As A Big Fan Of Bushido Blade (1 And 2), How Is It That I Only Found Out About The Secret Versus Mode

WLC 3.3: Wormsworn

The mass of undead giant worms continues to grow. Bile pours out, sliding down their sides and pooling on the ground.

Melandria raises her hand to the abomination and yells, "BEGONE!" Suddenly, half of the mass is ripped into a black void. The remainder force their way free.

L: She called that spell 'Dark Hole'.

"So cool," says Jevoi. She turns to the Shadow Queen, "Sorceresses are so cool!"

"Child, it is not safe here," says Melandria, "Please, go back inside."

Jevoi grabs onto Melandria's dress, "Tell me how to do that!"

"I promise to later."

Above them a translucent barrier forms blocking bile being launched at the group. Oighrig yells at the worms.

J: I didn't speak Vrow, but I assume she was cursing at them.

"That's what Nana Ning said, too," pouts Jevoi, "Mum won't let her teach me."

"If you work hard," says Melandria, disintegrating a line of worms, "You'll be able to be whatever you want."

"Mel, stop," yells Ling, "Don't encourage her." Ling gestures and the ravaged crops begin wrapping around the worms on the ground.

Melandria is so confused that she cannot respond.

"We're not talking about my mum now," says Ling, blasting a bolt of magic that transforms one worm into a still writhing giant carrot; it's companions immediately begin eating it alive.

J: You never let Ning teach me anything. L: Think hard, Jevoi, why'd that be. J: I only saw her twice before she died, Mum. L: Is that why ya're obsessed with her? D: Can we get back to the story? L: Right. Also, that spell's 'Veggification'.

"Boss!" A pair of armored tallgoblins step out from the tower with weapons drawn, "Give us your order!"

"Gish," yells Ling, raising a wall of large blunt teeth covered in smaller sharper teeth to hold off the tide of zombie worms dropping off the damaged mass, "Where's your salt? Get me all of it! Gash, watch my kid!" Melandria's shadow arms raise out of the gaps and begin forcibly grinding the worms against the teeth.

"Yes, Ma'am!" says Gish, racing back into the tower as Oighrig conjures a massive storm cloud spider. It magnetizes several worms out of the mass and pulls them into its mouth, electrocuting them all the while.

"Why me?" asks Gash, launching a flaming boulder over the wall.

L: Dental Palisade, Conjure Storm Spider (not to be confused with Conjure Spider Storm), and... er, Big Flame Rock. J: Goblins tend to be straight forward.

"We need someone to protect the-" Melandria taps the side of her head, "Idea: take her to meet Gank. Then you can keep them both safe while we get this under control."

"Understood, Boss!" says Gash, sheathing his weapon, "With me," he says to Jevoi.

"Fiiiine," says the child.

Just Give Up

In both games, the player can surrender. In the first game, it could only be done if your leg was broken. In the second, you can just... give up.

POV: The enemy would rather die than fight a child (that's you).

POV: She is adamant about this fact!

POV: Your friend wishes to die with honor, but you have terrible aim.

Game Manual 1.5

The game manual post had some technical difficulty, so I split it. If the prior post is hidden, it's because tumblr is labeling "mature" likely by auto error.

The Japanese manual, for reference.

WLC 2.4: Ring of Fire

"I must say," says Vanessa, pulling eyes back into formation, "You are the third best I've-" Her flames reignite with a cough. "Mortal! The third best mortal I've-" Vanessa eyes focus on Ling, or rather, the burnt husk of her. The wizard's arms weakly gesturing spells, seemingly indifferent, or perhaps oblivious, to her missing leg. "You two," says Vanessa to Maraja and Kalyani, who still stand at the crossroads of shock and awe, "Aid her, for she now has my blessing to aid you. Priestess, you are to go as well. Assist them..." Vanessa's eyes dart about staring in different directions. "With... the quest they are on. ...I have to go." As the duo run over to Ling, Vanessa's avatar returns to the window.

As the pair begin healing Ling, she attempts to laugh only to cough up charred pieces of her tongue.

"You're a loon," says Maraja, channeling her energy into the roast gecko's chest, "Truly mad."

"Horrifying," says Kalyani, "Yet captivating." She holds the sides of Ling's head, forcing life through her.

"I'm number three," says Ling, weakly, "I am number three." Runes begin tearing open her burnt skin.

The champion runs her hand through her liquid hair and begins rubbing the nearest arm. "Why is that your focus?" She scraps and the skin peels away. "Do you have any idea how long a list that even is?"

"At least three," says Ling. Her voice returning, she yells a spell and a new leg erupts from the scorched stump. "Important rule for keeping patient's calm and out of pain: distraction. Think about anything else." Dr. Ling sits up with enough force to fling the rest of the dead skin off of her front.

"You're a doctor?" asks Kalyani, "I thhought you were jusst the town drunk."

Ling hops up and shakes the rest of her old self onto the floor. "Of biochemistry, but close enough," she says, naked as a hatchling, "Meet me at my place tomorrow morn." She begins running toward the door. "It's the brick house by the Hole."

L: Crazy that she vaporized my clothes. D: Why would she do that? L: Like I said, it was boring adult stuff. Don't mind it. D: But how does- J: Gods are weird, Dalini. They did things like that all the time.

"What's the hole?" asks Maraja.

"I believe shhe meant the entrancce to the Underdank," responds Kalyani, commanding a small wind with a gesture to blow the ashes out. "I can shhow you thhere. Do you need a placce to sstay for thhe night?"

WLC 4.4: Slaughter-in-Law

"Quick, while she's not looking, try to kill me," says Ling.

"I'd love to," says Angustias, "Is this a game to you?"

"Not like your a threat to me." Ling shakes her head.

"What is that supposed to mean?" snarls Angustias.

"She won't kill me. Ya can't."

"Why did you stop running?" Angustias slides toward Ling.

Ling ignores her and sits on the bed. She pulls out her magic orb and flicks it. "I've been trying to save this world again, but ya idiots chasing me making that a helluva pain."

Angustias towers over Ling. "Then why not just walk in. We both know you could have."

Ling continues flicking the orb, scrolling the images on it. "Would either of ya have just let me in? If it weren't her idea?"

Angustias rages, unable to find words.

"Keep hissing, snake." Ling's eyes stay on the images in her orb, scrolling onward.

For a moment, Angustias' hand twitches, as if she intends to conjure her weapons once more, but she relents, glancing back to the bathroom door. "You will not drive my daughter from me."

"Yeah, I know how much that sucks," says Ling. Subtle laughter comes out of the other room, by pure coincidence.

"You're responsible for that yourself, gex," says Angustias, slithering away and positioning herself toward the door.

"No s***e, demon," says Ling, "Don't worry, ya'll have gobs of chances to f**k it up yourself."

"Do you not fear death?" asks Angustias, folding her arms.

"Hard to fear it," Ling continues scrolling though pictures, "When I know ex-act-ly where I'm going." She raises a hand and wiggles her claws. "Viva~ Los Vicios!" She laughs. "So, my daughter's trophy wife's not breaking my legs anytime soon."

Angustias grabs her own face. "What is taking them so long? IS SHE SEWING HER A DRESS?"

WLC 3.4: Up to Gank

Gash leads Jevoi up the stairs to the safest part of the tower, behind the shell of the Tarasque. Feeling her bitterness of being led away, he asks, "Who is your 'nana'?"

"You really want to know?" Jevoi's voice is sudden and loud. "Nana Ning's the coolest. She's super-fast and has all of the knives."

"Is that so?" asks Gash, looking over his shoulder, "What can she do with them?"

"She's a super sneaky acrobat and kills bad guys," says Jevoi running ahead of Gash, "I want to be just like her!" She turns back toward him. "But Mum hates Nana, she'll never let me."

"Yeah, I get it," says Gash, "My ma was against me learning magic." He manifests and twirls a knife before banishing it.

"But you did anyway?" asks Jevoi looking up into his eyes, "How did ya do it?"

Gash hesitates, but decides to answer, "My sister and I ran away from home."

L: I'ma kill him.

"But you shouldn't."

"Why not?" whines Jevoi.

"Your ma's a wizard; she'll catch you," he leans down and whispers, "So you should study all her tricks first; that way she can't catch you." He stands up and continues on as roaring and explosions occur in the distance.

L: Death threat rescinded.

Jevoi gasps, "You're really smart, Mr. Gash!"

Gash laughs, "That's why Boss Mel trusts me. Now right through here is Gank."

"Who's she?" asks Jevoi, as further explosions sound from outside.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" He opens a door, and says, "Hey, Gank, got someone for you to meet."

The bedroom's walls are decorated with stars and crescents. The plum bed is almost as big as Ling's. Lying on the bed, idly kicking her feet and reading a large tome is a teenage reptilian with a spiky armored body and four clawed arms. She's wearing a black wig with a magenta stripe in its bangs and tiny black trunks.

D: Is that why you wear that wig? J: It looks great, right?

Jevoi hides behind Gash's leg, too nervous to approach.

"What d'ya want, old man?" asks Gank. She looks up from her book. "Need me to babysit for ya?"

This happened when I ran Age of Ashes too. She got a great scene showing up to help in the sixth book.

Also she has a friend called Belmazog. She was a big bad villain who tried to summon a dark god of death and destruction to slaughter indiscriminately but she’s alright now.

Locking Swords

Blade clashes in Bushido Blade 2 are more interesting visually than the first game. The character who is winning actually pushes the loser around in a far more obvious way.

POV: You've locked blades with the leader of the enemy clan on a castle roof.

POV: You've locked blades with a shrine maiden on competition grounds.

POV: You're just gals being pals when she just lets you win.

The motion of actually flinging the loser is something I'm sad the sequel lost, but the clarity of who is winning is more important.

Execution

In the first game, surrender leaves you open to attack and ends the fight after a set time, but in the sequel, it's a cutscene.

Here's that bloodstained versus Mikado accepting her fate.

And so, the bandaged story Mikado cannot outlive herself.

This location, by the way, is a story scene exclusive: outside the Tatara Shrine. (Not the Tatara Shrine Path stage.) You normally cannot fight here.

WLC 3.6: A Mother's Rage

Outside of the tower, the spellcasters continue to hold off the undead tide.

"Don't you have anything more offensive, Ling?" asks Oighrig, still floating, still maintaining a barrier above, and now gesturing to have her storm spider rain acid spiders onto the mass.

L: What she was attempting to do was have her acid react to the basic bile of some of the worms, but basic worm bile was pretty rare.

"Sorry," says Ling, sarcasm dripping from the word, "I was told to prepare for an ecological disaster, NOT AN UNDEAD ABOMY!"

Melandria winces, "I mean, it's both of those things..."

"Would have been great to know before I brought my daughter down here," yells Ling, conjuring a giant lemon inside of the wormsworn, "Thought it was just going to be some sick plants or the mold flood came back, but no, it's zombie wormageddon." The lemon explodes. "And then ya've got the nerve to talk about my mum."

"What is wrong with your daughter wanting to know her grandmother?" asks Melandria, her shadow arms fling several worms on the ground into the air.

"My mum's a f******g assassin, Mel," says Ling. She slaps the earth and the worms attempting to burrow under the teeth wall turn to solid stone. "She has killed a s***eton of people. Why do think she moved from the surface?"

"Is this really the right time for this?" ask Oighrig, as she and her storm spider launch bolts of lightning into the airborne worms.

"The sun'll go cold before I let my daughter go down that path!" says Ling.

L: Didn't mean that literally, but good work making it true, Jevoi. Guess I can't stop ya from living your dream now. J: At this point, assassin is a step down, but thanks so much for your permission, Mum.

"I am almost out of things to throw at this," says Oighrig, conjuring a web to trap more worms attempting to burrow.

"Mel, don't ya have another Dark Hole?" asks Ling, conjuring a phantom chef that slices, dices, and juliennes several worms.

"I'm running on empty now, too, Ling," says Melandria, her shadow arms skewering worms onto adamantine spears, "Killing the previous ones took too much out of me."

"How many of these things have you fought today!?"

"This is the fifth," says Oighrig, continuing to order her storm spider's blitz.

"Why did ya wait this late to call me?"

"I thought we could handle this," says Melandria, her shadow arms grabbing and tearing the worms open, "I wasn't expecting it to be this incessant."

"I'ma kick your sexy a**e, Mel!" yells Ling, "If it's not dead the third time ya kill it, it's not staying dead!" Gravity reverses for a group of worms and they are brought helplessly up to the phantom chef's cutting zone. "I'm going to make ya watch me destroy Oighrig."

"What did I do?" asks Oighrig, almost taking her eyes off her spider.

"No, positively!" says Ling, "Ya're doing lovely! Keep not-f*****g-up!"

"Boss, we've got the salt!" says Gish and Gash, hauling a large bag on a makeshift trolley.

"Gash, I'ma kick your a**e, too!" says Ling, pulling a book out of pouch, "I gave you one b****y job, you b******d!" She has the book turn itself to the right page. "F**k it, Gish, help your idiot brother make a salt circle around the entire cave."

"The entire cave?" asks Gish, "You cannot be serious."

"Ya heard me!" says Ling, inducing a relative increase in speed to the group, "We need to sanctify this entire place."