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Hanzou
SF1 hanzou
For once, Hanzou stands in plain sight.
Vital statistics
Race Human
Class Ninja -> Super Ninja (Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon)
Gender Male
Faction Shining Force
Birthplace Far East Village
Relatives Unknown
Appearances Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention
Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon
Shining Force Gaiden II
Shining Force CD

Hanzou is a hidden playable character in the games Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention, Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon, Shining Force Gaiden II, and Shining Force CD. In Shining Force Gaiden II and Shining Force CD his name is mistranslated as Higins.

Background[]

Hanzou is a rogue ninja from Far East Village. In Legacy of Great Intention, he hides in some bushes in Runefaust and pops out to join the Force if he is found. He hides himself in similar fashion in Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya, and in Shining Force CD he requires the party to find him twice before he will join them. In Resurrection of the Dark Dragon, Hanzou is cloaked in all black, with a blue vest.

Personality[]

Hanzou is a typical rogue ninja: his interest is in refining and showing off his skills rather than in any of the causes he fights for. He will join any party with the odds stacked against them, the better to exercise his ninja talents.


Strategy[]

Getting Hanzou to Join[]

In Shining Force I, search the bushes in Runefaust where you see the shuriken (ninja star) and he pops out and joins the Force. In the GBA remake he's a little harder to find, but is found in Chapter 5 instead, right after the fight with the Master Mage. You must examine a series of signs to find him;

  • Examine the sign next to the Waral Palace. It will say "Floating on the Sea"
  • Next find the floating library next to the church. You can examine a sign attached to it in the water that says "Not the Bookshelf"
  • After the fight with the Master Mage the reef will be filled with water. You can then reach the sign on the other side that says "A Cross Atop the Spire"
  • At the church, examine the basket next to the priest. Here the sign will instruct you to "search the fish"
  • After crossing the bridge next to the palace, go up to the area with several fish. Step on the fish on top of the grey square (the same one that made Boken emerge from the sea) and Hanzou will appear and join the Shining Force!

In Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya you must search at the pillar near Solo to find him. The only part of Hanzou you can see are his eyes, which appear to be purple.

Using Hanzou[]

The Legacy of Great Intention[]

Shining Force CD and Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya[]

Hanzou's stats and abilities in these two games are identical. He has all-around average stats and a couple powerful magic spells, seemingly making him a good jack-of-all-trades. However, his Attack struggles compared to other physically-oriented fighters, and after level 15 stops growing entirely. Together with his inferior selection of weapons, this leaves him with the lowest Attack of any melee fighter in the game, even when everyone else is promoted at level 10. Moreover, his MP is far lower than the Wizards on the game(again, even if they were promoted at level 10).

In summation, Hanzou can be thought of as a Wizard who trades away solid MP supply in exchange for solid Defense and usable Attack. If you find the vulnerability of most magic users to be irksome, Hanzou is a pleasing alternative. However, thanks to his low MP, to get effective use out of him you must use his spells where they can do the most good, and rely on his modest physical attack where his magic is not needed. If this strategy does not fit your play style, then don't bother with Hanzou.

Resurrection of the Dark Dragon[]

Unlike previous versions of Hanzou, RotDD's Hanzou can advance to the class of "Super Ninja", making him that much more powerful. His MP supply is still fairly lacking, but his Attack stats are significantly better, making him roughly equivalent to a more defense-oriented version of Zylo (with a few magic spells to boot). The fact that he is obtainable much earlier on in the game also makes him an excellent addition to almost any team. This makes his excellent mobility also very valuable, as that while there are no real terrain challenges in Chapter 8 (which was the only chapter he was available in the original game), there are plenty to be featured between Woral and Runefaust, so if you like using Zylo, you're going to love using Hanzou.

Powers & Magic[]

Hanzou can cast the following spells.

Shining Force: Legacy of Great Intention:

Spell Icon Level Acquired
L1 L2 L3 L4
Sleep Magic Sleep Icon-RoDD
Dispel Magic Dispel Icon-RoDD
Desoul Magic Desoul Icon-RoDD 25
Shield Magic Shield Icon-RoDD 15
  • In "Shining Force: Legacy of Great Intention" Hanzou starts at level 10
  • — indicates the character has already learned the spell.
  • An empty field means the character cannot learn up to that spell's level.

Shining Force: Resurrection of Dark Dragon:

Spell Icon Level Acquired
L1 L2 L3 L4
Sleep Magic Sleep Icon-RoDD
Attack Magic Attack Icon-RoDD 4
Desoul Magic Desoul Icon-RoDD 7 25
Shield Magic Shield Icon-RoDD 15
  • In "Shining Force: Resurrection of Dark Dragon" Hanzou starts at level 1
  • — indicates the character has already learned the spell.
  • An empty field means the character cannot learn up to that spell's level.

Shining Force Gaiden II and Shining Force CD:

Spell Icon Level Acquired
L1 L2 L3 L4
Katon 7 17
Raijin 11 15 20
  • — indicates the character has already learned the spell.
  • An empty field means the character cannot learn up to that spell's level.


Quotes[]

  • Book 2 headquarters, not in active party: "Patience is one of my disciplines."
  • Book 3 headquarters, in active party: "I promise that I will show you the real strength of our country."
  • At the beginning of the battle with Dark Dragon: "... Hmph! Impertinent fiend! Before my ninja arts, you are no more than a sitting duck! Begone, foul beast!"

Trivia[]

  • In the GBA remake, Hanzou's card is found in the location he was found on the original Mega Drive/Genesis version of the game.


See also[]

External links[]

  • External link
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