MYSTIC ARK: THEATRE OF ILLUSIONS (MABOROSHI GEKIJOU) MANUAL TRANSLATION --- Ring of English text on the cover: ENTRY OF THE SCARECROW HEAD; PAST THE PAINTED PAYBOX, AND BID ME JOIN THE SHOW. NIGHT WITCH BRIGADE TURN THE MIRROR, AND REEL OF DREAM UNROLLED. Inside front cover: MYSTIC ARK: THEATRE OF ILLUSIONS Our sincere thanks for purchasing this software product from Enix for the PlayStation, Mystic Ark: Theatre of Illusions! We ask that you read this instruction manual before playing so that may enjoy your game as intended. Also, be sure to store this manual in a safe place! For Japan Only No. of Players: 1 Memory Card: 1 block Opposite inside front cover: Controller Operation ............................ 3 Beginning the Game .............................. 5 Continuing the Adventure ........................ 7 The Close-up Window ............................. 9 Battle Operation ................................ 10 About the Arks .................................. 11 - The Nature of the Arks ........................ 12 - Connecting with the Arks/About Faerie Cards ... 13 - Summoning/Imbuing Arks & Faeries .............. 14 Card Games ...................................... 15 - How to Play ................................... 15 - Evolving Your Cards ........................... 17 - Special Abilities ............................. 18 - Types of Special Abilities .................... 19 Character Introduction .......................... 21 Worlds of Mystic Ark ............................ 25 Advice .......................................... 27 pgs. 1-2 A little port village on the cusp of its 100th anniversary is silently overcome by a strange phenomenon.... A phenomenon so silent no one knew when it started, and so gradual no one knew what was happening. At the same time, a show, a troupe, came to the village... as well as its self-proclaimed master of ceremonies, the mysterious Mr. Silverfingertips. Flyers for the show in hand, the town's children were restless all day, forgot their studies... but it didn't seem as if a stage were being built. Heedless of the fuss, the scarecrow-faced master of ceremonies continued to pass out the flyers, and spread the word, all alone, that the show would go on. Then, one evening... pgs. 3-4 CONTROLLER OPERATION Directional Keys: Move the hero and cursor Up: Forward Down: Back (X + down: Turn around) Right: Rotate right Left: Rotate left Circle: Examine items in front of the character; talk; confirm commands; perform actions with items in hand X: Cancel commands; hold while moving to dash Triangle: Open command window (see pg. 8) Square: Punch (straight) Square + up: Punch (hook) Square + down: Kick (see pg. 9) Start Button: Confirm during name entry only Select Button: Not used L1: Strafe left R1: Strafe right L2: Not used R2: Not used pgs. 5-6 BEGINNING THE GAME *Starting Play At the title screen, select "GAME START," and you will be taken to the character selection screen. The character you select to be the protagonist will be shown in close-up. *Name Entry If you have selected the boy, your character will initially be named "Remy." (If you have selected the girl, your character will initially be named "Alice.") If you would like to change the character's name, move the cursor with the directional keys and enter characters using the Circle button. When you are finished, select "END" on the bottom row or press the Start button. At the name confirmation screen, select "Yes," and after the prologue, the game will start. *Continuing Play At the title screen, select "CONTINUE." After the memory card is checked, the saved data will be displayed. Move the cursor using the directional keys to the save data with which you would like to continue play and press the Circle button. *Saving You can save your game at save points in the theatre and scattered throughout the various worlds. Press the Circle button in front of a save point, and the save data screen will be displayed. Use the directional keys to select the location where you would like to save your data and press the Circle button. Please use your memory card in only one memory card slot. pgs. 7-8 CONTINUING THE ADVENTURE *The Adventure Window Face the person with whom you would like to talk or the object you would like to investigate and press the Circle button to open the Adventure Window. -Talk Talk with the person in front of you. -Examine Investigate the object in front of you. -Imbue Ark Imbue an Ark in the target. Cannot be used (and will not be selectable) if you have not summoned an Ark. -Use Item Use an item you are carrying. --Item Window Select an item with the directional keys and press the Circle button to use it. *The Command Window To use a card or check the items you are carrying, press the Triangle button to open the Command Window. -Use Card Expend a card to summon an Ark or faerie or to recover stamina. -Equip Weapon Equip a weapon you are carrying. -Remove Weapon Unequip an equipped weapon. This command will appear only if you have a weapon already equipped. -View Cards View details on the cards you are carrying. -View Items View the items you are carrying and their descriptions. -View Arks View the effects of an Ark or faerie when it is imbued and their level of Trust. pg. 9 THE CLOSE-UP WINDOW *About Zooming in If you use a command such as "Examine" in the Adventure Window, you may be provided with a close-up of the object. You can perform the following actions at the Close-up Window: -You can investigate the object in greater detail. -You might obtain an item. -You might enter a minigame. pg. 10 BATTLE OPERATION *About the HP Display When the hero enters a location where monsters are present, the HP gauge will automatically be displayed on the upper-left of the screen. About Combat Actions Your attack power and attack actions will change depending on the buttons you press and the weapon you have equipped. With No Weapon Equipped (Bare Hands): Punch/Straight: Square button Punch/Hook: Square button + up Kick: Square button + down With a Weapon Equipped (Sword Etc.): Center Chop: Square button Downward Swing: Square button + up Thrust: Square button + down *HP Recovery & Game Over Damage from monsters can be healed through the use of items or cards or through certain events. If your HP reaches zero, the game will be over, and you will return to the title screen. pgs. 11-14 ABOUT THE ARKS *The Nature of the Arks As the story progresses, the hero will encounter faeries who inhabit the various worlds. When these faeries fulfill a certain goal, they will be reborn as the "Arks" the hero is seeking. When this happens, the faerie can use the powers of an Ark. The hero can befriend seven Arks in all - the Arks of Courage, Wisdom, Dreams, and more. Each Ark has special powers: to kindle fire, to create sound, and more. The hero must use those powers wisely to solve the mysteries of the worlds. *Connecting with the Arks Each Ark has a degree of mutual Trust with the hero. This level of Trust varies depending on the number and types of cards the hero has. If Trust is high, then the Ark will fly as a ball of light around the hero; if Trust is low, then the Ark will wander off as he or she wishes. An Ark's behavior will also change depending on his or her level of Trust. Try to create a strong, trusting relationship with the Arks to ensure the story progresses smoothly. *About Faerie Cards Regardless of your Trust level, using a card will summon an Ark. You can obtain cards in the normal course of the story. You can also play against various card game-loving spirits found throughout the worlds to win new cards or level up existing cards. (For more on card games, see pg. 15.) *Summoning an Ark or Faerie To use a card to summon an Ark or Faerie, press the Triangle button to open the Command Window. Select "Use Card," and a list of all the cards you have will be displayed. Select a card and press the Circle button to summon the Ark or faerie. The Ark or faerie will follow you for as many screens as the number on the card you used. If your Trust level is high enough, however, the Ark or faerie will follow you indefinitely. The card you used to summon the Ark or faerie will be consumed. *Imbuing an Ark or Faerie If the hero has summoned an Ark or faerie (meaning, if it is flying around the hero), then he or she can access its special powers. Face the person or object on whom or which you would like to Ark or faerie's special powers and press the Circle button. The Adventure Window will open; from there, select "Imbue Ark." Of course, if you cannot use the Ark's special powers on the target or at the given time, nothing will happen. pgs. 15-20 CARD GAMES Throughout the hero's travels, he or she will encounter spirits who are fond of card games. The hero must challenge these spirits to card games to win new cards or level up the cards he or she already has. *How to Play Let's use an example game to explain how the card game works. 1. Four cards from each player's deck are selected in a roulette fashion using the Circle button. 2. The left or right directional key and the Circle button are used to select one of the four cards in a player's hand. 3. Basically, the player with the card with the higher number wins the round. (A 7, however, will lose to a 1.) If the numbers on both cards are the same, then the round is a draw. In this example, the player on the right (the hero), with a 5, has won, and the player on the left (the spirit), with a 1, has lost. 4. Another round begins. Here, the spirit has drawn the card on its side to activate its special ability, "Random." (For more on special abilities, see pgs. 18-20.) 5. Cards are drawn a third time. 6. For the final round, the hero has a 7 left, and the spirit has a 1. This would normally mean that the hero would lose, so the hero uses the card's Random special ability. The up or down directional key is used to draw the card on its side. The hero thus draws a 2 and wins. With this, the game ends. *Evolving Your Cards Each time a card wins a round, the number on its face increases by 1. Each time it loses a round, its number decreases by 1. (A 1 card, however, will remain a 1 if it loses.) Also, if a 7 card loses to a 1 card, the 7 will become a 1, and the 1 will become a 2.) *Special Abilities If you draw a card and place it on its side, you will activate the card's unique special ability. If you and your opponent use special abilities that cancel each other out, the round will be decided based on the cards' face numbers. Special abilities can be used only once per match. *Types of Special Abilities Courage Card: Random Changes the number on your card to a random number. Wisdom Card: Change Swaps the number of your card and your opponent's card. Dreams Card: Panic Changes the number of your opponent's card to a random number. Strength Card: Plus Adds the number of your opponent's card to the number of your own card. Friendship Card: Copy Makes the number of your opponent's card match the number of your own card. Memory Card: Reset Forces a do-over and resets the game. Hope Card: Select Allows you to choose the next card your opponent will draw. Fingertips Card: Get Steals the card your opponent draws. pgs. 21-22 MYSTIC ARK CHARACTERS REMY (Hero) Estimated age: 14 to 15. Irish on his father's side. Whether he becomes a boy filled with a sense of adventure or a cautious young man is up to the gplayer. ALICE (Hero) Estimated age: 13 to 14. Descended from Polish immigrants. Cooking is her speciality; will she be able to put her talents to use in the game? MR. SILVERFINGERTIPS He appears before the hero in a jaunty tailcoat with a scarecrow mask and an umbrella in hand. A mysterious character with no fixed form. pgs. 23-24 ARKS Ark of Courage He searches Faerieland for Wilde Frau, who can grant his dream of becoming an Ark. The axe he carries serves to break down the locks of the heart to unleash the courage within. He has the power to awaken the courage that lies in others' hearts - and to control fire. Ark of Strength A young woman with the appearance of a circus performer. As her name suggests, she promises to be of great use in situations that call for brute force. The greatest source of her power seems to lie in her hat... Ark of Friendship Despite her slightly-plump appearance, she is the younger sister of the Ark of Memory. She has the power to heal others' ability to trust and reawaken their sense of friendship. Ark of Hope This sprout sprite's domain is visions of flower buds bursting into bloom. Her true identity is... Ark of Wisdom This young woman is seeking the final Book of Wisdom in Dr. Monstrorum's mad laboratory in order to become an Ark. She has wings on her back that are in the shape of a giant book. She can bestow wisdom upon those in whom she is imbued. Ark of Memory This young man plays the Lilian Pipe, a musical instrument in the shape of a flower. He suffers from amnesia, and his world - one where memory is fragile and fleeting - is itself fading...but within his forgotten self lies the power to revive it. Ark of Dreams You meet this faerie in the fantastic land of Cathay. Despite outwardly appearing to be a mischievous child, this faerie is good friends with the dancing girl Feng Ling and can animate objects if imbued. pgs. 25-26 WORLDS OF MYSTIC ARK Faerieland A world where pixies live in harmony with nature. Now, however, they live in fear of a black dog kept by the pixie Jack that has suddenly run amok, and they have closed themselves off in their own world. Dr. Monstrorum's Mad Laboratory A sealed-off space where Dr. Monstrorum spends day after day conducting his mad experiments. Despite his efforts, his experiments have not borne fruit, and his failed creations are now wreaking havoc on other worlds. The Wondrous Dancing Girls of Cathay A world where people move and speak like living puppets. Soon, a dancing competition will be held to determine the world's best dancer. Here, you will meet a young girl who lacks the confidence or determination to enter the competition - and a legend of a dragon will be the key to finding the Ark. pg. 27 ADVICE *Acting with the Circle button When you face certain objects and press the Circle button, you may be able to pick them up. This can also results in a variety of other actions, such as pushing the object. *When you get an item... When you get an item, try using the "View Item" command to check its description. Someone in the world might also be able to give you a hint as to how the item is used. *Recovering health It's dangerous to continue fighting with low health (HP). If your health is low and you haven't yet discovered a Faerie Card or a special event or item that will recover your health, check the back room of the pixies' house. ============================================================================ Translated by R. Capowski, 4/2/20, RACapowski@sceneryrecalled.com; Mystic Ark is the property of Enix/Square, and this document is not authorized. Notes: - Given the mechanics, the "Trust" metric ("shinraido") is more sensibly translated as "Confidence" - if you've won a lot of cards, you must be capable, so the Ark has confidence in you; if you collect more of an Ark's summoning cards, that's a good sign you have confidence in them - but the sentence structures are clearly geared for the "trust" interpretation. - The Ark of Memory's instrument is called the "Yuurian Paipu" in katakana, which I believe plays on the Japanese word for "lily," "yuri," though that long "u" suggests other possibilities. - The dancing girl's name is given as 鳳玲, which would indeed translate as "Feng Ling." The katakana next to her name, though, read "hou rin"; while that's corrent for "ling," the "feng" is dicier. I am deferring to the Chinese here, though. (I should note that Resident Evil's Fong Ling uses similar characters for her name, an apparent Taiwanese variant.) - Yes, there is a character in the game called "Mr. Silverfingertips." Cries for Help: - Has anyone gotten this working on an emulator up to the third world? I've used both ISOs and the original disc with several emulators, and the game (with Remy) always locks up at the second world's boss. If anyone has resolved this, please drop me a line; I'd like to take screenshots without having to fool with capture equipment.