When it comes to beat em ups, there are two categories the trophies fall under. One is the god awfully hard like Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and the others are really ****ing long. Saint Seiya Sanctuary Battle is short, but it feels like it’s really long. However with this guide you can cut the time down to something more reasonable.
Roadmap
Saint Seiya Sanctuary Battle is an extremely cookie cutter game and because of that it feels much longer. It would be wise to start the game on mission mode as the main five saints (Seiya, Shun, Hyoga, Ikki, Shiryu). This will ideally give you an idea of how to play and a nice boost in stats to begin. CP is shared so make sure to use it up for each character. The ONLY statistic that matters is attack. This is due to the awesome parry system.
After you get some powered up saints, start up the story mode on normal. This will teach you how to play and force you to use skill against bosses. If you’re having problems check out that saints trophy. Each trophy lists the best method I found to fight them. This should be fairly difficult, but give you a better understanding of the system.
After you beat story just go down the alternate story paths. This will unlock the remaining characters starting with my main Aiolos. Each of these stories should be played on easy in hopes of getting A rank on them all. DO NOT play very easy as the requirements are a lot harder to achieve.
Start up the earlier missions and find a saint you enjoy playing as. I found that to be Aiolos, but the Japanese have had a lot of luck with Ikki. It really doesn’t matter who you pick as long as they can clear enemies fast. Once this is decided go through the missions as this one saint. Pump every stat you have into attack till it caps (1,000). This will allow you to finish missions faster, while at the same time giving you a boost in points earned. Be warned that missions are not ranked in terms of difficulty, though you can find my believed order under the mission trophy.
After you finish all the single player missions, proceed to do the online missions. These are very basic and won’t cause you a problem. Next you should do the tag missions under setting C. This will allow you the best chance of winning. These should be done with your main, plus the main saints to level them up. After finishing all of the tag missions continue through the online ones too.
Finally start up the story on hard. You should have far more powerful saints so this won’t be an issue. Ideally you will finish every mission with A rank and get that trophy. Finishing the game will unlock the saint difficulties (Bronze, Silver and Gold). Select bronze and plow through it. Come the end of this run you should have your platinum.
Note
All terms are meant to make it easier on the reader. For instance cloth will be referred to as armor and true 7 sense mode will simply be parry. Please keep this in mind if you’re having issues following the guide. Also remember that this guide is based off the Japanese version of the game, but should work exactly the same for European gamers.
Bronze
Battle of the 12 Gold Palaces
Complete “Palace of Aries” in the story mode.
This is the first stage in story and serves as nothing more than a training mission. Simply complete every action to finish this stage. Keep in mind that some actions take a few whacks to complete.
Aldebaran, the Golden Bull
Complete “Palace of Taurus” in the story mode.
This if your first boss encounter and be warned that most of the bosses have several phases. Just remember that most bosses at their 50% life point, will transport you to a new fighting area. It will look really trippy and weird. This will signify that this is their last health segment.
Fighting Aldebaran is somewhat tricky, but very doable. He is an extremely predictable one tricky pony and this is what you need to exploit. When you fight him from mid range, he tends to call out a move called “Red Hole”. This will cause a circular object to fly act you with a later explosion.
If you parry (L1 + direction) this move, you will activate a “true” 7th sense mode. This will cause time to slow down similar to simply pushing L2. This is preferred to simply pushing L2 as you gain back Cosmo (hence for known as MP). This will also tend to give you an opening to hit him.
Keep up this method till he’s down. There shouldn’t be any more tricks, but if he pounds the ground, make sure to activate 7th sense mode. This is an extremely easy opening that you don’t want to miss.
Gemini’s Maze of Illusions
Complete “Palace of Gemini” in the story mode.
The best method to winning this fight goes against common sense and because of that you might want to read up. The person you fight for this trophy is actually just simply a puppet. Because of this he has extremely limited attacks. Due to this you want to always be on top of him. Constantly attack him 2 – 3 times, then parry around him. At some point he should CONSTANTLY try to grab or blast you. Either or should result in a miss/parry. During these attacks he’s wide open making him an easy target.
At some point he should start sparking (lightning bolts coming off him). When you see this he’s doing an unblockable attack. This will take you to another place where he will fire red orbs at you, followed by a purple sphere. There are only two ways of dealing with this attack.
- After the sphere is thrown; rush him and strike one time.
- Push R1 the second you’re sure the sphere will miss you.
Keep in mind that he won’t take damage prior to the first purple sphere. Also remember that failing this part will result in an instant loss. You will still have continues to keep the fight going, though it will be that much harder to win.
Between Life and Death
Complete “Palace of Cancer” in the story mode.
This is one of the most annoying fights and is almost completely due to length. First off Cancer is a bitch to hit so you need to constantly rush him. Secondly the fight has several phases which tire the senses.
After this first phase you will fight tons of zombie like enemies. This part requires you to kill them all off and proceed to the goal.
Outside of simply playing smart and spamming L2… you’re going to need some luck to beat this with low stats.
Awaken, Aiolia
Complete “Palace of Leo” in the story mode.
This is another extremely tricky fight, but if you keep long range you’re fine. He will generally only do his cheap special if you’re within range, but if you’re out of it he will spam ranged attacks. Generally take any chance he gives you to parry and then launch your attack. This will take some getting used to, but you don’t want him to spam the beam attack or you will most likely lose.
The Phoenix Rises Again
Complete “Palace of Virgo” in the story mode.
This fight is among the most annoying, but extremely doable if you get the timing right. He will constantly spam a move where he sits and fire spins around him. During this instance you MUST parry one of the orbs that come at you, followed by pushing circle. This SHOULD hit him 100% of the time doing critical damage. He will teleport to you if you mess up, though dodging generally opens him up for an attack too.
During his second phase it becomes a lot trickier, but you should look into your big bang attack (R2 + R1 or Circle or R1 + Circle). These can be performed when there’s an orb glowing to the top left. Making a clean hit will activate the move doing insane amounts of damage.
The Sword of Libra
Complete “Palace of Libra” in the story mode.
Libra isn’t here to fight you so… YOU WIN! Well not exactly. You will find Hyoga here from his fight with Camus. There will be some dialog ending with you freeing him. Nothing is required from you and will result in an automatic A ranking.
The Last Scarlet Needle
Complete “Palace of Scorpio” in the story mode.
This is by a wide margin the easiest boss to beat. Half of the time he is open for attacks and the other half he’s too slow to actually hit you. The only thing to look out for is the scarlet needle. Avoiding all of them will give you a trophy, but more on that later.
To beat Scorpio you must stay at mid range. He will usually use a slow stun move that is easily avoided. During this time you should attack him, while trying to keep him airborne. If you can achieve this he will most likely never even hit you.
To have the best chance at avoiding his scarlet needles, use the 7th sense mode (L2). This will allow you to parry it most times and rush him with minimal problems.
Athena is Yours
Complete “Palace of Sagittarius” in the story mode.
Similar to Libra, Aiolos is already dead (Not like Hokuto no Ken). He was killed 13 years prior and is an automatic win after some dialog.
The Forbidden Strike
Complete “Palace of Capricorn” in the story mode.
Capricorn is the most simplistic boss and is almost laughably simple. Generally all he will do is slash the area around you. This is not only extremely easy to parry, but simply rushing him during the attack works 99% of the time.
The only thing you need to worry about is missing a parry or walking into the after math of an attack. Outside of this you shouldn’t have a problem.
Quest for Absolute Zero
Complete “Palace of Aquarius” in the story mode.
You shouldn’t need assistance, but this is all about playing smart. Aquarius tends to leave himself way too many openings if you can parry him. Infact a skilled gamer could quite possibly perfect him on your first attempt.
If you’re here wondering about your first encounter with him, then don’t. You will be able to fight him after some dialog and you’re not required to win the fight. Even if you do win, it will not change the story in any way.
Nebula Stream Explodes!
Complete “Palace of Pisces” in the story mode.
Welcome to the most annoying boss. This is due to how easy it is to die without even noticing it. Thankfully there is one moderately successful tactic to win. Whenever you see Pisces using the RED rose attack, push R1. This should result in a hit 90% of the time. If you do it too soon, then you’re going to get hit.
During the second phase a new skill “Guardian Rose” comes into play. This involves black roses and is just brutal. You see this protect and lock onto you. Usually keeping close range will detour extended use. Also keep in mind that Shun is a unique saint. He is the only one that uses alternate specials for armor and armorless. It will still hit the say way, but it acts slightly differently. Something to keep in mind at the very least.
Saga’s Divine Madness
Complete “Chamber of the Grand Pope” in the story mode.
If you’re looking for help with the start of this stage, see “The Legend Reborn”.
Saga is simply Gemini with a few more attacks. You will fight him several times in a row, but don’t worry he’s easy. Outside of keeping the same tactic’s as before, watch out for his alternate world skill. Unlike ??? (Genimi), he might have it rain attacks. I could not find a way to break this mode, so if you’re trying to A rank it… dying might be the best answer.
Saori Rescued
Save Athena in the story mode (any difficulty).
Beat the game.
Thirteen Years Ago…
Finish the Aiolos chapter in story mode (any difficulty).
When you finish the game, a new story will unlock. This will allow you to play as Aiolos for a few chapters. This is found by selecting story > new story > option two.
End of a Legend
Finish all stories and stages in story mode (any difficulty).
This may confuse you, but there are six stories in story mode. Each story unlocks the next one till you have them all. Most of them are only a stage or two, though they also unlock characters.
- Sanctuary Arc.
- Aiolos Chapter. – Also unlocks him.
- Aiolia Chapter.
- Shaina Chapter. – Also unlocks her.
- Marin Chapter. – Also unlocks her.
- Ikki Chapter.
This will unlock when you finish Ikki’s chapter.
Saint of Hope
Finish the Sanctuary arc of story mode on Normal mode (do not start from the Stage Select).
Basically every tactic under each boss is how I beat them on normal. I was under powered and these methods helped a lot. Besides that just remember that missions yield a lot of CP to level up characters.
The Legend Reborn
Play the Sanctuary arc of story mode from start to finish without using a continue (any difficulty).
I did this on hard and it really isn’t so bad. There are only a few rough patchs you need to prepare for. These are the following.
- Cancer Boss Fight.
- Pisces Boss Fight.
- Walkway to the Pope.
These are best resolved by pumping up those characters stats. I found 400 attack/defense was more than enough to do hard, but MAKE SURE you level Marin too. She appears for a short instance on the walkway part. This can easily ruin your run. However keep in mind that leaving DOES NOT save the game. This means that you’re allowed to freely retry till you can successfully pull it off.
Thoughts for Shina
Defeat Cassios.
This is the big guy on the first stage. (not training) He is rather basic doing more than grabs. Simply spam 7th sense till he goes down.
Praise My Beauty…
Defeat Misty.
Misty appears on an earlier walkway stage. This is an unavoidable boss and fairly simple to defeat. Just parry till they’re defeated.
Black Saint Extermination
Defeat all Black Saints.
After you beat the two normal sub bosses, you’re forced to fight black saints. They’re rather basic enemies that are more annoying than hard. The final two are found on Sagittarius’s stage.
All I can Rely On… Is My Power
Win a battle without using a continue (any opponent).
I did this against Scorpio (story) on my first try. This will come at some point during the missions as those battles are a joke.
The True Victor
Win a boss battle without taking damage (any opponent).
This sounds harder than it is. Every boss only has one bar of health in mission mode. This means they’re several times easier. Also similar to the no continue trophy; you’re open to leaving then rejoining the fight. This is how I got mine the first time. I strongly suggest you do this versus Scorpio as you can get another trophy, but it really doesn’t matter. Just remember you can constantly raise your power/lower the difficulty till it unlocks.
Senseless Mastery
Win a boss battle without using any 7-sense (any opponent).
Method 1:
This can be fairly difficult as you can’t really block either. However you can trick the game into making it a joke. Select tag battle mission 2 and select Aiolos/Shun. When you get to Virgo you can mindlessly spam R1. What happens is quite interesting.
One of your attacks will connect just about every time. Virgo will generally teleport to one of you and the other will hit him. Simply repeat till you win.
Method 2:
I strongly suggest you fight Shura (Capricorn) for this trophy.
- Fight him on a low difficulty and have a lot of power.
- Fight him while having “諦めない心“equipped.
- Fight him constantly use ranged attacks.
To actually get to him remember to hold down R2 and rush him.
Start of the Battle
Finish 1 Single Challenge course in mission mode.
See “Beyond the Fight”.
End of the Struggle
Finish 10 Single Challenge course in mission mode.
See “Beyond the Fight”.
We Will Die Together, My Brother
Finish 1 Tag Challenge in mission mode.
Use your main or a really powerful character and set it to play style C. These are fairly easy fights that usually boil down to one person doing all the work. For anyone wondering they also work by yourself.
I don’t need my Cloth!
Finish a course in mission mode with a character who’s taken off his Cloth.
Remember that cloth means armor. Anyways the wording is a bit confusing. The task is not finishing a mission by taking off your armor, but using a saint that was never wearing armor. This is achievable by some saints that have armorless costumes. One of the few happens to be Aiolos who I strongly suggest playing as.
We’re All In This Together
Unlock all characters in the mission mode character select screen.
This is an extremely easy trophy and you can find all of the conditions listed below.
- Five Main Saints – Default
- All Living Gold Saints – Finish Sanctuary Arc Story Mode
- Aries Mu – Defeat Him in Challenge Mission #1
- Sagittarius Aiolos – Finish his Chapter in Story Mode
- Shaina – Finish her Chapter in Story Mode
- Marin – Finish her Chapter in Story Mode
These are all of the characters required for the trophy. You can also obtain Sagittarius Seiya and Libra via DLC online.
The Unwavering Warrior
Earn A rankings in 10 stages or courses.
This is extremely easy and should come naturally.
Cosmo Skills Unleashed
Use all Burst actions while in Cosmo Burst mode.
Cosmo Burst mode is holding down R2 and this trophy should come naturally while playing.
Big Bang Unleashed
Use a Big Bang Attack for the first time.
See “The Same Attack Never Works Twice”.
Awakening
Pull off a Real 7-Sense move 7 times.
This just means to parry 7 times successfully. To parry, hold down L1 and a direction while the enemy is attacking. Bosses are easier to dodge than normal enemies.
I’ll Remove It Now!
Remove your Cloth as Shiryu.
Push select as Shiryu.
I Knew You’d Come For Me!
Have Ikki appear continuing as Shun.
When you lose random characters will appear. Sometimes as Shun you will see his brother Ikki. This should happen naturally, but if not… well die more.
I personally got it during the Gemini fight.
A True Phoenix
Remove your Cloth as Ikki.
I got this putting my cloth back on, but in any case you need to push select to remove/put on your cloth.
A 1,000-Day War
Use a Gold Saint to defeat another Gold Saint.
This will happen in either Aiolos story or in a mission in mission mode. They’re far more powerful than normal saints, so you can usually just ignore tactics during as a gold saint.
Pulverizing to Atoms
Destroy 100 breakable objects.
Sometimes you will see pillars you can break. Most times this will happen by accident, but just keep playing till the trophy dings. I got this before I finished story mode.
Rend the Skies, Destroy the Earth
Use Cosmo Points to raise your abilities.
Select an ability then raise it after a mission or in the player profile area.
To the Galaxies
Upload mission mode data the online ranking.
There are two types of missions. Tag and Single, but they also have two options. The second one will unload your data online. Simply beat one for this trophy.
Blood-Stopping Master
Use Shinoten to save friends 10 times in Tag Challenge courses.
When someone loses all their life in Tag Challenge mode, they drop dead. However if you run up to them and push R2, some of your life is transferred over. Repeat this till the trophy pops. If you’re having problems set it to type A.
Silver
Saint of Speed
Finish the Sanctuary arc of story mode on Hard mode (do not start from the Stage Select).
Hard isn’t too bad next to normal. Almost everything is exactly the same but you should be able to overpower the saints. I got an A on every stage by giving all my saint’s 400 attack and defense.
Worthy of the Pope
Win 100 battles against Gold Saints.
This should come by the time you finish every story and mission. Please note that this doesn’t count additional story runs.
The True Victor
Win a boss battle without taking damage (any opponent).
This sounds harder than it is. Every boss only has one bar of health in mission mode. This means they’re several times easier. Also similar to the no continue trophy; you’re open to leaving then rejoining the fight. This is how I got mine the first time. I strongly suggest you do this versus Scorpio as you can get another trophy, but it really doesn’t matter. Just remember you can constantly raise your power/lower the difficulty till it unlocks.
Beyond the Fight
Finish all Single Challenge course in mission mode.
Missions are exactly the same as story, but bosses are easier and things take place in a different order. Every mission is a bit different as some require skills, whereas others do not. I strongly suggest picking one fighter you like to just do them all. I picked Aiolos making sure to cap his attack quickly. The faster you hit 1,000, the higher you will score too.
Theres not much to mission mode, but god difficulty is rather brutal. For those I strongly suggest buying “諦めない心“ (pictured below) or the 28,000 skill.
This skill allows you to freely die and come back. Not only does this remove any risk of failure, but it also allows you to spam Big Bangs and obtain stat boosts. Obviously some other missions are fairly challenging, though you can find my difficulty listing of them below.
- Challenge 23
- Challenge 20
- Challenge 21
- Challenge 24
- Challenge 26
- Challenge 22
The remaining challenges are fairly easy and normal tactics work. For the above many of the same tactics work too, but either a cheap element comes into play or it is extremely easy to fail.
The Same Attack Never Works Twice
Use all Big Bang Attacks from all characters.
Big Bangs can only be done versus a boss and are performed by having a light in your cosmos (see picture below). Once you complete this, you need to enter certain inputs that must hit directly.
The main inputs are listed below, but some are special. The special ones are mentioned next to their respective character.
- One Big Bang = R2 + Circle
- Two Big Bangs = R2 + Circle, R2 + R1
- Three Big Bangs = R2 + Circle, R2 + R1 and R2 + R1 + Circle
Alternatively you can also check the picture below. I strongly suggest using controller set two, because it simply add’s more quick inputs. If you can’t read Japanese, then the Dpad inputs are for big bangs.
Some characters do not follow this list, but you can find a note for those characters. The breakdown for each character is listed below.
Four Big Bangs:
- Shun – He uses the “Two Big Bang” approach twice. However unlike other saints he has a special set for his armored and armorless statuses.
Three Big Bangs:
- Seiya
- Seiya (Sagittarius) – Not required for the trophy, but will appear if you have the DLC.
- Shiryu – His R1 + Circle requires 2 bars of MP.
- Hyoga
- Aphrodite (Pisces)
- Camus (Aquarius)
- Shaka (Virgo)
- Mu (Aries)
Two Big Bangs:
- Shura (Capricorn)
- Aiolia (Leo)
- Milo (Scorpio)
- Aiolos (Sagittarius)
- Saga (Gemini) – Unlike most saints he has no R1 + R2 special. This means that his two specials are R2 + Circle and R1 + Cricle.
- Aldebaran (taurus)
- Marin
- Ikki
One Big Bang:
- Deathmask (Cancer) – Confirmed, R2 and Circle.
- ???? (Gemini) – Only 1 attack that is the same as Saga. Can be performed by doing R2 and R1 or Circle.
- Shaina
The best way to do this trophy is but the “諦めない心“ skill and constantly boot up Mission Seven. This starts you with fighting Aries Mu and is easy to win. Allow yourself to die till you see Athena or the Pope. These two characters during death will give you the light. Some characters have a unique character that gives you one. Once you have the light make sure the attack connects, then repeat till you perform another skill.
Please note that you MUST win the fight for the cut scene to save. This is required for Axis Complete, but if you just want this trophy you can quit once they connect.
Dodge the Needles
Defeat Scorpio Milo without getting hit by Scarlet Needle.
Most likely this will happen by accident, but it’s also easy to do. Generally pick any saint with a lot of power and fight Scorpio in mission mode. Stay in 7th sense mode while trying to keep him in the air. Continue this for part two. If done correctly he won’t even attack you.
Gold
Saint of the Goddess
Finish the Sanctuary arc of story mode on Bronze mode (do not start from the Stage Select).
This is a difficult mode even with good stats. However you can equip “諦めない心“ skill and constantly fail till you win. You should have bought this skill for some missions, so this is another perk to having it.
String of Miracles
Earn A rankings in all stages and courses.
To achieve an A, it seems the only thing that matters is time. If you’re having problems remember to just simply raise your stats. Most of them are fairly useless, but they break down as follows.
- HP
- MP
- Attack
- Defense
- Cosmos (MP regeneration rate)
If you’re having problems try equipping the “諦めない心“ skill. This allows you to exploit the game by uses nearly unlimited big bangs or stat boosts. With this method I was able to finish the god missions in well under half the minimal A time.
If you’re in need of CP keep in mind that 18, 19, 25, online 2, online 3 pay the most too. This can help you pay away all your difficulties.
If you’re having problems figuring out what’s missing verify you have the following.
- Sanctuary Arc
- Aiolos Chapter
- Leo Chapter
- Shaina Chapter
- Marin Chapter
- Ikki Chapter
- Single Challenges
- Single Online Challenges
- Tag Challenges
- Tag Online Challenges
All of these together form a total of 85 stages to achieve A rank.
Axia Complete
Complete your gallery collection.
You will collect around 85% of this by finishing missions and the rest are for performing big bangs.
Platinum
Eternal Legend
Collect all trophies
Simply collect every trophy.