Walkthrough Brave Fencer Musashi

B R A V E F E N C E R M U S A S H I

The Unofficial Walkthrough
Ver. 1.0
By: Matt Hobbs
YelseyKing@aol.com

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
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1. Revisition History
2. Walkthrough
a. Chapter 1 - The Journey Begins
b. Chapter 2 - A New Journey
c. Chapter 3 - Mission Vambee
d. Chapter 4 - Duel at Dragon Island
e. Chapter 5 - The One that Nests Underground
f. Chapter 6 - The Sword of Luminescence
3. Other stuff
4. Lists
5. Shops
6. Action Figures
7. Game Functions
8. Credits

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1. R E V I S I O N H I S T O R Y
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V1.0 - First Version

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2. W A L K T H R O U G H
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Allucaneet Kingdom...

A peaceful kingdom...

But that peace is about to be broken...

The King and Queen of Allucaneet Palace are away, the perfect opportunity
for the evil Thirstquencher Empire to attack, and being an evil empire, they
(of course) take advantage of the situation and attack the weakened castle.
Due to the surprise of the attack, the castle easily falls. The only
survivors of the attack, Princess Fillet, Steward Ribson (who seems to be
related to FFT's Professor Daravon ^_^), Butler Livers, Scribe Shanky, and
Alchemist Leanman escape to the basement of the castle. None of them have
any fighting experience, so their only hope is to perform the forbidden
'hero summon'... After a long conversation, Princess Fillet successfully
summons Musashi... Unfortunatly, it appears to be just a little kid... At
first, no one believes that this strange looking kid is the REAL Musashi,
but since no one has actually SEEN the legendary hero, for all they know, he
may well be him. After a bit of talk, the child wakes up and makes some
snotty remark about the way everyone is dressed, to which the princess
responds by calling him "a little turd". Ribson then goes over and talks to
"Sir Little Turd", who reveals that he is indeed Musashi. Ribson and the
others explain that Musashi was summoned into their world, and can't return
to his own world until he saves theirs. (Pretty selfish, if you ask me.)
Anyway, they explain that the Thirstquencher army is after Lumina, the
sword of Luminescence, and that they need you to recover it. They tell you
that they've hidden atop Spiral Tower, which is located deep in the woods
behind the castle. Musashi reluctantly agrees to go after the sword. Before
leaving, Scribe Shanky gives Musashi a magical blue sword called Fusion, as
well as a note explaining how to get Lumina. The Alchemist then tells you
of Fusion's special power: It can absorb enemies, allowing you to use their
special skills. An ability called "Assimilation". Musashi then dashes out
of the castle towards Spiral Tower before the others can even finish
talking.

%%%%CHAPTER 1: The Journey Begins%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

---Allucaneet Forest---
Treasures: Silver Coin x3, Big Heart

The quest to recover Lumina begins in a dense forest. Press the Square
button to swing Fusion, and X to jump. Proceed forward, jumping over logs,
lakes, and the like and defeating enemies. Along the way, you'll find 3
silver coins worth 100 dran (money) each, as well as a big heart which will
restore 100 HP. Grab these items then push the center boulder out of the way
(or just walk around it). There are other obstacles and enemies along the
way, but nothing very major until you reach a big lake with three logs on
the other side; it's pretty obvious that he'll never be able to jump across,
so Musashi decides to try a different approach. He remembers what the people
back at the castle told him about Fusion's Power. Seeing a nearby gunner
soldier, he decides to absorb his power and see if it can help. Unless
you've already figured it out, this will be your first time using
assimilation. Hold down R1 until the gauge in the lower left fills up, then
press the square button while facing the guard and you'll launch Fusion
towards the enemy. Now press Square repeatedly until you absorb the monster;
you'll get the Gunshot skill, which can be used to knock over the logs on
the other side of the river, creating a bridge. The only other obstacle of
note here is the blue statue near the end, just hit it four times to destroy
it. Once you've gotten rid of it, it's just a short hop to Spiral Tower.

--Spiral Tower--
Treasures: Silver Coin x2

Actually, there doesn't even seem to be a tower here at all. Musashi takes
out the note that Scribe Shanky gave him and reads it. It seems that the
only way to make the tower appear is to 'sacrifice a warrior'. Since there
don't seem to be any warriors besides Musashi present, it's obvious that
the clue is referring to the four nearby statues. Run around the 'tower' and
destroy all four statues, and touch the tiles under them. (Be careful, that
weird statue head shoots at you the whole time.) Once you've stepped on all
four tiles, the tower will raise out of the water. Climb up it, avoiding the
rolling wheels and spiked logs along the way, and enter through the opening
at the top. Once inside, Musashi will pull out the note again. In order to
light up the tower, you must 'douse the dark flame'. Musashi notices a giant
bell hanging above the flame in the center of the tower, and exclaims that
if he were to cut down the bell, it would fall and put the fire out. Climb
up to the top of the tower, killing enemies along the way, until you reach a
closed door. If you don't have the Gunshot ability, absorb it from the
nearby soldier and shoot at the closest rope. The giant bell will fall on
the flame, putting it out. The tower fills with light and the door opens,
revealing a path to a portal. Before doing this, though, you may want to
climb down the tower a little bit and kill the little blue Sphere Bats.
They're not hard to beat, and often leave money and other valuable items.

Anyway, Once you open the door, touch the portal and you'll be transported
to the roof of the tower, where you'll find...Lumina! Unfortunatly, It's
being protected by a forcefield... Upon closer investigation, Musashi finds
out that the forcefield is lifted if a living being stands on the white tile
in front of it. Since Musashi needs to get the sword, he can't stand on the
tile, so the only way to get the sword is to lure a soldier on to the tile,
then stun him. Start by absorbing Stun from one of the soldiers, then lure
another one on the tile, and hit him with Stun. This will paralyze him just
long enough so you can go up and claim your prize!

As soon as you grab Lumina, the giant statue head will go berserk, shooting
lasers and knocking Musashi down the tower. It then begins to roll down the
side of the tower, chasing after Musashi. Now just keep running ahead of it,
jumping when Musashi tells you to. It's not very hard to avoid, but don't
get stuck behind the rocks in the forest; I don't know what will happen if
you get flattened by the giant head. ^_^

After you run through the gate at the end of the forest, you'll be back at
the castle, where Princess Fillet is being held hostage by a weird goon with
a country hick accent named Rootrick, a member of the Thirstquencher army.
He demands Lumina in exchange for the princess and when Musashi refuses to
give up his newly acquired sword, Rootrick throws flames at the young hero,
which surround him, and boasts that they can't "be putted out easily". The
princess yells to Musashi to use Lumina to put out the flames. To put them
out, charge up the gauge in the left by pressing R1 (like you did with
Fusion), but instead, press the triangle button and you'll perform a
spinning attack, which will put out the flames. Disappointed with Musashi's
feat, Rootrick grabs the princess and disappears, leaving him to fight the
Thirstquencher's powerful Steam Knight. Get ready; this is your first boss
battle!

%%%%Thirstquencher Empire: Steam Knight%%%%

Even though he's the first boss, that doesn't make the Steam Knight easy.
As soon as the battle begins, arrows will point towards the knight's legs.
Charge up Lumina and spin attack one of them until it breaks, while avoiding
the steam coming from it and the Iron Ball he throws. When one leg goes
down, the Steam Knight will bend down, and an arrow will point to the cloth
near the center of it. Cut the cloth, then spin attack the green core that
was hidden under it. The knight will now get back up and continue it's
attack. Spin attack the other leg until it breaks, then whack the green core
again when it's exposed. When all it's energy is depleted, the Steam Knight
will fly back against the wall. Pick him up and throw him through the wall.
His energy will fill up and you'll have to fight him again. Do the same
thing this time as you did before, spin attack the legs until they break,
then attack the core when he reveals it. He has a new attack this round,
though. Occationally he'll pick up a pillar and swing/throw it at you, and
he also knocks down pillars, and you'll get hurt if you're hit by one. When
all his energy is gone, he'll fly back again, in which you have to pick him
up and throw him through ANOTHER wall! On the third round of this long
match, the rules change. Now the Steam Knight will jump around, and only
reveal his core for a short time when he lands. Watch his movements, and try
not to be under him when he lands. He also has several attacks. His classic
Iron Ball attack is now a bit harder to dodge. To do so, simply keep moving,
and jump when he throws it. Every so often, he'll stop and smash a building
-- this has no relevance that I can see, but it can't hurt you, so use this
time to put yourself in a better position. Three more direct spin attacks to
his core will defeat him for good! Oh yeah, don't worry if you lose this
fight. You'll have to start the battle over, but you won't have to re-obtain
Lumina.

After the tough battle, Musashi falls asleep...

%%%%CHAPTER 2: A New Journey%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

He awakens a short time later in the palace. At first, he doesn't remember
where he is or even why he's here, for that matter! Steward Ribson and
Butler Livers then enter, and tell Musashi that they found him asleep on a
hill after defeating the Steam Knight. Suddenly, Musashi remembers the
kidnapped princess, and starts to rush off. He is quickly stopped by Ribson,
who says that Seer Bevealy may know where the princess is, but that she too
is missing. She was also kidnapped by Thirstquencher, as well as 34 other
people from Allucaneet Kingdom! They have been sealed in "Bincho Fields",
which are small green crystals, and scattered all over the world. After
Ribson and Livers finish explaining this, Musashi is given a list of all the
missing people, as well as a magic watch that detects Bincho Fields; when
you're near one, the two 'eyes' at the bottom of the screen will flash --
the faster they are flashing, the closer you are to a bincho field. Finally,
you are told of 5 scrolls which can boost Lumina's power: Earth, Water,
Fire, Wind, and Sky. One you find and liberate these scrolls, Lumina will
gain tremendous power, and that once he finds them, Musashi may be able to
return to his own world. After all the talk, Butler Livers basically forces
you to go to the library to study up on various subjects. Just as you start
to leave, the two tell you that you should go down to Grillin' Village at
the base of the mountain. You have a long journey ahead of you, so this
village will make the perfect home base for you! Oh yes, this is now your
room, so feel free to use it as you please.

You'll now be in the library, where the...uhh...odd...Scribe Shanky is
waiting for you. He offers to read you the books, so have him read whatever
strikes your interest, but he is unable to read the last two books...for
now. Once you've had your fill, start to leave and Shanky will tell you that
since the gondola is out, there is no way to get to the village... or is
there? He suggests that you use your two swords to slide down the gondola
rope. Since there's no other way down, Musashi decides to give this a try!

After a neat little scene, Musashi arrives at the gondola station, just
north of town. The west path to Twinpeak Mountain is being guarded by a big
muscly guy named Macho, and he won't let you through, so go south to the
town.

Upon entering, visit the local shops and talk to all the people at least
one time each. The shops are all located near the town center where the
fountain is. Be sure to visit the Grocery and stock up on the HP restoring
Gels and such. Also, buy some Cheese, it's unpredictable at best, but as
it's effect increases by it's age, if you wait long enough, it has the
potential to restore full HP and BP! As for the BP restoring bread at the
bakery, only buy that if you're going to a long area, as it spoils after 5
days and becomes basically worthless. At the toy store, you buy several
action figures based on enemies and main characters. If you buy any of
these, you can play with them in your room at the castle. The pawn shop
will appraise strange items you find, and buy the useless ones. This shop
will prove useful later, but for now, skip it. The restaurant (which only
opens at night) servs unusual food which restores HP and BP; it's not worth
the rediculous prices, so don't buy any of it. As for the inn...well, it
basically explains itself. The different rooms should be used according to
how damaged you are. You shouldn't waste your money here, as you can rest
for free in the castle, but this place is important, as it's the ONLY place
you can make a permanent save! The last building of note here is the church,
where the priest will cure you if you're poisoned. There is a well outside
the church where you can get water, but it only restores 5 HP, so you don't
really need any. All the other buildings here are houses, and the one with
the weathervane on the roof is Mayor Govern's house. Once you've explored
the town and talked to everyone, pay the mayor a visit. Musashi asks the
mayor if he knows anything about the five scrolls. The mayor says that he'll
make a deal with you... The beloved village dog, Leno, is missing, if you
find him, he (the mayor) will tell you what he knows. Musashi reluctantly
agrees and the mayor tells you that Leno was last seen at Twinpeak Mountain.
Macho is still blocking the way to the mountain, however... If Guard
Lumpwood was here, he'd let you through; too bad he's also missing... This
is a good time to explore the southern Somnolent Forest.

Across the lake in the village, look for a sign that says "Dead End" on it,
and take the nearby path out of town. You'll end up in a small clearing in
the woods with...a Bincho Field! Break it open to free Hawker Steakwood. He
will thank you for releasing him and tell you a bit about Minkus. If you
want to hear more, return to the castle. When he disappears, Musashi absorbs
the power from the Binchu Field and your Max BP will increase by 5. (This
happens whenever you free someone from a Binchu Field, so I won't bother
mentioning it again.) If you'd like, go back to the castle and choose to
visit Steakwood, he'll explain that Minkus carry magical berries called
Longevity Berries, but you must pick them up and throw them to claim the
berry. He also points out that they're nocturnal creatures, meaning they
usually come out only at night. After meeting with him, go back across the
lake and take the other path out of town, this will lead you to another part
of the forest.

---Somnolent/Steamwood Forest---
Treasures: Green Coin x5, Gold Coin, Big Heart
Chests: OldCrown
Bincho Fields: 4

Explore the forest, defeating enemies as you go. There's a strange lake with
a treasure chest in it that you can't get, and a strange crest near it that
you can't do anything with. You'll later be able to drain this lake and get
that box, but for now, just ignore it. If you go down, you'll come upon a
pipeline blocked by steam. You can't by here now either, so once again,
ignore it and head back up. There is a small narrow path near the pink
flower monster where you can find another Bincho Field. Strike it to
release Guard Lumpwood. Now that you've released the guard, you can leave
the forest and go to Twinpeak Mountain, but I suggest you stay here and find
more treasures and Bincho Fields. Proceed north a bit and you'll reach a
field of thorny bushes that you can't get across on foot. Assimilate the
nearby Hopper (the pink flower) and you'll get "Hop", with this skill, you
can hop over thorns -- remember this. Once you get clear of the thorns,
press the circle button to stop hopping. You'll be in an open field with two
paths. The lower one (not the thorny path you just came from) will take you
back to the village -- use it if your HP is low. Otherwise, take the upper
path deeper into the forest. Beforehand, though, you might want to make a
short side trip into a hidden path between some trees in the northern part
of the clearing. If it's day, you'll only find a pile of "animal dung" here,
but if it's night, you'll find a Minku! It moves fast, but if you catch it,
you'll be rewarded with a Longevity berry and a 25 Max HP boost. After
catching the creature, go up and cross the bridge. If it's still night, you
may see another Minku in the south on the opposite shore. You can't get to
it now, so don't worry about it and go up the hill.

You'll find some bizarre mushrooms here called Sleepies, and as their name
applies, they can put you to sleep. A good method for attacking them is to
strike once, them jump away before their spores hit you. Another thing... DO
NOT assimilate them! Unlike most enemies, assimilating these shrooms will
actually give you a status ailment! They make you REALLY sleepy (and
incidentally, really weak and slow) until it wears off! Don't say I didn't
warn you! When you reach the top of the hill, you'll be in another part of
the woods. Assimilate the Hopper and hop up the nearby sloped hill and free
Seer Bevealy from the Bincho Field. If you return to the castle, she'll give
you a clue as to where the next scroll can be found, as well as the general
locations of where some of the missing people may be located. Now go up and
walk across the pipe. You'll come upon a treasure chest containing an
OldCrown. All items found in treasure chests except store items and Dran
need to be appraised before you know what they truly are, so keep this and
bring it back to the pawn shop back at the village. After getting the
treasure, go back down the way you came up. There are two paths here, one
to the north, and one to the east. The eastern path leads you to a strange
place with a huge slug-like rock that you have no way of moving yet, and the
nothern path leads to the Meandering Forest, where there is nothing of any
interest yet. Go back down the hill where the Sleepies are, and cross the
river again. This time, take the southern path and enter the pipe at the
edge of the screen. You'll now be in Steamwood Forest.

The lower path leads to the village, but before you go, there are two more
Bincho Fields and some Dran you can collect here. Go straight ahead until
you reach a silver pipe sticking out to your right. Jump on it and walk
across, collecting the five green 10 dran coins along the way. Jump down,
avoid the steam blast, and go up on the next silver pipe next to it. Walk
all the way across it and you'll find a Bincho Field, where Musician
Pianissimeat is being held. Whenever you free one of the musicians, they add
to the background music that plays at the castle. Not major, but still worth
freeing for the 5 BP boost you get. If you continue to follow the path here,
you'll find another strange crest like you saw before. Once again, there's
nothing you can do here, so ignore it and go back the way you came. The only
thing left here is to go up a bit and find a long silver pipe on the right
side of the screen. Cross it and you'll be on a back hill where you'll find
Acrobat Sausages in a Binchu Field. Later on, he and Clown Weinee can
perform a neat (and useful) trick, but for now, just release him and move
on. The two pipes sticking out next to where he was have a 500-dran gold
coin and a 100 HP-restoring Big Heart on them. Grab them and then return to
the village; that's all that's here.

Back in the village, stock up on items, rest in your room at the castle,
save your game, then head up to the northern exit of town. If you talk to
Guard Lumpwood, he'll let you through to Twinpeak Mountain, but before you
enter, go south on the grassy path (not the path leading back into town).
There is another Minku here! Catch it for an HP boost, then enter the
mountain!

---Twinpeak Mountain---

This is a fairly simple task. When you enter the mountain range, you'll see
two paths. The one on the right leads to Hell's Valley, which has nothing of
any interest to you, so (obviously) take the left path. When you reach the
end of this path, jump up on the rocks and free Soldier Lardwick from the
Bincho Field. He'll ask you to free his brother, Knight Lardwick, who is
also trapped somewhere on the mountain. Anyway, you can jump across the lake
to the opposite shore by hopping on the lillypad, but there's a King
Maneater over on the other side, and he doesn't seem to want you to cross...
You can't kill him with weapons, and assimilation doesn't do much either.
The only way past this guy is to absorb the Shrink skill from one of those
ghost-like magicians. Once you've gotten Shrink, blast the King Maneater
with it to shrink him, then jump on him and flatten him. With him out of the
way, you'll be able to cross the river. Leno is on the island with the bone
on it, but before you go over to him, grab on to those two nearby poles, and
take the silver coins on top of them. If you continue to follow the path,
you'll see it comes to a large river, of which you have no way of crossing
yet. Go back and pick up Leno. Your task is to bring him back to the
village. In order to do this, you must pick up and carry the little dog, and
bring him through the entrance to town. Since you can't jump while carrying
him, you'll have to throw him across the rivers and such, for if he falls in
the water, he'll end up back on the island with the bone, and you'll have to
start over again. An interesting thing here is that the game seems to count
Leno as a monster, so you can do anything to him as you can to a monster.
Attack him, use special skills on him, or even shrink and stomp him! (hehe)
(Oh yeah, you can't assimilate him... ^_^) He's invincible, so don't worry
about killing him, though.

Once you bring him back to the village, he'll run off. Now go and visit the
mayor. he'll thank you for finding the dog, but...it seems the old man was
using you... He doesn't know anything about the five scrolls, but tells you
to talk to the man in the stocks in the outskirts of town. Since you're
obviously not going to get anything out of the mayor, you might as well see
this guy... Before he'll give you any info, the guy asks you for some bread
and water, as he hasn't eaten in days. Buy him some RyeBread from the bakery
and get some water from the well, then return and give it to him. After
feeding him, he'll tell you that his name is Jon, and that he's a treasure
hunter. Musashi isn't exactly sure he believes this, but Jon says he'll give
him some info on the scrolls if...he'll free him from the stocks. If you
agree to help him, Jon explains that he hid the key under a grave in the
cemetary at Meandering Forest, but that a strange spell was cast on the
forest, so you'll need Leno's help to find it...

Go back through Somnolent forest until you reach the area where you saved
Seer Bevealy. Assimilate the Hopper and hop under the pipe and over the
thorns. Exit the forest through the nearby path and you'll be in the
Meandering Forest. This is basically the Brave Fencer Musashi version of
Zelda's "Lost Woods", meaning that you have to go in a certain direction, or
the forest goes on forever. Only Leno knows where Jon's Key is hidden, so
you have no choice but to follow him. When Leno runs up to a path, pass
through it to the next screen. Be sure to defeat any enemies you come
across, as if Leno is hurt too badly, he'll run away and you'll have to
start over. Just for referance, the correct path is Left, Left, Up, Right,
Up, Up, but you won't actually be able to follow that path unless Leno has
specified it. When you reach the graveyard, walk up to the tombstone nearest
to Leno. Musashi will push the stone out of the way and take the key hidden
under it. Now that you have the key, exit the cemetary and you'll
automatically be outside the forest. Assimilate the Hopper and hop back
across the thorns, then return to the village and talk to Jon. When you try
to free him, he'll tell you to return after midnight. Go kill some time, and
when midnight rolls around, go back and talk to him again. After freeing
Jon, he tells you that he'll tell you everything he knows about the scrolls
and such if you climb to the top of Twinpeak Mountain, and cut down four
trees and gather their logs along the way. Musashi agrees, although somewhat
confused, and Jon dissappears... Kill some time until morning (or just
sleep) then restock on supplies, and head for Twinpeak Mountain -- this is
your first real mission.

---Twinpeak Mountain---
Treasures: Silver Coin x4, Bronze Coin, Small Crystal x3, Medium Heart
Chests: OldBook, Dagger, 200 Drans
Bincho Fields: 5

Back at Twinpeak mountain, head left again, and collect the two silver coins
on top of the poles again, then head to the river you previously couldn't
cross before; there will be two lilypads there now. Jump on them to cross
the river, then continue to the left. In the next area, continue to the left
past the poles to find a Bincho Field containing Mercenary Meitlofe. Free
him then backtrack and use the three poles to jump across the river; atop
each one of them, you'll find medium size BP restoring crystals. On the
other side of the river, climb up the hill and open the box. It's a Memory
Box!! You can use these special boxes to save your game. It's only a
temporary save, but it will remain as long as you don't turn off the
Playstation or hit Reset, so you'd might as well save. After saving, you'll
be faced with two paths. Take the left path to get a chest with 200 Dran
inside it, then go back up the way you came and go right. When you reach the
end of the path, you'll be again faced with a choice of direction. Go right
and jump on the platforms to claim an OldBook from the box behind the falls.
On the upper left path, defeat the soldiers, then proceed to a pair of
retracting blocks. Jump on them after they pop out, and be sure to jump off
them before they go back inside the cliff. When you get past them, you'll
see a cave entrance, but before entering it, wait for the blocks to go into
the mountain, then jump down the hole nearest to the cave and hang to the
left. You should land on a platform with a Minku. Catch it and retrace your
steps back up to the cave.

The cave is small, and only has a few hanging platforms which you have to
make some easy jumps to in order to make it through. When you exit the cave,
you'll be on a broken bridge. Walk across it until you find a gap with a
vine hanging down. Climb down the vine and carefully jump across the
platforms and free Shephard Beefalo from the Bincho Field. If you visit her
at the castle, she'll tell you how many Minku you've caught. Climb back up
the vine, and you may notice some other vines to the left that are 'guarded'
by some lightning bugs. Carefully jump to these vines when the bugs aren't
near them, and grab the chest with the Dagger on the platform on the other
side. At this point, you're probably pretty low on energy, so you might want
to make a trip back to town and rest up, save, and have your items
appraised.

Anyway, go back up on the bridge and continue across to another cave. This
cave is basically the same as the last one, with the exception that water
periodically falls between some of the platforms, and if you're hit by it,
you get damaged. It's not hard to avoid them, though. Outside the cave,
you'll be on an island at the bottom of a large cliffside. The large tree
at the edge of the island can be cut down if you spin attack it. When you
cut it down, pick up the log that it drops; you need to collect four of
these and bring them to Jon at the top of the mountain. Now climb up the
strange skeleton platform against the cliff wall, collecting the two silver
coins along the way, and keep going until you reach a pole. Climb down it
and break open the Bincho field to free Knight Lardwick, Soldier Lardwick's
elder brother. Climb back up the pole and continue until you reach the end
of the cliff. There are two rotating platforms here, wait for them to get to
where you can jump on them, then proceed to do so. You'll find another long
pole directly on the other side. Climb down and free Carpenter Carvey from
the Bincho Field, then cut down the tree and collect the second log.

Back at the top of the long pole, you'll see three branches sticking out
of the cliffside. Grab on to them and swing across the gap. Climb up the
long pole and cut the third tree down (and collect the log), then go all the
way to the left until you reach the fourth and final tree. Cut it down then
go under the strange bones. You'll find a Bronze Coin and a Medium Heart
underneath it. At the end of this path, climb up the staircase. You'll have
to jump across the bones now. It can be tough, but take it slow and time
your jumps, and you'll easily make it across. On the nearby bridge, talk to
Jon, but only if you have all four logs. (If you don't have them, he simply
won't talk to you until you do.)

Jon will tell you that his big secret is NOT about the five scrolls, but is
rather about the "Legendary Armor". At first, Musashi isn't happy about this
AT ALL, but when Jon explains that the five pieces of the Legendary Armor
have special powers, Musashi changes his mind. He thinks that all he has to
do is give Jon the logs and he'll get a piece of the armor in exchange......
WRONG! Jon explains that the armor in question can be found somewhere at
the bottom of the lake, and that he wanted the logs so he could make a raft
and and have Musashi look for it. Give the four logs to Jon, and he'll
fashion a raft from them and toss it over the falls, where Musashi soon
follows and enters a cave with some wild rapids!

This is a mini-game of sorts. The object is to navigate the raft to the end
of the rapids, while grabbing as many coins as possible along the way. It's
more difficult than it sounds, as every time you get hit, you lose a log
from your raft. Since you only have four logs, four hits and you're out!
I can't really give any hints here now... All I can say is...Good luck!

At the bottom of the rapids, Musashi will automatically sail over to an
island. Climb up the steps, then run to the left and collect the treasure
chest to get the Bracelet. Once you have it, jump down the cliff and return
to the village. Congratulations, You've completed your first task!

Back at the village, rest up and save your game, then take the Bracelet to
be appraised. Unlike everything else that you've had appraised so far, this
isn't worthless trash...it's actually a piece of the Legendary Armor, the
L-Brace. This valuable item will allow you to climb certain walls by using
your swords.

---Steamwood---

As soon as you exit the pawn shop, you'll immediatly notice that something
is wrong with the village, as there are steam clouds all over the place.
Within a few seconds, Mayor Govern and his wife rush up and explain the
problem. It seems that Steamwood, a power plant of sorts, has gone out of
control. Musashi says that this is none of his concern, to which the Mayor
replies in anger saying that it most certainly IS! Steamwood is what powers
Allucaneet Kingdom, and if it's not shut off soon, it may explode! They
force you to help fix it, and send you to talk to Fores, the foreman in
charge of Steamwood. He lives in a house in the northern part of town where
the Gondola is located. Grab onto the brown wall on the right and
alternately press the triangle and square buttons to climb it (you can do
this now that you have the L-Brace, and you can climb any similar looking
walls as well). When you talk to Fores, it turns out that he's a lazy man
who wants Steamwood fixed, but it simply too lazy to do it himself. After
a short chat, he hands you Steamwood's manual, and forces you to fix it...
Before heading out, he says that you only have 24 hours to fix it, or it'll
explode! A timer for 24 Hours (24 Minutes, actually) appears in the corner
and you're on your way... ^_^

Head for Steamwood forest through the exit of town near the windmill, and
head immediatly for the wall at the far end. Climb up it and jump on the
pipes. Head left to grab an AgedCoin from the treasure box, then quickly run
under the pipes at the top of the screen. You'll now be at Steamwood. When
you run up to the door, Musashi checks the manual to find out how to fix the
reactor. You'll learn what you have to do, then will perform a test run on
the door.

===Steamwood operating instructions===

In order to stop the plant, you'll have to shut off all the valves in
numerical order. Inside the plant, the valves are numbered 1-8. When you
touch a valve, two gauges will appear. The one on the left is the pressure
gauge. This will fill up, and you must press the square button while the
yellow bar is over the green "OK" section. If you hit the button at the
right time, the gauge on the right will fill up, if you hit the button while
the yellow bar is NOT on the OK section, the gauge on the right will
decrease. The gauge on the right is the power gauge, (see above for how to
fill it). When this gauge is full, the valve is secure. However, when you
close a valve, another timer appears in the corner. This is the time you
have to close the next valve. If this timer runs out, all the valves will
re-open, and you'll have to start over; don't let this happen.

===Back to the game===

It's not very hard to open the door, you'll only have to hit the "OK"
section twice and the door will open. Once inside, jump on the elevator and
ride it up to the first floor. Run around to the right and close valve #1 --
this isn't any harder than it was to open the door. Keep running to the
right and close valves two and three. You'll have to hit the "OK" section
three times for both valves, but it's not much harder. In order to actually
REACH valve 3, though, you'll have to jump on the pipes to the left or right
of the actual platform, as the steam is blocking you. Once you've shut these
three valves off, hustle back to the elevator and ride it to the next floor.
The entrance to this floor is blocked by steam. You can get in the same way
you got to valve #3. Run around to the left, pass by valve #6, and get to
valve #4 the same way you got to the previous one. Run to the left and get
to the last two valves on this floor. Fortunatly, they're both normal. Ok,
so six valves have been shut down, time to go after the last two! Get back
on the elevator and go up to the highest floor. The entrance is normal, but
both valves have steam blocking them, and need to be approached the way
valves 3 and 4 did. Don't panic, you're almost there! The gauges for the
last two valves really fly, and you need to hit the OK section SIX times!
Take it slow and it should be no problem. Once you've shut off valve #8,
you've saved Steamwood!

After a cool scene in which the steam is released, Fores and the Mayor show
up to thank you for saving the town. They talk for a while, then Fores tells
you that you can use the passage between Steamwood and his house anytime you
want. Then the two head back to the village.

Now that Steamwood has been saved, and you have the L-Brace, there are a
few optional side areas you can get to:

- In southern Somnolent Forest, you can now get behind the pipe that was
blocked by steam. 500 Drans can be found in the chest, and the Bincho
Field holds Maid Loinette, who will accidentally teach you "Dashing
Pierce" technique should you visit her at the castle.

- Another Minku can be caught by climbing the wall opposite to where Fores
lives in the Gondola section of the village

Now return to Grillin' Village and speak with the mayor. He rewards you with
a Longevity Berry, then informs you that a strange man with a cape was seen
heading towards Twinpeak Mountain... A quick visit to Mr. Lands' house
confirms this. Man in a cape...? Could it be Rootrick!? Well, only one way
to find out, and that's to head for the mountain. Work your way over to the
other side of the river, where you found the memory box, then head down the
hill. At the very bottom, you'll find none other than Rootrick himself
trying unsuccessfully to climb up the cliffside. Musashi shouts at him, and
demands to know where the princess is. The Thirstquencher hick merely
counters with the tried and true "Ya'll don't wanna know!" bit, then
accidentally reveals that he's after a scroll, which is at the top of the
mountain. This bit of news excites Musashi, who has been searching high and
low one. Obviously, Rootrick isn't going to just let you TAKE the scroll
without some sort of challenge! Since he was trying to climb up the cliff,
he challenges Musashi to a climbing race. First one to the top of the cliff
wins the scroll! This race isn't very tough, but watch out for the blocks
that pop out partway up -- they'll knock you down. Fortunatly, they also
knock stupid Rootrick down as well, which you can use to your advantage.
When you win, Musashi will find some clever (and funny) way to get rid of
Rootrick, then he continues his search for the scroll. Run around to the
other side of the cliff, then jump down in the crater. You'll see a strange
looking slab with a symbol carved in it......This is where the elusive Earth
Scroll is! Strike the slab with Lumina and it will shatter, granting you the
power of your first scroll! With the Earth Scroll in your possession, you
can use it to shake the ground and stun enemies, and also to knock certain
boulders down.

To use a scroll, you must first select it from the subscreen where the box
that says "Sword" is. "Norm" is your normal spin attack, and "Earth" is your
scroll (the other four scrolls will also appear here as you acquire them.)
Simply select which power you want, and it will appear in the left 'eye' at
the bottom of the screen. To use the power, simply do the same thing you did
to charge up the spin attack (hold R1 until the left gauge fills up, then
press the triangle button.)

The Earth Scroll is now in your possession, and Musashi starts to leave when
suddenly...Lumina begins...talking!? Well, not exactly talking, more like
telepathic communications. Anyway, Lumina explains that the scroll has been
obtained, but it's power can't be used to it's fullest until the Crest
Guardian who protects it has been defeated. Musashi has no clue what a Crest
Guardian is, and when he asks Lumina, it mysteriously stops talking...
Figures.

When you regain control, walk over to the boulder and use the Earth Scroll.
The boulder will fall, allowing you to jump back down to the hill near the
memory box. If you'd like, you can climb back up the mountain now; Jon is no
longer blocking the bridge, so you can freely explore beyond it. If you've
climbed up here, you'll see a large rock hanging off the cliff just beyond
the bridge. Shake it down with the Earth scroll, then jump on it and swing
across to the other side using the poles. There's no reason to climb the
long pole nearby, so ignore it and jump (CAREFULLY) on the little platforms
leading to the top of the mountain. At the top, grab the treasure chest for
a...rock!? ALL THAT TROUBLE FOR A ROCK!? Well anyway, go back down the
mountain until you reach the falls. The raft is back, and you can shoot the
rapids again if you want. If you decide to, (and make it all the way to the
end), you'll end up on the hill where you got the Bracelet earlier. Walk
to the right and go off screen. There is a boulder blocking the way to the
treasure chest, so knock it down with your new scroll, and it will fall in
the spike pit below. Now go claim 200 easy drans from the box, then walk
back to the previous screen, jump down the cliff, and take the path to the
right. You'll be in the area where you just were, but on the ground level.
Since you knocked the boulders down into the pit, you'll be able to cross.
Smash open the Bincho Field to rescue Knitter Lunchetta, who will tell you
about something called "The Legendary Cloth"... Keep going and use the Earth
Scroll again to knock the boulders on the cliff into the spike pit, then
jump across them. When you reach the hill with the triangle shaped rock,
once again, use your scroll to knock it down, then climb up and continue on.
There's nothing more here, but you've cleared the way for the next mission,
so go back to the village.

As soon as you enter, you'll meet up with your old friend Jon! Musashi
offers to return the L-Brace to the treasure hunter, but he says that you
should keep it. Musashi then asks Jon about the 'Crest Guardians' that
Lumina spoke of. Jon says that they're, as the name suggests, the guardians
of the crests. When questioned about the crests, Jon explains that once you
defeat a crest guardian, Lumina will become stronger, and will be able to
break the seal of the crest using the corrisponding scroll. Since the Earth
Scroll is now in your possession, a guardian is probably waking up in Hell's
Valley. Musashi starts to run off after the guardian, but Jon stops him and
says that Hell's Valley was once a maximum security prison, and because of
that, is extremely hard to get in to. Musashi decides to return to the
palace and ask the 'geezer' for help.

When you talk to Steward Ribson, he'll tell you that they'll help you, but
they don't seem to have enough people. This angers Musashi at first, saying
that he doesn't need any help, but Ribson says that there are four panels
that need to be stepped on at the same time before the gate to Hell's Valley
will open, and thus, you need four people to help you. The ones who are
willing to help are Soldier Lumpwood, Knight Lumpwood, Mercenary Meitlofe,
and Carpenter Carvey. If you've rescued them all (and you should have),
you'll be ready to go. Ribson will send the four helpers ahead to Hell's
Valley, and tell you to join them when you're ready. Go to the grocery and
stock up on healing items (especially C-Drinks), then go to Twinpeak
Mountain and take the right path as soon as you enter.

---Hell's Valley---

You should have come here earlier and knocked all the rocks down into the
spiked pits, but if you didn't, just stand close to the pits and use the
Earth Scroll to knock them in. When you reach the end of the valley, your
four helpers will stand on the tiles and open the gates and let you inside.
As soon as you enter, the first Crest Guardian, Skullpion, shows up for one
tough fight!

%%%%Crest Guardian: Skullpion%%%%

This is another tough battle. Your four helpers will assist you in this
battle. They'll put either a bomb, a bunch of bombs, a boulder, or an herb
in a bucket, and send it across a rope above the battlefield. The object
here is to knock the weapon out of the bucket by using the Earth Scroll. If
whatever is in the bucket hits Skullpion, he'll take damage. After about 250
damage, he'll fall unconcious and expose a core. Strike the core with Lumina
and he'll lose energy. Repeat this three times to defeat him. However,
Skullpion is no pushover. Everytime you strike his core, his attack pattern
changes, thus there are three rounds to this fight.

- Round 1 -

At the start of the battle, Skullpion will mainly focus on dashing straight
at you. This hits pretty hard (20-30 damage), but Skullpion stands still and
basically shows you that he's getting ready to charge, so it's fairly easy
to dodge if you're watching for it. His only other attack is a sort of sand
breath beam. He stands in the middle of the field, shoouts out a blast of
sand from his mouth, and spins around. You can avoid this beam rather easily
though, bu running in the opposite direction. While he's charging up for the
beam, however, is a good time to activate the Earth Scroll and try to drop
some debris on him. Once you've managed to expose (and hit) his core, he
gets back up and Round 2 begins.

- Round 2 -

This round, Skullpion doesn't seem to use the sand beam attack. Instead, he
climbs up the cliffsides to try and knock the helpers unconscious for a
short time. If both people on one side are knocked out, they'll be unable to
send the 'supply bucket' across to you, therefore you just have to wait
until they get back up. Fortunatly for you, Skullpion *can* be stopped. When
you see him climbing the cliff, just use the Earth Scroll to knock him down.
This is probably the longest of the three rounds, because you rarely have
a clear shot at the beast...

- Round 3 -

This is it, the last round. It's not all that difficult, though. Skullpion
has regained his Sand Beam attack, and will still climb the cliffs on
occation. You know how to deal with these attacks already, so I'll focus on
his new one. If you see him bury his tail in the ground, and hear a drilling
sound, start running. Once he does this, his tail will pop up from under the
ground right where Musashi is standing. While this isn't all that hard to
dodge, know that it'll poison you if it hits. Anyway, just repeat the
previous strategies from here, and you should be fine.

---

When you beat Skullpion (it may take a few tries), your maximum stat levels
will increase, and you'll recieve a 25 BP bonus! Your helpers will
congratulate you, and return to the castle. (If you leave the area, then
return to where you fought Skullpion, you'll find a Minku.)

Following the battle, there will be a scene at the Thirstquencher Empire's
palace. A strange man with a Russian accent named Fuhrer Flatski seems
obsessed with claiming Lumina and the five scrolls, and is quite upset that
Rootrick failed... He calls in Bubbles, another of Thirstquencher's
Generals, and sends her after the remaining scrolls. Though her sister,
Gingerelle, doesn't seem to think she can succeed, Bubbles has devised a new
type of Bincholoid soldier. Rootrick may have failed, but she brags that her
"Mission Vambee" won't...

%%%%CHAPTER 3: Mission Vambee%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Back in the village, the music has changed (not that this matters), but
Musashi senses that something is horribly wrong... Go into town and you'll
find Mayor Govern and Hotelo, the Innkeeper standing outside Hilda's
grocery. It seems that Hilda locked her son Tim out of the house the night
before to teach him a lesson, but he was bitten by a half-vampire,
half-zombie creature called a Vambee, and is now very sick... They could
probably sure him if they made the legendary "Remedy", but it requires that
you mix both Misteria and Aqualin. Mayor Govern sends Hotelo to Twinpeak
Mountain to find the Aqualin, and asks Musashi to get the Misteria, which is
a magical flower that grows in the Mine. (You may have seen the mine
entrance before; it's east of the restaurant, but it's always been locked.)
Wid, the old man who lives in the windmill has the key to the mine, but he's
always sleeping...

When you regain control, and before visiting old man Wid, head for Steamwood
Forest and return to the place where you may have seen an Earth Crest
earlier (it's near where you rescued Musician Pianissimeat from a Bincho
Field). Stand on the Crest and use the Earth Scroll -- a part of the cliff
will fall back, allowing you to climb the cliffside and catch another Minku.
You'll also find the Wind Crest up here, but you're a long way from being
able to use it...

Anyway, back in town, pay a visit to Wid at night and he'll give you the key
and a valuable bit of information. Misteria is found in the mine's
underground river, and it ONLY blooms between the hours of 3:00 AM and 7:00
AM. Armed with this knowledge, head for the mine and enter...

---Grillin' Mine---
Chests: OldGlove
Bincho Fields: 4

Upon entering the mine, you'll discover it branches off into two paths. The
one on the left leads to a watery area, where there is nothing to do, so
take the right path.Near the end of the path, you'll encounter a purple
mushroom called a 'Toadstool'. These enemies fight (and look) identical to
the Sleepies in Somnolent Woods, except for the fact that these shrooms can
poison you! Do *not* get hit by their spores! The same "attack and retreat"
method will kill them, though. Oh, and don't assimilate them either, as
you'll also get poisoned... Get ridda the thing then climb up the back pole
and continue. Walk along the wooden platform, dodging rocks and jumping
over holes until you reach a spinning mine-lift platform. Wait until one of
the platforms get near you before jumping, then wait until the lift is at a
good position before jumping off. After clearing the first spinning lift,
you'll be faced with two more. Jump across these ones the same way and go
out past the next set of wooden platforms. Enter the door and you'll be in a
room with a huge fan. Wait until it stops, then jump in the pit below it.
You'll land in an open area with two paths and a treasure chest. The chest
is a memory box, so save if you want, then choose your path. The right path
leads to a long gap that you can't cross yet, but it might be worth it to
come here and assimilate one of those falling 'Cure Worms' to get the
Antidote skill, which will prove helpful later. The correct path is the one
on the left. In the next area, you'll be faced with moving floors! When
the path first branches off, head down and rescue Knight Brisket from the
Bincho Field. He'll offer to teach you his special sword technique when you
visit him at the castle. Go back and follow the path and take the upper
route to smash another Bincho Field, this one containing Carpenter Dicey.
>From here, there's nothing else in this room, so continue out to the left...
Finally, the underground lake (which has extremely Alundra'ish music...)
There are a series of moving platforms here which you must use to get to the
island in the center. Jump on the first platform and let it carry you around
the room to the different platforms. The first one has a Minku on it, the
second one has a Bincho Field containing the somewhat useless Chief Gravie,
and the last one has a box with an OldGlove. After getting everything on the
small ledges, jump on the moving platforms until they bring you to the
center island. On the very back, you can jump off and free Cook Mary-Nade
from a Bincho Field, but where you want to go is the brown area near the
bottom of the island. Climb up the spiraling landscape and you'll find a
crystalline flower at the top. This is Misteria, but as Wid says, it only
blooms between the hours of 3:00 AM and 7:00 AM. If the time isn't between
these hours, just go to sleep for a while. When it blooms, collect the
flower, then work your way back to the entrance of this room, leave, and
head back to the pit where the fan was.

Totally ignoring the warning on the nearby sign telling you not to, climb
the wall until you reach the fan. You can't get back up the left path, so
wait until the fan starts to move, and ride the wind up to the passage on
the right. This next room has the same basic land formation as the first
area (the one with the spinning lifts), except the rocks fall in different
locations and some of the platforms on the spinning lifts have spikes. Pass
through this room and you'll be in a cave with some putrid yellow water.
DON'T fall in this stuff or you'll be poisoned. (Which isn't a problem if
you were able to assimilate a Cure Worm earlier.) Jump carefully across the
platforms until you reach an elevator. Ride it up and make your way across
the upper ledges. At the end, you'll find a cave that leads to the mine
entrance.

Return now and give Misteria to Mayor Govern. He'll thank you, but tells you
that Hotelo hasn't returned from Twinpeak Mountain yet, and asks you to go
look for him. Before going to the mountain, return to the castle and speak
with Knight Brisket, and as promised, he'll teach you the Tenderize attack.
Also, if you haven't already done so, visit Knight Lumpwood again, and he'll
teach you Crosswise Cut.

After learning the two techs, climb up Twinpeak mountain until you find
Hotelo in the second cave. He tells you that he failed to get Aqualin, and
asks you to go after it. Unfortunatly, there are only 12 more hours before
Tim becomes a Vambee! You must hurry! A timer for 12 minutes now appears
in the corner of the screen, so you must hustle to the top of the mountain.
There is a wall that you can climb just before the two moving platforms,
which will save you some time. Quickly run to the left and climb up to the
bridge where Jon was earlier. He's gone and you can now cross. If you didn't
already do so, use the Earth Scroll to knock the boulder down, then jump
on it and swing across the gap using the poles. On the ledge, climb up the
pole and examine the lake to get the Aqualin (You can get Aqualin here from
now on; it restores a bit of HP and cures poison.) Now quickly make your way
back to the cave where Hotelo is -- he'll take the Aqualin back to the
village. Now you should also return to the village where one of two scenes
will occur, depending on whether or not you ran out of time on the mountain.

- If you ran out of time... Mayor Govern will meet you at the entrance of
town, and inform you that you were too late, and that Tim has become a
Vambee. Musashi tells the old man to try the remedy anyway, even though
the mayor says that it probably won't work... Looks like the only possible
way to save Tim is to get rid of these ghouls at the source... Back in the
village, Hilda, who is in shock after having her son turned into a
monster, will close her shop until after you rid the town of the Vambees,
and Motelo (Hotelo's twin brother) will run the inn for the rest of the
game. (Though I don't believe this makes any real difference.)

- If you didn't run out of time, you'll be greeted at the town gate by Tim,
who has fully recovered, although he doesn't seem too grateful to you. Oh
well... Visit the grocery and you'll find Hilda, Hotelo, and Mayor Govern
there. They'll thank you repeatedly, then Hilda will reward you with an
Orange, which you can take back to Clown Weinee at the castle to learn a
neat (and useful) trick. The shop will remain opened and will from now on
be selling oranges. Hotelo will also return to the inn.

Either way, the game becomes rather vague here. Go to the bakery and talk to
Jam, the girl behind the counter. She'll say that her father goes to the
restaurant every night for dinner, but the owner of the restaurant has
dissappeared. She wants to use this as an opportunity to get her father to
eat dinner at home with her, and asks you if you'll talk to him. Jam says
that her father goes to the restaurant every night at 6:00 PM, which is when
you'll find him there. When you meet Jam's father, Mr Towst, you'll discover
that he's a pretty pathetic excuse for a human. He doesn't seem to care much
about his daughter, and is angry that the restaurant is closed because the
owner dissappeared. When Musashi asks what happened to the waitress and the
other customers, Mr. Towst says that they're probably at the inn. Before
leavign, Musashi tells the old baker that his daughter wants him to eat
dinner at home with her once and a while. He agrees to this idea and leaves.
At night, pay a visit to the inn and choose to talk to the two people there.
Wanda will tell you that the restaurant owner always does something
suspicious behind the counter, and that he's probably hiding something, and
Macho says that he saw a monster come out of an opening in the restaurant --
also behind the counter. Since the restaurant seems like the obvious home
base of the Vambees, you'd might as well take a look. Kill some time until
midnight, then wait for a Vambee to come out of the restaurant, and sneak
in while the door is open. Musashi will indeed find a small passage behind
the counter, as the patrons said there was. It leads to a strange temple-
like basement, where you'll find Mannick, the restaurant owner. Mannick
claims that he came here to get rid of the ghouls, and leads you to a door
with four stone eyes. He says that the leader of the vambees is behind it,
and asks you to find a way to open it... In the basement room, there are
four doors, each leading to a mini-area, a big door blocked by a pit that
you can't reach yet, a cracked wall, and a Memory Box. There's no particular
order in which to do them, but you'll have to complete all four mini-areas.
They don't have names, but since they're all basically color themed, I'll
refer to them as the "Blue, Red, Green, and Yellow" temples.

This Cheesy ASCII map will show you which areas are behind which doors:

|-----FT-----|
| |
| BIG PIT |
| |
|---| |---|
| |
|---| |---|
|-----B-----| | | |-----Y-----|
| |----| |----| |
4 M C
| |----| ¤ |----| |
|-----R-----| |---| |---| |-----G-----|
| |
|Strt|

4 - Four-eyed door Y - Yellow Temple M - Mannick
B - Blue Temple G - Green Temple C - Cracked Wall
R - Red Temple FT - Fire Temple ¤ - Memory Box

Oh yes, if you need your HP and BP restored, talk to Mannick -- he'll
refill both for free.

---Blue Temple---
Chests: Powder
Bincho Fields: 1

The Blue Temple consists of several dark rooms and spike pits, making it one
of the most difficult areas so far. Enter the door and walk up to the first
pit. Tan and Brown tiles pop out of the sides of this pit, allowing you to
get across, however, only one color tile will be out at a time. When the
brown tiles come out, the tan tiles will retract. Time your jumps and you
should make it easily across. (If you happen to fall in it, simply enter the
door at the far end, which will warp you back to start.) When you reach the
other side, you'll find a door and paths leading both left and right. The
upper door has nothing of interest in it, so head right. There are some
spike pits here, but if something is placed on the red "eye tile" on the
other side, it will close. Whack a Vambee across the pit to hit the tile,
then continue down and through the door on the right. (BTW, if you need to
kill a Vambee, be sure to use the Shish Kabab technique to do so, as it does
a *lot* of damage to them.)

This room is pitch black... The blue Wisps will provide light, but they'll
do a nice amount of damage if they hit you, so watch out. Walk to the end
of the room, then wait until a wisp comes nearby and you'll see a big spike
pit with three poles sticking out of it. Jump to the first one and climb up
to the very top of it, then repeat this for the other two. Break open the
Bincho Field at the end to release Bailiff Jerky, then make your way back to
the crossroads and go left. The spike pit on this path can be closed the
same way the other one was (by throwing a Vambee across the pit onto the
red tile). Close the pit, then take the lower left door.

The layout of this next room makes it difficult. Again, this room is pitch
black, and only the wisps can light the way, but this room has several
smaller pits scattered around it. Let the wisps light the way and search
for the door, which leads to a small room with two warp portals. The one on
the left brings you back to the start of the area, while the one on the
right brings you further into the temple.

Take the correct warp and you'll be sent to a ledge with a door on it. Enter
the door and you'll again be faced with a dark room. This time, however, you
can light the way by assimilating a Lamp Bat (the little bats carrying
lanterns.) At the end of this room, you'll find two more warp tiles. The
right one brings you back to start and the left one brings you to a room
that looks identical to the one you just went through, but backwards. Do the
same thing there as you did the first time, and you'll reach ANOTHER room
with two warps. This one is the same as the last one (right leads back to
start, left leads deeper in).

This warp will put you on a ledge with a door as well. Go through the door
and you'll come to a lava filled area. Jump over the arrows the statues
shoot, and jump in the pits at the end. When you reach the bottom, ignore
the burning (!) Vambees and go through the door. This is another dark room
filled with small spike pits where only Wisps can light the way. About mid
way through the room, you'll find a treasure box with Powder inside. Take it
and continue through the upper door. There is nothing here but a strange
blue eye on a pedistal. Walk up to smash the eye with Lumina; there will be
a great flash of light and a warp leading back to the start will open.
Musashi isn't sure that this was right, so he jumps in the warp and heads
back to talk to Mannick.

It seems that one of the eyes on the four-eyed door has opened! Now that
you've completed one temple, time to do the rest!

---Red Temple---
Chests: Shield, OddHat
Bincho Fields: 2

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom comes to mind in this obstacle course
full of lava, rolling boulders, moving walls, and numerous pitfalls! Climb
up the stairs, ignoring the endless stream of Oozes, and defeat the huge
flower-like Bowlers. Bowlers shoot giant bowling ball sized seeds at you,
but they only shoot in a straight line, so attack them from the side or the
back. When the path turns, watch out, because there is a bowler at the other
end rolling seeds down the narrow path. To avoid them, duck into the little
ledges on either side. When you get to the plant, assimilate it to gain the
Bowl skill, which lets you roll bowling balls to damage enemies and cracked
walls, like the one behind the plant you just killed. Break open the back
wall to find a Shield, then go back out and climb up the wall. There is
another Bowler here shooting seeds down the path, so to avoid them, jump in
the small holes. At the end, kill the plant then walk carefully down across
the narrow ledge, jump over the gap, and go in the door.

Here, you'll find some more of those weird burning Vambees. They can still
be killed with Shish Kebab, but since they're on fire, it hurts you to pick
them up; just ignore them and walk down the hall. Much like in the Blue
Temple, you'll be bombarded by flaming arrows. You can avoid them by
jumping, but only if you have perfect timing, so expect to take a few hits.
Enter the far off door and if you don't still have Bowl, assimilate the
Bowler and break open the wall to the right. This room has a button and a
burning bridge which you can't yet walk across. Jump on the button and a
platform with ten Vambees will drop on the other side of the bridge. In case
you couldn't tell by the formation they're standing in, you now get to do
some bowling! It's just ordinary bowling, (except you get unlimited chances
to knock all the... err... pins down), so you shouldn't have any trouble
here. Once you've made like FF1's Garland and "knocked them all down" ^_^,
the bridge will cool off allowing you to cross. Proceed through the door in
the back to rescue Mercenary Potrowst, then use Bowl to break the wall on
the right side of the room and collect an OddHat. Now go back to the
previous room and stand on the platform where the Vambees were -- you'll be
carried up to another room. Smash the flame pillar with Lumina's spin attack
when it's looking away from you, then go in the door it was blocking.

As soon as you enter this next room, the wall starts closing in! Quickly
run to the end of the hall and enter the door to the next room, where again,
the wall will start closing in. When you reach the end, you'll be in a long
passageway where blocks will fill the room. Jump on them to avoid being
squished until they fill the pit. When they stop, go up through the door.
Defeat the bowler and break through the cracked wall on the left side of the
room. You'll be in another room with a burning bridge and a button, and yes,
you again have to bowl.

When you finish, enter the door in the back to free Mercenary Stue, then go
back out and ride the platform that the vambees were on up to another room.
Enter the door and smash the eye on the pillar to finish this second temple.

If you still have the Bowl skill when you exit here (which you should), you
can break open a cracked wall in the area where the green and yellow temples
are to find treasure chests with 500 Drans, an OldSword, and a piece of
cloth. When appraised, the sword turns out to be nothing more than a useless
shovel which can be sold, but the Cloth is something more... It becomes
L-Cloth! It's not Legendary Armor, but it can be used to make some later on,
so be sure to hold on to it.

---Yellow Temple---
Treasures: Small Heart x2, Small Crystal
Chests: OldPipe
Bincho Fields: 2

This is what I'd call the second hardest of the four temples, due to it's
tricky jumps and bottomless pits. Walk across the upper ledge and jump
across the moving platforms to the other side and enter the next room. This
room is exactly the same as the last one, except the blocks move differently
and you can find Librarian Brisketta in a Bincho Field in the upper left
corner of the room. The next room is a long chain of spinning platforms,
where you'll be bombarded by pesky Sphere Bats. Assimilate a Vambee to
absorb B.O., which will keep them away for a short time. The spinning blocks
in the following room move at such an angle that they're tough to jump to;
wait until a corner of the block passes close to you before jumping. On the
other side, you'll find two turnstyle spiked walls. They're easy enough to
avoid by standing close to them and waiting for them to spin around. Pass
them, then jump across the two spinning blocks and enter the door on the
other side.

This room is by far the most annoying one here. The platforms move up and
down, and unless you wait for them to be at the perfect height before
jumping, you'll fall in the bottomless pit. Oh, and did I mention that you
have a bizarre flying vambee and a whole mess of sphere bats hounding you
the whole way? Needless to say, this is a difficult secion, though it's
short. When you make it through, you'll be in a much easier area. The three
swinging scythes do a lot of damage if they hit you, but move in a
predictable pattern, making them fairly easy to dodge, and the flying vambee
in the next room has about as much sense as a brick. Pass through this room
and you'll find yourself in a big room with small wooden platforms hanging
over a sea of boiling lava! If you're low on BP, go right to pick up a small
crystal. Now go left until you reach a small stone block, in which case you
should go down. You'll eventually come to a spinning block, but instead of
jumping to it right away, head down and grab the small heart and rescue (the
very strange) Soldier Hanky-Flanky from the Bincho Field. Once you've gotten
them, backtrack and jump on the platform you saw. On the other side of this
room, scout around and pick up an OldPipe and another small heart, then take
the lower door to exit. The last section of this temple has lots of tricky
jumps, including ones where you'll have to jump over a pit while avoiding a
scythe! All in all, it's really not all that difficult if you plan it
carefully and take your time. At the end, you'll (as usual) find an eye
which you must smash with Lumina.

---Green Temple---
Chests: Helmet
Bincho Fields: 2

The Green Temple has lots of puzzles and moving platforms, though it's
probably the easiest of the four. Start by climbing down the stairs and
riding the moving platforms across the pit. Climb the stairs on the other
side and jump across the three ledges with Vambees on them to reach another
moving platform. Use it to get across the upper part or the room, then jump
across the ledges here and enter the upper door. Keep going straight up
until the path turns to the left, then enter the door.

Here, you'll be faced with a simple puzzle. You have to push the red block
down over the red eye to open the door. Push the block two spaces to the
left and two spaces down. The next room has a tougher version of the puzzle.
Start by pushing the top block up one space, then right two spaces. Push the
left block right one space, up three spaces, and left one space. Finally,
push the remaining block left 1 space, up three spaces, then left another
space. All the blocks should be covering the eyes, and the door will open.

You'll again have to deal with some moving platforms. Jump across them
carefully and enter the lower door. The following room contains a series of
falling blocks, but unless you're really slow, they won't hit you. Enter the
door at the end to reach a different sort of moving platform room. Here, the
platform moves up and down, so wait until it's at it's lowest point, then
jump on to it. Now wait until it's at it's highest point, then jump off it
on to the lower ledge and continue through the door.

An interesting puzzle awaits you here. There is a path leading across the
pit, but as soon as you try to cross it, the lights go out, and you can't
see it, forcing you to follow an essentially invisible path. Fortunatly,
there IS something you can do. Assimilate the ghost-like LoneMist enemy
near the entrance to get a skill called Sublime, which lets you leave your
body and explore the room with the lights on. Scroll around the room to get
a glimpse of what you're up against. If you still need help, the correct
path is (from the center block): Right, Down, Left, Left, Down, Right,
Right, Down. That will lead you directly to the door. Pass through the next
room which has more easily dodged sliding blocks, and you'll come to another
invisible maze room. Assimilate Sublime and look around, then go (from the
center block, as usual): Down, Right, Down (To free Carpenter Cubey from a
Bincho Field), Up, Left, Left, Down, Right, Down. Enter the door to find a
dark maze room which is different from the first two. I don't remember this
room, so just use Sublime to look around and make it to the lower door. The
dark maze in this room is the same as the two you just did, but is REALLY
big, and has numerous pointless dead ends. From the middle block, go Right,
Up, Left, Up, Left, Up, Right, Right (Grab the treasure box for a Helmet),
Up, Up, to reach the end. OR... from the block with the treasure chest, go
Right, Up, Up, then walk off the screen to find a secret room. Here, you'll
find Knight Chucks trapped in a Bincho Field. Free him and he'll offer to
teach you a technique if you return to the castle. Jump in the warp that
appears when he dissappears to reach the end of the area. Walk through the
door and smash the eye. Congratulations, you've cleared all four temples!

===Back to the game===

Now that you've completed all four temples, return to the big door where
Mannick was standing. You'll see that he's mysteriously vanished... Walk up
to the door and it will open, only to reveal, not the Vambee leader, but
rather Mannick himself standing over treasure chest! Yes, he used you... you
did all that work completing the temples so this greedy pirate can claim one
lousy treasure! Excitedly, Mannick opens the box, only to find that the
treasure he released the vambees for was nothing more than an ugly old beat
up belt! After a serious flaming from Musashi, Mannick reluctantly gives you
the UglyBelt and heads off to the inn...

Back in the village, take the belt you just received to Conners and have it
appraised... It turns out to be Legendary Armor L-Belt! This valuable piece
of armor allows you to perform a double jump by jumping once, then pressing
the jump button again in mid-air. This can be used to jump high obstacles or
long gaps. It will be essential in some areas, and just plain useful in
others.

As soon as you leave the pawn shop, Mannick will rush up and inform you that
the village well has dried up, and asks you to investigate. In order to get
into the well, you'll need a rope. One can be found inside the church, but
before going there, there is an extremely important side-task you can and
should do.

- Return to Twinpeak Mountain and climb up to the area where you found the
THIRD tree near the beginning of the game. Climb up the long pole, and
double jump off it to the right. You should land on a small platform with
a lone Bincho Field on it. Smash it open to free Weaver Dinneretta, she'll
say that if you bring her the L-Cloth later, she'll make you something
special. Return to the castle and, assuming you have L-Cloth (which you
should), she'll offer to make you either a quilt or some gloves out of the
magical cloth. If you chose to have her make gloves, you'll get L-Glove,
which increases the chances of getting a critical hit, but what you REALLY
want is the quilt! Not only does it reduce tiredness at twice the speed
of normal when sleeping in the field, but it also lets you reduce it to
0% (Previously, the lowest you could get it by sleeping in the field was
20%). That's not worth it you say? Well how about this. When sleeping, the
L-Quilt actually RESTORES HP *and* BP at a fixed rate! I can't possibly
stress the importance of getting the L-Quilt, It WILL save your life many
a time! Anyway, whether you pick the gloves or the quilt, Weaver
Dinneretta will say that it'll take three days for her to make it. Go to
your room and sleep nine times then return and talk to her again to
receive your prize!

Anyway, whether or not you got the bonus Legendary Armor, head for the
church. The gate is locked, but you can double jump over the fence into the
yard outside the chucrh where you'll find the priest, Father White, sleeping
outside. When you talk to him, he'll say that some thieves stole the church
bell and when he ran after them, they tricked him and locked him outside, so
he can't get you the rope! Now Father White says he's been hearing strange
noises at night. Musashi figures it's just mice or something, but the priest
asks him to come back at 2:00 AM and investigate. Kill some time, then
return and talk to Father White at EXACTLY the specified time. You'll hear
some strange noises, which Musashi expects is the ghouls. You have to find
some way to get inside the church now... White says that if you can get on
the roof, you can climb in through the hole where the church bell was. He'll
crouch down allowing you to climb on his back and jump up to roof, where
you'll automatically jump through the hole into the church.

Inside, you'll meet Bubbles, a female Thirstquencher soldier with a real
attitude! After exchanging taunts, Bubbles sics a whole group of a new type
of Vambee soldier on you and runs off.

---Mini Boss: Vambee Soldiers---

Try as you might, you can't seem to be able to defeat these ugly ghouls, so
Just keep attacking them to keep them back. Everytime Musashi says
something, they get more aggressive and attack in larger packs. Eventually,
after getting nowhere, Musashi will notice that it's getting light outside,
and that the Vambees don't come out during the day, so maybe... After he
says that, they become EXTREMELY aggressive, attacking you in massive
groups! They can't do much damage alone, but if they gang up on you and
capture you, you'll die no matter how much HP you have left. Oh yeah, watch
out for those smoke bullets that the soldiers in the back shoot at you --
they'll momentarily stun you if you get hit by one. Eventually, if you hold
them off long enough, the sun will come up, shine through the windows, and
destroy all the Vambee soldiers!


Once they're destroyed, Musashi will run outside and inform Father White
that the church is his again, and he'll reward you with the rope you need to
investigate the well. He also asks you if you'll search for the missing
bell. Tell him that you'll bring it if you find it, then go to the inn, rest
up, and save.

When you're ready, stand next to the well and Musashi will throw the rope
down, allowing you to enter it. Walk across the stone path until you find a
huge stone slab. Smash it with Lumina to earn...THE WATER SCROLL! With this
scroll, you can walk on water for a short time and shoot water to put out
flames.

Ok, now go back down first section of the well and activate the water
scroll. Walk across the water, and you'll find the missing Church Bell on
one of the islands. You'll have to carry it back to town. Remember when you
had to bring Leno back to town in early Chapter 2? Well, you have to do the
same thing here; the only difference is that if the bell falls in the water,
it returns to the last place you dropped it. Pick up the bell and toss it
across the water. You obviously can't climb back up the rope while carrying
this heavy bell, so you'll have to make your way to the cave leading to the
mine, and make your way out the normal way. Make sure you're carrying the
bell when you switch screens, or you'll have to start over. After you exit
the mine, you'll be met by Father White, who takes back the bell and rewards
you with an Angel Statue.

With the water scroll in your possession, there are a few tasks you can do.

- Back at Twinpeak Mountain, make your way to the dead end where you found
Mercenary Meitlofe, and use the scroll. Walk across to the island a little
ways to the left. Climb up the hill and rescue Doctor Tung from the Bincho
Field, then use the scroll again and jump off the cliff and head left
again. At the very end, you'll find a minku! Catch it -- that 25 HP boost
will come in handy!

- In Somnolent Forest, you may have seen a Minku in a small clearing on the
opposite shore of the river, but were unable to reach it before. Now that
you can walk on water, go catch it!

Back to the game. Go pay a visit to the store and stock up on C-Drinks, then
return to the restaurant basement. This time, go straight ahead to the room
on the map above with the big pit and double doors, which is labeled "Fire
Temple". With the statue in your possession, you can open the door.

---Fire Temple---
Chests: None
Bincho Fields: 1

This is the temple where the Crest Guardian protecting the water scroll
lives. It's a fairly short area, but the boss is pretty tough -- I hope you
stocked up on items! Immediatly inside, you'll be faced with a big lake. Use
the water scroll to get across, and enter the door on the other side. You'll
now have to double-jump over a series of small platforms in a big pool of
lava. It's not hard, just watch out for the dive bombing bat in here. After
passing this section, you'll end up on a platform with two rotating spiked
walls. Pass them and ride on the moving platforms to reach the other side of
the lava lake. Just keep going until you come across a bunch of brown blocks
floating in the lava (be careful, they sink if you stand on them too long).
Make your way past them, rescuing Taster Salmonelli from the Bincho Field
along the way, and continue on. When you reach solid ground, you'll be
ambushed by a couple flame creatures. Cool them off with a blast from the
water scroll! Upon getting to the spike pit, pick up a Vambee and toss it
across on to the switch on the other side to close the pit, allowing passage
to the door leading to the end. There's one last puzzle here before reaching
the Crest Guardian. There are four alters, each with flames burning on them.
Use the water scroll's bubble attack to put douse the flames, and the door
in the back of the room will open... The lair or the Crest Guardian
awaits...

%%%%Crest Guardian: Relic Keeper%%%%

Actually, the Relic Keeper itself is too big to fight in this chamber, and
is stuck under a collapsing ceiling. Instead, he sends a living flame to
attack you. Like all Crest Guardian battles, there are three rounds here,
which are determined by how many times you strike the beast's core. I should
warn you, though, neither Lumina nor Fusion can do anything to the Flame.
You must use the water scroll's bubble attack. Yep, that's right, fight
fire with water. Heheh. Each attack will do about 8 damage to the flame.
Every 150 damage or so, the flame will dissolve, and the Relic Keeper's core
will be exposed. Strike it three times to win. Anyway...

(BTW, if this boss strategy bores you, you can always count the number of
times I use the word "Flame". ;P)

- Round 1 -

This isn't so bad. The Flame starts off slow, and only has a few attacks.
It's main method of attack is to float around the room, dropping easily
dodged fireballs at you. This is the best time to blast the flame with as
much water as you can. It's other attacks include turning into a big Fire
Sword and 'slashing' at you. This attack is tough to avoid, so I hope you
have the water scroll activated in order to take the hit from it. The
Flame's last attack is a blue fire wave. The Flame moves to the center of
the chamber, turns blue, and shoots a wave of fire on both sides. Since you
can't damage the flame when it turns blue, just dodge the wave by double
jumping.

- Round 2 -

In Round 2, the flame uses a whole mess of new attacks, and doesn't use any
from the first round. It's new chief attack is to turn into a fireball and
bounce around the room. This is a surprisingly difficult attack to dodge, so
just try to get as many hits in as possible. Another new attack involves the
flame moving to one side of the room, turning into a big fire snake, and
jumping across the room. You can avoid this by standing a short distance
from the snake; if positioned right, he'll just jump right over you. For the
last attack, the Flame floats to the center of the room and turns into a
pillar. He then sticks an 'arm' of flames over the part of the room where
Musashi is, and drops a few fireballs on him. They seldom hit, however.

- Round 3 -

Ok, now for the fun part. The flame has *all* the moves from the first and
second rounds, and most of them are improved upon. For example, the blue
flame wave now shoots three waves instead of one, the flame snake goes
across the screen twice, and the when bouncing around the room, the flame
now shoots out little blue fireballs! The Flame Sword attack, however,
doesn't seem to do anything different, which is just as well, since it was a
pretty mean attack to begin with... Oh yes, there is also one new attack
that I like to call 'Fire-go-round'. The flame turns blue, moves to the
center of the room, and makes a "Merry-go-round" of flames. You can dodge
them by running towards the flame and double jumping.

---

Once you've beaten the Flame, the ceiling will collapse, crushing the Relic
Keeper, and you'll get his core. Yous limit levels will all increase, and
you'll get a 25 BP boost. Now that you've liberated the water scroll, that
makes two down, and three to go!

Following the battle is a scene at Thirstquencher Castle. The captive
Princess Fillet is growing impatient. Noticing that the careless
Thirstquencher troops left a Binchotite in her room, the princess decides to
perform another hero summon. She succeeds, and another hero appears in a
flash of light. Unfortunatly, the 'hero' this time is Kojiro, who doesn't
care about the princess, and only wants to duel with Musashi. The flash
caused by the hero summon, however, catches the attention of Topo, a mouse
woman, who goes to investigate. When Kojiro mentions that he's looking for
Musashi, Topo says she'll take him to his rival, and they both leave. The
princess just sits there, confused...

%%%%Chapter 4: Duel at Dragon Island%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

After the scene, you'll be outside the restaurant. The town is back to
normal, and if you weren't able to rescue Tim, Hilda's Grocery is now back
in business. Both shops are also selling new items, so be sure and pay them
a visit. EX-Drinks are a good buy -- they cost 800 Drans, but restore full
HP. The Biscuits at the bakery are also useful, as they restore 100 BP and
don't spoil like the other bread items.

Anyway, when you're done looking around town, pay a visit to the mayor's
house. It seems that Mayor Govern has fallen ill, so Mrs. Govern asks
Musashi if he'll act as a substitute mayor until the Mr. Govern recovers.
Agree, and you'll be asked to find a way to restore the well. Once you've
regained control, head back and jump in the well.

---Well---
Chests: UsedBoot, Armor, OldShirt

Even though you're given no directions on how to do so, it's easy to figure
out how to restore the well. I'm sure you remember seeing the Water Crest
when you were here earlier. well, now that you've defeated the Crest
Guardian, you can activate this. Do so, and the water drains from the right
side of the well, and fills the left side up, restoring the well to normal.
As soon as you do this, a two men, a big dumb guy named Ben, and a short guy
with a stutter named Ed walk in and start discussing the bell that they
stole. Musashi overhears them, and tells them that he already returned the
bell. This angers the thieves, and a (funny) argument takes place between
them. Once they're done ranting, they leave.

Now that you've problem of the dry well, there're a lot of treasures to be
gotten! On the now dry right side, jump down and grab the chest for a
UsedBoot. Walk around and enter the small cave on the other side, and make
your way through. There's a chest along the way containing Armor, and at the
end is an unusable Fire Crest -- take note of it. Go back out of the cave,
and enter the flooded left side of the well. Use the water scroll to walk
across the water, and you'll find a Minku on a ledge on the north wall, and
an island in the lower left corner with an OldShirt on it. The UsedBoot and
Armor you picked up earlier are just trash that you can sell, but the
OldShirt turns out to be the Legendary Armor L-Vest. This piece of armor
allows you to charge your weapon twice as fast, and will be invaluable later
on. After getting the Minku and all the treasures, exit the well. The rope
is gone, so you'll have to leave via the mine entrance.

If you'd like, there's also a nice sub task you can complete now that you
can use the Water Crests.

- Return to the south section of Somnolent Forestwhere the small circle lake
is, and you'll come across another Water Crest that you've probably seen
before. Stand on it and activate the water scroll. The small lake will dry
up, allowing you to get the chest that was in it. Once appraised, the
Glasses that you find in the chest turn out to be Legendary Armor
L-Goggles, which allows you to appraise items as soon as you pick them up.
You'll still need to visit the Pawn Shop to sell useless items, however.

Anyway, back to the game. Return to the Mayor's house, and Musashi will ask
for his next assignment. Mrs. Govern says that the Gondola's been broken for
quite a while, and now would be a good time to repair it. When given the
choice, ask what you're supposed to do. Mrs. Govern tells you that you need
a Gondola Gizmo, and that there are some in the Scrap Depository in the
mine. She also tells you that there are three carpenters in the castle who
know about Gondola Gizmos, and old man Wid might know about them as well.

If you talk to Wid, he'll tell you where the Scrap Depository is, but you
still don't know what a Gondola Gizmo is, so go back to the castle and talk
to the three carpenters. They'll give you clues as to what the Gondola Gizmo
looks like:

- It has a gold rim, and is fancy looking.
- It looks like a wheel.
- It has 4 holes.

With this knowledge, enter the mine and make your way back to the room with
the big fan. Wait for it to stop blowing, then jump down the chute below it
and take the right path. You may have come here before, but were blocked by
a long gap you couldn't cross before. Now that you have the L-Belt in which
to double jump, you can make it across. This path leads to the scrap
depository, but on your way there, you'll have to cross some trecherous
moving platforms. You've been up against them before, but some of these go
in the opposite direction, meaning you'll have to be fast. Also, some of the
platforms have some kind of green slime in them, and if you touch it, you'll
get poisoned. At the end of this obstacle course, you'll find a small room
with a bunch of junk, and four wheel devices -- these are Gondola Gizmos...
or rather, *one* of them is... They're so heavy, that you're only able to
carry one of these at a time, and only one of them is the Gondola Gizmo, so
choose carefully. Using the clues given to you to narrow down the choice,
you should know that it can't be the first one on the left, as the
description says the G.Gizmo is gold. Likewise, it can't be the last one
from the left, as that one has 5 holes. The 2nd and 3rd ones, however, both
match the clues... The third one from the left is the correct Gizmo. Take it
and bring it back to Steward Ribson. If you brought the correct one back,
you'll be told to kill some time while the Gondola gets repaired, so Musashi
decides to go back to his room to take a nap. When he wakes up, Musashi
finds that he overslept, and quickly dashes off to the village.

When you arrive at the village, you'll find a place of chaos! The entire
town is on fire, and people are trapped in their houses! You'll have to play
firefighter, and stop the blaze! Using the Water Scroll's bubble attack,
walk around town and douse the biggest flames (don't waste time with the
smaller ones, you can't affect them). Once you've started to spray a flame,
don't let up until it goes out, as if even a small piece of the fire
remains, it will quickly grow back to full size, forcing you to start over.
There are 8 major fires in the town, here's where they are:

- Two at the Church
- Two outside the bakery
- One at the Mayor's House
- One at Farmer McRice's House
- One at Farmer Grange's House
- One outside Hilda's Grocery

Once you've put all the fires out, Mrs. Govern will thank you and tell you
that she saw two suspicious looking men, one big and one small, looking at
the church, talking about something. Musashi suspects that the ones who
started the fire are probably the same people who stole the church bell...


The next morning, pay a visit to the Mayor's house. It seems that Mayor
Govern has recovered. He gives you a Calendar as a reward. This doesn't do
anything now, and won't be useful until much later on. After rewarding you,
he goes back inside, and Mrs. Govern comes out and also rewards you by
giving you some Rocksalt. This item'll be useful shortly.

---The Beach---
Chests: 500 Drans
Bincho Fields: 1

The game is pretty vague on what you're supposed to do at this point... Head
to the northern part of Somnolent Forest, and take the path leading to the
left. You'll be behind a huge slug-like rock, which you can use the Rocksalt
on to turn into a normal slug, clearing the way. Look around for a chest
containing 500 Drans, and a Bincho Field which hold Artisan Teebone, who
will temper up Fusion should you decide to pay him a visit at the castle
later. Now activate the Water Scroll and walk across the water to a small
island with yet another water crest on it! Stand on the crest and use the
scroll; all the water on the beach will drain into the ocean, allowing you
to go down and take the Fire Scroll from the altar! There's no time to
celebrate, however, as Kojiro appears and challenges Musashi to a duel.
Musashi shrugs him off, saying a duel would be a waste of time, but Kojiro
insists, and decides to play his trump card: the princess! He says that if
Musashi refuses to duel, that something 'not nice' will happen to the
princess... Having no other alternative, Musashi reluctantly agrees...

---Mini Boss: Kojiro---

He may talk big, but Kojiro really isn't so tough, especially if you built
up your stats. He has four attacks: 1) A basic sword slash, which is close
range only, and easily dodged. 2) A double slash, which is also easy to
dodge, but causes a bit of pain if it hits. 3) A smoke wave, which flies in
a straight line, and is a bit harder to dodge. You'll know if Kojiro is
going to use it if he yells "Die!". 4) A cool-looking Firebird that is
similar to the smoke wave, but has a longer range. He always says "Take
that!" before using it, though, so prepare for it.
Since none of the scrolls do any damage, you'd do best just to switch Lumina
back to it's normal spin attack. Kojiro seems to block a lot of your attacks
if you hit him from the front, so wait until he stands still (to use his
smoke wave or firebird attack), and hit him from behind, preferrably with a
spin attack. Four to six well timed spin attacks should do him in. Another
method of attack is to assimilate Kojiro with Fusion (yes, it works for some
reason...), and get his "Fence" skill, which allows you to attack him from a
distance. This isn't a bad strategy, but spin attacks are far more
effective.

Once you've defeated Kojiro, you've rescued the princess! When you regain
control, leave the beach and you'll automatically be taken back to
Allucaneet Palace, where you're greeted by Steward Ribson. Although there is
momentary excitement for Musashi, who expects that he can now go home,
Ribson reminds him that peace has not yet returned. Musashi realizes that he
hasn't yet caught the thieves, or dealt with the Thirstquencher Empire.
After a bit of talk, you're asked if you want to go seize the thieves. It
doesn't matter what you choose, the outcome is the same. The princess
returns to her room, and Ribson tells you that the three Mercenaries can
help you find the thieves' hideout. Assuming you've rescued Mercenaries
Meitlofe, Potrowst, and Stue, they'll each give you a clue as to where to
find the hideout. They all point to Meandering Forest as the location of the
hideout, and the directions to reach it refer to the game "Shogi", which you
can read about in the library, which if properly figured out, lead directly
to the hideout. The directions are obscure, and extremely difficult to
decipher, so just head for Meandering Forest and follow the following
instructions:

(The number after the way to go indicates the number of screens you must
cross.)

>From the entrance, go left 1, up 2, right 1, up 2, right 1, up 2, left 1, up
4. If you've followed the directions carefully, you'll end up at a
mysterious frozen palace...

---Frozen Palace---
Treasures: Small Heart x3, Gold Coin x4
Chests: RedEye, BlueEye, GreenEye, LongTube, Wh-Cloth, Bl-Cloth, RedCloth,
RedShoes
Bincho Fields: 5

As soon as you'll enter the icy palace, you'll meet a strange woman. Musashi
asks her if she's one of those dumb thieves, to which she replies that she's
insulted that you thought she was a part of "Leader's Force", which is the
name of the group Ed, Ben, and Topo belong to, and that her name is
Gingerelle. Musashi shrugs and asks her if this is the thieves hideout. She
says "Maybe, but they're not at 'Frozen Palace'.". She then taunts you a bit
more and walks out. Dismayed at the news, Musashi decided to explore anyway,
as he might find something there about the 5 scrolls. This is the longest
and toughest dungeon yet. The monsters are surprisingly strong, even if
you've maxed out your stats.

Anyway, when you gain control, take a look around the room. There's an icy
staircase which you can't climb yet due to the fact that it's extremely
slippery, a memory box in the far back, and four doors, one of which is
blocked by a stone slab with a picture of a red eye on it. The two doors on
the right side of the room lead to blocked paths you can't do anything with,
so ignore them and take the upper left door (It's the only other opened
one). Pass through this next room, and you'll find two more doors at the
end. One of them has a stone slab exactly like the one in first room
blocking it, this one with a picture of a blue eye on it. Ignore it for now
and take the upper door, which leads to a chamber where penguins are pushing
ice blocks into a pit -- do *NOT* kill these penguins. Instead, jump on an
ice block, ride it out into the pit, and jump off to the ground on the other
side when the block gets close enough. You'll be faced with two *more*
doors! Enter the upper door first, to reach a dead end with a bunch of
penguins in it. Defeat them all and a chest will appear. Grab it for the
special "RedEye" item. With the eye in your possession, go back to the
previous room and enter the door on the right. Climb up and free Chef
Julienne from the bincho field on the wooden ledge, and jump down to the
other side. Here, take the lower door and you'll end up back in the main
room.

Now that you have the RedEye, you can move the stone slab with the red eye
on it, allowing you to enter the room behind it. The room beyond the
previously blocked door is a dangerous one. There are icy spikes all over
the place, and two fearsome enemies. The first one is the Copycat, which
looks like a sparking robot, and copies your every move. They don't,
however, copy your Lumina attacks, meaning a sword spin can defeat them
easily. The other enemy here is the Ice Plant. A pumped up version of the
Herb Plants you fought back at Somnolent Forest, who's shots freeze you
temporarily. Take your time here, and defeat all the enemies -- it's
actually easier to defeat them than it is to try and run from them. You'll
find a chest containing a LongTube at the end, as well as a door. Enter the
door, and you'll be in a big ice maze. I really can't help too much here,
but look around for a small heart, a gold coin, and a bincho field where
Alchemist Leanman is being held. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense...
Why is Leanman here!? He was in the intro! Oh well, no matter. Make your way
through the maze until you come to a door in the lower left corner. There
are four clones here. Defeat them all without getting hurt (use the spin
attack), and you'll be rewarded with the BlueEye. Now go back in the ice
maze and look for another door in the lower right corner, it takes you to an
outside balcony blocked by steel spikes. You can't destroy them now, so go
back in the maze. Throughout this place, you've probably seen Stomp Golems,
those big piles of rocks that drop from the ceiling. You can assimilate them
(only from behind), to get "Steel", which allows you to destroy certain
types of spikes. Whatever you do, don't let the golems stomp you! Even if
your Mind is maxed out, you'll still lose a massive 77 HP! Once you've
gotten the Steel skill, go back to the spike room and plow through them. At
the end, pass through two more rooms to rescue Butcher Chops from a Bincho
Field. There's nothing more you need in the maze, so jump off the balcony
and you'll end up back in the first room again.

With the BlueEye, you can now move the stone slab with the blue eye on it
that you saw in the upper left room. After it's opened, proceed through
where you'll find an easily accessed bincho field, where Janitor Sloppy Joe
is being held. He doesn't do anything for you, however, but you might as
well free him for the usual BP boost... Jump on the two ice blocks in the
room, and make your way up to the next door. You'll come out on a series of
platforms floating above the room with the blue door. Carefully make your
way across to the door at the end -- if you fall, you'll have to go back and
make your way up here again. When you make it to the end, you'll be on a
balcony with the chest containing the RedShoes. If you found the L-Goggles
earlier, you'll discover that this is actually the Legendary Armor, L-Shoes!
With these on, you can walk on icy floors without slipping. Jump off the
balcony and you'll be back in the first room... Notice a trend here yet? ;)

Go now in the door on the lower right. If you came here before, you were
stopped by the slippery slope, but now that you have the L-Shoes, you can
climb up it. When you make it to the other side of the slope, grab the chest
for RedCloth, then go across the next slope, and into the door. You'll end
up in another ice maze. Again, I can't help with it much, but look around
for several gold coins, and watch out for those powerful Stomp Golems --
they're everywhere! Eventually you'll run into a Copycat; be sure to
assimilate it. It's difficult to do because it always throws it's sword at
you as soon as you throw Fusion at it; try to get him to face in a different
direction. You'll get the Clone skill when you finally succeed. Now look for
a door on the lower right corner of the maze. Inside the small room, use the
Clone skill to create a Musashi clone, and lure the single monster here over
to it. When it gets close, press O to detonate the clone. The explosion will
kill the monster, and make a chest containing the GreenEye appear. Why did
you need to use Clone to kill the beast? Read the sign in the room. It says
"May the Clone have victory". This means that the only way you'll get the
GreenEye is if the clone destroys the monster... It took me forever to
figure out what to do here! Anyway, look around the maze again until you
come to a lowered platform in the lower left corner of the maze with a small
heart on it. From here, you can make your way to the upper level of the
maze, where a chest containing Wh-Cloth, and a Bincho field containing
Musician Al Forte can be found. Also on the upper level of the maze, look
for a stone slab with a green eye painted on it. Yep, you guessed it! Use
GreenEye, and the door opens. The next room is a series of small ice blocks,
and penguin monsters. Pass through it and the room after it, and you'll come
out of the upper right door in the main room.

Now that you have all three Eyes (Red, Blue, and Green), climb up the stairs
in the center of the room and examine the big door in the back. It's frozen
shut, however, so use the Fire Scroll and thaw it out. Insert the three eyes
into the door, and it'll open, leading to a room with a big spiraling
staircase. First, go under the staircase, and grab the chest for Bl-Cloth,
then climb to the top of the stairs. Save at the memory box, then light the
two torches with the fire scroll, and enter the door that opens afterwards.
You'll be in some kind of shrine. Strike the statue of the dragon, and
you'll fall into an ice cave. Walk forward, melt the two sets of ice spikes
with the fire scroll, then turn and walk out onto the ledge overlooking a
huge glacier. The glacier shatters, revealing a huge blue serpent...

%%%%Crest Guardian: Frost Dragon%%%%

This is an unusual battle, and probably the easiest Crest Guardian of all.
Just watch out; all it's attacks can freeze you in a block of ice for a
short time, making you an easy target! As you've probably guessed, the only
thing that works against the dragon is the Fire Scroll, so get it ready!

- Round 1 -

This isn't really a round at all. The dragon floats around in the
background, and occationally dives at you. During this time, blast it with
as many flames as you can. After a short time, the dragon will smash a bit
of the cliff on the right side of the screen. Quickly jump up onto it, and
run across the platform until you come to some an ice bridge. Now's the time
to really hustle! The Frost Dragon is destroying the room, and you've gotta
make it to the end of the ice bridge before he destroys it! To make matters
worse, you'll have to stop and melt ice spikes along the way! If you're not
quick enough, the dragon will smash the bridge below you, killing you
instantly! The L-Vest is a life-saver here, as it reduces charge time,
allowing you to melt the spikes quicker! When you finally reach the end,
you're safe, but will have to fight the beast!

- Round 2 -

Here's where the battle begins. The dragon only has three attacks: For the
first one, he slams his head down against the ice. You can hit him during
this time, but it's best to wait. His second attack consists of him shooting
easily dodged ice cubes at you. The Dragon's third and final attack is an
Ice beam. You can avoid this by watching which way he's gonna shoot it, and
running to the other side of the room. Be sure you've got the fire scroll
charged up, as after the dragon uses this, he'll have to rest a moment. Take
this opportunity to blast the dragon with as much fire as possible -- hold
the O button and don't let up! If you've scored enough damage, the dragon
will collapse. Strike his core!

- Round 3 -

At the start of the round, the dragon will sweep across the battlefield.
This attack is near impossible to avoid, but the damage is bearable. After
using it, he'll fly into the air, and crash back down, sending ice chunks
flying every which way. Once he's landed, however, this round is exactly
like the first one. Wait for him to fire the beam, then rest, and flame him
some more.

- Round 4 -

Same as round 3, except the Ice cube attack is a *lot* faster and harder to
dodge. The same strategy applies here. Once you've struck the dragon's core
this round, you'll win. As always, you'll gain the guardian's core, and will
get a 25 BP bonus, and a limit level increase. After getting your bonuses,
you'll be warped back outside the boss's room. Three scrolls down, two to
go!

---

As soon as you leave the palace, there will be another scene at the
Thirstquencher Empire. Colonel Capricciola is reprimanding Ed and Ben for
their failures, and as usual, Ben ends up saying something stupid.
Capricciola then talks a bit about Bubbles and Gingerelle, then mentions
Topo's new strategy...

%%%%Chapter 5: The One that Nests Underground%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

After the scene, you'll automatically be taken back to Grillin' Village. The
mayor tells you something has happened while you were gone, and says to talk
to the shop owners for more info. ("More" info? He didn't give you any to
begin with!) Proceed to speak with all the shopkeepers, and you'll find that
Princess Fillet came in to town, and demanded the shopkeepers' savings!
Something doesn't seem right here... Return to the castle, and Musashi tells
Steward Ribson about the princess's little 'shopping trip'. Ribson is
shocked, and asks you to return to the village and find out why the princess
did this. Since the Gondola is now fixed, he suggests you take a ride on it.
>From now on, you can select the Gondola from the castle's transport menu.
This is basically a longer way into town, so it's not necessary to use it at
any time besides the one or two times the story forces you to.

When you arrive at the village, Musashi notices some disturbingly familiar
looking clouds of steam, and decides to pay a visit to Steamwood. There,
you'll find the foreman, Fores, who tells you that the princess forced him
to take her here, then knocked him unconscious and ran inside. To get even
with her, he locked her inside Steamwood and removed the handle, thus
preventing her from escaping. However, the princess has gone berserk and is
tearing up Steamwood! Fores tells you to (once again) stop it from
exploding, and gives you Handle#0, which you can use to open the door. I
hope you remember what you did here last time, 'cuz you gotta do it again!
Well, if you've forgotten, just say so when Musashi asks, and you'll get a
reminder. Open the door, and proceed inside, where you'll find the Princess,
babbling about Colonel Capricciola... Musashi notices, however, that she
seems to have a tail now, and goes over to take a closer look. Realizing
that her cover is blown, this obviously fake princess throws off her
disguise. She's actually the mouse woman, Topo, that was in the scenes
earlier! Musashi and Topo talk for a while, and she disappears, leaving
behind the Stores' profits. Take them, then save Steamwood!

---Steamwood---
Items: Handle#1, Handle#4, Handle#8

This area is done exactly the same way as before, except there are now a few
new steam leaks, and some of the handles are torn off the machine! Walk
around the tower, grab the spinning wheel on the ground (Handle#1), then
take the elevator up to the first level. Shut off the three valves, then
head up to the second level. On a platform to the left of the damaged valve
4, you'll find it's missing handle. Grab it, and shut off valves 4-6. On
the third level, run around to the very back of the platform, and grab
Handle#8. Shut off the last two valves, and you've saved Steamwood... Again!

Like last time, Fores and the Mayor are waiting outside. They thank you,
then take the profits and go back to town and return them to the
shopkeepers. Also like last time, Fores takes all the credit for saving
Steamwood... ^_^

With the Steamwood matter resolved, pay another visit to the castle, and
inform Steward Ribson of the previous events. He is glad that the princess
was a fake, so the real one is innocent, but this leaves another matter...
Where is the *real* Princess Fillet!? Musashi says he'll continue to search
for her, and goes out after the rest of the 5 scrolls.


Since there doesn't seem to be much action in the village, return to the
small cave inside the village well, where you saw the Fire Crest earlier on.
Because you defeated the Frost Dragon, you can now use this Crest. Activate
it, and there'll be a huge volcanic eruption, which blows a huge hole at the
top of the cave. Climb up the wall at the back of the chamber, and you'll be
on a strange hill. First things first, catch the nearby Minku for an always
needed HP boost, then proceed up the hill. At the very top, you'll find the
Wind Scroll! This new found power temporarily turns Musashi into a cyclone
by holding down the Triangle button. During this time, he can go against
strong gusts of wind, and dig holes in certain places. Ok, that's all well
and good, but... Now how do you get off this hill? You can't climb back down
the same way you got up... Stand in the middle of the field and activate the
new scroll. Hold the triangle button, and Musashi will dig a hole through
the cliff, causing him to fall into a remote section of Meandering Forest,
where Bubbles and Gingerelle appear to be waiting for him...
Since the fall from the cliff knocked Musashi unconscious, the sisters take
this opportunity to steal Lumina. However, just as they're about to try,
Musashi wakes up. His sudden awakening causes Bubbles to freak out, and she
shoots him with a green beam, sealing him in a Bincho Field. This action
angers Gingerelle, and she runs off to tell Fuhrer Flatski of her sister's
stupid move. Bubbles once again panics, and runs off after her sister,
leaving Musashi stuck in the crystal prison...

When you 'regain control', press the triangle button, and Musashi will break
out, gaining a whopping 50 BP in the process! There's nothing else to do in
the forest, so just walk back to the village. When you arrive, it's obvious
that something's wrong, but everyone there seems to be acting fairly
normal... Everyone, that is, except for Tim and Mint, who are standing near
the north end of the village jumping up and down. Talk to them, and you'll
find out that a giant ant is attacking the Gondola Office! Better take a
look! At the site of the Gondola office, you'll see that the children were
right, a giant red ant *is* attacking it. Mr. Lands, the Gondola operator
says that it's probably after the shipment of syrup and pea soup being
transferred from the castle. He's worried that because of the ant, the food
won't be delivered... This gives Musashi an idea! Instead of wasting time
trying to kill the ant with your swords, head back to the castle and take
the Gondola back down. When you reach the bottom, you'll smash the ant!
Unfortunatly, it's not dead. It climbs up the nearby cliff, smashes a grate
at the top, and goes inside the cliff. Might as well follow it...

---Old Mine---
Items: Big Heart x5, Big Crystal x4, Bronze Coin, Silver Coin x2, Gold Coin,
Green Herb
Chests: LrgTool, OddBone
Bincho Fields: 3

Upon entrance, it's quite apparent that the mutant ant didn't live much
longer, as it's twisted corpse lies at the bottom of the shaft... Just
ignore it -- it's not gonna hurt you. :P

There are two passageways here. Go left first and catch the Minku, then
go back and use the Wind Scroll to blow away the poison on the right path.
This room has quite a complex layout. Make your way to the series of small
platforms and grab the LrgTool from the nearby chest, then go up and left to
a Bincho Field. Break it open to release Cook Chiffonade, who will make
useful "NeatBalls", which you can buy at Hilda's Grocery later. Head back to
the right, and keep going until you reach a pit of spikes with a bunch of
boulders behind it held by boards. Use the Earth Scroll here, and the boards
will break, dumping the boulders into the pit, allowing you to cross. To
get past the next two pits, jump down and grab the ropes. This'll raise the
weights, allowing you to cross. After this, you'll find *another* spike pit
with boulders near it. Again, use the Earth Scroll to release the boulders
and fill the pit. From here, you're free to go to the next area.

Like the mine earlier on, this one also has a room with elevator platforms
and vile looking yellow water that poison you if you fall in it. This room,
however, is a bit different... The elevators here are inactive, meaning
you'll have to use them as steps. There are two passageways you can take
here: The upper path, or the lower path. The upper path is completely
optional, so if you don't want to do it, skip the next section and go
straight to the lower path. Also, there is a chest on one of the platforms
on the lower level containing an OddBone. Collect it and move on.

- Upper Path -

The first part of the long upper road takes you across a narrow path,
blocked by strong winds. Activate the Wind Scroll, and you can use the
cyclone to go against the winds. Along the way, you can collect a Bronze
Coin, a Big Heart, Two Silver Coins, and a Gold Coin. When you reach the end
of the windy path, you'll find a steep hill and a spiked floor. Assimilate
the nearby Hopper plant, and use it's "Hop" skill to jump up the hill and
over the spikes. When you get past it, you'll be faced with a more difficult
obstacle... Double Jump across the gap, and you'll find that there's another
steep hill on the other side that you need to use the Hop skill to climb,
but the nearest Hopper is on the other side of the pit! How can you get up
the hill? Well, it's a difficult task, but here goes: You have to throw
Fusion at the Hopper plant so it starts to assimilate it, then quickly jump
across the pit and press X like a madman! If you were quick enough, you'll
absorb the Hop skill, and will be able to make it up the hill. If not, keep
trying, you'll make it eventually...

Consider this next room a bonus. Not only can you assimilate a Cure Worm to
heal any poison you may have contracted here earlier, but the easiest Minku
in the entire game to find is also here! Although this place may look like a
dead end, it's not; you can climb the wall near the sign. At the top, you'll
find an huge inactive fan, a strange machine, and a passage to the left that
you can't reach. Walk over to the machine and examine it, the fan will start
up (as will the elevators in a previous room), and blow you up to the
passage. This leads to a long hall where you'll find more mutant ants.
You'll have to perform a lot of tricky jumps here as well, but it's tough to
describe. Just make your way to the end. Along the way, be sure to free
Conductor Scores from a Bincho Field. At the end, you'll find a big empty
room with a single Bincho Field inside. Break it open to release Knight
Rumparoni, who will later teach you the sixth and final technique:
Rumparoni-SP. If you've been following the walthrough, this should be the
last person... You've saved everyone except the Princess! After freeing the
knight, the only thing left to do in this room is use the Wind Scroll to
dig a hole in the center of the room and escape. This drops you back down
to the room with the elevators. Take the lower path...

- Lower Path -

This is a straight, short path leading to a mine cart. Jump on it and you'll
play a mini game. The object here is to move the mine cart left and right to
avoid obstacles along the way, such as bugs, rocks, and closing gates. You
can only get hit four times, then you'll have to start over again... I can't
offer any help here... (If anyone would care to map out the mine cart
course, I'd appreciate it.) After reaching the end, the mine cart crashes,
leaving you stranded in a crystalline cave full of healing items. Collect
them and save at the memory box, then stand in the center or the room and
use the wind scroll to dig a hole. You'll fall into a room with a squishy
ground...or so it would seem... At a closer look, you're actually standing
on the body of a huge winged ant!

%%%%Crest Guardian: Queen Ant%%%%

This is another easy boss. Watch out for the queen's tail, though, and don't
go near green slime around her, either. Both are poisonous. Otherwise, the
battle should go pretty smoothly.

- Round 1 -

It starts out almost too easy. Queen Ant only has a few attacks, and most
of them are pretty easy to dodge. Her first attack is a simple claw swipe,
which can be dodged by double jumping; her second attack is a poisonous
cloud that flies up into the air, and explodes into eight small clouds, and
descends down to the battlefield in two waves of four clouds each. You can
avoid these easily by watching where they're gonna land, and simply moving
out of the way. The last attack is where the queen makes spikes pop out of
her abdomen. The section they're gonna pop up on shakes for a second before-
hand, however, so jump off the shaking platform easily. The trick here is to
wait until she uses the claw swipe attack, because afterwards, she'll have
to rest a moment, revealing a flashing eye. This isn't the core, but hit it
with Lumina anyway. At first, it only serves to make the queen angry, and
she'll shoot out a group of small larvae out of her tail. These are just
normal enemies and can be killed in one or two hits. They sometimes drop
Green Herbs, too. Just stall the battle until the queen uses the claw swipe
attack and needs to rest again, then whack her eye. This time, however, she
sits there and screams in pain, revealing the core hidden in her tail.
During this time, quickly activate the wind scroll and spin dash her tail.
She'll lose some energy, and round 2 begins.

- Round 2 -

After hitting the tail core, the queen gets royally pissed and starts
flapping her wings, creating a strong gust which will most assuredly blow
you off in to the ooze. You can go against the gusts by using the wind
scroll, but it's unlikely you'll have the time to activate it. Besides this
one new move, this round is exactly like the last one. Hit her eye twice,
then smash her core!

- Round 3 -

All of a sudden, things get really hard! The poison cloud now has 4 waves of
falling clouds, and are a lot faster; the abdomen spikes pop up faster than
before, and a lot more times, too, and when you hit the eye, almost a dozen
larvae pop out! Oh, and did I mention her majesty's new attack? Occationally
the Queen Ant will stick her pincers out, and if she grabs you, your HP
steadily decreases! There's not a whole lot you can do about this; I just
hope you have enough HP to withstand it... To make this round worse, you
have to hit the eye *three* times before the core will be releaved, and the
ant recovers quicker after using the claw swipe attack, meaning you'll have
to be quick to hit it! Once you eventually succeed in blasting the core a
third time, the queen will blow to pieces, and you'll claim the her core,
getting the usual stat and BP boosts that go with it.

---

You may have beaten the guardian, but you're not quite out of here yet.
Stand on the crest and activate the wind scroll. A tornado will appear and
transport you outside the cave.

%%%%Chapter 6: The Sword of Luminescence%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

You'll awaken in the dead end path, where you'll have one final meeting with
your old friend Jon and his pooch Leno. He congratulates you, and tells you
that all you need now is the Sky Scroll. As luck would have it, however, Jon
has been reading some ancient books that gave him clues to the scroll's
whereabouts:

"A pillar of wind... Day of the sky... Tears of God fall on the forest with
the prodigious tree..."

After relaying the clues, Jon tells you he wrote them down, and gives you
the Note containing them. He and Leno then walk off and disappear...again...

Before you continue your mission, there're a few simple sub-tasks you can
accomplish.

- In the village, pay a visit to Farmer Lacter's house. It seems that kindly
old Mrs. Lacter thinks that you're her grandson Bob, and has bought you a
toy. Unfortunatly, she has fallen ill... Farmer Lacter gives you the toy,
a Kojiro action figure, and tells you to take care of it...

- Speaking of Action figures, If you've rescued everyone from the Bincho
Fields scattered around the world, you can buy a Princess Fillet action
figure from the new "Special" collection!

- On a similar note, if you've caught all 13 Minkus, visit Shephard Beefalo
at the castle. She doesn't seem too happy that you've caught every single
Minku in the entire world, but gives you a clue about the legendary
"Mother Minku". To find this elusive beast, return to the Meandering
Forest. Before you get very far, mom will ambush you! She has her mind set
on repaying you for how you treated her children earlier!

---Mini Boss: Mother Minku---

Mom is pretty tricky. At first, she just hops around slowly, occationally
spinning around, using her massive ears as weapons. During this time, just
do as much damage to her as you can. Once you've hurt her enough, she'll
start jumping in the air and landing on you. This attack is nigh impossible
to avoid, so I hope you have a healing item on hand! Eventually, the mother
Minku will let up and stop bouncing on you. At this point, you're pretty
close to beating her. Just keep attacking a bit more, and eventually she'll
shower you with various hearts, crystals, and coins, then shrink and run
off. Collect whatever items you can before they disappear, then leave the
woods and return to town. As an added bonus for beating the deceptively
mean creature, you'll be able to buy a Mother Minku action figure at the toy
store! ;)

Once you've completed these three tasks, it would probably be a good idea to
start trying to make sense of Jon's clues. The town citizens don't help too
much, but there're a few key people here. Though he's been pretty useless
before, pay a visit to Fores, the Steamwood foreman. When questioned about
the clues, he tells you that Steamwood is sometimes called "The Prodigious
Forest". That answers one part of the riddle, but look for more info.
Actually, there's really only one other person here who says anything
important: Farmer McRice, who tells you that it rains every Skyday morning
at Steamwood Forest. Rain is sometimes called "Tears of God", and there
*was* a Wind Crest in that forest, which may account for the "Pillars of
Wind" part of the clue... The riddle is solved! You must go to Steamwood
Forest and activate the Wind Scroll on Skyday morning during the rain. With
this solved, take care of any last minute details. Make *absolutely certain*
that all your stats are at level 30 (their max level) before proceeding.
Even with the stats maxed out, the final areas won't be easy... Also, go to
Hilda's Grocery and stock up on EX-Drinks. Also, I hope you didn't buy the
S-Revive earlier, as you may need it now. Buy it!

When you're all set, head for the Wind Crest and sleep until Skyday morning.
Activate the scroll during the rainstorm, and a tornado will appear and
whisk you up to Sky Tower, location of the 5th and final crest...

---Sky Tower---

This is a short and easy area. You're on a moving floor, circling a watery
platform with three blocks bearing the Earth Crest on it. Carefully jump to
each of these blocks, and use the Earth Crest on them to stomp them down
into the ground. Once all three have been smashed down, a door will appear
near the waterfall. Use the water scroll to walk across the water and make
your way to this door. It'll take you to a higher ledge with three torches
on it. Light the torches with the Fire Scroll, and the platforms they're
on will rise up to the very top of the tower, where you'll find the Sky
Scroll! Success!


Your celebration is cut short, however, by an extremely untimely visit from
Thirstquencher Empire's flying base, "Soda Fountain", which shoots a pipe
out towards Sky Tower. Colonel Capricciola shows up and, as usual, demands
Lumina in exchange for the Princess. When Musashi refuses, Capricciola
retreats, and Musashi jumps out at him, only to fall onto the pipeline
below. He then runs along it and enters the base through a hole in the wall.

---Soda Fountain: Part 1---
Chests: C-Drink, W-Gel

The first part of this long area is pretty straightforward, but rather
tough. You have to use the Sky Scroll to fly through some narrow passages
with electrified walls on the sides, and acid on the ground. If you hit the
walls, the scroll's effect will be cancelled, and you'll fall into the
acid... Fortunatly, if you hit the walls, you're still able to perform a
double jump, which may be able to save you. The only advice I can offer you
here is to take your time; the Scroll's effect lasts long enough to make it
over all the pits. Along the way, be sure to grab the C-Drink from the
chest. At the end, you'll be faced with a second obstacle course: a rotating
tunnel. The chest at the entrance of the tunnel only contains a W-Gel, so
don't waste another item to get it if your inventory is full. Anyway, the
rotating tunnel is split into two parts. The first part has electrified
spikes all over the floor, but they only do like 8 damage if they hit you,
so they're not so dangerous. It's the second part of the tunnel that's
tough! The floors are littered with holes, and if you fall in them, you'll
have to go through the entire tunnel again! Not to mention that the tunnel
is getting smaller... It may take you a few times, but when you finally get
through it, you'll encounter your old 'friend' Ben. In a last ditch attempt
to get back on Capricciola's good side, he attacks you.

---Leader Force: Ben---

Well, there have been tougher bosses. Ben's attacks are predictable, but
they do a lot of damage. He starts the battle by floating around the room
scattering bombs all over the place. He always drops them in the same
places, and they always explode in a predictable pattern, so find a corner
to hide in while they all explode. Once they're all gone, Ben lands and
throws three easily dodged Shurikens, then two equally easily dodged
boomerang axes. During this time, attack him as often as possible, while
doing your best to avoid his attacks. After throwing the shrapnel at you,
Ben follows up with a swift spear thrust. This is tough to dodge if you're
still close to him, so run away after he throws the boomerang axes to be
safe. He then starts the whole process over. Just use the same strategy
throughout this entire battle, attacking Ben when he lands, and you should
win easily.

Once Ben is out of the picture, enter the door behind him and you'll be
prompted to save. Do so if you'd like, then you'll be sent to the part 2 of
this incredible 4-part dungeon!

---Soda Fountain: Part 2---

Part 2 is more of a puzzle than anything else... Start by walking to the
right, through the transparent wall, then going back to the left and
entering the door. From here, you'll be in a hallway filled with a bunch of
doors with symbols on them. It took me forever to figure out what you're
actually supposed to do here, but here's the deal. Remember that old
Thirstquencher calendar Mayor Govern gave you in Chapter 4? Well, now you
can put it to good use. Looking at it, you'll see a bunch of strange symbols
that corrispond to the symbols on the doors. What does this mean? Well,
plain and simple, it's a clue as to which doors you should enter. The first
symbol on the calendar is the Earth Crest, so look for the door with that on
it, and enter it. In this room, walk to the left until you find a switch and
a large pit. Either use the Earth Scroll to stomp the button and make a
platform appear over the pit, or just use the Sky Scroll to fly over it. On
the other side, ignore the Wind Crest door, and jump on the yellow platform.
Use the Earth Scroll three times here to stomp the button down, and the wall
on the right will drop down, revealing a door with a 'bullseye' on it. Go
in. This next room's answer is a bit more obvious. First, use the Sky Scroll
to float over the spikes. On the other side of the room, you'll find a
strange black platform. Everytime you step on it, a bunch of spikes will
appear at the end and block your way. Simply hover over this platform with
the Sky Scroll, jump in the pit at the end, and proceed through the door
with the backwards ¢ sign on it. Room 4 of this puzzle is an easy one. Just
grab on to the poles and use them to make your way to the upper ledge where
the Fire Crest door is. Enter it and you'll come to a room with two unlit
torches. Light 'em with the Fire Scroll, and a you'll be able to continue
forward. When you get to the falling block, go past it and climb up the
ledge on the right. Now double jump or fly over to the block and ride it.
When it stops at the top, jump off to the left and enter the door with the
Water Crest on it. This next room is exactly the opposite of the last one.
There are four lit torches here, which you can extinguish with the water
scroll. Once all four of them are out, the ground will give way, dropping
you into an underground lake. Walk to the right and go in the Wind Crest
door. You're almost done, but don't let your guard down yet, because this
next room is the most difficult of all! There's a strong gust of wind here,
and you need the Wind Scroll to be able to go against it. To make matters
worse, there is a large pit in this section, and if you fall in it, you'll
have to start this entire section over again! The jump isn't hard, however,
if your cyclone is at full speed, and you wait until the very last second to
jump. If you make it across, you've got this area nearly complete! Enter the
Sky Crest door and continue on. This is the final room, even though you
probably didn't expect it to be, since you've run out of symbols on the
calendar. Don't worry about it. Run to the end of the platform you're
standing on, and activate the sky scroll. Drop down one level and cross the
spikes to the right. Stop for a second on the clear ledge, then activate the
scroll again, and fly across the rest of the spikes, and then drop down to
where the water is, and head right. At the very end here, you'll encounter
a door with no symbol on it. Since there're no symbols on the calendar after
the Sky Crest, I guess that means this is the correct door. ;) You may have
completed the puzzle, but this area isn't quite finished yet... Another old
friend, Ed, is also here waiting for you. After he finishes blabbing about
how he's "G,g,gonna b,b,bring Lumina to C,c,colonel Capricciola", he
challenges you to a fight.

---Leaders Force: Ed---

All the members of Leaders Force are fairly wimpy, and Ed is no exception.
Like Ben, Ed attacks in a predictable sequence. He starts the battle by
moving to the center of the room, and firing a beam that follows you around.
The beam is faster than you are, so you can't outrun it. It can be avoided,
however, by running towards it and double jumping over it. Just for the
record, don't waste time trying to attack Ed while he's firing the beam at
you. He puts up a forcefield around himself during this time. After the beam
dissapates, Ed stops to rest for a moment, giving you a chance to hit him.
When he starts moving again, he'll teleport across the room, throw an orange
ball, then teleport again. He'll throw another orange ball, but this time,
he stops for a second, allowing you to attack him. A few seconds after this,
the orange balls explode, sending fire across the room in 8 directions. He
then repeats the same actions over and over. Again, just use the same
strategy throughout the entire battle to win.

When Ed goes down, stand on the platform where he stood when he fired the
laser at you. It rises up to the next area, and you're prompted to save.

---Soda Fountain: Part 3---
Chests: EX-Drink
Items: Big Heart x3, Big Crystal x2

This is a fun area; I'm not being sarcastic either, it really is fun!
You're in a large grassy courtyard outside Thirstquencher's main base. Start
by walking up to the wide opened area with the statues. You'll immediatly
notice several new enemies here: Three different colored "Soldier H"
enemies, (Blue, Orange, and Green), and "BigWalkers" (the pink 'walker'
style enemies). If you're into assimilation, you'll love this place! The
three types of Soldier H enemies each give up a great skill when absorbed,
but none are as good as the "Grenade" skill, you can get from the green,
bomb dropping soldiers. Although this skill costs a whopping 50 BP to use,
it does ludicrous damage! We're talking 1000+! Assimilate one of these guys
early on and use these massive bombs to make life here a whole lot easier!
Concerning the BigWalker enemies... You can't assimilate them, but they're
worth mentioning because of their deadly flamethrower attack. If they stop
for a second, move behind them, as they're going to launch a powerful fire
attack in the area in front of them that does about 70 damage to you if it
hits. If you destroy these things, however, they *always* drop a Medium
Heart, a Medium Crystal, and a Big Crystals.

Ok, enough rambing. In this first section, you can destroy the statues for
power-ups. Do so if you wish, then head for the gate at the end. It slams
shut and two 'guard eyes' pop out next to it, and start shooting beams at
you. You can destroy these eyes, but just ignore them and bash away at the
gate, as when it gets destroyed, the eyes go with it. Once it's out of the
way, head up to the next area, which also has a closed gate at the end.
Destroy it in exactly the same manner, and leave the screen to the north.

This next section is a big hedge maze filled with red Soldier H enemies that
weild mean swords. Do *not* assimilate them, as you'll just get the lame
"Fence" skill, which does only 70 damage at best. Overall, this maze isn't
all that tough. Navigate around it to find several big hearts and crystals,
and the chest containing an EX-Drink near the end. When you're finished with
the maze, you'll be in another open courtyard. This place is basically a
series of 5 sections, so here goes...

Section 1: This is just a normal area, with one quirk: some of the plants
here conceil Guard Eyes; the same ones that guard the gates. They have more
HP than the ones at the gates, but are easier to defeat. Aside from that,
just trash the BigWalkers, and the gate, then move on.

Section 2: There are more Guard Eyes here, this time making electric beams
that move across the battlefield. You can either jump over them, or destroy
the eyes that generate the beam. They have almost no HP and don't resist at
all, so it's easy to disable the beams. Though you only need to destroy one
eye to shut down the beams, you can opt to destroy the other one as well, to
get extra items. Destroy the gate here and continue.

Section 3: There are four of the same statues from the very first area in
Part 3 here, only this time, they shoot lasers as well. They have a lot of
HP, but no real resistance. Just take them out one at a time, and collect
the goodies they drop. You can also use Grenade on them to eliminate them
instantly.

Section 4: Aside from a fountain in the center of this section that can be
destroyed, there's nothing of note here. You don't even get anything for
destroying the thing!

Section 5: This has the same beams from section 2, but during all the chaos,
they'll probably have gotten destroyed anyway. Just move on.

At the end of section 5, there's a mountain that you'll have to climb. One
of those guard eye plants waits at the top, shooting beams at you the whole
time, so this is a pretty annoying climb... When you reach the top, show the
eye what you think of people who shoot beams at you! The other three plants
up here hide Guard Eyes as well, so destroy them all. Once the hill has been
cleared, smash the fountain. An elevator will rise up, carrying a pair of
BigWalkers. Turn them into scrap metal, then hop on the elevator and ride it
down to the 4th and final section.

---Soda Fountain: Part 4---
Chests: C-Drink x2
Items: Big Heart, Big Crystal, Small Crystal x24, Small Heart x20

Ok, you're almost at the end! Part 4, while shorter than previous areas, is
definitely the most dangerous place in Soda Fountain! Start by defeating the
enemies on the platform, then head to the edge of the cliff. Here, you
basically have two options: 1) Jump down the cliff and navigate the
trecherous maze of steam and soldiers at the bottom, or 2) Activate the sky
scroll and simply fly over the area, collecting a Big Heart and Crystal
along the way. The obvious answer is probably 2, but whichever way you go is
fine. On the other side of the chasm, defeat the enemies, and approach the
gate. Like the ones outside, this one will slam shut on you, forcing you to
beat it opened. Unlike their outdoor cousins, however, (that sounded *so*
stupid), these gates have a massive amount of HP (as in, it will even take
multiple Grenades to destroy them!), have guns mounted in them that fire
extremely hard to dodge shots at you, and you must destroy both sides of the
gate before you can move on! It's tough to destroy these metal monsters, but
you can do it. The next room is some sort of science lab with a bunch of
test tubes. You can smash them opened with your sword and find either items,
or enemies. This ASCII map shows what is in each tube: (The numbers
represent the tubes.)

+| |+
| | 1 - Four Small Hearts
| 2 3 1 3 | 2 - Four Small Crystals
| 1 3 | 3 - Red Binchotite Soldier (Soldier H)
| 1 2 2 |
| 2 3 1 |
+---| |---+

Just collect what you need, and proceed forward to a room with 8 computers.
Each one can be destroyed with two slashes from Lumina, ans each one gives
up a small heart and a small crystal. By the time you're finished with this
room, you should have full HP and BP -- you'll need it! Now climb up the
short spiraling staircase, defeating monsters along the way, until you come
to another of those obnoxious gates. Blast it open, and continue onward.

Head left up the two flights of stairs, until you come to a platform with an
egg-shaped machine on it. Climb up to the platform, and the machine will
attack you.

---Mini Boss: Machine---

This is a relatively simple battle. The only thing that will short-circuit
this hunka junk is the Water Scroll's bubble attack. The machine will start
out by firing a beam at you, then spinning it around the circular room. Just
stand still and jump over it. When it stops, blast the front of the machine
with as much water as you can. After a few seconds, it fires a barrage of
easily dodged rockets at you, then repeats the last few steps over again.
Just keep blasting the machine's 'face', and you'll prevail. Your attacks
only do about 8 damage, but after doing about 250 damage, it breaks down,
making an elevator appear on the platform to the left.

---

Jump on the elevator, and ride it up to the top. Along the way, you'll be
ambushed by a couple of BigWalkers. It can be tough to deal with them in
such a small space... To make matters even worse, you don't get to keep the
goodies for destroying them! Oh well... At the top, you'll encounter another
gate. Don't worry, this is your last one! When it's gone, go into the next
room and ride the lift up.

Now you're in a small, lit up room with several speakers, colored pads, a
stage, and a strange background music. Walk up to the stage you'll be met by
Topo. She won't fight you, but she challenges you to... DANCE... OR DIE!

---Leaders Force: Topo---

Well, well, this is something unexpected! Sort of a Parappa the Rapper style
dance party. Topo will show off by dancing on the colored pads, each which
has a symbol matching a button on the Playstation's Controller. Watch her
and memorize her moves, 'cuz you have to follow her steps! If you can keep
up with her, you'll move to the next song. If you mess up, you'll be zapped,
and forced to start that dance over. Keep up with Topo for three songs, and
you'll 'defeat' her. The songs are always the same, so here's the lowdown
on the moves: (And remember to only start dancing once the music starts.)

Remember: S = Square button, T = Triangle Button,
O = Circle button, X = X Button

Song 1: S, T, O, X, S, T, X, O, S, T, O, X, S, T, O, X, S
Song 2: X, O, T, S, X, O, T, O, X, O, T, S, X, X, O, O, S
Song 3: X, T, O, S, X, T, O, X, X, T, O, S, X, X, T, T, S

When you've successfully beaten Topo at her own game, she'll surrender and
reveal a bit about Leaders Force. It seems that their mission is to help
Musashi collect the five scrolls so they can give the complete Lumina to
Fuhrer Flatski, and that he was just a pawn... Musashi tells Topo that
Lumina isn't complete yet; he hasn't yet defeated the final Crest Guardian
and liberated the Sky Scroll. Topo tells the young hero that the final
guardian is here in Soda Fountain, and Musashi runs off to face off against
it.

When you regain control, go on the stage, and stand on the platform that
Topo was dancing on. You'll rise up to the last part of Part 4... Grab the
two chests here for a pair of C-Drinks, then enter the orange 'door'. You'll
be asked to save. I strongly suggest you do, as Part 5 of Soda Fountain is
all battles!

---Soda Fountain: Part 5---

This is it... The final area... You'll start by finding Colonel Capricciola
and the princess on an elevator heading up. Climb up this reminiscent of
Spiral Tower, and enter the door at the top. Here, the Sky Scroll
automatically takes effect, allowing you to fly! The reason for the scroll's
odd behavior soon becomes quite apparent, as you're standing right next to
an ominous looking tower...

%%%%Crest Guardian: Tower of Death%%%%

This is the most unusual of the Crest Guardians. First of all, there are no
set rounds, second of all, you don't have to do anything special to make the
core appear, and third, it takes far more than three hits to defeat him.
Since you're floating, the controls are a bit different. To stay afloat,
repeatedly tap (or just hold down) the O button. To descend, just let go of
the button.

Anyhow, the Tower of Death is a strange contraption, consisting of several
walls that pop in and out, and a bunch of red 'eyes'. Occationally, one of
these eyes will open up, revealing the tower's blue core. Whenever you see
an opened eye, smash it as quickly as you can. The eye will then close, and
it'll open somewhere else.

As for attacks... Well, the tower starts off by simply spinning around. This
isn't so dangerous, just don't touch the walls, or they'll damage you. It's
second attack is similar to the first one, only there are sometimes electric
beams between the walls, preventing you from passing. The third attack is
unpredictable, but not very difficult to avoid. The eyes will repeatedly
open and shoot beams of light at you. As I said, they're easy to dodge, just
don't mistake a laser eye for the core. And finally, the last attack is the
most dangerous one. All the eyes will momentarily open, then produce red
forcefields after a moment. Only about three eyes on the whole tower will
*not* prodice these fields, so you'd better hope you're near one when this
attack takes place. If you're hit, you'll not only lose about 60 HP, but
the controls will work in reverse for a time! In other words, don't get hit!

Really, though, this battle is more of a 'right place at the right time'
sort of thing. It can be long or short, depending on how lucky you are in
finding the randomly positioned core.

Once the tower is destroyed, it will explode, and you'll claim it's core.
Just ignore the message about limit levels increasing -- they don't.
However, you *do* get the usual 25 BP boost, and your HP and BP are
restored.

---

Following the battle, the Sky Crest will be revealed, and a long scene will
take place. To explain these scene would be spoiling the entire end of the
game, so I won't talk about it. In the confusion, however, the evil Wizard
of Darkness, Dark Lumina, shows up, and the princess is released. Musashi
and Fillet then dash outside, with the wizard hot on their trail!

---Escape!---

Now you'll have to run from Dark Lumina as he destroys the platforms behind
you. Just keep double jumping and you'll easily make to the end. If he
catches you, or you fall into a pit, you'll have to start the chase scene
over again. No big deal. When you reach the big opened area, you'll be met
by that fool, Kojiro, who has kidnapped the princess again, and will let her
go in exchange for a duel with Musashi. Musashi reluctantly agrees, but
before they can start fighting, Dark Lumina shows up, absorbs Kojiro, and
sends the princess flying! The wizard then transforms from the orange
humanoid demon into a green dragon-like creature, and starts to chase you
again! Run to the tower, and you'll have to climb up it via a series of
small ledges spiraling around it. It's easy to get impatient here, but just
keep double jumping until you reach the top. Here, you'll find the princess,
but Musashi says that he'll have to destroy Dark Lumina before it can cause
anymore trouble. Since it absorbed Kojiro, it only wants him now...

%%%%Wizard of Darkness - Dark Lumina: Next to Last%%%%

There are no set rounds here either, just straight fighting. This stage of
Dark Lumina only has two main attacks. His most frequently used one, and
also the most annoying attack in the entire game, is where he'll grab you,
hold you for a few seconds, and throw you down to the ground. This only
causes about 10 damage, too! Just watch out, if you get thrown, you're
likely to fly off the edge of the battlefield. The wizard's other attack is
a spinning tail slash. He rarely uses this, but when he does, it's almost
impossible to didge, and does 50+ damage, too. To defeat Dark Lumina, jump
up and smash the crystal on his forehead. After hitting it five times, the
beast performs one of two moves. Either a series of 6 homing fireballs,
which are easier to dodge than they sound, or two rings of fire. These are
annoying. While you can easily avoid them by jumping over them, if you're
hit by one, you'll lose 40 HP and will be dragged off the cliff. Once it's
performed it's attack, Dark Lumina will have to rest for a moment. Run up
and smash the crystal again. This time, the wizard will lose HP. Repeat this
process 5 times to win.

Although you may be ready to celebrate victory, Dark Lumina isn't ready to
accept defeat. It turns into a white elf-like demon, and the fight starts
again!

%%%%Wizard of Darkness - Dark Lumina: The Finale%%%%

This guy is easier to defeat than his predecessor, but the method of attack
here is weird, and extremely difficult to figure out. Lumina has several
forms of attack; after each one, you have to assimilate him, then strike the
eyeball that appears when he's been absorbed. Like I said, it's weird, but
once you know the trick, it's not so bad. I guess I should list the boss's
attacks, so here goes. Keep in mind, however, that the attacks I'm listing
are used in a sequence, and not at random. The first attack in a series of
6 is a fire storm. Dark Lumina throws a bunch of fireballs into the air, and
they fall in various places on the battlefield. There's no real trick to
avoiding it, just don't get hit! The second attack is a simple slash and
crescent beam attack. You can avoid both attacks simply by jumping out of
the way. The third attack isn't really an attack at all. The wizard produces
a massive gust of wind, in an attempt to blow you off the cliff. Just go
against the currect by using the Wind Scroll. Attack number is somewhat
difficult to describe. Dark Lumina clones itself, and then 'throws' the
clones at you. It's tough to dodge them, but you'll probably only get hit
once. The next attack is a series of four fire rings. This attack is exactly
the same as the one the previous boss used. And finally, the last attack
cnsists of a bunch of bubbles. Like the firestorm attack, there's no real
pattern to it. Just avoid the bubbles. As I said, after every attack, Lumina
stops for a moment, allowing you time to assimilate him, then smash his
core. You have to do this about 5 times. Once he's out of the way,
congratulations! You've finished the game!

Now sit back and watch the ending. When it ends, you'll be asked to save. Do
so, then load it back in...

%%%%Clear Game%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

You're back in the village now. You have all the same items you did when you
defeated Dark Lumina, as well as the 25 BP bonus for defeating the Tower of
Death, but you don't have the Sky Scroll, or any Fusion skills you may have
obtained there. There's not a whole lot to do now, but I've found a couple
of things, all action figure related.

- You can now by action figures from "Series 6", at the top store. These
consist of all the enemies, both major and minor, that you fought at Soda
Fountail. DLumina1 and DLumina2 are also available under the "Special"
set.

- Jon is a treasure hunter, and to get the special "Jon&Leno" action figure,
you must be too. If you've collected *every* chest in the game (that
includes the ones in Soda Fountain), you can buy this easily overlooked
toy from the "Special" collection.

- If you have all the other action figures, you can also buy DLumina3 from
the Special Collection. Have fun playing with your new toys! ;)

And I guess that's about it. If I missed anything, please let me know.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. O T H E R S T U F F
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

%%%%Castle Citizen List%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
I have this feeling I'm gonna end up repeating myself alot in this FAQ, but
oh well... This is a list of the people you rescue from Bincho Fields (i.e.
The castle staff), and what they do. Looking at their effects, it may seem
like a waste to rescue some of them. Don't forget, however, that you get a 5
BP increase for everyone you rescue... And besides, a secret will unlock if
you rescue all of the people...

(The order in which I'm listing them is exactly that of how they're listed
on the game.)

- Steward -
Name: Steward Ribson
Where Found:
Effect: He's the main man here. He offers help, tells you how many people
you've rescued, and is in many story scenes.

- Butler -
Name: Butler Livers
Wheer Found:
Effect: Doesn't do anything besides asking you if you've saved many people.

- Clown -
Name: Clown Weinee
Where Found:
Effect: Gives a performance, which teaches you the Shish Kebab technique.
You must have rescued Acrobat Sausages, and have an Orange on your
inventory before he will perform, however.

- Scribe -
Name: Scribe Shanky
Where Found:
Effect: Reads various books to you in the library.

- MusicianA -
Name: Musician Beef-Clef
Where Found:
Effect: Plays background music in the castle.

- Guard -
Name: Guard Lumpwood
Where Found: Somnolent Forest
Effect: Guards Twinpeak Mountain's entrance, and allows you to enter.

- Seer -
Name: Seer Bevealy
Where Found: Somnolent Forest
Effect: Gives you a clue as to where the next scroll is. Also tells you
the area where some of the bincho fields are located.

- Hawker -
Name: Hawker Steakwood
Where Found: Somnolent Forest
Effect: Tells you how to catch Minkus.

- Maid -
Name: Maid Loinette
Where Found: Somnolent Forest
Effect: Accidentally teaches you the "Dashing Pierce" skill.

- MusicianB -
Name: Musician Pianissimeat
Where Found: Steamwood Forest
Effect: Adds to the background music in the castle.

- SoldierA -
Name: Soldier Lardwick
Where Found: Twinpeak Mountain
Effect: Helps you defeat Skullpion.

- MercenC -
Name: Mercenary Meitlofe
Where Found: Twinpeak Mountain
Effect: Helps you defeat Skullpion. Later helps you find the Ice Palace.

- CarpentA -
Name: Carpenter Carvey
Where Found: Twinpeak Mountain
Effect: Helps you defeat Skullpion. Gives you clues to finding the Gondola
Gizmo later on.

- KnightB -
Name: Knight Lardwick
Where Found: Twinpeak Mountain
Effect: Helps you defeat Skullpion. Teaches you Crosswise Cut after the
fight.

- Shepherd -
Name: Shepherd Beefalo
Where Found: Twinpeak Mountain
Effect: Shows you how many minkus you've caught. When you've caught all 13
of them, she tells you about the Mother Minku.

- Bailiff -
Name: Bailiff Jerky
Where Found: Restaurant Basement:
Effect: Plants a rice field along with Cook Mary-Nade. Later in the game,
they'll harvest the rice, Chef Julienne makes it into RiceBalls, and
you can buy them at Hilda's Grocery in town.

- Taster -
Name: Taster Salmonelli
Where Found: Restaurant Basement:
Effect: Does nothing.

- CarpentB -
Name: Carpenter Cubey
Where Found: Restaurant Basement:
Effect: Gives you clues to finding the Gondola Gizmo later on.

- Weaver -
Name: Weaver Dinneretta
Where Found: Twinpeak Mountain
Effect: Makes Legendary Armor L-Glove or L-Quilt if you bring her the
L-Cloth.

- SoldierB -
Name: Soldier Hanky-Flanky
Where Found: Restaurant Basement:
Effect: Does Nothing.

- KnightA -
Name: Knight Brisket
Where Found: Grillin' Mine
Effect: Teaches you the Tenderize skill.

- CookA -
Name: Cook Mary-Nade
Where Found: Grillin' Mine
Effect: Plants a rice field along with Bailiff Jerky. Later in the game,
they'll harvest the rice, Chef Julienne makes it into RiceBalls, and
you can buy them at Hilda's Grocery in town.

- Acrobat -
Name: Acrobat Sausages
Where Found: Steamwood Forest
Effect: Assists Clown Weinee in teaching you Shish Kebab.

- MercenB -
Name: Mercenary Stue
Where Found: Restaurant Basement:
Effect: Helps you find the Ice Palace.

- Janitor -
Name: Janitor Sloppy Joe
Where Found: Frozen Palace
Effect: Does Nothing.

- Artisan -
Name: Artisan Teebone
Where Found: Beach
Effect: Increases the power of Fusion.

- CarpenC -
Name: Carpenter Dicey
Where Found: Grillin' Mine
Effect: Gives you clues to finding the Gondola Gizmo later on.

- MusicianC -
Name: Musician Al Forte
Where Found: Frozen Palace
Effect: Adds to the background music in the castle.

- Knitter -
Name: Knitter Lunchetta
Where Found: Hell's Valley
Effect: Tells you about the L-Cloth.

- Chef -
Name: Chef Julienne
Where Found: Frozen Palace
Effect: Makes RiceBalls, which you can buy at Hilda's Grocery, after Cook
Mary-Nade and Bailiff Jerky harvest the rice.

- MercenA -
Name: Mercenary Potrowst
Where Found: Restaurant Basement:
Effect: Helps you find the Ice Palace.

- Chief -
Name: Chief Gravie
Where Found: Grillin' Mine
Effect: Does Nothing -- you're never 'old enough' to eat his soup.

- CookB -
Name: Cook Chiffonade
Where Found: Old Mine
Effect: Makes NeatBalls, which can be bought at Hilda's Grocery.

- Conductor -
Name: Conductor Scores
Where Found: Old Mine
Effect: Adds to the background music in the castle.

- Butcher -
Name: Butcher Chops
Where Found: Frozen Palace
Effect: Does Nothing.

- KnightC -
Name: Knight Chucks
Where Found: Restaurant Basement:
Effect: Teaches you Desperado Attack.

- Doctor -
Name: Doctor Tung
Where Found: Twinpeak Mountain
Effect: Gives you a drink called "SP-Recover", which restores HP and BP to
full, and cures poison

- KnightD -
Name: Knight Rumparoni
Where Found: Old Mine
Effect: Teaches you the Rumparoni-SP technique.

- Alchemist -
Name: Alchemist Leanman
Where Found: Frozen Palace
Effect: Gives you an alchemic tart that restores 10 BP.

- Librarian -
Name: Librarian Brisketta
Where Found: Restaurant Basement:
Effect: Translates the previously unreadable "The Empire", and "Let's Play
Shogi!" books in the castle library, so you can read them.

%%%%Minku Locations%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

All the Minkus can be found by reading the walkthrough, but for those who
don't feel like searching it for their locations, here's a quick reference
list. Remember, in order to find the Minkus, you must be travelling during
the night. During the day, you'll only see a little pink blob where they
appear at night.

1. Village Outskirts
Requirements: None
Leave the village through the northern entrance. At end of the dirt path,
turn left and walk as far as you can. At the end, you'll find your first
Minku. They move fast and dart around randomly, so it's pretty tough to
catch them, but if you manage to do so, you'll get a Longevity Berry, which
increase your Max HP by 25 points! So in other words, if you see a Minku
(or a Minku dropping, during the day), by all means spend the time to catch
it!

2. Somnolent Forest
Requirements: None
Enter Somnolent Forest from the path nearby the windmill and go left, and
keeping going left until you reach an opened field with an Herb Plant and
several soldiers in it. Here, press against the trees in the upper part of
the field until you find some you can walk through. You'll find the second
Minku at the end of the path.

3. Twinpeak Mountain
Requirements: None
At the cliff with the two retracting blocks, wait until the block nearest to
the cave goes into the cliff, then jump down it and hang to the right. You
should land on a small platform with a Minku.

4. Village Outskirts
Requirements: L-Brace
After you get the L-Brace, climb the wall close to the gondola station.
There is a Minku at the top.

5. Hell's Valley
Requirements: Beat Skullpion
After beating Skullpion, simply return to where you fought him. It's easy!

6. Steamwood Forest
Requirements: Beat Skullpion/Liberate Earth Scroll
Return to where you saw the Earth Crest eariler and use the Earth Scroll. A
cliff will fall down, allowing you to climb up the wall. There is a Minku at
the top.

7. Mine's Underground Lake
Requirements: Open Mine
At the underground lake, wait for the moving platforms to carry you to the
ledges surrounding the lake, one of them has a Minku on it.

8. Twinpeak Mountain
Requirements: Need Water Scroll
At the dead end where you rescued Mercenary Meitlofe earlier, activate the
water scroll and walk across the water until you reach the very end. There's
a Minku on the small island.

9. Somnolent Forest
Requirements: Need Water Scroll
Stand on the lower bridge and use the scroll. Walk up across the river and
you'll find a Minku on the clearing on the right bank.

10. Village Well
Requirements: Beat Relic Keeper/Liberate Water Scroll
After filling the well, you'll find a Minku in a small opening at the top of
the now flooded left side of the mine.

11. Wind Hill
Requirements: Beat Frost Dragon/Liberate Fire Scroll
Once you've liberated the Fire Scroll, return to the Fire Crest in the small
cave in the well and break the seal. Climb up the wall through the passage
that was created, and you'll find a Minku when you exit.

12. Old Mine
Requirements: Open entrance to the Old Mine
>From the entrance to the old mine, simply head left. You'll find a Minku on
the next screen.

13. Old Mine
Requirements: Open entrance to the Old Mine
This is rather difficult to explain in brief. Take the upper path in the
room with the conveyor belts, and just proceed forward. You really can't
miss it...

%%%%General Knowledge%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
This stuff isn't all that important, but it's useful to know, and I didn't
feel like cluttering up the walkthrough with it. It's just bits and pieces
about the game.

- You CAN move after Fusion hits an enemy during assimilation, but if you
get hit, you'll lose the ability you're trying to absorb.

- Bee Plants are a rare enemy, but if you find one, assimilate it to get
Perfume. Since this skill increases defense for a time, it's quite useful.

- Coins, Crystals, and Hearts return if you leave the screen, allowing you
to collect them over and over.

- The Mint skill that you can absorb from Herb Plants not only reduces
Tiredness to 0% for a time, but it also reduces overall tiredness by about
6 - 10%. (Thanks to Seigfried for this bit of info)

- The Sleepy skill absorbed from Sleepies may seem useless, but it also
appears to put other enemies nearby to sleep as well, making them easy
targets.

- Speaking of Sleepies... Don't try to pick them or their cousins the
Toadstools up -- they'll scatter their spores and put you to sleep/poison
you.

- Poisonous enemies don't drop items like normal monsters, but occationally
they drop green herbs, which cure poison.

- When defeated, Green Oozes turn into two or three Purple Oozes. Green
Oozes will poison you when you come in contact to them, whereas purple
ones won't.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. L I S T S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

---Items---
PRICE EFFECT
WellH20 -- Restores 5 HP
Gel 150 Restores 80 HP
W-Gel 250 Restores 150 HP
C-Drink 500 Restores 250 HP and 5 BP
EX-Drink 800 Restores 500 HP and 5 BP
Milk 70 Restores 10 HP and 10 BP, Becomes SourMilk after 5 days
Orange 300 Restores 30 HP and 10 BP, Becomes Sporange after 5 days
RiceBall 320 Restores 150 HP and 150 BP, Becomes SourBall after 5 days
NeatBall 520 Restores 300 HP and 300 BP, Becomes SourBall after 5 days
RyeBread 80 Restores 25 BP, Becomes Ol'Bread after 5 days
Bagel 120 Restores 50 BP, Spoils after 5 days
Scone 150 Restores 80 BP, Spoils after 5 days
Biscuit 300 Restores 100 BP, Doesn't spoil
Gr-Bread 240 Restores 150 BP, Spoils after 5 days
JamBread 450 Restores 300 BP, Spoils after 5 days
Cheese 390 Restores HP and BP. The more it ages, the better the effect
S-Revive 3000 Auto-Revives you if you die
Mint 120 Reduces Tiredness by 50%, Restores 5 BP
H-Mint 200 Reduces Tiredness by 90%, Restores 5 BP
Antidote 250 Cures Poison, Restores 5 BP
Ol'Bread -- Restores 10 BP, Takes Away 5 HP, Later Becomes RotBread
RotBread -- Restores 10 BP, Takes Away 10 HP
SourMilk -- Restores 5 BP, Drains 5 HP, Later Becomes Yogurt
Yogurt -- Restores 50 HP and 50 BP
SourBall -- Restores 25 BP and Takes Away 5 HP, Later Becomes MoldBall
MoldBall -- Restores 25 BP and Takes Away 25 HP
Sporange -- Restores 2 BP and Takes Away 5 HP
Aqualin -- Restores 10 HP, Cures Poison, Needed to save Tim
AgedCoin -- Needs to be appraised, becomes GoldCoin
OldPipe -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Flute
RedCloth -- Needs to be appraised, becomes E-Undies
Wh-Cloth -- Needs to be appraised, becomes B-Undies
Helmet -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Bedpan
Shield -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Frisbee
OldCrown -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Cakepan
Powder -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Soap
OddBone -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Baton
Oddhat -- Needs to be appraised, becomes PiePlate
OldBook -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Comic
Armor -- Needs to be appraised, becomes LargePot
OldGlove -- Needs to be appraised, becomes A-Gloves
LrgTool -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Pickaxe
OldSword -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Shovel
Dagger -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Penknife
UsedBoot -- Needs to be appraised, becomes A-Boots
Bl-Cloth -- Needs to be appraised, becomes T-Hanky
Rock -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Crystal
LongTube -- Needs to be appraised, becomes BigStraw
Cloth -- Needs to be appraised, becomes L-Cloth
Bracelet -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Legendary Armor L-Brace
UglyBelt -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Legendary Armor L-Belt
OldShirt -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Legendary Armor L-Vest
Glasses -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Legendary Armor L-Goggles
RedShoes -- Needs to be appraised, becomes Legendary Armor L-Shoes
GoldCoin -- Sell for 10 Drans
Flute -- Sell for 10 Drans
E-Undies -- Sell for 10 Drans
B-Undies -- Sell for 10 Drans
Bedpan -- Sell for 70 Drans
Frisbee -- Sell for 120 Drans
Cakepan -- Sell for 150 Drans
Soap -- Sell for 180 Drans
Baton -- Sell for 200 Drans
PiePlate -- Sell for 350 Drans
Comic -- Sell for 400 Drans
LargePot -- Sell for 470 Drans
A-Gloves -- Sell for 700 Drans
Pickaxe -- Sell for 750 Drans
Shovel -- Sell for 780 Drans
Penknife -- Sell for 800 Drans
A-Boots -- Sell for 1200 Drans
T-Hanky -- Sell for 2000 Drans
Crystal -- Sell for 2500 Drans
BigStraw -- Sell for 4500 Drans
L-Cloth -- Magic Cloth used to make Legendary Armor L-Quilt or L-Glove
Jon'sKey -- Used to free Jon from the stocks
Log -- The log Jon asked you to get; need to collect four of them
Manual -- Needed to stop Steamwood from exploding
Key -- Rusty key given by Wid; opens the door to Grillin' Mine
Misteria -- Needed to cure Tim
Rope -- Needed to climb down the Well
Statue -- Opens the big double doors under the restaurant
G.Gizmo -- Needed to repair the gondola. Three of these are fakes.
Rocksalt -- Gets rid of the slug at the beach
Calendar -- Used to help solve a puzzle in Soda Fountain
Note -- Note from Jon containing clues to finding the Sky Scroll
Profits -- The money Topo stole from the village shops
RedEye -- Opens Red Door in Frozen Palace
BlueEye -- Opens Blue Door in Frozen Palace
GreenEye -- Opens Green Door in Frozen Palace
Handle#0 -- Needed to open the door to Steamwood
Handle#1 -- Needed to shut off Valve #1 in Steamwood
Handle#4 -- Needed to shut off Valve #4 in Steamwood
Handle#8 -- Needed to shut off Valve #8 in Steamwood

---Legendary Armor---
Effect
L-Brace Allows you to climb certain walls
L-Belt Perform a double jump by jumping then jumping again in mid-air
L-Glove Increases Critical Hit Rate
L-Quilt Restores HP and BP while sleeping, reduces tiredness quicker
L-Vest Allows you to charge up your sword twice as fast
L-Goggles Appraise unusual items on pick up
L-Shoes Walk on ice without slipping

---Field Items---
Effect
Tiny Heart Restores 10 HP
Small Heart Restores 30 HP
Medium Heart Restores 50 HP
Big Heart Restores 100 HP
Tiny Crystal Restores 10 BP
Small Crystal Restores 30 BP
Medium Crystal Restores 50 BP
Big Crystal Restores 100 BP
Green Coin Gives you 10 Drans
Bronze Coin Gives you 50 Drans
Silver Coin Gives you 100 Drans
Gold Coin Gives you 500 Drans
Green Herb Cures Poison

---Techniques---

Dashing Pierce
Sequence: Press Square while Dashing
Effect: Thrusts your sword out while running. Seems to do more damage than
a regular attack, but is kinda dangerous...

Shish Kebab
Sequence: Pick up an enemy then press triangle twice
Effect: Throws an enemy up in the air and catches it on your sword, causing
major damage. Especially effective against Vambees.

Crosswise Cut
Sequence: Press Square quickly followed by triangle
Effect: Slams the enemy with a red cross attack. Does a good amount of
damage.

Tenderize
Sequence: Press Square, Square, Triangle
Effect: Jumps and the enemy and slashes with Lumina.

Desperado Attack
Sequence: Press Square, Triangle, Square, Triangle
Effect: Dives at the enemy with both swords, then double-slices it.

Rumparoni-SP
Sequence: Press Triangle during a double jump
Effect: An aerial dive attack using Lumina.

---Assimilations---
BP EFFECT
3-Way 5 Shoots telekentic bullets in three directions
Acid 8 Throw acid balls, damages enemies, kills NeedleAnts instantly
Antidote 6 Press the Circle button to cure poison
B.O. 8 Keeps bats away
Bowl 10 Throw Bowling Balls to attack enemies and smash cracked walls
Clone 16 Creates an extremely powerful exploding clone
D-Kick 4 Performs a flying kick
Depress 4 Feel temporarily sad, slows you down
Fence 8 Shoot Crescent Beams to attack enemies
Firefly 8 Temporarily lights up dark areas
Grenade 50 Throws telekenetic grenades, causing massive damage
Gunshot 1 Shoots telekenetic bullets
Hop 8 Lets you hop over thorns and up slopes
Homing 10 Shoots telekenetic bullets that seek out and attack an enemy
Hurl 8 Pick up enemies, then press O to send them flying offscreen
Javelin 6 Shoots telekenetic javelins
Map 8 Shows map of Frozen Palace
Mint 4 Temporarily cures tiredness, counteracts 'Sleepy'
Perfume 2 Reduces damage taken for a short time
Rip-off 10 Restores 10 BP whenever you get hit
Satiate 4 Restores BP for a short time
Shrink 10 Shrinks enemies, allowing you to stomp them
Sleepy 4 Temporarily puts you to sleep
Steel 24 Become "Metal Man", allows you to destroy special spikes
Stun 4 Temporarily paralyzes an enemy
Sublime 8 Allows you to leave your body and explore the room unharmed
Toxin 2 Temporarily poisons you

---
Assimilate From:
3-Way Soldier H (Blue)
Acid GiAnt
Antidote Cure Worm
B.O. Vambee, Flying Vambee, Vambee Soldier
Bowl Bowler
Clone Copycat
D-Kick HayaWolf
Depress NeedleAnt
Fence Kojiro, Soldier H (Red)
Firefly Lamp Bat
Grenade Soldier H (Green)
Gunshot Soldier (Blue)
Homing Soldier H (Orange)
Hop Hopper
Hurl Slow Guy
Javelin Soldier (Green)
Map Mapper
Mint Herb Plant, Ice Plant
Perfume Bee Plant
Rip-off B. Eater
Satiate Man Eater, King Maneater
Shrink Magician
Sleepy Sleepie
Steel Stomp Golem
Stun Soldier (Red)
Sublime LoneMist
Toxin Toadstool

---Scrolls---

- Normal -
Performs a spinning attack, capable of doing much more damage than normal.
For some added power, hold on to the charge, and wait until you block an
enemy's attack to release it. You'll unleash a massive energy bolt, doing
major damage.

- Earth Scroll -
Jumps up in the air and slams Lumina down in the ground, causing a minor
earthquake freezing enemies on the ground, and shaking boulders loose.

- Water Scroll -
Creates a bubble around Musashi for a short time. While in effect, Musashi
can walk on water and shoot bubbles. If hit by any type of fire during this
time, the bubble will burst, but Musashi won't lose any HP. Thus, this can
also be used as a shield. As for the bubble attack... since they are, after
all, just water, the bubbles don't damage normal enemies. Their main
function is to put out fires, which includes the firey enemies you'll meet
in the restaurant basement. If used on a plant-like enemy the bubbles will
cause it to grow and become more powerful.

- Fire Scroll -
Temporarily creates a ring of fire around Musashi. While this ring is
active, Musashi can shoot fire, which damages enemies, melts ice, and lights
certain objects. This has no effect on firey enemies, and if used on plant-
like enemies, it sets them on fire, slowly damaging them. If Musashi falls
in water while the ring of fire is surrounding him, the effect of the scroll
will automatically be cancelled.

- Wind Scroll -
Creats cyclones capable of going against strong winds. Also able to dig
holes in certain places. The Cyclone can be used to attack enemies as well,
but I strongly advise against using it for such.

- Sky Scroll -
Allows you to float temporarily over spikes, pits, and other obstacles. This
has no attacking functions, but will be necessary in completing Soda
Fountain.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. S H O P S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

---Main Shops---
These are the shops that sell things.

%%%Item Shop%%%
- Hilda's Grocery -
Hours: 10am - 8pm
Closed: N/A
Sale: Skyday

-Chapter 1-3 Prices- -Chapter 4+ Prices-
Norm Sale Norm Sale
Gel 150 120 Gel 150 120
W-Gel 250 200 W-Gel 250 200
C-Drink 500 400 EX-Drink 800 640
S-Revive 3000 2400 S-Revive 3000 2400
Mint 120 90 H-Mint 200 160
Antidote 250 200 Antidote 250 200
Cheese 390 310 Cheese 390 310
Orange 300 240 Orange 300 240
RiceBall 320
NeatBall 520

*Oranges are available starting in Chapter 3, and only if you were able to
prevent Tim from turning into a Vambee.

**RiceBalls are only available if you rescued Cook Mary-Nade, Bailiff Jerky,
and Chef Julienne.

***NeatBalls are only available if you rescued the people listed above, as
well as Cook Chiffonade.

Services: This is probably the most important store. The items here restore
HP and Cure Status, and best of all, they don't spoil (well, the Orange
does, but it's not that great anyway). The most valuable item here is
probably the Cheese, which actually gets more valuable as it ages -- if you
wait long enough, it has the potential to restore full HP *and* BP! As for
the S-Revive... Under no circumstances should you buy it before Chapter 6!
You're only allowed one of these, and you're gonna want to save it for the
final battles!

(Note: I'm missing the 'sale' prices for the RiceBall and NeatBall, anyone
care to get these for me?)

%%%Bakery%%%
- Fluffy Puffy Breadshop -
Hours: 7am - 7pm
Closed: Thursday
Sale: Daily, 6pm - 7pm

-Chapter 1-3 Prices- -Chapter 4+ Prices-
Norm Sale Norm Sale
RyeBread 80 50 RyeBread 80 50
Bagel 120 90 Bagel 120 90
Scone 150 120 Scone 150 120
Gr-Bread 240 210 Gr-Bread 240 210
Milk 70 40 Milk 70 40
JamBread 450 420
Biscuit 300 270

Services: The bakery is semi-important. The items here restore BP, and
really aren't that expensive. The only problem with them is that after 5
days, the items spoil, and become basically useless (Biscuit excluded)...

%%%Toy Store%%%
- Toys! Toys! Toys! -
Hours: 12pm - 8pm
Closed: Wednesday

- Series 1 - - Series 2 - - Series 3 - - Series 4 -
Musashi Soldier 3 R-Vambee Penguin
Bee Plant HerbPlant V-Soldier HayaWolf
Soldier 1 KManeater Bowler SlowGuy
Soldier 2 Magician Cure Worm S.Golem
Rootrick Sleepie Bubbles Ginger-E
St-Knight Skullpion R-Keeper F-Dragon

- Series 5 - - Series 6 - - Special -
GiAnt Soldier1H Fillet
Toadstool Soldier2H Jon&Leno
Ed & Ben Soldier3H MomMinku
Topo BigWalker Kojiro
Col-Capri Flatski DLumina1
Queen Ant T.O.D DLumina2
DLumina3

Services: This is more of a novelty store than anything else. The toys
bought here are fun to play with, but don't do anything outright, although
collecting them all *does* result in another ending... The prices seem to go
up over the course of the game, so you're best advised to buy the action
figures as soon as they come in.

---Other Facilities---
These shops don't sell anything, but offer other services.

%%%Restaurant%%%
- Mannick's Restaurant -
Hours: 6pm - 2am
Closed: Sunday

Cost HP BP
Juice 300 5 0
Pea Soup 450 100 50
Cake 600 150 100
Gravy 800 150 200
Salad 800 200 150
Lasagna 1000 250 300
PorkChop 1200 500 500

Services: Despite the descriptions of these food dishes, they restore HP and
BP, although the prices are way too high... You're really better off just
staying at the Inn, or better yet, at Musashi's room -- you get the same
effect. The hours here are also extremely strange... You'll probably be
sleeping when it's opened anyway...

You can also talk to the customers here, and play a game of "High-Low" with
Macho, for the price of 100 Drans per bet. If you agree to play, Macho picks
a number between 1 and 13, and you guess whether it'll be higher, or lower.
If you pick correctly, you'll get double the drans back, and will be asked
to play again, in which you keep plaaying until either you quit, or lose. If
you lose, you simply lose 100 drans. This isn't a bad way to make money,
but there are better ways...

%%%Inn%%%
- Hotelo's Inn -
Hours:
Closed: N/A

Cost HP BP Time Other
Room 201 210 100 500 8 Hours
Room 202 300 250 500 8 Hours
Room 203 550 500 500 8 Hours Cures Poison
Room 204 80 10 24 3 Hours

Services: A pretty important establishment. Although the rooms here restore
more HP and BP and cost less than the restaurant, you can still get
completely healed for free by resting in Musashi's room... Even though you
may not need the rooms, you'll be visiting this place alot, as it's the only
place you can make a permanent save!

%%%Pawn Shop%%%
- Connor's Pawn Shop -
Hours: 11am - 4pm
Closed: Monday

Services: Connors appraises unusual items. While most of them are trash,
which you can (and should) just sell to him for Drans, some of these items
turn out to be pieces of the Legendary Armor, which is necessary to complete
the game. The appraisal feature is free, but becomes obselete after
obtaining the L-Goggles. You'll still be visiting this place often, however,
to get rid of those junk items.

%%%Church%%%
- White Cross of Grillin -
Hours: 6am - 6pm
Closed: N/A

Services: If you're ever poisoned, Father White will cure you for free. He
also offers advice. This isn't a particularly important facility, and I
doubt you'll visit here very often...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. A C T I O N F I G U R E S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

---Series 1---

Musashi
S Effect: Shouts and swings Fusion
X Effect: Shouts and swings Lumina

Bee Plant
Extras: Comes with two Sphere Bats
S Effect: The Bee Plant lunges out and stabs
X Effect: The SphereBats fly around in a circle

Soldier 1
S Effect: The Soldier swings his sword
X Effect: He swings his sword with more force

Soldier 2
S Effect: The Soldier shoots his gun straight ahead
X Effect: He shoots randomly in all directions

Rootrick
S Effect: Raises arms and laughs
X Effect: Raises arms and says "Ya'll gonna get a lickin'!"

St-Knight (Steam Knight)
S Effect: Swings the Iron Ball
X Effect: Swings the Pillar

---Series 2---

Soldier 3
S Effect: Thrusts the spear
X Effect: Swings the spear

HerbPlant
Extras: Hopper included
S Effect: The Herb Plant shoots seeds out
X Effect: The Hopper bounces

KManeater (King Maneater)
Extras: Man Eater included
S Effect: The King Maneater lunges forward
X Effect: The Maneater lunges forward

Magician
Extras: Mini-Musashi Included
S Effect: Shoots magic bolts
X Effect: Goes berserk and lashes out

Sleepie
S Effect: Moves back, then dives forward
X Effect: Splits in half

Skullpion
Extras: Boulder and Bomb included
S Effect: Lets out a mighty roar
X Effect: Shoots his tail up twice, boulder and bomb bounce

---Series 3---

R-Vambee
Extras: Wisp and LoneMist included
S Effect: The Vambee reaches out and grabs
X Effect: Wisp and LoneMist fly around

V-Soldier (Vambee Soldier)
S Effect: The Vambee reaches out and grabs
X Effect: The Vambee blows into pieces

Bowler
Extras: Green and Purple Ooze included
S Effect: The Bowler spits a seed
X Effect: The Oozes spin around

Cure Worm
Extras: LampBat and B-eater included
S Effect: Worm lunges forward
X Effect: B-eater bounces, LampBat flies around

Bubbles
S Effect: Says "Oooh! How dare you!"
X Effect: Shouts "Get 'em, boys!"

R-Keeper (Relic Keeper)
Extras: Flames included
S Effect: The Relic Keeper punches
X Effect: The Flame floats around

---Series 4---

Penguin
Extras: Two Ice Cubes included
S Effect: Head turns to a gun and shoots
X Effect: Kicks the two ice blocks

HayaWolf
Extras: Mapper Included
S Effect: The wolf jumps and kicks
X Effect: The Mapper bounces around

SlowGuy
S Effect: Lifts arms in a throwing motion
X Effect: Moves body back and forth

S.Golem (Stomp Golem)
Extras: Copycat included
S Effect: The golem files up and drops to the ground
X Effect: The Copycat swings both swords

Ginger-E (Gingerelle)
S Effect: Swings Sword and says "What?"
X Effect: Kicks, then giggles and says "Well, I hope so, darling."

F-Dragon (Frost Dragon)
S Effect: Tilts head and roars
X Effect: Swings tail

---Series 5---

GiAnt
Extras: NeedleAnt Included
S Effect: GiAnt Walks
X Effect: NeedleAnt Walks

Toadstool
S Effect: Moves back, then dives forward
X Effect: Splits in half

Ed & Ben
S Effect: Ed shoots a beam, and yells "T,take this!"
X Effect: Ben grunts and the propellor in his pack spins

Topo
Extras: Speakers included
S Effect: Says "Dance... Or Die!"
X Effect: Dances, accompanied by a short music clip

Col-Capri (Colonel Capricciola)
S Effect: Points gun and grunts
X Effect: Readies gun and says "Hmph!"

Queen Ant
Extras: Larvae included
S Effect: Swipes with it's massive claws
X Effect: The Queen flaps it's wings, and the Larvae bounces

---Series 6---

Soldier1H (Bincholoid Soldier - Red)
S Effect: The Soldier swings his sword
X Effect: He swings his sword with more force

Soldier2H (Bincholoid Soldier - Blue)
S Effect: Fires his multi-directional gun
X Effect: Marches forward

Soldier3H (Bincholoid Soldier - Orange)
S Effect: Fires his Bazooka
X Effect: Marches forward

BigWalker
Extras: Pigloter included
S Effect: The BigWalker walks (Well, what did you think it'd do!? :P)
X Effect: The Pigloter hovers

Flatski (Fuhrer Flatski)
S Effect: Laughs
X Effect: Says "Vat iz zat?" ("What is that?" with a bad Russian accent)

T.O.D (Tower of Death)
S Effect: The walls pop in and back out of the tower
X Effect: The entire tower spins around

---Special---

Fillet
Extras: Binchotite included
S Effect: Yells "Musashi!"
X Effect: Says "Use Lumina!"

Jon&Leno
S Effect: The stock open up, and Jon stands up and says "Thanks!"
X Effect: Leno barks

MomMinku
Extras: Minku included
S Effect: Mom spins around
X Effect: The Minku spits a Longevity Berry

Kojiro
S Effect: Shouts and swings his sword, a blue wave flies out
X Effect: Thrusts out his sword, shoots a blue wave. Yells "Take That!"

DLumina1 (Dark Lumina - Orange Humanoid Demon)
S Effect: Crosses his arms and laughs evilly
X Effect: Stands in a battle pose and lets out a metallic roar

DLumina2 (Dark Lumina - Green Dragon)
S Effect: Stands up and roars
X Effect: Spins around

DLumina3 (Dark Lumina - Silver Elf-like creature)
S Effect: Turns it's arm into a sword and swings it outward
X Effect: Gains wings, and spreads it's arms

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. G A M E F U N C T I O N S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For those of you who didn't get an instruction manual with this game, the
controls can be quite confusing. The basics (swinging sword, jumping, etc.)
aren't important, so I'll cover the advanced controls, as well as some game
mechanics.

---HP and BP---

This is probably pretty obvious, but I'll explain it anyway. HP is your
life, if hits 0, you die...yeah, yeah. BP is a bit different, though. You've
probably already guessed that this is what you use to cast the spells you
get through assimilation, but what you might not know is that it is
constantly decreasing. On the other hand, it also slowly restores your HP
while this is happening...

To raise maximum HP, you must find and capture a creature called a 'Minku'
and get it's Longevity Berry. This will raise Max HP by 25 points. Max BP
increases by 5 whenever you open a Binchu Field, and by 25 points when you
defeat a Crest Guardian and liberate a scroll.

---Levelling up---

Unlike most RPGs, Musashi only has four stats he needs to build up: "Body",
"Mind", "Fusion", and "Lumina". These stats all have a different way of
going up, but they all have one thing in common. The points you get for them
are accumulated in a gauge, and when this gauge fills up, that stat gains a
level.

"Body" is Musashi's strength, the higher it is, the more overall damage he
does when attacking. Body increases whenever you kill an enemy.

"Mind" is Musashi's Defense. It is increased by simply walking around. Yes,
that's right, you can max out your Mind level by just walking around town.
^_^

"Fusion" and "Lumina" are the strength of the two swords. Their levels are
increased by hitting (not necessarily killing) enemies with the respective
swords.

Since it's fairly easy to build up your various attributes, the game sets
limits on how much you can build up at one time, and raises the maximum
limit level whenever you liberate a scroll. This is how much you can
increase your levels at certain points in the game:

Area Max Lv
Start of the Game 8
After liberating Earth Scroll 16
After liberating Water Scroll 22
After liberating Fire Scroll 27
After liberating Wind Scroll 30 (Max)

--

In addition, Musashi is also awarded a title based on his exp. level. This,
to my knowledge, has no meaning, but I though it was kinda neat, so here're
the titles:

Level 1 - 2 "Little Turd" Level 3 - 5 "Apprentice"
Level 6 - 9 "Average Joe" Level 10-12 "Talked About"
Level 13-16 "Pretty Good" Level 17-19 "Duelist"
Level 20-22 "Reputable" Level 23-27 "Mastership"
Level 28-29 "Brave Fencer" Level 30 "Hero"

---Using Assimilation---

To use Fusion's Assimilation technique, hold down the R1 button while facing
an enemy, then press the Square button to throw the sword. If it hits an
enemy, you'll have about 10 seconds to absorb it. Repeatedly press the
Square button to fill up the gauge. If you succeed, you'll absorb the
monster's ability. If you don't fill the bar in the alotted time (which is
unlikely), you'll steal a small bit of BP from the enemy, but won't get the
skill.

Once you absorb a skill, it will be listed down in the lower right-hand
corner of the screen. Some skills take effect immediatly, and last for a
short time, while others can be used an endless number of times (for a
price) by pressing the Circle button. If you don't have any ability absorb,
"Fusion" will be listed here.

---Using Lumina's Power/Scrolls---

Using Lumina's Sword Spin and the Scrolls is done basically the same way as
using Assimilation. Charge up the gauge by holding R1, then press the
triangle button to activate the power.

>From the beginning, you'll only be able to do the sword spin, but later on
as you acquire scrolls, you'll be able to switch between them and the sword
spin attack on the sub screen by choosing "sword". Lumina's active power
will be listed in the 'eye' in the lower left corner.
(Before you have Lumina, this 'eye' is closed.)

---Sleep---

As in real life, Musashi needs his sleep or he won't be able to fight as
well. The 'eye' in the lower right corner with Musashi's face in it shows
how tired he is. The more it closes, the more tired he is. In order to wake
him up, there are three methods:

1. Stay at the inn, or rest in Musashi's room
2. Use a Mint item, or absorb the Mint skill
3. Sleep in the field

The first two methods explain themselves, but sleeping in the field is a bit
different. In order to do this, first, find a safe sopt where there are no
enemies, then press the select button. The 'eye' showing Lumina's power will
change to that of a moon. While this moon is in that eye, hold R1 and fill
up the gauge. Once it's filled up, release the button and Musashi will fall
asleep. While asleep, time moves 8 times faster, so this is also a good way
to kill time as well, just watch out, as your BP still decreases while
you're asleep. (Unless you have the L-Quilt, in which case, both it and HP
are steadily restored.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. C R E D I T S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Seigfried (seigfried@iname.com) for informing me that the "Mint" skill
also reduces overall tiredness, and about absorbing Fence from Kojiro.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This FAQ is © 1999 by Matt Hobbs AKA YelseyKing. You may use this FAQ on any
site as long as it is not altered, I am given full credit for it, and I am
notified first. If you try to take credit for my work, well then I'll have
no choice but to seek you out and rip your arm off. I don't spend months
writing these FAQs so some idiot can take credit for them, or some big
company can use them to boost sales.

If you have a question about this game, or something to add to the FAQ, feel
free to mail me at YelseyKing@aol.com.

That is all.

(Brave Fencer Musashi and all related names are © 1998-1999 SquareSoft)

Diposkan oleh Donnie di 8:59:00 PM

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Label: Game, Walkthrough