=|==========================================================================|= -|------ B R A V E F E N C E R M U S A S H I D E N ------|- -|----- Walkthrough/FAQ -----|- -|----- Version 1.0 -----|- -|------ By Sky Render ------|- =|==========================================================================|= =|==========================================================================|= | This walkthrough employs the QuickFind system! To locate data about a | | particular part of the game, simply search for the QuickFind code listed | | in the table of contents, found in brackets at the end of each entry! | =|==========================================================================|= \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Table of Contents QuickFind Code /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Preface Legal Stuff [PLEGAL] Introduction [PINTRO] Review [PREVIEW] Translation Differences [PTRANS] Revision History [PREVISION] Contacting the Author [PCONTACT] Game Mechanics Controls [GMCONTROL] Time Flow and it's Effects [GMTIME] Limit Levels and Leveling Up [GMLEVELUP] Grillin' Village Overview [GMVILLAGE] Walkthrough Chapter I The Outset [C1OUTSET] Spiral Tower [C1SPTOWER] Rootrick and the Steam Knight BOSS #1: Steam Knight [C1STEAMKN] Chapter II Humble Beginnings [C2BEGIN] Getting the Dog Back [C2DOG] Freeing Jon [C2JON] Going up Twinpeak Mountain [C2TWINP] Steamwood Reactor [C2STEAMWD] The Earth Scroll [C2ESCROLL] BOSS #2: Skullpion [C2SKULLP] Chapter III Vambees in the Village! [C3VAMBEE] Finding a Cure [C3CURE] The Mystery of the Vambees [C3MYSTERY] Restaurant's Basement [C3BASEMNT] Maze of Fire Pits [C3FIREMZ] Maze of Ghosts [C3GHOSTMZ] Maze of Teleporters [C3TELEMZ] Maze of Bowlers [C3BOWLMZ] Encounter at the Church [C3CHURCH] Finding the Church's Bell [C3BELL] Return to the Basement [C3RETURN] BOSS #3: Relic Keeper [C3RELICK] Chapter IV Filling the Well [C4WELL] Fixing the Gondola [C4GONDOLA] Duel at Dragon Island [C4DUEL] Search for the Thieves' Hideout [C4SEARCH] The Frozen Palace [C4FROZENP] BOSS #4: Frost Dragon [C4FROSTD] Chapter V Steamwood Reactor, Part II [C5STEAMWD] Getting the Wind Scroll [C5WINDSCR] The Giant Ants' Lair [C5ANTLAIR] BOSS #5: Queen Ant [C5QUEEN] Chapter VI Before You Continue (Point of No Return) [C6BEFORE] Getting the Sky Scroll [C6SKYSCRL] Thirstquencher Empire -Soda Fountain- Soda Fountain, Area 1 [C6SODA1] SUB-BOSS #1: Leader's Force Ben [C6BEN] Soda Fountain, Area 2 [C6SODA2] SUB-BOSS #2: Leader's Force Ed [C6ED] Soda Fountain, Area 3 [C6SODA3] SUB-BOSS #3: Leader's Force Topo [C6TOPO] Soda Fountain, Final Area BOSS #6: Tower of Death [C6TOD] Dark Lumina Chase [C6DLUMINA] BOSS #7: Dark Lumina, Part Two [C6DLUMIN2] BOSS #8: Dark Lumina, Finale [C6DLUMIN3] Tips, Tricks, Secrets, etc. Weapons Tactics [WEAPTACT] Minkus and their Locations [MINKULOC] Bincho Fields [BINCHOLOC] Fusion Guide [FUSIONGD] Action Figures [ACTFIGURE] Item List [ITEMLIST] Monsters and Strategies [MNSTSTRAT] GameShark Codes [GSCODES] Conclusion Special Thanks To [CSPECTHNK] End Notes [CENDNOTES] =|==========================================================================|= =|==========================================================================|= ======== Preface ======== Aka. the intro section. Here's where you find all of that boring drivel before the main event. Let's get on with it! ------------ Legal Stuff [PLEGAL] ------------ Just your average legal disclaimer, set in words that make sense to Joe Average. Ahem... This walkthrough is the property of me (aka. Sky Render). I did not make the game that it pertains to (nor could I), and give all rights in that respect to it's proper makers, Squaresoft et al. I do, however, have rights claimed to the words printed in this guide, and as such, have set out a few basic guidelines to using them. If you wish to reproduce anything within this guide in another guide, so long as it's not for profit, you may do so. Note that you must credit this guide and myself as the source, and I would prefer that you contact me beforehand, but it is not necessary. Well, that's that. And now for something completely different. ------------- Introduction [PINTRO] ------------- Brave Fencer Musashi (or Brave Fencer Musashi-Den, if you notice the title screens) is one of those rare games that manages to both get things right and wrong, and hide the fact quite nicely. The game's basic real-time Zelda-like combat is quite fun, but the game is plagued with annoying mini-games, all of which are required, and none of which are much fun. In the end, though, BFM is a great game, even though it has so many annoying timing sequences in it. ------- Review [PREVIEW] ------- QUICK QUIP: "Great game, but damn it, whoever thought up those mini-games is going to die soon..." GRAPHICS: 8/10 Sure, they're not exactly the Mona Lisa, but BFM's graphics are just right for what they're used for. There were a few things that disappointed me (such as the lack of texturing on many polygons), but overall, I can't complain. I have seen much worse graphics that were much higher quality. SOUND EFFECTS: 9/10 No complaints here. There wasn't anything that made me say, "Wow, that's the most appropriate and/or cool sound effect ever!", but there weren't any sounds that left me cringing, either. VOICE ACTING: 6/10 Quite frankly, the voice acting stinks. The actors themselves aren't particularly bad (most of them, anyway), but it's fairly obvious that they didn't record the voices while watching the sequences that they were supposed to be voice-acting for. As a result, most clips are in a tone that makes no sense for their scene, and sound just plain ridiculous. Oh, and the voice actor for Jon speaks way too slow. Just a personal pet peeve... MUSIC: 8/10 The music is quite good, if you ask me. The use of the eerie voice in many of the pieces works quite well, and the music always seems to fit the scene. TRANSLATION: 5/10 Admittedly, it could be worse, but not by much. Along with needless censorship of alcohol references, the script translation was so painful that I'm amazed that the voice actors agreed to read their lines sometimes. The plot is discernable, of course, and there's nothing quite as bad as the Zero Wing intro in it, but the translation is nowhere near the quality of FF9 (or even FF8). STORY: 6/10 The story is simple (which isn't a bad thing), and inconsistent (which is). Many characters seem to just plain vanish in the latter half of the game, and the last chapter of the game seems to squeeze in about as much story as the first five chapters did. The distribution is unbalanced, needless to say. Nonetheless, it's premise and execution are handled well enough to gain it some recognition. NOTE: The basis of the game's story stems from the legendary warrior of feudal Japan, Musashi, who invented the two-sword-style fighting method that Musashi uses in this game. There are many, many links between this game and the original tales of Musashi, far more than I'd care to mention here. Enjoying the story and it's off-beat humor is much easier if you know at least a bit about the history of Musashi. GAMEPLAY: 9/10 Here's where the game truly shines. The only thing keeping me from giving the game a 10/10 here is those damned mini-games. The gameplay itself rivals that of many of the best action RPG's out there, and is always interesting. The Crest Guardian bosses are some of the most original and interesting battles in action RPG history. CHALLENGE: 8/10 The first time through, the game is quite challenging, as you have no way (outside of a guide) to know what to expect from enemies. But as you adjust to their patterns, the challenge vanishes, and enemies become little more than tedium to be dealt with. Many of the Assimilated abilities are unnecessary or even pointless, and you will likely never use the majority of them. Even so, the challenge is definitely there for the first play-through. REPLAY VALUE: 7/10 This game doesn't exactly scream replay value, but it is fun to play over again if you're ever bored. Given that it takes as little as 10 hours to win the game, and each chapter (except #3) is fairly short, you can usually finish a chapter in one sitting. And if you're ever bored, you can just load the game up and go wreak havoc in Somnolent Forest for an hour or so. Believe me, it's quite theraputic. OVERALL RATING: 8/10 RECOMMENDED FOR: A patient, dilligent player who can put up with mini-games, doesn't mind sub-par voice acting, and can tolerate a simple story. OVERALL BALANCE: 40% gameplay, 15% story, 20% graphics/sound, 25% execution (The ideal game would score 25% in all categories, indicating perfect balance) ------------------------ Translation Differences [PTRANS] ------------------------ You will inevitably notice that everybody in the game of importance is named after some type of food or drink (some of the villagers are excluded from this trend). Indeed, almost every character's name is some sort of clever pun, if not a blatantly obvious reference, to food and drink. This was true in the Japanese version, as well, it seems. Alucaneet Palace (all you can eat, get it?) was Yakiniku Palace (yakiniku means fried meat), and the Thirstquencher Empire was the Liquor Empire. As well, most of the alcohol references were removed (soda pop, huh? Riiiiiight...). Below is a list of character name changes and the like. US Version Japanese Version Flatski Tekila (Tequila) Bubbles Brandy Gingerelle Liquor Capricola Walker Rootrick Boldor Lumina Legend Five Scrolls Five Wheels/Rings Fusion Lightning ----------------- Revision History [PREVISION] ----------------- Version Beta 1 (9/23/01) * Unreleased * Chapters 1 and 6 are done, as well as most other sections Version 1.0 (02/25/01) * First release of the FAQ/walkthrough * Cleaned up many sections, and made unhelpful suggestions helpful * All sections are done ---------------------- Contacting the Author [PCONTACT] ---------------------- If you wish to contribute to my walkthrough (I'm not sure what there is left to add, though), then e-mail me at torquemada_gi@hotmail.com about it. I'll add you to my (currently non-existent) Special Thanks To section if I use the information that you provide me. =|==========================================================================|= =|==========================================================================|= =============== Game Mechanics =============== --------- Controls [GMCONTROL] --------- The controls in BFM are fairly easy to adapt to, but some of them do require a bit of getting used to. In most cases, the controls work as such: D-pad/Left Analog: Move Musashi Square: Use Fusion, Assimilate (when gague is full), talk to people Triangle: Use Lumina, use Scroll (when gague is full), cancel actions in menus X: Jump, select choices in menus Circle: Use Assimilated skills, cancel choices in most menus Start: Open menu Select: No function L1: Forces Musashi to walk slowly R1: Charges attack gague, defends L2/R2: Rotate or zoom camera There are some special things you can do in this game beyond this, too. Climb: Press Square and Triangle alternately (requires L-Brace). Backflip: Press X while charging; empties charge gague (may require L-Belt). Double-Jump: Press X while in mid-jump (requires L-Belt). Dash: Press the D-pad in a single direction for a time; with Left Analog, press hard in desired direction to dash Sometimes the controls work differently (for mini-games and playing with toys, for example). In these cases, instructions are provided on-screen, for the most part. The menu is fairly easy to adapt to. Here's how it works: Sword - Choose the Scroll to load Lumina up with (Norm(al), Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, or Sky) ResQ List - View the list of people that need to be rescued Time - Shows how long you've been playing Item - Use or discard items in your inventory Armor - See what armor you possess Skills - See what skills you know Config - Configure the game Vibr - Turn Vibration on or off VE - Enable or disable Assimilation visual effects BGM - Set the volume of the music SE - Set the volume of the sound effects Sound - Set the speaker output to Stereo or Mono Level - Shows you your overall level, title, and individual stat levels (Musashi) - Gives hints on what to do next, explains menu options --------------------------- Time Flow and it's Effects [GMTIME] --------------------------- Time plays a fairly large factor in Brave Fencer Musashi. Some events only occur on certain days of the week, and at certain times of the day (or night). Time flows in this game at a rate of roughly 2 minutes per second, and each day is 24 hours. For each game hour that passes, Musashi loses 5 BP, and regains 5 HP. As well, Tiredness increases 1% every 15 minutes (this can be reduced to 1% every 30 minutes with the L-Shoes). Sleeping causes Tiredness to decrease at a rate of 1% every 15 minutes (down to 20% Tiredness max), and Musashi heals at the same rate as normal (can be upped to 2% every 15 minutes with the L-Quilt, which returns HP and BP both at a rate of 10 per hour, and reduces Tiredness to 0%). Sleeping at the castle recovers all HP/BP and status, and takes exactly 8 hours. The inn's three main rooms also take 8 hours, and vary in effect. The nap room takes 3 hours, and reduces Tiredness to 0%, but doesn't restore much HP or BP. ----------------------------- Limit Levels and Leveling Up [GMLEVELUP] ----------------------------- Musashi has four stats that he can level up: Body, Mind, Fusion, and Lumina. Each stat levels up as Musashi does more relating to the stats. Body levels up as Musashi's kill count gets higher, Mind raises with every step Musashi takes, and Fusion and Lumina level up as he uses them. But each chapter has a Limit Level, a maximum level that each stat can reach until the Crest Guardian for the chapter is defeated. This is mainly to prevent players from leveling up too much early on, but the limits are reasonable. Once you reach the Level Limit, your bar will fill up to the next level, but won't roll over and give you the level up until the Crest Guardian for the chapter is defeated. Musashi's Maximum Stats: HP: 500 BP: 500 Body: 40 Mind: 48 Fusion: 40 Lumina: 80 -------------------------- Grillin' Village Overview [GMVILLAGE] -------------------------- Grillin' Village is sort of your base of operations in this game. There are many things you can do here, and lots of people that you can talk to. Here's an overview of the important bits. WELL: You can get water from the well, but only if nobody is chatting in front of it. CHURCH: Open daily from 8:00-17:00. Father White (the priest) will cure you of poisoning here. You'll probably never visit, save when you need to during the story. RESTAURANT: Open daily from 18:00-2:00, closed Sunday. The food sold here is over-priced, if you ask me. You can play a game of high-low with Macho here (a game where the dealer draws two cards, shows you one, and you guess if the value of the second card is higher or lower than the first one). You can make a fair amount of Drans playing him, if you're lucky. GROCERY: Open daily from 10:00-18:00. This is your primary source for healing items involving HP and status. You can also buy special items here, including Oranges, Riceballs, and Neatballs. BAKERY: Open 7:00-19:00, closed Thursdays. This is your primary source for BP-restoring items. It's unlikely that you'll ever need to use this shop more than once, though. CONNER'S: Open 11:00-16:00, closed Mondays. Conner's appraises items for you, and will buy any junk items (all of which require appraisal). TOY STORE: Open 12:00-20:00, closed Wednesdays. The toy store is the place to go for buying action figures. These toys serve no real purpose, save getting the "PERFECT!" ending. INN: Open 24-7 (ie. always). The most imporant location in the game, the Inn is the only place where you can save for the majority of the game. Renting any of the rooms is not a very good idea, save the nap room, as you can rest for free at the castle. All of these rooms reduce Tiredness to 0%. Room Price Effect Room 201 210 Drans Restores 100 HP, 500 BP Room 202 390 Drans Restores 250 HP, 500 BP Room 203 550 Drans Restores all HP/BP, removes poisoning Room 204 80 Drans Restores 10 HP and 24 BP Although not part of the village itself, Allucaneet Palace is important, too. Here's what you can do there... Visit - Meet with the palace staff, including those you've rescued Library - Read up on the history of Allucaneet and the like Room - Go to Musashi's room, where you can rest or play with any toys he owns Sub-Menu - View the regular menu Village - Return to the village Gondola - Ride the gondola down to the village (not available until chapter 5) =|==========================================================================|= =|==========================================================================|= ============ Walkthrough ============ ---------- Chapter I: The Journey Begins ---------- The intro, essentially. Enjoy it, it's not too long. Plus, unlike the rest of the game, you won't have to start over from your last save (since you have none yet) if you die during this chapter! LIMIT LEVEL FOR CHAPTER 1: 1 (can't level up) NEW MINKU ACCESSIBLE: N/A NEW BINCHO FIELDS BREAKABLE: N/A *********** The Outset [C1OUTSET] *********** The game opens with the inhabitants of Allucaneet Palace gathering about a Bincholon (condensed Binchotite, which is a form of energy in the game), while Princess Fillet tries to summon a hero. And here enters the hero, Musashi (that's you)! He's a bit of a runt for a hero, though. Despite this, Fillet and her retainers do what they can, since they don't have the resources to summon ANOTHER hero. At this point, you'll get Fusion, a disturbingly short- range katana of sorts, and be told that you need to go find Lumina in some place called Spiral Tower. Before you can hear all of the details, though, good ol' Musashi gets bored of listening, and runs off! Kids these days... Now the gameplay starts. Just keep running forward, and attack as necessary. Eventually, you'll come to a stream, where the logs to cross it are up. Use the Assimilate ability to absorb Gunshot from a Binchotite soldier, and then shoot the logs. As you continue, you'll find that you keep running into logs. If you push them, you can squish enemies further along the path! Just keep going forward (destroying the blue statue at the gates when you reach it), and you'll be at Spiral Tower in short order. ************* Spiral Tower [C1SPTOWER] ************* Enjoy the sights, because they're not going to be around for long... As the (rather poorly translated) note suggests, you have to destroy all of the statues, and step onto the switches (no, you don't have to jump on them, thank goodness). Once you hit all of the switches, you have quite a task ahead of you: climbing the damned tower. It'd be easier if the gigantic cheese-roll things didn't keep trying to squish you, but anyhow... As you head up, you'll see an entrance along the path. Go ahead and step in (since continuing up will just lead to a dead end otherwise). Okay, the goal is pretty clear here. Walk up the spiral stairs, kill and defend as necessary (don't bother jumping over the Sphere Bats; just defend, so that a stray gunshot doesn't hit you or anything). Once you get near the top, Musashi will stop for a moment and ponder. Go up a bit more, and use the Gunshot ability to lower the bell upon the flames. Now, you can head up to the final part of Spiral Tower. Once up on the roof, you'll find that a near-infinite number of red soldiers will start wandering around. Kill them if you like, but you won't get any benefit from it. Instead, head towards the spoke on the outer edge of the tower, where Lumina rests. You'll notice that when you stand on the small platform, the force field generated by the oversized Easter Island head goes away, but when you step off of it, it returns. Assimilate one of the red Bincholoids, and then lure another onto the platform. Stun them (so that they stay standing on it), and grab Lumina! Now things get strange... Before you know it, you're running down Spiral Tower, but down the WALLS, not the stairs! Jump when prompted, and get ready for another dodge-and-jump challenge... As you start running again, pay attention, and avoid smacking into boulders, tripping over logs, etc. When Musashi yells out that you should jump, that would be a VERY good idea. Don't worry if you die (you can keep doing this part over until you get it right), and just focus on getting to the castle. ****************************** Rootrick and the Steam Knight [C1STEAMKN] ****************************** After entering the castle rather ungraciously through the wall, you'll find yourself in a main hall of some sort, and find Fillet in the hands of some idiot named Rootrick. He'll start taunting you (and showing off his terrible voice acting), and then surround you with flames. Do as Fillet suggests, and swing out the flames with Lumina. Rootrick vanishes, and in comes the Steam Knight! BOSS #1 - Steam Knight CORE HITS NEEDED - 3-4 per area, 3 areas As covered in the monster section, focus on hitting this bad boy's legs (when they're not spitting steam, of course), and dodge that ball-and-chain! ...I think that has other connotations, doesn't it? Well, you know what I mean... Once you defeat big-and-ugly, Musashi, er... falls asleep. Jeez, he really IS a kid... ----------- Chapter II: A New Journey ----------- Wow, talk about a short quest. Anyway, this is where the game REALLY begins, if you ask me. LIMIT LEVEL FOR CHAPTER 2: 8 NEW MINKU ACCESSIBLE: 4/4 NEW BINCHO FIELDS BREAKABLE: 13/13 ****************** Humble Beginnings [C2BEGIN] ****************** Musashi wakes up in a strange room. You might want to pay attention to the next few scenes if this is your first time playing the game, as they contain some useful information about Bincho Fields and the main quest of the game: to get the Five Scrolls. You might also want to read up on things at the library. Once you're satisfied, head on down to the village. GONDOLA STATION AREA Minku: #1 Despite what Musashi says, he can actually go for the entire game without food. He's referring to the fact that he only has 100/150 BP left (note that his face looks a bit excited; that face changes as his BP changes). Go on down the path to the village. You might want to talk around with the village people for a while, and see what you can learn. When you're ready (which will hopefully be before the evening falls), go visit the mayor's house (you can identify it rather quickly by the weathercock on it's roof). He'll ask you to go save the town's beloved dog, but won't give you permission to enter the mountains. How rude... Anyhow, now would be a good time to explore around the village a bit. Go to the far southern end of the village, and you'll find two paths. The path closer to the castle wall leads to a dead end. Go ahead and go down there. DEAD END Bincho Fields: #1 [Hawker Steakwood] Free Steakwood from the field with Lumina, and go back to the village. Now would be a good time to check out Somnolent Forest (which the other southerly path in the village leads to). SOMNOLENT FOREST Monsters: Bincholoid (Green), ManEater, Hopper, Magician, Herb Plant, Sleepie Minku: #2 Bincho Fields: #2 [Guard Lumpwood], #3 [Sear Bevealy] Treasures: OldCrown Head on into the forest, and make your way around the whirlpool, past the Hopper, and into the small loop behind the pool. There's a Bincho Field in plain site there (Guard Lumpwood). Release the poor guard, and head on back to the whirlpool area. You can head to Twinpeak Mountain at this point, but you might want to rescue Sear Bevealy, and possibly even get the currently accessible Minku, as well. To get to Bevealy, assimilate the Hopper, and bounce your merry way over the thorn bushes. When safe on the other side, hit O (to cancel Hop), and go across the bridge to the north. Note that the Minku can be found down a hidden path near the bridge, slightly to the south of it, on the upper left tree line. Anyhow, keep on going up the hill, defeat the Sleepies, and once you get to the upper levels, assimilate the Hopper up there. Bounce up the cliff, and you'll find Bevealy's Bincho Field! Break it, and then go across the pipe to get the OldCrown from the treasure chest. Now, on to the next part! ********************* Getting the Dog Back [C2DOG] ********************* NOTE: You don't HAVE to rescue Guard Lumpwood to get to Twinpeak Mountain, but if you don't, you have to wait until late in the evening to get to the mountain, so I suggest you free him. Twinpeak Mountain's entrance is near the Gondola Station, guarded either by Macho (if you haven't saved Lumpwood) or Lumpwood (if you have). Head up the mountain! TWINPEAK MOUNTAIN Monsters: Magician, ManEater, King ManEater Bincho Feilds: #6 [Soldier Lardwick] It's tempting to explore the mountain proper, but for now, you should just focus on getting the dog back to the village. Take the left path from the entrance of Twinpeak mountain, and make your way along it. Be sure to free Soldier Lardwick along the way! To defeat the nightmarishly large ManEater across the river, assimilate the Magician, and shrink it. Then, you need only step on it, and (unlike all other monsters that you can do this to in the game) it will never appear again. Once you have access to the bank that the King Maneater was on, jump on over to the island with the dog on it. It's time for some Fido-throwing fun! Pick up the poor animal, and hurl it back onto the shore. You move incredibly slow while carrying the dog, so you'll probably want to throw it from time to time, and pick it up when it lands. Once you get back to the village entrance, the dog just runs off. ************ Freeing Jon [C2JON] ************ You can re-visit the mayor if you want, but he'll just admit that he knows zilch, and tell you to go talk to the man in the stocks. Jerk... Anyway, do just that. The man in the stocks won't say much to you, though, seeing as he's starving and thirsty. Go grab some WellH2O and buy some RyeBread from the bread shop, and give them to him. He'll send you on a quest to get the key to the stocks for him. When you're ready, head back into Somnolent Forest again, and go past where you found Seer Bevealy (there are some brambles that you have to assimilate a Hopper to get over), and go into Meandering Forest! MEANDERING FOREST Enemies: Magician, Bee Plant, Red Bincholoid Your goal here is basically to kill the enemies, so they stop bugging Leno. When Leno starts barking at you, go down the fork he's closest to. In short order, you'll be at the graveyard. Push the grave nearest to where Leno stops to get Jon's Key. Now, back to the stocks! You have to free Jon between 0:00 and about 3:00, so return at the appropriate hour. Once he's free, he'll tell you to go to Twinpeak Mountain, and to chop down four logs on the way up. People sure do ask a lot of Musashi, don't they? Back to the mountain... *************************** Going up Twinpeak Mountain [C2TWINP] *************************** TWINPEAK MOUNTAIN Monsters: Magician, ManEater, Herb Plant, Red Bincholoid, Blue Bincholoid, Green Bincholoid Bincho Fields: #7 [Mercenary Meitlofe], #8 [Carpenter Carvey], #9 [Knight Lardwick], #10 [Shepherd Beefalo], #32 [Doctor Tung] Treasures: 200 Drans, Log (x4), OldBook, Dagger, Bracelet Memory Box present Here we go! Go back towards where you rescued the dog, and continue on to the land you couldn't reach before (where did those lily pads come from?). In the next area, you'll see three poles spanning the river. Before jumping merrily across the river on them, you'd be wise to keep following the bank until you encounter Bincho field #7, Mercenary Meitlofe. Free him, and THEN cross the river. You'll find a chest with 200 Drans on the other side, a bit further to the left. The chest on the outcropping on the far bank is a Memory Box (a rather useless device, but they can be handy in a pinch). After you get the Drans, go up the path (be sure to get the OldBook from the chest behind the waterfall), and climb your way up to the first cave. The first cave is simple enough, so don't worry too much yet. On the other side of the cave is the bridge, which is a bit of a hassle to cross. Climb down the vines on the side of the bridge to reach the chest with the Dagger, and a few rocks that lead to Shepherd Beefalo's Bincho field further down. Once you've finished your business down there, climb back up, and cross the bridge to the next cave. This cave is a tad bit trickier, but not by much. Just don't jump when the waterfalls are pouring down. You can actually edge past the second waterfall, if you jump close enough to the wall. On to the other side of Twinpeak Mountain! There's a tree that you could see from the far bank here. Go do a rotating attack on it with Lumina, and pick it up when it lands. Head up the skeleton (yes, that's a skeleton), and continue on to the rotating machines. Climb down the pole before aforementioned machines first, and free Knight Lardwick from his Bincho field. Then, go ahead and ride the funky machines. Once you ride them over far enough, you'll find yourself on yet another ledge, with a pole sticking out in the middle of nowhere nearby. Slide down it, and break the Bincho field there to free Carpenter Carvey. Since there's yet another tree here, go ahead and give it the spin-cut treatment you gave the other tree, and grab it. Two to go! Go back up the pole, and continue onwards. You'll see several protruding horizontal spikes here. Jump on them, and swing over to the other side (it may take a bit of practice, but the timing on the poles is actually easy once you get it down). Climb up the pole on the far side, and cut down the tree up top on the cliff. Only one to go! Follow the path left until you reach the last tree (that sure was easy, huh?) and cut it down. Now all you have to do is continue left until you reach the rocks that let you climb onto the ribcage bones, and jump across to the small area that Jon is waiting for you at. He'll build a raft for you, and tell you about the Legendary Armor (which you'll need to win the game, and which will come in very handy). Now, on to the first (and second-most annoying) mini- game sequence! MINI-GAME: Rafting GOAL: Reach the end of the river! RULES: You can get hit three times and still make it to the other end, but if you take a fourth hit, you have to start the rafting sequence over. You can jump with the raft, and actually have more control when doing so. STRATEGY: Jump a lot! If you die, don't worry, you won't lose. Eventually, you should get the hang of the controls, and then you should be able to make it to the end with at least one log intact. SPECIAL: You can reach Doctor Tung's Bincho field from the rafting sequence! In the area just after the closed falls with many 10 Dran coins, steer to the left, and you'll make your way to the other side of the river. Once you're here, though, you have to basically go all the way back through Twinpeak Mountain to get back to the raft (which you have to keep doing until you get the Bracelet). Still, it's worth the effort. Once you reach the proper end of the raft ride, you'll find yourself near a chest on the cliffs fronting the entrance to Twinpeak Mountain. Go ahead and open it. A Bracelet, eh? Go back to the village, and get it appraised by Conner's. Neat, now you can climb walls. As soon as you leave the pawn shop, though, you'll see that things are amiss... ****************** Steamwood Reactor [C2STEAMWD] ****************** GONDOLA STATION AREA Minku: #3 As the mayor suggested, you should head to the gondola station area (but not before saving and resting up!). Climb the cliff with your new L-Brace, and talk to Fores. He'll beg you to save Steamwood, so you should be off to do just that. Go back to the village, and follow the roadway past the windmill into Steamwood Forest. STEAMWOOD FOREST Bincho Fields: #5 [Musician Pianissimeat], #18 [Acrobat Sausages] Treasures: 500 Drans, AgedCoin Now is NOT the time to be getting the treasures or breaking the Bincho fields in the area, so focus instead on proceeding forward towards the reactor. The steam-leaking pipes are quite pesky, but you can get past them with little to no trouble. Soon enough, you'll be looking at the aptly named Steamwood reactor! Not quite what you were expecting, is it? Go up to the door, and follow the instructions (which basically tell you to press X when the gague is in the green area). Once inside, it's show time! MINI-GAME: Steamwood Reactor GOAL: Stop Steamwood from blowing up! RULES: You need to activate all gagues in order. Each one requires you to turn them a set number of times when the pressure gague is in the green. A valve timer adds another level of challenge, so that if you can't reach the next valve in time, you have to start over. STRATEGY: Fortunately, it's not too tough to solve Steamwood the first time around. Ride the elevator up, and turn valve #1, then move on to #2 and #3. Go up to the next floor, and turn #4, #5, and #6 (you'll have to do some jump work with a few of these, but nothing too tough). Finally, go up to the top floor, and turn #7 and #8. It sounds simple, right? Trust me, the first time you attempt it, it's not. If you mess up, you should have enough time to try again at least once (possibly twice, if you're really fast, or mess up really early on). Don't worry, you'll succeed eventually. After all, if you don't, you can't continue the game. Once the reactor is under control, Fores will thank you, tell you about a caped man heading for Twinpeak Mountain (aka. Rootrick), and show you the shortcut between his house and Steamwood. Make use of it now, and then go back to the village. Talk to the mayor, and he'll give you a Longevity Berry for your trouble. Yummy! Now would be a good time to take a quick side-trip to Somnolent Forest. SOMNOLENT FOREST Bincho Field: #4 [Maid Loinette] Treasures: 500 Drans Go to the small path to the left and down from the town entrance to Somnolent Forest. There's a Bincho field there (and a chest with 500 Drans in it). Free the maid, and get the Drans. Now, go back to the castle, and learn your first technique from the maid! Head for Twinpeak Mountain when you're prepared. ***************** The Earth Scroll [C2ESCROLL] ***************** TWINPEAK MOUNTAIN Monsters: same as before Minku: #4 Go over to where you found the 200 Dran treasure chest earlier, and you'll see Rootrick trying (and failing miserably) to climb the cliff. He and Musashi will exchange insults, and you'll start yet another mini-game. MINI-GAME: Climbing Contest GOAL: Reach the top before Rootrick does! RULES: You have to press S and T alternately to climb, and you have to time your presses properly, or Musashi won't climb very fast. As well, you can get knocked back to the bottom if you try to climb over a moving platform while it's shooting out of the cliff. STRATEGY: Not too tough, actually. Go up as fast as your fingers can move, and avoid falling off by carelessly climbing over a moving platform as it's shooting out. You should be able to make it to the top without too much trouble. I have yet to lose the climbing contest, in fact, so that says a lot about how easy it is (given that I suck at most mini-games). Once at the top, you'll see a rather large pit with a strange block in it. Take note of the shape over the block; it looks almost like a skull, doesn't it? Keep this in mind, and break the block with Lumina. Tada! It's the Earth Scroll, the second-most useless scroll in the game! After the rather disturbing (but educational) conversation with Lumina, go and use the Earth Scroll to dislodge the boulder blocking your exit from the pit. Go down the mountain, and back to the Gondola Station area. There, Jon will greet you, and tell you to go get permission from the castle staff to get entry to Hell's Valley. Before you do this, though, you should go get Minku #4 (you HAVE been getting the Minku, right?). It's running around on a ledge near where you have the climbing contest with Rootrick. Jump from the area near the Earth Scroll off the cliff, and veer as far left as possible. You should land on (or at least see) a small ledge on which the Minku is running around. Go to the castle and request access. Ribson will have a (potentially non- sensical) conversation with you in which he'll tell you that you need to free Soldier Lardwick, Knight Lardwick, Carpenter Carvey, and Mercenary Meitlofe first. If you've already done this, then he'll tell you that preperations are complete, and you should head to Hell's Valley. If you haven't saved those four, then damn it, go save them! :P Hell's Valley is off to the right of the entrance to Twinpeak Mountain. HELL'S VALLEY Bincho Fields: #24 [Knitter Lunchetta] Treasures: 200 Drans You can't reach the treasure chest with the Drans from here. If you REALLY want it, though, you can take the raft ride again. Still so keen on getting it? I didn't think so. Anyway, load up the Earth Scroll, and knock the boulders up on the cliffs to form a bridge across the first pit. You'll see the knitter's Bincho field not far ahead. Free her, fer gossake! Then, make a second bridge (same method) to get to the next area. Use the Earth Scroll once more to lower the stone slab that leads to the entrance of Hell's Valley (but don't stand under where the slab will land when you use the scroll; that HURTS!). The four fools... er, retainers, will be waiting for you. Into the valley you go! Now, it's time for the first Crest Guardian boss of the game, Skullpion! ******************* BOSS #2: Skullpion [C2SKULLP] ******************* I've covered this fight rather well in the monsters section. To sum it up: Jump out of the way of it's tail when it spins it, run away from the sand it belches, jump around a lot when it's tail is digging around for you, keep out of it's way when it charges at you, knock it down if it starts climbing the cliffs with the Earth Scroll, don't let it land on you when it jumps, and use the Earth Scroll to drop the bombs and rocks in the bucket above onto the nasty bastard. When it's unconcious, whack it's core with a regular attack from Lumina. Musashi will grab Skullpion's core, gain 25 BP, up his limit level to 16, and the chapter will end! ------------ Chapter III: Project Vambee ------------ This is, by far, the longest and most annoying chapter in Brave Fencer Musashi. Fortunately, there are far less mini-games. Best to get started. LIMIT LEVEL FOR CHAPTER 3: 16 NEW MINKU ACCESSIBLE: 5/9 NEW BINCHO FIELDS BREAKABLE: 13/26 ************************ Vambees in the Village! [C3VAMBEE] ************************ You'll probably notice the eerie music as you step into the Gondola Station Area. Get used to it, you're going to be hearing it a lot... You should head back to Hell's Valley really quick before you go into town, though, and get Minku #5. Hey, having more HP never hurts. Go to the area in front of the market around 10:00, and you'll see the mayor and Hotelo standing there. Talk to them, and you'll find out that the local brat-rat, Tim, was bitten by a Vambee (Vampire/Zombie mix; not pretty). The mayor will ask you to go find Misteria, while Hotelo goes and gets Aqualin. Since you need the mine key first, hurry on over to the windmill. If you're quick enough, you should be able to reach it before Wid goes to bed. Get the key from him, and open the mines. *************** Finding a Cure [C3CURE] *************** BINCHOTITE MINES Monsters: Toad Stool, Rockfalls, B-Eater, Sphere Bat, Water Worm Bincho Fields: #22 [Carpenter Dicey], #16 [Knight Brisket], #27 [Chief Gravy], #17 [Cook Mary-Nade] Minku: #6 Treasure: OldGlove Memory Box present The mines are deceptively easy, despite their size. As the sign near the entrance to the mines says, you should go to the right (as the left path leads to the reservoir). Avoid the Toadstool there, and climb up the pole and into the mines. The first area of the mines isn't too tough. Avoid being crushed brutally by falling rocks, jump across the gaps with the help of the large ferris wheels (I kid you not), and generally make your way to the far side of the cavern. The next room has a neat super-sized fan that turns off and on every few seconds. Wait for it to turn off, and fall down below. To the left is the lake, and to the right, the scrap depository. We're looking for the lake, so head to the left. The area you'll find yourself in has a lot of conveyor belts, and can be a bit tricky to maneuver in. The lake is straight ahead, so don't forget to take the side-paths and free both Dicey and Brisket from their Bincho Fields. The lake is a neat place. Not only are there two MORE Bincho Fields here (Gravy and Mary-Nade), but there's also a treasure chest AND a Minku! If you went fast enough, you should have arrived some time around about 16:00-22:00 (assuming you entered the mines around about 11:30). Get the Minku, free the two trapped people (the chief is on an outer island, the cook on the inner island), and make your way up to the flower. You should probably have some time to kill, so take a quick nap until it's 3:00, then snatch the Misteria. Time to make your way back out of the mines! I suggest you make a quick stop at the scrap depository area, and Assimilate a Cure Worm. You won't regret doing so. Once you're ready, climb up the walls of the mine and go to the opposite side of where you originally entered the fan room. The path to the exit is a bit convoluted (you have to ride up and down a few lifts, dodge more falling rocks, ride yet more ferris wheels (these ones with spikes on some of them), and make your way to the exit), but it shouldn't take too long. If you fall into the Bincho, you get poisoned. See why I suggested you Assimilate a Cure Worm? It saves money on Antidotes, for one thing. Anyway, once you're out of the mine, give the Misteria to the mayor. It seems that Hotelo has still not returned, though. Uh, oh... Time to go to the mountain again. Make your way up as you did the first time, and across the bridge. You'll find Hotelo sitting on his rear, complaining about how much he sucks. Tell him what a let-down he is, and you'll be given the task of getting the Aqualin instead. You have a 6 minute limit, too (the timer counts off 2 seconds per second, oddly enough), so get moving! It's not that hard to get to it, to be honest. Climb up the cliff via the skeleton, use your handy L-Brace to scale the scalable cliff, climb up to where Jon built the raft for you, and go further over. Switch to the Earth Scroll, and knock the offending boulder down. You'll have to do some horizontal swinging here, but it's not too tough. Climb up the pole, and get the Aqualin. Now, back to Hotelo! I do suggest you let gravity do the hard part, and just sort of jump your way back down to Hotelo (instead of following the path). If you made it in time, Hotelo will wander off with the Aqualin, and Tim will be saved. If you somehow failed, though, well... Let's just say, life's gonna suck for you for a bit. The grocery store will be closed if you failed, and Hotelo will have run off in shame. Save the kid. He's annoying, but at least you can keep the shop open for this chapter if you do (it re-opens automatically in chapter 4, if you do fail). Anyway, make your way back to the village, and (I'm assuming you succeeded) you'll see that Tim is cured! He'll insult you, and you can take that however you like. There will be a brief scene in Hilda's Grocery, and you'll get an Orange. Head to the castle, and have the clown and the acrobat show off their stunt, so you can learn Shish-Kebab. Also, talk to Knight Lardwick to learn Crosswise Cut, and Knight Brisket to learn Tenderize. Now, to find the source of the Vambees! *************************** The Mystery of the Vambees [C3MYSTERY] *************************** It's not hard to figure out where the Vambees are coming from, particularly not if you happen to hang around the village around midnight. They come out of the restaurant. Wait for about 18:00, and you'll see Baker Towst (the father of the bread shop clerk) demanding to be let into the restaurant, and looking decidedly drunk. He'll trigger the next part of this quest, by suggesting you go see the regulars of the bar at the inn. Talk to both Wanda and Macho, and then head for the restaurant. According to them, the entrance is behind the counter. As soon as you enter (you can by entering when a Vambee comes out), sure enough, you'll find an entrance. Head on down. It looks like the owner, Mannick, is a closet drunk (nono, he's drinking soda pop, excuse me; damned censorship). He'll tell you that the boss of the Vambees is behind a door with four eyes, and you'll be left with four doors to choose from. Coincidence? I think not. ********************** Restaurant's Basement [C3BASEMNT] ********************** Treasures: OldSword, Cloth, 500 Drans, UglyBelt Memory Box present There are four possible paths to take from here: the Fire, Ghost, Teleporter, and Bowler Mazes (as they're commonly known). Also, note that Mannick will heal your HP and BP to max if you talk to him, so be sure to do just that after each area. You can start with any area you want, but I suggest you save the Fire Maze for last (it's in the area opposite the eye-doors, on the left from when you enter the area), and start with either the Teleporter or Bowler Maze (both in the area of the eye-doors). |||||||||||||||||||| Maze of Teleporters [C3TELEMZ] |||||||||||||||||||| Monsters: Vambee, Will'o'Whisp, Lamp Bat, Slime, Guard Post, Arrow Shooter Bincho Field: #11 [Bailiff Jerky] Treasures: Powder This maze starts out fairly simply, with a few moving platforms leading to an entrance that is most definitely a dead end. However, you can jump up the sides of the walls to the areas above here, so do just that on the right side. Pick up the hapless Vambee staring out over the spikes, and throw him on the switch. Then, just walk across and enter the doorway to the next area. It's pitch black here, save for where the Will'o'Whisp happens to be floating, but you want to go northwards and to the right. In the next area, there are some poles sticking up out of a bed of spikes. Make your way up each one and jump to the next one until you've made it to the other side, and enter the area beyond the spike pit. Here you'll find the Bailiff, a horrid punster. Now, go back to the main entrance, and do the Vambee-hurl on the OTHER side. Follow the dark paths until you reach the first teleporter room (note: to make life easier, assimilate a Lamp Bat along the way). Take the right teleporter (the left one leads back to the entrance), and keep going northwards until you reach the next teleporter room. Here, you should take the left 'porter. In the next area, the Powder should be in a treasure chest on a platform surrounded by spikes. Make your way forward to the final teleporter room, and hop in the left circle. Head forward, and shatter the eye-gem. This maze is now complete! |||||||||||||||| Maze of Bowlers [C3BOWLMZ] |||||||||||||||| Monsters: Slime, Bowler, Vambee, Fire Vambee, Arrow Shooter Bincho Fields: #19 [Mercenary Stue], #26 [Mercenary Potrowst] Treasures: Shield, OddHat This maze is fast-paced, compared to the Teleporter Maze, and quite a bit longer, as well. Avoid the dropping Slimes as you climb up the stairway, and deal with the Bowlers along the way with your swords. Be sure to assimilate at least one of them, as there are a lot of areas here where Bowl is required if you wish to continue. At the end of the first path, you'll see a cracked wall, guarded by a Bowler. Defeat the foolish seed-spitter, and then break the wall down with the Bowl skill to get the Shield. Return to the path, and climb up the wall. You can avoid the seeds from the Bowler plant here by jumping into the small pits. Once you get up to the Bowler, be sure to give it a good beating. Follow the narrow path across, and jump over to the exit into the next area. The Fire Vambees here are easily beaten with Bowl, but the fire arrows being shot really hurt. If you time it just right, you can jump through them with no damage taken, but that is not easy. Once you reach the next area, you'll find yourself facing a Bowler, a cracked wall, and an otherwise empty room. Kill the Bowler, break the wall down, free the mercenary, and then take the other path. Now, for a rather silly would-be mini-game, Bowling for Vambees! Step on the switch, and use Bowl to knock down all of the Vambees. If you get a split (knock them all down with one ball), you get a message on the screen congratulating you. Walk to the back room, break the wall there, and get the OddHat. Then, ride the lift up. In this next room, you'll find yourself at odds with a strange post that shoots at you only if you're facing it. Charge up Lumina with your back to it, and do a rotating attack to shatter the damned thing. On to the next part of the maze. Here, you'll find yourself in a room that's decidedly not safe. The walls are closing in! Quickly run forward, and take the small hole on the side of the non-moving wall at the far end of the chamber. Run down it and then jump off the floor. Now you get to play Mario, and avoid getting crushed by the pillars shooting out of the wall while climbing up them to reach the safety of the top floor. From here, walk through the entrance, kill the Bowler, break the wall, and get ready to play Bowling for Vambees yet again. Once you've won, cross the bridge and free the mercenary from his Bincho field entrapment. Then, ride the lift up, and enter the doorway. Shatter the eye, and this maze is complete! NOTE: At this point, you should break the cracked wall on the far end of the basement, and get the OldSword, 500 Drans, and Cloth. ||||||||||||||| Maze of Ghosts [C3GHOSTMZ] ||||||||||||||| Monsters: Vambee, Sphere Bat, Ghost Bincho Fields: #13 [Carpenter Cubey], #31 [Knight Chucks] Treasures: Helmet This is quite possibly the easiest maze of them all, and requires very little fighting. As you enter this maze, you'll be presented with a series of moving platforms that you have to ride to reach the exit. Indeed, the greater majority of this dungeon has you riding said platforms to reach the other side of rooms. Everything is very straightforward and easy to follow until you reach the puzzle block rooms. The first one is easy (just push the red cube onto the red eye), but the second one requires a bit more pondering. Push the uppermost red cube onto the lower left eye, then push the other two cubes up, placing them first on the far right eye, then on the final eye. A room or two more of moving platform "puzzles", and you'll find yourself in the first invisible path room. You might want to absorb the LoneMist floating around while the maze path is still visible, so you can view where you're supposed to go. The first maze has nothing of note in it, so just make your way to the far end. After yet another simple and easy to pass through room, you'll find yourself in the second invisible path maze. Again, absorb the LoneMist and see what path you should take. Be sure to free the carpenter in this maze, and then make your way to the far side. The next area doesn't really need Sublime, particularly not if you fall through it right. Fall down to the first platform, walk over and fall off the right side, then the left side, then hook on down from right to left and you'll be at the exit to the next area. This next invisible path maze is much bigger, and there's actually a dead end or two. Figure out the path from the LoneMist, and be sure to get the Helmet treasure. As you approach the end of the maze, you'll see a path down below the main one, sort of jutting out. Fall down onto it, and follow it north to find Knight Chucks. Free the cowardly soldier, then teleport back up, and make your way through the exit. Shatter the eye crystal, and walk out of this maze for good. |||||||||||||||||| Maze of Fire Pits [C3FIREMZ] |||||||||||||||||| Monsters: CurseFire, Scythes, Vambee, Flying Vambee, Fire Vambee, Sphere Bat, Spike Wall Bincho Fields: #15 [Soldier Hanky-Flanky], #35 [Librarian Brisketta] Treasures: OldPipe I'd call this the most annoying of the four mazes. The first area has nothing of note, so race on through to the second one. Here, you'll find the librarian trapped in her field on the upper left side of the room. Free her, and continue onwards. The next area is laden with tons of those annoying spinning blocks that you have to maneuver over, and it's quite likely that you will find yourself assaulted at every turn by Sphere Bats. Jump across as best you can, and make your way to the next area, ignoring those pesky Vambees along the way. The next room has rotating blocks, and lots of Sphere Bats (as well as one of the game's only Flying Vambees). Ride the blocks up (this can be quite tricky to do), and make your way to the exit. The next area has a few scythes, but they're not too hard to dodge. Indeed, the rest of the maze is entirely consisting of simple rotating blocks, lava, scythes, and a few spike-walls (which can be maneuvered very easily by guarding while walking between two of the walls. Eventually, you'll find yourself in a room with wooden walkways. The OldPipe and Hanky-Flanky are both on these walkways, so be sure to get and free them, respectively. Make your way to the exit (there's another room or two left, but nothing too hard; just more scythes), and shatter the eye crystal. This concludes the fire maze. Now that all of that is done, head back to the eye-doors. Mannick is nowhere to be seen... Head in, and you'll see a brief scene where Mannick proves that he's not only a drunkard, but a total idiot, as well. Take the UglyBelt and get it appraised. Well, since there's nothing you can do in the basement for a while, let's do something else, shall we? ************************ Encounter at the Church [C3CHURCH] ************************ Now would be a good time to return to Twinpeak Mountain, laden as you are with your L-Belt, and free the last imprisoned castle inhabitant there. Twinpeak Mountain Bincho Fields: #14 [Weaver Dinneretta] Climb to the top of the pole on the far right side of the mountain (where you can see the sensor watch going nuts), and double jump across to where the weaver is being held. Go back to the palace, and show her the L-Cloth (you DID appraise the Cloth, didn't you?). She'll offer to make you a quilt, but you can have her make either that or some gloves. Which you want is up to you, of course. The L-Quilt removes the need for sleeping at the castle, but the L-Gloves up your critical hit rate. I suggest you get the quilt if it's your first time around. Anyway, on with the plot! Double-jump into the church yard, and talk to the pastor there. He'll tell you to come back at 2AM, so do so (after saving, of course!). Sounds like Vambees in the church... After a brief scene with the psychotic Bubbles, you'll find yourself fighting a small army of super-Vambee soldiers. These guys are deadly, don't let them grab you! At first, they're not too tough, as only one jumps into the ring at a time. Just swing Lumina at them a bit, and they'll keep their distance. Then, they'll start jumping in two at a time, and then the spectator Vambees will start throwing things at Musashi (which will stun him; quite deadly, avoid the steaming body parts!). Once 7:00 rolls around, they all mercifully die, and you'll be given the Rope for your hard work. The pastor will also ask you to find and return the bell for the church. Well, don't worry about that just yet. Just go on down into the well for now. ************************** Finding the Church's Bell [C3BELL] ************************** Minku: #8, #9 Hey look, there's the bell! But you can't reach it, with it so far out in the lake... Keep following the path, past the Water Crest, and you'll find yourself face-to-face with the next Scroll, the Water Scroll. See that odd statue it's resting on? Remember how the Earth Scroll had a statue of the head of Skullpion around it? Well, the trend is followed here, too. Anyway, get the Scroll, and charge it up. Water-walking time! Go and grab the bell, and toss your way with it back to the entrance of the mine. The priest will reward you with a statue of an angel. Now would be an excellent time to level up and get some more Minku. Two more are accessible now (one on Twinpeak Mountain, the other in Somnolent Forest), so be sure to grab them. More HP is a good thing, especially at this point. Once you're leveled up and ready, save and return to the restaurant basement. *********************** Return to the Basement [C3RETURN] *********************** Go straight ahead, and double-jump the gap to reach the large doors. The angel statue you got is, not too shockingly, the key to the door. Welcome to the domain of the Relic Keeper. Relic Keeper's Domain Monsters: Vambee, CurseFire, Spike Wall, Fire Demon Bincho Fields: #12 [Taster Salmonelli] The first thing you have to do here is use your newly acquired Water Scroll to cross a water pit. Load it up and do so. Throughout this area, you'll definitely want to keep the Water Scroll charged up at all times, to prevent taking damage from falling in the lava pits. Make your way through the domain (it's not convoluted at all, really), and once you reach the sinking platforms in the lava, jump over across the side-path to reach Taster Salmonelli. Free him, and continue onwards to the anteroom of the Relic Keeper. This room has a very simple puzzle in it. You need to put out all four of the flames to get the doors to the boss to open. This requires a lot of water bullets per flame, but other than being time-consuming, it's not very hard. Once you've done this, make your way into the final area of this accursed dungeon, the Relic Keeper's chambers! ********************** BOSS #3: Relic Keeper [C3RELICK] ********************** This boss doesn't actually fight you, its flame wisp does. As covered in the monsters section, you should be shooting the wisp with as much water as you can muster, and avoiding its attacks when it turns white. When the wisp is defeated, strike the Relic Keeper's core (located on it's eye, and bright green, just like Skullpion). Do this three times, and you win. Your rewards are as follows: an increase of 25 max BP, all HP/BP restored, limit level raised to 22, and a warm, fuzzy feeling. Well, maybe not that last bit, but at least the chapter's over (after a brief look-in on Thirstquencher and their most recent plot, that is). ----------- Chapter IV: The Duel at Dragon Isle ----------- This chapter is short, sweet, and to the point. It's also probably the most confusing of all of the chapters. LIMIT LEVEL FOR CHAPTER 4: 22 NEW MINKU ACCESSIBLE: 1/10 NEW BINCHO FIELDS BREAKABLE: 6/32 ***************** Filling the Well [C4WELL] ***************** NOTE: If you saved the Bailiff and Cook Mary-Nade, talk to them now, and you will find out that they're planting a rice field. Once you get Chef Julienne, talk to them again, and talk to the chef. You'll be able to buy Riceballs from the grocery store once you do. Now that you've got the Water Crest(s) liberated, let's go free some of them. Our first stop is Somnolent Forest! Somnolent Forest Treasures: Glasses Free the Crest on the central island here, and watch as the water all just drains away. Jump down into the pit, and get the Glasses from the chest. Upon having them appraised, you'll discover that they're the L-Goggles, and that they auto-appraise anything you find. Useful? Not particularly. But hey, it's better than nothing! Back to the well with thee! Grillin' Reservoir/Well Minku: #10 Treasures: Shirt, UsedBoot, Armor Free the Crest here, too. The water level will raise, and you'll have an amusing encounter with Ed and Ben, the two self-proclaimed leaders of Leader's Force (where everybody's the head honcho!). After the silly and mostly unimportant encounter, grab the treasures that have been uncovered (the boot and shirt), and go get the Armor from the tunnel revealed. The Fire Crest is back in that tunnel, but you don't have the Fire Scroll yet, and even if you did, the Crest is still sealed. Head back out (and be sure to grab the Minku on the cliff of the refilled well), then go back to the village and pay a visit to the mayor. The mayor is sick, though, and you have to take over for him. Do so (the plot requires it), and you'll be told to fill the well. You just did that, though, so you'll be told to fix the gondola now, and that you should talk to Wid and the three carpenters. ******************* Fixing the Gondola [C4GONDOLA] ******************* Really, you don't have to talk to Wid, but talking to the carpenters would be a good idea. According to them, the Gondola Gizmo is a golden wheel with four holes in it. Well, that rounds things down a bit... Head back to the mines, and take the path to the scrap depository (instructions for getting there can be found in chapter 3, under Finding a Cure). The Gizmo you're looking for is the one that has a silver-colored fake, with three outer rim holes and a central hole. Grab it, and go back to the castle. The old geezer will gladly take it, and Musashi will go to sleep for 24+ hours. Damn, that kid can really power-nap! Upon waking up, you'll find the village in flames. Thank goodness for the Water Scroll, eh? Put out all 7 flames (there's no known time limit, so don't worry if it takes a while), and then wait for daybreak so you can go get your reward from the mayor: a calendar (which proves very useful in the final chapter of the game), and some rocksalt. Level up, heal up, save, and go to Dragon Isle (found off to the left of the brambles leading to Meandering Forest). ********************** Duel at Dragon Island [C4DUEL] ********************** DRAGON ISLAND Bincho Fields: #21 [Artisan Teebone] Treasure: 500 Drans This is the part that the chapter was named after (what a shocker, huh?). If you've heard of the real legend of Musashi, then this should be quite an interesting (if pitiful) re-enaction of the famous battle between Musashi and Kojiro. Anyway, on to what to do. You'll notice that there's a rather large and ugly slug blocking your path. Have Musashi examine it, and then use the Rocksalt on it. Now, if you came at the right hour, you should be able to proceed down to the Water Crest without too much trouble. Before you do, though, break Artisan Teebone out of his Bincho field, and get the cleverly hidden chest of 500 Drans. Activate the Water Crest here, and you'll see that yet another scroll has been revealed. Once again, you get a preview of the coming boss: a serpent head overlooks the Fire Scroll. Break the container, and get the scroll. ...And who should show up but Musashi's arch-rival, Kojiro? After an truly annoying sequence of weak insults hurled back and forth, you'll be fighting Kojiro. He's a joke, though. If you actually have trouble with him, then I suggest you try playing something a bit easier, like FF7. In no time at all, you'll have Kojiro defeated, and the princess saved. Stop and think for the moment: why would they send a weakling like Kojiro with the princess, their one bribing point to keep Musashi going? Anyway, head off the beach, and you will automatically return to the palace. ******************************** Search for the Thieves' Hideout [C4SEARCH] ******************************** Pay attention to the conversation between Musashi, Fillet, and Ribson carefully. Hmm... Anyway, you should talk to the three mercenaries now. They will give you three pieces of a note, which add up to the clues necessary to solve the puzzle of Meandering Forest. The puzzle is incredibly confusing, especially if you've never played Shogi before. Even with the book on it in the castle library, it's still confusing as hell. If you (like myself) don't want to take the time to figure it out the hard way, then look below for the solution. SOLUTION: Left, Up x2, Right, Up x2, Right, Up x2, Left, Up x4 If you chose to work it out, then kudos to you. You have a hell of a lot more patience than I do... Follow the path outlined above through Meandering Forest, and you'll reach the Frozen Palace in no time. ****************** The Frozen Palace [C4FROZENP] ****************** Monsters: Mapper, Copycat, Penguin, SlowGuy, HayaWolf, CoolPlant, Steel Golem Bincho Fields: #20 [Janitor Sloppy-Joe], #23 [Musician Al Forte], #25 [Chef Julienne], #30 [Butcher Chops], #34 [Alchemist Leanman] Treasures: RedEye, BlueEye, GreenEye, RedShoes, LongTube, Bl-Cloth, Wh-Cloth, RedCloth As you enter, you'll have a brief encounter with a woman named Gingerelle. She treats you a lot nicer than most of the bad guys do, but she's still a bit mean to Musashi. After the encounter's over, it's time to work on the monumental puzzle that is Frozen Palace. The Frozen Palace is huge, but not hard to navigate. Your first goal is to get the RedEye. Go into the upper left door, and make your way to the one accesible room here. In this next area, Penguins are pushing ice blocks into a pit. Ride the ice blocks, and jump off before you go with the cube down into the inky depths. Enter the upper left room, and defeat everything there. The chest with the RedEye will appear, so be sure to grab it. Backtrack to the ice-pushing penguins, and then take the right-hand exit. In the next room, free Chef Julienne, then make your way back to the entrance hall (not a hard task, you can get there via the path with three HayaWolves, or you can go back via the penguins). Find the RedEye door, and open it. Make your way down the path, burning the Copycat up with the Fire Scroll, and thrashing the pesky CoolPlant. Get the LongTube from the chest, and go into the next room. Here, you want the SlowGuy to hurl you up to the cliff above. From there, enter the doorway, and you will now find yourself in the first ice block maze. This area isn't too tough, but be sure to Assimilate a Steel Golem, and free Butcher Chops from his unrightful imprisonment. Also, you should find Leanman in this maze, as well. The BlueEye is guarded by many Copycats, and you have to defeat all of them without taking any damage. This means burning them all with the Fire Scroll. Once you have the eye, head back to the main entrance, and return to the upper left doorway. Open the BlueEye door, and free the janitor from his Bincho Field. Jump on up, and climb the path. Go across the heights to reach the second balcony, where you'll find the RedShoes. If you don't have the L-Goggles, then you now need to return to the village and get these appraised, as they are the L-Shoes, and required for completing Frozen Palace. Moving on, enter the lower right doorway. In this hall, you need to climb up one of the poles and walk across the previously too-slippery slopes to reach the far side. Be sure to grab the RedCloth from the chest here, and then enter the next area. This is the second ice block maze, and it's a bit more complex than the first. There is a Bincho Field on the upper levels (the hapless musician), as well as a chest with the Bl-Cloth in it. Free the man, and get the cloth, then make your way to the lower right side of the maze. Absorb the Copycat here (no easy task), and then use the Clone skill in the next room to defeat the SlowGuy and get the GreenEye. With this in hand, go back up to the upper levels, climb down to where the GreenEye door is, and open it. You'll find yourself deposited at the top of a high cliff-ledge of sorts, with a slope leading down to a room with some penguins. From here, I suggest you exit the Frozen Palace and save, as the boss is coming up. Now then, return to the entry hall, and melt the ice seal on the door there with the Fire Scroll. Examine the door, and then put the three eyes into it to reach the final section of the palace. Before ascending the odd ramp structure, go behind it and get the Wh-Cloth from the chest back there. At the top of the structure, light the two torches, use the Memory Box, and step inside. Hit the glowing orb on the statue, and you'll be deposited in the Frost Dragon's domain. A note about the ice spikes here: you have to melt them at least a bit so that you can double-jump over them, but you don't have to completely defrost them. This is important to remember. Anyway, on to the boss fight! ********************** BOSS #4: Frost Dragon [C4FROSTD] ********************** The Frost Dragon is actually fairly easy to beat, but if you're not fleet of foot and wary of eye during the first part, you might just end up getting pre-emptively snuffed. See the monsters section for a comprehensive strategy on beating this baddy, of course. To sum it up, avoid getting hit in the first area, get moving and torch your way to the second area, and generally dodge the dragon until it's tired and shagged out. Then, burn it, and when it exposes it's core, well... Thwack it, of course! Your reward for it's defeat is the usual fare (increase in level limit, 25 BP, and full HP/BP). You'll automatically be taken to the entrance of the Frozen Palace, where you should leave. After another sequence in Thirstquencher, you'll find yourself at the start of chapter 5. ---------- Chapter V: The One that Nests Underground ---------- This chapter is monumentally short. It also has two required mini-games, unfortunately. LIMIT LEVEL FOR CHAPTER 5: 27 NEW MINKU ACCESSIBLE: 3/13 NEW BINCHO FIELDS BREAKABLE: 3/35 *************************** Steamwood Reactor, Part II [C5STEAMWD] *************************** As you return to the village, the mayor will tell you that something has happened, and then wander off. Go talk to a shopkeeper (any will do). The princess took all of the town's profits? Hmm... Go to the castle, and visit the old geezer. He'll tell you that the Gondola is fixed (about time), and Musashi will refuse to do anything but ride the gondola. Once you're at the base of the cliff, you'll notice that steam is in the air. Oh no, not again! Make a quick stop at the inn to save, then go through the side-pipe near the Steamwood administrator's house to reach the grand tree. Fores will inform you that he's locked the princess inside Steamwood, and he gives you the door handle. Go ahead and put it back on, and go on in. After a short and somewhat disturbing scene, you'll find yourself standing in the reactor with the village's profits, and with Steamwood in need of repairing. As if the first time weren't bad enough, now you have to find certain handles in order to turn on some valves! Here's an overview... MINI-GAME: Steamwood Reactor GOAL: Stop Steamwood from blowing up! RULES: You need to activate all gagues in order. Each one requires you to turn them a set number of times when the pressure gague is in the green. A valve timer adds another level of challenge, so that if you can't reach the next valve in time, you have to start over. Handles #1, 4, and 8 are all removed, and you have to find them to turn off those valves. STRATEGY: There's two ways of going about this. The first is fairly lacking in risk, and involves getting all three handles first, and THEN doing the honors of stopping Steamwood from exploding. The second method requires you to hunt down the handles while the valve timers are going (a very stupid idea, if you ask me). Also, you'll have to jump down from above to reach valve #1. Otherwise, the strategy for this part is almost identical to part 1, and a bit easier at times, thanks to the L-Belt's double-jump ability. Once Steamwood is under control, Fores and the mayor will congratulate you (well, the mayor will; Fores, being a narcissistic jerk, will congratulate himself), and you can get on with your quest. You may rejoice, as you will NEVER have to fix that accursed tree-machine again. ************************ Getting the Wind Scroll [C5WINDSCR] ************************ MONSTERS: Sphere Bat, Cure Worm Minku: #11 Bincho Fields: Special After that big mess at Steamwood, this part should seem relatively easy by comparison. Make your way back to the Grillin' Reservoir, and release the fire seal there. The path up will be opened, so you can just climb up (but be careful, those blue bat-things are really aggressive). The Wind Scroll is straight ahead from the pit when you climb out. Jump into the little pit, and get the Wind Scroll (after you've taken the Minku's berry, of course)! After getting the scroll, you should use it to dig your way out down. Of course, seeing as you're on a high cliff, you end up falling a good distance before landing (note the structure that was nesting the wind scroll). After this, you'll be treated to a rather amusing scene, and find yourself trapped in a Bincho field. Ironically, you're the only one who can break yourself out of the field... Anyway, just swing Lumina, and you'll be freed. Apparently, being on the inside of the field gives you a lot more energy than simply absorbing it from the outside, since you get a whopping 50 BP from this particular Bincho field. There's absolutely no reason to stay here in the forest (save perhaps to level up a bit), so go ahead and return to Grillin' Village. ********************* The Giant Ants' Lair [C5ANTLAIR] ********************* MINKU: #12, #13 BINCHO FIELDS: #28 [Cook Chiffonade], #29 [Conductor Scores], #33 [Knight Rumparoni] Treasures: LrgTool, OddBone As you head back to the village, you might notice that ominous music is playing, once again. Fortunately, this won't be nearly as painful as the Vambees of chapter 3... Make your way to the gondola station directly above the village, and watch as Musashi gets an idea. Yep, go to the castle, and ride the gondola. Now, you FINALLY have access to the old mines! Be sure to go off to the left side once you reach the bottom of the pit, and get the Minku hanging out there. Then, head over to the other side. Poison mist, hmm? Load up the Wind Scroll, and whirl your way to the other side. Don't worry about clearing out all of the poison, just reach the other side of the tunnel, and it will never return. In this next area, you'll have to do a bit of running and jumping, but that's normal for this game. Get the LrgTool from the chest nearby, and follow the path with many Toadstools on it to reach Cook Chiffonade. If you want, go back to the castle now and talk to Chiffonade. If you've gotten the Riceballs in the grocery store, and saved Butcher Chops, he'll inform you that you can buy Neatballs at the grocery (they're useful, as they restore 300 HP and BP). That aside, make your way in the OTHER direction, towards the pit of spikes. See those rocks off to the side? Load up the Earth Scroll, and make them useful. To get across those weight-things, just pull down their triggers. Yet another rockfall bridge later, you'll find yourself in the next area of the upper mines. This next room has lots of derelict machinery, as well as the OddBone. Get the treasure, and head up to the top right exit. You'll find yourself at the entrance of a long, windy corridor. Load up the Wind Scroll, and rotate yourself across, grabbing coins as you see fit. You'll have to re-charge the Scroll about 3/4ths of the way through, just before the 500 Dran coin, so be wary. Once you make it to the other side, absorb the Hopper and hop over the steep ledges and spikes to the other side. From here, you'll have to do a rather tricky thing. Begin to Assimilate the Hopper here, and once you have it all sucked up and your sword is coming back at you, double-jump across the gap, so that when you land, you start bouncing. It may take a few tries, but it's the only practical way to proceed to the next area. The next area makes a good resting spot. The thirteenth and final Minku can be found here, as well as indispensable Cure Worms (handy if you got poisoned in the last area, which wouldn't surprise me). Head up the shaft via the climbing wall, and swing Lumina down on the switch up there. The fan turns on, and this one doesn't turn off, so take the exit nearby. You'll find yourself in an area full of gigantic ants! No weapons or skills can hurt the ants, save Acid (which you get from Assimilating a blue GiAnt, do so). Be sure to kill at least one GiAnt of each color, so you can get their action figures. Anyway, this area is mostly about dodging the ants. Conductor Scores is about halfway across the room, and in plain sight, so go ahead and free him when you reach him. Continue your way across, double-jumping and swinging as necessary, and you'll find yourself at a circular room with a single Bincho Field and a hole-to-be in no time. Free Knight Rumparoni from that field, and then drill your way down. Now you're back in the derelict machine room, but it's no longer derelict! Take the lower right path, and work your way over to the mine cart. Now that the power's up, you can ride it, and take on the mine cart mini-game (which is actually MORE annoying than the rafting mini-game, somehow). MINI-GAME: Mine Cart Ride GOAL: Reach the other end of the tunnel! RULES: You cannot control your forwards or backwards movement, only your side movement. You can be in any of five positions, ranging from the upper left to the upper right corner. Ants, rocks, and grates will appear along the course, and if you hit one, you'll lose a bit of the mine cart. Hit four objects, and you have to start over from the last checkpoint. There are three areas, and three checkpoints. STRATEGY: The pause button is your friend! Whenever you see something coming up, pause quickly! This gives you a well-needed second to figure out which way you should turn next, and gives you a chance to slow down the pace of the cart a bit. The double-grate will smash a piece off your cart if you're not situated exactly in the middle of the track when it starts to close, so be careful. The puzzles of this race are devious, but the course never changes, so you should be able to figure out what route is best, if you decide not to pause excessively (as I do). Before long, the cart will crash on the other side, and you'll be in the area preceding the fourth crest guardian, the Queen Ant. Heal up with the items lying around, use the Memory Box, and dig a hole down to the boss! ******************* BOSS #5: Queen Ant [C5QUEEN] ******************* This boss isn't too tough, but it is butt-ugly. As covered in the monsters section, you want to smack her face when she's tired, and use the Wind Scroll to hit her core when she goes berserk. Her attacks tend to be fairly well broadcasted, and not too hard to dodge, but she does get faster as the battle goes on. Anyway, once she's defeated, you get the usual after-guardian treat, and can move on to the final chapter of the game. ----------- Chapter VI: The Sword of Luminescence ----------- LIMIT LEVEL FOR CHAPTER 6: 30 NEW MINKU ACCESSIBLE: 0/13 NEW BINCHO FIELDS BREAKABLE: 0/35 What a rush! Time for the last chapter, where things start getting REALLY messed up. After Jon gives you his note and runs off with Leno, you'll find yourself in the definitive final chapter of the game. ***************************************** Before you Continue (Point of No Return) [C6BEFORE] ***************************************** This is your last chance to do several things before you go into the final dungeon of the game. Here's a handy checklist of things to do before you head on up. 1. Did you break all 35 Bincho fields? 2. Did you catch all 13 Minku? 3. Have you defeated the Mother Minku? 4. Have you located and opened all available treasure chests? 5. Do you have all of the legendary armor? 6. Have you bought/received all available action figures? 7. Are all stats at level 30? 8. Are you well stocked with EX-Drinks and do you have an S-Revive? You don't have to do all of this, of course, but it really helps (except the action figures bit). Once you're ready, wait for Skyday, and head to the Steamwood forest. If you didn't liberate the Earth Crest before, now would be a good time to do so. Go up the cliff exposed, and make your way to the Wind Crest. This Crest is special, in that it will only activate between 7:00 and 12:00 on Skyday (ie. when it's raining). Go ahead and activate it, if and when you're ready. *********************** Getting the Sky Scroll [C6SKYSCRL] *********************** Whooah! Welcome to the Sky Scroll's resting place. This area relies on all other scrolls to get to the Sky Scroll (except the Wind Scroll, which you have already used to get here). To start, switch to the Earth Scroll, and double- jump onto one of the outer platforms with the Earth Scroll symbol on them. Strike each one twice with the Earth Scroll, and you'll reveal the entrance to the next area (which requires the Water Scroll to reach). Go ahead and make your way into the doorway, and up to the second floor. Here, you need to use the Fire Scroll to light the three torches with the Fire Scroll emblem on them on the platforms surrounding the central area. Once you've lit them all, you will be taken up to the Sky Scroll itself. Strike it, and get your last and least useful Scroll! And who should come along but the Thirstquencher Empire, to foul things up? Yep, that thing flies! That's why you could never find their empire. Anyway, after the dramatics, you'll find yourself in the first part of Soda Fountain. ********************** Soda Fountain, Area 1 [C6SODA1] ********************** This is where it all begins. Here is where you first find out how useful (and hard to control) the Sky Scroll really can be. The turns are very tricky here, but remember that you can slow down by pressing in the opposite direction on the d-pad or analog stick if you're going too fast. There are a few impossible-to-miss chests here with healing items, so be sure to grab them as you go. The wind tunnel area is pesky, but can be passed through without any use of the Sky Scroll (I frequently forget I even have it during the wind tunnel, to be honest). Soon, you'll be face to face with the first boss of Soda Fountain, Ben! SUB-BOSS #1: Leader's Force Ben [C6BEN] See the monsters section for a decent strategy on this moron. He's quite easy, really, but if you feel you need a strategy, look below for my own. Anyhow, once you defeat him, you can just pass on through to the next (and most annoying) area of Soda Fountain. Be sure to save. ********************** Soda Fountain, Area 2 [C6SODA2] ********************** Be thankful that there are no monsters here. Be enraged that there are a lot of puzzles. The calendar you got earlier will be quite useful here, since the doors are set up in sequence with the days of Thirstquencher's week (which is very long). The first door to take is the one with the Earth Scroll logo on it. If you didn't guess, you're going to need the afformentioned scroll in this room. Charge it up and hit the switch on the ground to (temporarily) extend a bridge. You can use the Sky Scroll to fly over, but why bother? Anyway, keep going, and thwack the rather large switch up ahead four times with the Earth Scroll to reveal the path to the next door. This area isn't too tough, either. Use the Sky Scroll to fly over the first bank of spikes, and continue on upwards to the next area. You might notice that the spikes below retract only when you're not standing on the floor. So, once again, use the Sky Scroll, and fly over the spikes until they retract, then drop like a rock, and move on to the next area. This next area is simple. Swing your way up the poles to the top-most door, and go on through. The next room, as the door before hinted, requires the Fire Scroll to be successful. Light the two torches, and cross the bridge. Now, get on the other side of the crusher, and get on top of it. Ride it to the top, and walk through the door up there, and into the water room. Here, put out the four torches, and water-walk to the right to reach the next door. Don't freak out, you didn't fail or anything, just keep going. Now you're in the wind tunnel, perhaps the most annoying part of this area. Charge up the Wind Scroll and hold down T. Now, for the tricky part. Back up, and head towards the ledge. Once you reach the edge, jump with X. This is incredibly hard to do (I know, I've failed 6 times at it in a row), and if you fail, you have to start all over. Once you get to the other side, head into the door, and into the final area of this (most annoying) section of Soda Fountain. (NOTE: If you just can't get past the damned wind tunnel, and have a GameShark handy, check out my GameShark codes section below for the infinite double jump code. The code is rather amusing, as it lets you jump through many walls and floors. Just use it, and jump right up from where you enter area 2, and go through the cieling, over the fan, and into the Sky Scroll door.) This last area requires some hefty use of the Sky Scroll. See the platform midway between where you are and the bottom, the one covered in spikes? Fly over that, and land on the far side of the spikes. Now, take off again, and fly between the water pit and spikes below, to the final door. At last, you are clear of area 2! Now, for a boss fight. SUB-BOSS #2: Leader's Force Ed [C6ED] See the monsters section for this guy, too. To sum what's written there up, dodge his beam by jumping over it, avoid him when he's teleporting around, and thwack him good when he's panting. Save, then move on. ********************** Soda Fountain, Area 3 [C6SODA3] ********************** Finally, some action! This area is tougher than any other area, but I still found it easy (seeing as I was at level 30, though, that may be why). The area is painfully straightforward, and most everything can be handled by attacking it until it blows up. About the only part that tripped me up was the silver bullet-like thing near the end. You have to attack its black panel, which is quite tricky. I blew it up with two Grenades, but your results may vary. Keep going, and head on up the elevator to the last boss fight with Leader's Force. Also, if you're keeping track, there are three chests in this area. SUB-BOSS #3: Leader's Force Topo [C6TOPO] Unfortunately, you don't actually FIGHT Topo. Instead, you have to play one of my least favorite game types: a dancing game. I've found that my timing is disturbingly accurate, which worries me, seeing as I HATE this type of game. Anyway, Topo will do 3 dances, and you have to follow her exactly. If you fail, then you have to start over on your current dance. I got whupped here quite a bit, but I managed to get through without too much trouble. Knowing what buttons to press won't help worth squat, seeing as you have to hit the buttons in accordance with Topo (if you're too fast or too slow, you get the same rough treatment that you do if you hit the wrong button at the right time). If you still want the dance button sequences, look below. Dance #1 - S, T, O, X, S, T, X, O, S, T, O, X, S, T, O, X, S Dance #2 - X, O, T, S, X, O, T, O, X, O, T, S, X, X, O, O, S Dance #3 - X, T, O, S, X, T, O, X, X, T, O, S, X, X, T, T, S I found that dance #2 was harder than #3, mainly because of that last button (I kept hitting T instead of S). Anyway, you should win in (relatively) short order. Afterwards, just go past Topo's dance pad, and take the lift up. Meanwhile.... Poor Topo, she can't dance any more. Serves her right, making ME put up with an accursed dance sequence... Save and continue. ************************** Soda Fountain, Final Area ************************** This is it, the final stretch of the game! Things get truly messed up now. You'll see Capricola taking Fillet up a lift, in a very Xenogears-esque room. Jump up the path, and step through the orange transparent wall-thing. Prepare to fight the most amazingly cool boss ever. BOSS #6: Tower of Death [C6TOD] Is this not a kick-ass boss? Daaamn, it looks sweet! Anyway, this boss has four basic attack patterns, which it uses in sequence, and then randomly. In all cases, your goal is to thwack the blue-glowing "eye". Oh, yes, and a note about how you maneuver here: you're always flying during this battle. Hit X to increase altitude, and release it to decrease altitude. BEHAVIOUR #1: The tower just spins around. Not too dangerous, nor too difficult to spot the eye. But remember, later on, the eye randomly shifts around in this mode! BEHAVIOUR #2: Sets up electrical fields that you're bound to strike at least a few times. Really, though, it's not too hard to handle. BEHAVIOUR #3: Shoots wide lasers remnicient of the Frost Dragon's Aurora Beam attack. I found them extremely easy to dodge, for the most part. BEHAVIOUR #4: Watches you with freaky eyes, closes the eyes, re-opens a few, then releases a bunch of funky hexagon-things from the open eyes. DO NOT GET HIT BY THE HEXAGONS! If you do, you suffer the secret second status ailment of Brave Fencer Musashi: confusion! When this happens, left and right are reversed! Dark Lumina Chase [C6DLUMINA] In short order, the tower will be toast. Now, then, just go up to the Sky Crest, and... D'oh! Stupid Flatsky... After the story sequence (what ever happened to Gingerelle and Bubbles?), you'll be getting chased by the big nasty Dark Lumina, aka. the Wizard of Darkness. Well, er, RUN! Use your double-jumps gratuitously, since you actually move faster when you're jumping than when you're running (especially on a slope). Soon, you'll run into none other than that little freak-jerk, Kojiro. Fortunately, Dark Lumina takes care of him for you. Unfortunately, you're now being chased by Dark Lumina again, this time as a nasty green scaly monster (no, you're not the monster, Dark Lumina is!). This next sequence is, with the exception of Steamwood part 2, the most annoying sequence in the game. You should definitely be doing a lot of double-jumps, especially on the bridge early on (to quote Musashi, "Whoah, you play fair, don't you?"), and all the way up this damned and damnable tower. An interesting note: if you fall off the ledge when you reach the princess, the game will lock up, forcing you to re-load from your last save. Damned lazy programmers... Anyway, once you've assured that Fillet is safe, get ready for the boss fight(s) to end all boss fights (in BFM, anyway). BOSS #7: Dark Lumina, Part Two [C6DLUMIN2] Some people say that Dark Lumina #2 is harder than the final form. I beg to differ, though. The boss likes to snatch you with it's right hand, so keep away from that hand. Jump close enough for it to swipe at you, and then jump back. Now, while it's recovering, jump-strike it's head gem with Lumina. Do this until the boss starts one of it's two behaviours. BEHAVIOUR #1: Spits four slow homing fireballs. This is easy. Just walk off to one side, and then jump-strike his head gem when he's panting. BEHEAVIOUR #2: Jumps and makes shockwaves. Jump (not double-jump) over the waves. There are two, and once he's tired, run up and thwack him good with Lumina, as above. Dark Lumina #2 will be dead in no time. But that's not the end! Get ready, because you're about to fight... BOSS #8: Dark Lumina, Finale [C6DLUMIN3] At least they tell you it IS the last boss... Anyway, Dark Lumina's much more nasty in this form. You CANNOT hurt it while it's in humanoid form. Instead, you have to assimilate it. Yes, you read right, you have to suck it up with Fusion. To make it even harder, the gague empties 4x faster than normal, so you have to time your button presses perfectly. And to top it all off, you can't assimilate it unless it's not attacking you (ie. standing there watching you). The boss has 6 basic behaviours, depending on it's color. RED: Throws out an easy-to-dodge firestorm. PURPLE: Starts throwing out sword waves. Quite easy to dodge, just circle the boss. WHITE: This is nasty. Dark Lumina seperates into 5 clones, and they all charge at you. It's nigh impossible to not get hit at least once. Try running in a circle. Hey, it worked for me... YELLOW: Sends out shockwaves, like in form 2. But be wary, there are three of them now. GREEN: Starts a windstorm. You can avoid getting thrown off the side by jumping a lot, and staying as close to the middle as possible. Do NOT touch Dark Lumina in this form, it hurts! BLUE: Throws four water spheres, which break up into smaller spheres. Dodge them as best as possible. Once you manage to assimilate him (it takes a few tries to get in the right rythm), thwack the eye that appears with Lumina, QUICK! You might want to stick to the Wind Scroll for this part (not to hit the eye, mind you; a plain ol' swing with Lumina holds the same power as a spinning hit), so you can avoid being sucked into the eye (which does some decent damage). I personally found that I could avoid getting hit by just jumping away from the boss constantly while it tried to suck me in. Anyway, once you've done this, you have to do it AGAIN, four more times. Have fun... That's it! Now, enjoy the ending! Oh, but as with many Square games after Chrono Trigger, don't quit until you've saved. Once you do, you can play the ending over again, as well as get new action figures, level up more, and so forth. Congratulations! You've won Brave Fencer Musashiden! =|==========================================================================|= =|==========================================================================|= ============================ Tips, Tricks, Secrets, Etc. ============================ There's lots of things to do in Brave Fencer Musashi, that's for sure. I've covered all of the technical information below. ---------------- Weapons Tactics [WEAPTACT] ---------------- There are many attacks in Brave Fencer Musashi-Den that you have at your disposal, all based around your two swords (Fusion and Lumina). Here is a list of the techniques, and a rating for each. NOTE ON EXPERIENCE RATE: The experience rate is how much experience accumulates per attack for the mentioned attack style as opposed to a basic attack from Fusion of Lumina. At this time, the rates are mostly guesses. CONSECUTIVE ATTACKS (FUSION): This attack is very basic, but very useful. You can actually do MORE damage with 4 quick strikes of Fusion than you can do with one slow strike from Lumina. But, the range is pitiful. It puts the short back into short range. EXPERIENCE RATE: 1x Fusion RATING: 6/10 REGULAR SWING (LUMINA): A very simple, slow attack with Lumina. Doesn't do much in terms of damage, compared to a consecutive attack from Fusion, but the actual recover time after hitting is fairly good, and it has better range. I'd say it's about as good. EXPERIENCE RATE: 1x Lumina RATING: 6/10 ROTATING ATTACK (LUMINA): Your classic rotating sword attack. Since you defend when you charge, it's actually a tad bit better choice than to use a regular Lumina attack. The recover time is good, too. But, like most attacks, it only works with enemies that aren't moving around a lot. EXPERIENCE RATE: 1.5x Lumina RATING: 7/10 FIERCE BLOW (LUMINA): Basically, you have to walk right up to your target while defending, and swing Lumina at them after they attack you. It's about 4x more powerful than a regular attack, and just as slow. I'd say it's a fairly good bet, nonetheless, if you can pay attention long enough to pull it off right. EXPERIENCE RATE: 2x Lumina RATING: 7/10 JUMP ATTACK (FUSION): This is actually slower than the normal Fusion attack, and is hard to follow through. Plus, it does nothing for Fusion's range. The only really good thing about it is the increase in speed that you get, as well as the fact that you can pre-empt any enemy that relies on you approaching them by walking (such as Hoppers and Mappers). Still, Lumina's jump attack is far better. EXPERIENCE RATE: 1.5x Fusion RATING: 4/10 JUMP ATTACK (LUMINA): Talk about speeding up Lumina! This attack makes Lumina about twice as fast, and gives you a bit of extra range, to boot! It's very controllable, as well. Overall, a very good attack method, although it only does close to Lumina's basic damage rating (it seems to be a bit higher, actually). I prefer it above all other basic techniques. EXPERIENCE RATE: 1.5x Lumina RATING: 9/10 EARTH SCROLL (LUMINA): Stuns any nearby enemies. I SUPPOSE it's useful, if you ever get surrounded by enemies (as you very well may, in one particular dungeon). Overall, though, this move is quite worthless as a combat technique, and is obviously more meant for boss battles and special uses. RATING: 2/10 WATER SCROLL (LUMINA): This scroll serves almost no combat purpose. The only monsters hurt by water bullets are ones that are on fire. It's primarily used for puzzles and bosses. RATING: 4/10 FIRE SCROLL (LUMINA): Finally, a useful scroll! The fire it shoots out is invaluable for keeping the pesky Clone monsters at bay. Also, the fire shield is helpful in a fix, should you accidentally fall into water, as it keeps you from taking damage. Overall, quite a useful scroll. RATING: 8/10 WIND SCROLL (LUMINA): This scroll isn't all that handy, really. Although it does make a whirlwind, the damage done is somewhat pitiful in comparison to many other attacks. And you also get knocked off in another direction when you actually hit something. Best to use it for plot events. RATING: 6/10 SKY SCROLL (LUMINA): Yeesh, this scroll doesn't have ANY combat value at all... Even so, it's critical for most of the puzzles in the final dungeon of the game. Since ratings are based off of combat value, though, this scroll gets zilch. RATING: 0/10 IMPALING LUNGE (FUSION): This move is only good if your enemies have the courtesy to stay still long enough for you to hit them with it. It has a devestatingly long recover time if you don't hit the enemy, but if you do hit, you can quickly continue with a consecutive series of hits from Fusion, so this move is good for high-HP targets that don't move much. Oh yes, and aiming with it is tough, to say the least. EXPERIENCE RATE: 2.5x Fusion RATING: 7/10 TOSS-AND-SKEWER (LUMINA): If you can actually get up to the enemy, pick them up, and toss them up without getting attacked, then this is one of Lumina's best attacks. The execution time is extremely long, though, so I don't like it much. Nor do I like how Musashi flings them off, since the victims frequently end up falling through a tree or somesuch, taking their Drans/Bincholons/hearts with them. EXPERIENCE RATE: 1x Lumina RATING: 5/10 CROSS STRIKE (COMBO): The first combo you learn, and the simplest. Really, this move isn't all that powerful, but it DOES raise Lumina's damage slightly, so if the enemy has the courtesy to stay still long enough for you to execute it, go for it. COMBO: S, T EXPERIENCE RATE: 2x Fusion, 2x Lumina RATING: 7/10 TENDERIZE (COMBO): Most of the combos are deadly, and this one is no exception. The only real problem is that your target tends to die from the first few attacks before they even get hit by the main attack. COMBO: S, S, T EXPERIENCE RATE: 3x Fusion, 2x Lumina RATING: 8/10 DESPERADO ATTACK (COMBO): This combo is hard to pull off, seeing as the great majority of monsters die too fast for it to actually affect them. But it does look really cool. This move is amazingly useful during area 3 of Soda Fountain. COMBO: S, T, S, T EXPERIENCE RATE: 3x Fusion, 2x Lumina RATING: 8/10 RUMPARONI-SP (COMBO): This technique is probably the best one you can use, in terms of damage per blow (save Lumina's intense attack). And, best of all, it's fast! Unfortunately, you have to consider range when attacking with it, so using it in melee combat is out of the question. Even so, one way to use it in short range combat is to pick up an enemy, throw them with T, and then double-jump and hit T as you reach the peak of your jump. If you do it right, you'll hit them dead on! Of course, you do have to have a lack of other enemies trying to kill you to pull this off right, but it works well. COMBO: Double-jump, T EXPERIENCE RATE: 4x Fusion, 2x Lumina RATING: 9/10 --------------------------- Minkus and their Locations [MINKULOC] --------------------------- As the gentle (but somewhat dim-witted) sheep herder will tell you later, there are 13 Minku in the world, total, each with a Longevity Berry. To get a Minku's berry, you have to pick it up and throw it. This get's tricky once you get the piercing stab attack, as they're quite fast, and you'll end up stabbing them more often than not if you try to pick them up with the S button. Once you get the Water Scroll, though, you can remove this problem (as you'll just shoot harmless water at the Minku if you fail to pick it up while the Water Scroll is charged and active). NOTES: Minku won't appear if you're near their dung, even if you're there at the right time. They show up at 22:00, and don't leave until 5:00. When you come at the wrong time, you'll just see their dung lying around. With 13 total Minku, you can get 325 HP more from catching them and taking their berries. Given that you only get one Longevity Berry that's not from a Minku, I'd advise you hunt them down, lest you want to go through this game with a mere 175 HP. Anyhow, here are where all 13 Minku are... MINKU #1: Gondola Station area PRE-REQUISITES: None WHEREABOUTS: Easiest one to spot. It's on the ground, near a small tree, off to the left side of the screen. MINKU #2: Somnolent Forest PRE-REQUISITES: None WHEREABOUTS: There is a small hidden path beyond the first thorn vine trap (when entering Somnolent Forest from the village), hidden vaguely by some trees. At the end of the path, you'll find a clearing, where the Minku will be. MINKU #3: Gondola Station area PRE-REQUISITES: Have the L-Brace WHEREABOUTS: A small cliff off to the left of the gondola station. You have to climb the cliff, hence why you need the L-Brace. MINKU #4: Twinpeak Mountain PRE-REQUISITES: Have the L-Brace WHEREABOUTS: Up near where you have the climbing contest with Rootrick. Just do a flying leap from the retractable platform area towards the cliff to the left. MINKU #5: Hell's Valley PRE-REQUISITES: Defeat Skullpion WHEREABOUTS: Right where you fight Skullpion. This one's easy. MINKU #6: Underground Lake PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the mine WHEREABOUTS: One of the small outer islands of the lake where you find the Misteria flower during chapter 3. MINKU #7: Steamwood Forest PRE-REQUISITES: Free the Earth Scroll (ie. get to chapter 3) WHEREABOUTS: Up on a cliff; to get to it, simply free the Earth Crest in the forest, and climb up the cliff that becomes accessible. MINKU #8: Twinpeak Mountain PRE-REQUISITES: Have the Water Scroll WHEREABOUTS: Wait until you have the Water Scroll, and walk over from the farthest point over you can go on foot from the entrance (without crossing the river). Then, go to the edge from there, and use the Water Scroll again to reach the Minku further down. MINKU #9: Somnolent Forest PRE-REQUISITES: Have the Water Scroll WHEREABOUTS: Between the two bridges, there's a small island. You'll find the naughty beast there. MINKU #10: Grillin' Reservoir PRE-REQUISITES: Raise the water level for the well. WHEREABOUTS: There's a small ledge that you can see during chapter 3. At the start of chapter 4, you can reach it after activating the Water Crest in the room, and using the Water Scroll to walk up there. MINKU #11: Grillin' Reservoir PRE-REQUISITES: Free the Fire Crest (ie. get to chapter 5) WHEREABOUTS: There's a small cave in the reservoir, where you will find a Crest to liberate. Do so, and climb up the path that's revealed to catch the Minku. MINKU #12: Binchotite Mines PRE-REQUISITES: Need access to the upper mine WHEREABOUTS: Sitting smack dab in the upper part of the first area of the Binchotite mines. You need access to the old mines, so that you can reach it. MINKU #13: Binchotite Mines PRE-REQUISITES: Need access to the upper mine WHEREABOUTS: In one of the two fan rooms of the old mines; trust me, you cannot possibly miss it. If you need help finding it, look for the room with the Cure Worms hanging around in it. -------------- Bincho Fields [BINCHOLOC] -------------- Bincho fields are your primary source of getting more BP (Bincho Power). There are 35 scattered around the world, with 5 BP gained per field, so that adds up to a total of 175 BP you can get from them. The remaining 175 BP are gained (for the most part) automatically after Crest Guardian fights, and at one special point, as well, where you get 50 BP (see the walkthrough for details on this). Locating Bincho Fields is made easier by the Sensor Watch, which flashes when a field is nearby, and pulses stronger as you get closer to them. A quick swing of Lumina is all it takes to shatter the fields. For some reason, though, Lumina's jump-attack doesn't work right for shattering fields... The normal hit is the only one that will work. Non-Bincho Field-Contained Palace Staff STAFF #1: Steward Ribson FUNCTION(S): He'll tell you who you've saved, and (once you save Seer Bevealy) where the ones you haven't saved are. As well, he lets you visit the other palace people. NOTES: This old coot speaks funky... STAFF #2: Butler Livers FUNCTION(S): Not much, really. He gives you the "ResQ List" (oh, you zany translators, you...) at the beginning, but after that, he serves no function. NOTES: Not very helpful, is he? STAFF #3: Clown Weenie FUNCTION(S): Teaches you Shish Kebab with the acrobat. NOTES: He's a bit silly, but that's his job, after all. STAFF #4: Scribe Shanky FUNCTION(S): Reads books to you, and generally scares me... O_o NOTES: What the hell is wrong with this guy? He seems to be a covert pedophile... Or perhaps not THAT covert... STAFF #5: Musician Beef-clef FUNCTION(S): Provides the flute to the castle's theme NOTES: Well, he's actually not too useful... Bincho Field-Contained Palace Staff BINCHO FIELD #1: Hawker Steakwood LOCATION: Dead End PRE-REQUISITES: None FUNCTION(S): Will tell you about Minku and Longetivity Berries NOTES: If you can't find this one, you might seriously want to reconsider playing this game. :P BINCHO FIELD #2: Guard Lumpwood LOCATION: Somnolent Forest PRE-REQUISITES: None FUNCTION(S): Lets you through to Twinpeak Mountains at any time NOTES: You'll find a small side-path near the central lake of Somnolent Forest (when entered from the village entrance). His Bincho field is down there. BINCHO FIELD #3: Sear Bevealy LOCATION: Somnolent Forest PRE-REQUISITES: Asimilate Hop FUNCTION(S): Tells Ribson where other Bincho fields are when you get to the areas that those people can be saved NOTES: This one is a bit tricky to find. From the village entrance, cross the first brambles, go across the northern bridge, follow the path, and soon, you will find that there is a Bincho field nearby, but won't be able to see any. Assimilate the Hopper's ability, and bounce up the cliff to get to Bevealy. BINCHO FIELD #4: Maid Loinette LOCATION: Somnolent Forest PRE-REQUISITES: Fix Steamwood FUNCTION(S): Teaches you Dashing Pierce NOTES: She's trapped behind a steam wall early on. Once you repair Steamwood for the first time, you can get to her. BINCHO FIELD #5: Musician Pianissimeat LOCATION: Steamwood Forest PRE-REQUISITES: None FUNCTION(S): Adds the flute instrument to the castle theme NOTES: He's on one of the many trailing pipes of Steamwood Forest. Actually, I don't think you can miss him, he's near where the Earth Crest is. BINCHO FIELD #6: Soldier Lardwick LOCATION: Twinpeak Mountain PRE-REQUISITES: None FUNCTION(S): Helps during the battle against Skullpion NOTES: Another Bincho field in plain sight; I can't imagine how you'd miss it, but if you're lost, look near the entrance, to the far left, on an outhanging grey rock. BINCHO FIELD #7: Mercenary Meitlofe LOCATION: Twinpeak Mountain PRE-REQUISITES: None FUNCTION(S): Helps during the battle against Skullpion, provides a clue to solving the Meandering Forest puzzle NOTES: This guy's funny... Anyway, you can find him during the quest to get all of the logs for the raft pretty easily. BINCHO FIELD #8: Carpenter Carvey LOCATION: Twinpeak Mountain PRE-REQUISITES: None FUNCTION(S): Helps during the battle against Skullpion, gives a clue as to what the Gondola Gizmo looks like. NOTES: This one's on a small ledge on the way up Twinpeak Mountain's main peak. You'll notice a pole hanging out in the middle of nowhere; it's down there. BINCHO FIELD #9: Knight Lardwick LOCATION: Twinpeak Mountain PRE-REQUISITES: None FUNCTION(S): Helps during the battle against Skullpion, teaches Crosswise Cut NOTES: A lot like Carvey's field, but further up. Same general idea. BINCHO FIELD #10: Shepherd Beefalo LOCATION: Twinpeak Mountains PRE-REQUISITES: None FUNCTION(S): Tells you how many Minku are in his care (ie. how many that you've defeated) NOTES: This one's rather interestingly positioned below the bridge across the two peaks of Twinpeak Mountain. The jumping required to get to him is a bit tricky, but I'm sure you can manage it. BINCHO FIELD #11: Bailiff Jerky LOCATION: Restaurant Basement PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the basement FUNCTION(S): Helps in planting of rice for making Riceballs NOTES: This one can be tricky to get to, to say the least. You have to take the path that does not lead to the exit of the Teleporter Maze of the basement dungeon. BINCHO FIELD #12: Taster Salmonelli LOCATION: Restaurant Basement PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the basement FUNCTION(S): None whatsoever NOTES: This one's in the Relic Keeper's domain. BINCHO FIELD #13: Carpenter Cubey LOCATION: Restaurant Basement PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the basement FUNCTION(S): Gives a clue as to what the Gondola Gizmo looks like NOTES: He's somewhere in the Ghost Maze. BINCHO FIELD #14: Weaver Dinneretta LOCATION: Twinpeak Mountain PRE-REQUISITES: Be able to double-Jump FUNCTION(S): Weaves you either the L-Quilt or the L-Gloves NOTES: This one is really tricky to get to. Do a double-jump from the highest point of the pole near where you found Knight Lardwick across the waterfall, and you'll be on the platform with her Bincho field. BINCHO FIELD #15: Soldier Hanky-Flanky LOCATION: Restaurant Basement PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the basement FUNCTION(S): None whatsoever NOTES: A hard-to-spot field, you can find it in the Fire Maze. He's almost as freaky as Scribe Shanky... BINCHO FIELD #16: Knight Brisket LOCATION: Lower Mine PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the reservoir/mines FUNCTION(S): Teaches you the Tenderize technique NOTES: This one is near the conveyor belt room BINCHO FIELD #17: Cook Mary-Nade LOCATION: Underground Lake PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the reservoir/mines FUNCTION(S): Helps with the harvesting of rice for Riceballs NOTES: She's at the foot of the central island; you have to ride the platform for a bit to reach her. BINCHO FIELD #18: Acrobat Sausages LOCATION: Steamwood Forest PRE-REQUISITES: None FUNCTION(S): Helps the clown teach you Shish Kebab NOTES: This field is near the upper pipes of Steamwood. It's not hard to spot it, if you run along all of the pipes. BINCHO FIELD #19: Mercenary Stue LOCATION: Restaurant Basement PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the restaurant basement FUNCTION(S): Provides a clue to solving the Meandering Forest puzzle NOTES: You'll find him in the Bowler Maze, behind one of the crackable walls. BINCHO FIELD #20: Janitor Sloppy-Joe LOCATION: Frozen Palace PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Frozen Palace FUNCTION(S): None whatsoever NOTES: You'll find him just beyond the Blue Eye door. BINCHO FIELD #21: Artisan Teebone LOCATION: Dragon Isle PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to Dragon Isle FUNCTION(S): Tempers Fusion, increasing overall damage NOTES: You'd have to be blind to miss this Bincho field, but DO NOT MISS HIM! Fusion is far more powerful once it's tempered! BINCHO FIELD #22: Carpenter Dicey LOCATION: Lower Mine PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the reservoir/mines FUNCTION(S): Gives a clue as to what the Gondola Gizmo looks like NOTES: He's located near a conveyor belt, just before you reach the underground lake BINCHO FIELD #23: Musician Al Forte LOCATION: Frozen Palace PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Frozen Palace FUNCTION(S): Adds drums and a second flute to the castle theme NOTES: He's somewhere in the first ice block maze BINCHO FIELD #24: Knitter Lunchetta LOCATION: Hell's Valley Canyon PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to Hell's Valley FUNCTION(S): Informs you of the existence of the L-Cloth NOTES: You can clearly see her near the entrance. You need to use the Earth Scroll on the cliffs above to knock the boulders down to get to her, though. BINCHO FIELD #25: Chef Julienne LOCATION: Frozen Palace PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Frozen Palace FUNCTION(S): Helps out in harvesting rice for Riceballs NOTES: Quite clearly visible atop some stair-like blocks; you have to approach it from the upper right doorway in the entry hall. BINCHO FIELD #26: Mercenary Potrowst LOCATION: Restaurant Basement PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Restaurant Basement FUNCTION(S): Provides a clue to solving the Meandering Forest puzzle NOTES: He's somewhere in the Bowler Maze... BINCHO FIELD #27: Chief Gravie LOCATION: Underground Lake PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the reservoir/mines FUNCTION(S): None whatsoever NOTES: He's on one of the outer islands of the lake. BINCHO FIELD #28: Cook Chiffonade LOCATION: Upper Mines PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Upper Mines FUNCTION(S): Makes Neatballs NOTES: He's off to the left of the entrance to the old mines. BINCHO FIELD #29: Conductor Scores LOCATION: Upper Mines PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Upper Mines FUNCTION(S): Adds the violin to the castle theme NOTES: He's near the fan that's turned off. You can't miss him, seriously. BINCHO FIELD #30: Butcher Chops LOCATION: Frozen Palace PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Frozen Palace FUNCTION(S): Helps Cook Chiffonade make Neatballs NOTES: This one is REALLY tricky to get to. You have to first assimilate the Steel ability from a Steel Golem, and then locate the entrance in the ice maze on the right side of the Frozen Palace that leads outside. Enable the Steel ability out on the balcony, and run straight through the spikes to get to the Bincho field. BINCHO FIELD #31: Knight Chucks LOCATION: Restaurant Basement PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Restaurant Basement FUNCTION(S): Teaches you the Desperado technique NOTES: After the final vanishing-platform maze, you'll see a lower path than the others. Fall down onto it, and free Chucks from the room that it leads to. BINCHO FIELD #32: Doctor Tung LOCATION: Twinpeak Mountain PRE-REQUISITES: Take the left path of the raft mini-game, or use the Water Scroll FUNCTION(S): Heals Musashi's HP and BP to max, and removes Poison NOTES: You can find him on a small peninsula. He's quite hard to miss; indeed, you can see his Bincho field the first time you climb the mountain. BINCHO FIELD #33: Knight Rumparoni LOCATION: Upper Mines PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Upper Mines FUNCTION(S): Teaches you Rumparoni-SP NOTES: He's in small room just above where you have to do the mine cart mini- game, and is almost impossible to miss. BINCHO FIELD #34: Alchemist Leanman LOCATION: Frozen Palace PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Frozen Palace FUNCTION(S): Restores 10 BP with an Alchemic Tart NOTES: Pretty useless, really... Anyway, he should be in the left ice block maze, somewhere... BINCHO FIELD #35: Librarian Brisketta LOCATION: Restaurant Basement PRE-REQUISITES: Have access to the Restaurant Basement FUNCTION(S): Translates the books that Shanky couldn't read before NOTES: She's in the Fire Maze, off of the main path. ------------- Fusion Guide [FUSIONGD] ------------- Yep, there's definitely good and bad Fusion skills in this game. I've tried to cover the skills, what they do, and how useful they are below. GUNSHOT: Not too bad early on. Later, though, it gets badly outclassed by other Fusions and even the two swords. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Bincholoid (Blue, single-bullet gun user) BP COST: 1 per shot RATING: 4/10 SHRINK: Except for the one monster that you have to use it on, this move is utterly useless. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Magician BP COST: 10 per shot RATING: 2/10 MINT: Very useful if Musashi is getting tired. It reduces his Tiredness rating, as do the items by the same name. The only real bummer is that the Tiredness rating goes back UP after the skill wears off. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Herb Plant, Cool Plant BP COST: 4 RATING: 8/10 SATIATE: EXTREMELY useful when you're running short on BP, as it restores BP rapidly. ENEMY WITH SKILL: ManEater BP COST: 8 (Why?! It restores BP!) RATING: 10/10 HOP: Hop's primary function is to get you across brambles in Somnolent Forest, and up slopes in one particular dungeon. But it has negative combat value, seeing as you can't attack while using it. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Hopper BP COST: 6 RATING: 2/10 B.O.: Repels Sphere Bats. It's not very useful at all, I've found. The rooms where it would be the most helpful are the rooms with no Vambees nearby to steal it from. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Fire Vambee, Vambee BP COST: 4 RATING: 3/10 BOWL: Not too bad a technique, but it has a slow execution time. Mainly useful for puzzles, and knocking the slow Vambees and Fire Vambees out of the way. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Bowler BP COST: 10 per throw RATING: 4/10 ANTIDOTE: Probably the most useful ability of them all, Antidote removes all poisons from your system. Don't go into the Binchotite mines without it! ENEMY WITH SKILL: Cure Worm BP COST: 6 per use RATING: 10/10 CLONE: Make an explosive "clone" of yourself. It's a guaranteed kill for the most part, but it's also a one-timer. A mixed bag, really. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Copycat BP COST: 16 RATING: 6/10 STEEL: Gives you an up in defense, and you can destroy certain spikes to boot! I'd say it's useful for the defense bonus alone. Unfortunately, you can't use it outside of Frozen Palace. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Steel Golem (drops from the cieling) BP COST: 8 RATING: 9/10 D-KICK: Do a drop-kick on your enemy. The damage rating is about midway between Fusion and Lumina, and the range is fairly good. But it does use BP to attack, so I don't use it much. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Haya Wolf BP COST: 5 per kick RATING: 7/10 ACID: This skill isn't all that powerful, but it CAN kill the red GiAnts, which makes it very handy in the Upper Mines. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Blue GiAnt BP COST: 8 per shot RATING: 8/10 DEPRESS: Depress makes Musashi move slowly, but it also makes it so that the blue GiAnts don't target him. Unfortunately, there are exactly two blue GiAnts in the entire game, so this skill is put to waste. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Red GiAnt BP COST: 4 RATING: 4/10 FIREFLY: I'd say I under-predicted this skill. It makes the Teleporter Maze of the Restaurant Basement far more manageable. Still, it IS a one-trick skill... ENEMY WITH SKILL: Lamp Bat BP COST: 8 RATING: 4/10 HURL: This skill is quite silly: you just throw an enemy. I'd stick to using T and S to do that. It costs quite a bit less BP. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Slow Guy BP COST: 8 per toss RATING 1/10 JAVELIN: A ranged attack, and not very powerful. I suggest you not bother with it. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Bincholoid Soldier (Green, spear-wielding) BP COST: 6 per javelin RATING: 5/10 MAP: This skill can be useful, I suppose. It provides a map of the Frozen Palace. Of course, the use of a walkthrough makes that rather pointless, but... ENEMY WITH SKILL: Mapper BP COST: 8 RATING: 4/10 PERFUME: This skill raises Musashi's defense a bit temporarily. It's fairly useful early on. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Bee Plant BP COST: 2 RATING: 8/10 RIP-OFF: This skill is a cute idea. You absorb 10 BP every time you get hit. I don't use it at all, seeing as you have to get hit for it to work, and getting hit is what you tend to try to avoid doing in this kind of game. It's wiser to use Satiate when you need BP. ENEMY WITH SKILL: B-Eater BP COST: 10 RATING: 4/10 STUN: Stun your opponents, obviously. After Spiral Tower, it's pretty damned useless. It looks funny, though. DOINK! ENEMY WITH SKILL: Bincholoid (Red, 1st type) BP COST: 4 per use RATING: 3/10 SUBLIME: Have an out-of-body experience. The only real use it serves is to explore the Ghost Maze dark rooms in the light. But then, that's the only place that you can assimilate and use this skill anyway. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Lone Mist BP COST: 8 RATING: 2/10 SLEEPY: This skill is annoying, and useless. It sets your tiredness to 100% for an aggravatingly long time. This serves no function whatsoever. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Sleepie BP COST: 4 RATING: -2/10 TOXIN: This makes Musashi THINK he's poisoned, and fall asleep. ...Paying BP to get a status ailment is akin to paying somebody money to kick you in the ass, and that's just what this skill feels like. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Toad Stool BP COST: 2 RATING: -5/10 FENCE: This is a bit messed up, as it has nothing to do with fencing. You shoot a crescent-shaped wave from Fusion, and it tries (somewhat) to home in on an enemy. Not too powerful, but then, most Fusion skills aren't. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Bincholoid1H, Kojiro (!) BP COST: 8 per use RATING: 6/10 3-WAY: Shoots 3 bullets. Since two thirds of your bullets will probably go to waste (if not all of them), this skill isn't too handy. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Bincholoid2H BP COST: 5 RATING: 7/10 HOMING: This is the best attack skill in the game, hands down. It's a tad bit slow, but it tracks enemies, and does quite a hefty amount of damage. And it only costs 10 BP, making it far more affordable than Grenade. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Bincholoid3H BP COST: 10 RATING: 10/10 GRENADE: Grenade is powerful, all right, but it's also 10x more expensive than homing, and only does 2x more damage. Do the math, and I'm sure you'll see that, while this skill is useful, Homing is the better bet. ENEMY WITH SKILL: Bincholoid4H BP COST: 50 RATING: 9/10 --------------- ACTION FIGURES [ACTFIGURE] --------------- In order to add yet another thing for you to do, Square added in action figures for every enemy and major character in the game. You can buy them at the toy store on any day but Wednesday (unless you sneak in when Farmer Grange does), from 12:00 to 20:00. In general, the series toys are directly linked to the chapter where you first see the character in question. Series1 Series2 Series3 Series4 Series5 Musashi Soldier3 R-Vambie Penguin GiAnt Bee Plant HerbPlant V-Soldier HayaWolf ToadStool Soldier1 KManeater Bowler SlowGuy Ed & Ben Solider2 Magician Cure Worm S-Golem Topo Rootrick Sleepie Bubbles Ginger-E Col-Capri St-Knight Skullpion R-Keeper F-Dragon Queen Ant Series6 Special Soldier1H Fillet Soldier2H Jon&Leno Soldier3H MomMinku BigWalker Kojiro Flatsky DLumina1 T.O.D. DLumina2 DLumina3 For series 1-6, you need only complete the chapters that correspond to their number, and (usually) defeat the monster that any given action figure represents. The Special figures, though, require a bit more work. HOW TO GET THE SPECIAL ACTION FIGURES Generally speaking, you have to do whatever is associated most with the figure in question (ie. saving all palace members but Fillet makes the Fillet action figure available). Fillet - Save all 35 palace members Jon&Leno - Get all treasures (including the ones in Soda Fountain) MomMinku - Catch all 13 Minku, and defeat the Mom Minku in Meandering Forest Kojiro - Talk to Farmer Lacter during chapter 6 to get one for free DLumina1 - Win the game once DLumina2 - Get all stats up to level 30, and win the game at least once DLumina3 - Get all other action figures first It's amazing how hard it is to find a decent source on how to get the Jon&Leno and DLumina3 figures. Rumors abound exist about how you get them, ranging from ridiculous to just downright wrong. I've confirmed the above method, though, and it does work. As soon as I got the last missing treasure, I found the Jon&Leno figure for sale. I bought it, completing my collection (save DLumina3), went back in, and found DLumina3 for sale. I recently found out that leaving the store was unnecessary too; all you really have to do is cancel, and then select that you're there to shop again. ---------- ITEM LIST [ITEMLIST] ---------- It would be in your best interest to find every item in the game (given that doing so is the only way to get one of the special action figures). This list is here to act as sort of a checklist, so you can track down any stray items that you may be missing. Item Name Appraised Found OldCrown Cakepan Somnolent Forest OldBook Comic Twinpeak Mountain Dagger Penknife Twinpeak Mountain Bracelet L-Brace Twinpeak Mountain AgedCoin GoldCoin Steamwood Forest Rock Crystal Twinpeak Mountain OldGlove A-Glove Grillin' Mine Shield Frisbee Restaurant Basement Cloth L-Cloth Restaurant Basement OldSword Shovel Restaurant Basement OldPipe Flute Restaurant Basement Helmet Bedpan Restaurant Basement Powder Soap Restaurant Basement OddHat PiePlate Restaurant Basement UglyBelt L-Belt Restaurant Basement UsedBoot A-Boots Grillin' Reservoir OldShirt L-Vest Grillin' Reservoir Armor LargePot Grillin' Reservoir Glasses L-Goggles Somnolent Forest LongTube BigStraw Frozen Palace RedShoes L-Shoes Frozen Palace RedCloth E-Undies Frozen Palace Wh-Cloth B-Undies Frozen Palace Bl-Cloth T-Hanky Frozen Palace LrgTool Pickaxe Old Mines OddBone Baton Old Mines As well, I've listed the locations of where you can find each chest of Drans and Memory Box below. Chest Type Location 200 Drans Twinpeak Mountain 500 Drans Steamwood Forest 500 Drans Somnolent Forest 200 Drans Hell's Valley entrance (upper area) 500 Drans Restaurant Basement 500 Drans Dragon Isle Memory Box Twinpeak Mountain Memory Box Grillin' Mine Memory Box Restaurant Basement Memory Box Frozen Palace Memory Box Frozen Palace (near boss) Memory Box Old Mines Memory Box Soda Fountain, area 1 Next, the list of HP- and BP-restoring items that can be purchased and/or found. Item Price Effect Gel 150 Drans Restores 80 HP W-Gel 250 Drans Restores 150 HP C-Drink 500 Drans Restores 250 HP and 5 BP EX-Drink 800 Drans Restores 500 HP and 5 BP S-Revive 3000 Drans Revives Musashi if he dies with full HP/BP Mint 120 Drans Lowers Tiredness by 50%, restores 5 BP H-Mint 200 Drans Lowers Tiredness by 90%, restores 5 BP Antidote 250 Drans Removes Poisoning, restores 5 BP Cheese 390 Drans Restores HP/BP according to how long you've had it Orange 300 Drans Restores 30 HP and 10 BP RiceBall 320 Drans Restores 150 HP and BP NeatBall 520 Drans Restores 300 HP and BP Milk 70 Drans Restores 10 BP RyeBread 80 Drans Restores 25 BP Bagel 120 Drans Restores 50 BP Scone 150 Drans Restores 80 BP Gr-Bread 240 Drans Restores 150 BP JamBread 450 Drans Restores 300 BP Biscuit 300 Drans Restores 100 BP; never spoils Ol'Bread N/A Restores 10 BP, removes 5 HP RotBread N/A Restores 10 BP, removes 10 HP SourMilk N/A Restores 5 BP, removes 5 HP Yogurt N/A Restores 50 HP and BP Sporange N/A Restores 2 BP, removes 5 HP SourBall N/A Restores 25 BP, removes 5 HP MoldBall N/A Restores 25 BP, removes 25 HP WellH2O N/A Restores 5 HP Aqualin N/A Restores 10 HP, removes Poisoning Even though you can't actually carry them, here's what the restaurant sells. Food Price Effect Juice 300 Drans Restores 5 HP Pea Soup 450 Drans Restores 100 HP and 50 BP Cake 600 Drans Restores 150 HP and 100 BP Gravy 800 Drans Restores 150 HP and 200 BP Salad 800 Drans Restores 200 HP and 150 BP Lasagna 1000 Drans Restores 250 HP and 300 BP Porkchop 1200 Drans Restores 500 HP and 500 BP And finally, the plot items. Item Function Jon'sKey Used to free Jon from the stocks Log (x4) Used to make a raft Manual A guide to how to fix Steamwood Key The key to the mines, given to you by Wid Misteria A flower in the mines that is used to make Remedy for Tim Aqualin Water from Twinpeak Mountain used to make Remedy for Tim Rope The church's rope, used to access the well and reservoir Statue Lets you go into the Relic Keeper's domain G.Gizmo (x4) Used to repair the gondola; three are fakes Rocksalt Used to access Dragon Isle RedEye Opens the red door and the door to the Frost Dragon's domain BlueEye Opens the blue door and the door to the Frost Dragon's domain GreenEye Opens the green door and the door to the Frost Dragon's domain Calendar Rather useful guide to the second area of Soda Fountain Profits Money that Topo stole from the village shops Handle#0 Opens Steamwood's main door Handle#1 The handle for Steamwood pressure valve #1 Handle#4 The handle for Steamwood pressure valve #4 Handle#8 The handle for Steamwood pressure valve #8 Note Gives you a hint on how to reach the Sky Scroll ------------------- MONSTER STRATEGIES [MNSTSTRAT] ------------------- Rest assured, there are plenty of baddies to deal with in Brave Fencer Musashi. Below is an overview of them: what they look like, where they are, what they do, and how to beat them. * = Crest Guardian ** = Regular boss *** = Last boss NAME: BincholoidR (Red Bincholoid, type 1) APPEARANCE: Pig-like, with a primarily red suit that has a white X over it. They carry shortswords. LOCATION(S): Just about everywhere... BEHAVIOURS: Squeals and charges at you, walks around randomly ASSIMILATE: Stun STRATEGY: Heh, this is just ridiculous. Let them charge at you, then slash them to death with Fusion. NAME: BincholoidB (Blue Bincholoid, type 1) APPEARANCE: Much like above, but blue instead of red. Oh, and they have a gun in their hands instead of a sword. LOCATION(S): Just about everywhere... BEHAVIOURS: Sits there and shoots 3 times, then reloads and does it again ASSIMILATE: Gunshot STRATEGY: Equally silly. Defend/charge, and then slash them with Lumina. Or, wait for a break in their barrage of bullets, and take them down with Fusion. NAME: Bee Plant APPEARANCE: A rather silly-looking thing, the Bee Plant is a plant with what looks almost like a face made of petals and seeds. They come both in and out of pots. LOCATION(S): Spiral Tower path, Meandering Forest (early on) BEHAVIOURS: Looks for you, pecks you ASSIMILATE: Perfume STRATEGY: Just don't let them peck you, and thwack them to death with Fusion. NAME: Stone Head** APPEARANCE: Um, kinda like a giant head, perhaps? LOCATION(S): Spiral Tower's top BEHAVIOURS: Shoots rays at you on the ground, tries to crush you by rolling after you when you get Lumina STRATEGY: When it's shooting at you, just don't stand where it targets. When it's rolling after you, jump when Musashi tells you to, and watch out for stray logs! NAME: Sphere Bat APPEARANCE: Um, an eyeless bat shaped like a sphere. They're blue, too. LOCATION(S): Spiral Tower, Bincholoid Mines, Restaurant Basement, reservoir BEHAVIOURS: Fly around, for the most part. They attack you if you try to climb walls, and in Spiral Tower, they deliberately attack you. ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: Generally, you don't have to worry about them. If they get in your way, just thwack them with a jump hit from Lumina, and when they charge you early on, just defend (you'll literally go right through them without taking any damage whatsoever). NAME: Steam Knight** APPEARANCE: Like a big robot, for the most part. Hard to describe accurately. LOCATION(S): Yakiniku... er, Allucaneet Palace BEHAVIOURS: AREA 1: Swings it's ball-and-chain at you, and surrounds you with flames. AREA 2: As above, also attacks with pillars. AREA 3: Mostly just jumps and swings it's ball-and-chain around at you. STRATEGY: AREA 1: Dodge the ball-and-chain by jumping, and thwack it's two legs out of commission. After you knock one out, you have to attack his core. It's easy to get to, hidden beneath his little loincloth-thing. He won't get up until you do hit it, too. If he surrounds you with flames, do a rotating attack with Lumina AREA 2: A lot like above, but dodge those pillars! AREA 3: Dodge its jumps, and thwack it's core when the core is in view. NAME: BincholoidG (Green Bincholoid, Type 1) APPEARANCE: Like the Red and Blue versions (hey, Pokemon!), but with a spear. LOCATION(S): Somnolent Forest, Meandering Forest (early on) BEHAVIOURS: Charges out of the trees, wanders around, squeals, charges at you, does a piercing lunge ASSIMILATE: Lancer STRATEGY: Don't try to engage them whilst they're charging, unless you can somehow get behind or beside them. Just take them down when they stop. NAME: Herb Plant APPEARANCE: Like the Bee Plant, but a different color, and always in a pot LOCATION(S): Somnolent Forest, Twinpeak Mountain BEHAVIOURS: Looks for you, spots you, spits seeds ASSIMILATE: Mint STRATEGY: See the Bee Plant entry; they're almost identical, save that these buggers have more HP, and shoot seeds. NAME: Hopper APPEARANCE: Kind of looks like a pink lilly pad with a flower bud on top. Oh, and the obligatory face too. Don't be fooled, it's got a spring on its bottom and it knows how to use it. LOCATION(S): Somnolent Forest, Upper Mine BEHAVIOURS: Sits there, bounces around if you get too close, chases you ASSIMILATE: Hop STRATEGY: Jump-strike it, or assimilate it. NAME: ManEater APPEARANCE: Picture a rice ball with eyes and a gigantic mouth, and you'd have something that looks very much like the ManEaters... LOCATION(S): Somnolent Forest, Twinpeak Mountain BEHAVIOURS: Slugs around, runs at you if it sees you, tries to eat you by either falling on you or jumping on you ASSIMILATE: Satiate STRATEGY: AUGH! It's my worst nightmare come true! The food's trying to eat me back! :P Anyway, these little buggers are nigh immortal, so the only way to defeat them is to either assimilate them (a good move) or knock them into water/forests. NAME: Sleepie APPEARANCE: It looks, um, like a tired toadstool. I know, it sounds odd, but it does! LOCATION(S): Somnolent Forest, Twinpeak Mountain BEHAVIOURS: Sits there, spits out sleeping powder if you attack it, get too close, or pick it up. ASSIMILATE: Sleepy STRATEGY: Kill it in a single blow, hit and run repeatedly, or use an assimilated distance-based attack. NAME: Brambles APPEARANCE: Um, they look like brambles (that is, spiny vines) LOCATION(S): Somnolent Forest BEHAVIOURS: None; they're dangerous enough just sitting there, trust me. ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: Hop over them with the Hopper's ability. NAME: King ManEater APPEARANCE: Take the ManEater and quadruple it's size. Yep, that freaky. Oh yes, and add a plant stem. Be glad this guy can't move... LOCATION(S): Twinpeak Mountains BEHAVIOURS: Sits there, and tries to eat you if you approach it. Hey, it's deadly enough just like that... ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: Use Shrink on it (assimilated from Magicians) and step on it. Justice so sweet... And it never comes back, unlike all other monsters do! NAME: Magician APPEARANCE: Spooooky... Actually, it looks like a Phantom-of-the-Opera mask and two gloves floating over a bluish cloak. LOCATION(S): Somnolent Forest, Twinpeak Mountain, Meandering Forest (early on) BEHAVIOURS: Wanders, dissapears if you walk too close, reappears and tediously tries to shrink you ASSIMILATE: Shrink STRATEGY: I know, it seems ridiculous, but you can pretty easily be shrunk by one of these guys if you're trying to kill one of their allies. Wait for them to reappear if they vanish and thwack them good with Lumina. Otherwise, just jump-strike them with Lumina. NAME: Skullpion* LOCATION(S): Hell's Valley BEHAVIOURS: Charges, spins around with it's tail, spins around spitting sand, climbs walls to attack your allies, digs at you with it's tail, jumps on you STRATEGY: When it charges, walk away from it's path. When it thumps it's tail on the ground twice, JUMP! When it spits sand, just walk away from the sand flow as best you can. When it starts climbing the walls, quickly use the Earth Scroll to knock it down. When it tries to drill at you with its tail, just jump around a lot. When it tries to jump on you, just move out of it's landing zone. You can only really hurt it with the bombs and rocks that your allies put in the basket above you. Once you knock it out enough that it's mouth is open, hurry over and thwack it's gem with Lumina! Do this three times, and it's history. NAME: Cure Worm APPEARANCE: Like a segmented worm with a clamshell for a head LOCATION(S): Lower and Upper Mines, reservoir (after drained) BEHAVIOURS: Crawls around, snaps at you if you get too close ASSIMILATE: Antidote STRATEGY: Assimilate them! Antidote is, by far, the most useful assimilated ability! NAME: Toad Stool APPEARANCE: A blue Sleepie LOCATION(S): Lower and Upper Mines ASSIMILATE: Poison BEHAVIOURS: Sits there, spots you, chases you, poisons you with it's powder STRATEGY: Jump-attack it with Lumina (risky), or avoid it (recommended). NAME: Bowler APPEARANCE: Um, it looks kind of like a gigantic plant with a pink tongue of sorts... Really strange. LOCATION(S): Bowler Maze (Restaurant Basement) BEHAVIOURS: Sits there, and shoots out growing "seeds" that look suspiciously like bowling balls at regular intervals. ASSIMILATE: Bowl STRATEGY: Don't let their bowling balls touch you. Just assimilate them; you need Bowl for their maze, anyway. NAME: CurseFire APPEARANCE: The classic jumping fireball look LOCATION(S): Fire Maze (Restaurant Basement) BEHAVIOURS: Jumps in and out of the lava pits in the Restaurant Basement ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: Don't get hit by them. Duh. :P They're immortal, but this time you can't do anything about it (unlike ManEaters). NAME: Vambee APPEARANCE: Like a vampire and a zombie made into one; somewhat bluish LOCATION(S): Various parts of the Restaurant Basement BEHAVIOURS: Walks around slowly, drains Musashi's life if they grab him ASSIMILATE: B.O. STRATEGY: DON'T GET CLOSE TO THEM! If you must attack them, jump-strike them with Lumina, so as to knock them back. It's pointless to try to defeat them, as they take so long to kill. They refuse to quit, even after you've severed their legs. NAME: Fire Vambee APPEARANCE: Like a Vambee, but on fire LOCATION(S): Fire Maze (Restaurant Basement) BEHAVIOURS: Same as Vambees, but it HURTS if you get touched by their flames! ASSIMILATE: B.O. STRATEGY: Either assimilate them (not reccomended), or just avoid them. Using Bowl on them keeps them at bay rather nicely, I've found. NAME: Flying Vambee APPEARANCE: Like a Vambee, but green and flying LOCATION(S): Various parts of the Restaurant Basement BEHAVIOURS: Flies around, orders Sphere Bats to attack you, lands from time to time. ASSIMILATE: B.O. STRATEGY: If you REALLY want to kill them, just wait for them to land, and rush them. NAME: Lamp Bat APPEARANCE: Like a Sphere Bat, but it's holding a lamp. Go figure, eh? LOCATION(S): Teleporter Maze (Restaurant Basement) BEHAVIOURS: Flies around, swoops at you, drops it's lamp on you ASSIMILATE: Firefly STRATEGY: Argh... Killing them gets rid of light, and not killing them means that you have to put up with them... Assimilate 'em! NAME: Ooze APPEARANCE: Like a glob of ooze. What a shocker... LOCATION(S): Various parts of the Restaurant Basement BEHAVIOURS: Crawls around; if you touch it, you get poisoned ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: Don't touch it, obviously. If you really want to kill it THAT bad, then just charge them with Fusion's rushing attack. They always drop an Antidote, making them quite a pointless monster. NAME: Lone Mist APPEARANCE: Like a ghost. Not the same as a Magician, mind you, this looks much more like a ghost than the Magician does. LOCATION(S): Ghost Maze (Restaurant Basement) BEHAVIOURS: Flies around, sometimes tries to attack you ASSIMILATE: Sublime STRATEGY: Assimilate it, if you want. Or just ignore it. You can't kill it, that's for sure. NAME: Wisp APPEARANCE: Like a Will'o'Wisp (ie. a glowing ball of light) LOCATION(S): Various parts of the Restaurant Basement BEHAVIOURS: Flies around randomly, lighting up rooms ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: You can't kill it, or assimilate it, so just avoid it. NAME: Relic Keeper* APPEARANCE: Like a big statue of some sort; also spits out a flame wisp, that changes in appearance from time to time. LOCATION(S): Restaurant Basement BEHAVIOURS: Falls down after you beat it's wisp flame up enough. The wisp flame does things, though: flies around randomly, jumps like a worm, turns into a flaming sword and swings at you, turns into an arch and shoots fire, turns blue and does lots of nasty things. STRATEGY: Yeesh... You need to shoot the flame wisp with water to get the Relic Keeper to expose it's core (which you have to thwack real good with Lumina in normal mode). To deal with the whisp: RANDOM FLIGHT: Just dodge it, and shoot water bullets at it. PINBALL FLIGHT: Much like above. JUMPING: Try to position yourself at the center of one of its jumps. SWORD: Move so that it won't hit you, and (of course) shoot water at it. ARCH: Easy to hit it when it's like this. Shoot water bullets away from it a slight distance. WAVING ARMS: Double-jump over the flame waves. SPINNING WHEEL: Jump between the flaming spokes. NAME: Vambee Soldier** APPEARANCE: Big, red, and ugly vambee LOCATION(S): Chapel BEHAVIOURS: Tries to grab and bite you; also spits out a nasty gas ASSIMILATE: B.O. STRATEGY: You need only bide your time until dawn, so just swing Lumina at them in an arc, and keep them at bay. They will kill you if they actually grab you long enough, so keep them back! Using Crosswise Cut works wonders, I've discovered. NAME: Cool Plant APPEARANCE: Bluish version of the Bee/Herb Plants LOCATION(S): Frozen Palace BEHAVIOURS: Looks for you, spots you, spits frozen seeds ASSIMILATE: Mint STRATEGY: DON'T GET HIT BY THE SEEDS! Getting frozen really sucks... Anyway, just hit them real good up close, like you did before with its siblings. NAME: Copycat APPEARANCE: Several geometric shapes holding two swords much like your own. LOCATION(S): Frozen Palace BEHAVIOURS: Does every damned thing you do, except scroll and Assimilated skills. ASSIMILATE: Clone STRATEGY: Load up the Fire Scroll, and burn it to death. It's hard to assimilate these buggers, since they throw THEIR Fusion at YOU, too. NAME: Haya Wolf APPEARANCE: Looks like a were-wolf, really. LOCATION(S): Frozen Palace BEHAVIOURS: Jumps around, screams in anger, drop-kicks you ASSIMILATE: Drop Kick STRATEGY: Don't let them drop-kick you. Just dodge and hit them as they're recovering from their jumps. NAME: Mapper APPEARANCE: Bluish version of the Hopper LOCATION(S): Frozen Palace BEHAVIOURS: Same as the Hopper (jumps around and such); can poison you, beware ASSIMILATE: Map STRATEGY: Same as the Hoppers. They seem to have a bit better sight range, so you may want to just avoid them altogether. NAME: Penguin APPEARANCE: Like a penguin that stole a red Bincholoid's uniform. Seriously! LOCATION(S): Frozen Palace BEHAVIOURS: Dives at you, occasionally blows up (at which point they start shooting bullets at you from their head); they also push ice blocks in one area ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: If they're pushing ice blocks, leave them alone and ride the ice blocks. Otherwise, just thwack them to death with Fusion and/or Lumina. NAME: Metal Spikes APPEARANCE: Kind of like spears sticking out of the ground LOCATION(S): Frozen Palace BEHAVIOURS: They sit there and do nothing. They're really good at it, too! ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: Use Steel to break them to bits. NAME: Slow Guy APPEARANCE: Like a big, blue giant LOCATION(S): Frozen Palace BEHAVIOURS: Walks towards you, throws you in various directions ASSIMILATE: Hurl STRATEGY: Don't kill them, just avoid them. Assimilating them is pointless. They can't really attack you, only throw you (which is useful at one point). NAME: Stomp/Steel Golem APPEARANCE: Like an over-sized steel weight. LOCATION(S): Frozen Palace BEHAVIOURS: Waits for you to walk beneath them, then falls on you ASSIMILATE: Steel STRATEGY: Don't let them fall on you. It HURTS! Instead, assimilate Steel from them. Oddly, this doesn't kill them. NAME: Frost Dragon* APPEARANCE: Like an oversized icy eel with fins LOCATION(S): Frozen Palace BEHAVIOURS: Here we go... AREA 1: Flies around, tries to ram you, eventually starts breaking the bridge you're standing on up. AREA 2: Sits in it's little pit and tries to ram you, spits ice at you, shoots an aurora beam at you, gets tired, jumps up out of it's hole and back in, and does it all over again STRATEGY: Let's see... AREA 1: Just shoot fire at him when you get the chance, and generally avoid getting hit by him. When you see the arrow pointing away from the entrance, get MOVING! If you fall here, you die! AREA 2: Dodge and weave about until it gets tired, and then burn the bugger! Once it passes out, thwack its core good. Repeat until you win. NAME: Kojiro** APPEARANCE: Red-haired moron. No, really! LOCATION(S): Dragon Isle BEHAVIOURS: Talks too much, then forces you to duel him. Hey, at least he's historically accurate in that sense. :P His moves are all elemental attacks not unlike your Scroll moves. ASSIMILATE: Fence STRATEGY: This duel is just plain silly. He broadcasts his moves, so you need only step out of the way of the attacks, and whack him good with Lumina. Keep it up, and he'll lose in no time. Kill him with Fence for a bit of variation, if you feel like it. NAME: B-Eater (Bincho Eater) APPEARANCE: Like a tiny, glowing ManEater. LOCATION(S): Upper Mine BEHAVIOURS: Tries to touch you (you lose 5BP if they do) ASSIMILATE: Rip-off STRATEGY: Don't let them touch you, obviously. Just avoid them in any way you possibly can. NAME: GiAnt (Blue-colored ant) APPEARANCE: It's a giant, blue ant. Need I say more? LOCATION(S): Upper Mine BEHAVIOURS: Spits acid at you ASSIMILATE: Acid STRATEGY: Avoid it, or assimilate it. You can't kill it with your regular sword attacks, though, only with their own move (Acid). NAME: NeedlAnt (Red-colored ant) APPEARANCE: It's a giant, red ant. Surprised? LOCATION(S): Upper Mine BEHAVIOURS: Crawls around, generally ignores you ASSIMILATE: Depress STRATEGY: Don't touch it. Assimilate it if you want. You can't kill them without using Acid (not the drug, the Assimilated skill). NAME: Queen Ant* APPEARANCE: Ever seen an ant queen? It looks a lot like one. Blech. LOCATION(S): Upper Mine BEHAVIOURS: Let's see... Tries to claw you in with it's over-sized claws, tries to impale you, spits out larvae and acid, and fans you into the Binchotite when you thwack her core. STRATEGY: Stay away from her core for now. Focus on dodging, and when the queen tires herself out, thwack her head. When she starts going nuts, use the Wind Scroll to make yourself into a whirlwind so that you can reach her core. Once you do this, quickly jump (while still in Whirlwind mode), and head for the Queen Ant's head. Once you hit it, the risk of the queen blowing you into the poison vat surrounding her vanishes. Keep it up until she dies (Or you do. That'd really suck...). You'll probably continuously get poisoned, so don't bother taking any antidotes along, just buttloads of healing items. NAME: Leader's Force Ben** APPEARANCE: A big, stupid guy with a cloth hat and a spear LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, area 1 BEHAVIOURS: Flies around and drops bombs, lands, tries to impale you with his spear. STRATEGY: Wait for him to land, and then use Rumparoni-SP or a jump-strike on him. Keep it up, and he's toast. NAME: Leader's Force Ed** APPEARANCE: Short as Musashi, with Capricola's hair and face. Freaky... LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, area 2 BEHAVIOURS: Stands there and shoots a beam at you, pants for a bit, uses a smoke bomb or two, throws bouncing fire bombs STRATEGY: Decidedly harder to beat than Ben. Ed can only be hit when he's panting. He's REALLY fast with his beam attack, so you have to time perfect double-jumps over it. When he's teleporting around, it's not too tough to dodge his ball-bombs, but remember, they do blow up after a set time. NAME: Bincholoid1H APPEARANCE: Um, sort of like a beefed-up red Bincholoid soldier, with a shield and a helmet. These guys are BIG! LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, area 3 BEHAVIOURS: Spots you, charges you, swings his sword at you, blocks ASSIMILATE: Fence STRATEGY: You could use Rumparoni-SP on it a bunch. Or, you could wait for it to charge, and THEN strike it hard. Either way, these guys are a lot tougher than their weakling cousins, the red Binchotites. NAME: Bincholoid2H APPEARANCE: Much like #1, but blue, and has a gun instead LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, area 3 BEHAVIOURS: Spots you, gets into position, uses a 3-way shot ASSIMILATE: 3-Way STRATEGY: These guys are deceptively easy. They're constantly running away from you to get a better shot, so you can just charge them, and they won't be able to do much. NAME: Bincholoid3H APPEARANCE: As with the first two, but yellow, and toting a bazooka LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, area 3 BEHAVIOURS: Spots you, gets into position, fires it's bazooka ASSIMILATE: Homing STRATEGY: They were easy for me, so I can't give much strategy, other than the obvious one of not standing in front of them. Assimilating one of them is probably the best thing to do. NAME: Bincholoid4H APPEARANCE: Like the others, but green LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, area 3 BEHAVIOURS: Walks around and drops grenades ASSIMILATE: Grenade STRATEGY: Well, let's see... DON'T FOLLOW THEM! Their grenades do mucho damage, so you want to take them down from a distance or in front. Assimilating them is a VERY good idea. NAME: Pigloter APPEARANCE: Like a metal pig head with a propeller on top. How silly. LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, areas 1 and 3 BEHAVIOURS: Flies around, lands, shoots at you, takes off ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: Wait for it to land, and then assault it mightily. NAME: BigWalker APPEARANCE: Classic mech legs, without the mech on top. LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, area 3 BEHAVIOURS: Walks around, shoots flames in your general direction, sometimes shoots a laser at you. ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: Don't stand in front of it, obviously. Take it out from the sides or rear. NAME: Guardian Gun APPEARANCE: Like a ball on a stick. No, really! LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, area 3 BEHAVIOURS: Tracks you, shoots one of two types of lasers at the location that you were last standing at when it targetted you ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: Beat their gate up if they have one, or just thwack them good if they're stand-alone units. NAME: Door Guardian Gun APPEARANCE: Like a turret gun, only attached to a door LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, area 3 BEHAVIOURS: Tracks you, shoots about ten dispersed energy ball shots ASSIMILATE: N/A STRATEGY: Not too tough. Just jump around them a lot, and use Lumina's jump-strike and lots of combos on them gratuitously. NAME: Leader's Force Topo** APPEARANCE: Like one of those psycho girls that dresses up like an animal. She looks silly, to say the least. LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, area 3 BEHAVIOURS: Jumps on the buttons on the floor STRATEGY: You have to follow her pattern, and do the same song as she does. Listing the buttons to press isn't too helpful, trust me, as you have to time it exactly like she does. If you still want the button list, look in the walkthrough above for them. NAME: Tower of Death* APPEARANCE: A five-story tower with red "eyes" all over it. Freaky-looking, but very cool. LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, final area BEHAVIOURS: See walkthrough STRATEGY: See walkthrough NAME: Dark Lumina*** APPEARANCE: Big and ugly man-thing with demon horns and red eyes. Nasty... LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, final area BEHAVIOURS: Flies after you, trying to kill you STRATEGY: Just keep running! NAME: Dark Lumina -Part Two-*** APPEARANCE: Big, green, and lizard-like LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, final area BEHAVIOURS: See walkthrough STRATEGY: See walkthrough NAME: Dark Lumina -Finale-*** APPEARANCE: Like a pure white final form Freeza, sans tail. Seriously! LOCATION(S): Soda Fountain, final area BEHAVIOURS: See walkthrough STRATEGY: See walkthrough ---------------- GameShark Codes ---------------- Let's face it, some of the puzzles in Brave Fencer Musashi are downright evil. That's why I'm providing these codes: so you don't have to put up with those damned sequences for long. Infinite Double-Jumps 80126D98 0000 NOTE: You need the L-Belt for this to work. Freeze Rescue Timers (for Steamwood and getting Aqualin) 80078E90 BE2A 80078E92 041B Freeze Valve Reset Timer (Steamwood) 801204A8 0700 Always Have 4 Logs or Intact Mine Cart (Raft and Mine Cart mini-games) 800BA286 0400 Infinite Current HP 80078EB2 0212 =|==========================================================================|= =|==========================================================================|= =========== Conclusion =========== Time to wind up the walkthrough. Thanks for reading (or not reading)! ------------------ Special Thanks To ------------------ * Yee Seng Fu - For writing the BFM walkthrough that I used during my first play-through of Brave Fencer Musashi. Although hard to understand at times, it saved me hours of frustration more than once. ---------- End Notes ---------- Well, I guess that's that. I've started five independent new games of BFM, and gotten to chapter 6 in all of them (although I only won on the last three so far). The game really drew me in, even though the mini-game sequences pissed me off to no end. I hope that you can find a way to enjoy this game, like I did. =|==========================================================================|= =|==========================================================================|= Copyright 2001-2003 Sky Render Translations