Top Gun FAQ/Flythrough **************************************************************************** Disclaimer: This FAQ/Flythrough for the NES game Top Gun cannot be reproduced in whole or in part without express written consent from Jed Cournoyer (J Dawg007). You must email me if you wish to use it on your site. If I catch you using it to try to make money, I will personally hunt you down and disembowel you. You can email me at Rwo199@cs.com if you have any questions or comments, or wish to use my work on your site. This FAQ copyright 2001 Jed Cournoyer, President of RWO Industries. This is my first attempt at an FAQ, so if it sucks, let me know. I accept all forms of criticism, except for people like this: "UR FQ SUX BAD". Those people will be ridiculed and tormented without mercy. There will be no bad language except for the occasional "damn" or "hell", nothing major though. Anyway, on to the FAQ. Revision History: Version 1.0 (3/1/01) First version, included a full walkthrough of the first mission and the trick to not encounter anything. Also included codes and such. Version 1.1 (6/16/01) Finalized walkthrough of the second mission, and added a new trick. Also corrected some errors. ************ * Contents * ************ 1. Intro 2. Control Scheme 3. Missile Overview 4. Your craft 5. The enemy 6. Mission 1 - Training for the next mission 7. Mission 2 - Destroy an enemy aircraft carrier 8. Mission 3 - Destroy an enemy base 9. Mission 4 - Destroy an enemy space shuttle 10. Closing Paragraph + Secrets and codes 11. Credits and Thanks *********************** * 1. The Introduction * *********************** Top Gun is an NES game made by Konami. It was released in 1987, and it's loosely based on the movie. You pilot an F-14 Tomcat through 4 missions in this, the first NES flight sim. It's a good game overall. This flythrough will contain how to get through all 4 missions and live to tell about it. ********************* * 2. Control Scheme * ********************* The controls in Top Gun are pretty simple. Pressing Up makes your nose point down, thus decreasing your altitude, and increasing your speed. Pressing Down points your nose up, raising your altitude, but it slows you down. Pressing Left banks you to the left, and Right banks you to the right. A fires your bullets, which, as one review said "look like ping pong balls", and that's true, but these ping pong balls are your main means of survival. They drop enemy planes in one shot, although other enemy craft (submarines, bosses, etc.) require either more shots, or missiles. Pressing B when an enemy is on screen will lock your missile onto it, and pressing B again fires it. Double tapping B quickly is the best way to use missiles, just don't use them up. In the later missions, you'll hear a weird beeping noise, and you'll see "Fuel Empty - Push Start". Pushing start calls in the refuel plane. To my knowledge, there is no way to pause this game. *********************** * 3. Missile Overview * *********************** There are three missile types that you can use in Top Gun. First, there's the T-11 Hound. These are the smallest, weakest missiles, but you get more of these than any other, you start with 40 Hounds. The "mid-grade" missiles you can get are the T-22 Wolf missiles. They do medium damage, and you start out with 20. The biggest, most powerful missile of them all is the T-33 Tiger. These do the most damage, twice as much as the Wolf, but you only get 10 of these. In each missions flythrough, I'll recommend which missiles you should use. On some missions, you'll need to refuel, and refueling also fills up your missiles. ***************** * 4. Your craft * ***************** You pilot an F-14 Tomcat issued by the US Navy, it's worth millions, so don't lose too many, you only get 3. Aside from the ping pong gun and missiles, your Tomcat has different forms of radar, one for combat, one for refueling, and one for landing. Refueling and landing can be hard at times, but you'll get the hang of it. You have shields on your plane, which can withstand a limited amount of gunfire. 3 or 4 well placed shots and you are done. All you can do to combat gunfire is destroy the enemy before it fires, or just avoid the shots to the best of your ability. The enemy can also fire missiles at you. Missiles can be shot down or avoided, but if one hits you, you're dead. Enemy gunfire also looks like ping pong balls, and the missiles are black things with a weird fire trail behind them. **************** * 5. The enemy * **************** The enemy has various planes and naval craft that will try to shoot you out of the sky. The planes that fly away from you in the first mission won't do anything, they're harmless. They're mainly used for target practice. The planes that come at you however, will shoot bullets and missiles at you. The naval craft in mission 2 fires 1-3 missiles at a time. The tanks and other ground forces in mission 3 do the same. Every so often, an enemy plane will get behind you and attempt a missile lock, you need to shake left and right (not quickly, pace it) to avoid them. If not, you get a missile right in your tail pipe. With practice, you'll be untouchable in the sky. ************************************************ * 6. Mission 1 - Training for the next mission * ************************************************ Alrighty, time to show what you're made of. You start with a shot of your Tomcat preparing for takeoff, and then you reach the missile select screen. Since there's no boss here, take the T-11 Hounds. You won't really need to use them, but they're still good to have. You take off automatically, and in a few seconds you're in control. About 4 seconds into the mission, you will have three harmless planes coming up from behind, on the left. (Check your radar to see exactly where) You don't really need to move though, they go right into your line of fire. A few seconds later, 3 more of them from behind and slightly to the right. These guys also go right in front of you, so neutralize them as well. After a few more seconds, 2 more come up slowly from behind, and like the idiots before them, they too pop up in your face. A few seconds after you kill them, 3 more fly directly into your crosshairs, so keep firing until they all die. As you can see, these worthless guys are training for you. Play time ends here though, after you kill those crappy planes, out of nowhere a missile comes flying at you, and the plane that fired it behind it. Ignore the plane, go for the missile, but watch it, right after that, 2 more planes shoot their guns at you. If you're quick enough, you can vaporize the missile, and still have enough time to drop the planes. Survival is key though, so if you only have time to kill the missile, don't worry, the planes won't come back to haunt you. After this ordeal, 3 more idiot planes come from behind, in a slant formation. About 1 second after, another missile comes your way, and the plane speeds off. 2 shooters follow suit, and while this is all happening, a plane comes from behind and tries to get a lock. Ignore the planes that are flying away, shake the lock by rocking left and right. Don't do it too quickly though, or you won't make it. When all this is done, you get about 2 seconds to breathe, and 3 more planes fly at you, and then fly away, in a diagonal pattern. Seconds later, three more planes come up and shoot at you. Avoid the shots and kill them if you can. You'll notice your fuel is almost half gone at this point, but that doesn't matter in this mission. You can use your fuel as a guide to how far you are. Anyway, after the shooters, 3 more of the same come at you. When they are gone, 2 idiot planes come from each side, and another plane tries to lock on. Shake it, and continue. Be prepared for another missile after this, and a shooter plane after that. 3 more shooters come right in a row. After that, 3 idiot planes creep up from behind, and come around you form the left. Directly after that, 3 more idiots from behind. Seconds later, 3 idiots from the left fly in quickly. Eradicate them if you can, and move on. 3 more idiots fly right into your crosshairs, so drop them. 3 more fly in quickly, get 'em if you can. Those are the last planes you have to deal with, you're going to land now. The overall total of planes is: 28 idiots, 3 missiles, 14 shooters. (See the codes section for a trick in the first level) It's time to land now, and landing is the most frustrating part of the game. If you successfully land, you get a 10,000 point bonus, and you don't lose a life. Crash, and you lose a life, and don't get the bonus. A lot is at stake here, since you only have 3 lives, so don't screw this part up. Replacing your radar is a side view shot of your plane to help you judge. Above that is a help thing, and it'll say "Up! Up!" or "Speed Down!". Just follow it's directions and you should be ok. Below the side view of the plane is Alt. 200 and Speed 288. These are the best values you should have to ensure a safe landing. The whole process takes about a minute. A speeds you up and raises altitude, B slows you down and decreases altitude. When you're done, you're treated to a clip showing you land. You can either overshoot it, undershoot it, or land just right. If you land just right, you'll go back to your cockpit view and get your bonus. Congratulations, mission 1 is complete. **************************************************** * 7. Mission 2 - Destroy an enemy aircraft carrier * **************************************************** That last mission is a fly through the park compared to this one. I'd go with the Wolf missiles here, you'll need them to take down the aircraft carrier. This mission has a double threat in store for you. You can get attacked by either the numerous planes, or the subs and battleships. There is a sneaky way around this however. If you hold Down and Right, you'll point yourself up and away from the water, and also avoid most of the planes, it's the safest way to fly. You still have to worry about the pesky guy that tries to lock on, but he's no problem to you. Using the trick mentioned above isn't good for points, but if you want to survive, use it. If you'd rather battle through, we'll start the walkthrough here. You need to watch above and below, planes and watercraft are abound. On your radar, planes are the solid dots, and watercraft are the open dots. The subs and battleships can shoot a barrage of three missiles at you, and it's best to shoot one (if you can quickly) and dodge the rest. The naval craft succumb to a missile, or a good amount of gunfire. Since they are pretty much small when they're firing missiles at you, it's better to use missiles. Don't be afraid to use them, you do get to refuel before the boss fight, with 2 bars of fuel left. If you fail to refuel though, you will die. Anyway, on with the walkthrough... After you take off, you're flying over water. In a couple seconds, the first plane comes at you and shoots. 8 more will do the same, in succession, and one will shoot a missile. Then you encounter your first naval craft, and the split second it comes on the screen, it fires 3 missiles at you (depending on your position, it may only be able to fire 2), and while this is happening, 5 idiot planes fly past. These idiot planes are a bit smarter than those in level 1. You'll encounter your first lock on of the level around this time. All this action... and you've only lost one fuel bar. After this, a pincer attack of sorts happens. 2 of the shooter variety come at you, one on each side, and an idiot flies in from behind. After this, another ship comes in, and tries to pelt you with bullets. Then another one comes in with missiles. And a third one comes in as well (sometimes they'll shoot randomly, like all will shoot missiles, or none will, etc.) A shooter comes in to fly escort with the ships. You've only lost 2 fuel bars by now, and there's a long way to go...two ships come in next, followed by a third, and another "escort" shooter which flings a missile in your general direction. You will be down to 3 bars by now. Another wave of the same, 3 ships, and a missile escort. But this time you will have a lock on to deal with as well. And then another 3 ships and escort come in. (Getting tired of it yet?) Your fuel is going down a bit quicker by now, you should be down to half. Guess what? Another wave of 3 ships and an escort come in... Look at it this way, your fuel is going down faster, and you'll have good experience fighting this formation. After that wave, you get a lock on to deal with, and yes, another wave of 3 ships and escort. The programmers apparently got bored when they made the game, so they just hit repeat or something, I dunno. You should just about have to refuel at this point. A ship comes in, followed by five idiots from behind. One more idiot comes in, you get a lock on, and it's time to push start to refuel (when you hear the beeping.) In comes the savior, it's the really big refueler plane (I don't remember the name of it, it's like Casey 135 or something, if someone knows this, email me). You are now switched over to Radar 3, and you need to get the tip of the planes nozzle to touch the center dot of the X on you. When it does, refueling will commence. If you fail to connect, consider yourself dead. You use A to speed up and bring it in, up and down to control the height, and left and right to control the lateral position. You need to get the tip (on the radar) to connect with the X. It's just like landing, they give you hints as you go. Just refuel and move on. When you're done, two idiots fly directly in front of you slowly, then three more come in a bit faster. Three shooters come in next, and one has a missile with your name on it. Another three shooters come in, and another has a missile. Three more shooters follow suit. 4 ships move in, and you can either avoid them easily, or take them down. If you want points, take them down. If you want to live, avoid them. After the 4th ship, two more come in, and they're followed by the escort shooter. Two more ships move in, and you get a lock on. Shake him off, but beware of the ships, as they will most likely be firing missiles your way. Another 2 ships come in after that. Followed by 3 more ships. This part of the stage has a good number of ships in it. 2 more ships come into sight next. They're followed by another ship and a lock on. Shake the lock on, and you're ready for the "1st Target", which is an aircraft carrier. The best tactic for this battle is to fire off as many missiles as you can, while dodging all his stuff. Dodge everything, and fire missiles like a madman, and you should be alright. Ignore any escort craft or anything else. Take him down quickly. If you wish to facilitate the killage process, you can line him up and fire away with bullets while firing the missiles. It is a fairly easy fight, and after you mercilessly destroy him, it's time for that fun process, landing. Mission 2 is complete. **************************************** * 8. Mission 3 - Destroy an enemy base * **************************************** Well, don't let the title scare you, you don't actually go fly in a base and start bombing things, it's a little easier than that. This mission takes place over land, and you should take the Wolf missiles again. The hold Down and Right trick also works wonders here, to avoid those damn tanks and things on the ground. You'll have to refuel again here, and also fight a boss. As with mission 2, I'll do a more complete flythrough without the Down-Right trick when I have more time to do it, this weekend perhaps. Anyway, the boss here is similar to the carrier, but it has more planes flying escort and fires more missiles. Blast it to hell with missiles and gunfire of your own, and then it's landing time yet again. Congratulations, mission 3 is complete. ************************************************* * 9. Mission 4 - Destroy an enemy space shuttle * ************************************************* It makes you think you go into space, but you don't, anyway, stick with the trusty Wolf missiles, you'll need them. This mission has a twist to it, you fight Air-to-ground, air-to-sea battles, all in the same mission. You will need to use all of your skill to beat this one, and the boss shuttle at the end is no picnic. The Down-Right trick is your best bet to beating this level, so use it. And like the two missions before, I'll do a full flythrough this weekend. You'll fight some new planes here, such as big ones that take a few shots to bring down, planes that like to show off by spinning while they fire at you, etc. Practice will help you get through it. Don't do anything risky though, there's no continuing in this game. You'll encounter a refuel a little bit through the Air-to-ground part. At the end of the second air-to-ground part, you fight the shuttle. This boss takes a load of shots to bring down, plus it's being guarded by many planes and helicopters, and it shoots missiles at you. Well, blow it to smithereens and you beat the game.....or did you? You still have to land, and if you're on your last life, it's especially important that you succeed, or you won't beat the game. If you successfully land, you're treated with the ending. If you do not wish to know the ending, and wish to earn it yourself, skip the next few paragraphs. Congratulations, mission 4, and the game, are complete. ******************** * Ending - Spoiler * ******************** It starts with a side view of your F-14 Tomcat landing, and people are cheering you on. When you stop, a plane flies behind you, and the top of your cockpit opens and you wave. The Top Gun Anthem starts playing in the background. PUSH START KEY moves in, and when you press start, the game starts over, whoopee, great ending eh? ****************************************** * 10. Closing Paragraph and secret codes * ****************************************** Well, Top Gun is a pretty solid game, it can be challenging at times, and the landing/refueling sequences can be tricky, but it all comes down to practice. With enough practice, you'll be master of the skies. Using the Down-Right trick sure does help too. If you can get 50,000 points, you're considered Top Gun and get a new title screen. Here are some Game Genie codes you can use to help you even more. GXKIKIVG - Infinite Missiles GXUSNGVG - Infinite Fuel AEKSNLLA - Immune to bullets, but not missiles ZAEGLPPA - Start on mission 2 LAEGLPPA - Start on mission 3 GAEGLPPA - Start on mission 4 Also, I found a nifty little trick that you can do in the first stage. First, start the stage with the T-33 Tiger missiles. Then, fire them all off. When your fuel bar goes down to 4 bars, press start even though it doesn't tell you to. You will then call in the plane. It's really pointless, but I thought I'd point it out. ************************** * 11. Credits and Thanks * ************************** Thanks go to the following: Jeff "CJayC" Veasey for creating the best game info site on the web. Coca-Cola for providing me the energy I needed to write this. Fellowes for making my keyboard Galoob for making the Game Genie and above codes. Well, that's about it. If anyone has anything to contribute to this, (errors, codes, feedback, etc.) feel free to email me at Rwo199@cs.com **************************** * Shameless self promotion * **************************** Go to http://www.rwoindustries.com That's all folks, have fun.