FAQ | GamesRadar+

KENGO 2 (JAP) for PS2 Version 0.02 Last updated 07/22/02 Written by: Mike Maraldo daimao mike For comments, corrections, contributions, etc. send a succinct email to: mike_box@hotmail.com (I receive, daily, junk mail in numbers that need to be expressed in powers to the ten. If you want your mail to make it to me make the title "FAQ" anything else stands a good chance of getting erased without being read.) ********** CONTENTS *********** 0) Introduction 0a) Save yourself a headache and read this first 0b) About this guide 0c) Translation Disclaimer 0d) Key * I Game Concept / Flow * 1) Story 2) Walkthrough 2a) The Beginning 2b) Extra Circular Activities 2c) Dojo Time 2d) The Local Tournament 2e) Edo 2f) Three Dojos 2g) Kengo 2h) General's Tournament 2i) Other Events and Musashi * II Game Mechanics * 3) Combat System 3a) Controls 3b) Counters 3c) Parries 4) Menu Translations & Style Menu System 4a) Main Menu 4b) In Game Menu 4c) Edit Styles 4d) Stats 4e) End of the Day Report * III Extras * 5) Swords 6) Game Maximums 7) Tips and Tricks 8) Game Shark Codes 9) Things this FAQ needs! X) Version History Z) Credits ********************* 0) INTRODUCTION 0a) SAVE YOURSELF A HEADACHE, READ THIS FIRST This FAQ is not the easiest to breeze through, this is part my fault and partly due to the nature of this game. There are no puzzles, move lists, and no real flow. The only knowledge to be gained, is on the game mechanics. The rest is up to you and how you want to utilize the mechanics and play the game. As such this FAQ is divided into three basic sections. Figure out what you want from this FAQ, and go to the right section. Simply reading through this FAQ with little knowledge of the game will most likely result in "input overflow". I) Game Flow (what to do in this game & what to do next.) II) Game Mechanics (How to play: controls, menus, mechanics, etc.) III) Extras (once you master the basics come back for more.) 0b) ABOUT THIS GUIDE This guide was written by Mike Maraldo. I started this FAQ to help people play this game which is a real pain if you don't read Japanese. (It's complicated enough, even if you can read Japanese.) This started as a complication of posts I made on the message boards and became a monster of a FAQ. It may not be easy reading but everything you need to know is in here. (Or will be included in an update.) There are still a few holes that need filling, if you can help check out #9 "things this FAQ needs". 0c) TRANSLATION DISCLAIMER First off "Kengo" means Great Swordsman. Now we know. There are a lot of Japanese terms in this game that I will be referring to in terms that a normal white bread that has not studied Japan in any depth could understand. (For example it may be a green "hakama" but in this FAQ it will be green pants). Also In this FAQ I will be referring to pretty much everyone with a sword that is not a Kengo as a "Samurai". No, technically the bandits in the woods are not samurai, but technically "Ronin "are not Samurai either. Including the duties & restrictions that a samurai would have would make this game boring, period. The game designers have wisely left them out (the game also mixes up the time periods to make a generic playground, another good move). If it bothers you, then you are being anal. Take a deep breath and go polish your Tokugawa statue instead of emailing me about it. 0d) KEY As such, (see above) a few terms will be shortened to save me some time typing and make the material easier to read for the Japanese impaired. Shirt - dougi. Pants - hakama. Stick - Bokken (wooden sword). Sword - shin-ken (Live sword). Kengo - Kengo (Great swordsman). Samurai - anyone else with a weapon. Fixer - The guy that gives you missions. Dojo - Dojo. Drone - weaklings that you have to fight through to get to the higher-ranking members of a school. Head Student - The guy who will be around 90% of the time at the dojo. Master - #2 to the Head Master at a dojo (only at Edo Dojos). Head Master - The Big Taco at a dojo. Tech block - blocking at the second the attack comes. Style - Ryuha (a school of fighting, (i.e. there are many different schools of karate)) Fame - number that reflects your positive reputation. Evil Fame - number that reflects your negative reputation. ********** I GAME FLOW ********** 1) STORY Kengo 2 is set in a generic pre-Meiji era Japan. The only indication of time is the lack of firearms. The collection of Kengos that the game offers are gathered from a huge time period with ancient Kengos like Miyamoto Musashi to more recent figures like Sakamoto Ryoma. You create a wandering swordsman, or in one case swords-woman that wandering into the valley that the first part of the game takes place. From there you raise your character training, winning battles and tournaments, learning new moves, making your way to Edo, and fighting Kengo trying to become the greatest Kengo of all. 2) WALKTHROUGH (there are sections explaining the fighting system and translating menus so that data is not included in this walkthrough.) 2a) THE BEGINNING After you have created your character you will see the opening cut scene where your character will come across two samurai fighting with sticks in a field. One will get his stick knocked out of his hands and your character will catch it, then jump down for a piece of the action. The first battle then begins: If you loose the local Dojo Head Master will talk to you, he sees potential and invites you to train at his dojo. If you win you will be approached by the fixer. When you visit him he will promise to tell the local dojo about you (unlocking the option to visit it) and tell you some history about the place you're in. He will then offer you some missions, which you should decline at this time as you are a weak newborn and will be made very dead, very quickly, by some of the stronger enemies. 2b) EXTRA CIRCULAR ACTIVITIES At any time you will have options for: A) Missions - go and see the fixer who will offer you a selection of jobs. In the beginning you may only have one choice. But as time goes on and you will have more and more choices available at one time. ALWAYS save before excepting a mission as they involve live swords which means quick death. 1) Guard a house - You will have to chop down 12 assailants in a short amount of time they will run in from the front gate and there will be no more than 4 enemies at a time. 2) Guard someone traveling - bodyguard someone in that box, cut down the enemies and you're through, no need to protect the box but don't run too far away or the mission will be a failure. No time limit. 3) Guarding a merchant's cart - same as above except instead of a feudal taxi you have to guard a merchant's cart. 4) Saving a kidnapped woman or merchant - This involves running through a series of screens to get to the boss, no time limit. There will be a lot of enemies on the way but they are weak, unlike the boss. Best to wait until your character is strong before trying these. The road leading to the boss may have a dead end or two. If so backtrack and take the other path. After killing the boss you will see the merchant/woman bowing to you as you walk away. Killing the boss will unlock his face. 5) Cleaning up the bandit problem - same as above except after you kill the boss you will have no one to thank you. 6) Assassination - Attack a caravan and kill the guards before the time runs out. This is the only mission that will raise your evil fame rating. All missions increase your fame rating except for the assassination mission which will increase your evil fame rating. You will receive nothing for your efforts except information on Kengo (but that is only when you make it to Edo) so except for fun, there is no reason to go on missions at this time. B) Field Battle - Go and fight some other samurai with sticks. After you win you will see the next opponent and can accept the challenge with triangle or decline and go home with square. You will receive a big chunk of your health back between matches and you can regenerate by standing still. No big stat increases from this mode but a good place to come and learn new moves. Once you make it to Edo and beat a bunch of samurai here, when you leave (doesn't happen if you leave on a stretcher) some one you beat will be grumbling about how they can't believe that they lost. From then they will whine about how they would like to fight X Kengo, at X time, at X place. This is the second way to get Kengo info. In this mode I've cut down over 25 opponents here but nothing special happens. Is there an event to be triggered by beating a bunch of samurai here? C) Underworld Battle - Get together with some nice gentlemen who all want to kill each other and don't really mind dying. Rules are the same for field battle except you don't gain back any health (standing still or between matches) and you can also bleed. Two markers on the top will record the highest record of consecutive wins in this mode as well as "You are fighting enemy number X" marker. Cutting people down in this mode will raise your evil fame rating. Again, is there an event to be triggered by beating X number of opponents? 2c) DOJO TIME On your first visit to the dojo you will be given two options: Join the school and Challenge the school. Challenging the school and winning both fight will allow you to skip ALL of the lessons. You can move right along to the duel part. Joining the school will move you to a series of lessons. Most of which are simple watch the computer do something and then copy the movements. Guides of which buttons to press are at the bottom of the screen. There are a few lessons where you must run around slashing air, and one that seemed to stump people where you must cut straw poles with a draw-strike (when your sword is seethed press the draw button and quickly after attack, if you did it right your character will whip out his sword and cut in one motion). As you complete the lessons you will go home and then face a new one the next day. Complete the lessons and you will move on to some in-dojo matches. After completing them the head master will ask you to go to the two other local Dojos and challenge and beat the head masters. (there is a chance that a head master may be waiting for you when you return to your dojo for a chance to fight). After you are done with that, go back and fight your original headmaster and he will offer to apply you for the local tournament. You have a few days before the tournament ends so take the time to rest up if you need it. 2d) THE LOCAL TOURNAMENT The local tournament is an elimination battle, watch the computer fade away names until it gets to your rung and fight your battle. Work your way to the final and win. If you loose you will be returned to your room and will have to beat the two Head masters then your own once again. After which you will have another chance at the tournament. Repeat as many times as necessary. If you win you will be presented with a sword (the first one you receive is decent) and the local lord will offer to give you permission to move to Edo and supply you with a room there in the hopes that you will become a famous swordsman and make the sponsoring province famous in the process. Then you watch the second cut scene and then you are in Edo. 2e) EDO Edo offers a lot more that the country province you came from: You will now receive information on Kengos when you complete a mission or beat a bunch of people and then leave in the field battle mode. A new option will be available as well: The Sword Battle: In the sword battle you and two other samurai will be gathered at the arena, each person will tell you the name of the sword he is betting, and then you choose which of the two to fight with triangle and square. Fight a match with sticks and the winner takes both swords home. Needless to say, you should save before playing the sword battle if you don't want to loose your equipped sword. 2f) THREE DOJOS Edo is home to three Dojos that teach real kendo styles that are in existence today. Each school will teach different moves and stances so save your game and pick the one you like the most. Beating the head student will not let you skip the training once you join the dojo like you were able to in the last dojo. You will only be able to join one dojo in this game! Once you join, the other two Dojos will no longer be joinable, and you will only have the "challenge" option. When you join a dojo the head master gives you a rundown of the rules: No killing, & No equipping non-school stances and moves. Sounds like a pain but don't worry, when you graduate you will leave those restrictions behind. I called them restrictions but in reality you can go to the underworld battle as much as you like to kill, but if you do so the next time you visit the dojo you will be called in to the head master's office and he will warn you and repeat the rules. Break the rules too much and you will be expelled and no longer able to visit that dojo. After you accept the terms you will be experiencing the same "learn and execute" process. Except it will be even more drawn out this time, just learning and copying is not enough, you will have to learn and copy the first day, then come back the next day and select the test for that move and do it again. When you start this made the menu should have a box for your first lesson. As you select them and complete the material, the head student will compliment you and make the test for that lesson available. The next day when you come, the menu should have a box for a new lesson and one for the test of the lesson you completed last time at the bottom of the menu. Keep going until you get to the duel tests and then graduate. There is no need to bust down the doors of other Dojos like last time. (Along the way, you will be called in to the head master's office for a few talks, he's full of hot air and the process is non-interactive so just blast through the text). When you graduate from your selected school, and when you visit other schools the only option available to you will be the challenge option. There are a few things that could happen: I) First fight a drone then move on to challenge the head student. (Most common.) II) The master may be around teaching. You will see the master sitting watching the drone and head student practice. Your fight will start with the drone, to the head student, to the master. III) The master may be practicing with the head student. You will see the head student practicing with the master. You will fight the head student and then the master. IV) The head student may be alone, he will tell you that you just missed the master, you will then spar with him. V) The Master may be alone, he will tell you that you just missed the Head master, then you spar with him. VI) The head master may be teaching. The head master will be watching the head student and master practice. You will fight the head student and then the master. If you win the head master will compliment you on your skill. VII) The head master and master may be practicing. You will get a chance to fight the master and then the head master. (The head master encounters are very rare, and chances to fight with him are even more rare. There may be a few types I've left out, or an error (I'm going off memory here) let me know and I'll fix it.) 2g) THE KENGO Another element that becomes active after you make it to Edo are the Kengo. Now when you complete a mission for the fixer and visit him the next day, or beat a bunch of samurai in the field battle and leave on your own will, you will receive information about X Kengo being at X place in X days. (Information gained at the different places may overlap, i.e. you may hear from the fixer that X Kengo will be X place in 7 days, and then four days later you might get info that the same Kengo will be at the same place in 3 days. Information gained at the fixer's place will never overlap itself.) As you learn of new Kengo their names will appear in the Kengo menu inside of the in game edit menu. This becomes the real meat of the game. Some Kengo will refuse to fight with you until you satisfy certain requirements, (such as beating their students, or beating a rival of theirs to prove you are on the same level, or in some cases killing all the other Kengo) others will accept your request for a fight (Sasaki Kojiro). When you first hear of a Kengo their name will appear in your list, when you meet with them their name will be selectable and you can view their face and a short background. Fighting (win or loose) them will unlock a lists of their styles and moves, as well as a "internal fight" option which will allow you to fight an imaginary battle with them for practice. When you master all of their moves the next time you challenge them they will allow you to select live or wooden swords. Kill them in a live battle and they will be removed from the game and their sword will be yours (all Kengo have two-star (top quality) swords). 2h) GENERAL'S TOURNAMENT Once your Fame has reached a certain level you will receive a messenger from the General. He will announce that the tournament will be held in 9 days and a timer will appear at the bottom of your main in-game menu helping you keep track of time. The messenger will visit you the morning after you beat the old local tournament. If you ignore the local tournament he will still visit you but take an extra ten days to get to you. The tournament is a big survival battle where you must battle your way through 5 Kengo. (Once you kill enough Kengo so that there are not 5 left to fight against you, they will be replaced with the familiar samurai from the local tournament. If you are not using the girl character then she will finally make an appearance at this stage). Once you win the tournament then you will have "won" the game and will be treated to a few words from the general and then a credit roll at the beach, after which you will have the option to save your data. Game data will now be yellow and when you load you will pick up where you left off after wining the tournament. 2i) OTHER EVENTS & MUSASHI Over time you may beat Yagyu Jubei (eye-patch samurai) and he may after loosing take you to visit a old man in the east temple. There you will all have a fascinating talk about things and the old man will ask you what you think about the way of the sword. You will have three choices and I tried all three, there is no right answer and no effect from the conversation so just buzz through it. The only good thing that this event gives you is it puts Musashi's name on your Kengo list. Another similar event (see above) happens with "Yagyu Hyugonosukei", again you enjoy a nice conversation this time with no interactivity and then go home. Musashi is a bit different from the rest of the Kengo, Kill all the Kengo except for him, and then get the info for his whereabouts, and then go to the right place at the right time. He will be visiting with the old man and will take off when you show up. On his way out Musashi (in his ugly pink outfit, Genki, what were you guys thinking?) will mention how he liked Sasaki Kojiro (which you killed), and that he's not interested in tournaments but only the winner. The old man will apologize for his rudeness and then you get to go home empty-handed. This event makes Musashi's status "missing" and unlocks the battle that happens the next time that you beat the General's tournament. After the credit roll you will see a cinema where your character will be walking home along the beach. (Your health will be at the same level it was when you won the tournament). At the end of the beach Musashi will be waiting to charge you, after a quick shave you will start the battle. Die and game over. Win and you get to stare and Musashi's body and then see the Japanese character for "The End", then a chance to save your data. If you continue your game Musashi will be alive again and will still be "missing" beat the general's tournament again to fight him again. According to the rumors I've heard some people may fight Musashi with his big 2x4 a few times before getting to fight the two sword Musashi. The two sword Musashi challenged me from the first time I fought him. Also I have yet to figure out how to unlock Musashi's face in the game's normal mode but there is clearly a box for him. (I'll update when I know more) ********** II GAME MECHANICS ********** 3) COMBAT SYSTEM Kengo 2's combat system is very different from the first game. Here is how the new system works: 3a) CONTROLS L1-plus direction = run L2&R2-Swich style R2-seeth and draw live sword Circle-Attack Square-Parry (yell or pose if not equipped) X-block and counterattack (if equipped) Triangle- not used. First off, the parries and counters are only usable if you have one equipped. Equipping is done in the style menu inside of the in game edit menu. The style screen should have four big style boxes to the left. The top three are your sword styles and the fourth on the bottom is a special box for counters and moves when your sword is seethed. (The fourth box has no stance (the stance is having your sword seethed) and no equip point restrictions. You can assign as many moves as you like as long as you know one for that box. When you edit a style you will be able to alter: I) The stance (only available when you select a "jiryu", one of your original styles.) II) The series of attacks you perform by pressing Circle III) Equipping counters and parries. Each move has a point cost that will be deducted from your current point total for that stance (max of 99). To raise the point total of that stance, use it in battle. New moves and stances are gained by learning them at a dojo or seeing them in battle. (Not 100% that you will learn a move if you see it, may have to see it a few times and winning the fight increases your chances of learning the move.) Unlike Kengo 1 you can not create the attack flow. You can only equip one attack and that combination is set in stone. Attacks with multiple strikes are performed by pressing circle multiple times, at any time you can press X to cancel your attack and transfer to blocking (good for quick defense as well as feints). Also, most attacks are stance specific (i.e. they can only be equipped with certain stances). A different attack can be performed by pressing back and attack, but the form of the strike is stance specific. Blocking can be done by holding down the X button. Depending on the strength of the attacks you are receiving you will eventually have your guard broken leaving you open for attack. Better blocking is done by pressing X the moment the attack comes. You will deflect the sword away knocking the opponent off-balance leaving them open for attack (called a tech block from here on out). However the results of blocking and tech blocking are dependant on the two character's stats: If you are fighting an opponent much stronger than you then you may get the tech block timing right but you will not knock him off balance, if the difference is too great you might be blown back by the tech block yourself. Likewise you may be blocking attacks from a weak opponent and never have your guard broken, but one strike from a strong opponent may break your guard. The boxes below are for counters and below them for parries. Why so many? Each counter box is a counter for a specific attack (when you are attacked from above, below, left, right, diagonals, poke, etc.), each parry is a parry for each kind of stance the opponent may be in (including one for when he is blocking). Also note that if you select a Kengo specific set you will not be able to edit the content. If you want something like that select one of your original stances then edit it: change the stance to that Kengo's stance then fill in the moves you want from there. The good thing about selecting Kengo sets is that you don't have to worry about point cost restrictions, if you select it you get it all, regardless if you wouldn't have enough points to recreate it yourself in an original stance. For a more detailed description of editing styles see "4c" 3b) COUNTERS Once you have equipped a counter and block the attack that you have prepared for, you will parry the opponent's sword and your character will prepare for the counter attack. If you press nothing, nothing will happen, if you press Circle quickly after the block then you will counter attack. It gets more complicated. After you parry and are going for the counter attack the opponent may move one of four directions or just hold still. You will have to press a direction along with circle to make your character move and attack. Forward makes for a forward hop & chop. Left & right makes for a side step and slice. Back will retreat and chop. The idea is to match the opponent's movement and hit them. If they step right so do you, slicing them. If they try to run away press forward etc. The only problem is that you have to input the command before anyone has moved, once the two swordsmen start moving all you can do is watch the outcome. You can also counter counterattacks by moving forward after you have been countered bumping into the opponent stopping the attack (as long as he doesn't step back or to the side), or by trying to run away one of the other directions (again as long as he doesn't follow you). Running forward isn't always the answer, it can be a mistake if they sidestep, as you will take the hit, hopping back is generally safe as long as you have enough room to retreat. When you have the target cornered in the arena a sidestep slice is your best bet. If he steps your way ok, if he sidesteps the other way or tries to retreat he will be contained by the boundaries and you will get a hit that way as well. 3c) PARRIES Parries work the same as counters except you use them on the offence. Each box on the equip screen is a different stance that the opponent may take, also a separate on for when they are blocking. Once you have equipped a parry and the opponent is in that stance press square when you are close to them. You will try to knock the sword out of the way, if successful then the rest is like a counter press circle to perform the attack part (with the optional movement). Counters can be stopped with the X button but it must be tech block timing. I described the counters and parries as knocking the opponent's sword out of the way but in reality there are lots of different moves to be found and equipped (throws pulls, kicks, etc.) 4) MENU TRANSLATIONS 4a) MAIN MENUS The Main menu has three options. I) Start main game. II) Start extra game III) Start vs. game If you select the main game you will move to a sub menu with two options for start new game and continue saved game. If you select new game you will move to character creation. First select a face, then clothes, then create a name (unlock more faces and clothes by playing the game). Once you are done you will see a list of the character's stats and what is above and below average, ok it and you will begin the game. The extra game will move you to the character select screen and you can select from the faces that you have unlocked so far as well as use your character by selecting the memory card. The next menu is selecting the map to challenge. The game itself is a timed race to see how many drones you can kill on your way to the exit. Your kill count and time are recorded. The vs. game moves to a sub menu with options for vs. CPU or vs. 2P. Then the character select screen, to the map select screen (hold select while selecting some maps for alternate versions). The in game vs. menu contains options for; another fight, select character, select stage, and return to main menu. 4b) IN GAME MENUS When you load your game you will see your character sitting in his room. The menu has 4 options. I) Go out II) Sleep a day III) Edit IV) System "Go out" will move you to another menu where you can choose where to go for that day. "Sleep" will ask for confirmation then end that day and allow you to regenerate some health. "Edit styles" moves you to another sub-menu: I) Select Sword (Equip sword) you can see the effects on your stats by that sword on the screen to the left. I) Form Edit (assign stances and moves to your 3 forms) selecting this option moves to a sub menu (see below) III) Move list (current known and game totals) IV) "Kengo" Swordsmen (this screen shows the names and status for the Kengo, beside their name is one of 7 status markers (have not met yet, have met in person, possible to spar with, victory, all of this Kengo's moves learned, dead, and missing) next to that is in X days that Kengo will be in X place. There are 16 Kengo in total. If you have met a Kengo before you can press circle to see his face and a short history. If you have fought them before you will be able to select from two options. The top option will allow you to see their move list. The second option is an "internal fight" option, which will allow you to fight an imaginary battle with them for practice. V) Swords (This menu shows the famous swords of the game, 2 star swords). The sword's name is listed, as well as who the current owner is. The ones you own will have your name on it and be listed in yellow. Pressing circle on a sword you own will allow you to admire the sword in 3D detail. The control pad moves the camera and triangle, square, and the top buttons handle rotation and zoom. There are 34 two star swords in total. 4c) EDIT STYLES First select one of the 4 boxes on the left. The top three are your normal stances, while the fourth is for special moves and counters with a seethed sword. Once you press circle a sub menu should pop-up with three options: I) The top option is to enter a new style in that slot II) The second is to edit the current style III) The third is to remove the current style settings from this slot. (only selectable when you actually have a style equipped in the box.) "enter a new style" will bring up a new sub menu where you can select a stance from what you have learned so far. There will be (at full maturity) three options for original stances, school specific stances (the ones you learned at your dojo) and Kengo specific stances. (Stances from other schools will be selectable but you will have to select them by creating an original stance.) The original stances will proceed to yet another submenu where you will select one from your original list. Most stances will be the same at the beginning, but each of the slots here has a memory so your edits will be recorded. The dojo specific styles are like your original styles except without the option to change the stance in the style edit menu. Kengo specific styles are styles that you have learned by fighting other Kengo. I called it Kengo specific, but in reality it also includes other strong samurai that you have leant from such as the master samurai at the Dojos. The menu will have names the of the Kengo and other samurai, and their stances listed beneath. Kengo with more than one stance will have multiple selections. The point system is non-applicable to the Kengo specific forms. They are a set of moves that cannot be edited, but you do not have to worry about point restrictions as in the original and dojo specific styles. On the other hand original styles and dojo specific styles are editable, but you have to worry about running out of points. After you enter the stance you want move on to "edit current style". Editing any option inside a style is always the same, if you have a valid move to equip to that slot then press circle, you will see a computer drone and your character standing and a menu in the upper-right hand corner. The menu will have a list of categories, one for each dojo and one for non-dojo moves (non-dojo samurai and Kengo moves will be in here). If you have a move already equipped for this slot then another option at the top will be available to un-equip move for this slot. Enter a category by pressing circle then select a move from that category with circle. If you hold still for a second the move you currently have highlighted will be performed for you to watch. You can only select a move if you have enough points for it, point costs are listed for each move and remaining points are listed at the top of the screen. The original styles will have an extra editable option at the top of the list for stance, change to any style from known stances. When you edit this option you will erase any other edits in that slot, so pick a stance before you think about which counters & parries to select. You'll notice that in the upper right hand corner you'll see a number that looks something like "13/32". The first part of the number is the amount of points you are currently using (each move has a point cost). The second part of the number is the maximum for that stance (increase your maximum for that stance by using it in battle). The maximum point value any stance can contain is 99 points so when you get a stance that high you may want to think about building up other stances. The first editable slot for dojo specific (and second for original) is the attack slot. In Kengo 2 your attack speed stat has less to do with your attack speed than the attack you have equipped. Attacks come from different angles and with different speeds and power. You should equip different styled attacks for your 3 stances so you have a plan B if an opponent is countering your attacks. Below that are slots for counters. The arrows show which direction that slot counters for, a down arrow counters against attacks that come directly from above and a right arrow will counter attacks that cut from left to right etc. The slot with no arrow just a dot is to counter stabs. Below the counters (second page) are an equal amount of slots for parries. Instead of arrows they have Japanese for each stance. If you select a parry for that slot the computer demo drone will be in that stance, If you are trying to get a Kengo to use a certain parry on you and need to know which stance to select you will have to memorize the slot number in the Kengo edit screen or draw the figure and match it up when you are selecting stances for your character. 4d)STATS Below is a translation for your character's stats, which are viewable in the edit menu and at the end of a day. 1.NAME 2.STYLE (changes if you are part of a school, otherwise it is listed as original) 3.Current HP % 4.Attack Power 5.Attack Speed 6.Movement Speed (running etc.) 7.Toughness vs. Live Sword 8.Regen Rate (in stick battle stand still and regenerate, also effects how long for bleeding to stop) 9.Toughness vs. Stick 10.Regen Rate (how much you get for sleeping a day) 11.Fame (this is good fame, raise by wining completing missions, etc.) 12.Infamy (this is bad fame, raise by killing at the Underworld battles, or performing assassination missions. The number slowly drops to zero if you stop doing bad things.) 13.Currently Equipped Sword Each character has different starting stats as you can tell when you create your character. However each character has pre-set limits as to how strong he can become for each individual stat. The limits are flexible meaning that you may boost that character's stats over the set limit, however when you don't improve that stat you will see the stat falling to a smaller number. (Easy to see when you sleep for a day, stats that are below the limit will not change, those that are above the limit will fall.) 4e) END OF THE DAY REPORT At the end of the day you will get a report on what you learned and how your stats changed for the day. There are various reports: I) Sword that you received that day. II) Kengos that you have mastered all moves for. III) Stances you have learned that day. IV) Moves you have learnt that day (attacks=red, counters=yellow, parries=green) After the reports your stats will be displayed and you can see the changes with arrows and colors by the numbers. Stats rise at the end of the day depending on what you did. The amounts the stats raise are not 100% related to what actions you performed, but it is a factor. As explained earlier, stats can also fall if they are past their preset limits. There is nothing you can do about this except keep active to slow the process (the stats will start to rise again when they return back to their limits or when you fight a really strong opponent), either that or get a game shark. For example you could go and clobber 10 people in the field battle and get a small raise, and the next day you could clobber 3 and get only a portion of what you got beating ten. However you could then go and fight one famous swordsman and fight for only a few seconds and still get a bigger raise than when you beat 10 people in the field. Which stats raise are also dependant on how you fight, if you spend a long time running around your movement stat will raise a lot. Attack a lot and attack stats go up etc... ********** III EXTRAS ********** 5) Swords There are 103 swords in the game; each sword has a set of attributes that may boost some of your stats. You can see how your stats are affected by entering the sword equip menu in the edit menu, the amount that your stats are effected is shown in real time by the sword you have highlighted. You start out with a junk sword with no name that does not affect your stats. You receive your first name sword when you complete the local tournament (you will receive a sword there every time you win.) The swords that you receive are not the greatest, if you want a really good sword you will have to take it from a Kengo. The best swords have two stars by their name, there are 34 in total. There are 34 one star and 34 no start swords as well but they are just toned down versions of the two star swords. You'll notice after collecting a bunch that the names are very similar. The 2 star sword has a base name and the one star and no star sword names are just slightly different. The first teacher mentions that careless blocking may chip your sword dulling its effectiveness, but I have not seen a drop in the bonuses that my sword gives me despite my extended use 6) Game Maximums There are 16 Kengo in the game. There are 103 swords in the game 34 two star swords 34 one star swords 34 zero star swords 1 junk sword In the Edit menu, the third option is a listing of game totals and the moves that you currently know. Here are the totals: *Forms* No Style 9 Kengo Specific 35 Dojo A 4 Dojo B 4 Dojo C 5 *Specials* No Style 19 Kengo Specific 21 Dojo A 4 Dojo B 4 Dojo C 5 *Attacks* No Style & Kengo Specific 55 Dojo A 9 Dojo B 9 Dojo C 10 *Counters* No Style & Kengo Specific 18 Dojo A 13 Dojo B 10 Dojo C 13 *Parries* No Style & Kengo Specific 26 Dojo A 5 Dojo B 5 Dojo C 4 7) TIPS AND TRICKS - Holding Select when selecting Musashi in the vs. mode will allow you to wield his two sword style and change him out of that horrible pink outfit. - Holding select in the stage select screen in the vs. mode will allow you to select the alternate versions of the maps (i.e. day/night) Not all maps have alternate versions. Holding select and selecting "random" will allow you to play in the dojo level not normally selectable. - In the beginning you are weak. Even if you can tech-block a strong opponent's attacks you still will be knocked back by the force. A way to beat superior opponents is to run circles around them. I find that running to the right is safer on average, as you are running wait for them to strike. When they do you should be safely to the side, attack then and your attack should do extra damage as the opponent was in mid-strike. Don't attack until they do otherwise they will probably counter your blow or knock you off balance. Continue this and eventually the match should be yours. Doesn't work too well with opponents that start their strikes with horizontal slashes (you might get hit being off to the side) or an attack that lunges in some direction (you will be too far away to attack). - In stick battles you can regain health by standing still, after you beat someone and you want to gain back as much as possible do not just wait for your character to stand, but run a step away from the enemy. When you character stops he will be in the erect standing position! This is much quicker than waiting for him to slowly move out of his stance to an erect standing position. You also avoid the movement that happens if when the enemy falls forward and bumps you out of the way. - When you want to start raising a new character there is a trick to get them using the best attacks from the beginning. Assuming that you started a game from a fresh memory card there should only be a few male faces on the third page and one for the girl. If you played through the game with one of those male faces the first time, you will notice that in your new character's game when you reach the first tournament your old character will be in the elimination line-up. Fighting them will allow you to learn whatever moves you had saved your old character with. This means that you can have a character that has not even made it to Edo with moves from a high level Kengo! When you are in the field battle a character that looks like your old character will appear, however his name and moves will be different. 8) Game Shark Codes These codes were all posted on the message board by coldnet. They worked for me on a JAP PS2 with a JAP AR. There is no need for a (M) code *Prevent Stats from falling at the end of the day* 9C8C5C28 E456DB1E *All stats 9999* 9C8EF13C F85AE7A4 9C8EF140 2873089C 9C8EF144 B8B3E7A5 9C8EF148 38DAB00C 9C8EF14C 38B9E7A7 9C8EF154 08D6B00F *All swords* 9C8CA3D8 2AF4E00C 9C8CA3DC B474E741 *All characters* 9C8CB878 0C538CF5 9C9AF068 2835E70C 9C9AF06C B475E79E 9C9AF070 15F6E79D 9C9AF074 2854E7A6 *Press R3 to recover (except 1-hit kill)* 9C9AA2A8 2055E7C1 9C9AA2AC 983924E5 9C9AA2B0 24B3EBA5 9C9AA2B4 0476E79E 9C9AA2B8 983A2449 9C9AA2BC 24D5E6A5 9C9AA2C0 C836E7A2 9C9AA2C4 2055E7CE 9C9AA2C8 2052F025 9C9AA2CC 2055E7CD 9C9AA2D0 0456E7A7 9C9AA2D4 B032D1B1 9C9AA2D8 B036B071 9C9AA2DC 15F6E79D 9C881540 0C539F85 *1-hit kill auto recover* 9C9AC47C 2053E7CD 9C9AC480 2873D1A5 9C9AC484 0865E7A2 9C9AC48C D754E7A8 9C9AC494 2053F025 9C9AC498 D8D3E7A5 9C9AC49C 15F6E79D 9C9AC4A0 7A36E7B1 9C8F8810 105397F2 9C8F8818 1456E7A5 9) Stuff This FAQ Needs! I don't know it all, help me complete this FAQ! - Does having a really high Evil Fame rating trigger any events? - How to unlock Musashi's face in the normal game? - Any special events for having a really high Fame rating? - Any special events for beating a high number of opponents in the Field battle or Underworld battle modes? X. VERSION HISTORY v.0.20 - 07/16/02 - Started to collect my old postings and reform them into something coherent. Still a few holes in my knowledge of this game so I guess I'll have to make a "Stuff this FAQ needs" section or find the answers before I finish the FAQ. v.0.40 - 07/18/02 - finished the walkthrough, added some tips, but Mario Sunshine comes out today, so I had better finish this thing up because I'm hoping to spend some quality time with Mario. v.0.50 - 07/19/02 - well went down to Shinjuku to pick up Mario last night and on the way some homeless guy was fighting with some punk. After a few hits the kid knocked him down and gave his head a few kicks against the sidewalk curb and took off. Everyone was just standing there watching the unconscious derelict bleed out of his ears, f***ing pathetic. I watched him until the lazy-ass Japanese paramedics decided to show up and after all that when I got to the store the guy told be that the release date had been pushed back till tomorrow. GRRRR! Well at least now have time to finish the FAQ up. v.0.60 - 07/22/02 - Well After about ten levels or so Mario Sun has been a real letdown. That nozzle thing is the equivalent of jarjar binks to the Star Wars series. Anyway the FAQ should be complete by today. I will fix a few mistakes in the walkthrough and finish the extras section. Z. CREDITS This FAQ is mostly a bunch of posts I made to the message board. However a lot of questions and rumors as well as the occasional answer was gathered from there as well. A few of the crazy people to actually play this game more than me, and posted useful information include: Denshi Coldnet Thanks for the posts. Legal Info: This Guide is for people who want to use it. If this FAQ helps someone create a better FAQ for Kengo 2 then great, feel free to use this material. Just give credit where it's due. (C)2002 Mike Maraldo. All characters, game data and other trademarks are owned by Genki and Crave, thanks to them for making Kengo 2. Can I hope for a Kengo 3?</p>