Xenophobe FAQ/Walkthrough By Andrew M. Evans aka AndrewM (AndrewM@NESHQ.com) Version 1.00 Released March 20, 2010 Looking for anything NES? Visit my hopefully-but-probably-not comprehensive NES Site at www.neshq.com! --== Table of Contents ==-- Section 01 ----- Revision History Section 02 ----- Disclaimer Section 03 ----- Introduction Section 04 ----- Basic Controls Section 05 ----- Playing the Game & Strategy Section 06 ----- Enemies Section 07 ----- Weapons Section 08 ----- Items Section 09 ----- Stages Section 10 ----- Game Genie Codes Section 11 ----- Closing Notes, Credits, and Thanks --== Section 01 - Revision History ==-- 03/20/2010 v1.00 Original FAQ --== Section 02 - Disclaimer, Legal, and Rant ==-- This FAQ is open and free. Post it wherever you want, however you want. If you want to post it on your site, have at it. If you want to translate it, modify it, or do something else entirely with it, that's up to you. Whatever you do with it please give credit to me as the original author. And, if you're feeling generous, leave my shameless plug for NES HQ in there. This FAQ is open and free. Really. Call the license model whatever you want, but you can post it wherever you want. Information should be free and open, including NES FAQs. --== Section 03 - Introduction ==-- I'm Andy, I run NES HQ (www.neshq.com). I don't have any partciular attachment to Xenophobe and there's already a perfectly good FAQ written for this game by DJosef. However, his FAQ is restricted so I thought I'd whip this one up. The game itself is pretty terrible in a number of aspects. This isn't a review so I won't bore you with the details but suffice it to say that this game is not making it to the hall of fame anytime soon. In fact, if it had a seasonal movie made after it they would title it "The Holiday Craptacular." So, on to the game. Xenophobe was released to the U.S. by Sunsoft in 1988. You're one of three characters who is tasked with killing aliens on space ships and moonbases. Once you clear a level you move to the next spaceship or moonbase. Not a really complex, challenging, or really even enjoyable game. Hey, just being honest here. As mentioned above, you do at least get the option of the three characters - Dr. Kwack, Mr. Fogg, and Dr. Zordirz. All three of them look like the end result of a bad alien experiment which is, I assume, why they're hunting the aliens in Xenophobe. Of course we're not given any back story in the game so this is pure conjecture on my part; take it for what it's worth. All three characters are the same. This is only natural - since the game is so awful you can't really expect much else. That being said, I recommend you use Dr. Kwack since mutant ducks shooting guns are always awesome. Like Bull from 'Night Court' riding a dolphin to shoot Osama bin Laden with lasers awesome. Anyway, I digress. On to the meat of the FAQ. --== Section 04 - Basic Controls ==-- Directly from ye royal instruction manual: Select - Selects one or two players. Also selects character at screen. Start - Starts game. Pauses game during play. B Button - Fire weapon. A Button - Jump. Pick up items. Press down and A to crouch/crawl. Also used to call elevator or warp. Pretty down and A to throw a bomb. --== Section 05 - Playing the Game & Strategy ==-- General Gameplay - Enemies take off a fixed amount of damage. That amount is described below, in section 6. - Items are randomly generated. Each item does the same thing every time it's picked up. Items are described in more detail below, in section 7. - You start with 1000 health. You can get more health, although I'm not sure what the max health is (and don't intend to play the game long enough to find out). When your health goes to 0 you die. You get 200 health for clearing a level. (Note: this is in the manual but I have noticed in several occurences where I cleared a level and didn't get the bonus.) - It doesn't matter whether you move rooms or not. - Max possible score is 990,000 (credit to DJosef's guide) - There is not an actual ending to the game. When you beat all eight levels of the game it starts back over at level 1. Your score is maintained during this, so if you're some kind of masochist you can play until you hit the 990,000 score mark. Really though, why would you? - Two player game play is the same as one player, just that the screen at the bottom is used for player 2. Note that in two player mode both players use the same character (Dr. Kwack x 2 = double awesomeness) with different color outfits. - Each enemy hits at a different damage (described in enemies section). Level Start You will start each level in the same place each time. Levels are described a bit more below, in section 8. Enemy Generation There are certain fixed enemies that will be in every room. For instance, there will always be a Laser Ball in room one of level 1. Additional each room will generate enemies every few seconds. As far as I can tell this enemy generation is random. Level Promotion & Pacifism As far as I can tell each level lasts for five minutes, regardless of how many enemies you actially kill. I have played through several levels without actually killing a single enemy. This results in a unique situation for this game where you can play the game indefinitely without actually accruing any points. If you count beating all eight levels as beating the game then it is indeed possible to beat the game without scoring a point. Door Glitch On a related note, there is a little delay when moving from one room to another. Due to this delay you can exit one room to another then immediately exit the new room, returning to the old room. With this strategy it's possible to not only beat the game without scoring a point but also without interacting with any enemies or losing any life. This makes it one of a handful of games in which you can do this. --== Section 06 - Enemies ==-- Note, these descriptions and values are taken directly from the manual. I've added 'looks like' and 'notes' fields to differentiate the enemies: Enemy (Xeno): Critter Genetic Description: A cross between a small three-legged squid and a scorpion. Xeno Offense: Latches onto exterminator Health Damage: 10 Point Value: 100 Looks Like: Little bug Notes: Crawls on ground. You can shake these off by pressing A when they latch Enemy (Xeno): Snotterpiller Genetic Description: A very large, leaping, heavily armored cross between a lizard and a caterpillar. Xeno Offense: Spits slime Health Damage: 50 Point Value: 500 Looks Like: Kind of balls up. Looks like a bony tiger when it leaps Notes: Watch out for high damage from this one Enemy (Xeno): Laser Ball Genetic Description: Hovering ball droid with built-in laser. Xeno Offense: Laser Health Damage: 10 Point Value: 250 Looks Like: Hovering ball Notes: Easy to kill. Enemy (Xeno): Giant Slime Ameoba Genetic Description: A mutant ameoba. Escaped from 20th century science class. Xeno Offense: Blocks off exterminator path Health Damage: 20 Point Value: 250 Looks Like: Bubble Notes: Starts on floor but alternates between floor and ceiling Enemy (Xeno): Spiderion Genetic Description: Cross between spider and scorpion. Xeno Offense: Hangs from ceiling and drops bombs Health Damage: 100 Point Value: 250 Looks Like: Ceiling-mounted robot Notes: Takes 50 life when you jump into this guy. Easiest killed from across the room so bombs can't reach you. Enemy (Xeno): High voltage force wall Genetic Description: N/A Xeno Offense: N/A Health Damage: 50 Point Value: N/A Looks Like: Electric field Notes: Manual calls this a 'hazard'. It can't be killed or passed through. Enemy (Xeno): Slime from ceiling Genetic Description: N/A Xeno Offense: N/A Health Damage: 50 Point Value: N/A Looks Like: Slime hanging from a ceiling! Notes: Manual calls this a 'hazard'. It can't be killed. --== Section 07 - Weapons ==-- These are also taken directly from the manual. As noted earlier, there isn't any rhyme or reason as to when these appear. Weapon Type Point Value Firepower Phaser Gun Single Shot 100 1 Laser Pistol Rapid Fire 250 2 Lightning Gun Medium Range 250 3 Smoke Gun Short Range 250 5 Bomb Plastic Explosive 500 Maximum --== Section 08 - Items ==-- These are also taken directly from the manual. As noted earlier, there isn't any rhyme or reason as to when these appear. Item Point Value/Function ID Card 500 Fuel 250 Medicine I 200 w/ Health Recovery Medicine II 100 w/ Health Recovery Document 250 Cup 250 w/ Health Recovery Tool 250 Skull 500 Knife 250 Bomb 500 Floppy Disc 500 Mystery Object ? --== Section 09 - Stages ==-- Note that there are eight rooms per floor of a space station. This is per floor, so Level 1, with one floor, has 8 rooms; Level 2, with two floors, has 16 rooms, and so on. Level Name # of Floors 1 Mother Ship 1 2 Mother Base 2 3 Star Base 3 4 Moon City 4 5 Star Port 3 6 Moon Port 2 7 Star Ship 3 8 Star City 4 --== Section 10 - Game Genie Codes ==-- Increase starting energy for both players - LASIZOPA Infinite energy for both players - AAKIYNUT No energy pickups allowed - SXNITVOO Start at level 2 - TAKSAPYA Start at level 3 - IAKSAPYA Start at level 4 - GAKSAPYA Start at level 5 - LAKSAPYA More energy to player 1 only - LAVILONY + AIVIIOGI --== Section 11 - Closing Notes, Credits, and Thanks ==-- The vast majority of the information in this guide is straight out of the Xenophobe manual (available on NES HQ if you want it), so the majority of the credit for this goes to the manual itself. I did spend some rather painful time playing this abomination of a game, so the rest of the info came from that wretched experience that I'm trying to expunge from my memory. Please be sure to check out NES HQ at www.neshq.com, which is the most popular NES-specific site on the Internet. Maybe you'll feel compelled to contribute to it as well and help build the most comprehensive NES resource on the net. And finally, send any questions to me at andrewm@neshq.com. Lastly, I would like to give thanks to Jose Olé brand foods. I picked up some of their delicious microwaveable chimichangas and they are delicious and probably humungously unhealthy. However, without them I surely would have lost my sanity while playing the steaming pile of diseased elephant dung that is Xenophobe.