o ° __ o bit Generations O ° o o / \ __ __ _ _____ ___ _ ° O °/ /\ \ | \ | \ | ||_ _| / \ | | O O ° | |O°| | | / | / | | | | | || | o ° °o \ \/ / | \ | \ | | | | | _ || |_ O ° o O O \ __ / |_|\_| |__ / |_| |_| |_| |_||___| o bit Generations: Orbital Complete FAQ/Walkthrough Matthew Wilson email: kalmtraveller@googlemail.com O° Contents 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Gameplay 2.1 Controls 2.2 Celestial Bodies 2.3 Playing Orbital 3.0 Walkthrough 3.1 Galaxy 1 - Saturn Galaxy Stage 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 3.2 Galaxy 2 - Spiral Galaxy Stage 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 3.3 Galaxy 3 - Eclipse Galaxy Stage 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 3.4 Galaxy 4 - Trinary Star System Galaxy Stage 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 3.5 Galaxy 5 - Moon Galaxy Stage 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 3.6 Galaxy 6 - Earth Galaxy Stage 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 3.7 Extra Galaxy - Sphere Galaxy Extra 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 3.8 Final Galaxy - Net Galaxy Final 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 4.0 Secrets 5.0 Frequently Asked Questions 6.0 Information 1.0 Introduction What are the bit Generations games? The bit Generations games are a series of titles, two series to be exact, made for the GameBoy Advance. There are three titles in series 1 - Dotstream, Boundish and Dialhex and four titles in series 2 - Coloris, Orbital, Digidrive and Soundvoyager. The bit Generation games are supposed to be a graphically simplistic yet addictive titles designed specifically to appeal to the pick-up-and-play gamer. Having only been released in Japan as budget titles and with no chance of them coming to America, Europe or anywhere else the only way you'll get hold of these seven games is to import them. What is Orbital? As a lone body in a sea of stars it is your job in Orbital to go around the Universe absorbing other stars into yourself, in order to grow big enough to pull satellites into an orbit around you. The terms and names I've used in this FAQ are made up by me. The only information the game gives you is that the objects you absorb are stars and the objects you pull into an orbit around you are satellites. I'm not even sure if the body you play as is meant to be a star or a planet. I only call it a Planet because it's orbited by satellites (whereas a star is only orbited by planets, comets and the like). Of course, I don't know of any planets which are able to absorb stars, but I feel calling it a Planet helps distinguish it from the other objects in the game. 2.0 Gameplay 2.1 Controls Menu controls: D-pad: Move to select Galaxy/Stage A Button: Press to enter Galaxy or begin Stage B Button: Press to exit current Galaxy or exit back to the title screen Stage controls: A Button: Attract B Button: Repel Start: Pause/bring up option to retry or exit Stage Select: Enter View Mode D-pad: Used to move cursor when paused/used to move view-screen in View Mode or when in orbit 2.2 Celestial Bodies Here is a description of all the objects that will appear within the play area: Planet - this is the celestial body that you play as. Stars - these are the objects that look similar to your Planet but can be many different sizes and are also the objects that it is your job to collect, either by absorbing them or getting them to orbit you. If they appear red then they are too big to be absorbed and, if touched, will destroy you. If they appear blue then they are small enough to be absorbed into your Planet but not small enough to pull into an orbit around you. If they appear grey then the stars are small enough to be absorbed and also small enough to orbit your Planet. Stars can be stationary, orbiting other stars or travelling in a fixed direction through the play area. Special Star - this looks similar to a normal star except it appears yellow. This star is the last thing you must pull into an orbit around you and once you have the Stage will end. You cannot absorb this star into your Planet and if you touch it your Planet will be destroyed. Crescent Moon - this is a yellow crescent shaped moon and only appears once you become big enough to pull the Special Star into your orbit. Only one exists in each Stage and if you are able to collect every Crescent Moon in the game a new Galaxy will be unlocked. Space Debris - these can be small or large clusters of red debris, normally composed of cubes or spheres. You cannot absorb these or pull them into an orbit around your Planet. If you hit them you will be destroyed. Both your Planet and all types of stars will look similar to this: ____ / \ / __ \----Orbit Field | / \ | | \ __ /---|---Central Mass \ / \ ____ / Sometimes the Special Star or your Planet will have more than one orbit field (or none at all) but they act no differently than if they only had a single orbit field. 2.3 Playing Orbital O° Floating through space From the description of the controls you can see that there are only two buttons used in controlling your movements in the game. When the A button is pressed your Planet glows red and it becomes attracted to stars in the play area, when the B button is pressed your Planet is repelled by stars in the play area. O° Absorbing and growing Your goal is to absorb enough blue and grey stars to enable you to pull the final Special Star into an orbit around you, thus completing the Stage. To begin with move your Planet around the Stage absorbing the initial blue stars that are available. To absorb a star you must touch the central mass of the blue star with the central mass of your Planet, if you simply pass your orbit field over a blue star it won't be affected. As you absorb blue stars you will gradually become bigger which will turn previously red stars blue, allowing you to absorb them as well. If you become larger blue stars may also turn grey, at this point you can either absorb them or pull them into an orbit around you. O° Obtaining satellites In order to create a satellite you must pull an object into an orbit around your Planet. To do this you must pass your orbit field over the the orbit field of another object without touching the central mass of the object with the central mass of your Planet. The only objects that can become satellites are - grey stars, the Crescent Moon and the Special Star. For each satellite that you end the level with you will gain an extra life. O° Absorbing vs. collecting Whether you choose to absorb a star or collect it as a satellite depends on your playing style and the Stage itself. Sometimes it can be better to remain small, allowing you to move through gaps more easily. However, the bigger your Planet becomes the bigger your orbit field becomes and with a bigger orbit field it becomes easier to collect the Special Star and end the Stage. It can also be useful to gain as many satellites as possible in order to gain a large amount of extra lives. However you choose to play a Stage there will always be enough stars to complete it (even if you collect every grey Star as a satellite there will still be enough extra stars to become large enough to pick up the Special Star). O° Orbiting stars If you travel into the orbit field of a red star it is possible to be pulled into the orbit of the star causing you to circle around the star until you choose to leave. Sometimes you will pass through an orbit field but not be pulled into the orbit of a star. The closer you are to naturally following the star's orbit, the more likely it is that you'll be pulled into an orbit. You'll know when you've been pulled into an orbit because a distinct chime will sound. It's useful to move into the orbit of a star if that star is being orbited already by blue or grey stars. If you move into the orbit of a star you can more effectively control your relative position to the star you want to absorb or collect. This makes gaining stars as satellites much easier. Note that if the star you are trying to obtain is moving at a similar speed to your own Planet but is on the opposite side of the star you're orbiting you can move closer to the central mass in order to orbit the star more quickly (and catch up to the star you're trying to collect) or move further away from the central mass in order to slow down your orbit (and wait for the star to catch up to you). When you want to leave the orbit simply move outside the outer edge of the star's orbit field and you will break free quite easily. Note that, when orbiting a Star, you can hold A as much as you wish and you will never collide into the central mass. O° Unconnected orbit Something which I will refer to a lot in the walkthrough section is an unconnected orbit. This is a method whereby you circle around a star, following it's orbit exactly, but without actually being connected to the star's orbit field. This is something which is quite easy to do since it simply involves tapping the A button slowly in order to adjust your direction to follow the orbit of the star. The bigger the star the more slowly you tap the A button to follow it's orbit. O° Life and death You begin each new Stage with five lives, these are shown in the top right of the screen. Every time you crash into an object which you cannot absorb you will lose one life. You will continue from where you crashed and you will begin travelling in the opposite direction to which you hit the object. The only object you can hit without losing a life is the Crescent Moon. However, in hitting the Crescent Moon you will knock it out of the play area and you will not be able to obtain it without restarting that particular Stage. If, after losing a life, the direction you're moving in will cause you to IMMEDIATELY crash into another object then you will remain invincible until you pass through that particular object. Unfortunately this only occurs if the object you will be thrown into is extremely close to where you crashed into the previous object. More often than not you will simply be thrown straight into another object only to lose another life. Be careful not to crash in a crowded area. O° The Galaxy is a sphere The play area is actually connected at each side. If you drift off the eastern edge then you'll eventually start drifting back into the play area from the western edge. Although each play area is a different size, more often than not, if you miss an object you're trying to collect by a tiny margin and you're travelling directly north/south or east/west it's easier to just wait until you eventually come back around to the object again from the same direction you initially approached it from (you head north towards an object, miss it and then wait until you eventually start heading north towards it again). O° Take in the scenery In the walkthrough section I'll sometimes mention areas and directions to objects which you may not entirely be able to see yet. Sometimes, by the time you are able to see them, it may be too late to perform the actions I describe. It's always a good idea to press Select at the start of the Stage, or immediately after getting into an orbit around a star or collecting a blue star, in order to clearly see where you should be heading next. It's always a good idea to get a clear map worked out in your head as to what the level design of each Stage is like. 3.0 Walkthrough You may be wondering why I have written a full walkthrough for Orbital. Surely the point of the game is to sit back, relax and to simply float around the Stages picking up whatever you happen to come across? Of course, that is one way to play the game and perhaps the most enjoyable. However, I have found that, on the majority of levels, the most difficult part is absorbing the initial few blue stars because after you've done this you're usually big enough to go out and pick up everything else that remains in the level. Therefore this walkthrough really concentrates on the quickest and possibly easiest method for picking up your first one or two stars. If you're able to absorb your first one or two stars without losing any lives then it gives you the freedom to fully explore the rest of the Stage without the fear that you'll get a Game Over. For each Stage in the game I've given my own difficulty rating (out of five stars) which takes into consideration the whole Stage, including collecting the Crescent Moon. I've also included my best score and my best time for each level. I've not actively gone out and tried to obtain the best scores and times for each Stage, these are simply the kinds of scores and times you should be looking to get if you follow the directions in my walkthrough. 3.1 Galaxy 1 - Saturn Galaxy O° Stage 1 Difficulty: *½ Best Points: 9880 Best Time: 1:02 If it's the first time you're playing the game select the only Galaxy available to you and Stage 1 will begin. As soon as you begin immediately press A to attract you into the orbit of the nearest star. At this point you can absorb the blue star that is orbiting it by adjusting your position within the orbit with A and B. Get to the very edge of the orbit field and (assuming you're going anti-clockwise) as you swing around the bottom of the star press B to be released from the orbit (you should release your Planet from the Star at exactly it's south pole) and you should head towards the red star to the east. Move into the orbit field and absorb the grey and blue stars orbiting the star (getting closer to the star's central mass in order to catch up to any stars you're far away from) and you should be big enough to absorb the large blue star orbiting the star to the east. Head over to the star and absorb it. If you want to get the grey star to the right as a satellite just move to the outer edge of the orbit field, since you're big enough to reach it. At this point you're big enough to complete the Stage so you can head straight back to the star to the west and then head straight down to pick up the Special Star or, if you want to pick up the Crescent Moon you can head straight up and then pick up the Special Star as you come up from underneath it. O° Stage 2 Difficulty: * Best Points: 15040 Best Time: 1:06 As the Stage begins, don't press anything. You'll eventually float up and absorb a small blue star. Now you can see that there is a larger blue star to the northwest of you, so slowly tap A (and B if you need to) to reach and absorb it. Now the next biggest star has become available so continue to tap A and B to absorb that star. At this point you're big enough to absorb all of the stars surrounding the central red star so you can go around collecting them as satellites or absorbing them if you wish. Note that for this whole Stage you'll be in a disconnected orbit from the central star, making this Stage much easier than the first. At this point you can continue to orbit the central star until you catch up to and pull in the Special Star or you can head south from the central star (it's quite easy to control your Planet at this point) to pick up the Crescent Moon. Eventually you'll come back round and approach the central star from the north. You'll probably be approaching the central star on the right if you've gone down to collect the Crescent Moon, meaning you'll be heading clockwise around the central star now, making it much easier to collect the Special Star. You can get a good 10 extra lives from this level, considering the number of satellite stars available to you. O° Stage 3 Difficulty: * Best Points: 11900 Best Time: 1:00 As you start the Stage you'll be heading near a red star with a blue star to it's northeast. Wait for a second and then hold down A and you should swing up and around the red star and absorb the blue star. If you mess up at this point just restart the Stage, you won't need the lives at this point. You'll then head up to another red star so try to get into it's orbit field. You should collect two grey Stars as satellites if you travel around this star. You should also notice a blue star down to the south so head towards it. If you miss the blue star then don't worry since there is another blue star orbiting a red star just below it. Try to head down and pick this one up if you missed the previous blue star. At this point you're big enough to pick up the Special Star which is just to the north of the star you're orbiting. If you want to get the Crescent Moon head east from the star you're orbiting and you should easily be able to pick it up at the speed you're travelling. Now continue heading east until you eventually come back towards the Special Star, perhaps picking up a few satellites along the way. O° Stage 4 Difficulty: ** Best Points: 7490 Best Time: 0:51 You begin the Stage by being pulled into the orbit field of a star. Wait here until you see a red star following by a line of blue stars come towards the star you're orbiting. Now, just as it passes the star, you should be heading round towards it (assuming you've not pushed any buttons yet). At this point you should push B so that you fly off the star so that you are exactly parallel to the line of stars moving past you. You should fly right through the line of blue stars absorbing at least one of them and you should end up collecting the larger blue star which acts as the tail of the line of stars. You can correct your line by pushing A or, if you initially miss the line of stars or miss the larger star at the tail, you can just keep retrying the level until you manage it. Having collected the tail star you're now big enough to end the Stage, unfortunately the Special Star is the head of the line of stars you just collected and the Crescent Moon is at the very tail of the line of stars. What you need to do is, as you collect the tail star press A and you should be pulled round and start travelling west underneath the star to the left of the star you began the Stage on. Now all you have to do is continue to travel west, adjusting your line with A and B as you pass each red star (you'll notice that all the red stars are in a direct line running east-west). If you continue to head west you'll eventually get an opportunity to move towards the Crescent Moon or Special Star. Quite a short Stage, but tricky. O° Stage 5 Difficulty: * Best Points: 9590 Best Time: 1:01 You begin the Stage travelling to the right of a vertical zig-zag of red stars. Each of the stars that are slightly to the right have a blue star on the very eastern part of the orbit field and the stars to the left have a blue star on the western edge. Begin by slowly adjusting your position so that you are travelling up the right edge of the red stars, absorbing one of the blue stars but WITHOUT travelling into the orbit field of the red stars. Once you have done this you can continue to either absorb the now grey stars or collect them as satellites. Whether you decide to go after the grey stars or not you should eventually hold down B to propel yourself away from the line of stars until you reach the western side of the stars (it's much safer to go through the empty space to get to the left side than to go through the orbit fields). Keep holding B and you should start travelling up (or down) the edge of the stars again. Now you can either absorb the grey stars or collect them as satellites but what you're looking for is the bigger blue star which will get you big enough to complete the Stage once absorbed. After you have absorbed it, if you're looking to get the Crescent Moon then hold down B again to get on the eastern side of the line of stars. If you can try to travel downwards past the stars. Stay close to the stars and wait until you can see the Crescent Moon in between two stars. What you need to do is touch and get into the orbit field of the star above the Crescent Moon and then, as soon as you do, press down B so that you immediately break free. If you timed it right then you should pick up the Crescent Moon and shoot out away from the red stars. Now all that's left is to collect the Special Star. This is quite easy to see and quite easy to collect. Simply press B when you see the Special Star (you should be travelling down the right side of the stars) and then adjust with A when you get close to it. 3.2 Galaxy 2 - Spiral Galaxy O° Stage 6 Difficulty: ** Best Points: 7190 Best Time: 1:01 Wait for a second and then gently press B in order to absorb the blue star right in front of you. If you managed to do that then numerous larger blue stars become available. Now press B and then A in order to swing around the lower, larger star absorbing the lower blue star. Immediately hold down A and keep holding it. You should swing right around the larger red star and as you come over the top of it the smaller star will start pulling you towards it but simply keep holding A. Eventually you should come back towards the larger red star and get into it's orbit field. Travel around the orbit field until you are able to leave it on the western side, absorbing the other blue star in the process. Keep heading in a southwestern direction and, when you see another large red star, start pressing B and then A so that you travel underneath it. As you pass over the red star with no orbit field (this will become the Special Star) hold A to swing south and head towards the large blue star. Once you have absorbed it and you see a large star on your right side hold A to pull you south again. Once you're travelling in a general southeastern direction release the A button and you should now see both the Crescent Moon and the Special Star. Pick up the Crescent Moon and continue heading south. At this point you might be able to avoid the red star to your south or you may collide with it. If you pass the Star continue heading south until you're able to come by the Special Star again. If you collide with the star it should hopefully shoot you back north in which case you should be able to pick up the Special Star on your way north. O° Stage 7 Difficulty: * Best Points: 6360 Best Time: 2:44 You begin the Stage in the orbit of a Star again. This star is actually moving through the level so as soon as you reach the southern part of the orbit field press B to break free and head towards the star to the east (with the blue stars orbiting it). Absorb the blue stars (or just one if you wish) and as you head up to the northern part of the orbit field press B to break free, making sure to head in a northwestern direction. You'll want to make sure you do this quickly - before the moving star travels up and blocks your path. Now get into the orbit field of the star to the northwest and absorb one or both of the blue stars. At this point the moving star should be travelling past the star you are orbiting (if not then wait for it) so release yourself from the orbit of the star and carefully move into the orbit field of the moving star. Absorb the blue star and you'll now be able to finish the Stage. Since you're still on the moving star you're probably wondering where the Crescent Moon is. It's actually moving in the same direction as the star you're on but it's a little way north. Therefore break free from the orbit heading north and it should be quite easy to pick up the Crescent Moon. Now you can continue heading north, using the stars on either side of you to maintain a steady direction. Eventually you'll pass the Special Star and should easily pick it up. O° Stage 8 Difficulty: ** Best Points: 6000 Best Time: 2:40 You start the Stage heading towards a huge red star. As you pass into it's orbit field adjust your position by pressing B so that you start orbiting it properly (rather than just travelling through the orbit field). As you pass around the star you'll have to move closer and further away from the main core of the star you're orbiting in order to avoid the other stars also orbiting it. What you're aiming for is the lone blue star orbiting the smaller red star which is orbiting the main star. Remember to move closer to the main core of the star in order to catch up to the star you're aiming for (just be careful of the small red star travelling close to the main core in the opposite direction to you). Once you have absorbed the lone blue star the red star I just mentioned (the one close to the main core of the main star) will turn blue so move in and absorb that star as well. Keep moving around the main star (stay in close to the core) and you should eventually catch up to a larger blue star on the very edge of the orbit field (you should also pick up a couple of stars as satellites along the way). Once you have this star the Crescent Moon should appear to the north of the main star so go around and try to pick it up as you leave the main star to the north. If you're trying to pick up the Crescent Moon it's better to be too far over to the West than leave too early and knock the Crescent Moon out of the play area. The easiest way to pick up the Special Star now is wait until you reach the main star again and then travel around the star in an unconnected orbit. It's much easier to make adjustments to your position like this than to re-enter the orbit field of the main star and then trying to fly out towards the Special Star. O° Stage 9 Difficulty: ** Best Points: 7920 Best Time: 1:08 Again you'll start off in the orbit field of a star and you'll also notice that this is the first Stage which contains space debris so make sure to avoid this! The best way to start this Stage is to already hold down B as the Stage starts and you should head straight north. Now use A and B to head up the line of stars and absorb the blue star at the top. Quickly hold A to swing around the red star below you and move down the left hand side to absorb the blue star to the very left. You'll notice that the star right next to the one you just absorbed will turn blue as well. So continue heading south, making sure to avoid the debris which will be coming very close to you, and eventually you pass this blue star again only this time you can absorb it. Now that you're big enough to complete the Stage you can either absorb more blue stars to make picking up the Crescent Moon (Which should be directly to the left of you) and the Special Star easier or you can simply head straight for them. Note that the Special Star is directly south of where you just picked up the last blue star and you'll probably heading straight towards it, so be careful. Also note that if you end up picking up EVERY star in the Stage (which you can do) you'll have nothing left to attract yourself to/repel against, leaving yourself at the mercy of Gods. O° Stage 10 Difficulty: **½ Best Points: 10200 Best Time: 2:10 Yet again you'll start off in the orbit field of a star. This time it is huge and surrounded by three debris clouds. The blue stars you have to collect initially are rather awkwardly place on the outside edge of these debris clouds. Like in the last Stage begin this one with your finger already holding down the B button. Now almost as soon as you leave the orbit field make sure to hold down A so that you start moving towards the blue star to your left. You CAN absorb this star by following these directions but it may take a couple of attempts. As soon as you have absorbed the star either let go of the A button if you're travelling directly west or adjust your direction so that you move west. Eventually you'll come back around to the debris cloud you just passed and, assuming you're far enough south when you meet up with it again, you can absorb the blue star which is the next size up. Now that you've done this you'll pass in between the main star (on your right) and a smaller star (on your left). At this point you can't really do anything since the both seem to interfere with your direction so continue heading southwest. Eventually you'll start coming down the east side of the main star, at which point you can start heading round the south side in an unconnected orbit absorbing another of the blue stars in the process. Now you're big enough to absorb the largest of the blue stars near the debris cloud so continue west, passing under the smaller star, until you reach the main star again. On your way pass the main star absorb the final blue star and continue heading west. Now you're big enough to collect the Crescent Moon which is in the orbit field of the main star so when you finally meet up with the main star again head into the orbit field, staying near the outer edge, so that you can collect the Crescent Moon as it heads past you. You've probably seen that the Special Star is currently orbiting the smaller star to the side of the main star so head out of the orbit field to the east and, if you're unable to pick up the Special Star straight away, head into the orbit field of the star so that you're travelling around it in the same direction as the Special Star. If you press A until you're as close to the main core as possible you'll eventually catch up to the Special Star. In order to collect it as a satellite simply wait until your orbit field overlaps the Special Star slightly and then simply press B. The Special Star should immediately latch onto your Planet. 3.3 Galaxy 3 - Eclipse Galaxy O° Stage 11 Difficulty: **½ Best Points: 9290 Best Time: 1:11 From the start hold down B so that you immediately leave the star that you start the Stage orbiting. As you head towards the star to the east press A to get into an orbit around the star. After absorbing both blue stars continue until you are starting to move west and then release your Planet from the orbit so that you start heading in a southwest-west direction. You want to get into an orbit around the large star to your west but there are two large debris clouds also orbiting the star and they are travelling in the opposite direction to the direction you would be travelling in if you went straight into the orbit field at this point. So, instead of heading towards the star, when you get near press B to deflect your plant down in a south-southwest direction so that you head straight down and start approaching the SAME star from the north. However, this time you'll be heading down the west side of star. Now you can press A to go into the orbit of the star and you'll be travelling in an anti-clockwise direction - the same direction as the space debris. When you get into an orbit around the star you'll notice very quickly that the debris is travelling faster than you are, therefore you should be ready to very gently leave the orbit field but to continue in an unconnected orbit around the star if the debris comes too close. You only need to absorb one of the blue stars in the orbit field of this star so as soon as you have, gently leave the orbit field but continue to travel in an unconnected orbit until you reach the eastern part of the star at which point you should start to head northeast. Now, unfortunately both the Crescent Moon and the Special Star are orbiting the lower star here but in opposite directions. If you can travel around the star in an unconnected orbit in the SAME direction as the Special Star you'll find it much easier to collect the Crescent Moon since the Special Star won't be rushing past you constantly. O° Stage 12 Difficulty: ** Best Points: 11700 Best Time: 1:00 You begin the Stage heading south with a huge line of spinning stars to your left. Tentatively move towards the spinning stars by pressing A and you should hopefully be aiming to absorb the blue star directly to the east. If you manage to absorb this or any of the other blue stars then the two red stars on the end of the line of spinning stars should turn blue. You should immediately absorb one or both of these without actually doing anything (Since the stars will spin straight into your Planet). At this point the next stars in the line should turn blue so continue to move around the central star in an unconnected orbit but slowly moving inwards to absorb each star in the line. Once you have absorbed all of the stars in the line the central star will become the Special Star. At this point try to head North until you pass a large red star and start approaching the western side of the Special Star. The Crescent Moon is to the southwest of the Special Star so you should be able to easily pick this up. From here go on to collect the Special Star using the remain red star as a guide if needs be. O° Stage 13 Difficulty: * Best Points: 8960 Best Time: 0:34 You being the Stage heading south, to the east of a small red star. Immediately press A to pull yourself round the star and let go when you start heading southwest. You should head towards a large star with a lot of bodies speeding around the orbit field. You should be travelling fast enough to head into the orbit field and absorb the blue star at the back of the line of objects. Immediately hold A to be drawn towards the central mass of the star. Now, as you approach the larger blue star be ready to hold B to both absorb the blue star and then immediately leave the orbit field of the star. If you do this properly you should become large enough to make the Crescent Moon appear and to just miss it as you pass out of the star's orbit. You'll head south past the small red star before coming back to the larger star. Continue around the star in an unconnected orbit in order to pick up the Crescent Moon and then continue even further to collect the Special Star. O° Stage 14 Difficulty: *½ Best Points: 9170 Best Time: 3:33 As you start the Stage you'll be heading south towards the orbit field of a large star. If you tap B you should avoid this star and head into the star to the southwest. As you absorb both of the blue stars here notice that there are four stars in a cross shape. After absorbing the blue stars and as you approach the eastern edge of the orbit field release yourself but NOT so that you collect the blue star, instead you should head up into the orbit field of the northern star. Circle this star and as you head south release yourself from the orbit, this time absorbing the blue star. As you head into the orbit field of the southern star you should see the red star orbiting it turn blue. From here you can head directly south-southwest to a small star which has the Crescent Moon around it. However it's much safer to head directly south, get into an orbit around the eastern star of the cross and then head north to the Crescent Moon from there. Finally head to the northern star in the cross and pick up the Special Star. You can approach the Special Star from behind if you wish (if you're travelling clockwise), you shouldn't be travelling fast enough to crash into it. O° Stage 15 Difficulty: ** Best Points: 9490 Best Time: 1:11 Spooky... This Stage consists of one huge central star being orbited by four other stars - two large, two small. Initially you want to tap B to avoid the larger star and then press A to move in so that you can get into an orbit around one of the smaller orbiting stars. This star will have a blue star orbiting it, which you should absorb. Now you can disconnect yourself from this orbit and continue around the group of stars in an unconnected orbit until you can enter the orbit field of one of the larger orbiting stars. Once in an orbit hold A to move directly against the central mass of the star. Eventually you should absorb one of the blue stars orbiting the central huge star. Once you have done this, and when you have an opportunity, move to the outer part of the orbit field so that you can absorb the blue star orbiting this star. Once you have this break away from the large star's orbit and continue around the huge central star until you reach the northern area, at which point you should move closer towards the central star's orbit field in order to collect the Crescent Moon, although you should try not to enter the orbit field itself (you can always leave again quickly if you do by accident). Keep heading around the central star in an unconnected orbit until you get an opportunity to collect the Special Star. It's not too difficult, just be patient. 3.4 Galaxy 4 - Trinary Star System Galaxy O° Stage 16 Difficulty: * Best Points: 9500 Best Time: 0:30 In order to understand how to approach this Stage I will give a brief explanation of the layout of the play area. The objects in the level are in two rows, the type of object in each row alternates between a red star and ring of space debris and each column consists of two objects, one of each kind. In between the rows are the blue stars so in order to absorb them all you must zig zag your way through the middle of the rows. You begin floating to the right, heading between the two rows. You should begin by lightly tapping A in order to center yourself between the rows and to ensure you are travelling almost directly east. If you find it easier you might want to deliberately miss absorbing the first blue star, simply making sure you are travelling in a straight line east. As you move further you should only adjust your position using the A and B buttons when you are passing close to a red star. This is why you should try and maintain as steady a line as possible to begin with. You only need to absorb one of the small blue stars (there are three of them) before you reach a larger blue star. You will then come across another of the small blue stars (now grey). Just as you reach this star you should immediately hold down B to push you in a northeastern direction. What you're aiming for is the Crescent Moon directly north of the next red star. If you're travelling approximately northeast then you will only need to make a minor adjustment using the A button to pick it up. Once you have obtained the Crescent Moon hold down A to swing down the eastern side of the star and you should be able to pick up the Special Star to your right. O° Stage 17 Difficulty: * Best Points: 9980 Best Time: 3:02 You begin the Stage in the orbit of a large star. As you approach the northeast of the star hold B to exit the orbit field and you should see two small blue stars heading to the northwest. These stars are actually the first two stars in a long line of stars which curve around and over the top of another large star and then back down the right hand side of the star you began orbiting. It's incredibly easy to follow this line of star and you should remember that you only need to absorb one of each size of star in order to get big enough to end the Stage. However, you should absorb both of the two largest blue stars since it makes obtaining the Crescent Moon far easier. Once you are large enough head directly north to the top red star and you should see the Crescent Moon in the northern part of the orbit field. If you obtained both of the largest blue stars then it should be easy enough to collect the Crescent Moon simply by going into the orbit field fractionally. If you're still having trouble then there is one final huge blue star to the northeast of the Crescent Moon which will make you even larger. Finally, after collecting the Crescent Moon head around to the south of the red star and head directly west (or east) to collect the Special Star. O° Stage 18 Difficulty: * Best Points: 8880 Best Time: 0:42 If you orbit the star you begin on once you will see the first blue star in the bottom right of the screen. As you head around the south side of the star again leave to the east and then adjust with the A and B buttons so that you absorb this blue star. You'll see that the two red stars above you will now turn blue, so continue east, swing around the red star to the right so that you're heading west now and pick up one of the blue stars (preferably the top one). As you pass north over the large star you should hold B for a while so that you're heading southwest and you should be able to collect the Crescent Moon as you pass. If you knock the Crescent Moon away then it takes almost no time to redo the Stage from the start. After collecting the Crescent Moon you can see that the Special Star is just to your left. It's quite easy to circle around the star now in order to collect it. O° Stage 19 Difficulty: *** Best Points: 7210 Best Time: 1:59 Pretty. This is one of the more tricky opening maneuvers. As you travel down towards the large red star you shouldn't press anything in order to pass over the top of the star. Another large red star will swing up to meet you. What you have to do is absorb the tiny blue star within the orbit field and then quickly leave again. Not at all easy. What you should do is wait until the very last second before holding down B. You should swing up, absorb the blue star and leave in one simple movement. You'll probably be floating off into space now but you'll eventually meet up with the cluster of three rotating stars. You should now be able to see the next star you're aiming for. My advice would be to circle the three stars in an unconnected orbit and then make a break for the next biggest blue star. You'll almost certainly crash into the central debris cloud after absorbing the star but you'll be flung out into space again where you can meet back up with star cluster. If you manage to get in and out without being destroyed then that's all the better. Now you'll be in a position to absorb the largest of the blue stars which is far easier. Simply move around the outside of the three stars and move into one of the orbit fields in time to pick up the blue star. Quickly exit and continue around the three stars in an unconnected orbit until you come across the Crescent Moon. Pick this up when you have the chance and then head around the three stars until you're heading either south, down the western side or west, along the southern side. You should now release the A button and move towards the Special Star which is fairly easy to pick up at the size you are now. O° Stage 20 Difficulty: ***½ Best Points: 8520 Best Time: 0:38 As you should see when you start the level the blue stars in this level are floating around aimlessly. If you don't want to float around everywhere trying to absorb one then you should stay where you are. As soon as you face exactly west of the star you head near press B until you are right at the edge of the orbit field (your central mass should just be touching the edge of the orbit field). Another blue star should head up towards you and, if you judged the maneuver exactly right, you will absorb it. Wait where you are and when you come back around to the south again leave directly west from the bottom and you should run into a larger blue star. If you have any problems with these directions they you may just have to hang around stars waiting for a chance for a blue star to appear. Even if you manage to follow my directions exactly you'll have to find your way to the Crescent Moon and Special Star by yourself. The way you attract/repel your Planet in this stage is very erratic so my advice would by to try and travel straight north/south or east/west and then only use the A button to correct your line when you are CLOSE to one of the large red stars. Try not to use the B button at all since it can throw you somewhere where you don't wish to go. 3.5 Galaxy 5 - Moon Galaxy O° Stage 21 Difficulty: *½ Best Points: 9470 Best Time: 1:23 You begin the Stage heading towards the orbit field of a red star so begin the Stage by holding B so that you're pushed up the western side of the star, heading north. Press A so that you move into the orbit field of the star to the north, making sure you move clockwise around it. Once you have absorbed the blue star release yourself from the orbit so that you head directly south. You can adjust your direction slightly using A and B and quite quickly you'll see a blue star to your south that you are aiming for. Once you have absorbed the blue star continue south and you'll eventually come across another blue star which you should also absorb. You should see that the Crescent Moon has now appeared to the northwest so head east and into the orbit field of the large red star. This gives you a better platform to shoot off from and towards the Crescent Moon. So release yourself from the orbit of the star as you come around to the north (this is better to do if you are orbiting in an anti-clockwise direction) and head directly west to pick up the Crescent Moon. Keep heading west until you reach the star that you just left and get back into it's orbit. Now you should head directly north from the star in order to collect the Special Star. If you're not close to the Special Star as you approach you can always get into the orbit field of the star to the right and then more accurately release yourself from there. O° Stage 22 Difficulty: *** Best Points: 7450 Best Time: 0:25 As you head towards the star press A and then B so that you begin heading directly north, between the two pieces of space debris to the north (restart the Stage if you crash). As you pass through the middle of the space debris absorb the blue star and continue directly north, adjusting your direction if necessary. You'll head through another section of debris, absorbing a larger blue star as you do. Keep heading north and you'll move through a final lot of debris picking up the largest blue star in the Stage. At this point you'll be heading directly north and, if you want to finish the level at this point, keep heading north to reach the Special Star which is orbiting the red star to the north. However, if you wish to pick up the Crescent Moon you should wait until you're past the space debris at which point you should start pressing B so that you can curve around the star and head around it in an unconnected orbit until you can head directly north. Now you have to pass through the entire Stage again, moving between all three debris sections. However, this time your Planet is far bigger, making this a difficult maneuver. If it feels easier then pass to the side of the debris, rather than between the two pieces. Eventually you'll have to move into the center area in order to move through the middle of the third debris section. This is where you will pick up the Crescent Moon. If you you crash whilst trying to move through this last debris section it doesn't matter as long as you pick up the Crescent Moon. You can always make your way north again in order to pick up the Special Star. This Stage would be a one star in difficulty if it weren't for the Crescent Moon. O° Stage 23 Difficulty: *** Best Points: 6910 Best Time: 1:39 You'll see that the stars in this Stage are constantly moving, this makes for some tricky direction. What you should try and do is almost immediately release yourself from the orbit you start in so that you head southeast, directly into the blue star. If you managed to absorb it then continue southeast so that you can absorb the larger blue star. Once you have this you have to get back to the star you started on. Note that the two large red stars in this level are travelling together, parallel to one another. When you manage to find one of the large stars again you should easily be able to get back to the star on the left (it's more to the northwest-west of the other star) and get into it's orbit field. Treat the two stars as if they were one giant star and you should see that it's simple to travel around them both. Once you're in the orbit field of the left star hold down A in order to catch up to the blue star. Once absorbed press B to move to the very edge of the orbit field and pick up the Crescent Moon. Now you need to get to the large star on the right, so leave the orbit field when there's a gap in the debris to either side of the stars and head in an unconnected orbit around the star until you pick up the Special Star. O° Stage 24 Difficulty: *½ Best Points: 9900 Best Time: 1:00 Earth! You start in the orbit of a huge star. A little way out from this star are three lines of stars which are in a large circle around the central star. There are also two huge stars, surrounded by debris, floating around the Stage. If you follow my directions exactly you should never run into one of these - in fact, you should be large to end the Stage in around 20 seconds. You should immediately hold B to get to the edge of the orbit field and then break free so that you head towards the blue star to the left. Absorb this star and then hold A so that you swing down and around the red stars which line up below the star you just absorbed. As you pass underneath this line of stars be ready to head in (using the A button) so that you can absorb the blue star at the very end of the line of stars. Continue around (you should see that you're heading in an unconnected orbit around the center star but you're outside the three lines of stars which surround the center star) and as you pass up to the east of the next line of stars, be ready to absorb the blue star at the top of this line. Finally continue around in this unconnected orbit and you'll see that the final line or stars you're coming to are all able to be absorbed so absorb the only blue star in this line and you'll be large enough now to end the Stage. You should see that the Crescent Moon is to west of the central star and that the Special Star is actually orbiting the central star. You should find it quite easy to make your way to both of these objects, assuming that you're able to avoid the large debris stars. O° Stage 25 Difficulty: ** Best Points: 10530 Best Time: 1:37 At the start of the Stage don't press anything and allow yourself to to pass by the star to your east. You'll come towards a gigantic star to your north. Start heading around it (to the west) in an unconnected orbit. As you come up to the north of the star a smaller red star, travelling exactly on the edge of the gigantic star's orbit field and in an anti-clockwise direction should come round to meet you. Head into the orbit field of this star and absorb the blue star here. You must do this quickly because a huge piece of debris is heading towards the star you're orbiting. Break free from the orbit of the star so that you start moving around the gigantic central star in a clockwise direction. You want to get into the orbit field of the gigantic star so that you can absorb a blue star travelling anti-clockwise around the central star. However, there is a lot of debris also moving around the orbit field so try to enter only when you're very close to the blue star and you have an opportunity to do so safely. Once this star is absorbed move to the outer edge of the orbit field and absorb another blue star moving anti-clockwise around the central star. Once you have this immediately release yourself from the orbit field of the star. In order to obtain the Crescent Moon you want to head back to the the large star that you passed right back at the start of the Stage (there is only the gigantic star and this other star in the Stage, so it's easy to find). The Crescent Moon is to the northwest of this star so avoid the debris and collect it. Head back to the gigantic star and head into the orbit field (preferably in a clockwise direction). Stay close to the very edge of the orbit field and you should pass the Special Star (travelling anti-clockwise) and easily pick it up. If any debris looks as though it's going to crash into you just gently release yourself from the orbit field and then, once the debris has passed, re-enter. 3.6 Galaxy 6 - Earth Galaxy O° Stage 26 Difficulty: **½ Best Points: 6950 Best Time: 2:15 Once the Stage has begun and you've been pulled into an orbit around a star wait for two stars, one either side of you, to move up the screen and then, as you move down to the south, release yourself from the orbit to the west. Enter the orbit field of the star here and absorb the blue star also in orbit. Wait for the star moving up to pass you again and then release yourself to the west. Wait for the stars yet again and move to the west once again. Absorb the blue star here and you will be big enough to end the stage. If you wish to end the stage now the Special Star will be passing up to your right very shortly so quickly release yourself to the east and orbit the star to the east until the Special Star passes. If you wish to collect the Crescent Moon then release yourself to the west and orbit the star there. The Crescent Moon will be passing up to your west soon. You can either attempt to move across the gap, collecting it on your way or you can, at some point, wait until one of the moving red stars comes close to passing you on your left, at which point you can get into an orbit around it and wait until it catches up to the Crescent Moon. If you choose the latter method then you should release yourself to the east, orbit the star there and then release yourself to the east again. Wait on the star there until you catch up to the Special Star. Absorb it and end the Stage. O° Stage 27 Difficulty: **** Best Points: 8840 Best Time: 0:46 I'll begin by saying that this Stage is incredibly frustrating. Absorbing the first star isn't too difficult, simply move right to the edge of the orbit field and release yourself directly north from the east side, absorbing the blue star along the way. Next you should pass the red star above the blue star you just collected and continue to head north. Eventually you'll head up towards the south side of the star you began the Stage on. At this point start to press B so that you move up to the north-northeast. If you've aimed well you should absorb the blue star and pass through the moving debris. More than likely you've completely ballsed it up at which point you can try to salvage the Stage or you can restart the Stage over (which I highly recommend). If you have managed to absorb both blue stars then you'll be big enough to finish the Stage. However, this won't be easy. Obtaining the Crescent Moon is quite simple, hold A to move towards the red star to your left and pass over the top in a northwest direction. You should be able to easily pick up the Crescent Moon on the way. You are now heading up the western side of the southern red star. I recommend you press Select and look to the north to see where the Special Star is. What you're trying to do is curve around the western side of the red star and end up heading north-northeast, passing the Special Star on the west side (the Special Star will be to your Planet's east as you pass it) picking it up on the way. If you managed to follow my directions exactly you should just miss every piece of space debris and do the whole Stage in one go. Good in theory (and very possible) but difficult to pull off. Good luck. O° Stage 28 Difficulty: ***½ Best Points: 7960 Best Time: 2:24 Wait and circle the star twice. When you start heading north move out of the orbit field and head to the northeast absorbing the northern of the two blue stars to the left. Press A to attract your Planet to the star to the south. If you miss the blue star in between the planets then simply head north to another star which has two small blue stars orbiting it. Pick up one of these and then head south and to the star to the west. You can see that there are two pieces of debris orbiting the star with two blue stars within the orbit field. Carefully judge your entry to avoid the debris and absorb one or both of the blue stars. As you move to the north (you should be moving anti-clockwise) carefully time your exit to the west and then move around the large star in an unconnected orbit. Now you have to try perform one of the trickiest maneuvers yet. As the line of stars pass you you must quickly head in and steal the blue star on the back end of the line of stars. If you've managed to absorb it then head into the orbit field of the star and when you get the opportunity pass out of the orbit field absorbing at least one of the blue stars on the way. Your Planet has now become incredibly unwieldy but if you want to collect the Crescent Moon head to the star to the west and quickly move in and out of the orbit field as the Crescent Moon passes, avoiding the debris in the process. Finally head back the large star on the right and move around it in and unconnected orbit until you pick up the Special Star. O° Stage 29 Difficulty: **** Best Points: 8130 Best Time: 2:37 Orbit the star and head to the south. If you left the first star quickly then you should easily be able to avoid the debris and get into an orbit around the star to the south. Absorb one of the blue stars here. Exit the orbit field carefully and preferably to the south. If this isn't possible then just try and make your way southeast. If you managed to get to the star to the south circle it and head to the star to the east. Try and approach the star from the northwest so that you end up moving in a clockwise direction around the star. If you're not it might be a good idea to pass the star and use the star to the east to move up and over the top of the star orbited by the blue star you're aiming for. If you're moving in an unconnected orbit around the star you can now easily move in, absorb the blue star and move out before being hit by the debris. Once done, continue to circle the star and when you reach the south of the star leave it to the west. Now curve right around the star to the west so that you start heading north-northeast. This way you'll approach the northern star from the southeast and be able to start circling it in an anti-clockwise direction. Now that you're circling the star in an unconnected orbit wait until you get and opportunity to move into the orbit field and absorb the blue star there. Now wait in the orbit field until you catch up the blue star on the outer edge so that you can absorb it and pass out of the orbit field. If you press Select and look to the east you will see the Crescent Moon in between two pieces of debris. The best way to collect this is to circle anti-clockwise around the star where you picked up the last blue star and then head almost directly east from the southern tip. You should head to the south of the Crescent Moon and collect it that way. What you should be aware of is that there is very little room to maneuver so try to get a good initial angle. If you don't you should press B to move north and press A to move south since you seem to move off of the gravity of the Special Star in that area. After collecting the Crescent Moon you might get lucky and slip through the gap between the debris but more than likely you'll crash and head off in the opposite direction. Whatever happens head to the large red star where you picked up your last blue star (the one being orbited by lots of tiny pieces of debris all in a line) and head directly south from the eastern side to pick up the Special Star. O° Stage 30 Difficulty: *** Best Points: 7530 Best Time: 2:57 Wow! Where is this place? Keep heading north, keeping to the west of the gigantic star and you'll soon see a smaller, but still massive star start to swing round to meet you. Head into that star's orbit field and collect one of the blue stars also orbiting it. After absorbing one and passing through the gap between the two huge stars head right out to the outer edge of the orbit field to slow down your orbit. Eventually the gigantic red star should move around to the west of the star you're orbiting. At this point the blue star orbiting the gigantic star should also move directly between the two huge stars. At this point head in close to the central mass (hold down A) and absorb the blue star. Now you're able to move out the the edge of the orbit field of the star you're currently orbiting (the middle sized red star) and absorb the final blue star. However, you may want to wait until you pass through the gap between the two largest stars again since you won't fit through the gap after absorbing the final blue star. When you're ready, go and absorb the blue star and head out of the orbit field. Continue around the stars in an unconnected orbit (they are all moving so it won't be a perfectly circular orbit) avoiding the Special Star (if you want to collect the Crescent Moon). Eventually you should get the opportunity to pick up the Crescent Moon since it's travelling quite quickly. It should be easy to continue on around the three stars now to pick up the Special Star. 3.7 Extra Galaxy - Sphere Galaxy O° Extra 1 Difficulty: ** Best Points: 10720 Best Time: 0:38 As you would expect, the Extra Stages are both harder and have more complex level designs. You may want to press Select and look around to fully understand what is happening in this Stage, and all of the Extra Stages, before you start. If you don't press anything after starting the Stage you'll soon absorb a blue star. Immediately press B to exit the orbit field of the star. You'll want to curve round this star and up to the east but you should try and move further and further out as you do so. What you're aiming for is a blue star directly east of the star you just left. As soon as you absorb the blue star press B to straighten yourself up and you'll start heading north. Eventually you'll come round and see the Special Star to the west. The Crescent Moon is directly east of the red star the Special Star is orbiting. As you come up between the two stars press B and then A to curve west, over the top of the star being orbited by the Special Star. Keep pressing A to curve down to the west and, if you have followed these directions exactly, you'll be able to pick up the Crescent Moon without being hit by the debris speeding through this area. Now just press A to curve back to the east and pick up the Special Star. O° Extra 2 Difficulty: **** Best Points: 6500 Best Time: 4:40 Look to the north. You can see the blue star you're aiming for in the orbit field of a star surrounded by debris. If you head north straightaway you should be able to get into the orbit field, through the gap, by the time you start heading down to the west of the star. Unfortunately you probably won't be able to dodge the red star also circling the center of the orbit field. Get hit, lose a life and shoot out back into space. To the northeast of the star you just left is a smaller red star. To the south of this star is a blue star in between two pieces of debris. So head northeast, circle the red star and try to head directly south from the star. It may be difficult and take more than one attempt but eventually you should absorb the blue star. Keep heading south to get back to the star you just left and then head southwest from this star. The next blue star is in the center of the orbit field of the star you're heading to. It's the star that you probably crashed into when it was still red. If you can't immediately enter the gap to get into the orbit field then continue round in an unconnected orbit but DON'T go in between the two stars. Instead circle south below the southern star and then head back north again. Once you have entered the orbit field and absorbed the blue star the final blue star will appear on the edge of the orbit field you're in. Move out to absorb it and exit the orbit field. If you're looking for the Crescent Moon now, it's back where you picked up your second blue star, in between the two pieces of debris. If you want to pick this up follow the directions you took to obtain the blue star that used to be there (head northeast then round the smaller red star to the south). This time you'll obviously have to travel on the outside the debris. Finally head back to the southern of the two large red stars to collect the Special Star. O° Extra 3 Difficulty: *** Best Points: 7030 Best Time: 2:27 Look to the southwest. You'll see a whole mass of moving stars and debris. You should get used to this area since you'll spend a while travelling around it in an unconnected orbit. You should start the Stage by doing just this - head down to the southwest and travel around these stars until you get an opportunity to move in an absorb the lone blue star. Now head back to the northeast and pick up the blue star that is speeding around the star you began the Stage orbiting. Head back to the southwest now and continue around the mass of stars in an unconnected orbit until you manage to get a chance to absorb the blue star here. Once this is done quickly move out and continue to move around these stars in an unconnected orbit and you should eventually pick up the Crescent Moon. Now head southwest from here and pick up the Special Star. O° Extra 4 Difficulty: **** Best Points: 8890 Best Time: 1:31 Immediately hold B and you'll move out of the orbit field, down to the south and to the west of the southern star. Head round to the south and then head up and from the star head northeast to absorb a blue star. If you managed to do this at a decent speed you should head straight into an orbit field and pick up your next blue star. If you didn't manage to do this you can try again or simply try and make your own way to the huge red star moving about the center of the play area. Once you have done this, move right to the outside of the play area, to where the huge star can't reach you. Now travel right around the outside of the four stars here and head to the northeastern star. When you reach this star you should be ready to move around the star in an unconnected orbit in an anti-clockwise direction. Go around and over this star and head directly south from it's western edge and you should hopefully be able to pick up the Crescent Moon (if the huge star is out of the way). You may get hit a couple of times in trying to escape, but you should have enough lives to do this. Finally head to the southwestern star in this area. Move around it in an anti-clockwise direction and head directly north from it's eastern edge in order to pick up the Special Star. O° Extra 5 Difficulty: ***** Best Points: 7590 Best Time: 2:01 This Stage certainly deserves its five star difficulty. The way you start this level is to wait for a second or so and then keep pressing A to speed round to the west and, if you've done it correctly, you should head straight into a blue star. Half a second later you should also head straight into a debris ring. What you need to try and do now is press B a few times so that you remain within the debris ring (you will be invincible) and head northeast into another debris ring where you will be able to exit to the north, absorbing a blue star in the process (you have to stay invincible the entire time you move through BOTH of the debris rings - it is possible). You may have lost a life but you're already able to end the Stage. It takes a bit of practice to get this right but once you do, it should become easy to repeat over and over (which you'll probably need to do). From this point you should leave the central area to the north. Eventually you'll come back around to the south of this area and at this point you want to get yourself orbiting anti-clockwise. Keep moving around the central area in an unconnected orbit. When you are travelling slowly enough you should hold down A when you're just coming up to one of the larger debris rings. You should curve into the middle of the area and you should try to steady yourself so that you begin travelling around the central area again in an anti-clockwise area, only this time you're in between the orbit field of the central star and the debris rings. At this point you have to be incredibly light on the controls, weaving in and out of the hazards - avoiding both the debris rings and the orbit fields. Eventually you should pass and pick up the Crescent Moon. Carefully leave this central area now and head to the southeast and to the red star there. Swing around this star here so that you begin travelling around the central area only going clockwise this time. You want to repeat the process of going into the central area now, weaving through the hazards, and eventually you'll collect the Special Star. 3.8 Final Galaxy - Net Galaxy O° Final 1 Difficulty: ***** Best Points: 5040 Best Time: 1:56 Controlling your Planet in this Stage is unbelievably difficult. There will be many times when you'll try to move in one direction and you'll either stop dead in space or shoot off straight into a dangerous object. I've tried to give as good directions as possible and I've given clear directions on absorbing the first blue star but the rest of the blue stars are floating aimlessly around the Stage. The best way to obtain the first blue star is as follows: The first time you head over to the north of the orbit field release yourself to the north-northeast. As soon as you release yourself let go of B. You're attempting to fly right over the top of all the moving red stars so that you eventually meet up with the very top star which is orbited by a blue star. You may have to adjust your direction at the very end since you'll almost be at a standstill. This can be tricky because your Planet is being affected by the gigantic star throughout the Stage. After absorbing the first blue star you have to absorb a blue star which is floating through the Stage. If you absorbed the first blue star quickly it should be a couple of stars over to the east. Try to float your way between the gaps in the moving stars and you should get into the orbit around the star directly to the west of the gigantic star in time to absorb the blue star as it passes. If you miss it you can either start the Stage again or try to follow it. If you managed to absorb the star here the next blue star should be passing very slowly to the east, so try to hop between the star you're orbiting and the one to the right, absorbing it along the way. There is one final blue star floating around the Stage which you have to absorb before being able to pick up the Special Star. Although it's dangerous it can be useful to try and absorb the final star whilst in an orbit around the gigantic star. This is because both the Crescent Moon and Special Star will appear already orbiting the gigantic star (the Crescent Moon close to the central mass, the Special Star near the edge of the orbit field). If you're already orbiting the gigantic star it's far easier to pick up both by moving closer or further away from the central mass when they pass by. O° Final 2 Difficulty: ****½ Best Points: 3590 Best Time: 1:01 If you look around this Stage you'll see that there is only one red star. You'll have to be very accurate in the way you leave this star and come back to it. As you head to the north of the orbit field leave it so that you head directly west and then press A to curve south so that you collect the blue star whilst heading south. Continue south, in between the debris rings and eventually head back to the red star and into the orbit field. You should be travelling anti-clockwise so leave the orbit field to the south so that you travel in a southeast direction. Immediately star to press A and start to head northeast. Just before you crash into the orbit ring you should be able to pick up the Crescent Moon. Once you crash you should be able to swing back into the orbit field of the star to the left. If you're in the star, travelling in an anti-clockwise direction again you should be able to leave the star to the southwest-west and then start pressing A to straighten up south again. You should be able to head south-southwest towards the Special Star and, just before crashing into the debris ring, pick it up. O° Final 3 Difficulty: ****½ Best Points: 7080 Best Time: 1:22 As you come up around to the west of the star release yourself in a northwest direction. You have to be very accurate and adjust your direction accordingly so that you're slow enough to get into the orbit field of the star which has a blue star orbiting it. Keep restarting the Stage until you manage to pull this off. Now you should make your way star by star to the north. The way you do this is, as a star approaches to your left (it doesn't have to be too close, just as long as it's on the screen) you should wait until you head north and then, at the very top, head directly EAST from the orbit field. Despite leaving to the east you'll shoot straight to the west and get caught in the orbit field of the star to the north. As long as you're heading clockwise from the first star you leave (and you should be) you will always be pulled into the next orbit field in a clockwise direction. You'll eventually reach a star that has a blue star orbiting it so absorb it. You can now either make your way north through the stars again in order to pick up the Special Star or, if you're brave, head south through the stars to pick up the Crescent Moon. If you do pick up the Crescent Moon be warned that you'll have to travel all the way North again to pick up the Special Star. When you're orbiting the red star to the right of the Special Star wait until you're heading south and release yourself yourself DIRECTLY west. You should should past the Special Star at tremendous speed but you will pick it up. Good luck. O° Final 4 Difficulty: ***** Best Points: 3580 Best Time: 1:02 The method to complete this Stage is incredibly simple yet ridiculously difficult to pull off. You want to leave the orbit field immediately to the south, absorbing the blue star on the way. You should be heading almost directly south, if you're not you should restart. As you approach the star from the north you will probably have to press B a couple of times but you should pick up the Crescent Moon as you pass it to the west. Now push A so that center yourself in the middle of the central mass of the star. What you're attempting to do is crash into it exactly on it's northern tip so that you shoot north. As you approach the star from the south (after crashing and heading north) you should use A and B to pull yourself into the orbit field so that you're travelling clockwise. Make sure you stay close to the central mass otherwise you'll crash into the debris to the west. As you come around to the Special Star press the A button slightly so that you pick it up before crashing into the debris. O° Final 5 Difficulty: **** Best Points: 6200 Best Time: 1:20 Immediately press B to move to the edge of the orbit field. Press A to avoid the orbit ring and then move back out again. As you head east release yourself directly north. Get into the orbit field here, travelling clockwise, and absorb the blue star. Immediately move to the outside of the orbit field and head north (if you're not able to do this the first time, you may need to restart since you'll probably run into an orbit ring otherwise). You might get caught on the orbit field of the star to the northwest but just release yourself straight away to head north. Quickly press B and then press A to head northeast. You're attempting to get into the orbit field of the largest star to the northeast (it's just to the northeast of the debris ring). You should be heading in a clockwise direction so that, as you move east, you can release yourself to the southeast. You should move into the orbit field of the small red star and absorb the blue sphere here. Head straight back to the northwest and onto the large star, travelling clockwise. As you move round to the south head west and absorb the next blue star to the north of the debris ring along the way. Head into the orbit field of he star to the west now. To pick up the Crescent Moon immediately head west from the star and into the orbit field of the next star. Head out to the west immediately again and pick up the Crescent Moon. Continue into the orbit field of the star to the west, swing around the bottom and as you head up to the west release yourself north so that you head into the west side of the orbit field that is approximately to the north-northwest. Finally head north round this star and release yourself to the north-northeast to collect the Special Star. Now sit back and enjoy the ending, you've beaten the game! 4.0 Secrets Extra Galaxy - Unlocked on the Galaxy Select screen by clearing Stage 30 Ending - Unlocked on the Galaxy Select screen by clearing Stage 30 Final Galaxy - Unlocked on the Galaxy Select screen by collecting each Crescent Moon in Stages 1-30 and Extra 1-5 Ending' - Unlocked on the Galaxy Select screen by clearing the Final Galaxy UFO - The same UFOs that appear in Ending' also appear randomly in some Stages 5.0 Frequently Asked Questions Q. How many levels are there in the game? A. 40 in total. Q. How do I play them all? A. You gain access to the first 35 levels by collecting the Special Star in the Stage that comes before it (other than for Stage 1, which is available from the start). To gain access to the 36th Stage you must collect all 35 Crescent Moons in the first 35 Stages. Then simply obtain the Special Star in each of the last 5 Stages to gain access to the next one. Q. How do I know if I've obtained all of the Crescent Moons? A. If you've obtained the Crescent Moon in a Stage a small moon symbol will appear next to your score and the Stage image will turn yellow on the Stage Select screen. Once you have obtained all of the Crescent Moons in a Galaxy the Galaxy will turn yellow on the Galaxy Select screen. Q. Why doesn't my Planet move where I want it to go? I'm pushing the attract button near a star but it still won't attract to it. A. Despite having completed the game I'm still not entirely sure how the attract and repel physics work. I'm not sure if the Planet responds to the nearest star to it, the biggest star in the Stage or the star that you're currently heading towards/past. In the later Stages it can become incredibly difficult to control your Planet. My advice is, if there's room, test the waters a little first. If you start pressing A and you're moving in the wrong direction then just wait until you come closer to a star and then work your way from that star. Q. Where is the Crescent Moon in a Stage, I can't find it anywhere. A. First, make sure you're big enough to end the Stage. Do this by pressing Select and looking around the Stage for the Special Star (the yellow star). If you can find that then continue to look around the Stage. If you still can't find the Crescent Moon then it's likely that you've knocked it out of the play area. If you become big enough to end the level EXACTLY where the Crescent Moon will appear then it automatically gets knocked out of the play area. If this happens, you'll have to start the Stage again. Sorry. Q. How do I save my progress? A. Your progress is automatically saved after completing a Stage. I'm not sure exactly when but it's probably when leaving the score screen. Just make sure you have started the next Stage or exited to the Stage Select screen before turning off your console. Q. Where can I buy a copy of Orbital? My local game shop doesn't have any copies. A. Unless you live in Japan or it's an import shop then they won't have a copy. The game has only been released in Japan therefore you'll have to import it. Q. Can my US/PAL GameBoy Advance/DS play orbital? A. Yes, all versions of the GameBoy Advance (GBA, SP and Micro) and both versions of the DS (DS and Lite) are region free and can play Japanese games without any problems. Q. Do I need to know Japanese to play Orbital? A. No, the only Japanese text in the entire game is the warning/copyright screen at the start. The Stage names, scores and even the credits are all in English. Q. What's the difference between the Ending and Ending'? A. Nothing other than the fact that a load of UFOs follow the Planet around in Ending'. Q. What's that thing that looks like a Space Invader in one of the Stages? A. It's one of the UFOs that appears in Ending'. As far as I can tell they randomly appear in certain Stages. I'm not sure which Stages or how you get them to appear but it's a nice touch. 6.0 Information If you have any extra information or corrections that you wish to submit then you can e-mail me at kalmtraveller@googlemail.com and if the information is used you will be credited. If you wish to use this FAQ on your website then please e-mail me at kalmtraveller@googlemail.com to see if I will allow it. Thanks to: Nintendo - for taking a risk with the bit Generations games and proving that genuine innovation can be achieved using traditional hardware (not something they've been pushing lately with the DS and Wii). GameFAQs - for hosting my FAQs. Play-Asia - for selling this game for about £7. Copyright 2006 Matthew Wilson