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Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon - Hardcore Challenge Guide
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Directory
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1. Introduction
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2. Version History
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3. General Tips
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4. Walkthrough
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5. Ending
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1. Introduction
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So if you are here you probably already know what this game is and you
probably love it. Maybe you got a little tired of it after beating it
many times. So I came up with an idea I have tried myself to instill
some more life into this game.
A Hardcore Game I am defining as trying to get through the game as fast
as possible. Because of this, you will not be getting any life gauge
increases. So if you want to show off more, you can call it a "as fast
as possible no cat game." Except at one point you can shave time off
by going through a path with a cat directly blocking you, so you might
have to get a silver one at a certain point.
There are no random stat tables, no random observations of characters,
and generally just no pointless filler in this faq. Except for this
introduction. But that doesn't count. Also, version history is simple
and straightforward: 1 = first version, 2 = second version, etc.
If this is your first time through the game, then this walkthrough is
not for you. While the walkthrough is jam-packed with lots of details
that others may skip over because they are areas simple enough to
progress through if you just want to beat the game, this walkthrough
will very likely not help you get the most out of your first few times
through the game. For that I recommend Ushiwaka's FAQ/Walkthrough. It
contains all the information you could need and an extensive and
friendly walkthrough for those needing guidance.
Oh and if your game time ends up being over 4 hours, you probably
missed the point of this guide. We are going for a maximum challenge
speed run here buddy!
I sold my copy of this game around a year ago, but before I did, I
managed to beat the game with a time of 2:36. As far as I know, this is
probably the world record. Feel free to take it on though.
If you are planning a console speed run or emulator tas of this game and
want advice, you can send the link to the video of your run to my email
and I will give it a look. I have found a good number of improvements
to the original strategies I outlined but only remembered to incorporate
a few into this final version. However, if I watch the video of your
run I will be able to offer advice as I remember specific tactics from
watching the game.
2. Version History
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1 - 6/8/2005 - First version; thus, no changes since the last version.
Final - 2/28/2009 - Made a few improvements to a few sections.
3. General Tips
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- Do not kill any enemies unless absolutely necessary (or once you
master the below technique). Do not waste time picking up items an
enemy drops. The only exception is if you are about to die and a
dumpling was dropped and you feel you will be unable to make it to the
next health regeneration point otherwise.
- When killing an enemy, practice the technique of striking the enemy
without pausing or stopping first. This can be performed by jumping
and striking in mid-air. Run forward, jump towards the enemy, use your
weapon at the same time as you jump off the ground (a near-simultaneous
A+B if you will), and keep pressing forward the entire time to not stop
moving. If at any point you stop moving forward then you messed the
technique up. If at any moment in the air the weapon is withdrawn and
not being held outward as if thrusting then you messed the technique up.
Practice this until you nail it because it will ensure invulnerability
and fast kills.
- YOU WILL DIE! This almost cannot be avoided if you are trying to get
the best time possible. There are points in the game (i.e. Ghost Toys
Castle) where you can save quite a few minutes overall by taking damage.
However, once you have gotten really good at this game dying should not
happen more than twice; three times would definitely be the max. You
need to improve at this game until making it through the game with only
five hearts does not seem to be that much of a problem to you. I don't
know what happens when you run out of lives because it never happened to
me. Possibly you are forced to start from the last point you saved
from. Which brings me to my next point.
- DO NOT SAVE! It takes extra time to save. Just figure out the
points where the narrator asks you to save and be ready to move that
cursor over to "no." Because of this, if you run out of lives and the
penalty is to start over from the last save point, then your game is
over. Which further emphasizes this is a "hardcore game."
- Take the fastest path from point a to point b. If you are in a room
and there is nothing strange about it that I address in the
walkthrough, then point your character directly at the next door and
move him or her directly to it. We are going for the straight line
route here. It saves time.
- Jump on ladders. If you have to ascend a ladder, jump on to it from a
decent distance away, saving yourself the time needed to climb up to
that point and to run to the bottom of the ladder. While on the ladder,
jump up it instead of climbing up it. However, do not jump near the top
because you cannot pull yourself above the ladder and continue while
jumping.
- Watch out for the flute trap. When you are teleporting somewhere as
Yae, when the dragon lets you down the flute will still be the item
selected for you to use. Everyone knows what happens: you drop down
off the dragon, see a baddie floating right at you, jump right at it,
prepare to destroy it, and suddenly everything freezes as Yae plays the
flute. You can cancel it by pressing B but this still is preventing you
from making progress. Needless to say this wastes a decent bit of time.
Eventually you will train yourself to avoid this, but until then, be
warned.
- You need approximately 1125 ryo to beat this game. 300 for the
fortune teller, 800 for the cucumber, 5 for the donation box, 5 for
Ghost Toys candles, 10 for Festival Temple Castle burning platforms, and
5 for using Goemon sudden impact power at Musashi. Because stopping to
kill enemies and collecting their ryo wastes a good amount of time, I
point out the best place in the game to make the money you need fast.
- At certain points in the game, you can lose 5-10 seconds to get some
insurance in case you mess up later. The first few times you try this
hardcore game, you might need to do these. I denote these by this
notation:
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
Blah blah blah.
=======================================================================
These include places where easily accesible surprise packs or sparkling
dumplings exist. Even though they are easily accessible, they are
still somewhat out of the way.
- Save at the last point. Because the game clock won't be able to
determine your time after this point, start a timer after the last save
point, round it to the minute, and add it to the game clock at the last
save point.
- Beat the Consecutive Boss Fighting Mode a few times. Since you are
forced to go through all four bosses with less health and ammo than you
probably earn for one boss, this causes your Impact skills to be honed
quite a bit.
- When in Impact, use only the Grappler, Super Punch+Kick, and Super
Laser combination. It is the most powerful and quickest way to knock
down the gigantic robots. If you cannot use the Super Laser after the
Super Punch+Kick because the gauge is not full, then fire ryo at the
robot as it reels backward and falls over. Although the robot is
invulnerable during this time period, hitting it with ryo will still
build up your Super Laser gauge.
- Switching between characters uses up a few seconds every time you do
it. Try to keep this to a minimum.
- Some characters appear to be faster than others. Maybe it is an
optical illusion because he is small, but Sasuke seems to sprint faster
than anyone and Yae appears to come in second.
- Sasuke is best equipped for killing non-boss enemies. He can do the
jump and strike and hit everything all around him. This proves
invaluable in saving time and not taking unnecessary damage.
- You can survive ridiculously high falls. Take advantage of this.
Also, if you do not want to absorb the landing and stutter, thrust your
weapon outward near the end of the fall to save some time.
- Use that right-c button to keep yourself from getting lost.
- Most cinematic sequences cannot be skipped with the start button.
That only brings up the status screen and wastes time. A few do work
though and will be indicated in the walkthrough.
- Whenever you are in conversation with someone, hit the A button as
fast as possible to save time and go through it as fast as possible
until you have to make a decision. Make sure not to botch the decision
and have to go through the conversation again.
- Get good at getting exactly to the place you want to teleport to on
the teleportation screen fast. Whether this means scrolling forward or
backward through the locations should be known to you. They happen to
go in logical order of when you visit them.
- If in shallow water, jump while swimming to save a few seconds.
- When swimming underwater as Yae the mermaid, hold A and B. B is
faster and holding A gives you a couple quick kicks in between the
longer strokes.
4. Walkthrough
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Goemon's House to Transformed Oedo Castle
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Hit start to skip the cinematic sequence. Walk out of the house and
immediately turn left. Follow the lane to the door and go through it.
Here go straight, past the hopping thief (he cannot catch you), under
the red gate, and then turn a right and go through a door. Here go
straight and left to Kai Highway. Here point yourself directly at the
entrance to Mt. Fuji and go right toward it without falling into the
water below. The flying monsters are easily killed and the ground ones
easily dodged. To save time later on in the game, you can either enter
the coffee shop and immediately leave now or when you return. The
choice is yours, but you need to be able to teleport there instead of
Oedo Town to save a minute later on in the game.
At Mt. Fuji, head towards the first ladder you see and go up it. The
bullet shooting monsters are easily avoided. Be aware the falling
rocks here are destructible. Take a right after the ladder and climb
up the next ladder you see. Take a left and hug the mountain until you
go up the next ladder you see. Take a right and follow the path to the
next ladder. Take a left here and use smart jumping to make it past
the flipping panels without having to stop or falling down. Take a
right into the door in the mountain near the end.
At this point, head up while hugging the wall so the springs will
either miss you or hit you without knocking you down. Again, smart
jumping prevents having to stop during the flipping panels. Make it
all the way up and out the door back to the outside of the mountain.
You should exit the mountain facing outward. Take a left from this
perspective and head up the next ladder. Take a right and follow the
path to the next ladder. Head up this ladder and go left into the door.
Head immediately into the house by jumping across the gap.
Talk to the guy in there and be aware the right decision at the end of
the conversation is the second choice so do not speed through too fast.
The chain pipe might have greater range but it will usually force you
to stop while attacking. Consider this pro and con carefully when
deciding which weapon to use in the future. Exit the house.
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
Exiting through the top doorway on the mini-map leads to a sparkling
dumpling. This causes a loss of about 10 seconds.
=======================================================================
Exit the mountain through the bottom door on the mini-map. Once
outside, immediately jump off the mountain and as far forward as you
can. Exit through the large doors. Once back on Kai Highway, direct
yourself back to town and head there as fast as possible.
Back in town, go forward and right down the path. Back in this large
area, head forward until you can go back left through the gate. Head
through the gate and keep going until you see the large doors on the
left. Go through these doors and across the bridge and through the
next large doors. Use the chain pipe to cross the gap on the right
side. Follow the path and use jumping to save time by cutting corners.
Go through the doors and then up the path taking tight turns around the
corners. Go through the next doors. Go forward and then take a right
into the next set of doors when they appear to enter Transformed Oedo
Castle.
Transformed Oedo Castle
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Head straight through the next room. In the next area, turn left and
start using the chain pipe to pull yourself across the gaps. Realize
that the chain pipe has a longer range than you think it does and you
can usually pull yourself to a star block from wherever you are which
is faster than walking or jumping. Grab the silver key and turn
around. Go through the door with the silver lock. In here, go forward
and take a right into the door.
In here, try to kill more than one enemy with one hit. The fatter
robots take two hits so after the first hit knocks one over turn to
another robot and hit it while the fatty is getting back up. Try to
kill the enemy nearest to the podium where the silver key shows up
last. Also, if an enemy is too far away to be killed fast, quickly
switch to the ryo weapon and kill it from far away. Go back out the
door when you have the silver key.
From here go out to where there is a bunch of platforms floating in the
water. Locate where off in the distance in front of you and a little
to the left there are two yellow circular platforms. Head for the one
farther away from you. Get on to it from the water (swimming is slower
than running though so plan your path accordingly) and get onto the
wooden platform. Follow the path out of the water area and to the door
with the silver lock. Go through the door.
In this next area, go forward and then take a right into an open area.
Keep going toward the door in front of you while destroying the
floating panels along the way. If you do it correctly, the silver key
will appear before you reach the door. Otherwise stop and destroy a
couple more to get it to appear. Jump forward and grab the key and you
should be able to open the silver lock door while you are coming down
from grabbing the key.
In here take a right and go through the door. Follow the path and
dodge the enemies on your way to the door. In here is another room
with enemies who must die before you get a gold key. Follow the same
instructions I gave earlier for getting the silver key in a similar
room. Head back out the door and down the path in the next room. Go
through the door and get your chain pipe ready. Use the chain pipe to
go across the gap.
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
Of the two doors in front of you, the one farther away has a sparkling
dumpling. However, it also has a large amount of coins. Because of
this, it is not such a large waste of time to get it if you need the
health. Be sure to read the end of this section though to see how to
collect ryo quickly.
=======================================================================
Go through the nearer of the two doors with the gold key. Go to the
other end of the room and get on the elevator. In this next room, head
forward and then take a left. Jump over the strange enemies attempting
to push you off while advancing. If you get hit once it is not a big
deal, they do not usually cause you to lose much speed. In this next
room, wait for the block to fall in front of you and jump on it. Jump
to the next block as soon as you can and get the silver key. Go past
the third block and through the silver lock door.
In this next area, follow the path until you are horiontal from the
yellow platform in the water. Jump over to it and continue on to the
path going through the first door you see. Use rapid chain piping here
to make your way to the door. Here go through the door on your left.
Head across the room and grab the silver key (you don't have to kill
any robots; especially annoying are the new darker colored robots who
take two hits, do not bother killing them at all). Head back out the
door and then through the door on your right. Here chain pipe the
second star block and jump to the walkway leading up to the door. Go
through the door.
Take a right and follow the path. Grab the sparkling dumpling along
the way. Jump across the platforms without getting the map item along
the way because that will only waste time. In the next room head to
the door on the other side ignoring or avoiding every enemy along the
way. In this room go forward and through the door on the right.
This room can be tricky for those not so awesome at jumping. Look to
the right and jump on the block when it falls. As soon as the block is
a little bit above the green stone platform jump onto the green stone
platform from the wooden block. Jump onto the next block when it is
lowered and then the next block when it is lowered. As soon as you
make it onto the last block jump over and through the door. Now go
over and ride the elevator up. Go through the conversation with the
weirdo. Then turn left and go through the opening doors dodging the
cat along the way.
In this room is a very easy boss that can be killed fast and without
getting hit. First, equip the chain pipe because it attacks much
faster in this situation. Next, run right up to his red spot and start
whailing on it. After a part breaks off, he starts to spin around with
lasers. Jump over the lasers four time while talking to someone on the
phone or whatever else keeps you interested during this pathetic
attack. You can hit him a few times with the chain pipe while dodging
the lasers. He will stop exactly where he started so after you jump
over the fourth laser position yourself just to the right of where the
fifth laser will stop and start whailing on him before the laser even
dieappears. He will start taking damage and a part will break off in no
time (literally, almost no time at all). Rinse and repeat until
satisfied. Exit through the door that the screen centers on. Talk to
the two people in the next room and be warned you will be asked to save
at the end.
Now you are outside the castle. Now we are going to make the money
needed for the rest of the game. Inside the entrance to the castle are
six pots with four Ryo coins each inside. 5 x 4 x 6 = 120. 120 Ryo
each time you enter the castle and exit. Keep doing this until you
make around 1080. The other 45 you will probably make on accident from
killing enemies who are too much of a pain to avoid or from other
places. 1050 is probably too little. 1100 is too much. Also realize
the pots may be on the way out so it would not waste time to get them
if you feel like you have enough and are at the other side of the room.
Use the same technique you use on enemies to get the pots. Get the
first coin on the way down and then run a tight circle to get the other
three. If one has gotten reasonably far away while you were getting
the others, it might be wise to just let it go. Once you are done,
start on the next section.
Transformed Oedo Castle to Yamato
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Outside of the castle, take a left and follow the path. At this next
part, go halfway down the path and then jump left over the railing.
Quickly jump over the next railing and go through the door. If your
feet do not trip up on the railing on your way over then your jump will
be clean. If they do get stuck, then you will stutter a bit on your
landing. In the next area head towards the door at the opposite end
using whatever tricks you used last time here to save time. Head
across the bridge and through the door. Here take a right, go under
the gate, and take a left. Go through this door and in the next area
go forward and then right through the large doors. Head across the
bridge, talk to the guards, and go through the large doors.
Here in Musashi, go across the bridge and take a right. Go through the
door that you see. In this tunnel, follow the path while taking sharp
turns around the corners and traveling in direct lines. Enter the
Shinano-Iga area.
In this new area, head straight up the incline and look for steps in
the hill. Head up the steps sticking to the right side. Once the
steps stop follow the path to the right. Go up the step there and head
back to the left. Jump across these gaps quickly while collecting the
Ryo along the way. As tempting as it looks, you cannot make a shortcut
jump up the incline from the first platform, you must jump to the
second one before going up the incline.
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
There is a sparkling dumpling right in front of you. You lose about 5
seconds getting it. This is your first health regeneration point since
Mt. Fuji and since you probably skipped that one, this one might be a
good idea to grab especially because your next opportunity is not for a
while and you have to fight a mini-boss in between.
=======================================================================
Make the final jumps up the steps and head down the road toward the
large house (faster route along the grass of course). Get through the
conversation with the weird guy as fast as possible and sit through the
Impact theme song. Watch out for the save game question as well. Get
as much health and ammo as you feel like knowing that neither is really
useful in the fight.
In this fight against the large robot Kashiwagi, Grapple him as soon as
you can and then use the Super Punch. If you have the bar built up,
use Super Laser immediately after finishing the Super Punch. Otherwise,
grapple him as soon as he gets up. If he is invulnerable and jumps
around, Grapple him as soon as he lands. Never should he be able to do
any attack on you. After you finish him off quickly without taking a
hit, you will be sent back to the ground. Get through the conversation.
Beware of the save. At first, the screen will have you facing the wrong
direction but then scrolls around to the correct one. However, you
should be fast enough that you are moving right away. Because of this,
realize you should head in the direction he is facing and opposite that
of the screen.
Head down the path and through the door to Zazen town. Go forward and
get through the conversation with Yae. Go through the door, across the
bridge, and through the door. In this area go through the door to your
left. Walk up and converse with Benkei. Afterwards jump off the
bridge and go through the passage to your left. Jump up the steps in
the wall and talk to Ushiwaka. Be aware the first decision you need to
choose is the second choice. Now begins the fish-catching fun.
To get three blue fish, drop off to the right and collect fish as you
go returning when you are done. For the five yellow fish, drop off to
the right again (notice there is a yellow fish diagonal from Ushi in
the initial area). For the eight red fish, take the path to the left
this time and follow it all the way to the end to collect the fish.
Return and receive the Achilles Heel. Now drop to the left and follow
the path until underneath the bridge with Benkei on it.
Look for the ladder on the right wall and head up it. Go over to the
bridge. Here you challenge Benkei. If you aim the log to hit him right
before he lands from his jump, you should be able to beat him in under
25 seconds (for the third jump, press the B button right before he
begins to jump). Get through the conversation and go through the door.
Welcome to Yamato.
Yamato to Ghost Toys Castle
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Yamato has a building in the middle that you won't even have to visit
in this game. Follow the path while making sure to be aiming at the
exit in the lower left of the mini-map. Jump down when you reach the
edge of the path. Now in Bamboo Forest, just run straight through. In
the Kii-Awaji Island area, follow the path until you come to the open
area. Head in a direct path to the path branching from the mainland to
an island. This takes you up a hill with a house to your left.
However, before you go:
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
There is a surprise pack right behind the house to your left as you go
across the hill. This results in a 5 second loss of time which is an
awesome bargain for something as great as a surprise pack. Unless you
are a master of this game, I suggest taking this sidepath.
=======================================================================
Head along the path to the island. Enter the house and talk to the
woman inside. At this point I heavily suggest being Goemon with a
chain pipe. Get through the conversation and get on the dragon. While
on the dragon, one type of flying enemy (with faces) will come right at
you and could just as easily be dispatched with the pipe. But the
other enemy (with wings) will fall behind or get in an otherwise
awkward position if you are continually going forward (which you should
be). In this area killing the enemies with faces is nearly essential
because you cannot outrun them and dying is bad because you restart the
dragon which is a big waste of time. Make your way along the dragon
until you reach the drum.
The drum is another very easy boss. A severe warning here though: the
game will glitch somewhat easily. So if you get hit, do not do
something like try to get into his fin. This will cause bad things to
happen such as the game crashing or you teleporting off the dragon and
dying. The drum is easy because you hit him with Goemon's chain pipe
and then stand next to the dragon's back middle fin. This ensures you
will not fall off and 99% of the time you do not get hit. When the
drum stops spinning (early indicator: changes back into original color
from yellow) hit him again then stand next to the back middle fin
again. Rinse and repeat.
After enduring the lengthy conversation, start heading up the steps
with Goemon. The rocks can be destroyed again. When there is a
building on the right and left, go through the one on the right. Upon
reaching the summit, toss 5 ryo into the donation box while running
toward it. Head back down the mountain ignoring enemies along the way.
Keep going until you reach Folkypoke Village. Here follow the path
until you go through large doors to your left. In the new area,
immediately pull a 90 degree turn to the right and go through the door.
Here go through the door directly across from you. Welcome to Tosa.
Follow the path and jump down. Go across the bridge and then up the
path. Go through the door to the Vine Bridge area. This area is kind
of crap for this type of game where you are going on speed and
challenge. There is a certain threshold speed where you go any faster
and you will fall on the darker colored planks. Figure this speed out
and use it on the longer gaps and jump across the shorter ones. Once
across the bridge go through the door. Detailed instructions: run,
jump across gap, run, kill enemy, walk slowly, run, jump, run, jump,
run, walk slowly, run, jump, run. If you are feeling exceptionally
bold, just jump onto the planks that will fall and then immediately jump
from them onto a safe plank. You have to be quick though.
Now you are in Iyo. Follow the path and take the fork to the right
when given a choice. Enter the coffee house. Talk to the woman dressed
in a red kimono in the middle of the house.
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
The old woman sells dumplings which restore your health. At this
point, your last regeneration was after Transformed Oedo Castle so you
might really need this. I usually have about two to three hearts at
this point so it is a judgment call to be sure. You lose about 5
seconds doing this.
=======================================================================
After that exit the coffee house and play the flute as Yae. Travel to
Zazen Town and talk to Ushiwaka. Drop off the path to your right and
follow the path to the ladder and back to the second main area of town.
Go into the second door on your right and switch to Ebisumaru.
Converse with Ushiwaka.
This next part only makes a difference of about 5 seconds to half a
minute depending on how skillful you are, so just follow some basic
tips. You can kill enemies while behind objects. After he shakes his
nose twice it is safe to start coming out because by the time you are
out from behind the object the door is usually just about closed. Once
you have seven dumplings you might as well just go for the eighth one
because it doesn't matter if you are being assaulted as you get the
eighth one or if the door is closed. Also, the dumplings fall
regularly without regard to when you snatch them up so do not go after
one that just fell if the door is about to be opened.
Converse with Ushiwaka. Change to Yae and teleport to Iyo's coffee
house. Follow the path outside the coffe house, jump over the railing
near the end, and take a left at the wall. Head along this wall and
switch to Ebisumaru. At the far end of the building along the right
wall, use the magic to make yourself tiny and go through the hole. In
this area go forward and then left. At the first opening on the left,
use the tiny magic again to go under the red ceiling. Go forward and
follow this path until near the end. When there is a large stone block
just behind you and to the right, turn around to the right and go up the
ladder. Switch to Goemon and use the chain pipe with some long distance
and sometimes no-look piping to make it across the gaps. Make some
careful but fast jumps at the end and then enter Ghost Toys Castle
through the large doors.
Ghost Toys Castle
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You should still be Goemon from the chain piping. Switch to ryo, charge
up a flaming shot, and hit one of the candles with it as you are running
forward. While still running forward, charge up the other shot and hit
the other candle. By the time you reach the door it will be open. In
the next area just go through the door at the opposite end. Here jump
over the spikes while just trying to get through as fast as possible.
In the next area take the path forward, to the left, and through the
door. In this area go forward a bit and then turn to the right. Jump
onto the circular boat-thing and get transported across the water. Jump
onto the path and collect a dumpling along the way if needed from the
spikes earlier. Jump over the spikes that rise up along the path. Go
through the door at the end of this path.
In this area note the enemies like to jump. Therefore, if you are still
Goemon, just start throwing ryo at them to save time. If you are not,
use the normal technique to kill the enemies and grab the silver key.
Go through the silver lock door. Here you need to do a diagonal jump
forward and to the left. Once in the water, swim to the incline leading
to the door. Go through the door and then in the new area hop onto the
elevator and ride it down. In this area jump across the panels without
falling. If you do fall, get back onto the closest panel because
swimming's slowness really gets you here. At the end of the panels jump
onto the wire grid thing and ride the elevator back up. At the top turn
to the left and head to and through the door.
In this area, head forward quickly and jump on the switch to turn the
crane game on. Then turn to your left and jump onto the small pillar to
get the silver key. Then make a jump to the left onto the pillar with
the silver cat. Try to not get the silver cat by landing on the corner.
This is possible to do, I have done it, but could be difficult. If you
do hit the cat, you lose a few seconds, but this is the only time a cat
gets in your way so do not worry about losing the "no cat" bragging
rights. Now jump off the pillar and over the railing into the area
beyond. Turn to the right and get ready to play the crane game.
For the crane game, after you beat the entire game a few times the crane
game becomes something easily won on the first time. It is a real
practice makes perfect thing. You have to watch the shadow of the crane
as it moves along the ceiling and the game gives quite a bit of
forgiveness on missing the camera. Turn into Ebisumaru while the crane
is bringing the camera to you. Go over and pick up the camera. Then
turn around and head in the opposite direction to the door and go
through it. Follow the path through the different rooms using the same
techniques as before. Note the boat room has returned the dumplings.
Once you reach the room with a door in front of you with a silver lock,
a door to the left you entered earlier, and panels in the water, go
forward and through the silver lock door.
In this room, switch to Ebisumaru if not already him and pretty much
stay as him the rest of the dungeon. Equip his camera and charge it up.
Release the camera and use it as soon as the icon stops flashing in the
lower left of the screen. Avoid the map item in the middle of the
platform. Destroy the ghosts quickly once they become vulnerable and
head through the newly opened door under the red thing (only in a game
like this do I have to keep describing objects in the game as "things").
Go through this next area up the incline and aiming for the door on the
left. Collect a dumpling along the way if necessary. In this room use
the camera and destroy the ghosts quickly again. A nice trick is to
stand in the middle so all the ghosts come right at you. After using
the camera, a quick swipe of the hammer will take out every one of them.
Afterwards collect the silver key and exit the room.
Now head forward jumping over the spikes and trying to not fall in the
red water along the way which will damage you. Use the silver key on
the silver lock door and go through. Avoid the enemies and go up the
stairs to your right. Follow the path and take the elevator up. Head
to the door on your left that is not locked and go through it. Go up
the walkway to your left in this room while saving time by making jumps
to skip running. This room is a real pain for traveling through
quickly. You have to jump on the first spinning top when it is on the
left side because you need the little extra space to make it onto the
spinning top. The next two are aligned travelling reverse of the first
one. The last one travels the same as the first one. It appears to be
possible to jump from the first one directly to the fourth one by moving
very quickly and anticipating when the earliest you can make it to the
second one is. However, this proves very difficult to impossible.
Falling is worse than anything else here.
After you collect the silver key jump into the water and start swimming
back. Hopefully you die along the way and are transported to the
entrance of the area which makes for a very efficient and time-saving
exit as opposed to riding the tops back. Otherwise swimming still gets
you there faster. In this room where you were earlier, turn to the left
and go through the door with the silver lock. This next area is another
place where massive time can be saved if you take damage. First, follow
the path forward and use normal jumping and runnings skills and tricks
to save time as you make it across the traps and platforms. At the end
will be a door which you should go through.
In this room use the camera and hammer to kill three ghosts and three
other things. Collect the silver key and exit the room. Here, head to
the right using the spinning tops to make it to the end with the silver
lock door. The platform with the silver lock door cannot be accessed
except by riding the spinning tops. After going through the silver lock
door, run like a madman through this area to the other end with a door.
Just ignore the jump ropes and hope they do not hit you. After going
through the door, use your camera to reveal the floor. Grab the gold
key at the end forward and to the right. And obviously:
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
Been a while since one of these was available. There is a surprise pack
sitting in an easy and obvious location forward and to the left of the
entrance. You only waste about 5 seconds getting it so again, just like
the one on Kii-Awaji Island, this is recommended getting until you are a
master. Especially because you will die in this dungeon once or twice.
=======================================================================
After getting the gold key exit the room and run across the jump rope
room again and through the door. Now eyeball the walkway off in the
distance in front of you. Take a long leap of faith and swim like mad
to the walkway. If you swim while jumping you will lose a heart and a
half so take that into account. Yes there is a sparkling dumpling
around but it takes so long to get it is definitely not getting a
sidepath mention. Go through the door with the gold lock after going up
the walkway to the platform.
In this room, go forward and take the first left and through the door.
Here all you need to do is hit the pool ball with the red arrow over it.
No aiming is necessary. Because of this, as you probably have already
seen in the credits, it may be advantageous to switch to Goemon and use
his ryo. It really is a matter of personal preference and probably
luck. Get the silver key after it appears and go through the silver
lock door. Make it through this trap room by jumping over the spinning
spikes to save time. At the fork take a left and follow the path to the
diamond key. Now head back down the path and:
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
And another one very soon. On the way back down, if you take a fork in
the road to the left and not back to the entrance, there is a sparkling
dumpling. This results in a loss of time of just over 5 seconds. If
you have only lost one life so far and got both the surprise packs, this
is probably not an issue. Yes your life gauge is looking pretty bad
because of the swimming and you probably got hit once in the trap room,
but if you have three lives, you definitely have got spares to burn. If
you have one life or zero, grabbing this dumpling might not be such a
bad idea. Actually, a better way of grabbing it is to jump into the red
water and swim over to its location from the diamond key, drastically
reducing the time loss to almost time saved but losing half a heart in
the process so be warned of that.
=======================================================================
Go through the door back to the pool room and through the door in there
on the right side of the wall at the end. Back in this larger room go
forward and then take a left at the fork. Follow the path and go
through the diamond lock door. In this room run straight to the
elevator and go up it making sure you are Ebisumaru. Now we have
another boss fight which, instead of very easy, can be considered just
easy.
Do the camera thing and then switch to Goemon and equip his chain pipe
and hit him in the heart. Run tight circles around the boss stopping
when you are right behind him. He should be attacking in front of you
while you are behind him. When the heart appears just smack it with the
chain pipe very quickly. His heart will flicker and, if you continue to
assault his heart, it is possible to hit the heart again before it is
removed which will allow you to beat the boss in half the time. If he
jumps far away and starts throwing bombs just run in a circular path
toward him and aim to get behind him again as soon as you can. It is a
possible you might get hit during this battle. After he takes several
hits he goes down and you are forced into a lengthy conversation with a
weird guy and Dancin'. Be warned there is a save option at the end.
After the end you are transported outside of the Ghost Toys Castle.
Ghost Toys Castle to Festival Temple Castle
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
As soon as you are out, do the flute thing and teleport to Zazen Town.
Once there head forward until in the first main area. Go up the stairs
and then take a right going through the door at the end. Travel through
the indoor path and through the door. Follow the path and jump off at
the turn. Go forward and through the large doors. Head across the
bridge, through the door, and into the Shizen region. Follow the path
all the way to the end and through the door. Here in Izumo, take a left
and head towards the coffee house. Go in and out of the coffee house
quickly to trigger it as a teleporter location. Now head out of the
coffe house and take a left (in the perspective of facing out from the
coffee house). Follow the path all the way to the door.
The desert can be tricky to explain. Initially, you want to head
towards the right and go up an incline. After a short while, it will
appear that you can either deviate left or right along the path (you
will notice the incline will suddenly peak). Take a right and then
continue forward. A very short while after this to your left you should
see an oasis. Head down and aim directly for the battery.
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
Another easy and quick to get sparkling dumpling in this area right near
the battery. Your last health regeneration was probably the one near
the end of Ghost Toys Castle. This takes about 5 seconds to grab, but
you might have virtually full health. The next health regeneration is
not until the end of Festival Temple Castle though so take that into
account and try to figure out how good you are at this next section
before and in Festival Temple Castle.
=======================================================================
Pull out that flute and teleport back to the Izumo coffee house. Now
head toward the middle of the area and take the path up the large hill.
Follow the path all the way to the house and go through the door. Here,
go straight for the tree and then go up the platforms behind the tree.
Once at the top of the tree, use the camera to get the second battery
and make it through the lengthy conversation as fast as possible. After
finishing this sequence exit the lake and head down the hill aiming in
the right direction. After you fall down the hill on the right side,
you should see large doors right in front of you. Might as well go
through them.
Now you are in Hagi. Head straight in front of you all the way to the
end and there should be large doors to your right right before you hit
the wall. Go through them. Now you are in an area I would rather not
try to spell. Go forward here and look for wooden fences in the
distance. Follow the road in between the fences after jumping over the
fence on the right. Go through the doors that are right of where the
path ends. In this cave area follow the path all the way to the end and
use Sasuke's fire cracker to open the door. At this point you will
actually want to save your game at the fence outside the door. Enter
the door to reach Festival Temple Castle.
Festival Temple Castle
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Once you enter this dungeon which is rather bright and cheerful, look
for a gap in the fence on the left immediately. Go through the gap and
look for a gap in the wall to the right of the gap you walked through.
After going through this gap take a right and follow the path and
through the door. In this room head forward and out of the path by
going through the gap. Take a left and jump across the gaps. Go
through the door. In this area go forward across the water and take a
right once you approach the spinning spikes and through the door. In
this room go forward and then left and go through the door. This next
area will be a sort of template for the next 15 minutes; you will spend
your time running around areas like this one in this dungeon. Take a
left and follow the path until there is a door on your right. Enter
this door.
In this area just run straight forward and up the stairs and through the
door. In this next area jump quickly up the stairs and then over to the
right. Let the stairs move upward and then as soon as you feel you can
jump over to the area with the door go for it. Go through this door.
In the next area take a left and follow the wall until there is a door
on the left. Go through it. Jump onto the moving platform second from
the left. Jump over to the right and through the door. Grab the silver
key and then exit quickly. Jump all the way to the third platform
quickly. Jump over to the left side and go through the door. Take a
right and follow the wall until you can go through the door on your
right. Once in here head immediately for the moving stairs in the
middle. Cause them to move up and at the minimum point jump up to the
door and go through it.
Once in here jump to either the right or left ladder and make your way
up it. Use Goemon's chain pipe to reach the platform with the door. Go
through the door. Back out here, follow the path left until the door
that you entered through earlier appears forward and to the right. Go
through this door. Go forward and left here and through the silver lock
door. Turn left and follow the path all the way to the end. You will
have to jump over a railing and onto the platform at the end. Go
through the door on the platform. Here take a right and follow the path
all the way to the end with the kunai of severe cold. Grab it and get
through the explanation then head back all the way to the entrance of
the dungeon using whatever skills and tricks you feel like. Note that
like Goemon Sasuke now has a distance shot.
At the entrance, head up the stairs and take the path to the right
heading underneath the stompers along the way which will not hit you if
you go fast and hug the wall. At the end of the path will be a door on
the left wall. Go through it. In this room freeze the platforms while
moving forward and jump onto them and across the gap. Go through the
door on the opposite side. In this room go forward and to the right.
Jump on to the platform and start freezing the platforms. You should
freeze all four of them while standing on the platform and not while in
the air. They need to be low. The third one should be done halfway
between your platform and the fourth burning platform. Make your way
over and along the path while jumping around the corner as a shortcut to
save time and avoid the samurai type thing. Go through the door at the
end of the path.
Here just run along the path fast and the fire foxes will be unable to
do anything. Watch out for the gap between the ends on the sides and
the wall. Go through the door on the left wall near the end of the
path. Here freeze the platform halfway between you and the area with
the key. It would really be a shame if you fell at this point, so have
a little extra caution. Go over and grab the gold key. If you are
having extreme ryo issues, bust open the pot for around 40 ryo. After
you get the key, fall down and go through the door which is under where
you got the key. Here you should go to the right a bit and then jump
over the railing. Now head left and make your way all the way back to
the room where there was a silver lock in front of you and an open door
forward and to the left (this room was discovered after going through
the spinning spike water room; for further information check paragraph
one of this section).
Go through the door on the left in this room. In this room, go through
the door with the gold lock on the right. In this next room, follow the
path until right before the first fire fox on the left. Right before
him, jump onto the overhang. Follow the overhang until you are past the
water, saving valuable time by running instead of swimming. Once you
are past the water, go through the door on the right wall.
This area, as you probably would have guessed, can make or break your
game. You need to pull this area off fast and flawlessly. Get the
camera angle to something you will like as you head down the path
because if you fight the camera angle here, you are finished. Jump onto
the platform to your right as it comes almost all the way over, but then
maske a somewhat difficult jump onto the area beyond. Get onto the
first fin as it begins to slow down toward you indicating it is reaching
the shortest distance. Once the fin begins to slow down jump onto the
area beyond. Make your way up the first ladder, turn around and go up
the second, then wait for the second fin to arrive.
Once the second fin comes, jump onto it and immediately begin running
for the center. Grab the sparkling dumpling which is directly along the
way and on the center platform. From the center platform jump onto the
third fin directly across. Ride this one up a lot and as it slows down
make a quick jump onto the area beyond (it looks too high but it is
not). Alright hopefully you did this fast without falling once. Now
head over to the ladder forward and to the left and go up it. Go
through the only door in your sight after you are up the ladder. Now
make your way across to the far end and through the door. Choose a
character who is going to work well for the next boss (Goemon? Yae? not
Sasuke! Ebisumaru is iffy) and drop down to fight.
Now you fight a boss. Unfortunately, fighting this boss in hardcore
mode is going to end up being FRICKIN INSANE. Since the bosses before
were so difficult and all it really justifies doing this. Anyway, for
the first mode just run around in a circle on the outside. After he
throws the third blue, um, let's call them clouds. After he throws the
third pair of blue clouds, stop and hit the red clouds back at him. Do
this four times and try not to get hit as you strike the red ones back
because if you do it too late they hit both of you. Now that was not so
bad. Now the boss goes into crazy mode though.
Continue the tactic of running in a circle on the outside and I doubt
either one of us would really feel like counting the number of green
clouds before he throws the red pair. The red pair go slower than the
green ones do though so you can make it through this part with hopefully
only a scratch or two. Just stop to hit the red ones. Try not to get
hit by them and in this instance all through this boss battle do not
jump and attack the clouds. If you have three hearts or more at the end
of crazy mode then you are doing fine. Now we enter psycho mode.
And crap. This is where you get buried especially if this is one of
your first times trying this hardcore game. Wow, he wasn't so hard when
we had a high life gauge was he? I have tried so many different things
with this mode. Running circles and reversing direction. Running close
and back out. A combination of the two. Well, he tends to throw them
in a circle and going in and out, close and far away. You need to run
with his throws and be close when he throws far away and far away when
throws close. Oh yeah of course, sounds so easy when I say it. So good
luck and I'll see you in a bit.
Well actually there is another trick that works sometimes. Stand right
next to him until he throws the first cloud and then run to the outside
and stay there. Only move on the outside if a cloud is about hit you.
Normally you take less damage this way. And you only have to hit the
red clouds back three times for this mode.
On further review, it appears that the tactic of standing still in this
mode and moving a bit out of the way if a cloud is coming toward you is
the best option. You might even have as much as three hearts left over
at the end of the battle if you use this strategy. The thing is though,
the whole him having a lower probability of hitting you if you stand
still than if you move makes me think "particle in a box" every time and
that sort of bothers me. I feel elementary quantum mechanics needs to
stay out of video games.
So, after the game has mercy on you and you beat the boss, endure the
lengthy conversation afterwards and get through it fast. Be warned of
the save option at the end. You are then transported outside of the
Festival Temple Castle. Oh and that was the hardest part of playing the
game this way so pat yourself on the back.
Festival Temple Castle to Gourmet Submarine
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Unlike from Ghost Toys to Festival Temple, this next interlude is a long
one. But we are going to do a few things that will make things faster
and easier.
So head down the path towards the only other yellow dot on that mini-map
to exit the cave. Then follow the path to the gap in between the wooden
fences. Now head toward the yellow dot in the lower left of the mini-
map. Go through the door there and follow the path. Get yourself
through the long sequence. Immediately afterwards, play that magic
flute and get yourself to Oedo Town. Go forward from the direction Yae
is facing and through the door. Here follow the path to the right and
go through the door at the very end. In this area go through the second
door on the right.
Another weird mini-game. Since this one has a forced time limit that
you must endure, there is nothing you can do to speed it up. Therefore
just win it and be done with it. Exit the house, take a left, and go
through the door at the end. Follow the path and take the fork to the
left when it is available and through the door. Head across the bridge
and out the large doors. Welcome back to Musashi.
This time go across the bridge and go to the left. Follow the path and
take the incline to the left when presented with a choice. Jump across
the gap and use sudden impact on the metal box. As soon as you can fit
through the gap left of the metal box, go through it and jump up onto
the raised area and go through the door.
In this area jump onto the wooden floating platform. Make your way
across the rotating platforms recognizing that an angle of less than 45
degrees platform rotation is very do-able. Jump onto the raised area
and go through the door. In this next area head over to the ladder to
your right and go up it. Now make your way quickly across the floating
platforms to your right ignoring the raised area in front of you.
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
By taking the fork to the right at the wooden platforms, you can reach a
sparkling dumpling. This loses about 5 to 10 seconds of your time. If
you feel you might run out of health but can tough it out, you might
want to wait until the sparkling dumpling on top of Mt. Fuji a little
while later.
=======================================================================
Take the left fork at the wooden platforms to continue. Follow the path
to the red switch and hit it with your weapon. Jump on the first
floating platform immediately by getting onto it from the area
horizontal to it if needed. Make a continuous jump from the second to
fourth platform. From the fifth platform jump onto the raised area and
go through the door. Here run straight through ignoring everything and
go through the door at the end. You are now in Festival Village. Go
forward and jump down off the ledge. Aim for the stairs going upward
and go up them. Turn around near the top and jump over to a bald man in
a blue robe. Talk to him. Whip out the flute of awesomeness and get
yourself to the Kai coffee house. Yes, that is why I told you to enter
it way earlier in the game.
Go back up to Mt. Fuji. For information on how to do this fast, see the
beginning of this walkthrough. Note the sparkling dumpling if you did
not get the last one and need one now. After you get the upgraded
weapons (second choice again) head for the closest door (if you need the
sparkling dumpling make it that door you exit through; note this results
in a loss of maybe only 1 or 2 seconds this time around) and go out it.
Materialize the magical flute in front of you and teleport to Festival
Village. Head straight and up the same stairs as before. Go through
the door in front of you. Take a right here and follow the path to the
large doors and go through them.
Here in Mutsu you need to go left and follow the path until you see the
large doors a great distance in front of you. Then take a right and go
up the incline near the stone inscription/mini-obelisk. Go up and
strike the big obelisk with your improved weapon to incur yet another
strange event in this game. Follow the path to a ladder and go up it.
Follow the path to a ladder and go up it. Follow the path to a ladder
and go up it. Follow the path to a ladder and go up it but first go
across a bridge. Hug the inside track for all these paths. When you
reach the house go in it.
Talk to the Witch and get through the sequence. Get back outside, play
the flute and teleport to Festival Village. Yes this is faster than
running. Oh and by the way, if you did not know, there is an amusing
scene with the Witch if you talk to her afterwards as Sasuke. Save it
for a non-hardcore game though. Turn around and go through the door.
Follow the path and take the fork to the right when it is available. Go
through the door at the end of the path.
In here follow the path until the path goes left and you have the option
of jumping off. Do so and aim for the door below. Go through the door.
In this next room read the sign and get Yae's mermaid powers. This
mini-game is pretty easy but sometimes the game will be dumb and get you
stuck at the top for 10 seconds or more by throwing the oyatakas down
all over the place (read: exactly where you are) and you cannot see
where they are coming from. If the game is not dumb, then just blaze
through it with your old skool gaming skills (Galaga without shooting or
complex enemy movement comes to mind).
Afterwards, exit the room. Now make your way out of Uzen Tunnel using
jumps to cut corners and save time where appropriate. Make your way all
the way back to Mutsu (the area with the Witch). This time keep going
toward the large doors (the yellow dot in the lower left corner of the
mini-map). Go through the doors. In this area, head toward the lower
left area on the mini-map. Once you are in the water, switch into Yae
as a mermaid. Keep going to the lower left and submerge yourself to hit
the red switch.
Now make your way to the upper left yellow dot on the mini-map. Go
through the hole in the wall. Here you really need to pull up the mini-
map. Follow the path on the mini-map and take the first left under a
sort of ice triangle gate that is possible. Take another left and go
under the next ice triangle gate. You should now see the back of the
submarine. Go toward the middle on the right side and swim to the pipe.
Once inside, swim upward and then turn around at the top and swim
against the current. Once you can swim up (you should see a yellow
flashing "in" and an arrow), do so. Become human again at the top and
ride the elevator up. You are now in Gourmet Submarine. Oh but first:
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
When you first enter the area where I tell you using the mini-map is a
must, there is a surprise pack forward, down, and to the right. The
reason I am mentioning this after I instruct you to enter the Gorumet
Submarine is because this is the worst sidepath in the game that does
not waste enough time to not be considered at all. You really should
not need another surprise pack because if you needed them at any point
you got two already and this one is over 10 seconds out of the way. 2
lives is more than enough for this point in the challenge. However if
you read ahead then the choice is yours.
=======================================================================
Gourmet Submarine
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Shortest dungeon of the four. Strange but true. In the first room,
head towards either door. They both lead to the same place and are of
negligible time difference. If in the lava room, just keep jumping to
the left and forward and go through the door. The last jump you will
lose half a heart. Using the chain pipe slows you down. If in a room
with enemies go forward and take a sharp left. Go through the door and
jump across the gap and go through the door. Now in this room jump onto
the first floating wooden platform. From here jump onto the center
platform and then the wooden platform to the right. Keep going and go
through the door.
In this room just keep going forward and jumping across gaps eventually
going through the door at the end. If you are not Goemon then who
cares. You will only lose half a heart if you jump your way across the
final part of the lava because after you fall in you will make it out
without getting hurt again. In this next room go up the walkway and
make your way across the platforms to the silver key. The pattern is
emtpy panel, panel with enemies, and panel with seafood. Get the silver
key, jump down into the water, aim for and go up the walkway, and go
through the door. Here jump across the first gap then jump into the
lava again and keep going through it to the ladder. Go up the ladder
and through the door.
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
At the center platform between the three wooden platform, taking the
right path leads to a delay of about 5 seconds and a sparkling dumpling.
You probably need this because the last regeneration was a while ago
(likely Mt. Fuji) and you just braved the lava. Unless you died at some
point. Then you probably have enough health. Check the next sidepath
though for a reason to skip this one.
=======================================================================
Now in this room go straight across the wooden platform and two regular
platforms and through the silver lock door. Here go straight ahead and
take a left when possible. Go down the elevator and fall into the red
water. Go through the door underwater near where the elevator ends up.
Hrre stay low and go fast hugging the right wall. Collect the lower ryo
along the way if you really, really need it (read: you are below 800).
Go through the door on the right wall at the end. Here go forward and
right to collect the silver key. Then turn around to the left and go
straight ahead to the silver lock door (what was the point of that
anyway).
In this room go to the left and follow the path until there is an
incline on your right. Go up the incline, become human, and jump down
and through the door as you fall. This room lets you show off your
skills again. Go forward along the conveyor belt and jump to the next
conveyor belt in front of you. Immediately jump to the next conveyor
belt and jump down it to go down faster. Jump to the platform and grab
the silver key and then immediately turn to the right and jump into the
lava. Bounce your burnt butt all the way to the ladder, go up it, and
go through the door.
In this room look ahead at the gold lock door and then turn to the left
and follow the path to the raised ledge. Jump up to the raised ledge
and pull yourself up. Grab the gold key and turn around. Aim for the
gold lock door and go through it. In this room grab the silver key and
leave. If you have a good amount of health you can burn yourself to
dodge the bazooka. Otherwise do some skillfull jumping. Exit the room
and go forward and to the left to the silver lock door and go through
it.
In this room do the Yae mermaid thing and swim down to the door on the
left. In this room swim up to the platform forward and to your right.
Get on the elevator and switch to Ebisumaru on the way up. Now use his
camera to reveal the path. Follow the path and use skillful jumping to
create shortcuts.
=======================================================================
Sidepath Alert!
By continuing along the path past the door and to the right, a sparkling
dumpling is in sight. This one delays about 5 seconds and whether is it
preferable to the other one in this dungeon is shaky. However since
this one appears later it probably gets preference.
=======================================================================
Go through the door at the end of the path. In this room kill the two
enemies quickly and grab the silver key when they die. Go through the
next door. In this room get on the bowl to your right and get as far
away on the bowl from the fire fox as possible. If you do this they
will not be an issue at all.
Ride the bowl to the middle and jump on the one to the left. Ride this
bowl to the raised area and jump onto it. Go through the silver lock
door on the left. In this room use the camera and then smart jumping to
create shortcuts. If you have at least a couple hearts (and you should
considering the two sparkling dumplins in this dungeon), skip doing the
camera and go straight for the diamond key. Grab the diamond key and
exit the room. Back in this room, jump on to the bowl and ride it to
the middle. Get on the bowl going to the right and ride it back to the
raised platform. Go straight ahead and through the diamond lock door.
Here ride the elevator up. In this sort of anti-climactic room, just
sprint along the grid railing collecting the two dumplings along the
way. Go through the door and sit through the lengthy sequence. Be
warned of the save option at the end.
You now fight another Impact battle (been a while since the last one
really) against Thaisamba 2. The same Grappler, Super Punch, and Super
Laser rule applies here. He jumps around in and out of the water at
first which makes him a bit more annoying to Grapple than the last large
boss. However, you can get the first Grapple easy by looking at where
he is underwater on the radar. Then just Grapple him right after he
lands from your Kick at the end of the Super Punch. After doing this
three times in under 20 seconds, he does the underwater thing. He
charges at you right away from the center but if you expect that the
attack is nothing but a joke. Timing a Super Punch for his charge would
be awesome but difficult. If you do it though and follow with a Super
Laser then one more Super Punch afterwards and he goes down. Otherwise
do a regular Punch, Grapple, Super Punch and Super Laser, then one more
Super Punch to finish him off. If he summons whirlpools from a distance
away, stop that short with a Super Laser.
Gourmet Submarine to Gorgeous Musical Castle
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This part of the guide address areas you have already been to.
Therefore, I am only giving directions on where to go next and how to
get there. I am not telling which railing to jump over or which corner
to turn faster because you should already know those by the amount of
time you spent in these areas.
So you start off outside the Sea of Japan. Finish talking to Impact,
beware the save, and then it is flute time. Get yourself to Zazen Town.
Go through the doors to the first main area and then through the door on
the left. Talk to Benkei then exit back through the same door. Go up
the stairs and take the path to the right to the end. Go through the
door to the indoor area. Take a left at the first place where there is
a gap and get on the stone right in front of the lake. Talk to Kihachi.
Go back out and to the left and through the door. In this second main
area, go down and talk to the woman in the red kimono near the corner of
the path (you're jumping down the railing here right?).
Now that we have triggered the next event, go through the second door on
your right (the one leading to the Golden Temple). Talk to the priest,
get the gold key, and exit back out. Go through the door to your right,
across the bridge, and through the door into the Bizen region. Go
through the gold lock door directly to your right. Talk to the guy in
that house.
This training is obviously a place where you can save time or not. Do
not fall. If the choice is between saving a second near the top and
falling all the way to the bottom, make the smart choice. Zoom out on
the camera angle once to see farther up the tower because they start you
all the way zoomed in. Anticipate when the the platforms will be
available and if you can make another jump immediately after the one you
just made then go for it. Watch out for the yellow bumpers though
because they have this ability to defy physical laws and bump you clear
off if you get too close to them. If you feel like you can jump your
way out of something that should make you fall, then go for it. Just
use those mad jumping skills and the stuff you learned from playing
Mario 64 probably. A great time to finish in is with 60 seconds left.
If you cannot do this, I suggest becoming more daring.
After finishing the training, wrap up your conversation with the guy and
exit the house. Oh and a big note: with this ability Sasuke can cut
large amounts of time off at various points. I will mention the points
where he can save over 10 seconds, but it should be obvious where to use
this skill. He can now jump much higher and drift as he jumps. Think
about it and figure it out. He can especially save time in the next
dungeon. Anyway after exiting the house go back to the Zazen Town
second main area.
Go through the second door on your left. Follow the path all the way to
the end, make your way up to the raised area, and make the exchange of
800 ryo for a cucumber which has to be extortion. Now head all the way
back to Kihachi. Make the exchange for the miracle item. Now get out
of town through the Yamato region because it is the cloest area outside
of town. Play that flute sadly for the last time and teleport on over
to the Festival Village. Go through the village to the Mutsu region.
Go through this region to outside the Sea of Japan. Here follow the
path all the way to the end instead of jumping in the water. Go through
the large doors at the end and get on top of the large circular stone.
Beware of the save and be transported to outer space.
Gorgeous Musical Castle
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Head up the pathway and go through the door to your left. In this room
slide yourself behind the upright panels and run straight through to the
door collecting a sparkling dumpling and ryo along the way. After going
through the door, follow the grid and take a left at the only fork.
After using the super jump magic to save lots of time, grab the silver
key and turn around. Follow the path back to the silver lock door and
go through it. In here are two saprkling dumplings which you do not
need because you just got one. Jump on to the first fan and super jump
to the one right next to the gold key. Grab the gold key, jump onto the
fan, super jump to the fan nearest the original platform, and make your
way out the door. Falling here is not faster because the ladder takes
too much time to ascend.
Back in this large room, jump down and aim to the left. Go through the
door that you should see. Rambo through these next two rooms only
getting hit once in each. Drop down to the left in this room (easy to
get sparkling dumpling in here; again you do not need it) and through
the door. Back in the first room of the dungeon, take a left and go
through the gold lock door. When in here immediately look to your right
and super jump up to the floating purple panels. If you cannot reach
those at least go for the ledge.
Up here use super jump to save time while dodging the map item. Use
super jump to bypass the metal box and grab the gold key across the gap.
Drop down to the left and through the door. Jump onto the first fan,
super jump to the second to last fan, and then super jump to the raised
area and go through the door. In here head straight for the small hole
in the forward and left direction. Do the mini magic, through the hole,
normalize, grab the gold key, mini magic, and back through the hole.
Normalize and jump down to the incline below you going through the door
on the way down by holding back. Follow the path in this area and
through the door.
In this next room jump onto the first platform and super jump your way
onto the ledge after the first time it rotates. For the next block,
super jump to the ledge again after its first rotation. For the next
block, super jump to the left side of the ledge immediately after you
jump onto the ledge. For these last two blocks, if they are too far
away to reach by jumping then super jump to them and continue as normal.
Grab the diamond key, drop down right below it, and backtrack out two
rooms to the area where you used the gold key. Here immediately head
for the ladder to the right, ascend it, and then turn around to the
right and super jump to the diamond lock door and go through it.
Now take a right and rambo your way along the path. At the end super
jump to the door and through it. Now look to the right and super jump
over to the ledge. Hit the red switch and ascend the block stairs.
Swim directly for the door at the end of the water and go through it.
Welcome to Kyushu Village. Or whatever its name is.
Here follow the path and go through the gate. In this area, stay a safe
distance away from the rose flower throwers and jump if they throw
flowers because in this game the flowers are lethal. Two of them and
you probably die. So use those skills. Continue following the path all
the way to the next gate. Right before this gate take a left and go
through the door there. Head straight for Omitsu and talk to her.
Afterwards, exit and take a right. Go through the door you see along
the way and go straight for Wise Man. Finish the conversation and exit
the restaurant. Take a left and through the gate. Follow the path
until you reach tbe barricaded door. Bust through the door with your
upgraded weapon and go through the next door on your left. You are now
back in Gorgeous Musical Castle.
Almost done, beautiful. Charge forward, take the stairs to your left,
and go through the door on that side. Make your way across the gap
using super jump to get from the second platform to the door directly in
front of you, not the door to your left. If you feel brave, super jump
from the first platform to the second one as well if you feel it saves
time which it probably will not unless they are moving away from each
other in which case you probably will not make it anyway.
In this room, get onto the first conveyor. Super jump to the second
conveyor. Super jump to the third conveyor. Jump over and hit the red
switch. Jump back onto the conveyor and super jump back to the second
conveyor. Super jump to the ledge with the door. Go through the door.
Note that each of these super jumps should be done with minimal distance
in between because you barely make them. In the lava room, jump into
the lava and make your way to the ledge in front of you with the red
switch. Hit the red switch and a ledge will appear underneath a door
which is forward and to the right of you. Jump into the lava and head
over to it. If your health is getting dangerous you might want to get
onto the ledge from the nearby blocks.
In this room follow the path and go through the door at the end. In
this area equip a ranged weapon as you jump onto the circular block.
Throw your weapon at the red switch and ride the elevator to the top.
Zoom out all the way and keep super jumping up to try and get the
diamond key as fast as possible. Once you do the stairs appear and you
should super jump up them and through the door. Hre immediately go
forward down the slide and aim for the right. Go through the door.
Here take a left and super jump to the middle rotating block and then
super jump to the ledge. Go through the door.
Here go right until Dancin's painting is to your right. Then jump left
over the railing and fall through the door by holding right. Sprint
through the next room to the door at the far end. In this next maze
area watch out for the flower throwers again. Follow the path and at
the first turn take a right and at the second fork take a left. Go
through the door at the end of the path. Here jump through the hole and
sprint your way across the rotating walls. If you super jump whenever a
hole is unable to be avoided you should never have to stop. Jump
through the hole at the end and go through the door.
Jump onto the ledge. Get through the conversation. Watch the sequence.
Get through the conversation. Remember to save at the end and start the
timer immediately after it says "your game will be saved." When you are
attempting to destroy stuff to get ammo and health, it is actually
essential to do well this time because you need all the ammo you can
get. Now it is time to fight Balberra.
If you have beaten Consecutive Boss Fighting Mode a few times, then this
is a breeze. You should have gotten over 450 ammo and 600 oil, both of
which is more than you are allotted to do the entire four bosses with.
As soon as you see the boss, start firing at the red spot in the middle
until it blows up. Then start targeting the cannons on the left. After
blowing the three of them up, start shooting bullets at the green
appendage on the lower left and shoot a super laser at the bottom
metallic thing if you can. Afterwards, shoot bullets at the three right
cannons (if they shoot spikes at you ignore them because you have more
than enough health). Then finish off the right green appendage with
more bullets. If you were unable to destroy the bottom metallic thing
earlier destroy it now with bullets. If you left a cannon then destroy
it now.
Now begins the cycle of little things coming out to hit you and the
middle opening up after you destroy them. Shoot massive bullets at the
little things until they are destroyed. Super Laser the opening.
Destroy the little flying things again. Use bullets on the opening.
Destroy the little flying things again and use one final Super Laser to
devastate Balberra. A Super Laser is not difficult to target with if
you notice the opening moves right and then moves back left at some
point or goes right the whole time. Just aim about one and a half
crosshairs to the right initially and after it becomes obvious which
pattern will be followed (give it about 3 seconds), use the Super Laser
sequence, and then it will connect. Now you fight D'Etoile.
You should still have over 600 oil. However, you will probably only
lose 100 in this fight. Just be aware health is not an issue in this
fight. Initially you should Grapple him and do the Super Punch thing.
After you Kick him away, Grapple him immediately and do the Super Punch
again. If he starts flying around just Grapple him when he lands
because at this point you should be a master at targeting that Grapple.
After doing this a third time he will be below 1000 health 20 seconds
into your battle. If he throws balls at you ignore them and Grapple
because you have more than enough health.
Note that you need to be entering in the Super Punch buttons as he is
about to be in front of you so that it begins immediately after he is
directly in front of you otherwise he will fly away. Of course, that
should not be an issue because the entire game you should have been
timing the Super Punch to begin as soon as the large boss was in front
of you.
After he is below 1000 health he will go to the center of the screen and
begin some weird asteroid move. Well, this is the obvious time to shoot
a Super Laser right at him. This halts an attack which you would have
to had to sit through and lose quite a bit of time plus it is the
easiest time to hit him with a Super Laser. After he gets nailed the
fight is virtually over and he becomes desperate. After hitting him
with the Super Laser immediately Grapple and use a Super Punch. Now he
should be almost dead. Knowing this, D'Etoile will fly off the screen
and start charging in fast. Use your radar to see where he will come in
the first time. Knock off his shield with a Punch, Grapple, Super
Punch, and enjoy the ending.
Also, stop your timer as soon as his health reaches 0000 and you are
unable to do anything. According to time attack rules, the timer stops
at the point of last input, and that would pretty much be it.
Congratulations!
5. Ending
_______________________________________________________
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