Rudra no Hihou - Magic FAQ -------------------------- written by: Chief Ug (sidekick@iobox.com) Version 1.0 ----------- * First release I. Introduction II. How magic works III. Good spells to have IV. Miscellaneous hints and tips V. Conclusion etc ----5----0----5----0----5----0----5----0----5----0----5----0----5----0----5---- I. Introduction --------------- Rudra no Hihou (Rudra's Secret Treasure) is a less-known game released by Squaresoft for the Super Famicom. It is another game which never saw the light of day outside of Japan. The game has a few nice features which make it worthy of trying to hunt down. Unfortunately the game can also be very hard at times. Understanding the magic system of Rudra no Hihou will make the game a lot easier, and some places are downright impossible without having the best spells. Knowledge of katakana, or being able to constantly look up letters in a katakana table is a requirement. Sorry, but there is simply no way for you to have any hope of pulling off spells without being able to decipher those letters. This guide uses romanji equivalents of katakana, and is written in pure ASCII text. If you have any general questions about the game, you can mail me and I will try to answer. Don't ask me about the storyline though, since I only know a little bit of Japanese. And needless to say, don't ask stupid questions. If you are stuck at some place, I may be able to help you (or not). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. How magic works -------------------- In Rudra no Hihou, spells are not learned by gaining levels or the like. Instead, spells are all self-made. Essentially, you "create" your own spells. The third menu option (sakusei) brings up a table from which you can create any word you like from katakana, up to 6 letters. Once that word is finished, it becomes a spell that can be used. The kind of spell depends on the combination of letters used. Rudra's magic is literally using "words of power". So, in order to gain the best spells, all you have to do is put in the correct magic words and they are ready to use. This means that all the most powerful spells are available from the beginning (though the MP cost may be too high at first). Every letter combination results in some kind of spell. A large majority of combinations are just simple elemental attack spells, but with luck, a random combination of letters could end up being a very useful spell. By going through every possible letter combination, you can find all spells in the game. However, there are a total of 307,759,840,206 different combinations that can be created. So, obviously, finding some way to learn the best letter combinations is preferable to randomly trying out combinations. Where to start from? First, you may have noticed that some towns in the beginning have bars which feature a cloaked woman of some sort. She will ask whether or not you wish to learn a spell from her. The top choice means "yes", after which you can select the slot in which to put the spell. You can overwrite old spells, but it's not recommended. This is the basic way to learn spells, but it is only notable in the beginning, since they never have any really useful spells. Ordering a drink may also give you a clue for spell names. Next, treasure chests. You may have encountered several treasure chests from which no item is picked up. Instead, the character spins around, and some text flies by. Pay attention to the text. What is found in the treasure chest is actually a clue to some new spell. It is not a complete word, but it always has at least one character replaced by a ?. Replace the question mark with the correct character, and you have found a new spell! This sounds easier than it is, since even with only 1 question mark, the only sure-fire way to find out the correct spell name is to try out all combinations, and for 1 missing character there are 82 possibilities. How do you know you have found the correct character? Well, if the spell description is something clearly different from an ordinary elemental attack, you may have found something. Also, when you first open the treasure chest, you are given a description of the target spell. For example, it may say something like "Power goes up". Treasure chests often have useful spells, so do not neglect them. It is worth your while to try to find the word of power they refer to. Do note that some spells have logical names, and figuring out the missing letter(s) is simple. Then, enemies. Think of this as the "enemy skill" of Rudra no Hihou. If you see an enemy cast a spell, quickly read its name before it disappears! For this, you need to be able to read katakana quite fast. Most of the time, when a monster uses a technique on you which is composed of katakana letters, it is a spell that you can also use. Hiragana and kanji techniques cannot be learned, for obvious reasons. The same goes for techniques over 6 letters long. Finally, dumb luck. If you are feeling lucky, pick a few letters at random and see what spell you get. Most likely it is a useless elemental attack spell, but it could also be a very useful spell indeed. Try letter combinations which actually mean something. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. Good spells to have ------------------------ So, you want to cut to the chase and get all those powerful spells right away? It would be more fun to figure them out on your own. But, here is a list of spells, and some basic theory behind them. There are many "base" spells which are only 2-3 letters long, which can be combined with other words for some nice effects. The most common addition to a base spell is a word which makes the spell affect All instead of One. NOTE: trying to use romanji for spell names can be a bit tough. I have encoded katakana like this: "normal" syllables as normal. The "dash" line for an elongated vowel is listed with a "-". The small "tsu" for an elongated consonant is listed with a "*". "Small" katakana letters are in lowercase as opposed to uppercase. This may look ugly, but at least this way there is no danger of confusing letters. List of basic spells (Single/All, MP cost): REFU (S, 2) - basic healing spell IGU (S, 2) - basic fire attack AKU (S, 2) - basic ice attack TOU (S, 2) - basic thunder attack TEO (S, 2) - basic wind attack SOA (S, 2) - basic light attack SERE (S, 2) - basic dark attack Familiarize yourself with the above, since even very powerful spells are just expanded versions of the above words. Now, let's list some prefixes and suffixes which, when added to those words, will cause a new effect. These words are not meant to be used by themselves, but combined with basic spells. They all work with elemental, a few won't work when combined with a healing spell. NA - suffix, add this to the end of the spell to make it affect All. 2 MP. NATI-SU - suffix, powers up more, affects All. 9 MP. GURAN??NA - (?? = element) powers up a lot, affects All. 19 MP. RANDE - suffix, powers up. 6 MP. TEi-O - suffix, powers up more. 8 MP. TEiUMU - suffix, powers up the spell a lot. 11 MP. NARI-MU - halves all damage from corresponding elemental attacks These are the ones I have found and used, there are bound to be more. Next, let's list some "unique" spells. Again, there are sure to be many more than I have listed here. These are just the ones I have found. MEGAMI (A, 8) - powerful healing spell RUMEHA (A, 9) - dispels all status ailments ANIMU (S, 5) - revives a dead character PAWA-A*PU (A, 13) - raises physical attack power RESAINA (A, 16) - raises dexterity SUPI-DONA (A, 10) - raises speed SUBAYA (A, 11) - raises intelligence TOUMEI (A, 13) - raises physical defense UeNBORISU (S, 7) - lowers physical defense PIKUGAZERO (S, 22) - lowers magic defense SUTE*RA (S, 4) - steals HP PURUMORA (S, 1) - steals MP URUMO (S, 18) - raises attack accuracy (to 100% ?) Finally, I will list the spells which I ended up using once I was nearing the end of the game. This spell list is one I found quite useful. REFU (S, 2) - a small-time healing spell is also nice, for sparing MP REFUNA (A, 4) - ditto REFUTEiUMU (S, 12) - heavy-duty healing for tough battles MEGAMI (A, 8) - as above ANIMUSU (S, 8) - I think it's a bit more powerful than the basic ANIMU RUMEHA (A, 9) - instantly dispel bad status, quite important at times IGUTEiUMU (S, 11) GURANIGUNA (A, 19) AKUTEiUMU (S, 11) GURANAKUNA (A, 19) It's good to have all elemental attacks TOUTEiUMU (S, 11) in both Single and All versions, that's why GURANTOUNA (A, 19) I put all these up. The single-enemy attacks TEOTEiUMU (S, 11) are more powerful, good against bosses with GURANTEONA (A, 19) elemental weaknesses. All-enemy attacks are better SOATEiUMU (S, 11) against random encounters. GURANSOANA (A, 19) SERETEiUMU (S, 11) GURANSERENA (A, 19) PAWA-A*PU (A, 13) - this makes a HUGE difference in boss fights! A must! RESAINA (A, 16) - all stat boosters are nice for boss fights SUPI-DONA (A, 10) - if any of your characters are slower than the boss, use SUBAYA (A, 11) - powering up spell power is also a nice thing to do TOUMEI (A, 13) - another VERY important spell, you can survive much longer REFUNARI-MU (A, 10) - magic defense shouldn't be neglected, either UeNBORISU (S, 7) - yes, this works on bosses too. Use it! PIKUGAZERO (S, 22) - as above IGUNARI-MU (A, 12) AKUNARI-MU (A, 12) TOUNARI-MU (A, 12) Being able to halve your damage for any elemental TEONARI-MU (A, 12) attacks can make all the difference. SOANARI-MU (A, 12) SERENARI-MU (A, 12) I am certain that there are many powerful spells which I have missed. It wouldn't surprise me if there were an ultimate magical attack. Still, these are enough to get you through the game without much trouble. If you find some mega-powerful ultimate magic attack or other neat spell, please do tell me about it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. Miscellaneous hints and tips -------------------------------- Now you have some good spells with you, which will make your life a lot easier. Before we're finished, let's look at some more quick advice. - Boss fights Boss fights in Rudra no Hihou are often times very difficult. The key to winning these is status-boosting spells. These truly make the difference between life and death, and will change the tide of a battle completely. Cast defense-boosting spells first, and if you know the enemy likes to attack with a certain element, put up a magic shield against it. Now you will already take much less damage. Then, power up your physical attacks and lower the enemy's physical defense to have your fighters cut through the boss. Also do the same thing for magical attacks. Don't forget to heal if you are in any way weakened. It also might be a good idea to put spellcasters in the back row to lessen the physical damage they take. If any of your characters is slower than the boss, cast a speed-up spell right away to take away his advantage. Remember that stat spells wear off after a few turns! You will need to re-cast your defensive spells every few turns to avoid nasty surprises. - Elemental boo-boos So, you found an artifact that gives you extra defense against a certain element? Good for you. Don't forget, though, that it comes with a price. All elements have their "opposite". Having a raised defense against one element will cause you to be WEAK against the opposite element. So, wearing an armor which protects you against Thunder will cause all Wind attacks to be extremely devastating to you. If you are fighting a boss which uses many different elemental attacks, it's better to just equip something which does not give you any elemental affinities. You won't have extra elemental defense that way, but at least you will not be extra-vulnerable to some other elements. - 3 characters, 3 spell lists If you have just finished one character's scenario, write down all the spells learned! You can instantly have your other characters learn those spells too. - More MP = good? If you experiment with spell names, you can come up with all sorts of interesting things. For example, you may get a fire spell which costs 28MP to use. "Wow!" you may think at first, "this has to be powerful!" Don't be fooled, though. Test your newly acquired spell in battle before jumping to conclusions. Often times, a spell taking up more MP does nothing but waste them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- V. Conclusion etc. ------------------ Thanks to: * Square for making a nice RPG and keeping it inside Japan. * Roger Phillips for writing the only English walkthrough of the game. This article Copyrighted 2001 Chief Ug. If you wish to post this FAQ somewhere or even parts of it, please ask me for permission first.