The Mysterious Murasame Castle/Gameplay

Controls

• : Use the direction pad to control Takamaru and guide him in any of the four cardinal directions. Takamaru cannot move diagonally.
• : Press the A button to throw a projectile if there are no enemies within sword-range of Takamaru. If an enemy is close enough, pressing the A button will make Takamaru swing his sword instead.
• : Press the B button to activate Takamaru's special techniques; Either the Inazuma lightning attack that destroys all enemies on the screen (and reveals any hidden items), or the invisibility technique that allows him to run around unharmed for a short period of time. This only works if Takamaru has any technique uses left.
• : Pauses and unpauses the game.
• : No use.

Status bar

The status bar is present at the top of the screen throughout the game. It indicates the following things from left to right, and top to bottom:

• The number of lives that Takamaru has remaining.
• The player's current accumulated score.
• Which secret technique Takamaru is currently in possession of, invisibility or Inazuma lightning.
• How many ammunition scrolls are remaining.
• The amount of health Takamaru has remaining, one to three bars.
• The amount of time that Takamaru has to complete the stage.
• Which castle Takamaru is currently up to, with the first on the right, and the fifth all the way to the left.

Characters

Takamaru

Takamaru is the skilled swordsman that was sent to investigate the rumors surrounding Murasame Castle and its surroundings. Takamaru's sword skills are nearly unrivaled and he can brandish his sword, strike an opponent, and return the blade to his belt faster than a man can blink an eye. He is also deadly with thrown weapons. He can strike an enemy with a throwing knife from far away. Takamaru can upgrade his throwing knives to balls of flame or windmill swords, but he can only throw them if he has ammunition enough to throw them. Takamaru can also access two secret techniques, invisibility or a flash technique that defeats all nearby enemies. Takamaru can withstand three hits from the enemy before he falls. The white pillbox can heal one of Takamaru's wounds. Takamaru knows that he has a mission to fulfill and failure is not an option. He must discover the entrance to all four surrounding castles, free the princesses held inside, and defeat the Daimyos for the power balls that they possess.

Princesses

Inside each of the castles, the daughters of noblemen are being held captive. They sit patiently, imprisoned in their rooms, hoping for rescue. If you locate a Princess in the castle, collect it, and Takamaru will be granted an extra life for his good deed. Takamaru must be very careful, however, when performing a rescue. The object of rescue may turn out to be an angry spirit instead of a Princess.

Items

Scrolls

Scrolls are dropped from several defeated enemies. They add 10 to your ammunition count. As long as you have ammunition, you can throw balls of fire or windmill swords. When you run out of ammunition, you will return to throwing knives. The maximum amount of ammo that you can collect at any time is 255.

Tanookis

Tanooki is the Japanese name for a member of the canid family. They resemble raccoons, but are more closely related to dogs. They have been a frequent element in Japanese folklore for a long time. Around Murasame Castle, they provide Takamaru with essential support. Takamaru can collect alternate weapons like the fireball and the windmill sword from the Tanookis that are found either around the castle grounds or inside the castle. Some Tanookis are invisible and Takamaru must swing his sword near an invisible Tanooki to make it reveal itself. Invisible Tanookis provide Takamaru with secret techniques such as the Inazuma lightning, and invisibility. Tanookis must be touched or swung at to make them drop their items.

	Fireballs are much stronger than the throwing knives, but do not travel quite as far as knives do. They have a very short range, so Takamaru needs to be somewhat close to the enemy in order to hit them.
	The windmill sword is no stronger than Takamaru's ordinary throwing knives, but because of their rotating motion, they can travel across the extent of the entire screen. Takamaru can attack enemies from a safe distance with these.
	In order to find this secret technique, Takamaru must locate and reveal an invisible Tanooki first. The Inazuma lightning technique will destroy every enemy on the screen, and prevent new enemies from appearing until you leave the screen. It will also reveal the location of any hidden gift boxes. You can use this technique up to three times after you collect the lightning icon.
	Like the Inazuma lightning technique, Takamaru can only collect this secret technique if he can find the invisible Tanooki. This technique will render Takamaru invisible, and safe from enemy attack. It only lasts for a few seconds, but it is long enough for Takamaru to slip safely through several screens. Like the Inazuma lightning, it can be used up to three times.

Gift Boxes

The good spirits of Japan have left gifts hidden throughout Edo for Takamaru to find. These gifts will aid him by granting him special abilities. But Takamaru must find these gifts first in order to utilize their contents. They can be hidden anywhere, inside or outside of every castle. Their position will always remain the same through each game that you play. If you find an gift box, remember it's location well. There can be anywhere from zero to two gift boxes per screen. The maps provided by this walkthrough will reveal the location and contents of each hidden gift box.

	Red Sandals provide Takamaru with the ability to run twice as fast as he normally would.
	Blue Sandals give Takamaru the ability to run as fast through water as he does on the ground.
	The white crossbow allows Takamaru to throw any projectile 1.5 times faster than normal.
	This crossbow allows Takamaru to throw up to four throwing knives simultaneously instead of the usual two. It does not increase your throwing ability for fireballs or windmill swords. It should be noted that collecting this crossbow will cancel any extra throwing abilities provided to Takamaru by the Shogi pieces listed below!
	The Shogi piece which is similar to a rook in chess grants Takamaru the ability to throw his projectiles in all four directions at once.
	The Shogi piece which relates to the bishop in chess provides Takamaru with a three-way throwing ability. Three shots spread out in front of Takamaru.
	The Shogi piece that represents the king will allow Takamaru to throw three projectiles in the same direction, all together in a row.
	The Helmet provides Takamaru with temporary invincibility. Just as though he used the secret technique of invisibility, he will be able to run through enemies without fear of being harmed for a few seconds.
	The white pillbox will restore all of Takamaru's wounds, providing him with a full three hit points once more.
	The red pillbox can not actually be obtained from a gift box, but rather from one of the four Tanookis that occur in the bonus stage between the outside and inside of a castle. Like rescuing a Princess, the red pillbox gives Takamaru one extra life.