~B
B R A V E F E N C E R M U S A S H I
=========================================
Version 6.0
Walkthrough by Jerrold Ng jiyau@yahoo.com
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1. Introduction
2. Controls / Basic Techniques
3. Walkthrough
i. Chapter 1
ii. Chapter 2
iii. Chapter 3
iv. Chapter 4
v. Chapter 5
vi. Chapter 6
4. Hints & Tips
5. Combos, Minku and castle folk list
6. Acknowledgements
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1. Introduction
Before I start the FAQ / Walkthrough, I need to set a few things
straight -
Brave Fencer Musashi is an Action/RPG by my favorite game Company,
Squaresoft. It tells a story of a young boy samurai called Musashi
(based on a popular Japanese folklore - he's supposed to have never
lost a sword fight before, but he came close to losing when he
challenged his arch rival Kojiro, who's incidently also in this
game - but they are NOT kids!!!) wielding two swords, living in his
own little world until he's summoned to help a peaceful country
fight a less-peaceful enemy. Well, a basic RPG story, really.
This game is a Zelda/Alundra-type Adventure RPG, so don't let the
first stage fool you (more on that later).
You will need a good command of Japanese to play the import version
of this game - I found out the hard way; without help of a few fellow
gamers, I would have never gotten passed the first hour of the game.
So, I suggest that you should be pick up the US version, which is out
now, crappy voice acting and all.
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New to version 2.0
- Added walkthroughs for chapter 4-6 so quit bugging me with
e-mails already!! ^_^
- Added technique 'counter'
- Cleared up some errata
- Added more info on the Minku
New to version 3.0
- Added complete list of Minku, also including the Mega Minku!
- Added info about Limited Addition Figures and Musicians
- Added extra info on skills and sleeping
- Monster and Assimilate list for Chapters 5 & 6
- Cleared up some more errata
- Expanded on bits a lot of people seem to get stuck in
- Translated some stuff here and there
New to version 4.0
- Added the complete list of castle folks
- Added Combo List
- Cleared up some confusing bits in the ice castle, mine,
final palace, and some other bits here and there
- Cleared up even more errata
New to version 5.0
- Some (but not all) English translations are in
- Cleared up some stuff here and there (again)
New to version 6.0
- Added almost all the new translations and names
thanks to John Yang
What I want to add
- Nothing! It's the final update - I think I've covered
everything there is to cover in the game already!
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2. Controls / Basic Techniques
Start Screen -
Two options, first one being to start a new game, second to load a
saved game. You knew that, didn't you?
Controls -
Direction Pad - Moves the Musashi around. Seems obvious.
Square Button - Swings his basic weapon, a thin katana blade. Tap
this button to rack up a few hits ending with a
rolling cut attack.
X Button - Jump. You can jump backwards if you hold down R1
while pressing X.
Triangle Button - Swings your second weapon, which is the magical
blade Lumina. Hits once, but does lots of damage.
You don't have this weapon at the beginning of the
game. You can upgrade the sword later with magic
rune stones at chapters 2,3,4 and 5.
Circle Button - Uses your absorbed ability. More on this below.
R1 Button - Defends against frontal attacks. Also fills up
bar on the bottom-left for various techniques
(once again, more on that below)
L1 Button - Hold this down for Musashi to walk instead of
run (not really sure how useful this is)
R2 & L2 Button - Rotates camera if you're in town, in other cases
it simply zooms in slightly, and in some other
cases, does nothing at all.
Select Button - Switches between Fight Mode and Sleep Mode, more
on that below.
Start Button - Looks at your characters inventory and pauses the
game while you're at it.
Techniques -
Assimilate Technique - One of the main techniques the game uses is
the ability to steal enemy techniques and use them as your own. Each
normal creature you meet has a technique to steal. To steal an
ability, hold down the R1 button until you gauge is full, then
press the Square Button in front of the enemy. If successfully hit,
the sword will start glowing green. Tap the Square button until
the gauge is completely green to absorb the enemy's ability.
There are two major types of abilities you can steal - 1) Spells;
where you press the circle button to do the attack, which drains
your BP (Bincho Point, I think) and 2) Skills - where you gain
certain abilities (e.g. Pogo hopping, BP drawing, etc..). These
usually drains a small bit of BP from you when you first absorb
them; they lasts only for a limited time, or stops if you're hit.
Force Attack - As above, if you hold down the R1 button till the
gauge is full, but press the Triangle Button instead, you let loose
your sword Lumina's Force Attack. Your first ability is a sword
swirl; you'll get other Force Attacks later.
Counter Blow - Apparently, if you charge your bar (R1), then
press Triangle just after you've blocked an attack (you should
already be in blocking stance at the moment), you can counter
attack the enemy for massive damage. Good for really persistent
and really hardy enemies.
HP & BP - You character has two bars at the bottom left
representing BP and HP. HP is your character's Hit Points; you're
dead if that drops to zero. BP is your bincho point; you need this
to use enemy special skills that you have stolen. Incidentally,
BP goes down on its own as time passes. When it reaches zero, your
character loses the will to fight and will do less damage and walk
slower. This is very dangerous if you're in a middle of a dungeon,
so grab a green ball as soon as possible!
Time - Being a first for an Action/RPG, time is figured into the
game. That's right, there will be night and day in this game, and
certain puzzles will depend on this. A day passes very quickly in
this game, but at certain times, you'll have to wait quite a while
for the right time to go for a puzzle. More so at the start of
chapter 6 - where it rains only on a specific day... So, Squaresoft
puts in the Sleeping Mode into the game.
Sleeping - To access this mode, press the Select Button and you'll
notice that the bottom-left icon (in the circle) changes from a
sword to a moon. In this mode, hold down R1 until the gauge is
full, then release it and Musashi will fall asleep on the spot
(Musashi is quite a snoozer... this guy can fall asleep the middle
of a marketplace in the day!). Falling asleep sends time racing by
(about 10-20 minutes passes in 1 second) and heals you gradually.
However, your BP will start going down at a even faster rate, so be
warned! However, later in the game you'll get a magic blanket
ability than let's you restore both HP & BP. After a nap, be sure
to switch back to Attack Mode (press select again). It's not a nice
experience to fall asleep in front of an enemy when what you really
want is to do a Force Attack on him!
Sleepiness - On the bottom right is a circle with a picture of
your hero Musashi. If that Circle starts to close up, and you
notice that Musashi is getting sluggish, this means he's sleepy.
Go to a quiet corner or an inn to catch a few Zs. You'll also
see a percentage number once he's asleep. Keep sleeping and let
the percentage go back down to about 12-15%. Incidentally, 50%
is the level you should look out for. Above it Musashi starts
to get sleepy, and above 70% he will barely be able to lift his
sword!
Combos - You get combos from the people you rescue; go talk to
them at the old man's place in the castle. You can check what
combos you have in you inventory screen, 3rd option. Look at
section 5 for a complete list of combos you can learn.
Abilities - Another section on the menu is the ability list.
Here, you get to see what abilities you have learned to help
you on your way! The complete list is as follows -
Abilities Effects
--------- -------
Mountain Climbing - Let's you climb brown walls. Just jump at
them at tap Sq and Tri alternately
Double Jump - Let's you jump twice (press X twice)
Identifying - Lets you identify objects without the help of the
guy at the pawn shop
Ice Walking - Let's you walk on ice without slipping
Speed Charging - Let's you charge your bar (R1) faster
Quilt Sleeping - Let's you regain both BP and HP while sleeping
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3. Walkthrough
Chapter 1 : Getting Lumina
--------------------------
This chapter begins with you inside the forest. If you play
through the chapter, you may think that this game is very action
orientated, but looks can be deceiving!
Monster Assimilated
-------- -----------
Green Plant Protective circle; prevents conditions like sleep
but totally useless at this stage.
Gun Soldier Turns our hero's hand into a machine gun. Each
shot does 4 points of damage, and drains 1 BP.
Sword Soldier Stuns an enemy with a bash, uses up 4 BP.
In the starting area, steal the Gun Soldier's ability when you
meet them. When you reach the three big rocks, just push them,
when you reach a statue, just break it with whatever you've got.
Once you reach the river too far for you to jump, use the ability
you've stolen - the machine gun, and fire at the logs on the other
side to make a bridge.
Once you reach the tower, it gets even simpler. Break the four
statues and press the buttons underneath while avoiding the bolts
the statue head fires at you. Do this and the tower rises...
Inside the tower, run up the spiral stairs. Avoid the purple bats
(are they bats?) that come down at regular intervals while killing
off the soldiers. Keep to your gun ability. Almost to the top,
Musashi will comment on the bell structure in the center of the
tower. Just climb a little higher until you reach the closed
door then shoot the bell with your Gun ability (there is a Gun
Soldier conveniently close by in case you've lost it). Once
the bell falls, you'll teleport to the top of the tower.
At the tower top, steal the ability of the Sword Soldier, then
stand near the pressure pad. Once a Soldier approaches you, and
stands on the pad, stun him. Pick up that sword.. Now you
have the powerful magical sword Lumina as your ally!
Now the statue starts rolling at you, you run down the tower
side (how he does it is anyone's guess). This is purely an
action level, so I can't help you very much; just remember to
jump when Musashi tells you to!
After crashing through the palace wall, the bad guy you meet
will surround you in flames and captures the princess (its an
RPG law, you know). Use your new weapon's Force Attack to get
out of the flames, then be prepared to fight a huge boss!
Boss : Steam Knight
First of all, hit the thing's foot (blatantly obvious thanks
to those pointing arrows) while avoiding the fumes that spews
out of it. When he starts spinning his ball, start running.
Once a leg is down, cut off that cloth and start hacking at
the green globe at his... you know. Repeat that for his other
leg, then once he's down, toss him through the wall. Repeat
the fight again, toss him through the wall again, then finally
you will end up in town. Hit his green globe every time he
lands from a jump, and he's history! On to chapter 2.
Chapter 2 : Reactor Trouble
---------------------------
Monsters Assimilated
-------- -----------
Spear Soldier Allows you to throw spears for 8BP per shot.
this one is actually very powerful.
Pink Flowers Give you the ability to pogo hop. You lose 8BP
for this ability, and pressing Circle Button
or getting hit cancels the ability.
Ghosts Magic of Shrinking. Uses 10BP per casting,
this spell lets you shrink the enemy and
then harmlessly walk on them. Splat!
Mushrooms You become extremely sleepy and sluggish.
Definitely not a good thing to assimilate!
White Blob Drains BP from your surroundings. Useful.
You first lose 4 BP though, and lose the
ability once you're hit.
First, after waking up from that long rest, you get a briefing
by that old guy you met in the castle at the start of the game.
After that, you may go around the castle.
Options Effects
------- -------
1 - Visit Lets you talk to the people you have rescued
from the crystals. More on this later.
2 - Library Just browse through some library stuff. Think of
it as an online manual...
3 - Room Lets you sleep and regain your HP and BP once you
come back to the castle, not usable at the moment.
4 - Submenu View your stats. This is same as pressing START
later.
5 - Village Lets you leave the castle and head to the village
6 - Gondola You'll only get this after chapter 4, see below
For the first time, you can't leave until you've talked to the
bishop at the library. Then you will take a wild ride out of the
castle (are you sure that's necessary, Musashi?) and begin your
long adventure. Go explore the village first:
Shops Effect
----- ------
Inn Allows you to rest and save. Actually,
don't bother resting here; go back to
the castle and rest, it's free there!
Item Shop Buys stuff that mostly heals your HP
or remove conditions like poison
Bakery Buys stuff that mostly heals BP
Pawnshop Identify unknown items (those items
whose description includes brackets with
highlighted Japanese characters at the
bottom). Also allows you to sell of some
junk that you've identified.
Bar Lets you talk to people and play some
games with one of them.
Toy Store Weirdest feature of the game, this shop
sells action figures of characters from
BFM! You can examine your toy back in your
room in the castle; just choose the second
option. I've been told there are secret
limited addition models in the game... see
below.
First off, talk to everyone you meet, knock on every door you see.
If you talk to the elder (a guy with a red headband) you'll get a
quest where you must rescue a dog called Leno in order to get more
info on the magic books you'll encounter later. Find that mutt by
going up to the mountain region; the entrance is where you started
off in town, where a guy is guarding the way. Once you've entered,
there are two paths, one of them leading to a spike pit and boulders.
Remember this area and then go the other way. You'll encounter a
white blob blocking you path. No problem; use the Wizard's shrink
ability to get him to a more manageable size. Then, once you've
spotted Leno the Dog, pick him up and carefully walk back to town
(fall into water and you'll have to go back and get him at his
little island).
Once you've returned Leno, the elder tells you he knows nothing
about the books. Duped again! Anyway, he tells you to talk to
John, a treasure hunter - who happens to be locked up at the
south end of the village, and is the owner of the dog. Talk to
a few other villagers to find out about his plight, and then talk
to him and he'll tell you he's hungry and thirsty. Now go to the
well (where the two women meet during the day; you won't be able
to reach the well because of them, so come back at night)
and get some water, and buy some bread in the bakery (it's the
cheapest item in the list), then go back to him. Give him the
stuff (option 1) and he'll ask you to free him! Problem is, the
guy that locked him there is dead already, so you'll have to hunt
for his tomb. He'll ask his dog to help you out. Now you must
head to the Haunted Forest.
To get there, look for a path by the windmill; this will take you
to a spot with some steaming pipes and a person to rescue (break
the crystal which holds him with your Lumina); go pass the big
pipe to enter the forest. Follow the route to reach the area where
you see thorny briars on the floor, pass an overhead pipe. Use a
nearby pink flowers ability to pogo-hop over the briars, then
you'll get to the Haunted Forest. Follow Leno, kill the few
monsters you'll meet, and you'll eventually reach the grave.
Search the grave the dog indicates and pick up the key. Now
you'll have to head back to town.
Talk to the John again and he'll tell you to come back at
midnight; wait or sleep till then (incidentally, midnight is
shown as 0.00 on the clock), after that, talk to him again
to free him. He'll tell you to meet him at the mountains, so
it's off to the mountains (again)!
Pass the spot where you saved the Leno the dog, you'll see two
new lilypads in the water. Follow them, and climb some poles,
and you'll reach the mountain area. There's a temporary save
here in the form of a treasure chest. Doesn't save to your
memory card, but you'll have the option to return there if you
die. However, be warned that you'll lose half your gold if you
do die and return here!
Anyway, take the long route up the mountain and eventually
you'll meet the John again. He'll ask you to find four logs
for him. If you're observant, you'd probably have found them
all already, if not, looking a little harder. (Hint : They're
all in the same area - try finding ways to go down...). To
get a log, go to a dead tree and do the circle cut (the first
Lumina Ability) then pick up the log.
With the for logs, he'll build you a raft. Now you can take
a wild ride down the river in a cool arcade bit; also a good
source of money if you're broke! The river ride has two exits,
one harder to find exit leads you to another person to rescue.
The main one leads you to a treasure chest at the top of the
mountain to the right of where you first entered (with the pit
and the big boulders). Get that chest!
Go back to the pawnshop in town and ask to identify the item
you've found; its actually an ability item; and gives you
the ability to climb certain walls (ones that are in a darker
shade of brown). Once you've left the pawnshop, you'll notice
that the entire town is filled with smoke. The guy who talks
to you tells you that a nearby power plant (at least that's
what I think it is) has broken down. He also tells you to
talk to the man running the plant. You might want to save
now... tough bits are ahead!
Go to the area by the entrance to the mountains, and you'll
notice some brown walls.. you know what to do. Talk to the
guy running up and down and he'll tell you that the reactor
at the plant is gonna blow in 24 hours; and gives you
directions on how to shut it down. Now go to the area with
lots of steaming pipes and go all the way to the end. There's
some brown walls here too.. Once you've reached the plant
(ironic way of calling it, eh?) you'll have to figure out
how to open the door. It's very obvious.. there are two bars
here, a red one and a blank one. The red bar keeps going
up and down, just stop it at the point saying OKAY! and
the other bar builds up. Each time you stop the red bar at
the OKAY! the blue bar goes up, if you fail the blue bar
goes down. Fill up the entire blue bar and you can proceed.
The inside bit is pretty tough. You'll need to perform the
similar operation 8 times (each with increasing difficulty)
in the order of the numbers. And, if it's not bad enough,
you have a limited time in between two operations! You'll
need to hone your reflexes for this one. After successfully
shutting down the reactor, the plant keeper will be outside;
and he'll tell you to go to the mountain.
At the mountain, go to the spot down at the base of the
mountain (pass the save-game treasure chest) and you'll
meet the guy who kidnapped the princess. He'll challenge you
to a climbing contest; climb real fast up the mountain
and you'll quickly end his existence. Here, you can find
the Earth Rune, that powers up your sword Lumina with the
ability to create quakes as his force attack. It paralyzes
nearby enemies but doesn't injure them.
Now go back to the afore-mentioned area with the pit and
boulders. Use your new-found power to send down the
boulders and create a path onwards. You'll be blocked
after a short walk; there are four pads to be pressed
simultaneously. Now go back to the old man at the castle.
If you have explored a little and rescued a lot of people,
the old man will send four of them to help you out. These
are four specific people mind you, so even if you don't
have one of them you cannot proceed! Look for them if the
elder refuses to help you. Now go back to town, pick up
some healing herbs, save the game etc.. cause its boss
time! Back to the Hell Valley!
Boss : Skullpion (Crystal Guardian No. 1)
The fella you meet cannot be harmed thanks to its hard
armor. When your four friends start sending stuff across
in buckets above you, use the quake ability to send it
down onto the boss. When he gets hit by a large rock,
he'll get dizzy. Use Lumina to strike the gem in its
mouth. He'll go berserk now and has a new attack where
he burrows his hand on the ground and slows you... get
the four guys to drop a herb to remove the condition.
After another big rock or bomb on his head, he'll get
dizzy again. Give him another blow. Now, he will start
attacking the four guys up there. Knock him down using
quake when he tries to climb up. Another big rock,
another big slash, and he's history! On to chapter 3.
Chapter 3 : Cursed Town
-----------------------
Monsters Assimilated
-------- -----------
Vambee Surrounds you with flies... enemies
will avoid you!
White Blob Not the ones you see outside but
the ones found inside the mine.
Surrounds you with white balls,
again not sure what that does..
Blue Mushroom Poisons you... not a good idea!
Snakes Gives you the ability to heal yourself
of poison. Pretty useful in later
chapters! 6BP.
Bowler Plants Let's you do some bowling! Press
Circle Button twice to hurl a
ball.
Ghosts Lets your spirit leave your body and
wander about.
You return to town after your victory and find out the
town is in trouble again! (Sigh...) Anyway, to find
out about the problem, talk to the village elder and
that other guy in the center of town. They will tell you
that blue zombies called Vambees have started to prowl the
town at midnight. Take a look if you want; they start
appearing from the bar.
You have to look for a few treasures to solve this little
problem... namely the ....
The Mysteria - Go to the guy at the windmill at midnight
and he'll give you the key to the mine in the town.
He'll also tell you the flower Mysteria only blooms from
3am-7am. Enter the mine. At the junction, go right. There's
a poison-spewing mushroom here, avoid it if you want. Climb
up the pole. In the next scene, you'll have to practice
your jumping skills a lot, can't help you here. You'll
eventually reach a big fan. Wait until it stops, then jump
down. At the bottom is a temporary save chest again, use
it if you want, then go left. More jumping involved, and
then you'll reach a pool with some rotating platforms.
Jump carefully to reach the flower, then wait till the
time reaches 3am-7am, then pick up the flower. Now,
get out of the mine by climbing the wall below the fan
and go right...
The Holy Water - Go up to the mountains. On your way up
you'll meet that guy you talked to earlier; he's injured
and dying. To save him, run / climb up to the top of the
mountain and get that water before 12 hours pass (more
like 12 minutes to you), then give it to him. Note :
A rock is usually blocking your way at the point where
John built a raft for you - just quake it down! In return
you get to buy oranges, which help you learn a skill from
the castle clown and a soldier (see section 5).
After this, go back to the tavern and wait till midnight.
The barkeeper will tell you about the problem, and tells
you to leave. You'll get a hint that some of the people
in the bar is now residing in the inn. Go talk to them
(go to the inn, choose the 1st option, then in the
sub-menu choose 3rd option, then examine the rooms with
no price tags on them) and the barmaid will tell you the
location of the secret entrance. So, wait for the vambees
to start coming out (at about midnight) and then sneak
into the bar. You'll enter the secret temple (choose
option one).
In the secret temple, you'll find out that you need to
light up the four eyes on the wall to progress further.
You can try each of the four doors in whatever order you
want. They're not difficult, but you really need to test
your jumping skill...
Door1 - The one with the moving platforms forming a
bridge. No tricks here, except maybe you'll need to
throw some vambees around to get anywhere. Once you've
reached the teleporter and dark areas, take the
teleporters in this order - Right, Left, Left.
Door2 - The ones with the bowling ball plants. Note that
in this temple, use your bowling ability on any cracked
walls to break them down. There are some secret rooms
around here... Once you reach the flame-spewing totem
pole, the trick is not to make eye contact with it.
Using your basic Lumina, turn around, hold block, and
walk towards it (with your back turned), then use your
Force attack once you're close. Some crushing walls bit,
some more bowling bits, and you're outta here!
Door3 - Lots of floating teleporters. Easy! There are
some dark areas here, which you can sort out if you
assimilate the ability of a ghost.. you'll become one and
float about, so you can examine the darkened area
before stepping in.
Door4 - Some difficult jumping here with the rotating
floor blocks. Also, you'll meet swinging blades and
fireballs later. Practice and you'll get through in no
time.
You'll need to hit the crystal at the end of every room
to light up the eyes. Be sure to go back to the barkeeper
to heal yourself. Also, be on the lookout for castle folks
- there's at least 2 folks to rescue in each room (except
for Door 1 which only has a singly lonely castle dweller).
Also, with the bowling ability, use it on the big crack at
the main area of the temple to get L-Cloth - it's going to
be useful (see castle folk no.19 in section 5 for more info)!
After opening the door with the four eyes, you'll meet
with the barkeeper again, and pick up the double jump
ability (go back to the pawnshop to get it). Now you
can go into the compound of the church. Talk to the priest
and he'll tell you that there are strange sounds coming
from the church at night, every 2am in the morning. So come
back at this time and he'll get you into the church.
Midboss? - Red Vambees - After a long chat with Brandy,
a cute little vambee-summoning gal you'll meet,
you'll have to fight with 5 red vambees. Just keep
hitting them. They start coming out one at the time,
then two, then three, while others will be hurling
paralyzing balls at you. Move around and keep hitting
them - don't let them grab you! It's instant death if
they do! Once the clock hits 7 (whoa, you've just fought
for five hours, how time flies when you're having fun)
sunlight will enter the room and kill them all.
Now, the priest asks you to retrieve the bell for him;
you'll get a rope. The bell is down in the well, use
the rope to get down. Here, you'll get the Water Rune!
The Special Ability of the rune helps you to walk on
water and sprays water bubbles at enemies (does no damage
to most enemies though). You can now get to the bell.
It's impossible to get up using the rope, so you'll have
to bring the bell out through the mines area. Just toss
it around... Once you leave the mines, the priest will
give you a little statuette that is actually the key to
the locked door at the underground shrine!
Make sure you save the game first. Bring plenty of healing
agents. Now go in to the shrine under the bar, use the
double jump to get to the door, and then be prepared for a
long and difficult jumping exercise. You'll eventually
reach the boss room and challenge the next crystal
guardian!
Boss - Fire Totem (Crystal Guardian No. 2)
This one really takes a very long time to beat. First,
you'll have to fight with a shape-changing ball of fire.
Use your sword's new ability to fire water bubbles at it.
Note that you will not be injured if you get hit by him
while you are in a bubble, the bubble just bursts. After
a very long battle, he'll be extinguished. Hit the crystal,
and the ball of fire appears again. You have to repeat
this another two times before the guardian is defeated!
Then, it's on to chapter 4...
Chapter 4 - Ice Palace and another Musashi?
-------------------------------------------
In the intro, the princess opens the gate to the
home world of Musashi again, hoping for another hero,
and ends up with Kojiro, Musashi's archrival! This
flame-haired Samurai looks like an equal match to
Musashi... now things get interesting.
Monsters Assimilated
-------- -----------
Penguin Dudes Can't absorb anything from this guy
Leapers Gives you a nice map of your area, costs 8BP
Mecha-Musashi Drops a decoy (press Cir) which can be
detonated (press it again) - 25BP, and
you only get one, so it's more useful in
solving puzzles than in killing bad guys
Ice Plant Protective orb that prevents poison and
sleeping... Same as the non-frozen
versions, drains 8BP from the start
KarateWolf A jumpkick, basically. Does good damage
though, and uses 4BP
Ice Gorilla Lets you throw things real far? Dunno, never
got to use it
Iron Golem Protective armor, drains 25BP when used, but
you'll be immune to just about anything
After your successful battle with the guardian, go down
the well again and use your new water magic on the symbol
on the ground. After some rumbling, and water level
adjusting, you'll meet up with two strange-looking fellows,
Ben and Ed of the Leaders Force. You'll meet them again much
later. After a long chat, you're free to pick up the myriad
of treasure chest around the area. You can also use the water
spell in the pool near the south of town. In the treasure chest
you find, you get a pair of red shades (go identify them at the
pawnshop). These allow you to identify items as you pick them
up. At least you'll be visiting the pawnshop a little less
often now!
Now, talk to the elder's wife and pick option two then one and
you'll learn about the magic gondola, how it's broken, and what
needs to be done to fix it. Go talk to the guy living in the
windmill (in the day he's standing in a farm plot with another
old guy). Go back to the castle and talk to the old man, then
back to town and talk to the elder's wife. Now, go back to the
mine, drop down the huge fan, then go right. After a long
journey, you'll reach a small room with a few gears. If you
don't know which gear to pick up, go back to the old man
in the castle and talk to a few people you've rescued. Turns
out some of them worked at the mine, and will give you some
hints for which gear to pick up. It's the one with the hole
on the middle, gold in color, and has 3 holes surrounding it.
Go back to the mine again, pick up the third gear from the
left. (if you pick the wrong gear, the old man will tell you
to return and pick up the correct one) and give it to the
old man. He'll fix the gondola. Now you'll automatically
go to sleep, and when you wake up -
City On Fire - A massive fire breaks out in town, and
you've got to use your water rune to control the fire.
It's not too hard; just spray water at all 8 burning huts!
After your heroic rescue of the town (again) the elder
gives you something an item to shrink a certain snail...
Now go off to the area in the forest leading to
the haunted woods, then go south. You'll get to a path
blocked by a giant snail (I always thought it was the
rear end of a huge walrus, but then...). Using the item
(2nd option) allows you to shrink the snail. From here, go
further down the path until you reach the watery area, then
use your water spell on the symbol to drain it. You'll reach
a familiar structure, bash it with your sword to gain the
fire rune!
Note : Nearby this spot is a normal-looking trapped castle
folk; rescue him, then go back to the castle to talk to
him and he'll upgrade your normal little sword (the silver
blade) into a much more powerful one (golden sword). Very,
very helpful.
Midboss - Kojiro - Not as difficult as one might think.
Run around to avoid anything he throws at you; then hit
him hard. No problem, right?
Once you've defeated the bad guy, the captive princess
will join you (and whine a little); take her back to the
castle. Now go to the old man and talk to him and a few
other people you rescued (not sure which ones) and
eventually you'll get a new quest in the Haunted Woods.
Go back there, and follow this path - left, up, up, right,
up, up, right, up, up, left, up, up, up, up... welcome
to the ice castle!
The castle is very big, and completely exploring it
is a must. Close to the entrance is a save-box; use it!
The puzzles here aren't too hard.... just remember to
kill everything you see. You are looking for gems to
open up more and more of the palace.
Gem1 - Red - Top right door - jump on the sliding blocks, then
jump off to get across the pit, then go through the right door
for a person to rescue, then back and up to the area with lots of
penguins. Kill them all and look at the treasure chest. This
gem opens the first left door in the main hallway.
Gem2 - Blue - This opens into another area with an ice gorilla; lure
one onto the open balcony area and let him propel you up to a higher
floor. You'll end up in a rather simple maze, watch out for things
coming down from the ceiling! The lower right door seems to be a dead
end, but hint: absorbing a certain power from the previous room can
can help... Go through the door on the left. In the room of the clones,
just kill off all four clone Musashi's with you flame magic, and don't
get hit! Grab that blue gem, which opens the other closed door in the
top left door in the main hall.
Gem3 - Green - Save the guy you see, then jump up to the higher area.
You'll be in the upper area of the previous room; follow it and grab
the chest. This is the spike boots, which allows you to walk up
frozen ice floors! Now drop back down and go to the lower right door,
go up the iced floor by climbing the pole and travel ahead to another
ice blocks room. You'll see some MechaMusashis. Steal their ability,
then launch it at the ice-gorilla in the next room. The gem you get
opens the next door in the ice cubes room, find a way to climb up,
and drop down the an unreachable spot in the southern part of the maze.
Once you've returned to the hall, melt the frozen gate with your
fire magic. Go up the staircase after grabbing the treasure chest.
Light the two torches you then see (with the fire magic, naturally),
save and get ready for...
Boss - Frost Dragon (Crystal Guardian No.3)
First hit him once or twice and he will eventually break a spot for
you to jump and then the guy starts breaking floors behind you. After
the run, he start spitting stuff at you, smashing his head down at you
and breathing a massive blast of frost energy. After the blast, he
gets tired; use your fire magic! Eventually he'll expose the underside
of his head and the gem, so hit it - repeat three times.
Chapter 5 - Gondola Problems
----------------------------
Monsters Assimilated
-------- -----------
Blue Ant Only a handful in the game, these ants give you
the ability to launch an acid ball that kills the
usually un-killable red ants. Uses up 8BP.
After some long conversations with the elder, old man and the
innkeeper, and back to the elder again, back to the old man,
you go for a ride on your gondola. You can now get back to the
castle at any time through the gondola.
Now go back to the plant. Looks like there's problems again.
Talk to the injured plant-keeper and he'll give you a loose
valve ... now go into the plant. You'll have to play
turn-the-valve again.... but this time some of the valves
are missing. And you though the previous game was hard!
Afterwards the elder thanks you. Go talk to him again in
the village, then talk to the old man again, then go back to
the area below the well and take the passage which ends
with a symbol of fire on the floor. Use your fire magic to
shatter the ceiling above you and climb up; you're next
rune, the wind rune, awaits you. Use your newly found ability
to get out of the area.
You'll meet the Ms. Vambee summoner Brandy again with another
girl Topo (which you will learn to hate later). After a long
conversation you end up iced again! Press Triangle to break
loose, and pick up 50BP for rescuing... yourself? Now, go back
to town and talk to the guy there. Then head up the mountain path
and witness a huge ant destroying your precious gondola! Go back
to the castle and use the gondola... SPLAT. Now go back and watch
the ant scurry into the hole which was once a fan. To the left is
the rather dead ant; go right and use your wind magic to spin
through the poison gas. Grab that chest and rescue the trapped
castle folk, then switch to the earth rune and use it on the
symbol.
In the next bit, go up through the upper right path and you'll
find yourself in way of a blowing wind; use your wind magic to
get pass. Use the pink flower's hop ability to get pass the spikes,
then go up the hill with your double jump (tricky bit here, toss
your small sword, then double jump over, then absorb his ability).
Climb the wall, hit the switch, slaughter some ants... When you
reach an area with a crack on the floor, use you wind magic to dig
down. Now go to the bottom right path. It's railway-riding time!
This little Indiana Jones-inspired arcade section isn't too
hard; just dodge the obstacles using left and right. Requires some
decent hand-eye coordination. Save, then dig again after this bit!
The next crystal guardian awaits... Fast chapter, isn't it?
Boss - Ant Hill Queen (Crystal Guardian No. 4)
The big mama of them all. Slaughter all those worms she tosses
at you and keep moving. She's not too tough. Under some gas,
you'll find the stone; strike it hard with your wind attack,
and she'll be history soon enough. Now, off to the final
chapter!!!
Chapter 6 - The end is nigh...
------------------------------
Monsters Assimilated
-------- -----------
Brown soldier Let's you launch missiles! Get this - it does
massive damage and homes in on your enemy!
10 BP per shot.
Blue soldier Gives you a gun that fires three spread shots,
very useful since it's like a souped-up version of
the machine gun you got early in the game - 4BP
per shot
Green Soldier The most powerful ability in the game - drops
bombs that does close to 1000 pts of damage.
It's sure to kill anything, yes, but the
downside is that it uses 50BP, which seems
rather costly to kill anyone or anything with!
Pink Soldier Wields a sword and a shield. Their ability lets
you do a large sword slash costing 8BP.
After a much-deserved rest, talk to your raft-building friend
John and then go up to the plant-keeper at 6.00am. Now go talk to
everyone in the village again, particularly the three farmers -
one of them will give you the Kojiro doll...(don't ask me why),
and the other two tells you how to get to the final lair in the
sky... Go back to the area with all those once steamy pipes, go
all the way to the end and climb the other wall (on the left).
Wait until it starts to rain if it hasn't already. It only rains
on the morning of a certain day, so if you've missed it, go back
to the castle and sleep - the day it rains is colored blue in the
date indicator, and the day before that is colored green. Not sure
if this is applicable in the US version, however. So, wait until
that day, then go in the morning (just past 7.00 and before 12.00)!
Once you reach the rune, use your wind magic on the symbol there.
You're now in the bad guy's outer base.
First, use your earth magic on the four symbols (you'll need to
hammer them twice each) to open the door; then use the water
magic on the waterfall. Now use your fire rune on all three
symbols to get to the top of the fortress, and get the Master Rune.
You'll chat with a familiar baddie and get to see the sky castle.
In the next area you can use the save box, then use your new
ability to get pass. For some reason, you can't sleep here, so
guard your life carefully. Be careful of the walls... You'll
meet a big-ole Ben from Leaders Force again and this time you
fight him.
Midboss - Ben the Bomber - This guy throws bombs extensively.
Look for a free area to avoid the bombs - it's somewhere near the
bottom of the screen. Use your hardest hitting combos (the people
at the castle should have taught you an extensive amount of them
by now!) and he's done for.
In the area after the boss, you can save the game. In the maze
section, take the earth door, stomp the yellow buttons, When you
reach a large blocks, pound them with your quake magic a few times
to reveal passageways. Now, use you master magic extensively to
float over the spikes. Go all the way right, hover over the spikes,
and the floor will open up into another door. Then, in the next room
sling yourself to the upper right and enter the door.
Light the torches you see in the next room (you should know how to
do that by now, right?) and you'll see a crushing block. Pass it and
then jump on it and go left. Then, in the next area, put out the four
torches, then drop down and quickly go right before your water magic
runs out. In the next room use your wind magic to counter the fan.
Go left! Now comes a tricky part - you have to use your master magic
to float into the lower right pathway. Not easy! Activate the magic at
the very end of the ledge, then drop down, hold X button straight away.
Practice makes perfect, you know. Repeat that (a little harder this
time). Enter the unmarked room, and you'll meet the other half of
Leader's Force, the little guy Ed.
Midboss #2 - Ed the Flamer - This guy has a few attacks that are
a pain to dodge, but it can be done. Use your sword combos once
he's charging up, then run off once he attacks. It takes a while,
but it works!
Now you've reached the sky castle grounds! This bit is difficult
since there are lots of tought machines and very little hearts (found
by breaking statues). Not much I can help you here. Fight your way
through and you'll reach a small maze - trial and error will get you
pass here. Fight your way through again and you'll encounter a
climbable wall(so climb it!!). Kill the plants, break the fountain,
continue, break the second fountain, kill the flame-throwing bots
that come out of it, then use the platform to get down.
Break your way through here too (destructive fella, this Musashi)
and then, when you reach the big spinning machine, break it with your
flame magic. You'll meet that other girl Topo again, and play a weird
game. Just use your head! Follow the patterns she'll throw at you
once you see lasers, then follow her moves, and you're through.
In the third game you have to follow her moves and rhythm, so I hope
you played your Parrappa... After this, save the game! You're almost
done...
Midboss #3 - Machine Tower (Final Crystal Guardian)
This huge.. err.. machine tower is a difficult boss indeed. Use
your master magic to fly around, avoiding the walls, and when you
see a blue crystal eye, strike it. It first fires electricity and
then energy beams, and, after injuring a lot, it starts combining
them both, while having the eye open and close, and also shooting
large red auras that confuse and paralyze you. To avoid the red eyes,
just float around until you see eyes that aren't opening, then
stay there. Darn! Stay cool, and after a while (quite a while)
you'll finish it off.
Now you meet the boss and discover an interesting plot twist,
and after you friend gets shot, and the big guy appears, jump your
way outside and you'll meet Kojiro again. Now, you have to jump
like hell upwards, and then you'll battle him and the final boss
at the top of the tower. Get ready...
Final Boss - Kojiro & Dark Lumina 1
This huge bugger is hard as hell to beat. Run in from the right,
double jump and hit his nose; and avoid that hand! Once he grabs you,
he'll slam you to the ground and chances are send you tumbling off the
edge. He also swings his tail - only way to avoid that is to use the
master magic and float overhead. Also, when he jumps up, use master
magic as he will send a huge shockwave across the ground. Then quickly
strike his red nose - that's the only time you can injure him. He
sometimes also raises his head and breath fire downwards - it's
relatively easy to avoid, hit his nose again after he's done.
Final Boss - Dark Lumina 2
Suprisingly, this form is easier to beat - if you know the technique.
He'll turn into a small white guy and in this form his attacks all
cost an unholy amount of damage; avoid all of them if possible. He
fires out elemental attacks at you; avoid them, then, once he pales
down (immediately after an attack) use your assimilate ability to
shrink him down then slash the big eye that remains. Repeat. After
a long battle, your archrival finally falls.
Now sit back and watch the ending, you've earned it!
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4. Hints & Tips
- Rescue as many people from crystals as possible! Some of them
are vital for your quest, and besides, for each rescue your
max BP goes up by 5. There is a total of 40 characters to
rescue and you'll have 5 rescued already after Chapter 1...
Check section 5 for all their locations.
- Go check back on the people you rescued back at the castle.
Some of them give you vital clues, others, like the soldiers,
teach you combo attacks. Also, some of them require another
person (or people) to rescue before they can teach you or
tell you anything. Some of them also want some junk that
you usually sell at the pawnshop before they can help
you out.
- Did you know that with each musician you rescue, his particular
instrument is added to the background music of the castle?
Once you've rescued them all, the music turns into a full-scale
orchestra score - useless to the game, but a nice addition
nevertheless!
- There is a strange creature wandering about at night that
looks like a cross between a rabbit and a panda (I'm not
kidding) called the Minku. They wander about at specific spots.
If you find a spot that has a small red fruit on the ground, go
back there at night! Pick them up and throw 'em if you see them;
they drop fruits that increase your Max HP by 25. Incidentally,
there's thirteen of them. See section 5 for the entire list of
locations.
- At chapter 6, when it starts to rain, before going up sky
palace, go back to the castle and talk to the guy you've
rescued who takes care of your Minkus (you do have him,
don't you?) and, if you have all 13 Minkus, he'll tell you
about the Mega Minku. Now, wander into the haunted woods at
night and, at the spot where the sign to the ice palace
used to be (at the beginning), you'll battle a mega-sized
Minku! He won't attack you until you've injured him
considerably, then he becomes angry and tries to run you
over - and that does massive damage! (usually about 26 to
25 HP). After a while he'll start stomping - there's no
way to avoid those, just whack him after he lands on you! Hope
you have a good supply of herbs! Keep attacking him and he'll
eventually shrivel up and drop tons of stuff while he's at it.
Nice little surprise, Squaresoft.
- Limited Edition Toys? - These aren't normally available in
the toy store.
1) To get the John and Leno Toy, find all 40 of the castle folks
2) To get one form of the boss, after you finish chapter 6, save
and restore the game and you'll restart at the beginning of
chapter 6. Play through chapter 6 again without dying and
continuing
3) To get the other form of the boss, play through chapter 6
five times. You can die and continue here
4) To get the Kojiro Doll, just talk to one of the farmers in his
house during Chapter 6 - he'll just give it to you
5) To get the Mega Minku Doll, just whack the Mega Minku itself
(see above)
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5. Combo, Minku & Castle folks List
Castle folks
(x) - Required for the battle with the first stone guardian
(*) - Required for the haunted forest maze in chapter 4
01) Steward Ribson - Aka Geezer - you're talking to him!
02) Butler Livers - Rescued at starting - useless
03) Clown Weinee - Rescued at starting - teaches you
Shish Kebab with Acrobat Sausages (23)
and an orange
04) Scribe Shanky - Rescued at starting - reads you books
in the library
05) Musician Beef-Clef - Resuced at starting - plays lute
06) Guard Lumpwood - Forest southwest of town, past the pool
with a water seal - allows entry into
mountains at any time
07) Seer Bevealy - Forest, on a ledge past the sleepy
mushrooms, hop up the steep slope using
an assimilated ability
08) Hawker Steakwood - Forest clearing southeast of town
09) Maid Loinettte - After solving the steam plant, east of
swirling lake. Teaches Dashing Pierce
10) Musician Pianissimeat - Second pipe on left on path to Steamwood,
near wind seal
11) Soldier Lardwick - Peninsula in river at foot of mountain (x)
12) Mercenary Meitlofe - End of riverside walkway in the mountains,
past poles in water (x)(*)
13) Carpenter Carvey - Mountains, past swinging platforms, down
the pole (x)
14) Knight Lardwick - Mountains, past dino fossil, down pole;
teaches Crosswise Cut after chapter 2 (x)
15) Shepherd Beefalo - Mountains, under the bridge; takes care of
all the Minkus
16) Bailiff Jerky - Hidden Temple, Door 1, go right, climb the
poles
17) Taster Salmonelli - Hidden Temple, final door, the sinking
blocks in lava bit
18) Carpenter Carvey - Hidden Temple, Door 4, in the second
ghost-vision room
19) Weaver Dinneretta - Mountains, double jump right from the top
of the pole near the 3rd tree stump - give
her an L-Cloth and she will weave one of
two things for you - a glove which increases
your critical hit %, or a quilt, which gives
Quilt Sleeping ability. Your choice!
20) Soldier Hanky-Flanky - Hidden Temple, Door 3, on the wooden lava
walkways
21) Knight Brisket - On the way to get Misteria, along the
conveyer leading down; teaches Tenderize
22) Cook Mary-Nade - In the chamber where Misteria blooms, ride
the innermost platform
23) Acrobat Sausages - Steamwood path, along a pipe on the right;
helps Clown Weinee (3) teach Shish Kebab
24) Mercenary Stue - Hidden Temple, Door 2, past second bowling
section (*)
25) Janitor Sloppy-Joe - Ice castle, past the blue door
26) Artisan Teebone - Island of Dragons, after shrinking the slug,
upgrades your small silver sword into a more
powerful golden one
27) Carpenter Dicey - On the way to get Misteria, along the
conveyer leading up
28) Musician Al Forte - Frozen Palace, second ice block maze, on
top of an ice block
29) Knitter Lunchetta - On the way to Hell's Valley, past the first
pit
30) Chef Julienne - Past the sliding blocks jump in the ice
castle, right path
31) Mercenary Potrowst - Hidden Temple, Door 2, past the first
bowling section (*)
32) Chief Gravie - In the chamber where Misteria blooms, ride
the outermost platform
33) Cook Chiffonade - After dead ant, right room, past the poison
gas
34) Conductor Scores - After you activate the fan in chapter 5
35) Butcher Chops - Frozen Palace, in the first ice maze, absorb
the iron golem's ability then use it to pass
the spikes in the lower right doorway
36) Knight Chucks - Hidden Temple, Door 4, in 4th ghost-vision
room, secret lower path; teaches combo
Desperado Attack
37) Doctor Tung - Take the left hidden fork in the river ride
38) Knight Rumparoni - Room after Conductor (34); teaches combo
Rumparoni-SP
39) Alchemist Leanman - Frozen Palace, in the first ice block maze,
gives you back 10BP, wow.
40) Librarian Brisketta - Hidden Temple, Door 3, in second rotating
block room
Combo List
Combo Effect
----- ------
1) Dashing pierce - Rushing Stab - Run, then Sq
2) Shish Kebab - Catch an enemy and press Tri, Sq when he comesdown
3) Crosswise Cut - Cross Cutter - Sq, Tri
4) Tenderize - Leaping Blade Combination - Sq, Sq, Tri
5) Desperado Attack - Flying Blades Combination - Sq, Tri, Sq, Tri
6) Rumparoni-SP - Blade Dive - Double jump, then Tri at top of jump
Minkus
1)Near to upper exit, hill on left side, just below plant
keeper's house
2)To the left of where Musashi challenged the masked man to
a climbing contest, up the slope
3)Also near the spot where you went for a climbing contest
use your water magic to walk south and you'll eventually
reach a clearing and that's where the Minku is
4)Back to where the first crystal guardian was fought, in the
stone ring
5)Above the gondola, near the place where the ant broke into
6)Area below the well - in the northern wall, jump to it using
platforms after the area is drained and filled
7)Room with the holy flower, ride the outermost platform till
you reach a few small ledges - it's on one of them
8)Forest - in the area just before crossing the bridge that
leads to two sleepy mushrooms, look around the west side
trees - there's a cleverly hidden path here leading to
a Minku
9)Also in the forest- use water walk magic and run along the
river - it's on the bank at the furthest end of the river
10)Just before getting the wind rune, you can see one running
about in the immediate area (at night, that is)
11)After following the ant into the mine, go down the left
passage at night
12)In chapter 5, where you climb up to activate the fan and
rail after killing a pair of snakes
13)Near the wind rune sign which leads to the sky palace, use
the earth rune and mountain climbing ability to get there
---------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Acknowledgements
- Myself
- for having slogged through the
entire game knowing very well that I'm probably not going
to get anywhere without any knowledge of Japanese... but
finished it anyway!
- Ken Jones - Without his help, I'd
probably won't even get pass the 2nd chapter. Most of this
material comes from his helpful e-mails. Thanks man.
- Ivan S Chang - gave me a whole lot of
errata and translations. Also gave info on limited edition
figures, musicians and some other info here and there.
- Ponlayuk Meemeskul For the helpful list
of 12 of the 13 Minkus of the game.
- Richardo - Gave info on the
assimilate abilities of new monsters in chapters 5 & 6. Also
gave info on the Mega Minku in chapter 6!
- Darren - Pointed out a little
directional error in the mine in chapter 2. What can I say
but... oops?
- Ignacio de Lucas pointed out that the
counter move can be used at the BEGINNING of the game. Heh
heh, oops again.
- Casey Tong reminded me about the
rain bit I missed at the beginning of chapter 6 - yeah yeah,
oops again. Gave me some other bits of info too that I can't
quite remember - sorry!
- Bran Tlintarn <_ravensong_@yahoo.com> clarified some info
concerning the Mega Minku and it's limited edition figure,
as well as info here and there concerning the other limited
edition toys.
- John Yang Did all the updating in
version 6.0 - thanks man.
- Someone told me about the Musashi-Kojiro story,
but I lost his e-mail - sorry, whoever you are!
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Brave Fencer Musashi is a copyright of Squaresoft.
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