+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | S U P E R C O B R A | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ GAME: SUPER COBRA PLATFORM: ARCADE GENRE: ARCADE SHOOTER CREATOR: KONAMI Copyright 1981 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 Fields 6.3 Scoring UNIT III: STRATEGIES 7. Playing the Game 7. 1 1st Area 7. 2 2nd Area 7. 3 3rd Area 7. 4 4th Area 7. 5 5th Area 7. 6 6th Area 7. 7 7th Area 7. 8 8th Area 7. 9 9th Area 7.10 10th Area 7.11 Base 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 sit or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All content in this guide is Copyright 2003 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 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 Super Cobra 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 8/14/03: A guide is born. Version 1.01 8/17/03: Fixed a couple of errors. Version 1.02 8/28/03: Fixed another couple of errors. +======================+ | 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) Konami for making a great arcade game GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ +=============+ | 4. WELCOME |================================================================ +=============+ Welcome to my FAQ for Super Cobra. Since the game has you continuously going through ten areas 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 Super Cobra as the subject. If you don't, I'm liable to discard the e-mail as spam. +==============+ | 5. OVERVIEW |=============================================================== +==============+ Super Cobra came out at the same time as Scramble. While Scramble only went through five areas to the base, Super Cobra went through ten areas. Super Cobra also had more enemies to deal with besides the missiles such as gun batteries and sidewinder missiles. The premise, though, is the same. Penetrate the enemy defenses to make it to the base to pick up the booty. What do you have against all this defense, you have your Super Cobra of course. It will, though, require all of your skills as a pilot to be able to go the distance to get the booty. This game never gained the popularity of Scramble but it still remains a cult classic and actually seems to have had better staying power then Scramble. Perhaps the reason was because it was more of a challenge, who knows. Good luck getting through and getting the booty. *************** ******************************** U N I T II ********************************** *************** +==============+ | 6. THE GAME |=============================================================== +==============+ Super Cobra is a two-dimensional, scrolling shooter style game. You are the pilot of a helicopter that must penetrate the enemy defense system to grab the booty. The system consists of ten areas before you get to the base. The areas you are going through, though, won't be easy. With danger from all sides, both enemy and terrain, you will have to keep a sharp eye and have quick reflexes to get through some of the more difficult areas of this game. In addition to worrying about danger, you must constantly keep your helicopter fueled or it will crash. This means you will have to devise tactics that keep your heli- copter somewhat out of danger while at the same time getting the fuel tanks. Of course, after you get through the enemy defense system and grab the booty, you get to start the mission anew. Looks like it's retirement is starting to look pretty good. ____________________ / 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. - An eight-way joystick - A fire button - A bomb button __________________________ / 6.2 The Playing Fields /____________________________________________________ -------------------------- Super Cobra actually consists of three types of playing fields although there are eleven areas. It's the way the terrain changes and the enemies encountered make for unique screens. I have put examples of the four basic screens below (and also given them my own names since there aren't really names assigned to them). Also note the screen shown here is bigger then the actual display. +-------------+ | MOUNTAINOUS | +-------------+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | BASE | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | | ----|---- | | |\__/ \_ | | +-------) | | | | | | | | _ GUN | | / \ /\ EMPLACEMENT | | _____ / \ / \ | | | FUEL -> /FUEL \ / \/ \ V | | TANK \_____/ / \ \ | | _/___\_____/ \ _()_ | | / \_\__/__ /| |\ / \ / | | \ + <-MISSILE / \ / | | \ + + / \/ | | \_/_\_____/ \___/ | | | | | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------+ | CITY | +------+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | BASE | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | | ----|---- | | |\__/ \_ | | +-------) | | | | +----+ +------+ | | | | + | | | | | | + | | | |----+ + +---+ /_\_ | _____ +-----+ +---| | | + | + | | / FUEL\ | | | | | | + | + | | \_____/ | |____| | | _/_\_ _/_\_ +--/---\---------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ +-------+ | CAVES | +-------+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | BASE | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | | | | ----|---- | | | | |\__/ \_ | | | | +-------) | | | | | | | |------------------+ | | +----| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-----------------+ | | | | ____ ____ ____ ____ | | | | /FUEL\/FUEL\/FUEL\/FUEL\ | | | | \____/\____/\____/\____/ | | | +----------/--\--/--\--/--\--/--\-----------+ | | | | | | | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------+ | BASE | +------+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | BASE | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+------+ | | | | ----|---- | | |\__/ \_ | | +-------) | | KONAMI +----------+ | | +-------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--------+ BOOTY | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | V | | | | | | | | +----+ | | | | | | | | | $ | | | | |---+ +------+ +----+----+--------+ +---------| | | | | | | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ You control your helicopter through all eleven areas. _______________ / 6.3 Scoring /_______________________________________________________________ --------------- Scoring in this game is pretty simple: Missile on ground : 30 points Sidewinder missile on ground : 40 points Missile in air : 50 points Sidewinder missile in air : 60 points Red UFO : 100 points UFO : 100 points Fuel tank : 50 points Gun battery : 100, 200, or 300 points Green fireball : 150 points Missile in ceiling : 30 points Missile dropping from ceiling: 50 points Booty : 800 points 10 points/second of flying You start with 3 helicopters and you gain a bonus helicopter after successfully getting the booty. **************** ******************************** U N I T III ********************************* **************** +======================+ | 7. PLAYING THE GAME |======================================================= +======================+ When you start the game, your helicopter will be at the left side of the screen. Keep in mind, this is a scrolling game. This means you can go no faster then the right side and no slower then the left side. You can, however, vary your speed in-between by pushing the joystick back and forth. The biggest key in getting through this game is learning how to use the joystick to speed up and slow down because you will sometimes be put into some very tight areas that will require precision joystick control. What I have done is break down the areas and some strategies for getting through them. There is a break be- ween each area. You will hit a clear area and a message will come up such as "1000 miles cleared", "2000 miles cleared", etc. until your reach the base. Refer to Chapter 6.2 for the screens. ________________ / 7.1 1st Area /______________________________________________________________ ---------------- This is a basic introductory area. It will allow you to get used to the controls while the threat level remains relatively low. The area is a mix of both mountainous and city. - Learn how to vary your speed and you can drop bombs with pinpoint precision. You can only have two bombs on the screen at any one time. You will have to go close to the surface to really make a difference. The biggest threat is the missiles that rise up to meet you. - Fuel is a very precious commodity in this game. Don't take a chance trying to bomb a fuel tank. It's better, if you have a flat section, to take out what's under your rocket, and strafe the rest of the way. This way, you ensure you can hit the fuel tank or tanks. - Watch the terrain. Sometimes you may be cruising when a mountain will appear suddenly requiring quick reflexes and space you may not have. - You also need to watch out for ground fire from the gun batteries. They tend to fire random shots and if you aren't careful, they will hit your helicopter. ________________ / 7.2 2nd Area /______________________________________________________________ ---------------- This area introduces you to the sidewinder missile. These missiles are unusual in the fact that they fire at an arc and come back down again. This means your helicopter can get hit two ways. Of course, if it misses your helicopter, it tends to sometimes be helpful by taking out other ground targets such as missiles and gun batteries. The terrain is mountainous. - Follow the same pattern as you did in the 1st Area. This time, you need to be wary of the sidewinder missiles. - As always, make sure you keep a high fuel level and watch out for those gun batteries. ________________ / 7.3 3rd Area /______________________________________________________________ ---------------- You get to deal with the red UFO's in this area. Also, the mountains will get steeper and create "choke points" at the top of the screen. Of course, you will have to contend with the UFO's coming through the other side. The terrain is mountainous. - The red UFO's aren't too difficult to deal with. They have a tendency to stop in pairs, then come at your helicopter. Again, it's easy to shoot them down. - The biggest threats are the "choke points". You usually will arrive at the same time as a UFO to see who's first over the mountain. This will require quick reflexes. - Even though no missiles come up at you, the gun batteries will still harass you. ________________ / 7.4 4th Area /______________________________________________________________ ---------------- This is a continuation of the 3rd Area. Except this time the area you are flying in is significantly narrowed to a point where it seems like you are going through natural caverns. Use the same methods as the 3rd Area. ________________ / 7.5 5th Area /______________________________________________________________ ---------------- You will have to deal with threats both from above and below in this area. There are missiles in the ceiling of the caverns that will drop down. Although missiles aren't firing from the ground, you still have to deal with gun batteries. The terrain is mountainous and caves. - You will have to be real careful in this area, the missiles in the ceiling are pretty concentrated. You will have to be able to speed up and slow down on a dime to avoid them or to shoot them. - Don't get too close to the ground since the terrain goes from mountains to canyons very quickly. - As already mentioned, get fuel and avoid ground fire. ________________ / 7.6 6th Area /______________________________________________________________ ---------------- The main threat in this area is the fact the gun batteries now move. That's right, they track right along with your helicopter until they hit an obstacle. They travel equally well in the canyons as well as the mountains. This makes them especially dangerous since they are firing at the same time. - You will have to accelerate and decelerate frequently to "fool" the moving gun batteries. - When you destroy ground targets, be selective in which ones you hit because if you hit targets in the path of the moving gun batteries, you just allow them to travel farther. ________________ / 7.7 7th Area /______________________________________________________________ ---------------- This area is a little trickier since you now have fireballs coming at your helicopter. In addition, there is a green fireball that likes to track your helicopter and prevent your shots from gaining any distance. It takes seven shots to take out this fireball. The terrain is mountainous. - You will be staying in the valleys most of the time in this area. This is a good time to shoot things up on the ground since again, the missiles won't fly up at your helicopter. Gun batteries, though, will continue to harass you. - Timing again is important in this area since there are hills in the valley you must cross over. Of course, the tops of these hills are exposed to the fireballs. Time it so that right after a fireball passes over a hill, accelerate and drop into the next valley. Then decelerate in preparation for the next hill. ________________ / 7.8 8th Area /______________________________________________________________ ---------------- This is repeat of the 3rd area except this time you will be dealing with "chains" of white UFO's. Use the same tactics as the 3rd Area. ________________ / 7.9 9th Area /______________________________________________________________ ---------------- This is a very short city area. Just watch out for sidewinder missiles. __________________ / 7.10 10th Area /____________________________________________________________ ------------------ This is the area that will get most players. The movements have to be precise in the caves or you will end up part of the wall. - Learn quickly when to accelerate and decelerate within the caves. Right when you come to a ledge, push the joystick all the way back and start lining up for the next cave. Accelerate quickly through it, decelerate and repeat this pattern. - Don't worry about running out of fuel in the caves, there are plenty of fuel tanks to top your helicopter off. Plus, you will need all that fuel for not only navigating through the caves, but also the base since it doesn't have any fuel tanks. _____________ / 7.11 Base /_________________________________________________________________ ------------- This is the second hardest area that gets a lot of players. You have to be very precise in your movement. You will have to deal with gun batteries firing at you while you are trying to pick up the booty. - See my picture in Chapter 6.2. You will see the KONAMI sign atop one of the buildings. Once you see this, you need to decelerate rapidly and drop down quickly to the shorter building next to the base. Once you almost clear that building, you will have to rapidly decelerate, drop down, grab the booty, and rise quickly to avoid the building on the right. - If you fail to grab the booty on a pass, the screen will repeat itself until you either destroy the base or run out of rockets to use on it. Once you have completed the Base, the action goes back to the 1st Area again. Things, however, will speed up. Fuel consumption is quicker and the enemies also are faster. **************** ******************************** U N I T IV ********************************* **************** +================+ | 8. CONCLUSION |============================================================= +================+ I remember when Scramble came out, I tended to play that game a lot. Then this game showed up one day, in a corner by itself. I already knew the concept of how this game ran from playing Scramble so I thought this was just a cheap clone. When I played it, however, I found that it was much more of a challenge (and therefore more fun to me) to get through. Not only was the terrain more treacherous, but the enemies were more numerous making conditions a lot more hazardous. It didn't seem, though, a lot of people liked to play this game. Again, probably because of the fact it was so hard. Oh well, their loss. 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. 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 ~~~