First Samurai manual

1. First Samurai
2. manual
3. firstsamuraimanual

BACKGROUND
In a tiny village of ancient Japan, Lord Akira and his young samurai
were collecting taxes from the local peasants when the Demon King
descended from the mountain.  The village was destroyed, all the
inhabitants murdered, but the Demon King paid special attention to the
Warrior Lord.  Fifteen minutes later, the young samurai was alone with
the Demon's final words; 'Tell them about me, Tell them I'm ready to
take back everything that is mine by right.  Tell them their true Master
has returned...!!'  On that cold morning the young samurai swore revenge
for his fallen Master.

For years the good people of the hills fought the Demon as best they
could, until the Wizard-Mage arrived from the sea and challenged the
Demon.  They fought long and hard atop the Demon King's mountain,
lightning and fire keeping the night aglow, until the Demon, fearing
defeat, escaped into time, hurling himself far into the future where
people had forgotten the magic and where he feared no opposition...

The good people were safe, but for the young samurai there was no rest,
for his soul could not be at peace until he avenged his murdered Lord.
So he begged the Mage that he might follow the Demon into the future to
bring the Demon King back so that he could be destroyed at the foot of
his own mountain throne...

This was how it began.

CONTROLS
All the action takes place on the playfield.  A 'camera' follows the
first Samurai's movements throughout the environment.

NOTE: BACKWARDS
Move in opposite direction to the one you are facing. i.e. if you are
facing right - backwards is left.

UNARMED COMBAT
Walk left/right                 -       Push left/right on the joystick.
Punch forward                   -       Push forwards and press fire button.
Low punch forward               -       Pull down joystick and press fire
                                        button.
Leg sweep                       -       Pull down diagonally left or right.
Flying kick forward             -       Push up and press the firebutton.
Turn and punch                  -       Backwards with fire button.
High kick backwards/forwards    -       Up diagonally left or right with fire
                                        button.

ARMED COMBAT
Flying slash                    -       Up and fire button.
Slash                           -       Hold down fire button and push
                                        left/right.
Crouch slash and dig            -       Pull down diagonally left or right
                                        with fire button.
Overhead slash                  -       Up diagonally left/right with fire
                                        button.
Turn and slash forwards         -       Fire button and backwards.

THE FOLLOWING MOVES CAN BE MADE WHILEST UNARMED OR ARMED
Jump                            -       Push up joystick.
Crouch                          -       pull down joystick.
Cling to walls                  -       push up once you have stuck to a
                                        wall.
Pull away from walls            -       Pull backwards.
Jump away from walls            -       Push up backwards.
Throw missiles                  -       Press Fire button.
Use Special Icons               -       Hold fire button whilst stationary.
Use Bell                        -       Hold fire button and pull down or
                                        press space bar.

FREEZING THE ACTION
Press the 'P' key to freeze the action.  Press the joystick button or
any other key to resume play.

QUITING THE GAME
Press 'Q' while the game is paused.

BAD CREATURES - THE DEMON KING'S MALEVOLENT MINIONS
There are many and varied and each has its own characteristics and
strengths.  Note that an adversary which has been hit will flash but
that does not mean it will die as aot all minions can be killed.  Points
are given for each kill.

THE STATUS PANEL
The PHYSICAL ENERGY is that of the hero and is represented by an arm.
The shorter the arm, the weaker the hero.  When the hero's physical
strength runs out, he dies (unless he possesses the Magic Sword - see
MAGIC SWORD).

Physical Energy is lost whenever the hero is hit by one of the Demon
King's minions.  The hero begins his quest with his Physical Energy at
maximum.


MYSTICAL ITEMS

THE BELL
This is the most powerful mystical item.  Use it only when no other
course of action can solve the problem you face.

ADDITIONAL WEAPONRY
There's no doubting the hero's unarmed combat skills - he's a lean, mean
fighting machine.  But occassionally he may need a helping hand in the
form of an additional weapon.  These may be found during the Samurai's
journey, but some types may only be collected if the Samurai has
sufficient magical energy.  Only one weapon can be held at one time: it
is shown on the panel below the playfield.  If the hero is holding a
weapon when he picks up another, the old weapon is lost.  Additional
Weaponry is activated by pressing the joystick firebutton while the hero
stands still.  When the player has sufficient magical energy a magical
item will appear as a sparkling star.  Walking over the item will reveal
its true form but the player will not be able to collect it.

DAGGER
Throw out a deadly dagger.  Better still, collect a maximum of three
daggers and you can have three on the go at once.

SEEKER
A deadly star orbits the hero until one of the Demon King's minions
nears.  It then instinctively attacks the enemy.  The hero can have a
maximum of three Seekers on the go at once.  Bear in mind that a Seeker
will disappear when it runs out of hit power.

AXE
Throw a single axe.  There can be no more.


MAGIC

THE WIZARD MAGE
The Samurai is not adept in the ways of magic.  Fortunately for him, the
Wizard Mage is highly skilled in the mystical arts and may be summoned
through time to aid the Samurai.

NOTE: The Wizard Mage occasionally makes a fleeting appearance in times
of trouble.  When he appears you know it's time to summon him.

SPECIAL ITEMS
The Wizard Mage is powerful but sometimes the problems presented are not
soluble without a helping hand.  On each level the hero needs to collect
Special Items.  When a Special Item is collected, the Wizard Mage
appears to take it from the hero.  When the moment comes, the Wizard
Mage will use the Special Items to solve a particular problem.  Note
that you do not have to collect EVERY Special Item on a level - just
most of them!

The MYSTICAL ENERGY is that of the hero's Magic Sword (see THE MAGIC
SWORD).  The energy of every creature killed is absorbed by the Magic
Sword and shown as this bar.  The longer the bar, the greater the
quantity of Mystical Energy stored.  The Mystical Energy is used to
charge pots.  The hero begins his quest with a small amount of Mystical
Energy, which is increased by defeating the Demon King's minions in
battle.

REGENERATION POTS
Regeneration Pots are dotted around the landscape in opportune places.
A charged Regeneration Pot marks the position of the landscape to where
the hero will be returned when he is reincarnated following the loss of
a life or when he uses a transport option.

A pot is charged by positioning the Samurai over it and crouching down.
The Mystical Energy accumulated during play will then flow into the
Regeneration Pot.  Only one pot can be active at any one time, but the
hero can reactivate a previously charged Pot and so determine a restart
position for the hero.

POTIONS
Pick up a Potion and the hero is transported to the last charged
Regeneration Pot.

THE MAGIC SWORD
The hero begins his quest without his Magic Sword.  The Magic Sword is
only given to the hero when he collects sufficient Mystical Energy.  Not
only does the Magic Sword effectively extend the Samurai's reach, it
also spares him instant death.  When the hero's Physical Energy reaches
zero, the Magic Sword is lost but the hero lives on, his Mystical Energy
converted to a small portion of Physical Energy.

TRANSPORTERS
Watch out for transporters.  When the hero touches one, press and hold
down the joystick firebutton to transport him to a new area of the
scenery.  It could even be another transporter.

PLAYERS LIVES REMAINING
The player's mission begins with five reincarnations of the hero.  See
if you can discover how to acquire extra lives.

YOUR PERSONALIZED ACCESS CODE
So what is your Personalized Access Code?  Well, when a level is
completed, the program 'remembers' the stage reached, along with a
number of lives and the score at that time and the time spent playing
thus far.  The player can store this information on Disk Two and then
access it to avoid playing what's come before.  This effectively
determines the starting position of play.

The player can save the Personalized Access Code at the end of a game or
after quitting.  At this time the game will go to the high score table
and then the title screen.  From the title screen credits, press 'F1' to
call up the Personalized Access Code menu.  There are 10 slots to which
the state of play can be saved, one for each level.  Any previously
saved situations will be shown.  To save your current status, press the
'S' key.  Note that any existing code for the level in question is
replaced.

To load a saved situation, press the corresponding function key for the
level required.  For example, press F1 to restart at level 1.

BONUSES
The First Samurai rewards the player for good play in the form of
bonuses.  The Statistics for the bonuses acquired during a level can be
viewed by pressing the 'B' key.  However, the actual bonuses are not
given until the level in question is completed.  Press the firebutton to
return to the action.


BONUS REPORTS

COURAGE BONUS
Awarded for the number of Demon King minions killed.

CHEST BONUS
The number of chests opened.

TREASURE BONUS
The quantity of treasure collected.

FOOD BONUS
The quantity of food collected.

SPECIAL OBJECTS HELD
The quantity of Special Objects collected by the player for the Wizard
Mage.

SPECIAL OBJECTS NEEDED
The number of Special Objects required by the Wizard Mage.

TIME TAKEN
How long the player has been in action.