Pistol Daimyo no Bouken/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: Use the 8-way joystick to direct Pistol Daimyo around the screen. He is always moving forward, but you can direct him anywhere; as with Kissy, Takky, and Hommy, from Baraduke and Bakutotsu Kijūtei, if you stop holding it up, Pistol Daimyo will float back down to the ground if he is in mid-air. He can also still move after losing one of his suits of armour, as a result of getting hit, but will not be able to fire his pistol for a few seconds.
 * Firing Button: Use this button to make Pistol Daimyo fire his pistol at the enemies. Pressing it lightly makes it fire a small cannonball; holding down the button charges the pistol (much like Alice's bubbleblower in Märchen Maze and Apollo's sword in Phelios) and on releasing the button the pistol fires a medium-sized or large cannonball. Even the smallest enemies in this game take multiple hits to kill, so the small cannonballs are of little use.
 * 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a 1 or 2 player game.

Pistol Daimyo (ピストル大名)
This gun-toting feudal lord first appeared as a boss character on the eighth and twenty-second stages of Beraboh Man in 1988 (which also ran on Namco System 1 hardware), and attacked by setting up an invisible wall in front of himself that would not go away until he was defeated; he would then hover up and down in a fixed position behind it while firing missiles from his pistol (strapped to his head) at that game's eponymous main character, and took eleven hits to defeat on both occasions. However, since the defeat of Dr. Bakuda at the end of the game, he appears to have undergone a makeover - and he now faces the right side of the screen and no longer holds fans in his hands. In the game's opening cutscene, he dances past his eight advisors (four male and four female, who bow down as he passes them) before performing a somersault and setting off on an adventure over five worlds themed around Feudal Japan: Tabidachi no Maki (旅立ちの巻), Waru Gappa no Maki (悪ガッパの巻), Shuriken-dan no Maki (しゅりけん団の巻), Ayakashi no Maki (あやかしの巻) and Gonsuke-dan no Maki (ゴンスケ団の巻); he also now fires three different sizes of cannonballs from his pistol instead of missiles, and will die in a single hit, unless he breaks three blue vases with a medium or large cannonball and collects the Hanafuda  cards they leave behind, which will cause a Kusudama  to come down from the top of the screen. If he breaks it open, with a medium or large cannonball, before it goes back up off the top of the screen again, it will leave a suit of wooden, or metal if you already have the wooden one, armour behind - and once he has put it on, he will keep it until he gets hit, at which point it will fly off and reduce him to wooden (or no) armour. Also, if he should break a yellow vase, of which there are just three in all of the game, with a medium or large cannonball, it will leave a shot powerup behind; once he has collected it, it will increase the powers of his shots for the remainder of the current stage (2, 9 and 13).

Suzume (すずめ)
These brown birds appear on the first, second, third and fifth stages of the game; one small cannonball will kill them, and they are worth 100 points.

Dokuro (どくろ)
These skulls appear on the first and twelfth stages of the game; on the latter, they will also emerge out of doors that appear in front of Pistol Daimyo, take one large cannonball to destroy, and are worth 300 points. One medium-sized cannonball will kill them, and they are also worth 300 points.

Kappa No Sara (カッパの皿)
These flower-heads appear on the first, second, third, fourth and fifth stages; they cannot be killed by Pistol Daimyo and must be avoided.

Tatami Kozo (たたみ小僧)
These flying priests appear upon the first and fourteenth stages of the game; one small cannonball will kill them, and they are worth 400 points.

Kanameishi (要石)
These keystones appear on the first, sixth, seventh, eighth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth stages of the game; one large cannonball will kill the blue and yellow ones (which are both worth 300 points), but the purple ones (which are worth 800 points) take three of them. The enormous ones only take two large cannonballs to kill, and are also worth 800 points - and their death causes an (enemy-harmful) explosion.

Sakura Nosuke (サクラのすけ)
This pink-clad samurai is the boss of that first stage; he'll first hover into view from the right side of the screen, rise into the air, and speak that Hiragana/Katakana text ''Setsu shi ya Sakura Nosuke to mōsu. Chika-ra wo tameshimaseu!'' (せつしやサクラのすけともうす. ちからをためしませう!), to Pistol Daimyo. He will then hover around for a few seconds, before speaking that Hiragana/Katakana text ''Teki ha taitei a tama gaja kutendegozaru. Botan wo o shiteki ai wo tameru nodegozaru.'' (てきはたいていあたまがじゃくてんでござる. ボタンをおしてきあいをためるのでござる.) to Pistol Daimyo as a sakura tree emerges from his head - and he will then hover randomly around the screen, while firing flowers at you from that tree (which you cannot afford to get a hit off). Once you have fired ninety-six small cannonballs, forty-eight medium cannonballs, or six large cannonballs at the tree (as sixteen small cannonballs, eight medium cannonballs and one large cannonball will all register as half a cross on his Waru meter), it will recede back into his head and any flowers that are still on the screen will explode as he descends back to the ground; he'll then speak that explosive Hiragana text ''O migotodegozaimasu! Ki ai kki desu!'' (おみごとでございます! きあいっきあいです!) to Pistol Daimyo as the game's "stage clear" theme is heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for a first time before hovering away off the right side of the screen. 2000 points.

Kaeru (かえる)
These frogs appear on the second, third, fourth, fifth, ninth, tenth, and fourteenth stages of this game; a small cannonball will kill the green and purple ones (which are both worth 100 points), but the red (also 100 points) and black ones (which are worth 400 points) take a medium.

Gama Gaeru (ガマガエル)
These enormous purple frogs appear on the second, third, fourth and fifth stages of the game; one large cannonball will kill them, and they are worth 500 points. A three-Waru yellow version of them is also the boss of the second stage - see the next section for more info on him.

Yellow Gama Gaeru (黄色いガマガエル)
This enormous three-Waru yellow frog is the boss of the second stage; he will first speak the Hiragana text Gero-ge ero! (げろげえろ!) to Pistol Daimyo thrice before starting to bounce into view from the right side of the screen. If you want to, you can first fire two medium cannonballs or one large cannonball at the larger green Kaeru who is standing on the purple seat atop his head to knock him off (for 200 extra points) - and once you have fired forty-eight small cannonballs, six medium cannonballs, or three large cannonballs at him (as eight small cannonball and one medium cannonball, will register as half a cross on the Waru meter and one large cannonball will register a full cross on it), the "stage clear" theme will be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for a second time, as the aforementioned purple seat that was on his head explodes (for 500 extra points) and he falls off the bottom of the screen like his normal purple counterparts while speaking the explosive Hiragana/Katakana text Kero ro ōo n keron! (けろろオオオん けろんっ!), to Pistol Daimyo. 3500 points; 黄色い also literally reads as kīroi. (In Hiragana it is きいろい).

Kokappa (子カッパ)
These duck-like creatures are only present on the third stage of this game; one medium cannonball will kill them, and they are worth 100 points.

Kapa Kepe Kohoon (カパケペコホオン)
This duck-like creature, who is encapsulated inside a protective and anticlockwise-spinning tornado, is the boss of the third stage; he will first speak that Katakana text Kepepekkapakepekohōn. (ケペ ペッ カパ ケペ コホオン) to Pistol Daimyo twice as he emerges from the water at the bottom of the screen. He will then start to hover across the surface of the water, while occasionally jumping out of his protective tornado to spin around rapidly in the clockwise direction, and throw six miniaturized Kappa No Sara at you - and once you have fired off forty-eight small cannonballs, six medium cannonballs or three large cannonballs at him while he's out of that tornado (as eight small cannonballs and one medium one will both, again, register half a cross on that Waru meter and one large cannonball will again register a full cross on it; also, medium and large cannonballs can be fired into the tornado while he is encapsulated in it), the tornado will explode and the "stage clear" theme will be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for the third time as he ceases spinning, faces out of the cabinet and speaks the Hiragana text ''Ka pappa! Ru n pappa!'' (かっぱっぱ! るんぱっぱ!), to Pistol Daimyo, before fainting and disappearing in a puff of smoke. Much like Sakura Nosuke, he is worth 2000 points - and the external appearance of blue-clad ninja Makishinji, who is the boss of that sixth stage, is also identical to him (but the internal one is not).

Kokakkake (コカッカケ)
This enormous duck-like creature (who is so big that only his head is visible), is the boss of the fourth stage; he will first speak the Katakana/Hiragana text Kokakukakokakkake! Koshakuna kowappame! (コカクカ コカッカケ! こしゃくな こわっぱめ!), to Pistol Daimyo, as he sticks his head out of the water (his Waru meter, which is comprised of four Waru will also appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen at this point). The four Kappa No Sara that are covering that hole at the top of his head, of which only the top one is visible, will then slide off and fly towards you in turn - and once you have fired a total of eight medium cannonballs or four large ones into the hole (one medium cannonball will register half a cross on the Waru meter, and a large cannonball will register a full cross on it; the hits will also knock him back a bit, but he'll stick his head back into the water, and re-emerge from it with four new Kappa No Sara on his head until his defeat), any Kappa No Sara that are still on the screen will explode and he speaks an explosive Katakana/Hiragana text 'Kukyakī! Kyaparepā''' kuyashī!! Yararetā a! A'' (クキャキイ! キャパレパア くやしい!! やられたああ!ア) to Pistol Daimyo before exploding himself. The "stage clear" theme will then be heard of the Yamaha YM-2151 for a fourth time, as Pistol Daimyo flies off the right side of the screen; this boss is also the only non-frog enemy on that fourth stage. 3000 points.

Kappa Sennin (カッパ仙人)
This Buddha-like creature, who is seated upon a flying carpet like the Pidgits from the American Super Mario Bros. 2 is the boss of the fifth stage, which is the last of Waru Gappa no Maki; he will first speak that Katakana/Hiragana text Kapape washi Kappa Sennin washi totemotsu oi (カパ ペッ わし カッパ せんにん わし とても つおい) to Pistol Daimyo once he has seen him (his Waru meter, which is comprised of three Waru, will also appear in that bottom-right corner of the screen at this point). He will then start flying around the screen as a shower of shooting stars (which are identical to that star that is hovering over his head) starts flying past in the top-left corner (so do not fly up there) - and once you have fired out forty-eight small cannonballs, six medium cannonballs, or three large cannonballs at that star, any shooting stars that are on the screen will explode for 100, and a maximum of 500, extra points apiece as it spins around in an anticlockwise direction, flies into that air, comes down on top of him (raising a lump on his head in the process), and falls off the bottom of the screen. He'll now speak the explosive Katakana/Hiragana text of Appare (アッパレ) twice, Ayamaru (あやまる) thrice, and Ayamarūu (アヤマルウウ) to Pistol Daimyo; the "stage clear" theme will then be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for a fifth time, as he disappears behind the foreground and Pistol Daimyo flies off the screen's right side. He is worth 10000 points - and once the view returns to the overworld map, the fourth lantern upon the top row will change its colour from yellow to red.

Ninjas (忍者)
These covert agents appear on the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth stages; the blue and yellow (which are both worth 100 points) ones will die after a small cannonball's strike, but the purple (which are worth 600 points) and red (which are also worth 100 points) ones take a medium.

Makishinji (まきしんじ)
This blue-clad ninja, who is encapsulated in a protective and anticlockwise-spinning protective tornado, like Kapa Kepe Kohoon, is the boss for that sixth stage; he will first drop down into view from the top of the screen while speaking the Hiragana text of ''Watashi ha tatsu maki! Maki maki maki maki Makishinji! Watashi ha tatsu maki! Maki maki maki maki maki ueda. (わたしは たつまき! まきまきまきまき まきしんじ! わたしは たつまき! まきまきまきまき まき うえだ) to Pistol Daimyo (his Waru meter, which is comprised of three Waru'', will also appear in the bottom-right corner of your screen at this point). He will then jump to the left before jumping out of his protective tornado to throw shurikens at you - and once you have shot forty-eight small cannonballs, six medium ones or three large ones at him while he is out of the tornado (eight small cannonballs and a medium one will register half a cross upon that Waru meter, and a large cannonball will register a full cross on it; medium and large ones can also be fired into the tornado), the tornado will explode. The "stage clear" theme will then be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for its sixth time as he stops spinning in a clockwise direction, faces out of the cabinet, and speaks the explosive Hiragana/Katakana text ''Maki maki maki maki maki fuyuki chī! Ato wo tanomu zo pōru maki i''. (まきまきまきまき まきふゆきちい! あとをたのむぞ ポールまきイ.), to Pistol Daimyo, before (much like Kapa Kepe Kohoon did three stages earlier) fainting and disappearing in a puff of smoke - and Pistol Daimyo will then fly off the right side of the screen. 3000 points.

Tonbi (とんび)
These flying winged fish are only present upon the seventh stage of the game; one small cannonball will kill them and they are worth 200 points.

Generators (ジェネレーターズ)
These clouds are present upon the seventh and eighth stages of the game; one medium cannonball will kill them, and they are worth 100 points.

Bonito (ぼにと)
These shark-like fish appear upon the seventh and eighth stages of the game; one small cannonball will kill them, and they are worth 100 points.

Mokumoku Nosuke (もくもくのすけ)
This blue-clad samurai is the boss of the seventh stage; he will first drop down into view from the top of the screen (he is not visible in that image seen to the left because he has melded himself with that third Generator, but he looks like this: ) and speak the Hiragana text of ''Ora e n maku Mokumoku Nosuke mokumokumoku. Mokumokumoku mokumokumoku. (おら えんまく もくもく のすけ もくもくもく もくもくもく もくもくもく) to Pistol Daimyo (his Waru meter, comprised of five Waru'', will also appear in the bottom-right corner of your screen at this point). He will then rise into the air and generate four Generators (melding himself with the third one in the process), which will fly around the screen in a clockwise direction while firing shurikens at you - and once you have fired eighty small cannonballs, ten medium cannonballs, or five large cannonballs at that third Generator, any other Generators on the screen will explode (for 100 extra points apiece) and he will speak an explosive Hiragana/Katakana text of No ā ā!!! (のあああー!!!), then Nī chan! (にーちゃん!) twice, and Kataki totte kure (カタキカタキとってくれ) to Pistol Daimyo, before exploding himself. The "stage clear" theme will then be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for a seventh time, as Pistol Daimyo flies onward; 2000 points.

Rocks (岩)
These masses of consolidated mineral matter appear upon the eighth and twelfth stages; one large cannonball will kill them, and they are worth 400 points. A purple version was also going to appear in what would have originally been the game's fifth world Odoro Kyō no Maki (おどろ教の巻) represented by the fourth row of lanterns on the overworld map, but this is only playable through a "Select current/next stage" cheat in MAME - and what was originally going to be the game's sixth world of Kurofune Kitaru no Maki (黒船来たるの巻) is also represented by the fifth row of lanterns.

Nekodori (ねこどり)
These cat-like creatures appear upon the eighth, eleventh and thirteenth stages of the game; one medium cannonball will kill both types, but the yellow ones are worth 200 points, while the purple ones are worth 300. Those purple ones will also wait until they see you before flying towards you.

Mokumoku Nosuke No Ototo (もくもくのすけの弟)
This blue-clad samurai, whose appearance is identical to that of the original Mokumoku Nosuke, is the boss for that eighth stage; he will first drop down into view from the top of the screen like his precursor and say, in Hiragana/Katakana: ''O tō-tachi no kataki! Kurae! Mokumoku sūpā! (おとうたちの かたき! くらえ! もくもくスーパー!) to Pistol Daimyo (his Waru meter, comprised of four Waru'', will also appear in that bottom-right corner of the screen at this point). He will then rise up into the air and transform into eight Generators, melding himself with the eighth of them in the process, which will move across the screen both horizontally and vertically while firing shurikens at you - and once you've fired out sixty-four small cannonballs, eight medium cannonballs, or eight large cannonballs at that eighth Generator, the other seven will explode for 100 extra points each, and he will speak that explosive Hiragana/Katakana text of Do ā a! Maketāāa!!! (どあああ! マケタアアアアア!!!), to Pistol Daimyo, before exploding himself. The "stage clear" theme will then be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for an eighth time as Pistol Daimyo flies off the right side of the screen; he is worth 7000 points (which is 5000 more than the original Mokumoku Nosuke was worth on the previous stage).

Karakuri Cannon (からくり大砲)
This unique upturned bucket with legs appears upon the ninth stage of the game; one large cannonball will kill it, and it is worth 400 points.

Shuriken-dan No Dancho (しゅりけん団の団長)
This enormous black-clad ninja is the boss of that ninth stage; he will first jump into view from the right side of the screen and speak the Hiragana text Shuriken! (しゅりけん!) twice, then Shuri (しゅりっ) twice, and Shurishuri (しゅりっしゅりっ) to Pistol Daimyo (his Waru meter, which is comprised of five Waru, will also appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen at this point); he will now throw the shuriken that is mounted on his head at you, and instantly grow a replacement one, before jumping towards you. Once you have fired eighty small cannonballs, ten medium cannonballs, or five large cannonballs at him (the balls will also spring him into the air, and render him unable to throw his shurikens at you - and you will also have to watch for purple shurikens emerging from the ground in groups of four and five during this fight), any shurikens that are on the screen will explode, and the "stage clear" theme will be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for a ninth time, as he falls off the screen while speaking the explosive Hiragana text Shurīī shuri!! (しゅりいいい しゅりっ!!) to Pistol Daimyo, who will then fly away off the right side of the screen; he is 20000 points, and once the view returns to the overworld map, the fourth lantern on the centre row will change its colour from yellow to red.

Geta (げた)
These winged tables are only present on the tenth stage of the game; one medium-sized cannonball will kill them, and they're worth 400 points.

Bacura (バキュラ)
These appear on the tenth and thirteenth stages; they can't be killed, and every time Pistol Daimyo hits them, they will come towards him faster.

Enormous Feet (巨大足)
These giant body parts will come down into view from the top of the screen on the tenth and thirteenth stages of the game; one medium cannonball will make them retreat back up off the top of the screen again and they are worth 200 points. An indestructible brown version will also come down directly over Pistol Daimyo after Taimappu has rung his bells and walked off the right side of the screen as a result of taking too long over a boss.

Enormous Hands (巨大腕)
These other giant body parts will come up into view from the bottom of the screen on the tenth and thirteenth stages of the game; one medium cannonball will make them retreat back down off the bottom of the screen again, and they're worth 100 points (this is 100 less than the Enormous Feet).

Yuurei (ゆうれい)
These spirits appear on the tenth, eleventh and thirteenth stages in jars; if you don't shoot them in time with a medium cannonball for 500 points, the jars will break open and the free Yuurei (who are now indestructible) will fly directly towards Pistol Daimyo, so you should not let this happen.

Shishimai (獅子舞)
This two-headed lion is the boss of the tenth stage; he will first walk into view from the right side of the screen and speak the Hiragana text Wanwan wanwanwanwan wanwan! (わんわんっ わんわんわんわん わんわんっ!) to Pistol Daimyo (his Waru meter which is comprised of three Waru will also appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen at this point); he will now start walking up towards you, so you should move back to the left side of the screen as that is the only place where he cannot reach you. Once you have fired forty-eight small cannonballs, six medium ones or three large ones at his body (if they hit his heads, they will adopt a "stunned" expression, fly off his body, then try to attack you before returning to their original positions), his tail will explode, and he will speak the explosive Hiragana text of Kya un (きゃうん) twice, then Kya ū un! (きゃうううんっ!) to Pistol Daimyo - and the "stage clear" theme will then be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for a tenth time as he retreats back off the right side of the screen (if either of his heads had flown off his body on defeat, they'll soon follow after it). He's worth 1200 points.

Neko Hitode (ネコヒトデ)
This enormous cat (who, much like Kokakkake, is so big that only his head is visible), is the boss of the eleventh stage; he will first stick his head out of the water, as a red starfish drops down onto it from the top of the screen while speaking the Hiragana text U nya nya? (うにゃにゃ?) to Pistol Daimyo (his Waru meter, comprised of four Waru, will also appear in the bottom-right at this point). He will then speak the explosive Katakana text Fugyāa! (フギャアア!) to Pistol Daimyo, as a blue shuriken starts flying around the screen in the attempt to collide with him and he sticks his forepaws out of the water - and once you have fired sixty-four small cannonballs, eight medium ones, or four large ones at that red starfish, it will explode (and if he has stuck either of his forepaws out of the water, they will also explode for 100 extra points apiece) as his head changes colour from blue to yellow. He'll then speak the explosive Hiragana text ''Domoariyato u nya ni ya! Warui hitode ga ochitā a.'' (ども ありやと うにゃにやっ! わるい ひとで が おちたああ.) to Pistol Daimyo; the "stage clear" theme will then be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for the eleventh time as he swims off the right side of the screen. Pistol Daimyo will now follow him off the same side of the screen - and he's worth 7500 points.

Dokuro Nosuke (ドクロのすけ)
This black-clad, turquoise-skinned samurai, who is a palette-swap of Sakura Nosuke, is the boss of the twelfth stage; he'll first hover into view from the right side of the screen, then rise into the air and speak the Hiragana/Katakana text of ''Washi ha Dokuro Nosuke to mōsu. Mairu! (わしは ドクロ のすけと もうす. まいる!) to Pistol Daimyo (his Waru meter, comprised of three Waru'' will also appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen at this point). He will now start flying around the screen as a Dokuro tree emerges out of his head, and he launches his own Dokuro, at you from it, that aren't worth any points when you fire a medium cannonball at them to kill them - but as you can see in that image to the left, Dokuro Doors will materialize in front of you (and regular Dokuro, which are worth 300 points, will emerge from them) during this battle. Once you've fired ninety-six small cannonballs, forty-eight medium ones or six large ones at the Dokuro tree, it will recede back into his head, and any regular Dokuro that are still on the screen will explode for 300 extra points apiece; he will now descend back to the ground and speak out the explosive Hiragana text of ''Iyā o tsuyoi! Sendai mo sazo go anshin sa rete imashō.'' (いやー おつよい! せんだい も さぞ ごあんしん されていましょう.) to Pistol Daimyo. The "stage clear" theme will then be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 for the twelfth time as he retreats off the right side of the screen - and Pistol Daimyo will fly off the right side of the screen himself. He's worth 5000 points (which is 3000 more than the aforementioned Sakura Nosuke).

Hakaba (墓場)
They appear on the thirteenth stage. One large cannonball will kill them.

Hinotama Cannons (人魂発射砲)
They appear on the thirteenth stage. One large cannonball will kill them.

Chouchin (ちょうちん)
They appear on the thirteenth stage. One medium-sized cannonball will kill them.

Floating Graveyard (浮上墓場)
The boss of the thirteenth stage. Six large cannonballs will kill him.

Galaxians (ギャラクシアンズ)
It is not known which stage they appear on, or how many hits they take to kill, but they will attack Pistol Daimyo by firing their shots at him.