+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | S P A C E I N V A D E R S P A R T I I | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ GAME: SPACE INVADERS PART II PLATFORM: ARCADE GENRE: ARCADE SHOOTER CREATOR: TAITO Copyright 1980 AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ: Kevin Butler AKA War Doc E-MAIL: kevinb(at)technologist(dot)com FAQ VERSION: 1.02 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 8. Quirks UNIT IV: CONCLUSION 9. 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 sit or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All content in this guide is Copyright 2003, 2004, and 2005 by Kevin Butler. Only the sites listed below have permission to publish this work or to display it: www.gamefaqs.com www.cheats.de www.ign.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 ?". If you wish to use info in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so. 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 Space Invaders Part II 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 8/ 3/03: A guide is born. Version 1.01 8/28/03: Fixed a couple of errors. Version 1.02 1/ 2/05: An e-mail from Eric Furrer clarifying the "Shot Counting Trick" +======================+ | 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) Taito for making a great arcade game GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ Eric Furrer, for whom the trick is named after, giving more details on how he did it. +=============+ | 4. WELCOME |================================================================ +=============+ Welcome to my FAQ for Space Invaders Part II. Since the game is just a shooter that goes until all your men are killed, there is no walkthrough 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 Space Invaders Part II as the subject. If you don't, I'm liable to discard the e-mail as spam. +==============+ | 5. OVERVIEW |=============================================================== +==============+ Space Invaders Part II was the first sequel to a video game. It followed on the heels of one of the most successful video games up to that time: Space Invaders. Space Invaders Part II continues on where Space Invaders left off at. Some new things added to the game were color, the buildings now displayed the wave number, aliens that split after being hit, saucers that added aliens to the wave, and the introduction of the blinking saucer. The gameplay is exactly the same as the first Space Invaders. Even the deep thumping bass is still present as the aliens relentlessly march to-and-fro across the screen. Good luck on saving the planet. *************** ******************************** U N I T II ********************************** *************** +==============+ | 6. THE GAME |=============================================================== +==============+ Space Invaders Part II is a simple two-dimensional shooter. You control your laser base against an endless stream of alien invaders. Once you clear out one wave of invaders, another is just waiting to take your base out. Of course, your objective is simple, eliminate the invaders before they eliminate you. ____________________ / 6.1 The Controls /__________________________________________________________ -------------------- In order to become a master of this game, you must be familiar with the controls. The controls are simple. They consist of: - A joystick to move your base left and right - A fire button Yep, still the same simple controls. _________________________ / 6.2 The Playing Field /_____________________________________________________ ------------------------- The playing field consists of 4 buildings on the bottom which have the wave number on them, your laser base, and an array of alien invaders in an 11 x 5 formation although there sometimes may be gaps in the aliens. I have included an example of what the playing field look like: +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | | / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ | | --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- | | // \\ // \\ // \\ // \\ // \\ // \\ // \\ // \\ // \\ // \\ // \\| | __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ | | / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ | | \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ | | / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ | | __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ | | / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ /\ /\ / \ / \ / \ / \ | | \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \/ \/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ | | / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ || || / \ / \ / \ / \ | | __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ | | / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ | | ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- | | / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ | | __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ | | / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ | | ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- | | / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ | | | | | | __________ __________ __________ __________ | | / ___ \ / ___ \ / ___ \ / ___ \ | | | / | | | / | | | / | | | / | | | | |__/ |___| |__/ |___| |__/ |___| |__/ |___| | | | | +-+ | | +==+ +--+ | | |_______| | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ You control the laser base at the bottom of the screen under the buildings. _______________ / 6.3 Scoring /_______________________________________________________________ --------------- Scoring in this game is pretty simple. Here are the enemies: _____ /_____\ The saucer gets you anywhere from 50-300 points _____ /_____\ The blinking saucer gets you 500 points if you hit it when it is solid _ / \ --- = 30 points // \\ /\ \/ = 30 points || __ / \ \__/ = 20 points / \ __ / \ ---- = 10 points / \ - On the normal machine set up, you earn a free base at 1500 points. You start with 3 bases. **************** ******************************** U N I T III ********************************* **************** +======================+ | 7. PLAYING THE GAME |======================================================= +======================+ When you start the game, your base will be in the middle, at the bottom of the screen under the buildings. Your goal is to blast the invaders into dust. - Keep in mind that once the invaders make it to either the right or left edge of the screen, they will drop down a row and head in the opposite direction. You should plan your strategy to prevent them from making it to an edge. - A good strategy is to start blasting out the columns on the opposite edge of movement. What I mean by this is if the invaders are moving right, the start blasting out the leftmost columns first. This way, their return trip is longer and you have more time to deal with them. - Do not attempt to hit the invaders dead center. They fire their laser bombs from dead center and your shots will collide, wasting your shot and letting them move closer to an edge. - Speaking of shots, you can only have one shot out at a time so make it count. - Use your buildings to your advantage. "Peek" around buildings to get shots and blast a hole in the middle of your buildings to give you protection while you knock out columns of invaders. Keep in mind, this protection will only last about 2 columns before the invaders blow open a hole wide enough to destroy your base. - Every other wave of invaders starts one row lower. Eventually, the waves will start one row above your buildings. Be prepared to do some fast shooting to keep them from getting any lower because once they reach your level, the game is over. - When you are down to taking out the last invader on a wave, that invader will zip across the screen. The strange thing is that the invader travels faster going left to right then going right to left. Keep this in mind when trying to shoot it. - The mystery saucer (or UFO) will appear at random times. If you have a good shot at it, try to hit it. Don't go out of your way, however, to go after it; it isn't worth the risk or time wasted. - When you get a wave that has spaces in-between the invaders, be prepared for heavier fighting. These gaps are left to accommodate the "new" invaders that will appear. These new invaders appear when you hit one of the regular invaders and it splits. - The blinking saucer can only be hit when it is solid. Time your shot right and you may be able to hit it. - Another thing is if you are getting too successful at blasting the invaders, a Mystery Ship will show up and start to deposit more invaders for you to take out. +============+ | 8. QUIRKS |================================================================= +============+ Like all video games, this game has strange things that can occur. Although they aren't detrimental to gameplay, they are interesting nonetheless. Also included are some tricks of the game. +--------------------------+ | The Hidden Message Trick | +--------------------------+ To get the hidden message, you must do the following: - When the demo starts, you need to press the following keys at the same time on the machine: LEFT, RIGHT, FIRE, 1 PLAYER START, 2 PLAYER START. - Continue to press these keys rapidly as fast as you can. - If you are successful, a message will appear under the high score. +---------------------+ | Shot Counting Trick | +---------------------+ To get 300 every time you hit the mystery saucer. It is named the "Furrer Trick" named after Eric Furrer who perfected it. To do this trick, perform the following: - Once the new level begins, start counting the shots from your base. - When you have fired 22 shots, stop shooting and wait for the mystery saucer. - Use the 23rd shot to blast the mystery saucer. - After this, start counting shots again, this time count only to 14. - Use the 15th shot to hit the mystery saucer. - Continue using the 14 shot rule until the level is finished. - At the next wave, start with the 22 shot rule, then use the 14 shot rule to finish that wave. - Remember, all shots count regardless of hits or misses. _______________________________________________________________________________ Eric Furrer writes: The trick from Space Invaders works in Space Invaders II but the flashing mystery ship can throw you off. You can count 22 like in Space Invaders, but you must count 14 or 29 from the 300 to the next 300, even if you hit the flashing mystery ship. Also, in Space Invaders II, the mystery ship drops invaders, so he's harder to target. In Space Invaders II, I just do the first 22, and concentrate on leaving the left lower invader as the last invader to kill for the 1000pt fireworks bonus. +-----------------+ | Fireworks Trick | +-----------------+ - If the final aliens you kill are in the bottom 2 rows, you get a fireworks display and 500 bonus points. If it happens to be the bottom, left-most alien, you get fireworks and a 1000 point bonus. **************** ******************************** U N I T IV ********************************* **************** +================+ | 9. CONCLUSION |============================================================= +================+ I remember when this sequel came out. Since I enjoyed playing the original Space Invaders so much, I looked forward to playing this one. It didn't dis- appoint either. Taito had done a good job of taking an old theme and improving upon it. With the added on things the game could throw at you, it made the sequel an enjoyable addition to Space Invaders. As always, that low, thumping bass was as prevalent in this game as it was in its predecessors. I actually did see people playing this game more then the original Space Invaders when both were side-by-side. Guess once a game earns a great reputation, you go with the flow of success. Unfortunately, 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. 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 ~~~