------------------------------- *Super Fantasy Zone Game guide* For the Sega Mega Drive ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- Ver 1 22/07/02 Information found and compiled by Fang the Sniper (nakoruru_and_mamahaha@hotmail.com) ---------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS: 1-Stuff that usually goes at the front. a-Introduction b-Notice to American players c-Legal Stuff d-Version History 2-The Game! a-Basic storyline b-Controls and Gameplay c-Options Screen d-Stage guide e-Weapons Shop f-Boss Guide g-Tactics and strategies 3-The End. a-Credits b-Thanks c-End. ---------------------------------------------------- SECTION 1: Stuff that usually goes at the front. 1a: INTRODUCTION. This is my first ever GameFAQS guide, so this is a bit hit-and-miss. Super Fantasy Zone was the last of the Fantasy Zone games to be released. It stars Opa-Opa, the strange Bug/Ship hybrid, who must bring peace to the Fantasy Zone for the 5th time. It has a lot of weapons, enemies, stages and boss characters. This is also the first Fantasy Zone game to have a decent storyline, although the previous games had some nasty twists at the end.. The Fantasy Zone series was also notorious for having a cuddly-cute exterior, but at it's heart having a brutal and nasty difficulty. You can also see Opa-Opa in Phantasy Star Online as a secret Mag. I wrote this FAQ not because there was a request for it, but because it didn't have much information at all. Also, because it's too hard! So, here the FAQ starts! 1b: NOTICE TO AMERICAN PLAYERS Unfortunately, for some reason, Super Fantasy Zone was never released in America, but only in Japan and Europe. I own the European version, so those who have the import Japanese version, I will show directions for what some of the options do. 1c: VERSION HISTORY Ver 1.0- The first version of the Super Fantasy Zone guide! ---------------------------------------------------- SECTION 2: The Game! 2a: BASIC STORYLINE After the victory of Opa-Opa over his twin created by his own mind, the Fantasy Zone encountered a little bit of peace. This peace, unfortunately, didn't last long, because soon after, a giant gravitational disturbance appeared just off the planet Menon. A science team was sent to investigate. While they were there, however, a military force came, claiming they were the "Dark Menon Forces" and that they were here to take over the Fantasy Zone. They wiped out the whole Science Team, and proceeded to make their way to the Fantasy Zone. O-Papa, Opa-Opa's father tried to take on the Alien Forces, but was fatally wounded in battle. Hearing of this, Opa-Opa vowed to return his father's faith ad went out to seek revenge against these aliens. Then, you start the game. 2b: CONTROLS AND GAMEPLAY The controls are very simple, since you don't need a six-button pad for it. The controls (default settings) are: A- Use Special Weapon (If you have one) B- Fire bullets/Main weapon C- Use Bombs/Secondary weapons. The way the game works is you can move around freely on the board, as the screen does not scroll. To fight the boss and clear the stage, you must first destroy the "Enemy Generators" that dot the level. These can be identified by the little dot on them that changes colour each time you hit them. As soon as all the Enemy Generators are shot down, you face the boss of the stage. To get better equipment, you need to collect gold, and this is found when you shoot down the normal enemies. The gold pieces can be used in the shop, which appears at the start of every level (Except Picknica, where it appears after you've shot down a few enemies) in the shape of a weather balloon. (The items that can be bought at the shop are in section 2e) As soon as the boss at the end is beaten, you advance to the next stage. Repeat until you clear the game. The weapons you start off with are: TWIN SHOTS- Normal shot that is your standard weapon throughout the game. BOMB- A single bomb, that is shot from the bottom of the ship. Useless, upgrade as soon as possible. SMALL WINGS- Slow movement, but useful. Best to upgrade when you can. Also, the coins come in 8 different varieties. Each has a different number. 8: 5,000 Gold. 7: 2,000 Gold 6: 1,000 Gold 5: 500 Gold 4: 200 Gold 3: 100 Gold 2: 50 Gold When you defeat a boss, money will start pouring from it. The coins that come out first are worth 5,000 Gold! 2c: OPTIONS SCREEN Right below Game Start on the title screen is the Options menu. The options here are (In order): LIVES- Choose between 3, 4 and 5 lives. Default is 3. DIFFICULTY- Choose a difficulty between Easy, Normal and Hard. Default is Normal. CONTROL- Change the controls. Default is explained in Gameplay and Controls. RAPID- Change whether you can hold the button to fire. This is off by default SOUND TEST- Listen to the music from the game. Fantasy Zone veterans will recognise some tunes.. From Opa! Opa! Onwards, the tunes classic Fantasy Zone tracks! 2d- STAGE GUIDE You can't really write a stage guide for Super Fantasy Zone, as they are pretty much the same, except for the backgrounds, the music, the enemies and the bosses at the end. However, I'll just give you the names of the rounds. Round 1- Picknica Round 2- Kazarne Round 3- Niagro Round 4- Risscave (Note: Super Lights used here) Round 5- Grandiuss Round 6- Le-Picker (Note: Rubber Boots used here) Round 7- Aflouricious Round 8- Menone (Note: Boss endurance stage!) Round 9- ? 2e- WEAPONS SHOP In here, you can buy various weapons and add-ons for your ship. I will go through each weapon you can buy, how much they start off priced as, and whether you should bother spending your money. SPEED-UP ITEMS: #1: Big Wings, 200 Gold. These are an upgrade from the small wings, but not by much. When you are strapped for cash or when you first start the game however, they are a worthwhile purchase, just don't use them for long, as in later levels, they are too slow. #2: Jet Engine, 5,000 Gold. Probably the best Speed-up item, the Jet Engine is faster than the Big Wings, but not so faster that you'll have minimal control. Pick this up as soon as possible. The earliest place to attempt to buy this is Kazarne, stage 2, as you won't have enough on Picknica. #3: Turbo Engine, 20,000 Gold. Just a little bit too fast, you can cash quite easily with this equipped. Stick with the Jet Engine, and don't waste money on this. #4: Rocket Engine, 100,000 Gold. Now this piece of kit is just insane, as it's so fast you have very little control. Stick with the Jet Engine, this item is too expensive and very useless. WEAPON UPGRADE ITEMS: #1: Wide Beam, 1,000 Gold. Not as useful as the name implies, this item shoots off long Semi-Circles of energy. They only hit one target (That means they don't go through enemies) but this can be useful if you want to cover a large area. #2: Laser Beam, 4,000 Gold. Probably the best overall, this goes through enemies and can take down Enemy Generators in seconds. Best to be saved for later stages, as the price on this can be very expensive late in the game. #3: 7-Way Shot, 10,000 Gold. Wider than the wide beam, this attack covers a lot of the board, but only does as much damage as an ordinary shot. Useful in Le-Picker (If you can't afford the Rubber Boots) #4: Cross-Rang, 20,000 Gold. Essentially, a boomerang as a weapon, this is not very useful at all. Buy the Laser Beam instead. BOMB UPGRADE ITEMS: #1: Twin Bomb, 200 Gold. The same as the normal bomb you start with, except 2 are fired at a time. Don't waste money on these, unless you're REALLY strapped for cash. #2: Quartet Bomb, 1,000 Gold. The most useful item in the whole game, these babies not only fire in 4 directions, but also lock on to certain enemies. Pack these bombs as soon as possible, preferably Picknica. SPECIAL WEAPONS: #1: Ultra Bomb, 2,000 Gold. A normal bomb, with the exception that it falls slower and it creates a bigger explosion. Best to save this for the bosses. #2: Heavy Bomb, 2,000 Gold. When you used this, a giant weight comes from directly above you, killing any enemies that are squashed by it. Very useful for the bosses on Risscave and Afloricious. #3: Thunder Volt, 2,000 Gold. When this item is used, thunderbolts shoot down onto the screen, killing anything caught. They are long and vertical, and can be useful in some situations. #4: Hurricane, 2,000 Gold. When used, a number of tiny whirlwinds spiral out from your ship, killing anything that comes in contact with them. Very useful when you are crowded. #5: Smart Bomb, 2,000 Gold. Simply destroys all enemies on screen. This excludes any Enemy Generators and bosses. #6: BackFire, 2,000 Gold. A burst of flame comes from behind your ship. Very useful against the boss of Afloricious. #7: Shower Bombs, 2,000 Gold. When used, 6 bombs come from beneath the ship, killing anything below. Useful on Le-Picker if you don't have the Rubber Boots. OTHER ITEMS: #1: Extra Life, 2,000 Gold. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Cheap at first, but the price this goes for eventually is 100,000 Gold! Try to buy these early. #2: Shield, 40,000 Gold. A bubble will surround your ship and defend you from attacks for a short time. Infinitely useful on Menone, but doesn't last long. Use sparingly, as they can be expensive. #3: Rubber Boots, 5,000 Gold. These are only used on 1 stage, and that is Le-Picker. The floor on this stage will kill you as it is electrically charged. With this item, you can walk on the floors without fear of dying. (Unless you get shot! ^^) #4: Super Lights, 4,000 Gold. Again, used on 1 stage, Risscave. Since it is so dark on this level, you get a limited view, but with this item you can see a lot more of the stage. 2f- BOSS GUIDE As I mentioned earlier, Super Fantasy lulls you into a false sense of security. The stages seem so docile and cute and cuddly, the game can't POSSIBLY be hard, right? WRONG. At its heart, this game is plain nasty when it comes to difficulty. The stages themselves are not so bad, but when you encounter the bosses, you will be begging for mercy. That is why I'll give you directions to beat each boss quickly and effectively. BOSS 1: Pumpkin Bomber Stage- Picknica Equip- Big Wings, Quartet Bombs Strategy- This one is quite hard for a first boss. The pellets he fires explode and spiral off screen, making them odd to judge. After firing 2 pellets, he disappears and reappears somewhere else on screen, and continues the pattern. Try to stay on the floor, as his shots are easier to dodge from there. Simply barrage him with the bombs and normal shots, while dodging the bullets and he should die. BOSS 2: Laser Sphere Stage- Kazarne Equip- Jet Engine, Quartet Bombs Strategy- This boss has tiny little "Heads" all around him. They each fire lasers which are easy to dodge. There are 2 laser patterns that are circling him, one goes round clockwise, the other anti-clockwise. That means that at the same time, 2 lasers are being fired from the heads and they circle round in those directions. Sometimes the heads start revolving so they change positions. Shoot the heads while dodging the laser fire, and they will die off. Keep this up, and he will die once the heads are gone. BOSS 3: Vacuum Fish Stage- Niagara Equip- Jet Engine, Quartet Bombs, Ultra Bomb (Optional) Strategy- As soon as the boss appears, start shooting. You won't hurt him, but keeping up a pattern here is essential. When he opens his mouth, he is vulnerable, but he will also be trying to suck you in, so use the quartet bombs to home in on this weak spot while travelling in the opposite direction to avoid being inhaled. He will constantly be firing tiny blue shots, so avoid these. After this, he will stop inhaling but fire off a whole row of blue shots. Get in-between them to avoid damage, but try and stay near his mouth i.e. the middle, as he will start inhaling again. Repeat until he dies. BOSS 4: Axe Head Stage- Risscave Equip- Jet Engine, Quartet Bombs, Heavy Bomb x2 Strategy- When the boss first appears, he can't be harmed, but then he releases his arms, two axes, that twirl about slightly, and then you can start using the quartet bombs against him. He also fires off bullets in all directions; they can be easy to avoid. As soon as he turns orange, use the heavy bombs to finish him off. BOSS 5: Head Blocks Stage- Grandiuss Equip- Jet Engine, Quartet Bombs, Heavy Bomb (Optional) Strategy- This time, there are 2 bosses. They share the same health bar though, but they're re on the same screen. They move around in a random direction, but it's not hard to avoid them. When one of the blocks opens their eyes, that's when to attack. Mainly use the normal shots, but fire the Quartet bombs in case you see an opening, r use the heavy bomb if you equipped it. When the boss dies, the coins come out from one of the blocks, and then the other. BOSS 6: Mecha Gunner Stage- Le-Picker Equip- Jet Engine, Quartet Bombs Strategy- This boss has 8 guns around his body- 4 on the left side, 4 on the right. When you start, start shooting the gun directly in front of you, dodging the oversized bullets he fires. You can take out all the guns this way but be careful when you are switching sides, as there is a power meter on the boss, and when it depletes, he shoots a large beam above and below him. Just finish off the guns and he'll go away. BOSS 7: Prawn Multiplier Stage- Aflouricious Equip- Jet Engine, Quartet Bombs, Laser, (If possible) Heavy Bomb x2, a LOT of patience. Strategy- First, to equip a laser beam before fighting a boss, die just as you defeat the last generator by crashing into an enemy. After you come back, a shop will come down. You may lose a life, but you can purchase more if you have the money, which you should do by now. Anyway, this boss is just pure evil. He starts off as a giant prawn that fires the odd bullet (which are very large and easy to avoid) so you should have no problems here. As soon as he dies, however, he splits into 4 mini-prawns. They also fire pellets, lots of them, so you should stay on your toes. However this nightmare is not over. When you kill one of the Mini-Prawns, he splits into 4 even smaller prawns. Fortunately, these don't shoot and are easy targets, but when they do die, the bodies STAY ON SCREEN. By touching them, you die. Nasty. However, here is a tactic: When you kill one of the mini-prawns, use the heavy bomb on the even smaller prawns, so their bodies stay away from you, giving you some breathing space. You can beat the boss, but you WILL scream. Oh yes you will. BOSS 8- Endurance match! Stage-Menone (Whole stage) Equip- Jet Engine, Quartet Bombs, Laser Beam, Heavy Bomb x6, a desire to see the ending, a lot of patience, tissues. Strategy- Yeah, that's right. As soon as you think you're seeing the final boss, you see ALL THE OTHER BOSSES. As soon as the stage starts, the shop menu comes up, so purchase what you need before you start. Use the tactics for the bosses as before, and you should get to the end of this stage. By the way, every time you die, the Shop menu comes up again. If you die before the Prawn Multiplier, stock up on everything you can afford, but leave some spare for the final stage. Final Stage- I haven't reached this part of he game, but I am getting close. I'll post up a strategy as son as possible. 2g-TACTICS AND STRATEGIES OK, first thing is ALWAYS KEEP THE QUARTET BOMBS!!! They are very useful as they home in on nearly everything. Second, the more times you buy something, it goes up. For example, Extra Lives start at 5,000 Gold, but when you buy one, the price will then increase to 20,000 Gold the next time you want to buy one. Be aware of that, especially with the Heavy Bomb, since you'll use that a lot. On Le-Picker and Risscave, a favourite tactic of mine is to purchase the Laser Beam and stay on the floor. In Risscave, most of the Generators are here, and on Le-Picker, ALL the Generators are there, so you can go and kill them quicker. This is how I usually spend my money at the shops: Picknica- Big Wings and Quartet Bombs Kazarne- Jet Engine Niagaro- Extra Life Risscave- Super Lights, Extra Life, Heavy Bomb Grandiuss- Extra Life Le-Picker- Rubber Boots, Laser Beam Aflouricious- Heavy Bomb x2, Laser Beam That way you can earn a lot of money because you don't go on a spend frenzy. Make sure you always have plenty of money with you at all times, as you may need something on the next stage at the shop. Finally, leave the game on the title screen for a few minutes and you will see the intro to the game. ---------------------------------------------------- SECTION 3: The End. 3a: CREDITS Me, Ant Cooke. That's it. All this information I compiled myself from my copy of the game that I won on eBay. Eventually there may be other people here who contribute, but for now, I hog the show! 3b: THANKS Thanks to SEGA and Sunsoft who made the game, Thanks to the kettle, which gave the tea that helped produce this guide, Thanks to the dude off eBay who sold me the game, but NO Thanks to SEGA, because they never released a Dreamcast Sequel, and don't have plans for a Game Boy Advance conversion (By the way, this was the only FZ game coded by Sunsoft) Also, SEGA never released Space Fantasy Zone for the PCE, which was supposed to be Space Harrier meets Opa- Opa.. 3c: THE END. Or is it? Mwahahahahaha!!! I might write more FAQs, particularly one for Sonic and Tails 2/Sonic Triple Trouble for the Game Gear, but I'll see how this one does. All your Game Gear games are belong to Fang the Sniper! For any comments, complaints, death threats and corrections, E-Mail me at nakoruru_and_mamahaha@hotmail.com