Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:39 AM Page 02 Thank you for purchasing Maken X. Please note that this software is designed only for use with the Dreamcast console. Be sure to read this instruction manual thoroughly before you start playing Maken X. Contents 2. INTRODUCTION 3. PROLOGUE 4. THE DREAMCAST CONTROLLER 6. STARTING UP 8. SOUND SETTINGS 9. NAME ENTRY 10. THE GAME 12. WORLD MAP 13. SYSTEM WINDOW 16. ACTION SCREEN 17. BASIC ACTIONS 18. LOCK-ON 19. BRAINJACKING & PSI POINTS 20. ITEMS 21. CHARACTER INTRODUCTIONS 25. GLOSSARY Maken X is a memory card compatible game [Visual Memory Unit (VMU) sold separately]. In order to save game files, the VMU to be used must have at least 10 memory blocks of free space available. Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:39 AM Page 04 INTRODUCTION PSI... A mirror image of yourself... In a proven spiritual world... Five minutes into the future... The limit of foreseeing the future, the destruction of the real world... An artificial God sweeps down upon this land. This is a machine with the power to create a supreme ruler. He carves out his own destiny. The guardian of spirit, the last hope, a sword of judgment... He will bring order to the world. He will destroy all evil. He will protect the one whom he loves. He will found an eternal Utopia. But there is only one future. Should he sacrifice everything to save a single girl? Or should he abandon her for the sake of righteousness? Should he defeat the people's enemy in order to save the world? Or, as a ruler, should he reign over it... Through all the struggles, he will find the true nature of power. Creation and destruction, life and death, joy and sorrow... What is it all for? Who is it for? The answer lies in his future... PROLOGUE The world was tumbling into chaos. Five minutes into the future, China and the USA had reached a standoff in their battle for supremacy. The curtain will fall on a round of confidential Sino-American talks in only five minutes. Their discord is tangible. The European Union is about to be engulfed by the shadow of misfortune, and is losing its strength like a dying old man. People will be embraced by a sense of uneasiness that they have never felt before. Japan At the Kanazawa Research Institute, funded by an overseas Chinese merchant, epoch-making research was being carried out on a treatment for mental illness that involved PSI engineering. PSI The existence of the human spirit which has been scientifically proven... Maken The first medical instrument in the world that can extract PSI and modify it. The development of artificial life is based on Plan X. Maken is about to awaken. What kind of PSI will it have? PSI will it have? Maken ~Deus Ex Machina~ 2 3 Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:39 AM Page 06 THE DREAMCAST CONTROLLER Maken X is a one player game. Before switching the power ON, ensure that the controller and all other peripherals are connected to the Dreamcast. Connect the controller with a memory card [Visual Memory Unit (VMU) sold separately] to Control Port A. Do not touch the Analog Thumb Pad or the triggers while turning the Dreamcast power ON. Doing so may disrupt the controller initialization procedure and result in malfunction. Note: This game can only be played properly with the Dreamcast Controller. X BUTTON MOVES ANALOG THUMB PAD D-PAD A BUTTON B BUTTON X BUTTON Y BUTTON TRIGGER L TRIGGER R Move character/cursor; Press down and hold during battle to guard Move cursor Jump, select Cancel Attack Activate lock-on Hold down while moving the Analog Thumb Pad to look around Hold down while moving the Analog Thumb Pad to strafe left or right EXPANSION SOCKET 1 TRIGGER L ANALOG THUMB PAD Y BUTTON B BUTTON A BUTTON You can change the lock-on controls in Options. NOTE: To return to the Title Screen at any point during the game, simultaneously press and hold the A, B, X, Y and Start Buttons. DIRECTIONAL PAD (D-PAD) THE JUMP PACKTM TRIGGER R EXPANSION SOCKET 2 Make sure that you insert the Jump Pack (sold separately) into Expansion Socket 2 of the controller. START BUTTON 4 5 Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:39 AM Page 08 STARTING UP Place the Maken X disc into your Dreamcast console, press the disc down until it clicks into place, close the lid and press the POWER Button to turn ON the power. The Title Screen will be displayed and then the demo will start a few moments later. Press the Start Button when the Title Screen is displayed to display the Menu Screen. OPTIONS You can modify all the game settings. Press the Analog Thumb Pad or the D-Pad to select an item. Select "EXIT" to make your modifications effective. LOCK-ON TYPE NEW GAME Start a new game. Select a lock-on type. TOGGLE Enables you to use the Y Button to toggle the lock. HOLD Enables you to lock on only when Trigger R is held down. BGM Adjust the volume of the game's background music. JUMP PACK Switch the Jump Pack ON or OFF (if it is connected). LOAD GAME Start the game from a previously saved position. Press the Analog Thumb Pad or the D-Pad to select a saved file and press the A Button to enter your selection. SOUND Select from "STEREO" (Speaker), "STEREO" (Headphone) and "MONO." INITIALIZE SETTINGS Revert to the default settings. EXIT Return to the Title Screen with changes in place. SE Adjust the volume of the game's sound effects. 6 7 Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:39 AM Page 010 SOUND SETTINGS This game employs a surround sound system that allows you to feel as though you are actually inside the game. If you are playing using a stereo TV, follow the explanation below to get the most realistic sound effects from Maken X. NAME ENTRY Once the game starts and the story has been introduced, you will be able to enter a name. Press the Analog Thumb Pad and the D-Pad to select letters and press the A Button to enter your selection. SPEAKER ARRANGEMENT Select "SOUND" from the Option Menu and select "STEREO" (Speaker) to enable this feature. Adjust your speakers to an angle of 10 -15 degrees to the position where you are sitting to create the ideal environment to play Maken X! NAME ENTRY CONTROLS ANALOG THUMB PAD D-PAD A BUTTON B BUTTON X BUTTON Y BUTTON TRIGGER R TRIGGER L START BUTTON Move cursor Backspace/space Enter a letter Backspace Return to Menu Delete Not used Not used Move the cursor to "END" (Will not enter) 8 9 Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:40 AM Page 012 THE GAME Maken X is comprised of three parts; "Event Scenes," "Action Scenes" and the "World Map." The game constantly alternates between these parts. PAUSE Press the Start Button during game play to display the Pause Screen. Press the Start Button again to return to the game. 1. EVENT SCENES These show how the story unfolds. Press the Analog Thumb Pad to select and press the A Button to enter when you are presented with a decision. GAME OVER When your life gauge reaches 0, you will be given two options: "Restart current stage" or "Restart from the world map." Restart current stage. Return to the beginning of the stage in the same condition as when you started it. 2. ACTION SCENES Defeat your enemies, to reach an important character. Action Scenes influence the story. 3. WORLD MAP Move around the world. The story will unfold further if you go to a new place. Restart from the world map. Restart from the World Map in the same condition as when you started the previous stage. ! SIDE STORIES The story will split off into several side-stories depending on the player's actions and decisions. The story will be altered according to your response to key questions during Event Scenes and your actions in Action Scenes. 10 11 Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:40 AM Page 014 WORLD MAP Use the World Map to move between the different stages. Press the A Button to display the System Window. SYSTEM WINDOW Press the A Button on the World Map Screen to display the System Window. 1 1 3 4 WORLD MAP SCREEN MAKEN NAME 6 2 5 The Maken name that the player selected. 2 STAGE SYMBOL The stage available for selection. NPC SYMBOL Indicates the location of the key characters. BRAINJACK SYMBOL Indicates the location of characters that can be brainjacked. PSI LEVEL Current accumulated total of PSI. 3 SAVE Save a game file. ! Your memory card must have at least 10 free memory blocks to save game files. Also, you can only save and load from the memory card that is connected to Control Port A of the Dreamcast. Never switch the Dreamcast OFF, remove the memory card or Jump Pack, or disconnect the controller while saving. 12 13 Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:40 AM Page 016 4 LOAD STATUS SCREEN Load a previously saved game file. CHARACTER'S NAME BRAINJACK RANK CHARACTER'S LIFE 5 SPECIAL ATTACK NAME CHARACTER'S POWER CHARACTER'S JUMP POWER STAGE CHARACTER'S SPEED You can Brainjack if there is a character with Brainjack potential in the stage. STAGE START . . Enter the selected stage BRAIN JACK . . . Brainjack a character with Brainjack potential who is in the stage 6 SPECIAL ATTACK Press the A Button on the Status Screen to display an explanation of the special attack. BODY View your present status and Brainjack potential character data. STATUS . . . . . . . Display data on present Brainjack characters HISTORY . . . . . . Display data on present Brainjack potential characters 14 15 Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:40 AM Page 018 ACTION SCREEN This is an explanation of the first-person perspective Action Scene Screen. LIFE GAUGE The game ends when this gauge is empty. See page 11 for more details. EX GAUGE This displays the charging process to perform a special attack. Wait until the gauge is full before you unleash a special attack. BRAINJACK RANK Present Brainjack Rank. PSI GAUGE Current PSI Points. BASIC ACTIONS ATTACKING Press the X Button to attack. ATTACK MULTIPLE ATTACK Press the X Button repeatedly to perform a combination multiple attack. SPECIAL ATTACK Press and hold the X Button until the EX Gauge is full, then release to perform a special attack. Press the X Button at the right DEFLECT time to deflect your opponents' projectiles. Note that some objects cannot be deflected. MOVEMENT/OTHERS JUMP BACKSTEP GUARD Press the A Button to jump. Press and hold the Analog Thumb Pad down and press the A Button to perform a backstep. Press the Analog Thumb Pad down when your opponent is attacking to guard. Note that some attacks cannot be guarded against. Press the X Button to activate a switch. CLEAR SYMBOL This is your goal. Enter it to leave the stage and return to the World Map. WARNING MARK These arrows point towards off screen enemies. SWITCHES 16 17 Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:41 AM Page 020 LOCK­ON The lock-on system allows you to automatically center on your opponent. The lock-on cursor will be displayed when an enemy approaches you. Press the Y Button to lock-on to your enemy. There will be a visual indicator on your enemy. Press the Y Button again to disengage the lock. The red gauge in the center of the focus-mark indicates the enemy's life. The following actions are possible depending on the focus. You can set Trigger R as the lock-on key in Options. You will lock-on only when Trigger R is held down. BRAINJACKING & PSI POINTS WHAT ARE BRAINJACKS? Maken can acquire a new body by brainjacking certain characters. Brainjack someone, and you will find that not only will you be able to perform new actions, but you may also learn information essential to the development of the story. In order to Brainjack, the other character must have an equivalent Brainjack Rank to the character you are presently using. HOW TO BRAINJACK When the lock-on cursor is displayed... Press the Y Button to lock-on! SPECIAL LOCK-ON MOVES Press $/^ when locked-on to circle your opponent while facing it. LEAPING ATTACK Jump while advancing towards your locked-on opponent to leap over it and land facing its back. Attack quickly before your opponent can turn to face you again! ROTATE Lock-on to a potential Brainjack character to display the option "Brainjack this character?" Select "YES" to brainjack the character. PSI POINTS & BRAINJACK RANK To brainjack a new character, you must achieve the same Brainjack Rank as it. Gather a fixed number of PSI points to gain promotion to the next Brainjack Rank. Collect PSI points by collecting the PSI that appears when you defeat opponents. 18 19 Maken X 0229u1 00.2.29 10:41 AM Page 022 ITEMS CHARACTER INTRODUCTIONS Maken An artificial life developed to be an incredible medical instrument, which can extract PSI and modify it. Its official name is "Maken." Its common name is in the hands of the player. It has an artificial brain and the knowledge of an average adult. It thinks and it can make decisions. However it also contains a hidden purpose. LIFE CAPSULE (SMALL) Recovers a small amount of life. LIFE CAPSULE (LARGE) Recovers a large amount of life. LIFE CAPSULE (TOTAL) Recovers the maximum amount of life. POWER UP Increases attack power for a fix ...