Revision: 2006-2-18
NEUGIER
umi to kaze no kodou
FAQ / WALKTHROUGH by Haeleth
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 - Preamble
1.1 Contact information
1.2 General notes
2 - Walkthrough
2.1 Doomed Ship
2.2 Forbidden Cave
2.3 Neugier Castle
2.4 Ancient Ruin
2.5 Rooftop Maze
2.6 Magic Dimension
2.7 Rankings
3 - Gameplay
3.1 Controls
3.2 Techniques
3.3 General hints
3.4 Monsters
3.5 Items
3.6 Debug codes
4 - License
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 PREAMBLE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1 CONTACT INFO
My homepage, Haelethes awendende, is at "
http://www.haeleth.net/".
The most up-to-date release of this FAQ can always be found here.
Please check here before emailing me about anything. (I'll try to keep the
version at GameFAQs relatively up to date, but it may not reflect minor
revisions or corrections.)
My email address is
[email protected]. This address is solely for
correspondance related to my FAQs, translations, or the games concerned.
Polite responses are not likely to be given to questions answered in this FAQ
or at Haelethes Awendende. You may ask me about translations of other games, or
for help with or information about translating in general, but you're more
likely to find useful information if you visit a general site - the Whirlpool
(
http://donut.parodius.com) is probably the best site for English translations,
and the folk there can direct you to more specialised sites if necessary.
Constructive criticism is welcome, and all contributions will of course be
duly credited. In particular, please do let me know of any errors in the FAQ,
however slight.
1.2 GENERAL NOTES
- The game's title
"Neugier" (pron. "Noy-gear"; Jap. "Noigia") is a German word meaning
'curiosity, inquisitiveness'. One could doubtless argue that this has deep
significance, since it's only Duke's curiosity which saves the kingdom from who
knows what horrors; but it's more probable that the authors simply liked the
sound of the word. I haven't yet found a totally satisfactory translation for
the subtitle, "umi to kaze no kodou". It means "the beat of the ocean and the
wind". If anyone can come up with a snappier version I'd be happy to hear it.
- The American release
Mike Evans (
[email protected]) writes:
"Neugier was planned for release in the US as "The Journey Home", but was
never officially released, so a prototype cartridge may exist (in Nintendo's
hands, if anyone), but no official release."
Well, although unreleased carts DO turn up (Starfox 2 beta, Earthbound Zero),
the chances are, frankly, that this one was lost years ago, if it ever existed.
So English-speaking fans will have to put up with...
- The translation
Modesty forbids me to plug this too heavily, but I have released an English
translation patch for Neugier; check my website for details. Even Japanese
speakers may appreciate a version with legible text!
- Authorship
The game is by Wolfteam (now Tri-Ace). Ring a bell? They produced a few other
games... Tales of Phantasia, Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, that sort of thing.
You may have heard of them. :D
- Neugier's genre
It's an action RPG, because it says so on the box. And the first half of the
first stage is pretty RPG-like. The rest of the game is pretty much all action,
though, which is why hardcore RPG fans don't like to include it in the genre.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 WALKTHROUGH
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The section divisions in this walkthrough correspond to the game's Stages (the
titles are my own). You can save at any time; when you continue from a save
you'll restart the section, but you'll retain your current attack levels (I
don't know whether you'll keep armour or health extensions obtained in that
stage, though).
2.1 DOOMED SHIP
Head south and through the door. Now go north through the crowd and through
the next door, and then south again. Talk to the couple and they'll let you
past. Head south to the end of the corridor; enter your cabin, the last one.
When you wake up, leave your room and head north. Take the second right, where
the tentacle bursts in, and enter the cabin. Kill the pirates and take the
ring. Exit and head north again, and up to the next deck. Keep heading south
and go outside. Before the merchant dies, he'll give you that Throw-Chain
(it's a sort of grappling hook thing) he was trying to flog earlier.
If you go back inside, and through the door immediately to your north, you'll
be in with that 'valuable cargo' the passenger was so fussy about earlier. It
takes the form of those four little crates to the right. Smash them against
the wall - one of them contains a heart.
Now head north, dodging the tentacles and barrels, and in through the door at
the top. When you kill the pirate who challenges you here, he'll drop a red
apple. You may as well grab it - if your health is still full, you're nimble
enough that it's probably going to stay that way! Now make your way north,
killing pirates as you go. Where there's a sign saying "Aim", you can use your
Throw-Chain to cross the gap, but generally you can make it just by jumping
anyway.
On the next screen the music changes ominously and you'll find the captain
expiring - two sure signals that you're about to meet something nasty. So go
on - up the steps and north. After a brief conversation, battle ensues.
BOSS: The Witch
This isn't much of a fight, since you can't even hit her, while she can hurt
you severely wherever you are. So don't bother fighting - just stand there
and take it. When your health gets low, the fight should end automatically.
Everything goes black. You'll come to on a beach...
2.2 FORBIDDEN CAVE
Follow the girl inside and head west. There's no way to get past the pirate
without being noticed, so ignore him. Turn north after you pass the plant. On
the next screen, jump up the steps and deal with the pirates; one of them drops
a strawberry. Take the lower path to the right; head south, dodging the fish.
You'll come back onto the first screen above the cave's entrance. DON'T drop
down to the door; you can't open it, and you'll have to go all the way round to
get back here (with the enemies regenerated). Instead, stay at the top and go
right. The pirate here will drop a green apple. Now head north.
Just before the next screen, if you look at the shadow cast by the wall you'll
see a gap. That signals a secret passage: go down it, you'll come out on a
little ledge above the river. Throw the rock here at the wall for a heart.
You'll hear a discouraging voice as you enter the next screen, but ignore it.
Go up first, not left (but remember this spot, you're coming back); jump over
the three rocks and continue north. Jump up the steps and kill the plant, then
jump over the gap; you'll need to use your Throw-Chain in midair to make it.
Continue to the next screen, over the bridge, and smash the rocks: one of them
contains a potion, the other a heart.
Head back to the junction where you heard the voice, and this time go west.
There'll be a passage off to the north with three dragon statues in. The rock
at the bottom holds a chalice, but don't smash it: instead hook it and drag it
up towards the statues. As you pass each statue it'll start bouncing and
belching fire, but don't worry about that; press on and ignore any damage you
take. At the top, jump on the rock you're pulling to release it, then smash the
other rock for a heart. Now smash the rock you pulled up here and grab the
chalice, and you can get back down through the fire without losing any of the
health you just gained.
Next cross the bridge to the west with the plants on, and head up the stairs.
Stick to the right wall to avoid the boulders. When you reach the top, stay on
the right, and you should be able to kill Rock Man without getting hurt. Go
through the archway behind him, and head north then right. There's a door
behind the waterfall; in this room is Rosen, who'll give you the news from
Neugier and then lure the pirates away for you. So head right from the
waterfall, dropping down. On the next screen you'll see the girl briefly.
Kill the pirate - he'll drop some meat which'll restore your health fully, and
you'll probably need it. Then take the door to the north.
BOSS: Iron Ball
This is where it gets nasty; make sure at least one of your attacks is level
2 if you want to stand a chance. He'll swing his ball round a few times and
then throw it straight at you. Keep moving, and try to dart in and hit him
while avoiding the ball. Every now and again he'll jump up to the ledge
and a couple of pirates'll run in and take you on. DON'T go up and attack
him: if you do, he'll just jump down again and you'll have to deal with all
three at once. The pirates should be easily despatched, and then he'll jump
down. Try to position yourself to hit him as he lands, before he starts with
the ball again.
He'll drop the Gaol Key. Use it to unlock the door above you. The scene which
follows should make your next move sufficiently clear.
2.3 NEUGIER CASTLE
One of the crates in here contains a green potion. Head north, up the steps,
and in. Gunther is waiting to welcome you. Now, there are two exits from this
room, one each side of him. Take the one to the east.
Ignore the area below you on the right - there's nothing down there; instead
keep going north. This huge room houses ninjas; they're actually very easy to
kill (see 3.4 for details). You want to take the door on the east wall. Then
go north, up and round the stairs, over to the west and north again, round
another flight of stairs, and then west. Now enter the room below, and kill the
ninja; then go to the south end and through to the room to the west, and kill
the other ninja. Round to the northwest, you'll come to a dead end with a
crate. Smash it for a heart.
Now retrace your steps to the huge room with the fountain in the middle (where
you first met a ninja). Take the door on the west wall, then the exit just
to the north. Keep heading roughly northeast until you reach a staircase down
to an area with a blue floor. Take it down, then follow the passage round to
the north until you reach another set of steps down to an area with a diagonal
check pattern. Go north, and through the little passage to the north rather
than up the steps to the east. There are some more crates here; one of them
contains the gauntlets.
Go back and take the steps you ignored just now. Head to the east, then exit to
the south; now you're climbing a tower, so keep going round in circles till you
reach the 5th floor. The music will change to the boss theme, but there's no
boss here yet; instead Ord will appear when you try to take the door to the
south, and take you to the throne room. Count Wein will eventually give you the
Room Key.
Leave the throne room, and then - staying on the one screen - go east, south,
west, downstairs, east, and north to reach the big room with the statue and
ninjas. Now take the door on the west wall, and follow the same route as last
time to the tower where Ord apprehended you. Try the door again.
BOSS: Boh Man
No, that's not a typo: a 'boh' (it's pronounced more like 'boar' than 'bow')
is a stick like the one he chucks at you. This guy is pathetically easy.
Dodge the stick and simply hack away. I don't expect you to have any problems.
If you do, he does have a fatal flaw: if you stand in front of him and just
to the right, he'll keep trying to smash you on the head, and keep missing,
and he won't do anything else at all unless you move. Of course you have to
GET there first, which isn't particularly easy.
Now take that door at last. When you regain control, talk to Secia again.
2.4 ANCIENT RUIN
Head north - you can take the tunnel, or go up the stairs and drop down, as you
wish. When the Golem finishes talking, carry on north and go through the door.
Step on the switch in here, then go back to the beginning of the stage. Take
the stairs up, and jump across the floating platforms to the upper door at the
north end of the room. On the other side, stay on the ledge and head round to
the floating platform. Jump over to it. Now, you can't jump from here to the
next ledge, so throw your chain at that pillar: you'll pull yourself, and the
platform, over to it. You can make the jump from here. Head round to the
south, jump across the smaller gap, and then round via the two platforms to the
west exit.
In the next room, you want to jump across the platforms and ledges to the west.
Your first jumps should be west, west, south, and from there west to the end.
Go through the door. If you want a green potion, jump across to the east door,
go in, down, and in, kill the golems, smash the chest, and then return here.
Now jump across to the ledge to your north, and kill the lizard-man for a life
extension. Return to the first ledge, and walk along it to the western end;
jump via the platforms to the west ledge, and take the door.
In here, head over to the point at the east side where the ledge juts out into
the room; there's a staircase up to it if you're on the lower floor, and
platforms lead over to the west. Take them, and the door at the end, and smash
the chest in the next room for a heart. Then return to the same spot, and this
time head south to the other exit.
There are a lot of golems in here, and not much space to move, so be careful.
If you get stuck on one of the green turntables, use your Throw-Chain to pull
yourself off. You want to head round to the northeast side of the room, where
there's another exit.
This room is pretty tricky - in fact, I was literally stuck here for months.
There are several solutions to the puzzle. Previous versions of this FAQ gave
a very tricky one that required a lot of manual dexterity, but I happen to have
found a much simpler one in the meantime, so rejoice.
The simple way is this: run down the ledge along the west wall below the door,
and hop down and to the right round the corner, then jump over the gap to the
east. There should now be two floating platforms to your south, one of them
right up against the ledge you're standing on. Stand facing it so that you're
lined up with the right-hand side of it, and use your chain: it should pull the
platform slightly towards you and slightly to the right. Move right yourself
and jump onto it so that you're only half standing on its very right-hand edge.
Now, if you face east, you should be able to pull yourself across to the wall
with your throw-chain. You should then be able to hop south to the exit with
ease.
On the other side of the exit, you'll find yourself in a large room with the
boss music playing. Head over to the top right and talk to the upper left of
the two statues.
BOSS: G Spider
As usual the trick is to find the pattern and the weak spot. The pattern is
simple: it'll skitter from side to side, then fire out two webs (they'll trap
you if they hit you); then it'll charge; then it'll fire its head at you,
followed by three little things from its abdomen (you can block these with
your sword), and the head again; then it'll repeat. The weak spot is the
abdomen. Now, you MUSTN'T try to attack it from behind: you'll be knocked
back and take damage even if nothing hits you! So you need to wait for it to
fire its head at you, then dash in and slash away at the exposed neck. This
should be the only time you risk taking damage, so you shouldn't have much
trouble dispatching it.
There's more good news, too: the statue will revive you once. If you have
a green potion, that'll revive you as usual as well, so you have three
'lives' in this battle.
When you've talked to the statue again, take the door. Back in Neugier Castle,
head left and up the stairs.
2.5 ROOFTOP MAZE
This stage is a very nasty multi-level maze. There may be better routes than
the one given here, but this one works, and I don't know that it misses
anything very important out.
Head east. The second hawk will drop a heart, so it's worth killing.
When the path turns south, enter the turret instead. Head due south and out
again. Follow the ledge round to the left, onto the next screen, then head
south and take the last entrance on the left.
In here, making sure you stay on the upper level, head south, jumping over
gaps. (If you fall down, you'll have to leave by the exit right at the top;
then follow the path back northeast to the turret you entered before.) Take the
lowest exit on the left-hand side out. Now head round the ledge. Ignore the
first entrance for now, and head along to the next one. It's quite a long way.
Go inside and kill the ninjas, then smash the chest against the wall to get the
bracelet. Equip it. Go back outside and to the entrance you just ignored, at
the west end of this ledge, and go inside and up the stairs.
The hawk which attacks you here will drop meat when you kill it, so do so if
your health is getting low, then head east. The first entrance hides nothing
but some rats. Take the second, and go up the stairs, then to the west. On
the next screen, there are three ninjas: one attacks you as you enter, one is
waiting on the mesh bridge to the north, and there's one beyond that who drops
a heart when you kill him. You'll see him from the upper floor if you miss
him.
When you've got the heart, head to the upper floor, and again go round to the
west, exiting to the south. Go west, and in through the next entrance. You
want the passage that branches off to the right; follow it to the end, and
you'll come out outside again. Take the entrance to your left; inside go down
to the lower floor and out again, then in again through the other opening. Up
the stairs, jump up the larger steps to the upper level, and go round to the
right and up the passage to the door. You'll come out on a wide causeway;
follow it up and right, and go inside again.
Head to the top left of this screen, and take the stairs up. You'll emerge on
a broad rooftop; head to the very north, and up the steps to the tower. When
you go through this final door, you'll find yourself back in Secia's room.
BOSS: Ord
This chap has three stages. In the first stage he'll fly around, and then
launch a homing fireball at you; after a few seconds it'll stop homing and
accelerate away. He's vulnerable while it's homing. In the second stage
he'll stand in the centre of the screen, then split into four and move to the
corners. He'll then unleash a devastating lightning attack towards the
centre, and then fire a spread of fireballs towards you. You want to stay at
the edge of the screen, and dash in and slash him when he's standing in the
centre. Finally, he'll start teleporting round. Each time, he'll disappear,
then fire four fireballs, going up, down, left, and right, from the point
where he's going to appear. You want to be waiting for him with a sword. In
all cases, you can only hit him with jump attacks.
After all that, leave the room and head north. You'll automatically go to the
throne room. When you regain control, keep trying to attack your opponent -
don't worry about your health, you're meant to run out. When you do, another
scene will be triggered.
2.6 MAGIC DIMENSION
You'll find yourself in a very strange place. Head through the gate. In the
next screen, there are four gates: the one you came through, one at the top,
one at the bottom, and one to the right which is on the underside of the
translucent blocks. There's nothing you can get to through the upper one at
the moment, so jump across to the lower one. Head south and destroy the magic
circle, then go past and throw the block at the orb. This will reverse the
gates. Return to the room with the platforms, and jump across to the east
gate.
Take it, then do the same in the next room. Destroy the second magic circle,
and head east; you'll come to another room with a switch orb, but this time
there are three blocks. Now, the bottom one (block 3 in the diagrams) contains
a heart, and the right-hand one of the upper two (block 2) a green potion. You
. . . . can get both. Here's how.
A 11 22 .
--- . First, grab block 1 with your Throw-Chain. Drag it across and place
33 . it DIRECTLY to the right of block 3. Jump on top of it to release
. . . . the chain without throwing it.
B 111. Now grab block 3, and move it to a position half a block offset from
333111. block 1, as in diagram B. Standing above block 3, face block 1 and
333 . throw block 3. You should be able to make it smash, releasing the
. . . . heart. Then drag block 2 across and repeat the process, smashing it
against block 1, to get the potion. Finally, hurl block 1 at the
orb to reverse the gates again.
Now return to the platform rooms. You'll be dumped ignominously on the ground
from a now-inverted gate, so climb back up and jump round to the gate at the
north side of the screen, on a very small platform. Drop down to the ground,
and go right to the stairs; take the gate at the top of them for the third
magic circle. Once again, destroy it and then continue east to switch the
gates. This time it doesn't involve a block; instead, run round the spiral as
quickly as you can, because you want to get the egg-snake-lizard-dragon monster
before it evolves too far (it's quite easy to dispatch it in the snake phase),
and then just slash the orb to change it. (You may have hit it in the battle,
so, for reference - you want it to be red.)
Return to the platforms once more. Jump across to the gate at the left side of
the screen, and take it; then jump to the one to the north. This is your goal,
and the final battle is about to ensue...
BOSS: Gunther
Another multi-stage boss, and ridiculously easy, too. He'll start off as a
kind of tentacle-blob, and alternate between chasing you fast and chasing you
slowly while lashing out. Hit him in the former state. Then he'll transform
into a wolf; he'll stand still for a moment after pouncing, which is when to
attack. His final form is a huge dragon-like monster. Dodge the puny
projectile and slash away at him whenever he lands.
And that's it. Enjoy the beautifully ambiguous ending...
2.7 RANKINGS
At the end of the credits, you'll be given a ranking based on your playing
time:
1 - Couch potato
2 - King of kings
3 - Over the top
4 - Beyond champion
5 - Genius
6 - Ultimate gamer
7 - Special expert
8 - Master player
9 - An adept
10 - Skilful player
11 - Quite a player
12 - Good gamer
13 - Regular player
14 - Normal gamer
15 - Commonplace
16 - Not much
17 - Bad player
18 - Awkward
19 - The worst player
20 - Patient
21 - A cheat
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 GAMEPLAY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1 CONTROLS
Directional pad - movement
A - attack, talk, select
B - jump, speed up dialogue
X - select armour
Y - throw chain*
Start - pause
Select - save game
* Only after you receive the Throw-Chain towards the end of Stage 1.
3.2 TECHNIQUES
Throwing objects:
Snag the object with the Throw-Chain. If you can drag it around, you can throw
it. To throw it, simply press the Throw-Chain button again: you'll throw the
object in the direction you're facing. If it hits something, it'll break, and
sometimes drop an item, so aim for walls unless you have a more important
target.
You can also throw objects at enemies; this can sometimes do a fair bit of
damage, but in many situations it's more trouble than it's worth. I doubt it
counts towards attack levels, either.
Pushing enemies:
You can push enemies away from you with your Throw-Chain. It doesn't hurt
them, but it can be useful if you're being crowded. It's also useful against
Doppels (see 3.4).
3.3 GENERAL HINTS (in no particular order)
- Enemies reappear if you leave a room and reenter it. It's worth pausing
from time to time for a killing frenzy to build up your attack levels. If they
dropped a healing item when you killed them before, they'll probably drop it
again, which can be useful.
- This applies to other things in a room, too - like throwable objects and
floating platforms. However, the contents of throwable objects WON'T
regenerate (at least if you got them - I don't know about otherwise).
- When you load a save game, or opt to 'continue' when you die, you'll be
returned to the start of the current stage with full health. So if you enter a
new stage with low health, don't try too hard to stay alive! The other option
when you die is 'save'. This doesn't mean 'load a save game', but rather 'save
your game' (at the beginning of the stage you died in).
- "JA level" and "SA level" in the top right corner of the screen refer to your
attacks while jumping and while not jumping. These go up as you use the
respective attack. Both want to be as high as possible, obviously; it's quite
easy to use slash attacks exclusively in the first few stages, then find your-
self up against flying enemies with low JA, which can be tedious.
3.4 MONSTERS
See walkthrough for boss strategies. Strategies are not given for all enemies.
Stage 1:
PIRATE
KNIFE MAN
CASK
OCTOPUS: invulnerable.
Boss: SECIA
Stage 2:
PIRATE
CRAWLER
PLANT: jump-attack them when the tendril swings away from you.
TOAD
FISH: these are flying fish. Dodge them.
STATUE: bouncy fire-breathing things. Invulnerable.
ROCK MAN: see walkthrough.
Boss: IRON BALL
Stage 3:
HIT MAN (1): charges at you.
HIT MAN (2): spins round to attack.
NINJA: If you lure them to the bottom of the room, they'll get stuck against
the wall.
Boss: BOH MAN
Stage 4:
DRAGON (1): They're hard to kill because they're hard to hit. The best
technique is probably to wait till your target is below you, then
run left with it and hit it with a jump attack as it comes level.
It's possible to 'derail' them, so you can't hit them at all...
LIZARD MAN
GOLEM: Attack them vertically. They punch continuously with alternate fists,
so wait for the fist on your side to be drawn back, or you'll be hurt.
Boss: G SPIDER
Stage 5:
As Stage 3, plus -
HAWK: as a Dragon, but watch out for its dive attack.
RAT: they won't attack you unless you attack them, at which point all the rats
in the room will go for you.
Boss: ORD
Stage 6:
S BAT \ They'll flutter around randomly, then swoop at you, usually knocking
M BAT > you off any ledge you might be on. They can't hurt you if you're on
L BAT / the ground, so try to tackle them near some stairs.
EGG: kill them quick, before they hatch into Snakes.
SNAKE: kill them quick, before they mature into Lizards.
LIZARD: kill them quick, before they evolve into Dragons.
DRAGON (2): run away from them, before they kill you.
DOPPEL: they mirror your actions. If you have trouble killing them, push them
off their ledges with your Throw-Chain instead; they can't mimic this
action.
Boss: GUNTHER
3.5 ITEMS
These are obtained by killing enemies and smashing objects.
Protective items:
Ring - increases your defence
Gauntlet - increases your attack power
Bracelet - increases both your defence and your attack power
Healing items:
Red apple - restores some health
Green apple - restores some health
Strawberry - restores some health
Meat - fills health
Heart - fills health, increases maximum value
Potion - fills health, one-time revival on death
Status items:
Toadstool - disables your attack temporarily
Chalice - makes you temporarily invulnerable
3.6 DEBUG CODES
As often happens, the debug mode was left in the released game. Jonny found
the codes when he was looking for the menu text. Enter the following codes at
the main menu screen to access the debug features, but be warned: using these as
cheats may spoil your game.
left, right, down, up, X, Y Max HP, JA, and SA, and invulnerability
right, left, up, down, X, Y As above, plus max equipment
up, up, down, R, L Stage select and music mode
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 LICENSE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This FAQ is copyright 2001-2006 Haeleth.
This work is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution License. To view a
copy of this licence, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ or send
a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305,
USA.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
explicit tabula rogatorum quae crebro quaeruntur
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
