SUPER FANTASY ZONE - THE ABRIDGED GUIDE Written by Ant Cooke, 2009 You'll find the full version of this guide at http://gaminghell.co.uk, this is the brief version. All business. BASICS Super Fantasy Zone is a pretty cool Mega Drive game that no-one ever played because it wasn't released in America. Or something like that. There's more on the main site, this text file is just about beating this thing. Here's your controls. A- Use Special Weapon (If you have one) B- Fire bullets/Main weapon C- Use Bombs/Secondary weapons. With the Single/Twin Bombs, tapping forward before using a bomb changes its speed, distance and trajectory. This is an important skill, so learn it, Skippy. The game's basically like your ordinary shoot-em-up, but you're free to move around wherever you like- you can scroll the screen left and right at your leisure. There's a radar at the bottom of the screen which tells you where the Enemy Generators are; big, bad enemies that spew out other, smaller bad guys for you to kill. Destroy these guys by pummelling them with your weapons (you can see their health in the little spot they've got somewhere on them- it changes from dark blue to red) and when they're all dead, you fight the boss. Enemies also drop coins. Grab 'em to add some money to your Gold stash, and spend money at the Shop Balloon that appears at the start of every stage- you can buy all sorts of cool stuff to give yourself a better chance of survival in this harsh world... So, yeah, that's the basic flow of the game. - - - - - - PARTS GUIDE At the Parts Shop, you'll buy extra equipment for Opa-Opa so he doesn't get killed. Here's a rough guide for on what to buy and what not to buy. SPEED UPGRADES Big Wings Initial Cost - $200 No Price Increase Faster than the Small Wings, the Big Wings are cheap, cheerful, and probably good enough to get you through the whole game. You can grab most of the coins after killing a boss with them, but not all. Jet Engine Initial Cost - $5000 No Price Increase Faster than the Big Wings, the Jet Engine is perfect for scooping up coins after killing a boss, but might be a touch fast for some. Practise with it first to see if it's for you. Turbo Engine Initial Cost - $20000 No Price Increase Faster than the Jet Engine, the Turbo Engine is on the wrong side of 'fast' and makes doing anything with a hint of precision very difficult. Stick with the Big Wings/Jet Engine and save your money. Rocket Engine Initial Cost - $100000 No Price Increase The fastest speed upgrade in the game, the Rocket Engine is a stupid, stupid waste of money, and makes Opa-Opa nearly uncontrollable. If you buy it, you are clinically insane. - - - WEAPON UPGRADES Wide Beam Initial Cost - $1000 Increases by $800 each purchase Fires a crescent-shaped bullet that's taller than Opa-Opa, but doesn't pass through anything. Useful for stages that get crowded, but only if you've got a fast trigger finger. Laser Beam Initial Cost - $4000 Increases by $2000 each purchase Fires a thin beam that tears Enemy Generators into tiny little pieces in seconds. However, you don't get good screen coverage with it, which means it's useless on stages with many little enemies. Cheap, though! 7-Way Shots Initial Cost - $10000 Increases by $4000 each purchase Fires 7 shots at a time in a spread pattern, Very useful on stages like Le-Picker and Aflorious. However, the $4000 price increase every time you buy it is painful. Save it for when you need it. Cross Rang Initial Cost - $20000 Increases by $2000 each purchase Fires a star projectile that returns to you if it misses, disappears when it hits. Good for killing Enemy Generators quickly, but useless for defending yourself otherwise- only 1 shot can be on-screen at once! - - - BOMB UPGRADES Twin Bombs Initial Cost - $200 Increases by $500 each purchase Allows for 2 Single Bombs on-screen at once. The Bombs are perfect for inflicting heavy damage on Enemy Generators and bosses, but aren't as easy to use. Necessary to perform the Killer Loop technique. Quartet Missiles Initial Cost - $1000 Increases by $1000 each purchase 4 of these are launched at a time, homing in on nearby enemies. Don't cause as much damage as the Single Bombs, but they're handy for fending off small enemies. Nice for beginners. - - - SPECIAL WEAPONS Smart Bomb Initial Cost - $2000 Increases by $1000 each purchase This kills any small enemies that on-screen, but does poor damage to Enemy Generators and bosses. Useful on Le-Picker for dealing with Teleporting Mcguffins, and might be an asset for a beginner. Heavy Bomb Initial Cost - $2000 Increases by $1000 each purchase Best Special Weapon in the game by miles, this falls from the top of the screen above your current position, severely damaging anything it hits. Useful on practically every boss, buy some if you're struggling! Ultra Bomb Initial Cost - $2000 Increases by $1000 each purchase Acts much like the normal bombs, except that this one packs a hell of a punch, and when it lands, it creates a huge explosion that takes out small enemies. Very effective on the Niagaro and Risscave bosses. Shower Bombs Initial Cost - $2000 Increases by $1000 each purchase Opa-Opa drops 6 bombs below him which fan out as they fall, causing big damage to anything they hit. Not always that useful, but might be effective on the Risscave boss and the Le-Picker Enemy Generators. Thunder Volt Initial Cost - $2000 Increases by $1000 each purchase A bit of a wild card, the Thunder Volt causes pillars of lightning to appear in random positions on the screen- anything they hit is going to take damage, but you never know where it's going to hit. Avoid. Hurricane Initial Cost - $2000 Increases by $1000 each purchase Spirals of energy launch out from Opa-Opa, which will cause heavy damage to anything they hit. Essentially a souped-up Smart Bomb, this is second only to the Heavy Bomb in terms of usefulness. Backfire Initial Cost - $2000 Increases by $1000 each purchase A giant burst of flame comes from behind Opa-Opa, causing heavy damage to anything it hits. It has its uses here and there, but the collision detection is weird and sometimes doesn't register a hit. - - - MISC. Extra Ship Initial Cost - $5000 Increases to $20000, $50000, $100000 Obviously, this gives you an extra life. Unlike the other items, the price will get fixed at $100000 when you've bought enough. Buy them cheap near the start of the game, then don't worry about them. Shield Initial Cost - $40000 Increases by $1000 each purchase The Shield only protects you from bullets and small enemies- crashing into Enemy Generators and bosses still kills you. It also only lasts for a certain amount of time. Super Lights Initial Cost - $4000 Increases by $1000 each purchase The Super Lights are only used on Round 4, Risscave, where they'll expand Opa-Opa's field of vision to cover more of the screen. Only buy them on Risscave, otherwise they won't do anything. Rubber Boots Initial Cost - $5000 Increases by $1000 each purchase The Rubber Boots are only used on Round 6, Le-Picker, where they'll protect Opa-Opa from the electrified floor. Only buy them at Le-Picker, otherwise they won't do anything. - - - - - - LEVEL-BY-LEVEL GUIDE ROUND 1: PICKNICA The first round is easy enough- the Enemy Generators only take a bomb or two to take out and the enemies themselves don't offer too much resistance. You'll want to keep on the look-out for the spinny things, though, because their erratic movement might catch you out if you're just starting. Don't get complacent this early, though- things only get rougher from here. You can't expect the first stage to really be that hard. Recommended Equipment: Big Wings Twin Bombs/Quartet Missile Boss: Pumpkin Bomber An awkward first boss, the Pumpkin Bomber will fire out a pellet from his mouth which splits into several little bullets and spirals away- they don't move in the way you're probably expecting them to, but the gaps between them are very big. He'll then move over, fire another one, then teleport off-screen, to re-appear shortly afterwards and continue the pattern. On the plus side, he's got not specific weak-point, and shooting him anywhere counts as a hit. The Twin bombs can make very short work of him if you get close enough (and if you've got them) but try to stay on the ground when he fires his pellet, as it's easier to dodge the spiralling bullets from there. Keep this up and he'll eventually die. - - - ROUND 2: KAZARNE Kazarne isn't that much of a step up from Picknica, although the Enemy Generators might start to annoy you- they sway, very slowly, from side to side, which means if you're not watching, they'll smash into you, and that's terrible. The enemies aren't even that much to worry about really, as they generally move slowly, and don't even fire at you that much. In fact, since the boss is so easy, you'd think that this place was supposed to be Round 1... Recommended Equipment: Big Wings/Jet Engine Twin Bombs/Quartet Missiles Boss: Laser Sphere The Laser Sphere is probably the easiest boss in the game, which makes you wonder why he wasn't on Round 1. His only attack is to fire lasers from the tiny little cannons surrounding his body- they'll fire in an anti-clockwise pattern at the start, and they'll switch between clockwise and anti-clockwise throughout the fight. At the start of the battle, take out as many as you can to give yourself a bit of space, then pick them off one by one. You don't even have to switch sides if you've got the Twin Bombs, as when you've taken enough cannons out, they'll start to rotate, letting you destroy them from the left side. - - - ROUND 3: NIAGARO Niagaro is the place where the training wheels come off, and Super Fantasy Zone shows its true colours- this game's hard, and it wants you to know all about it. The Enemy Generators get tougher to kill, the enemies crowd the screen a lot more, and they're much less shy about gunning you down. Your only choice is to cowboy up and deal with it, and keep on top of it all. Fortunately, we haven't seen any of the really annoying enemies just yet, so this isn't the worst stage. It also has the best music in the game, just so you know. Recommended Equipment: Laser Beam (Optional) Big Wings/Jet Engine Quartet Missiles Ultra Bomb (Optional) Boss: Vacuum Fish The Vacuum Fish might prove to be difficult initially, but he's actually a bit of a pushover once you learn how to handle him. He'll start the fight by inhaling, bringing you closer to him, while firing tiny blue bullets straight ahead, one at a time. While he's sucking you in, you'll have to move away from him, and this is where having a speed upgrade other than the Small Wings is very handy. Unfortunately, his only weakpoint is his open mouth, so you'll either have to fire the Quartet Missiles while flying away from him, or- if you're a daredevil- turning around for a split-second, lunging a bomb in his mouth (or an Ultra Bomb if you've got one) then flying away again. When he stops sucking in, he'll fire a spread of blue missiles- get between them to not get hit, then he'll start inhaling again, and the process repeats itself. This one's a battle of attrition- keep the pattern up and he'll eventually die. - - - ROUND 4: RISSCAVE Risscave is the first of two levels in the game which has a specialised piece of kit for you to pick up. You see, it's awfully dark on this planet, so you can't see much at all. Buying Super Lights at the shop rectifies the situation a little bit, but you still won't see all of the screen. Since leaving you completely in the dark would be really unfair, you're given a little help- even in this grim place, you're able to see bullets and Enemy Generator health spots in the dark parts of the screen. This won't stop you crashing into enemies, though... Recommended Equipment: Super Lights Big Wings/Jet Engine Quartet Missiles Heavy Bomb (Optional) Boss: Axe Head Fortunately, when you get to the boss, someone finally decides to switch the lights on for you, but this doesn't make things any easier. At first, he'll just float slowly up and down, but then he'll release axes from his side and move them about a bit- they'll move only slightly at the beginning of the fight, but as you get his health down, the axes start to sway more erratically. While this is happening, the little turrets in the middle will start firing bullets at you, but after a few seconds he'll bring his axe arms back in, float a bit more, then repeat the pattern. Actually hitting him is a bit of a pain, as the only weak spot is the head, and only when he's attacking. You'll have to wait until he brings the axes out, then camp at the top of the screen and bomb him with Single/Twin Bombs while moving to avoid the bullets. If you've got the Quartet Missiles, you can also attack from below, which might be a good idea- the Missiles take longer to kill him, but when the axes start moving wildly, it's hard to find a decent space where you won't be hit on the top of the screen. If you brought a Heavy Bomb with you, then make sure you only launch it when the axes are out, otherwise you'll waste it. Oh, and watch out- when the boss dies, coins spurt from the left axe then the right axe rather than the head. - - - ROUND 5: GRANDIUSS From here on, you'll really notice how much tougher the Enemy Generators are, as the washing machine things on this stage take a lot of punishment. However, the good thing is that they'll also start dropping much more loot when you kill them... Assuming you're quick on the draw. The little enemies aren't much to write home about, though, aside from the Thing on a Spring that the Enemy Generator spawns- these enemies can reach the top of the screen in a single bound, so don't just assume they'll mill along the bottom out of harm's way. The Cannon isn't very nice either, as they can catch you out. Recommended Equipment: Laser Beam Jet Engine Twin Bombs/Quartet Missiles Ultra Bomb (Optional) Heavy Bomb (Optional) Boss: Head Blocks Two for the price of one, the Head Blocks move around the arena in a vague pattern, and one of them will have their eyes open at any one time- this is the only time they can be damaged. They share the same amount of health, so it doesn't matter which one you hit, as long as you hit them while the eyes are open. Keep this in mind if you want to use any Special Weapons, too. As for the pattern itself, you don't really need to learn it, really- memorising it won't help you beat the boss any faster, and as long as you pay attention, and don't make any really stupid moves, you'll be fine. If you want to find somewhere on the screen to hide, though, there's only one point in the pattern where the extreme left/right of the screen is unsafe, so you can hide there and stay about halfway up the screen to be safe from attack. When they do make their way over there, quickly move out the way and get back there when they're done. Keep shooting them in the eyes, and they won't take long to die. When the bosses die, coins spurt from the individual boxes, from left to right, so if they're too far apart, good luck getting all the change. - - - ROUND 6: LE-PICKER Another round that gets a lot easier if you buy some special equipment, the floor on Le-Picker is electrified, and touching it is a swift death... Unless you buy the Rubber Boots, which come in a very fetching blue colour and allow you to walk on it like any normal level. It's in your best interests to do this- all the Enemy Generators are on the floor. You really need to watch out for the Teleporting Mcguffins on this stage- you'll know which ones these are, they'll appear out of nowhere and move along with the screen, and crashing into them even as they're materialising will kill you! When they fully materialise, they'll move towards you- don't move too much, especially up and down, this makes them close in on you even faster. Just take out as many as you can, and avoid the stragglers. These guys do appear a lot here, so you'll have to get used to fighting them. Recommended Equipment: 7-Way Shot (Optional) Wide Beam (Optional) Rubber Boots Twin Bombs (harder stage, easier boss) Quartet Missiles (easier stage, harder boss) Heavy Bombs (Optional) Boss: Electro Gunner The Electro Gunner sways from side to side while firing giant electric bullets from the 8 cannons on its side. The bullets are a bit awkward, because they don't always fly straight out of the cannons- each time they fire, their trajectory arcs either up or down a little more, so keep that in mind. The bar on the Electro Gunner's face serves as a count-down, and when it's empty, it'll fire two lasers out the top and bottom of its head, which means you can't switch sides, but this only lasts for a few moments. Destroying the cannons on the left side is easy enough- just keep wailing away at them and they'll disappear soon enough, or use a few Heavy Bombs- but you might struggle with switching to the right side, because it never really stops firing for too long. If you've got the Twin Bombs equipped, you can take out the top cannon by lunging bombs over at it (remember, tap forward before firing a bomb) and if you've got the Quartet Missiles, you can achieve the same thing by hovering near the top and firing- hopefully, you'll hit it. When you've taken out that top cannon, getting to the other side is much easier, just don't walk into its charge-up laser like an idiot! As a little aside, if you don't buy the Rubber Boots and beat the boss, you can walk on the floor when the stage is over without dying! - - - ROUND 7: AFLORIOUS The round with the second best music in the game, Aflorious is... Well, it's actually pretty easy compared to Le-Picker. At least the enemies are easier to deal with, although the Squiddly Diddly enemies spawned by the Enemy Generators might give you trouble- just remember that when they've locked on to you, they can't change direction. None of the other enemies are worth a damn, and the only trouble you'll have is with the sheer amount of them- they can crowd the screen quickly. The fact that the Enemy Generators are more resilient than ever doesn't help matters, but after Le-Picker, this stage is a pushover. Recommended Equipment: Laser Beam Twin Bombs/Quartet Missiles Heavy Bomb x 3 PATIENCE Boss: Prawn Multiplier To make up for the easy stage you've just had to play through, the Prawn Multiplier is, without a doubt, the toughest boss in the game- it's even harder than the final boss, and is the only boss that still gives me trouble, even after writing this guide. The battle starts out deceptively easy- the giant prawn launches huge, easy-to-dodge bullets while moving up and down. Hit it anywhere to hurt it. Once you get its health down enough, though... The boss splits into four medium-sized prawns, which start firing smaller bullets at you and move around in a circle. Hurt one of them enough, then they split into four even smaller prawns, and this is where the fight gets nuts. The tiny prawns don't fire bullets at you, but they'll move freely around the screen. Shoot them enough to turn them red, and their corpse stays on screen, floating in place. Touching them kills you. Needless to say, the screen gets crowded quickly, and unless you play it smart, you'll end up cornered by bodies, sealing your fate. There's lots of ways to approach this battle, so I'll list some key points you should bear in mind: #1 - Crowd Control! - If you can, try not to let all the tiny prawns get released at once. Focus your attacks on one of the four medium prawns rather than hitting all of them. By doing this, you can take the tiny prawns out at your leisure, rather than having to take all of them on at once. #2 - Keep on the Move! - Don't be afraid to move around a bit. If you stay on the left religiously, you might end up being trapped by floating bodies, or get forced into a no-win situation, so it sometimes pays off to fly closer to the enemy, maybe even all the way over to the right to keep yourself from getting caught. Moving over can be a little dangerous, as the circling medium prawns will often block the top/bottom of the screen, but just wait until it's safe and make your move. If you're stuck with the Small Wings, though, this is probably worse than sticking to the left. #3 - Get Heavy! - If you bought a few Heavy Bombs at the shop, then you can make this fight a lot easier on yourself. You can either use the bombs for defensive purposes- use one when a tiny prawn is closing in on you from above to eliminate the threat- or use them to go on the offense- kill one of the medium prawns, then as soon as the tiny prawns spawn, drop a Heavy Bomb on them to keep them from spreading all across the screen. However, you might trigger the other tiny prawns to appear if you do this, but it shouldn't be a huge problem- either use a Heavy Bomb on those guys as well, or move back to the left and take them out how you wish, as you'll have plenty of screen space. If you use these hints, and keep a clear head, you can defeat this evil boss. - - - ROUND 8: MENONE Every game in the Fantasy Zone series ends with a good ol' fashioned Boss Rush, and Super Fantasy Zone is no exception. On Menone, you have to fight every boss again, in order, and yes, that includes the Prawn Multiplier you've just fought. If you die on this stage, you'll continue at the last boss you got to. I'm not going to repeat myself, so there isn't very much else to say, aside from what equipment to bring, but I'll share a secret with you: Every boss in the game can be beaten with just the Big Wings, Bombs and nothing else. I promise you, this can be done. It'll take longer to kill each boss, but it's perfectly possible. How do you pull it off? You just have to be totally super awesome, that's all. Recommended Equipment: The Parts Shop will appear before you start this stage, and it'll also appear whenever you die. Since this is your last opportunity to buy stuff, but don't use that as an excuse to go nuts- remember, dying takes everything away from you. With that in mind... Big Wings/Jet Engine Twin Bombs Heavy Bombs x 5 - - - ROUND 9: BLACK HOLE Opa-Opa's final battle is fought in this strange place... There's no level here, just two boss fights. Recommended Equipment: Unfortunately, the Parts Shop doesn't appear when you enter this stage, and it won't appear when you die either, so you must beat this stage either with whatever equipment you've got left over from Menone, or with the standard equipment. If you do die, don't fret- this battle can easily be won with the standard items. Boss: Opa-Opa Nexus It's not a Fantasy Zone game if Opa-Opa doesn't fight someone who looks like himself at the end of the game, and since O-Papa's finally kicked the bucket, we have to fight this giant clone instead. Opa-Opa Nexus only has 3 attacks- first, he'll swoop forward in an oval pattern to try and ram into you (hide in the corners to avoid being killed) then he'll fire a 7-shot spread twice (you can fit between the gaps) and end by dropping a 1 Mega-Ton weight on your head (as soon as you've dodged the second 7-shot spread, move! This weight is aimed directly at you, just like your own Heavy Bomb!) From there, he'll repeat the pattern, so it's not difficult. His weak-spot is his visor, so shoot it as much as you can, but try to avoid being too high up the screen when he's using his spread-shot, as the weight might hit you before you can react. When you've taken care of Opa-Opa Nexus, we get to fight the final boss. Boss: Dark Master Yet another Fantasy Zone tradition- the final boss is really easy to beat. The Dark Master, when he's ready, launches a purple blob at you that chases you constantly- it doesn't kill you, but slows you down. While this is happening, the Dark Master rolls into a ball and bounces around the screen, killing you if he touches you. However, he doesn't bounce around that erratically, so it's easy enough to dodge him, even if you're only got the Small Wings. When he's done, he'll revert to normal, float around for a second until the first purple blob disappears, then launch another one and repeat the pattern. His vulnerable spot is the purple ball on the front of the robot, so pound it as much as you can before he rolls into a ball. He takes quite a lot of punishment, and you're not given much time to hit his weak point, so strike hard and fast to save the day. - - - Congratulations, you beat the game! But it's not over... Once you've beat the game once, you'll be given an utterly obscene points bonus, you'll have your cash taken off you, and you'll start the game again, with any equipment you had left over. There's no better ending if you beat it again, though... That's the end of Super Fantasy Zone, then. See you next game. - - - - - - CHEATS #1 - CHEAT MODE You'll need a second controller for this one. Start a new game and then pause. While the game's paused, hold Down/Left on Controller 2, then press Start, then press B. You'll see the word 'Pass' show up, meaning the code's worked. From there, you've got a wide array of commands at your disposal using both controllers, as follows... Controller 1: A - Disable 'Pause' text (clean pause, use for taking screenshots). B - Toggle between 'No Hit' (invincibility), 'Free Play' (infinite lives), or switch both off. C - Skip to the next stage. Controller 2: A - Give yourself $99999999 (!?!). B - Disable 'Pass' text (not sure what this does). C - Destroy all Enemy Generators, skipping to the boss. - - - #2 - ARCADE FANTASY ZONE MUSIC CONTRIBUTED BY DeGgozZ On the title screen, hold A+B+C+Up then press Start while highlighting Game Start to replace the normal music of Super Fantasy Zone with the music from the original arcade Fantasy Zone (except the final boss and ending music) - - - - - - ENDING BULLSHIT Props go out to... Me. DeGgozZ, for the Arcade Fantasy Zone Music cheat. Adrian and Antoine, awesome Super Fantasy Zone fans. VISIT MY SITE: http://gaminghell.co.uk For any comments, complaints, death threats and corrections, email me at TheMetalSlug@gmail.com Or add us on twitter at @TepidSnake and we'll speak to you at LEAST once! Honest!