+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
                               | Z A X X O N |
                               +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

              GAME:  ZAXXON
          PLATFORM:  ARCADE
             GENRE:  ARCADE SHOOTER
           CREATOR:  SEGA Copyright 1982
AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ:  Kevin Butler AKA War Doc
            E-MAIL:  kevinb(at)technologist(dot)com
       FAQ VERSION:  1.01

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              TABLE OF CONTENTS

    UNIT   I:  INTRODUCTION

1.  Legal Stuff
2.  Version Information
3.  Acknowledgements
4.  Welcome
5.  Overview

    UNIT  II:  GAME INFORMATION

6.  The Game

    6.1  The Controls
    6.2  The Playing Fields
    6.3  Scoring
    6.4  The Areas

    UNIT III:  STRATEGIES

7.  Playing the Game

    7.1  Area 1
    7.2  Area 2
    7.3  Area 3

    UNIT  IV:  CONCLUSION

8.  Conclusion

_______________________________________________________________________________

To find a particular chapter or subchapter do the following:

1.  Highlight the chapter or subchapter name you wish to find.
2.  Press CTRL-C
3.  Press CTRL-F
4.  Press CTRL-V
5.  Press CTRL-F
5.  You will arrive at the desired chapter or subchapter.

_______________________________________________________________________________

                                **************
********************************* U N I T  I **********************************
                                **************
+=================+
| 1.  LEGAL STUFF |============================================================
+=================+

This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal
private use.  It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advanced permission from the author.  Use of this guide on
any other web sit or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and
a violation of copyright.  All content in this guide is Copyright 2003 by
Kevin Butler.  Only the sites listed below have permission to publish this
work or to display it:

www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheats.de
faqs.ign.com

If you wish to put this guide on your site, e-mail me and ask.  Save yourself
the headache of putting up with lawsuits and whatnot because you failed to ask
a simple "Can I post your guide on <insert site>?".  If you wish to use info
in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so.

If you see this guide on any other site then the one listed above, please
e-mail me.  If you wish to ask questions or give input to this guide, please
e-mail me.  Just have Zaxxon as the subject so I know it isn't another kooky
vendor trying to sell me hair gel or another XXX site telling me I have new
friends.

+=========================+
| 2.  VERSION INFORMATION |====================================================
+=========================+

Version 1.0   9/21/03:  A guide is born.

Version 1.01  9/28/03:  Fixed some mistakes.

+======================+
| 3.  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |=======================================================
+======================+

The following are a list of people or organizations that have made this FAQ
possible:

My wonderful family (who has had to put up with the tapping on the keyboard)
Sega for making a great arcade game
GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ

+=============+
| 4.  WELCOME |================================================================
+=============+

Welcome to my FAQ for Zaxxon.  Since the game has you continuously playing
through rounds until all your men are killed, there is no walkthrough per se.
Instead it will be broken up into the game itself and strategies for survival.
Input is appreciated along with constructive criticism.  If you wish to e-mail
me thoughts on this FAQ, better ways of doing things, other strategies, etc.,
feel free.  Make sure you put Zaxxon as the subject.  If you don't, I'm liable
to discard the e-mail as spam.

+==============+
| 5.  OVERVIEW |===============================================================
+==============+

Sega was in the amusement/entertainment field for a long time before this game
came out.  They made a few arcade games in the 70's but these were overshadowed
by games made by companies such as Taito, Atari, and Midway.  Sega, though,
came roaring onto the scene in the early 80's.  One of their first big
successes was Star Trek.  A game that featured colored vectors and pseudo-3D
graphics.  This started a chain of other games such as Buck Rogers, Pengo, and
Tac/Scan to name a few.  Zaxxon was one of the biggest sellers for Sega.  Using
a right side and top perspective, Zaxxon added a feeling a depth to the game.
In addition to the challenge of taking on enemy units, the player had to also
ensure that their fuel supply didn't run out or their mission would end pre-
maturely.  Zaxxon spawned a successful sequel Super Zaxxon which made getting
through the game much harder.  Good luck in destroying Zaxxon.

                               ***************
******************************** U N I T  II **********************************
                               ***************

+==============+ 
| 6.  THE GAME |===============================================================
+==============+ 

Zaxxon is a three-quarter perspective, space shooter style game.  You must
first go over a base on an asteroid.  Things located on this base include gun
implacements, fuel tanks, radar stations, missiles, and fighters.  After you
successfully navigate this base, you will be in space to tangle with enemy
fighters and floating fuel tanks.  You then will have to navigate through a
series of barriers on another asteroid in order to take on Zaxxon, the enemy
robot.  After you do this, the cycle begins anew.  Sitting behind a desk
pushing paper never looked so good.

 ____________________
/ 6.1  The Controls /__________________________________________________________
--------------------

The controls on this game are very easy.  It may, though, take just a little
bit of time to get used to them.

-  An eight-way joystick with a fire button. (The Y-axis are reversed so that
   when you push up on the joystick, your fighter descends while pushing down
   causes it to ascend)

 __________________________
/ 6.2  The Playing Fields /____________________________________________________
--------------------------

Zaxxon actually consists of three playing fields.  Two fields occur over the
asteroid bases while one occurs in space.  After making it through these three
areas, the next round has you go through the same areas again.  I have included
an example of what these
fields look like:

                                 +--------+
                                 | AREA 1 |
                                 +--------+

    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
    |                  /                                                |
    |                /                                                  |
    |              /                                                    |
    |            /                                                      |
    |          /                                                        |
    |        /                                 /\                       |
    |      /                                 /    \<-BARRIER            |
    | |\ /                                  |\      \                   |
    | | \                                   |  \      \                 |
    |/| |         //<-YOUR FIGHTER          |    \      \               |
    | |\|      /|//                         \      \      \             |
    | | |     _|/_\                           \      \      \          /|
    | | |                                       \      \      \      /  |
    | |\|                                         \      \      \  /    |
    | | |                 ___                       \      \     /      |
    | | |<-ALTIMETER    ( ___ )                       \      \ /        |
    | |\|               |     |<-FUEL TANK              \    /          |
    | | |               |     |                           \/            |
    | \ |                \___/                           /              |
    |  \|                                              /                |
    |                                                /                  |
    |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
    |  // //<-FIGHTERS LEFT               |\                            |
    |                                     |/<-PRESENT LEVEL             |
    |                                     |                             |
    | FUEL  E>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>F                          |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                 +--------+
                                 | AREA 2 |
                                 +--------+

    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |                                                                   |
    |                                           /|_                     |
    |                                         _|/_/                     |
    |                                         //                        |
    |                                        // <-ENEMY FIGHTER         |
    |                                                                   |
    | |\                                                                |
    | | \                                                               |
    | | |         //<-YOUR FIGHTER                                      |
    | |\|      /|//                                                     |
    | | |     _|/_\                                                     |
    | | |                                                               |
    | |\|                                                               |
    | | |                                                               |
    | | |<-ALTIMETER                                                    |
    | |\|                                                               |
    | | |                                                               |
    | \ |                                                               |
    |  \|                                                               |
    |                                                                   |
    |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
    |  // //<-FIGHTERS LEFT               |\                            |
    |                                     |/<-PRESENT LEVEL             |
    |                                     |                             |
    | FUEL  E>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>F                          |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                 +--------+
                                 | AREA 3 |
                                 +--------+

    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
    |                  /\      \      \                                 |
    |                /    \      \     /\                               |
    |              /        \      \ /../ \<-HOLE IN BARRIER            |
    |            /            \      \./   /\                           |
    |          /                \      \  /   \                         |
    |        /                    \      \      \                       |
    |      /                        \      \      \<-BARRIER            |
    | |\ /                            \      \      \                   |
    | | \                               \      \      \                 |
    |/| |         //<-YOUR FIGHTER        \      \      \               |
    | |\|      /|//                         \      \      \             |
    | | |     _|/_\                           \      \      \          /|
    | | |                                       \      \      \      /  |
    | |\|                                         \      \      \  /    |
    | | |                 ___                       \      \     /      |
    | | |<-ALTIMETER    ( ___ )                       \      \ /        |
    | |\|               |     |<-FUEL TANK              \    /          |
    | | |               |     |                           \/            |
    | \ |                \___/                           /              |
    |  \|                                              /                |
    |                                                /                  |
    |-------------------------------------------------------------------|
    |  // //<-FIGHTERS LEFT               |\                            |
    |                                     |/<-PRESENT LEVEL             |
    |                                     |                             |
    | FUEL  E>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>F                          |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+

You control your fighter through these three screens.

 _______________
/ 6.3  Scoring /_______________________________________________________________
---------------

Scoring is pretty straight forward in this game.  Some variable scoring does
exist for a couple of things.

Gun Implacements (Green and Gray)          :    200 or 500 points (random)
Fuel Tank                                  :    500 points
Radar Tower                                :  1,000 points
Missile (Ground-to-Air)                    :    150 points
Missile (Air-to-Air)                       :    200 points
Fighters (on runway)                       :     50 points
Fighters (in air)                          :    100 points + (50 points/level
                                                    after level 2)
Zaxxon (destroyed with missile in launcher):  1,000 points
Zaxxon (destroying launched missile)       :    200 points
Destroying all planes in space             :  1,000 points
Satellite                                  :    300 points

You start the game with 3, 4, or 5 lives.  You are awarded bonus lives every
10,000, 20,000, 30,000, or 40,000 points.

 _________________
/ 6.4  The Areas /_____________________________________________________________
-----------------

The areas in Zaxxon are arranged in a specific order.  After you complete area
3, you will start a new level back at area 1.  The differences are that you burn
fuel faster, the openings in the barriers become smaller, and the enemy
fighters move quicker and return for more action.  When I reference the
altimeter, I will only be using the four full bars at the top to indicate
altitude.  I won't use the lower half since you can't go below one unit on the
altimeter.  Below is what is in each area:

+--------+
| AREA 1 |
+--------+

This is the run over the asteroid base.  You must navigate around many
obstacles in order to make it through this area.  In addition, if you fly too
high over the base (in other words, fly at maximum altitude), Zaxxon will
launch an air-to-air missile at your fighter.  Below are the maps for this
area.  I have made the maps overhead views and divided this area into two
parts:

The legend for all parts is:

 O = Opening in wall (entrance or exit)
 M = Missile Silo (for ground-to-air missile)
FT = Fuel Tank
 R = Radar Tower
FI = Fighter
 G = Gun Implacement (line indicates direction)
EB = Electronic Barrier (fly at an altitude above one unit to clear)
SW = Short Wall (fly above an altitude of one unit to clear)

/========\
| PART 1 |
\========/

This will take you from the entrance wall into the asteroid base to the
electronic barrier on the base.  The entrance is at the top, left side of the
entrance wall.  Altimeter should be at max (four units):

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| | |        FT       G  M                                                    |
|  0   M  M        SW |     FT     FT    M    FT  SW    M   G                 |
| | |       FT     SW            R  --G           SW        |    FI           |
| | |  M  M    FT  SW       M    M                SW           FI M M   M FT  |
| | |     M            M         |       |     M    |M                FT      |
| | |                       FT   G   M   G  M       G                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

/========\
| PART 2 |
\========/

This will take you from the electronic barrier to the exit wall.  The exit is
at the top, middle of the exit wall.  Altimeter should be at max to exit (four
units):


+----------------------------------------+
|      G     G          FI            | ||
|EB R  |     |   FI         FI        | ||
|EB           M     M          M  FT   O |
|EB          FT   M     |             | ||
|EB    M  M             G   FT M  R   | ||
|    FT                               | ||
+----------------------------------------+

+--------+
| AREA 2 |
+--------+

Area 2 puts you in space to take out the enemy fighters.  You will start with
20 enemy fighters minus any you destroyed on the ground in area 1.  In
addition, you have a chance to take out two satellites.

To take out the satellites, go the maximum altitude (three units), and go all
the way to the upper-left of the screen.  You should be able to pick off the
satellite.

To tangle with the enemy fighters, be at an altitude of two to two and one-half
units.  Your gunsight will activate when an enemy fighter is at your altitude.

+--------+
| AREA 3 |
+--------+

This level is somewhat like area 1.  The main differences are you now have
eight walls and/or electronic barriers to go through, missiles don't launch at
your fighter, and you get to take on Zaxxon at the end of this area.  Below are
the maps for this area.  I have made the maps overhead views and divided this
area into two parts:

The legend for all parts is:

 O = Opening in wall or barrier
 M = Missile Silo (for ground-to-air missile)
FT = Fuel Tank
 R = Radar Tower
FI = Fighter
 G = Gun Implacement (line indicates direction)
B# = This is the barrier number.  It will be a "B" followed by the number (if
     it has EB + B, that means there is an electronic barrier above the
     opening.  In essence, creating a "hole" in the wall).  Specifics for
     getting through that barrier will be listed below the map in this format:

Alt = Altitude (only counting the four top blocks.  i.e. 2.75 is two full
                blocks and three-quarters of the third block on the altimeter)
Pla = Placement of opening (L=Left, M=Middle, or R=Right)

/========\
| PART 1 |
\========/

This will take you from the entrance wall to the sixth barrier.  The entrance
is at the top, left side of the entrance wall.  Altimeter should be at max
(four units):


+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |      G   |           G  O M   FT   M  |  G              O    FT     G    O|
| O FT   |   |           |  |     FT      |  |   FT         |  M        |    ||
| |   |  FT  | M  FT FT FT  |       FT    O          FT     |          FT FT ||
| |   G  R   O          |   |     M    |  |  |       M  --G |       M     FT ||
| |          |     M    G   |          G  |  G              |                ||
|                                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  B1       B + EB2          B3            B4               B + EB5          B6
  Alt=4    Alt=1            Alt=2.75      Alt=Ground       Alt=1.5
  Pla=L    Pla=M            Pla=L         Pla=M            Pla=L

/========\
| PART 2 |
\========/

This will take you from the sixth barrier to Zaxxon.


+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| O  M  G  FT   O M       G FT O   FT  FT            /                        |
| |     |       |   FT FT | M  | M                   \                        |
| |        |    |           |  |   FT                / ZAXXON                 |
| |  M     G    |           G  |                     \                        |
| |           R |              |                     /                        |
|                                                    \                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  B + EB6       B + EB7        B + EB8
  Alt=3         Alt=Ground     Alt=1.5
  Pla=L         Pla=M          Pla=L

                               ****************
******************************** U N I T  III *********************************
                               ****************

+======================+
| 7.  PLAYING THE GAME |=======================================================
+======================+

When you start the game, your fighter will be in the middle at the bottom of
the screen.  You will see an asteroid with a wall rising from it.  You will
then see an opening in the wall.  This is how you will enter and exit areas 1
and 3.

 ______________
/ 7.1  Area 1 /________________________________________________________________
--------------

This area is basically ground targets.  You may have to increase altitude to
get over the short barriers but this is basically a ground attack area.

-  The action starts immediately as soon as you go through the opening in the
   wall.  Drop your altitude immediately to not only to avoid the Air-to-Air
   missile, but to take out ground targets.

-  Fuel is a precious commodity.  You must destroy the Fuel Tanks in order to
   increase the amount of fuel in your fighter.  This won't be an easy matter
   as you can see from the maps in Chapter 6.4, many of the Fuel Tanks are
   covered either by Gun Implacements, Ground-to-Air missiles, or both.

-  When you are flying along the ground to destroy targets, watch out for the
   Gun Implacements and missile silos.  Both will fire upon your fighter at
   every opportunity.  The missile silos will usually launch Ground-to-Air
   missiles as soon as your fighter is over them.  Gun Implacements only fire
   when you are at ground level.

-  As soon as you "hop" over the short barriers, get down to ground level again
   to do more destruction.  Try to hit the Radar Towers since they yield the
   biggest points at this point.

-  When you get to the airfields, try to destroy as many fighters as you can
   (you can destroy a maximum of five).  The more fighters on the ground you
   destroy equates to that many less you have to encounter in area 2.  This
   also means you have a better chance at the 1,000 point bonus.

-  Speaking of the airfields, watch out since there are many hidden missile
   silos within them.  Keep moving around or you may be surprised by a Ground-
   to-Air missile.

-  Do not fly at maximum altitude if you can help it.  If you fly too long at
   maximum altitude, your fighter will be met head-on by an Air-to-Air missile
   which is very difficult to destroy (takes six shots).

 ______________
/ 7.2  Area 2 /________________________________________________________________
--------------

This is one of the easier areas of the game.  All you have to deal with are
enemy fighters and satellites.

-  The first thing to do is get up to full height and go all the way to the
   left.  If you fire rapidly enough, you can take out the satellite.

-  Keep an altitude between two and two and one-half units to take on the enemy
   fighters.  Your gunsight will activate when an enemy fighter can be shot at.
   If you miss, they will usually return again.

-  In the later levels, enemy fighters that bypass your fighter will return
   from where they exited.  This means you need to be ready for enemies behind
   as well as in front of you.

-  About half-way through, another satellite will go across the screen.

-  The enemy fighters will usually make three to four passes at you before you
   are out of this area.

 ______________
/ 7.3  Area 3 /________________________________________________________________
--------------

This is the area that gives players the most trouble.  Due to the small
openings in the walls plus those openings being at different heights can really
test a player's skill.  In addition, you must still take out Fuel Tanks in
order to keep flying.

-  In order to make sure that you will be able to pass through an opening,
   continue to fire your gun.  If your laser fire doesn't go through, that
   means you have to quickly adjust either your altitude or left/right
   orientation.

-  The barriers are relatively close together which means you have to get
   through one and quickly adjust to where the next one is.  Over a period of
   time, you will memorize where the openings in the barriers are and make your
   trip that much easier.

-  Many of the targets such as Fuel Tanks and Radar Towers are just on the
   other side of the walls.  This means you have to drop and go left or right
   very quickly to have a chance of hitting them.

-  An added bonus of firing through the barriers (especially the ones at ground
   level) is that you can knock off the targets on the other side of said
   barrier making your life that much easier.

-  Chapter 6.4 lists where the barriers are and recommended altitudes and di-
   rections to get through them.

-  After the last barrier, you get to tangle with Zaxxon.  To kill him every
   time:

   -  Set your altitude to two and one-half units.

   -  Go to the right side of the screen.

   -  When he starts to enter, start firing.  Adjust your fire so that you are
      hitting the area where the upper right part of his body will be.

   -  Once you see the Air-to-Air missile, start shooting at it.  The Air-to-
      Air missile will turn red on successful hits.  Make six hits and you
      destroy the missile within Zaxxon.  As a reward, you gain 1,000 points.

Once you complete Area 3, the cycle begins anew.

                               ****************
********************************  U N I T  IV *********************************
                               ****************

+================+
| 8.  CONCLUSION |=============================================================
+================+

Zaxxon has to definitely be one of my all time favorite games.  The action is
fast paced and even when you know what's coming, it didn't make a whole lot of
difference.  Skill definitely played a major role in getting through this game.
Skill, though, only got one so far.  Granted, you could destroy ground targets
and navigate the narrow openings in barriers, it still sometimes came down to
blind luck on how you managed to squeeze through a serious crossfire situation.
The replay factor was high on this game and a lot of people used to tie the
machine up for hours on end just trying to put higher scores on it.  Another
factor, of course, had to be the graphics gave you the feeling of actually
flying around causing hate and discontent.  Unfortunately,  it is very rare to
find this machine anywhere.  However, through the miracle of emulation, a whole
new generation is realizing what we "old" folks enjoyed those many years ago.
In addition, www.shockwave.com is bringing many of these classic games back.
Check out their site to see what ones are there.  I hope this guide helps you
in being able to get the most amount of gameplay for this game.  If you do have
other ideas or thoughts, please e-mail me and share them.  Who knows, maybe
I'll start a Q&A Chapter in this guide if enough people ask the same questions.
Anyway, thank you again for reading this guide.

To see other FAQ's I have written please go to:

           http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/32691.html

           ~~~  No trees were harmed in the making of this FAQ ~~~