LEVEL 3: JAPAN - MEETING WITH TAKAMOTO | Updated: 6/27/07(†) |
Items: health packs, grenades, assault rifle, shotgun, ammunition
Enemies: Yakuza thugs, dogs, Takamoto
Rewards: 6 bronze, 4 silver, 1 gold (*)
Time Trial: 12:15 (**)
The level begins with a cut scene ("Fashionably Late in Tokyo"). Lara checks in with Zip as she enters the suite where the party is being held. He tells her to see the bartender, who will call Nishimura.
NISHIMURA'S PARTY: From CHECKPOINT 1, proceed downstairs and talk to the bartender. Then head for Nishimura's office, down the hall to the left when facing the stairs.
Opening the office door triggers a cut scene ("Nishimura's Warning"). After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Nishimura cautions Lara to beware of Takamoto, but Lara says she can handle him.
Return to the party room, initiating another cut scene:
Takamoto insists he doesn't have a piece of sword. When Lara presses, things get nasty. Takamoto disappears, leaving his goons to deal with Lara. She dives behind the bar, does a quick change and comes up fighting. (This cinematic is titled "Meeting with Takamoto".)
When the cut scene ends, Lara is beside the bar at CHECKPOINT 2. There are 7 thugs scattered around the room. Without the tight outfit and high heels, Lara can run and jump again, but she has only her pistols until she picks up another weapon. You may want to take cover behind the bar at first. Pick off the nearest enemies and then move out, grab a bigger gun, and deal with the rest.
Alternately, as soon as the cut scene ends, run up the stairs to the landing at the top. If you position Lara at the little curve in the railing where the balcony juts out, you should be able to kill all but one of the Yakuza while taking only minimal damage. Then come back downstairs and deal with the last thug, who'll be lurking on the other side of the central structure near the bar. If you shoot down one of the TV screens by pressing Interact with guns drawn, you can see him but unfortunately not hit him from above.
After the fight, Nishimura emerges from his office. He guesses that Takamoto must have returned to his penthouse. According to Zip, security is tight in Takamoto's building. Lara's solution is to go via the roof. Nishimura graciously provides her with a key to the elevator.
Pick up an RC650 ASSAULT RIFLE (if you didn't snag it during the fight) plus any ammo and health packs the Yakuza goons drop. Then proceed to the elevator—not the one upstairs where you entered, but a service elevator at the end of the hall nearest the bar.
After activating the elevator, there's a brief cut scene as Lara rides up to the roof and spots a shiny red Ducati motorcycle.
NISHIMURA'S ROOF: Go through the glass doors on the left past CHECKPOINT 3. If you explore the rooftop a bit, Lara and her helpers will converse over the headset, commenting on which building is Takamoto's, the state of the broken pedestrian bridge, etc., but this isn't necessary to advance the action.
Face the door where you just came out, stand back a bit and use the pistols to shoot the fuel barrel in the storage cage beside the door. After the explosion, a vertical pipe is now accessible. Climb to the top and jump to the ledge on the right. From there, climb onto the roof. Go to the top of the skylight and climb onto the higher section of flat roof. Shoot the small wooden box to get the bronze reward (1/6) inside. (Using pistols and manual aim—Z/R3/right stick button—makes this easier and saves ammo.)
Hop down, move to the far end of the skylight and use the magnetic grapple to pull open the sliding window. Drop down through the opening and go down the ramp to the room with the motorcycle and CHECKPOINT 4. Locate another wooden crate under the stairs. Shoot it and claim another bronze reward (2/6). Move one of the cardboard cartons aside to find another similar wooden crate. This one contains a silver reward (1/4).
Now get on the bike (by pressing Interact) and ride out onto the roof, triggering CHECKPOINT 5. You don't have much room to maneuver the motorcycle, but this isn't necessary. If you're playing on the PC, leave the mouse alone and just use the directional keys to drive out onto the open rooftop. If you move slowly, the camera should align itself behind Lara. Line the motorcycle up facing the ramp at the base of the broken pedestrian bridge (the bluish metal structure with the two arches) and then accelerate as if to jump across to the next building.
When you reach the ramp, an interactive cut scene begins. A series of icons appear on the screen. As soon as an icon appears, quickly press the control indicated to keep Lara from crashing to her death. These are:
PC: Left, Up, Down
PS2: Square, X, Circle
Xbox: X, A, B
PSP: Triangle, X, Circle
GameCube: X, A, B
CONSTRUCTION ZONE: CHECKPOINT 6 registers when you reach the other building. Before engaging in any acrobatics, climb down to the lower level of scaffolding and go to the far end, jumping across the gap partway along. Shoot the crate to obtain another bronze reward (3/6). Return to the other end of the scaffolding and climb back up to the CHECKPOINT.
Now take a running jump to grab the horizontal bar. Swing around it and jump to grab the edge of the scaffolding. Pull up and take a running jump across the gap to the next scaffold. When you reach the window hanging on a cable, manually targeting the shiny bit of hardware connecting the window to the cable (using Z/R3/right stick button) and shoot it to make the window fall. Jump to grab the dangling cable and swing to the next scaffold. Go to the end of the platform to CHECKPOINT 7. Kick the barrel out of the way and jump up to grab the angled cable to slide down to the building across the street to CHECKPOINT 8.
Turn left and use the magnetic grapple to pull the hanging scaffold toward Lara. Detach the grapple and wait for the scaffold to swing out. When it swings back toward Lara, run and jump onto it. Press the Jump key twice to attach the grapple to a bracket high above and swing out to the corner of the building. While hanging from the cable, turn to the right, swing and jump to land on the small ledge with CHECKPOINT 9.
Again, use the grapple to catch the first of 2 hanging scaffolds. Start it swinging then release the cable. When the scaffold swings toward Lara, run and jump onto it. If the first scaffold is still swinging when Lara gets situated, take another running jump to the next one. Otherwise, use the grapple to start the second scaffold swinging and then jump onto it when it swings your way. On the second scaffold, press Jump twice to attach the grapple to a bracket high above and swing out. Turn right so Lara is hanging facing the building. Swing and jump to the rooftop garden and CHECKPOINT 10.
TAKAMOTO'S ROOFTOP GARDEN: A group of security men arrive. Lara is up against 3 thugs and a pair of pit bulls. The dogs will quickly knock Lara down, preventing her from fighting back. To avoid that, jump up onto the planter. Deal with the men first. Along with the usual bullets and grenades, you can shoot the lanterns to cause extra damage. Just don't stand too close when that happens. Then kill the dogs with pistols while still standing on the planter. Pick up any dropped health packs, grenades and rifle ammunition.
TAKAMOTO'S OFFICES - STAIRWELL: Enter the building where the men came out. First go downstairs to get a bronze reward (4/6) in another breakable wooden box. Then climb the stairs to the very top. Find the break in the railing and jump onto the pipes. Take a running jump to grab the light-colored horizontal shelf between the pipes against the left wall. Traverse as far as you can to the right and then jump back onto the ledge behind Lara. Cross the pipes and shoot the small crate. Inside is a silver reward (2/4). To get down, walk along the pipes until you are again opposite the light-colored horizontal shelf. Jump to grab it. Then let go to fall and grab the pipes below. Let go again to drop to the floor. Continue along the hallway to the doors at the end.
OFFICE WITH CUBICLES & BIG-SCREEN DISPLAY: Enter, crossing CHECKPOINT 11. It doesn't take long for the 6 armed bodyguards to notice Lara. Keep your distance from the guys with shotguns if possible. You may want to deal with the men in the raised conference area to the right first and then run up there to shoot the others from above. Pick up any dropped health packs, grenades and rifle rounds. You can also swap the assault rifle for a SHOTGUN if you like.
Zip says there's no way out, but Lara disagrees. Before finding—or, more accurately, making—an exit, locate a silver reward (3/4) in the left of the two metal cabinets in the raised conference area and a bronze reward (5/6) in a wooden crate in the closet in the far left corner of the room (relative to the entrance).
Use the magnetic grapple to pull the huge news display screen. It won't come down all the way, so finish the job by using manual aim to target and shoot the shiny brackets at each upper corner. (Again, to use manual aim, press Z on the PC or Game Cube, or press in on the right analog stick on the PS2 or Xbox, or D-Pad Up on the PSP to go into manual aim mode. Center the targeting reticule on the bracket and then shoot.) When the screen falls, 2 more thugs appear in the opening. Climb up and deal with them or, if you prefer a cautious approach, hide under the screen and shoot through the crack between the screen and the floor. Then climb up over the screen, pick up dropped health, grenades and ammo, and exit through the doors ahead.
ROOFTOP WITH NEON SIGNS: Crossing the threshold triggers CHECKPOINT 12. In a brief cut scene, Lara comments on the lovely evening while scanning up the wall of signs. There's a vertical pipe to the right of the doors (when facing them). Climb to the top and jump to the right to grab the shelf with the air conditioning unit. Traverse around to the front of the shelf and jump up to get on top of it.
Turn toward the signs and use the magnetic grapple to pull the sign above the door down toward Lara. Climb on top of it, take a running jump to grab the ledge ahead and climb the ladder to a higher ledge (CHECKPOINT 13).
Turn back toward the signs. Use the grapple to pull the next sign down. Jump to grab the horizontal bar, swing and jump to the ledge behind the sign. Climb the vertical pole, jump back to catch the edge of the ledge behind and pull up. Take a running jump to grab the long, grayish vertical pole close to the side of the building. Here Alister begs Lara not to look down. (Bet you did anyway.)
When you reach the top of the pole, turn around to face the signs and jump to grab the horizontal bar attached to the back of the sign. Lara's weight rotates the sign 90 degrees. Still hanging from the same bar, turn around, move all the way to the right of the bar (toward the building), swing around and jump back to the vertical pole. Climb up and jump onto the ledge (which is now horizontal since you turned the sign). Take a running jump to the small ledge ahead, which is CHECKPOINT 14. (Is anybody else wondering what the people down in the street are thinking about all this?)
BREAK-AWAY POLE & HORIZONTAL BARS: Jump to grab the vertical pole. As she climbs, the guys will warn Lara that the bars won't hold. Very true. Timing is crucial here, but nothing starts to break until Lara reaches the top of the vertical pole. So, first jump to grab the pole, turn so the building is on Lara's right and then position the camera behind her. (Using the HUD key here is only somewhat effective, since the camera tends to drift a bit. So use the mouse or right stick to move the camera directly behind her. Then make sure her right shoulder is pointing squarely toward the building.) That way when she reaches the top, she'll be in position for a straightforward series of jumps.
When Lara is positioned precisely, climb to the top of the vertical pole. Quickly move the camera behind Lara and immediately jump forward to grab the first in the series of horizontal bars before the pole breaks away from the wall. Quickly swing, jump and grab across all 4 horizontal bars before they detach. To do this, it may help to hold the Forward key (or press the left stick forward) throughout. Then Lara will begin to swing around the bar as soon as she grabs it. On the downswing, press Jump to leap off and grab the next bar. (You want her to jump the first time around or the bar will break off.) Keep holding Forward as she swings around. Press Jump on the downswing and she'll jump and grab again. Repeat for the remaining bars. After jumping from the fourth bar, Lara lands on a safe ledge..
NOTE: If you're playing on the PC and want to skip this section, you're welcome to download my savegame from the next checkpoint. Instructions for downloading and installing Legend saves are here.
WAITING ROOM WITH CHANDELIER: Re-enter the building and cross CHECKPOINT 15. Takamoto has 5 more bodyguards stationed here. Circle around to the right, dealing with the 2 men there first. Then you can kill the rest from the balcony using guns, a well-placed grenade or two, or by shooting the chandelier so it falls on them. They drop health packs, grenades, a SHOTGUN and ammunition. There's also a bronze reward (6/6) in a box on the balcony and a silver reward (4/4) in one of the cabinets in the computer room at the bottom of the stairs. (It's the middle cabinet on the left.)
HALLWAY WITH GUN TURRET: Go through the open doors on the lower level to CHECKPOINT 16. Zip warns Lara about the danger ahead. Enter the security office on the left and check the cameras for a peek at what lies ahead. Press the fire alarm to activate the sprinklers and reveal the laser tripwires in the hallway. Return to the hall, pull the ornate carved ball off its stand and have Lara roll it ahead of herself as a shield from the gun turret. After clearing the danger zone, continue along the hallway and through the door.
TAKAMOTO'S PRIVATE OFFICE: The chime indicating CHECKPOINT 17 sounds just before Lara confronts Takamoto.
In a cut scene ("Takamoto Found"), Lara confronts the crime lord, who still denies having the artifact.
When the cut scene finishes, 3 thugs with shotguns try and put an end to Lara. Kill them quickly to avoid losing too much health. Pick up any health and grenades they drop. You'll also find a SHOTGUN and ammo. To get out of this room, climb onto the table and use the magnetic grapple to start the dragon statue swinging. It will crash through the window, drawing the attention of 2 more Yakuza goons. Hang back a bit to kill them without getting too close to their shotguns. Climb into the opening you just made. This is CHECKPOINT 18. Take any useful items and follow the hall to Takamoto's office. There you'll find a table loaded with rifle ammo (and an ASSAULT RIFLE if you don't already have one).
GOLD REWARD: The red lacquered chest contains the gold reward (1/1). Move the chest around the corner and down the hall. Shove it through the opening above the dragon room and it will fall, crashing to pieces and revealing the golden Buddha.
NOTE: It's up to you whether to take a SHOTGUN or RIFLE for the upcoming fight with Takamoto. The shotgun is definitely the right choice if you prefer in-your-face close combat. If you'd rather engage from a distance, take the rifle. Be sure to bring as much ammo as you can find and carry. You'll most likely run out, but every bit helps.
Go to the elevator in the hallway near the dragon room. Use the button to activate it.
Another cut scene ("Artifact Revealed") shows Lara riding up to Takamoto's inner sanctum. Sure enough, he does have a piece of the sword and, after a little persuasion, he makes it clear just why he values it.
FIGHTING TAKAMOTO: After the movie, Lara is standing at CHECKPOINT 19. Immediately run behind one of the large statues to avoid being shot by the gun turrets. There are 4 guns, one in front of each statue, mounted beneath the elevated walkway that encircles the room. Climb the vertical pole behind the statue and jump to land on the walkway. The automated guns can't hit her here, but Takamoto has already leaped to the upper level and is waiting for Lara to make her move. Now you can choose whether to get up in his face or hang back and patiently wear him down (or use a combination of these).
If you've got good reflexes, go for the direct approach. Run around the edge of the room toward Takamoto. When he fires energy blasts, jump to clear the low bursts and roll under the high ones. Start shooting as soon as you get a lock (red reticule). When you're almost on him, use a grenade if you like. Then, when Lara gets close, he'll begin firing vertical beams, which cause quite a bit of damage. Dodge sideways and keep firing. Soon he'll run off to the other side of the ledge. Repeat the same tactics until you wear him down. It doesn't take too long to kill him at close range, provided you can manage to keep Lara alive.
If, like me, you don't have very nimble fingers, you can use the "boss battle of attrition" strategy: Once you've climbed to the upper level, stay behind the statue. Draw pistols and gradually move sideways until you're just able to see Takamoto. Switch to manual targeting. You won't be able to get a lock (red reticule), but do make sure the reticule turns from white to gray. Then, while you won't be hitting him dead-on, some of your shots will connect. If you use pistols the entire time and stay close to the statue, Takamoto may not even notice Lara, in which case you can keep shooting, gradually chipping away at his health bar until he is finally defeated.
You can also use this technique with the rifle, in which case the reticule will turn red, showing you have a lock, and your shots will do much more damage. However, Takamoto will definitely notice Lara, and you'll have to dodge behind the statue when he fires a blast at her. When this happens, stay fairly close to the edge of the platform and keep the statue directly between Lara and Takamoto; otherwise the edges of the blast will hit her. When he finishes attacking, cautiously move out and target him again.
After he's taken some damage, Takamoto will run along the ledge to a new position. At this point, you may want to try switching to manual aim mode and then tossing a grenade behind the statue where he's hiding. If you take careful aim and hold the grenade button for several seconds before releasing, you can bounce a grenade off the wall so it lands behind him. He makes no effort to dodge, and it does a ton of damage to him. If he's still alive, try another grenade or, if you're out of them, run to the next statue—on the opposite side of the walkway from him—and quickly take cover. Repeat the steps outlined above and before too long you'll kill him.
These screenshots show the hide-and-shoot technique in action. Notice the appearance of the targeting reticule when you're able to hit the enemy.
ANOTHER ALTERNATE STRATEGY: After climbing up to the elevated walkway, hide behind one of the statues. If that statue is not the one farthest from Takamoto along the circular walkway, run to the farthest statue and get behind it. Draw pistols (or rifle) and run sideways toward the next statue, shooting at Takamoto as you go. Stay behind the statue until he's done firing an energy blast and then run back to the previous statue, again shooting at Takamoto as you run. Shooting while running to the next statue and back should use up about one clip of ammo. Wait behind the statue for Lara to reload and then repeat the process. If Takamoto moves, run to the statue opposite where he ends up and start the process again. Repeat this until he is dead. He will continue to fire energy blasts at Lara as she runs, but as long as you keep moving, they shouldn't hit her. This method is nearly as safe as the one above and it's a lot faster. (Thanks to Anton B. for this tip. His video of the technique can be found here.)
YET ANOTHER ALTERNATE STRATEGY: As soon as the cut scene ends, run and hide behind the closest statue (still on the lower level). Move close to the wall, preferably with Lara's back touching it. The camera is a bit hard to control in this position, but it prevents Lara from being hit by gun turret fire. Once you're in position, you can switch targeting to Advanced Toggle or Advanced Hold if you like. (See the Controls page for details.) Use the rifle first, since it's best at long range. With weapon drawn, move sideways out from behind the statue. When the targeting reticule changes from white to red, that means you have a lock; start firing. When Takamoto powers up to fire an energy blast, quickly duck behind the statue to avoid being hit. Then step out again and start shooting. If he moves to another statue, move along the wall so Lara is behind the opposite statue and repeat the procedure.
When you run out of rifle ammo and switch to pistols, continue using the same strategy. The reticule will not turn red at this distance, but as long as it is gray (not white), some of your shots will connect. Using this technique, Lara should lose little or no health. (Sorry, but I don't have screenshots for this technique, since most of the time the camera will be between Lara's head and the wall, so a clear view is nearly impossible.)
(Special thanks to Niyaz for his valuable suggestions. The strategy where you shoot from the lower level is his nearly verbatim. I modified his technique somewhat for the upper-level version, with a few additional tips from Louise.)
Destroying Takamoto triggers another cut scene ("Recovery and Exit"). As Lara takes the sword fragment, Nishimura arrives by helicopter to help her escape. Once Lara's in the air, Zip contacts her over the headset to say that Rutland's gone to Ghana.
NOTE: If you're playing the PC version of the game and want to skip the fight with Takamoto, you're welcome to download a savegame file from the checkpoint at the start of the next level. Instructions for downloading and installing Legend saves are here.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 5/21/06 - Cosmetic changes and typo corrections only. 5/22/06 - Time Trial info added.
6/12/06 - Added links to savegames and instructions, plus various notes and additions inspired by readers' questions and suggestions.
7/1/06 - Added additional strategy to Takamoto battle, thanks to Mike R.
10/16/06 - Added controls for interactive cut scene, bug warning for second interactive sequence, and link to new time trials page, plus a few minor corrections and clarifications.
11/17/06 - Added missing checkpoints 8 and 18. Thanks to Turza for pointing these out.
12/19/06 - Added GameCube controls for the interactive cut scene, thanks to Treeble.
1/25/07 - Attempted to further clarify the section on pulling down the big display screen.
3/31/07 - Added alternate strategies for the fight at Nishimura's party and battling Takamoto, thanks to Melanie B. and Anton B., respectively.
6/27/07 - Fixed a minor left/right mix-up in Takamoto's offices.
Thanks to Drew, Evelyn, Lara Man and Treeble for help with the console controls, and to Stephanie, Niyaz, Mike R., Ken N., Louise A., Turza and Rachel for help with this level.
*NOTE ON REWARDS: Finding rewards (formerly known as "secrets") unlocks various extras in the game. For a complete list of these bonuses and how to get them, see the Legends Rewards page.
**TIME TRIAL: After completing any level, you can replay it in Time Trial mode to unlock cheat codes. (See the Legend Rewards and Time Trial Tips pages.)
WAS THIS WALKTHROUGH HELPFUL? If not, I apologize and invite you to contact me with any questions. If you need help right away, I suggest that you try some of the Resources for Fast Game Help on my page http://tombraiders.net/stella/resources.html. If the site was useful, please consider supporting it financially or in other ways. For details, visit http://tombraiders.net/stella/support/support.html. I also welcome any and all suggestions to improve things. Thank you!
Copyright © 2006-2008 - Stellalune (email ). All rights reserved. Feel free to copy or print this walkthrough for personal use. By all means, share it with friends, but please include this credit line so people can send me their corrections, comments and suggestions. This walkthrough may not be reproduced in any other manner without the author's written permission. If you'd like to offer this on your own web site, please read and follow the instructions here.
Stella's Tomb Raider Site: http://tombraiders.net.