Artelius (NES) FAQ/Walkthrough ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Copyright 2006 Mitch Frizzell Feburary 22, 2006 Version 0.8 __________________ Table of Contents: ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ 1. Introduction 2. The Basics 3. Enemies 4. Quickie Walkthrough 5. Frequently Asked Questions 6. Authors' Notes _______________ 1. Introduction ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Artelius is the (or at least one of the) original 'mecha' games ever created. Although this game boasts more of an arcade style, play¯until¯you¯die kinda gameplay, it's still a fun play for those interested in NES games. Although there is a translation patch for the game released by MCT, a knowledge of the Japanese language will help immensly if you wish to get the full experience out of this game. Because of the amount of time that was put into this guide, please don't rip me off and use this without my permission. If you want to use this guide on your site, please e¯mail me and I'll think about it. As of now this guide is to be seen only at these sites: gamefaqs.com For any questions, doubts, flames, and/or anything else please e¯mail me at m.ninja.s@gmail.com or drop me line at my wesite: http://www.mitchfrizzell.com (go to the contact me page) _____________ 2. The Basics ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Here is a little info on gameplay, and some basic tips to help you get through the game. _____________ 2.1. Controls ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Field Controls ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ D-pad: Move your character around A: Advance conversation B: N/A Start: Open menu Select: N/A Menu Controls ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ D-pad: Exit Menu A: Exit Menu B: Exit Menu Start: Toggle Menu view Select: Exit Menu Battle Controls ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ D-pad: Move crosshair A: Fire weapons B: Use Item Start: Open Menu Select: N/A ______________________ 2.2. The Battle Engine ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ When your're walking around, you'll see some blinking lights; those are actually enemies. When you run into one of them, you'll enter the battle screen. You'll see the following: _________________________ | 4 o | | _|_ | | /___\ | | 3 | | (+) | | | | | | 1 2 | | HP ||| ||| WP ||| ||| | |_________________________| Here's what it all means and does: 1: HP equals your current 'health points'. just like in any other RPG, if your HP reaches 0, you'll go to the game over screen, losing all unsaved data. 2: WP equals your current 'weapon points'. Unlike HP, you won't lose if your WP gets to 0; instead, you won't be able to use any special weapons you have bought. 3: Your crosshair. You move this to aim your guns; put this on top of the enemy and press A to shoot. 4: The enemy. This is the enemy, shoot him and kill him to end the battle. When you defeat the enemy, you'll get to a screen that tells you how much EXP and money you get, and if you level up, it tells you how much your stats increase by. _________________________ 2.3. Start Menu and Stats ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Start Menu ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Hit start once to access the save menu, and press it again to access the item menu. To save, pick yes, and the game will save (saving costs 10c, so be careful). To equip items, hit start twice, select the item you want and hit A. A little circle will appear next to the item to let you know it's equipped. Note: In battle, use the same method to use battle items. Stats ¯¯¯¯¯ On the Main Menu and the Item Equip menu, you can see your stats; they are comprised of the following: CLASS: Your current experience level. Up to a max of () MAX HP: Your HP if your life force, if it gets to 0, you lose. MAX WE: Weapon energy. If it gets to 0, then you lose the ability to use bought weapons. STR: Your strength determines the power of your weapons, a max of 255. AGI: Your speed. Governs how fast you can move your crosshair, and your probability of a sucessful escape. SHIELD: Basically, your shield is your defense, the higher, the less damage you recieve in battle. A max of 255. EXP: You get experience from defeating enemies; when you get a certain amount of EXP, you'll level up, increasing all your stats. Max of 65535. c: Money, Zeni, Rupies, Gold, coins, whateven you want to call it, c is used to buy new items. ________________ 2.4. The Terrain ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ While you fly around in space, you will run into a lot of different objects. Asteroids: basically, the asteroids are walls. You can't get through them, but neither can enemies. Rover's: Rover sets up shop in a little blue building. You can buy items from him, get your HP replenished, and your WP restored. Butch's: Butch sets up shop in a black tower. Butch will sell you weapons. Seth's: Seth sells WP and HP restorative items. Warp Gates: Warp gates look like giant diamonds (the shape, not the stone), and transport you to the next area. Casino: Casinos look like a little hat and are normally found inside colonies. Colonies: Colonies are Artelius' towns. Inside there normally is a Rover's a Butch's, and a casino. Not to mention a boatload of people to talk to. While on the earth you'll find the following: Mountains: These are the Earth's walls. Forests: Same as normal ground, except for the fact that you can't see enemies, so be careful when walking around here. Castles: Basically, Earth's colonies. __________ 3. Enemies ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ _____________________________ 3.1. General Enemy Strategies ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ I have compiled a list of enemy strategies: * Hit start to see your enemy's stats. Hit start again to equip items/weapons. * Sometimes you need to shoot "ahead" of the enemy to effectively hit him. * Learn enemy strategies, so you know how to quickly dispatch enemies. * Save your most powerful weapons and items for hard battles. * Hit A to shoot and B to use an item. E-mail me if you have any more strategies. ______________________________ 3.2. Specific Enemy Strategies ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Here is a list of all of the enemies I have encountered before. Note: There are multiple 'versions' of each enemy type, normally distinguished by different colors. Note 2: All enemy names are my creation, as I don't speak Japanese. Most enemies look like the names I have given them. Note 3: This list is in no particular order. Wasp ¯¯¯¯ Speed: Fast Pattern: Wasps don't really have patterns, they just fly around randomly and shoot every once in a while. Snake ¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Slow Pattern: Snakes move along the bottom of the screen, never up and down. Due to his slow speed, the Snake is easy to kill. Speeder ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Fast Pattern: Moves fast in any direction, stops, shoots, and continues. Speeders tend to stop a lot, so hit them hard when they do. Capitol Ship ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Slow Pattern: Capitol Ships stop a lot, and shoot a lot too. Be wary of these guys, they hit hard. Mecha ¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Varies Patter: When the Mecha has his arms parallel to each other (| |) he moves slowly, but when he separates them (/ \) he moves fast. Hit him when he is mobing slowly. Jelly ¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Fast Pattern: Jellies don't really have a set pattern, but they tend to hit hard, and have a lot of HP. Bee ¯¯¯ Speed: Slow Pattern: Moves around very slowly, but randomly speeds up, and flies in a circle. Be careful with this guy, he can easily avoid your shots. Pod ¯¯¯ Speed: Medium Pattern: Pods tumble along the floor, shoot and jump in the opposite direction before starting all over. These guys are very predictable, so they shouldn't be very hard to kill. Namekian House ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Fast Pattern: Similar to the Pod, the House is fast, but doesn't jump or tumble. Skull ¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Varies Pattern: Skulls go up and down slowly, then right or left really fast, shoot and then repeat. Hit them hard when they are going up/down, and retreat when they're going left/right. Robit ¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Medium Pattern: Robits walk along the floor, jump straight up and shoot once. They repeat this cycle. Rat ¯¯¯ Speed: Fast Pattern: Rats tumble along the floor, shoot and jump in the opposite direction before starting all over. These guys are very predictable, so they shouldn't be very hard to kill. Wolf ¯¯¯¯ Speed: Fast Pattern: Wolves run left/right before jumping high and coming straight down. Hit him hard when he's coming down t kill him easily. Niem Numb ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Medium Pattern: Similar to the Pod, Niem is fast, but doesn't tumble. Turtle ¯¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Slow Pattern: Turtles walk left and right while shooting a lot. While slow, these guys tend to be pretty powerful. Boba Fett ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Speed: Medium Pattern: Boba walks left and right, dodges in the opposite direction, and lays down to shoot you. Although he has two different attacks, they do the same damage. ______________________ 4. Quickie Walkthrough ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ This section is intended to help you when you're stuck, not to be a step by step walkthrough. Note: Area names are based on what the warp calls them. Note 2: Directions are all based on the starting location unless otherwise noted. Area 2 ¯¯¯¯¯¯ Rover's: South Warp Gate: North West Butch's: Further North West Area 4 ¯¯¯¯¯¯ Colony: North Warp Gate: West Area 17 (land) ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Castle: Far South East Boss: South of Castle Area 50 (inside colony) ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Warp GateSouth Dungeon: South West Castle: South¯South east Area 60 (rain forest) ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Boss: East Castle: South Boss South¯South East Dungeon: West _____________________________ 5. Frequently Asked Questions ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Q: Your guide is incomplete and it sucks. A: I know (that it's incomplete), but I got to a point in the game that required you to have multiple access codes. I didn't know those codes, nor could I figure out the codes, seeing as I don't speak Japanese. Q: Oh. Well, it still sucks. A: No, you suck. _________________ 6. Author's Notes ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ 6.1. HELP! ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Since I couldn't continue in the game, I couldn't finish the guide. If you have any info to help with the finishing of this guide, please e¯mail me, I would be glad to include your info. Also, if you want to finish the guide, feel free to do so, we can co-author it. 6.2. Version History ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Version 0.0: Wrote the skeleton FAQ. (Feb. 22, 2006) Version 0.5: Wrote down all the info for the guide. (Apr. 07) Version 0.8: Wrote the guide, and submitted it to GF. (Apr. 09) Version 0.8: Updated the guide with my new look. (Nov. 11) 6.3. In he Next Update ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Unless I can finish the game, I'll probably never finish the guide. 6.4. Thanks ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ * God, for my salvation, my life, and the sweet peace that only He can give me. * My friends over at RPGClassics for inspiring me to write guides fore older games. * The NES completion project for everything it does for gamers. * digimonking for the new look's inspiration. 6.5. Dedication ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ This guide is dedicated to every last member at RPGClassics. You guys hit the nail on the head when you began doing shrines, and although I'm not very fast, nor very good at making shrines, you guys were behind me all the time. Awesome site, keep on doing what you do. Big kudos to Cless Alvein, Cidolfas, and RedComet. This guide, in its entirety, is copyright 2006 Mitch Frizzell.