version 1.1
by JitaHadi Smith
January 2001
All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
-----------------------
All work and information contained within this document Copyright 2001
JitaHadi Smith unless otherwise stated.
This FAQ is for private and personal use only. It can only be
reproduced electronically, and if placed on a web page or site, may
be altered as long as this disclaimer and the above copyright notice
appears in full. Any information used from this document, quoted or
not, should have this author's name somewhere clearly as acknowledge-
ment. Feel free to distribute between others, but this FAQ is not to
be used for profitable/promotional purposes; this includes being used
by publishers of magazines, guides, books, etc. or being incorporated
into magazines, etc. in ANY way.
This document was created by JitaHadi Smith .
Give credit where it is due.
Playstation 2 is trademarks (tm) of Sony ComputerEntertainment of
America Inc. (SCEA) 2001-2001. Kessen is a trademark of KOEI Co., Ltd.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-------------------
1.0 - Version Updates & Introduction
2.0 - Characters
3.0 - Units & Weapons
4.0 - Formations
5.0 - Special Maneuvers
6.0 - General Battlefield Strategies
7.0 - How to Release all Battles for replay
8.0 - Battle-by-Battle Walkthrough (check for a new FAQ)
1.0 Version Update
---------------------
Version 1.0 - This is the introductory version. It has tons of info
about the major different aspects of the game. No fine detail yet.
Version 1.1 - Added the numbers for the Special Maneuvers sections.
Also included a new section: How to get all the Battles released,
as section 7.0, and moved the walkthrough back some. Also put in
some more data for the formations. Put in the first part of section
6.0, the battlefield strategies. I also decided that the 13 battle
walkthroughs would be too big an addition for this FAQ, so they
will be done in a separate one!
1.1 Introduction
-------------------
First, I'd like to acknowledge where most of the character and unit
ratings came from. I found them in Prima's Official Strategy Guide by
Mark L. Cohen. The book is copywritten for 2000 by Prima Publishing.
I'd highly recommend buying it if you can find it, and even if I'd
found all the info in this FAQ on the net before, I'd still get it.
The character ratings would otherwise be VERY difficult to quantify,
and the unit offense, defense, & movement ratings aren't found anywhere
in the game. Also, all of the other info, strategies, and ideas in
this FAQ are either found within the game or are my own.
Next, Kessen is a pretty decent real-time war strategy game. It is
not nearly as complex or engaging as Shogun for the PC although they
are comparable. It also isn't even KOEI's best of it's genre. That
position is reserved for Genghis Khan 2 for the SNES. If ownly they
would do a third installment for the PS2 with all the elements of the
SNES version and the beauty/detail available with the PS2!!!! I'd buy
a million copies of it myself!!!!! ::Drooling at the idea::
Last, I did not include very much of the basics that are in the
instruction booklet for the game. There isn't a very good interactive
help system in the game, so if you rented it, you may have a rough
start understanding the intricacies. Mostly, I just included the type
of info I'd want to know while playing. If you have any specific
questions about something in the game, I'd be glad to answer any email.
2.0 Characters
-----------------
Their are eight traits that apply to characters (five attributes
and three ratings). The five attributes are permenant and described
below. The final three ratings change during the course of the game;
also described below.
Battle - Ranges from 10 to 100. Affects how the character commands
during battle. Also determines who wins in 1-on-1 duels.
Intelligence - Ranges from 10 to 100. Affects how the officer's squad
carries out or spots ambushes. Also affects resistance to defection.
Charm - Ranges from 10 to 100. Persuasion for others to stay loyal or
defect. Also determines speed of reformation after a retreat.
Insight - Ranges from 35 to 245. Affects combat rating of units under
the officer's command. Also make it more difficult for the unit to
be trapped or surrounded.
Fame - Ranges from 10 to 100. Affects the choice of the AI when
determining which unit to attack. The more notoriety of the
officer, the more likely to draw the computer opponent's attention.
Zeal - Ranges from 0 to 100. This is like the special power meter for
most fighting games. When it is flashing, you can perform special
attacks. It must be up to at least 80 to launch a Special Maneuver.
Each maneuver reduces zeal by an exact amount.
Morale - Ranges from 0 to 100. This directly affects the fighting
power of the unit. When moral is low, casualties happen at a
higher rate, and when it is high, the unit's attack power increases.
Once morale drops below 20, the unit is routed and runs away.
Fatigue - Ranges from 0 to 100. This is the only rating in which
lower is better. When the troops are tired, their performance is
obviously affected. If exhausted, the unit's defensive power will
decrease dramatically. They basically take a break & quit fighting.
I added a short-hand name (initials more or less) before each shogun's
character & historical name. I will refer to each commander by those
initials throughout the FAQ.
3.0 Units and Weapons
------------------------
The units and weapons of Kessen are based on historical data from
that period. They are both pretty accurate, and that adds to the
overall flavor of the game. For the Units, what follows is the Code
initials that I will use to refer to them throughout this FAQ, the
type/name of the unit, the range of their attacks, the weapon used,
and the offensive/defensive/movement ratings for each. Those ratings
are relevent to head-to-head battle, and the defensive rating
applies to the effect of Special Attacks on that unit.
CODE TYPE RANGE WEAPON OFFN DEFN MOVE
--------------------------------------------------------------------
F# Foot Soldiers Short Sword 15 20 2
S# Spearmen Short Spear 20 15 2
B# Bowmen Long Bow/Arrow 10 10 2
R# Riflemen(*) Long Rifle 10 10 2
H# Horsemen Short Sword 25 30 4
L# Lancers Short Spear 30 25 4
C# Cavalry(*) Long Rifle 15 15 4
N# Ninja(**) Short Sword,Shuriken 32 32 3
(*)=Male/Female; (**)=Female only
3.1 Matchups for Units
-------------------------
The matchups are pretty easy to determine based on the offensive &
defensive capabilities of each unit. The range of the attack and
weapon used also plays a part. These matchup were mostly stated in the
Prima guide, but remember that the situation also plays into the mix.
A ninja unit can be decimated by a flank or rear attack from a bunch of
bowmen. Numbers also make a difference, so keep both in mind.
TYPE BEST WORST
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foot Soldiers B#, R# L#, H#, N#
Spearmen B#, R#, C# H#, L#, N#
Bowmen B#, R# All Others
Riflemen B#, R# L#, H#, N#
Horsemen F#, S#, B#, R# L#, N#
Lancers All but Ninja N#
Cavalry F#, S#, B#, R# L#, H#, N#
Ninja Any Unit None
4.0 Formations
-----------------
Formations don't seem to be that important in battle, but they do
help add more of certain Special Attacks depending on which you choose.
They also do complement each other in a paper/rock/scissors kind of
way. I will later implement a chart showing which are the best & worst
matchups for each formation. Meanwhile, use them to maximize the
Special Maneuvers you want to increase.
Also, each offficer can only use certain formations (those he has
been trained in). There is no way that I've found to teach any of them
during the course of the game. For each character, I guess KOEI only
lets them implement formations that they were historically know to
have used in each battle. Below is the name of the formation, a brief
description, and the units that best benefit from that formation.
NAME DESCRIPTION UNITS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anvil Excellent defensive potential on all sides B#, R#, C#
Arrow Good for a kamakaze attack with few men C#, L#
Block Defensive to keep the enemy from advancing B#, R#
Horns Use to surround and scatter a small unit N#
Lance Very effective for attacking an enemy camp S#, C#, L#
Pincer Surround an enemy and attack from all sides S#, R#
Reef Great defensive against enemy blitzes S#, R#
Snake Able to quickly expand to the right or left C#, L#
Wedge Easily switches between offense and defense B#, R#
Also, here are the basic designs of each formation with squad numbers,
and the addition Special Maneuvers added if selected:
I'll be using the squad numbers in the battle-by-battle walkthrough
later in the FAQ, to help with the formation of units during the
modification stages.
5.0 Special Maneuvers
------------------------
These are what make this game. The cinematics are fun and using
them in battle effectively will always turn the tide to your favor! My
strategy for using them is simple: Hit 'em Hard and Often!!!!!! You
only need to look for the maximum damage to your opponent. Don't burn
your cannons on a few fleeing bowmen when you have 7000 lancer coming
in from the north (well, duh!). Also most important; use them on your
opponent before he uses his on you!!! If you have 10000 troops and he
knocks you down to 7800, you can only return the favor of dropping him
down to like 8900. That could've been you with the big 1100 troop
advantage after the exchange *IF* you had hit him FIRST!!!!
Also, if you destroy an enemy unit, the Zeal for every one of your
units increases immediately, whether they were involved or not. So,
if you use three or four Special Attacks to destroy a unit, each of
the contributing attackers will have replentished Zeal almost
immediately. The only concern is running out of them. I'd rather
burn them all than lose the battle with a bunch still unused.
Here are the maneuvers, costs, associated formation (with bonuses),
necessary units to use, and brief descriptions [best use to attack]:
NAME COST FORMATION(+INCR) UNITS
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Artillery 45 Unknown Any
*Mobile projectiles about grapefruit-size [Hurts 'em all]
Avoid 20 Snake(+3) H#, L#, C#
*Move past an engagement
Ballista 40 None Any
*Spear launcher...OUCH!! [Any]
Barrage 30 Pincer(+2) R#
*Single line of rifle firing [B#, R#, C#]
Cannonade 55 None Any
*WOW!!! Cannons are devistating [H#, L#, N# or Any]
Charge 45 Arrow(+1) H#, L#, C#
*Blast through to the other side [Use in any flanking attack]
Drum Roll 10 Anvil(+3) Any
*Encourages a listless ally, adds Morale +30
Escape 10 Lance(+3) Any
*Allows the unit to slip out of the battle without retreating
Flying Fusillade 25 None C#
*Moving mounted barrage [Hit a small or retreating enemy]
Mounted Barrage 30 None C#
*Stationary cavalry attack [S#, B#, R#, C#]
Ninja 40 Horn(+2) N#
*Sweet action sequence [Will cut into any enemy force]
Raid 30 None Any
*Surprise attack lowers enemy Zeal -25 [Enemy ready to do a special]
Rally 15 None Commander
*Only available to commander, will raise an ally's Zeal +30
Spear Wall 25 Reef(+2) S#
*Defensive attack with raised spears [B#, R#, C#]
Triple Barrage 40 None R#
*Three lines of rifle fire [Good against Any]
Volley 25 Wedge(+3) B#
*Wave of arrows launced [B#, R#, C#]
The best use is a quality call. You can use these against any
type of force, but the results may not be very good. Below is an in-
teresting breakdown of some of the attack results I had. To calculate
the attack power, I used 1000 troops as a denominator. The results
are accurate but not exact, and actual results depend on other factors
as well, like both officers' attributes and the moral/fatigue of the
units. Most results reflect average variables (not high or low). These
are pretty easy multipliers. If you are attacking with 1000 troops
using the special, you can expect to kill close to the amount. If you
are attacking with like 7800 troops, multiply the number by 7.8, or if
using 250 troops divide by 4 (250/1000 = 1/4; multiply by 1/4).
Keep in mind that these attack values come from my own repeated
experimentation. They are averaged amounts and depending on a number
of factors like: Both Officers' Battle/Insight; Both Units' Fatigue &
Morale; the Distance of the Attack (if long-range); the Terrain which
the Defender is on; and whether the Defender is moving, resting,
attacking, or facing the enemy among other things. For the most part,
the range of error is about +/- half of the value given.
ATTACK NAME (fired by approximately 1000 troops)
Number of Units it Killed in...
#S #B #R #H #L #C #N
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Artillery Doesn't matter how many you have, Damage is relative
Ballista Doesn't matter how many you have, Damage is relative
Barrage 35 70 70 15 25 35 10
Cannonade Doesn't matter how many you have, Damage is relative
Charge 75 185 185 28 60 85 21
F. Fusillade 50 100 100 23 35 50 15
M. Barrage 40 85 85 20 30 45 12
Ninja Doesn't matter how many you have, Damage is relative
Spear Wall 60 120 120 25 40 70 17
T. Barrage 65 140 140 30 45 75 18
Volley 30 60 60 10 20 30 8
Raid* 100 110 110 95 90 100 80
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*(total amount of single enemies killed by the officer)
Also, Foot Soldiers aren't included because I haven't put them in any
battles yet. They might be included later. For the four that don't
matter, damage is determined completely by the factors stated above.
I've been knocked down over 1800 troops by a cannon attack from 150.
6.0 General Battlefield Strategy
-----------------------------------
This section covers a bunch of different areas. I've already
sprinkled a few general strategies throughout this FAQ, but here will
be a complete list of guidelines.
First, unless you have a two/three-to-one advantage in a preferred
match-up, always double- or triple-team an enemy unit. They aren't
usually very bright and will walk right into your gauntlet if you set
up a good one. Draw them in with a fast (mounted) and famous unit.
Second, try to set up an ambush somewhere. You can set it during
the Deployment Phase, or once the battle begins. If you have it
set, do everything possible to lure an enemy unit to it. I guarantee
it is worth it. I kill about 60% of an enemy unit with it.
Third, the only defensive strategy I have is to retreat when you
are overmatched AND cannot get a flanking unit to assist you in the
fight. If the unit gets fatigued and asks to retreat, don't pull out
unless the battle looks like it is going to be prolonged. Just try
to rush a mounted unit over to help out from the side or behind.
Last, the terrain affects how fast and well you move in the battle.
Try to travel along the roads or in the flatlands and hills. Stay
away from the sand (if there) and fields whenever possible. The
forests aren't so bad, but are best for ambushes.
6.1 Choosing Officers
------------------------
During the Politics and Personnel Phase, you review enemy officers
(which is mostly useless), subvert enemy officers (will be covered
in the walkthroughs), and choosing your officers for the battle. When
you reach this phase, you can customize unit formation & troop makeup.
However, only the candidate officers can be switched out for the
alternatives. Take into consideration each officer's bias for East
or West, but don't let it worry you too much. As long as he is evenly
divided or better, he won't defect unless you start to lose the
battle (which you won't with the walkthroughs below!). I switch out
for more troops and more specials (especially cannons). Choose the
officers that can contribute to you over-all plan best. Strip each
unit that is not going by making all its troops Foot Soldiers.
6.2 Modifying Units
----------------------
Select your pattern based on the troop types and special attacks
available to the officer. All three variables should work together
to give you a superior fighting unit. Each officer only knows some
of the formations, and a few of the special maneuvers. Check each
one you are taking, and adjust where necessary. First, look at the
specials that the officer can do. Choose the troop types that can
use those attacks. Place long-range types in the back, and the
short-range troops near the front. Once that is set, select the
pattern (formation) that gives you extra special maneuvers.
6.3 Friendly Deployment
--------------------------
The War Council gives you two steps, looking at enemy deployment,
then deploying your own units. You have four formations to choose
from:
1. Army Attack - almost all your units go after the enemy commander
2. Offensive - targets different enemy units that look even
3. Defensive - a few of your units target weaker enemy units
4. Army Stand Firm - every unit stands still at the start of battle
To me, it doesn't matter which I choose. I usually instruct each
unit individually anyway. Instructing each takes a level of detail
that many don't care for. If you want to move just a few around,
that is fine, too.
The rules for deployment are simple. Pick up a unit with the
X-Button, and put it on one of the green or pink dots. The pink dots
are positions for ambushes, so only put a unit you want to use in
ambush on those. You can adjust the direction each unit faces by
pushing L1 or R1. Use the O-Button to bring up the strategy menu.
You can target a unit (use R1/L1 to adjust path), even set up an
ambush (upto two), or build a fortification (again, two) for all of
your units. Whenever you give orders to a unit and it is exactly
where you want it, use the triangle button to bring up the main menu
and choose to give orders to each individual unit, so you can set
another. Continue until you have set all you units as you want them.
7.0 How To Release All Battles For Replay
--------------------------------------------
There are three additional battle that can be fought.(all are
Sekigahara; just w/different dates and units). Here is how to get
ALL of them:
First, beat the game without losing any battles as both East & West.
Now, you must complete three more paths as East or West (2-to-1).
Start a new game each time (or start from a branch point save).
EAST PATH ONE (A)
-------------
Lose at Sekigahara on Sept 15, 1600: You will go to Ueda.
Win all the rest to the battles.
*Also can be released by taking West Path One.
WEST PATH ONE (B)
-------------
Lose at Sekigahara on Sept 15, 1600: You will go to Minakuchi.
Win all the rest to the battles.
*Alternately released by taking East Path One.
EAST PATH TWO
-------------
Lose at Sekigahara on Sept 15, 1600: You will go to Ueda.
Win there, then go to Fuji. Lose at Fuji, but win the rest.
WEST PATH TWO
-------------
Lose at Sekigahara on Sept 15, 1600: You will go to Minakuchi.
Win there and go to Harima. Lose there to go to Seta.
Win all the rest to the battles.
Now all the battles are available to you as East and West. They
should all be at Sekigahara, but dated 9-15-1602, 1603, and 1616.
This will be a comprehensive look at each and every battle, and
will give winning strategies for both East and West. This will be in
a new independent FAQ; I'll cover the first few battles on the list.
(COMING SOON!!!!!)
