The Samurai and the Kappa is a Z-machine work of interactive fiction written with Inform 6 and is © 2024 by Garry Francis. It was an entry in Parsercomp 2024, placement to be determined.
In this Eastern game, you play as a wandering samurai looking for honorable work. After a night in a hatagoya, you learn that a kappa stole a child from the nearby village. Rescue the child and defeat the kappa.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the work.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of a work of interactive fiction. Please make an honest effort to play the work before reading this walkthrough.
Lobby
You're a samurai seeking work where your sword skills are valued. You stop at an inn for the evening.
> tutorial off.
> x me. i.
> x waraji. x pouch. open it. x coin.
> x kamishimo. x kataginu. x kimono. x hakama.
> x katana. x tachi.
> remove sandals. drop them.
> n.
Hatagoya
> x pit. x kettle. x innkeeper. x apron. x maid.
> talk to man. (He's Nakaari.)
> ask him about tea.
> ask him about inn. ask him about bath.
> ask him about maid. ask him about work.
> talk to maid. (Mokuko opens the door.)
> e.
North Hall
> ask maid about inn. ask her about town.
> ask her about post-town. ask her about herself.
> ask her about age. ask her about innkeeper.
> n.
Bath House
Don't expect Mokuko to leave just because you need to be naked for your bath. She's there to help you.
> x tub.
> remove pouch. remove outfit. drop all. x bum.
> enter tub. leave tub. (Mokuko leaves to get your meal.)
> take all. wear outfit. wear pouch.
> s. s. e.
Guest Room
Mokuko waits to see if you'll need anything with your meal, but don't expect her to fetch any tea or soy sauce for you; the game isn't that detailed.
> x soup. x vegetables. x rice. x sake. x chopsticks.
> eat soup. eat vegetables. eat rice. drink sake.
Sorry, but you can no longer avoid asking the maid about the extra service.
> ask her about service. (You thank her, but decline. She leaves.)
> x futon. sleep.
It's now the morning of the next day.
> w. n. w.
Hatagoya
> talk to Nakaari.
> take coin. give coin to him.
He now tells you that a kappa stole a child from the village, and that a peasant is waiting outside to ask for your help.
> ask him about kappa. ask him about village.
> ask him about shrine. ask him about priest.
> ask him about elder. ask him about peasant.
> s.
Lobby
> take sandals. wear them.
> w.
Dirt Road (three locations)
A young man asks for your help in recovering the stolen child and killing the kappa.
> x man. ask him about kappa.
> ask him about child. ask him about mother.
> ask him about shrine. ask him about priest.
> ask him about elder. ask him about village.
> ask him about himself.
> s. s. w.
Junction of Paths
The man leaves you, telling you to take the first path north while going west from here.
> w. n.
Southern End of Village
> x huts. x large hut. e.
Elder's Hut
> x man. greet him.
Yukimoto, the elder, suggests talking to the villagers and asking them about their crops, drinks, and huts. Er, why? Because there's a logic puzzle to solve, and that's how you get all the clues.
> ask him about village. ask him about himself.
> ask him about kappa. (Lure it by exposing your backside.)
> ask him about child. ask him about mother.
> ask him about priest. ask him about ritual.
How to summon a Shinto priest:
> w. n. n. n.
Field (Hidemochi's field)
> x man. greet him. (He's Hidemochi and grumpy.)
> ask him about crops. ask him about bamboo.
> ask him about drink. ask him about hut.
Bah. Let's talk to someone else.
> s. e. e.
Field (Sumini's field)
> x plants. x woman. greet her. (She's Sumini.)
> ask her about huts. (Nagatane lives in centre hut.)
> ask her about crops. (Yoshimoro doesn't grow satsumaimo.)
> ask her about drink. (Younger woman drinks matcha.)
> ask her about kappa. ask her about herself.
> w. s.
Field (Nagatane's field)
> x soil. x man. greet him. (He's Nagatane.)
> ask him about huts. (Younger woman not at north hut.)
> ask him about crops. (Daikon farmer at west hut.)
> ask him about drink. (Sumini doesn't drink mugicha or sake.)
> n. w. s. s. w. n.
Field (Yoshimoro's field)
> x fruit. x man. greet him. (He's Yoshimoro.)
> ask him about huts. (Older woman lives in east hut.)
> ask him about crops. (Hidemochi grows takenoko.)
> ask him about drink. (Nagatane doesn't drink sake.)
> w.
Field (Yono's field)
> x root. x woman. greet her. (She's Yono; her daughter was taken.)
> ask her about kappa. ask her about daughter. (age 2)
> ask her about huts. (Nasu farmer doesn't live in north hut.)
> ask her about crops. (Edamame farmer drinks tonyu.)
> ask her about drink. (South-hut farmer drinks amazake.)
You now have all the clues to solve the logic puzzle, as long as you also understand that Yono is the younger woman and Sumini is the older one. Print off a copy of the blank-logic-puzzle.jpg feelie included with the game to aid you in solving the puzzle. Or just look at map 5 which summarizes the solution.
> s. w.
East River Bank
> x river. x pool. x dam.
> x sign. read sign. ("DANGER: BEWARE OF KAPPA - NO SWIMMING")
> e. s. e. e. e. s.
Torii
> x gate. x kasagi. x nuki.
> s.
North Sando
> x flagstones. x toro. x temizuya.
> wash me. (You can continue south now.)
> s.
South Sando
> x pavilion. x noticeboard.
> x ema. read ema.
> s.
Haiden
> x shimenawa. x rafters. x bell. x box.
> take coin. put coin in box. ring bell.
> s.
North of Honden
> x dogs. x shishi. x komainu.
> bow. bow. clap. clap. bow. (The priest arrives.)
> x priest. x shozoku. x onusa.
> greet priest. ask priest about kappa.
The kappa will try to remove your shirikodama, which is fatal. You must take a test; ask about it south of the honden.
> ask priest about kami.
> ask priest about shirikodama. (oh my)
> ask priest about onusa.
> e.
South of Honden
> x pillar. x carving. (It's a map of the courtyard to the south: a five-by-five grid with four numbers in it.)
> ask priest about test.
You must separate the four kami in the courtyard by building "walls" on the flagstones with the tiles that the priest gives you. See the bottom end of map 3 to see where to drop the tiles.
> x tiles. (You have 11 of them.)
> s.
Courtyard (1,3)
Note that you cannot use the phrasing "put tile on flagstone". Instead, just "drop tile" to place one.
> drop tile. e.
Courtyard (1,4)
> drop tile. s.
Courtyard (2,4)
> drop tile. s.
Courtyard (3,4)
> drop tile. s.
Courtyard (4,4)
> drop tile. e.
Courtyard (4,5)
> drop tile. w. w.
Courtyard (4,3)
> drop tile. w.
Courtyard (4,2)
> drop tile. w.
Courtyard (4,1)
> drop tile. e. n.
Courtyard (3,2)
> drop tile. n.
Courtyard (2,2)
> drop tile. e. n. n.
South of Honden
The priest checks your work, collects all the tiles, and proclaims you worthy. Ask about the kappa again.
> ask priest about kappa.
Remember this wisdom:
> ask priest about cucumber. (Ask the villagers.)
> pray.
> w. n. n. n. n. n. w. n. e.
Elder's Hut
> ask elder about cucumber. (Ask Hidemochi.)
> w. n. n. n.
Field (Hidemochi's field)
> ask man about cucumber. (He wants his favourite drink first.)
If you solved the logic puzzle, you know he likes sake. Get sake from the inn.
> s. s. s. s.
> e. e. n. n. e.
Lobby
> remove sandals. drop sandals.
> n.
Hatagoya
> ask man about sake.
> take coin. buy sake. x sake.
> s.
Lobby
> take sandals. wear them.
> w. s. s. w. w.
> n. n. n. n.
Field (Hidemochi)
> give sake to man.
> ask man about cucumber. (The woman who grows them lives on the far side of the swamp.)
> s. s. s. s. w. w. n. w.
East River Bank
Uninuitively, even though you don't have the cucumber yet, you must now summon the kappa and negotiate with it. Do you remember what the elder and priest told you?
> show backside. (or bum, ass, arse)
The kappa is here!
> bow to kappa. (It's now helpless.)
> kill kappa. (It begs for his life.)
> ask kappa about child. (It wants a cucumber.)
> w.
West River Bank
> w.
Swamp (air is fresher to east)
You can't map this swamp by dropping things. Instead, listen and smell to tell the locations apart.
> listen. (running water to east)
> smell. (air is fresher to east)
> n.
Swamp (mud really stinks)
> listen. (mud squelching)
> smell. (mud really stinks)
> w.
Swamp (cooking to west)
> listen. (singing to west)
> smell. (cooking to west)
> w.
Clearing Outside Hut
> x hut. n.
Hut
> x kettle. x broth. x fireplace.
> x woman. greet her. (Her name is Fumeshi.)
> ask her about cucumber.
> ask her about kappa.
> ask her about swamp. (Shortest way back from outside the hut is east, south, south, east.)
> ask her about herself.
> ask her about village.
> take coin. buy cucumber. x cucumber.
> thank woman.
> s. e. s. s. e. e.
East River Bank
> give cucumber to kappa.
The kappa tells you the child is in the south end of the swamp. Then it eats the cucumber and swims away.
> w. w. s.
Swamp (rotting wood)
In case you were wondering, no, you couldn't have found the girl or this part of the swamp earlier.
> listen. (running water to east)
> smell. (rotting wood)
> x girl. take girl.
> n. e. e. e. n.
Field (Yono's field)
> give girl to Yono.
The villagers reward you with a banquet and rice.
*** You have won ***
So, um, villagers, if the kappa returns, maybe just let the kappa have some cucumbers every now and then, eh?
Also, I wonder if you can sell that huge bag of rice at the inn for some coins? Otherwise, have fun carrying it to the next village. Money was invented for a reason, y'know.
Mentioned:
This is the response to CREDITS:
Concept, game design and coding by Garry Francis.
Play testing by Ben Ryan, Charles Moore Jr, Gianluca Girelli, Jade J Aincioa and John H Doolittle.
Honorable mention:
This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with
Ko-Fi is a way to send me small one-time donations. Every little bit helps, and thank you!