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-=- Berserk -=-
FAQ/General Walkthrough/Guide
Version 1.00
BY
Masamune167
Name of Game: Berserk: The Millennium Falcon (NTSC-JPN)
Platform: PlayStation2 Entertainment System
Began: 3rd May 2005
Last Update: 20th May 2005
Created With: MS Word, Metapad
Specifics: Courier New, Font Size 10, 79 Characters/Line
Encoding: Western European (ISO)/(American)
Author: <{Masamune167[at]yahoo[dot]com}>
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i. Table of Contents BXXXX
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01. Version Updates --------------------------------------------------- B0001
02. Legal Disclaimer -------------------------------------------------- B0002
03. Introduction ------------------------------------------------------ B0003
04. Frequently Asked Questions ---------------------------------------- B0004
05. Controls/Manipulation --------------------------------------------- B1000
06. Characters/Game Prologue ------------------------------------------ B2000
07. Game Mechanics ---------------------------------------------------- B3000
07.a) Secondary Weapons ------------------------------------------- B3100
07.b) Spells ------------------------------------------------------ B3200
07.c) Gauges/Counters --------------------------------------------- B3300
07.d) Experience Gain --------------------------------------------- B3400
07.e) Skills ------------------------------------------------------ B3500
07.f) Spriggans --------------------------------------------------- B3600
08. Walkthrough ------------------------------------------------------- B4000
08.a) Chapter 1a: Winter's Journey -------------------------------- B4100
08.b) Chapter 1b: The Clashing of Minds --------------------------- B4200
08.c) Chapter 2: A Meeting in the Forest -------------------------- B4300
08.d) Chapter 3: Flora's Manor ------------------------------------ B4400
08.e) Chapter 4: Inoch Village ------------------------------------ B4500
08.f) Chapter 5a: Qliphoth ---------------------------------------- B4600
08.g) Chapter 5b: Near the Yellow Spring -------------------------- B4700
08.h) Chapter 6: The Ascension of Flame --------------------------- B4800
09. Unlockables/Secrets ----------------------------------------------- B5000
10. 100-Animal Murder Mode -------------------------------------------- B6000
11. Boss Rush Mode ---------------------------------------------------- B7000
12. The War Machine --------------------------------------------------- B8000
13. Credits ----------------------------------------------------------- B9999
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
01. Version Updates B0001
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MM/DD/YY - /*Description*/
05/20/05 - Walkthrough and guide complete.
05/12/05 - ~50% complete.
05/11/05 - Guide approximately half done, many sections complete.
05/03/05 - Guide started.
Version 0.01 - Began guide and preliminary work for it.
Version 0.45 - Walkthrough started.
Version 0.50 - More work on extraneous sections.
Version 1.00 - Guide completed.
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02. Legal Disclaimer B0002
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This disclaimer is to be regarded as part of the Internet publication
which you are currently viewing. If sections or individual terms of this
statement are not legal or correct, the content or validity of the other parts
remain uninfluenced by this fact.
This game, Berserk: The Millennium Falcon, is copyrighted (c) by Sammy
Studios. Licensed by Sony Corporation of Japan for use with the PlayStation2
game console. PlayStation2 is a registered trademark of Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc. Neither Sony nor Sammy Studios endorses this guide in any
way or by any means.
Liability claims regarding damage caused by the use of any information
provided, including any kind of information which is incomplete or incorrect,
will therefore be rejected. All offers are non-binding and without obligation.
Parts of the pages or the complete publication including all offers and
information might be extended, changed or partly or completely deleted by the
author without separate announcement.
The document before you is property of "Masamune167." This document aims
to aid one in his or her understanding and general competency of the game
Berserk: The Millennium Falcon. Reproduction of this document without my
explicit consent is prohibited.
Webmasters of a site that wishes to use this document may do so pending
my authorization via email. If permission is granted, the document must be
posted verbatim with no changes made to the document itself. Fan-based
websites will also require similar authorization.
The following websites have the authorization to post this document:
-
http://www.gameFAQs.com
-
http://www.gamespot.com
-
http://deepu.eroding.com
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http://www.neoseeker.com
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03. Introduction B0003
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ber·serk (b&r-s&rk', -z&rk', -b&); berserk, berserkly (adverb).
01: an ancient Scandinavian warrior frenzied in battle and held to be
invulnerable; noun.
02: destructively or frenetically violent; adj.
Firstly, I would like to mention that this guide will NOT provide a
literal nor line-by-line translation of this game into any language. Please
do not email me regarding this as I will not reply to any such requests.
Until the game is formally localized into your language, your best source of
information lies within the Berserk manga. The manga, while in Japanese, has
some official English versions that are sold worldwide, likewise they are also
sold in Japanese. Some translation groups, most notably The Hawks, have
translated the manga in a professional but unofficial manner. These
"scanlations" can be obtained relatively easily, but, again, do not email or
contact me regarding the whereabouts of said "scanlations" as I will be
unresponsive.
Secondly, as of today (May 3rd, 2005) there has not been any localization
attempt nor any information regarding any near-future attempts for this game.
The result of this is that you must be able to play a Japanese-encoded game in
order for it to work properly or function at all. Methods of achieving this
include but are not limited to: purchase of Japanese Playstation2, purchase
and installation of some form of circuit modification unit (modchip) that
allows the usage of imported games, the usage of a disk swapping method to
coax the Playstation2 into playing foreign DVDs that are normally unsupported,
or the usage of a storage device (such as a hard drive) to circumvent region
checks. All of those solutions assume ideal working conditions for all
materials involved. Once again, please do not email me regarding the
whereabouts or methods of obtaining these solutions as I will again be
unresponsive.
Thirdly, I will occasionally summarize the story elements to help readers
understand what has happened in the game. Please note that these can be
SPOILERS for the anime and the manga. No spoilers are present for anything
after Volume 27 of the manga.
The Playstation2 game adaptation of the manga series Berserk is a hack-
and-slash action game of the highest regard. Fans of the manga, or the
titular anime, will be amongst the most supportive tenants for this game.
Therefore, I _strongly_ recommend at least a cursory knowledge of the manga or
anime if you intend to enjoy this game. I assume that most readers are not
well enough versed in Japanese such that they are able to understand what is
happening. While I will NOT provide a translation, I will, at times, give a
brief summary of events, but this is no more information than is provided in
the manga.
This document aims to provide aid to those who seek it. Questions and
comments, with regard to the above conditions, can be emailed to the address
at the top of the document.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
04. Frequently Asked Questions B0004
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Assembled below are questions either posed to me by email or questions I
felt would be best if answered preemptively.
001) Does this game work with US Playstation2's?
A: Yes, but if and only if you use a disk swapping method, modchip, or
storage device. If these solutions really work, then yes it is possible for
the game to work. I will not entertain questions regarding these methods.
002) Is this game in English/Spanish/French/Russian/Gaelic/Sanskrit/Latin/etc?
A: As of [May 3rd, 2005] the game is only in Japanese and Korean. No
localizations are said to be forthcoming.
003) How large is Gatsu's sword (Dragonslayer)?
A: I approximate the sword, with handle, to be around seven feet tall,
roughly 1.5 feet wide, and four inches thick at its thickest point. It is
made of Iron (Fe), Atomic Number: 26, Atomic weight: 55.845 amu. Iron nuclei
are said to be very stable, but is historically combined with carbon or
alloyed with other metals. Pure iron is very susceptible to corrosion in
humidity and has moderate magnetic properties. I would estimate the weight of
Dragonslayer to be in the range of 210 - 295 pounds (95.2544 - 133.8097 kg).
These are NOT official or to be taken at face value, they are simply my
educated guesses. To put that into perspective, a typical Scottish claymore
is about 50 inches long while weighing around 7 - 11 pounds. Even the largest
swords ever made to be handled by one person never exceeded 20 pounds.
004) What are they saying in the introduction music for the game?
A: I honestly have no idea, beyond that I believe "berserk" is chanted a few
times, I'm not even sure what language, if it is an actual language, is sung.
It is possible that the lyrics are in Japanese, but if this is the case then
it is distorted beyond mortal recognition since I am unable to understand even
five percent of it.
005) Why does Puck lack genitalia, and what is he/she/it anyway?
A: Puck is a male elf from the island of Elfhelm. I don't understand what
advantage is to be had by adorning him with visible genitals. I assume it was
in the direction of unnecessary realism for fantasy characters. Also of note
is that Elves in the Berserk world simply to not possess genitalia, since they
are magical creatures, sexual reproduction is not a requirement. It should be
said, then, that Puck possesses male qualities, and Evarella possesses female
qualities. These qualities are obviously within a human's frame of reference.
006) Who is the author/illustrator/creator of Berserk?
A: The artist, author, and writer is a man named Kentarou Miura.
007) How is Berserk serialized?
A: Berserk was originally serialized in "Animal House" and then switched to
its current position in "Young Animal," a publication depicting manga and
spreads of nude and non-nude Japanese women. It is a semi-monthly
serialization (roughly 2 times a month). About once or twice per year, a new
volume of the manga is released containing less than a dozen episodes. Dark
Horse Comics publishes the localized rendition of Berserk for English-speaking
audiences.
008) Who composed the music in Berserk (the anime and the game)?
A: Two of the game tracks, the opening and ending songs, "Sign" and "Sign
2" as well as the anime soundtrack was composed by a man known as Hirasawa
Susumu. He also composed most of the music for "Sword of the Berserk: Guts'
Rage," the Dreamcast game about Berserk.
009) Is there a New Game+ feature? (Do stats earned in one game carry to
next?)
A: Yes. A new game made after completing the game at least once will
inherit the data from the previous game. However, data is only carried over
if the new game is on the same difficulty setting as the old one. Data will
not carry over to different difficulty settings.
010) Why are you not using the "normal" romaji for Berserk character names?
A: I chose not to because there is no sense in using romaji when you are
able to legitimately not use them, especially outside of Japan. Therefore,
you will not see "Gattsu", "Pakku", "Kyasuka", et alia in this document. The
spacing and pronunciation inherent in the romaji is pointless for English
speakers. Unless you are attempting to sound Japanese outside of Japan, you
will find it awkward to fit authentic Japanese pronunciations in with normal
English since the flow of words is very dynamic and often contrasting. This
is not to say that it cannot be done, but it is not something that I would
assume is common for most bilingual people. Generally, either the English
sounds Japanese or vice versa if the words are being mixed.
011) What is that odd hourglass-esque symbol that appears randomly and is on
the back of Gatsu's neck?
A: It is called the "Brand of the Sacrifice" or the "Sacrifice Brand." It
marks him, and anyone with it for that matter, as a sacrifice in a ceremony
that is explained in the manga and anime. The result of having the Brand is
that otherworldly demons constantly seek his blood and flesh since they are
drawn to him, hence his habitual and constant fighting. The Brand bleeds
and/or causes pain when there are demons nearby, a sort of "sixth sense" that
alerts Gatsu and others of danger. The bleeding and pain is directly
proportional to the power of the evil force that is nearby, e.g. light pain
for weak evil and severe pain for strong evil. If it appears on the health
sphere, pressing Triangle at that time will execute a special attack or
fatality.
012) Who are Gatsu's biological parents?
A: As far as the manga and anime are concerned, this is not at all known nor
are there any hints as to who they could be. There are wild speculations from
everyone, from Zodd to the Skull Knight, all of which are purely speculative
and have no basis in official canon. The answer is not known to the general
reading public. His foster-parents were Siss and Gambino, both of which are
in the manga, but they are NOT his biological parents.
[Further entries will be added as necessary.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
05. Controls/Manipulation B1000
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Combat Controls 101
Since the game is originally in Japanese, a section explaining the
controls for the game would be quite useful. This will cover battle and
combat controls.
[-------------------+---------------------------------------+-------]
[ Control | Description of action | Code ]
[-------------------+---------------------------------------+-------]
[ Left Analog Stick | Movement in direction of stick | B1001 ]
[ Square | Normal sword slash; can be comboed | B1002 ]
[ X | Guard; counter; reversal strike | B1003 ]
[ Triangle | Power slash; special attack; fatality | B1004 ]
[ Circle | Dash | B1005 ]
[ L1 | Secondary weapon menu | B1006 ]
[ L2 | Allies' spells menu | B1007 ]
[ R1 | Strafe; lock-on | B1008 ]
[ R2 | Berserk Mode Trigger | B1009 ]
[ Start | Skip scene; Pause | B1010 ]
[-------------------+---------------------------------------+-------]
_________________
/Left Analog Stick\___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B1001
The left analog stick controls Gatsu's movement. This functions just as
it does in any other game where the left analog stick controls player movement
in the indicated direction. The Analog option is available as well, but is
not required to be turned on.
Note that you are able to move Gatsu during special attacks and Berserk
mode, so you will be able to better aim your attacks in this manner.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ Square \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B1002
Produces a sword slash. This is considered a "normal" sword slash
dealing "normal" damage. The button can be pressed repeatedly to execute
combo attacks. This is especially apparently if you are in a weapon-lock with
a Boss. Mashing square repeatedly at that time will have you win the lock.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ X \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B1003
The X or "cross" button is the Guard function. The guard is not an
omnidirectional block, meaning it will not work in any direction. Gatsu must
be facing the enemy that he is meant to block against. If the button is
pressed AS Gatsu receives damage, you will execute a "Reversal Strike."
However, if the button is pressed JUST PRIOR to an attack (similar to Issen
timing in the famous Onimusha series), you will produce a "Counter Attack."
This can be performed on normal enemies and all boss enemies.
If the button is pressed repeatedly while Gatsu is recovering or
tumbling, the rate of recovery is increased.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ Triangle \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B1004
Performs a slow, but heavy-damage sword swing. The attack can be charged
(hold the button and then release after t seconds). When the Sacrifice Brand
appears on the health sphere, if triangle is pressed then Gatsu will perform a
special attack or fatality move. This will generally cause heavy damage to
bosses and fatally damage normal enemies (killing them instantly). These
special attacks also charge the Rage meter much faster than normal kills.
The charged move will cause Gatsu to have to recover from the angular
momentum of spinning around with a huge slab of iron, so keep that in mind.
The quick-release, or "normal pressed", version is a slower, stronger slash
than the one produced by the square button.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ Circle \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B1005
Causes Gatsu to dash, left shoulder forward and dragging his weapon, in
the direction of the left analog stick or in the direction he is currently
facing. Gatsu can perform up to three consecutive dashes before tiring.
You can, and ought to, sequence dashing with square or triangle attacks.
These attacks will change as Gatsu's levels increase, specifically in Sword
Proficiency.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ L1 \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B1006
If the button is tapped, it will show the current status of secondary
weapons. If the button is held down, you can choose a secondary weapon to use
by pressing, and sometimes holding, the appropriate button. This will require
a combination of L1 and square, X, triangle, or circle. The regular functions
of the combined buttons will not occur, but rather a secondary weapon will be
used.
L1 + Square = Automatic Crossbow
L1 + Triangle = Left-arm Cannon
L1 + Circle = Throwing Knives
L1 + X = Throwable timed bombs (essentially crude grenades)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ L2 \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B1007
If the button is tapped, it will show the current status of ally summon
magic. Like L1, if the button is held and combined with square, X, triangle,
or circle, the appropriate spell will be cast. Often, certain spells will
become unavailable, however Puck's "Fairy Dust" healing spell will always be
present, except in "100-Animal Murder Mode."
L2 + Square = Binds enemy movement; stops enemies
L2 + Triangle = Defense increases temporarily
L2 + Circle = Fire attack in a radius around Gatsu
L2 + X = Healing; HP recovery
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ R1 \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B1008
During battles with normal enemies, this will allow you to strafe. With
higher "Sword Mastery" Gatsu can perform strafing combos. During boss
encounters, R1 will lock-on to the boss, allowing you to counterattack and
also see your enemy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ R2 \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B1009
This launches Gatsu into his namesake "Berserker Mode" essentially a very
powerful bloodlust, not unlike Devil Mode in the famous Devil May Cry series.
Gatsu will attack with increased speed and deal increased damage while the
screen turns red. He also develops a stagger-guard to small projectiles (but
will still receive damage) and is more resistant to staggering and stunning
from most attacks.
The gauge for Berserker Mode is to the immediate right of the health
sphere, and is refilled by killing enemies.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ Start \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B1010
Pressing start during cutscenes will skip them. If it is pressed during
the game, it will PAUSE the game and show some options and information.
The map is displayed to the left. Notice the blinking orange square. It
marks the ending destination for the current stage, going there will end the
stage. Gatsu's total accrued experience is the number on the right. I
believe the other options are quite self-explanatory and in English.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
06. Characters/Game Prologue B2000
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the readers that are unfamiliar with the characters in the game, this
section will provide brief overviews of characters and their roles in the
game. Note there are incredibly HUGE SPOILERS if you do not know this
material(anime and manga through Volume 27). Please understand that this is
by no means a substitute for the manga or anime nor is it exhaustive, it is
merely an overview to be used for those that need a refresher course or for
those that do not intend to pursue the Berserk story formally and want a
crash-course before the game proper.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
[======================================]
[ Gatsu ........................ B2001 ]
[ Griffith ..................... B2002 ]
[ Casca ........................ B2003 ]
[ Puck ......................... B2004 ]
[ Band of the Hawk ............. B2005 ]
[ The Godhands ................. B2006 ]
[ The Skull Knight ............. B2007 ]
[ Apostles ..................... B2008 ]
[ Nosferatu Zodd ............... B2009 ]
[ Charles ...................... B2010 ]
[ Isidro ....................... B2011 ]
[ Farnese ...................... B2012 ]
[ Serpico ...................... B2013 ]
[ Flora ........................ B2014 ]
[ Schierke ..................... B2015 ]
[ Evarella ..................... B2016 ]
[ Game Prologue ................ B2017 ]
[======================================]
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
+----------------------+
| Gatsu | =============================================== B2001
+----------------------+
Gatsu is the protagonist of the game, and the protagonist of the anime
and manga as well. Known as the "Black Swordsman" doomed with the Sacrifice
Brand, he seeks to create a future for himself that is independent of his
supposed destiny to be sacrificed for Griffith's aspirations. His life is a
precarious one, constantly teetering between chaos and peace. After a
difficult and trying childhood as a mercenary, he became a tremendously
skilled fighter and able to wield weapons that most men could barely lift.
Gatsu is dressed in thick, black armor and is armed with an array of
weaponry. Adorned with a tattered black cape, he towers above most men with
his exceptional height and muscular build.
He wields by default the massive and powerful Dragonslayer. A sword made
of solid iron and forged by the Master Blacksmith Godo. After having killed
so many beings of the higher astral plane, the sword has become tainted and is
a true demon-killing weapon. A potent cannon replaces his left arm beyond the
elbow, with a metal hand to cover the nozzle, and he is blind in his right
eye, both of which are constant reminders of his past. His left arm and right
eye were both destroyed during the Eclipse in which Griffith became the fifth
Godhand, Femto.
Gatsu is in love with Casca, who is now in no position to remember
anything about him. Under absolutely any circumstance he will protect Casca,
who is also marked with the Sacrifice Brand.
+----------------------+
| Griffith | =============================================== B2002
+----------------------+
As the antagonist of the story, Griffith plays a pivotal and important
role. Griffith and Gatsu's first meeting together changed both of their lives
drastically. His ultimate aspiration is to become a force of change in the
world, one that has nearly insurmountable control and ability.
To further his dream, he created the Band of the Hawk, a mercenary group
that, with Gatsu's aid, rose to great fame. The acquisition of his desires
seemed inevitable until Gatsu's decision to leave the troop which caused a
great and permanent schism between the two.
Griffith, while in his human form, is a handsome man of average height
with a lean build. His flowing silver hair and brilliantly penetrating eyes
are his most striking features aside from his general attractiveness.
Sporting a hawk motif in his silver armor, he sometimes wears a helmet that
somewhat resembles a hawk beak and uses a slim rapier/epee as his primary
weapon.
+----------------------+
| Casca | =============================================== B2003
+----------------------+
As the only female member of the Band of the Hawk, she never lets her
weaknesses show. She is exceptionally strong-willed and driven to be by
Griffith's side since he saved her at a young age. Gatsu and Casca's
relationship began as one of hatred and turned into one of love later in the
story. She initially hated Gatsu because he caused Griffith to change, but
this changed later through the course of many events.
However, their romantic relationship was short-lived. During the
Eclipse, Casca was driven to insanity and afterwards only her physical shell
remained. She had no ability to coherently understand complicated concepts,
and is essentially mute after the Eclipse. Gatsu is still compelled to be
there for her despite the fact that she does not indicate any knowledge of his
identity.
Casca, despite her aggressive nature, is a beautiful woman of average
height with short black hair and a mocha-colored complexion. She, pre-
Eclipse, wore light armor and wielded a small one-handed sword. Post-Eclipse,
she mostly wears a brown robe and has long black hair. She is unable to fight
intelligently or really understand what is going on around her.
+----------------------+
| Puck | =============================================== B2004
+----------------------+
A male elf from the Elfin island of Elfhelm, he befriended Gatsu after he
was saved by Gatsu and mistakenly thought it to be sincere. Upon seeing
Gatsu's great power and presence, he decides to be his partner in all
endeavors. He is a small fairy-like elf with blue-green hair and blue eyes.
His role in the game is as a support character and most likely the most
important one. His "Fairy Dust" ability heals Gatsu's wounds, allowing him to
live longer. One can clearly see the uses of this skill.
+----------------------+
| Band of the Hawk | =============================================== B2005
+----------------------+
A mercenary group assembled by Griffith and formed from a hodgepodge of
people and cultures. Slowly, they rose to a position of great fame with
Griffith as their leader and Gatsu as the Raider Captain. The notable
characters within the group other than the major characters are: Pippin,
Judeau, Rickert, and Corkus.
Rickert is the youngest of the Hawks and is not present during the
Eclipse in which all the Hawks are slain. Pippin is a very large and bulky
man who wields a pick or ball-and-chain. Corkus is a sarcastic, cynical man
of average height and black hair. He distrusts Gatsu and constantly mocks and
prods him. Judeau is a young man of below-average height with blonde hair
that specializes in knife throwing. He is partly responsible for Casca and
Gatsu's romantic relationship and is generally a moderator and tactician for
the Hawks. All of them are killed during the Eclipse except Gatsu, Casca, and
Rickert.
+----------------------+
| The Godhands | =============================================== B2006
+----------------------+
The Godhands are the vessels through which the god Idea is able to
exercise manipulation of the physical realm. While the Godhands themselves
rarely descend to the physical plane, they do so whenever a Beherit is
awakened. Their role is very pivotal to the story, but it beyond the scope of
this document. What is necessary to know is that there are 4 Godhands before
the ascension of Griffith as the 5th Godhand, Femto: Conrad, Ubik, Slan, and
Void. Slan is the only female of the group, and Void is the oldest and
considered the leader. Void branded the Hawks including Gatsu and Casca
during the Eclipse.
For the purposes of this document, their description will end here as any
further development will launch into a very complicated debacle that is best
explained by the manga. Note that Godhands are NOT human, they can only
reincarnate in a human form once every 1000 years.
+----------------------+
| The Skull Knight | =============================================== B2007
+----------------------+
A character heavy in mystery and intrigue, he is an ancient being that
opposes the Godhand for a yet undisclosed motive. He has aided Gatsu numerous
times in the story and has fighting skills equal to or greater than those of
Nosferatu Zodd. Feared by Apostles, he rides his ghastly steed and wields a
powerful and cruel-looking bastard sword. Appearing to have no skin nor
muscles, yet can wear heavy armor and speak human languages, he appears in the
story to save Gatsu from otherwise fatal ends. It would seem that the bone
warrior has a personal relationship with the aged witch, Flora.
+----------------------+
| Apostles | =============================================== B2008
+----------------------+
Apostles are those who were chosen by the Beherit and thereafter
sacrificed that which they held dearest to obtain their greatest desire. They
are the servants of the Godhand who are the servants of the god Idea. Gatsu
continually fights the often powerful Apostles during the course of the story.
Due to their demonic nature, Apostles often have a somewhat normal appearance
and also a transformed, demonic form that is considerably stronger.
+----------------------+
| Nosferatu Zodd | =============================================== B2009
+----------------------+
Otherwise called "Zodd," he is an extremely powerful warrior and cunning
swordsman on the battlefield. Resembling a hugely muscular orc in his normal
form, and a huge, purple, horned, flying beast in his transformed state, he
constantly strives to fight the strongest warriors in the world. While he is
an Apostle, he is more honorable than the standard one and has clashed with
the Skull Knight on numerous occasions.
+----------------------+
| Charles | =============================================== B2010
+----------------------+
Charles is a character that is completely absent in the manga and anime,
so an understanding of his character is necessary for most readers. The
general idea is that he is an Apostle that gained the Beherit after his family
was killed and his house burned to the ground. Gatsu enters Charles' house
which disrupts his ideal illusionary world, and henceforth Charles has an urge
to turn Gatsu's life into a ruinate one.
Sporting a foppish, feathered hat and whimsically tailored pantaloons,
Charles is about the height of a young boy. With blonde hair of moderate
length, his only suspicious features are his piercing, polemic eyes.
Charles' main power is the ability to make people's subconsciouses
materialize in the physical realm. He can also extend his control over these
beings that he creates from another's mind. In this way, he attempts to
destroy Gatsu's life (as seen in the game). The rest will be explained in the
main walkthrough portion of the guide.
+----------------------+
| Isidro | =============================================== B2011
+----------------------+
Isidro is a young thief and is very confident in his abilities. With
impeccable aim, his ability to throw objects accurately is unrivaled. He
aspires to become the greatest swordsman ever and trains as Gatsu's makeshift
disciple to that end. He wears a loose-fitting vest, white puffy undershirt,
and has red hair. He is a supporting ally whose ability is the fire-based
"Salamandar's Rage."
+----------------------+
| Farnese | =============================================== B2012
+----------------------+
Farnese is the former leader of the Holy Iron Chain Knights, a troop
deployed by the Holy See Order, that traditionally has a woman leader and a
constituency populated by the sons of nobles. As such, they have little
battle experience, intentionally, despite the fact that their generals are
capable. The troop was highly regarded and racked tantamount fame and hype.
Farnese has an almost insane obsession with the cleansing of heretics and
mystics, but this was changed after her confrontations with Gatsu.
Thereafter, she became his disciple and follows him despite her own
insecurities. She is of average height with short blonde hair and blue eyes.
She is said to be quite beautiful and is always seen with Serpico by her side.
+----------------------+
| Serpico | =============================================== B2013
+----------------------+
Farnese's assistant and servant since she and he were children. Only
Serpico knows of his blood-relation to Farnese, that she is his half-sister.
As such, he is very loyal to Farnese and a skilled fencer and cunning fighter
as well.
Serpico is of average height, has blonde hair that covers some of his
face, wears a green cloak and usually has his eyes barely open. He generally
wields a rapier/epee but uses the magical Wind Shear Feather sword given to
him by Schierke. He uses his "Sylph's Sword" spell to immobilize Gatsu's
enemies.
+----------------------+
| Flora | =============================================== B2014
+----------------------+
Residing in her treehouse manor in the borders of the Interstice hidden
in the middle of a forest, this aged and sage-like witch lives with Schierke,
her apprentice. She has personal connections to the Skull Knight, and is
extremely knowledgeable about the spiritual world. She plays a hugely
important role in the story and helps Gatsu in his journey.
Flora is an aged woman of average height, and long white hair. She is
actually far older than she appears and is very gentle and kind person.
+----------------------+
| Schierke | =============================================== B2015
+----------------------+
Flora's apprentice and treated almost like a daughter, Schierke is a
young witch with striking potential and vast knowledge. Though she is quite
intelligent, she is still young and naive to the ways of the world. She aids
Gatsu and his entourage with her keen spiritual sense, magical abilities, and
knowledge of the spiritual realm.
Schierke's spell, "Providence," will boost Gatsu's defense for a short
amount of time, often this will be enough to keep him alive. She plays a
significant role in the story. Standing at the height of a young child, she
wears a black robe and hat whilst wielding her curled wizard staff. She has
green hair and auburn eyes and is accompanied by her Elfin partner Evarella.
+----------------------+
| Evarella | =============================================== B2016
+----------------------+
Although not a major character, Evarella acts as Schierke's guardian when
she is away from the manor. Evarella is a female elf from Elfhelm and aids
Schierke in her magical training and otherwise protects her as best she can.
Both she and Puck, in the manga, use their Elfin powder to heal Gatsu.
+----------------------+
| Game Prologue | =============================================== B2017
+----------------------+
The game takes place after the end of the anime, around the 13th Volume
of the manga. During the anime, Gatsu aided a young man named Griffith raise
his mercenary group, The Band of the Hawk, to extraordinary levels of
prestige. During this time, Gatsu and Casca had an oscillatory love-hate
relationship (though never full hatred). After the apex of their popularity,
Gatsu decides that his fate is his alone and leaves Griffith's side and the
Band of the Hawk but only after much resistance from Griffith. Gatsu and
Griffith have a unique relationship, much like that of a master and a
disciple, or so thought Griffith, and indeed this seemed the case for much of
the time. Therefore, Gatsu's leaving caused Griffith to lose sense of himself
and he was soon thereafter committed for high treason as a result of having
had coitus with the King's daughter, and sentenced to a lifetime of
horrendously painful torture and dismal insanity in the Tower of Rebirth.
After one year of this torture, Gatsu returns from his adventure only to
find the Band of the Hawk under Casca's leadership. Since Gatsu was away, he
was unaware of everything related to Griffith and the Band of the Hawk. Soon
thereafter, Casca and Gatsu finally express their love for each other and make
love (this is important later, I'm not just being a pervert). A plan is
formulated in order to rescue Griffith, they are unaware of his current
condition, however. After one year of torture, Griffith's muscles have
atrophied, and his tongue was cut off and he was otherwise made unable to move
by walking (I will spare you the gory details, please consult the manga for
those). Once the rescue group arrives, they find Griffith in his pathetic
condition, and succeed in taking him out of the Tower, largely due to Gatsu
killing everyone sent after them.
A short time later, Griffith takes a horse coach that dives into a small
pond, which is filled with corpses and body parts, where Griffith is reunited
with his Beherit-- The Egg of the Emperor. His Beherit will allow him to
become a Godhand, and this is exactly what he desired. At that instant, the
four Godhands descended to Griffith's location, which included the entire Band
of the Hawk, or what remained of them.
After some soul-searching, Griffith deemed it necessary to sacrifice the
Band of the Hawk so that he could ascend to become a Godhand. Remember, that
a Godhand is just that: the hand of god, those that enact the will of god.
God is the being that controls the fates of mankind, and that is essentially
what Gatsu is fighting: his fate and god. Rapidly, the members of the Band of
the Hawk are killed, in particularly perturbed and gory ways to boot, except
for Gatsu and Casca. Gatsu, being the powerful force he is, fights all the
demons that are around him with any weapon he can tear off of them. Casca,
unable to contend with the demons, is molested and brought before the newly
born Femto, the ascended Griffith.
Meanwhile, Gatsu attempted to save Casca and cut his left arm off in the
process. He was, however, unable to save her as the number of demons seemed
countless. Eventually, Gatsu is held immobile as he watched Femto rape his
love, Casca, before his own eye (he is now missing an eye). Sequentially, the
Skull Knight made a very timely appearance and saved Gatsu and Casca from what
would have been their demise in the Eclipse. Gatsu and Casca were deposited
by the Skull Knight near the house of Godo the blacksmith, where they went to
heal their wounds and prepare for the future. At that point, Gatsu received
his signature black armor, cannon arm, crossbow, throwing knives, bombs, and
the hulking Dragonslayer.
Gatsu leaves Godo's abode for quite some time, approximately a year if
memory serves, and comes back to find Casca with long hair, but still in her
deranged state. This is the state of the premise for the game story, the rest
will be told by the game itself.
A space for SPOILERS to be hidden from those seeking the next section
follows:
Intentionally Left Blank
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
07. Game Mechanics B3000
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Henceforth is the game mechanics section, detailing how the game works
and what certain things in menus mean (if the meaning is otherwise unclear).
I suspect that many readers will find this the most useful section, especially
those that are all ready familiar with the story albeit through the manga or
animated series.
==============================================================================
============================= Secondary Weapons =========================B3100
==============================================================================
There exist four secondary weapons available to Gatsu in the game:
throwable detonation bombs, an automatic crossbow gun, throwing knives, and
his indispensably powerful left-arm cannon. It is important to know that all
secondary weapons have ammunition and finite limit to their use, however they
recharge after depletion. Therefore, after t seconds, Gatsu will be able to
use any given weapon again. Upgrading the weapons will either increase the
number used, the duration of their use, or decrease the recharge (recovery)
time.
This section will describe the secondary weapons and how to use them
effectively.
_________________
/ Bombs \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3101
Rating: 7/10
Usage: L1 + X
The bombs used by Gatsu are rather useful for keeping larger enemies from
approaching or dispersing a group of smaller ones. The number of bombs thrown
will increase as the skill is upgraded. While the bombs are not tremendously
useful, they do their job adequately and are generally to be used as a prelude
to the Dragonslayer or cannon.
As stated, the main purpose of the bombs is to damage a group of enemies
in between the uses of Gatsu's main weapon. Therefore, it is most useful to
toss the bombs at groups of enemies before they are very close to Gatsu. The
time taken before the detonation is quite small, so one need not worry about
timing too much in this regard. These are generally useless against bosses.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ Throwing Knives \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3102
Rating: 5/10
Usage: L1 + Circle
For the purpose of stunning or delaying an enemy's advance, the knives
prove quite useful. The damage caused by them, however, is sub par and hardly
worth mentioning. One noteworthy mention is that, at higher levels, the
knives will fan out from Gatsu in small arc, which is useful to stun larger
enemies and groups.
If Gatsu is in need of a change of pace or needs to delay enemy advance,
throwing knives are a solid choice. Useful against larger normal enemies and
groups of smaller ones. However, like bombs, these are useless against
bosses.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ Crossbow Gun \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3103
Rating: 7/10
Usage: L1 + Square
In most respects, the crossbow gun mounted on Gatsu's right arm is a
glorified, faster version of the throwing knives. The difference being that
the gun is much faster and usually less precise. Its strength is
approximately equal to that of the knives, but since they propagate at a
faster rate, the overall damage is higher.
Due to the similarities inherent between the throwing knives and the
crossbow gun, the uses for the latter are similar to the former. That is, the
crossbow gun is useful in the same situations as for which the knives are
useful. Use this against larger groups, larger enemies, and when being
cornered, but never against bosses since it will prove ineffective.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
/ Arm Cannon \___________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3104
Rating: 9/10
Usage: L1 + Triangle
By far, this is the most powerful secondary weapon, however it is single-
shot and requires some recovery time. By increasing the level of this weapon,
Gatsu will be able to fire the cannon more frequently. In other words, the
recharging time is reduced. When used, Gatsu will flip down his prosthetic
left hand to reveal a cannon nozzle which will fire a huge round of metal and
fire. The recoil from this shot is immense, as is the damage dealt to
anything standing in the front area of Gatsu.
The cannon is useful for any situation in which the Dragonslayer needs
assistance. If Gatsu is cornered and needs to clear a path, one cannon round
ought to take of that problem swimmingly. Furthermore, the cannon is the only
secondary weapon that is distinctly effective against bosses. The major
disadvantage to the cannon is that it can only be used once and then must
recharge in order to be used again. Another bonus is that while Gatsu is
flying backward from the recoil, pressing Square or Triangle will have him
execute a spinning slash attack.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================================================
================================== Spells ===============================B3200
==============================================================================
The spells used in the game are not cast by Gatsu himself but rather by
one of four of his allies. There are four and only four magical spells in the
game and are obtained at a later time. Gatsu begins the game with "Fairy
Dust" since Puck, the ally to whom the spell is credited, is present from the
beginning of the game.
___________________
/ Fairy Dust \_________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3201
Rating: 10/10
Usage: L2 + X
Ally: Puck. He is a tiny fairy-like Elf that accompanies Gatsu.
Healing is the essential in this game as long as Gatsu is fighting
enemies. This implies that Puck's "Fairy Dust" is the most useful spell since
it heals Gatsu based on the level of Puck's spell. Use this spell as you
would any healing method: whenever necessary.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
___________________
/ Salamandar's Rage \_________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3202
Rating: 6/10
Usage: L2 + Circle
Ally: Isidro. He is a young, red-headed boy wielding a burning-red dagger.
This spell will cause fire-based damage in a radius around Gatsu. This
radius increases as the level of the spell increases. While the damage dealt
is not terrific, it is somewhat useful if Gatsu is being hounded and
surrounded.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
___________________
/ Sylph's Sword \_________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3203
Rating: 4/10
Usage: L2 + Square
Ally: Serpico. He is a young, blond-haired man with a green cloak.
This spell will prevent enemies from moving for a short period of time.
During this time, Gatsu will be able to move and can kill the immobilized
enemies. While the spell sounds very useful, it is only so at its maximum
level because the time duration of the spell's effect at lower levels is
trivial. This is best used when there are many enemies close to Gatsu since
he will have to travel a smaller distance to reach each one.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
___________________
/ Providence \_________________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3204
Rating: 8/10
Usage: L2 + Triangle
Ally: Schierke. She is a young, green-haired girl in sage clothing and
wields a curled staff.
This spell will reduce the amount of damage Gatsu receives from any
attacks he incurs for a period of time. The amount of damage reduction and
the duration of the spell are increased as the level is increased. This is an
ideal spell for boss battles and against stronger enemies or hordes of
enemies. It is clearly a very useful spell to have and use.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================================================
============================= Gauges/Counters ===========================B3300
==============================================================================
This section strives to familiarize one with the gauges, meters, and
counters that appear on the screen of the game, Berserk: The Millennium
Falcon. As an action, hack-and-slash game, the gauges are not very
complicated nor numerous, hence this section will be rather short.
o----------------------------o
| Health/Vitality |------------------------------------------ B3301
o----------------------------o
The health gauge is represented by a sphere filled with blood laden in
the upper left-hand corner of the screen. At maximum health, the sphere will
be full of blood. When Gatsu is damaged, the blood in the sphere will slosh
and the amount will lower. If at anytime there appears a symbol, the
Sacrifice Brand, on the sphere, pressing Triangle at that time will execute a
special attack or fatality. If the sphere is depleted entirely of blood, then
Gatsu will die and the posthumous words, "You have been sacrificed" will etch
themselves on the screen.
o----------------------------o
| Rage Meter |------------------------------------------ B3302
o----------------------------o
The meter to the immediate right of the health gauge is the "Rage
Meter." Aptly named, it gives an indication as to the duration of Gatsu's
"Berserk" status. If R2 is pressed when the meter is filled to any amount,
Gatsu will launch into a frenzied state, at which point the meter begins to
drain quickly, until the meter is depleted. Gatsu's rage can be refilled by
slaughtering enemies. The meter fills with a green bar that is touching the
health sphere.
o----------------------------o
| Secondary Weapon/Ally Menu |------------------------------------------ B3303
o----------------------------o
In the upper right-hand area of the screen is a menu depicting either
weapons or allies. The location of the weapon/ally corresponds to one of four
face buttons on the right-hand side of the Playstation2 controller. Secondary
weapons are accessed by pressing L1 + facebutton while allies are accessed by
pressing L2 + facebutton. Tapping L1 will show the menu for the weapons and
tapping L2 will show the menu for Gatsu's allies. If a given weapon/ally has
a yellow semicircle around it/them then that given weapon/ally can be used.
If the meter is green and increasing, Gatsu must wait until the meter fills
and becomes yellow before he is able to use it/them.
o----------------------------o
| Boss Vitality Gauge |------------------------------------------ B3304
o----------------------------o
This bar will only appear during boss encounters. The bar will be
located at the top center of the screen. Typically, bosses have two bars of
health: one blue-green gradient bar followed by a yellow bar. The yellow bar
is the last bar of health they possess, depleting it will end the battle.
Above this bar will be the boss' name.
o----------------------------o
| Time Display |------------------------------------------ B3305
o----------------------------o
The time display will only appear on 100-Animal Murder Mode levels. It
will count the time taken on the current level. Typically, Gatsu will be
required to kill a certain number of enemies within a given time limit.
o----------------------------o
| Continuous Kill Counter |------------------------------------------ B3306
o----------------------------o
This counter will display the number of continuous deaths Gatsu has
caused with a minimal pause in between kills. It appears in the lower right-
hand corner. Note that getting above 10 continuous kills will result in an
experience bonus, and generally the higher the number, the larger the bonus
once the chain has ended. The maximum bonus seems to occur at 100 kills,
although the counter will go higher, the bonus will not.
o----------------------------o
| Total Kill Counter |------------------------------------------ B3307
o----------------------------o
This counter will show a number, a dividing slash, and another number.
The number on the left is the total number of enemies Gatsu has defeated on
the current level. The number to the right of the slash is the goal number of
kills that Gatsu must reach to end the current level. This will only appear
on 100-Animal Murder Mode levels.
o----------------------------o
| Experience Display |------------------------------------------ B3308
o----------------------------o
After killing an enemy or defeating a boss, an amount of experience will
be displayed on the screen on the lower right-hand side. Experience shown as
such is credited to your total experience as a result of the most recent kill.
o----------------------------o
| In-Game Map Display |------------------------------------------ B3309
o----------------------------o
Underneath the health sphere is an in-game map on which Gatsu is
represented as a grey triangle. Note that Ambush Points and Spriggans will
appear on the map when they are within a close enough proximity. On the PAUSE
menu, the blinking orange square is the ending destination for the stage.
==============================================================================
============================== Experience Gain ==========================B3400
==============================================================================
Experience is a measure of reward for Gatsu, very much like currency.
Gatsu can access the "Raise the Level" menu at any save point where he will be
able to expend his experience points in order to further his skills. What
things mean in the "Raise the Level" menu is explained in the "Skills" section
of this document.
Killing enemies will increase Gatsu's acquired experience total.
Generally, major bosses, when defeated, will deposit a few thousand experience
points but some will have meager results. Most normal enemies will give
either 5 or 100 experience, with some exceptions, but this is about what you
can expect. Killing enemies in continuous kill chains will increase
experience gain as the number increases above 10.
There is one caveat that merits some explanation, and this deals with the
availability of enemies in every level. Experience is limited in this game.
I don't insinuate that it is merely finite, Gatsu can completely kill
everything in a level effectively bringing the enemy saturation to 0%.
However, the level will only lower in enemy saturation upon subsequent
playthroughs. This implies that there is an infinite experience potential
when Gatsu first plays a level. If he passes the current level and returns
later, the enemy population will eventually fall to 0%. Once a level has an
enemy saturation of 0%, there will not be ANY enemies present until a new game
is played. Red points that appear on the map are Ambush Points, where enemies
will attack Gatsu. Ambush points are red points over which the Sacrifice
Brand hovers in the game. Red Spriggans also trigger ambushes, and these
enemies will count toward the total level saturation percent. To summarize,
if Gatsu completes a stage, and then goes back to it, he will begin to kill
off a very finite population of enemies.
It is beneficial to find an area near a save point where Gatsu can
slaughter enemies on the first play of a level and just reap in experience at
these points. Some of these points will be mentioned in the main walkthrough.
Save points look like yellow glyphs that are illuminated with a spectrum of
colors on the ground.
==============================================================================
================================== Skills ===============================B3500
==============================================================================
As explained in the Experience section, Gatsu can expend his accrued
experience points at the "Raise the Level" menu. The items in the menu are
listed below in the EXACT order that they appear in the in-game menu. Below
each skill is a description and increase amount as well as acquisition
experience requirements.
Note that Gatsu's allies have separate sections for their levels. They
are directly under Gatsu's name on the left-hand panel. In order, from top to
bottom, they are: Gatsu, Puck, Isidro, Serpico, and Schierke.
Also, all numbers listed are the experience points required to obtain a
given skill or spell. Skills for which the usage is indicated to be
"Passive" will activate or upgrade without the user's consent, but of course
the user must choose to level the given skill first.
[-----------------------------------------------------------------]
[ Gatsu ]
[-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------]
[ Name of Skill |Level 1|Level 2|Level 3|Level 4|Level 5][ Code]
[-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------]
[ Fortitude | - | 20000 | 60000 | 85000 | 95000 ][B3501]
[ Berserk | - | 15000 | 45000 | 75000 | 90000 ][B3502]
[ Sword Proficiency | - | 45000 | 90000 | N/A | N/A ][B3503]
[ Sword Mastery | - | 7500 | 15000 | N/A | N/A ][B3504]
[ Power Swing | - | 10000 | 25000 | N/A | N/A ][B3505]
[ Arm Cannon Recovery | - | 20000 | 50000 | 70000 | 90000 ][B3506]
[ Crossbow Gun Capacity | - | 10000 | 25000 | 70000 | 90000 ][B3507]
[ Bomb Capacity | - | 15000 | 45000 | N/A | N/A ][B3508]
[ Throwing Knife Capacity | - | 7500 | 15000 | N/A | N/A ][B3509]
[-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------]
[ Ally Skills ]
[-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------]
[ Name of Skill |Level 1|Level 2|Level 3|Level 4|Level 5][ Code]
[-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------]
[ Puck (Fairy Dust) | - | 45000 | 90000 | N/A | N/A ][B3510]
[ Isidro (Salamandar) | - | 20000 | 40000 | N/A | N/A ][B3511]
[ Serpico (Sylph's Sword) | - | 15000 | 30000 | N/A | N/A ][B3512]
[ Schierke (Providence) | - | 15000 | 45000 | N/A | N/A ][B3513]
[-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------]
_________________________
/ Fortitude \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3501
Rating: 9/10
Usage: Passive
This skill will extend Gatsu's life by making him more resilient and
resistant to attacks. His life will be extended by the listed percentage for
each level attained. Note that Level 4 requires the use of a Red Spriggan,
and Level 5 requires both a Red Spriggan and a New Game+ game (a successive
play).
This is a very useful skill that ought to be one of the first to increase
in level. Although it is not as important later, a slight improvement early
in the game should be quite noticeable. At the maximum level, Fortitude will
triple Gatsu's endurance, effectively making him nigh-invincible.
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
[ Level # | EXP | Description ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | Original fortitude ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 20000 | Fortitude increased to 130% of original ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 60000 | Fortitude increased to 150% of original ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
[ Level 4* | 85000 | Fortitude increased to 180% of original ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
[ Level 5*^ | 95000 | Fortitude increased to 300% of original ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
(*) Use of Red Spriggan is required.
(^) Can only be obtained on successive playthroughs.
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Berserk \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3502
Rating: 8/10
Usage: R2 (toggle on and off)
The Berserk skill determines the amount of time Gatsu is able to maintain
his "Berserk" status. The duration of "Berserker Mode" is increased to the
number of seconds specified for each level attained. All durations listed are
the MAXIMUM duration if applied from a full meter until it is completely
depleted.
[-----------+-------+---------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | Berserk duration of 8 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+---------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 15000 | Berserk duration of 12 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+---------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 45000 | Berserk duration of 16 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+---------------------------------]
[ Level 4* | 75000 | Berserk duration of 32 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+---------------------------------]
[ Level 5*^ | 90000 | Berserk duration of 128 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+---------------------------------]
(*) Use of Red Spriggan is required.
(^) Can only be obtained on successive playthroughs.
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Sword Proficiency \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3503
Rating: 9/10
Usage: Passive
Determines how quickly Gatsu is able to use his weapon and its general
efficacy.
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | Initial speed of attack ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 45000 | Increased speed of attack ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 90000 | Greatly increased speed of attack ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------]
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Sword Mastery \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3504
Rating: 7/10
Usage: R1 + direction + Square
Determines the number of combo attacks and types of combo attacks
available to Gatsu when wielding a weapon. Note that these combos are
performed with: R1 + (Left,Right,Up,Down) + Square. In other words, you must
STRAFE and then press SQUARE and the direction of your choosing. The
directions are relative to Gatsu's facing direction, not to the camera.
[-----------+-------+------------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | No strafing combos are available ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 7500 | Left and Right combos are unlocked ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 15000 | Up and Down combos are unlocked ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------------]
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Power Swing \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3505
Rating: 7/10
Usage: Triangle
Determines the number of swings possible when Triangle is used. This
does not effect special attacks or fatalities.
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | Initial efficacy of attack ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 10000 | Increased efficacy of attack ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 25000 | Greatly increased efficacy of attack ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------------]
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Arm Cannon Recovery \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3506
Rating: 6/10
Usage: Passive
As the name suggests, this skill reduces the recovery time necessary
after firing Gatsu's left-arm cannon in order to be able to fire it again. At
the maximum level, the recovery time is a mere 15 seconds, allowing Gatsu to
shoot the cannon every 15 seconds.
[-----------+-------+------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | Recovery time of 120 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 15000 | Recovery time of 100 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 45000 | Recovery time of 80 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------]
[ Level 4* | 75000 | Recovery time of 60 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------]
[ Level 5*^ | 90000 | Recovery time of 15 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------]
(*) Use of Red Spriggan is required.
(^) Can only be obtained on successive playthroughs.
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Crossbow Gun Capacity \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3507
Rating: 4/10
Usage: Passive
This skill increases the maximum capacity of the bowgun, meaning the
bowgun can fire a higher number of darts before ammunition runs out.
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | Continuous fire for 6 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 15000 | Continuous fire for 12 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 45000 | Continuous fire for 18 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------]
[ Level 4* | 75000 | Continuous fire for 30 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------]
[ Level 5*^ | 90000 | Continuous fire for 56 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------]
(*) Use of Red Spriggan is required.
(^) Can only be obtained on successive playthroughs.
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Bomb Capacity \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3508
Rating: 7/10
Usage: Passive
Increases the number of bombs thrown at once when they are deployed.
[-----------+-------+----------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | 1 bomb is thrown at once ]
[-----------+-------+----------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 15000 | 2 bombs are thrown at once ]
[-----------+-------+----------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 45000 | 3 bombs are thrown at once ]
[-----------+-------+----------------------------]
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Throwing Knife Capacity \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3509
Rating: 4/10
Usage: Passive
Increases the number of knives thrown at once when they are deployed.
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | 1 knife is thrown at once ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 7500 | 3 knives are thrown at once ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 15000 | 5 knives are thrown at once ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------]
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Fairy Dust \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3510
Rating: 10/10
Usage: L2 + X
Puck's "Fairy Dust" is a potent healing spell that recovers Gatsu's
health by the percentage of his maximum health as indicated on the chart for
each level attained. This is the most useful spell, especially early in the
game when Gatsu is weakest.
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | 30% of maximum HP is recovered ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 45000 | 50% of maximum HP is recovered ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 90000 | 80% of maximum HP is recovered ]
[-----------+-------+--------------------------------]
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Salamandar's Rage \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3511
Rating: 6/10
Usage: L2 + Circle
Isidro uses a dagger imbued with the spirit of fire, Salamandar. I
decided to call his attack "Salamandar's Rage" as it is fitting enough. The
attack causes an explosive fire attack in a radius around Gatsu that will hurt
anything caught in the blast. The radius of the attack increases to the
percentage relative to the original radius as indicated for each level
attained.
This attack is moderately useful but certainly not worth investing in
unless you have some spare experience points.
[-----------+-------+------------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | Original radius of effect ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 20000 | Radius of effect increased to 160% ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 40000 | Radius of effect increased to 240% ]
[-----------+-------+------------------------------------]
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Sylph's Sword \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3512
Rating: 4/10
Usage: L2 + Square
Serpico utilizes the power of the wind spirit, Sylph, with his powerful
sword and magical cloak that enables him to command the wind spirits as he
wishes. This attack will stop enemy movement for the duration of time
indicated for each level attained.
Enemy immobilization will prove useful during certain timed challenges
but is otherwise arbitrary.
[-----------+-------+-------------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | Enemy immobilization for 5 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+-------------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 15000 | Enemy immobilization for 10 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+-------------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 30000 | Enemy immobilization for 15 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+-------------------------------------]
==============================================================================
_________________________
/ Providence \___________________________________________________
=========================================================================B3513
Rating: 8/10
Usage: L2 + Triangle
The apprentice witch, Schierke, is a very capable and potent force. She
is quite a powerful magic-user and her spell is no exception. While it does
not deal damage, it does have powerful defensive capabilities. This spell
will increase Gatsu's defense by the percentage indicated for each level
attained. Essentially, this will increase the number of hits required to kill
Gatsu for the duration indicated for each level attained.
"Providence" is a very useful spell on higher difficulties where Gatsu is
damaged more easily.
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
[ Level 1 | - | Defense increased by 10% for 20 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
[ Level 2 | 15000 | Defense increased by 20% for 40 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
[ Level 3 | 45000 | Defense increased by 30% for 60 seconds ]
[-----------+-------+-----------------------------------------]
==============================================================================
==============================================================================
================================ Spriggans ==============================B3600
==============================================================================
Spriggans are small, fey animals that bestow various things upon Gatsu.
They come in three different flavors: red, yellow, and green. They vaguely
resemble fat goblin-dogs, but regardless once you see one it should not be
difficult to recognize because they do not attack you and seem oddly
misplaced.
Spriggans appear in obvious places. Search for them at the end of
deadend paths, corners of the map, niches, and general areas where you would
otherwise never go.
When approached, the color of the Spriggan will determine what it will
acquiesce:
Red Spriggan - Allows Gatsu to unlock certain skills to level 4 or level
5. However, Gatsu will be ambushed by enemies as soon as
the Red Spriggan is obtained. Note that on Red Spriggans
only appear on subsequent playthroughs of a level. Some
Red Spriggans will only bestow experience while others
will raise the upper limit of certain skills. Each
Spriggan is predetermined to raise a certain skill.
Yellow Spriggan - When obtained, all of Gatsu's secondary weapons, allies'
magical spells, and health will be refilled.
Green Spriggan - When obtained, Gatsu will earn a set amount of experience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
08. Walkthrough B4000
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you first load the game, you will be greeted with a screen telling
you that there is no Berserk game data on memory card 1. It will ask you if
you wish to create new data, yes is on the right, no is on the left.
Hereafter, if you start the game and there is Berserk data on memory card 1,
then the game will load it automatically. Note that Circle is accept and X is
reject/cancel.
After some of the title screens and introductory movie, you will be
prompted to press START. Note how many of the menu selection commands are in
English, this should make things much easier for most of you. Go ahead and
look at the options as you desire, when ready, start a New Game on any
difficulty. As far as I know, beating the game on harder difficulties does
not unlock anything that is absent from the easier ones, so keep that in mind.
You will be shown a brief introduction to the story, if you have
knowledge of the story from elsewhere, then these scenes will be very
familiar. After that, another scene will take place except now from the
present. Say hello to Puck and Casca and the beginning of Chapter 1: Winter's
Journey.
==============================================================================
======================= - Chapter 1a: Winter's Journey - ================B4100
==============================================================================
Puck will begin talking to you, do not press Circle too quickly or else
you may choose an undesirable choice for the question he asks. When prompted,
Puck asks you, (figurative, whimsical translation)
"Will you undergo tutorial mode? Yes No"
Yes-> Starts tutorial mode
No ->"Are you sure? Yes No"
Yes-> Begin boss battle
No -> Starts tutorial mode
I will briefly describe tutorial mode which I recommend you undergo since
it is easy, allows you to get used to the controls, and even nets you some
experience points. Basically, Puck will force you to cover the controls of
the game in a laundry-list fashion. Press Circle on a lit button to begin
that lesson, the last choice is to exit. Note that when you finish the
tutorial or if you skipped it entirely, you will face a Boss.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Snow Man \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B01
| Difficulty: * | | Experience: 3000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
The Snow Man is quite easy to kill. Its arms are not part of its health,
so you can run past them and just attack the bulbous head. Any combination of
attacks will kill this beast, and since it is so weak I will not bother with a
proper strategy. Hack and slash it to death.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another scene will take place after the snow man's death. Yes, Gatsu
uses the rare "ore" to refer to himself, and yes it is boastful (for you
linguists out there, though I have no doubt that you all ready know this.)
Once Puck is finished, you will be able to play the first level. The enemies
here are not powerful at all, and are generally pretty stupid. It is up to
you whether or not you want to gain lots of experience here, keeping mind that
there are better areas later.
Continue along the linear path and eventually you will meet a new enemy:
the Demon Tree. The demon trees are quite annoying since their range is
greater than Gatsu's, but they cannot move around. You can abuse the fact
that Gatsu can launch into Berserk mode for a split-second, quickly enough to
start his frenetic assault, but then either cancel the Berserk mode or it will
wear off and he fill finish the attack regardless. Only the purple-ish
colored trees will give you 300 experience, the others will give you 20
experience.
Soon you will see a gylph with rainbow lights around it on the ground.
These are the save points of the game. If you step on it, you will be
prompted:
"Would you like to go to the Camp Menu? Yes No"
Yes-> Switches to camp menu
No-> Returns to game
This message is identical each time you step on the save point. On the
Camp Menu, you can save, raise Gatsu's level, or view the World of Berserk.
Once you are done, if you very much enjoy killing things on this level, this
is a nice area to do it. Just north of the save point are some demon trees,
or you can avoid them, but bewarned that there are trees on the right path as
well. At the path bifurcation prior to the demon trees, there seems to be a
higher number of 100 experience snow men that spawn in that specific location.
Use that to your advantage.
After the demon trees, you will reach a wide, clear field of snow. Be
sure to heal Gatsu before proceeding forth much further. A boss battle is on
the horizon. When prepared, go forward to trigger a cutscene and a boss
battle.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Zodd \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B02
| Difficulty: ** | | Experience: 5000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
The immortal apostle Nosferatu Zodd is not too difficult in his first
form. He is rather aggressive, but not too quick for the most part. He will
be able to dodge Gatsu's attacks, but catching up to Gatsu may be difficult
for Zodd. Use your secondary weapons whenever possible, and heal when Gatsu
is at 40-60% health. Remember to use R1 to lock-on to Zodd so Gatsu is able
to hit him more easily.
When Zodd has a blue glow, he will counterattack anytime that Gatsu
attacks him. If he has a red glow, he will use his special attack. Zodd's
special is basically a flurry of sword attacks which can be dodged relatively
easily but cannot be blocked. If you are caught by them, mash X and hope to
get a reversal strike. It is possible to counter all of his attacks, but this
may prove to be more trouble than it is worth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once Zodd's first form is defeated, the immortal will transform to his
more powerful second form.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// [Transformed] \\
// Zodd \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B03
| Difficulty: **** | | Experience: 5000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
Zodd's transformed state is more powerful and aggressive than his
somewhat human form. He will make much more deliberate attempts to immobilize
Gatsu by grabbing his weapon, mash square when this happens or use your cannon
for a nice attack. Zodd will charge more often and now has an attack that can
hit all directions in a small area around him. Use special attacks when the
opportunity arises and Gatsu's secdonary weapons and you shall have few
problems.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After another cutscene, you will be back on the map. There will be new
enemies to fight, but none of them are difficult. Both the spirits and demon
dogs are very easy. Gatsu should be able to get much high continuous kill
counts now since the new enemies fall in one slash, and they tend to crowd
around Gatsu.
Continue along the linear path to see a cutscene involving a green
Spriggan. After the scene, Chapter 1a: Winter's Journey will end.
==============================================================================
=================== - Chapter 1b: The Clashing of Minds - ===============B4200
==============================================================================
Gatsu will face a new snow area to explore. Continue along the linear
path, fighting enemies as you progress. Some demon trees will appear for your
pleasure as well. By now I suggest you at least upgrade Gatsu's "Sword
Proficiency" skill at least one time. His normal sword swings will be faster
and it will make things easier for you (and him.)
Soon, a cutscene will take place. The demonic dog that you see is called
the Beast of Darkness, the psycological incarnation of Gatsu's hatred and
anger. It commands him to continue his pursuit of Griffith and take his
revenge. It also accuses Gatsu of letting Casca, "this woman," get in the way
of revenge, hence why the Beast begins to bite her. Note that the dream is
evoked by the demon that influences thoughts that attached itself to Gatsu in
his sleep.
Once Gatsu is back on the field, continue along the linear path. Another
new enemy will appear, which also goes on the "fodder" list. After some time,
a short scene will take place in order to introduce a new enemy type: the
undead. Undead enemies tend to throw themselves at Gatsu often, but they are
faster than the previous enemies with which you have contended. Stay on your
guard, they can be dangerous in numbers.
After that scene and ambush, zombies will appear along with snow fiends
as regular enemies. Continue for a short distance to trigger another scene,
introducing Isidro, Farnese, and Serpico. Farnese and Serpico inquire to
Isidro about the whereabouts of the "Black Swordsman." Once you regain
control, continue until you approach a bridge. Nothing will attack you while
you are on the bridge...for a while. Go to the other side. Do not cut the
rope bridge yet, you should do that on a replay as there are Spriggans in the
area below the bridge that only appear on a New Game+.
At the next path split, take the lower path that leads away from the
ending destination. Eventually you will find a Green Spriggan that gives you
3000 experience. Go back and take the upper path toward the ending
destination. After you reach the save point and Yellow Spriggan, a cutscene
will take place.
This part of the story is absent in the manga, and is more of a side
story. Gatsu, Casca, and Puck have entered the mansion of Charles, a peculiar
boy. While in the mansion, Puck will be replaced by a bag of Elfin powder in
the ally spells menu. This does not really change anything except the image.
Go up the stairs of the mansion and down the hall. A voice will tell you not
to approach, not to come any closer. Despite the ominous message, press
onward. Once again, the voice will tell you stop going forward. Ignore it
and go the end of the hall and to the door, the voice will tell you not to
enter.
An interesting cutscene will take place, and you will enter a Boss
battle. They are illusions, those three really did die during the Eclipse and
have not risen from the dead. Basically, these three are playing on Gatsu's
fears by telling him how he is not like Griffith, and how wonderful Griffith
was and how Gatsu caused everything to falter.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Judeau, Corkus, Pippin \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B04
| Difficulty: * | | Experience: 9000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
None of the three are particularly difficult, but together they can be
annoying. I suggest a nice cannon shot in the beginning to soften them up a
bit. Focus attacks on Judeau first since his knife throwing can interupt you
easily. Pippin is the main damage-dealer, he should go down second. Corkus
is pathetically weak, he can bite the dust last.
The three mentioned will be accompanied by a number of weak soldiers.
The cannon shot should take care of them easily, but more will show up.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the fight, another cutscene will take place, and afterwards Puck
will talk to you. By the way "kuwabara" means something like, "Oh my god!"
Anyway, continue along the path to end Chapter 1b: The Clashing of Minds.
Following the end of a chapter, the game will inform you that the "World
of Berserk" has been updated and the Movie Gallery has new entries in it.
==============================================================================
================== - Chapter 2: A Meeting in the Forest - ===============B4300
==============================================================================
A cutscene will take place. Farnese and Isidro request Gatsu to take
them under his wing as his disciples. He says the equivalent of, "do what you
like, just don't get in the way." If you want more information, please
consult the manga.
Once you regain control of Gatsu, move around and you'll find a new breed
of enemy to fight. These undead soldiers are tougher than the ones from the
previous level. The most dangerous ones are the taller, armored ones in red
pants. They can take several hits before falling, the rest are usually one-
hit kills except on high difficulties. You will learn to hate the crossbow-
wielding undead because they have impeccable aim and are extremely annoying.
Continue until you are about to reach the ending destination and you will
be interupted by a cutscene. Gatsu is now required to destroy five undead
base camps in order to placate the dead that dwell here. The camps are
located in the side paths near the top of the level. You can take them on in
any order you feel is appropriate, keep an eye out for Spriggans while you are
roaming around. You can check the map by pressing START to see camps. Begin
by killing everything around the central area until Serpico and Gatsu have a
short dialogue. After this dialogue, your mission begins formally.
When you reach a base camp, kill everything in the resulting ambush to
conquer it. The map should help find the maps greatly, I will not go into
detail about this as a result. Once you finish destroying the fifth camp,
Gatsu will be automatically brought back to the top central camp, near the
save point. Save and go north toward the the last path for a Boss fight.
After a short scene, a battle will ensue.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Undead Captain \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B05
| Difficulty: ** | | Experience: 7000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
The Undead captain is not too tough, though he resembles Zodd in
aggressiveness. The captain is accompanied by a large number of undead
soldiers (the easier blue variety) which can be taken care of with bombs or a
cannon blast. This battle will feel similar to Zodd's, hence the same tactics
will work. Especially take advantage of the lag caused by the captain's
special attacks, he will pause for some time after each one. Once again, use
Triangle if the Sacrifice Brand ever shows up on the health sphere (that is a
general rule for boss battles.)
Before long, the captain and his cronies will fall. Remember that a red
glow is a special attack, a blue glow is a counterattack. Watch out for the
undead controlling the cannons, those shots can hurt quite a bit. If the
captain manages to retreat to his barricade, you will have to use secondary
weapons to hurt him. You should be able to kill him before this happens, just
be aggressive and relentless.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another short scene, and Gatsu is back on the map again. Keep walking
forward until another scene occurs. Here you will meet an old man. Meeting
him will end Chapter 2: A Meeting in the Forest.
==============================================================================
======================= - Chapter 3: Flora's Manor - ====================B4400
==============================================================================
A short scene will ensue, and Gatsu will be back on the killing fields,
or killing forest. The forest is full of new enemies: Trolls. Trolls are
generally weaker than the undead and equally stupid. The larger trolls can
trouble, but treat them like you would the larger undead.
After you make some progress, past some demon trees, you will be
interupted by a scene. You are now introduced to Schierke, the apprentice
witch. Once you regain control, continue along the linear path until another
scene is triggered. Finally, after that scene, keep moving forward in the
forest.
Gatsu will soon reach an area of very large trees that are even displayed
on the minimap. Kill all the enemies that appear until a scene occurs.
Morgan, from the village of Inoch, introduces himself in this scene. He
explains that he is seeking the witch, Flora, to help save his village from
being conquered by the trolls.
Back on the field, walk to the person standing in front of Gatsu. You
will be told to find the children, who run from Isidro whom they call an idiot
repeatedly, by using Isidro's marks on the map. After you encounter a set of
children, move toward the next marker. Repeat this until the last one, in
which you will have to contend with a troll ambush.
First, from the area with the large trees, head west toward the yellow
marker on the map (press START) to reach the first children. Then go to the
marker on the opposite east side of the level. Now, head north to find the
children for the third, and final time. Fight off the ambush of trolls.
I ought to mention that I recommend getting Puck's "Fairy Dust" spell to
level 2 at least before moving on, it will be useful in the next Chapter.
Having a maxed Sword Proficiency will be useful as well.
After the scenes, you can level up in the area around the save point for
a little while and then head northeast to the Flora's Manor. The northwest
exit will attempt to go toward Inoch. Once you enter the area, a scene will
take place and you will be ambushed by clay Golems. They are ridiculously
easy, usually never even attempting an attack, they will simply walk toward
Gatsu, begging him to cut them asunder. Do so, and you will eventually be
thrown into another scene. Gatsu and company will be introduced to Flora, the
ancient witch.
Schierke will proceed to give the members of your party new equipment.
Serpico is given a cloak imbued with the spirits of the wind, and a Wind Shear
feather-sword that utilizes the power of Sylph. Isidro receives a dagger
imbued with the spirits of Salamandar (fire) and small explosives. Farnese
and Casca receive silver chainmail to ward off the trolls, and Farnese
receives a silver dagger as well. Gatsu receives nothing, and actually in the
manga he refuses the elemental axe offered to him. You will now be pitted
against the Boss golem. Make use of your new ally spells.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Golem \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B06
| Difficulty: * | | Experience: 5000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
The golem is annoying due to its ability to revive itself. You must
attack the small figure that is on the golem's chest in order to hurt it.
This will reveal itself more when the golem takes damage. Simply attack the
golem, wait for the figure to appear, and hit the figure. Repeat as
necessary.
The other golems in the area are there so that you can refill your Rage
meter and for extraneous experience points.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afterwards, a scene will occur in which Gatsu questions Flora on a few
very important topics. Your best source for this information is the manga.
In the next scene, Flora will speak with the Skull Knight as Gatsu and his
entourage head to Inoch. Schierke has joined your party.
You will regain control of Gatsu in the Troll forest. Go to the
northwest exit to reach Inoch, ending Chapter 3: Flora's Manor. Before doing
that, be sure to upgrade Puck to level 2 at least.
==============================================================================
======================= - Chapter 4: Inoch Village - ====================B4500
==============================================================================
The intro cutscene will show Schierke giving the party strands of her
hair, which will enable her to contact them telepathically.
Inoch village is a bit different from the average level because Gatsu
will have to defend the town, he will basically be in a continuous ambush for
the entire level. However, at first there will be no enemies until you
approach and talk to Schierke near the church. DO NOT talk to her until you
have spoken to every townsperson. Each one will give you 1000 experience
points. Grab the green Spriggan in the cemetary as well. There is another
green Spriggan in the north area, at the northeastern end of the fenced
grazing area near the save point. In the area just south of the church (after
loading the new area) go the southeastern extreme to find another green
Spriggan. You should have spoken to 8 townspersons, Isidro, Serpico, and the
Priest before speaking with Schierke. This amounts to 17,000 experience
points including the 3 green Spriggans.
Talk to Schierke to begin the hard part of this level: defending the
town. You will see a new breed of troll that are armored. These are much
more dangerous than the average troll, so be cautious. Kill everything that
comes near and you will see a short cutscene. Gatsu will be given a mission
to block the bridge south of the village. You can accomplish this by having
Gatsu destroy the tower near the bridge.
Cross the bridge and kill everything on it. Puck will tell you to
destroy the tower. To get back into the town, move down to the river and
follow it northeast to the town. Once Gatsu arrives in the town, he is
assigned to rescue villagers. There are six markings on the map that
represent the six villagers, simply go there, fight off the ambush, and move
on to the next one. Don't worry, they are not irritatingly spread out, the
villagers are in a straight path more or less. Once you have saved the last
person, go back to the front of the temple and fight off another wave of
trolls after the short scene.
Soon, after some interesting cutscenes, Gatsu will face a Boss.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Ogre \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B07
| Difficulty: ** | | Experience: 0 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
No, that experience total is not a typo. The ogre is a tough monster to
defeat, but for this battle, you merely need to whittle its HP down to roughly
75% of its total. Gatsu's attacks won't deal as much damage as it will to
other enemies, but make good use of special attacks when the Brand shows
itself. All of the trolls mulling around will sometimes catch the special
attack before Gatsu can reach the ogre, so only use it when you are close to
it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the ogre is "defeated" Gatsu will face a new enemy.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Kelpie \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B08
| Difficulty: *** | | Experience: 7500 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
The Kelpie will protect itself from attacks whenever Gatsu attempts to
attack it from the front. Attack the Kelpie from the side or from behind to
damage it. Special attacks work wonderfully here.
Remember to use the DASH feature (Circle) to avoid the Kelpie's water
projectiles. Its attacks aren't too very damaging but can be quite painful on
high difficulties. When the Kelpie performs an explosive attack around
itself, mash X and hope to counter it for massive damage. Eventually, this
annoying creature will be defeated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After another scene, Gatsu will face the Ogre again, but Serpico will not
be available for this battle.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Ogre \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B09
| Difficulty: ** | | Experience: 0 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
No, that experience total is not a typo. Once again, the ogre will
attack Gatsu. This fight is the same as before, attack the legs often and
dodge its attacks. You will need to whittle its HP to roughly 45% of its
maximum before the battle will end.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another scene and the ogre returns for the last time.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Ogre \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B10
| Difficulty: **** | | Experience: 7500 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
This is it, the final fight with the irritating ogre. Go nuts. Really,
don't hold back and just attack it with everything you have. It will counter
when it glows blue, just like before, so watch out for this. The trolls are
gone due to the flooding. Additionally, the ogre will have a very hard time
finding Gatsu admist the flood of debris and water. Often it will attack in
random directions. Be sure to perform the special attack when the ogre is
kneeling on the ground, this will cause huge damage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A scene will ensue after the battle has concluded and this will end
Chapter 4: Inoch Village. Before moving on to Chapter 5, I recommend training
some of Gatsu's skills: Fortitude level 2 or better, Berserk level 2 or
better, Sword Proficiency max level, Sword Mastery max level, Power Swing max
level, Arm Cannon Recovery level 2 or better, and Puck to max level. Going
back to previous stages and finding Red Spriggans will help to raise some
skills above level 3, and each Red Spriggan will give you 10,000 experience if
you survive the ambush.
==============================================================================
========================= - Chapter 5a: Qliphoth - ======================B4600
==============================================================================
This area is an annoying maze. It is annoying because rather than just
having you get lost, if you take the wrong portal you will return to the
beginning or to a previous room. Follow the instructions carefully and you
won't have to start over ever. You will notice that all the enemies here are
new and mostly more difficult. The large monsters with the face on their
backs are rather quick and dangerous, so be careful with them.
As soon as you enter the level, move forward until you see a purple
portal. Go through it to trigger a short scene, after you walk forward a bit,
and Gatsu will appear in the maze area. Go forward to a a "Y"-shaped room.
(01) In this room, there will be a green Spriggan before the portal on the
right. The left portal is the one that will have you progress in the maze.
Go there to proceed.
(02) This room has only one exit: the right path at the bifurcation. The
other leads to a dead end.
(03) This is a straight-forward room with only one exit. However, Gatsu will
be ambushed by a number of stronger enemies. They are upgraded versions of
the enemies he has dealth with thus far, and number around 140. Go through
the only exit.
(04) There are two exits in this room, the left one will lead to room (05),
the other will lead to room (06). I suggest going in (05) since there is a
green Spriggan there.
(05) This room has one exit that leads back to room (04). First, take the
right path to a green Spriggan. Go through to room (04) and then take the
RIGHT path to reach room (06).
(06) The right path will lead to room (07). The left path will lead to room
(04). Go to the left path to find a green Spriggan and backtrack to the
bifurcation. Take the RIGHT path.
(07) This room has one exit, a yellow Spriggan, and a Save Point. Go to the
exit to proceed to room (08).
(08) This room is short and straight-forward, but contains a Boss battle. As
you enter, a cutscene will take place and Gatsu will be thrown into a battle.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Judeau, Pippin, Corkus \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B11
| Difficulty: * | | Experience: 9000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
This fight will be very similar to Gatsu's last encounter with them.
However, Gatsu should be quite a bit more able. Again, I recommend killing
Judeau, then Pippin, then Corkus. Again, secondary weapons can wreak havoc on
groups, so use them well.
These three and their entourage will not pose a problem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After their defeat, you will automatically be transferred to room (09).
(09) This room contains a save point and three exits. The right exit leads to
room (10), the middle one leads to room (11), and the left path leads to room
(12). I suggest going to room (10) first, so take the RIGHT path.
(10) Grab the green Spriggan in this room and take either exit since they both
lead back to room (09).
(09) Do not go to room (11) since it will only take you back to room (09) and
contains nothing of interest. Take the LEFT path to room (12).
(12) There are two exits in this room. The left path will go to room (09) and
the right will go to room (13). Take the RIGHT exit.
(13) There are three exits in this room: both the left and right paths lead to
room (09), however, the middle path leads to room (14). Take the MIDDLE path.
(14) This room contains a yellow Spriggan and a save point. Take the only
exit to proceed to room (15).
(15) Another scene and another Boss battle for Gatsu, but there is a new
warrior in this fray.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// Casca, \\
// Judeau, Pippin, Corkus \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B12
| Difficulty: ** | | Experience: 12000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
Once again, this fight is nearly identical to previous ones, except that
Casca makes an appearance. Despite her abilities, she is absolutely no match
for Gatsu, even with the others' aid. Lay waste to them as you would normally
and you will be given another scene.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the fight, a scene will take place with Charles. I will summarize
the scene. Charles explains how his family were killed years ago as his
mansion was burned to the ground. At that time, his Beherit, which he had
found just then, activated, giving him the ability to become an apostle if he
so chose. What he sacrificed will be revealed soon, but regardless, he
created an illusionary world to make himself "happy." He claims that when
Gatsu entered his world, it collapsed and Charles views this as a similar
scenario from his past. He blames Gatsu for repeating the events of years
ago, and hence hates him. This is why he created the illusions from Gatsu's
past: in an attempt to break his mind and kill him. Gatsu will then have to
fight Charles.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Charles \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B13
| Difficulty: *** | | Experience: 5000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
Charles is not so much difficult as he is annoying. Each time Gatsu
strikes him, he will disappear and reappear in another location. On top of
this tedious movement, Charles can create a black mist that will reverse
Gatsu's controls for a short period of time. If this happens it will be
rather obvious, just wait it out or try to get accustomed to it.
You can counter his teleportation by using R1 to lock onto him whenever
he moves. While he may be too far away to hit, you will at least know where
he is. If you can, shoot the cannon right in his face for enormous damage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(16) You will automatically be sent here. Simply go through the exit at the
end of the linear path. This will end Chapter 5a: Qliphoth.
==============================================================================
================== - Chapter 5b: Near the Yellow Spring - ===============B4700
==============================================================================
This episode will begin with an introductory cutscene. You objective is
to reach Farnese and Casca before they are killed by the trolls.
Soon thereafter, you will be given free reign of the level. This level
layout is quite complicated and has layers of paths, meaning upper and lower,
reaching to different locations. Again, be very attentive when trying to find
green Spriggans. There are 3 of them: one in the south, one in the middle,
and one in the north of the map. There are also a number of areas where
enemies will ambush you, but they are not "ambush points" technically but are
represented with a yellow square on the map and function identically as
compared to ambush points.
You will meet a somewhat new foe: the ogre. However, this beast is much
much weaker than the one Gatsu dealt with before, and they are only worth a
measly 5 experience points. The armored trolls are back and are as resilient
as ever.
Move forward and take the first right. Take the first left and then move
forward at the path split until you spot a green Spriggan. Head back to the
path split just mentioned and take the other path.
At the next path split, go RIGHT until you find a yellow Spriggan.
Continue moving forward to the end of a long path to find an ambush point.
This will cause an ogre to fall and cause some rock from the ceiling to fill
the gap in the area below. Head all the way back to the path split after
passing the area where you found the yellow Spriggan and take the right path
until the next path split. Follow the RIGHT path here to a larger area where
you will find another green Spriggan.
Watch out for the trolls rolling boulders at you, either dodge them or
just slash at them to destroy them. Now, after finding the green Spriggan,
head all the way back to the first path split of the stage. Once there, take
the untraveled path. Again, beware of falling rocks. Take the LEFT path at
the next split and follow the linear road, eastward, until you find a save
point.
From the save point, head northeast to find a green Spriggan. Go back to
the save point. Take the northwest path and Gatsu will be in front of a huge
rock. Hit the rock repeatedly with your weapon until it no longer has effect.
Go back to the save point. Take the westernmost path and Schierke and Puck
will speak with you briefly. Go NORTH at the pathsplit until you reach an
area with three paths.
Take the easternmost path and hit the huge rock until it falls. Go back
to the last split and take the westernmost path, destroy the huge rock, and
follow it to a yellow Spriggan, a save point, and a story point. Go ahead and
save here, the next part may prove difficult. Move forward when you are ready
to trigger a cutscene. You must now kill a large number of trolls. There will
be a new, crossbow-wielding, incredibly annoying troll for your killing
pleasure. After this, another scene takes place.
You will now be required to kill a large number of trolls while your
companions escape. You will only have Elfin powder to use as an ally spell.
You must survive until your companions escape successfully. After a certain
number of kills, you will automatically be sent to the Camp menu where you can
save or raise your levels. Do anything you wish and continue the game. Gatsu
will soon be in a series of Boss battles.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// Casca, \\
// Judeau, Pippin, Corkus \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B14
| Difficulty: ** | | Experience: 12000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
By now you should be able to handle this group fairly well. This fight
is no different than the previous ones, except that they seem to have more
help in the form of annoying crossbow-wielding soldiers. When each of the
four are defeated, a CG cutscene will play showing their final defeat. In
terms of practicality, I suggest killing them in the following order: Casca,
Judeau, Pippin, Corkus. However, for the purposes of cinematics and drama,
the following order seems more appropriate: Pippin, Corkus, Judeau, Casca.
They will often gain some health after one of their allies is defeated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the fight, there will be a few extended cutscenes. One will be the
same one from the beginning of the game. A long time later, Gatsu will face a
new Boss.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Griffith \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B15
| Difficulty: *** | | Experience: 10000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
Griffith is not as strong as you might expect, but he is however very
quick and nimble. Especially on harder difficulties, he will be very
difficult to hit. This makes the intelligent use of counters and special
attacks critical. Be careful to time your cannon shots well because he may
dodge them.
As a fencer, he is quite fast and will pick and prod Gatsu to death if
you're not careful. Hitting him with knives seems to trigger the Sacrifice
Brand very often, so use this to your advantage. Griffith can only be
finished with a normal, SQUARE attack.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After that battle, another scene will take place. It seems that Charles
is quite annoyed that his mind tricks didn't break Gatsu and kill him. Now
you must fight Charles for the last time.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Charles \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B16
| Difficulty: *** | | Experience: 5000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
This fight is identical to the last fight with Charles. Avoid his black
mist and use special attacks when possible. The cannon is tremendously
powerful against him. Again, use R1 to lock on Charles to surmise his
location.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gatsu then accuses Charles of sacrificing his beloved younger sister,
Marie Anne, in order to become an apostle. Charles literally refuses this
statement and is furious at his own actions and Gatsu's inference. Charles
continually says "Lies!", "You lie!" Now Gatsu will fight his transformed
state.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// [Transformed] \\
// Charles \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B17
| Difficulty: **** | | Experience: 10000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
Charles' transformed state is a large, deranged butterfly. Most of his
attacks are very fast but very obvious. The best way to damage him is to
counter his attacks, especially any huge swooping ones.
Hitting him with knives is a good way to coax Brand attacks, which are
also very effective. The cannon is much less effective on this transformation
than his previous state, but the damage is still good. Shooting him while he
is flying towards you and then countering is also quite effective.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After Charles' defeat, save your game and watch another cutscene. The
new Boss, Slan, is the only female Godhand. Notice how much Gatsu's Brand
bleeds in her presence as compared to normal.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Slan \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B18
| Difficulty: *** | | Experience: 0 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
If playing on Hard or Expert, do not use your cannon except to escape her
counter attacks. Slan can only be harmed once her wings are destroyed, so
attack one and go for her main body. She will most likely counter and grab
Gatsu, to which you can either mash SQUARE crazily or use L1+Triangle and
shoot her in the abdomen. I suggest the latter since that will damage her
quite a bit.
You only need to get her health to 50% before this battle will end.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A short dialogue and scene ensues. Gatsu will lose his torso armor
permanently and has a deep wound instead.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Slan \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B19
| Difficulty: ***** | | Experience: 10000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
If playing on Hard or Expert, do not use your cannon except to escape her
counter attacks. Slan can only be harmed once her wings are destroyed, so
attack one and go for her main body. However, she now has TWO pairs of wings,
but attacking the exterior pair will also cause the interior pair to retract.
She will most likely counter and grab Gatsu, to which you can either mash
SQUARE crazily or use L1+Triangle and shoot her in the abdomen. I suggest the
latter since that will damage her quite a bit.
Now, many harder ogres will attack you while you fight Slan. Her counter
attack will also heal her and hurt you, so be sure to save that cannon shot
for her counters. She can only be finished with a normal, SQUARE attack.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the following scene, Schierke summons the demon spirit to destroy the
cave. The Skull Knight forms his sword into a Vorpal Blade that can tear
throw spacial dimensions which he then uses to take him and Gatsu out of the
cave. After another short scene, Chapter 5b: Near the Yellow Spring will end.
Before moving on to Chapter 6, make sure you have found all of the Red
Spriggans in the previous stages. Note that some cannot be found until you
replay the game, on the same difficulty, after having beaten it once.
==============================================================================
==================== - Chapter 6: The Ascension of Flame - ==============B4800
==============================================================================
This begins the final chapter of the game. Note that you cannot return
to previous areas once you have started this chapter. Make sure you have done
everything you wanted to do in this playthrough before beginning this chapter.
Gatsu will start in the forest very close to Flora's location. Go to the
northeast exit to progress. You can also kill all the weak enemies around for
experience points for any last minute skills.
A cutscene will trigger and Gatsu will fight apostles. Move toward the
flaming house in order to trigger another scene. Continue killing apostles
until a scene takes place and Gatsu is forced to fight a new Boss, the mighty
Grunbeld.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Grunbeld \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B20
| Difficulty: * | | Experience: 0 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
Gatsu cannot win this battle. It will automatically end after Gatsu has
incurred a certain amount of damage. Don't try any secondary weapons,
counters, or special attacks since they will all do zero damage. Just let him
beat you around until a scene takes place.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the battle, a very nice scene will take place and Gatsu will get
some new equipment: Berserker armor. Now Gatsu will be able to kill apostles
until Grunbeld shows up again. Gatsu handles almost the same as he used to,
but is generally faster and more vicious. He spins more frequently and
performs flips and jumps frequently as well. Eventually a cutscene will take
place and you will fight Grunbeld again with a feral version of Berserker
Gatsu.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// \\
// Grunbeld \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B21
| Difficulty: ** | | Experience: 10000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
Now, Gatsu is able to damage Grunbeld at last. You will, however, have
to keep pounding on him until his shield breaks. After this happens, he will
take MUCH more damage and cannot shoot his cannon at Gatsu any longer.
Try to counter Grunbeld often since his attacks are very obvious and
slow. This version of Gatsu is slightly difficult to control, but is
extremely powerful and menacing. Special attacks and bombs will deal damage
well, and of course so does the cannon. Gatsu will not have knives nor his
crossbow gun for the rest of the game. Soon, Grunbeld will be defeated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After another scene, Gatsu will have to fight Grunbeld's transformed
state, a titanic, ludicrously armored dragon. You will be asked if you want
to save before the next fight.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// [Transformed] \\
// Grunbeld \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B22
| Difficulty: *** | | Experience: 0 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
Gatsu cannot win this battle, simply bring Grunbeld's health to ~75% and
the battle will end automatically. You cannot damage him directly, so simply
attack Grunbeld until you are able to perform a special attack. The special
attack and any attacks performed while Grunbeld is weakened will harm him, but
only at this time. Gunbeld will only be defeated by a normal square attack on
his head.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another scene will take place after the battle. Schierke will protect
Gatsu's ego from being consumed by the Berserker armor and his rage.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// [Transformed] \\
// Grunbeld \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B23
| Difficulty: **** | | Experience: 15000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
The battle is the same as before except that Gatsu can defeat Grunbeld
properly. Grunbeld will only take damage when his head is hit. Attack his
legs to cause him to kneel and then just attack the head. Special attacks
will always hurt him. You will get special attacks very frequently in this
battle.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A short scene will take place after that battle and Gatsu will be thrown
into yet another Boss battle but this time against a transformed Zodd.
___________________________
// BOSS BATTLE \\
// [Transformed] \\
// Zodd \\_____________________________________________
+-------------------+---+-------------------+------------------------------B24
| Difficulty: **** | | Experience: 20000 |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+
Zodd is now even more difficult than last time. But Gatsu is much
stronger and faster as well. Zodd can now use his special attack charge two
times with little time in between attacks.
This is the final battle. Go Berserk and just wail on Zodd until he is
defeated. Don't hold back, use all weapons and allies and enjoy the battle
music.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the final battle, a scene will take place. The credits will roll
and you will be asked if you want to save your game. If this is the first
time you have beaten the game, then you will have unlocked 100-Animal Murder
Mode and Boss Rush Mode. Enjoy the credits and ending music and the little
scene afterwards.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
09. Unlockables/Secrets B5000
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section will outline the unlockables and secrets in the game.
+------------------------+
| The World of Berserk |---------------------------------------------- B5100
+------------------------+
The items in this prizebox will be unlocked once the game is completed on
any difficulty. There are various Berserk-related media in the World of
Berserk.
+------------------------+
| 100-Animal Murder Mode |---------------------------------------------- B5200
+------------------------+
Complete the game on any difficulty to unlock this mode.
+------------------------+
| Boss Rush Mode |---------------------------------------------- B5300
+------------------------+
Complete the game on any difficulty to unlock this mode.
+------------------------+
| Secret Weapons |---------------------------------------------- B5400
+------------------------+
There are 11 hidden weapons in the game that can be unlocked. Ten of
them are unlocked by completing given levels of 100-Animal Murder Mode, the
last one has some special requirements.
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ ## | Weapon Name | Method of Extraction ]
[====+=======================+===============================================]
[ 00 | Dragonslayer | Default weapon ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 01 | Gatsu's Raider Sword | Clear level 1 of 100-Animal Murder Mode ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 02 | Poleaxe/Halberd | Clear level 2 of 100-Animal Murder Mode ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 03 | Casca's Sword | Clear level 3 of 100-Animal Murder Mode ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 04 | Isidro's Fire Dagger | Clear level 4 of 100-Animal Murder Mode ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 05 | Grunbeld's War Hammer | Clear level 5 of 100-Animal Murder Mode ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 06 | Wooden Club | Clear level 6 of 100-Animal Murder Mode ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 07 | Azan's Iron Bo(Staff) | Clear level 7 of 100-Animal Murder Mode ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 08 | Elemental Axe | Clear level 8 of 100-Animal Murder Mode ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 09 | Electric Guitar | Clear level 9 of 100-Animal Murder Mode ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 10 | Zodd's Sword | Clear level 10 of 100-Animal Murder Mode ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
[ 11 | Puck's Bloody Needles | All stages have 0% enemy saturation ]
[----+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------]
None of the weapons are any stronger or really noticeably weaker than
Dragonslayer. None of the animations will change, even for the dagger, the
hammer, or the guitar. All of them still make the same sounds, cut through
enemies even if the weapon is blunt, and only vary in length.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10. 100-Animal Murder Mode B6000
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
100-Animal Murder mode is unlocked after you have beaten the game once.
It is available by going to the "Prize Box" and selecting 100-Animal Murder.
Each level will unlock a particular weapon. The one difficult thing about the
challenges is that Puck is unavailable during them,
+----------+-------------------+
| Level 01 | Difficulty: * |-----------------------------------------B6001
+----------+-------------------+
Weapon Earned: Gatsu's Raider Sword. It is the sword he used when he was the
captain of the Raiders in the Band of the Hawk.
Murder 200 enemies with no time limit. Ally spells are at level 3,
secondary weapons are at level 3, and Gatsu is in his normal costume. This
level is very easy, just kill everything and you should have no problems.
+----------+-------------------+
| Level 02 | Difficulty: * |-----------------------------------------B6002
+----------+-------------------+
Weapon Earned: Poleaxe/Halberd. A generic poleaxe.
You must kill 150 enemies within a 3 minute time limit. All spells and
secondary weapons are at level 3. Use Isidro's fire spell, bombs, and the
cannon to take care of large groups and special attacks on tougher enemies.
+----------+-------------------+
| Level 03 | Difficulty: ** |-----------------------------------------B6003
+----------+-------------------+
Weapon Earned: Casca's Sword. This is the sword that Casca used when she was
a member of the Band of the Hawk.
Gatsu must reach a continuous kill count of 100. Gatsu is in his
Berserker armor, but not in his feral state, with level 3 spells and secondary
weapons. This is not difficult since the enemies are the fare from the first
few snow levels. Also, Gatsu in this form is very fast and agile, you should
have no problem reaching this goal.
+----------+-------------------+
| Level 04 | Difficulty: **** |-----------------------------------------B6004
+----------+-------------------+
Weapon Earned: Isidro's Fire Dagger. This is the dagger given to him by
Schierke. It has the power of the spirit of Salamandar.
Murder 200 enemies. Gatsu is in his unarmored costume, but he also has
no secondary weapons nor any ally spells available for this challenge. The
truly difficult part of this challenge are the crossbow-wielding trolls that
infest the level. They are so incredibly irritating since they will stagger
Gatsu repeatedly and damage him. If you become caught in crossfire, you may
die in less than one minute. Try to either block their bolts and reserve all
fatality moves for them. Otherwise, this level is not too difficult.
+----------+-------------------+
| Level 05 | Difficulty: *** |-----------------------------------------B6005
+----------+-------------------+
Weapon Earned: Grunbeld's War Hammer. This is the hammer used by Grunbeld,
whom Gatsu battled in chapter 6.
Murder 240 enemies. Gatsu is in his Berserker armor, not feral mode,
with level 3 spells and secondary weapons. This is not particularly
difficult, but again the annoying crossbow-wielding trolls are back. Use the
same methods as usual to dispatch of them. You now have secondary weapons to
use as well, so make use of them.
+----------+-------------------+
| Level 06 | Difficulty: ** |-----------------------------------------B6006
+----------+-------------------+
Weapon Earned: Wooden Club. A generic piece of wood.
Murder 200 enemies. Gatsu is in his normal costume with level 3 spells
and secondary weapons, but rather than wielding the Dragonslayer, he uses the
Wooden Club. The club is much small and watching Gatsu use it like the
Dragonslayer is quite ridiculous. Nevertheless, this is not a difficult
challenge.
+----------+-------------------+
| Level 07 | Difficulty: *** |-----------------------------------------B6007
+----------+-------------------+
Weapon Earned: Azan's Iron Bo. This is the iron staff used by Azan, in the
manga, and the undead captain in the game.
Defeay Griffith using feral, Berserker armor Gatsu. You cannot use
spells. Griffith is very very fast and can counter everything, even bombs and
knives. He does take damage decently from the cannon and counters, so those
should be your main source of assault. His special attack is particularly
damaging but can be countered. Be cautious and keep in mind that Gatsu will
flip and jump a lot in this form.
+----------+-------------------+
| Level 08 | Difficulty: *** |-----------------------------------------B6008
+----------+-------------------+
Weapon Earned: Elemental Axe. This is the axe offered to Gatsu by Schierke.
Murder 200 enemies. Gatsu will have about 10% health at the beginning,
zero rage, and no way to heal himself. Furthermore, the crossbow-wielding
trolls are back. Utilize Berserk and secondary weapons. You can use ally
spells, so use Schierke to boost Gatsu's defense.
+----------+-------------------+
| Level 09 | Difficulty: ***** |-----------------------------------------B6009
+----------+-------------------+
Weapon Earned: Electric Guitar. Self-explanatory.
Obtain a continuous kill count of 100 in UNDER 3 minutes. The hardest
part is that you will have to use feral, Berserker armor Gatsu. He will do
flips and spinning attacks that take more time to execute than normal Gatsu.
This plus the sparcity of the enemies makes for a very irritating challenge.
Conserve the cannon and bombs for the larger trolls, kill all the normal ones
with sword swings. Try not to let him get too carried away with the sword
combos.
+----------+-------------------+
| Level 10 | Difficulty: **** |-----------------------------------------B6010
+----------+-------------------+
Difficulty: ****
Weapon Earned: Zodd's Sword. This is the sword Zodd uses in the game.
Defeat Zodd. Gatsu will be in his normal costume, level 3 secondary
weapons, but no ally spells. Zodd is much more aggressive than normal. He
has a new spinning attack and is much faster than usual as well. Taking him
on headfirst will probably be unsuccessful, so I suggest running around the
perimeter of the arena. Whenever Zodd finishes an attack toward you, lock on
him and throw a grenade or shoot him with the cannon. Continue this action
until he dies. Occasionally he will actually hit you and at that time you can
counter or just shrug it off. After around 10 minutes or more, Zodd will be
defeated. Remember, he can only be finished by a normal, square attack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11. Boss Rush Mode B7000
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boss rush mode is very straightforward and does not unlock any prizes
whatsoever. Simply choose the boss you wish to battle and the battle will
start. Gatsu will be in the form that he would normally be in for that fight,
e.g. in Berserker armor against Grunbeld. His levels and spells are generally
level 2 and level 3 respectively, though it can change.
The bosses available are those that Gatsu battled in the game.
01. Large Snowman
02. Zodd [On the Hill of Swords]
03. Zodd (Transformed) [On the Hill of Swords]
04. Judeau, Pippin, Corkus [Charles' Mansion]
05. Undead Captain
06. Large Golem
07. Kelpie
08. Ogre
09. Judeau, Pippin, Corkus [Qliphoth]
10. Casca, Judeau, Pippin, Corkus [Qliphoth]
11. Casca, Judeau, Pippin, Corkus [Final]
12. Griffith
13. Charles
14. Charles (Transformed)
15. Slan
16. Grunbeld
17. Grunbeld (Transformed)
18. Zodd [Transformed] (At Flora's Manor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12. The War Machine B8000
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section will list a select few of the various enemies that Gatsu
will encounter and strategies to defeat them. General advice and special
tricks will be listed.
Fatalities and Special Attacks
These are triggered by pressing triangle when the Sacrifice Brand appears
on the health sphere. To normal fare, these moves are instantly lethal and
boost the rage meter greatly, and they are high-damage attacks to bosses. The
continuous kill count is also restored whenever a fatality begins.
Berserk Cancelling
Gatsu's Berserk status launches him into a vicious, frenzied assault.
The problem with this is that he will take damage often without you noticing,
and also when the mode ends, he finishes with a spinning combo that has some
significant lag at the end. However, during his Berserked time, he will
trigger the "Sacrifice Brand" to appear more often than normal. If you cancel
Berserk mode by pressing R2 while still in it and then cancel the ending combo
by pressing triangle to launch at an enemy, you will preserve your combo AND
regain more rage for the meter. If timed well, you can stay in a Berserked
state nearly indefinitely.
Berserk Recovery
Pressing X + R2 when Gatsu is falling backwards will instantly recover
him if he is not all ready Berserked. This is very useful for maintaining
continuous kill combos since Gatsu can very quickly go back into the battle.
Demon Trees
The immobile demon trees have the annoying ability to block paths and
have a long range in their attacks. You can get past them by attacking the
long branches on either side of them, this will also limit their attacks.
Being behind them and then assaulting them seems to work better than a frontal
attack. The cannon is also very effective against them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13. Credits B9999
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to CJayC for hosting GameFAQs and this document. Credit goes to
my fellow FAQ authors as they are a constant source of inspiration. Likewise,
credit goes to any and all authors, especially those with whom I am familiar,
for they have also influenced my writing.
Thanks to Sammy Studios for producing this wonderful game.
Thanks to my family and friends for their continued support, whether they
are aware of my endeavors or not. Special thanks are extended to my loving
girlfriend, Erika, for her continued and unyielding support.
Of course, the biggest thank-you is reserved for the brilliant Kentarou
Miura, the inspiration and mind behind Berserk. I look forward to his future
works.
Copyright (c) 2005. All rights reserved. This document is property of
"Masamune167" and may not be used without explicit permission.
