Hopping Mappy(Arcade) FAQ version 1.0.0 copyright 2003 by Andrew Schultz schultza@earthlink.net Please do not reproduce this FAQ for profit without my permission. It required a good deal of effort, and I do not look to profit off my work. However, if you ask me nicely, mentioning my name and this specific game, I will hopefully be un-lazy enough to reply to you. ================================ OUTLINE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. CONTROLS AND GENERAL NOTES 3. EVERYBODY ELSE 3-1. ENEMIES 3-2. PICKING STUFF UP 3-3. WHAT'S IN THE BOX 3-4. BONUS LEVEL POINTS 4. ODDS AND ENDS 5. LEVEL MAPS AND STRATEGIES (note: search for a specific level by typing CTRL-F and looking for #8 or #08 ... or #17 ... or whichever. There are 31 documented.) 6. VERSIONS 7. CREDITS ================================ 1. INTRODUCTION Hopping Mappy brings back the characters from Mappy but just isn't as effective. The problem is most likely that you don't get any new weapons for each sequence of four levels. The mazes don't get more confusing, and the main trick to get through consists of a tricky way to more or less stand still. Plus the monsters move in fixed patterns. But it's a happy and cute little game for a bit, with 31 distinct levels that you can continue through even if you lose all your Mappys, and it's worth playing through once without the later levels getting too frustrating. In Hopping Mappy you control the Micro Police mouse, Mappy, as he bounces on a pogo stick to run circles around pink cats called Meowkies, which patrol either vertically or horizontally. There's also Nyamco, a cat who patrols in a zigzag pattern, but he needs to take occasional breaks. There are eight treasures you must grab to complete a level, except on the bonus level where you just want to grab all the balloons you can. The main intrigue here is getting past a blockade of Meowkies. What's the best way to sneak by? In this FAQ I will use UL/UR/DL/DR as 'up right,' etc, indicating a direction to travel in or a displacement i.e. 'Go UL and then D.' I also may say 'U2L' meaning up, then two left. UD- and LR- bouncing refers to the art of juking one way and switching in midair. 2. CONTROLS AND GENERAL NOTES Your controls are really simple: you can bounce in any of the four directions, the only places you can land are the centers of the checkerboard squares(making for very few locations overall,) and you will move at the same speed as the cats. If you push the accelerator button and run around, you will go two times as fast. This is not always good--you can run into a bad guy, or it is tougher to turn. Regarding turning, you may want to do this in advance, just after you started jumping onto the square you'll want to land on, if you are running away from Meowkies or trying to reach a square with a treasure first. It will ensure no time lost. But if you are trailing then obviously you want to slow down. There's another case where you'll want to slow down. Say you jump in one direction and want to pull back. You can, as long as your shadow isn't touching an enemy's. This is more than just a way to save yourself, though. Say an enemy is to the right, on top of a treasure, and you're just waiting. You can bounce up to the next square and then down once he leaves and go around him. Simple enough. But what if there is a line of enemies? Say there's a treasure under the middle one as they're coming at you in the crude map below, and you're at the edge. You can bounce right, then up just over halfway, then change your mind. The bad guys will be behind you now. You can also stay at the edge, bounce up/midair/down, and follow the line from behind, which is safer short- term if not as exact. On later levels where you need to explore one edge of the board and the other you may wish to clear out one side, go to the left/right side and jump around the bad guys, and then go to the center to up/down jump to get past a phalanx and then clear the other side out. Just remember: to stay on one side of the phalanx, use the edge. To switch, go to the center. Also, beware if there is an up/down phalanx along with a left/right. Be sure you don't go near where they intersect. This point will move diagonally and can be nasty to track. +-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| +-+-+-+-+ |M| | |<| +-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| +-+-+-+-+ If you really time things right, you can just jump up and split the two cats(when they are in midair) but in fact one of the advantages of turning around is that you can do so when you're more than halfway to your intended destination. That means you take up more than double of half the standard jumping time in the air, i.e. more time, period. This does have a drawback; you should try to avoid reversing when your next square is a treasure. Otherwise you may get close to it and bounce back and not collect it. ] All monsters start off UR of you. ] Go UR on level 4x+2 or 4x+3 and the screen will scroll. ] 4x+1 levels are 9x6 with no scrolling ] 4x+2 levels are 13x6 ] 4x+3 levels are 16x6 ] screens scroll left/right to place you in the center(they are 9x6) until you are up against an edge. There is a tree on the far left and a house on the far right. ] Bonus levels scroll left. Fall off before time's up and they end early. ] The game has 31 levels. Winning gives "Congratulations! You have complete Hopping Mappy"/"Thank you for your playing!" 3. YOUR SURROUNDINGS 3-1. ENEMIES MEOWKIES: there may be over ten of these in any level. They will either have patrols up and down or left and right, no variance. Once they reach a side/edge they bounce the other way--they don't bounce off it. NYAMCO: Nyamco always starts four blocks right of you. He goes up to the top, left, down, left and then zags back right once he gets to the side. Occasionally he will fall over, and that allows you to jump on him for 100 points. But you may want to do so from behind in case he wakes up. Nyamco bounces 15 squares before he tires out, and after eight Meowky bounces quits his huffing and puffing and starts bouncing again. 3-2. PICKING STUFF UP There are four different types of treasure at the start of the level. WOLF'S HEAD 10 CAT THING 20 RUSSIAN DOLL 30 SNOWMAN 40 BOX 0 1st time, 50 2nd You get a multiplier that starts at 1 and increases when you either step on the box that appears a second time, or you pick up two of the same treasure in a row(the box does not figure as an actual treasure, but picking it up gets you an extra multiplier, actually.) The best multiplier is 6, and your total points can thus be 10 + 10*2 + 20 + 20*3 + 30 + 30*4 + 50*5 + 40 + 40*6 = 790. The last is switched because you can't save the box for last. Compared to the bonus levels that guarantee 3000+ this is really nothing and often you'll do rather worse. So definitely don't sweat getting all the items in order, and don't go after a tricky looking multiplier unless it's a matter of pride. 3-3. WHAT'S IN THE BOX Generally you want to get matching treasures to get the box to appear. Which happens as follows: --on level 4x+1 grab the Wolf's Heads(10 points each) --on level 4x+2 grab the Cat Thing(20 points each) --on level 4x+1 grab the Russian Doll(30 points each) If you get killed between the first and second treasure, the box still appears even with the multipliers reset. But if the box pops up and you die, it'sgone for that level. These start off pretty close to you but get farther away as you go along--I suppose the point is to make you work. If you get the box to appear, then it will disperse gifts that bounce and patrol just like Meowkies, and you can even get a nice boost for stepping on the box twice. However, the gifts bounce around randomly, so don't expect to track one down easily. Many gifts have pitfalls, so be careful playing with them. Here is a list of what does what below. Red diamond: hit a key with the number scrolling and you get a random three digit number added to your score. Be ready with a move as soon as you've caught the diamond, as the game pauses obnoxiously for a bit. Also be ready for disappointment--I got 001 once. Red heart: all monsters stay in a pattern, but they are vulnerable. This is best when you know you can clear the board pretty soon and there are lots of bad guys. Beware that knocking them off disrupts the initial formation as the meowkies do disappear. This is good if they are all in a line, but you may have to adjust otherwise. The meowkies are in a straight line at the start, and their bounces are synchronized, so they're more predictable. Pack them off and you may be in trouble-- unless you're willing to sit on the square where they'll wind up. You get the same points for Nyamco or a Meowky. ** POINT TOTALS: ** 1st cat 10 / 10 total 2nd cat 20 / 30 total 3rd cat 40 / 70 total 4th cat 80 / 150 total 5th cat 160 / 310 total 6th cat 320 / 630 total 7th cat 640 / 1270 total 8th cat 765 / 2035 total You also get 765 for all cats beyond that. This can get you more points than the level proper if you are careful although the red heart wears off sooner on later levels. Of course it's potentially worth more there as there are more animals. Note that if you feel you can get 6 cats it will on the whole be a better pointwise effort than getting the red diamond--with the mitigating factor being that the enemy paths get messed up. The best bet then is to do this near the end of the level, with just one easy treasure to pick up. ** also for the Red heart, you'll want to concentrate on levels where Meowkies are bunched together. Especially if they move UD as then their pattern is extra short. Yellow diamond: hit a key with the number scrolling and you get a random two digit number added to your score. But try to avoid this if you can-- it's only 1/10 as good as the red diamond. Yellow heart: meowkies stay in a pattern, but they are vulnerable. See red heart caveat. (note: clearly reds are better than yellows but not so much in this case.) Blue ball: nothing(?) Purple ball: nothing(?) Blue hourglass: freezes all monsters Pink hourglass: freezes all meowkies M-A-P-P-Y: appears in place of the standard goodies. Get all letters, receive an extra life(only on level 3.) Other 4x+3 levels are less reliable. In general if you have the luxury, the hourglass or the red diamond is the best, followed by the red heart, which is especially good if you're close to completing the level anyway. Then you don't have to pay much attention to regenerating monsters. NOTE: power ups wear off sooner on later levels. 3-4. BONUS LEVEL POINTS The main source of points will be the bonus level. It's no-risk and fairly brief if not too taxing. Basically, if you see a clump of red balloons, go after it, and if there is one stray one too far away, don't go chasing all the way down/up the screen to get to it. You get 11 points for the first 8 balloons you pick up.[ 88] 22 for the next 8 [ 176]/[ 264] 44 for the next 8 [ 352]/[ 616] 88 for the next 8 [ 704]/[1320] 111 for the next 8 [ 888]/[2208] 222 for the next 8 [1776]/[3984] You also get 500 for each Nyamco balloon you get. I find there are around 3 per round. They should be a priority as they are worth at least two regular red balloons. With about 45 balloons(average) the total comes to 4818 per bonus round. 4. ODDS AND ENDS --If many cats are bouncing up and down in a particular column, go to the bottom and wait for something to open up. Then zoom by. It may later be a good place to use a red heart on for points. --Generally you'll want to move quickly, unless there are moves you absolutely have to nail, or bad guys are on either side of you. In that case go slower. --If meowkies are in a diagonal formation, you can just rapidly alternate moves, say U-L-U-L while accelerating to pick them off if you've gotten a yellow/red heart. --For that matter it may be even easier to let Mappy bounce twice in one direction, turn, bounce twice, etc. when picking off items in a diagonal. Trying to make sharp turns on acceleration can be tricky even when you have the hang of it. --It's possible to bounce one square and avoid two Meowkies adjacent to each other, watching them bounce by. But the effort to get the timing down isn't worth it. --There's no shame in not getting everything in order although it does seem to affect how much stuff pops up on the bonus round. And there's no shame in wimping out and taking an hourglass to plow through the level. Just watch for the flashing Meowkies as a warning though. --Don't take too long. After 'Hurry up!' appears, the monsters go twice as fast. --If Nyamco is flashing and on his butt, you'll get the 100 points for knocking him down, but you'll have to wait for him to get up again before you can get the doubled-bonus to wipe him off the board. The original high score list is as follows: ROUND SCORE NAME 1 8 8000 HARCHAN 2 7 70 -MAPPY- 3 6 60 NYAMCO! 4 5 50 MEOKY.? 5 4 40 ,UHOHOY The scores seem pretty bogus, and the default is 'Who-ru?' when you get to sign your name. Continuing games does not carry your score(which is the factor if you get on the list) over, but it does carry the round over. Dip switches are as follows: Continue yes(default)/no Lives 1/2/3/5 Difficulty easy/hard(no difference it seems) Others are unknown according to MAME at the moment. 5. LEVEL MAPS AND STRATEGIES The backgrounds are light blue sky, light/dark green checkerboard for 1-4, 13-20, 28-31. Yellow squares and orange sky for 5-8, 21-24. Black sky and blue squares for 9-12, 25-28. LEDGER FOR THE MAPPY MAPS V > < ^ = meowky who starts moving this way G = Goro/Nyamco M = Mappy a b c d = where treasures are X = where box can appear 1 3 7 9 = where multiple monsters start out. 1 = DL, 3 = DR, 7 = UL, 9 = UR(as the numlock keys move basically.) Note: monster starting positions can be inferred from observations as you move around. Since you move at the same speed as they do, you can judge 1)where you first see them and 2) how many steps you took since then. Since it's easy to see how the cats move backwards, you can just count tiles to see where they wound up and where they face. Also if you know where one bad guy starts and see him in relation to another, you can deduce the second one's starting point. The tough part is getting off to the quick start to see it, and I'd be unsurprised to find an error I made. Still, the general formations should work out OK. LEVEL #01(#1) +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |V| |c| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |c| | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |a| | | |X| |d| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | |b| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |b| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |M| |a| |G| | | |d| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The first three levels are quite easy, often leading you right to a situation where you wind up getting the box. Don't fight it. If it looks obvious, take it. It won't, later. Go right, then up, and get the box. Pick up the 2's and get a goody if you want. You can run left to get the 3 and it's more or less straight right and down to solve the level. It's not intended to be hard, but you might want to try a deliberate game of chicken and possibly getting back to Nyamco to knock him out. LEVEL #02(#2) +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |b| | | | |d|V| |V| | |c| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |a| | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>| | | | | |X| |a| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | |c| | | |d| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |b| |G| | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Here it's most expedient to take out the 2's(go right, then back and up) and then the 1's getting the box along the way. You can get the 3's and loop back down and UL for the 4's. The bad guys shouldn't be too much of a pain as they're pretty sparse. For the up-down patrollers after the screen scrolls, the best bet is to pass behind them, but you can even stay between them if you want to. LEVEL #03(#3) +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |V| | | | | | | | | | |V|*| |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |b| | | |<| |c| | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | |c| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |d| | | |a| | | |<| | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |d| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |G| | | | |b| | | |<| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ * = a + V. This is your first introduction to the level that's much too wide for the screen. In general it is not too wicked. Note that few Meowkies make for many goodies you can just run and pick up. I recommend going in for the dolls first as they are the ones that produce the boxes, which will give you an extra guy if you can catch the letters. The letters are a bit tricky as they randomly choose a back-and-forth path, but given the lack of obstruction it's worth it to hunt them down. Just stay in the next-bottom or third-top row. LEVEL #04(#4) **BONUS ROUND** There's no real set path here. You want to be sure you get all the balloons you can and concentrate on the balloon with Nyamco. With the screen scrolling rather quickly from right to left you will need to make sure you don't fall off it, ending the bonus round. You will want to remember to hold down the accelerator button through this all. There's a big '4' at the start and I find the best way through it is to get the balloons at the base of the four, move down and then go back up. From there it is largely a matter of looking for clumps of balloons and going after them. Just move right and don't worry if you leave just one behind. If you're at the right edge you can afford to move up/down(the best place is the center.) LEVEL #05(#5) +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |V| | | |a| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |b|V| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |c| | |V|a| |d| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |V| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |V| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |c|d| |V| | |b| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The Meowkies start off walling you off from the right, but it's really not close to that bad. Because as they move around they'll overlap each other. You just have to wait to get by. It's best to sneak down the bottom as you can see better there. But first you'll want to get the dolls and the cat on the left, so you can open the box. This isn't a bad level to pick off Meowkies. Six of them in a row, plus Goro, make for over a thousand points. Just have everything except the final left snowman picked off before you go at it--then it's easy to get to the end of the level, and the reshuffled Meowkies won't be a nuisance. LEVEL #06(#6) +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |V| | |V| | | | | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>| |a| | | |d|V| | |b| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |d| | | | | | |V| | | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>| | | | | | |a| | | |c| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |b| | | |c| | | | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ A bit of general confusion here--the very bottom is safe buy if you just want to complete the level you can take stuff on the left out first. Then you need to watch for the three meowkies coming down. Slip in behind one and go slow speed and you can pick up the other wolf's head and get the box. Wait for any Meowkies to pass by the center--where they can concentrate. LEVEL #07(#7) +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |V| | | | |V| | | |d|<|V|V| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | |a| | | | | |<| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |b| | | |a|b| | | | | |<| | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | |<| |c| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | |c| | | | | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | |d| |<| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The Meowkies sweep L/R over the whole board, but it's not so bad as you can move UD and take your sweet time doing it when they come by. Just remember not to stop by one of the columns the UD meowkies patrol. I'd recommend solving this level with B-A-C-D pairs as most expedient if you want to get everything matching. Given how the clump of Meowkies is 1)compact and 2)far away from you once you get by, ducking should not be hard. LEVEL #08(#8) **BONUS ROUND** Leaner pickings than in level 4. Just stay to the right unless there's a clump of two balloons that you can pick off. Often in the bonus rounds there's a big blue balloon at the right side when the music stops, and you don't want to miss it. LEVEL #09(#9) +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |V| | | |<| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |b| |a| |d|<|c| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |<| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |c|<|d| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |b| |a| |<| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |^| | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Here, Meowkies are guarding every treasure, but that doesn't mean this is difficult. You can always stick on the bottom to be safe, and because the Meowkies going L/R are zigzagged you can jump up/down as they come towards you. I recommend R-U-L-U as fast as possible, and you should be able to pick off the other cat to get the box to appear. You can just wait for the meowkies to drift left before picking up the mess to the right. LEVEL #10 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>| | | | |a|V|a| | | | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>| |b| | | | |V| | | | |c| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |c| | | |V| | | |V| |b| |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>| | | | | | | | | | | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |d| | | | | | | | | |d| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Here the pogo stick work to go back and forth probably isn't worth it for the measly few extra bonus points you can get, but you can LEVEL #11 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>| |c| | | | | | | | | | |b| |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | |<|<| | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |d| | |<| |d| | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | |<|<|<|<| |c| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |a| | | | |b| | |<| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | |a| | | |<| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The ambush of the Meowkies may surprise you at first but in fact once they've disappeared or gone by you can justfollow them around. Here you can either go up to the top(watch for the Meowkies patrolling there) or UD-bounce to get past them. If you plan to UD-bounce be sure to move a bit right first. This is not a bad level to get the box and reds heart with several Meowkies lined up(the first doll's right at the top, and when you slip behind/in front of Meowkies below you have a free run,) but don't worry about getting stuff in order. LEVEL #12 **BONUS ROUND** See level 8 notes. LEVEL #13 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |V| |V| | |d| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |a| |V|b|V|c| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |V| |V| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |d| | | | |V| | |a| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |c| | |V| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | |b| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Getting around the Meowkies is tough but this is a good level for getting the red heart or even the yellow one. It means a relatively easy 8 Meowkies which mean 2000+ points. In fact since the Meowkies get pesky once regenerated I wouldn't bother with picking everything up in order-- as it is in order to get all bonuses you have to go back and forth between the two waves a total of four times, which will probably try your patience and force a silly error. LEVEL #14 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |<| | | |V|b|V| | |V|a| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| | |V| | |d| | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |<| | | | | |c| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | |b| | |<| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |c| | | | | |<| | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |d| |<| | |<|a| | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Here you're boxed in if you want everything in order and in fact you should probabpy just go C-B-A-D if you want this. It'll net you the box along the way, and ducking the Meowkies shouldn't be too bad as you can probably UD and wait for the others to pass--usual caveates apply here about making sure you're in an unoccupied column. LEVEL #15 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |3| | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |2| |3| | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |2| | | | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |1| | | |4| | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |1| | | | |4| | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ If you move quickly, you can pick off everything before the Meowkies get close. U2R2U2U etc. and you may have to wait for Nyamco to come by, but it's doable. If you aren't quick enough a UD jump makes it all very easy. And if you really want, you can use the box and then bound DRDR etc. to get all the Meowkies. LEVEL #16 **BONUS ROUND** See level 8 notes. LEVEL #17 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |d| |<|a| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |b| |b| |<| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | |<| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | |<| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |c| |c| |<| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |d| |<|a| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Those meowkies from the right are a formidable phalanx. You'll want to go up one and run at them, then bounce UD to get by. Then you can pick up the wolf-heads so the box opens up. You'll want to stay on the edge when they come back so you only have one U/D jump, after which you can pick up the cats and then the snowmen to finish. LEVEL #18 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |V| | |b| | |<| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |V| | | |<| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | |V| |<| |d| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |a| |1| |a| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |d| |<| |V| |c| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |<| |b| |V| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 1 = < + V The immediate problem here is getting by the diagonal of Meowkies. If you get the box and hearts within, do so just before nailing the last treasure. You can pick off a lot of meowkies with quick diagonal movement. But as for picking up treasures you may want to stay low and slip in behind the UD meowkies and use a LR jump to get past them. If you're feeling like they may converge note that they only do so at one row for each back and forth. This changes with each pass(basically the periods of their cycling--5 and 12--are different, and in fact the segments where Meowkies intersect on each pass go through all rows since the cycle numbers are relatively prime) so there's only so much worry about that. You'll want to stay well away from the contact point. Going to the left/right side to avoid one group and then coming back left and dealing with the UD Meowkies may seem chicken but is really sound strategy. LEVEL #19 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>| | | | |c| | | | | | | | | |d| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | |<| | | | | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |a| | | | |<| | | | |c| | |a| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>| | | | |b| | | | | |V|<| |V| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| | | | | |<| | | | | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |d| | |<| | | | |b| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Meowkies appear in regular cycles here but in fact after a few moves they'll all be on the left side. You can take advantage of this later and since no Meowkies are really linked you can just move up and down and even step to the right a bit. Getting everything in order isn't worth it but you can probably follow the top meowkyes to get the dolls and then the box that appears. Problem is, matching items are on opposite sides of the play fields and the tedium involved will probably make you lose something you didn't intend to. LEVEL #20 **BONUS ROUND** See level 8 notes. LEVEL #21 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |b| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |V|V|V|V|B|V|C|V|V| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |a| | | |c| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |a| | | | | |d| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | |d| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ You'll need a little patience to succeed here, but it's not like it's impossible. If you are really brave you can quick-jump up two, RL bounce, and then clear off the treasures going on a diagonal. Otherwise you can stay at the bottom, follow the Meowkies up, and jump again to get out of the way. After baggin the 10- and 20-pointers, stay at the top, just over the doll if you can, and follow the Meowkies down while jumping rapidly. LEVEL #22 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | |<| |<| | |b| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |a| | | |<|d|<|c| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |b|<| |<| | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |<| |<| | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| |<| |a| | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |c|<| |<| |d| | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Here you'nn need two U-D slow jumps back and forth to get by the initial wave, and it's relatively smooth sailing. It's going to be tough to open the box, but you can if you want. There's good opportunity for points with the red heart. Don't worry about treasure order here. LEVEL #23 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |a|V|c|V| | | |<|<| | | |V|c| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | |<|<| | | | | | |d| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |b| | |<|<| | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |a| | |V| | | |<|<| | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | |<| | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |d| | | |<|<| | | | | | |b| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ That long group of Meowkies looks formidable but fortunately there's a chink in the armor. That would be the second-lowest row. If you can, move up quickly and then back down to get the pair of wolf heads, then UD to avoid the single bad guy. From here you can probably get all the stuff on the left before everyone comes back--don't worry about order and bonuses. You can UD again and run to the right of the pack. If you want to risk a bit you can get the other doll and then UD bounce past the lone Meowky, get the box, and then a heart to pick off some enemies. But I advise just having done with all of it. LEVEL #24 **BONUS ROUND** See level 8 notes. LEVEL #25 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |1|2|4|3|4| |2|3|1| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |V| | | |V| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |V|V|V|V|V|V|V|V|V| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |V| |V| |V| |V| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ This is a good level for just forgetting about the box and clearing off the top. See, to get the box you need to get the wolf's heads and leave something else, which means skipping down from the top and coming back. While it's possible to take advantage of the columns with just one Meowky, I don't really advise doing so extensively. Eventually the timing will go awry, and why push it? LEVEL #26 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |a| |d| | | | | |b| | | |a| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |V| | |<| |c| | |V| | |<| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | |c| | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |V| | |<|V| | |<| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | |d| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |b| | |^| | |<| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ [fill in other d??] This one isn't really all that bad. A bit of scrambling should get you the stuff on the left side, as Meowkies never touch many of the treasure squares. LEVEL #27 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |V| | | | | | | | | |<| | | |a| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |V| | |V| | | |b| | | |<| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |b| | | | | |<| |V| | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |c| |<| | | |c| | | | | | |V|d| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | |<| | | |a|<| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | |^| | | |d| | |<| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ This level isn't so bad as you can probably get the box with relative ease--just leat the LR meowky pass. From there you can knock down stuff in order, C-B-A-D. LEVEL #28 **BONUS ROUND** This is a pretty nontaxing bonus round. You'll probably get to pick off a lot of stuff in the lower middle, and it starts with a few big X's. Don't try to get everything here--just settle for pushing right and clearing off the middle of the X before sinking to the bottom. LEVEL #29 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |D|V|D|V|V|*|V|V|C| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |<| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |<| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |<| | |2| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | |<| | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |A| | |A| | |2| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ * = V < c CAPS means meowky behind treasure--they're all in a line all the time so you figure which way. Basically you can go 'around the horn' here(counterclockwise saves time and gets more points) to win this. But of course there's plenty of side jumping on the way. I don't recommend nipping in for the box as it takes a few more treacherous double jumps. Note here that you'll often have to UD jump and then LR jump quickly. This will be impossible if two Meowkies converge on your square. But actually being on the square next to it isn't so hot. Basically you'll want to watch where the intersection line is and where it will come up next and avoid it. A neat thing to note here is that it'll always land on a light green square and you'll actually want to stay two away--on a light green square. LEVEL #30 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>|a|b|c|d| | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>|V| |d|c| | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>|V|<| |b| | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |>|V|<|V|a| | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |^|<|^|^| | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ There's a lot of action in the immediate vicinity, but don't let that distract, fool or annoy you. Move up and then UD-jump. Wait for an opening to the right as three meowkies will patrol. Then you can almost get everything in order, except that the wolf-head at the left may be a nuisance unless you go to the left and wait--in which case the Meowkies may come back and force you to do several jumps before you're free again and can take out everything else. The box may allow for some good point chasing opportunities here. LEVEL #31 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| | | | | | | | | |V| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| | | | | | | | | |a|A| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| | | | | | | | | |B|b| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| | | | | | | | | |c|C| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| | | | | | | | | |D|d| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | |<| | | | | | | | | | |^| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ CAPS means (letter) + V. More placid than you'd expect a final level to be. Just go right quickly and UD-bounce and then go right quickly. Then you can motor on to the right. The important thing to note here is that you're best off either 1) ducking in for one object and then coming back or 2) letting the bad guys bounce to the bottom/upper half and cleaning the other half out. Given that the horizontal Meowkies travel in one big line together, you may have to UD-juke twice to get by them, but then they're out of the way and you can pick off the treasures. If you want to plow through then there's little chance in getting the dolls, running back to the left, getting the box and going right and wiping everyone out--not enough time. End of FAQ proper ================================ 5. VERSIONS 1.0.1: submitted to GameFAQs.com 09/08/2003, filled in some details and errors. 1.0.0: submitted to GameFAQs.com 09/06/2003. Should be complete. 6. CREDITS The usual GameFAQs gang. They know who they are, and you should, too, because they get some SERIOUS good writing done. Good people too-- bloomer, daremo, falsehead, RetroFreak, Snow Dragon, and others I forgot. CJayC for having GameFAQs. Hang in there during the move to CNet/California. I know how backlogged I get with coding that I want to do, man. Guide writing sometimes gets in the way, you know... :) The retro sites where I found info on this game.