+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
                       | A S T R O   F I G H T E R |
                       +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

              GAME:  ASTRO FIGHTER
          PLATFORM:  ARCADE
             GENRE:  ARCADE SHOOTER
           CREATOR:  DATA EAST Copyright 1980
AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ:  Kevin Butler AKA War Doc
            E-MAIL:  kevinb(at)technologist(dot)com
       FAQ VERSION:  1.0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              TABLE OF CONTENTS

    UNIT   I:  INTRODUCTION

1.  Legal Stuff
2.  Version Information
3.  Acknowledgements
4.  Welcome
5.  Overview

    UNIT  II:  GAME INFORMATION

6.  The Game

    6.1  The Controls
    6.2  The Playing Field
    6.3  Scoring

    UNIT III:  STRATEGIES

7.  Playing the Game

    UNIT  IV:  CONCLUSION

8.  Conclusion

_______________________________________________________________________________

To find a particular chapter or subchapter do the following:

1.  Highlight the chapter or subchapter name you wish to find.
2.  Press CTRL-C
3.  Press CTRL-F
4.  Press CTRL-V
5.  Press CTRL-F
5.  You will arrive at the desired chapter or subchapter.

_______________________________________________________________________________

                                **************
********************************* U N I T  I **********************************
                                **************
+=================+
| 1.  LEGAL STUFF |============================================================
+=================+

This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal
private use.  It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advanced permission from the author.  Use of this guide on
any other web site or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and
a violation of copyright.  All content in this guide is Copyright 2004 by
Kevin Butler.  Only the sites listed below have permission to publish this
work or to display it:

www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheats.de
faqs.ign.com
www.neoseeker.com

If you wish to put this guide on your site, e-mail me and ask.  Save yourself
the headache of putting up with lawsuits and whatnot because you failed to ask
a simple "Can I post your guide on <insert site>?".  If you wish to use info
in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so.  If I don't respond or
I say no, accept it as fact.  This especially goes out to Dave at
www.cheatcc.com since he has a habit of taking guides without permission.  In
addition, do not modify this guide in any way whatsoever to suit your purposes.
The latest version can always be found at www.gamefaqs.com.

If you see this guide on any other site then the one listed above, please
e-mail me.  If you wish to ask questions or give input to this guide, please
e-mail me.  Just have Astro Fighter as the subject so I know it isn't another
kooky vendor trying to sell me hair gel or another XXX site telling me I have
new friends.

+=========================+
| 2.  VERSION INFORMATION |====================================================
+=========================+

Version 1.0   2/29/04:  A guide is born.

+======================+
| 3.  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |=======================================================
+======================+

The following are a list of people or organizations that have made this FAQ
possible:

My wonderful family (who has had to put up with the tapping on the keyboard)
Data East for making a great arcade game
GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ

+=============+
| 4.  WELCOME |================================================================
+=============+

Welcome to my FAQ for Astro Fighter.  Since the game has you continuously going
through the rounds and waves until all your men are killed, there is no walk-
through per se.  Instead it will be broken up into the game itself and
strategies for survival.  Input is appreciated along with constructive
criticism.  If you wish to e-mail me thoughts on this FAQ, better ways of doing
things, other strategies, etc., feel free.  Make sure you put Astro Fighter as
the subject.  If you don't, I'm liable to discard the e-mail as spam.

+==============+
| 5.  OVERVIEW |===============================================================
+==============+

Astro Fighter was created by a company that only existed for a short period of
time.  Data East produced both pinball machines and arcade games.  Some of its
better known arcade games were Tournament Pro Gold and The Real Ghostbusters,
while in the pinball arena Data East contributed such titles as Back to the
Future, Simpsons, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Astro Fighter came as a
result of a merging of ideas between Sega/Gremlin and Data East.  The basic
premise of the game was to fight a number of alien waves, then dock with a
refueling ship.  The process then started over again until you lost all of your
ships or fuel.  Unfortunately, this game wasn't well received and didn't sell
many units.  Sega/Gremlin would improve on the overall design and release Astro
Blaster, which was a superior game in every way to this one.  Astro Fighter,
though, was still a challenging game and a definite departure from the standard
"shoot em up" type of space games, it just never caught on.  Good luck
protecting your assigned area from the aliens.

                               ***************
******************************** U N I T  II **********************************
                               ***************

+==============+ 
| 6.  THE GAME |===============================================================
+==============+ 

Astro Fighter is a two-dimensional, space shooter style game.  Your job is to
protect the various sectors from the hoards of invading aliens.  You will have
to defeat four waves of alien spaceships in order to dock with the "GS" ship
and refuel.  In addition to battling the alien spaceships, you will also have
to dodge bombs that seem to come out of nowhere.  Armed only with your fighter
and a lot of spirit, you must ensure that you clear the screen of invaders
before they pass you by.  All in all, another walk in the park.

 ____________________
/ 6.1  The Controls /__________________________________________________________
--------------------

The controls on this game are very easy.  It may, though, take just a little
bit of time to get used to them.

-  Two buttons for moving left and right

-  A fire button

 _________________________
/ 6.2  The Playing Field /_____________________________________________________
-------------------------

Astro Fighter consists of one field.  It is on this playing field that you take
care of the alien invaders.  At the end of each sector, you will be given the
chance to dock with the "GS" ship to refuel your star ship.  I have included
an example of the playing field:

GS = GS SHIP; YA = YELLOW ALIEN; GA = GREEN ALIEN; PA = PURPLE ALIEN; BA = BLUE
ALIEN

    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
    |  PLAYER - 1                HI - SCORE                 PLAYER - 2  |
    |   #####                      #####                     #####      |
    | +----+  +-----------------------------------------------+         |
    | +----+  |   GS   |    YA   |    GA   |    PA   |   BA   |         |
    |---------+------^----------------------------------------+---------|
    |  EMPTY  +------|------------FUEL STATUS-----------------+   FULL  |
    |---------+   PRESENT WAVE PLAYER IS ON                   +---------|
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |               _                                                   |
    |             |( )|                       _                         |
    |                       _               |( )|                       |
    |                     |( )|                                         |
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |      |                                                            |
    |     ( )>-BOMB                                                     |
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |                         |                                         |
    |                        / \<-YOUR FIGHTER                          |
    |                        | |                                        |
    |                       |/ \|                                       |
    |                       |   |                                       |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+

You control your fighter through these screens.

 _______________
/ 6.3  Scoring /_______________________________________________________________
---------------

Scoring in this game is pretty easy.  Since there are no real names for the
various things (except the "GS" ship, I will list them according to their
colors:

Blue Alien  :   20 points
Purple Alien:   30 points
Green Alien :   40 points
Yellow Alien:   50 points
"GS" Alien  :  300 - 1000 points

Bomb:  The scoring for the bomb depends on what version machine you play.

For Versions 1 and 2:   60 points
For Version 3       :  300 points per seven bombs destroyed

You start the game with 3 to 6 fighters.  You are awarded a bonus fighter at
3,000, 5,000, or 7,000 points.  Also, it may be set up where you don't
receive a bonus fighter at all.

                               ****************
******************************** U N I T  III *********************************
                               ****************

+======================+
| 7.  PLAYING THE GAME |=======================================================
+======================+

When you start the game, your fighter will be in the middle at the bottom of
the screen.

-  The alien spaceships have two ways they shoot at your fighter.  They either
   shoot straight down or they shoot diagonally.

-  You must take out all the alien spaceships on a screen.  If you fail to do
   so, you will have to deal with their full complement again and your fighter
   will be set at the next higher level.  If you happen to get killed during a
   wave, you only have to deal with the remaining alien spaceships.

-  Fuel is a precious commodity in this game.  You may be able to let one or
   two waves of aliens escape but you will really be pressed to finish the
   entire round with enough fuel.  If your fuel runs out, your game is over
   regardless of how many fighters you have left.

-  You can only have one shot on the screen at a time.  This means you will
   need to plan your shots and don't fire unless you need to.

-  The first four waves of alien spaceships, with 15 alien spaceships per wave.
   They come down in distinct formations.  Understanding how these formations
   are set up is the key to taking them out quickly.

   -  The Blue Aliens come down in a "pyramid-type" formation.  Starting from
      the bottom, the numbers are five at the bottom, four at the next level,
      three at the next level, two at the next level, and one at the top.

   -  The Purple Aliens come down in two straight lines.  With seven in the
      bottom line and eight in the top line.

   -  The Green Aliens come down in a haphazard-type formation.  They move back
      and forth across the screen and they are the hardest spaceships to deal
      with.

   -  The Yellow Aliens come down in three rows with five spaceships per row.

-  As you shoot the alien formations, you will notice that the remaining alien
   spaceships will speed up.  The key is to shoot them high up on the screen so
   that you are not desperately trying to take out the last ones at the bottom.
   This also means taking out the bottom attackers first to give yourself some
   "breathing" room.

-  In addition to the alien spaceships, you must be wary of the bombs that drop
   down.  When you are lining up your shots at the alien spaceships, always be
   aware of where the bombs may be heading and act accordingly.

-  On the fifth wave, you will have to deal with the "GS" ship.  Its shots are
   pretty easy to avoid and it must be hit dead center to stop it, collect the
   points, and refuel your fighter for the next round.

                               ****************
********************************  U N I T  IV *********************************
                               ****************

+================+
| 8.  CONCLUSION |=============================================================
+================+

Astro Fighter was one of those games that I happened upon in the back of a
small store.  Never hearing about it, I decided to try my hand at it.  The
premise was quite unique:  Shoot the aliens before they reached the bottom of
the screen and watch your fuel supply.  I spent many a frustrating hour trying
to get through the Green Aliens since their formations weren't organized.  The
game provided a challenge and was a pre-cursor of things to come.  Of course,
after Astro Blaster made the scene, I just couldn't go back to Astro Fighter
again.  Overall, though, it was still a fun challenge at the time.  Un-
fortunately, it is very rare to find this machine anywhere.  However, through
the miracle of emulation, a whole new generation is realizing what we "old"
folks enjoyed those many years ago.  In addition, www.shockwave.com is bringing
many of these classic games back.  Check out their site to see what ones are
there.  I hope this guide helps you in being able to get the most amount of
gameplay for this game.  If you do have other ideas or thoughts, please e-mail
me and share them.  Who knows, maybe I'll start a Q&A Chapter in this guide if
enough people ask the same questions.  Anyway, thank you again for reading this
guide.

To see other FAQ's I have written please go to:

           http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/32691.html

           ~~~  No trees were harmed in the making of this FAQ ~~~