RUSHING BEAT SHURA / PEACE KEEPERS WALKTHROUGH by Rodrigo Shin ( rodrigoshin at hotmail.com ) v.0.01 Disclaimer: this document is an intellectual property of mine and it is forbidden that you copy or publish it in other sites than http://www.gamefaqs.com without my written authorization, be it the whole document or parts of info. Selling this guide is also forbidden. You also admit to be reading this at your own risk, and will not hold the creator of the FAQ responsible should anything sound offensive or displease you. The creator of the FAQ also holds no credibility as to what could be incorrect info, even though he tried his best to compile the content of this file and aims to create an accurate guide for the game. If anything here seems to be inaccurate and/or fake, e-mail the author and he will try to look into it as soon as possible. If you agree to all these conditions, you may proceed and read the FAQ to Rushing Beat Shura. Rushing Beat Shura is (c) 1993 by Jaleco of Japan. The Peace Keepers is (c) 1994 by Jaleco of USA. Contents ======== 1. Introduction 2. Plot 3. Game System I. THE 1P/2P GAME II. THE VS GAME 4. Characters 5. Walkthrough a. Stage Overview b. Stage Paths c. Enemy Guide d. Boss Guide 6. Endings 7. Special Codes and Secrets 8. Version Differences 9. Unanswered questions 10. Afterword and Contact Info 1) Introduction =============== Welcome! This is the most comprehensible guide around for Rushing Beat Shura (or "The Peace Keepers", as it is known overseas), the third instalment of the beat 'em up "Rushing Beat" series. In this guide, I will try to detailedly cover every stage of the game and also go in depth about most of it's aspects. If you are wondering, the reason I am writing a walkthrough for Rushing Beat Shura and not Peace Keepers (keeping in mind I know very little japanese) is that the two versions have quite a handful of differences, including removed enemies and music. Since the game I loved on my Super Nintendo days was Rushing Beat Shura and not Peace Keepers, I will, here, cover the japanese version of the game. But if you are having trouble with Peace Keepers, this guide will as well serve as a help for you, since the differences between the North American and Japanese releases are listed. I hope you find this FAQ helpful and clarifying. With no more ado, let's move on! 2) Plot ======= From "Peace Keepers", we're given that the DM Corporation (Douglas Mortar in the Japanese version, Deutchland Moldavia in the US release) helped the world stand over a crisis engaged by an economical war mixing technology and medicine, bringing prosperity back to Earth. However, the leader of DM, Kulmbach, decides to use the new technologies to take over the world, becoming mad with power. A few people which had their lives touched by DM's experiments decide to take this matter in their own hands and stop Kulmbach. There seem to be no great differences regarding the plot from the Japanese to the US port. It is noted, however, that the Japanese version refers to "SAIBA KURO-N" (perhaps Cyber Clones?) in the intro, gives background on Norton's sister and also refers to something that is written in Katakana as "JI-KASU" as plot elements. Those seem to be absent in the US version and I could not romanize them properly, so, if anyone with a better Japanese knowledge would like to help me with this, I'm all ears. Regardless, the differences in this part of the plot seems not big enough as the setup is basically the same - stop Kulmbach. 3) Game System ============== I. THE 1P/2P GAME ----------------- a) Overview =========== Basically, Rushing Beat Shura is no different than other beat 'em up games. However, it has some fresh features, such as the "Ikari (Rage) Mode", where an enraged character can not be hit and gets stronger for a short while. Also, the game has non-linear stages to an extent. That means that in most of the cases you are able to go back to the beginning of a stage, unlike most beat 'em up side-scrollers that have you stuck to each screen. Most of the times, you will also find crossroads, and the choosen path can and will affect your ending in the game and the stages' order. Also, all of the characters (save one) have Super Attacks that can really save your hide while in hard situations. But the usage of such Super Attacks is limited that of two per continue. Speaking of which, Rushing Beat Shura has 30 continues (12 in the overseas release) for the two players to share, and no lives: if you die, you lose a continue. b) Options Menu =============== 2P HIT - ON / OFF (Toogles the ability of the two players to hit each other with their own attacks in the 2P Game) IKARI MODE - ON / OFF (Toogles the ability of the characters to go angry when hit repeteadly in the game) SE TEST - Test all sound effects in the game. Use "B" to play them. SOUND TEST - Test all the musics of the game. Use "B" to play them. SOUND MODE - Stereo / Monaural (Toogles the sound mode) COLOR EDIT - Edit the colors and names of the characters. Neat little feature. To input the name use Up or Down keys, and Left and Right keys to scroll through the name spots and the color spots. Y, X and A change the color tones; B changes the current character. EXIT - Self explainatory. c) Button Layout ================ The button layout is as it follows (those are valid to all the characters): ARROW KEYS - Move START - Pause Y - ATTACK / GRAB ITEM / USE ITEM B - JUMP X - TAUNT POSE / THROW WEAPON A - SPECIAL MOVE (consumes health) B, then Y - Standing flying kick B while moving, then Y - Moving Flying kick B, then Down + Y - Falling Attack (either Knee Kick or Buttslam) Y + B - STRONG MOVE X + A - SUPER ATTACK (only two per continue) L or R - DEFENSE TAP Right or Left twice - DASH (some characters do not dash) Dash Attack - DASH + Y Walk to the enemy and touch him - Grab enemy Grab enemy frontally, then Y: Hit grabbed enemy Grab enemy frontally, Right or Left + Y: Throw grabbed enemy Grab enemy by behind, then Y: Backward Throw Grab enemy, then do Left, Down/Left, Down, Down/Right, Right + Y: Ikari Throw (Note: all arrow key commands in the Walkthrough are valid with your character facing right. If you face left, simply invert the left and right commands.) d) Items ======== By destroying crates, boxes and vases, you might find items that were hidden on these objects. Each of the items have functions that are uniform for all the characters in the game. Below are listed the known items and their usage. SODA CAN - Recovers a small portion of health. LOLLIPOP - Recovers a small portion of health. FIRST AID KID - Recovers all health. PIPE - Used to attack enemies. Can be thrown. KATANA - Used to attack enemies. Can be thrown. SMALL KNIFE - Used to attack enemies. Is thrown when used. Can be thrown once. BIG KNIFE - Used to attack enemies. Can be thrown. GRENADE - Used to burn enemies. Is thrown when used. ROCK - Used to attack enemies. Is thrown when used. Can be thrown twice. SPIKED CLUB - Used to attack enemies. Can be thrown. SHURIKEN - Used to attack enemies. Can be thrown. You can also carry these items to use them whenever you'd find more convienent. However, once you're hit carrying an item, it will fall out of your hands and you'll need to grab it again. However, an item can fall from your gasp only twice before disappearing, and depending on the item, falling once will make it unusable already. e) Traps ======== Laid through the game are some traps. Watch out for those - one of them might not make a little difference, but once you're facing enemies along with the traps, things get a little nasty. You can also use these traps for the enemies to hit themselves, but they are generally smart enough to avoid them. MINES - Blinking spots on the ground. Avoid them or you'll be burned. ELECTRICITY - Electricity running on the ground. By touching them you'll lose a little more health than by stepping on a mine. MISSILES - Missiles thrown by a ship. Watch their shadows to evade them. GRENADES - Grenades thrown by a helicopter. Evade them like with the missiles, but this time around they are usually harder to dodge given their speed. PITS - By falling on them, sort of 10% of your health is lost and you choose a place to reposition yourself. GOLDEN VASE ("Tubo") - By destroying this rarity, you can make a boss get considerably harder. Just ignore it. II. THE VS GAME --------------- The same engine that is explained above is used in this Battle Game, where up to 4 players with help of the Multilap can fight against each other in a battle ring. You can choose the same character another player did, and you can also choose what kind of trap to use in the battlefield, along with items. A pretty fun mode if you ask me. 4) Characters ============= a. DICK The main hero of the game, Dick looks like your average american teenager. However, he is one of DM's experiments of a super human, and therefore can transform into a powerful warrior when enraged. Apparently a member of some sort of resistance militia against DM, Dick's "mentor", Harry, is murdered by DM's soldiers, causing the youngster to seek his revenge on DM. Characteristics: the most balanced character, Dick has a well done mix of strenght and speed. He can hit his enemy twice and then throw when grabbing. To perform Dick's Ikari throw, grab the enemy by his front. Special Move: Rushing Uppercut - Dick runs and hits the enemy with an uppercut. Deliver quite a lot of hits. Techniques: Power Up - When HP is 10% or less, hold R and press Down, Down/Right, Right + X. *Untested by myself; acquired from gaming magazine* Super Attack: Dragon Wave (DORAGON WUEIBU) - Dick summons two energy dragons that assault all the enemies on screen. b. ELFIN Elfin's grandfather, Barkley, was one of DM's key scientists. He rebelled against the idea of DM slaving people and therefore was murdered. Elfin, which was only a child, was kept prisioner until Harry (apparently a leader of a resistance group) rescued her from Kulmbach's clutches. She now vows to avenge her grandfather. Characteristics: the best character of the game in my opinion. Elfin is the fastest of the fighters and her strength doesn't leave much to be desired, though her default kicking sequence is fairly weak and easy to be escaped by the enemies. She can hit the enemy thrice in a row before throwing him away when grabbing, and sometimes her Scissor Kick drains quite a lot of enemy health. To peform Elfin's Ikari Throw, the enemy must be grabbed by his front. Special Moves: Scissor Kick - Elfin sommersault kicks. Techniques: Double Jump - Press B twice. Fallen Phoenix - Double Jump, then do Down, Down/Right, Right + Y. Super Attack: Bird Storm (BA-DO SUTO-MU) - Elfin summons a handful of Phoenixes that damage all enemies on screen. c. KYTHRING A man of militia or a mercenary (that is not made clear by the US release and I couldn't translate anything out of the Japanese version), Kythring's men once did a recon mission for DM and one of them, Bart, returned awfully changed and blood-thirsty. Once Bart and his brother, McCoy, disappeared, Kythring decided to investigate DM and see what was really happening. Characteristics: Kythring is strong and a little slow, even though he can dash. His bazooka makes him quite a handy character, though, since you can use projectiles and attack in safe distance. To perform Kythring's Ikari Throw, enemies must be grabbed by BEHIND. He can also hit a grabbed opponent twice before throwing him away. Special Move: Spining Clothesline - Press A to have Kythring hit any enemy in his surroundings. Techniques: Bazooka - Hold X for 3 seconds or so, release it. Super Attack: Acadian Tiger - Kythring charges and releases the spirit of an immense Tiger, damaging all visible enemies. d. JIMMY A strong fighter, Jimmy had his sister, Amy, stalked by DM's men. He protected her as long as he could, but one day she vanished, leaving only her ribbon. Jimmy wears the ribbon in his arm and heads to DM willing to rescue Amy and put an end to their plans. Characteristics: The slowest character of the game, Jimmy can not dash, even though he has a dash attack. However, he can hit his grabbed opponent five times before throwing him (can be Ikari Throw). To perform his Ikari Throw, grab the enemy by his front. Special Moves: Fire Breath - Jimmy breaths out some fire to hit all enemies around him. Super Attack: Thunder Edge (TANDA- EtsuJI-) - Jimmy raises his arms and overwhelms the enemies with a storm of lightning. e. NORTON Present in all Rushing Beat games, Norton appears in Shura. You can find him either knocked out by Kulmbach's men in the Sewers or heading to rescue his kidnapped sister from DM. Characteristics: faster than Kythring but still a little slow and pretty strong. Norton can hit grabbed enemies twice before throwing them away and his Ikari Throw must be performed by grabbing the opponents by behind. Also, he possesses no Special Moves sans the default one that takes out health, but that way he'd be even overpower. Special Moves: Power Shock: Norton touches the ground and generates a shock wave around him. Press A to use it. Super Attack: Ikari Mode - Norton activates his Ikari mode. f. METAL FRAME (M-FRAME) One robot of Kulmbach's army, this M-Frame is given by rogue scientists which betrayed DM to your group. His reasons are unknown and apparently his only goal is to stop Kulmbach. Characteristics: M-Frame can not move faster (even though he has a Dash Attack and a slow kind of dash activated with the X button ), has no Ikari Throw or Ikari Mode, neither a Super Attack. However, if you play his cards right, he is an useful character since he can shoot bullets and grab enemies easier than the rest of the crew. Special Moves: Dash Combo - Dashes and attacks with consecutive hits. Press A to use it. Techniques: Projectiles - Hold X for 3 seconds or so, release. M-Frame will shoot a handful of bullets. Super Attack: None. g. KULMBACH The leader of DM, Kulmbach strives to bring the entire Earth under the control of his army. Obese and dressed excentrically, he obviously is no good fighter, and a treacherous man. 5. WALKTHROUGH ============== a) Stage Overview ================= Stage 1: Beginning (Unknown Japanese title - can not translate Kanji, sorry) Things are pretty straight-forward here. Avoid the mines and defeat all the "DAGS" outside of the complex, then get inside. Defeat the "BOB" and the "DAG" here, and if you wish, return to the beginning of the stage to meet Bild, who'll preach some advice about Norton. If you did not return to meet Bild (or just got back to this room), you might as well have seen you are met with your first cross road. By going up, you will face some more DAGs and face Bart as a boss, and by going right, you will face more DAGs and McCoy as a boss. Each path gives you a different continuity in the story and a different second stage. If you picked Bart, your next destination is the Sewers; if you picked McCoy, then you're going to the Hospital. Sewers (Unknown Japanese Title) If you picked Bart as the first boss, then after the explosion you'll find yourself at the Sewers. Defeat the mutated scientist that becomes a "Cell" and keep on going. Once you find a destroyed cage you can go up to get a shortcut to meet McCoy, boss of this stage. If you keep going forward until you see a front door, you can go down in this room to meet Norton and have him as your new crew member. I advice doing so. After getting Norton to your club, you can go up either by entering the cage or by the right door - the result will be the same. Eventually, you will face McCoy (or Bart, if you used the shortcut on the Hospital stage to get here) and once you're through with him, you'll be met with yet another cross road: a stair and a cave. If you pick the stairs, you'll find yourself in the waterfalls; if you pick up the cave, then the next stage will be the "Pirate Dock". Hospital (Unknown Japanese Title) Before getting into the hospital, Burnet will throw some lovely missiles from his ship-o'-doom in the background. Try to use them to hit your enemies (thus making this part easier) and get inside the hospital. If you want, however, you can go back to the crackled streets after you reach the hospital door to meet an open passage to the sewer stage. Take your pick. If you stay on this stage, Things will be straight-forward - just watch out for the holes, which are not shortcuts to other paths but simply traps- and then you'll meet up Bart, who'll be the stage boss. After you're through with him, you'll find yourself in the Waterfalls. Waterfalls (Unknown Japanese Title) Your first option in the cross-roads will be a door leading up. If you don't go through that door but by the one guarded by the Cells, you'll find yourself inside DM's Labs. If you do go up through the first door, you'll once again be met with two doors in the same fashion to be choosen. If you pick the door heading up, though, you'll meet a rogue researcher that helps unlocking Elfin's "good" ending. One interesting point is that, depending on the door you take to get inside DM Labs, some of the stage layout will be changed - mainly the traps, that will switch from holes to electricity, but aside from that, no other relevant changes are made. Either way, you'll find yourself inside the Labs. After defeating the bunch of Dags and Bobs, your final obstacle will be the "??????" mutation, Amy. Once she's done for, you'll head out to the Airport. Airport (Unknown Japanese Title) Be on the lookout for a First Aid Kit in the bottom of the stage. Once again, no secrets: just defeat all the enemies. After getting inside the Airship and witnessing Kulmbach escape with Norton's sister, you'll have to destroy two Robodata panels in 15 seconds. A tough job to handle even in two players. One of the best way to destroy those is to pick Elfin or Jimmy and position yourself in middle of the two computers, and keep using your Special Move (activated with A) to destroy them. That can be easily done in 1 Player if the characters are positioned right. If you manage destroying the computers, you'll land in the Island (Airship path, obviously), but if you couldn't destroy the Robodata, after the ship crashes you'll have to go through the Streets. Pirate Dock (PAIRE-TO DOKKU) Once again, it is pretty straightforward. Defeat the two Axes at the beginning, then avoid the falling rocks from above. After killing the Dag guarding the door and the Axe that comes from the guarded door, you can either go up by the door to find yourself in the Waterfalls or keep going forward to get into the boat. If you choose to keep going forward, your final challenge in the stage will be three beefed up "Axes", called "Hunter". In the Boat (Unknown Japanese Title) Another straightforward stage. After defeating countless Axes, Burnet will taunt you and leave the Ship. However he left a little gift, a Metal Frame, that has just began to sink the ship. If you manage to defeat the M-Frame in 1 minute, your next stop will be the Sakura Garden. If you can't beat the robot, then you'll wake up in the Island. Island - Boat path (Unknown Japanese Title) After you wake up, you'll be greeted by Calsonic. Defeat him and keep going. Once you find yourself surrounded by pits, there is a stair that sometimes will contain the M-Frame for your team. But it seems to work randomly here. Eventually you'll find yourself inside DM Labs, and the boss you have to face will be none other than the "?????????" mutation, Amy. Defeat her and proceed to the Bridge. Island- Airship Path (Unknown Japanese title) Calsonic will do the honors once you arrive in the island. Defeat him and follow your way. Keep your eye out for a stair that'll hold the M-Frame for your group. By the end of the stage, you'll fight two beefed-up Cells called "Helheim". Once they're through with, Kulmbach's men will explode the lab. Next stop, Bridge. Sakura Garden (Unknown Japanese Title) Apparently taking place on Japan, this stage has a bug. To make sure you don't get stuck and have to reset the game, always pick the paths heading up. If you do so, you'll meet up with another rogue researcher that'll give you his ID card to get inside the DM Labs. Get the ID Card and use it on yourself. After getting through the researcher, you'll see a screen with a restaurant of some sort. You can restore your HP there: just head up under the second or third letters of the restaurant's banner and you're set. Now keep heading straight until you get inside the DM Labs, and defeat "??????". Next stage, the Dojo. Streets (Unknown Japanese Title) One of the hardest stages of the game, the quantity of Deans and Axes here is overwhelming. If you haven't gotten Norton in your party yet, he'll join you here to save his sister. The stage is just straight-forward and your biggest worry will be not losing too much continues to the bothersome enemies. Sooner or later, you'll have to defeat the two "brawl brothers", Joe and Jony. Once that's done, you'll find yourself in the Bridge. Bridge (Unknown Japanese title) Burnet will appear again offering himself to join your team and stop Kulmbach. If you believe his words and don't attack him, he'll kill a rogue DM researcher that unlocks a good ending for you. So if you're striving for the good ending, wait for Burnet to finish speaking and knock him good. Once he's beaten (or if you trusted him) you'll be met with a batch of Spiders, Dags, Bobs, Eijis and Axes, alongside the helicopter in the background throwing grenades. After some good kick-n-punch you'll meet up with the rogue scientist or with Burnet (that now has to be defeated). Independent of which of the two you meet, the next stop is Inside DM. Dojo (Unknown Japanese Title) Lots of Eijis in the stage, but there are no cross-roads here - just the trap of the Golden Vase. Once you've met the maid, walk to the elevator FROM THE LEFT (annoying little bug here) just so you can get inside it. After cleaning the second floor out of Ninjas, you'll be presented the Golden Tubo. Destroying it will cause Yamaoka to get po'ed and much more harder to beat. If you don't wish to lose at least two continues, instead of breaking the vase, break the door beside it. Then you'll face a "goody calmy" Yamaoka, which is much more easier. (NOTE: apparently, if you destroy the Vase, you get the 'Bad Ending'; if you do not, you get the 'Good Ending' sequel, but I'm yet to 100% atest this) Either way, Yamaoka's defeat leaves the path open to get Inside DM. Inside DM (Unknown Japanese title) This stage has no cross roads or subdivisions, as it is the second-to-last stage. Just go defeating all the enemies there, no secrets. You'll meet up with Kulmbach, that will escape and leave his minions to take care of you. The bosses are Kira and Onido, two pretty fast Ninjas. Final Stage (Unknown Japanese title) Once again, straight-forward. After you finish climbing the stair, you'll face two Metal-Frames at once with a electrified door as a trap. After taking care of the two Mechanic beings, destroy the Robodata in the next room to find a First Aid Kit and head to the final battle with Kulmbach. Once Kulmbach's defeated, though, Velk will descend and you'll have to defeat him. Once that's done, enjoy the ending you got. b) Stage Paths ============== S Path: Beginning -> Sewers -> Pirate Dock -> Waterfalls -> Airport -> Island (Airship Path) -> Bridge -> Inside DM -> Final Stage (9 stages) Description: If you play your cards right and meet all researchers, you should be able to have all the good endings unlocked after Velk's defeat, including Elfin's. A Path: Beginning -> Hospital -> Waterfalls -> Airport -> Streets -> Bridge -> Inside DM -> Final Stage Description: Should have everybody's good ending, except Elfin's (regardless of believing Burnet or not). A Path 2: Beginning -> Hospital -> Waterfalls -> Airport -> Island (Airship) -> Bridge -> Inside DM -> Final Stage Description: Ditto above. A Path 3: Beginning -> Sewers -> Pirate Dock -> In the Boat -> Sakura Garden -> Dojo -> Inside DM -> Final Stage Description: Ditto above, but do not destroy the Golden Tubo. B Path: Beginning -> Sewers -> Pirate Dock -> In the Boat -> Sakura Garden -> Dojo -> Inside DM -> Final Stage Description: Destroy the Golden Tubo. Should display the bad endings for the characters. B Path 2: Beginning -> Sewers -> Pirate Dock -> In the Boat -> In the Island (boat) -> Bridge -> Inside DM -> Final Stage Description: Let Burnet kill the scientist. Should as well unlock the bad endings. There are more path combinations, but these are the main ones. Making long stories short, to unlock the good endings, try always to be successful whenever the game imposes a challenge (i.e. defeating the M-Frame in the boat, destroying the Robodata panels in the Airship) and meet as much rogue researchers as possible. To unlock the bad endings, do exactly the opposite. Enemy Guide =========== Listed below are all the enemies you will face during the stages. An explanation of their pattern and a mini-strategy on how to beat them is also included. DAG Soldiers of DM, they wear masks and claws. Dags are quite weak and not very dangerous, even though they can reach a considerable length with their claws. Most of them can be beaten with a single pumelling sequel. Some defeated Dags become Cells in some stages, so keep an eye out for their corpses- if it gets all green, he's mutating. BOB The fat version of Dags, they are a little more dangerous (and lack claws). They have a punching and kicking sequel and can grab and squash your characters. The best way to attack them safely is to grab them in the middle of their sequence attacks once they're resting a little before delivering the next attacks. If you get caught by their combo, try to move free out of them; if it doesn't work, use your Special Move to break their grasp. SPIDER Robotic creatures resembling Spiders (Duh). They'll move cautiously towards your character, and if you rush toward them you might get electrified or burned by their weapons. They can also use a rolling attack. Dashing at them by surprise and grabbing them is one of the safest ways to beat them. They usually come low in health as well, and, for reasons beyond my knowledge, they've been cut off of the USA release. Hint: when playing as Elfin or Norton, that have the Ikari Throws that throw the enemies most away from the character, avoid throwing them out of the visible screen - it'll take quite a while for them to walk back to you. CELL Amphibian-like mutations of humans, they can use electricty to attack, either by charging their bodies with it statically or rolling in your direction. They also release an inner mouth against your character that has considerable length. Waste no time and get rid of them as soon as possible, and never rush in; most of times you'll be awarded either a "kiss" or a shock, so try to bait them. AXE Pirates of old-fashion, they have a pretty annoying sword swing sequence that can not be broken with regular attacks or by moving away once you're caught. If they begin hitting you, use your Special Move to break free. Be assured that the damage will be less this way. DEAN The bane of the game. These street punks are annoying as annoying can be. They have devastating sequences to apply against your characters, including grabbing punching, flying kicks AND slide attacks. If he's caught your character with his punching sequences, immediately activate your Special Move to break free. The best way to finish them off is to risk trying to grab them and using the Ikari Throws, or any kind of projectiles. EIJI These ninjas are easier than Deans, less or more to the level of Axes. They attack either with the palm of their hands or their sword swings (yes, that thing that looks like hair is actually their swords). If they hit you with the back of their hands you will fall; if they hit you with the sword swing they'll begin a combo. If so, immediately break free with a Special Move. Eijis are easier to be caught by your default attack sequences and grabs, so they're no big deal after all. c) Boss Guide ============= Here is the boss guide. Along with a pattern to beat the bosses easily, we also have how much life they begin with. One thing that should be noted, though, is that the bosses have a "Grab Tolerance" the enemies don't. That means you can not hold them forever; if you relax your grip (do not hit them or throw them while grabbed), they'll attack you first. So you must be pretty fast in order to hit them twice or thrice and perform the Ikari Throw. Now, without further ado... Bart Lifebars: 1 and a half (Stage 1), 2 (Stage 2) Recommended character: Dick or Elfin To defeat Bart, run to grab him, hit him as much as your character can and perform an Ikari Throw (should be noted this is my default procedure to any and all enemies). He'll get up by spinning around, so have your character dash far from him and once he lands, keep stalking him until a good opportunity to grab him appears. Repeat the procedure. If you're caught in his pumelling sequence, try to move out of it; if not possible, use your Special Move to get out of it. You'll sustain less damage. McCoy Lifebars: 1 and a half (Stage 1), 2 (Stage 2) Recommended character: Elfin, M-Frame or Kythring McCoy can be a little tough, since he's hard to grab. He usually grabs you first, and once you get up, he'll be close enough to be grabbed and be given hits and Ikari Throws. By using Elfin or Dick against McCoy, if you have high energy, you should not be worried: McCoy's will finish before yours do so. However, if you're short on energy, I recommend using Elfin's Dash Attack, since it hits the opponent 3 or 4 times and should take less time than other Dash Attacks. Flying kicking him is also a nice idea, but be on the lookout for the reach of his knife, which is pretty long. If all else fails, you could give a shot at M-Frame's and Kythring's projectiles to beat him in a safe distance. ???????? Lifebars: 1 and 40% Recommended character: Dick or Elfin Amy is not very hard, but you should as well watch out, because her attacks take quite a chunk of health. Wait for her to stick her arm and once it's safe, grab her, and proceed to take the most out of her life with Ikari Throws. When she just swings her arm and doesn't stick it, don't try to grab her or you'll be hit. Even your standard punching sequences should work fine here, as she is not a hard boss. Hunter Lifebars: 1 and 40% each Recommend character: Dick or Elfin Those three are no more than hyped up Axes. Watch out for their jump swings and once you grab one of them, do the default procedure of hitting them as much as you can followed by an Ikari Throw. Just be on the look out for their jumps that are dangerous, thus why you need a fast character to evade their attacks. If you're playing with Elfin, the Fallen Phoenix attack will do wonders if you can line up in the same side and hit them simultaneously. Just wait for them to try to get up and use it on their heads. It'll beat even their jump swings. White Metal-Frame Lifebars: 1 and 70% Recommended character: Elfin or Dick This guy is a little tough, since his tolerance level for grabs is very low. If you manage to grab him, don't go dilly-dailying around: do the default procedure to take as much health as possible out of him. Otherwise, he'll simply shrug you off. Once he's just gotten up from being knocked down, lose your hopes of grabbing him: he apparently has some kind of invulnerability and will not be grabbed until he knocks you down first. If you're low on health, you might as well begin using Flying Kicks and Dash Attacks on him, and some of Fallen Phoenix if you're using Elfin. But remember you have only 1 minute to destroy him, so, it might not be a bad idea to let yourself be knocked over by him a few times just so you can Ikari Throw him more constantly and faster, or perhaps using Super Attacks to help drain his health. Calsonic Lifebars: 1 full Recommended character: Elfin, M-Frame or Kythring Calsonic, besides being a red pallete swap of Bob, carries a gun, and that is what should worry you. Don't stay in the same plane line he is or he's going to nail you good with his gun. Once he's walking normally, stalk him, grab him and beat the crap out of the thug. When he gets up, move out just so you won't get caught by his bullet he'll shoot as soon as he can. Another procedure is to fight fire with fire and use M-Frame's and Kythring's own projectiles to attack Calsonic. Helheim Lifebars: 1 full each Recommended character: Elfin or M-Frame / Kythring Helheims are no different from the standard Cell enemies, except that they can grab you and hit you three or four times in a row and that they have more health. Grab and Ikari Throw them into oblivion as much as you can. A nice counter-measure to attack them without risking being grabbed is using Elfin's Fallen Phoenix or Kythring's and M-Frame's projectiles. Joe & Jony Lifebars: 2 and 50% Recommended character: Elfin The "brawl brothers" can be pretty easy. Before the fight there is a First Aid Kit and a Soda can for you to replenish your health, so just by mixing some Fallen Phoenixes and Ikari Throws you should take care of them both easily. Just keep watching your back, because sometimes they'll manage to grab you first and unleash some devastating combinations. Burnet Lifebars: 1 and 60% Recommended character: Norton or M-Frame Burnet is a royal pain in the ass. He'll just keep spinning around like the Rebel Nun (or something like that, can't remember the movie's name), and you can't grab him that way. Your best bet is to keep a safe distance and punch the air until you hit Burnet with your punching sequel (even though sometimes he breaks your combo and ends up hitting you). Norton's attacks seem to be the most fit for the job, and you can also try using M-Frame's sequential bullets to hit him. But M-Frame's lack of speed makes him an easy target for Burnet. Elfin's Fallen Phoenix is too much random to be used as a safe bet against Burnet, because sometimes it will break his defense, and other times your defense is the one that'll be broken. You can say you'll spend at least one continue on this "fellow". One thing: if you see the chance to grab him (you just got up and the aiming angle to grab him seems to work), for the love of God, DO IT. Yamaoka Lifebars: 2 (Normal Mode), 3 and 30% (Ikari Mode) Recommended character: Elfin or Dick Yamaoka will be just yet another boss in his normal mode (if you don't destroy the Golden Tubo), pretty easy to beat. Just wait for him to start walking and then dash to him, grab him and Ikari Throw his ass. Watch out for his Ikari Rush, though, as you'll be thrown away as soon as he touches you while blinking red. Keep an eye out for his Lightning Balls as well; if he stops somewhere in the left portion of the screen and begins doing kicking sequences, he'll begin to throw these constantly. Rush to him evading the projectiles and grab and throw him. Now, if he's on Ikari Mode, forget about Ikari Throwing him unless you're in Ikari Mode yourself. He has absurdly large health (as much as the last boss, Velk, does) and won't walk around normally, but be on PERMANENT Ikari Rush mode! In other words, when he's not firing Lightning Balls, he's untouchable. Once he begins throwing Lightning Balls, grab him and hit him as much as your character can and throw him normally (his tolerance for Ikari Throws in Ikari Mode is so low, he won't let you perform the command and he'll throw you first!). This form of him is way harder and you'd better wish your luck is up to helping you. As a side note, your character's Super Attack won't do any effect on him if he's throwing Lightning Balls, regardless if he's on Ikari Mode or not. Kira & Onido Lifebars: 1 and a half, each Recommend character: Elfin, Dick Right at the beginning of the battle, Kira will dash towards you while Onido jumps like a rabid monkey around. That is their pattern: Kira is the one who trusts the sword the most and throws Shurikens, and Onido's the one jumping around. Evade the sword trust and grab Kira, just don't stay in front of him freely - he can hit you with a Shuriken, so be fast. Throw him down and when he gets up, escape to up or down - it doesn´t really matter -, but don't stay in the same plane line he is; he'll attack with sword trust as soon as he gets up (Onido does the same once he's knocked down and gets up). If any of them teleports, never stand in front of them, because they'll once again do a sword trust. Usually, Kira is the first to die, leaving Onido to be taken care of - which should be rather easy, since all he does is jump around. Either way, with one of them down, the remaining one should be easy. Blue & Gold Metal-Frames Lifebars: 1 and 70%, each Recommended character: Elfin, Norton or M-Frame The same strategy that worked on the Silver Metal-Frame can be applied here, but now you're facing two of them, so things may get a little nastier to you. Playing as Elfin, one of the best strategies still is to use the default grabbing procedure and let them knock you over to be able to grab them again. But, if you want to preserve health, might as well use some Dash Attacks and flying kicks on them. Playing as Norton, the flying kicks should do great. Dash in their direction and then attack. Repeat the pattern until they're dead, and watch out for their bullets. If you want, fighting fire with fire again is valid (using your M-Frame's bullets). Kulmbach Lifebar: 1 full Recommended character: Dick Kulmbach's a pussy and beating him couldn't be easier. Any character will do just fine to put an end to him, but, if you reach Kulmbach's chamber with Dick, he'll automatically enter his "Power" mode, making Kulmbach EVEN easier. Firstly, Kulmbach will try to attack you with a sword. Hit him once to make him lose the sword. He will, then, begin to throw grenades and try desperate kicks. Wait for the right time to grab him and take as much health out as possible. Stay away when he gets up, for he'll throw a grenade - and sometimes be stupid enough to dash into it's flames. But, if you're using angry Dick, just punch his ass to a better place over and over. Velk Lifebars: 3 and 30% Recommended character: Elfin, Dick or Norton There we are, the final challenge. Velk's not very tough: he doesn't have any grab tolerance and doesn't use projectiles. However, if he does manage to hit you, a lot of health will go down the drain. To defeat him easily, evade his attacks and once it's safe to grab him, do so and finish it with a Ikari Throw. Now, walk up to him before he gets up and simply move up (or down, depending on the situation). Velk will punch the air leaving a wave of energy. Wait for the wave to dissipate, walk to him, and throw him away. Keep looping the pattern. When he open his arms, watch out: he'll use his own Dragon Wave, that works in the same fashion as Dick's. Once you see him do this pose, wait around 1 second (MOST) and hold L or R to defend yourself (if you defend as immediately as he does the pose, you'll end up hit by the attack, that takes only 60% of your character's energy away). Just so you know, your Super Attacks make no effect on him, making Norton's Super Attack the most (and only) useful one in this battle. M-Frame's and Kythring's projectiles work on him, but it's hard as hell to get the correct timing for it (most of Velk's attacks make him invicible to the bullets), making this option a little useless. Also, you need some speed to evade Velk's Dash Attack he constantly will do, so playing as Jimmy gets a little harder in this battle. Use above's pattern and some of your intuition, though, and Velk will be history in no time. 6) Endings ========== Once Velk's beaten, you'll have one of two ending sequences to start; the "good" ending, or the "bad" ending. What triggers the acquiring of these endings is listed in "Stage Paths" and "Stage Overview". Summing it up again, to get the "Good" Endings, do everything correctly, meeting as much researchers as possible, and not letting Burnet fool you in the Bridge stage or not destroying Yamaoka's Golden Tubo in the Dojo stage. Doing exactly the opposite, you should be presented the "Bad" Ending sequel. Opening "Good" Ending Sequel - McCoy, Amy, Maria and a DM researcher appear. An upbeat music plays. The characters meet their respective comrades and the story gets concluded. A letter from Maria will scroll up while a mugshot of her is shown and memories of the characters scroll behind her. After that, the "good" ending of your character(s) will take place. Opening "Bad" Ending Sequel - All the characters stand in the place of the final battle as the snow begins to fall. Dick kneels beside Velk's body and reflects on what happened, then he stands up. After that, the "bad" ending of your character(s) appear. The Character Endings --------------------- DICK "Good" Ending: In his "power" form, Dick shakes hands with Norton. According to "Peace Keepers", he asks of him to be trained, and Norton agrees. "Bad" Ending: Dick decides to leave, perhaps because of the threat his potential is, as memories of Harry and his fight with Velk flash on his mind. They ruined this ending in "Peace Keepers", as the scenario is quite serious and they added some sort of nonsense poem as the text. ELFIN "Good" Ending: Elfin becomes a scientist and tries to revert Dick's mutation. (Seems not to be activated unless you do the S Path for the stages. Refer for "Stage Paths" for more info) "Bad" Ending: Elfin joins with Wendy from Rushing Beat 2 (who apparently dyed her hair brown) and they form a Dojo (or at least begin to practice together). In "Peace Keepers", they say they form a "succesful musical band" (fun coreography, huh? One kicking the other). KYTHRING "Good" Ending: Kythring and McCoy decide to get back on business, but not by working under any Militia, but by themselves. The US release preaches their team should be called "the Z Team". Zzzzz... "Bad" Ending: Kythring reflects on the fight as a picture of his face wounded is shown. In "Peace Keepers" they simply say "The game is over. Shoo. Go away" or something like that. JIMMY "Good" Ending: Jimmy opens a Restaurant and Amy apparently works as a receptionist on it. The North American release claims he opened a videogame industry that produced "fighting games a lot like this one, but with better art". "Bad" Ending: Jimmy breaks down and mourns the loss of Amy. "Peace Keepers" says he becomes a hermit that left drawings in the caves he inhabited. NORTON "Good" Ending (?): Norton returns home and is greeted by the Rushing Beat 2 cast and his sister Maria. The American version text says that Norton's about to teach his students how to fight. "Bad" Ending: Norton stands by a grave with a flower bouquet, reflecting on what happened. Whose grave is that I have no idea. M-FRAME "Bad" Ending (?): After defeating Velk, the Metal-Frame is deactivated (or deactivates self?). The North American release says that before he is deactivated, he changed his name to Marvin and felt very depressed. Alright then. 7. Special Codes, Hints and Secrets =================================== Begin the game with all characters: boot the game up with L, R and A buttons in Joystick 1 pressed and keep holding them. When you start the 1P or 2P Game, you'll notice Norton and M-Frame are available from stage 1! Temporary Invincibility: Once you grab an enemy, you're invincible to ANY and ALL exterior attacks! It really comes in handy if you're in a area full of traps and projectiles, such as fighting the two M-Frames or the stages where Missiles and Grenades are sent against you. 8. Version Differences ====================== There are countless differences from "Rushing Beat Shura" to "Peace Keepers". Besides the obvious changes (title screen, etc), the game suffered many adaptations, that mostly cooperate for you not to take (or play) it seriously. What mainly suffered were the music and the storyline, that both were shredded to pieces. Jaleco of USA removed most of the BGMs leaving four or five around and replaced the rest with "ambient noise", perhaps for you to feel "inside the game" while you play. Needless to say, this works as much as your elder grandfather playing soccer, and the BG FX will mostly get in your nerves if anything. Even the BGMs will get in your nerves, since it's almost always the same one playing constantly in every single stage. As for the storyline, they mutilated lots of the character's lines. Each of the characters would have his/her own reaction against a given situation, but, in the US release, they just added "generic lines" that any of the characters could spout at the given scenario. In that subject, many story elements also went down drain, like the kidnapping of Norton's sister (she magically pops up at the Good Ending out of nowhere, per say), a girl in the "brawl brothers" stage and some maid in Yamaoka's Dojo that talks to you (in the American release, she is limited to yelling "Aaaaah!!!"). They also cut all of Kulmbach's interludes once you clear a stage (sans the one where he frees the M-Frames, but that's not like a big loss, except for the ones that introduce Maria Norton). Not happy with butchering the storyline, they also made most of the "translated" (adapted, actually) lines simply ridiculous. For an instance, when you meet Bild in the first stage, he talks about Norton in the Japanese version. In the US release, he says "I'm sorry I couldn't help with DM, but I was busy writing my new autobiography". Weee. If that wasn't enough, they also removed the "Spider" enemies for apparently no reason at all, and changed the main character's names (that were "American-ish" enough to me if you ask), and some of the changes were simply ridiculous (PROKOP? What's that, an onomatopeia?). They also replaced all of the character drawn mugshots (that were no work of art, anyway) with digitalized pictures of people cosplaying the characters (sans Yamaoka and M-Frame's, that were kept as drawings). Even though some of them seem to work fine (such as Harry's), most of them are simply zany (like kid Elfin's). Continues were numbered down to 12 (if you know how to do Ikari Throws and is a veteran in the game that'll be no problem, but most novices to it might suffer a little). The Color Edit mode in the Options Menu's been limited, and you can't edit the character's name if you wish to. Speaking of colors, they made Kythring and Bild black (which is not a flaw in the adaptation, I'm just noting it). Last but not least, they also changed all of the Super Attacks. Instead of a Dragon Wave, Dick - or Flynn - releases choppy animated electric bolts in the screen, "Echo" shouts a loud "YAAAAA-AY", "Al" spins his arms creating (choppy animated, mind you) a hurricane, and "Prokop" causes an earthquake. For those trying to use this guide for Peace Keepers, here goes a table for the name-changes applied from the Japanese to the N.A. release. Remember the japanese stage titles below were created by me, not translated (except for Pirate Dock) and are here just for reference. If anyone could help me with Kanji and Hiragana Translation, I'd be very grateful. JAPANESE NAMES | NORTH AMERICAN NAMES ================================================================================== CHARACTERS, BOSSES, ITEMS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dick | Flynn Elfin | Echo Kythring | Al Jimmy | Prokop M-Frame | Orbot Barkley (Elfin's grandfather) | Hawking (Echo's grandfather) Dag | Fnord Bob | Squash Cell | Mutant Axe | Blade Dean | Baki Eiji | Hissatsu Bart | Connor McCoy | Jesse Hunter | Thirdon Joe & Jony | Kuchek & Gor Calsonic | Cronus Helheim | Mutant 1 Burnet | Dervish Kulmbach | Trip Iago Velk | Tybalt Douglas Mortar Corporation | Deutchland Moldavia Corporation Tomy | Rock Tubo | Vase ================================================================================= STAGES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beginning | Now it Begins Sewers | Stalag 17 Hospital | Roy D. Tutto Hospital Waterfall | MacLeod Falls Airport | Alan Bradley Airport Pirate Dock | Agrajag Cavern In the Boat | The Crazy Horse Island | Ozymandias Island Streets | Snake Pliskin Ave. Sakura Garden | Sukiyaki Lenne Bridge | Queen of Cups Bridge Dojo | Musashi Plaza Inside DM | Deutchland Moldavia Final Stage | "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!" 9. Unanswered Questions ======================= Do Norton and Jimmy really have no techniques or other Special Moves? Does the M-Frame have another ending than the one he's deactivated? How to unlock Elfin's and Norton's "good" ending, since they have showed to me sometimes when I finished the game getting a "Bad" Ending sequel without everybody reunited? 10. Afterword and Contact Info ============================== Thanks for reading through the Rushing Beat Shura FAQ. This has been my first walkthrough and I hope you all find it useful and that it adds to your fun in the game. I never thought I'd be writing a FAQ for a game that's just turning 10 years old this year. :] If there is anything that displeased you or you have any hints/info to share or simply wants to comment on what a great/lousy guide I've made, feel free to contact me. Below follows the contact info: E-mail: rodrigoshin@hotmail.com Please put "Rushing Beat Shura FAQ" in the Subject line, as I receive massive doses of Spam daily and mostly erases any single unknown e-mail that arrives (such as the ones with the subject saying "hi" or "wassup", which are mostly pr0n spam). I'll try to reply to any e-mails as soon as possible, and will also put any sent contributions (if relevant and useful, of course) ASAP. So, if you have something to say... don't delay it! Drop me a line! -END OF FILE-