Pocket Zaurus: Ju Ouken no Nazo
FAQ/Walkthrough
Version 1.0
by Seth0708

O--------------O
| Introduction |
O--------------O
Pocket Zaurus is a standard platformer released for the Famicom in 1988 by
Bandai. Although the premise is not entirely clear to me, it seems the player is
placed in control of a small dinosaur who has been thrust through time and
displays the uncanny ability to throw boomerangs at his opponents and transform
into a robot.

Questions aside, given the simplicity of the game design and the very linear
level layouts, this guide will focus mostly on boss strategies, noting any
particular difficulties of a level only as necessary. Aside from level four,
you will find the levels very straightforward.

This guide was written as part of the NES Completion Project. Information on the
few remaining titles for this project can be found at their website:
http://faqs.retronintendo.com/

O---------------O
| 1000000000 BC |
O---------------O
Use this initial level to familiarize yourself with the controls, although you
will find them very easy to grasp and follow. Continue to the right on foot
until you are thrust into your hovercraft. The screen will scroll along the
length of a giant crocodile. Shoot the enemies as you approach, then when you
get to the front, shoot the crocodile in the nose to move on to the next area.

You'll find yourself in a cave with frolicking triceratops. Just keep following
the only path available as it curves around. This level seems like it is just
repeating, but you are making forward progress. Eventually you will come to a
blue door leading to the boss.

The boss is a blue dragon. He flies back and forth, but you should be able to
lay into him with your boomerangs and take him out in no time. The weird face
and mouth in the background doesn't do anything, so just ignore it.

O---------O
| 1700 AD |
O---------O
Looks like you went from a prehistoric forest to one from feudal Japan. There
are ghosts that fly about, but the real enemies here are the one-eyed ogres.
Stick to the trees and run over them, but be warned they'll bash the ground and
send debris up at you.

Eventually you'll come to the screen and edge and find yourself falling. You'll
land in a cemetery. Just keep moving. The enemies are a little tougher, but
again sticking towards the top of the screen will let you avoid most of them.
You'll soon come to the boss door.

The boss here is a Western-style magician. Hit him a few times to cause his
body to explode into bits. Hit each bit once to finish him off and move on.

O---------O
| 5000 AD |
O---------O
Seems the world has turned into a desert in the future. This level adds doors
you can go into to collect items, but ultimately the level layout hasn't changed
at all. Go right until you find another robot dinosaur. Jump on his head and
ride him to the right. Fight through the death cult terradactyls until you find
your old hovercraft.

You'll go through another scrolling shooting area like in the first level, this
time through a city. Periodically a flying tower will appear on the right and
move upwards, shooting at you. Avoid it's shots until it vanishes, then the
screen will continue scrolling to the right.

Landing in the city, go right past the cafe and movie theater to start climbing
up a series of ladders. You can jump and grab each ladder as you climb, which is
easier, or you can try and climb them in the traditional manner, it's up to you.

At the top is the boss, a strange robotic octopus. It bobs up and down, but a
handful of boomerangs will end it's parade before it can do much.

O---------O
| 2600 BC |
O---------O
Looks like you gotta go back in time like Marty McFly and Huey Lewis. The robed
guys throw stones that are hard to avoid, so stick to the lower half of the
level for a change and blast them as you approach. Eventually you'll come to the
sphinx and go inside.

Go right until you come to three doors. Take the far right one to drop down into
a vertical pathway. At the bottom go right and find three doors again. If the
number over them should is a two, you're moving forward. Take the far right one
again and start climbing upwards. At the top are three more doors; it should be
a three over them. Take the leftmost one and start climbing again. Again at the
top on the right you'll find three doors, this time with a four over them. Take
the far right one and drop down the shaft. At the bottom should be the doors and
the number five. Take the middle door now and follow the path down. Again you
will find the three doors at the bottom under a number six, and again you want
to take the middle one. Go up to the top to find room seven and take the far
right door. Climb once more until you come to the top where you will finally
move on to the boss.

The boss consists of three sarcophagi that shoot projectiles out of their mouths
at you. You need to hit one of the mouths once, wait as it explodes, then move
on to the next. When each mouth is killed in sequence, the level will end.

O----------O
| 10000 BC |
O----------O
Greece is your next stop, or at least the architecture resembles it. This level
has a lot of pits, making it your first real platforming effort. The goofy
looking dragons here are also a pain, firing a steady volley directly in front
of them. Take your time and work your way through the enemies slowly if you have
to.

When you make it to the scrolling shooter segment you're almost home free. Blast
through the unicorns and dragons that come your way until you reach the temple.
Inside is more of the same enemy-wise, but features less pitfalls.

The final boss awaits at the end of the temple. He will rise out of the center
floor and spits fireballs out at you. If the fireballs hit the braziers they
will splatter in multiple fragments. You have to destroy both heads of the
snake, so stand close and lay into him, moving under him if you have to to avoid
the fire splatter.

With the boss defeated, you move to a small tower. Above you in the clouds are
the swords you've been collecting from the bosses throughout the game. Jump up
and grab them one at a time, then bring them to their respective spots, as
follows:

() Dark Green goes on the foot of the central blue door
() Gold goes on the bottom left on the t-rex
() Light green goes on the conical pillar below and to the right of the door
() Purple goes on the uppermost righthand conical pillar top
() Silver goes on the stegosaurus on the bottom right

Once you have done this, the ending sequence will start. The dinosaur is
revealed to be the nerdy dude from the title screen once he is kissed by the
mysterious woman you are apparently rescuing. All this is seemingly for naught,
however, when she turns into a two-headed demon and flies away, changing you
back into a dinosaur in the process.

O---------O
| Closing |
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Pocket Zaurus: Ju Ouken no Nazo is (c) Bandai