The Hannya Shogun is a character in The Legend of the Mystical Ninja. He is the main antagonist of the game, an old man who hides under the guise of a young and strong leader.
He later reappears making cameos in Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun Magginesu and Ganbare Goemon: Ōedo Daikaiten.
Plot[]
The Hannya Shogun, as his name implies, is the leader of the Hannya Clan, an organized group of masked criminals that capture people and force them to print counterfeit money.
He orders his men to kidnap the Ruler of Edo and his daughter, Princess Yuki. He keeps the princess confined under his own guard and throws the feudal lord into the dungeons, taking on his guise so that he can perform criminal activities at his leisure while remaining unnoticed.
He is aided by Gonta, a mystical fox who gives him all his powers. He also wears a giant armor in the shape of a fierce samurai warrior in combat.
In the end, Goemon and Ebisumaru manage to defeat him, and looking himself cornered, he threatens to harm the princess. Hearing this, Gonta confronts him saying that wasn't part of the plan and that he promised the princess would be released. Gonta then breaks their partnership and disappears in a puff of smoke. Goemon steps forward and whacks the shogun with his pipe, making his mask to fall off and revealing the menacing Hannya Shogun to be nothing more than a helpless old man.
Boss battle[]
The Hannya Shogun is the end boss of Warlock Zone IX: Final Story and the final boss of the game. He appears as a giant warrior fully clad in samurai armor who rides on top of a kirin (a legendary mystical lion-like creature). The beast is actually a magical fox named Gonta, who lent the Shogun his powers so the former could play with Princess Yuki.
The first thing the player will notice is that none of their attacks will inflict any damage to the bosses, as they're completely impervious to most means of damage (likely, due to Gonta's magic). In fact, powerful Jutsus such as No.2 ("Attack") or No.4 ("Invincible"), won't deal any damage to the bosses; and when attacked, Gonta will just limit himself to let out a cute meow and continue the fight.
On his part, the Hannya Shogun will attack by shooting series of three simultaneous arrows upward with his bow, which will then rain down covering a large area of the screen, each at a different distance. Nevertheless, these arrows are actually the key to damage the bosses during the first phase of the fight, as the player can hit them in midair on their way down and send them back at Gonta. Only Gonta's head can be damaged this way, so the player must be precise the moment they hit an arrow to deviate it; if the arrows hit any other part of the bosses' bodies, they won't deal any damage (if they head toward Gonta's body, he'll just swipe at them with his claw).
Once Gonta's health bar has been depleted, he'll transform back to his fox form and leave the battle, leaving the Hannya Shogun to continue the battle on his own. His main method of attack consists in curling into a ball that is harmful to the touch to the player, and rolling from side to side of the room, eventually rolling to the ceiling and dropping on the player when he's above them. From time to time, he'll get exhausted from performing this attack and he'll have to stop to catch back his breath, leaving himself completely vulnerable and presenting a great opportunity for the player to inflict damage to him.
Furthermore, staying on either edge of the room will provide completely safe spots to the player, from where they can attack the boss at their leisure as he's rolling around. Also, since the boss isn't invincible anymore, casting a No.4 ("Invincible") Jutsu will make short work of him, potentially ending the battle in just a few seconds.
Gallery[]
See also[]
External links[]
- Goemon International - Source of The Legend of the Mystical Ninja sketch image.