------------------------------------- Kenseiden for Sega Master System FAQ By Brian Cole brian@briansemu.com http://www.briansemu.com Version 1.0 ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Updates ------------------------------------- None Yet ------------------------------------- Contributors ------------------------------------- Brian Cole - Most of this FAQ Sega - A lot of the info is from the manual Unknown - The action replay codes, and some of the hints ------------------------------------- Intro ------------------------------------- From the back of the box: Kenseiden It was a land of peace and plenty...until the evil Warlocks returned in a storm of ruin and destruction! Now, they have struck the final blow by stealing your heritage...the Sword of the Dragon King and the Five Secret Scrolls. You are Hayato. The blood of the Dragon King runs in your veins. Armed only with a samurai sword, you must travel through the sixteen provinces of ancient Japan, battling the warlocks and their monstrous armies in nightmare caves and castles! If you defeat the Warlocks, you will learn the sword magic of the Scrolls and... maybe...regain the Sword of the Dragon King. Fail, and your country is doomed to a thousand centuries of terror! It is a battle only you can win! ------------------------------------- Basics ------------------------------------- Much of this info is from the manual: The object of Kenseiden is to defeat the five evil warlocks to gain the five secret scrolls and recover the Sword of the Dragon King from the Warlocks in castle Edo. Kenseiden has 16 rounds, each named after the Japanese province in which it takes place. Most rounds can be cleared by finding the exit and making it through alive. But when you encounter a warlock, it will always be a battle to the death! You will not be able to advance to the next round until you defeat the warlock. Each time you defeat a warlock you gain a scroll and will learn a new method of attack with you katana (samurai sword). ---Number of lives--- You begin Kenseiden with three lives. You lose a life when you strength meter reaches zero or when you fall from a roof or bridge. You gain a life each time your score reaches a multiple of 20,000 points. You can also gain extra lives by finding a wooden doll. You can have a maximum of nine lives at one time. After that, you receive 5,000 bonus points for every multiple of 20,000 points you get. ---Taking Control--- -The directional button will move Hayato -Button one is to attack with the sword -Button two is to jump -Press up to enter doors and go up steps. -Press down to go down stairs and move into the defense position. You begin the game knowing three methods of attack; the horizontal slash when standing, the low cut when squatting and the defense position made by squatting and holding button 1. Each time you defeat a warlock you will learn a new method of attack from the secret scrolls. There are five in all: 1. High Jump (Taka Tobi) This will give you the ability to jump higher. Push and hold up, and jump. 2. Crushing Head Attack (Kara Take Wari) This will give you the power to attack from overhead. It increases the power and area of your attack. This is an effective move to get enemies who attack from above. Press and hold up, and attack. 3. Splitting the Helmet (Kabuto Wari) Increases your power by one level. This technique lets you cut downward with your sword while jumping. Press and hold up, and press both buttons. 4. Cutting the Air (Shinku Kiri) This technique gives you the ability to attack both front and rear, increasing your area of attack. Squat, and press the attack button. 5. Wild Wheel Sword (Ran Sha To) With this technique you can move left or right while cutting with the sword in a windmill of razor sharp steel. Press the direction pad in one of the upper diagonal positions. ---Training Rounds--- There are several training rounds in the course of the game. You enter the training round by going up the stairs. In the training rounds an elder teacher will order Hayato to study combat by dodging arrows and spears. If you succeed, your life meter will increase or you will earn an Omamori, the talisman of protection that reduces the amount of damage an enemy does to you. Fail and your life meter will decrease by a small fraction. You can skip the training rounds by moving to the right and not going up the stairs. ---Special Items--- Several items can be found throughout the levels, or by defeating a warlock: 1. Gourd of life (Hyotan) Appears when you defeat some enemies. It will partially restore your strength meter. It is in some hidden locations (see below). 2. Sword (Katana) Strengthens your attack power. It can be found in different rounds. 3. Medicine Case (Inro) Obtaining this item will replenish your Strength meter when it reaches zero. Although you can only carry one at a time, you can take it from round to round until it is needed. 4. Talisman of Protection (Omamori) This increases your defense power. It is won in the training rounds. There are red and blue Omamori. The blue is the most powerful. However, your defense will be strongest if you obtain both. 5. Wooden Doll (Kokeshi) Finding this item will give you an additional life. 6. Secret Scrolls (Hidensho) There are five scrolls. Each contains a secret method of sword fighting (see above). When you obtain scrolls by defeating certain warlocks, you will learn the techniques written on the scrolls. 7. Diary (Nikki) Finding this item will allow you to continue the game once. If the game ends and you have the diary, you will see the CONTINUE screen. Use the Directional button and choose Continue, or Stop. The game will continue from the last point that Hayato fell. ---MAP--- After each round, you will see a map screen of old Japan. Each area of the map is a round of the game. The Black Magic Castle is in round 16, Edo. After you clear Hizen, Round 2, you may select different rounds. The round you should enter next will be flashing. To select a different round, press button 1 until the desired Japanese character is flashing. Then press button 2. While it is possible to skip past rounds, and get to the castle without defeating many of the warlocks, I do not recommend it. You gain different attacks and items that make the final boss much easier if you defeat every level in order. For some reason, the people who translated the game to english decided to leave the names on the map in Japanese. Here is the translation from the manual: Level Name ----- --------------- 1. Higo 2. Chikuzen 3. Nagato 4. Iyo 5. Tos 6. Isumo 7. Settsu 8. Yamato 9. Kaga 10. Iga 11. Owari 12. Echyu 13. Suruga 14. Echigo 15. Mito 16. Edo ---Enemies--- There are many mythical beasts and demons in Kenseiden. Many of them are pretty odd looking, and most are easy to defeat. Here is a list of creatures and their point values. Urchin 100 Skeleton 200 Squat Bug 100 Spider 100 Crow 100 Fire Demon 100 Puppet Master 200 Puppet 100 Bat 100 Fox Fire 100 Zako Fish 100 Harlot Lizard 100 Child Scarer 100 Boar Lizard 100 Poison Moth 100 Skull Fire 100 Spike Pole Crusher 200 Stretch Worm 100 Grasshopper 100 Faceless Demon 200 Sickle & Chain Bandit 200 Hideous Faced Snake 100 One-Eyed Blinder 100 Jackal Lizard 100 ---Bosses--- 1. Fire Wheel Warlock 1,000 points This is the guy that looks like a skull in the center of a wheel. He is simple to beat. Just avoid his falling fire balls, and strike him in the head. 2. Benkei Warlock 1,000 points This is the big guy with a club. Aim for his knee, and run away before he can pound you. 3. Two-headed Warlock 1,500 points Snake with two heads. Use the Kara Take Wari and Kabuto Wari attack. 4. Putrid Eye Warlock 1,500 points The big ugly eye. Simply use any attack to defeat him. Weak spot is the center of the eye. 5. Death's Head Warlock 1,500 points This giant skull can be tough at times. When he splits into the many smaller heads, try to be near the side of the screen, and use the Kara Take Wari attack (Push up and attack button) to keep the heads away. Then attack when it forms into the giant head again. 6. Larva Fly Warlock 1,500 points This is the odd fly/wasp with a dragon looking head. Just attack the abdomen that sticks down with any move you can. Easy to defeat. 7. Yonensai: The Master Warlock This is the big robed guy on fire. Use the Kara Take Wari attack (see above) to kill the balls he rolls out at you. Once you kill all the balls, he will be dead. Easy to defeat. 8. Final Boss (Name?) After you defeat Yonensai, you have to fight the final boss. He is a tall, skinny red guy with a golden mask. He is tough to defeat, so hopefully you beat all of the practice levels for extra energy, and got the power up on level 3. Because you will need it. The hard thing about this boss are the giant boulders that are constantly falling from above. This guy also has a shield that shoots blue flames. The most important part is being patient, and trying to ignore or avoid the rocks that are falling. Use your High Jump (Press and hold up button before jumping), and attack his mask. Just stand right in front of him the entire time. Eventually, his gold mask will fall off and turn into an ugly blue one. Then the blue one will fall off and reveal his skull. Once you start bashing away at his skull, he will start to die. ------------------------------------- Hints ------------------------------------- -The enemy creatures and warlocks attack in patterns. Learn these patterns and use them to your advantage -Each warlock has a weak spot. -The defense position can be very effective against many enemies. -Continue Mode: When the game over screen appears, press the directional button UP, UP DOWN, DOWN and press button 2. The game will begin on the last round you played. -Round Select: Before turning on the system, press and hold BUTTONS ONE and TWO. Turn on the system, and continue to hold them down until the Title Screen with the figure appears. Release BUTTONS ONE and TWO, and hold the UPPER LEFT corner and BUTTON ONE. A round select screen will follow. ------------------------------------- Hidden Items ------------------------------------- To enter the secret room in the round 2, make your way to the room with the Buddha. Jump up to his head, and press up and then jump. In this room, you will find a Gourd of Life. Once received, exit the room, and proceed left. When on the Balcony, use the red steps towards the left. Keep moving left to another balcony, enter the door here, and proceed as before to the Buddha's room. Here too, there is a secret room containing a Gourd of Life. On level 4, at the end of a room you will see two doors, one above the other. Go through the lower one first (You will see an alex kidd head in the wall). There is an item at the end of this room that you use that will replenish your entire life meter when it reaches the bottom. This is very useful for defeating the last boss. In round four, go up four levels, and in the upper-right hand corner platform, and you will find Kokeshi (a Wooden Doll) on the platform. It will give you one additional life. ------------------------------------- Action Replay Codes ------------------------------------- 00c09002 Infinite lives 00c11114 Infinite energy