Secret Service 54a/SSERVCD_54A.bin/UTILS/FAQ/BOMB64FQ.TXT

Text File | 1997-12-10 | 47KB | 873 lines

*** Procyon Lotor, in cooperation with the Red Bomber, is proud to present ***

       ___             __        THE                  ____ ____
      / _ )___  __ _  / /  ___ ______ _  ___ ____    / __// / /_
     / _  / _ \/  ' \/ _ \/ -_) __/  ' \/ _ `/ _ \  / _ \/_  __/
    /____/\___/_/_/_/_.__/\__/_/ /_/_/_/\_,_/_//_/  \___/ /_/

               FAQ v0.9 - Initial Release

I) Contents:
    - Intro to FAQ
    - Version History
    - Intro to Game
    - Items and Controls
    - The Stages and Gold Cards
        Green Garden
        Blue Resort
        Red Mountain
        White Glacier
        Black Fortress
        Rainbow Palace - TO BE ADDED
    - Advanced Techniques
        Winning Gold Cards from Sub Bosses
        Remote Bombs as Staircases
    - Custom Items
    - Battle Mode Information - TO BE ADDED

II) Introduction to FAQ
    Bomberman 64 is quite possibly the Nintendo 64 gem of the entire
fourth quarter of 1997.  With it's fabulous single player mode, complimented
by the outstanding mutli-player battle mode, this game has something for
everyone.  The single player mode follows in the "tradition" of Mario 64
inviting you to wander through fully three dimensional worlds completing a
variety of tasks.  This FAQ is primarily to guide you through those worlds,
help you obtain all of the gold cards hidden throughout the game, and find
all of the custom objects that allow you to alter Bomberman's appearance in
the battle mode.
    For questions, comments, and additions to the Custom Item portion of
the FAQ, please email [e-mail].  For questions and comments
regarding any other portion of the FAQ, please email [e-mail]

III) Version History

v0.9 - Initial release.
     - Missing Rainbow Palace info
     - Missing Battle Mode info
     - Very rough Custom items info.

IV) Introduction to Game.
    Bomberman's world is being threatened, and a strange hero has appeared
to aid (?) Bomberman in freeing his world from evil's grasp.  Bomberman must
conquer four worlds that are chained to a commanding fifth world.  Bomberman
can tackle the first four world in any order (but a suggested order is give.)
    In each world are four stages.  Two of the stage are full exploratory
stages that Bomberman must battle through and search around to find his way
out and on to the next board.  The other two stages consist of battles with
a stage sub boss, and the stage's final boss.  In every stage, five gold cards
can be obtained by completing certain tasks.  If all 100 gold cards are found,
the ending changes and a six world becomes explorable.
    Also in the exploratory stages, numbers of custom items can be found.
These items add up in the custom menu and allow you to dress Bomberman up in
a multitude of costumes and looks.  You may only use your custom Bomberman in
the battle mode.

V) Items and Controls.

Bomb - Bomberman once again has a seemingly unlimited supply of bombs.  The
only limitation is that you can lay down only so many at a time.  But
Bomberman has some new tricks this time around.  You can press A to drop a
bomb as usual, and you can press A again, or simply walk into the bomb, to
kick the bomb forward.  Once in motion, you can press the R button to stop
the bomb from moving.  However, if you press and hold B while pressing A, the
bomb will appear in Bomberman's hands.  You can hold the bomb for as long as
you like without fear.  You can toss it away by press B.  You can throw the
bomb three different distances, determined by whether the control stick is
neutral, a little bit forward, or all the way forward.  While in you hands,
you can tap the A button to pump the bomb up into a larger bomb which has
a larger blast radius, and is capable of damaging some structures a normal
bomb can't.

Bomb Item - When Bomberman blows up certain destructible parts of each stages,
he might find one of the power up items.  The Bomb Item is one of the most
common items to find.  By catching it, the number of bombs Bomberman can lay
down at one time increases by one.  Initially, you begin with the ability to
lay two bombs.  By catching enough of these you can lay a maximum of eight.

Fire Item - This is the other very common item.  This will increase the radius
of the explosion from you bombs, allowing you to break objects or damage
enemies (or yourself!) from farther away.  This seems to max out after around
five of these items have been picked up.

Blue Gem - This is a very common item to receive from defeated enemies.  A
blue gem increases you gem count by one.  By sending your count of 50, you
will receive an extra credit.

Red Gem - Just like a blue gem except that it increases your gem count by
five for each one you touch.

Heart - Certain difficult to destroy enemies will give you this item.  By
holding the heart, you can sustain one killing blow without dying.  If you
are hit by something that would kill you, you will flash for a little bit,
signifying that you are invincible, and the heart will pop out and bounce
away.  If you are fast, you have the opportunity to reclaim the heart again.

Remote Item - This looks like a heart with a bomb in it.  By touching this,
you bombs, big and small, are transformed to time bombs that are set off with
the touch of the Z button.  This is an extremely useful tool.  Remote bombs,
once set, will not go off at all until you trigger them with Z.  Just be
careful not to set them off when you're too near by.

Super Bomb Item - This looks like a little bomb surrounded by an explosion.
It is a very powerful item, and it turns your bombs red.  Red bombs, big or
small, can destroy things that even pumped up normal bombs can't.  They also
deal more damage to enemies.  This item can be used in conjunction with the
Remote power up.

VI) The Stages, and the Gold Cards.

Note about the maps:
    It's very hard to depict these maps in the most accurate way possible,
but try to picture the maps being arranged relative to the direction the
camera (not you) is facing when you begin the stage.  (s) is the location at
which you start.

Note about the gold cards:
    For the exploratory stages, as you may have noticed, the fourth card
is always for defeating 30 enemies in the stage.  The 30th enemy destroyed
will drop the card, so make sure you can pick it up from where it's destroyed.
The fifth card is always for beating the board within the stage's target time.
I usually go for the fifth card first, and come back for the other four.

                Green Garden
Stage 1 Map:          ___       ___       ___
            |   |     |   |     |   |
            |h3 |     | 4e|     | 5 |__
                        | __|     |___|     |___|  |
                        |d  |                  | 6 |
                        | 2c|                  |___|
                        |g _|
                        |f b|
                        | 1 |
                        |_sa|

Stage 1 - Objective: Touch the four plates that will release the red diamond
from the containment of the green orbs.  Plate one (a) is to the right of
where you start (s).  You must face the wall opposite the three blue pillars
and kick bombs underneath the crack at the bottom of the wall, so that they
hit the wooden pillars that support the grating above.  Once both are taken
out, go to the opposite side and climb up the staircase to fall in and touch
the plate.  The next plate (b) is to the right of the crocodile head which,
when blown up, permits you entrance to the next part of the stage.  Next, go
to the side of the altar opposite the stream to (c) and climb the steps to
touch that plate.  The last plate (d) is often obscured from view by the
bridges, but it is located just below the croc head at the waterfall.  Once
all the plates are touched, the red diamond can be picked up.

Gold Cards: Please note that this board is intended to be one of the harder
boards to pick up all the gold cards from, and you may want to come back and
do it after you've beaten the game (the ending can be very insightful).
    To get the gold cards, your going to need to get the Super Bomb
item, which is very hard to get to in this board and is located at (e).  To
get to room 4, you must access the teleporter found above plate (c).  This
mainly requires that you get the Remote item from beneath the bridge in the
back of room 2, and arranging the bombs so Bomberman can bounce from the low
ledge across the way, up to the staircase.  Read the Advanced Techniques
section below to find out how to do that.
    Once you make it to room four, you will notice a grate held up by
three pillars, and a lot of square platforms rising from the water like so:
            | 8  5       |
                        | 7  4  2   T <- where you came in from
                        | 6  3  1    |
Knock down the pillars as follows.  First, throw a bomb to 1, and then throw
another bomb so it bounces off 1 and stays on 2, and finally throw one more
so it bounces off 1 and 2 and lands in front of the pillar, and set them off
(since, obviously, you need the Remote power in effect to do this).  Next,
pump up a bomb and throw it to 6, bounce a small one off that to 7, and once
again to 8, and finally, one more so it lands in front of the pillar, and set
them off.  That leaves the middle pillar, which can't be done from 3 to 4 to 5
because 3 is too high.  Instead, you must bounce from 2 to 5 to the pillar.
This just takes a little practice.  Once you nail the pillars and the grate
falls down, you may notice some of the boxes that were there were blown up.
If the left most block was destroyed, teleport out and back in and the grating
will still be down, plus that block will be back.  Blow up the left block
and you'll get the Super Bomb.  Now go back to room 2 on the map.
1) Reach (g) by destroying some of the blue pillars that are in your way when
crossing the bridge in room 2, and you'll notice a block hovering in the air.
Pump up a remote bomb, throw it at the block and trigger it in mid air, and
the gold card will fall out.
2) Reach (f) by destroying the blue pillars in room 1, and going across the
bridge.  Blow up the pillar against the wall.
3) In room 2, go across the bridge and fall down the side of the wall to the
teleporter visible from the outside of the board (it's between (d) and (g)).
This will teleport you to room 3.  Walk across the room and blow up the box at
the opposite end to find the card.
4) Destroy 30 enemies.
5) Beat the board in Normal by: 12000
                     Hard by:   7000

Stage 2 - Objective: beat the sub boss in combat.

Gold Cards: Read about fighting the sub bosses in the Advanced Techniques
section to find out how to win gold cards.
5) Beat the boss in Normal by: 20000
                    Hard by:   20000

Stage 3 Map:         ___
            |e  |
            | 2 |
            |_a_|___
            |  b| fg|
            | 1c  3 |
            |_s_|_d_|

Stage 3 - Objective: Chase the blue diamond around the board and pick it up at
it's final resting place.  The diamond starts out right in front of you (s)
and get's whisked away to room 2 by a bird.  Enter room 2 through the croc,
proceed down the staircase at (a).  Kick a bomb under the left most hole and
stand on the platform directly above it to get blast in to the air.  Keep
going once you reach the high platform and the bird will take the diamond away
and deposit at (b).  Go back to room 1, and do the same bomb kick trick to
reach the higher level and go for the diamond.  The bird will come one last
time and fly it to the top of the tower in room 3.  Pump up a bomb and blow up
the pillar blocking your way at (c).  The diamond can be reached by repeating
the bomb kick/flying platform trick a few times at (d).

Gold Cards: Compared to Stage 1, these are a breeze.
1) Proceed cautiously to (e) by going to room 2 and talking the left route
over the water.  Take care which blocks you blow up along the way as some will
cut you off and you'll have to exit and reenter the room to try again.  You'll
need the Remote power since the card is up in the air in one of the blocks in
the far corner of the passage (left of the long staircase).  Get it by tossing
a bomb in the air and triggering it to explode in mid-air by the blocks.
2) In Room 3, go to (f) and use the bomb kick/flying platform move to scale
the tower.  A gold card can be found by blowing up a block that is off to the
left of the platform you arrive at.  You will have to fall back down to
collect it.
3) Now go to (g) by tossing some bombs between the yellow platform and the
small gray wall, and then again to reach the corner of the board.  Then run
right from edge of the second platform to reach the block that contains the
card.
4) Destroy 30 enemies.
5) Beat the board in Normal by: 15000
                     Hard by:

Stage 4 - Strategy: Here you have to fight the blue dragon from a narrow
bridge (don't worry, you can't fall off).  He'll come at you with a variety
of attacks, from trying to bite you and pick you up, to breathing fire at him.
Keep pumping up bombs and triggering them to explode near his body and he'll
go down.  Remember, you can't get all five without getting the first four
within the Target time.  Coming back after getting the first four cards to
beat him fast enough will still only give you four cards.

Gold Cards: Basically, you need to burn different body parts enough to win
them from him.  Remember, you can't get all five without getting the first
four within the Target time.  Coming back after getting the first four cards
to beat him fast enough will still only give you four cards.
1) Burn his head.
2) Burn his left wing.
3) Burn his right wing.
4) Burn his tail.  This can be the toughest.  Try to nail his tail when he's
slightly sideways while breathing fire at you.  Don't detonate the bomb until
you're sure it's far enough out.
5) Beat the boss in Normal by: 20000
                    Hard by:

                Blue Resort
Stage 1 Map:             _______
            |g  3   |
            |_b __ _|
            |   |   |
            | 4 - 2f|
                        |h_c|__ |
                        |d  1  a|
                        |_e____s|

Stage 1 - Objective: You must lower the drawbridge by (e) to get out of the
board.  But in order to do that, you need to lower a lot of the water holed
up in the board.  So start by proceeding to (a) where you'll notice a draw
bridge stuck in the up position.  One pumped up bomb blast will knock it down
for you and you can can go to room 2.  In room 2, keep going up and up until
you reach room 3.  Just left of where you came up is a stairway down, and a
smaller staircase (b) leading to a plate.  Step on the plate and the water in
room 4 will drain.  Now you can take the other stairway down.  In room 4,
around (c), you will find the Super Bomb item that will enable you to blast
open the steel doors at (e) (not the only way in however...).  From (c), drop
down to room 1 again and blow up the bridge to get back across.  Optionally,
you can head to (d) and trigger the water to empty from room 1.  Once you're
inside the house at (e), stand on the plate to drop the final drawbridge and
exit.

Gold Cards: A little snooping around will help you find all three.
1) In room 2, the potted plants at edges of the staircases contain Remote
items.  Collect one, and go over to the cannons at (f).  Toss a bomb at
them and blow them up, and one will reveal a gold card when destroyed.
2) At the side of room 2 (by the (-) ) is a bridge that can be knocked down
by a pumped up bomb.  Cross it, and you be in a small area with two cannons
on either side.  Across the other side is another bridge.  If you collected
the Remote item in room 2, you can pump up a bomb, and toss it at the far
bridge and trigger an explosion just close enough to bring it down.  Cross it
and if you explore enough, you find the next gold card around (h).
3) The last one is easily found if you watch your footing.  Proceed to room 3,
and before you touch the trigger at (b), go down the staircase beyond the one
you entered the room from and keep going to the high far ledge.  Then work
your way left to the tower, bomb one of the boxes in your way, and approach the
box at the far side of the tower.  Bomb it and the card is yours.
4) Defeat 30 enemies.
5) Beat the board in Normal by: 13000
                     Hard by:

Stage 2 - Objective: Beat Artemis in combat.  Watch her gun, which she fires
off in three directions in spray fashion.  The bullets don't hurt you, but the
explosions can.  The bullets can also explode the bombs.

Gold Cards: Read about fighting the sub bosses in the Advanced Techniques
section to find out how to win gold cards.
5) Beat the boss in Normal by: 20000
                    Hard by:

Stage 3 Map:             ___ ___
            | f2| cg|
            | d  _3_|
            |_ b|
                        |e |
            | 1|
            |sa|

Stage 3 - Objective: From the starting point (s), go under the bridge and up
the staircase, and pump up a bomb to destroy the cannon at (a).  Cross the
bridge, and while dodging the cannonballs, proceed to room 2.  Once there,
pump up a bomb and knock down the bridge to your right at (b).  Climb the
staircase, and move to room 3.  Knock down the bridge you find there, and
cross to access the plate at point (c) to drain the water out of room 2.  Now
go back to room 2, and drop into the newly drained pit.  A Super Bomb item
can be found in one of the blocks closest to the bridge at (b).  Now hit the
wall at (d) with red bombs until the wall pushes back far enough to allow the
water to slide into the goddess statue, which will raise a staircase in order
for you to exit the stage.
Gold Cards: All of these are easily accessed.
1) The first card is right ahead of where you start, by (e).
2) When you arrive in room 2, knock down the bridge straight ahead from where
you enter, and wrap around the structure until to reach (f) and blow up the
potted plant.
3) Right near where you hit the switch to lower the water at (c), keep going
a little further to find the potted plant at (g).
4) Defeat 30 enemies.
5) Beat the board in Normal by: 12000
                     Hard by:

Stage 4 - Strategy: The fish has four modes.  In the first, he just swims
behind you moving from side to side, posing no threat.  In the second, he
pops out of the water, still behind you, and tries to mash you with his
tentacle thing.  In the third, he swims just ahead of you tossing bubbles at
you with his tail, which dizzy on contact.  And lastly, he swims far out ahead
and flips out of the water.  When he flips, two "blades" will slice up the
raft closest to where you are.  If you want to keep the raft large, go to one
side, let the blades come at you, and cross back to the center.  If you did it
right, only one or two of the logs will break away.

Gold Cards: Some strategy is required for this one...
1) Burn up his tentacle thing.  Done easy in his first and second mode.
2) Burn up his tail.  Done easy in his third mode.
3) Pop a bomb in his mouth.  Can only be done in the second mode when he
rises out of the water a lot to smash you.
4) Let only one log of the raft remain.  As soon as the raft is down to just
one more log, you'll get the card.  Stand on the edge, and don't cross back
to the center during mode four if you want this one really fast.
5) Beat the boss in Normal by: 25000
                    Hard by:


                Red Mountain
Stage 1 Map:             ___________
            | a   xf|   |
            |   |       |
            | 3 | 2 | 1e|
            |   | b     |
            |_____c_|_sd|

Stage 1 - Objective: Reach the exit (x) from your starting point (s).  There
aren't many tricks to this, just a lot of dangers.  Start by making your way
from the start to room 2 (you can just push up when you start and fall off the
cliff for a shortcut).  As you traverse the bridges in room 2, beware of the
fireballs that rise and fall.  They're presence is indicated by a fast noise,
so listen for it and move to safety.  Make your way to the bottom of room 2 by
crossing the long bridge to the platform with a lot of rocks, and then down
on to the fork, where you move to room 3.  Reach the far side of room 3, by
taking either the left side (of the map) or the long staircase if you have
Super Bombs to blow up the guy blocking your way.  Cross back to room 2 from
the high side of the board, and you'll find a blue and red grate.  You're safe
on the blue side, but you need to hit the switches found on the wall around
the exit from the red side.  So time your moves carefully, and hit all three
switches with thrown bombs before they have time to rise back up.

Gold Cards: You'll definitely need the Super Bomb (a) to get two of the cards,
and the Remote item (b) wouldn't hurt either.
1) The first card can be easily found at (c).  Move the opposite direction
from room 3 when you reach the fork.  Watch your footing getting back on to
the ladder, that monster tends to be stubborn.
2) After you get the Super Bombs, you can destroy the metal doors found in
three locations around the stage.  The next gold card is hidden behind the
door around location (d).
3) The last card will take you through the yet unexplored parts of this stage.
From the start, go to the large platform at (e).  There you will find a tall
red stone which can be knocked down to form a bridge with a blast from a red
super bomb.  Cross the bridge and begin the trek through the narrow ladders,
until you're back in room 2.  The gold card can be found on the right edge of
the highest platform (f), which should be the end of your journey through that
part of the stage.  You can drop down to the left to exit the stage.

Stage 2 - Objective: Beat Orion in combat.  Orion has a force shield which
protects him from bombs so they won't hurt him and can make you dizzy.  He
has a fondness for picking up dizzy opponents and dropping them in the lava
so rotate the controller to get up faster.

Gold Cards: Read about fighting the sub bosses in the Advanced Techniques
section to find out how to win gold cards.
1) Run into his force shield
5) Beat the boss in Normal by: 20000
                    Hard by:

Stage 3 Map:                  ___
                 | c |
                 | 5 |
                 |  _|
                          ___|   |
                         |d  | 2 |
                         | 3   e_|___
                         |___    | b |
                             | 1   4a|
                             |_s_|___|

Stage 3 - Objective: You _could_ get to room 4 by going from room 1 to 2 to 3,
back through 1, and on to 4, but it's much simpler to just drop from the track
that leads to room 2 down to the track that leads to room 4.  Position the
camera so you know exactly where it's safe to fall down, and you're on your
way.  In room 4, you must climb the very long stairway at (a) and follow the
tracks for a very long stretch until you reach a platform just before the
track starts to turn.  There is a ladder that leads down off the platform.
Take it down and carefully make your way across the narrow gap.  The furnace
you find along the way has a Remote item, but you don't need it.  Make your
way to (b), and you'll see an upraised section of track being held aloft by
four pillars.  Blow up the pillars so the track comes down and you can cross
to the exit.

Gold Cards: These take a little ingenuity to find.
1) Follow the tracks that you find from your starting point around to the
other side of the room.  Swing the camera 180 degrees so you can see the
opposite face of the wall, and you'll notice an entrance to room 2 through
the wall.  Take it and cross room 2 to room 5.  Once in room 5, drop to the
platform on your immediate left where you see boulders falling down.  Cross
with care and touch the switch at the far side.  Climb up the slope, dodging
the boulders (they fall in a pattern, so watch them for a while), and hit the
switch you find at the top.  Move back to the other side of the slope.  Before
you start blowing up the barrels, hug the side of the slope and go back down
to find a third switch.  Now come back up, blast the barrels, and hit the
final switch.  The arrow switch in front of the spikes should light up.  If
you activate it, not only will the spikes go down, allowing you safe passage,
but the card will appear as well at (c).
2) When you enter room 3, don't blow up any of the barrels you find on the
floor.  They allow you to safely cross over the boulders from mesh to mesh.
Reach point (d) and blow up the furnace by the flame monster to find the card.
3) This one is just a pain.  Go to the point in room 2 where there is a barrel
stacked above and slightly to the side of another barrel on the track (e).
You can go ahead and blow up the bottom barrel.  Now stand on the very edge of
the track, as close to being underneath the hanging barrel as you dare.  Make
sure you have the Remote item (there's one a bit down the track from where
you start the stage on the edge of a cliff), pump up a bomb, and try to throw
it ahead of the barrel, but high enough so that when you trigger it, the
explosion will hit the barrel (and not yourself).  If you stand close enough
to the edge, you'll catch the card as it falls.
4) Defeat 30 enemies.
5) Beat the board in Normal by: 15000
                     Hard by:

Stage 4 - Strategy: The fire robo has a few different attack modes.  The first
is where he stops, tries to punch you and nail you with his eye beams.  The
second is when he stretches out both arms and rotates.  Only his hands can
harm you.  His arms (or lack there of) will do no damage).  And his third is
when he dunks under the lava, and pops just his head out to shoot you with one
eye and possibly, but not always, the other.

Gold Cards: Compared with the fish, this isn't much different.
1) Burn up his left hand.
2) Burn up his right hand.
3) Burn up his hat.
4) Once the hat has been burned off, let him go into attack mode three (which
he always will if you burned his hands), pump up a large bomb, and throw it at
his head.  Don't blow it up, just let it bounce off his head, and he'll pop up
dizzy, exposing his operator, Orion.  Toss a bomb in the opening at Orion,
and the card is yours.
5) Beat the boss in Normal by: 12000
                    Hard by:

                White Glacier
Stage 1 Map:             _______
            |       |
                        | 2b| 3 |
            | __|__ |
            |a  |   |
                        | 1s| 4 |
            |_____c_|

Stage 1 - Objective: Make it to the ski lift to exit the stage in room 3.  To
leave the start room 1, cross the bridge you see to your immediate left.
There should be a frozen sign, which you can read after you bomb it.  it warns
you about avalanches, so go make one.  Climb the slope and place a bomb at the
base of the snow bank.  Make sure you give yourself enough time to reach safety
or you'll be brushed away with the snow fall.  Wait for the avalanche to stop,
and climb back up the slope.  Now you can fall down to a ledge with a snowman
and a tree.  Blast the tree (a) and you're on your way to room 2 through the
door.  Once in room 2, beware of the strong gusts of wind that threaten to
blow you off the stage and back to room 1.  Fight the wind and make your way
up the slope.  Cross over to the right once you're at the top and use the
bridge to enter room 3.  Now climb the slopes in room 3 until you reach the
peak.  At the top you can go forward which would lead you to room 4, left to
the ski lift, and right to a house.  Go right, and blow the house down with a
pumped up bomb, cross the roof and activate the switch which will call the
ski lift over.  Go back to the ski lift, and you're out.
Note: In at least two places on this board, one in room 2, and again in room
4, are hidden caves with a whole bed of flowers growing, which you can bomb
for plenty of power ups.  Find them by pushing up into the long walls of
ice that you find along the mountain.

Gold Cards: Only one card will make you go for a long trek.
1) If you followed the instructions above, you should have already found the
first card under the tree that blocks the path to the door to room 2.
2) Once you enter room 2, go around to the right, and fight the wind to the
lone tree on the side of the mountain.  Bomb it for another card.
3) Now for the tough one.  Go forward from the peak in room 3, being careful
not to slip off the edge.  There is a bridge in the lower left corner of the
screen if you have your camera turned around so the ski lift would be on your
right.  Take the bridge and you're in room 4.  Go down to the base of room 4.
You'll see one of those houses again.  Go past it to the other side of the
mountain, and another lone tree is there holding the last card.  It would be
around (c) but by now you must have noticed how useless the map is for this
stage.  The door behind the house however, will take you back to room 1.

4) Defeat 30 enemies.
5) Beat the board in Normal by: 15000
             Hard by:

Stage 2 - Objective: Beat Regulus in combat.  Regulus has an attack where he
dashes at you.  Make sure he doesn't connect or it's all over.

Gold Cards: Read about fighting the sub bosses in the Advanced Techniques
section to find out how to win gold cards.
1) Kick a bomb at him when he tries to rush you.
5) Beat the boss in Normal by: 20000
                    Hard by:

Stage 3 Map:         _______
            | a 4 d |
            |_ ___ _|
                        |   |   |
                        | 3 | 2 |
            |_ b|c _|
            |   1   |
                        |___s___|

Stage 3 - Objective:  You will either hate this board or worship the
programmers for their ingenuity (I did both).  The crazy effect done on this
game should not actually affect you very much until you start searching for
cards or custom items, or the Remote item which you really don't need.  The
objective is simple.  Make it from room 1, to room 4, activate the switch for
the ski lift (a) and make it back to room 1.  Easy enough.  Go to room 2 from
room 1, and viola... you get a new perspective on things.  Don't panic, if you
really just want to get through the board, hold the joystick in the same
direction you were pressing when you entered, and you'll slide right across to
the entrance to room 4.  Now, position yourself at the far side of the big ice
slope, make sure you know where possible gaps are, and plunge down the slope
and you should have just enough momentum to reach a point on the other side
where you can quickly slide to the right, and reach the platform on which the
switch is found (a).  Now to get back... fall back down to the middle of the
two slopes, and take the elevator to room 3.  Again, if you just want to make
it across, simply hold the direction you were moving in, and you just go
forward to the entrance of room 1.  And now you can exit via the ski lift.

Gold Cards: OK, now is when the perspective can be a little troublesome.  For
the purposes of the map, you'll have to try to visualize things right side up.
1) One card is in room 3, under one of the icicles.  When you enter, and the
perspective changes, make your way to relative right (or towards room 2) and
there will be a part of the ice that becomes a bit of a peninsula.  The card
is in the far icicle.
2) Likewise, in room 2, make your way relative left (or towards room 3).
This icicle is much easier to get to.
3) The last card is in room 4.  Instead of falling down the slope, move to the
far side of the slope and take the snowy path all the way to the left until
all you can do is drop to a small platform with a single icicle.  That icicle
contains the card.
4) Defeat 30 enemies.
5) Beat the board in Normal by: 10000
                     Hard by:

Stage 4 - Strategy: The Ice Arachnid has powerful attacks, but is usually
incapable of hitting you if you stand directly beneath him.  Watch out though
once he hits a wall, because he will jump up and try to smash you with his
pincers.  Try to stay under his large shadow.  If you reduce him down to just
one heart, he will smash through the ice floor to his web, where walking can
be dangerous as you mustn't fall through the web.  If he changes form, he will
start to deposit larva on the board, which can be defeated with one bomb blast
and you can nail the spider while he's doing it to knock him on his back.

Gold Cards: You know the drill by now...
1) Burn his left claw
2) Burn his right claw
3) Burn the shield off his face.
4) Burn his tail.  This is most easily done when you knock him on his back
as described above.
5) Beat the boss in Normal by: 12000
            Hard by:

                Black Fortress
Stage 1 Map:         _______________________
            |              c    |   |
            |s1 |-2-| 3 |-4-| 5   6 |  -> up
            |______a_______b____|___|

Stage 1 - Objective: Race through the streets from room 1 to room 6 while
avoiding any oncoming traffic.  The safest (while not the only) way to get by
is to take the skywalks over the street as far as they will take you.  If you
find yourself back on the street (which will happen a lot), run to one side or
the other to find the ramp leading back to the skywalk.  Once you reach room
6, be sure to go up the purple ramps and blow up the boxes over the entrance.
You'll definitely want the Super Bomb item, but you may find it more helpful to
avoid the Remote item.  You have to fight as boss to get out of this stage.
It locks on to you with guns, fires beams at you, and deposits enemies.  It's
actually very easy to win against it.  Stand at the tail of the symbol on the
floor, and the guns can't reach you.  Keep drop kicking bombs at the center,
and when it's gone, take out the side guns separately.

Gold Card: This board is tough enough without worrying about the cards.
They're all very easy to find.
1) When you leave room 1 to room 2, go through the right side.  The card is
in the pole towards the very end of the room (a).
2) Likewise, the next card is in the back of room 4 (b).
3) After you get it, cross to the other side and get the other one (c).
4) Defeat 30 enemies.
5) Beat the board in Normal by: 20000
                     Hard by:

Stage 2 - Strategy: Stage 2 and 4 seem to swap for this level.  This is a boss
like all the other stage 4's.  He'll just pummel you with one attack after
another.  If he shoot's heat seeking missiles at you, be sure to run from them
leaving bombs behind that will detonate the missiles and save you.  Other
favorite tactics it has is sending satellites to locate you and try to capture
you in a fire blast, and locking on to you with machine guns.  Keep moving!

Gold Card: It's just like all the other bosses... find the weak spots.
1) Burn the left gun turret
2) Burn the right gun turret
3) Blast the gray blob he puts out at least once.
4) This one is tricky.  You have to try to hit him with air bombs and try to
burn off the overhead shielding.  Doesn't always work when you think it will.
5) Defeat the boss in Normal by: 10000
                      Hard by:

Stage 3 - Map: N/A

Stage 3 - Objective: Make your way up the tower and find the exit at the top.
You start at the bottom and you'll learn about stepping on the switch plates.
The following will tell you how to make it out of the tower in the shortest
amount of time.  From the start, step on the first switch to your left to
activate the bridge.  Go up the left steps and touch switch two.  Watch out
for the laser beams when going back to the stairs.  Take the right steps now
and time your steps on the red blocks so you are in time with the green light.
Take the elevator up.  Go all the way forward to activate the switch, and come
back to find the elevator to the left of the one you came up in.  Watch out
for the lasers again.  Blast away the box in the air, and take the next
elevator up.  Touch switch two, and go straight.  Activate switch four, and
dodge the laser beams to get back.  Now hit switch one and take the new
bridges to the elevator.  Make your way over the platforms to the next
elevator.  When you get off, blast open the big door with a pumped up bomb,
safely cross the series of platforms and steps, and make your way to the exit.

Gold Cards: Some of these take a tremendous amount of exploration.
1) The first card is easily found on the second level of the tower, in a box
on the left side of the stage (relative to the way you entered)
2) The next one is in the room where you had to press switch two, and then
switch four and dodge all the laser beams.  Once back, instead of hitting
switch one, hit switch three, and go the opposite way.  You'll be treated
to one medium, and one very long series of red alarm tiles.  Stay with the
green and if you make it to the back of the room that is all red tiles, bomb
the box you find there for the card.
3) OK, this one will take a bit to explain...  In the second room where card 1
is, activate the switch and take the elevator up.  But don't take the elevator
you find in the sky.  Instead, bomb the far box and drop down to the raised
platform.  From here, you need to reach the diagonally opposed raised platform
which means bouncing off at least two bombs dropped from the platform to the
dividing pathway two times.  If you make it across, you'll be at the elevator
which you couldn't reach before.  Take it up, and you'll be presented with a
series of platforms separated by elevators.  Make your way to the highest one
from which you can take an elevator to a brand new room.  Once you're there,
cross the blue bridge, and activate the switch.  From there, go back, and move
to your right (if the switch was at your back) and bomb the objects on that
side of the board.  One of them will be the card.  *phew*
4) Defeat 30 Enemies
5) Beat the board in Normal by: 20000
                     Hard by:

Stage 4 - Defeat Altair in battle.  At first he has a counterpart which will
shoot a searing laser in your direction.  One touch and you're dead, so be
especially careful around it.  Altair will run around dropping bombs, and
generally making a lot of mistakes, but you can take him out too.  Once he's
been hurt enough, he and his counterpart will join together and become more
powerful.  All in all, he's still just like one of the sub bosses, and you can
defeat him similarly.  He likes to teleport away from blasts and pumped up
bombs.

Gold Cards: Read about fighting the sub bosses in the Advanced Techniques
section to find out how to win gold cards.
1) You get one card just for beating him before he joins with his counterpart.
5) Beat the boss in Normal by: 20000
                    Hard by:

                Rainbow Palace
WILL BE ENTERED IN THE NEXT VERSION.

VII) Advanced Techniques

Winning Gold Cards from Sub Bosses:  Apart from the obvious gold card won by
beating the sub bosses within the target time, the other cards can be won by
performing some of the following standard tricks:
i)   Bounce a pumped up bomb on their head.
ii)  Hit them with a blast from an exploding pumped up bomb.
iii) Kick back one of their own bombs to them and hit them with the blast
iv)  Some sub bosses have a special attack that can be countered (see
individual sub boss descriptions for each).
Remember that when hit, sub bosses release hearts.  Make sure you have one at
all times if possible.

Using Remote Bombs as staircases: When you watch the ending, one of the
sequences you see shows you how to set up a bomb staircase.  If you
arrange pumped up and normal bombs like so (with o being small bombs, and
O being large bombs):   O O o
            O o o O o    you can jump off the small bomb and
bounce all the way up to the two large bombs.  It comes in handy particularly
in the first stage in Green Gardens with the teleport to the Super Bomb item,
and the teleporter in the first room.

VIII) Custom Items

Note: For all questions and comments regarding this part of the FAQ, please
email [e-mail]

- HEAD Costume Pieces - [Red (?)'s]

Knight Helmet - N/A
  Given to you at the beginning

Dragon Helmet - Green 1
  As shown in the final credit sequence, create a bomb staircase up to
the teleporter in the first section. The teleporter will take you to
another small room which contains this costume piece.

Metal Goggles - Red 1
  There are three metal doors one the first level, all of which need red
bombs to open. This costume piece is located inside the door which is
connected to your starting platform. There is a small ramp right before
it, so you'll have bomb jump to enter.

Chicken Head  - White 1
  On the final section of this level, there is a cottage with a snowman on
top, which you need to destroy to reach the switch activating the ski
lift. Don't blow up the house. Destroy the snow man with little bombs.
Then use the small ledge to create a bomb jump to the top of the house.
There will be a small platform to the right of the house with one tree
(the costume piece). After getting the piece, fall off the platform to the
left (towards the moutain).

- BODY Costume Pieces - [Purple (?)'s]

Knight Armor - N/A
  Given to you at the beginning

Dragon Mail  - Green 3
  On the first section, you'll notice a teleporter across a bit of water,
which you can't reach at first. Get the detonator, and remove all the
blocks in that area. Then put a bomb in the elevator (don't detonate it
yet!). Then put two large bombs, one on top of the other, against the
wall, as close to the edge of the platform as possible. The easiest way to
do this is to face the wall and throw the bombs. Then use the elevator to
go up, and line yourself up with those bombs. Then carefully walk off and
push in the direction of the teleporter. If all goes well, you should
bounce off the bombs and into the teleporter.

Metal Armor  - White 1
  Go the way of the avalanche. At the very top of the second section is a
cottage. Blow it up with a big bomb. On the other side is a tree with the
costume piece.

Cat Suit     - ????? Got this piece, but forgot where ?????

Ribbon Dress - Black 3
  The instructions to get this piece are actually in the credit sequence.
On the second section, there is an elevator block which is seemingly
unreachable. Complete the section as normal, and activate the first
elevator. Going up will take you to a suspended platform with three
planks. Walk of the last plank, and you should fall on top of one of the
four sections below. Use a couple small bombs to bomb hop from one section
to another, until you find the other section. This secret section is
rather large, but isn't to difficult. The costume piece is near the gold
card, I believe.

Wooden Horse - Red 3
  Getting to this costume piece is fairly easy compared to some of the
others. At the very end of the level, there will be a platform which you
need to make fall by destroying the supporting pillars. Before you do
that, fall through the hole it will eventually plug. This costume piece
should be in a furnace block real close by. Use the tracks to escape the
area.

- FEET Costume Pieces - [Yellow (?)'s]

Knight Shoes - N/A
  Given to you at the beginning

Dragon Spikes - Green 3
  On the last section of this level (with the big tower), on the far wall
of the structure, facing away from the teleporter which brought you here,
is a secret entrance. It looks like a wall, but you can walk through it.
You can find it by pulling the camera in as close as possible, and
standing next to the wall. Rotate the camera until it is inside the
building. There will be two pots in there, one of which is the Dragon
Spikes.

Metal Shoes   - ????? Got them, but forgot where ?????

Cat Shoes     - Red 3
  There is only one metal door on this level, and the cat shoes are behind
it. The red bomb is actually in the barrel which is close to the door, but
don't blow up the barrel which you need to walk there by accident. If you
do, just leave the area and come back.

Tennis Shoes  - Blue 3
On Cliff, after first dam (get it beforehand)

Bunny Slippers- Black 3
  In the second section, there is a [::] switch. On a wall right next to
it are a couple blocks. One of them wil have the costume piece.


- ARM Costume Pieces - [Green (?)'s]

Sword & Shield - N/A
  Given to you at the beginning

Dragon Claws   - Green 1
  After receiving the Red Bombs, head towards the second section, and
enter the teleporter on the left (which is obscured behind a wall). You
will need the Red Bomb to blow up the blue pillars. After going through
the teleporter, this costume piece will be easy to find in that room.

Metal Knuckles - Blue 1
  This one is easy. It is in the same room as the switch which opens the
exit.

Slasher Claw   - Red 1
  Knock down the planks to go the alternative way. Near the exit, you will
find yourself right above a single block on a short railroad track. kick a
bomb off your higher ground, but use the R-button to stop it as soon as it
leaves the platform. It should land right on top of the piece. After the
explosion, drop down and get the piece. Use the broken tracks to fall down
to the bottom level.

Chicken Wings   - White 3
  Once first starting, head through the white door. This costume piece
will be easy to find, but the strange view might make it seem harder than
it is. The costume piece will be out on a ledge in that section, and
somewhat hard to navigate to.

IX) Battle Mode info

WILL BE ENTERED NEXT VERSION