Way of the Samurai FAQ/Walkthrough/Hints
Table of Contents: Index of Tables:
------------------ ----------------
1. Version History t1 : Symbol to Button conversion chart
a. Version History t2 : Prices for sword smithing
b. Things to still do t3 : Average effects of sword smithing
2. Intro t4 : Most common effects of sword smithing|
a. Acknowledgements t5 : Table of Swords
b. Why this guide was made
c. Conventions
d. Contact info
3. Tips
a. Healing on the run
b. Sword smithing
c. Where and how to get good/rare swords
d. Money Making
e. Items
4. Combat
a. Sword List
b. How to get Unique Swords
c. Choosing a good sword
d. Alternatives to swords
e. Learning Techniques
f. Heat and Sword Breaking
g. Block or Evade?
5. Walkthroughs
a. Intro
b. Ways to make time pass
c. Ending 1
d. Ending 2
e. Ending 3
f. Ending 4
g. Ending 5
h. Ending 6
6. Codes
7. Copyright Info
1a. Version History
-------------------
Version 1.11
-Added the section on how to get unique swords.
Version 1.01
-Added Dull Sword (Side Stance) to Sword Chart(Thanks
[email protected])
-Added Nidai-Kikumasa to the sword chart(Thanks
[email protected])
-Updated the contact section
-Updated how to get the Zangetsu
Version 1.00
-Public release
1b. Things to Still Do
----------------------
-Fight with more swords to add them to the good swords list.
-Do more sword smithing tests
2a. Acknowledgements:
--------------------
-Me(Flynn Hermanson)
-Max Peterson(For various additions to this guide)
-Alex Pulliam (For various additions to this guide)
-gamewinners.com (for codes)
-gamefaqs.com (for publishing this and codes)
-UDBassMan (for his walkthrough)
2b. Why this guide was made:
----------------------------
I decided to make this guide because I felt that the current guides for this
game didn't do a good enough job exploring it. It is my intention and hope that
this guide will give you a complete look at this game. This is my first faq/guide
so any additions, comments or criticisms are appreciated.
2c. Conventions:
----------------
-In this guide I use several symbols to represent the button combinations of
techniques. They are as follows.
t1.
______________________________________________________________________________
| Symbol Meaning |
| ------ ------- |
| -> : D-pad or analog stick towards target |
| <- : D-pad or analog stick away from target |
| x : The X button |
| O : The circle button |
| [] : The square button |
| /\ : The triangle button |
| R1 : The R1 button |
| + : Signifies the end of one button combination and the beginning of |
| another. |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
-When two or more symbols are not separated by a '+', then those buttons must be
pushed together. So, ->/\ + R1[] would mean press the D-pad away from the target
and press triangle simultaneously, then press R1 and square simultaneously.
-I will also be referring to several places in this guide. They are the same as
on the map in the game and manual, so if you are lost just consult one of those.
They are as follows:
Bridge: This is where you first start out. There is a bridge that goes over a
river.
Station: This is the little village where Suzu's restaurant is.
Railroad: This is the place where the train passes by. There is a field of
radishes next to a shack and some train tracks just below that.
Foundry: This is the place with two big metal cylinders and a lot of shacks.
Akadama Mansion: This is the big mansion above the railroad with a pond in the
center.
Kurou Mansion: This is the big compound above Ipponmatsu with a few guards
outside a big gate.
Ipponmatsu: This is the place right below the Kurou mansion with the big tree
and the swordsmith.
Shrine: This is the mountain top area with a long set of stairs. The actual
shrine is at the end of the stairs.
- ¥: This symbol stands for yen.
2d. Contact Info:
-----------------
If you to get in contact with me, please send an e-mail to
[email protected]. If you have any additions, then please e-mail me them and
I will give you credit. All credit whill be given in the version history
unless someone has greatly contributed, then it goes under acknowlegements.
3a. Healing on the run:
-----------------------
Surprisingly, not many people know how to do this based on the faqs that I
have seen. You can heal any time, even in battle with your sword drawn, by
simply kicking a healing item. This also works with swords and any other item
that is dropped by an enemy. However, some swords have different kicks
depending on the direction the d-pad or analog stick is pointed in. For
example some swords will shoulder jab or slap when you press ->R1[]. These moves
will not allow you to pick up any items. Some swords will do a high kick when
you press ->R1[] and even though the kick does not touch the item, you will
still pick it up.
3b. Sword Smithing:
--------------------
The sword smith, Dojima, can be found at Ipponmatsu. He is able to raise the
durability, life, attack, and defense of your swords. In my opinion, the best
thing you can do is raise the durability. This is because it is very hard to
raise a sword's stats unless only one is raised, an then another stat is going
to be negative. One example is a friend of mine has a saw with attack +50%,
defense +50%, and life -500. If you do decide to raise a stat I would go for
either attack or life, or both. The reason for this is I was fighting my friend
with a naganita with +9% attack and would kill him in one hit with moves that
did either 100 or 70 damage. Based on this, defense is almost worthless. The
other reason I recommend increasing the durability is no stats are decreased
when it is increased. Also, increasing life should not be done too many time in
a row because this will often lower the other stats a lot. You can get Dojima
to work on your sword even if you cannot afford it, but once he is finished, he
will attack him. If you kill him you just got the work done for free. You must
kill him because you are not allowed to escape from the area once the fight has
started. This also works for having your sword delivered.
By working on sharpness, the attack will be increased, but defense will be
decreased. Likewise, working on flexibility will increase the defense, but
lower the attack. Nothing in particular is the strangest of the three. The
most common effect is it will increase the sword's life by about 100, but lower
either attack or defense. Other times it will either raise or lower life and
attack or defense. The only thing that I have not seen this lower or raise is
the durability.
The tables on average effects of swordsmithing should be used to project a
sword's change over a large amount of trials. The table on the most common
effects should be used to predict individual increases resulting from the work.
Due to the randomness of working on nothing in particular, the most common life
change will be a range. Also, the most common defense changes were -1, +6, and
-10, so I am going to do more tests before I give a definite number. Just as a
warning, I feel that the numbers on Nothing in Particular need more tests, so I
am not 100% sure about them.
t2. Prices: t3. Average effects of sword smithing:
----------- --------------------------------------
___________________________________ ________________________________________
| Durability: | | Sharpness: Flexibility: |
| ----------- | | ---------- ------------ |
| From: To: Price: | | Attack Change: +4 Attack Change:-1 |
| ----- --- ------ | | Defense Change: -2 Defense Change:+4 |
| 1 2 2¥ | | |
| 2 3 8¥ | | Nothing in Particular: |
| 3 4 18¥ | | ---------------------- |
| 4 5 32¥ | | Attack Change: +1 |
| | | Defense Change: -2 |
| Attack(Sharpness): 6¥ | | Life Change: -1 |
| ------------------ | |________________________________________|
| |
| Defense(Flexibility): 6¥ | t4. Most common effect of swordsmithing:
| --------------------- | ----------------------------------------
| | ________________________________________
| Life(Nothing in Particular): 2¥ | | Sharpness: Flexibility: |
| ---------------------------- | | ---------- ------------ |
| | | Attack Change: +3 Attack Change: -1 |
| Shipping Sword: 5¥ | | Defense Change: -1* Defense Change: +5°|
| --------------- | | |
|___________________________________| | Nothing in Particular: |
Note: All averages are the mean of | ---------------------- |
the results of 30 trials of the | Attack Change:-1 Defense Change: N/A|
particular type of work. All results | Life Change: -41-50 |
are rounded up to the nearest whole |________________________________________|
number. The most common effects were ° +4 was one away from being tied with +5
taken from these same 30 tests. * -3 was one away from being tied with -1
3c. Where and how to get good/rare swords
------------------------------------
-A favorite place of mine to get some really strong, but common swords, is
Ipponmatsu in the first morning. Kill the four Kurou guys and take their
swords. Often times, but not always, they will have strong swords. I've gotten
swords around +600 life, +30 attack and +30 defense from these guys. They will
sometimes have Iron balls with them.
-Very Rare swords such as Saws, Axes, and Sickles seem to only appear in hard
mode. The harder the difficulty level, the rarer the swords that will
appear.
-During the morning of the first day, there will be five Akadama soldiers
talking at the railroad, they sometimes have sickles, Axes, or Saws, but only on
hard mode. The leader tends to be the one carrying the sickle or Ax, but the
saws are carried on the other soldiers.
-Magic Wands and Ninja-Powers can be found on ninjas in hard mode.
3d. Money Making:
----------------
In this section I am going to outline several methods of making money. The
harder the difficulty level is, the more money that will be dropped.
Method 1: Mugging
-----------------
This is probably the simplest way of making money, but also the least
rewarding. Basically, all you do is run around and kill anybody that you see.
Make sure that you pick up the money that they drop. If is often helpful to
kick your victims before you draw your sword, because people often will run
from you when your sword is drawn. Also, if you think you're going to die, Run!
If you die, all the money that you have made will be for naught.
Method 2: Getting Mugged
------------------------
This method of making money can only be done once and only at a specific
point in the game. When you first start the game, go up to Tsubohachi and ask
him to join you. He will take you and tie you to the railroad tracks. When
Kitcho comes to rescue you, join him. Then ask him what is happening in
Rokkotsu pass. When he is finished, ask him to lend you some money. He will
give you ten yen. Next go to the Kurou Mansion and tell Tsubohachi to give you
back your money. Fight him and when you win, he will give you back the five-yen
that he took.
Method 3: Killing 100 men
-------------------------
This method may sound hard, but its really not. The only time that this is
actually hard is on hard mode(duh). Go to the foundry and attack the guy
standing there. Now enemies will spawn until you have killed 100 of them. They
are a lot easier than any enemy I have every seen in this game. If you get low
on health, there are two radishes in the two shacks that do not have cannon
balls in them and then there is another radish on top of the shack that is to
the left of the entrance that goes to the railway(it is near a watch tower and
is the only roof that you can get to). Once you have killed the 100 men, you
will get ten yen. Don't forget to pick up all the money that was dropped by all
the guys you just killed. The nice thing about this is it can be repeated as
many times as necessary. Note: This can only be done if the guy that gives you
three yen(see below) for listening to his story is there.
Method 4: Stealing from the Kurou Clan
--------------------------------------
This method involves you accepting to go and rescue Don from the Kurou
mansion. You can make an extra three yen if you attacked Suzu and Don in the
past and then select money as your reward for rescuing Don. If you never
attacked Don or Suzu, then you cannot get the three yen. The easiest way to do
this is to first go to the shrine on the evening of the first day. Wait for a
guy named Toyoko in a purple kimono to appear. Talk to him and will say
something about a secret about the Kurou Mansion. Accept is offer to fight
(make sure that your sword is drawn before, because he comes out swinging
immediately) and once he gives up he will tell you of the back door to the Kurou
Mansion. You may have seen this door before, but you weren't able to open it.
Now, the door will be wide open. Just sneak past the guards and go to the
ladder that is beyond the bridge. Climb up it and go into the mansion. Now, go
through the first two sets of doors. You should now be in a room with some
doors one the right of the screen, the doors you just went through on the left,
and an open space at the bottom of the screen. Go towards the empty space and
the camera will change to reveal a new set of doors. Go through those. You
should now see Don. You now have a choice to make, do you want to kill Don, and
take all the money in the chest? Or do you want to want to be a nice guy and
take only a small cut of it. Killing Don will give you 150 yen. If you don't
kill Don, then you will get between 15 and 50 yen, depending on how much you
have helped/harmed Suzu and Don. Now if you want to kill Don, you have two
options, the first is tell him to 'fight them' and just wait for him to die.
The second only works if you have attacked Suzu and Don repeatedly. When you
first talk to him, one of your options should be 'I am on your side' or
something like that. If you choose that he will attack you. If you have
attacked Don or Suzu in the past and don't want to Once he is dead, go over
to the chest and pick it up. Now leave out the back door. You can either kill
or run from the enemies that you encounter, it doesn't matter. Once you get to
the exit that leads to Ipponmatsu, Tsubohachi may be there waiting for you, or
he may not. I'm not sure what determines if he is there or not. If he is
there, then you must fight him. If not then just leave. Once you get to
Ipponmatsu, you can only exit through the exit near Dojima's shack. The reason
for this is Tesshin Kurou is there. You can either fight him or sneak past him.
If you fight him and win, you get to keep the chest and he will drop his sword.
If you lose, you won't die, but you will lose the safe. I suggest trying to
sneak past him because it is easier. He will walk towards you, so lead him to
one side of the area, then run to the other and down to the exit. Once you
reach the exit, there should be a cut scene and after that, you get your reward
based on your previous choices.
Method 5: Working for the Kurou Clan
------------------------------------
This method requires a little skill to do. First go and join the Kurou
Clan. You will have to fight Shiretoko. If you win then Murasaki will give
you some money based on how fast you defeated Shiretoko. If you lose, you get
nothing, but you can still make money this way. Follow Shiretoko's directions
and go to the shrine. Once you are in the station, if you defeated Shiretoko,
don't start throwing things at Don and Suzu until you are told. And don't
attack them either! If you lost to Shiretoko, then just keep watch. You don't
have to kill Karibe, unless you want to. If you defeated Shiretoko, he will
give you some money, based on how well you followed his orders. After this
mission is done, go back to the Kurou Mansion for another job. For this job,
you just need to walk along side Shiretoko until Kitcho shows up. Once he
does, fight until Hyuga shows up. DO NOT run like Shiretoko tells to. If you
do, then you will get less money. Instead, attack Hyuga until he gives up.
This will end the whole scene and you get more money. That finishes all the
times that you can get money from the Kurou clan. If you do everything right,
you could potentially make over 150¥!
Method 6: A history lesson:
-------------------------------
This is by far the easiest way of making a few extra yen. All you have to do
is go to the foundry on the morning of the first day and talk to the guy
standing there. Ask what this place is, then say you want to know the history
of the place. Listen to him until he stops talking and he will give you three
yen!
3e. Items
---------
There are many things in Way of the Samurai that you will undoubtedly
encounter. The effects range from hurting you, to healing you, to improving
you sword, to giving you money.
Mushroom (Looks like an orange blob): Mushrooms will take away 50 of you life,
150 of your life, heal you 200 life, or heal you 600 life.
Radish (It is the long, white, pointy thing with some leaves on top): Radishes
will heal you 300 life.
Fish (Looks like a stick with something on it): A fish will heal you 500 life.
Jelly (Looks like a yellow blob): Jelly will heal you full.
1¥ bill (Looks like a yellow piece of paper): Gives you 1¥
5¥ bill (Looks like a blue piece of paper): Gives you 5¥
Sword Defense up (looks like a red paper lantern, or a red yen bill): Gives +4%
defense to the sword you currently have equipped.
Sword Attack up (Looks like a white ball with a stick coming out of it): Gives
+4% attack to the sword you currently have equipped.
Sword Life Up (Looks like a little yellow bottle): Gives you +100 health for the
sword you have equipped.
Move Blocker(Looks like a yellow scroll): Makes a random move automatically
blocked(like performing awase) with the sword you currently have equipped.
Learn Move(Looks like a blue scroll): Makes you learn a random move.
4a. Sword Types:
----------------
In this section I will list all the swords that I have found in this game,
and where to get them. I think that I now have all the swords, but if I am
missing any, please send me an e-mail witht the sword's name, stance and where
it was found.
t5. Sword Chart
______________________________________________________________________________
|Name: |Stance: |Notes: |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Dull Sword |Middle | These can be found on almost anybody. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Dull Sword |Lower | These can be found on almost anybody. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Dull Sword |Up | These can be found on almost anybody. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Dull Sword |Side | These can be found on almost anybody. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Chuyo-tou |Middle | This is the starting sword. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Kakkazan |Middle | This is Don's sword. Kill him to get it. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Aizome |Middle | This is Murasaki's sword. Kill her to get it|
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Dokumushi |Middle | This sword can be found on any enemy on hard |
| | |mode. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Uraotogi |Middle | This sword can be found on any enemy on hard |
| | |mode. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Tonpu |Middle | A somewhat rare sword, but it can be found on|
| | |any enemy. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Shodai-Tamahikari|Middle | This sword is most commonly found on Akadama |
| | |Soldiers during the latter parts of the game, |
| | |but it can be found on any enemy. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Chugen |Middle | This sword can be found on any enemy. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Gonta |Middle | This sword can be found on any enemy on hard |
| | |mode. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Nidai-Kikumasa |Middle | This is Hyuga's sword. To get it, go to the |
| | |Akadama Mansion in the evening and attack the |
| | |guard. Fight until Hyuga appears, then fight |
| | |him until he runs away. When he runs away, he |
| | |will drop the sword. Do NOT join him when he |
| | |asks. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Ippatsumaru |Lower | This is Tsubohachi's sword. Kill him to get |
| | |it. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Jurokumon |Lower | This is Jose's sword. Kill him to get it. |
| | |It looks like a big iron bar. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Abashiri |Lower | These swords can be found on almost any enemy|
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Umanami |Lower | These swords can be found on almost any enemy|
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Okhotsu |Lower | This sword can be found on any enemy on hard |
| | |mode. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Dai-Kuronama |Up | This is Tesshin Kurou's sword. Defeat him to|
| | |get it. It will have only 1 durability because|
| | |the sword's special will almost automatically |
| | |lower the sword's durability by one or more. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Takefuji |Up | This is Dojima's hammer. Kill him to get it.|
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Samehada-tou |Up | This is Karibe's sword. Kill him, or let |
| | |Kitcho do it to get the sword. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Osorezan |Up | This sword can be found on any enemy. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Onibi |Up | This sword can be found on any enemy. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Toho-fuhai |Up | This sword can be found on any enemy, |
| | |although it seems to be rare. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Jukkaimaru |Side | This is Shiretoko's sword. Kill him to get |
| | |it. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Kachouhugetsu |Side | This is Toyoko's sword, kill him to get it. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Chigusa |Side | This sword can be found on almost any enemy. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Ukigumo |Side | This sword can be found on any enemy. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Niitakayama |Side | This is General Tamagawa's Sword. You can |
| | |only get this sword by getting ending 1. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Kamikaze |One-Handed | This is Kitcho's Sword. Kill him to get it. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Binetsu |One-Handed | This is Chelsea's Sword. Kill her to get it.|
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Higan |One-Handed | This sword can be found on any enemy, |
| | |although it seems to be rare. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Dainagon |One-Handed | This sword can be found on any enemy, |
| | |although it seems to be rare. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Kurenai-tennyo |One-Handed | This sword can be found on any enemy on hard |
| | |mode. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Zangetsu |Ninja | This is Hyuga's sword. Do the Kurou ending |
| | |and kill him at the station to get it. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Ninja-Sword |Ninja | These swords can only be found on ninja. |
| | |They allow you to run faster and jump higher |
| | |when they are drawn. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Ninja-power |Ninja | This is a rare sword dropped by ninja. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Iron Ball |One-Handed | These can be found on any enemy. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Naginata |Side | Naginatas are only carried by the short |
| | |government officials(the easy ones). |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Magic Wand |Ninja | Magic wands are only carried by ninja and |
| | |only appear in hard mode. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Sickle |Side | Sickles can be found on any enemy, but they |
| | |are very rare. I have only seen them on hard |
| | |mode. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Saw |Lower | Saws are one of the rarer swords in the game.|
| | |The fact that they can be found on anybody |
| | |makes it even harder to predict where they will|
| | |appear. I have only found swords in hard mode.|
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
|Ax |Up | This is a big ax. They are rare, but they |
| | |are found on any enemy in hard mode. |
|_________________|____________|_______________________________________________|
4b. Where to get Unique Swords
------------------------------
In this section I will tell how to get every unique sword.
Kakkazan: Accept Suzu's mission to rescue Don, then once you find him, you can
either try to get him to attack you (this will only work if you have attacked
Don or Suzu in the past) or you can have him fight the guards until he dies.
When he dies, he will drop his sword.
Aizome: Go to the shrine at night and walk up to Murasaki. Tell he that you
heard her conversation and when she says you must die, draw your sword.
Shiretoko will appear and all three will begin to attack you. Jose will
eventually join the fray as well. Kill Murasaki and she will drop her sword.
Alternatively, you can join the Kurou family and after the signing ceremony
with the government, if Murasaki dies in the battle at the mansion, she will
drop her sword.
Nidai-Kikumasa: Go to the Akadama mansion in the evening and attack the guard
there. Fight all the guards until Hyuga appears. Now attack Hyuga until he
offers to let you join. Decline and continue to fight him. He will eventually
run away and drop his sword.
Ippatsumaru: There are several ways to get this sword. The sure fire way to
get it is to join the Kurou clan during day 2 and then let him get killed by
Karibe and Chelsea, or you can let him get killed by the Ninja in the station
later that night. He will also randomly appear at the exit of the Kurou
mansion when you go to rescue Don and then are attempting to escape. Attack
him until he dies, and he will drop him sword.
Jurokumon: There are two ways of getting this sword. The first is to attack
the policeman in the station during the afternoon of Day 1 when the Akadama guy
is kicking the old man. Fight the policeman until he calls for Jose, then
concentrate only on Jose. Watch your health because the policeman's bullets
can really lower you life quickly. Just keep moving and you should be able to
dodge most of his shots. When Jose is dead, the policeman will run away. The
other way is to go to the Shrine during the night of Day 1 and attack Murasaki
(see Aizome above). When Jose appears, kill him and he will drop his sword.
Dai-Kuronama: Accept Suzu's mission to rescue Don from the Kurou Mansion, then
once you have gotten to Ipponmatsu with the safe, Tesshin Kurou will be there.
Go up to him and he will attack you. Once he is defeated, he will drop his
sword and run away.
Takefuji: Go attack Dojima or refuse to pay him. He will attack you and when
he is dead, he drops his hammer.
Samehada-tou: There are two ways to get this sword. The first is to go to the
Akadama mansion during the Afternoon of day 1. Ask to join the Akadama clan and
when Kitcho and Karibe go outside to fight, let Kitcho kill him. Karibe will
drop his sword.
Jukkaimaru: Do everything to get the Aizome, except you need to kill Shiretoko.
Shiretoko will also drop his sword if he is killed by the government while
fighting at Ipponmatsu. To get this to happen, join the Kurou clan and after
the signing ceremony and all the government troops have been defeated at the
Kurou mansion, go to Ipponmatsu. If you are lucky, then Shiretoko will die and
drop his sword.
Kachouhugetsu: Wander around until you find Toyoko. Go to the shrine during
the afternoon of Day 1 and when he appears, attack him without talking to him.
When he is dead, pick up his sword. If this does not work for you, he can be
found randomly at the railroad and the bridge.
Niitakayama: Get ending 1(see below under Walkthrough) and when General
Tamagawa dies, you will have a few seconds to pick up this sword.
Kamikaze: Go to the foundry in the morning of Day 2 and join the Kurou Clan.
Kitcho will appear and want to fight with Tesshin Kurou. Tesshin will send you
to the railroad to take care of some Akadama guys. Kill them all, then go back
to the foundry and climb to the top of the smoke stacks. Tesshin Kurou will
have you fight Kitcho and when he is dead, he will drop this sword. If you are
running low on life talk to Tesshin and he will fight for you.
Binetsu: During the night of Day 1, go to the railroad and head towards the
Akadama mansion. Chelsea will appear and if you kill her she will drop her
sword. You can also side with the Kurou clan on day 2 and then kill her at the
railroad.
Zangetsu: Side with the Kurou clan on Day 2 and then when the government
attacks fight until you get to the station. Some ninja and Hyuga will attack
you. Kill Hyuga to get this sword.
4c. Choosing a Good Sword
-------------------------
There is no sword that will work the best for every person. All the swords
have different moves and tactics. When selecting a sword, it is best to choose
a sword that you are familiar with. It helps to have many of the techniques for
the sword unlocked and it also helps to have these moves memorized. Bonuses are
helpful, but nothing can replace a good repertoire of moves. If you want to use
a new sword, then I suggest playing the game on easy or normal(depending on how
good you are) to learn some moves before you seriously start using a sword. See
section 4d for information on learning techniques. I'll make some notes on some
of my favorite swords below. If you want to add a review of a sword, or add
anything at all, please drop me a line and I will add it if I feel it is
something worthwile.
Chigusa: Chigusas are one of my favorite swords because they are easily found
and they are very powerful once developed. This sword is able to do iai attacks
(sheathing the sword, then drawing it and attacking in the same movement), which
are very fast and powerful. It also has some moves where you rush the opponent,
which are useful when they are far away and their defense is down.
Naginata: Naginatas are one of my favorite swords because they look so damn
cool. They have one very long combo that can be pulled off easily and it knocks
the opponent into the air and doesn't build up heat, but it doesn't do all that
much damage. At least it looks nice. You also get two projectile attacks with
this sword. Battotsu ( R1/\ ) will rush the target and do 350 base damage. The
only downside to Naginatas is some moves are slow.
Saw: Saws are another of my favorite swords because not only do they look cool,
but they pack a punch as well. They have a continuous stab attack, as well as
nutekatsuryu ( R1/\ ), which actually saws the opponent. It also has plenty of
side attacks for those enemies who like to side step. The only disadvantage to
saws is that it is slow.
Sickle: Sickles are very powerful swords, but they have some major
disadvantages, such as moves that build up a lot of heat and they do not have
the three hit light attack combo. The fact that the Sickle will evebntually get
a combo that does over 650 damage offsets all disadvantages in my opinion.
Iron Balls: Iron Balls are not one of my favorite swords, but they are still
worth mentioning. Like a sickle, iron balls lack the three light attack combo,
which makes it a little hard to push or pull. The iron ball is very slow, but
it is powerful. The moves aren't all that hard to pull off, but they are easily
blocked.
Ninja-sword: Ninja swords are great for speed and evasion, but they really lack
attack power. As mentioned in the table, ninja swords allow you to jump higher
and run faster when they are drawn. They also have many moves where you attack
from unexpected or multiple directions.
Ninja-power: This is a supped up Ninja Sword. Inyo-tarijutsu( R1/\ ) is
unblockable and does 225 damage.
Magic Wand: The Magic Wand is a stick with a blue skull at each end. The basic
moves are very similar to the moves of the ninja swords, but the more advanced
moves are very unique. Most of these moves allow you to hurt the opponent from
a distance.
4d. Alternatives to Swords
--------------------------
You never know when you sword will spontaneously break on you. I have
learned a new technique that broke my sword when it was automatically done. For
this reason, or if you want an extra challenge, everyone should know that there
are alternatives to swords. The most basic alternative is kicking or punching,
or shoulder jabbing. Anything that involves R1 and square does not need a sword
to work. You can also pick up many objects such as pots, stools, chairs, boxes,
babies, and happy cats. Press square to pick up these items. Now, if you press
square again, you will place to object back on the ground. This is bad to do
in a fight because it takes a long time to do and then you have to pick up the
item again. By pressing forward and square, you will throw whatever you are
holding. Holding R1 and pressing square will make you swing the object. Be
careful to not draw your sword while you are holding an object because this
will cause you to drop the object. Another alternative to swords is knocking
people onto the train tracks. This is particularly useful when you are playing
in hard mode because the train will do a lot of damage.
4e. Learning Techniques
-----------------------
Moves are learned many ways in this game. Some are learned through killing
an opponent with a particular move, others must be learned while at low life,
others are learned while you are on the ground, and others seem to be learned
randomly. Many of the earlier moves are learned by killing an enemy with a
basic move. To learn these kill each enemy with a different move, until all
your moves have been exhausted.
The next few ways of learning moves were all told to me by the people who
ask for a donation in exchange for the secrets of the greatest swordsman. One
way is to learn moves is to get knocked on the ground and scramble backwards
for ten seconds. I have tried this and it does work, but I have only learned
very basic moves from it. Another way is to perform Ukemi(Press R1 right before
you hit the ground). It is also recommended that you hit opponents in mid-air
to learn some moves. I have only managed to learn one technique from doing
this.
One easiest way to learn a move is to get near the end of the game when the
enemies drop lots of power ups and pick up one of the blue scrolls they drop.
This will teach you a random move on your sword that you have not learned yet.
A good place to learn techniques is the foundry. Attack the guy standing
there and enemies will continue to spawn until you have killed 100. Once all
100 are dead, there will be another guy there and you can attack him to fight
all 100 again. Also, you can escape at any time by simply leaving, so you won't
be forced to die and lose all your new techniques. These guys are also much
easier than any other opponent in the game.
4f. Heat and Sword Breaking
---------------------------
Just a quick note on heat: the more heat that is built up on the sword, the
slower the red bar will decrease. The red bar will go down the fastest when it
is between 0 and 1 durability. It goes down the slowest between 4 and 5
durability.
Sword breaking is a technique that takes a lot of practice and knowledge to
master. You cannot break your opponent's sword by simply hitting it repeatedly.
This will not generate enough heat. The best way to break someone's sword is to
wait for them to do a move that hits many times in succession. Right after he
does that, immediately attack him with an attack that you know will build up a
lot of heat(The Ippatsumaru sword has a move that will build up almost 3 bars of
heat on their sword if it is blocked). Repeat this as necessary until the
opponent's sword is completely broken. If the opponent's sword is weak, you can
just use your attack that builds up lots of heat to break down their sword. If
you are fighting in Vs. Mode, use the durability meter to your advantage and
attack right when the sword is really hot!
4g. Block or Evade?
-------------------
Any person who has read the Blade of the Immortal comic books should know the
answer to this. EVADE! As long as you know that you can dodge an attack,
never block. Now don't get me wrong, blocking an attack beats taking damage any
day, but people who block too much can be easily manipulated to your advantage.
The most basic way this happens is through pushing and pulling. There are also
moves that cannot be blocked (basically anything that begins with a kick) and
others that will break your defense and leave you flat on your face.
Excessive blocking can also be manipulated with the right techniques to break
the enemy's sword. Just be sure to not become predictable in your evasions or
else they become useless. The only advantage to blocking is you have the
ability of performing awase, but I feel that unless a player is really skilled,
this is far too difficult and risky to attempt.
5a. Walkthrough Intro
---------------------
Just a real quick note on the walkthroughs. Not all the information here may
be accurate, but I'm sure most of it is. If anything does not work for you,
please e-mail me and I will fix the information. I would like to give thanks
out to UDBassMan who wrote the first Walkthrough for the English Way of the
Samurai. His FAQ helped me to find all the endings. Below are only the main
decisions that have to be made in order to get the ending. I'm leaving it up to
you to keep the people that you have to talk to alive until they are no longer
needed in the story line and to get to the point where the walkthroughs start
up.
5b. Ways to Make Time Pass
--------------------------
The following walkthroughs are going to be very short summaries of how to
achieve each ending. I am not going to go into a lot of dept because all the
endings have already been placed into an in-dept FAQ at gamefaqs.com. Also, as
long as you make a few key decisions, all others will not matter.
Day 1: Morning: -Fight Shiretoko at Suzu's house, just watch or run away.
-Join the Kurou Clan and do the mission to evict Suzu.
-Attack Don at Suzu's house
-Defeat Karibe when he shows up while you are keeping watch
for Shiretoko in the Station.
Day 1: Evening: -If you have already joined the Kurou Clan, then you can do
Shiretoko's mission to protect the baby.
-Go to the Akadama Mansion and ask to join. When the whole
episode with Karibe is over, it will be night.
-Defeat Inokashira or Jose in the station
Day 1: Night: -Fight Tsubohachi with Chelsea.
-Offer to rescue Don from the Kurou Mansion and then you can just
leave or actually save him.
-Go to the Shrine and get noticed by Murasaki. You can either
fight the people there, or try to end the meeting peacefully.
5c. Ending 1:
-------------
First go to the Kurou residence and ask to join. Fight Shiretoko, and win.
Go the shrine and then do the mission to evict the people from the station.
Now go to the Akadama Mansion and ask to join. When Kitcho and Karibe go
outside to fight, tell Kitcho that you will handle Karibe. Fight Karibe until
he is at low life, then tell him he has lost. He will surrender. Next you need
to go to the Shrine and find Murasaki. Keep walking towards her until she
notices you. When she starts to talk about killing you, DO NOT draw your sword.
When Shiretoko appears, tell him that she was having a secret meeting, then tell
him to pardon her. Now you need to go to the Akadama Mansion to help Kitcho.
DO NOT go to the Foundry, or you will get ending number 4. Follow Kitcho to the
shrine and fight until Hyuga gives up. Then go back to the Akadama Mansion, and
fight the government troops until you leave to go to the railroad. Fight at the
railroad until Tsubohachi and Shiretoko show up to help. Continue to fight the
government until they are all dead. Then choose which group to fight with. It
really doesn't matter. Fight until you get to the Bridge, then wait for
Tamagawa to become active. Once he is active all you have to do is fight him
until he runs away. Follow him up to the Shrine. When the ninja appear, you
can just run by them if you don't want to fight them. When Tamagawa offers to
let you join him, refuse. Now kill the bastard and pick up his sword before the
ending starts.
5d. Ending 2:
-------------
To get this ending you cannot fight Tsubohachi or Shiretoko when they harass
Suzu. You also need to rescue Don from the Kurou mansion to get this get this
ending. Get to day 2 and talk with Dojima outside Amaguri. Join him, then
fight the government until Tamagawa shows up. You must go under the bridge in
the Kurou Mansion and talk to Tsubohachi before you go to fight with Tamagawa.
Tell him that Suzu has been kidnapped and he will fight with you. DON'T let
him die! Kill Tamagawa. to get the ending.
5e. Ending 3:
-------------
You must first help Suzu when Tsubohachi tries to kidnap her, then you must
defeat Shiretoko when he tries to run Suzu out of town. Get to the morning of
Day 2 and talk to Dojima outside Amaguri. Join him, then fight until General
Tamagawa shows up. Kill Tamagawa to get the ending.
5f. Ending 4:
-------------
Get to the morning of the second day, then go to the foundry and agree to
fight along side Tesshin. Fight the Akadama Clan until you kill Kitcho, then go
to the Kurou Mansion. When the Government Army attacks, fight until Tamagawa
shows up, then kill him to win.
5g. Ending 5:
-------------
Get to the morning of the second day, then go to the Akadama mansion and talk
to Kitcho. Go to the shrine and kill Hyuga and the ninjas, then fight the
government until the you kill General Tamagawa.
5h. Ending 6:
-------------
To get this ending, go through all the steps to get ending 1 and then when
General Tamagawa offers to let you join, accept the offer.
6. Codes
--------
These codes are for the English version of the game only. The Japanese
version has the same codes, but they vary slightly.
Full health: Press start, hold L1 and L2, then press Down, Up, Down, Up, Right,
Left, then circle.
Sword Durability +1: Press start, hold R1 and R2, then press Right, Right, Left,
Left, Down, Up, then circle. This code will restore a broken sword.
Eye Flash: Sheath your sword, then hold L1 and L2, then rotate the analog stick
around 7 times. Now, after every 2 rotations, the character's eyes' should
flash. This will also light up the area at night.
BELOW IS NOT A CONFIRMED CODE!!!
--------------------------------
If any of you out there are familiar with the Blade of the Immortal comics,
then you should know what I am talking about. I believe that there is a way to
play as Manji in the English version. This is because all of the cheats in the
Japanese version are found in the American version, but with slight alterations.
If anybody finds this, please e-mail me so I can add it here. I will give you
credit!
7. Copyright Info
-----------------
This document Copyright 2002 Flynn Hermanson. Please do not reproduce this
document without my written permission. Also, if you want to quote this guide please
give me credit. The following sites are the only places where this document has
permission to be published: www.gamefaqs.com . As of now, there are no other
sources authorized to publish a copy of this document. If this document is found
anywhere else, please notify me by e-mail(See the contact section). Likewise,
if you want to publish this document e-mail me.
