Hey guys, Bkstunt here doing a walkthrough on the gameboy game Maru's Mission.
As far as I know, Maru's Mission is a US-version of the Ninja JajaMaru-kun
video games. There was a Japanese gameboy game, and it got ported over to the
US as Maru's Mission, where instead of being a ninja saving a princess, your
now some punk kid (as evidenced by the box art). However, in the game, you
are still very much (and obviously) a ninja. Go, JajaMaru-kun, go!
This is also an effort to help out the GameBoy FAQ Completion Project located
at Gamefaqs.com, which is a project designed to have a FAQ for every gameboy
game released. If you feel like helping, go over to the contributor boards at
gamefaqs and help out!
Also, this guide was written rather quickly and probably won't see any
updates barring any HUGE piece of info I missed, which is doubtful. Since
it's a habit though, here's my email (Y'know, in case you want to send a
lovely "Thank You" email or something).
Gregorio31 @ gmail . com
=====================
- Table of Contents -
=====================
Things to know.
Stage 1: New York -------[MM-1]
Stage 2: Romania -------[MM-2]
Stage 3: Greece -------[MM-3]
Stage 4: Egypt -------[MM-4]
Stage 5: Brazil -------[MM-5]
Stage 6: Japan -------[MM-6]
Credits: -------[MM-CRE]
===============
THINGS TO KNOW:
===============
Well, I already explained the history of the game a little bit in the
Introduction section, so here's some other stuff you should know.
First of all, the game play in this game is kinda... weird. For example, all
you basicaly do is jump and attack, but when you jump you can HOLD the button
down and basically just keep rising in the air, which is REALLY weird, but
you'll get used to it.
You'll also find and use many different kinds of weapons to use. I'm not
entirely sure if they are random or not. Your main weapon is shurikens.
Any other weapon you pick up is more likely very powerful, so enjoy!
I've seen:
Bombs: Throw to make an explosion in an area.
Wagon: This wagon makes you invincible and you can move faster.
Pouch: Not really sure what kind of weapon this is, but it fills the screen.
Kinda looks like comets. Very powerful.
Pouch2: This pouch gives you bouncing balls as weapons. Better than your
shurikens.
Pouch3: This pouch gives you lightning, making a wall infront of you. It only
lasts as long as it hits someone, though.
Bag: This thing makes you spawn several copycat ninjas and swirl them around
you. Really cool and great for gathering health.
Speaking of your main weapon, you have an unlimited amount, so keep chucking
shurikens wherever you go. You may as well.
There's also special weapons that you are given to fight bosses with.
You can change to your special weapons by pressing 'select'.
You can fall through some platforms by pressing down on them.
Your health is displayed at the bottom of the screen. As you kill enemies,
their spirits will appear, and you can collect these spirits to increase your
health. Be sure to do so whenever possible, you want a nice big health buffer.
Enemies will also drop health vials from time to time, which add more health
than spirits.
The max health you can have is 999.
The name of the stage's boss will flash across the screen, but that's the
stage's final boss. There will also be a mid-way boss as well in each
stage. Ironically, the mid-way bosses often give you special weapons to
kill the final bosses. Traitors!
Onto the guide!
=================
Stage 1: New York
=================
[MM-1]
Maru is walking along with his friend/girl-friend Cori in New York City when
they are ambushed by a samurai. Time for a rescue.
The name of this stage's boss, Insector, flashes across the screen.
You'll be dropped off in some trees. Get used to the weird controls and
move forward, chucking shurikens. Some fishmen will jump up an spit fire
at you, but they are easily dispatched. You'll see the spirits/health vials
I was talking about, so be sure to pick them up. We want as much health as
we can get. That's the key to survival in this game: not getting hit combined
with a nice big health buffer.
Keep heading forward carefully as you kill some fox-type enemies. One of them
dropped the pouch weapon for me, which as you know fills the screen with
comets. Very powerful.
Keep going forward killing the foxes and fishmen. Soon you'll meet your
first mid-way boss. Cue the conversation!
--------------
Boss: Eyeclops
--------------
Eyeclops:
"To rescue Cori defeat me in combat"
The eyeclops is a fairly easy first boss. You'll be dropped in the woods
while he floats around, slowly coming at you. He'll be unhurtable though
until he pauses to look around. There is your chance to fill him full of
shurikens. Jump over him and run to the other side of the screen and repeat.
He can also move to the middle of the screen and shoot a laser out at you.
He'll than move it around in circles, so you can just follow it to be safe.
He can also move VERY FAST at times to chase you down, so be ready to leap
over him at any time.
Keep filling him full of shurikens and you'll win. Heck, you may kill him
before seeing all his moves since he doesn't have that much health.
After the fight he'll blow up. Grab as many spirits as you can before more
conversation.
Maru:
"Beat you. Tell me where Cori is."
Eyeclops:
"Insector knows where Cori is. Take this weapon to defeat him".
Why he's giving us a weapon, I have no idea, but take the enchanted shuriken
and continue onwards. Heck, he'll even tell you how to use special weapons.
Well, we're still in the woods. Kill the fox ahead of you. He'll drop a pouch
which contains bouncing balls, a very good weapon. Use them to plow through
the upcoming foxes and fishmen. You'll encounter a copy of yourself coming
up, so chuck out three bouncing balls and avoid yourself while the balls do
their work. A big explosion will ensue. Continue on.
Keep killing foxes and soon the music will change. Many small bugs will show
up on the screen and form into a bigger single bug. More conversation.
Maru:
"Insector, where is Cori?"
Insector:
"If you want to know where Cori is, you will have to fight me."
--------------
Boss: Insector
--------------
Remember to press select to switch to your enchanted shurikens if you haven't
already. These shurikens float upwards a bit and do a turn, so get a little
distance between you and Insector. He's mainly harmless, so pelt him with
shurikens. He'll stop occasinally and split back into all those smaller bugs
and you can't hurt him, but he'll come back together. Keep at it and you'll
see him explode soon enough.
Insector:
"You are tougher than I thought, too bad. Cori has been moved to Romania."
================
Stage 2: Romania
================
[MM-2]
Before we actually get to Romania, we'll be in the sea with a harpoon gun.
This interlude is pretty weird. All you have to do is stick the sharks with
the harpoon gun four times. Defeat them all and we can continue. You'll get
more life with each kill.
Afterwards, the stage's boss name will flash across the screen: Dracula!
Now we'll be dropped into a desert area. Proceed forward and you'll encounter
two types of enemies. The first is frankenstein, who fires objects at you but
is otherwise slow moving and easy to kill. The second is a weird version of a
chimera that breaks into individual parts when you kill it.
Proceed forward, killing off the chimera's. You can get some good health from
them, as well as a bomb weapon. Also, be careful where you jump because there
are pits in this area which you can fall down. The falling animation/screens
are something else, so best to watch your footing.
Soon you'll come to a spot where you can drop down (your bombs will probably
wear out about now) and it gets a little narrow as you continue. It'll open
up again soon. You'll pass some spikes on the ground and the music will
change. Some lizard things will enter from the right. Stave them off and soon
the mid-way boss, the wolfman, will appear.
-------------
Boss: Wolfman
-------------
Wolfman: "Wimp, do you think that you are strong enough to mess with me?"
Maru: "You've got to be kidding, where is Cori?"
The wolfman isn't too big of a challenge, he'll walk slowly back and forth
through the area. When he's just walking, he'll be invincible, but he'll often
open up his mouth. When he does this, more lizard things will appear and come
at you. But with the barrage of shurikens you're sending his way, you're sure
to stave off the lizards and damage him a ton.
When he gets close to death, he'll split into two. One version will have it's
mouth open, so keep pelting him and soon he'll blow up.
Wolfman: "Take this garlic, you will need it to defeat Dracula. He knows where
Cori is. Remember, don't cook with it!"
We'll now be put into a graveyard. Just keep going forward. This area is
actually easier without the gaps, and you can stand on the gravestones.
Same types of enemies though, frankensteins and chimeras. In this area I got
the max health allowed, just FYI (thanks to the chimeras). Keep going and soon
you'll see some bats form and turn into the famous Dracula.
-------------
Boss: Dracula
-------------
Maru: "Where is Cori?"
Dracula: "That's for me to know and you to find out."
Ok, make sure to switch to your special weapon (select): Garlic. Dracula
will switch between being in human form (when you can hurt him) and bat form,
where he will often chase you around with a string of bats. When he's in human
form just pelt him with garlic, but when he's in bat form be sure to stay on
the move and avoid the bars. With such an amazing jump, I like to lead them
in circles until Dracula come back.
No interlude here, apparently, as the stage's bosses name will flash across
the screen: Medusa.
This stage is a little weird compared to the first two. First of all, you will
notice right away that you can walk on the ceiling. Weird. You can alternate
between the ceiling and the floor, though, so take your pick. Personally I
switch between the two all the time.
The enemy here is a breakable human. In other words, once you hit it, it will
fall apart, but will soon reconstruct itself where you were last standing.
Move out of the way and hit it again to kill it. I'm going to call these
things dolls. There's also some pumpkin head things that are carrying what
appears to be a whip. These things shoot out arrows all the time. I'm going
to call them ghouls.
Continue to the right, killing the dolls and ghouls. For the most part it's
pretty easy, but there is some spikes and a pit later on that you should be
careful of. Soon you'll pass two sets of spikes and then the boss music will
cue. Here comes the mid-way boss.
-----------
Boss: Golem
-----------
Golem: "No one gets by me turkey!"
A clever insult for sure! They'll try and drop you on the lower spikes you
passed, so move forward a bit then jump back to the ledge behind you and pelt
the golem with shurikens.
The golem will roll up into a ball again and go crazy, bouncing around
everywehre. The gap behind you is a good place to chill while he goes crazy.
He'll also throw rocks at you. Keep at him and soon he'll explode.
Golem: "You're stronger than I thought."
Maru: "I am looking for Cori, where is she?"
Golem: "Don't ask me, ask Medusa. This mirror will help shiled you from her
attack."
You'll now be in the same cave/dungeon you were in. Head right. There's a LOT
of ghouls in this area, so be careful. There's some gaps up ahead as well,
so be extra careful. Remember you can't jump through those blocks, but you
can drop through those rock platforms. Keep going and soon you'll encounter
Medusa.
------------
Boss: Medusa
------------
Maru: "Give Cori back to me!"
Medusa: "This is my turf. Leave now before it's too late."
This is an interesting fight. Instead of harming Medusa with projectiles,
you need to use the mirror that the Golem gave you. Switch to it and wait for
Medusa to fire out a stream of circular balls. Use your shield to reflect the
balls back at Medusa and hurt her.
Time it right, though, becuase your shield doesn't stay out there forever. You
can jump with it though. Medusa will also throw snakes everywhere, which you
just need to avoid.
Keep it up and you'll make Medusa blow herself up.
Maru: "This is my turf now! Where is Cori?"
Medusa: "I don't have Cori. After further reflection, I think Cori has been
moved to Egypt."
Well, now we'll be in Egypt. The boss of this stage is also Isis apparently,
since they're nice enough to tell us.
Here you'll find mummies and angel's. The angels in this starting area come
in groups of five, and are absolutely GREAT for health. They'll also drop what
looks like a long bag that gives you a new power: the ability to replicate
yourself and swing your copies around yourself.
Use this new power to blaze to the right. In fact this power will probably
last you all the way to the mid-boss: the Sphinx.
------------
Boss: Sphinx
------------
Sphinx: "You've got the brawn, but do you have the brains? Let's see if you
can answer this simple question. Use the control pad to cycle through
the answers. Then press the "A" button to choose."
Question: What has four legs at dawn, two legs at noon, and three legs at
night?
A: Spider
B: Man
C: Frog
D: Dog
The answer is man, of course. This is the legendary "Riddle of the Sphinx".
WOnce you answer it, the Sphinx will let you go on.
You'll be back in Egypt, facing the same enemies as the first part. The
mummies here can drop the lightning power though (which is in a pouch), so
you can use that to blaze a trail to the right. This area is pretty easy, to
be honest, with the lack of drops and spikes.
Soon you'll meet Isis.
----------
Boss: Isis
----------
Maru: "I am looking for Cori."
Isis: "So what, small fry make me talk."
Isis is kind of an enhanced version of the Insector boss, as he also does the
laser attack. He'll also shoot out rocks in eight directions at times too.
Honestly, just let his laser hit you while pelting him with shurikens. You'll
take a bit of damage (around 10 per hit), but you'll absolutely annihilate
him.
Isis: "Unbelievable, you won."
Maru: "Where is Cori?"
Isis: "Ok, I'll talk. Cori is in Brazil."
===============
Stage 5: Brazil
===============
[MM-5]
Before we go to Brazil, we'll be back in the sea with our trusty harpoon gun.
The sharks like to move around up and down a lot this. I like to stay down
near the bottom and make a wall of harpoons that they have to swim too *insert
evil laugh*.
Once that's done, you'll see the boss's name: Kelbelos.
We'll be in a rocky desert area (I though Brazil was, y'know, a jungle).
This area is filled with dragons and some sort of weird dust spreading
creature. Let's call it a dust devil.
Also new to this area is the fact that you HAVE to kill the dragons to make
the screen proceed. Thankfully, they only take one shuriken hit though. This
area is full of pits though, so be careful! Also, when you kill the dust devil
it can leave behind some fire. Don't jump into it, it hurts!
Keep going, taking down dragons to proceed. Soon you'll run into the mid-way
boss: the Hydra.
-----------
Boss: Hydra
-----------
Hydra: "What have we here? Fresh meat?
They'll try and drop you into a pit from the get-go, so drift off to the left.
The Hydra will stay down to the right and spit fire at you from all it's
heads. This fight is similar to the Isis fight in the fact that you should
just stay low on the left and pelt him with shurikens. You'll get hit around
three times, but honestly you have so much health it shouldn't be a problem.
Maru: "I want Cori!"
Hydra: "First find Kelbelos. Take this, it will help you to defeat him."
We are given a fire shuriken and dropped back into a graveyard, similar to
the one from Romania. This area is much easier than the first, as there are
NO pits or anything to harm your footing. The same enemies are here, though,
and you must still kill the dragons to make the screen continue.
Soon you'll come across the Kelbelos, who looks like a three-headed jaguar.
--------------
Boss: Kelbelos
--------------
Kelbelos: "I am going to burn you to a crisp."
This is just a pure slug-fest. The cat will jump about and can pause anywhere
in the air and just spit a stream of fire at you. Thankfully the fire is slow
moving.
Switch to your fire shurikens and hang around the house area. This gives you
a bit of room to move around and dodge him since he likes to pounce here and
there. Get in your hits when you can but avoid him above all, which shouldn't
be too hard given how slow he attacks.
Once you've hurt him a bit, the screen will flash and turn dark. Kelbelos
doesn't change at all, the screen just gets dark. Keep at it and he'll
explode.
Maru: "Give Cori back to me NOW!"
Kelbelos: "Cori is going to be the victim of Muramasa."
Maru: "Who is Muramasa and where can I find him?"
Kelbelos: "He is in Japan."
==============
Stage 6: Japan
==============
[MM-6]
Another sea scene, given how we're going overseas. You know the drill, use
your harpoon gun and fill those sharks full of spears.
The boss of this area is Muramasa, naturally.
The enemies in this area don't pose too much of a threat. First off, you'll
have your sumo wrestlers, who just seem to be target practice. Then you'll
have your tengu shaman guys, who can summon very small lightning bolts which
will try to hit you, so prioritize killing them first. This area also has
spikes which will hurt, so try to avoid them (some of them seem unavoidable).
Keep going and you'll come to the mid-boss, Nioh.
----------
Boss: Nioh
----------
Nioh: "What a pesky little bug. I will slice you into tiny bits."
Nioh will try and make true to his word, coming after you with his sword.
He's slow, though, so pelt him and retreat. He'll also fling out a chain and
try and hurt you that way. Soon you'll defeat his body, but his head will live
on.
This form is a LOT harder, as he summons/spits out a ton of rocks that float
around and are super hard to avoid. Plus, you need to attack his head, which
is floating around and is a much smaller target. Keep at it though and you'll
defeat him.
Maru: "Where is she?"
Nioh: "If you leave now, you may still be able to save Cori. Go!"
Be careful, as they'll try and drop you straight down a hole. Move left and
continue onwards, killing tengu shamans and sumo wrestlers. The sumo wrestlers
here can drop a pouch which contains the bouncing balls, so grab it.
You'll soon encounter a body double again, so use your bouncing balls to do
the work while you avoid shurikens. Keep on heading right and you'll run into
the boss: Muramasa.
--------------
Boss: Muramasa
--------------
Muramasa: "This is the mighty warrior I've been waiting for? I will scatter
your body to all parts of the world, for I am Muramasa, ruler of
all!"
Muramasa is a fairly easy fight. First of all, he's a big target. All he does
is walk around trying to run into you. He'll also throw his sword, Jedi-style,
and have it return to him while he stands there in place. Needless to say,
pelt him as much as possible while he walks around and tried to throw his
sword at you. He'll soon explode.
Muramasa: "I can't believe I've lost to a wimp like you! You must have
cheated! I am now to be banished, but I will return. If you are
looking for a fair fight. Send me the secret to your sucsess.
My address is Muramasa c/o Jaleco USA. 310 Era Dr. Northbrook IL
60062. Who knows I may send something back.
First of all, let me say... WTF? What kind of ending dialog is that? What a
weird little game!
You'll then be reunited with Cori, as a heart zooms in around your portrait.
You'll then ride the turtle to a beach, have it look at you and Cori as you
jump around, and then it'll float around on the sea. If you watch long enough
the screen will turn dark while Cori and you leave.
Congrats on beating Maru's Mission.
========
Credits:
========
[MM-CRE]
Gamefaqs Gameboy Completion Project for providing the motivation. No way I
would have done this without that!
Also, thank you to my wife Lisa! You're such a big help! The world will thank
you too, I'm sure! :)
I'll also thank Orange Strawberry Banana juice! Delicous! Yeah, I'm weird, get
used to it! :P
