=========================================================================== __ __________________ __ _______________ ____ / |/ / ____/_ __/ | / / / ____/ ____/ | / __ \ / /|_/ / __/ / / / /| | / / / / __/ __/ / /| | / /_/ / / / / / /___ / / / ___ |/ /___ / /_/ / /___/ ___ |/ _, _/ /_/ /_/_____/ /_/ /_/ |_/_____/ \____/_____/_/ |_/_/ |_| A Walk-Through by glass_soul Final (C) 2005 =========================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS 1)Introduction 2)Weapons And Equipment 3)Enemies 4)One or Two Other Things You Might Like to Know 5)The Walk-Through 6)Codes 7)Secrets 8)In My Opinion... 9)Acknowledgements and Legal Stuff =========================================================================== 1)INTRODUCTION Something bad is happening in the province of Garzburg South Africa. A renegade mercenary outfit operating out of a base known as "Outer Heaven" has been developing advanced weaponry to sell on the black market. And also, incidentally, to help them take over the world (over-achievers). Their headman is an unknown entity; no descriptions are available beyond the fact that he's an ex-soldier of outstanding capibilities as well as a cold-blooded killer. This is old news. Your government has known about this enclave for sometime, and up until now, deemed them a noisy but mostly non-threatening nusiance at best. Something has changed all that, however. This organization has kidnapped Dr. Pettrovich Madnar, a top arms developer, as well as his daughter Ellen. Rumor has it that they are using Ellen as a hostage to force the good doctor to create an ultimate weapon, code-named Metal Gear. Your government can no longer ignore the potential danger eminating from Outer Heaven. Someone's got to go in there. Someone's got to find out what these renegades are up to. Someone's got to put a stop to it all. And, you guessed it, that someone is you. Enter Solid Snake, the newest member of an eliet Special Forces unit. Code-named "Fox Hound", your unit's mission is to infiltrate Outer Heaven, free Dr. Pettrovich and put a stop to the Metal Gear project. Good luck, the fate of millions rests in your hands (bum-bum-bummmmmmmmm!). 2)WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT You start with your bare hands and a pack of cigarettes (this game having been made before smoking was considered way-ultra-mega-totally un-cool). Fortunatly for you, there is a wide variety of helpful items that you will run across to assist in your completing the mission. WEAPONS Fists - Your basic weapon. Your punches aren't very powerful (and don't even THINK about hitting a boss to death). The upside is that your barehands are always with you and they're silent, allowing you to murder unsuspecting guards without alerting the whole base. Punching, when combined with the iron glove, also lets you locate hidden doors. Grenade Launcher - This weapon lobs explosives in a low arc. It can be used to fire over walls. It's particularly useful against larger, slower enemies, but has limits when dealing with quicker foes. 6 shots per pick-up. Hand Gun - Life definitly gets much sweeter when you find this baby. The hand gun fires bullets in a straight line and will take down guards and their mutts in one hit. Still not the best weapon for taking down bosses, but more than adequate for low-level house cleaning. Bullets for the hand gun come in 20 rounds per pick-up. Mine - Put one of these on the ground and then wait for some unsuspecting dope to walk over it and blast themselves to pieces. Not a very useful weapon, perhaps, but you do need these to take out the tank. 5 per pick-up. Plastic Explosive - An explosive charge that will...um, explode after planted. As a general weapon, its uses are extremely limited. However, this is the only thing that can hurt the Super Computer, so you do kind of need them. 5 per pick up. R.C. Missile - Radio-controlled missiles that once fired you control these with your d-pad. You can maneuver them around corners, make them double back, or chase down individual enemies with these gems. One of the best anti-boss weapons in the game. 5 per pick-up. Rocket Launcher - Fires a very damaging rocket in a straight line at your enemies. Kills things very quickly and is a wee more direct than the grenade launcher. 5 shots per pick-up. Sub-Machine Gun - Fires shots like the hand gun but sprays them out in an arc. Hold down the fire button for continuous fire (obviously). Great weapon for clearing large, wide rooms and probably the best gun to help you get across the desert. As with the hand gun, 20 rounds per ammo pick-up. ITEMS Antenna - Once in the second building, your radio transmissions will be jammed, preventing you from talking to and getting info from your various contacts outside. Pick this item up to un-jam your transciever and get back on the air. Antidote - The desert area is inhabited by venomus scorpions. One hit from these and you'll be poisoned, with your life meter draining away slowly. This simply won't do. Use the antidote to stop the poison from killing you. Once you have this item, there's no limit to how many times you can use it so don't worry about running out. Ammo Crates - These boxes replenish the ammo supply for all of the weapons you fire (handgun, rocket launcher, etc.). Picking up one box will supply ammo for all of the weapons you currently posess. In other words, grab a box when you have the hand gun and the grenade launcher, and you'll get 20 bullets and 6 grenades. Armour - Body armor (I like the British spelling). Body armor protects you from damage. Not all damage, mind you, but it does reduce the damage you will take by about half. It's a nice thing to have during boss fights or in the later stages of the game, when you will be dealing with wave upon wave of guards. Binoculars - These will allow you to see one screen in any direction from your current location. Not a horribly useful item, but kind of nice early in the game or if you've never played Metal Gear before. Be careful when using these however; the programming is such that the game will understand binocular use as your character having moved to the next screen. In other words, if there were enemies in the area where you're standing when you use this item, they will be back when you're done. Bomb Blast Suit - This one still kind of confuses me, and the transmission in the area that you need to use this seems to indicate that the bad guys now control the wind as well as a huge, sprawling complex and a walking nuclear tank. The winds on the roof of the first building will constantly blow you backwards, preventing exploration of the area. Put on this handy- dandy suit, and they won't bother you any more. Cardboard - It's a cardboard box to hide in. Allows you to sneak past enemies in some circumstances. Not a vital item, or particularly useful, but interesting if you are trying to collect all the items in the game. Cards 1-8 - Key cards that will allow you to access certian parts of the base. Certain cards will only work on certain doors, so you need to collect them all. Think of them as Pokemon. Cigarettes - A seemingly nonsensical item, you begin your mission with this pack of smokes. Using these after you take out the Super Computer will add 1000 extra seconds to the base's self-destruct timer and will make you look cool like Joe Camel or the Marlboro Cowboys (just kidding). Compass - In the desert and in areas of the jungle as well, you will find yourself walking through the same screens over and over and over again. How do you get out of this predicament? Well, whip out your trusty compass. This item negates the repeating areas. Detector - You're not the only one with mines. The enemy has planted their own explosives in several areas of Outer Heaven. This gizmo allows you to see them. Once the mines are visible, it's an easy matter to either avoid or shoot them. Gas Mask - Areas of Outer Heaven are filled with poisonous gas (why a renegade merc unit would feel the need to flood parts of their own facilities with Serin, I don't know). Enter one and your health will slowly start to drain away. Don the gas mask to stop this. And, a la Martha Stewart, that's a good thing. Goggles - Infrared goggles. There are various areas in the bases that are protected by invisable security beams. This spiffy eye wear makes the beams visible again, and hence avoidable. Iron Glove - This item is an iron glove, oddly enough. You never actually have to equip this item, and doing so doesn't add any power to your punches where enemies are concerned. You do need to have this item in your inventory when searching for hidden doorways (punching a wall with a hidden door makes a strange, higher- pitched thunk than usual; without the glove, all you'll get is the usual noise Snake makes when hitting something solid). Light - There's an area, affectionatly known as the "Pitfall Zone", that is typically completly blacked out. Trying to cross this charming area under these conditions is suicide. And that's where the flashlight comes in. This will allow you to see what you're doing in the Pitfall Zone and, hopefully, let you dodge the pitfalls. Oxygen - Not the network for women. Part of the second building seems to be either a small docking area for boats or an above ground sewer. In any case, the dark areas of this sludge lake are deep water, and if you walk into these, you will start to suffocate. With the oxygen tank in your inventory, you can freely traverse these nasty areas without risk of dying. P.O.W.s - Scattered around the cells in the buildings are prisoners taken by the enemy. Some are from your team, and some are from the local resistance fighters who don't like Outer Heaven and its inhabitants any more than you do. Freeing prisoners will increase your rank as well as net you valuable information concerning your mission. Rations - Lovely little tins of food that fully restore your life bar when used, allowing you to fight on. You can only carry a limited number of these, so use them spareingly. You get 1 ration per pick-up. Silencer - This one shows up on the weapon screen, but it's really more of an item, since you can't use it in itself to attack things (unless there's a special mode where you can beat people in the head with it that I'm not aware of). What it does, as the name implies, is silence the sound of your gun, allowing you to shoot guards without alarming other guards in the same area. Transmitter - At some point in the game, the enemy manages to plant this bug in your equipment. As long as you are carrying it, stealth goes right out the window; enemies will know you're there the second you walk onto any screen with guards. Uniform - This is an enemy soldier's uniform. It acts like a key card to the second building; you can't get in without it. It also makes for a better disguise when sneaking around than the cardboard box does. 3)ENEMIES AND HAZARDS REGULAR ENEMIES Guards - Obviously the most common enemy you're going to run into, Guards wear two different kinds of uniforms but they both behave exactly the same so who cares. They all pack guns, though how often they shoot at you and how accurate they are seems to depend on how far into the game you've progressed. Guards will drop after three punches or one hit from any other weapon. Guard Dogs - Trained German Shepard puppies that would like nothing better than to tear your guts out. Dogs are less dangerous than guards; more of them won't come running from off screen when the alarm is sounded and, of course, they aren't packing firearms. In the very early stages of the game, dogs can be dangerous, but once you find the pistol the threat of doggy death becomes almost non-existant. Scorpions - These little bastards are quick and they move in an erratic circular pattern, making them tricky to hit. Scorpions don't hurt you all that much by themselves, but they will poison you if they hit. If you don't yet posess the antidote, this can be very bad indeed. Thankfully, scorpions only inhabit the desert area, and you won't be there for very long. BOSSES Arnold - These guys won't shoot at you. Instead, they'll run into you when they see you. The Arnolds are tough jerks too; you can't hurt them with anything but the rocket launcher. Bull-Tank - This boss is one of the first things you will encounter upon entering Building 2. It moves slowly and has no weaponry to speak of, but one touch is instant death, and there's no room to maneuver around it in the corridor you will face it in. Coward Duck - This guy throws boomerang-like projectiles at you from across the room. The boomerangs don't hurt that horribly. The problem you need to get around here is Duck's got himself surrounded by P.O.W.s that he's using as shields. Getting out of this fight without offing a hostage can be tricky. Firetrooper - This dude has a flamethrower, as the name implies. The wall of fire that the trooper spews out will destroy any bullets, rockets, or grenades you send his way. Also, it's not a good idea for Snake to touch the flames either. Machine Gun Kid - Another armed punk, this one has a machine gun that will tear you to ribbons...if you are stupid enough to let that happen. Shotgunner - The first boss you will meet. He's armed with a shotgun (imagine that) and he's not afraid to use it. Deals out decent damage and moves fairly quickly. Super Computer - This is the computer that controls Metal Gear. By itself, it can't harm you. It is protected, however, by an elaborate security system. And oh yeah, guards too. Destroying this renders Metal Gear useless, but it also arms Outer Heaven's self-destruct device. Tank - A large, armored tank that guards the pathway between Buildings 1 and 2. It has two machine guns that fire in an arc from either side and its main turret fires a very, VERY damaging shell that you should avoid at all costs. Twin Shot - This pair of heavy gunners guards the prison cells on the roof of Building 1. Their guns will put the hurt on you somtething fierce, and because of their positioning they have the ability to cover most of the roof. and finally... The Leader of Outer Heaven - I don't wish to spoil this right now, in case you've never heard of this series before or are unaware of Metal Gear's "suprise" final confrontation (in other words, in case you've been living under a rock for the last 20 years). Suffice it to say, the mysterious leader of Outer Heaven is armed with only a pistol, but he's quick and tough. And by the time you meet him, he'll be rather angry with you. HAZARDS Cameras - Security cameras that will bring hordes of soldiers down around your ears if they see you. The best way to avoid detection by these devices is to hug the walls directly under where they're guarding; they can't see you when you're in this position. Much later, you will encounter cameras that fire lasers. These beams of energy are deadly when they hit you in rapid sucession, but the laser cameras can be fooled in the same manner that regular ones can. Electrified Floors - If you run into an area where the floor is glowing, don't step on it. That unhealthy radiance means that the floor is electrified and will hurt you to the touch. USUALLY (note the emphasis) there will be a small, purple control panel somewhere nearby. Take it out with RC missiles to shut the floor down. Mines - There are a few areas of the game that are mined, and stepping on a mine is not good for your health. Like the security beams, you can't see these under normal circumstances. Also like the security beams, there is a device you can use to reveal them, in this case the detector. Once you can see the mines, you can either walk around them or shoot them. Pitfalls - These are traps that open up as you get closer to them. One touch is instant death again, so avoid at all costs. Poison Gas - Certain areas of Outer Heaven are flooded with toxic fumes. You will be able to recognize areas like this by the white, puffy clouds that seem to seap up from the floor. Don that gas mask quickly when you enter an area like that to avoid major damage. Rollers - These resemble oil drums stacked end to end and roll back and forth, blocking your path. It's death to the touch, and the only thing you can do is avoid them. Sometimes there are nitches in the walls of the area where you can duck as the rollers go by, but don't count on it. Security Beams - Blundering through these will set off the alarm and call the guards out, al la being seen by a camera. To make matters worse, they're invisible. Put on those goggles if you'd like to avoid these. 4)ONE OR TWO OTHER THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE TO KNOW AN EXPLAINATION OF THE RANKING SYSTEM There's no score-keeping in this game per se. Rather, you will be promoted to a higher rank depending on how many hostages you've rescued. Why is this a good thing? Higher rank increases the amount of ammunition and rations you can carry, the size of your life bar, and one of your radio contacts won't even talk to you unless you're at rank 4. You can also go down in rank by accidentally (or on purposly, if you're feeling eeeeevil) shooting and killing freed hostages. You start out at the rank of one star, and can acquire a maximum of four stars. Here is a qucik list of the perks you get at each rank and how many hostages you need to rescue in order to make it to that rank. 0-4 Hostages - 1 Star 5-9 Hostages - 2 Stars Hand Gun - 50 rounds Hand Gun - 100 rounds Sub Machine Gun - 50 rounds Sub Machine Gun - 100 rounds Grenade Launcher - 15 rounds Grenade Launcher - 30 rounds Rocket Launcher - 5 Rounds Rocket Launcher - 10 rounds Plastic Explosives - 5 units Plastic Explosives - 10 units Mines - 5 units Mines - 10 Units R.C. Missiles - 5 units R.C. Missiles - 10 units Rations - 3 units Rations - 6 units 10-14 Hostages - 3 Stars 15+ Hostages - 4 Stars Hand Gun - 200 rounds Hand Gun - 250 rounds Sub Machine Gun - 200 rounds Sub Machine Gun - 250 rounds Grenade Launcher - 60 rounds Grenade Launcher - 60 rounds Rocket Launcher - 20 Rounds Rocket Launcher - 30 rounds Plastic Explosives - 15 units Plastic Explosives - 20 units Mines - 15 units Mines - 20 Units R.C. Missiles - 15 units R.C. Missiles - 20 units Rations - 9 units Rations - 12 units YOUR TRANSCIEVER AND YOU In addition to your arms and your cancer sticks, you also start the game with a transciever that allows you to communicate with your home base as well as a variety of resistance fighters along the way. Chatting with these folks usually allows you access to semi-valuable tips about what to do next, for the most part. Most of the time your commanding officer, Big Boss, and company will call you, so you won't have to worry about fiddling with frequency changes on your transciever. There are, however, certain areas where you need to make outgoing calls yourself. As a general rule if you rescue a hostage and they tell you to contact someone, do so immediatly upon leaving his cell. THE FABLED "TRANSCIEVER TRICK" It was recently brought to my attention that I've mentioned the transciever trick several times throughout this document without ever bothering to explain what exactly that is. Allow me to rectify this now; it's a little trick that will help you pass pitfall traps much, much more easily. Here's how it works. Upon triggering a pitfall, immediatly go to the radio screen, then go back into the normal game. What this does is freeze the trap so it can't open any further, as well as make it disappear. (It's still there, though, and will still kill you if you touch any area that it had time to open to.) Sneaky? Perhaps. A programming glitch? I'm not so certain. This is Metal Gear, afterall, a series which has always challenged you to think outside of your typical video game box to win. At any rate, this doesn't count as cheating in my book. If you disagree, try making it through the Pitfall Zone a billion times without using it and then come talk to me. 5)THE WALK-THROUGH Here we go. This is the main course of this game guide feast. Read on to see how to beat the whole, entire game of Metal Gear from start to finish. Since there aren't distinct levels in this game, I have broken the guide into six parts for slightly easier reading. PART 1: JUNGLE BOOGIE Metal Gear begins with a brief cut-scene showing you, and three of your buddies, parachuting into the jungle. Upon landing, you'll recieve a call from Big Boss, your unit's head honcho. He'll explain the mission objectives in more or less understandable English. Once he's done babbling, follow the trail to your right. Here, we will delight to an example of this game's horrid translation base. The guard by the jeep will fall asleep after a few moments if you simply don't move (wait for the cue, "I'm getting sleepy!!"). When he's peacfully in slumberland, either sneak by him or run up and punch his lights out permenantly, then head south. The next area is occupied by three mutts, and it's pretty much impossible to get by without alerting them. They aren't too hard to dodge, so run by and take the path on the right to continue furter south. Pass another screen with a dog, and you'll come to a small clearing with a truck. From this point on, things are going to get very sticky. The guards you encounter will are all very trigger-happy and your low rank (and hence, low amount of energy) doesn't permit you to soak up much damage before dying. This makes the opening of this game probably one of the toughest parts to get past. Enough disclaimers, back to the game. Watch the guard patrolling the clearing. When his back is to you, charge up behind him and quickly deck him until he's dead. The truck hereabouts has the binoculars in it. Now you have a choice to make. The binocs aren't an essential item, though if this is your first time playing this game the ability to see what lies ahead is a nice thing to have. Still, you will have to fight the same guard again if you opt to grab the binocs, and he'll see you immediatly when you exit the truck. Whatever you decide, after you're done continue south. After another couple of screens of stealthy kills, you'll come to a large, concrete structure with a soldier stationed on either side of it. Take the right side. Beat the tar out of the trooper there and scoot southward again. If he sees you before he dies, don't worry. Simply hurry off the screen before the other guard can try to kill you. Now, since you followed my instructions and came down on the right side, you should be in spitting distance of one of the two guards on this next screen. Take him out fast; even if the other jerk does see you, you'll only have one left to deal with. Once you've mopped up the two guards, hop into the truck on the left side of the screen. Inside is Card #1. As a bonus, grabbing the first key-card seems to be the signal for the enemy troops to stop shooting at you for awhile. When you exit the truck, the two guards will be back, but they won't fire. Either take them out or simply dodge your way into the truck on the right, and be treated with a classic video game line: "Uh-oh! The truck have started to move!" You've got to absolutly *LOVE* sloppy translations. Once the truck "have" stopped moving, jump out. You are now in front of Building 1. There's a lone guard here, but if you wait for a few moments, he'll wander off saying "Ok, your turn!!", which I think is supposed to mean they are changing guards. Anyway, the truck on the left has rations in it, so fill up on them if you want to (and remember that the guard will be back and will see you each time you leave the truck). Once you're ready, equip #1 and enter the base. PART 2: SECRET AGENT MAN You have sucessfully snuck into one of Outer Heaven's four structures, the unimaginativly named Building 1. Now, head north from the entrance and either sneak past or murder the guard that's patrolling the area next to the door. Enter the room, deal with the guard and grab the gas mask. Double back and make your way west through the garage. I find that it's easier to head south, then west, then north, as this route offers more cover and you really should be avoiding fights at this stage of the game. Big Boss will call in two areas of the motor pool. He says the same thing both times, essentially telling you what you need to do to complete your mission. Ignor him or listen if you'd like another example of truly hideous dialogue. Once you hit the west-end wall, take the left path northbound; there's a pitfall trap on the right side. This, however, will bring you face to face with a pair of guards that will spot you the second you enter the area. Take them out fast, or high-tail it northward before the area becomes infested with troopers. Next, you'll come to an elevator guarded by a soldier who will ditch like the guy did outside after a moment or two. Wait him out, and then move when the coast is clear. Ignore the elevator for now and head east. There's one guard here and three trucks. You can't open the door at the far right at this time, so don't even try. There truck on the right has mines, the middle one holds a nasty surprise of four guards, and the one on the left has the hand gun. Finally! You're armed! Now you just need some bullets to go with the gun. If you are spotted whilst collecting the hand gun and mines, simply duck into one of the trucks to evade the guards. New weapons acquired, head back to the elevator. This lift will only go to the third floor, so take it on up. Once out of the elevator, hug the left wall to avoid being spotted by the cameras and head south. Ignore bothe of the troopers patrolling the area and go into the door on the left side of the room. Your reward is an ammo box. Enter and exit the room, grabbing the ammunition each time, until you have all the bullets you can carry, then use #1 on the door to the south and rescue your first prisoner. Use #1 again on the next door and walk into a wonderful rtoom filled with poison gas. Slap your gas mask on to stop taking damage (you'll always take a tinsy bit when keying into and out of rooms like this, I'm afraid) and make for the door at the bottem of the screen. #1 will get you out of here. Big Boss will also call and tell you that you need a gas mask. No kidding. Upon entering the next room, creep along the left hand wall to avoid the cameras again, and use #1 to enter the lower door here. You'll get to free another prisoner, who gives you some information regarding a missing team member of yours code-named Grey Fox. Leave the cell and head east. Avoid the roller in this next room, scoop up the plastic explosives, and continue on in the same direction. When you reach the eastern wall, there will be a pair of rooms guarded by a pair of cameras. Slip past the cameras and use #1 on the lower of the two rooms. Your reward is Card #2. Hooray. The upper room holds rations, so use #2 to open it and restock if necessary, then back track to the area where you freed the second P.O.W. Open the upper door with #2 and swipe the R.C. missiles. Nice indeed. Now go back (again) to the area where you found #2 and head north from here. How charming! Your very first experiance with an electrified floor! Wait till you tell the boys back home! Big Boss will call and warn you that the only way to shut down the high-voltage flooring is by breaking its control panel, also that Schneider knows the location of the missiles you already acquired. Use those missiles to blast the panel, then cross when it's safe and continue north. You'll come to another elevator here. As with the last one, ignore it for the time being and head west. Use #2 to gain access to the upper room here and grab the cardboard, if you's like. Then key through the western door and proceed through it. Use #2 again to enter the small structure in the middle of the room to get the silencer, and use #1 on the door to your right for the grenade launcher. Head back to the room with the ammo box (it's west, then south from here) to refill your pistol and get some grenades in your launcher. While you are in the neighborhood, use #2 on the door on the right side of the screen to free another captive, then head back to the other elevator (not the one directly north of here). You can't do anything on the roof and nothing of particular consequence on the second level, so head back down to the ground floor. Head south from the elevator once you touch down (avoid the space between the crates; it's a pitfall). Use #2 on the first door to your left. Free the hostage who will tell you some more about Grey Fox's whereabouts, then continue on your merry way. In the next area, use #2 again on the door to your right for the sub-machine gun, then access the door to your left with #1. Inside is another prisoner (your fifth, oh goody!) and he tells you it would be a good idea to let yourself be captured. That's thoughtful of him. Exit and continue south. Hop into the truck you see down there, and lo and behold, you get captured! Things are going according to plan...aren't they? (By the by, "You're under arrest!!"? I thought this was a para-military station some where in the butt-end of Africa, not downtown Omaha. And all are these exclaimation points really necessary?) PART 3: JAIL HOUSE ROCK Well, you're now resting comfortably in Outer Heaven's prison. Big Boss calls you (they didn't take your radio?) saying the infiltration is a smashing success. I guess that depends on which side of the bars you're standing on. Anyway, no rest for the weary. Boss drops clues in his dialogue that you need to feel around (ie punch) the walls to find a way out. Hit the left hand wall and you'll open a hidden door. Go into the next room and be greeted by none other than Grey Fox, who will give you some unsettling intelligence before splitting. Punch the southern wall of this cell to reveal your exit, then head east to your first boss fight. SHOTGUNNER - Now typically in Metal Gear, beating bosses requires a simple amount of out-thinking them rather than straight forward brute force. The shotgunner will run back and forth across the top of the screen, stopping occasionally to pepper you with blasts from his street- sweeper. These don't hurt too terribly much, but you're better off avoiding them all together. The first thing you need to do is re-arm yourself. There are two doors at the bottom of this room. Head to the one on the right. All of the gear you’ve collected is in a bag on the table in here. Grab it and ditch the transmitter the bad guys have placed inside the bag. Now head back into the Shotgunner’s room to face him. Hide behind the crates and use your remote missiles on this guy. Though he’ll try, he won’t be able to shoot through the crates to hit you. You should have four remote missiles left. Hit him with all four and he’ll go down. Should you run out of missiles, equip the handgun, charge up to his level, and fill him full of lead for the coup de grasse. Now that that’s out of the way, use #2 to key into the room on the left hand side and retrieve card #3. #3 opens the door to your right, leading out of this building. So exit stage right. Head into the door to the south here with #2. Body armor is your reward. Head back out and go up and around the corner. Use #2 again to get into the room at the top of the screen for the bomb blast suit, then use #3 on the door to the left of the one at the bottom of the screen for the uniform. Make sure you get these three items before you leave; you won’t be able to come back to this building until you acquire the compass, and that’s locked up deep inside building 2 (which you can’t access without the uniform). Once you’ve collected all of these goodies, exit the building with #3. Head east from the building’s entrance until you can go east no more. There will be a truck here with rations inside. Restock your ration supply, and then head south. Eventually, you’ll come to Building 1’s northern wall. There are three trucks here. The middle one will take you to Building 4, and the upper one has plastic explosives. The one at the bottom has card #4. Grab the card and use it on the door here. You’re back in Building 1. A quick side note: once you grab card #4, the enemies will start shooting at you again, so be on guard. Dispose of the welcoming committee that’s waiting for you, and head back to the elevator. Make a quick pit stop on floor 3 for some more ammo and more missiles, and then proceed to the roof. Don that bomb blast suit. Ha! Take that wind! Head as far west as you can go, then go south. There’s an open room along the way with ammo in it, stop and refill if you need to. At the bottom of this path, use #2 to get access to a cell, rescue the hostage inside, then back track to the area where the path splits east, west, and south. Go south. The suspension bridges are dangerous, but only if you aren’t careful. If the bridge planks move out from under your feet, you’ll fall all the way to the ground floor and, of course, die. Go slowly and carefully watch the way the bridges sway, and you’ll be fine though. Once across the bridges, go west. Either sneak up on the guard and kill him before he has the chance to activate the floor or use your missiles to blast the control panel from afar. Use #3 to gain access to the room and swipe the detector. Now head east. TWIN SHOT---At the far eastern side of the roof, you’ll encounter Twin Shot. They will open up with a wide angled barrage of gunfire the moment you enter the screen, so don’t waste time. Scurry over to the upper right-hand corner of the area, behind the small barrier that separates you from one of the Twin Shots. You will probably take at least one hit during your mad dash across the firing field, but it shouldn’t hurt you all that much. Now it’s time to use your grenade launcher. This weapon will allow you to fire over the barrier, hitting the first Twin Shot without putting you in harm’s way. After the first one drops, repeat the process in his former cranny. 10 grenades a piece and Twin Shot won’t bother you any more. The door on the right will open with #3. The cell is empty. The door on the left opens with #2. Rescue the hostage in there, and he will tell you that Pettrovich has just been moved to Building 2. So it looks like you’re going to have to do some more hunting before you can find the good doctor and find out how to put Metal Gear out of commission. Back track to the elevator and take it to floor 2. Head south from here. Those weird silver blocks that you see produce security lasers, but you don’t have the goggles right yet, so just run through them, avoiding the guards that will pop up when you trigger the alarm. At the southern wall, use #1 to access a cell for a P.O.W. then head west. Card #3 opens this cell and grants you your tenth hostage (rank up! Rank up, Richie!) who will inform you, belatedly, that Dr. Pettrovich is being held on the roof. Pat him on the head and send him on his way. Then use #3 again to break into the room on your left. MACHINE GUN KID---And it’s time for another boss fight. Obviously, don’t stand in the openings for too long; MGK runs along at the top of the screen and stops at each corridor long enough to fire a stream of bullets your way. The first, most obvious weapon to use against him is your remote missiles again. This does work, and fairly quickly, but you will need those missiles in Building 2, and using them up now will necessitate a side trip to grab more of them before you leave. Instead, take him out with the pistol. Stand by an opening that he’s approaching, and quickly dodge out and fire a shot or two down the corridor in his direction. Then duck back into cover. MGK will move to attack you, but in doing so, will walk right into your shots. Repeat this several times, and he’ll die. Use #1 to access the door at the top of MGK’s room for the stupid iron glove, then use # 4 on the door the west. Off the guard there before he can switch on the frying floor, open the door he was guarding with #3, and claim the infrared goggles as your own. Head north from here. #1 will get you into the cell block on the right side for another hostage, and the open door on the left has three guards and land mines. Stock up fully on the mines; you’re going to need them very soon. Then keep going north. Enter the room at the top of this area, dodge the roller, and escape with #3. Head west briefly for more ammo and some plastic explosives if you feel like it. Then go back to the elevator. Take it back to the bottom level, and exit the building via the door you most recently used to enter it. You will never have to come back to Building 1 now, so wave buh-bye and continue with your mission. PART 4: HEAVY METAL Head north from Building 1. When you run back into the ration truck, re-supply yourself, then equip the detector. Ooooh! Mines! Either dodge or shoot these, and head north. TANK---Throw on the body armor and charge right up against the brick wall; the tank’s machine guns fire out in arcs on either side of it, but they can’t hit you when you’re right next to the wall. Now it’s a simple matter of when the tank backs up, run out in front of it and drop three mines. You might take a little fire from the machine guns, but the body armor will reduce the damage you receive. The tank will come forward again, and it will roll over the explosives damaging itself. After 11 hits, the tank will be destroyed, and you are free to move on to Building 2. There are two things you need to keep in mind while fighting this brute. Number one, don’t touch it; that’s instant death. Secondly, the tank will fire its turret cannon at you if you step directly in front of it. This is obviously stupid and unnecessary, so don’t be an idiot and stay out of the tank’s way. Keep going north with that detector handy, as you’ll run into another minefield. Once past this, you’ll reach Building 2, and Big Boss will be on the phone again. He’ll say something about a roadblock and trying to slip past it. Put on that uniform you stole earlier and enter the building. If you need a quick ammo boost, head immediately left and access the door there with #4. An ammo crate is inside. Restock until you’re fully re-armed, then go jump in the sludge. Equip your grenade launcher and use #4 on door. BULL-TANK---The bull-tank, like its late counterpart, is lethal to the touch. So don’t touch it. You need something with decent punch to take this thing down. That’s where your grenade launcher comes in. The moment you enter the room, start lobbing grenades at the lumbering behemoth. You should be able to take it down before it reaches you. In the event that you don’t act fast enough, simply access your sub-screen and the bull-tank will reset to its starting position, with whatever damage you dealt to it on the first go round. #4 will get you out of the bull-tank’s room. Head east from the elevator, and then south. Cross the river of sludge to the other side, being careful to avoid the dark (deep) area, and use #2 on the door to your left. The antenna is in here, and this is an important item to get on this level as two new and different contacts will be showing up on your radio and you won’t be able to talk to them without this item. There’s nothing more you can do on this floor right now. Head back to the elevator and take it to the roof. #2 will open the door in your immediate area, and inside is another hostage. He’ll tell you that Pettrovich is being held on floor 2. Continue across the roof until you reach the second door. Use #4 to open it and be rewarded with card #5. Keep going until you reach the elevator, and take it back down to the ground floor. Don’t go between the crates in the first area here, there’s another pitfall. Head west, then north (or continue west for rations if you need them, the door is opened by #5). Stay on the lower side of the sludge ditch and go east, then north until you reach a door. Open sesame with #5 and rescue yet another hostage who tells you that you need a rocket launcher to beat someone called Arnold for the key card to the outside. Head back, jump in the muck, and go north. When you reach the area that is blocked by all that deep water, exit the sludge via the opening on the left and head south. Follow that path to another door and open it with #5. This room holds card #6. Now go back to the first elevator, and take it to floor 2 (it’s an irritating fact in this building that the elevator you took up to the roof only goes up, while the elevator you took down from the roof only goes down). First, follow the path to the right opening the door at the end of it with #6. Your prize is the antidote, something which you will need very soon. Head back and pop open the southern door that you passed with #1. Yep, those two things are Arnold (Arnolds?), but you’re not quite ready to fight him yet. Use #5 to open the door in the southeast corner, and then again to open the cell in the next room. A hostage will be there and he’ll tell you that you can’t cross the desert without a compass. Head back to the Arnolds’ room and use #5 on the door on the right side now. #5 will get you into the room in the upper-left corner, and your 15th hostage. Just in time too. He tells you about a resistance member named Jennifer who’s a snob and won’t talk to you unless you’re “classy” (translation, high-ranking). Fortunately, that freed hostage just put you to four stars, so you’ll have plenty of class when talking to Jen. Leave the cell and contact her immediately. She’ll tell you that she’s got some rocket launchers ready for you. Use # to access the other room in the area, and voila! Rocket launcher! Now all you need is something to fire out of it, and fortunately, I know just where that something is. Go back to Arnolds’ room again, and this time key yourself out with #1 at the lower left-hand doorway. There’s an open room over here with three ammo crates. Fill up and then prepare for battle. (You can also go north from here, and key yourself into a cell with #6. There, a person who seems to be Dr. Pettrovich is bound up like a hostage. Don’t fall for it; it’s a trap and he’s not the real doctor. If you move to free him, he’ll try to kill you by opening up a pitfall. I usually shoot this guy out of spite.) ARNOLD---The Arnolds don’t shoot at you; they don’t have any guns. Instead, as I’m sure you’ve learned by ducking into and out of this room, they’ll charge you and slam into you for decent damage. This fight is more straight forward than most. Now that you have the rocket launcher, simply blast away at each of the Arnolds until they die. Equip the body armor for extra protection if you feel like it and heal when necessary. After the Arnolds pass, a key card will appear, #7. Grab it, then use #2 on the door in the upper right-hand side of the room. Go east from here, and then call Jennifer again from this seemingly dead-end room. She’ll tell you she’d got a compass ready for you. Use #1 to open the door in the area and swipe the compass. Go back to Arnolds’ room (again) and head back through the southeastern door. This time go east until you reach the elevator, and take it back to the ground level. Head back to the sludge area, and go to the area where you got #6. Instead of going south this time, go north. Use #7 on the door here, and you’re out of Building 2. PART 5: TAKIN’ CARE OF BUSINESS You’re in the desert now, so equip the compass and the sub-machine gun. The SMG is ideal for dealing with the scorpions, since it sprays out a fan of bullets to cover the fairly large area that the little arachnids scuttle around in. Head north, and north, and north some more, until you reach Building 4. Big Boss will call you up and tell you to get into the truck on the right (I think he means the one in the middle on the right). Don’t listen to him; the truck in question will whisk you away back to the beginning area of the game and you’ll need to make your way all the way back to Building 4. The truck in the upper right takes you to the front of Building 1, the lower truck has ammo, and the one on the upper left has a single soldier in it. Use #7 to enter the building. Interesting. It seems like you’re expected. There’s no sneaking past the guards in this room. They know you’re there and will attack the moment you enter. Wipe them out. Big Boss calls you again and tells you to go into the room on the left. Again, don’t listen to him. There’s a pitfall in that room and nothing else. Now why is it that Big Boss suddenly seems to want to halt your progress, in one way or another? But that’s a question for later. Head north. Get past the two pitfalls by using the transceiver method to freeze them, then hop in the elevator and take it down…and down…and down some more. The cameras in the next room are actually the fun, laser-shooting variety, which means you’re pretty close to the super computer. That’s irrelevant right now, though. Use #7 to key into the room at the bottom, grab the oxygen tank and then make your way back to Building 2. Now, equip the oxygen and go jump in the deep water and head north. Eventually, you’ll exit the water and come to an area with another electrified floor. Use your missiles to deactivate it. The room on the left is opened with #1 and holds ammo. You’ll also receive an alarmed message from Schneider, telling you that he’s found out who the leader of Outer Heaven is. But the transmission cuts off before you can find out. The other door leads to your next boss fight. COWARD DUCK---Maybe this is more homage to 80s icons (hello, Howard the Duck) and maybe not. At any rate, Duck’s got himself surrounded by hostages and he throws boomerang looking thingies at you. Jennifer will call and inform you that one of the hostages in the room is her brother (the middle one) and if you shoot him she won’t help you any more. On top of all that, there’s a pitfall in the middle of the room. The best way to deal with Ducky is your handy-dandy remote missiles. If ever there was a situation tailor-made for these babies, it’s this one. Alternatively, you can trip the pitfall and freeze it with the transceiver trick, then walk up besides the Coward and fill him full of lead with the pistol. Finally, you can head to either the left or the right side of the room and use the sub-machine gun. This really isn’t a good idea though. With all those bullets spraying around, you’re bound to hit a hostage or two. Duck had the final key card. Grab #8 and free the hostages. Jen’s brother tells you to take the left elevator when you escape the complex, so not killing him paid off. Now head back out to the desert. Go north again with the compass and the SMG at the ready. After you clear the desert, keep the compass at the ready and head west three times, north once, and west once more. This will take you to the northern entrance of Building 3. #6 gets you in here. (You can also get back to the southern entrance of Building 3 now that you have the compass. Get to the clearing with the rations truck and the small mine field below where you fought the tank, equip the compass, and go west three times, north once, and west again. You’ll recognize this area as the building you broke out of when you were captured. I don’t recommend going this way, however. You’re coming up on the pitfall zone, and if you approach it from this direction, you’ll have to do it blind, which is nearly impossible.) Schneider calls at this point, miraculously back from the dead somehow and not at all interested in telling you who the evil leader is. (I’m guessing the game was set up for you to handle this area first, and then go back to deal with Coward Duck. So the programming gets a tad confused. Anyhow, doing things my way will save you an extra side trip.) Use #5 to break into the cell in the upper left and free the hostage there, then use #3 to open the other door in the upper area of the screen. You’re back in gas land, so put your mask back on and follow the path. The first room you come to is unlocked and has a roller and three bundles of plastic explosives. Grab them if you need to and then continue onward. You’ll come to a dead end with an open room. Inside is the all-important flash light. Snag it, leave and then go to the wall on the left side of the screen. Punch it and you’ll hear the tell-tale sound of a hidden door nearby. Feel around for it, and pass through when you locate the door. FIRETROOPER---“I am a Firetrooper! Want to see me roast you alive?” *sigh* One can only hope that question was rhetorical. The trooper stands at the northern end of the room, guarding a doorway. At regular intervals, he shoots out a stream of fire that he then swings back and forth in an arc. This fire will hurt you, but more importantly, it will block any shots that you send in his direction. There are two ways around this. One, use the sub-machine gun. While most of the bullets will fly wide or be destroyed by the flames, one or two per burst will be at the correct angle to bypass the Firetrooper’s defenses and hit him. This does take awhile. Alternatively, wait for the Firetrooper to stop blasting the area with flames, then run up into his little alcove next to him. He won’t be able to hit you here. Now fill his head full of lead with your pistol. However you choose to dispose of him, once the Firetrooper is gone, use #6 to key into the cell behind where he was standing. At last! Dr. Pettrovich! The doctor says he’s willing to help you out by telling you Metal Gear’s weakness, but not until he’s sure that his daughter is safe. She is somewhere inside this building as well. Looks like you’re not quite done yet. Head back through the gas area to the entrance of the building and use #5 on the door to your left. Get that mask back on, because you’re back in gassy world. Punch around the top area of the little corner you are in until you find another hidden door, and go through. Use #1 on the first door you encounter to free another hostage, then continue onward. The next door opens with #5 and holds rations, so restock if you need to, and keep going. In the area immediately south of the room with the rations, punch along the left-hand wall to find yet another secret area, and go through it. Hug the bottom wall in this room, there’s a pitfall in the upper area. Punch the wall north of this room’s exit door for yet another hidden area. This one has two ammo crates, so reload all of your weapons if you need to, then use 6# to open the door to the south. Welcome to the Pitfall Zone. As you can see, you can’t see anything. Equip the light to change that and proceed southward. Diane will call you on every screen of this area, warning you not to fall into any pits. Try and do what she says. The pitfall freezing trick is invaluable here. Eventually, you’ll reach another door. Key through it with #1 and keep going south. A couple of screens later, you’ll come to a room with a door to the south and one to the north. Use #5 to access the northern room. There’s a pitfall in here, and if it opens up entirely, it will block your way. So freeze it with the pitfall trick, then punch around on the left hand wall to find another secret door. And there’s Ellen! You are nine tenths of the way done now. PART 6: IN THE END Head back through the pitfall zone to Dr. Pettrovich’s cell. He will tell you that the best way to disable Metal Gear is to destroy the super computer that controls it. It will take 16 plastic explosives to do so. Your work here is done. Leave Building 3, and by foot or truck, make your way back to building 4 again. After taking the elevator to the tenth level of hell again, open the door on the right side of the room with #8 and free the prisoner in there. He tells you that Big Boss is, in fact, Outer Heaven’s commander (as if you hadn’t figured that out by now). Head west and ignore the frantic call from Big Boss to abort the mission. Use #8 to card through the door here. Put that gas mask back on and head north. Ignore the door on the right, it leads to a pitfall. Take the left-hand path. Use #1 to get through the door in the next area. You’ve got more gas to deal with, so put the mask back on. There are mines in this room too, but you can’t use the detector without choking to death on the toxic fumes. You’re strong enough at this point to take a few hits from some mines, so don’t worry about shooting them. Also, there are apparently invisible hostages in this room, and if your bullets hit them you’ll lose ranks. The next room holds the final electric floor in the game. Jennifer calls and tells you there’s no way to shut it down. You need to hoof it across. Heal as necessary and make certain you’re healed before you step through the last door. SUPER COMPUTER---There are three guards in this room; take them out quickly with a spraying from your SMG. Then, turn your attention to the super computer. Plant plastic explosives on it until the machine is destroyed. Probably the simplest fight in the entire game. After the super computer is wrecked, the base’s self-destruct system automatically arms, giving you 1999 seconds to get out of Outer Heaven before you go up in flames with it. Use your cigarettes now to add another 1000 seconds to the clock, don your combat armor for the final fight, and then run to the room on your right. BIG BOSS---You didn’t really expect to get out without taking down this sleaze bucket, did you? After a brief exchange where Big Boss sorta-kinda explains his motives, he’ll attack you. Use the rocket launcher on him; nothing else really does damage. Your biggest problem here is going to be hitting the guy, as Big Boss is fairly fast, and your rockets are fairly slow. It definitely takes some timing, but this fight is in no way particularly difficult. After he’s taken about 10 hits from the rocket launcher, Boss will kick it, and the elevators leading out of Outer Heaven will open up. Remember what Jennifer’s brother said, “Take the left elevator.” Do just that and you will be well on your way back to home base when Outer Heaven explodes. Congratulations, Snake. Mission accomplished! CODES There are really too many variables in this game to make a coherent code list. Besides, the walk-through details what I believe is the most expedient way to defeat the game. It’s not the only way or order to do things. And there aren’t levels per se in this game anyhow. So I’m not going to list any specific codes in this section. However, there are a substantial number of “hidden” codes that do a number of odd and interesting things, discussed below. SECRETS All of the following codes can be entered on the Continue screen. 21Z1C GZZZG UOOOU UYRZZ NTOZ3 This code starts you off at the beginning of the game with only 1 star, but with all weapons, items, and full ammo, as if you had 4 stars. GMMMM MMMMM MMMMM MMMMM MMMMM Here you’ll start in the jail cell next to Grey Fox’s with a variety of equipment and weaponry. And oh yeah, the self-destruct sequence is activated and counting down. TOOOU TOOOU TOOOU TOOOU TOOOU Starts you in the room before the super computer with 1 star and limited equipment. However, the good news is that both Big Boss and the computer are no more. So to see the ending, you need only exit via the left elevator. FUCKM E1111 11111 11111 11111 Incase you haven’t noticed yet, the words “f--- me” are in this code. And rightly so. This code will start you off with three stars in the room before the super computer and the countdown timer going. But you’ll have no equipment whatsoever, and Big Boss still waiting on the other side of the door out. T1111 11611 11111 11111 11116 Identical to the above code, except you only have 1 star and Big Boss is no more. Oh and you have the binoculars too. Gee, thanks a heap. ELLEN DIANE JENNI FERBI GBOSS Starts you off in the room before the super computer with 2 stars and a smattering of weapons and equipment. The computer is gone and the countdown is going, but you’ll still need to deal with Big Boss. 51111 11111 11111 11111 1111F Starts you with 4 stars but no weapons or equipment. You’ll begin at the north entrance to Building 1. 51222 22222 22222 22222 22222 Identical to the above code, except you do get a few weapons and items this time. WZZZZ YZZZZ UOOOU UYRZZ VZZZK Starts you off in the room before the super computer with 4 stars, all items, all weapons, and full ammo. And it’s a shame that you won’t get to use this muscle and might on anything, because both Big Boss and his PC are dead. 5ZRZX OZZZG COO1U UYRZZ NZRZV Starts you off with 4 stars and most of your weapons, equipment, and ammunition. You will begin at the north entrance to Building 1. 5ZZZZ YZZZZ UOOOU UYRZZ VZZZS Starts you off with 4 stars, full ammo, all weapons and all items. You begin at the north entrance to Building 1. 3LLLL LLLLL LLLLL LLLLL LLLLL Begins you in the prison area, next to Grey Fox with two stars and a variety of items and weapons. And no countdown going this time. Game Glitches SOLID IS JUST AN ILLUSION---Whey you enter the super computer’s room, stay within the door frame and press right on the control pad. You will be whisked to the confrontation with Big Boss, without having to worry about of the self-destruct timer running out during your fight. 8)IN MY OPINION... We're going to try a different format for this editorial page. Actually, I've already written a review for Metal Gear, and this is my lazy-ass way of justifying cutting and pasting something I wrote three years ago. Still, it's not bad reading. There’s a definite lack of graphical flare in this game. The sprites aren’t very detailed, there are virtually no large pictures, and the scenery is extremely repetitive. It’s a little interesting meeting the bosses, as they add some visual flavor to the stale scene after scene of the same guards. Not bad but not outstanding. Metal Gear gets a few extra marks for what’s actually a very varied repertoire of sound effects. Your weapons all make different noises when fired (or planted, as the case may be), as do most of the enemies’. The clicking sound your ammo-dependant weapons make when you try to fire them empty is a very nice touch for a NES cart, as is the barking of the dogs. There’s not much in the music dpartment, so minus points for that. However the five-or-so tracks in this game are all very memorable and will stick with anyone who’s played this game long enough to appreciate it. On the control side, Snake usually goes where you want him to but he does so rather slowly. This can be a bother when you’re trying to get out of a room full of angry guards. Also, there’s the irritating tendency to take corners too tightly, and the result is getting stuck on a wall when you think you should have cleared it. This can be bad in the above-mentioned situation as well. Sometimes you won’t be quite lined up correctly, and your punch or gun shot will miss. But for the most part, you shouldn’t have problems. Without the aid of some kind of walk-through, this is hands down one of the hardest NES games out there. Even with a strategy guide, it’s very likely that you’ll die several times before completing the game. The opening area is probably the most frustrating part of the game, as you have to sneak around un-armed for what seems like an eternity. Also, there are a few areas where you may be stumped, and the solution to your current set of roadblocks isn’t obvious or even remotely hinted at (the compass is a good example of this). By the time you get to these areas, however, the game will already either have it’s hooks into you and make you rabid with a desire to figure out the puzzle, or you will have lost interest and given up on it entirely. In the plot department, it’s the starting point to one of the greatest game series ever, and it has everything you’d want or need (excepting the sometimes idiotic dialogue). Metal Gear covers the entire spectrum; intrigue, betrayal, pulse-pounding excitement, suspense, you name it. The ending sequence is a little lacking, but it does come to a concise conclusion, and it hints broadly at sequels to come. Ultimately, it is this element which will enrapture gamers, provided they allow themselves the time to get into the game. The most fun, as always with games of this genre is the first time through. Once you’ve played through the game and found everything, there’s not much else here. The codes in the Secrets area add a bit of zest for replay, allowing you to try tackling the game starting with different capabilities in different areas. And also, since there’s no set way to beat the game, you can experiment around with changing the order you accomplish things. I think Metal Gear can easily be ranked among the top 100 games of all time, for what it was and what it started. This game caught many an eye at the time of its release because it played differently. Back in the late 80s, video games were still mostly about running around and blowing things up. Fast-paced action was a necessary selling-point. Metal Gear changed all that. With its compelling story line (minus the horrible translation errors) it drew players into the game in a way that they hadn’t been effected before. It was almost more like reading a book than playing a game. Even the Legend of Zelda, arguably the most successful and well-known adventure game of all-time, didn’t even come close to Metal Gear’s depth. It’s just an outstanding game any way you cut it. The difficulty and the emphasis on stealth rather than full-fledged combat is going to turn away some players (it certainly did for me back when my brother first bought the game). But for those of us who’ve stuck it out, Metal Gear will always remain one of the greatest gaming experiences ever. 8 out of 10. =========================================================================== 9)ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND LEGAL STUFF Konami/Ultra (what exactly WAS Ultra? a state-side division of Konami?) for the creation of the game, of course. The game play info of the walk through and the level codes was all acquired by me, through copious note taking and more than one wasted hour in front of my TV. The one exception was I couldn't remember how to get the compass, so thanks to Robert Dacunto's FAQ for that. Codes found in the secrets area were gleaned off of the Cheat Codes and Secrets page for this game on GameFAQS.com, and therefore I must commend Wallpaper Kid, Aether Knight, SSnes Vegita, dinobotmaximized, JDawg007, Ryan Mac, Binta, J.Lau, Mr SNK, Dude Love Fan, and C de Vries for their work in making these cheats available. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. This document is Copyright 2006 glass_soul (that's me). Only GameFaqs, Neoseeker, and 1-up have permission to post this walk-through on their site (if they feel like it). Nobody else, person, entity, or otherwise, may post this document in part or whole on their website without my express permission to do so. Comments, questions, corrections and other forms of feedback in general are all welcome. I may be reached at elfuego767@yahoo.com. Adios. ===========================================================================