Hoshigari Empusa! Play Guide By Mastress Alita http://blgames.ukepile.com *Please do not post this guide on other sites without permission! Also do not direct link to this guide!* ~~~~~ Resources: Takuyo's Official "Hoshigari Empusa!" Site: http://www.takuyogame.ne.jp/products/hoshigari/index.html Half Adder's "Hoshigari Empusa!" Guide: http://half-a.net/games1/empsa.html Charlie is Dozing "Hoshigari Empusa!" Capture Guide: http://www.soma.or.jp/~concrete/emp01.htm ~~~~~ "Hoshigari Empusa!" is a boardgame rather than a typical visual-novel adventure game, where you are trying to win the school election by getting more total fame than your opponent in fifty turns. Therefore, it takes more explanation than a simple "capture guide." This guide will go through the options and commands for gameplay, how to increase your total fame, and how to gain a partner. Be aware that these are more of helpful tips than a Bible for "Hoshigari Empusa!": this game is a bit confusing, and there are still parts of the game that I don't have much knowledge of, such as the items and combat. But hopefully this will help make playing a little easier. Options/Commands ---------------- When you first start the game, there will be a status box for you and your campaign rival in the top left of the screen. The box lists in order from top to bottom: Fame, Money, Total Fame, Partner. -Fame is what is used to mark squares, which raises your Total Fame. You get Fame boosts at the end of a round based on your Total Fame results, how much area you have, winning events, ect. -Money is used to either buy items or upgrade the value of a square you have already claimed. -Total Fame is the deciding factor of if you win the election or not. Therefore, you want to keep this value higher than your rival's Total Fame value. -Partner is where your partner, if you have one, is listed. You will then have five options across the bottom of the screen: Move, Trick, Status, Save/Load, System. -Move - This rolls the dice which determines how many spaces you can move on the board (from 1-6). You can only go in the direction you are facing; when you hit a split in the board, you can decide at the turn which way to go. -Trick - This lets you use an item/manuever to either aid yourself or hinder your opponent. Since it is pretty hard to have any idea what all those Tricks are (and there are /lots/ of them) without being able to read the descriptions (like me), you will probably have to learn to play without them; either that or take a complete guess in the dark as to what they do. There is a very small list of /some/ (note that this list isn't even close to having all the Tricks) of the Tricks at http://half-a.net/games1/empsa.html . Load up one page in Japanese, then load that page again through an online translator (http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/ , and make sure to change to the second bubble under the URL input field to go from Japanese to English) to see the Trick description. Then go back and match up the description to the kanji on the Japanese page, and you can see what some of the Tricks do. This is very painstaking, though, and not a complete list, so you will likely just have to live with the fact that the computer will know how to use those Tricks and you won't. Also, you can only have 5 tricks at one time, so if you gain more, you will be asked to remove one: this goes for the computer as well. So if you see the Tricks list pop up after your move then that means you need to select one to remove. -Status - This screen has a few different options. -Your status - Displays your current Fame, Money, Total Fame, and your character's Physical and Intelligence stats. Below that it will display your partner's Physical and Intelligence stats, if you have a partner. The next line is pretty handy: it shows how many squares you have claimed in a specific area. The first listed is the Club Area, the second listed is the School Commons, the third listed is the Athletic Area, and the fourth is the Schoolyard. If you get five spaces in each area, you gain a bonus and all your property goes up; likewise if you continue to gain land in a wide area. -Your rival's status - The same as above, only for your rival. It is good to check how many squares in each area they have claimed to see if they are getting near upgrading their properties, which can drastically change a game. -Map - This lets you scroll around the map. This is handy to check where events are located. If you hear an abnormal sound-effect, that means an event has probably popped up, and you'll want to check the map to see where it is. -Events - This tells about the current event, but if you are like me you won't be able to read a word of it. But at the bottom it will show a number: this is how many turns are left before the event expires. Therefore, it is good to check this. -Save/Load - This is where you can save or load your game. You can only save/load at the beginning of your turn. You only get five save slots, so I suggest to at least save every ten turns, since there are fifty turns to one game. Each tenth turn is marked by a long bell, and every fifth turn is marked with a short bell, so that will make it easier for you to save every fifth or tenth turn. You may also want to save after getting character events or in a spot where you have a "good lead" so that if things turn terribly wrong, you can start back there without having to start the whole game over. You will probably end up using Save/Load /a lot/. -System - This is where you can change the system settings, such as background music, ect. You can do any of the above at the beginning of your turn, but to progress, you will have to Move on each turn. After you have moved, you will get the following options: -End - This ends your turn and moves to the computer-controlled rival's turn. -Action - This lets you claim a square on the board. Double-click this option, then pick the first option presented in the dialogue box ("Yes") and the square will turn red, with a value. If you use Action on a square you have already claimed, you will get an option to upgrade the value of it for money. If you land on a square that is your opponents, you will be asked if you want to battle them for it or not. -Status - The same as above. -Save/Load - You won't be able to select this since at this point you are mid-turn. You can only use Save/Load at the beginning of your turn. -System - The same as above. Gaining Total Fame ------------------ You will need to have a higher Total Fame than your rival to win the game. The ways to gain fame are by aquiring squares on the board or completing events. There are also some Tricks that boost fame, but learning which ones out of those kanji do that is up to you; it is an unreliable way to gain fame, so it is best to stick to winning events and aquiring squares. Aquiring Squares ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Claiming Squares: When you land on a square on the gameboard, you can chose "Action" at the end of your turn and click the square, and by sacrificing a bit of your Fame stat you will claim that square, highlighting it red, and display a number value next to it, which is the amount that it adds to your Total Fame. The more squares you claim in a given area of the school, the more the value goes up (for example, they may start at 50, but after claiming two they go to 55, after claiming some more they go to 75, ect.). There is the schoolyard in the lower left which looks like brown dirt, exactly even across from it in the lower right is the school commons, then there is the gym which has a brown floor, and directly even across from it is the club area. Note that the school commons and club area will look the same in appearance: with a blueish floor and various school rooms, so you just have to tell the cut-off point by lining them up with the schoolyard or the gym. When the value increases, /all/ the squares in a given area will increase. If you claim enough squares in several different areas, you will get bonuses which will also increase the value of all your squares on the board. For example, after you get five squares each in two areas, they will upgrade to 125, get five squares in another area and they will upgrade again, ect. You can get bonuses up to 300 per square... or even 500 if you claim enough squares! Taking advantage of this has been, for me, one of the only ways I can gain a high lead over the computer to win the election despite not using Tricks. But remember: the computer can /also/ do this, so watch out! Also, it is good to try to actually keep a little above the minimum amount of squares for a bonus, because if your opponent steals one from you, then all of your squares on the board will have the opposite effect: they will all lower in value. Upgrading Squares: If you land on a square you have already claimed, by taking an Action on it you can use your Money stat to upgrade the value of the square. There will be a list of values you can select to upgrade your square: 100 yen, 300 yen, 500 yen, ect. The more money you spend, the higher the increase. These increases, however, will /only/ effect that one specific square, they will not "raise" the value of other squares on the board like the claiming bonuses do. However, if you do get a square-claiming bonus, when it raises the value of all your squares on the board, your upgraded square will be raised by that amount too. Doing this can be a good or a bad thing: It's handy to bring in more Total Fame, especially when the number of unclaimed squares on the board starts getting low. Also, the computer seems to rarely do this when it lands on its own squares. But, there is a big downfall: if the computer lands on one of your upgraded squares and decides to fight you for it and you lose, then the ownership goes to them, and they get that huge amount of total fame for that square added to their stat. And that is not a good thing. So, while handy, you may want to use it a bit sparingly. Fighting for Squares: This, for me, is about as bad as the Tricks, as I /still/ have not figured out exactly how to do well in the battle system on this game. If anyone figures it out, enlighten me. Basically, if you land on a square that is claimed by your opponent, you have the option to fight them for it, or you can choose not to fight and sacrifice either a bit of your Fame stat, Money stat, or a Trick (and the computer choses). This also works the opposite way; the computer can land on one of your squares to try it take it from you. If the computer choses not to fight, you get the option of taking some of their Fame stat, Money stat, or a Trick as well; but the computer rarely /ever/ backs out of a challenge. Probably because it always wins, from my experience. >_> If you challenge the computer (or vice versa), then the winner will claim the square (so if it is your square and you win, you keep ownership, but if you lose, the computer takes the square from you, for example). There are two types of challenges: one is based off your Intelligence or Physical stat, and one is based off of "Fate". In the Physical/Intelligence challenge, the chosen stat is added between your playing character's stat and their partner's stat, and likewise for the computer, and whoever has the higher number wins. There are also Tricks that can higher these stats, lower them for the opponent, ect. Now you are back to the old Trick problem: not knowing what does what, while the computer does. Plus, it seems like the chosen challenge will /always/ be in the computer's favor: for example, if the computer character is high in intelligence but low in physical strength, it will always be an intelligence challenge. It's annoying, because for me, I can't seem to /ever/ win one of these challenges (very, very rarely.) The other challenge I at least have a chance of winning: the Fate challenge (though you don't always get the choice to do this challenge, you never really know when you go into a battle if you will be doing Fate or Stat. There are some occassions where you can chose at the beginning of the fight, and in those instances, the second option will be the Fate challenge). In this challenge a little meter is displayed, and there will be an area that is green with a small white area in the middle. A little line then goes across the meter at varying speeds, and you try to stop it with a mouse click as close to the little white line in the green area. You have ten seconds to do this. Whoever is closer to that mark wins the challenge. You can get pretty good at this with a bit of practice: not saying you'll be able to win everytime, but I definitely have a better time with these than with the Stat challenges. You can also fight an opponent or a Trick or Stat when you pass over them on the board; these fights are the same, but you won't win a square for them, as you are just passing over your opponent in movement and are chosing to challenge them in the process. Events ~~~~~~ There are several events that happen around the school, and completing these help boost your fame. There are different types of events: some are available to both players and you gain them simply by passing over their square, some are first-come-first-serve by passing over their square, and some you must collect an item and take it to the event square to complete the event. They also only last for a set period of turns, so checking on the Status screen for when events expire is important. The best reference for events is at http://half-a.net/games1/empsa.html . At the bottom of the guide, they not only have a list of events, but mark places on the map where they occur. Just run the page through the translator at http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/ (make sure to change to the second bubble underneath the URL input field: that is for Japanese --> English). I'll try to explain the events as best I can here, but that is a handy site for showing the squares where some of the events are held. Here is a list of some of the events: -Candidate Introduction - This is held in the student council room which is at the bottom of the board in the school commons area. This is the first place you should go at the beginning of any game. It is open for the first ten turns of the game. Just go straight down and to your right. -Teacher Interview - This occurs in the student council room in the lower right portion of the board. The flag does not disappear until the event expires, so both you and your rival have the ability to claim it. -Chemistry Experiment - This occurs in the club area (upper right). Simply passing over the flag will score you the event, and it does not disappear until the event expires, so both you and your rival could claim the event by passing over it. -Music Test - This occurs in the club area (upper right). Simply passing over the flag will score you the event, and it does not disappear until the event expires, so both you and your rival can claim the event. -Computer Virus - This occurs in the club area (upper right). This is a first-come- first-serve event: whomever passes over the flag first claims the event, and then the flag will disappear. -Student Body Meeting - This occurs in the center of the athletic area (upper left). Passing over the flag will claim the event, and it does not disappear until the end of the event period. Therefore, both you and your partner may claim it. -Fire Drill - This takes place at the gate in the very lower left corner. Passing over the flag will score you the event. The flag doesn't disappear until the event expires, so both you and your rival could claim the event. -Bombs - In this event, bombs will be scattered all over the school. If you get a dull sound when passing over it, it was the incorrect one. If you get a chime, then it is the correct one, and it will go into your trick inventory as an event. You then take the item to the flag in the club area before the event expires to claim the event. Normally this is first-come-first-serve, but I have seen one instance where the bombs did not "disappear" after passing over them and both you and your rival could collect the correct one (though the flag will disappear for whomever reaches it first). -Glasses - In this event, glasses will be scattered all over the school. If you get a dull sound when you pass over one, it was the incorrect one. If you get a chime, it was the correct one and it will go into your inventory as an "event" item. When you pass over them, they disappear, so only one person can collect the correct pair. If you have found the right one, head to the flag (at campaign headquarters in the lower right of the screen) and pass over it to complete the event. If you pass over the flag and you have not collected the correct pair of glasses first, nothing will happen and you will get no bonus. If collect the glasses but the event expires before they are returned to the flag, then they automatically leave your inventory. -Film - This this event, reels of film will be scattered all over the school. Like with the glasses and the bombs, when you move over them, you will get either a dull sound or a chime: the chime indicates the correct reel and it will go into your inventory. Then you have to take it to the club area in the very top right of the board and pass over the flag to claim the event. Once one person has claimed the correct film and passed over the flag, the event will disappear. If you don't return the film before the event expires, it will automatically leave your inventory. If you pass over the flag without the correct reel of film, nothing will happen. -Fire - In this event a fire icon will appear on the board in any random location. The first person to reach it and pass over it claims the event. It will then disappear and the other person will not be able to claim it. -Earthquake - In this event an earthquake causes injuries to students, and they will be scattered around the board. Passing over one scores you 250 to your total fame and then that person disappears: they are first-come-first-serve for each student. Therefore, both you and your rival could collect different students for the bonuses. -Tag - A little demon (oni) will appear over either your head or your rival's head. The object is to /not/ have the oni over your head by the time the event expires in ten turns. "Tagging" your opponent (passing over them) will make them "it" (with the oni). If your rival is "it" instead of you and the end of the event, then you will score the bonus. -Ghost - This is the one bad event: if you hit the ghost, you won't be able to do /anything/ but move for the remainder of the event. Therefore, avoid the square with the ghost at all costs. Gaining a Partner ----------------- One of the most pivotal aspects of the game is recruiting a partner. A partner helps you in battle, as well as becoming a good friend or platonic love interest. When you land on squares, you may go into a story event where you will see a typical "visual novel" style scene play out. Usually you will meet a character that inhabits the particular area of the school that you are in. These events happen at random; they could be after claiming a square, ending a turn without claiming a square, losing or winning a battle, ect. Initially, these events will be of you meeting members of the cast, and again, certain people are in certain areas of the school. Here is where you can run into the different characters: Maria - School Commons Reika - Club Area Sana - School Commons Mizuki - Club Area Shouta - Club Area Yukito - Athletic Area Alfred - Schoolyard Shinji - School Commons If you want to meet a particular character, hanging around in their area of the school will eventually pop up an event. In these meetings you will most likely be presented speech options: choosing the correct options will increase meeting that character again, while choosing an incorrect option will decrease meeting them again. It will take around 4-5 events with a character to recruit them as a partner. After you have a partner, then all events you get will only be with that one person. During these story events you will sometimes gain CGs of the characters: there are a total of six CGs per character (and one will be from their introduction and one will be their ending: the rest are shown during their story events in the game). You need to be in the right areas to trigger your partner's events, and even then they will come up randomly. After recruiting your partner and seeing several of their events, there will be an event where your partner will leave you. Don't freak out like I did when I first started playing: this is supposed to happen and normal! You will continue to get a few story events regarding that character after they have left, and eventually you will be able to re-recruit them. When you have regained your partner, then so long as you win the election, you will get their ending. Their re-recruitment is their last event, and therefore you have to get all their events, plus win the election, to get their ending. Even though the events are random, you can somewhat strategize increasing meetings with a certain character if you want to win them. For example, if you want to win Maria, then playing as Sana and setting the opponent as Shinji (or vice versa) then leaves only Maria lurking in the school commons, so the events you will get there will be of her. The same works for the characters that are in the club grounds. Yukito is the only character in the gym and Alfred the only one in the schoolyard, so you don't really need any planning for those two characters. Also, if you are trying to recruit a specific person in the club or school commons, and meet a different character, give them the /wrong/ options: this decreases the chance of them showing up again, which in turn increases your wanted character showing up. Also, don't be too strict in who you want to win, since the "randomness" of the game may make it more favorable for you to recruit someone else. For example, I was playing as Sana and planned to win Reika, but then the earthquake event occured and most of the hurt people were in the gym, so when I went to collect them and earn those Total Fame bonuses, of course I was hitting all of Yukito's events, and it was just easier to recruit him instead. Recruiting a partner early one is /really/ important if you want to get all of their events before the 50 days are up. Also be aware that just because a certain character is commonly around specific areas on the board, that doesn't mean /all/ their events will occur there. A few must happen in a different location (for example, while most of Mizuki's are in the club area, her third event has to take place in the schoolyard). Some events will trigger no matter where you are on the board, but I find they still seem to show up more commonly in your character's natural area. A rule of thumb is that if you are having trouble getting an "any area" event to trigger, to lurk around their natural area for it. Below is a guide for the events to winning a partner. This guide will show the location the event occurs, and which options to pick. Be aware that depending on your playing character, there may be some additional options in an event that are not shown on the guide: rule of thumb is to just always pick the first option, it is almost always the correct one (there are only a very few events where the second option is correct, and they are noted on the guide). Partner Endings --------------- *Note: The option wording changes depending on which character is your playing character, but it doesn't seem that the option "ordering" changes. However, I can't prove this, so it is possible there may be mistakes here depending on which character was your playing character. When in doubt, pick the first option! And if you are having trouble getting an "anywhere" event, play it safe and try to get it in that character's normal location. Ookouchi Maria ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Character Intro (when the main character or rival) [CG] 01. School Commons Option 2 [CG] Option 1 02. School Commons Option 1 Option 1 03. School Commons Option 1 Option 1 Option 1 04. Anywhere Option 1 Option 1 *Becomes a Partner 05. Anywhere Option 1 Option 1 06. Anywhere Option 1 [CG] Option 1 07. Anywhere Option 1 [CG] 08. School Commons Option 1 [CG] *Leaves being a Partner 09. School Commons Option 1 10. Anywhere No option 11. Anywhere No option 12. Anywhere No option 13. School Commons No option *Returns as a Partner Partner Ending [CG] Kagawa Reika ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Character Intro (when the main character or rival) [CG] 01. Club Grounds No option 02. Club Grounds Option 1 [CG] Option 1 03. Anywhere Option 1 Option 1 04. Club Grounds Option 1 *Becomes a Partner 05. Anywhere Option 1 06. Anywhere Option 1 [CG] Option 1 07. Anywhere Option 1 [CG] Option 1 *Leaves being a Partner 08. Club Grounds Option 1 Option 1 09. Club Grounds Option 1 [CG] Option 1 *Returns as a Partner Partner Ending [CG] Kirishima Sana ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Character Intro (when the main character or rival) [CG] 01. School Commons Option 1 [CG] 02. Anywhere Option 1 03. Club Grounds Option 1 [CG] Option 1 04. School Commons Option 1 Option 1 Option 1 05. School Commons Option 1 Option 1 Option 1 *Becomes a Partner 06. School Commons Option 1 07. School Commons Option 1 *Leaves being a Partner 08. Anywhere No option [CG] 09. Anywhere No option 10. Anywhere No option 11. Anywhere No option 12. Anywhere Option 1 Option 1 13. School Commons Option 1 [CG] Option 1 *Returns as a Partner Partner Ending [CG] Hanma Mizuki ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Character Intro (when the main character or rival) [CG] 01. Club Grounds Option 1 Option 1 02. Club Grounds Option 1 [CG] Option 1 03. Schoolyard Option 1 [CG] 04. Club Grounds Option 1 Option 1 Option 1 *Becomes a Partner 05. Anywhere Option 1 06. Club Grounds Option 1 [CG] Option 1 07. Anywhere No option [CG] 08. Club Grounds Option 1 *Leaves being a Partner 09. Anywhere Option 2 [CG] Option 1 *Returns as a Partner Partner Ending [CG] Komine Shouta ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Character Intro (when the main character or rival) [CG] 01. Club Grounds Option 2 [CG] 02. Club Grounds Option 1 Option 1 Option 1 03. Club Grounds Option 1 Option 1 04. Club Grounds Option 1 Option 1 *Becomes a Partner 05. Anywhere Option 1 [CG] 06. Anywhere Option 1 Option 1 07. Anywhere Option 1 *Leaves being a Partner 08. Athletic Grounds Option 1 [CG] 09. Anywhere No option [CG] *Returns as a Partner Partner Ending [CG] Kojou Yukito ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Character Intro (when the main character or rival) [CG] 01. Athletic Grounds Option 1 [CG] 02. Athletic Grounds Option 1 [CG] Option 1 03. Athletic Grounds Option 1 Option 1 Option 1 04. Athletic Grounds Option 1 05. Athletic Grounds Option 1 Option 1 Option 1 *Becomes a Partner 06. Club Grounds Option 1 [CG] 07. Athletic Grounds Option 1 [CG] *Leaves being a Partner 08. Anywhere Option 1 09. Anywhere No option [CG] *Returns as a Partner Partner Ending [CG] Yamazaki Alfred ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Character Intro (when the main character or rival) [CG] 01. Schoolyard Option 1 [CG] Option 2 02. Anywhere Option 1 Option 1 03. Schoolyard Option 1 Option 1 Option 1 04. Schoolyard Option 1 Option 1 *Becomes a Partner 05. Anywhere Option 1 06. Anywhere Option 1 [CG] Option 1 07. Schoolyard Option 1 [CG] Option 1 *Leaves being a Partner 08. Schoolyard Option 1 Option 1 Option 1 Option 1 09. Schoolyard Option 1 [CG] Option 1 *Returns as a Partner Partner Ending [CG] Yomogida Shinji ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Character Intro (when the main character or rival) [CG] 01. School Commons Option 1 02. School Commons Option 1 [CG] 03. School Commons Option 1 Option 1 04. Anywhere Option 1 Option 1 *Becomes a Partner 05. Anywhere Option 1 [CG] 06. Anywhere No option [CG] 07. School Commons Option 1 *Leaves being a Partner 08. School Commons Option 1 09. School Commons No option [CG] *Returns as a Partner Partner Ending [CG]