THE LEGEND OF KAGE (Kage no Densetsu) Walkthrough Guide Version 1.0 written by John "Dragon Lord" Mercer. No reproduction of this or any other guide should be attempted without proper consent from the author. For questions and comments, e-mail them to DragonLord1975 (at) Adelphia (dot) Net. I. INTRODUCTION II. CONTROL CONFIGURATION III. CAST OF CHARACTERS IV. THE WORLD V. SPECIAL ITEMS VI. SPECIAL STRATEGY VII. LEGALESE I. INTRODUCTION In The Legend of Kage, you play a lone ninja warrior named Kage in a mix of a damsel in distress game with a ninja fighting game as you battle hundreds of ninjas and powerful enemies to free the Princess from the evil Shogun. II. CONTROL CONFIGURATION TITLE SCREEN Select: Selects number of players Start: Begins the game GAME PLAY Left/Right: Moves Kage in that direction Up: Makes Kage jump up Down: Makes Kage crouch down B Button: Throws shuriken A Button: Swings kodachi Start: Pauses the game Select: Not used III. CAST OF CHARACTERS KAGE: A lone ninja warrior who's on a quest to save the Princess from an evil Shogun and his army. He wears a red ninja vest and carries two kodachi and a limitless supply of shuriken. KIRIHIME: The Princess in the game who was abducted by the Shogun's ninja forces and been taken prisoner in his castle. She has a red kimono and has long hair. SHINOBI: The evil ninjas of the Shogun's army make up the bulk of his forces. Shinobi carry long katana swords on their backs as well as shuriken to slow Kage down. Blue Shinobi are most common. Red Shinobi use their weapons and also throw smoke bombs. The Black Shinobi is almost impossible to beat, but if he dies, he leaves behind a scroll. YOBO: Yobo (meaning "enchanted monk") are the Shogun's most powerful magicians in his army. Yobo have a special fire-breathing ability and can defend against shuriken using their gauntlets. Once a Yobo is killed, his fire spells vanish. Blue Yobo are common and red Yobo are rare. GENBO: Genbo is a dangerous wizard hired by the Shogun to destroy Kage. He can split himself into two completely physical beings and carries a bo for protection. Genbo awaits you in summer. YUKINOSUKE KIRI: Yukinosuke is like an evil twin to Kage and a powerful ninja in his own right. Yukinosuke's skill with a kodachi is legendary and can block most of Kage's shuriken attacks. Yukinosuke awaits you in autumn. YOSHIRO YUKIGUSA: The evil samurai Shogun that has ordered the abduction of Princess Kirihime and Kage's ultimate target. Yoshiro appears pale like a ghost flying around wielding two katana blades. Yoshiro awaits you in winter. IV. THE WORLD The world is divided into three levels: Summer, Autumn & Winter. And the levels are divided into 4 stages. Kage must pass through each stage and defeat the boss to advance to the next level. STAGE 1: Forest The forest has a lot of trees for climbing as Kage runs into the forest killing every enemy along the way. At the end of the forest when there are no other enemies around, a Red Yobo will make his presence felt. Kill him and advance to Stage 2. STAGE 2: Underground Moat A nearby river in the forest leads Kage to an underground tunnel connecting a moat that leads towards Yoshiro's castle. Inside the tunnel is a mob of Blue Shinobi ready to attack Kage. Kage's goal is to kill 10 Blue Shinobi without getting himself killed. Once 10 Blue Shinobi are gone, Kage can advance to Stage 3. STAGE 3: Castle Wall The castle wall is made of many platforms and Kage must jump up to the top of the castle while avoiding the Red Shinobi swarming around him. Among the Red Shinobi troops is their leader, the Black Shinobi. If Kage can reach the top of the castle without falling to his doom, he can advance to Stage 4. STAGE 4: Inside the Castle Now that the castle's been breached, the castle's defense forces begin their unstoppable assault. Kage has to climb up 4 flights of stairs while avoiding Red and Blue Shinobi troops and Red Yobo magicians. At the fourth level of the castle, Kirihime is chained to a post. Kage must cut Kirihime free with his kodachi. BOSS STAGE After Kage cuts Kirihime free, the two of them jump out of the castle's rooftop and leap to safety into the forest. However, one lone Shinobi abducts Kirihime again and leaves Kage to battle alone against one of Yoshiro's top warriors. V. SPECIAL ITEMS EGAO: Egao means "smiling face" and these are potential allies to Kage. A Red Egao can either give Kage a phantom double spell or a starburst spell. A Gray Egao adds 10,000 bonus points to your score. A Blue Egao adds an extra life for Kage. PHANTOM DOUBLE: When Kage gets the Phantom Double, he splits into two people. Any weapon cannot hurt him as long as this spell is activated. STARBURST: When Kage gets the Starburst, he throws 8 shuriken, each one in all 8 directions of the compass. This attack temporarily gives Kage the upper hand against enemies coming from all directions. MAGIC ORB: This brings out Kage's strength, speed and ability. Once he collects a Magic Orb, his red outfit becomes green and his small shuriken becomes bigger. Grabbing another Magic Orb when he's green turns his outfit into gold and is generally stronger. When enemies attack him in any powered state, he reverts back to his original red outfit and normal powers. Fire from the Yobo's mouth kills Kage no matter what power level he is. SCROLL: A scroll may be small, but it packs a punch. When Kage gets this scroll, the light will flash and all enemies will instantly fall. This scroll magic is a death spell to all but the bosses. VI. SPECIAL STRATEGY A kodachi is a small sword that's used for defense in the days of feudal Japan. When shuriken flies at Kage, have him turn towards it and swing the kodachi at it and Kage won't die. This defensive maneuver won't work on fire and smoke bombs. In the underground moat, have Kage kill 7 ninjas with his kodachi while submerged in water. Don't get out during that time for any reason. A Blue Egao will float overhead. After you grab it, kill the other 3 ninjas in any manner and make sure to watch for any shuriken flying. If Kage is fortunate enough to kill the Black Shinobi, he leaves behind a scroll that Kage can use against the ninjas that patrol the castle. When Kage reaches the Boss Stages, he finds the boss of the season along with a seemingly harmless butterfly. If Kage goes after the Boss, the Boss won't be harmed. Kage must go after the butterfly for it is the source of the Boss' immortality. 5 hits with any weapon on the butterfly will cause it to float down towards its demise, leaving the Boss open for Kage's attacks. When Kage finally destroys Yoshiro, Kirihime runs to Kage to congratulate him on him rescuing her. Then, Kage runs with Kirihime off screen. The ending goes like: "Kage has successfully saved the Princess Kiri. All the evils have disappeared and peace pervaded everywhere. This was a tale about a young ninja living in old Japan. However..." Then the process starts over again. VII. LEGALESE I'd like to give special thanks to Taito, for making the Legend of Kage game for the NES and to GameFAQs.com, for their generous contribution.