~~Brave Fencer~~ Musashiden FAQ STRATEGY GUIDE _______________________________________________________________________ _____ By Yee Seng Fu(Yu shenfu) ysf@pacific.net.sg Check out my URL:http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Portal/7933/ Dragonball and Final Fantasy 7 page. Singapore Version 11.0 Okay!This is my first FAQs.I live in Singapore and i have always loved Squaresoft games from the days of NES to PS.Someone asked me why i didn't wrote the Faq for Zelda,since zelda was a more popular/better action-RPG than Brave Fencer Musashi.Sure enough,with such popular game,many would be waiting to write an FAq for zelda.In terms of graphics and gameplay,zelda is the sure winner;being developed for nearly 3 years.However,Squaresoft is my favourite game developer and i hope the first FAq i wrote to be a Squaresoft game.At first,i didn't want to write any FAQ until I saw Henry Chan wrote that Tactics Orge FAq,that led me to this idea.I have been playing so many games,with my first system being Nintendo when i was 7.Nes and Super NES were probably my favourite systems of all time.It would be a good time to share some of my knowledge with others.I know I may not be a expert gaming writer but at least i'll not that bad,huh?Come on!Show me some support.Sure enough,I finished both Xenogears and Brave Fencer but why did i choose Brave Fencer.First,Xenogears is longer with over 60hours gameplay and that means more time to write out the walkthrough.I didn't have that much time.Second, it has got really some real-elements like fusion,clock,action figure that made me so attracted to it which zelda doesn't has.Thirdly,all the other FAQ for Brave Fencer Musashiden was based on the Japanese version.Since i bought the English version,then why don't I make an FAQ based on it?Besides,there has been quite a lot of Xenogears FAq based on the English version.Four, everyone has been thinking of Zelda,being most anticipated game of all time and the greatest game ever made in this decade.And Brave Fencer Musashiden has become a sleeper hit,with all attention focusing on Zelda.Of course, given both games,i would rather play zelda but Brave Fencer Musashiden is a decent cool game and I felt that all SquareSoft games are a hit and should not be ignored by the everyone.I felt it was my duty being a squaresoft fan, to tell more about this game.I began on this FAQ like a project to me and challenging too although it's not related to school work.I spent a lot of time writing out the walkthrough,bestiary and have spent more than what i have estimated.Up to now,i have been updating this FAq for over two long weeks without resting and everything that you need to know,you will find here.As long as it help you,then i have achieved my aim.I hope everyone will give me your support.It would be great if this FAQs really helps someone and saves them a lot of time.Squaresoft games are meant to be experienced yourself to avoid ruining the thrill of discovery and exploring.Of course,i can't stress that you use this FAq when you are stuck.After all,the real enjoyment is to explore and discover new things on your own.I suggest you read the basics tips,advanced tactics,boss fighting method and avoid using the walkthrough too much.This FAQs is based on the US version of Brave Fencer Mushashiden so all the japanese name has been translated to the English name with detailed story and should make you easier to read.I have gone through very detailed from rescuing people,techniques,legendary armor, action figures,walkthrough and even ways of beating the boss.If you have another way or additional info on the game,pls do not hesitate to e-mail me.Credits will be given to the first one who give the tips.I hope you will enjoy it.Anyway,this guide will have everything to help you master the game,including 13 minkus,35 bincho field and tons of secret.Plus i have listed down treasures,foods,assimilated abilities and a bestiary that contains most of the common enemies with strategies of how you should do. Warning:Some of the key events listed down could be a spoiler if you have not reached that chapter yet and could lessen your enjoyment. AVOID READING TOO MUCH OF THIS FAQ ONLY WHEN YOU ARE STUCK. Important Reminder!!!:It's best if you can read the basic tactics first such as sleeping,shops in the village and so on because i won't be repeating these again when you reach chapter 2. Important notice!!!:I may update this FAq anytime,so pls check out gameFAq or at my site anytime for the latest update.Probably,the new version will have something new that yours doesn't has. Note:This Faq is best viewed using WordPad and with text wrapped to window. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Contents -Review Read about how this game is rating -The true story between the battle of Musashi and Kojiro Read this true real story -Legendary story of Brave Fencer Musashi A brief story between the legendary Musashi and the wizard of Darkness in the past and the legend behind Lumina and the five scrolls. -Awards Find out what are the Awards Brave Fencer Musashiden won! -Basic Strategy and Tactics:All the basic things that you need to know. i)Characters ii)Fusion and Lumina iii)Fusion and Assimilating Abilities. iv)24-hour Game Clock v)Sleep vi)Movement vii)Memory Box viii)Saving your Game ix)Minku x)Legendary Scrolls and Crests xi)Legendary Armors xii)HP and BP xiii)Techniques xiv)Bincho Field xv)Village xvi)Palace xvii)Binchotite xviii)Stats xix)Limit xx)Sub-menu xxi)Basic Controls xxii)Defending xxiii)Gondola Lift xxiv)Ranking xxv)General tips -Major Walkthrough from chapter 1 to 6 i)Chapter 1 ii)Chapter 2 iii)Chapter 3 iv)Chapter 4 v)Chapter 5 vi)Chapter 6 -Advanced Tactics and more i)Village shops ii)Treasure list iii)A list of food iv)A list of Assimilated Abilities that you can learn. v)Quest Items vi)Citizens' Schedule vii)Bestiary:a list of all enemies viii)Crest Locations and the effects after liberate. ix)Complete list of detailed Action Figure -Secrets i)Special REWARDS ii)MOTHER MINKUS iii)7 SPECIAL ACTION FIGURES UNLOCKED! iv)The Elusive Special Action Figures v)6 TECHNIQUES LEARNED vi)How to MASTER these 6 TECHNIQUES vii)Legendary Armor LOCATION REVEALED,plus REQUIREMENTS. viii)6th Legendary armor,the L-quilt and the L-glove REVEALED! ix)A list of 13 Minkus LOCATION x)35 Bincho Fields Location REVEALED! xi)Riceball Secret xii)Neatball Secret xiii)Orange Secret xiv)Getting Doctor Tung xv)Macho at Mannick's restaurant card game trick xvi)Musicians' background MUSIC:Full-Scale Orchestra xvii)Easy Drans Trick xviii)Three Endings and how to unlock them!!!New!!! -Gameshark Codes(including US and Jap) Let the best hackers to help you in your game. -Translations: Japanese names of the characters.Gonna help those who purchased the import version.If not all,at least some.All right! -Acknowledgements For those who has contributed to this FAq. -Copyrights The Author's work and his effort -Feedback Any Corr to be made?Your comment is most welcomed. -Author's URL What his site about? -Frequently Asked Questions Here are some of the most frequent questions i got. -Appreciation For everyone who has read my FAQ. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Updates Version 1.0 -add walkthrough strategy for chapter 1 and 2 -add a list of techniques and gmae basics that you must know -review the game -based on English translation Version 2.0 -add walkthrough for chapter 3 and 4 -add the operational hours of each village shop -add a list of quest items -based on english translation Version 3.0 -add walkthrough for chapter 5 -a list of all items that you can buy in the various shops -a list of legendary armor,including the sixth secret armor,L-quilt or L- glove revealed -based on English translation Version 4.0 -final walkthrough for the game,chapter6 -a list of minkus location,plus the secret of mon Minkus -Macho restaurant's secret revealed -how to unlock the 7 special action figure -based on English translation Version:5.0 -a list of the 35 bincho fields and thir location -added secret on how to buy riceball and neatball in the grocery -a list of all the assimilated skills that you can learn -redo all the boss fight with more detailed tips -added special rewards on saving after completed the game -based on English translation Version 6.0 -add a list of foods that you will have in your journey,including the cost -about Gondola ride -a schedule about those citizens,where they will be at certain time -the names of the people that you will rescue during the walkthrough -more tips on steam reactor part 1 -re-review the game -based on English translation. Version 7.0 -add in the clue to the frozen palace -add in a new bestiary with many lists of enemies,plus strategies and assimilated ability -re-edited some of the walkthroughs content with more detailed and some doubts are clarified -some more new characters info added -Locations of items that can be appraised and location of foods and where you can find and buy them -a brief intro storyline battle between legendary brave fencer Musashi and wizard of Darkness -added a new content page -Good and Bad awards added -based on English translation Version 8.0 -added some japanese translation names;should help those who bought import ones -added info of how to unlocked Dark Lumina 3 and Jon and Leno action figure. -based on English translation Version 9.0 -added info on crest location and effects -added info on Shogi -re-edited content plus redo spelling mistakes,some wrong info. -added bincho field and treasures obtained during the walkthrough -re-review the game -added more info about the bincho field on how this weapon was used to trap the Allucaneet palace members used by thirstquencher Empire -added info on binchotite,a toxin from of energy found in mines -added techniques along the way and the fire location when the village was burned. -added tips on dodging steam knight's steel ball -based on English Translation Version 10.0 -added Gameshark Codes -correct the directions to meandering forest -redo every list of minku and bincho field location -added appreciation -added Motelo story -redo the food list -How to master the 6 specialised techniques -added tips on Cool Plant's weaknesses -added the true battle of Kojiro and Musashi -added Easy Drans Trick -added three endings and how to unlock the three endings. -added a complete list of Action Figures with detailed description. -added the Elusive Special Action Figures -based on English translation. Version 11.0 -added in some new translation name -added a list of memory box,drans list -added 'rank' Next update Probably,this could be the final update of this FAqs.I have gone through everything very detailed including strategies to defeat bosses, and a list of 13 minkus,35 palace members,plus all the secrets and bestiary and common assimilated abilities that you can learn.I have already got those japanese names for some characters and i hope someone could give me those that I miss out.For example,in the japanese version,lumina was called raygund. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Review I think square has created a worthy action-RPG to applease all zelda fans, especially to those who don't own N64.(thanks god,i got N64)Top-selling quality RPG games like Xenogears,Final fantasy7,saga frontier,final fantasy tactics,square has created a new awesome action-RPG game,Brave Fencer.In fact,Square is the king of RPG developer and has dominated all the RPGs industry.It's has proven that they can do RPGs very well and now their recent Non-RPG,Tobal no2 and Bushido Blade 2 are really impressive.And now,Square has merged with Electronic Art to from Square Electronic Art, SquareEA which will publish all Squaresoft games in United states,furthur establishing Square as the market leader of RPG in Japan and US.This seems to be a good news to everyone and already games like Xenogears,Bushido Blades 2,Parasite Eve and even Brave Fencer Musashiden were published by SquareEA.it's likely that the US version of Final Fantasy 8 will also be published by SquareEA.With many good quality games from square,it's a good bet this would be another great gem from Square,especially from my favourite developer.Back to the main topic. The storyline is beautifully written,revolving a young hero,Musashi and the Allucaneet Kingdom,call upon to collect the five scrolls and save the princess and the kingdom.The story will definitely keep you engrossed for weeks. The graphics are really awesome,smooth with an ever-changing polygonal colorful,bright enviroment even though they are not as glorious as Zelda. Everything is rendered in textured polygons and Gouraud shaded.Enviroment changes to morning,afternoon,evening and night as time passes.Due to the 24-hour clock,the lightening effects can be a visual.Look at the clear river in Twinpeak Mt,you swear you will see a very cool reflection.At first,i thought we only see deformed characters in FF7,but i didn't expect Musashi is even more deformed.Fair enough,i have nothing against that;the details still look amazing.However,there is one problem with the polygonal graphics.There are too many polygonal pop-up and tearing,which could sometimes be annoying but still doesn't affect the gameplay.Zelda doesn't have too much of that but polygon pop-up can be forgiveable as the Playstation is quite capable of that.After all,the Playstation has flaws too. The voice actors has done very done.Remember,zelda doesn't have voice actor.The game packs quite an enormous amount of voice-overs and the result is humor,that's the best.Some of the dialogues are really humorous and they sure have done very well.All i could say is that the voice is really good. At first glance,in chapter 1,it plays similar to Crash Bandicoot,except your hero now is a two-sworded Fencer,Musashi,not Crash and the voice really looks childish and thought that this game is for Kid,however it isn't. As you proceed to new Chapter,it gets more and more difficult,with plenty of jumps and puzzles to solve.The voice and dialogue may seem childish to you and as i mention above,the result is humor and that's what Zelda is lacking of.The game is very challenging and at the same time,deliver 'humor' to the game,which can be enjoyed by all ages. Well done,Square!The levels are simply well designed,with many hidden paths and secrets that are awaiting for you.The musics are good,even though there wasn't as many,compared to Xenogears and Final Fantasy 7;less than 6,i suppose.Nevertheless,Square's musics have still lived up to expected. Everyone knows that square concentrated a lot of effort on orchestrated musics.You know when you played games like Xenogears,Final Fantasy 7 and even the intro music theme of the FF8 really looks great.Plus,the music in Brave Fencer is fully orchestra.The ending song are surely the best in this game.Effects like raining,day-changing are really a cool- visual. Sound effect are up to Squaresoft's quality.You can hear the clanking of sword fighting,running water,birds chirping in the morning and swear that it sounds like real.After all,the PlayStation has a very advanced sound chip and is quite capable of that.Square has began to master sound effect. Here comes the gameplay.The dual shock controller adds vibration to the game,furthur adds more in-depth experience to the game,provided you have a dual shock controller. The gameplay is a lot different from Zelda and Square doesn't want to copy the direct gameplay from zelda (remember,alundra).Alundra is a good game but too direct gameplay to a link to the past,except a change of storyline with more bigger maps.I prefer a link to the past compared to Alundra.Brave Fencer Musashiden really reminds me of how awesome a Link to the Past look during the 16-bit SNES.I am glad to say that it has lived up to expectation. Not only the graphics are better than a link to the past,it in fact offers more varied gameplay,more action than the Link and a better storyline than link to the past.The different is that Link can make use of tools like arrows,hammer he find to help him in his quest and in Musashi,he has to assimilate ability from enemy to help him in his quest.Even like in link finding hearts to increase max HP are now replaced by finding Minkus and Bincho Fields that are scattered throughout the game in Musashi to increase HP and BP,making more challenging gameplay.In link to the past,you temper your sword to increase sword level,gain new ability but in Musashi,you can attach scrolls to your Lumina sword to learn 5 different elemental attacks and even learn 6 sword techniques to help you in your quest.Great Job!The concept is cool,isn't it?You haven't play of such action-packed game before, do you?Zelda doesn't pack so much jumps like that. If Zelda:Ocarina of Time is the best 3-D action-RPG in the 64-bit game,then Brave Fencer Musashiden is the best 32-bit action-RPG,ranking slighly above Zelda:A link to the past and truly the best in the 32-bit game,much more better than Working Design's Alundra.I am not biased because SquareSoft is my favourite company but the Brave Fencer definitely proves to be a much better game than Alundra and don't forget that Brave Fencer is the first action-RPG made by Square.Brave Fencer Musashi just reminds me of secret of mana and evermore,best RPG/Action game. Of course,one can argue that the efforts and time spent to create Zelda that took nearly three years in development and represent the next- generation 3-D games.Sure enough,Brave Fencer Musashiden has some weak points like polygon pop-up but the gameplay is definitely as good as Zelda 64.On the other hand,it does really have some cool elements that can really rival against Zelda in some ways.Square has introduced several gameplay that probably zelda should take note.The Fusion steal- enemy technique,the action figures collection,saving people,riding a raft,being chased down by a huge head are all welcome additions that adds to the gameplay. As during the adventure,Musashi gets to run,jumps,fights,solves puzzles and challenge fearsome monsters in the game or use the game's unique assimilate system to master enemy's techniques.Also,Square has tried several ways to make the game fights different from Zelda by adding a bar gauge,when filled and unleash super powers.There is also a 24-hour clock that keeps track of time.You will noticed that after a certain period of time,the clock on the bottom-right screen will increase by 15 min.As time passes,you character will begin to grow tired so you will have to sleep.Whenever you sleep,time will move superfast at about twice the normal speed,i guess.Along the way,you collect legendary armor to learn new abilities,different techniques, five different legendary scrolls that gives you a special attack of that element,defeating the crest guardians.Also,after you have completed the game,you can save again to do all those unfinished business such as collect action figure and rescue people which you have not saved.you will first begin with the fusion sword and later on you will obtain the Lumina sword. The Lumina sword enables you to attach scrolls to it to gain new power whereas fusion sword enables you to assimilate enemy's ability which is by far the best feature of all in this game.There are lots of hidden paths to explore. The most disappointing is there isn't much exploration in villages and there is the only one village here.It doesn't has an open 3-D open world map like Zelda:Ocarina of Time or riding a horse as a vehicle.Perhaps Square should take note of that.The camera angle wasn't as keen as i would have expected and not as good as xenogears.While some camera angle has been quite well done, except in some area like the village,the camera angle really sucks but not that bad at all.You can only zoom in/out and is fixed during exploring while the camera can be rotated in the village.Even though the village can be rotatable,it makes getting from one place to another place difficult.It would really be appreciated if Squaresoft could make an overhead camera angle from the village. Also,another good point is that this game has little or no loading.Because of the game constant playing,the little load time will not cause any fustrations to anyone who playing it.As far as RPG elements are concerned, there are plenty of interactions in the village and in the castle too, whether it is talking to a villager,buying things,appraise items,action figures or talking to palace members in the castle etc.Unlike Final Fantasy 7 or Xenogears,it doesn't has any FMVs or anime for you to watch.However, that doesn't make the game worse.In fact,this is even better as it saves up a lot of CD spaces,no load time for videos/anime for other things like level designs.If not,it could really be a two-CD action-RPG and would cost even more money.After all,you wouldn't want to buy a game packed with videos and anime and doesn't has good gameplay.Still,i have to say that those poly-gonal cutscenes are silky-smooth and amazing. Unlike Zelda,this game requires a lot of jumping,especially when you got double jumps and it begins to get harder from chapter 3 onwards.From one look,the gap there,seems impossible to jump over but it can be done.Just be patient.Some also requires you to jump diagonally across,jumps on rotating drums,poles and more.And if you don't master double jumps,there is no other alternative ways.This game tends to focus its gameplay more on action and exploring an area,and more unlike the Final Fantasy series.With the Final Fantasy 8 demo packed with the Brave Fencer Musashi,it makes the game even a MUST.Because of the demo disc packed with Brave Fencer Musashiden,it has sold over 300,000 in Japan.Even if without the demo,Brave Fencer Musashiden will still sell very well due to its quality.It's quite unfair for those who purchase the game,mainly for FFVIII's demo.In fact,the demo was nowhere half as good as BFM-no main menu,no switching and changing of parties etc. And for those who purchased the Japanese version of Brave Fencer Musashiden,you are lucky because the demo disk is packed with two more games,one fighting game made by Squaresoft and Namco with Cloud being one of the fighters in the game and another one non-playable demo. Despite not having the best graphics for an action-RPG,things like having a 24-hour clock,assimilated ability,collect action figure,a two- sworded fencer(I don't see Zelda holding two-swords and best of all,with these two swords,fusion and lumina,Musashi can learn 6 different techniques to create combos.)makes up far more than anyone has expected.Square has created another worthy beautiful gem.With gameplay that last between 12 to 24 hours, Brave Fencer Musashi will be the game that will keep you busy until Final Fantasy 8 arrives next year somewhere in September.And don't forget about Parasite eve and Xenogears,the two recent Square games too,especially Xenogears. Graphics:8.5/10.0 Music:8.0/10.0 Sound:8.0/10.0 Gameplay:9.0/10.0 Replay value:8.5/10.0 Innovation:9.5/10.0 Valve tilt:8.0/10.0 Overall:8.5/10.0 Difficulty:Easy to hard Learning curve:10min to 1hr15min Now,you know how this game rates. Graphics:How beautiful it is? Music:Is the music good or bad? Sound:The sound effects like clanking of sword fighting Gameplay:The most important element of all.Is it fun? Replay value:How good is it to make you play the game over again? Innovation:The elements that make up the game.Original? Valve Tilt:Would you still care about the game after a certain month of its release.About six months? You may ask why diffculty ranges from easy to hard.It's simple,because it may seem hard to you for the first few times but after some practises,it becomes so natural that it is so easy.After all,practise makes perfect. I'll give it 9.3 if the graphics are as glorious as the one in zelda.There are too many polygon pop-up but still gameplay doesn't suffer too much because of that.And if it has those larger maps,more villages with exploration from town to town,it will probably get 10/10 like zelda. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ The True Story behind the Battle of Musashi and kojiro Musashi was born in the town of Miyamoto and lived during a time when Japan was undergoing radical military and political changes. After Tokugawa Ieyasu won the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and unified Japan,the role of the samurai changed significantly and many samurai became masterless,or ronin. Musashi developed a two-sword style called Nitenichiryu or the Two- Heavens-as-One school.Legends say that he fought with his sword for the first time when he was 13 years old, and never lost any duels for 17 years.He fought Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryu island in 1612,for his last fight.There are many legends about the duel at the island.It is believed that he delayed to get to the island over an hour from the promissed time.Kojiro got angry at waiting for Musashi,and couldn't recover his composure when Musashi finally appeared.When Kojiro drew his sword,he threw his sheath away.Then Musashi said "You are lost,Kojiro.Those who need no sheath are those who will die." The words were true for Kojiro. He became the guest of a major daimyo,Hosokawa Tadatoshi in 1640.After that, he lived in a cave on Mt. Iwato,and wrote Go rin No Sho or the Book of Five Rings.He died not long after completing this book in 1645. I guess that's where the two characters in the game,Musashi and Kojiro came from,as well as the five scrolls. This is a true story which i got from a site below.For more info,pls visit his site to read more about the book of five wheels. Source:http://shoga.wwa.com/~mbimages/Musashi/index.html#gorinnosho Credits:telling me this wonderful Musashi-Kojiro battle. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ The legendary story of Brave Fencer Musashi Warning:Do not read below to avoid too many surprises. 160 years ago,a giant monster suddenly appeared in Thirstquencher Empire, Allucaneet Kingdom's neighboring country.After destroying Thirstquencher Empire,it headed toward Allucaneet,which had a plentiful supply of Binchotite buried beneath the ground. Everything in the monster's path was destroyed, and it is said many monsters were created by the strange effects the Wizard of Darkness had on the land. Brave Fencer Musashi was called upon by King Allucaneet to stop the evil wizard of darkness,a huge creature composed of pure Binchotite,a mystical mineral with mysterious properties from doing destruction to the world and is the only raw material for making Bincholon,a source for fuel and other household,industrial applications. Handed down from generation to generation to the princess of Allucaneet,the Hero Summon spell is a special power used only as a last resort when the kingdom is faced with great danger.It grants the user the ability to summon hero through incantations made over specially prepared chunk of Binchotite. The battle between Musashi and the Wizard of Darkness raged on and on. The Wizard of Darkness was a formidable foe, even for a hero like Musashi.With the sword of Luminescence and the help of five legendary armor Musashi collected,Brave Fencer Musashi could only seals the Dark lumina,the wizard of darkness inside the sword and divided its power into five legendary scrolls,Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Sky and then sealed them within the crest.It's said that once the five scrolls are absorbed by lumina once again,the spell that seal the wizard of darkness will be released once again.In order to stop the wizard of darkness from doing any harm to the world,Brave Fencer called upon the five crest guardians to protect the five scrolls.The legendary Brave Fencer Musashi once again returned to his own world.As years passed,people has forgotten about the wizard of Darkness.Then once again,the Thirstquencher Empire has been continuing to expand its territories and threaten the Allucaneet Kingdom while the King and Queen of Allucaneet Kingdom is away on a vacation.The princess of Allucaneet kingdom possesses the power to summon a hero and summon the legendary Brave Fencer Musashi.However,Musashi turns out to be a kid and has no idea about the battle with the wizard of darkness.With the sword of fusion to assimilate ability,Musashi went to the spiraling tower to obtain the sword of Lumina. The princess was captured by the Thirstquencher Empire on the way.He went on his journey to collect the five scrolls and rescue the princess,not knowing anything about the battle before.And now the journey continues...Would the seal of the Wizard of Darkness be broken once again?I can't tell you now. Meanwhile,the King and Queen of Allucaneet Kingdom were on a vacation... Source:Some of the events here are taken from www.Squaresoft.com. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Awards These awards are based on my opinion towards the game.These awards are not based on any publication or anything. While it may not have the best graphics action-RPG,it certainly has some other great fighting elements that can easily rival zelda. Good Awards -The First action-RPG character,Musashi holding two swords like the japanese samurai -The first action-RPG with 24-hour clock,days,and time. -The ability to assimilate enemies' abilities -Great storyline -The first real action-RPG with real voice overs during key scenes. -Most innovative boss:when fighting Topo.it's like Parappa meets Musashi. -Most innovative missions:Rescuing 35 palace members and finding 13 minkus. -Most strangest boss fight:Tower of Death -Best feature:Action Figures and fusion abilities -2nd runner up feature:shops have opened and closed hours -3rd runner up feature:sleep,eat,swing,climb -4th runner up feature:Bread and milk will spoilt after 5 days. -The most humorous game Bad Awards -Not having the best graphics action-RPG and has too many polygon pop- up. -Not many good music,except the ending one.(not that bad after all) -unable to rotate camera angles when exploring during adventure;camera is fixed. -only one village. Others: -the game that has so many jumps and swings.More action than puzzles. -too many chasing like being chased down from the statue head;chased by dark Lumina etc.Could it be a good or bad thing? What a waste of Kojiro? What happened to Kojiro after he is being absorbed by Wizard of Darkness? The final boss is Dark Lumina but i think Square should let Kojiro have a serious duel with Musashi.Don't count the fight at Island of Dragon since Kojiro purposely lose to Musashi,just to let Topo disguise as the princess to destroy steamwood.I mean have a long,true fight with Kojiro,not just with Dark Lumina.Read the true story of Musashi above and you will know why. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ General strategy and tactics Characters Musashi The legendary hero summoned by princesss fillet to help her kingdom break free from Thirstquencher empire.With fusion and lumina sword in his hands, Musashi is the only person capable of helping the princess and the people. Musashi went on his journey to collect the five scrolls and defeat the dark lumina.Remains me of Japanese summurai. Wizard of Darkness The ultimate destruction??? The only creature composed of pure Binchotite??? Can't tell you now. Princess Fillet The tomboyish princess of the Kingdom of Allucaneet,the princess summons musashi,using the Hero summon spell,to save her Kingdom.She is sometimes impatience and could be quite a rebellious child.At the end of chapter 1 the princess gets kidnapped by Rootrick. Steward Ribson and the Palace members Ribson and his group of palace members are a source of info for Musashi.He will told you that 35 people were missing and you will have to rescue them from the bincho field.Visit him and he will tell you how many people you have saved.Dedicated to the plight and safely of the princess and Alluncaneet,Steward Ribson is a loyal member to the Kingdom and will help Musashi in any way if possible. Scribe Shanky The man in charge of the library.He will read valuable informations about the five scrolls,armors to you.Later,during the game to find the directions of the meandering forest,you will need to read the Shogi to find clues for the directions. Kojiro Kojiro is a mysterious swordsman summoned by princess fillet's second hero summon spell.He will do anything to settle with Musashi,Musashi arch rivary. He joins the thirstquencher empire to fight Musashi.Not much is know about him.He's kind hearted in nature,that's what i feel about him.Perhaps Square should make another new event starring Kojiro and Musashi and where did they come from?Probably,the next Brave Fencer 2 should make a hero starring Kojiro.kojiro looks so much better than Musashi. Leader's Force Topo,Ed and Ben are the members of leader's force,an organisation commanded by Capriciola who has only one aim-To obtain Lumina from Musashi.All said they are the leader of this force but who's the real leader anyway.Who cares? Topo A mouse dancer.Dancing is her favourite past time.She's not that bad after all even she disguises the princess and steals the villagers profit. Ben He carries a blade in his hand,looks big and fat with a huge belly. Ed He might look small but he is rather powerful.(actually not that powerful) Plus,he stammers when he talk.I don't understand why?Is he afraid of Musashi? Rootrick The second Lieutenant in the army,he is rather stupid,annoying and is easy to defeat.His connections within the army enable him to be the lieutenant.He is a dumb fellow that never does things properly as he is told to do. Colonel Cappriciola He serves as Fuhrer Flatski's right-hand man.Much more methodical and intelligent than his boss,Cappriciola is a dangerous enemy.Well,anyway,who is he?Can't disclose his true identity if not,it will really ruin the game. Former Thirstquencher King and Queen The former Thirstquencher King and Queen were thought to be killed by Fuhrer Flatski.It's also thought that the prince of Thirstquencher also dies along with his parents.Damm!Can't disclose the real identity of the prince.You know later on. The King and Queen of Allucaneet Kingdom When the princess was captured by the thirstquencher empire,the King and Queen were on their vacation.They did not know about the battle with the thirstquencher empire and were shocked to return to find the princess has ruined the entire castle. Jon Jon is a wandering treasure hunter,travelling round the world with his dog, Leno.He knows a lot of things about the legendary armor and scrolls.And who is this mysterious man?Why does he know so much? Leno Leno is a loyal dog,belonging to Jon.It wanders around with Jon to search for treasure round the world. Bubbles and Ginderelle They are sisters within the Thirstquencher army's spy network.Ginderelle is bubble's elder sister.While they are not carrying their duties,they participate in some beauty contests.It's said that Ginderelle won the first and Bubbles,the second during the contest.Bubbles and Ginderelle are loggerheads and often disagree with each other. Bubbles The first Lieutenant in the Thirstquencher Army Ginderelle Ginderelle is the Captain of the Thirstquencher Army Mayor McGovern Grillin' Village's leader,the mayor.He always have a favour to ask Musashi such as getting Aqualin and Misteria and always putting Musashi on danger but his care for the village is genuine. Mrs Govern The mayor's wife.Like Mr Govern,her care for the village is also genuine. Fuhrer Flatski The king of thirstquencher empire.It has been said that he killed the former King and Queen of the Thirstquencher empire and seize over their throne.His ambitions and hopes to expand the thirstquencher empire finally kills him. Why does he want to seize Lumina from Musashi? Father White The father who lives in the church and can cures poison for you. Tim The son of Hilda,the owner of village grocery shop.Tim is a rather rude boy with a lot of ambitions and dreams to go on a adventure.Later on,during Chapter 3,Tim will contact a disease and is on a verge of turning into a vambee. Mint The daughter of Hotelo,the inn shop owner.Mint is Tim's loyal friend. Fores He is in charge of the steamwood adminstration works however he does nothing to help steamwood when steamwood is in trouble. Wid He is the old man living in the windmill.He will give you the mine key.His personalities is more towards indoor and doesn't like to go out in the village so he stays inside the windmill very often. Macho He hangs around in the restaurant and will play cards with you.During chapter 2,he will stop you from going to Twinpeak mt until you have rescue Guard Lumpwood. For more info,pls read Macho's secret at Mannick restaurant at the secret section. Mannick The restaurant owner.Think about it.Why does Mannick want to come to this small village to open a restaurant? Conner The Pawn shop owner.You can appraise items at his shop Hotelo The inn owner,Mint's father. Motelo Hotelo's brother and Mint's uncle.During that time,when Hotelo went to Twinpeak mt to get Aqualin,Motelo will replace Hotelo at the inn.He will replace Hotelo in the inn all the time if you failed to give Aqualin to Hotelo within 12 hours(that is 12 minutes) to save Tim.Hotelo will left the village feeling guilty for not being able to save Tim.Before he left,he left the inn and Mint under the care of Motelo. Read the Frequently asked questions #13 for more info on Motelo and Hotelo. Kurt The toy shop owner.You can buy action figure from his shop. Hilda The grocery shop owner Jam The bread shop owner Baker Towst Jam's Dad has a habit of going to restaurant to eat pork chop. Wanda The restaurant waitress.Looks more like a slut to me than a waitress. Tourist Just a tourist that hangs around at the restaurant because he admires Wanda for her beauty. Farmer Lacter,Farmer McRice,Farmer Grange All of them are farmers.Nothing special about them except Farmer Grange is an action figure collector. Mr Land The man in charge of the Gondola Ride. Mrs Lacter The wife of Farmer Lacter.She is an old woman who believes that Musashi is her grandson.Later,during Chapter 6,Mrs Lacter will pass the Kojiro action figure to Mr lacter to pass it to Musashi.A very kind,old woman,indeed. Mrs land and Mrs Grange Mrs Land and Mrs Grange are wives of Mr land and Grange respectively.Not much about them is known,except that both visit the well everyday in the morning to chat. Minku This animal is on the verge of being extinct.There are a total of 13 such animals in the world only.They carry longevity berries which can increase Musashi's max HP by 25 and fully recover HP.These creatures inhabit various areas in the game.These animals are active at the night and will only come out after 2300.Plus,you will noticed an animal dung during the day. Mother Minku Mother Minku appears only after you have got 13 minkus in the meandering forest.She is a giant mega-sized Minku,about 5 times bigger and is much stronger than any other normal minku. Steam Knight Steam knight is a giant four-legged machine summoned by Rootrick to defeat Musashi.It carries an iron ball in his hand. Elemental Attack:None Skullpion Skullpion is the Earth crest guardian who protects the Earth scroll. Defeating it will enables you to liberate the Earth Crest. Elemental Attack:None Relic keeper Relic keeper is the water crest guardian who protects the water scroll. Defeating it will enables you to liberate the Earth Crest. Elemental Attack:Fire attack Frost Dragon Frost Dragon is the fire crest guadian who protects the fire scoll.Defeating it will enables you to liberate the Fire Crest. Elemental Attack:Ice attacks(Even though there's no ice scroll.) Queen Ant Queen Ant is the wind crest guardian who protects the wind crest.Defeating it will enables you to liberate the wind crest. Elemental Attack:some wind attacks like whirlwind Tower of Death Tower of Death is the last sky crest guardian who protects the sky crest. Defeating it will enables you to liberate the sky crest. Elemental Attack:None Dark Lumina 1 Attack:??? Dark Lumina 2 The second transformation of the wizard of Darkness after absorbing Kojiro. Elemental Attack:Fire(shockwaves,homing fireball.) Dark Lumina 3 The last transformation of the wizard of Darkness.The only way to defeat is to use fusion to assimilate it when it turns white. Elemental Attack:All(Fire,Wind,Water,sword waves,Dark Clones) _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Fusion and Lumina Fusion:A light-weight special sword with the ability to assimilate enemies' abilities.Shorter than Lumina and cause lesser damage than Lumina.However,it allows quick swipes continously by pressing square button. Lumina:A powerful,yet heavy sword than fusion.You can attach scrolls to the sword to gain new abilities.The only sword that can break bincho field. Causes nearly twice the damage of fusion.However,it doesn't has any quick swipes like fusion sword. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Fusion 'Fusion' is a special 'steal' technique used by Mushashi.In this game, you need to learn to steal enemy's techniques in order to advance so try to absorb enemy skills when you are stuck during the game.Also, there are lots of hidden path which requires you to learn enemy skills.Some skills like hop are immediately executed when you absorb but these skills are only temporary whereas some skills like gunshots are permanently and can be used by pressing circle. Of course ,BP will be consumed.There will be a bar on the left side and a word 'Fusion' on the right side. First,look in the direction of your enemy, hold R1 and the gauge on the left side bar will rise up. Once it's full, press square and a green beam will shoot up.If this green beam hits the enemy, repeatedly press the square button.You will noticed that the left bar will be emptied again but will rise up as you pressed square.When it's full, you will learn the skill.For example,if you assimilate gunshot,the word 'fusion' will disappear and change into gunshot, indicating you have successfully learned. However, note that you are only allowed to have one enemy skill each time.For example, if you already have learned gunshot,you steal 'hop',your previous skill,gunshot will be lost. Stealing your enemy skill will instantly killed your enemy and caused them to disappear but they does not left behind items like money,BP,HP.Note that you can't steal techniques from bosses.And when you are fighting against bosses,your assimilated ability immediately disappear and change to fusion. For more info,pls read the assimilated abilities _______________________________________________________________________ _____ 24-hour Game Clock On your right side,you will see the no of days,time.Your enviroment will change as time goes on.it's mid-night,the sky will grow darker.Sometimes you will need to go inside the shop to buy things.The shop will not opened until it reaches a certain period of time.For example,shops like bakery shop,pawn shop will close when it is at night,except the inn.So,you may have to sleep and wait.It incorporates a real-time clock within the game.This clock runs 24 hours a day,seven days a week.The days in the game are determined in this order:Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday, skyday,saturday,sunday. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Sleep To sleep,press select.If done correctly,the left hand side picture should change to a 'moon'or sleep mode.Then hold R1 and release it when it's full. Musashi will lie on the ground,the bottom middle will show your tiredness. For example,100% tiredness shows that you are very tired.During quest, it's best to have around 20% to 40%,if not you might fall asleep sometime. To wake up,press X.When you sleep,time will continue to past and your BP will decrease and HP will rise.You can also use an H-mint or mint item to cure tiredness.When Musashi's tired percentage is over 50%,the small, circular portrait window in the right-hand side of the screen will begin to close.When it's completely close,Musashi is 100% tired. Tip:if you are really tired,feed yourself with H-mint or mint. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Movement Musashi moves faster when he is fully awake.If Musashi is very tired or poisoned,or zero BP,he will not be able to run fast as usual.Then,you will know what to do,huh? _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Memory box It looks like a chest.When opened up,it will ask you whether you want to leave your memory here.If you leave your memory here,you can continue from here when you die,however you will lose 50% of your money.Also,the most important thing is if you leave your memory in the memory box and switched off your machine,your memory will be eased and you have to start from the inn.Saving in a memory box may be costly and is more unreliable.You should rely more on the inn. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Saving your Game You can only save your game in an inn or after you have completed a chapter which will prompts you to save or in Chapter 6 after beating the sub-bosses like Topo,Ben,Ed. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Minku These are the bunnies that you will see in the game.There are a total of 13 minku.They come out only after 2300.During the day,there will be a spot with animal dung.These minku moves very fast and you have to carried them by pressing square or triangle when near.Throw them away and they will give you longevity berry which will boast your HP by 25.A must to find all.Once you find the 13 minku,you will find mother minku in the meandering forest.Defeat it and you will be able to buy mother minku action figure. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Crests and Scrolls. There are 5 lengendary scrolls,belonging to 5 elements(earth,water,fire,wind sky.)which you must obtain.Once you have defeated the corresponding crest guardian and get the scroll for that specific element,the crest for that element will glow and a hidden path will be revealed.For more info on crest,read the advanced tactics on crest location The effects are: Scroll Abilities Effects Normal Circular sweep 1)Extinguish some flames 2)Break hard/Large objects Earth Earthquake 1)Moves most large boulders 2)Stun surrounding enemies temporary 3)Activate switches Water Water shield 1)Creates a water & shield,enabling to block #Shoot water bubbles One fire elemental attack but disappear after that. 2)Float on water temporary 3)Extinguish flames Fire #Flame 1)Shoot flames Fire Shield 2)Creates a fire shield and harm surrounding enemies 3)Light up torches Wind #Cyclone 1)Pass through strong winds and poisonous clouds 2)Drills hole Sky #Float 1)Temporarily float a few feet above ground To perform the special abilities,in the sub-menu,choose the the type of scrolls that you want,for example Earth or Normal.To perform the Earth ability,just hold R1 until the left side gauge bar is full,then press Triangle to perform the ability.As for special scrolls marked with #,like water,wind,fire,repeat the same procedure,and then you will noticed that the left side gauge bar will begin to empty.Before the bar is emptied,you can hold triangle or square to perform another ability for example,water to shoot bubbles,fire to shoot flames and wind to create cyclone.As for sky,it is similar to fire,water,wind,but instead of hoding square or triangle,you hold X to float. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Legendary Armors Legend says that Musashi seals the wizard of darkness with the help of five armor but in actual,there are 6 legendary armor if you count the L-cloth. With the L-cloth,you can make L-glove or L-quilt.However,you can only choose one between L-glove and L-quilt,that makes 6 instead of 7.Each Legendary armor will be automatically equipped and each gives you a special ability. For example,L-belt lets you to perform double jump by pressing X twice and L-brace lets you climb up a cliff with your two sword. For more information,pls read the secret section on Legendary armors and how to obtain the L-glove or L-quilt. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ HP and BP Your BP will decrease after some time while your HP will rise.Be sure to have tons of recovering BP items.The HP too is also very important.The best recovery item of all is the cheese.It costs around 300 and is much more cheaper than S-revive.You will need to keep the cheese as long as possible. It recovers both HP and BP.The longer you kept the cheese before using,the more you will recover.Sometimes,it will recover all.Defeating an enemy will also give you items.Some gives you money and some recovers HP or BP.Note that the max HP and BP you can go is 500. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Techniques. There are 6 specialised techniques that you can learn.I don't think there are any more.Each technique is a new special attack skill.For example,the Dashing Pierce,allows you to to charge at your enemies whereas Rumparoni-SP is an aerial attack using your Lumina sword by pressing triangle when you double jump.Master these techniques well as each of these will come in handy and useful when dealing with some bosses and enemies.Believe me!They can cause quite a lot of damage to your enemy. For more info on techniques,pls read the secret sections on techniques as it will include all the 6 listed techniques and the moves. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Bincho Field Bincho Field is a restraining weapon developed by Thirstquencher army that is able to seal solid objects up in a green crystal with concentrated bincho energy.The Thirstquencher empire uses this weapon to trap the palace members of Allucaneet and terriorize the Kingdom.There are a total of 35 people trap in this bincho field.Some are found in hidden paths and cannot be located easily.Some will even teach your techniques in return.In the game,you will see a 'glowing green crystal'.Hit triangle using the lumina sword and after a short conversation, they should teleport back to the castle.You can also visit them at the castle.Also, everytime,you rescue from someone in the Bincho field,your max BP will gain 5 more and completely restored.So it's best to use up nearly all your BP and hit the bincho field to regain all your BP rather than just a few.It's a good bargain.You can detect those bincho field by your sensor watch that Butler Livers give you. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ The village. Here is a list of what you can find in the village.I have also listed out the the types of items you expect them to sell from various types of shop.I have also listed their opening hours. For more info on village shop,i urge you to read the advanced tactics on village. Bakery:Buying bread,milk etc. Note:Bread and milk lasts only 5 days which after will cause them to rotten and become uneatable.Sell bread and milk to them only.Does not buy any items like action figure from you. Hours open:7am to 7pm.Closed:Thursday Grocery or general store:Let you buy items like orange,S-revive. Only buy their own shop items from you only. Open daily from 10am to 8pm Pawn shop:Allows items to be appraise.Only buy appraised items from you. Hours open:11am to 4pm.Closed:Monday Toy store:This is the most interesting feature i have ever seen.Once you defeats your enemy,you can buy their action figure from the shop.The game moves in chapters and series 1 refers to all the enemies that you have fought in chapter 1,series 2 refers to enemies in chapter 2.If an action figure is missing from a particular series,this means you have not fought that enemy yet and a ??? will be shown.it's great to have a whole collection of action figure.Probably you will receive something or not?The last ???of a particular series usually refers to the last boss of that chapter.So don't panic if you have not got the figure yet.The last group is called the special edition of action figure which has 7 slots instead of 6 like the series.The special action figure cannot be purchased unlike you have to defeat the enemies like other series,you will have to unlock it yourself.The only advice that i can give you.The early you buy a new action figure that is just comes in,the cheaper it is.The longer you buy,the price will higher.Now,here's a simple trick to help you make money.If you have decided to sell your action figure,it's best to sell it as later as possible so that you will earn a profit.However,if you regret and want to buy the action figure again,it will be much more and more expensive.It's good to collect an action figure,so don't sell it.Earn as much Drans as possible to collect as many action figure.Note that Kurt won't buy open toys. Hours Open:12pm to 8pm Closed:Wednesday Note:Refer to the secrets section to learn more about special action figure. Inn:The inn allows you to save your journey for free.However,sleeping in an inn needs money.The more expensive room,the more HP and BP you will recover. However,taking nap for 80 only heals your BP completely but not HP.Nap requires 3 hours. Note:that sleeping requires time.Normally,you will sleep until the next day you wake up and your tiredness will be almost or nearly gone. Hours Open:Almost every time. Restaurant:Lets you eat and chat with others.There is also a man who will be willing to gamble with you.1 bet 100. Hours Open:6pm to 2am. Closed:Sunday. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Palace Visit :Allow you to visit Steward Ribson and other people that you have saved.Some of the palace members that ou saved will provide you with informations and teach your techniques,of course during certain conditions and during the plot. Library :Allow Scribe Shanky to read books to you.Gains valuable information about the scrolls. Room :Allow you to sleep in your room to regain HP and BP or play with your action figure.Spent 8 hours for sleeping. Sub-menu :View the sub-menu such as techniques learned,rescue list,items, config,scrolls,etc.Refer to sub-menu. Village :Allow you to return to the village Gondola :This ride is not available until the Gondola ride is repaired or only during Chapter 5.Allows you to return to the village. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Binchotite It is the supreme from of energy which is mined mainly in the vicinity of Allucaneet.When underground,it exists in a liquid from,however,when exposed to air becomes crystalizes.It is also the raw material of Bincholon. Bincholon is a source of fuel and energy for the Grillin' citizens.The steamwood is built to pump this Bincholon.However,Binchotite is toxic and there have been reported cases of plants and animals mutating after being exposed to it and one of the reason why you got poison after you fell into this binchotite mine. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Stats Body:Musashi's strength.Exp increaes as he defeats enemies. Mind:Reduce damage by force of will.Exp increases the more you travel. Fus:Fusion's attack power.Exp increases the more Fusion is used. Lum:Lumina's attack power.Exp increases the more lumina is used. Note that the max limit you can go is Lv 30. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Limit As mention,if you use more fusion attack,your fusion level attack will increase,so does lumina.The no on the left of each bar shows the level of the fusion,lumina,body and mind.The no on the right shows its strength,the higher it is,the more stronger it is.For example,52 on the right side of lumina shows that lumina attack is 52.When itr comes to a certain level,it will reach its limit.For example,in chapter 2,you can train your mind,body, fusion,lumina up to Lv 8.After completing each chapter,your limit will extent furthur and you wil be able to train more than level 8. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Sub-Menu View List:View the rescue list. Sword:View and select the type of sword.Normal,earth,water etc Armor:View all the legendary armor Item:Use and select item Techniques:View all the techniques you have learn Rescue List:View the no and names of people that are to be rescued. Time:Bottom-left corner which records how many time you have spent Level:View your Fusion,Lumina level etc. Mission Log:Is actually a small dialogue box on the bottom-right. Config-1)Vibr:Turns the vibration ON/OFF 2)VE:Turns the visual effects during assimilation ON/OFF 3)BGM:Sets the background music volume from 1 to 7 4)SE:Sets the sound volume 5)Sound:Stereo or Monaural _______________________________________________________________________ ____ Basic controls Square:Fusion attack Triangle:Lumina attack X:Jump Circle:Uses selected assimilated ability L1:When hold,let you walk instead of run R1:Fills up the left side bar gauge L2:Rotate camera angle anti-clockwise;sometimes zoom in/out R2:Rotate camera angle clockwise;sometimes zoom in/out Select:Switch between battle and sleep mode Start:View the sub-menu D-pad:Moves in the specific direction.When hold,runs in that direction. #You can only rotate camera in the village only.And during exploring,you can't rotate the camera angles but you can zoom in and out. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Defending By pressing R1,Musashi can block any frontal attack.The only disadvantage is that you can't run or jump while Musashi is blocking and can't defend any attack from sides,back or from the top.You can use this action when you get confronted with a room full of enemies and you need some time to correctly position yourself for the attack.If Musashi finds himself in a hairy situation,press X button while defending to perform a quick backflip. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Gondola Lift The Gondola ride provides transportation to and from the palace like a cable ride.It won't be available until the Gondola is repaired until chapter 5. It is opened daily from 7 am to 10 pm.You can take the Gondola lift from the palace to the village by choosing the Gondola at the last option or from the village to the palace by talking to Mr Lands sitting at the Gondola. _______________________________________________________________________ _____ Ranking Here is a list of the names you will be called according to your level. Level Name 1-3 : Little Turd 4-5 : Apprentice 6-9 : Ordinary Joe 10-12: Talked About 13-15: Pretty Good 16-20: Duellist 21-22: Reputable 23-27: Mastership 28-29: Brave Fencer 30 : Hero Credit:This list is given by Thorfinn Tait