NCS Game Notes
» Shade developed the game for Marvelous.
»» In the intro to the game, a Kakugane Medal appears followed by prologue text and the title screen which features the game logo on top and greenery below. The theme song that plays is from the animated series, "Makka na Chikai" by Yoshiki Fukuyama.
»» If you leave the intro alone, an energetic sequence plays which features Kazuki destroying armies of enemies. Leave it alone again after the title screen reappears and witness the power of Tokiko as she slashes up enemy warriors with wild abandon.
»» Press START on the title screen and the following selections pop up:
NEW GAME............... Start a new game as either Kazuki or Tokiko
LOAD GAME.............. Resume a game from memory card save data
»» Start a NEW GAME and the Kakugane medal appears followed by onscreen text and a voice over which sets up the background story of Busou Renkin and how Kazuki got to where he is today. The first action scene is a dream sequence where Kazuki can be controlled to slash at homunculus tentacles that are rising from the ground. After about a minute, the dream sequence ends and Hideyuki Okakura screeches Hazuki's name followed by the appearance of Kouji Rokumasu and Masashi Daihama. Hazuki holds a conversation with his friends and Tokiko eventually makes the scene. A placard advertising Papillon Park beckons and the gang decides to go to the theme park although Tokiko isn't pleased with the idea, what with all the homunculus that need killing. In the end however, she decides to tag along. Hazuki's sister Mahiro Muto, Saori Kawai, and Chisato Wakamiya also appear afterwards to join in on the trip much to Hideyuki's consternation. The theme park is owned by the flamboyant Koshaku Chono aka Papillon. Later on, Showusei Sakaguchi appears - he's the leader of the Alchemy Warriors in the entirety of Asia.
»» The French word Papillon translates to "Butterfly."
»» Voice acting accompanies the dialogue in the game interaction sequences.
»» After the introduction, a map appears with key locations which are highlighted to show that they can be visited. The pointing cursor is a purple butterfly with animated wings. Use the d-pad to move the butterfly over the location with "NEW" over it and you'll enter a fast food establishment where you can save your progress, adjust sound volumes, etc. Once finished, head back out and then select Papillon Park which is the rotating landmark below the administrative building. Papillon greets the party at the gates to the Park when humanoid monsters manifest themselves in the background. It's up to Kazuki and Tokiko to dispatch the monsters.
»» The character selection screen allows players to select either Kazuki or Tokiko as the character to use. Since Tokiko's bladed arms are so menacing, we chose her.
»» Press the SQUARE button once to attack and each of Tokiko's four arms will attack in sequence once. This means that you'll get a 4-hit combo just by pressing the SQUARE button. Keep pressing the SQUARE button and Tokiko will go into an overdrive mode where the arms blast out a flurry of slicing activity. A special attack can be triggered by pressing the TRIANGLE button which sends the arms swirling for a 66-hit combo in a radius around her position.
»» If playing with Kazuki, he can perform an attack sequence where he energizes the ground with his sword and slowly lifts the weapon to damage any enemies that are within the radius of the attack area. Kazuki's attacks are also stronger than Tokiko's which means he'll wipe out legions of enemies much quicker than Tokiko can muster. Towards the midway point of the first level, a few enemy dragonflies that are carrying bombs may be attacked. Jump and slice at them once to make them drop their bombs and then attack then when they're grounded. The bombs detonate after a few seconds so stay away from them.
»» To penetrate the metal gate in the first level, you'll have to well up enough power to perform a special attack (TRIANGLE button) to pierce and splinter it into shards. Note that only 8 minutes are allocated for the level so destroy and dash quickly.
»» The end level boss for the first stage is a metallic minotaur powerhouse that's accompanied by a gang of regulation-issue henchmen. The minotaur doesn't discriminate and its attacks will damage the henchmen as well as Tokiko or Kazuki. To defeat it, run around and then use roughly two of the mega-mighty power-up attacks. Once it's gone, battle the henchmen and you're on to the next mission.
»» After each stage, you're ranked with a letter grade on your Max Combo, Clear Time, and Stage Rank. Numerical values for Stage EXP and Total EXP are also allocated.
»» The second stage takes place on another spot on the map to the left of the first area. Again, before the mission starts, you can choose either Tokiko or Kazuki but note that four additional spots for characters are available. In the second stage, the crowds grow denser and more aggressive with a mix of different monsters to battle. The dragonflies are also on the attack at the outset and drop their bombs.
»» In the "NOW LOADING" screens, a family of pink-colored snails may be seen on the lower-right corner of the screen. When you attack the dragonflies and knock them to the ground, the family of snails may be seen hovering above them.
»» A combo meter on the upper left side of the screen keeps track of your current combos as well as the Max combos reached in the level. Our high was 108 consecutive hits in the first stage and 210 in the second stage.
»» Purple HP bars are located above each enemy to indicate its remaining vitality.
»» Crates may be busted open to reveal cartons of HP-recovery elixir within.
»» Enemies turn into stardust-like sparkles when they're defeated.
»» Press the X button to jump and while in mid-air, press the SQUARE button and Tokiko will perform a double rolling attack with her arms slicing and dicing on the way down.
»» Either the d-pad or L-analog may be used for control.
»» After an energetic special attack sequence, both Tokiko and Kazuki need to take a breather which lasts for about 2 seconds. In that time, they are vulnerable to attack since they're huffing and puffing to catch their breath.
»» A map on the upper right corner of the screen keeps track of the hero's position as a green arrow and the locations of the monsters as red blips
»» When Busou Renkin was originally announced, we assumed it was a 3D fighting game. We're glad it's not. The 3D roaming action-adventure lends itself well to the Busai Renkin franchise with its assortment of characters. Tokiko was basically made for video games and she's one of the more fun-to-watch protagonists of late.
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