ARCADE XBOX360 PS3
Welcome to the Mamoru-kun strategy guide! Here you'll find a detailed introduction to the game, scoring strategies, and a breakdown of differences between the PS3 and Xbox360 versions of this tragically under-appreciated Grev masterpiece.
Mamoru-kun is a quirky free-scrolling vertical shooter released in arcades in 2007 and on the Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2009 and 2011 respectively. You control one of seven characters fighting to escape from "spirit world" in which they've been trapped. The route through the game is up to you and it can be played as either a time attack game or a traditional score attack shooter. The game's scoring system is built around "cursing" enemies with your "curse shot", which turns their bullets into colorful stars, and builds long combo chains. The Xbox360 release featured a Story Mode along with the Arcade Mode which knitted together the separate stages into one full game complete with a fleshed out story. The PS3 release includes the above as well as a new objective-based challenge mode called "Meikai Katsugeki" which reworks the game into full 16:9 and gives a wider playfield to maneuver in. It includes over 60 missions, a new soundtrack and new downloadable costumes.
Please note that the arcade version had two scoring glitches that broke the game for competitive score attack. However, neither of these glitches are present in the console versions of the game, so it's still open for some serious score attack competition. For more details, please see the "SCORING GLITCHES" section below.
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CONTROLS
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Arcade Mode
PS3 360
Shot ○/□/L1 Button A Button
Curse ×/△/R1 Button B Button/R Trigger
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MENU LOCALIZATION (PS3)
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In the PS3 version, the top selection at the Main Menu is "Meikai Katsugeki" mode, which is the mission-based 16:9 mode mentioned above.
Below that is "Meikai Katsugeki Practice" which lets you practice specific missions.
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GETTING STARTED
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First off, do yourself a favor, go into the Options->Extra Menu and turn on the Combo Timer feature (if you don't see this, update your game via XboxLive, PS3 has it by default). This will give you a visual cue that shows when your chain will cut out. Without this it can be hard to grasp the timing for chaining from enemy to enemy.
If you're playing on the PS3, I advise you to start out with the Meikai Katsugeki mode which is packed with almost 100 missions. These "missions" are mostly survival stages which ask you to clear a certain stage or boss, they start off easy and get progressively harder. They serve as an introduction to the stages and you'll learn essential survival strategy before score attacking in Arcade Mode.
If you're playing on the Xbox360, just start off with Arcade Mode and try out a few of the characters and stages. Pick a route through the game that fits your play style.
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BASIC SYSTEM NOTES
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In Mamoru-kun you have two buttons: shot and curse. That seems simple but it gets a bit technical, especially when you try to score.
Shot
Nothing very complicated here, controls are similar to Under Defeat. Hold shot to lock in the angle you're shooting, tap it or hold off it to change the orientation of your character.
Pick up "P" power items during gameplay to upgrade your shot power.
There are three types of curses that your character can use against the nefarious demons of the spirit world:
1. Curse Field
Hit the curse button quickly and your character will drop a curse field in front of you. Step into it and your shot will be powered up for about 10 seconds (self-curse). Since this shot is very powerful, it's an easy way to get rid of bosses, but be aware that every time you use it, your shot power will go down by one (i.e. you will lose an option). There are lots of "P" items in the game, so you're sure to pick one up again soon, but it's something to keep in mind.
Also, if you do NOT step in the curse field, any enemies that enter it will be cursed which means they start pouring forth suicide bullets and charge at you quickly. Killing an enemy in this state will produce stars and turn all their bullets into stars as well. Thus using the curse field strategically in areas with enemy generators can lead to huge point bonuses. Be careful where you use it in boss battles with lots of popcorn enemies, you can trap yourself by accident quite easily.
Lastly, your character is invincible for about 10 frames when you fire a curse field. You can use this to your advantage in extremely hard boss fights to escape from dangerous situations.
2. Curse Shot
Hold down the curse button to charge up your curse shot. There are four levels to this shot, and the fourth is very damaging. It will normally pass right through popcorn enemies, and do a lot of damage to mid-sized enemies. If it destroys an enemy, all of their bullets will turn into stars. However, if you use it and it does not kill a mid-sized or boss enemy, then we move to the next step.
3. Enemy Curse
Enemies will be cursed when they survive a hit from your curse shot. A curse field is created around them and any enemies nearby start spitting out suicide bullets and rushing towards you. Cursed enemies will slowly weaken over time.
When they are killed, all of their bullets will turn into stars. Cursing mid-sized enemies surrounded by popcorn enemies is one key to high scores, so give it a try.
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CHARACTERS
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Mamoru
Mamoru has a straight-ahead four cannon shot, which makes him very easy to use.
When cursed, his shot locks onto one enemy at a time in its path and hits them with a more powerful attack.
An easy-to-use character for the beginner or intermediate player.
Mayuno
Mayuno also has a straight-ahead shot, but her options shift according to where she moves, so depending on the angle her options are at, the width of your shot will change. This can be very useful on bosses because you can concentrate all your firepower on one spot, however you will often wind up getting out-maneuvered by enemies on stages, since her options are individually quite weak. For this reason she takes quite a bit of practice.
When cursed, Mayuno's shot power becomes much more powerful. She can melt certain bosses in seconds.
A character for the advanced player.
Beniko
Beniko has two types of shots. One is her default shot which fires straight ahead as well as to the side. This side attack can be useful on the "Spirit World Gate" stage where she can snipe enemies like skulls and flying lanterns that come in from left and right. You can switch to her second shot, which concentrates her options in front of her, by moving up or down without pressing the shot button. This shot is better for bosses. Hold down the button once you're in the shot style you want to use.
When cursed, her options will lock onto enemies around the screen and attack them.
Beniko is recommended for intermediate players.
Kinya
Kinya has a wide tri-shot that will clean up enemies in front of him. The width is a little slim but his shot power is good so as long as you can position him right you shouldn't run into any issues.
When cursed, Kinya has one of the most effective attacks in the game: he shoots in all directions 360 degrees around him. Not only is this useful for killing popcorn and mid-sized enemies in the stages, he can use this wide shot width to get in relative safe spots on bosses and hit them from the side or from behind.
Recommended for beginners.
Fululu
Fululu is perhaps most similar to Mamoru in that she has a straight-forward shot. It's slightly wider than Mamoru's shot and does much better damage. When cursed, her shot becomes more powerful. Originally, Fululu was not available in the arcade game and had to be unlocked via a code. There's a reason for that: had she been in the initial release, no one would have played the other characters. Overall, she is the best in the game both for clearing and scoring due to her extremely powerful shot. On the arcade character select screen it even says straight out "seriously, she's the best character". Boss battles end very quickly with Fululu. Use her for your first 1CC!
Recommended for beginners.
Nowa
Nowa is one of two DLC characters made available with the Xbox360 version of the game. She is available by default in the PS3 version.
Her main shot is a laser and her options fire homing bats, which lock onto enemies all around the screen. Her normal shot is a little weak but once she is cursed, watch out. Her cursed attack rivals Kinya's for best in the game. It locks onto every enemy on-screen and pounds them with a powerful attack. If you use this shot liberally, you should have no problem clearing the game. Nowa was designed for beginners and is a good way to learn the ropes.
Lukino
Lukino is a Senko no Ronde character who has been lured into the Mamoru-kun world and now has to escape. He has a wide twin "snipe" shot of medium power. When cursed, this snipe shot will power up, lock onto and attack one enemy at a time.
Lukino is tricky to chain with. His shot can also be unreliable in some situations so I wouldn't recommend him as a scoring character.
For intermediate players.
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STAGES
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In Mamoru-kun, players can freely select their way through the stages, but you only start out with 5:00 of game time to complete these stages. To increase the amount of time you have, you need to pick up time extending items in-game, and defeat as many optional boss missions as possible to earn time bonuses. Be aware that if you don't manage your remaining time correctly, you will run out. So it's important to pick and choose which parts of the game you want to try to score in.
All stages have a difficulty assigned to them, which is essentially a "rank". After you beat the Prologue, the first selection of five stages will have between one and two star difficulty. As you progress through the stages, the rank will slowly climb and the amount of stars will increase. No-missing stages will increase the star count of the next stage by .5, so the more stages you beat without dying, the higher the rank will go. I believe the max rank for any one stage is 7 stars.
Stage Progression
Prologue or Tutorial
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Cherry Blossom Spirit World Sky Garden Southern Temple Karakuri Castle
Village Gate
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Second stage selection Mission (Fight harder version of previous boss)
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Third stage selection Mission Original Mission (Optional boss)
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Fourth stage selection Mission Original Mission (Optional boss)
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Great God Crow Battle [Bad ending]
(If you ran out of time at any point)
or
True Final Boss [True ending]
(If you beat all stages and all stage missions. Beating the Original Mission is not necessary)
More info on the Original Mission: in this stage you have to fight against a giant winged mechanical boss. It's a tough fight, but if you beat it, not only do you get a time bonus of 100 seconds (plus bonus), you can raise the rank for the subsequent stages by two stars. For all subsequent stages, the time counter at the top left of the screen will turn red. If you are going for a high score, it is essential to figure out how to beat this fight losing the least lives possible, because the stages afterwards will bring huge point rewards. The Original Mission unlocks after you beat two stages AND two stage missions.
Take it on early to reap the rewards.
There is no real point in going for the Great God Crow battle since it gives you the Bad Ending, but keep in mind that if you are in the hunt for trophies/achievements, beating this stage will unlock special illustrations for every character in the gallery, which you'll need to complete your collection.
Stage Selection Strategy:
Very generally speaking, Karakuri Castle is clearly the biggest scoring opportunity in the game, with multiple routes of rooms that feature lots of generators (objects that spit out enemies), which lead to huge chaining opportunities. If you're playing for score, and provided that your character can maneuver it safely, you want to play the castle last at the highest rank possible. In that sense, playing all other stages, their Stage Missions, the Original Mission and then finally Karakuri Castle will give you the best chance at a very high score.
However, many characters will find dealing with the castle on high rank extremely difficult. Mayuno is one, her options are hard to maneuver in the tight corridors. It's also pretty tough for Kinya and Beniko. So it may be smarter to use the natural advantages of your character to score on a different final stage.
Here are some possibilities to consider:
Mayuno: she is the fastest character in the game, making it easier to chain long distances without any enemies, such as from the bottom of the Cherry Blossom Village stage to the top. This stage on high rank offers a lot of scoring opportunities on the top left path where the flying enemies emerge from their portals, and the robot enemies summon frogs.
Beniko: her ability to shoot sideways helps her get through the Spirit World Gate Stage on high rank where there are lots of flying lanterns and skulls that come in from the side. It is perfectly possible to get a high 10 to 20 million score ending with Beniko if you end on this stage.
Kinya: his multi-directional shot makes the Southern Temple stage a cinch, especially when you're surrounded by the boats with octopi firing at you. At high rank this stage can net some impressive points, especially in the areas with the squid and shelled enemies.
Mamoru: the Sky Garden stage on high rank will generate more enemies and bullets. Mamoru (and also Fululu) has an advantage here with his strong straight-ahead shot.
The bottom line is that Karakuri Castle is not the end-all be-all of scoring in this game. There are other routes to consider. No matter what route you take, you're going to want to beat all the boss missions and the original mission to up the rank and boost your score.
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CHAINING TIPS
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Mamoru-kun's chaining system can be a little hard to understand, but it's actually very simple.
Stars dropped by enemies add to the chain, and the higher your chain gets, the higher the value of star items rises. Star items are obtained from enemies or treasure chests. Picking up a star item within two seconds of when it appears will add to your combo count.
Stars are automatically sucked into your character when you release the shot button, which helps at first, but you will notice your chain breaking in areas with enemies few and far between. The key to maintaining your chain in these areas is to delay the timing at which you suck in the stars.
Here's an easy example: start up the Cherry Blossom Village level and destroy the first treasure box you see. The stars will pop out in a ring formation. Keep holding down the shot button, don't suck in the stars, don't change the direction you're facing, instead move forward and grab a couple of stars. Now walk towards the next enemy. The remaining stars are about to drop off-screen. Release the shot button and they will be sucked up into your character, preserving your chain.
Dependably chaining in Mamoru-kun consists of triggering star bursts, holding shot while they are in mid-air and then releasing shot at a delayed timing to collect them all.
Any one star will keep your chain going, so even in stages at low rank with enemies few and far between, you can keep the chain going.
Another technique to save your chain involves self-cursing. Take for example the end of the first section in Cherry Blossom Village where you kill the frog, rabbit and butterflies enemy group. There is a treasure chest just before the snow bridge. Even if you use the delayed star collection technique above, this will not be enough to keep your chain across the long distance to the next chest/enemy. So what you have to do here is pop the treasure chest before the bridge, then drop a curse field. Step into it, now you are cursed. While you are cursed, your chain is maintained until the curse wears off. Run up to the right after the bridge, pop the treasure chest, delay collecting the stars, head to the left, pop another chest and delay collecting the stars to the last second. Now you are in an area with enemies which will help you keep your chain. Enemies destroyed while self-cursed don't drop stars, so you may find your chain dropping. In that case, target ground-based objects like portals, lanterns, turrets etc. Destroy them and they'll drop a few stars. This is a good technique to use while waiting for your curse to charge back up.
Most of the stages in the game can be full-chained, barring those with interruptions from scripted events like riding the Manta in the Southern Temple stage. Getting better at chain is just a matter of technique and perseverance, so get the basics down and then apply them in the stages. You'll get it eventually!
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SCORING GLITCHES
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The arcade version of Mamoru-kun had two major glitches that effectively broke scoring in the game.
1. Infinite Respawn Trick
Not massively hard to pull off, this trick involved dying once in World 1, once in Mission 1, then choosing the Sky Garden stage. When the player got to the enemy generators at the end of the Sky Garden stages, flying popcorn enemies would spawn infinitely from the big planes at the end of the stage, which could be infinitely cursed for millions of points. This lead arcade scores to reach upwards of 800 million point. This trick does not exist in the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions of the game. Neither version has scores anywhere near the arcade version, and I have personally tested the trick multiple times on both versions to no avail. Infinite respawn is not reproducible in the console versions. More details here.
2. Wider Curse Shot trick
In the arcade version, if players chose to take the tutorial instead of the prologue at the beginning of the game, all characters would for some reason be able to use Falulu's curse shot, which is much wider than the other character's attacks and has a curse field about 50% bigger than the other characters. Using this trick was an easy way to get higher scores with any character since the wider curse field touches nearly all popcorn enemies on screen. This trick has been disabled in the console versions.
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HEART CONTAINERS
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As you learn the stages, what's most important about each stages is finding the location of the heart containers. The game may seem tough at first, but there are heart containers on almost each stage, so if you get clipped a few times you can still recover.
Heart locations will vary with the mode that you're playing: Arcade has different heart drops than Story Mode and Story Mode has different locations from Mission Mode.
ARCADE MODE
・Cherry Blossom Village
To the right after crossing the first long bridge.
To the right at the gate before the boss.
・Gate to the Spirit World
A little above where you start out, a box under the pole on the left.
Turn left at the first fork. Behind the second giant skull.
On the left right before the boss next to the red gate.
・Sky Garden
Take the fork right and you'll easily find two heart items.
There is also a heart item in one of the portals you can step into, but it is surrounded by enemies and you may get killed trying to pick it up.
・Southern Temple
Barrel at your left at start of the level.
Barrel next to the manta ray before boarding.
・Karakuri Castle
Right route on 3rd floor: (where the big balls roll at you), near the stairs at the end.
Left route on 3rd floor: (log room) Move right to find a treasure box.
Left route on 3rd floor: (log room) In front of the stairs to the boss on the left.
STORY MODE
In different locations than above, but not hard to find so just search around.
MISSION MODE
Mission mode has a 16:9 aspect ratio for the screen which allows for more space within the levels. This opens up another heart container on the Southern Temple level. Move right after starting the stage and destroying the centipede.
There is a long path with several barrels on it. Destroy all the barrels here for a heart item.
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BOSS STRATEGIES
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GREAT GOD CROW
This is a really tough fight. Don't get too risky on the popcorns in the beginning of the stage, tossing out a curse field ineptly will get you rushed down by enemies that come in from the sides. I advise just using regular shot through this section.
The boss itself has two phases.
1st phase:
Hang out near the bottom left of his massive yellow ball/danmaku attack. Hold down shot and destroy the yellow balls. They will spit out suicide bullets. When they get near you, throw a curse field, but don't step in it. Let it fade away then use it again when you have to. This is a slightly slow technique, but it can get you through this tough phase without damage.
2nd phase:
Again, just use regular shot against the boss and aim at his projectiles as they come down the screen. When the diagonal lines of pink bullets approach you, toss an empty curse field and jump to the other side. If you're feeling cocky, self-curse yourself on the last 10% of the boss' health to kill him quickly.
TRUE LAST BOSS
The last boss in Mamoru-kun is pretty tough, but if you get down the strategy to take him out you should be able to kill him without losing more than two lives.
Here's one video that shows an easy strategy for beating the boss. Mine is slightly different.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzU1bfkGMI0
1st Phase:
The boss will attack you as a giant hand. Curse yourself to power up and blast him with your shot. You shouldn't have to do much dodging at all here.
2nd Phase:
You have to follow the girl in white (Rumie) around the stage here and curse her when you find her. Charge your curse shot up to level 3 and blast through the incoming energy balls. When you find Rumie, curse and shoot her while dodging.
This stage gets easier as you eliminate the hands. It's probably the toughest part of the boss.
3rd Phase:
Move on the interior "lip" of the arena to avoid all the popcorn enemy spam and curse an open eye when you find one. This will open up another eye on the other side, so wind around to find it. Use your curse shot to help cancel through all the suicide bullets coming at you and shoot the eye. You'll have to do this 4 times. If you're on high rank, watch out!! Many more popcorn enemies will spawn, so make sure your curse field doesn't overlap with an enemy generator. The best way to avoid this is to fire your curse shot at the open eye almost from the side of the boss in order to get the most range away from him.
The last boss can take some getting used to, so you might want to jack your lives up to 5 and give him a run. It'll help you unlock some achievements and you can get the patterns down in the meantime.
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TROPHIES
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Platinum キミも呪われてしまった！ Obtain all trophies
Bronze 六華撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "桜の古郷" stage
Bronze 天狐／空狐撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "冥界入口" stage
Bronze 舞蒼扇撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "空中庭園" stage
Bronze 婆娑婆娑撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "南国寺院" stage
Bronze 阿含陀羅撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "カラクリ城" stage
Bronze 大禍撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the final battle "真・最終決戦"
Bronze 大神鴉：戒撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "最終決戦" stage
Bronze 強化六華撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "桜の古郷ミッション" mission
Bronze 強化天狐／空狐撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "冥界入口ミッション" mission
Bronze 強化舞蒼扇撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "空中庭園ミッション" mission
Bronze 強化婆娑婆娑撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "南国寺院ミッション" mission
Bronze 強化阿含陀羅撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "カラクリ城ミッション" mission
Bronze 大神鴉撃破 Arcade Mode: Clear the "オリジナルミッション" mission
Bronze アーケードモードクリア（まもる） Clear Arcade Mode using Mamoru (1 Credit, Higher than 3 stars difficulty)
Bronze アーケードモードクリア（マユノ） Clear Arcade Mode using Mayuno (1 Credit, Higher than 3 stars difficulty)
Bronze アーケードモードクリア（キンヤ） Clear Arcade Mode using Kinya (1 Credit, Higher than 3 stars difficulty)
Bronze アーケードモードクリア（ベニ子） Clear Arcade Mode using Beniko (1 Credit, Higher than 3 stars difficulty)
Bronze アーケードモードクリア（ふるる） Clear Arcade Mode using Fururu (1 Credit, Higher than 3 stars difficulty)
Bronze アーケードモードクリア（ルキノ） Clear Arcade Mode using Lukino (1 Credit, Higher than 3 stars difficulty)
Bronze アーケードモードクリア（のわ） Clear Arcade Mode with Nowa (1 Credit, Higher than 3 stars difficulty)
Silver 涅槃寂静 Clear Arcade Mode on the highest difficulty (1 Credit, Any Character)
Silver 免許皆伝 Clear Arcade Mode without dying, any character. (Higher than 3 stars difficulty)
Bronze 魂葬神出現 Get a "Time Up"
Silver 冥界へようこそ！ Open the Main Menu
Bronze ランクイン！ Enter your name in the rankings
Silver 一攫千金 Raise your combo above 1000
Silver 冥界百万石 Collect 1,000,000 star items
Silver 丑の刻参り Curse enemies more than 108 times
Silver 煩悩退散 Curse yourself more than 108 times
Silver ギャラリー完成 Unlock all illustrations in the gallery
Silver ワタシの名前は... Clear Story Mode
Bronze 振り出しに戻る？ Enter the second loop of Story Mode
Bronze 冥界入口、解放(1) Defeat the first Story Mode boss using Beniko
Bronze 冥界入口、解放(2) Defeat the golden enemies in the "冥界入口" level before they run away
Bronze 桜の古郷、解放(1) Defeat the "桜の古郷ボス" boss in Story Mode using Mayuno
Bronze 桜の古郷、解放(2) Defeat the golden toads in Story Mode before they run away
Bronze 南国寺院、解放(1) Defeat the "南国寺院" boss in Story Mode using Kinya
Bronze 南国寺院、解放(2) Defeat all of the purple batabatas in "南国寺院" before they run away
Bronze 空中庭園、解放(1) Defeat the "空中庭園" boss in Story Mode using Mamoru
Bronze 空中庭園、解放(2) Defeat all of the golden Yatas in Story Mode before they run away
Bronze カラクリ城、解放(1) Defeat the "カラクリ城" boss in Story Mode using Fururu
Bronze カラクリ城、解放(2) Defeat the golden Mizunosuke or golden cart in Story Mode
Silver おいでませ！冥界活劇！！ Start up Meikai katsugeki mode
Bronze 活劇初心者卒業！ Clear all the low difficulty courses
Bronze 活劇中級者卒業！ Clear all the medium difficulty courses
Bronze 活劇上級者！ Clear all the high difficulty courses
Bronze 活劇の覇王 Clear all the devilish difficulty courses
Bronze 冥界活劇の修羅 Clear all the ultra-devilish difficulty courses
Bronze 活劇初手の初手 Clear all the simple courses
Bronze まも呪活劇マスター Clear all basic exam and applied exam courses
Bronze 冥界活劇ツーリスト Clear all Meikai Vacation courses
Bronze 活劇無頼 Clear all of the "突破" (charge through) courses
Bronze 活劇逃亡完了 Clear all of the "呪" "curse" courses
Bronze 活劇陥落 Clear all "鬼" devil courses
Gold 冥界活劇完全制覇！ Clear all courses
DLC TROPHIES
ふるるからの挑戦状！ ￥400
Bronze 黄泉平坂クリア Clear the "黄泉平坂" course
Bronze 天神様の細道クリア Clear the "天神様の細道" course
Bronze 天翔る甘い星クリア Clear the "天翔る甘い星" course
Bronze 輝かしい星跡クリア Clear the "輝かしい星跡" course
Gold ふるるからの挑戦状！クリア Clear all of the "Challenge from Fululu!" courses
のわからの挑戦状！ ￥400
Bronze 死神の鎮魂歌クリア Clear the "死神の鎮魂歌" course
Bronze 混沌の牙クリア Clear the "混沌の牙" course
Bronze 疾風の羅刹クリア Clear the "疾風の羅刹" course
Bronze 羊たちの贖罪クリア Clear the "羊たちの贖罪" course
Gold のわからの挑戦状！クリア Clear all of the "Challenge from Nowa courses!"
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TROPHY/ACHIEVEMENT NOTES
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Achievement guide is here:
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/elixir68k/19990112
Completing the gallery can be really tough. Keep in mind what Elixir mentions in his guide that each character has a specific boss tied to them both in Story Mode and Arcade Mode. When you 1CC the game in Arcade Mode with each character, make sure to beat the boss mission linked to them on the way to open up the illustrations:
Beniko: Spirit World Gate boss
Mayuno: Cherry Blossom Village boss
Kinya: Southern Temple boss
Mamoru: Sky Garden boss
Fululu: Karakuri Castle boss
On the PS3 version, the 1st print costume DLC is available is apparently necessary to platinum the game according to the JP trophy wiki, although some users dispute this. Untested at present.
For Story Mode-related trophies/achievements, which are semi-complicated, take a look at the next heading.
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STORY MODE
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In Story Mode you'll play through the Arcade Mode stages all in one sequence, like a typical shooting game. There are several trophies/achievements hidden in this mode and while they can be a bit of a pain in the ass to unlock, they're on your way to the platinum so you should learn them.
To see the true ending in Story Mode, you will need to destroy special gold enemies in the stages and defeat bosses with a certain character.
BOSS ORDER
1st Stage Beniko
2nd Stage Mayuno
3rd Stage Kinya
4th Stage Mamoru
5th Stage Fululu
For info on the gold enemies that you need to destroy in the stages, see this breakdown of the achievements:
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/elixir68k/19990112
There are pictures of the enemies you need to destroy here (in Japanese):
http://fujikko.at.webry.info/200906/article_29.html
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PLUSES AND MINUSES OF THE PS3 VERSION
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The following is a breakdown of the pluses and minuses of the PS3 version of the game in comparison to its Xbox360 version. Personally I feel that the PS3 version is the definitive version of the game although it does have its own problems.
Positives:
- 16:9 meikai katsugeki mode. Similar to Under Defeat's New Order Mode, but a lot more fun because enemies that were previously on-screen help you chain, and the amount of score items on-screen at once increases dramatically (so much so that the initial version of the game crashed when too many stars appeared on-screen, which was thankfully patched later)
- Mission mode in meikai katsugeki mode: multiple mission objective versions of the same in-game levels, sometimes with tweaked rules like: enemies generate 3x the amount of stars, Deaths (enemies which normally appear when you run out of time) chase you during a boss fight, and several courses where you have to face super-tough bosses in a row. Mission mode is a ton of fun and the difficulty scales really well.
- Improved load times. Load times across the board are significantly improved over the 360 version.
- LE features. Costume DLC included for free, really nice artbook with dev interviews
- Leaderboards for every mission in meikai katsugeki mode. Really bizarre choice. You wind up uploading scores to the leaderboards after every mission, and since there's over 50 it becomes a chore.
- Game instability. Despite a patch to fix stability issues, I still get rare freezes which require me to turn off my console. : / (May not be the case in the recently-released US version)
- Simplified leaderboards. I think this is just because the PS3's leaderboard libraries are junky, but there's no option to find your own score on the boards, and your score does not update immediately (takes a few hours I think?).
- 1st Print DLC required to unlock platinum trophy. This is for the Japanese version only, but if you do not have the 1st print DLC, you will not be able to unlock the platinum trophy for the game according to the JP trophy wiki. This is not an issue on the US version because the 1st print DLC is included for free.
VIDEOS OF GOOD PLAYERS
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Here's a good Nowa scoring run:
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm18790120
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm18790328
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm18790409
Some of the best reference videos are on the scoring DVD that comes with the Xbox 360 version of the game. These are recordings of the arcade version, so not everything can be used for the console versions, but in terms of boss + scoring strategies and route selection, the DVD is extremely useful.
And I didn't know about that extend heart right at the beginning of Cherry Blossom Village, will have to remember that.
