You Can Play Six or Seven Games, or Just One! Let's Play Live-A-Live!

[LoakaMossi]

Welcome back! We’re ready to close out this chapter.

I’m going to try hiding the updates from now on. Hopefully that will make the thread easier to navigate.

The End of Yi Po Men

The forest is easier to navigate for now. All of the tigers are gone.

But it’s not long before we’re stopped.

Just for fun, let’s select the obviously wrong choice.

CRY-A-LIVE
: Bastard!

I actually didn’t know this scene existed until I recorded this.

: They were killed because of me! A girl like me…

: Li…

: … Wha?
: Let’s go, Li… To the Yi Po Men School…

War in China

Choosing the “Li…” option puts you at the end of this scene. Apparently, that mountain scene that kind of baffled me was really important to Li.
Also, make sure you have “War in China” playing throughout this entire update. It doesn’t stop playing until the last scene!

I’ve not been focusing too much on equipment because it’s less important in this chapter, but here’s our loadout going into the enemy dojo. At this point, the Master actually has all of the second rate equipment.

Li has surpassed him in every stat except IQ, so she can benefit more from it.

These guys haven’t changed much.

: Actually, I do have an appointment
: Hah! YOU!?

They aren’t very intimidating either. This fight is easiest on this route; the pupils join you at different times, and Li is the only one to join you outside of the school.

Numbers don’t help them. They just need stronger mooks.

This is a step in the right direction. Still not a threat, but stronger.

…OK, now you’re on to something!

These are stronger versions of the forest tigers. They’re not particularly difficult, but they’re stronger than anything else we’ve found.

Now that we’re done with training, Li can start learning the rest of the Puncha moves through leveling up.

There’s going to be a lot of this. Any time you enter a room, expect a couple of angry men to come running at you.

And if it’s not Yi Po Men students, it’s one of these tigers.

Here’s a demonstration of this chapter’s only attack item. It uses Fuukei’s feather, which can be found in the Yi Po Men dojo. It’s a pretty powerful instant attack with a 3X3 range.

I decided not to make this gifs, but these guys are rushing us.

These guys, on the other hand, aren’t. Maybe they’re just statues?

Nope, it’s just another ambush.

This tiger made me sad because he just ran around in a circle for a minute. He didn’t attack me until I stepped forward. He just wanted to pounce about…

Finally, a room full of people that aren’t expecting us!

It’s a new enemy type, and a dangerous one at that! These guys have throwing weapons, so if we’re more than one tile away they can do some serious damage. In every other respect though, they’re a bit weaker than the other enemies.

Li is rewarded with the last Puncha move, aside from the counter.

This is the penultimate room of the dojo. You can pause War in China now.

We’ve found him.

The man responsible for the deaths of our students. Odi Wang Lee.

: So, you’re Odi Wang Lee…
: Greetings… I’m impressed that your little sidekick is still alive. My congratulations.

: I could have them all attack you at once, but that would not be fair, would it? And I do so dislike unfair situations.

: Ah, you refer to my small army of grunts. They are far too weak, alone, to handle any meaningful task. These here, on the other hand, are my favorites! Allow me to introduce you…

We found this chapter’s bosses!

: And if you can’t beat them, you obviously won’t be able to handle me… Now!

Let’s start the gauntlet.

War in China

The first two fights are pretty similar. Debuff them with Long Hiu Lo PoWan, and they’re a joke.

These guys are actually a threat, but only on their horizontals.

They have a lot of mobility given their size, so it can be a little difficult to stay out of their danger areas.

The next fight is a tougher version of that fight.

: Hmm… Indeed, Master. How about my favorite pretty sisters?

Despite Lee’s earlier claims, only the last four characters are highly skilled. These three are dangerous, but not in a particularly interesting way. Lin has a very strong attack if you get too close, and Chan has an area attack that she can use as a counterattack. Shan is not a huge threat on her own, but she is still an extra enemy to deal with.

: Well done! I am pleased, Master. You’ve waited enough, Yi Bei Kou… It’s your turn!

Yi Bei Kou has definitely earned his place at the top of the pack.

Stand in the wrong place, and he’ll petrify you.

Thankfully, Li is able to handle herself now.

Odi Wang Lee is finally on his own.

Oh. Nevermind.

: Hahahahaha!

: They have mastered the An Sha Quan, a type of assassination Kung Fu. They could even kill me! As such, I am always focused, and can never relax! This is the only way…

I dunno man. We seem to be doing fine without living in constant fear.

:… Li… I’ll take these two by myself…

: B-By myself?

: But the game mechanics won’t let him!

: I’m not as young as I once was. I’ve lost my endurance.

---

---

The Bird Flies in the Sky, The Fish Swims in the River

: Hah… even the great Master can’t beat old age, hmm? Hmhmhm… hahahahah! Bwahahahaha!!
: Who knows what’s gonna happen!
: Hah… Foolish child…

MEGALOMANIA

The murderous Kung Fu master has a variety of Yi Po Men techniques at his disposal.

These aren’t too damaging, but they can knock us around a lot.

This technique is his strongest. Stay away from his lower right if you want to avoid it.

And you have to stay close to him. Otherwise he might poison you.
…What kind of Kung Fu is this? The most dangerous attack he has is a poison dagger! We need to show him what real Kung Fu is! He needs to see…

The strongest Puncha technique! Xuan Ya Lian Shan Quan!
This technique can be used once during this fight. It doesn’t really matter when you use it, but I prefer using it as a finisher.

(The following scene is silent)

What a goofy way to go. He didn’t deserve any better though, did he?

But it looks like he wasn’t the only casualty.

: You became… even… stronger…
WARM-A-LIVE

: … I believe you could properly pass my skills down through future generations…
: Wha!? Y-yeah, as if!
: No… I’ve lived long. Maybe too long. Your growth has helped me keep going this far… Li…

: Never ever lose that…
: … … Okay…
: Now… I’ll go deliver the message… About… how… you… have… grown…

---

The Bird Flies in the Sky, The Fish Swims in the River

: Finally I managed to bust this rock. Could I be like you some day, gramps? Someday… I’ll be stronger than you, if not as kind as you… I guess…! Watch me, Sammo, Yuan, and you, you old bastard!

---

Li continues her training, so she can live up to the old Master

She also patrols the towns, like the old man

She even takes care of Yuan’s grandmother.

And she never forgets her time as a pupil.

And so, the curtain closes on this chapter.

I’ll start working on the Bonus update covering the other pupils, but I’m not sure when it will be up. I’ll have to replay half the chapter two more times, and I’m already busy this week. In the meantime, we can start selecting the next chapter to cover!

SELECT-A-LIVE

• Ninja!
• Mecha!
• Cowboy!
• Wrestler!
• SciFi!

This poll will remain open until at least the bonus update. I’ll decide when to close it when I post that.

[LoakaMossi]

OK, it’s time to take a look at what could have been!
Due to the nature of this update, I’m going to put all of the music links up here. The scenes are cut too short to let them play properly, so just listen to your favorites.
The Bird Flies in the Sky, The Fish Swims in the River
War in China
The Ancient Master Descends From the Mountains

Sammo

Let’s take a look at Sammo’s timeline first.

Our first major difference comes after defeating the Tiger King. Looks like Li and Yuan died fighting together.

Sammo ended up in the same place.

: Sammo!

: What in the world happened…!?

: Hang in there Sammo!

The story plays out the same from here.

---

: Forgive me, Li…

The next major change is when we start our dojo assault.

How embarrassing, we scheduled our revenge on the exact same day as somebody else’s revenge!

: Do you realize what sort of place this is?

: …! Y-you’re Won Ton Kung Fu’s…!

<img src="/uploads/default/original/2X/0/0b595deb5dd74b5b2f651615da66710bb34a1565.png” width=“32” height=“30”>: Hah! I’ve been waiting for this! My father’s death will not have been in vain! I’ve trained hard to learn this special move. You will feel my wrath!

Gotta say, this guy had good timing! We should try and team up with him after he-

Or that can happen. Don’t worry kid, we’ll avenge your father for you. That expression sure rings a bell though…

---

We go through most of the dojo without meeting Sammo again. The next major change comes at the room with the table.

: (But if I use my special skill now, I won’t have anything left for the Master… )

: Sammo!

: You… Alright, let’s go Sammo!

Sammo feels like the crutch character for this chapter. He’s the strongest of the three when we find him, and he’s a pretty solid party member. In the end, he ends up slightly weaker than the other two.

---

Sammo also has no patience for Odi Wang Lee’s lies.

Finally, Sammo has a few different things to say to Lee.

: You…? YOU…!? Hah… even the great Master can’t beat old age, hmm? Hmhmhm… hahahahah! Bwahahahaha!!

: Hah… Foolish child… You asked for it!

---

Sammo puts up a pretty good fight against Lee. He has more health, but he doesn’t hit quite as hard as Li or Yuan.

His finishing move is just as effective though.

: Master!
: Good job, Sammo… You became… even… stronger…
: I’ve still got a long way to go before I reach you though.
: … I believe you could properly pass my skills down through future generations…
: What are you saying?!
: No… I’ve lived long. Maybe too long. Your growth has helped me keep going this far… Sammo…

: Mmph… I understand.
: Now… I’ll go deliver the message… About how… you… have… grown…

---

: Master…I finally did it… I have some self-confidence now. But I still have a long way to go. … I just can’t stop eating!! … Anyway, I’ll be like the Master… … No! I’ll be better than the Master…! I’ll do it now, Li, Yuan. And Master! Because I’m…

---

Yuan

Yuan’s version of the dojo attack is a little interesting. He’s nowhere to be found.

At least at first.

: Forgive me… It’s all my fault… Some guys from Yi Po Men Kung Fu attacked us… Sammo and Li fought against them, but I… I was scared… They died… because of me…

All the pupils say this, but I think it rings most true for Yuan. Sammo and Li fought and lost, but Yuan just ran and hid.

: … Master! I-I’m a failure! Please…

That’s probably why he’s the most insistent on being punished.

: Are you going to regret this for the rest of your life!?!
: …
: If you think it’s your fault, then you’ll have to solve it on your own. But… You are not entirely to blame. They were my responsibility as well.

---

Things proceed as normal, until we get to the entrance of the Yi Po Men dojo.

: Please, Master! I’m going with you!
: No, you fool!

: Okay… Be prepared though.
: Master…! Y-yes, sir!!

If this scene doesn’t redeem Yuan for his cowardice, I can’t imagine what would.

---

Here’s Yuan’s rebuttal to Lee. He’s probably the most eloquent of the three.

During the gauntlet, I get a chance to show off Yuan’s unique technique. DongShouDao is an ice blast that Yuan shoots out of his palms. It’s a pretty nice reward for putting up with his weak start.

: You…? YOU…!? Hah… even the great Master can’t beat old age, hmm? Hmhmhm… hahahahah! Bwahahahaha!!

: (Li, Sammo… Give me your courage!!)

Yuan has the hardest time with this fight. The rest of his stats have improved, but his HP is still really low.

Still comes through in the end though.

: Master!
: I knew you could, Yuan… You became… even… stronger…

: … I believe you could properly pass my skills down through future generations…
: Don’t say such things!
: No… I’ve lived long. Maybe too long. Your growth has helped me keep going this far… Yuan…

: … Yes!
: Now… I’ll go deliver the message… About how… you… have… grown…

---

: I made it this far… I broke the rock. But I’m still not perfect. Will I be as good as you someday, Master? I will… I’m sure of it… And I will surpass you…!

:And Master! Because I’m the…

That does it for Kung Fu content! Since the poll only has nine votes and is currently tied, I’m going to leave it open for another day.

[Unpronounceable]

I really like Yuan’s entrance in the Dojo. It’s a really badass way to enter, and a great turning point for his character.

I managed to find the old translation patch from when I played through the game, so where I have the time, I’ll try to keep up with the LP, and comment on the differences I find. Just to showoff a couple quick differences, the newer patch uses Chinese names for the attacks in this chapter, whereas the old one did…something? I don’t know where some of them come from.

Newer Patch             | Old Patch
Long Hu Liang PoWan     | Ryuuhawan
Monkey Fist             | MonkeyFist
Squirrel Kick           | ShimarisuLeg
Bai Li Dao Yi Bu Jiao   | LeagueLeg
Lion Hand               | LionHand
LaoHuZhiWu              | OldFoxDance
FushaNoSha              | ShiningShot
XuanYaLianShanQuan      | Shinsanken

I think shimarisu is just a transliteration of the Japanese word for Squirrel, and LaoHuZhiWu was just translated into English. No clue where the others came from.

No, the ultimate ability is not the super fast Japanese train, that’s Shinkansen.

[LoakaMossi]

Inheritance

If any single chapter demonstrated what Live-A-Live is good at, it would be this one. This game is at its best when it takes a story from a different genre and adapts it to its own conventions. While the Caveman chapter had some good style choices, like the lack of dialogue, this chapter uses the games RPG mechanics to tell a Kung Fu story. This is part of why the stories are typically so cliché; the innovation is on the part of the presentation, and having the plot be recognizable makes it easier to realize how the mechanics are being used.

Speaking of the plot, we’ve found the first saaaad chapter. Honestly, I think this one works. It didn’t make me cry, but I can certainly see why someone would. It’s easy to focus on the deaths, but I think this chapter’s best source of catharsis is how it portrays mourning. Finding the bodies of the two pupils is rough, but seeing Li break down over her failure to save her friends is far rougher.

I don’t want to talk too much about the emotional parts; you already know how you feel about those. Instead, I want to focus on how they fit a Kung Fu plot to the RPG mechanics. The training montage is done well. It’s a little rude because spreading the training out, which is probably your first instinct, is the worst thing you can do, but I do like being able to customize the order your students learn the Puncha style and improve their stats. The Kung Fu moves themselves feel like a set of tools. Most people just use LaoHuZhiWu, but every move has it’s own unique use. For this run, I tried my best to stay away from LaoHuZhiWu, and I had a lot more fun as a result.

The most interesting use of RPG mechanics is how this chapter places the battles; they only exist if a fight would make sense in a Kung Fu movie. Because this chapter actively discourages you from grinding in the first half and then removes the ability to grind in the second half, the battles in this chapter are back-loaded. In an average Kung Fu movie, most of the fights will be closer to the end. There are a few scuffles here and there, like the fights with the Tiger King, but the real action doesn’t start until the climactic assault on the Yi Po Men dojo. This seems like something most teams wouldn’t do. It would be too easy to assume that players need battles at every part of the story, so I’m glad that Square was able to restrain themselves.

Finally, I should probably talk about the characters. The Master is a bit of a blank slate, but the archetype he fills runs into that problem a lot. Li, who is definitely not Asuka Langley-Soryuu, is pretty great. I honestly didn’t know about her scene if you refuse to let her take revenge, and I was happy to find it. While the monologue was pretty straightforward, I feel like it filled in a part of her character that I thought was missing. I always knew she was avenging her friends, but hearing her say it was nice. It was a good way to have the writers show how she softened her heart without softening her behavior. She’s still a crass punk, but she’s a crass punk with feelings. Yuan, who is definitely not Shinji Ikari, is the pupil I usually train. I’m just a sucker for the Little Coward that Could archetype, and his dojo entrance owns. And Sammo, who is definitely not Rei Ayanami but sincerely this time,…exists.

OK, the writers do try and do some interesting things with Sammo. His weight is not presented as a flaw. His appetite is, but he is shown to be perfectly athletic with the body type he currently has. That’s good! Anytime he talks about gaining self-esteem, I love it. Telling Odi Wang Lee to keep laughing at him is a really good line because it shows that Sammo knows he can prove Lee wrong. But in the end, the writers just can’t stop themselves from making him say the Fat Guy lines. If he talked about food a bit less and talked about anything else a bit more, I wouldn’t have any problem with him.

And since the final boss has a character this time, I’ll talk a bit about Odi Wang Lee. I think he is a really good evil version of the master. Both want to find power and surround themselves with powerful people. But the Punch master finds those who are weak and builds them up while Lee just finds people who are already strong. I didn’t really touch on it, but the Yi Po Men students have no similarities in their fighting styles. I would be money that the only real practitioner of Yi Po Men is Odi Wang Lee himself. Their different approaches to power is also pretty cool. The Puncha master wants to make his students stronger so they can address their personal problems and make their lives better, but Lee’s attempts to gain power are actively detrimental to his health.

This is my favorite of the seven chapters. It wants to tell a story, and it does so in a really stylized and interesting way.

What do you all think? Was the drama overwrought, or did you like it? Did I make it too obvious that two of the pupils were going to die?

And about the poll, I don’t think it’s going to get anymore voters. It’s a 3-3 tie between Wrestler and Ninja, but I think I’m going to go with Wrestler. I can do that in a single update, so it’ll be nice to knock it out. Sorry to everyone who voted for Ninja. I’ll start taking names for the Wrestler now. There is a six character limit, and his last name will always be Takahara.

[Mozz]

my vote is for Dwayne
or perhaps BullyD

[LoakaMossi]

It’s time to break our chronological playthrough!

The World's Strongest!

Today, we’re going through one of the more experimental chapters.

Ultimate Strength -VICTORY ROAD-

Experimental in gameplay, that is. The story is simple.

In my last playthrough, I called this guy Stone. I think that Dwayne works just as well.

---

Martial Arts Masters

This chapter has no overworld. Instead, we have this Mega Man styled menu. Which is an apt comparison; Dwayne will not be leveling up. You see, despite the game referring to him as a wrestler, Dwayne is closer to a MMA fighter. He will be learning new moves from the bosses in this chapter.

And here’s his unchanging stats! There pretty good for level 2.

Enlightened in the ancient Japanese technique of bare-handed killing, Moribe’s strikes can pierce even the toughest armor, yet can damage internal organs without breaking the skin.

Skills:
Abise-Geri
Tsuda

Each of the Martial Arts Masters have this little blurb, followed by the moves that Masaru can learn from them.
VERSUS!

I hope you have studied well of the Art of War!

KNOCK YOU DOWN!

I start with Seishi because he has the most useful techniques in this chapter. But before I talk about his techniques, I should talk about Dwayne’s.

This is his most useful starting move. Battle Cry is Dwayne’s only source of healing. It also buffs his strength and level and it removes any status effects, like poison.

Roundhouse is useful for exploiting the battle mechanics. Some enemy techniques are directional; for instance, they can only go in the direction the sprite is facing. This technique can put an enemy in a position where they cannot attack or can only use an attack that we want to learn.

And Blazing Fist is a diagonal attack that’s a good source of damage before we learn some better techniques.

Unfortunately, Seishi does not want to cooperate. In addition to their learnable techniques, each boss has two techniques that we can’t learn. I’m showing of Seishi’s because they have the exact same ranges as the moves we do want.

Eventually, he decides to stop messing around. Which is good because we can learn new moves, but is bad because these moves can wreck you if you’re not careful.

Tsuda is my favorite technique in this chapter. According to the move description, it halves stats. Which is absurd if true. In any case, it helps us learn the other moves by lowering the amount of damage they do.

Abise-Geri is also useful because it’s a ranged Roundhouse. Since the enemy can’t move in a direction they aren’t facing, they will have to spend a turn rotating. You can then spend your turn rotating them back, which puts them in an infinite loop until they lose. Of course, the rotation is guaranteed, so this isn’t quite as game-breaking as it seems. And since Seishi’s health is a joke, I ended up defeating him while trying to demonstrate his moves.

Seishi is normally considered very dangerous because he can be hard to hit, but persistent use of Tsuda will eventually handle that.

Each boss has a “defeated” portrait which follows them to the Opponent Select screen. They also have a different line if they win their fight with you.

My ancient Japanese martial arts have never been defeated!!

---

Martial Arts Masters

Trained by a special paramilitary fighting unit, Tula Han is a master of close-quarters combat. He fights with both mind and body as one, and can bend both to extreme measures.

Skills:
Armlock
Cross Heel Hold

VERSUS!

Let’s see how strong you really are…

KNOCK YOU DOWN!

Our next opponent is an expert in grappling.

Learning his techniques are considerably easier. He’ll always counter leg techs with Cross-Heel Hold and arm techs with Arm Lock. Unfortunately, this happened in the same turn, so Dwayne is unable to move or attack.

Thankfully, he doesn’t counter yelling by grabbing Dwayne’s throat.

The countering is what makes these techniques useful. You usually have better options on your own turn, but being able to shut down an enemy’s techniques on their own turn is useful.

Here’s Tsuda in action; Tula misses his attack because all of his stats have just been cut in half!

I ended up finishing him off with a simple punch.

And if Tula wins…
You cannot win if you don’t use your brain!

---

Martial Arts Masters

Heeding the call of the sumo, Jackie traveled to Hawaii to become the greatest ever. Unfortunately, he failed, and instead uses his sumo skills in international wrestling.

Skills:
Aloha Clap
Ogre Grip

VERSUS!

My Sumo skills will crush you!!

KNOCK YOU DOWN!

Next up is our resident sumo expert

As a result, Jackie’s techniques revolve around shoving people around. However, Jackie has a secret technique! Just use one of Tula’s technique to lock down either his feet or his arms, and move one tile away.

Eventually, this will happen. I don’t have a GIF of Dwayne using this attack; it’s not very easy to use and you can easily out-damage it in the same number of turns.

The two sumo techniques are useful strategic techniques. If your opponent can only attack what’s directly next to them, these two techniques can do a good job of pushing them away indefinitely.

Unfortunately, learning Earth-Rending Fury has put Dwayne on the ropes, so he needs to cripple Jackie’s stats to stand a chance.

However, Dwayne comes out on top.

But if Jackie had capitalized on his localized earthquake…
You’ll never knock me out of the ringside rope!!

---

Martial Arts Masters

An incredibly flexible warrior who fights using the Muay Thai style. His ashiwaza high kick is considered to be absolutely devastating.

Skills:
Punchama Kick
Spiral Knee

VERSUS!

Too bad you won’t be able to so much as bruise my pretty face!!

KNOCK YOU DOWN!

Our next opponent is the prerequisite narcissist.

ABT: Always Be Tsuda-ing

Even afterwards, this guy hits like a truck.

And if you try and be clever by staying close to him, he’ll just counter-kick you into his danger areas.

Panchama Kick is a good replacement for Ogre Grip if your opponent locks down your arms.

Although it might not look it here, Spiral Knee is a pretty good attack for it’s range.

As you might have expected, Namcat is fragile. I didn’t even realize Aloha Clap was going to finish him off.

And if he had Panchama Kick-Spiral Knee looped me to death…

Gaze into my beautiful face as I pummel you flat!

---

Martial Arts Masters

America’s number one wrestler, Max has made a name for himself as a Hollywood star. He’s grown bored, however, and is seeking a challenger who can provide him with a new thrill.

Skills:
Max Bomber
German Suplex

VERSUS!

Max Bomber Number 1!!

KNOCK YOU DOWN!

We’re down to the two largest threats of this chapter, and oh dear God it’s this guy.
Max’s techniques are terrifying. He has the most HP and he hits the hardest. He will waste no time in running wild on you.

Tsuda is even more important than it usually is. That move is supposed to knock Dwayne backwards, but because we halved Max’s strength it didn’t happen.

It also prevents this move from being wholly devastating. It has a chance of paralyzing whatever it hits, but lowering Max’s stats prevented that from happening.

It’s a good thing his moves can him dead in his tracks.

They’re also the funniest things in this chapter. BWOOOOM!!

Thankfully, it doesn’t matter what he thinks. Dwayne is able to beat him at his own game.

At least he’s a gracious loser. But if he wins…
IIIIII’M NUMBER ONE! You’ll always be playing second fiddle, chump!!

---

Martial Arts Masters

A Japanese wrestler who has mastered the techniques of the Mexican Lucha Libre champ, El Rudo. His moves are considered to be extremely rough, and he has been called the Dark Angel.

Skills:
Frankensteiner
Tornado Press

VERSUS!

You obviously have no skill! I’m gonna chop your head off!!

KNOCK YOU DOWN!

I saved the most difficult for last. Great Asia has a few irritating things to deal with.

The first his is Bite attack. In addition to poisoning and lowering stats, its range overlaps with both of his learnable moves. Battle Cry can heal that damage and remove the status effects, but it just opens us up to another Bite. We’re going to be seeing it a lot.

Never not be Tsuda-ing. Lowering Asia’s stats means that Bite won’t always poison Dwayne.

Eventually, he decides to stop gnawing our skull and uses his actual Lucha moves.

Frankensteiner is a heavy hitting move, but is nothing special

Tornado Press has good range. Despite his strength, Asia has pretty low health. I wasn’t expecting to take him down with this move.

Before I move on, there is a hidden scene during this fight that I need to show off. To see it, you need to corral Asia into the lower-right corner and wait for him to use Bite. When he uses it, there is a 1-in-50 chance that the following scene will play.

Asia just murdered a man for throwing a can at him. That guy probably had a kid with him. A kid who ran away with tears flowing from his eyes and his mouth hanging open in a particular way that we’ve already seen twice now.

And if his poison teeth manage to do us in…
You’ll never be able to knock my head off!

---

The Demon King Odio

: Not bad, Dwayne…

It looks like there’s still one more Martial Arts Master to fight: this giant of a man.

: I am not impressed, though. The competition was not exactly stellar.

: First was that amateur, Namcat… and the Lucha wimp… I twisted Tula’s joints in ways nature never intended! Then Max, and that fatass, Iaukea… And the geezer, whatever his name was. They were weak… so they died! Now, you fight me…!

Dwayne is not going to tolerate this.

VERSUS!

MEGALOMANIA

The game only vaguely hints at this, but this man is officially recognized as the world’s best fighter. The strongest in the world! Odie Oldbright!

Odie can’t teach us anything because we’re fighting to kill. All of his moves are dangerous, but these two form a combo. Death’s Scythe can knock us into range of Gu Fa Tie Pao.

However, his most dangerous technique is Acro DDO. Apparently, just jumping on top of Dwayne is the best way to end him.

Here’s a cool thing about this fight: Losing doesn’t force you to load a save. You can just continue from this screen! You will probably see this screen a lot: Odie is the toughest out of all of the Chapter End bosses.

Now, the prevailing wisdom for this fight is to stand just out of range and spam Abise-Geri. If you’re lucky, Oldbright will be stuck in a loop and can’t attack you. However, I don’t want to make Dwayne a liar. After all, he did promise to use…

Seishi’s technique!

Max’s power!!

Tula’s armlocks!

Jackie’s Sumo!!

Namcat’s Ashi-Waza!

Asia’s Lucha And Dwayne’s ANGER!!

: The title… passed on, until it reached me… I, the great one! The invincible! It is my… destiny… to be the best there… ever was… You… can’t be… human…
: I am Dwayne Takahara…

I will be the strongest!

Ultimate Strength -VICTORY ROAD-

And that’s it for the wrestling chapter! What a fun little diversion.

And just like that’s, it’s already time to select the next Chapter!

SELECT-A-LIVE

• Ninja!
• Cowboy!
• Mecha!
• SciFi!

And if you want, feel free to suggest names for any of these characters! There is a six character limit and the cowboy will be called the “The ______ Kid”

[ConfusedMoogle]

I remember my first time playing this I didn’t actually figure out that Masaru has Mega Man skills until accidentally picking up something after having beaten two or three (don’t remember how many exactly, it’s been awhile) and being super mad at myself for not figuring out that’s how this chapter worked sooner (then not starting over because I was kind of a dumb kid at the time).

PS: The Ninja absolutely needs to be named Bort, because reasons.

[Unpronounceable]

I really like the Kung Fu chapter. It’s such a change in pace for the structure, and theme. I’ve thought about how to present the choice of pupils, but I don’t know if there’s a better option, unless you remove the choice entirely.

In the Wrestling chapter, I usually fought Moribe Seishi, Jackie Iaukea, Namcat, Great Asia, Tula Han, then Max Morgan. Looking back, I don’t think I tried to get all of everyone’s moves. I mainly got Tsuda from Seishi, and Aloha Clap from Iaukea, then just out ranged everyone for the most part until Max, where I got Max Bomber. I got some other moves incidentally, but it’s tough being a blue mage without a healer, especially when you don’t realize that reducing enemy stats reduces the probability of status ailments.

[LoakaMossi]

The Strongest

If someone told me “You have five minutes. Prove that Live-A-Live is different from other RPGs,” I would show them this chapter. For the most part, Live-A-Live tries to adapt the style of other media: the Kung Fu chapter is a movie, for example. While this creates some interesting settings, it can still feel similar to other RPGs. In this case, they creators decided to try adapting a different genre of games: fighting games. Trying to adapt a fighting game into RPG mechanics sounds like the worst idea, but they did a lot with this weird premise.

Everything about this chapter does a great job of recreating the aesthetic of a fighting game. The boss select menu looks exactly like a character select screen, the characters themselves are references to either real life fighters, like Max Morgan, or archetypes of martial artists, like Tula Han, and since the music was composed by the composer of Street Fighter II, Yoko Shimmumura, it sounds like it belongs in a fighting game.

While the move-learning mechanic is a source of frustration for many players, I think it’s the best way to handle the lack of leveling up in this chapter. It adds a strategic element to the order you face the bosses. This sort of mechanic could easily create a “best path,” but I think they managed to avoid it in this case. There are definitely tiers. For example, Max and Asia should be fought last. Jackie, Tula, and Seishi should be the first three bosses you fight because their techniques are useful. Namcat isn’t particularly dangerous if you can avoid his spinning knee, but his techniques aren’t important so he should be fought fourth. But after this playthrough, I feel like I could really take this chapter in almost any order. The only decision I would need to make would be to fight Seishi first; anything after that could be in any order. Tsuda is the best move in the game, and I will never stop using it. I would take it into other games if I could.

I should mention that the plot and characterization is thin for this chapter, but you probably should have expected that. It can take years and multiple installments for fighting games to develop their characters, so it’s all part of the aesthetic here. As for what little characterization there is, I think they did a good job of making Dwayne legitimately cool. He had two character scenes, but they were both made to set him up as a determined fighter and it worked.

Overall, I would rank this chapter third out of seven. I really appreciate the experimental approach, the techniques are interesting, and I appreciate the short length.

What do you all think? For those of you who haven’t played the game, would this chapter convince you that this isn’t your everyday RPG?

I’m going to leave the poll open for a bit longer. Right now, I’m thinking about closing it on Wednesday. You all can keep suggesting names for any chapter, even if we won’t do it next!

[LoakaMossi]

Poll’s closed, and next up is Ninja! Time to figure out how on Earth I’m going to have this chapter make sense…

I forgot to mention it, but the ninja has a suffix with his name, -maru, which means “complete” or “circle.” To use the suggestion as an example, Bortmaru would mean “a circle of Bort” or “a complete Bort.” If we used the intended meaning, it would mean “a circle of lightning bolts,” which is actually kind of cool.

As always, there’s a six character limit on name suggestions.

[KingCarnival]

Let’s go with Kyojin

[Mozz]

Yeah, I really love the feel of the wrestling chapter - the feel really stands out, even if there’s little to no story

[LoakaMossi]

It’s been a week, but I’ve finally got the first update ready!

This entire chapter contains wanton murder and senseless killing, committed by the protagonist.

A Sneaking Mission...

Time to look at the most confusing chapter of the game!

OK, I know the stories are sendups of clichés, but this is pushing it.

At any rate, we can get an early look at our villain.

The man on the right was making click-clack noises as he was walking, so he’s probably not human. It looks like our adversary keeps some weird company.

: How are things progressing?

: Hah! At last, I have him in my custody. What else is there to report?

: We simply need to strip off the shell and give him a nice new finish. The work will commence tomorrow at daybreak.
: Good.

: I’ve not had fresh human in ages!
: As you wish.

---

: I see… So, you were unable to complete your mission.

: If you were to be killed, what would become of the Enma shinobi? I myself would go, but these old bones don’t move quite as freely as they used to…
: But, my lord…

: … I am loath to delegate a top secret mission of such grave importance to any other. Except, perhaps…

: The man I have in mind has not yet finished training, but he shows incredible promise. He is already better than many of our finest. He is likely our best bet.
: Ahah! What is this man’s name?
: He is called…

This joke is probably on its last legs, but I felt compelled.

: Bring him here. Immediately!

: Well then. I am sending you on a mission of grave import.

We actually don’t know what we’re trying to do yet. We’d better get a mission briefing.

: Perhaps you’ve heard of the Ode Clan… It is one of the many families who seek to take advantage of our nation’s chaos, with the ultimate goal of deposing the Tokugawa shogunate. Ode Iou is holding a political prisoner in his castle. Though your ultimate goal is to rescue the prisoner, how you achieve this is up to you. You might become as the shadows, silent as the stars… Or you could simply kill everyone who sees you. However! Whichever path you take, none must be aware of your presence. Do I make myself clear?

OK, now we’re ready.

Or not.

: Allow me to teach you my secret art…

:Press the Y button when you are being pursued by the enemy… So long as the button is held, you will become one with your surroundings. None shall be able to see you. I am confident that you will master it with little difficulty.

And we’re off!

---

Secret Life

The feudal times of ancient Japan are drawing to a close. As the era draws to a close, the future has become fearful and uncertain for many. And yet, there still remain those whose silent acts can change history’s course…

Is it life that awaits him in Ode Iou’s sprawling castle…? Or death…?

Sound of Shinobi

Our insertion was successful. Bort can start his infiltration!

Unsurprisingly, Bort is quick and strong, but he’s about as fragile as can be.

I don’t focus on inventory, but I wanted to show off that Bort starts the chapter with healing items. He came prepared!

Finally, a demonstration of this chapter’s gimmick. The Invisibility Cloak will make us intangible as well as invisible; enemies will just sail right over us while we’re using it. However, we can’t move while using it.

But stealth isn’t everything.

Killing Field!

Most of the enemies in this chapter have individual names. It’s neat, but I won’t be recounting the names of all of our victims.

These guys give us a good chance to show off Bort’s starting moves. First up is Shinobi Slash. It’s decently powerful, but there’s nothing special about it.

Cross Slice hits the eight squares next to Bort, but it’s weaker than Shinobi Slash.

Finally, Blazing Firefly is our first ninpou. It acts as a desperation move. Most enemies are willing to chase you over fire tiles, so you can use this move to give yourself breathing room. You’ll need to get off the fire pretty quickly though; Bort’s health is miniscule, so even damage tiles can end him.

And this brings us to the chapter’s overall gimmick: Kill Count. We can kill zero enemies, one hundred enemies, or any number in between. I’ll be showing off a normal run where we don’t care about kill count and a condensed pacifist run because it really changes a lot of the chapter. I won’t be showing the murder run. You get no reward and the chapter doesn’t change a whole lot. At any rate, we should go through the building in front of us.

As luck would have it, we’ve stumbled upon a password briefing.

: Mountain!

: River!

This mechanic isn’t super important for our current run, but it’s nice to keep track of it.

: Hah! Serves him right. With this password system in place, we will easily be able to tell friend from foe. Now, get to your posts!!

Let’s take a closer look at this hallway: we’ve got three options.

To the right, we have this mook guarding an item.

Bort really needs this.

While I was in this room, the bell went off. This means that the password has changed! This happens at regular intervals throughout the chapter.

In the middle room, we find the password master.

He’s stronger than the guys we’ve been facing, but he’s not too difficult.

And the final door is a hallway to more doors, as well as a new enemy type.

These guys are dangerous. They can match you in a damage race, so you need to get the first strike.

I also have a new technique to show: Water Arts. This has a chance to knock an enemy backwards as well as create damage tiles. Water tiles are really weak, but they’re still not something Bort should be on top of.

Through the southern doorway, Bort comes across this scene.

We take down this guy, but we ignore the woman. No matter what run you’re on, you’ll want to avoid harming the women. Even on a 100 kill run, killing women at this point is a bad idea.

Up north is the exit. We’ve cleared out our first building!

There are two of these blue-haired samurai out here.

At the end of the path, we come across more guards. But first…

There’s a hidden man over here! I decided to let him live.

There’s also a hidden door here, but we can’t access it yet.

Now we can go through our first password check. Two of these options are always wrong: Ode Iou and Potato. The password alternates between River and Origin on the bell.

However, we need the experience.

Bort is never going to survive if he doesn’t level up.

Now that the area is clear, I can show off Bort’s incredible speed! His dash is twice as fast as all of the other characters, which can come in handy during a pacifist run.

Inside of our next building is a room with four doors and a samurai.

Flame Arts is a safer version of Blazing Firefly. It does more damage without creating damage tiles, so it’s more useful in most situations.

The door on the middle-right has these two. We kill the blue-haired samurai for the experience, but we spare the orange-clothed one.

The door on the middle-left contains this. There’s nothing to do here.

And on the far left, there’s a hallway to another area.

The password-protected door guards this empty room.

The center door leads here. The samurai here is too strong to fight, but there’s still an opportunity for us.

There’s a hidden path to the attic here!

In this part of the attic, we find more armor for our fragile Bort. We then head back to that second hallway.

The door on the far right leads here. The first two doors are hallways back to the first hallway.

The one on the right leads to this room.

The man on the right is a merchant. His attacks are really weak, so he’s basically free EXP.

Finally, we need to check out this room in the first hallway.

There’s another pathway to the attic.

: Hold it right there! … I’ve never seen you before…

This password check is different from the others. If you answer Ode Iou, he responds “Isn’t that the name of our leader?” If you answer Potato, he responds “Isn’t that my favorite dish?” You have to answer with one of the potentially correct answers, so the passwords aren’t totally useless on a murder run.

We’re not on a murder run, but we do need the experience.

This ninja actually has Shinobi Slash and Cross Slice. It doesn’t make him too dangerous to fight, however.

Up in the attic, we stumble across this scene.

: Shhhh…! Keep your voice down! They might hear us! We’ve come so far. It’d be a shame if they caught us now!
: But, Dad…

: I know. Not only will it restore our family’s honor, but we’ll be big hits in town after we spread the wealth around a bit…
: C’mon, let’s hurry!
: Wait a sec! This place is probably littered with traps. I’ll go first…

Oh look. It’s that samurai we spared earlier.

Killing Field!

(Music Stops)

That face sure looks familiar, doesn’t it?
And now that the game has said “Watanabe” I can stop being coy about this. Every chapter has a Watanabe scene, which revolves around the death of a father. Some, like the Wrestling chapter’s, are only implied. It’s a weird way of tying things together, but I think it’s neat.

This is what they were after, and it’s why we let the samurai live. If we had killed him, they would have taken this and ran. Unfortunately, we’re going to need this money.

These peepholes are littered around the attic. Let’s check them out.

This one is a good way of keeping track of the password. If you ever forget what’s going on, you can just return here.

This information gives us our first objective: retrieve the storehouse key! For now, it’s our only lead.

On the way out, we’re stopped by an enemy ninja. He doesn’t slow us down much.

Nice! Now we’re a ninja.

It’s time for a lap around the rooftops! First up is this building. We couldn’t get into the ground floor, so let’s look at the top floor.

There are a couple of treasure chests for our trouble.

And we have a miniboss! One ninja can put us in a bind, so five ninjas can really ruin our day.

Luckily, one of our enemies dropped a Fuujin’s Scroll, which gives us access to this!

Only one of these ninjas is real. Kill him, and the rest fall apart.

We get a gauntlet and more money for our trouble.

We’re coming up on the castle’s gate, and one of the many rude things this chapter has in store.

The center tile of this room is a trap door. It’s not dangerous, but it can be really annoying.

We’ve finally reached the end of the rooftop track.

It’s the top floor of the Storehouse, and it looks like they forgot to lock it.

And with that, our first objective is complete!
What awaits Bort in the ground floor of the storehouse? And where is the prisoner we were sent to rescue? We’ll have to find out… next time!

[LoakaMossi]

I tried to get this up yesterday, but my internet fought me the entire time.

Securing The Hostage

Sound of Shinobi

Last time, we’d just secured our first key. To use it, we need to get back on the first floor.

Bort decides the best way to get there is by jumping down the trap door.

We haven’t cleared out the area in front of the storehouse yet, so let’s get that squared away.

These guys look like a password check, but they actually just turn you away no matter what.

With them gone, we can get into the storehouse!

It’s a well-stocked storehouse too. There’s a couple of attack items, some equipment, some healing items, and more money.

More importantly, the storehouse is home to the lost souls. They spawn from the enemy in the corner; as long as she survives, the souls will keep coming. We don’t need any grinding for now, but I leave the enemies alone in case we need them later.

But that’s not the only locked door we know of! We should also check the building Goninja was hiding in.

Well, this looks simple enough.

Killing Field!

But this is the Ninja chapter, so it’s never that simple.

I do get a chance to show Poison Mist. It’s not super useful; it does terrible damage and the poison effect rarely triggers.

Uh oh. Looks like these two want to avenge their fallen brother.

And so do these guys. It’s a good thing they didn’t all come at once!

Sound of Shinobi

Our reward is another key, but where do we use it? It doesn’t work on the front door for the third building, so we’ll have to keep looking.

Thankfully, we’re not out of areas yet!

What kind of evil castle would this be if it didn’t have a secret underground passage?

The passage leads out to the moat, which is still swarming with guards.

The fight with the ceiling ninjas gave Bort enough experience to learn Shuriken Storm. This is a very useful move. It does solid damage and has infinite range in eight directions. It can’t hit directly next to Bort, but that’s what Shinobi Slash is for.

Bort can’t dash when he’s in the moat, but he does get a new sprite.

Oh. See that shadow just ahead of Bort? That’s one of this chapter’s bonus bosses.

We’re not getting anywhere near it. Remember how the King Mammoth couldn’t be encountered accidentally? There’s no such mercy here. That evil fish will just kill you in an instant.

But enough about that, we’ve found the dungeon! We’re here to rescue a prisoner, and our Basement Key should work on these basement cells.

Let’s start from the top of the prison and work our way down. This is a little tricky; the guard is too dangerous to fight right now, which is why I’m currently invisible.

Let’s start with these gentlemen.

Or not. Either this is a bizarre trap set by Ode Iou, or Bort just murdered two confused prisoners.

Next up is this guy, who is a trap. If you agree to feed him, he takes a healing item and gives you nothing in return. Instead, you’ll just be brought back to this screen. If you don’t want to kill this man, your only option is to avoid speaking to him altogether.

We’re down to one more prisoner up here, so here’s hoping.

That’s promising!

: You were sent to get me outta here, right? Great! Let’s get going!

Well then, let’s get to rescuing Ryoma!..Have we heard the name Ryoma before?

Did our lord send us on a rescue mission without telling us who we were rescuing? That’s wildly irresponsible!

: However…

This is just a regular blue-haired samurai, so he’s easy to take out.

I’m just going to assume that Ode Iou knows more about our mission than we do, and say that this is our actual target. Let’s get him out of here!

Well crap.

(Music Stops)

: I’m afraid I can’t let you go. You must be here to rescue that man, but that’s quite impossible, you see.

We’ve found one of Ode Iou’s inner circle. The pentagram, to be specific.

: Hehehehe…

: Still want to try it?

This is one of the few actual hints in this chapter: fighting him right now isn’t actually a good idea. But we persist anyways.

: And here I’d thought you were smarter than that. You really are a fool! Now… Behold! I will send you to my Master!!

Killing Field!

This boss is based on a real historical figure: Amakusa Shirō was the head of a rebellion of Japanese Christians in the 1630’s, hence his battle cry.
His chant of Elohim Essaim might also be a reference to his faith, but I’m not entirely sure what it means. “Elohim” is Hebrew for God, but “Essaim” isn’t Hebrew at all. It might be a mistransliteration of the Hebrew name for the Tree of Life, but who knows? The phrase itself was apparently used to summon demons in an old anime called Akuma-kun, so the writers are probably just referencing that.

Anyways, the fight itself is a little difficult but uninteresting. Shiro can hit hard for two spaces in any direction, and most of his attacks can push you around. He also has a health-draining attack that can prolong this fight. Finally, don’t make water tiles like I did. Those heal him.

: I am im-mor-tal…

While that fight may have been a wash, it does clear up what our next step should be.

Say goodbye to the lost souls!

Not so convincing this time around, is he?

Killing Field!

Defeating the lost souls taught Bort his next move. Strength of the Ninja is wind-based. It’s pretty powerful and it can put enemies to sleep, but it has a charge time. It’s a little risky to use while we’re on our own.

: D-defeated…! No! It can’t be!!

In case he didn’t reference Christianity enough, here’s one more for the road! It’s a little thing, but I’m surprised he says “Master” and not “Lord.” Anyways, we need to get back to that dunge-

Or he can just come to us. That works too.

: And here I was tryin’ to catch a little shut-eye… Oh well… Anyway, I am absolutely famished! Got any grub? No? Ah, well… Shouldn’t have thought so, given the circumstances… Huh?

Either option will move the scene forward, but I see no reason to lie here.

: That must mean…

: Excellent! I’ve had just about enough of this place… I suppose I’ll let you lead me out of here!

Alright, we’ve secured our objective!

Ryoma has fairly good stats. His weapon is pretty incredible though. The Yoshiyuuki give him +40 attack, and we can’t remove it.

For comparison, here’s Bort. They’re pretty similar, but Bort is two levels behind.

Killing Field!

Since we have another party member, I decide to go take out that warden I avoided earlier.

Ryoma has three techniques. Quickdraw Wolf Fang, in addition to being my terrible D&D character, is a pretty good pistol technique. It does decent damage and inflicts a debuff.

Warning shot is a bit more limited. It doesn’t do damage and it can only shoot on the diagonals, but keeping your enemy from moving can be really useful.

Finally, Polaris Single-Blade is pretty powerful, and it has a chance of paralyzing the enemy. Not a bad list of techniques, by any means.

Sound of Shinobi

If you never investigated the ninja hideout, this is where you can find a Basement Key. Good luck with that though, this warden was still kind of a rough fight.

Since we’ve rescued our hostage, we’ll just be making a beeline for the exit.

We’re pretty close to this building’s entrance.

These guys don’t want to let us leave without a fight. Thankfully, only one of these guys is as strong as the warden we just fought.

Once we’re out of this castle, it’s a straight shot out of here!

Oh, right. I forgot about these two.

Well, at least they gave us a nicer looking kill count. 45 isn’t bad! Now, let’s get Ryoma back to saf-

: Let’s try staying here a little longer, hmm?

Oh. Well, I guess that’s how it’s going to be. Will Ryoma have his meeting with the castle’s lord? Why did our clan not tell us this would turn into an assassination mission? We’ll have to find out…next time!

[LoakaMossi]

OK, this is going to be a large update. After this, the rest of this chapter’s updates should be short.

Welcome To The Madhouse

Sound of Shinobi

The castle’s front door is still locked, so we need to use the secret passageway again. Also, Ryoma apparently has enough room to stand up comfortably. I guess Bort just thinks that crawling looks cooler.

Ryoma has a unique snorkel sprite, which is neat.

We blazed past this room in the previous update, but there is a weapon for Bort here. It’s the first in this chapter, I think.

Killing Field

This guy was smart enough to bring bodyguards with him.

They don’t save him.

Sound of Shinobi

We also skipped a secret in this hallway.

The woman here will mimic our movements, so we can’t catch her. That’s fine for this run, but since I’m not doing a mass-murder run, I’ll show off how to reach her.

If you leave and re-enter the room, she’ll hide in this box. It’s locked, so we can’t reach her.

The trick is to stay invisible for an extended period of time. She’ll eventually think you’re gone.

Luckily for her, we have no intention of harming her.

Instead of leaving the castle, we can check out these two doors.

On the left, we have a trap!

: Who’re you? (wink)

Okame-no-Kata is not a difficult boss, but she can take you down if you’re not careful.

That’s not what makes her a trap.

: Who’re you? (Wink)

This is. She’ll chase Bort for the next 16 rooms. And unlike the other supernatural creatures, she counts as a kill. And, since she’s a woman, we’ll miss out on a secret item later on.
Ode Iou’s castle is the point where this chapter takes the kid gloves off, and will actively screw you over.

So let’s not do that. Instead, let’s go through the door on the right. It takes us to another room-o’-doors.

In the middle door, we find this. The old man is good for EXP.

On the left, we have these two chests containing birdlime, which is an adhesive that can be used as an attack item, and more money.

On the right, we have…this guy.

I guess it’s afraid of us? Maybe we should check out that cushion it was on.

Nope, never mind, that was a terrible idea.

radio:Killing Field

Let’s meet our first Trap Master. This guy is the laziest. “Oh, I’ll just throw a bunch of logs at them, whatever!” You only need to open up a path; destroying the trap master will get rid of the logs.

Sound of Shinobi

We go up the stairs to find more branching paths.

Up north, there’s a storeroom. Most of the items here aren’t useful, but that woman is guarding a jar with more money in it.

Unfortunately, she’s an enemy combatant. We’ll just ignore her; we’ll miss out on the item if we fight her.

To the south, there’s a hallway of doors. Thankfully, they all head in the same direction.

Unfortunately, it leads to another room of choices.

We came from the door on the left, so let’s check the door in the middle.

This is a pretty difficult fight, but it won’t keep us from getting that item. I’m not really sure why though, Okame-no-Kata was pretty clearly supernatural but she still counted.

Oh good. It’s just a room full of goodies.

You know what, fine. Sure, whatever.

Let’s just keep moving forward.

We’ve got another hall of screen doors to go through. Good, these make sense.

Hopefully our path is obvious. There’s not much to say about those rooms, I hope this chapter doesn’t get too boring.

What? You’re not used to seeing slightly blood-thirsty ninjas around here? I find that hard to believe.

Looks like it’s time for another brawl!

Umm…Hello? Who are you?

Sir, is everything alright!?

: And I will kill humans!

Killing Field!

This lunatic has pretty high health for this enemy type, but his attacks are mostly unimpressive. His name, according to a quick Google search so forgive me if I’m wrong, would mean “Complete Wisdom.”

They have pretty over-the-top names though.

Thankfully, I managed to avoid his most dangerous attack: he can instantly kill either of your party members if they’re next to him.

Beat

Let’s see what was in Hannyu-maru’s room. Maybe this monk is responsible for his demonic powers?

Or he can just summon a tiger, sure.
The tiger is the same enemy as the Kung Fu tigers, and the new enemy is called the “Dumb Monk.”

Killing Field!

They give us a good chance to show off Bort’s new move: Sand Arts is an area attack. It’s described as “sealing ninpou,” but I’m not sure if that ever comes into play.

The monk has a pretty powerful move: it does good damage and can put us to sleep.

After saying this, he just fades away. Things are weird and getting weirder!

Sound of Shinobi

The next room is slightly more sane.

It only has a man who can magically count our kills. That’s normal for this castle.

The room through that secret door contains more attack items.

Further into the castle, we have this room. Let’s go left first.

It leads to a bedroom.

We sure showed him, I guess.

Let’s go through the right door next.

In the attic, we find more traps.

Killing Field!

The first trap is a standard gauntlet. You won’t have the health to fight all of them, but you should kill at least one so you can get to the trap master.

The second one is a more difficult version of the log trap. The solution is the same, just kill one so you can leave and kill the trap master.

If you go south, you can find this armor.

This is a less obvious case of the trap masters; the grey statue is the master in this case.

For the final trap, we just need to kill all of the fire Buddhas.

Sound of Shinobi

After getting out of the attic, we find this little tea room.

…That’s a pretty obvious trap, man.

Just in case it wasn’t, the game put in an even bigger red flag.

Let’s fall for it.

It just puts us at the jail, so we can eventually make our way back.

: Look, I’m in a hurry. Please just take a seat on the cushion and relax!

: Shoot! How did you know it was a trap? All right, I’ve turned the trap off. Don’t worry, it’s quite safe now! Come, come! Sit down…

I don’t know audience, what do you think?

: Shoot! All right, you win!!

: By the way… How did you like all of the little gadgets set up around the castle? Oh no, they’re not ALL traps! My wonderful mechanical body, for instance…

Killing Field!

After delivering the best battle cry ever, the castle’s trap master decides to face us. Now, this fight is the same as the other trap master fights: kill the master, and the others traps will go away.

However, these traps drop an important item, so we need to destroy all of them. The shuriken method seems too slow though…

Thankfully, we still have attack items!

Now, all that’s left is the hellish puppet.

He’s really dangerous when he’s at a distance, but if you get close this is all he can manage.

After a few sword strikes, he goes down.

The zenmai is the important item I was mentioning. By the way, this screenshot is from a different fight; I forgot that I can’t take screenshots after recording videos, so I had to do the fight again. Whoops!

: My God! My body won’t stop!

Welp, we’re two for three. We’ve taken out the circle and the puppet.

Sound of Shinobi

Through the door, we have this room. This room is important, but we’ll ignore it for now.

As we soldier on, we stumble across this scene.

: Heh… Don’t matter. I’m afraid you can’t live now that you’ve seen us…

Well, I guess Bort’s somebody.

Thankfully, we’re strong enough to take on four ninjas at once now.

: What a strong man…

Let’s look at both of these options. First, let’s agree to stay with her.

: Ode Iou doesn’t have any daughters!

: Ahahahahaha!! You must be the man that Lord Iou was expecting…

: If you fell for THAT you must be REALLY thick! If only you had accepted my offer!

Ryoma actually did research before being captured, so he saves us from the fight. There’s a fight here, but we’re a little unready for it. Thankfully, we can have an easier fight if we take the other option.

If you speak to her a few times, but turn her down, you’ll get a new option.

This won’t deprive us of the secret item, but I’ll explain why later. For now, let’s keep moving.

Here we are. Ode Iou is behind this door.

We’re not going to fight him yet, but here’s a look at these creepy guys.

Instead, we’ve got a few more things to look at. This is the room with the traps in them; since we took out Genmai, the traps spontaneously broke down.

We’ve not looked at this attic yet: it has a grappling hook and a Genji’s Helm.

The second attic takes us out here.

Which, in turn, leads to a third attic.

This gauntlet is the most interesting chest in this attic. It might be obvious, but avoid that pits. They’ll send you back to the jail.

One more attic: this one has another grappling hook. This is the best benefit of getting rid of Genmaii: it stops these gears from turning, which makes navigating this room a lot easier.

Finally, the attic lets out at the first screen door hallway. I’m sorry if you’re confused by the castle’s layout, but at least part of it is by design. This castle is a nightmare to navigate.

Thankfully, this room’s trap has also been deactivated. The middle chest contains the Castle Gate Key, which unlocks the front door.

Now, let’s look at one more secret in this attic. This particular pit is where you want to fall.

It leads to this room. You have to go in a c-shaped route; every other tile is a trap door.

Our reward is footwear. Really. I’m not sure what the joke here is.

The only way out of there is through the jail which reminds me, we never checked out this guy!

It has not worked out once, but let’s try letting him go.

Well, that went well. It’s about time a prisoner was happy to be out of jail!

By the way, by “someday” Goemon meant “right now.”

He’s refilled a lot of the chests around the castle. It’s not the most useful, but it can be a nice way to get more money if you’re on a pacifist run.

Speaking of money, this room is where that money finally gets used. We want to put three coins into this slot.

This changes the room’s place in the castle.

This must be that “mechanical friend” that Genmai mentioned in the beginning. Let’s stick that Zenmai he was carrying around into it.

We get a crazed robot for our trouble.

After a pretty easy fight with him, we get another party member! His name is a pun on the ninja’s default name: Oboro. I think T-rob would also work as a robot name. Anyways, let’s go get him battle-tested!

Whoops. Looks like O-robo suffers from fall damage. He’s also not water-proof, so we need to be careful in the water. If either of these happen, he’s gone forever. Finally, he’s afraid of mice. They won’t break him, but he will fight us if we bump into one.

Thankfully, that’s the only trap door in that room. We can get out by putting another coin in the room’s slot.

His stats are absurd! And he’s only level two!

For comparison, here’s Bort’s stats at level eight.

There aren’t too many good stopping points, so I’ll just bring the update to a screeching halt. I think I’ll put up this chapter’s bonus bosses next, since that will give me a chance to talk about O-robo. In any case, I will see you all next time!

[Mozz]

This chapter looks impossible to play unless you have a walkthrough … Or are willing to play through multiple times

[Bearpigman]

After finally catching up in the ninja chapter, there were two things I noticed that were little easter eggs:

[spoiler]In the scene where the 5 ninjas descend one at a time to attack you, I noticed that their name was “Goninja”. I think this may be a very subtle reference to Gorenger, the very first japanese super sentai series (known in the US as Power Rangers) which famously featured 5 members who would pose dramatically before fighting

As for Genji’s Gauntlet, that’s a long running item in the final fantasy series and is generally some of the strongest armor in its game (the same holds true for the rest of the genji armor, but the gauntlets were the ones that stuck out in all games)[/spoiler]

[LoakaMossi]

@Mozz, it only looks that way. You can kind of bumble your way through this chapter without a problem, but it will be more frustrating. A lot of the things to screw you over only screw you out of hidden items, a special run, or O-robo. But if you want to do or have any of those, you will probably need a guide whether it’s a walkthrough on the internet or just notes you made yourself.

@Bearpigman, this game will throw out references like mad, and I won’t even pretend to catch all of them. I didn’t even realize that Genji equipment was from Final Fantasy, that’s a neat intra-company reference.

[LoakaMossi]

OK, time to cover the bonus bosses. Even though I’m posting this now, consider this a “non-canon” update. Any equipment or experience I get in this update will not be used outside of it.

Surf and Turf

Sound of Shinobi

So, if we’re going to take on these bonus bosses, we’re going to need a few more levels. Unfortunately, our options for grinding are very limited.

With Gennai dead, this is pretty much our only option.

O-robo’s moveset is made up of moves we’ve already seen. Most of them are Bort’s, but there’s a few wildcards. For example, he learns Earth Rending Fury at level 16, which you may remember as one of Jackie Hula’s moves. I guess Gennai was a big fan of sumo wrestling and taught his robot how to be a sumo wrestler.

In order to cut down on time, I tried to use a level up cheat. However, the cheat only worked on Bort. As a result, O-robo only made it to level 6 by the time Bort hit level 16. It’s recommended that O-robo be at least level 12.

I very quickly ran out of patience, so I’ll be using level 6 O-Robo instead. This probably just cost me more time in failed attempts, but oh well.

We’ve already seen our first bonus boss; he lives in the castle moat. Unfortunately, O-Robo is not waterproof. So how do we bring him into the fight?

We just wait right outside the moat, and let the fish come to us!

The last thing you hear before you die.

MEGALOVANIA

Meet Lord Iwama, our first bonus boss.

Thanks to our ghost-powered training session, we have some new moves to show off. Ryoma never learns any moves beyond his initial three, and O-robo never learns anything we haven’t already seen, but what about Bort?

First up is Chill Wind. It’s a pretty powerful spell, but it comes with a charge time.

Blade of Wind is one I might go back and grind for before facing Ode Iou. It’s a ninpou-based replacement for our Shuriken attack, and it’s really useful.

Shura’s Yin is the only non-item source of healing for Bort in this chapter. It can be useful under the right circumstances, but you’re usually better off using your healing items.

Phoenix Fire is the last of the fire-based moves. It has more range than the rest, but it has a charge time. It’s more useful for crowd-clearing than for dueling bosses.

Top Spin is highly situational. I’m sure there are bosses that can be completely chumped with this move, but it’s not a very useful move in general.

Shadow Mirror is a little unusual. It can only hit on Bort’s left or right, and he always faces away from his opponent when he uses it.

And finally, we have his ultimate technique. Bronze Leaf has a charge time, but it deals absurd damage along with debuffing stats. It will be his go-to attack for this fight.

With that showcase out of the way, let’s look at what makes Iwama a threat.

Poseidon’s Whip is his basic attack, and it inflicts poison. That would honestly be bad enough, but he’s not done.

Throw Down makes a return, and it still brings paralysis with it.

Finally, Iwama has his own version of great eruption. Thankfully, water only deals around 8 damage, and Bort’s equipment lets him heal water tile damage anyways. The rest of our party is pretty thoroughly wrecked, however.

So, now it’s time to talk strategy. Bort will be spamming Bronze Leaf for most of the fight while Ryoma gets in Iwama’s face to act as a distraction. Normally, O-robo would be our second heavy hitter but…

I did not make a smart decision for this fight. Instead, he provides healing items for his team mates to keep them in the fight. That doesn’t last too long though. Eventually, he and Ryoma fall prey to Iwama’s power over the tide. With no one to keep Iwama in place, Bort has to switch to instant moves.

As a result, Blade of Wind is what brings the fish down.

Like the King Mammoth before him, Iwama drops his own accessory.

Sound of Shinobi

What inspiring last words.

Unlike the Cola Bottle, the Suijin Scale does not bring absurd stat boosts with it. It’s certainly not a bad stat boost, but not really worth the risk of death-by-fish.

Our second boss is a little more hidden.

First, we need to go back to this hidden passageway, which is under the stone lantern. We want to be in this exact spot, with the diamond on the very bottom edge. We then want to head up two tiles, which will trigger a click sound, and then head back down.

As a result, we find a pot.

This is an alternate way to get Bort’s skills. For six koban, he gets Shadow Mirror, and for ten koban, he gets Bronze Leaf. We already have those techniques, so we won’t be using it.

If we head north, we no longer find the exit. Instead, we come across this room with a sword in it.

Of course, we can’t just waltz up and take it.

This isn’t just pompous posturing, we actually have a chance to just turn around and leave.

MEGALOVANIA

Unfortunately, we’re going to go through with this. Meet Majin Ryunosuke. “Majin” is a word that roughly means “Demon,” and he’s certainly earned that title.

This isn’t a move unique to him, but it’s one you’ll be praying to see more often. Half-Moon does a small amount of damage, but inflicts sleep. That’s easy to deal with when you have three party members.

Unfortunately, this move has the exact same range. Rock Crusher is just a hard-hitting move.

Soundkiller Sword is a little easier to deal with. The damage is split randomly between the targets, so it can range from “survivable” to “battle ending”

And finally, Road to Ruin. Everything about this is dangerous. The damage output, the stat debuffs, and the range all make this a dangerous move.

Before I start detailing the fight, let’s look at what Suijin Scale can do. This isn’t a bad move by any means, it’s just not too useful for this fight. The stat boost is probably more important in this case.

The strategy for this fight is the same as Iwama’s fight: Bort is the damage-dealer, Ryoma keeps him in place so Bort can land his hits, and O-robo keeps everyone alive.

Ryoma can’t land any of his status effects, so I have him use some attack items to boost his damage a bit.

I go all out with spamming healing items, so I manage to keep everyone alive this time. Also, look at that. He doesn’t even dissolve like the other bosses; he just poofs out like he’s a normal enemy.

He’s one of the hardest fights in the game, I can’t believe he just gets the normal defeated animation.

Anyways, here’s our reward. But it looks like somethings a little off about it…

Yeah, you can get two copies of this sword if you defeat Ryunosuke before freeing Goemon. It’s not worth it; I’ll have to explain why in the next update.

As for the sword itself, it’s an absurd upgrade. This has the same attack power as Ryoma’s sword at +40. Unfortunately, if you can get this sword, you’re already overpowered, so it doesn’t really add a whole lot.

Which is why I’ll be going into the last boss fight at level 8. I won’t pretend that it’s some sort of challenge run, but I do want to capture a normal boss fight instead of a pushover. Speaking of which, that’s coming up next! Bort will finally finish Ryoma’s mission…next time!

[LoakaMossi]

The Future of Japan

Alright, let’s start wrapping things up. Let’s see how these three fare agains-

Killing Field!

…Two! Let’s see how these two fare against Ode Iou!

So, this is why I did the bonus content before the end of the chapter; it was the best way to show O-robo in action. This is also what makes the second Masamune completely useless; O-robo can equip it, but he’ll die before he can really use it.

Sound of Shinobi

At any rate, we should keep moving.

These Eight “Great” swords aren’t really that threatening. Even without our extra equipment and EXP, this fight is easy.

: Well done! You’ve shown me how worthless the men in this castle really are. After all, they did let my sworn enemy get this close to me… But that’s of no consequence. I shall show you one who should be more than a match for you.

Uh oh. This might be a little tougher than our last historical enemy.

: The greatest swordsman that ever lived!

The game gives you a chance to save here. Musashi has to actually make contact with you before the fight starts.

: Ah well, I guess it’s just bad luck for you that we now cross swords…

Killing Field!

…You’re looking a little green there, Musashi. You sure you’re up for this?

YUP! He’s more than ready for us!

He can cover most of the field with some hard hitting attacks, and our non-ninpou ranged attacks don’t really do much against him.

And if he’s not hitting hard, he’s debuffing us!

There’s not a whole lot Ryoma can do here; his pistol can barely scratch him, and I’d like to keep my distance for the time being. Let’s try one of our attack items, the Shinobi Birdlime. That might be good for a laugh.

Jesus! I guess Musashi can’t deal with a simple bird trap!

In the end, Ryoma proves himself to be the better swordsman. Good for him.

: Not many men could defeat the great Musashi…

Now that he’s been dealt with, it’s time to chase down Ode Iou

Sound of Shinobi

But first, we need to deal with the last member of his supernatural council.

: You’ve pierced my very heart… Is it so wrong for a princess to fall in love with a Shinobi…?

At this point, Ryoma interjects like he did in the last update. Let’s just get straight to the fight.

Killing Field!

We could have fought her when we first met her. If we did, this hallway would just be empty.

Yodogimi has a very spell-based moveset. First up is this attack that drains health and stats.

Next up is a poison fire, which is just as absurd as it is incredible.

Finally, she has a seduction attack because of course she does. In an effort to reduce the amount of status effects, it just causes drunkenness.

Drunkenness is basically confusion; it causes your character to move erratically, but you can still attack where you want to.

And yet another falls to Ryoma’s blade.

Sound of Shinobi

: Then it looks like that princess wasn’t one of the 74 slain…

Bort adjusts his kill count accordingly, which is why killing her doesn’t keep you from getting the secret item.

Once we get up these stairs, we’ll be right outside Ode Iou’s door!

But first, it’s time to finally get that item!

It’s!..Really, really underwhelming. It’s hard to believe that they would make a single point of vitality a secret item, isn’t it?

Of course, that’s not the real secret. If you wait around in this room long enough, the maid will come back.

Now we’re talking! The IQ boost will make all of Bort’s ninpou stronger, which is always useful.

But enough about secrets, it’s time to finish our mission!

: It appears that you have beaten Musashi. Looks like I’ll just have to kill you myself… It’ll be just like squashing a tiny little bug!

Killing Field!

Ode Iou tries to be a threat by merely owning a gun.

It can do some decent damage, sure, but how does it compare to Ryoma’s gun?

Only slightly better.

He does have a technique to buy himself some breathing room, but it’s not going to be enough.

Ryoma could probably solo this boss fight.

: Hehehehehe… Interesting… But then, fighting in close-quarters such as this isn’t any fun, is it?

Of course, this isn’t the real final boss fight, as you could probably tell from the lack of MEGALOVANIA.

The real fight is going to be on the roof, as it very well should be!

MEGALOVANIA

I think “sublime” is being a little generous if you ask me.

The Frogsnake Demon doesn’t have a damaging attack, but he can still do a number on your health. The poison status effect and the poison tiles really add up with every passing turn.

He also has this debuff attack. He doesn’t try and strike you down; he just tries to keep you at bay while you succumb to the absurd amounts of poison.

Ryoma, however, has absolutely no problem with swiftly striking his enemies down.

(No Music)

Yeah Ryoma! I mean, who’d be dumb enough to let that happen? No politics in my thread please.

There’s a slide whistle here, so that was probably a cannonball.

: Huh? Who am I?

Nope! The Enma Shinobi are really bad at mission briefings.

One last historical reference for the road!

: You know, it’s kind of sad. We struggle and fight over the temporary rule of an artificial “nation." Why go to war for such a fleeting goal? Why sacrifice so many lives? It’s kind of silly, is it not? But… For better or for worse, such seems to be our nature as people. We can’t change that any more than we could change the past… But, I know that one day, everyone will live here in peace.

: I’m surprised a man such as yourself is a Shinobi.

That’s…actually a good offer. Our shinobi clan just threw us in here to sink or swim. Maybe Bort’s talents are better used elsewhere.

What the heck, let’s go with Ryoma.

: We’ll have to prepare a feast on the ship tonight!

: The sun is coming up… One day, the Land of the Rising Sun will see a new dawn as well! I’m sure of it!!

And with that, the credits start rolling!

---

Unlike most of the other chapters, the end credits don’t show more of our protagonist’s story. Instead, we get a “greatest hits” of his finished story.

And so, Bort-maru completed his mission, as well as Ryoma’s.

So, that means it’s time to start the next chapter, right?

Not quite! One of this game’s feature that I never thought I’d get an organic chance to explain is the ability to redo chapters. For example, if we wanted to have Yuan or Sammo to inherit the Puncha style, we could just replay that chapter. In this case, I get to do a pacifist run! I’ll explain why I’m doing this in this way when I do my write-up for this chapter.

Even though this chapter isn’t quite finished, I’ll go ahead and open the poll for the next chapter since we’ve seen the credits.

SELECT-A-LIVE

• Cowboy!
• Mecha!
• SciFi!

Vote away, everyone!