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+ + Samurai Shodown VI + +
+ + + +
+ Survival Mode Guide +
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Version 1.0 May 2, 2009
Author: Red Panda
E-mail: rpaulr650@yahoo.com
Copyright 2009 Paul Riggle
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Contents
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1 Revision History
2 Introduction
3 Survival Mode Basics
4 Bonus Requirements
5 Opponents
6 Bonus Rewards
7 Strategies and Tips
8 Contact Info
9 Legal
10 Credits and Thanks
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1 Revision History
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May 2, 2009 - Version 1.0 Created
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2 Introduction
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"Survival Mode - A mode in which you take on an onslaught of computer-
controlled characters."
Great description, but a little brief. This guide is intended to pick up where
the game manual leaves off for the Survival Mode in Samurai Shodown VI on the
North American version of Samurai Shodown Anthology on the PS2.
I did my best to reference moves as they are named in the in-game
documentation, which is actually quite thorough if you can muddle through
the bizarrely translated language. This in-game documentation can be accessed
by pressing Select during a match.
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3 Survival Mode Basics
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Survival Mode is selected from the title screen of Samurai Shodown VI.
In this mode you fight a series of matches during which there are
conditions you can meet to replenish your Life gauge or match timer. As they
do not reset on their own between matches, meeting these conditions is key
to progressing in the mode.
To start, you choose a character to use. You can select any of the characters,
including the EX forms of the new characters from Samurai Shodown V
(Yoshitora, Mina, Yun Fei and Kusaregedo by holding L1 when selecting) and
Kuroko (by pressing Start).
Before each match you are given three Combat Conditions to choose from. On the
left you see the Spirit Mode that you will be fighting under for the match,
and the bonus requirment. On the right you see the opponent you will face, and
the bonus reward that will be granted when you meet the requirement. Like so:
Spirit 0-VII VS Opponent
Requirement Bonus
During the match you can see a status window below the opponent's Life bar
that contains total play time for the current Survival Mode session and also
the status of the combat condition you selected for the match.
Time:
Bonus:
Condition:
Count: (If applicable)
The text will turn green when the condition is met, or in the case of the
'Each' conditions will remain yellow throughout the match.
If you win, you choose a new combat condition and fight again.
If you run out of life or the match timer reaches zero, the game ends.
Your highest number of kills and highest total time are saved to that
character and can be seen in the top right on the character selection screen
for Survival mode.
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4 Bonus Requirements
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The bonus requirements can be quite confusing at first glance, since the
translation for many of the moves is lacking or different from the manual and
in-game documentation. Requirements that read '3 Times' are met by performing
the indicated move or technique 3 times during the match, at the end of which
the bonus will be awarded. Requirements that read 'Each' grant their rewards
during the match each time the move or technique is successfully performed.
Those that read 'Finish' must be used to end the match. The opponent must be
be defeated using that move or technique, at which point the reward is
applied. 'Non' is a special condition for 'boss fights' at certain points in
the succession of matches. Below is a complete listing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirement Name | Meaning
Spirit Mode | (Command)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Times_Chohatsu | Taunt 3 times during the match
All | (f or b + Start)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
3 Times_Doll | Use the Doll Transformation 3 times during the match
II | (Character specific command + SP)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
3 Times_Mikiri_Slide| Avoid an attack with a Mikiri move 3 times during match
VI | (SP)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Each_Air_Guard | Block an attack in the air 3 times during match
III | (SP while jumping)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Each_Counter | Reward each time you interrupt opponent's attack
All | (damage opponent while they are attacking)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Each_Haziki | Reward each time you deflect an attack with Bounce
All | (d, df, f + SP)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Each_Item_Hit | Reward each time you hit the opponent with a thrown item
All | (L+K near prop, bomb damage doesn't count)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Each_Item_Haziki | Reward each time you deflect a thrown item with Bounce
All | (d, df, f + SP)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Hand | Finish match while weaponless
All except VII | (f + Start to manually drop your weapon)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Hi_Ougi | Finish with Secret Move
II | (Character specific command + M + S, once per round)
VI | (d, df, f + M + S when life is in the green)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_High | Finish with a Strong slash, unarmed doesn't count
All | (standing, crouching, jumping or running S)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Hyper | Finish with a Hyper Slash
I | (L + M)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finsh_Issen | Finish with a Flash Strike
IV | (L + M + S to explode Rage, then L + M + S)
V | (K + SP when life is in the blue, then L + M + S)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Kuzushi | Finish with a Throw
All | (M + S near opponent)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Mu | Finish while under the Null state
V | (K + SP when life is in the blue, then attack)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Oiuti | Finish with an Appended Attack
All | (df + S when opponent is down)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Renzan | Finish with a Continuous Slash
IV | (L + M to initiate, then L + L + L et cetera)
--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Special | Finish with a special command move
All | (anything on the character's move list pretty much)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Weapon_Blow | Finish with a Weapon Blow
III, IV, V, VI, VII | (d, df, f, L + M when Rage Gauge is maxed)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Weapon_Break | Finish with a Weapon Break
II, 0 | (d, df, f, L + M when Rage Gauge is maxed)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Non | Just win
All | (You can do it!)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Over 3_Combo | Perform a 3 hit or greater combo during match
All | (Lots of options for most characters)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Command Key
Abbreviation Button Default Setting
f Forward
df Down-Foward
d Down
b Back
L Light Slash square
M Medium Slash triangle
S Strong Slash circle
K Kick X
SP Special L1
Start Start
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5 Opponents
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For the first 40 matches you will be faced with the 36 'regular' characters
and 4 bosses. The AI difficulty of the opponents builds as you progress.
Every tenth round you face a boss from one of the previous games. Amakusa,
Mizuki, Zankuro and Goah, in that order. The bonus condition of the boss fight
is unique to those encounters. You just have to win, and then your life and
time are maxed. The difficulty of the AI seems to reset at this point also,
building up again to the next boss fight.
You're able to chose one of three opponents for each regular match, and once
defeated they are removed from the pool of possible opponents. Such that for
the 39th match you have already decided who you will face, by process of
elimination, and all three Combat Conditions will have the same opponent.
After those 40 matches, you face the four pet characters, and the rest
(Rasestsu Galford, Kim Ung Che, and Murasaki Nakoruru), followed by a boss
fight against Kuroko, then one against Makai Gaoh (His final demon boss form).
The difficulty does not seem to reset for the beginning of this round of
matches, as it does before after beating a boss.
The game ends if you beat Makai Gaoh. You see an alternate game over screen
after winning this fight, with your character in a victory pose. On the
character selection screen the record window will now read 'Clear' for the
character you completed the mode with.
Below is a chart outlining your opponents as the game progresses. Group A
refers to the 36 regular characters, Group B refers to the four pet characters
and Rasetsu Galford, Kim Ung Che and Murasaski Nakoruru.
Match # Possible Choice of Opponents
1 Group A
2 Group A -1
3 Group A -2
4 Group A -3
5 Group A -4
6 Group A -5
7 Group A -6
8 Group A -7
9 Group A -8
10 Amakusa
11 Group A -9
... ... ...
19 Group A -17
20 Mizuki
21 Group A -18
... ... ...
29 Group A -26
30 Zankuro
31 Group A -27
... ... ...
39 Group A -35
40 Gaoh
41 Group B
42 Group B -1
43 Group B -2
44 Group B -3
45 Group B -4
46 Group B -5
47 Group B -6
48 Kuroko
49 Makai Gaoh
Survival Mode Clear!
While playable as separate characters, the EX forms of the new characters from
SSV do not appear anywhere in the roster of opponents.
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6 Bonus Rewards
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The higher the risk, the greater the reward, generally. The highest life
rewards grant 50 Life, which refills most of the gauge. These include
Finish_Issen (V), Finish_Mu (V), and Finish_Weapon_Break (II). In order to be
able to use the moves to meet these conditions, you must take nearly a full
Life gauge worth of damage.
In the case of time rewards, the value is added to the match timer. In the
case of life rewards the value is not applied as a percentage, but rather
points of a total. Full life gauge appearing to be around 75.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Condition | Reward
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
3 Times_Chohatsu | +20 Life or Time
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
3 Times_Doll | +20 Life or Time
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
3 Times_Mikiri_Slide| +20 Life or Time
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Each_Air_Guard | +20 Life
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Each_Counter | +10 Life
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Each_Haziki | +20 Life
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Each_Item_Hit | +10 Life
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Each_Item_Haziki | +20 Life
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Hand | +20 Life or Time
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Hi_Ougi | +20 Life or Time
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_High | +10 Life or Time
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Hyper | +30 Life or Time
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finsh_Issen | +30 Life or Time (Spirit IV) +50 Life (Spirit V)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Kuzushi | +10 Life or Time
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Mu | +50 Life
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Oiuti | +Life or Time 20
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Renzan | +20 Life or Time
--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Special | +20 Life or Time
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Weapon_Blow | +30 Life or Time
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Finish_Weapon_Break | +50 Life (Spirit II) +30 Life or Time (Spirit 0)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Non | Life/Time MAX (No reward for Makai Gaoh fight)
--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------
Over 3_Combo | +20 Life or Time
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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7 Strategies and Tips
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In this section I'll share some general strategies and also specific tips and
thoughts on meeting the various combat conditions.
There a number of factors you should consider when choosing your Combat
Condition. Firstly, since the early matches are easier (the 1st, 11th, 21st,
and 31st matches the opponent basically just stands there), it's a good time
to select Conditions that grant time, since you're unlikely to take much
damage.
Also, these early matches are a good time to select Combat Conditions in which
you fight opponents that you have a particularly hard time against, so you
won't have to face them later. For me, Hoahmaru can be a real pain to go up
against with his variety of high damage attacks, so I fight him early if I
have the chance, regardless of the Bonus Requirement.
And if you focus on time bonuses you can always stall during the matches
until the delivery man tosses out life items for you to pick up if you need
to fill up that gauge.
Focus on keeping the life and match timer maxed until you get to the 7th (and
17th, 27th, 37th) match. At this point the increased difficulty of the AI may
make it difficult to meet objectives wihtout much risk. So if you just win
these matches in an efficient manner, or take the easier life conditions then
you should be in good shape for the boss fights.
And now we'll take a closer look at each of the conditions:
3 Times_Chohatsu - Taunting three times during the match is relatively easy
to do, though you are wide open to attack during the animation. The safest
time to taunt would be immediately after knocking down an opponent at a
distance. Worth noting that for some characters the animation is faster for
the weapon dropping taunt (f + Start) and performing it then picking your
weapon back up can be quicker than the other taunt (b + Start).
3 Times_Doll - Similar to the taunting condition. Note that you can
cancel out of the Doll form with another special move to end it early.
3 Times_Mikiri_Slide- Any of the Mikiri moves count for this one. The 'step-
back' (neutral + SP) is good for dodging middle attacks, the 'hop' (b + SP)
is good for dodging over low attacks and the 'lie down' (d + SP) is good for
dodging under high attacks. Timing can be difficult for all of these, and
mistakes costly.
Each_Air_Guard - Block time when you hit SP while jumping is rather
short, and will only block the first hit of a multi-hitting attack. Difficult
to meet this condition effectively, unless you can predict how the computer
will perform anti-air moves.
Each_Counter - Damage an opponent while they are attacking. Pretty
straight forward, though the ease of completion depends on how open your
opponent is during their common attacks. Throw lots of projectile attacks if
your chosen characters has one and you'll probably get lucky.
Each_Haziki - The timing for the Bounce command (d, df, f + SP) can
be tricky unless you can read your opponent well. Study and practice might
be necessary to make this condition very useful, as mistakes will be punishing
if you are depending on the life bonus.
Each_Item_Hit - This condition makes stalling for items doubly effective
for restoring life, as almost every item the delivery man tosses out has the
potential to restore your life. Damaging the opponent with the Bomb item does
not meet this condition.
Each_Item_Haziki - You can only perform this move if your opponent first
throws a prop at you. Luckily, at all difficulties, the computer controlled
opponents love to throw items at you if they happen to have one at their feet.
Finish_Hand - Easier for some characters than others. Characters like
Yoshitora, who cannot perform any special moves without their weapon should
drop their weapon (f + Start) near the end of the match. Characters like Hanzo
or Galford, who have near their entire arsenal of moves intact while
weaponless can drop at their convenience. Wan-Fu is particularly well suited
for meeting this condition, as some of his moves involve throwing his weapon
out of hand. If the opponent is finished off with such a move, it will count
as meeting the condition. You will not see this condition when playing as
any of the pet characters or Kuroko as they are immune to Weapon Blows/Breaks
and cannot manually drop their weapons.
Finish_Hi_Ougi - In Spirit II, you can only use the move to meet this
objective once a round, so be sure it will connect and do enough damage
to finish off the opponent. In Spirit VI you can use the move multiple times
but only if your life is low so while it's easier to complete, it can be
riskier. Oddly, I've never been able to complete this objective using Rasestsu
Galford's Secret Move. Bug?
Finish_High - Just have to finish off your opponent with a Strong
Slash (S). Standing, jumping, croucing or running all work just as well. Note
that a few characters have special command moves such as f + S or df + S.
These attacks to not count for meeting this condition.
Finish_Hyper - The Hyper Slash (L + M in Spirit I) is a very damaging
move. Note that you are immune to interruption from the first attack you
recieve while performing this move (though you still recieve damage), but
multiple hitting attacks will break you out of it.
Finsh_Issen - You only get one shot at this move, so make it count.
Catch your opponent with it while they are recovering from an attack or as
they are coming down from a jump. For Spirit IV, the less life you have when
you perform the Explode rage move (L + M + S) the larger window of time you
have in the Exploded rage state before it runs out in which to use the Flash
Strike (L + M + S). For Spirit V, the Flash Strike (L + M + S) is only
usuable if you first initiate the Null state (K + SP while life is in the
blue).
Finish_Kuzushi - Pretty easy to meet, just use throws (M + S near
opponent) when they get low on life. The computer is particularly susceptable
to being thrown immediately after they stand up from being knocked down.
Finish_Mu - To meet this condition you must finish off the opponent
while under the Null state (initiate with K + S while life is in the blue).
You can extend the length of the blue portion of the life gauge by meditating
(Hold A + B). However, you must have a partially filled Rage gauge to do so,
and it will lower while Meditating. If you finish the opponent with a Flash
Strike while in the Null state, it does not complete this objective, as it
actually ends the state when it is used so that you will not be in the Null
when it connects.
Finish_Oiuti - The Appended Attack (df + S while opponent is down) does
a small amount of damage and because you must first knock down the opponent
with a damaging attack before you can use it, this can be tricky to pull off.
First deal damage as you like, then when they get low, only deal damage with
sweeps (df + K) until they have the appropriate amount of life left then
follow up an Appended Attack.
Finish_Renzan - Spirit IV's Continuous Slash system has a number of
button sequences, and they all will meet this condition if used to finish the
opponent. Partial sequences and even just the attack to initiate (L + M)
count.
Finish_Special - In my opinion this is the easiest condition to meet.
Note that special moves damage the opponent while blocking, and if you finish
off the opponent in this manner it does count, so exploit that to your
advantage if you use a character with a multi-hitting special that will tick
away alot of health from a blocking opponent. Also note that Weapon Blows
meet this condition, and can be a satisfying way to finish off an opponent.
Finish_Weapon_Blow - Your Rage Gauge must be full in order to use this move.
How this is achieved depends on the Spirit that you are using. Many characters
can cancel their standing M or other attack into their Weaon Blow. Keep in
mind that you can explode rage (L + M + S) to give yourself more opportunities
to use the Weapon Blow command with Spirts IV and V. Spirit III is the easiest
mode to complete this objective in, since you can fill the Rage Gauge by
pressing and holding L + M. Doing so near the end of the match when the
opponent is low on life sets you up to meet the condition nicely.
Finish_Weapon_Break - As above. Worth noting that if this condition is paired
with Spirit Mode II you must take a fair bit of damage to fill the Rage gauge,
and it may make meeting this condition difficult unless you start the match
with life to spare. The exceptions are Wan-Fu and Rasetsumaru, who have
special moves that completely fill the Rage Gauge when used (d, db, b + K in
both cases). For those two characters this condition is much less risky to
meet.
Non - As stated before, all you have to do is win to meet this
condition. The boss fights aren't really harder than the others (Except for
Makai Gaoh, of course - that demon's a bear), just try to make it to the boss
fights with as much life as possible and enough time (I find 30 on the match
timer to be more than sufficient) and you should be fine.
Over 3_Combo - Many characters have multi-hitting special attacks that
will meet this condition incidentally. For some you have to work a bit harder.
In the case of Rasestsu Galford it can actually be easier to make a 3-hit
combo while unarmed. Standing or crouching S, S while unarmed then df + S
for an appended attack meets it nicely.
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8 Contact Info
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If you have any suggestions, comments or questions please feel free to contact
me via email at rpaulr650@yahoo.com
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9 Legal
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This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
Permission has been granted to the following to host this guide:
www.gamefaqs.com
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10 Credits and Thanks
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SNK Playmore
For putting some fantastic games all together on one disc.
CJayC and GameFAQs
He's the man and it's the spot.
...and you.
Thanks for reading!