The following Gunrou-Den FAQ is compliments of
Evil7. We extend our warmest thanks!
Fu'un Shinsengumi
Genki
Version 0.8
By Evil7
evil7@bellsouth.net
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Caution: This is another work in progress from me. All the sections
except
for three sections have info/are basically complete. Basically, I
hate making
people wait and there is more than enough info here to finish the
game
regardless of the reader's Japanese skill.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2004 John Patterson
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for
personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise
distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on
any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited,
and a
violation of copyright.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned
by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
-----------------
1. Introduction
2. Background
3. Menus
4. Game Controls
5. Beginning the game
6. Game Flow
7. Special Missions
8. Tips
9. Colleagues
10. Ronin
11. Moves
Welcome to another Evil7 FAQ. This time for Fu'un Shinsengumi, yet
another
samurai game from Genki. This game flows a lot like Kengo 2, Genki's
last
samurai game, though the game is more like the timed mode than the
actual
game. This time around the game actually has a story and you get to
fight as
part of a team. The graphics are a bit better than Kengo 2 though it
probably
is just an upgrade to the same engine. A lot of the sound effects
seem to have
a samurai drama feel to them, if you have ever seen one. The
controls have not
changed much, you can still change stances, perry, block and attack,
but now
there are some team controls too. Anyway, let's get on with it.
Commodore Perry forced Japan to open it's ports in 1854. The coming
of the
black ship (It was painted black) ushered in a bloody civil war
between those
who wanted the emperor to be reinstated and those who wanted the
Shougun to
retain power. This war was called the Bakumatsu. It is a whole lot
more
complicated than that , but this is for a video game, so history
buffs be gone!
You fight as part of the Shinsengumi, a group of ronin formed to
help fight for
the Bakufu, the Shougun government.
There are not a lot of menus for this game. From the start screen,
you have
start game, continue and options. The continue screen is your
standard load
from memory card screen, no one should have any trouble with it.
Each slot has
it's number, the name of the character, the chapter number and the
number of
days. The options screen has, options/display settings, sound,
controls,
screen position and return.
Options/display settings
------------------------
You can change what information the game shows and some other
assorted things.
The first 6 items can be changed between on and off. They are: Enemy
health,
enemy info, map, target select, colleague info, and the indicator
for pushing
swords back.
The next option is for the text display, which you can set to same
time, fast,
normal or slow. After that is the text fast forward, which can be
set to on or
off. The last setting is for automatic line feed, which can be set
to off,
slow, normal and fast. Selecting this setting will scroll the text
regardless
of whether or not you push a button.
After the settings are two more buttons, one for return to defaults
and one for
end.
Sound
-----
Here are the volume controls. The top one is for the sound effects
and the
bottom one is for the background music. The menu buttons below are
for
restoring defaults and returning to the menu.
Controls
--------
You can change the control layout for both Player 1 and Player 2
(assuming the
second controller is plugged in). No one should have too much
trouble with it.
Check out the game controls section for the default controls. The
menu buttons
in the center are for vibration, restore defaults and end.
Screen position
--------------
Here you can change the screen position. Circle confirms your
change, Cross
returns to the menu and start returns the screen to the default
position.
If you make changes you will be prompted to save them to a memory
card.
Game Menu
---------
From the top: Missions, Dojo, Moves selection, Ronin info, Rest and
options
Mission Menu
------------
Here you can select missions to do. You can always go back by
selecting the
button at the very bottom. When you select a mission, it shows it's
info, you
can read the background, requirements and styles and people you will
encounter
with the L1 and R1 buttons (Remember that traditional Japanese is
read right to
left). The button that is highlighted is the confirm button. The
next screen
is for the team selection. If team mates are allowed, you can pick
them from
the list on the right. The number below their tag is their cost,
which you pay
for from your frame, which is the big number on the left. Once you
select the
confirm button (top button), you will be shown the map, select the
highlighted
option to start the mission.
Dojo Menu
---------
From the top: Training/Practice, Match and return
Moves selection
---------------
Here you can view and set the moves you use. The options from top to
bottom:
Select Moves, View acquired moves and return.
On the Select moves screen you can set the moves that you can use
during
missions and such. The button down at the bottom is for return. The
top chart
is for the stance selected. The charts on the right are for the
stances that
you are using at the moment. The list on the left are slots for the
stances
you create. You can make up to 20 stances, which is complete
overkill since
you will probably make one or two stances that work best for you and
stay with
them the whole game.
Reading the charts
------------------
The charts are labeled as such: The left side shows the
style name and the type of stance. The top line shows the attack
name. The
second line shows the parry moves (Right to left: Lower, upper, side
and
thrust). The third line shows the moves that knock away a sword when
the enemy
is just standing in a particular stance (Right to left: upper,
center, lower
and side). The third line shows the move that knocks away a sword
that is
blocking. The final line shows the spear parry moves (Lower, upper,
side and
thrust). Red characters show that a move is selected for that type.
The
purple numbers are the number of points that stance has, the left
number is the
number of points left, the right number is the number of points that
stance has
total.
Making a new stance
-------------------
To select a blank slot, look for a slot that has a character that
looks like a
hook or a backwards J (Nashi / empty). When you do this, you will be
presented
the stance selection. Each style has it's stances grouped together
(From top
to bottom: Upper, Center, Lower and side). The very last two
selections are
for the spear and battoujutsu (Drawing from the sheath). Next you
will be
allowed to select an attack and after that you select other types of
moves
given what moves you have learned and how many points you have. Each
move
costs a certain number of points which is displayed next to the
move. You get
more points by using that stance in battle.
Editing an existing stance
-------------------------
Editing an existing stance is the same as making a new stance.
Selection menu
--------------
When a stance is selected, menu options appear. They are from top to
bottom:
Selection(edit), equip, delete and return. If you select equip, an
arrow
appears to show which slot this stance will take. You can only
really have two
stances at a time. The third is always a battoujutsu stance.
Ronin Info
----------
Here you can view a drawing and info of all the important ronin and
leaders you
will fight. It is basically a checklist of the important people you
have
killed.
Options from Game Menu
----------------------
From the top: Save, Load, End Game and return
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4. Game Controls
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D-pad - Move (Note that you cannot walk using the d-pad)
Left Analog stick - Move
Select - Zoom/un-zoom map
Start - Shows In-Game menu (Mission requirements, Options and
Return), the
options for the menu are the same as before except the last one
before
the audio bars is for vibration.
Square - Knock away enemy sword, must have a move to do this
Triangle - Call your team mates.
Circle - Attack, press in a row continues the set pattern of attacks
Cross - Block, press right before an attack hits to tech block, must
have a
move to do this
R1 - Draws and sheaths sword (Battoujutsu stance)
R2 - Cycle between stances
L1 - Selects formation, press triangle to confirm
L2 - Cycles between enemies
Triangle has a few uses. First, it is used to call your team mates
to get them
to come in your direction. Second, it is used to get them to come to
your aid
if you are knocked down on the ground or you have gotten into a
pushing match
with someone. Third, when you get into certain positions if the
enemy,
usually right in front of them, the team formation indicators will
flash. When
this happens, push the triangle button to execute a team move.
Fourth, when
you select a team formation with the L1 button, you need to confirm
it with the
triangle button. You can only use a team mate's help when their
orange
bar is full. If you want to deselect your team mates, i.e. leave
them
somewhere, hold L1 and press triangle.
When you knock an enemy down, get next to them and press the attack
button to
stab them.
If, when fighting someone, your swords get hung up (crossed, pushing
match),
press the block button as fast as you can to push your opponent
back.
Immediately after a successful parry or after knocking away the
opponent's
sword, press the attack button to counter-attack.
If you get parried or your sword gets knocked away, quickly press
the block
button as quick as possible to recover, the instant you recover hold
the button
to block the incoming attack. This can take some time to master.
To deselect any enemy, just hold L2 for a moment.
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5. Beginning a game
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you put the game in the first thing you see is the settings
loading
screen, publisher/developer logos and a nice little signpost that
reminds you
that the game has blood and violence in it. After that is an opening
movie,
of course, in which you are introduced to some of the main men in
the
Shinsengumi. The character on the big flag is a character for truth,
it was
kind of the Shinsengumi's banner. The man in the middle is Kondo
Isami
(He was the somewhat fat guy in Kengo 2), he is the head chief of
the group.
There were actually two such chiefs, but... well you will find out.
The boy
with the long pony tail is Okita Souji, leader of the 1st division.
The one
that jumps off a table is Hijikata Toshizou, assistant/secondary
chief.
The one with the bandanna is Toudou Heisuke. Finally, the one with
the spear
is Harada Sanosuke. Starting a new game is the first option, the
first screen
lets you pick a character model. After that is the name section,
remember last
name is first. The two option buttons at the very bottom are return
and
confirm. When you are done it will ask you for confirmation, just
select the
highlighted option. After the cut scenes, you are put straight into
the game.
Just follow the map, when you get to a certain point, you will be
introduced to
an important man, kill him to end the mission. After that there will
be more
cut scenes. Okita Souji told you to take a rest day, so select rest
from the
options. After that, Hijikata Toshizou will tell you to go to the
dojo. You
must save or at least pretend to before going to the dojo. At the
dojo, you
must prove that you have some skills. The first test is to prove
that you can
draw and sheath your sword and can change stances, so do each two
times to go
on. Next, show that you can select and deselect enemies, again do
this two
times each. The third one is to prove you can attack and do
battoujutsu. Next
is to show that you can "receive" a sword, so parry and parry and
attack two
times each. Next, show that you can knock away a sword and attack,
do both
twice. Next, show that you can knock away a blocked sword and
attack. The
last one is a free practice, just do whatever. The next thing you do
is talk
to Saitou Hajime, after which you get a chance to check your stances
and the
like. Finally, You get a chance to fight Saitou. I found him quite
difficult
at first, talk about being thrown to the wolves (There is a pun in
there). The
best thing to do is to try to get him to do his moves while you are
still out
of range and start your attack at the bottom of his last strike. Be
careful
though, Saitou is quite good at parry. After this you will meet your
informant. When he is done talking, you will get a chance to view
the ronin
information. Take a rest to end the day. Next, you meet Harada
Sanosuke, he
talks a bit about missions and team mates and the like. Now, the
normal game
begins...
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6. Game Flow
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Given the nature of the game, I do not see the point of trying to
write a
walkthrough, instead I will explain how the game progresses. I will,
however,
give a list of the special missions in the game.
There is not a lot of variety in this game. The story is broken into
chapters
of which there are eight. To advance the story all you must do is
complete the
special missions that will appear from time to time. Knowing when
these
missions come is easy if you know Japanese, you are told it, but if
you do not,
they appear when big characters appear on the screen when talking to
someone. Another way to know is to look on the mission screen. A
special
mission will only have 4 characters in it's name and will always be
the last
mission in the list. The special mission to end the chapter comes
around day
twenty. Of course, you can play the other missions as much as you
like. Most
of th missions are really the same. For the basic missions, you can
walk
around, or hang around the spawn point if you do not like walking
and kill
ronin. Do not kill the town people, if you kill three town people in
a
mission, your game will be over. You can end the mission anytime you
want
by walking off the map (There are exit points). If there is an
important
person to kill, you will get an intro scene for them when you enter
a certain
area or kill enough ronin. To know whether or not a mission has an
important person in it, look for the stamp at the bottom of the
mission name
tag. On the special missions, it is best to get rid of them
immediately, even
though it will end the mission, because they will sometimes get away
if you do
not.
At the end of a mission, you will get fame, stat, stance points and
moves based
on how many people you killed. The fame points are what you use to
pay for
team mates. Also, if you fame ever drops to zero, your game is over.
Your
stats will also improve. I am not sure if the improvement are based
on your
actions in game or if they are random. You will also get stance
points for
each stance depending on how much you used that stance. Finally, you
will get
to see the moves you learned, which is randomly given to you based
on the
styles of the ronin that the mission contained.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Special Missions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here I will add the special missions in the game and their
objectives. They
are basically the same as the normal missions, but they sometimes
have a little
twist to them. Regardless, you should not have any trouble
completing them.
1. The first real mission
-------------------------
Your first normal mission is actually a special mission. The are not
very many
enemies. You will lose a man (sort of) though. Just run across the
bridge and
turn right to end the mission.
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8. Tips
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Do not forget to use your team mates' help, you pay for their
presence, you
might as well use them
- When facing multiple enemies alone, try to keep them somewhat
apart, but all
on one side, do not let them circle you
- During the patrol missions (Most missions), keep your sword in
it's sheath,
unless you are currently fighting, it will scare the town people,
which will
cause them to run around which could cause them to get in the way
- You might think it is cheap, but if you are running low on health
during a
fight with an important ronin, stay behind your team so that the
ronin will
engage them instead. Then you can attack with little worry about
being
attacked while you do. Continue doing this to get an easy win.
- Focus on one to two stances to build the available number of
points for them,
so that you can have a more complete defense.
- Kenjutsu is actually somewhat a defensive system, the most
effective moves
are always moves in response to the opponent's actions. Keep this in
mind
when fighting and making stances. (Notice how much damage parry
attacks
have, some can kill an opponent in one move, even early in the game)
- Know when to fight slow and fast. Normally, I would recommend a
slow pace,
however some of the major ronin have powerful dashing attacks that
are better
dealt with quickly.
- Move to come
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Colleagues
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here I will list your team mates' info. Note: I am very likely to
mess up some
of the names here, Japanese names are somewhat difficult to read,
there are
several different reading for the characters used in names, so you
just kind of
have to know them.
Ogata Shuntarou
---------------
He has a long slender face and a white head band.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Ronin
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here I will list the important ronin from the ronin info list.
Choushuu/Nagasu
---------------
1. Okuno Kenjirou
-----------------
Age: 27
Belongs to: Choushuu/Nagasu
Style: Other
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11. Moves
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here I will list all the moves in the game by style.