SAMURAI TRILOGY =============== In an age in which honour was revered, from a time when grace and beauty were virtues, a class of warriors set themselves apart to dedicate their lives to a perfection in combat that in itself was an artform, to a discipline of mind that became a religion. The attaining of such excellence required an extraordinary diligence in selfdenial and training in order to achieve the ultimate accolade ‘War Lord’. Kendo, Karate and finally Samurai are the tests that must be mastered before such honour can be bestowed. Scenario Deep in the orient, in the province of the Nang River, exists a band of fighting warriors. Highly skilled and deadly, only students of exceptional calibre are permitted to train under their Supreme Masters. No other group of fighters have as many Samurai War Lords to swell their ranks, and no other Samurais have had to complete so gruelling a training course to attain their title. Those who succeed are honoured by the inscription of their name on the walls of the 'Chopemup Temple'. Gameplay Having merited a coveted place in the War Lord's training program, your quest for excellence in combat begins. Your mentor, Supreme Master Chu Yu, will guide you through your fights and impart his judgement of your performance; if you heed Chu Yu, his words will serve you well - ignore him at your peril. To prove that you are worthy of the coveted title Samurai, you must demonstrate your fighting skills and mental agility, whilst using three different combat techniques, Karate, Kendo and Samurai. You must emerge victorious over a top level expert in each of the techniques before Chu Yu will allow you to progress to the next one. Defence Decisions Your opponent may be beaten only when you are fully in tune with his strengths and weaknesses. (He may be beaten on points or a direct knockout basis.) Before embarking upon a fight therefore, certain tactical decisions are required of you. An accurate assessment of your opponent's key attributes must be made, ie: whether he depends on skill, speed, strength or stamina. You must then select the strategy which will most effectively counter this ability, eg: if in your opinion your opponent relies heavily on strength, then you might decide that speed will best equip you to deal with him. When assessing your opponent's abilities, you must also decide his level. You may select either one, two or three, but remember the higher he is, the further a victory over him will advance you. Throughout your fights, your morale will be closely monitored. To select a weaker opponent will lose both points and Chu Yu's favour, so remember, improvement of your own abilities is your constant goal. Before fighting each opponent, you must train yourself religiously. You may select three of twelve training routines in an effort to improve your chosen strategy. Circuit Weights Running Isometrics Makiwara Practice fighting techniques against an image. Kihon Practice movement and technique. Tamoshiwari Breaking bricks, slates etc. Ibuki Breathing Tai Sabaki Reflex training Kata Combination movements Kumite Sparring Mokuso Meditation Each of the routines is designed to improve specific skills, and a wrong decision can cost you dearly. The opponent, strategy and training decisions which you have made so far contribute to your overall defence. Your opponent's abilities are determined by his levels. Tactical Decisions Having now psychologically assessed your opponent's fighting abilities and adapted yourself accordingly, you are required to adopt an attack initiative . This decision will have a direct effect on your hit power and must be made diligently. Between each stage of combat, you are required to select attack and defence tactics; this is done by distributing a chosen number of points (you are allocated five) between the four key attributes. This distribution is represented by four bars at the foot of the screen. Both you and your opponent have an attack and defence bar; (you and your bar are red, both your opponent and his bar are blue) all four bars are monitored constantly and react to the ensuing fight. If you've calculated wrongly and are losing your fight, or if you attack wildly and waste your energy, your defence will slowly be depleted, and could finally result in death. Do not despair though, as Chu Yu will award extra attack strength to the student who has trained well and fights wisely. There will be opportunities to meditate and alter the tactics on the first rounds of Karate and Kendo (each round will last for one minute): a time limit is set on this privilege after round one. During Samurai, the third and final test, you will be allowed an initial selection, but from then on you will fight without pause to the death: four opponents must be beaten in this final test. It is now that your training will be put to the greatest test; you will either die or emerge to claim your title: Samurai War Lord. How to Load Spectrum 48K/128K: CASSETTE: Insert the cassette on Side A. Press LOAD"" and press ENTER. Press FLAY on the cassette recorder. Commodore 64K/128K: CASSETTE: Connect cassette player as per user manual and rewind cassette on Side A. Turn on the computer and press SHIFT and RUN STOP keys together. Press PLAY on the cassette recorder and the program will load and run automatically (if C128, put into 64K mode). DISK: Connect disk drive as per user manual. Insert disk, label side up and turn on the drive. Turn on the computer and type LOAD"*",8,1 and press RETURN; the disk will load and run automatically. AMSTRAD CPC: CASSETTE: Insert the cassette on Side A into the cassette deck. Press CONTROL (CTRL) and the small ENTER keys together, press PLAY on the cassette deck and then any key. The program will load and run automatically. DISK: Insert the disk, label side up into the disk drive. Type |CPM and press ENTER. The program will load and run automatically. MSX CASSETTE: Connect the cassette deck as shown in the User Guide. Insert the cassette on Side A, then type BLOAD "CAS:".R press RETURN and then PLAY on the cassette deck. The program will load and run automatically. To Make Your Selections Move the cursor to the desired piece of text using your joystick. Move Joystick right to confirm the option or left to cancel the option. Press Fire to execute. How to Move Spectrum 48K P - Pause On/Off Enter - Exit Practice Mode Spectrum 128K P - Pause On/Off M - Music & Sound Effects On/Off Enter - Exit Practice Mode Amstrad CPC F7 - Pause On/Off F1 - Music & Sound Effects On/Off Enter — Exit Practice Mode Commodore 64/128 F7 - Pause On/Off F1 - Music fie Sound Effects On/Off Return - Exit Practice Run MSX F7 Pause On/Off F1 - Music & Sound Effects On/Off Return - Exit Practice Mode How to Move Controls when facing right - button pressed. KARATE Flying Kick X | Spin Kick \ | / \ | / \|/ Turn ---*--- Punch /|\ / | \ / | \ Long Shuffle | Long Shuffle Backward Forward X KENDO Jumping Cut X | Exchange Cut \ | / \ | / \|/ Turn ---*--- Run Forward /|\ / | \ / | \ Step Back | Step Forward and Parry and Parry X SAMURAI Overhead Cut X | Side Cut \ | / \ | / \|/ Turn ---*--- Run /|\ / | \ / | \ Step Back | Low Cut X How to Move Controls when facing right - button not pressed. KARATE Jumping Kick X | High Kick \ | / \ | / \|/ Turn ---*--- Kempo Chop/ /|\ Swapping Chop / | \ / | \ Short Shuffle | Short Shuffle Backward Forward X KENDO Overhead Cut X | Exchange Cut \ | / \ | / \|/ Turn ---*--- Lunge /|\ / | \ / | \ Step Back | Step Forward and Parry and Parry X SAMURAI Overhead Parry and Kick X | Side Cut \ | / \ | / \|/ Turn ---*--- Point Thrust /|\ / | \ / | \ Step Back | Walk Forward X Notes On all versions, you will be prompted to select one of four languages before playing the game. The joystick control is extremely sensitive and it is advisable to select the practice mode before playing the game. Whilst playing, you will be able to save your game between fights for re-loading at a later stage. After having practiced all three arts, you may find it useful, for future reference, to make a note of the tape counter number at which each of the arts is located. To make the text screen disappear at any point during play, press FIRE. Gremlin Graphics Software Limited Alpha House, 10 Carver Street, Sheffield S1 4FS © 1987. All rights reserved. Unauthorised copying, lending or resale by any means strictly prohibited.