kill the Kenobi in front of you, he doesn't even check his sides. Merely drop off the cliff on his left. You'll be following the trees (because there's always solid ground at their bases) until you reach the lowest of the three. Look forward, there's a platform you should just be able to grapple to. Do so but either aim low or grapple cancel so you don't vault right over it. There's a few more platforms and I'll let you figure out how to traverse them. Eventually you'll reach a mountain which may or may not have one or two Kenobi on it. They're set to do random stuff plus there are confusion traps over there and they often end up dying before you get there which is great, unless you're trying to max score this mission. If the Kenobi is there, keep in mind you have some very powerful knockout spheres on hand and you can either put them out long enough to do your thing, or bait them away from where you want to go, which is the cliffs on the right. If you travel up them in a logical manner, you'll end up near the destination flag which has a row of confusion traps in front of it. Nasty. However on the right side, there's a ledge that you can leap to, then grapple to the destination. You'll get a dose of confusion in the process but by then it shouldn't matter as the moment you touch the flag, your character will stop moving. Max Score Strategy: Almost exactly like the easy 100 point strategy except it may take many tries because the two Kenobi at the end are idiots. Work fast, the sooner you get to them, the better chance you have of actually getting to kill them yourself. Try to avoid using air CS on anyone but the first Kenobi as it tends to throw you into the abyss. Ledge CS are FANTASTIC and back CS can get the job done too but are hard to manage here. There are also the knockout spheres but they have such a huge area of effect, be careful not to gas yourself too. Oh, and don't forget about the time limit either. All in all, not a very worthwhile mission to max score considering it's only worth 121 points. +MISSION 56: DESTROY THE ARMED OXCART Attack: Fortress Max Score: 129 Immediately you're confronted by what seems to be a rather nasty pitfall obstacle course. Before you panic, turn 180 degrees and look up. I didn't find this out for quite some time. -Taraba Ninja (4) -Oxcart (1) Max Score Strategy: Sadly, you can't really take the shortcut because you need to kill everyone. But the obstacle course isn't that hard, use hops to get past the first part, then use dashes, dash jumps and wall runs to get past the next stretch. At the end of the course, there a patrolling Taraba right around the corner who can be annoying to CS. Past him is a long simple pathway with some speed traps and another Taraba who is also annoying to CS. Past him around another corner is a gentle incline where two Taraba are leading an oxcart to its destination. You have three knockout spheres and one should knockout the two Taraba and the other will knockout the oxcart. It might help to use the explosive sphere to lure the two Taraba behind the cart since the knockout spheres don't last very long and the cart can't see behind it very well. If you have Alternate Kinu, you can one-shot the sleeping oxcart for a perfect score, after CSing the two Taraba. All in all, not too hard. +MISSION 57: KIDNAP: MERCHANT Kidnapping: Merchant: Town, Time Limit: 02:00 Max Score: 135 Seems the Akame Generals are real dog lovers too, they should hook up with the Mosu. This mission has a very tight time limit so...work fast! -Akame Samurai General (5) -Merchant (1) Easy 100 points for anybody: This strategy is surprisingly reliable, all things considered. Start by climbing onto the roof to your left. You will diagonally jump to the next roof over so the doghouse right below you barks. Nearly every general in the level will be headed your way so hurry, jump off the end of the roof you're on into a pit that contains a merchant who is probably frantic. He can't see you on such a steep slope so just hop behind him and abduct him. Now QUICKLY make your way back topside and head north using the trees as cover. We're going up the ramp to the cluster of houses, just to bother the dog there. Run past the dog and jump into the ditch behind the building while fully understanding that there is an angry mob hot on your heels. Follow the ditch around the building and at its exit, go right up the stairs. DO NOT JUMP! There's another dog here but it doesn't matter, you're practically home free. Head up the slope, avoiding the land mines and get to the flag at the end. Max Score Strategy: First of all, you're going to have to be really REALLY fast. At most, you'll have around 30 seconds to grab the merchant and make it to the destination. Start by dashing straight down the left side of the house in front of you and CSing the general down there without alerting his dog. An Asuka Shinobi has to use a frontal CS to do this. Immediately turn around and head back to the houses next to the water filled ditch and get on the roof. As soon as the general there isn't looking, tip his doghouse and then CS him. Hop onto the roof there, we need to CS the general in front of the shrine. As soon as his back is turned, try to get behind him so his frequent glancing doesn't spot you. After he's done with, take the ditch path behind the houses and CS the general there. His dog will bark at you but that's okay, get on a rooftop and find the final general who should be running to investigate, and kill him. Now all that's left is to kidnap the merchant and hopefully you have enough time to do that. Good luck! +MISSION 58: COLLECT MUSHROOMS AND DELIVER THEM Collection: 5 Mushrooms: Mountains, Time Limit: 07:00 Max Score: 133 -Bear (3) Max Score Strategy: Grapple up to the cliff in front and to the left of you, but make sure you aim low enough to ledge cling. There's a bear up there who needs killing but only when its back is turned. There's a mushroom on a cliff near your starting position and another mushroom in a deep crevice near the bear. After you get those, head up the hill and take a dash jump to the next mountain over where there's some stupa statues. Grapple up to them and between you and the next mushroom is an easily killed bear. The mushroom is on the next peak over behind some bushes. Now head northwest over those boxy platforms and the next mushroom will be on the small peak at the edge of the map marked by a single tree. After you grab it, go back where you came from to the center of the map and head southwest. Overlook the cliff and you should see a cluster of trees, the last bear and some confusion traps. Kill the bear and grapple up the mountain to find the last mushroom. Now here's the hard part...the objective point is in the very center of that huge pit and if you don't land precisely on it, you'll lose your health bonus. There's a better place to jump from than up there, a gap on the south edge of the map that you can drop down to first and actually SEE the flag. Anyway, this is it. Whoever designed this level is a jerk. Hard 100 Points for Anybody: Do the same as the Max Score Strategy with the additional challenge of not getting spotted by the bears. Soooo not worth it. +MISSION 59: PROTECT THE ARMED OXCART Escort: Fortress Max Score: ??? -Mosu Ninja (?) -Ally Oxcart (1) This is probably one of the more obnoxious escort missions out there. It takes place in a small canyon filled with pit traps and land mines and Mosu Ninja. It's a very short level but that means you don't have much time to get ahead of the oxcart and set off the mass of explosives near the end. Additionally there's a pit trap that the moronic oxcart driver will always roll directly over and half the time it'll fall in and give you an instant mission failed. At the very beginning, you can throw a shuriken ahead of you, slightly high to attract a Mosu who will start looking up in the air giving you a chance to CS her. You can actually get 2 Mosu like this with the same shuriken...but after that, Mosu will begin spawning in and things will start getting hairy. While you do have to get to the end early to detonate the humongous explosives stockpile that will surely kill your oxcart, you also have to keep the Mosu from tearing it to pieces which isn't easy in the cramped quarters. Using Goh's Lv.10 slash is handy for quickly knocking out a Mosu that turns her attention to you. Fortunately you're stocked with a large supply of health spheres and you'll need them to patch up yourself and the oxcart before you reach the end. +MISSION 60: DEFEAT YOJIMBO Duel: Yojimbo: Fortress Max Score: 100 -Yojimbo (1) Duel? Yeah right. Like hell we're fighting fair! Easy 97 points for anybody: First of all, make sure your difficulty is set to NORMAL and not HARD, temporarily at least, otherwise Yojimbo will spot you immediately which is -23 points. Now when the match starts, he'll be in blue alert and will wander over to investigate. Chug your potency potion and then nail him with the explosive drug to one-shot him. Note that while the Taraba ninja can get 97 points by immediately crouching, THEN scooting backwards, Kabuto will be instantly spotted even on NORMAL so he can get 74 points at best. 100 point strategy: If your character can CS, it's simple enough to back away stealthily and get behind him. The moment he goes into unalert mode, whack him. You can also wall jump your way out of the arena with some characters and wait next to one of the torches for your moment. +SPECIAL MISSION: OLD RIVALS Assassination: Zaji: Residence Max Score: 143 Goh-only mission! ============================================================================= Goh was cleaning his equipment as Onji entered the room. Goh: "It is good to see you, old friend. Cleaning work is so dull alone. How is the mouse hunting business these days?" Onji purred happily; Goh was petting him at his favourite spot - behind the ears. ============================================================================= -Ichijo Swordsman (1) -Ichijo Elite Swordsman (1) -Bear (1) -Caged Bear (1) -Zaji (1) Whoa, what the hell just happened? One minute we were petting the cat, the next minute we're in some surreal place full of traps, pitfalls and BEARS! It's like Goh's own personal nightmare! First there's a bear just ahead that needs to be CSed quickly. I recommend a nice dash jump CS so it doesn't have a chance to turn around, but if he does, just restart and try again. Now hop up to the next section and set off the mines with a shuriken. Wait for the explosions to finish completely before wall running over. Immediately ledge cling and CS the confused guard who comes to investigate the ruckus. Wall run past the confusion traps, avoid the pitfall traps and you'll find yourself on a narrow grass walkway with a caged bear and guard at the end. I recommend getting close enough to blue alert the guard, ledge hanging, then CSing him as he returns to his post. You can CS the caged bear too, see the 'CHIMATSURI-SAPPO TIPS' section. For the next part, just grapple up the single column. However aim your grappling hook low or grappel cancel, otherwise Goh will vault right over it and into the abyss. Now you'll see two walkways covered in knockout traps and speed traps. You can use your grappling hook to get you across, fortunately they aren't confusion traps. You can also just jump. The first two traps are knockout traps, the two after are speed traps and safe to land on, the last three are knockout traps. Try not to catch yourself on fire from the stupid torch at the end. There will be a white walkway to your right which you can jump on to. Take a running jump off of it to land on the small island with the stone lantern and don't step on that landmine behind the bush. Carefully jump to each column (watch Goh's shadow!) and you'll find a large flat grassy area with some explosive barrels. On the left are a series of steps that will lead you down to a pleasant little enclosure with a house and...Zaji! ============================================================================= Zaji: "I didn't think I would get my chance so soon. I have been looking forward to this." Goh: "But are you prepared for it?" ============================================================================= Even unalert, he acts like a paranoid Kenobi on crack. Fortunately he's susceptible to all your CS. I prefer to take him out with an air-CS as he scurries around on the rooftop. Payback for his crappy assassination attempts in Imashime. ============================================================================= Zaji: "What toook you so long to get to me? Gosh, for a moment there I thought you would fall into that spear trap. All in all, not bad, but you definitely need more training. We have got to do this more often. I haven't had so much fun in... a very long time." Goh: "Right. I need more training when you're the one who just got your ass kicked." Zaji: "Come on, hurry up. We've got to tell the 'guards' that they can go home..." ============================================================================= +SPECIAL MISSION: ONJI Assassination: Bear: Mountains, Time Limit: 03:00 Max Score: 153 ============================================================================= Kinu: "Have you seen Onji lately? I can't seem to find him. I'm worried that something might have happened to him." Goh: "Last time I saw him he was playing with some butterflies near the forest." Kinu: "You let him play near the forest? You know Onji is not like a typical cat. He gets lost easily and often ends up in trouble. What if he gets eaten by a bear, stolen, or worse?!" Zaji: "In that particular order?! Ok, let's go and find him." Goh: "Erm, what could be worse than being eaten by a bear?" Kinu: "Find him, if you don't want to find out." Onji had been lying on the cold forest ground for two days without water and food. His left hind paw was caught in a trap. Luckily, the wound was not too deep and the bleeding had stopped, but the smell of his blood had apparently attracted a very hungry bear. As he saw the bear approaching, Onji tried to get away, but he couldn't free his leg. Onji's small body was shaking as the bear reached him. ============================================================================= -Barbarian Chieftain (6) -Bear (1) This isn't a difficult mission. There are 3 patrolling chieftains each paired with a stationary one and none of the duos are very difficult to take out undetected. The bear's cave is accessable from some stepped cliffs at the southwest. Ignore the decoy caves, the one with the bear is at the northwest with two entrances. Usually the bear will be preoccupied with trying to climb a very steep slope which makes him an easier target. The only way out of the sunken barbarian village in the center is wall jumping so if you fall in there with Ninja Bear or something, that's pretty much a mission failed. Sometimes the bear will manage to escape his cave very early on in the mission at which point he'll start fighting with the chieftains and eventually lose. ============================================================================= Kinu looked at Goh reproachfully as he returned with the injured Onji. Kinu: "Poor Onji... you look miserable. Don't you worry, though; I'll take care of you now. ============================================================================= +MISSION 61: DELIVER THE DOCUMENTS Transport: Documents: Fortress Max Score: 135 -Sadame Samurai General (5) This is another strange mission. It's worth setting down your chest and exploring the level a bit so you know where not to go. For instance, behind your starting position is a trail of pitfall traps which looks like it might go somewhere. It does...in front of three cannon traps. Don't take the chest that direction, there's an easier way. Easy 100 points for anybody: Hop up onto the platform in front of you. There's a pit right after that so leap over it and then drop down and stop when you reach the wall. Go diagonally, northeast across the platforms until you reach the edge of the map. There's a platform to your east you can hop to, then some more platforms to bring you up to a stretch of solid ground and a patrolling samurai general. Wait on the steps until he turns his back, and quickly seek cover behind the door of the gate, by the torch. If you notice on his patrol, he always turns to his right at the end. Follow him on his left side and you can run right past him when he turns and head up the dirt ramp in front of you. Hop up the steps until you reach the edge of the level, then hop to the south (marked by bushes) until you reach the top of the plateau. Now, you can't see it but the objective flag is right there, way below that cliff (the little brown rectangle on your map.) Take a deep breath and heave your chest off the edge! If you screwed up you'll get an immediate Mission Failed. Otherwise go west and jump to the guard tower, then look to the south and jump to the bit of ground outside of the fence. From there you should be able to see the flag and jump to it. Go pick your chest (look how close it came to the edge) and finish the mission. Max Score Strategy: You can approach this any way you like really, but killing the general in front of the gate is a good place to start. With his predictable patrol, it shouldn't take long and you can immediately hide up the dirt ramp as his body should attract one or two more generals. They can be CSed at your leisure once they return to unalert state. Now there are only two generals left and they're both easily baited. One is in the shack, the other is in a fenced in area with a guard tower. Neither should give you any trouble at this point since you should be a general-assassinating-pro by now. Afterwards, finish your mission as you would normally, however there's a winding ramp like structure at the south that might be a safer way to get down to the objective after you've tossed the chest. From it, you can take a dashing jump and safely wall run to the flag. +SPECIAL MISSION: NIGHTMARE Duel: Gamuran: Mountains Max Score: 100 ============================================================================= Goh was woken up by a loud scream. His body felt hot and his head was aching. As he looked around, he realised that he didn't recognise the room. Goh contemplated the situation. Goh: "This is not the Asuka Ninja village. How did I get here? That scream... Zaji! My sword?! Ah, it is still here. I have to find out what's going on!" ============================================================================= -Gamuran (1) You cannot CS Gamuran, I've tried everything to reducing his health to nothing, then trying to force CS while he is unalert. I've tried in different difficulty modes. I've tried knocking him out first. You will never get the CS prompt from him and subsequently the best you can really do is normal-kill him without being spotted. Sneaking up on him isn't an easy task though, he patrols randomly and stops frequently to check behind him. His hearing and vison are incredible and even jumping and landing is enough to get his attention. I recommend basing your ambush around the log (lure him by throwing your speed potion) or grappling up to his area and ledge-hanging until you get your opportunity. The trees in the level actually provide ample cover as well. 100 points for anybody: This is hard to do and will require numerous tries. To get 100 points, you need Gamuran to die in a very particular way. Essentially the killing blow cannot be delivered by you or by an explosive. The way I accomplished it was creating a pile of explosives and landmines, then luring him into it without being spotted. The ensuing explosion took out nearly all his HP and launched him, causing him to die when he hit the ground. This counts as a NKNS and you get the automatic 100 points. Note: There is also the barbarian hut exploit. But that's cheeeaaating! ============================================================================= Zaji: "Hey, get up sleepy Crow!" Goh shivered as he opened his eyes. Kinu: "Aren't you too old for nightmares?" Goh: "It was...just a dream...?" ============================================================================= \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ PLAYABLE CHARACTERS AND MOVELISTS ///////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// This section covers the 36 playable characters in the game. Each entry follows this format: [#] Character Name (Lv.1 AP, Lv.1 HP)-(Max AP, Max HP) Unlock Requirement Short description of the character and their capabilities. - Attack Name* (Button Command): Description of attack and/or attributes. *Some of the moves are from the 'Way of the Samurai' series and have been named to correspond with their appearance in that series. The rest of the moves I've had to name as they aren't listed anywhere I know of. [Stats] Level (Lv): Starts at 1 and goes to 20. Each level raises your AP/HP and at Lv10, you gain a new attack. At Lv20, you can gain one more level (MAX LVL). AP: Attack Points, a vague measure of the attack power of the character. Not a reliable way to gauge a character's true power. HP: Hit Points, also referred to as Life. When it reaches zero, you die and your mission probably fails. Exp.: Points gained from mission scores that determine the level of your character. You can keep gaining points after reaching max level, though it has no purpose. [Attack Attributes] Guard break (GB): If the enemy is guarding, it will stagger them leaving them open to attack. Throw: Cannot be guarded against. Launch (L): Propels the enemy into the air where they can be hit (air juggle) or take falling damage upon landing. They will end up in a prone position. Knockback (KB): Makes the enemy stumble away from you. Knockdown (KD): Will knock the enemy on their rear. Knockout(KO): Renders the enemy unconscious. Note that enemies have varying resistance knockout and different attacks have different levels of knockout strength and may take multiple consecutive strikes to cause unconsciousness. - Light Knockout: Can knockout a barbarian in one hit, most guards in two. - Knockout: Enough to knockout most humans in one hit except for Samurai Generals. - Strong Knockout: Can knockout a bear in two hits, everything else in one. Pain Resistance: Standard attacks draw no reaction and launch attacks can only knock down or stumble. Being attacked in a knocked down state will only result in going immediately prone. Note that HP loss is not mitigated in any way. Ailment Resistance: Character has increased resistance to one or more status ailments meaning their effects will last a shorter amount of time than usual. Unstealthy: This just means a character is easier to spot than usual ============ ASUKA NINJA ============ A clan of ninja who made their home in Utakata for the purpose of protecting the secret of necromancy. Devastated by an internal betrayal and the revival of an ancient enemy, they now number only three and are working to rebuild what was lost. [1] Goh (100,100)-(300,300) Goh is unlocked by default The amnesiac protagonist of the original game, Goh the Crow is one of the last surving Asuka Shinobi. He hasn't changed much from Imashime though they got rid of his weak low kick and replaced it with a useful slash that will knock an enemy unconscious and leave them completely vulnerable for a CS. However they completely ruined his throw by making it do no damage and having it send the enemy in a random direction. - High Kick (Back+Square): A fast kick that can be inserted to end any combo(KB). - Standard Combo (Square up to 3 times): Left slash, right slash & high kick(KB). - Short Combo (Square,Forward+Square): Left slash, turn slash(KB). - Alternate Combo (Square, Square, Forward+Square, Forward+Square): Left slash, right slash, jump slash(KD), turn slash(KB). - Advanced Combo (Square, Square, Forward+Square, Square, Square): Left slash, right slash, jump slash(KD), right slash, high kick(KB). - Rising Slash Combo (R+Square, R+Square): Rising slash(L,GB), downslash(KD). Can hit prone enemies. - Stunning Turn Slash (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, doesn't do much damage but has decent range and causes strong knockout(KO). - Somersault Throw (R+Triangle) Throws the enemy in a random direction, does no damage. - Dash Cut (Square while dashing): Homes in on target (L,GB). - Air Slash (Square while in the air): Can be repeated rapidly to hit multiple times. - Air Dive (Occurs automatically upon landing from an Air Slash): Can hit prone enemies. - Wall Attack (Square while wall running): Resembles a single Air Slash and can combo directly into one. [2] Kinu (80,100)-(250,280) Unlocks upon successful completion of Mission 1 Kinu the Golden Canary is an agile kunoichi of the Asuka Clan. She's very mobile and has some unique CS, though not as effective in combat as her male counterparts as her chain weapon is difficult to handle and frequently deflects off obstacles. Like Goh, she hasn't changed much from Imashime and has recieved a new attack that will knock enemies unconscious though it is much weaker than Goh's and requires multiple hits to knockout samurai generals and above. - Standard Combo (Square, Square): Left swing, right swing. Can be repeated rapidly. - Alternate Combo (Square, Square, Forward+Square, Square): Left swing, right swing, long attack*, circle attack(L,GB). - Advanced Combo (Square, Forward+Square, Forward+Square, Square): Left swing, long attack*, circle attack(L,GB), circle attack(L,GB). - Chain Whirl (remain idle after a left or right swing): Kinu will indefinitely whirl her chain which can lightly damage enemies who touch it. - Lower Long Attack (R+Square): Extends the chain and can hit twice. Can hit prone enemies. - Alternate Lower Long Attack (R+Square, Square): Extends the chain and then yanks it back(L,GB). Can hit prone enemies. - Stunning Circle Attack (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, causes knockout (GB). - Grapple Kick (R+Triangle): Throw. Hits twice and knocks the enemy away. - Dash Attack (Square while dashing): Swings the chain upwards for an almost immediate hit(L,GB). - Jump Attack (Square while in the air): Kinu whirls her chain in midair, then swings it low upon landing (KB). - Wall Attack (Square while wall running): A flip kick that is difficult to hit with. * Can hit up to three times, third hit launches or guard breaks. Can hit prone enemies. [3] Zaji (80,100)-(220, 370) Unlocks upon successful completion of 'Special Mission: Old Rivals' The self-proclaimed leader of the new Asuka Clan, Zaji the Black Hawk has extremely similar capabilities to Goh but some subtle differences. - Rear Kick (Back+Square): Kicks behind(KD) and turns Zaji around. Pretty worthless. - Standard Combo (Square up to 4 times): Left slash, right slash, high kick(KB), turn slash(KB). - Alternate Combo (Square,Square,Forward+Square, Forward+Square): Left slash, right slash, twisting slash(L,GB), downslash(KD). - Rising Slash Combo (R+Square up to 3 times): Double rising slash*, high kick(KB), turn slash(KB). - Hawk's Talon (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, a very fast strike(L,GB). - Counter Stance (R+Back+Triangle): Counterattack stance that can result in a two-hit auto-throw. - Somersault Throw (R+Triangle) Throws the enemy in a random direction, does no damage. - Dash Cut (Square while dashing): Homes in on target(L,GB). - Air Slash (Square while in the air): Can be repeated rapidly to hit multiple times. - Air Dive (Occurs automatically upon landing from an Air Slash): Can hit prone enemies. - Wall Attack (Square while wall running): Resembles a single Air Slash and can combo directly into one. * Hits twice, first hit launches, second hit launches or guard breaks. Can hit prone enemies. ============ NINJA CLANS ============ These ninja have gathered from the surrounding provinces to profit from the war in Utakata. They exhibit a large range of skills and techniques different from the Asuka but like all shinobi, they work from the shadows. [4] Hebitonbo (100,100)-(130, 450) Unlocks upon successful completion of 'Special Mission: A Chance Meeting' This incompetent Kenobi leader met an embarrassing end in Imashime but now he's back. Sort of. He has the full complement of shinobi skills however he cannot perform stand up attacks. In combat, he's quite good as long as you avoid spamming square which is an awful attack and is partially why he's so easy to beat in story mode. He has multiple guard breaks a long range throw and can even knockout the enemy! His strength is very high but watch your low health. - Standard Combo (R+Square up to 2 times): Elbow(KD) then backhand(L,GB). - Rising Knee (Back+Square): Can be repeated rapidly(L,GB). - Arm Whip (Square up to 5 times): Extends Hebitonbo's chain glove repeatedly. Can be deflected by obstacles. - Jump Whip (Square while in the air): Extends the chain glove almost straight down. Causes light knockout and can be repeated in midair (KO). - Dashing Knee (Square while dashing): Same as Rising Knee(L,GB). - Glove Dash (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, extremely powerful charging attack but can be inaccurate. Causes knockout (KO). - Constriction (R+Triangle): Long range throw. Can be deflected by obstacles. - Crab Pinch (R+Back+Triangle): Taunt (can actually hit multiple times) - Wall Attack (Square while wall running): Same as air attack. - Customer Satisfaction (Triangle): Chimatsuri-Sappo. - Quick step (R+Analog+X): Evasive action. Can step left, right or back. [5] Uzumushi (150,180)-(500, 400) Unlocks upon successful completion of 'Part 2: Bald Dance' This portly simpleton became default leader of the Kenobi Ninja upon Hebitonbo's demise. After failing to avenge Hebitonbo and seeing Goh as a bear, he fled back to Oshu. Not only does he grunt loudly every time he jumps, lands or grapples, he gets tired when ledge clinging and will fall off after a while. He has no CS and he gets tired quickly when fighting. Oddly enough, he's pretty fast and can jump pretty high. When he's carrying a heavy object though, his jumping ability suffers but at least he becomes silent. He is also able to air-recover which actually goes well when followed by an air attack. But still, what a joke! - Iron Ball Swing (Square, Square): Right swing(L,GB), left swing(L,GB). Can be repeated rapidly and hits enemies in a wide radius around him. - Strong Combo (R+Square, up to three times): Upswing(L,GB), ground pound(L,GB), upswing(L,GB). - Iron Ball Drop (Square while in the air): Knockdown and minor knockout in an area of effect upon impact with the ground, only deals damage with a direct hit (KD, KO). - Whirling Iron Ball (R+Back+Triangle): Earned at Lv.10, spins Uzumushi repeatedly with the iron ball extended for quite some time, until he gets tired. Can be cancelled by pressing R+Square (L,GB). - Spin Kick (Back+Square or R+X): A pathetic little kick that turns Uzumushi around. - Hop (R+Analog+X): Evasive action. Can hop left, right or back. [6] Kenobi Ninja (60,70)-(200, 240) Unlocks upon successful completion of 'Special Mission: Angry Kenobi' A clan of highly professional ninja from the Oshu region, the Kenobi Ninja are hardworking and ambitious shinobi, hampered only by their lack of decent leadership. To quote from Imashime "Out of all the leaders, I had to get Hebitonbo..." The Kenobi has a competent array of attack moves and full shinobi abilities but sadly his stats aren't the best, his dash is slow and he feels a lot like a watered-down Asuka shinobi (namely Zaji) though he does have one of the best CS in the game. - Kick (Back+Square): Can hit prone enemies. - Basic Combo (Square, Square, Square): Left slash, right slash, somersault kick*. - Twisting Slash (R+Square): Hits prone enemies(L,GB). - Extended Combo (Square, Square, Forward+Square): Left slash, right slash, twisting slash(L,GB). - Double Rising Slash (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, fast, hits twice and Hits prone enemies(L,GB). - Shoulder Throw (R+Triangle): Throw. Identical to their CS, minus the stab at the end, very weak. - Dash Cut (Square while dashing): Homes in on target(L,GB). - Air Slash (Square while in the air): Can be repeated rapidly to hit multiple times. - Air Dive (Occurs automatically upon landing from an Air Slash): Can hit prone enemies. - Wall Attack (Square while wall running): Resembles a single Air Slash and can combo directly into one. - Kenobi Banzai! (R+Back+Triangle): Suicide explosion attack, can be cancelled with any movement. - Assassinate (Triangle): Chimatsuri-Sappo. * Can hit twice, knocks down, only seems to occur when enemies are in range. [7] Usuba (80,100)-(350, 230) Unlocks upon successful completion of 'Special Mission: Mosu Ninja and the Sealed Sword' After failing to exact revenge on Goh for her two sisters, she finally gave up and left Utakata with her clan in order to perform burial rites. Though considered a master ninja, Usuba's not too great in combat nor is she as nimble as one would expect (she's slower than a Kenobi.) She's completely incapable of guarding and has very few melee attacks, however her decoys and confusion attacks paired with her unlimited kunai can cause some real mayhem. - Mosu Punch (Back+Square): Can be repeated rapidly (L). - Kunai Combo (Square up to 5 times): Multiple projectile attack, can be repeated rapidly. - Kunai Barrage (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, multiple hit simultaneous projectile attack that can hit prone enemies. - Air Kunai (Square while in the air): Projectile attack, can be repeated in midair. - Dash Kunai (Square while dashing): Multiple hit simultaneous projectile attack. - Mist of Confusion (R+Square): Unblockable, hits multiple times. Causes confusion and light knockout (KO). - Shadow Decoy (R+Triangle): Creates up to three decoys of Usuba who will vanish in one hit. Unlike the real Usuba, these ones can't attack. - Flip Kick (Square while wall running) - Mosu Assassination (Triangle): Chimatsuri-Sappo. [8] Mosu Ninja (60,60)-(160,260) Unlocks upon successful completion of 'Part 3: Buddha's Hand' Vain and a little lazy, the Mosu ninja are nevertheless a force to be taken seriously. The Mosu Ninja has a diverse assortment of skills but low HP and fatigues easily. Her catclaws have short reach and many of her attacks turn her back to the enemy. Like Usuba, the Mosu is slow for a shinobi. Tip: The strong combo is great for leading into the standard combo as it breaks guard and gets you in close enough to hit with the claws. - Strong combo: (R+Square up to two times): Spin slash(L), double kick(L,GB). - Standard combo (Square up to 4 times): Left slash, right slash, left slash, spin slash(L). - Kunai Throw (Back+Square): Projectile attack. - Air Kunai (Square while in the air): Projectile attack, can be repeated in midair. - Rolling Kunai (R + Left or Right + X): Weapons must be drawn. Performs a side roll and throws a kunai. - Mosu Grapple (R+Triangle) Throw, looks the same as the Chimatsuri-Sappo. - Mist of Confusion (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, unblockable, hits multiple times. Causes confusion and light knockout (KO). - Dashing Double Kick (Square while dashing): Homes in on target(L,GB). - Wall Attack (Square while wall running): A flip kick, hard to hit with. - Sayonara (R+Back+Triangle): Suicide explosion attack, can be cancelled with any movement. - Mosu Assassination (Triangle): Chimatsuri-Sappo. [9] Kabuto (100,100)-(500,390) Unlocks upon successful completion of Mission 45 I thought he died? Well chalk it up to the wonders of Utakata science I guess. Kabuto is a powerhouse but utterly lacking in stealth. Not only is he the most visible character in the game, he's noisy and huge. Kabuto and the other Taraba Ninja have an impressive jumping ability, pain resistance and an immunity to shuriken to offset their other deficiencies. By the way, you can't get his sword. I tried, you can't even pick it up if you manage to knock it off of the real Kabuto. - Standard Combo (Square up to five times): Left punch(KB), right punch(KB), ground pound(L,GB), uppercut(L,GB) and a shoulder ram(L). A savage combo that can be repeated endlessly. - Shoulder Ram (R+Forward+X): can be repeated rapidly(L). - Barge (Just walk into enemy) - Jump Attack (Jump while close to enemy or land on them) - Taraba Toss (R+Triangle): A high damage throw that launches. - Ryonin Head Race (R+Back+Triangle to grab, then use analog to control direction of movement): Throw. Kabuto will pick up his victim by their head and walk around dealing constant damage to them until he becomes fatigued or the analog is released, at which point he'll hurl the body away. - Arm Cannon (Back+Square): Unblockable projectile attack (L), can be repeated rapidly. Fires 2-12 explosive spheres, can cause Kabuto to get tired. - Tactical Bomb (R+Square): Fires a barrage of three explosive spheres (L) out of Kabuto's chest compartment and can cause him to get tired. - Flame Breath (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, Kabuto spews unblockable fire from his mouth. Very powerful attack that hits multiple times. - Quick Boost (R+Right/Left/Back+X): Evasive action. Can quick boost left, right or back. [10] Taraba Ninja (100,100)-(300,330) Unlocks upon successful completion of Mission 46 One of Kabuto's faceless underlings, he's exactly like Kabuto but weaker and with fewer attacks. His only advantage over Kabuto is that he tends to be quieter and a tiny bit less visible. Also his flamethrower attack has a wider spread than Kabuto's Flame Breath. Not much reason to play him though. - Standard Combo (Square, Square): Left swing, right swing. Can be repeated rapidly. - Shoulder Ram (R+Square or R+Forward+X): Can be repeated rapidly (L). - Barge (Just walk into enemy) - Jump Attack (Jump while close to enemy or land on them) - Taraba Toss (R+Triangle): A high damage throw that launches. - Cannon (Back+Square): Fires one explosive sphere (L). - Flamethrower (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, unblockable fire damage that sweeps back and forth. Very powerful attack that hits multiple times. - Quick Boost (R+Analog+X): Evasive action. Can quick boost left, right or back. ========== SWORDSMEN ========== These simple warriors resemble the basic guardsmen of the various factions and share many of the same moves. They wield a katana in a simple middle stance and must have their sword drawn to access the majority of their skills. They have low endurance and cannot run with their sword drawn for very long without becoming fatigued or mantle ledges quickly. Common Moves: - San-Renzan (Square up to three times while drawn) Downslash, upslash(L), downslash(KD). - Kick (R+Square while sheathed): Can hit prone enemies. - Jump Kick (Square while in the air): Can be repeated in midair(L). - Shinzan (R+X while drawn): A short but fast dashing attack(KB). - Tensho (R+Square while drawn) A fast upward slash(L,GB). - Escape (R+Back+X): Evasive action. Scurries backwards. [12] Ichijo Samurai (50,50)-(370,370) Unlocks upon successful completion of Mission 4 His Ascending Warrior attack is silent and able to one-shot many enemies. - Stabbing Pine Needles (Back+Square while drawn): An Ichijo Clan specialty, can be repeated quickly. - Ascending Warrior (R+Back+Square while drawn): Earned at Lv.10, a powerful upper slash(L,GB). [17] Akame Samurai (40,60)-(310,430) Unlocks upon successful completion of Mission 7 Though he lacks the powerful Ascending Warrior, this guy does have a handy knockout move and a strong attack rating. - Kick (R+Square while sheathed or Back+Square when drawn): Can hit prone enemies. - Paralyzing Blow (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, causes strong knockout (KO). [22] Sadame Samurai (50,50)-(400,340) Unlocks upon successful completion of Mission 13 - Kick (R+Square while sheathed or Back+Square when drawn): Can hit prone enemies. - Ascending Warrior (R+Back+Square while drawn): Earned at Lv.10, a powerful upper slash(L,GB). - Kamikaze (R+Back+Triangle): Explosive self-destruct! ======== ARCHERS ======== Armed with the traditional longbow, these warriors can shoot down enemies from afar. Keep in mind that they can only fire at enemies that are on slightly higher or lower terrain and spent arrows like any items will pique the curiosity of enemies. Common Moves: - Kick (R+Square or R+Forward+Square while sheathed): Can hit prone enemies. - Jump Shot (Square while in the air): Projectile attack. - Explosive Shot (R+Back+Square while drawn): Earned at Lv.10, fires three explosive spheres and an arrow. - Push (L+Square while drawn): A simple but effective melee attack for enemies that get too close(KD). - Escape (R+Right, Left or Back+X): Scurries backwards. [13] Ichijo Archer (50,50)-(370,370) Unlocks upon successful completion of Mission 14 The Ichijo archer is the only archer class with a rapid fire bow. His attack strength is moderate as well. - Rapid Shot (Square repeatedly while drawn): A projectile attack that can be repeated quickly. [18] Akame Archer (40,60)-(310, 430) Unlocks upon successful completion of Mission 10 One of the best archers, his high attack stat results in many one-shot kills despite his slow firing speed. - Double Shot (Square, Square): Projectile attack. [23] Sadame Archer (50,50)-(400,340) Unlocks upon successful completion of Mission 24 The worst archer, this character's kamikaze attack certainly doesn't make up for his low attack power or slow firing rate. - Double Shot (Square, Square): Projectile attack. - Kamikaze (R+Back+Triangle): Explosive self-destruct! ========= RIFLEMEN ========= These soldiers are armed with the newest technology in firearms, the Tanegashima rifle. Though very powerful, the rifle must be reloaded between shots and fires very slowly. Unlike archers, riflemen can snipe from various heights. Unlike other soldiers, gunmen are incapable of blocking. Common Moves: - Shoot (Square while drawn): Instant ranged attack, reloads gun afterward. Causes knockback. - Explosive Shot (R+Back+Square while drawn): Earned at Lv.10, loads gun and fires a powerful shot, causes minor damage to self. - Kick (R+Square or R+Forward+Square while sheathed): Can hit prone enemies. - Rifle Butt (L+Square while drawn): A simple but effective melee attack for enemies that get too close(L). - Retreat (R+Right, Left or Back+X): Scurries backwards. [14] Ichijo Gunman (50,50)-(370,370) Unlocks upon reaching Level 10 with Ichijo Archer [19] Akame Gunman (40,60)-(310, 430) Unlocks upon reaching Level 10 with Akame Archer By far, the most powerful rifleman. [24] Sadame Gunman (50,50)-(400,340) Unlocks upon reaching Level 10 with Sadame Archer He has some strange extra moves that don't do him much good, considering he's the weakest gunman too. - Kamikaze (R+Back+Triangle): Explosive self-destruct! - Jump Kick (Square while in the air while drawn): Launches. [SAMURAI GENERALS] Powerful retainers of the feudal lords and leaders of their armies, these samurai are master swordsmen from a variety of disciplines. While they have much higher endurance than soldiers, they will still tire from running with their sword drawn for too long. [15] Ichijo Chief (100,100)-(350,350) Unlocks upon reaching Level 10 with Ichijo Samurai A venerable old samurai who wields his katana in a high stance. - Low Kick (Back+Square while drawn): Can be repeated rapidly (KB). - Jump Kick (Square while in the air): Can be repeated in midair (L). - Standard Combo (Square up to three times): Left slash, right slash, upslash(L,GB). - Ground Throw (R+Triangle): Throw. Causes light knockout (KO). - Shoryuzen (R+Square while drawn): Can hit prone enemies(L,GB). - Ryu-Gatotsu (R+Back+Square while drawn): Earned at Lv.10, a swift thrusting attack that causes strong knockout(GB,KO). - Quick Step (R+Analog+X while drawn): Evasive action. Can quick step left, right, forward or back. [20] Akame Chief (90,110)-(330,370) Unlocks upon reaching Level 10 with Akame Samurai This experienced samurai wields two katanas simultaneously in a dual stance. - Warrior Kick (Back+Square while drawn): Can hit prone enemies. - Jump Kick (Square while in the air): Can be repeated in midair (L). - Standard Combo (Square up to three times): Left slash, right slash, spin slash. - Dual Swing (R+Square while drawn): Can chain directly into other moves(L,GB). - Paralyzing Strike (R+Back+Square while drawn): Earned at Lv.10, a fast dual slash that causes strong knockout(GB). - Double Stab (R+Back+Triangle while drawn): Throw, hits three times. - Quick Step (R+Analog+X while drawn): Evasive action. Can quick step left, right, forward or back. [25] Sadame Chief (110,90)-(370,330) Unlocks upon reaching Level 10 with Sadame Samurai A monk of Amurita as well as an battojutsu master, this character is one of the best swordsmen characters in the game thanks to his massive movelist and powerful attacks. With his sword drawn though, he behaves very similarly to the Sadame Samurai class. - Kick (Back+Square while sheathed): Can hit prone enemies - Jump Kick (Square while in the air): Can be repeated in midair (L). - San-Renzan (Square up to three times while drawn) Downslash, upslash(L), downslash(KD). - Tensho (R+Square while drawn) A fast upward slash(L,GB). - Ascending Warrior (R+Back+Square while drawn): Earned at Lv.10, a powerful upper slash(L,GB). - Ground Throw (R+Triangle while drawn): Throw. Causes light knockout. - Quick Step (R+Analog+X while drawn): Evasive action. Can quick step left, right, forward or back. - Battojutsu Stance (Hold R while sheathed) - Battojutsu Standard Combo (Square, Square, Square): Enter stance, high slash(L), downslash(KD). - Battojutsu Alternate Combo (Square, Square, Forward+Square): Enter stance, high slash(L), upslash(L). - High Battojutsu (R+Square while sheathed): Draws sword(L,GB). - Iaijutsu (R+Triangle while sheathed): Throw. - Dashing Battojutsu (R+Back+Square while sheathed): A powerful dashing slash (L). Draws sword. ============= FEUDAL LORDS ============= These three central figures are the cause of the war in Utakata. Though they made a brief alliance in Imashime, they seem destined to fight until only one remains. [16] Ichijo (80,80)-(280,360) Unlocks upon reaching Level 10 with Ichijo Chief Lord Nobuteru Ichijo, the daimyo of the Utakata province. An indecisive eccentric with a deep love of fine furniture and peace, he once relied on the Asuka Ninja to keep Utakata safe. Unsurprisingly, he's weaker than his subordinates. He uses a high stance like his samurai generals but has a few moves of his own. While he isn't as out of shape as Akame, running with his sword out tires him out as badly as a basic swordsman. - Kick (Back+Square while sheathed): Can hit prone enemies. Can be repeated rapidly. - Side Kick (Back+Square while drawn): Can be repeated very quickly and does not fatigue Ichijo(KB). - Jump Kick (Square while in the air): Can be repeated in midair (L). - Kaneuchi-Rentachi (Square up to three times): Three simple vertical slashes. - Ground Throw (R+Triangle): Throw. Causes light knockout (KO). - Shoryuzen (R+Square while drawn): Can hit prone enemies(L,GB). - Flurry of Blows (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, rapid 6-hit combo, launches after first hit, launches or guard breaks on last hit. - Quick Step (R+Analog+X while drawn): Evasive action. Can quick step left, right, forward or back. [21] Akame (100,80)-(390,280) Unlocks upon reaching Level 10 with Akame Chief The aging daimyo of a neighboring province, Lord Kagetora Akame desires Utakata as a trophy of conquest before his inevitable death from a terminal illness. He has very few moves and fatigues quickly just by running with his gun drawn. His rapid fire pistol is decent but not very stealthy. Not a very good character. - Shoot (Square while drawn): Can be fired repeatedly (KB). - Pistol Whip (R+Square while drawn): A simple but effective melee attack for enemies that get too close(KD). - Stun Shot (R+Back+Square while drawn): Earned at Lv.10, inflicts high knockout but consumes some life (KO). - Backskip (R+Back+X while drawn): Evasive action. A short skip backwards. [26] Sadame (100,100)-(300,300) Unlocks upon reaching Level 10 with Sadame Chief The beautiful, charismatic and slightly insane head of the Amurita Faith, she wishes to see Utakata in the hands of someone other than the weak Lord Ichijo. Namely, herself. Her attacks aren't very strong though and she doesn't explode either :( However she doesn't get fatigued and she can throw items as fast as a shinobi and in the air too. - Swift Kick (Back+Square while drawn): Can hit prone enemies. - Jump Kick (Square while in the air): Can be repeated in midair (L). - Flying Amurita Kick* (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, homes in on target and causes high knockout, leaves you prone (KO). - Standard Combo (Square up to three times while drawn): Left slash, right slash, downslash. - Alternate Combo (Square, Square, Forward+Square while drawn) Left slash, right slash, rising slash(L,GB). - Breaker Combo (Square, Forward+Square, Forward+Square while drawn) Left slash, dash thrust(L,GB), rising slash(L,GB). - Rising Slash (R+Square while drawn): Can hit prone enemies(L,GB). - Slide Step (R+Analog+X): Evasive action. Quickly steps forward, backward, left or right. [OTHER CHARACTERS] [11] Gamuran (100,100)-(440,440) Unlocks upon successful completion of 'Special Mission: Nightmare' This mysterious ascetic monk was the primary antagonist of Imashime and the ancient foe of the Asuka. Sadly his playable version is a bit...boring, with a very small movelist. Unlike the real Gamuran, he has an explosion attack instead of the soul eatermove, and he can't perform a stand-up attack, however he cannot be guard broken and he has pain resistance as well as ailment resistance. Gamuran cannot run and his standard movement speed is very low. However his jumping ability is only exceeded by the Taraba and by using his float ability, he can move rather quickly. When carrying heavy objects though, his movement and jumping become normal. Oddly enough, strength and speed potions barely affect him as do healing potions. - Standard Combo (R+Square, R+Square): A fast and powerful attack with his staff(L,GB). Can be repeated rapidly and hits prone enemies. - Object Barrage (Square up to five times): Projectile attack. Sends out four projectiles, one at a time and ends with a Double Barrage(KD). - Double Barrage (Back+Square): Projectile attack that fires two objects simultaneously(KD). - Levitate (R+Forward or Back+X): Evasive/attack action. Hits multiple times and causes minor knockout (L,GB). Can also be performed in the air. - Explosion (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, unblockable explosive damage in a radius, hits multiple times and causes minor knockout. [27] Miroku (100,100)-(130,450) Unlocks upon successful completion of 'Finale: Ephemera' A sadistic priestess of the Amurita Faith and Sadame's closest confidante, Miroku is a master of both armed and unarmed combat. Though she lacks shinobi abilities, she automatically parries guard breaks and has many extremely powerful attacks. Oddly enough, she can perform a Warrior Climb and use items in midair. - Rapid Kick (Back+Square while sheathed): Can hit prone enemies and be repeated rapidly. - Jump Kick (Square while in the air): Can be repeated in midair (L). - Hand Strike (Square while sheathed) A dashing unarmed strike(L,GB). - Standard Combo (Square up to five times while drawn): Left slash, right slash, spin slash(L,GB), spin slash(L,GB), spin slash(L,GB). - Unarmed Combo (Square up to five times while sheathed): Hand strike(L,GB), right slash, spin slash(L,GB), spin slash(L,GB), spin slash(L,GB). - Rensen-Tsuiken-Kiryuken (R+Square while drawn, up to three times): Left upslash(L,GB), right upslash(L,GB), rising slash(L,GB). Can hit prone enemies. - Shuriken (Back+Square while drawn): Highly accurate projectile attack. Can target airborne and prone enemies. - Stunning Kick (R+Square while sheathed): Draws sword(L,GB). - Tenkuga (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, misses frequently but is incredibly powerful. Can hit prone enemies(L,GB). - Reppukan (R+Triangle): Dashing throw, draws sword. - Evade (R+Analog+X): Can evade left or right. Can be repeated rapidly and will chain directly into attacks. - Slide Step (R+Analog+X): Evasive action. Quickly steps forward or backward. [28] Yojimbo (100,100)-(300,300) Unlocks upon successful completion of 'Special Mission: The Whereabouts of the Princess' These elite bodyguards care only about combat and honing their sword skills. Their service comes at a high price but their prowess with the katana is unmatched. Yojimbo cannot dash but his standard speed is much higher than other characters. He is one of the few non-shinobi who can perform Chimatsuri-Sappo, however he is inherently unstealthy. Can standup attack and air recover as well as use items in midair. Gets fatigued if he attacks constantly. He can lean on walls in place of a wall hug. - Piercing Hand strike (R+Square while sheathed): A fast punch with good range, can be repeated rapidly (KB). - Standard Combo (Square, up to 5 times while drawn): 4 quick slashes followed by a Guard Breaker(L,GB). Third hit launches. - Dash Combo (Square, Square,Forward+Square while drawn): 2 quick slashes followed by a homing dash cut(L,GB). - Alternate Combo (Square, Square, Square, Forward+Square while drawn): 3 quick slashes followed by a downslash(KD). Third hit launches. - Strong Combo (R+Square, R+Square): Upslash(L,GB), downslash(KB). - Guard Breaker (Back+Square while drawn): A very short range attack that hits twice(L,GB). Can be used to terminate Standard Combo early. - Dash Strike (R+Back+Square while drawn) Earned at Lv.10. Causes knockout (L). - Evade (R+Analog+X): Can evade left, right or back. Can be repeated rapidly and will chain directly into attacks. - Sado-no-Gotoshi (Triangle) Chimatsuri-Sappo, draws sword. [29] Ninja Bear: (100,100)-(500,500) Unlocks upon successful completion of 'Special Mission: Onji' Very Unstealthy, noisy, cannot ledge cling but his standard movement speed is very high...in fact he's the fastest character in the game when it comes to base movement, and can outpace even a dashing ninja! On very low obstacles, he can climb onto them very slowly meaning that crates are very important to him in levels with no grapple hook. He cannot block or evade but has pain resistance, ailment resistance and some of the highest stats in the game...combat is not a problem for Ninja Bear! Secrecy and stealth on the other hand... For fun: Use his throw while standing near a torch. While waving the enemy around, they'll catch on fire, cancelling the animation and often sending them rocketing off into the sky! - Standard Combo (Square, Square): Left swing, right swing(L). Can be repeated rapidly. - Claw Jab (Back+Square): Can be repeated rapidly. - Barge(Just run into enemy): Can hit multiple times and deals a surprising amount of damage (L). - Pounce (R+Forward+X): Can hit prone enemies(L,GB). - Strong Combo (R+Square up to two times): Upwards heave(L,GB), pounce(L,GB). - Maul (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, hits up to five times and causes knockout, can hit prone enemies and be repeated rapidly. - Bear Throw (R+Triangle): Throw, can be interrupted by any attack. - Roar (R+Back+Triangle): Taunt. - Ursine Assassination (Triangle): Chimatsuri-Sappo. [36] Nami (100,100)-(300,300) Unlocks upon attaining 100% mission completion A courtesan of foreign origins and morally questionable ambitions from 'Way of the Samurai 2.' She seems to have abandoned her naginata for a sword (Miroku's sword in fact.) Nami has quite a few shinobi abilities: she can dash, wall hug and has ledge mobility though she can't use items while ledge clinging nor can she wall run. She's unable to air recover or standup attack as well. However she can use items in midair. In combat, her attacks are quite powerful and her linking combos are versatile. The ability to sheathe and draw her sword almost instantly is a great advantage too for a combat-oriented character. - Standard Combo (Square up to 4 times while drawn): Left slash, right slash, high slash(L,GB), somersault kick(L). - Alternate Combo (R+Square up to 3 times while drawn): Two upper slashes(L,GB), somersault kick(L). - Sheathe Combo (Square(2), forward+square(4) while drawn): Left slash, right slash, 3 roundhouse kicks, somersault kick(L). Sheathes sword on third hit. - Roundhouse Combo (Square repeatedly with slight pauses between while sheathed): Performs the roundhouse kick repeatedly. - Unarmed Combo (Square, Forward+Square, Forward+Square while sheathed): Roundhouse, roundhouse, somersault kick(L). Can be used to end a roundhouse combo. - Draw Combo (Square up to 4 times while sheathed): Roundhouse, turn slash, high slash(L), somersault kick(L,GB). Draws sword on second attack. - Alternate Draw Combo (R+Square up to 3 times while sheathed): Roundhouse, spin slash(L,GB), somersault kick(L,GB). Draws sword on second attack. - Advanced Combo (Square(2), forward+square(3), square(4) while drawn): Left slash, right slash, 4 roundhouse kicks, turn slash, high slash(L), somersault kick(L,GB). - Drawing Roundhouse Kick (Back+Square) Draws or sheathes sword, can be added to combos. Faster than sheathing with O. - Senpukan (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, a very powerful dashing thrust(L,GB). Draws sword. - Honshin-Urasuisha (R+Triangle): Throw, draws sword. - Air Slice (Square while in the air): Draws sword (KB). - Dashing Spin Slash (Square while dashing): Draws sword (L). - Slide Step (R+Analog+X): Evasive action. Quickly steps forward, backward, left or right. [SPECIAL CHARACTERS] These characters are marked with a yellow star and are powerful variations on existing characters. Note that in the case of the three Asuka shinobi, though they are listed with having the exact same stats (300,300), there's a noticeable difference in their damage when using the same attacks that corresponds to the AP differences of their normal versions (so Zaji is still the strongest while Kinu is a little weaker than Goh.) However, they all actually do have 300 HP. Additionally they can all jump higher than their normal versions, particularly Kinu who gets the highest jump in the game not counting Gamuran or Taraba. Concerning the masters, they are essentially samurai generals (chiefs) that look like simple swordsmen, however they have the endurance of swordsmen and tire especially quickly. [30] Goh with Sealed Sword (100,100)-(300,300) Unlocks upon reaching Max Level with Goh Has the exact same moveset as the normal Goh (with the exception of the ones listed below), however he wields the sealed sword that he used to kill Gamuran in Imashime and generally deals more damage. - Advanced Combo (Square, Square, Forward+Square, Square, Square): Left slash, right slash, jump slash(KB), right slash, rising slash(L,GB). - Sealed Sword Combo (R+Square up to 3 times): Turn slash(L,GB), right slash, jump slash(KB). Can be repeated rapidly. - Explosive Strike (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, creates a small explosion at impact and causes self-damage. Terrible move(KD)! [31] Alternate Kinu with Sealed Sword (100,100)-(300,300) Unlocks upon reaching Max Level with Kinu Uses Goh's moveset (aside from the one move shown below) and wields the sealed sword that killed Gamuran. Also has Kinu's alternate clothing from Imashime which in actuality is just her underwear. Hey, I'm not complaining. She's one of the best characters in the game. - Tenkuga (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, can hit prone enemies. An inaccurate but incredibly powerful attack(L,GB). [32] Zaji with Sealed Sword (100,100)-(300,300) Unlocks upon reaching Max Level with Zaji Has the exact same moveset as the standard Zaji (with the exception of the ones listed below), however he wields the sealed sword that killed Gamuran. He's had quite a few of his combos extended and does even more damage than normal Zaji. - Standard Combo (Square up to 5 times): Left slash, right slash, high kick(KB), turn slash(KB), turn slash(L,GB). - Alternate Combo (Square,Square,Forward+Square, Forward+Square, Square): Left slash, right slash, rising slash(L,GB), downslash(KD), turn slash(L,GB). - Sealed Sword Combo (R+Square up to 3 times): Jump slash(L,GB), turn slash(L,GB), turn slash(KB). - Sealed Sword Extra Combo (Square, Square, R+Square up to 3 times): Left slash, right slash, jump slash(L,GB), turn slash(L,GB), turn slash(KB). - Explosive Strike** (R+Back+Square): Earned at Lv.10, creates a small explosion at impact and causes self-damage. Exactly like Goh's attack. [33] Ichijo Master (50,50)-(370,370) Unlocks upon reaching Max Level with Ichijo Samurai An Ichijo Samurai with the moveset of the Ichijo Samurai General. [34] Akame Master (50,50)-(370,370) Unlocks upon reaching Max Level with Akame Samurai An Akame Samurai with the moveset of the Akame Samurai General. [35] Sadame Master (50,50)-(370,370) Unlocks upon reaching Max Level with Sadame Samurai A Sadame Samurai with the moveset of the Sadame Samurai General. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ GLITCHES AND BUGS ///////////////////////////////////////////// - Sometimes when performing an Asuka air CS, you'll instead knock the enemy to the ground and attempt to perform a ground CS (which usually misses.) This can be avoided by aiming your shadow slightly to the side of them. - Gunmen occasionally are unable to hit anyone with their guns and attempting to use items fails, but depletes the item at a higher rate. Can be fixed by putting away the rifle and drawing it again. Akame experiences this issue frequently but cannot fix it. - Ending a mission successfully with a ledge CS occasionally shows your character hanging onto the ledge backwards. - Attempting a ledge CS while using L-targeting frequently causes your character to drop off the ledge for no reason. - While using an Invisible Shadow scroll, you can often CS enemies as a non-Asuka character and not lose your invisibility. - Sometimes your character can clip into a log or house. From inside, you cannot be seen. - Explosive drugs have inconsistent effects when consumed with different characters. - Potions of Potency can have inconsistent effects on other items. - Bears can sometimes see through walls as their head can stick through them. - CS that shift the position of your character can sometimes cause you to end up in a different room or on the other side of a wall. - Occasionally the CS indication sound will be barely audible. - Mushroom Shuriken looks like a scroll. - Inflicting amnesia status on an enemy makes you invisible to the rest. - On 'Special Mission: Akame's Secret Treasure" the mission details feature 'Knockout Drug +90' rather than the 'Knockout Sphere +90' you actually recieve. - In Single Mission Mode, imported missions only contain the four left-hand item slots which make some missions impossible to finish. - When Kinu tries to CS a prone unconscious large enemy, they will roll out of the way and stand up, sometimes still unconscious. - Auto-grappling while beneath tiles will cause you to float beneath them indefinitely (try this under the first mission's bridge.) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ CHEATS ///////////////////////////////////////////// These become unlocked upon completion of mission 'Finale: Ephemera' and only work in story mode. [Alternate Inventories] At the inventory screen prior to beginning a mission, press the d-pad five times in one direction to access these alternate inventories. - Up: Default mission inventory - Right: Grapple Hook, Asuka Shuriken (30), Weak Land Mine (10), Health Potion +60 (20) - Down: Black Ninja Flame (1), Explosive Sushi +300 (5), Powerful Land Mine (5), Cicada Shell (1) - Left: Short Grapple Hook, Strength Potion +90 (10), Knockout Sushi +90 (10)m Speed Potion +90 (10) [Mission Codes] Enter while paused. Only one code per mission. - Invincibility (Right, Right, Down, Up, Up) Makes you and all NPCs invulnerable to any type of damage besides Chimatsuri-Sappo (which only does 50% damage on HARD mode.) - Items do not deplete (Down, Left, Right, Up, Down): Gives you unlimited items. - One hit kill (Up, Up, Down, Right, Up): Makes you and all NPCs die in one attack. Item damage and most projectiles do not count. - Restore HP (Up, Right, Right, Down, Left): Restores all your HP but only one time. NOTE: These cheat codes might make the game run a little more slowly for some reason. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ EXPLOITS ///////////////////////////////////////////// These are bugs in the game that can be made use of to benefit the player. [Group Amnesia] As long as anyone in a level is afflicted with the amnesia condition (besides you), everyone on the map will be unable to see you. Once the amnesia wears off or the enemy afflicted is killed, everything is back to normal. You could theoretically lay down a piece of amnesia sushi in a guard's patrol path, wait outside the Samurai General's room and as soon as you hear amnesia take effect, rush in and CS the general in the face. Highly abusable...in the few levels you get amnesia items. Paired with potency potions though, this trick can let you wipe out an entire level with impunity. [Wall Kill] Sometimes an assassination target or enemy will be inside a building watching the only entrance, a difficult situation certainly. At times, these enemies are standing very close to the wall. If your attack has reach, you can hit right through the wall from outside and nail the enemy. If your attack is sufficiently strong, you can one-hit them, causing no point loss for being spotted. The characters that can do this are limited and its highly dependent on level of your character and difficulty mode if you can do enough damage, but it's a handy exploit that can really help out non-CS characters to get experience points. Some characters that excel at this exploit: Ichijo Chief (R+Back+Square while drawn) Akame Chief (R+Back+Square while drawn) Sadame Chief (R+Triangle while sheathed) Miroku (R+Back+Square while drawn) Ichijo Master (Same as chief) Akame Master (Same as chief) Sadame Master (Same as chief) Nami (R+Back+Square while drawn) Some of these characters can't one-shot generals but have powerful attacks that knock the target unconscious. A few hits like that can kill a general with no one the wiser. Lastly, it helps to make some sort of battle sound to blue-alert the general. This lets you target him through the wall for better precision. Don't forget that this doesn't just apply to Samurai Generals, when it comes to one shotting guards through the walls, many more characters can do this. [Infinite Barbarian Trick] Barbarian huts found in certain levels will spawn five barbarians when you open one. Sounds like a good deal except the barbarians immediately spot you upon spawning even if you aren't in sight. If you can CS all of them (35 points), then you've only broken even since you lost your +20 no spot bonus as well as -3 for each barbarian. Here's the catch though. The huts restock. As soon as the door is closed again, you can open it back up for another five barbarians. They all still spot you but if you're CSing them, that's +4 points per barbarian. And the huts restock indefinitely. With this trick you can accrue a massive amount of points, or score an easy 100+ on the notorious Gamuran duel. The unfortunate part is that only CS-capable characters can benefit from this; normal kills only net +3 points which are negated by the -3 spot penalty. Now the easiest way to kill the five barbarians is to stand right outside the door and CS them as they come out. Characters with long CS animations are going to have trouble here and sometimes the barbarians come out two at a time. Remember, you can nail a barbarian with one of their own axes to knock them out for an easy CS. As for cleaning up in between, the corpses will disappear on their own, however the axes will start to pile up and you want to keep them away from your kill zone, otherwise you'll end up picking one up by accident when you meant to CS. I'm not sure if there's a point cap on this trick, but its not really an efficient way of gaining points. Here are the missions you can do this trick on: - Mission 6 - Mission 23 - Special Mission: Ichijo's Poor Life - Special Mission: Onji - Special Mission: Nightmare [Phantom Killer] On missions where you get a scroll of Invisible Shadow, non-Asuka characters with CS moves can CS multiple enemies without losing the invisibility. It's not completely reliable though. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ SINGLE MISSION MODE ///////////////////////////////////////////// This mode allows you to play any imported custom missions from Shinobido: Way of the Ninja that are stored on your memory stick. You are able to use all 36 characters in these missions though their stats aren't the same as in story mode. Difficulty mode now affects the custom missions unlike in Imashime and scores can exceed 100 points in HARD MODE. Up to three top scores can be saved per mission as in Imashime, but name entry has been replaced with the name of the character used. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ MULTIPLAYER MODE ///////////////////////////////////////////// Supports up to four players, one of whom must host the game. Levels can be selected from the game disc itself (8 levels), or custom levels from memory stick. Mission type includes Assassination, Collection, Rescue and Deathmatch. A time limit can be set as well. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ EXTRA ///////////////////////////////////////////// [Shinobi Advice] These tips are shown during loading screens. Some are sound advice, some aren't. Some are just DUH! - Your target is indicated by the needle found at the lower right side of the screen. - The indicator needle disappears when you reach your objective. When it disappears, be sure to look around. - You can view the map by pressing the SELECT button. Use it to help you accomplish your mission. - Use every item that you think will help in difficult missions. - The only way to increase your attack power or life is to build up your reputation and gain experience. - Use the R button to quickly look ahead and the L button to quickly look at moving things. Take full advantage of these abilities. - When you sense an enemy nearby, press R + O to search your surroundings. - If you use an item while using the L button to look around, you can throw it at the enemy with greater accuracy. - Using lock-on is good for both finding enemies and also for avoiding enemy attacks. - Keep a close eye on your enemy's health gauge. - Using the grapple hook during a jump allows you to climb to many places that are otherwise unreachable. - Push the x button while moving around with the grapple hook to stop using it. - Not being found by your enemies is a basic tenet of ninjitsu. - Even among allies, there are many who are not aware of the ninja's existence. - Crouch and stay in the shadows to hide from enemies effectively. - Hiding in bushes makes it harder for enemies to find you. - If someone is looking at where you are hiding, then assume that you have been found. - Guards on watch can hear even small sounds. - One mustn't make noise near the water. - Hanging inside a well is a useful ninja trick. - Anyone aspiring to the way of the ninja should know how to perform a stealth kill -- press the triangle button next to an unsuspecting enemy. - Enemies who get suspicious are harder to perform stealth kills on. - Enemies who are eating are the easiest prey for stealth kills. - You can open sliding doors just a little bit to check a room before entering. - Be careful not to burn yourself with fire. - Be careful not to blow yourself up with your own bombs. - Try using the grapple hook when you are about to fall in a trap. - Throwing dead bodies on landmines is dangerous for the person throwing them. - Turning a doghouse sideways makes the dog's barking quieter. - Constantly running into things is a quick way to get knocked unconscious. If you run into an enemy, the heavier the object, the more powerful the effect. - Annihilate the enemy. - Kill your targets quickly. - Promptly wipe out the enemy to earn higher scores. - When on a warrior mission, use the O button to draw and sheathe your sword. - A thirst for violence can be very dangerous for a ninja. - When surrounded by enemies, run away. - Warriors with different clothing have special skills. It's best to take them out quickly. - Get back to your feet quickly after being knocked down by an enemy. - You can make a soft landing after being knocked from your feet by pressing the correct button in mid-air. - End fights quickly. Make noises to lure enemies into traps. - Use objects you are carrying to combat enemies. - Throwing objects at enemies will do major damage. - Attack enemies at the moment that they use medicine to make it explode in their face. - Steal the package and return with it, - Clearing out enemies on the way in makes the return trip safer. - Take packages to their destinations - The indicator needle shows you the delivery point for your package. - Since your speed decreases when carrying objects, use caltrops to keep enemies from catching you. - You can run faster even when carrying objects by using speed items. - Jump higher when stepping on enemies. This might be useful when carrying heavier objects. - If you are found while carrying an object, drop it and fight. - Protect your charge's life. - Pay close attention to your charge's injuries. - If you attack an ally three times or kill an ally, then you will be labelled a traitor. However, if it happens during battle, it will be seen as an accident... - Use allies to get the enemy's attention and then sneak up on him and kill him. - Rescue your charge and escape. - Your charges are weak. Do not handle them with violence. - If prisoners are starving and you want them to focus on escaping, give them food. - If your charge cannot run very fast, try using an item to give them a speed boost. - Frightened charges will stop following you, so you should never get them involved in a fight. - Kidnap your target. - Knock targets unconscious before they can alert enemies to your presence. - Use land mines to your advantage if you know an enemy oxcart's travel route. - The use of bombs or logs will give you a decisive advantage. - Use shuriken to detonate bombs from a distance. - Reduce the number of enemy guards. - Take care of guards one at a time. - Guards cannot go very far away from what they are protecting. - Throwing objects to frighten a group of enemies is an effective strategy. - Scout the area to prepare for the future. - Escort oxcarts to their final destinations. - Lure enemies out into the open so that the oxcart can use its cannon. - Pay close attention to any damage to the oxcart. Use health potions if needed. - Gather the specified number of items. - When you have collected all the packages, the indicator needle points to the exit. [Onji-isms] These show up on the save data text and seem to be random. Onji was a cat possessed by the soul of an ascetic monk who helped Goh to defeat Gamuran in Imashime, but the Onji in Homura is no longer possessed and is just an ordinary cat. - Today Onji seems to be lost in thought. - Today Onji is tossing and turning in his sleep. - Today Onji is sleepy. - Today Onji is scratching his head with his hind leg. - Today Onji is captivated by a butterfly. - Today Onji seems to have gone hunting for mice. [Removed Chimatsuri-Sappo] Sadly many Chimatsuri-Sappo techniques were removed from Homura that were in Imashime due to circumstances unknown (PSP memory limitations?) Here are the list of casualties: - Goh Back CS (EU): A neat and tidy throat slit from behind. Homura actually uses the rating-friendly Back CS from the JP version of Imashime. - Goh Front CS: Goh stabs them in the gut and yanks the sword out, throwing them to the floor. - Kinu Front CS: Kinu flips the enemy head over heels and slashes their throat on their way down. - Kinu Ground CS: Kinu wraps her chain around the prone enemy's throat and somehow pulls it through their neck. Anyhow they die. - Water CS: Goh/Kinu twists the enemy's arm and sticks their face in shallow water, holding them there until they stop thrashing, which takes a LONG time. - Shoji CS: Goh/Kinu stabs the enemy through a shoji door to their abject dismay and surprise. - Goh Large Enemy Front CS: After ducking a swing, Goh stabs the enemy through their neck from beneath. [Differences between JP and EU versions] By no means a comprehensive list as I have not played much of the JP version. - Enemies cannot see you during Chimatsuri-Sappo animations unless they are already alert (bug?) - Enemies can hear most Chimatsuri-Sappo on NORMAL and HARD mode and often investigate them. This makes the game way harder! - A few mission layouts have been altered for the EU version, mostly to make them harder: -MISSION 45: STEAL THE RICE -MISSION 54: KIDNAP: MERCHANT [Zaji Sighting] Zaji cameos in Way of the Samurai 3 in a very minor role as a 'mysterious ninja' working for Oda Nobunaga. You can actually wear his character model and wield his sword 'Kurotaka' (I wonder if that means Goh's sword is called Karasu?) You can fight him at one point and the cutscene mimics the ones from Imashime exactly. After the fight, you can ask "Aren't you Zaji?!" and he will reply "So what?" A lot of his moves refer to Shinobido like a three-move combo attack called 'Tateba-Ageba-Usuba' which sounds vaguely familiar (wait, didn't Ageha and Usuba have a third sister?) and he even gets a couple of throws that resemble Asuka Chimatsuri-Sappo. [Enemy-Only Attacks] There's some things that only the enemy can do, even if you have the playable version of them unlocked. Besides that standup degree standup attack that nearly everyone has. Some of these abilities were in Takumi. Swordsman: - Pin enemies from behind - A high slash to hit jumping enemies - A backwards swing to hit enemies behind you - Taunt (flourishes sword) Yojimbo: - Homing dashing guard break from HELL Bear: - Turnaround claw attack Usuba: - Create clones that can attack (and even live on after she dies!) - Double High kick Kabuto: - Sword attack - Arm-mounted flamethrower (identical to standard-issue Taraba flamethrowers.) - Stomp attack (when you are prone) Sadame: - Repeating twirling slash combo. Gamuran: - Soul eating throw. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ THANKS AND LEGAL STUFF ///////////////////////////////////////////// Thanks to Acquire for making the greatest ninja games around. Thanks to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for bringing two out of three Shinobido games to the west. Thanks to everyone who still appreciates the niche genre of Stealth Action. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. Feel free to use this guide any way and anywhere you wish, as long as you don't alter it, claim credit for it or charge money for it.