Saikyo Habu Shogi is a shogi game from Seta, released in Japan on June 23rd
1996. It was one of the three titles released in Japan on the launch day of the
N64. The game stars Yoshiharu Habu,a professional shogi player. Born in Saitama
in 1970, he started playing shogi in elementary school. He became a professional
player at age 14, the third person to do so in shogi history. On the year of the
game's released he won all seven major shogi championships, an astounding feat
that has never been repeated. In 2018 he played his 2000th professional game, at
48, the youngest person to do so. As of 2019 he has won 1,434 games. He is also
one of Japan's greatest chess players. His favourite piece is the silver, and he
is known for playing excellent moves when in bad positions towards the end of
games, an ability known as “Habu magic” by his fans. Despite his fame at the
time of release, only 1 copy of the game per 100 N64's was sold. So far, four
games have been released that star Habu-san.
2.Controls
This game requires 123 spaces on the controller pack before you can play.
A button – Confirm / grab a piece and once again to release it.
B button – Cancel / return a piece to it's original position
C buttons – Change the angle of the board
Start Button – Game Start / display the menu
R Trigger – Move and change direction in Laboratory and Free Study Mode
L Trigger – Move and change direction in Laboratory and Free Study Mode
Z Trigger – Confirm / grab a piece and once again to release it.
3D Stick / D Pad – Move the cursor
3.Modes
Looking at the menu screen, these are your options from left to right
Shogi game room
The regular game mode. (for up to 2 players.)
10 seconds Shogi
Allows only ten seconds for each move. (for up to 2 players.)
Reverse Shogi
Allows you to change your position.
Student Competition
An 18 match competition.
Information
Displays information from the Japan Shogi Federation.
Environment Settings
Allows you to change the character font, board, countdown method, countdown
voice, game record method, BGM ect.
Beginner Classroom
Habu-san explains the basics of shogi.
Lecture Mode
Various Shogi problems are available.
Laboratory Mode
Various famous shogi games can be watched and played from any move.
Ability Test
Ranks your approximate playing power.
4.The student competition
This guide is based on the world record RTA by MidoriSM64, who is a Japanese N64
speedrunner. Because of the nature of this game, if you input these exact moves
the computer will respond in the same way each time. So it is very possible for
someone such as myself, who doesn't know how play shogi, to beat the game.
MidoriSM64 beats the game in a very impressive 20 minutes and 47 seconds. Most
of the time he is waiting for the computer to make its move.
You can find his runs on Youtube. Of course, watching the video will be a much
clearer way of beating the game, but in this day and age who knows when such
videos will be deleted or taken down. On the other hand there are some guides on
this website that have been here for 20 years.
If you lose a game you can simply retry from the same opponent until you beat
them. Waiting time means the time you are allowed to pause the game for.
Countdown time means the time you have to play a move. For opponents 13-15 you
have very little time to make moves. In fact you barely have time to select and
move your pieces. In the 17th game you play against two people at the same time.
You do not need to play the first 3 opponents.
The game has no credits after you win, just a picture of a trophy. If you
entered your name at the beginning, your name will be on the trophy.
You need to be able to recognise the kanji for each piece in order to play the
game. The pieces are as follows, with the piece they are most similar to in
chess, the meaning of their name and then the kanji as it appears in the game.
In this guide I will refer to spaces on the board in the following way. 9 to 1
across the top, and A to I from top to bottom. This is not traditional shogi
notation, but I hope it is easier to understand for those people who do not know
shogi notation.
So in the traditional opening of a game, the board looks like this:
９８７６５４３２１
香桂銀金王金銀桂香 A
飛 角 B
歩歩歩歩歩歩歩歩歩 C
D
E
F
歩歩歩歩歩歩歩歩歩 G
角 飛 H
香桂銀金王金銀桂香 I
９８７６５４３２１
Apologies for the messy formatting, its the best I can do with all the different
kanji sizes and combinations of Latin characters.
If you follow this guide, you will take and promote pieces automatically but I
have included those instructions in order to make it easier to understand. In
shogi you can also put spare pieces or pieces you have captured on the board if
you wish to. You can do this in game by moving the cursor to the extra pieces at
the bottom right of the screen. At the end of every game your opponent will
resign so there will be no long drawn out games.When you have the opportunity to
promote a piece it will open a text book to ask you, you can just press A
immediately to select yes, which is the default option.
No 1:
Age: 76
Blood Type: A
Hobby: Bonsai
Conditions: Level 0, you have the first move
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
“Play carefully with one hand please.”
You do not need to play this match.
No 2:
Age: 32
Blood Type: B
Hobby: Horse Riding
Conditions: Level 0, I won't use my bishop.
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
Well, let's play enthusiastically.
You do not need to play this match.
No 3:
Age: 41
Blood Type: B
Hobby: potatoes
Conditions: Level 0, I won't use my rook
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
“Sorry for takin' a long time.”
You do not need to play this match.
No 4: Ikata Gen
Age: 15
Blood Type: O
Hobby: Walking
Conditions: Level 0, you have the first move
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
“If you please.”
H2 飛 to H4
G4歩 to F4
F4歩 to E4
H8角 to G7 to take the 馬
E4 歩 to D4
H8角 to D4 to take the 歩
Put your spare 角 on E1
D4角 to C3 to take the 銀 and promote to 馬
Put your spare 銀 on C4
E1角 to C3 to take the 桂 and promote to 馬
王 to H5
王 to I5 to take the 馬
Your opponent will resign
No 5 Tada Akie
Age: 68
Blood Type: AB
Hobby: Tai Chi
Conditions: Level 1, you move second
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
“Let's have an enjoyable game!”
H2 飛 to H4
G4歩 to F4
F4歩 to E4
I4金 to F5
F5金 to G4
G4金 to F4
F4金 to E3
G7歩 to F7
E4歩 to D4
D4歩 to C4 to take the 歩promote to と
H8 角 to D4
H4飛 to G4 to take the 歩
E3金 to D4 to take the 金
D4金 to C4
Your opponent will resign
No 6 Eriko Seiko
Age: 15
Blood Type: B
Hobby: It's a secret!
Conditions: Level 1, I won't use my rook or bishop
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
He he he!
G2歩 to F2
F2歩 to E2
E2歩 to D2
H2 飛 to D2 to take the 歩
D2飛 to F2
Put a 歩 on D2
F2 飛 to E2 to take the 歩
D2歩 to C2 and promote to と
C2と to B3
C2飛 to A2 to take the 桂 and promote to 竜
Put a 桂 on E5
E5桂 to C4 to take the 金
Put a 金 on A6
A6金 to A7 to take the 銀
Your opponent will resign
No 7 Yumi Nagasawa
Age: 25
Blood Type: AB
Hobby: Shopping
Conditions: Level 1, you have the first move
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
“I wont lose! Maybe...”
G2歩 to F2
F2歩 to E2
G7歩 to F7
G9歩 to F9
H8 角 to B2 to take the 角 and promote to 馬
E2歩to D2
Put a 角 on E1
D2歩 to C2 to take the 歩 and promote to と
I8桂 to G7 to take the 角
C2とto C3 to take the 歩
H3 飛 to B3 to take the 銀and promote to竜
Your opponent will resign
No 8 Hisashi Miura
Age: 23
Blood Type: A
Hobby: Drinking
Conditions: Level 2, You have the first move
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
G3歩 to F3
H2 飛 to H3
G1歩 to F1
F3歩 to E3
G7歩 F7
H8角to A1 to take the香 and promote to 馬
A1馬to A2 to take the 桂
Put a 桂 on D3
A2馬 to B3 to take the 金
I5王to I4 to take the 成香
I6金 toH5 to take the 金
H5金 to I5
I4王to I5 to take the 竜
B3馬to C3
D3桂 to 4B to take the 銀
Put a 飛 on A3
Your opponent will resign
No 9 Takao Izuka
Age: 23
Blood Type: O
Hobby: Being a shop manager
Conditions: Level 3, you have the first move
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
“Well, let's do our best!”
H2 飛 to H5
G5歩 to F5
F5歩 to E5
E5歩 to D5
D5歩 to C5 to take the 歩 and promote to と
C5 と to C4 to take the 歩
Put an 歩on C5
Put an 歩 to C8
C5歩 to B5 to take the 歩 and promote to と
C4とto B5 to take the 金
Put a 歩 on C5
H5飛 to G5 to take the 歩
G5飛 to H5 to take the 歩
H5飛 to G5 to take the 歩
G5飛 to D5 to take the 桂
C5歩 to B5 to take the 金 and promote to と
Put a 歩 on C5
D5飛 to H5 to take the 歩
I7銀 to H6 to take the 角
Your opponent will resign
No 10 Yushi Iida
Age: 34
Blood Type: B
Hobby: Mahjong
Conditions: Level 4, you have the first move
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
“That's not right...”
H2 飛 to H6
G6歩 to F6
F6歩 to E6
G8歩 to F8 to take the 歩
I9香 to H9
G9歩 to F9
Put a 歩 on B8
H6 飛 to G6 to take the 香
Put a 香 on H6
E6歩 to D6
D6歩 to C6 to take the 歩 and promote to と
C6と to C5 to take the 歩
I5王 to H4 to take the 角
Your opponent will resign
No 11 Toshihiko Nishimura
Age: 61
Blood Type: A
Hobby: Making Takoyaki
Conditions: Level 2, you are the superior player
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
“Well, shall we 'ave a game?”
H2飛 to H6
G1歩 to F1
F1歩 to E1
I1香 to F1
H6飛 to H1
I3銀 to H2
H2銀 to G1
G1銀 to F2
F2銀 to E2
E1歩 to D1
E2銀 to D1 to take the 歩
F1香 to D1 to take the 香
D1香 to C1 to take the 歩 and promote to 成香
Put an 歩 on D1
D1歩 to C1 to take the桂 and promote to と
Put a 歩 on D1
H1飛 to D1 to take the 香
Put a 香 on E1
Put a 桂 on E2
Your opponent will resign
No 12 Kazuhiko Horiguchi
Age: 34
Blood Type: O
Hobby: Pottery
Conditions: Level 2, I won't use my rook.
Waiting time: 1 hour
Countdown: 30 seconds
“If you look down on me, you'll get hurt!”
G9歩 to F9
I6金 to H7
G3歩 to F3
G1歩 to F1
G7歩 to F7
H8 角 to A1 to take the 香 and promote to 馬
A1 馬 to A2 to take the 桂
Put a 桂 on E4
Put a 香 on C3
I3銀 to H4
I5王to H6
I4金 to H4 to take the 馬
H6王 to G7
C3 香 to D3 to take the 金 promote to 成香
Your opponent will resign
No 13 Gai Jin (Is the literal reading of his name, it means foreigner)
Age: 17
Blood Type: AB
Hobby: Dairy products
Conditions: Level 1, you have the first move
Waiting time: none
Countdown: 20 seconds
“Even though I look foreign, I'm Japanese.”
G3歩 to F3
H2飛 to H3
G1歩 to F1
F3歩 to E3
G7歩 to F7
H8角 to A1 to take the 香 and promote to 馬
A1馬 to A2 to take the 桂
Put a 桂 on D3
A2馬 to B3 to take the 金
I5王 to I4 to take the 成香
I6金 to H5 to take the 金
H5金 to I5
I4王to I5 to take the 竜
B3馬 to C3
D3桂 to B4 to take the 銀 and promote to 成桂
Put a 飛 on A3
Your opponent will resign
No 14 Noriko Sugisaki
Age: 22
Blood Type: A
Hobby: Reading
Conditions: Level 2, you move second
Waiting time: none
Countdown: 10 seconds
“You seem strong”
G3歩 to F3
H2飛 to H3
G1歩 to F1
F3歩 to E3
G7歩 to F7
H8 角to A1 to take the 香 and promote to 馬
E3歩 to D3 to take the 歩
D3歩 to C3 to promote to と
A1 馬 to B2 to take the 金
I5王 to I4 to take the 馬
Put a 金on A4
Your opponent will resign
No 15 Yumiko Arai
Age: 41
Blood Type: AB
Hobby: Dumbbell training
Conditions: Level 3, you move second
Waiting time: none
Countdown: 10 seconds
“Well, let's begin.”
H2飛 to I5
G5歩 to F5
F5歩 to E5
E5歩 to D5
D5歩 to C5 to take the 歩 and promote to と
C5 と to C6 to take the 歩
I5飛 to F5 to take the 歩
I7銀to H8 to take the と
C6とto B5 to take the 金
Put a 歩on C5
Your opponent will resign
No 16 Haruki Takada
Age: 25
Blood Type: O
Hobby: Shogi
Conditions: Level 5, you move second
Waiting time: 2 hours
Countdown: 30 seconds
“If you defeat me, you will become a real player.”
G5歩 to F5
F5歩 to E5
I6金 to H7
G8歩 to F8 to take the 歩
G9歩 to F9
H2 飛 to I5
H8 角 to G9
E5 歩 to D5
I8桂 to G9 to take the と
D5歩 to C5 to take the 歩 and promote to と
C5とto C4 to take the 歩
Put a 歩 on B8
C4と to B5 to take the 金
Put a 歩on C5
H5飛 to G5 to take the 歩
I5王 to H5 to take the 歩
C5歩 to B5 to take the 金and promote to と
Put a 金 on C5
Your opponent will resign
No 17 Eri Ashi and Shigeo
Age: 31 and 29
Blood Type: O and B
Hobby: Areobics and Fishing
Conditions: Level 3 and 5, two versus one
Waiting time: 3 hours
Countdown: 30 seconds
“DANCE! DANCE! FISH! FISH!”
(Even though this match is played over two boards I will list the moves in order
as if they are on one board, just for ease of reading. So some moves will be
repeated.)
H2 飛 to H5
G5歩 to F5
G5歩 to F5
F5歩 to E5
F5歩 to E5
I6金 toH7
E5歩 to D5
G8歩 to F8 to take the 歩
D5歩 to C5 to take the 歩 and promote to と
G9歩F9
C5とto C4 to take the 歩
H2 飛 to H5
Put a 歩 on C5
H8 角 to G9
Put a 歩 on C8
E5 歩 to D5
C5 歩 to B5 to take the 歩 and promote toと
I8桂 to G9 to take the と
C4と to B5 to take the 金
D5歩 to C5 to take the 歩 and promote to と
Put a 歩 on C5
C5と to C4 to take the 歩
H5 飛 to G5 to take the 歩
Put a 歩 on B8
G5 飛 to H5 to take the 歩
C4と to B5 to take the 金
H5 飛 to G5 to take the 歩
Put a 歩 on C5
G5飛 to E5 to take the 桂
H5 飛 to G5 to take the 歩
C5 歩 to B5 to take the 金 and promote toと
I5王 to H5 to take the 歩
Put a 歩 on C5
C5 歩 to B5 to take the 金 and promote toと
D5 飛 to H5 to take the 歩
Put a 金 on C5
I7銀 to H6 to take the 角
Your opponents will both resign
No 18 Shinosuke Kanazawa
Age: 108
Blood Type: A
Hobby: Algorithm research
Conditions: Level 5, you are the superior player
Waiting time: 6 hours
Countdown: 30 seconds
“Can you play carefully?”
H2 飛 to H6
G1歩 to F1
F1歩to E1
I1香 to F1
H6 飛 to H1
I3銀 to H2
H2銀 to G1
G1銀 to F2
F2銀 to E2
E1歩 to D1
E2銀 to D1 to take the 歩
F1香 to D1 to take the 香
D1香 to C1 to take the 歩and promote to 成香
Put a 歩on D1
D1歩 to C1 to take the桂and promote to と
Put a 歩on D1
H1 飛 to D1 to take the 香
The N64 will think for a very long time
Put a 香 on E1
Your opponent will resign.
Congratulations on beating this very obscure game.
