Rittai Ninja Katsugeki Shinobi Hyakusen Introduction Hello, everyone! My name is Daniel Victor and I decided to make a quick FAQ for one of the games I’ve played the most on my childhood, even though I didn’t know what I was doing. As this game is a Japanese exclusive, this will be a simple FAQ to inform about the basics. I must say English is not my first language, so in case of any grammar mistakes or confusing sentences, please send me a message. Controls X – Jump Square – Attack Circle – Crouch Triangle – Item D-pad – Move/Defend L1 – Overview R1 – Crouch L2 – toggle item to left R2 – toggle item to right Defending is possible by holding the Down button. You won’t see a defensive stance until you’re hit. Not all attacks are blockable: projectiles and fire attacks cannot be blocked. You can also press the D-pad twice quickly for a double step in that specific direction. The D-pad also works for different attacks, however, be careful when using these unusual attack strings: pressing Left+Square doesn’t make an attack that will actually hit on your left side as you would expect. Pratice before risking using moves you are not used. If you press Circle next to walls, you can hide. Press L1 to use the overview and check the surroundings, even when the character itself can’t see directly. Crouching also allows for an upward hit with the sword, though it is slow. Pressing Square while close to a distracted enemy will one-shot it with a stealth kill. This is the main part of the game, so practice it. Even boss can be killed like this. As long as the enemy is not seeing you, you can kill them. The Overview allows you to check other angles and see even farther than normal. Pretty useful to spot holes, edges and enemy movement from afar. Detecting enemies The colored circle on main screen during the game means the proximity of enemies. Empty: no enemies nearby. Move freely as you want. Green: enemy nearby. It won’t warn if it’s more than one or if it’s an innocent. Yellow: the enemy is seeing you, and probably is walking into your direction. Blue: you made a noise, either by fighting or jumping on the water, and a nearby enemy heard it. Red: there is an enemy in an aggressive stance running towards you. It doesn’t mean it can actually get to you and hit you, as it may be on a part of the screen that is either too far or in a different elevation. Bonus Times/Penalties Whenever you engage into a battle, your time will be affected, either positively or negatively. All times are in seconds: -15 for a stealth kill -5 for a normal kill +5 for being seeing +30 for killing an innocent The penalty for being seeing can be applied multiple times to the same enemy in case they lose sight of you. In each stage you have a specific time to beat, in case you want to be awarded with a shuriken marker. Items There are only three items in the game, unlike the newer versions: Caltrops: use it and the character will place them behind you. You WILL hurt yourself if you step on it, be careful. You may try to use them to avoid being chased, but it’s risky. They can stop an enemy attack if the enemy steps on them during the animation, interrupting it. Shuriken: causes 20 damage. The throw is not a straight line. Use it with caution, as you only have five. You can pick them up only if you missed and it still reachable. Grapple-and-hook: the item you’ll use basically in every stage. Make sure you’re actually facing the correct directions or else you won’t make it. Be aware when using next to pits, take your time aiming! And an important note: the grappling can’t be used as you’re falling, so pay an extra attention to pits and holes. Once you fall, it’s game over. While the grapple-and-hook has infinite uses, the others are finite. They are replenished after clearing finishing a stage, but during the stage you won’t be able to find more of them. Characters Rikimaru and Ayame are the two ninjas you can control, one at a time. They are basically the same, with the same controls. Rikimaru hits harder with few hits, while Ayame hits lighter with more hits. Other than that, they are the same. Pick Ayame if you want a slight faster movement; pick Rikimaru if you think you’re going to do more fights than stealth kills. Enemies While every enemy is basically the same, I think it’s important to list who they are: Swordsman: the most common enemy you’ll see. They take a while between attacks, don’t be afraid to attack them. Spearman: they have longer range and can hit you before you’re able to hit them. Mind your distance. Bowman: they shoot arrows, which cannot be blocked. On the bright said, they also can’t block your attacks. Gunman: similar to bowman, but takes longer to attack and takes much more damage (20 points) for each bullet that hits you. They always announce before shooting, so you have like a full second between announcing and the firing to decide to either avoid the bullet or go for the kill. Zombie: this is a weird enemy who spits fire. He has a pale white skin; he is extremely thin and wears a red thong. He walks with a limp and can’t block your attacks, just like you can’t block his flamethrower. Make sure to attack him quickly as soon as you see him to avoid the huge fire damage. Animals: some stages have wolves and bears. They are hard to spot from a distance. Better avoid them as some moves are unblockable. Innocents: people who won’t hurt you in any way, but who still creates you trouble. DO NOT kill them if you’re concerned about the time. They can make noise to alert others. Usually there are only two types of innocents: a young woman wearing blue robes and a hunchback middle-age man. You’ll know when you spot them. There are a few variations, like a swordsman using a falchion in Arabian stages, or ninjas, but it doesn’t make much difference. All enemies have a scripted movement path. Sometimes they don’t move, but still rotates. Take your time to analyze the best time to stealth kill them, as all of them, including bosses, can be stealth killed. Stage Select In this screen you can choose what stage you want to play. The first 20 stages are already unlocked, while the other 10 have to be unlocked one at a time, following the order. More importantly on the stage select screen, each stage has a colored symbol on its description with its objective: Red: kill every enemy on the stage, except for the innocents. Blue: find a man with a message. As soon as you get close to him the stage will finish, even if you were in the middle of a fight. Green: find a blooming flower. Purple: defeat the boss. Pink: protect the Princess Kiku while she walks to a checkpoint. If she dies, you lose. There is friendly-fire for all of your moves. As most stages are actually reused scenarios, I’ll categorize them in 8 different types: Castle: wooden walls and Japanese decoration. They all have holes. City: a common city with buildings where you can climb. Usually has water and bridges. Snow: village with stone walls, usually surrounded by water. Field: grass field with rivers and bridges. Mine: sand and many walls blocking your vision, mining carts in random places. Future: metal walls and a green liquid instead of water (no, it’s not acid, you won’t take damage). Arabian: black coal on the ground, red walls. Note the Arabian music theme and the costumes the enemies use. Mountain: open field with sand on the ground and animals lurking around. The stages are the following (reading from right to left, like the Japanese language): First screen: 8 4 10 7 6 3 2 1 9 5 Second screen: 17 12 20 18 16 15 14 11 19 13 Now for a quick playthrough on the stages (times are listed as minutes:seconds, and sometimes I abbreviate directions, as in NE for north-east): Stage 1 (Red) Type: Castle Time: 1:30 Notes: the first stage is one the easiest. Make sure to practice stealth and fighting. Other than the two guys on the same room in the end, there is nothing worth mentioning. There is a “hidden” hole by the middle of the stage that is not easy too see unless you’re right on the edge for it, use L1 when you’re descending the “stairs”. Stage 2 (Blue) Type: Snow Notes: cross the river and walk towards the NW direction. You won’t need to kill more than two enemies; it will be really quick. The guy you need to find is next to a elevated outpost. Stage 3 (Red) Type: City Notes: if an enemy fall into the water, they die; but you won’t, so use that as your advantage. Stage 4 (Pink) Type: Field Notes: be patient, eventually the princess will reach her destination. Stage 5 (Purple) Type: Castle Notes: there are traps on this stage, marked with black color on the ground. Don’t step on them. The boss is in a room surrounded by walls with white “doors”, you have to use the grapple. Stage 6 (Green) Type: Mine Notes: go to the left, kill the enemy, and then go to the NE direction. It should not take more than a minute. You’ll see the flower in an elevated part reachable only with the grapple to your right side. Stage 7 (Blue) Type: Future Notes: the name future comes from this stage, as it’s set on 2030. Weird looking enemies here, but nothing new gameplay wise. Stage 8 (Red) Type: City Notes: there is an innocent peasant near the beginning. Be careful to not be seen by him. Stage 9 (Purple) Type: City Notes: the boss is a samurai in a tight corner, situated after the river. Follow the north direction and you’ll get there in no time. Remember to surprise him and avoid the fight. Stage 10 (Purple) Type: Future Notes: now this is a real future. The enemies here have guns. The boss is a huge man with a hook on his hand, in a small room with some stuff in the middle. There is only one entrance and he’ll be looking in your direction; however, it’s still possible to ambush him. Stage 11 (Green) Type: Arabian Notes: The flower is on an isolated part after a branch in a falling platform bifurcation. Be aware of the zombies. Stage 12 (Red) Type: Arabian Notes: similar to the previous stage, but you need to kill every enemy instead of finding the flower. Stage 13 (Purple) Type: Castle Notes: Take the main path until the end, go to the right. Follow the path, climb the “stairs” and keep going. You’ll see an enemy in the way, kill him. Follow the one-way path until you find a room with an enemy, kill him. You’ll be right next to the end of the stage, again with a boss in a closed room. Stage 14 (Blue) Type: Snow Notes: take the NE direction, you won’t need to face more than three enemies. It’s similar to Stage 2 in every way. Stage 15 (Red) Type: Castle Notes: nothing worth mentioning. Just do what you’ve been doing and kill all enemies. Stage 16 (Red) Type: Castle Notes: similar to stage 15, this one has blue doors. Stage 17 (Blue) Type: Mountain Notes: the “tribal” enemies are hard to see if you’re not paying attention or looking through the trees. Same for wolves. You can ambush the animals, including the bear. Stage 18 (Purple) Type: Castle Notes: follow the north direction to the weaponry room, then go to the NE. The boss will be in a room with an innocent woman. Ambush him before being seen by either of them. Stage 19 (Pink) Type: Mountain Notes: again, be patient and do your best to protect the Princess Kiku. Stage 20 (Blue) Type: Mountain Notes: make sure to not fall when moving or attacking. Stage 21 (Purple) Type: Field Notes: the boss can be ambushed, but you’ll have to take your time and avoid fighting with the final bowman. If seen, block his attacks and don’t release the block button until you’ve successfully blocked multiple hits, since his movements are deceiving and still hit you even when the animation ends. Menu / Options (coming soon) Tips An offensive strategy is to attack using only the first hit, instead of the full string of moves. It might feel safer to do like that so you don’t move as much. Simply press Square, and only press it again when you’re sure it’s not going to connect into a combo. Keep advancing and attacking before the opponent has time to react. If possible, try to push enemies into pits, water and holes. Any enemy will die if they fall. Some can even fall by themselves. However, some can hold on the edges and get back where you were. Wait for their HP to fall to zero before continuing. Closing comments Thanks everyone for reading, and please send me messages with any suggestions on how to improve! I can try to record a quick video showing something if needed, just ask. Hope it helps anyone who decides to play this game literally decades after being released. Contact can be made by messaging here or at danielvmedeiros [at] [g] mail [dot] com.