o o oooo ooOoo O o o o O o o |\ /| | | / \ | |\ /| / \ \ / | O | Ooo | ooooo| | O | ooooo O | | | | | || | | | | / \ o o oooo o o oOoooo o o o oo o oooo oooo ooOoo o o oooo o o ooo | | | | | | | | |\ | | OoOo Ooo | | | OoOo | \ | ooo | \ | | | | | \ | \| | o o oooo o ooo o o o o oooo Developer: Crea-Tech Console: SNES Released: 1995 ____ o o o ===[ _ ] ___/ \ Written by threetimes ( ) June 4th 2008 ooooooooooo Version 1.00 =============================================================================== Updated May 18th 2011 Donations news! Version 1.00 Updated to include more maps, Strawberry Lipstick, more on Mini-Games, Baddie Promos and all things not found now found! In writing this FAQ I have received help from many people who generously gave me information that I might not otherwise have discovered. Even so, without a published guide or being able to translate information from Japanese Metal Max websites, there were still a handful of items I had not been able to track down. Of these the most significant was the enticing sounding "Strawberry Lipstick". I knew it was found in Il Migra, except I had not yet discovered the precise conditions for getting hold of it. I can now announce that the Lipstick has been found! Thanks to the help of a number of people, so has everything else, and it is now possible to get the elusive title: Item Collector (Gather all human items: TOOLS) Special thanks go to kiryen, who explained the conditions for obtaining the Lipstick, hergman, MAV, and UltimateCalibur who pursued the missing items to the furthest ends of the Metal Max Universe, and to lianaleslie from Aeon Genesis who translated the whole thing for our gaming delight. Thanks to you all, and Happy Tanking! And in the words of Rodriguez (wonderfully translated by lianaleslie ^_^) "Let's have a mano-a-mano, balls-to-the-wall, old school showdown!." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please use the search codes to find the location or section you want. Press Control + F and then type in the code in the box that appears. Then press Enter. If you are using a Mac it is either Apple command button at the side of the space bar, + F, then type in the code in the "Find" box and select "Next". Tanks are indicated with a capital T, and wanted monsters with a capital W. They appear in the order listed in the Game Basics, sections 5 and 6. A. GAME BASICS .......................................................*BASICS 1. Introduction 2. The Characters 3. The Menus 4. BSCon 5. Fighting 6. Tanks 7. Outlaws 8. Game Over 9. Tips and Tricks B. THE WALKTHROUGH ...................................................*WALK 1. Leorad..........................................................*LEO i. Southern Cave ...............................................*T1 ii. Northern Cave................................................*W1 iii. Northern Barrier 2. Negi............................................................*NEGI *W2 i. Beach Supply Depot and Trader's Camp 3. Pobre Obre......................................................*PO i. Old Man Ulie's house ii. Hidden Cottage iii. Life Sciences Laboratory iv. Shoreside Factory............................................*T2 *W3 v. Big Cannon vi. Old Couple's House and Isaac's Spring 4. Audrey Town.....................................................*AUD i. Port Slum....................................................*T6 5. Rocco...........................................................*ROC i. Peerless Hospital............................................*T3 *W4 ii. Jizo's Passageway iii. East-West Subway Ruins 6. Freeza..........................................................*FREE *W5 i. Supply Shed..................................................*W6 ii. Beach Cave...................................................*T5 iii. Corona Building..............................................*W7 7. Il Migra.......................................................*MIG i. Tank Modification (Iron Den) 8. Yuge...........................................................*YUGE i. Tank Ferry North ii. Tank Ferry South............................................*W9 iii. Secret Waterfall Base.......................................*T7 *W11 9. Sol............................................................*SOL i. Sol Sewers..................................................*T4 ii. East-West Subway iii. Devil's Tower...............................................*W8 10. Eden...........................................................*EDEN i. North-South Subway Ruins....................................*W10 11. Broadcast Tower................................................*BT i. The Sewers 12. Santa Poco....................................................*SPOCO i. Life Sciences Laboratory/Revivification Capsule ii. Organic Waste Landfill......................................*W12 iii. Run-Down Oasis..............................................*W14 13. Canabelle.....................................................*CANA i. Ghost Base..................................................*T8 ii. Scorched Factory............................................*W13 iii. Shopping! 14. Hells Gate West...............................................*HELL i Hell's Gate West Trader Camp ii. Hell's Gate.................................................*W15 15. Beyond Hell's Gate.............................................*BHG i. Hound Cavern................................................*W16 ii. Global Relief Centre iii. End Game C. LISTS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...................................*LISTS 1. Tanks and Modification..........................................*TMOD 2. Best Tank Parts.................................................*BEST 3. Titles..........................................................*TITLES 4. Targets.........................................................*TARGETS 5. Shops...........................................................*SHOPS 6. Tools (Items)...................................................*TOOLS 7. Arms (Equipment)................................................*ARMS 8. Tank Equipment..................................................*TANKEQ 9. Metal Detector Items............................................*METAL 10. Mini-Games and Bars.............................................*MINI 11. Monsters........................................................*MONS 12. The Fast Track..................................................*FAST D. CREDITS AND OTHER STUFF............................................*CREDITS 1. Draft Details 2. Things not found now found! 3. Credits and Acknowledgements 4. Legal Bit 5. Contact 6. Donations =============================================================================== A. G A M E B A S I C S *BASIC =============================================================================== 1. Introduction 2. The Characters 3. The Menus 4. BSCon 5. Fighting 6. Tanks 7. Outlaws 8. Game Over 9. Tips and Tricks =============================================================================== 1. Introduction =============================================================================== Last year I fell in love...with a sweet tank game called Metal Saga, which also was developed by Crea-Tech, and published in North America by Atlus, the gods of quirky Japanese RPGs. I knew nothing of the earlier Metal Max games at the time, but since then have discovered the delights of Metal Max Returns. It is very similar to Metal Saga, or rather, Metal Saga is based on the same principles as MMR. Both are free-roaming, turn-based RPGs, where you acquire tanks and hunt down outlaws for rewards. They share a similar sense of fun in the dialogue and in the design of the enemies. I wrote a walkthrough for Metal Saga, and so it seemed only natural to attempt the same for Metal Max Returns. However, I have only been able to play this text-rich game thanks to the sterling work of Aeon Genesis, who recently completed a translation, into English, of the original Japanese SNES game, and made it accessible to western players for the very first time. =============================================================================== 2. The Characters =============================================================================== Names Although you can choose a name for Hunter, the mechanic and soldier have randomly determined names so I refer to them simply as Mechanic and Soldier. Hunter. Default Title: Disowned Son You start the game with one character, and his class is Hunter, so that is what I call him throughout the FAQ. His key skill is driving, and that means that he is at his best when driving a tank, so it makes sense to give him the most powerful tank. Hunter's Driver level, which is shown on the stat screen, is double that of the other two party members, and this level will increase by two for each level. Mechanic. Default Title: Tank Lover Once you reach Pobre Obre you are able to recruit a second team member whose key skill is as a mechanic. This means that he can repair any damaged tank parts so long as you have the item, Repair Kit. He can increase his mechanical skills by going to Hunter's Dad at Leorad, each time he increases a level, and getting some training. This will increase his Repair skill level by two each time, and when that reaches level 50, he can repair parts that are completely broken. He is best used as a back-up fighter and healer, especially when fighting on foot, as his driving and combat skills levels are the lowest, and he cannot equip some of the strongest weapons, although he does have his own special "Wrench" weapons which are useful against tank type enemies. He joins you at level 1. Soldier. Default Title: Bomb Girl You will find the female soldier in the bar at Audrey, and you can only recruit her if you are strong enough, as she will not talk to you at all if you are too weak. She is your strongest on foot fighter, and her Combat level is double that of the other two: this will increase by two for each new level. She can equip the best weapons, as well as having the highest HP. The precise conditions for her responding to you are unclear. At first I thought it was dependent on Hunter being level 15, (in one game I had to level up to this before she would even pass the time of day!), but in fact you can recruit her at lower levels than this. One other idea is that her response depends on Hunter's current attack power. See the section on Audrey for more details about this. She joins you at level 5. Titles All characters can get new titles during the course of the game, and they have to fulfill certain predetermined tasks or meet various conditions to get these. Some are based simply on their level, or the number of Wanted monsters defeated, but others are more complex to obtain. The full list of titles is in the lists section. However, there is a tiny problem about the titles. If you want to gain all titles for all characters then the "Wanted" enemy based ones will only be added to the Soldier's and Mechanic's list of titles IF you avoid killing any Wanted Outlaws until they have both joined your team. That means either avoiding combat altogether, or running away if you bump into any of them before having your full party. =============================================================================== 3. The Menus =============================================================================== It is worth taking a little time to get used to the controls, although fighting is intuitive, but there is the added bonus, or complication, of having tanks and the BSCon, and knowing where to find the information you want will help you in playing the game. Basically there are two separate sources of information: the main menu screen and the BSCon menu, and in addition the menus you see when in a battle. Actually the menus are very well organised and easy to navigate, as well as being nicely presented. Each tank even has its own unique colour code, for example, the Mosquito tank menu screens are edged with bright green, and another tank's screens are outlined in yellow. ==================== The Main Menu Screen ==================== This is what you will see when you press the action button. o----------------o | Speak Party | | Check Tanks | | BSCon Drive | o----------------o o Speak...select this option to talk to anyone o Check...use this to open chests, look at posters, inspect plant pots and fridges, (favourite hiding places for items), and anything that is not a person. You also use this command when driving a tank, if you wish to tow another tank. o BSCon...this needs a whole section of explanation! See section 3. o Party...this takes you to a list of party members, and then when you select one, you get a new menu. o Tanks...this takes you to the tank commands and equipment menu. o Drive...allows you to do just that, to get in and out of your tanks. -------------- The Party Menu -------------- o--------------o | NAME Lv 1 | | | | Item Stat | | Arms Tank | o--------------o o Items...this takes you to your inventory and you can have a maximum of 12 items, or tools, as they are usually called. With three party members that is a total of 36 items, which might sound enough, but it is easy to fill up this space. To find out more about a particular tool, just select it, and you have three options: Use......you can get more infomation about items and whether or not you can use them, or perform a special action with one.. Trade....this option allows you to give an item to another party member Toss.....select this option to throw the item away, but first there will be another small screen asking you to decide if this is okay: yes or no. o Arms....this command shows your equipment. You can carry up to 8 different items of equipment. Weapon....some weapons can only be equipped by certain party members Head......head gear Body......body armour Arms......hand armour, or gloves Feet......boots Prtct.....this is an additional piece of protective armour which will stop an initial attack from harming the character. It can be broken by a strong attack and then you will need to replace it with another protector. The broken ones can be sold as scrap metal, and when you collect and sell them in bulk, you will be given new and stronger protectors. o Stat....this command takes you to yet another new screen, where the titles, levels and HP are displayed, as well as stats for strength, etc. TITLE Class (Hunter/Mechanic/Soldier Level HP Combat Level Strength........ Driver Level Intelligence.... Repair Level Agility......... Attack ... EXPERIENCE ... Defend ... MONSTER-BADGE There is another screen behind this one, and if you press the action buttton a small brown panel appears, where you can see Monster Badges. You receive a nice medal with a ribbon for every Wanted monster that has been killed. o Tank....this command will simply allow the character to get out of their tank. If you are already on foot, there is a message to say that you don't have a vehicle. -------------- The Tanks Menu -------------- You can only access this menu when at least one of the party is driving a tank. You will be shown a list of all the tanks you are using: it might be one or four, if you are towing a tank. Select one and you will see the main menu for your tank. This is not the battle menu, but the screen where you can see what is equipped and the status of that specific tank. There is a choice from four options: o----------------------o | Mosquito | |----------------------| | Tools | | Status | |----------------------| | Parts | | C-Unit | o----------------------o o Tools...this shows a new screen with a list of all tank tools. o Parts...this option gives you another screen where you can select one of six new options. Each one shows what parts are carried and equippped to that tank, and you can install or un-install parts here. o----------------------------o | Cannon C-Unit | | Autogun Engine | | Special Armour Tiles | o----------------------------o Cannon The Main Gun of the tank. These guns are powerful, but only make one attack at once, and they use up shells, which have to restocked at a garage. Autogun These guns have less power than the cannon, but have infinite ammunition. Special These are guns with particular attacks, also called S-E guns. They usually have only a few shells, but some of them can attack groups of enemies, or even all enemies at once. C-Unit This is the control centre of the tank. Engine This is what powers the tank and determines the load that can be carried. Armour Tiles These are the tank's protection, and can be destroyed when an enemy attacks, so they have to be replaced. If you need to remove armour tiles, this is the screen you need. You would need to go through these menus: TANKS/Name of Tank/PARTS/ARMOUR TILES, to get to the correct menu option. o Status..this gives you another new screen with five more options. o---------------------o | Damage | | Remaining Ammo | | Parts Info | | Chassis Info | | Carried Load | o---------------------o Damage Shows the full list of tankd equipment and a status report saying "Functional" if everything is in order. Remaining Ammo Shows how much ammo is left for all your guns, and how many shells are loaded on the chassis. Parts Info This is a list of the names of all parts equipped on the tank and what kind of parts they are: Special, C-Unit, Autogun, Cannon, and Engine. This is where you can Install and Uninstall parts or tranfser them to another tank, simply by clicking on the part you want. Chassis Info This gives the name of the chassis and details of Weight, Ammo Defense and Slot Type: MA is the Main Cannon AU is the Autogun or auxilliery gun SE is the Special gun Carried Load You will see a screen with the weight of every part listed including the chassis and armour tiles, and details of exactly how much weight the tank is carrying in total, and its maximum capacity load. o C-Unit...you will see another screen with three options. o----------------------------o | Overall Balance | | Programme Maintenance | | Dashboard Layout | o----------------------------o Overall Balance Shows a nice picture of the tank chassis with all the weapons currently equipped. If you uninstall weapons then they will disappear on this screen. There are four possible qualities of the currently equipped C-Unit: Power, Defense, Durability and Mods, and these are marked by a thick or thin yellow line, so you can easily see the difference. Program Maintenance Different C-Units have different pre-set programs that can be used with the tank. They usually have to be switched ON to use. Dashboard Layout This is where you go if you want to change the way the tank commands are organised for fighting. Select them one by one and they will show in the new order. The process is called "Reinitializing", and you can do this for every tank if you want to, so the controls suit your style of fighting. =============================================================================== 4. BS Controller =============================================================================== The whole game revolves around the way you make use of the BSCon button command on the main menu screen. So what on earth is BSCon? It is not immediately obvious, until you take a look. In fact it gives access to the in game computer. (If you have played Metal Saga this was called the satcom.) This handy device contains every bit of information that is in the game, well, not exactly everything, but nearly everything. It is a HUGE resource, and getting a grasp of how it works and how helpful it can be, will aid your progress and enjoyment. Believe me, you do not need a manual for the game because you have one with you every step of the way. I guess that also means you don't really need a walkthrough either, and to some extent that is true. But there are some things that you won't find in the BSCon, such as where to go, what to expect, who to talk to, and the locations of hidden items and enemies. Once you do find these though, many of the details will appear in the BSCon. BSCon brings up the Data screen which gives you information about everything, but only once you have found the places, items, enemies, tanks and so on. It does not contain data for places or shops, unless they are located in the main towns. By the end of the game it will contain information about most of the things that are important in the Metal Max Universe, and all at the press of one button. This is what the main BSCon menu screen looks like, although at the start of the game the BSCon will only show the list on the left side of this screen, together with the Edit option that allows you to change the order on the list. o-----------------------------------------------------o | Locales | | Edit | |-----------------------------------------------------| | Tanks | | Level | |---------| |----------| | Items | | Escape | |---------| |----------| | Trunk | | Signal | |---------| |----------| | Wanted | | Guide | |---------| |----------| | Hunted | | Laser | |---------| |----------| | Chime |--------------------------------| Rental | o-----------------------------------------------------o o---------------------------------o | Locales | City and Village Data | o---------------------------------o This shows the map, which appears in the centre screen, and your current location. Press the location button again, (Locales) and it will give you all the information about Leorad, your home town. Any services that are not available are shown in grey/blue lettering. Leorad, for instance, does not have an interior shop, or any tank parts stores, and in fact, no town has all of these services. Screen 1 If you select the stores' menus you will be shown the complete inventory for each one. Equipment Store Tools Store Parts Store On-Board Tool Shop Ammo Dealer Tank Rentals Others (...lists all the other services in the town on the next screen) Screen 2 This is just a list, with no other information except for the interior shop, if there is one. It sells furniture, pictures, and other decorative objects which can be purchased for Hunter's home. Dr. Mince will revive anyone who dies in battle and he lives in Leorad. Memory Centre Hunter Office Interior Shop Hotel Massage Bar Dr. Mince Screen 3 This is another list of services, with no further information, and the Trunk Room, where Hunter can store things, is only available in Leorad. The transfer centre is a teleport machine which moves your party from one town to another, but only when they are on foot. Refill Station Parts Modification Chassis Modification Auto Repair Car Wash Transfer Center Trunk Room o-------------------o | Tanks | Tank Data | o-------------------o The left hand panel on the main screen has the command: See All, and this gives you a list of all tank related information on the centre screen. Each tank is numbered, from 1 to 8 and, you can see the information for each stat for any individual tank, once you have found it. Your first tank, the Mosquito, is number 1. Power Main Defence Aux Weight S-E Armour Sp. Shells Damage C-Unit Parts Engine Tools Chassis o-------------------------------o | Items | Item Data Information | o-------------------------------o Data on Current Items, their uses and value. This gives detailed information on every item that you currently own. If you have something and are not sure exactly what it is meant to be used for, then this is the place to find out! Tools...........this includes all the healing items, monster drops that can be sold at the bar, odd things, and anything that is not equipment or for tanks. Equipment.......this includes all weapons, armour and protectors, but nothing that is for tanks. On-Board Tools..this includes the things that can be added to make the tank nicer to use, and to add to comfort in various ways: seat covers, ventilation, the Dog System, and also all tile packs. Any negative add-ons such as bird crap are listed here. Parts...........this includes everything that is needed to make a tank work: engines, C-Units, and all guns, and has all the stats and descriptions for the weapons. o-------------------------o | Trunk | Trunk Room Data | o-------------------------o Data on all things currently stored in the trunk room at Leorad. This is just a list of stuff and does give any details of their purpose. There is a limit to the storage, but it is generous and set separately for each category, and despite trying to fill up the space, so far I have only managed to reach full capacity for the tank parts. Tools Equipment On-board Tools Parts (limit 32) o-------------------------------o | Wanted | Fugitives Eliminated | o-------------------------------o This includes all the Outlaws you defeat, but only after they have been killed. There are 16 Wanted enemies and they are listed in a set order. 1 Name. Your level when you defeated them. Reward received. 2 3 o-----------------------------o | Hunted | Battle Record Data | o-----------------------------o The Hunting Data screen gives the raw data of the numbers killed. There are five classes of enemies. Bionic Cybernetic Machines Tanks Unidentified Press the right directional button (situated on the left side of the screen) to see the current weekly target. If you kill these specific enemies, you can collect extra Gold from the Hunters' Office. o------------------------o | Chime | Chime Settings | o------------------------o Savings Chime You can set this to chime when your cash reaches a certain total. It will also tell you your current savings. o-----------------------------o | Edit | Panel Array Settings | o-----------------------------o You can change the order in which these headings are listed on the screen. o------------------------------o | Level | Experience Remaining | o------------------------------o This heading is not there at the start of the game. It is an optional extra, and can be obtained by accessing the machine next to the ladder in the garage. You can then use this command to check out how much experience is needed before all characters reach the next level. This is handy if you want to make the best use of the Weekly Targets. o------------------------------o | Escape | Auto-Escape System | o------------------------------o Found in the East-West Subway Ruins, south of Sol. o------------------------------o | Signal | Signal Coordinates | o------------------------------o You can obtain this function when you buy the receiver at the Hunters Office in Leorad for 1024 gold. You also need the Signal Transmitter item which costs 50G from any Hunter's Office, although you will be given the first one for free. Throw it at a Wanted enemy and you can then track its location, although you lose the Signal Transmitter item. You can only receive a signal on the world map. o------------------------------o | Guide | Tank Guide System | o------------------------------o This function is obtained once you reach Broadcast Tower. If you use this when on the world map it will show the location of all your tanks on the world map. Nice for those who forget where they parked. You can then "recover" the vehicle so long as it is not in a no-recovery zone. o--------------------------------o | Laser | Laser Satellite Strike | o--------------------------------o Found at Broadcast Tower 5th floor, and activated when you insert the ID Card (m) into the computer. To use this, you must be on foot and fighting an enemy on the world map. You select USE, and then the BSController from your Tools inventory. After that it will take three or four turns before the Laser activates and hits an enemy. o--------------------------------o | Rental | Rental Centre | o--------------------------------o You can download this from the garage at Sol, after renting more tanks than Walgelyo and earning the Rent a Tank people more money than him. Then you can rent a tank directly from the BSCon. There are 14 tanks to choose from and they are delivered to wherever you are on the world map. You can only rent three at one time. =============================================================================== 5. Fighting =============================================================================== Most enemies will appear randomly, and the only exception to this is some of the Wanted enemies whom you meet during an event. The battles are turn-based, and you can take as long as you like to select your action. If your party are all inside tanks, then they cannot suffer any damage, as the tank will be the thing that gets damaged, not the person inside it! -------- In Tanks -------- Generally most fighting is done in tanks, and this is the menu for all tank battles. You can alter the arrangement of these commands, but this is the default arrangement. (Go to Tanks/Name of Tank/C-Unit/Dashboard Layout.) o---------------------------o | MAIN | Flee | Detank | | CANNON | | | |--------|------- |---------| | AUX | Defend | Protect | | CANNON | | | |--------|--------|---------| | S-E | Shells | Tools | | | | | o---------------------------o MAIN CANNON Use this command to fire the main gun. Main guns will only target one enemy at a time, but they are more powerful than the auxiliary guns. Most of the time you will only be able to use one main gun. Once you have used up all the shells for the gun you will have to re-stock at a refill station, and this can be costly. AUX CANNON These are the auxiliary guns, also called autoguns, although they will not fire automatically! They are the best guns to use whenever possible because they do not use up shells, as they have infinite ammo, so firing them costs you nothing. S-E S-E guns are specialist weapons and they often have very limited ammo, and are expensive to buy and re-fill, however they are very useful, especially against stronger enemies. Some of them can target a group of enemies, and a few can target all enemies at once, and they are the only tank weapons which have this facility. Flee You can run away from nearly every battle, and you can find enemies again, including the Wanted monsters. There is no penalty for this, except that you will not gain any experience, even if you have managed to kill some enemies when, for example, attacking a group. Defend The Defend command simply means that you guard, and do not make any attacks. Protect Protect is also a defensive command and one tank will protect another, shielding it from damage. The tank doing the protecting will not be able to fire a gun at the same time. De-Tank You can select the command to "De-Tank" when in a battle with easy enemies and just fight on foot if you want, and then after the battle you will be back in the tank. You can also step in and out of a tank without losing a turn. However, if you are on foot at the start of a battle, even if you have just stepped out of your tanks for a moment, you cannot use them. Shells Shells can be bought from various Ammo Dealers and they do not add any weight to the tank, although if you increase the number that a tank can carry this will add a small weight increase. They can be fired during a tank battle, independently of your other guns, but you must have a main gun equipped to your tank in order to use them. Tools Tools refers to on-board tools which have various functions and some of them can be used during a battle, for example, an Extinguisher will douse flames, and a Horn will wake up sleeping comrades. ------- On Foot ------- At various points in the game, you have to fight on foot, for example, inside some buildings, especially where there are stairs. You might also choose for one character to "de-tank" and fight on foot, while the other two are still using their tanks, although this means that the fighter is more vulnerable without the protection offered by a tank o----------------o | Fight Flee | | Use Guard | | Arms Drive | o----------------o Fight Select this option to use your equipped weapon to make an attack. Use Select "Use" and you can use an item, either for healing HP or status disorders, or to throw at the enemy. This uses up a turn for the character that performs the action. Arms When you are fighting on foot you can change weapons during a battle by selecting "Arms," and you don't lose a turn. You can also replace a broken Protector during the battle, also without losing a turn. Flee You can select Flee and run away from most battles. This is especially useful if you encounter a Wanted enemy and are not strong enough to defeat them. Just run and you can live to fight another day. This will always work, unlike those games where running away sometimes fails. Guard Guard is the defend option, and any damage will be less. Drive Drive allows you to get back inside a tank, so long as you started the battle inside one. =============================================================================== 6. Tanks =============================================================================== 1. Tanks: Ten Questions and Answers 2. Tanks You Can Own 3. Tanks You Can Rent ----------------------------------- 1. Tanks: Ten Questions and Answers ----------------------------------- 1. How Many? There are a total of eight tanks which you can own, and 14 which you can rent. Of course, you do not have access to them all at once, and have to search for them, and even fulfil certain conditions to get all the rented tanks. 2. How to Drive? When selecting to drive the tanks, your group members will get into whichever tank they are standing on top of: literally! Sometimes this might mean that Hunter might not be in the tank you want for him. You have to fiddle around a bit to get this right. You can remove one character from one tank by using the "Party" command, and then "Tank." 3. How to Tow? To tow a tank select "Check" when on top of it. At least one person has to be driving a tank already to tow another one, but it doesn't have to Hunter, who always leads the party. To stop towing, select the tank you are driving and then "Detach" on the small window that opens to the right. There is also another option called "Info Pane". If you select this, it will give you access to the menu for the towed tank, so you can see what parts it has equipped and all the same information that you can see for the rest of the tanks that you are using. 4. What is SP? All tanks are defended by armour tiles, or plates, and these determine the SP of the tank. SP stands for SHIELD POINTS, and the more SP a tank has, the better its defense, although this means it is also heavier, and that could make it slower to attack. 5. What is the Chassis? Although you can equip any engine, C-Unit and guns that your tank can carry, the chassis remains the same. It is this which identifies the particular vehicle, and the chassis has a set number of gun slots. 6. What are Slots? The slots are used to enable different guns to be mounted on your chassis. Each chassis has particular slots that are already open when you first find it, and some of these can be altered, and additional ones added. This will cost money and can only be done at a garage where modification is on offer. To see the slots available go to the tanks menu and select the name of the tank. Then select STATUS/CHASSIS INFO. 7. What is Ammo? The Ammo listed on the chassis information is for the number of additional shells that the tank can carry. For some, the number is 0, and this means that you first have to find a garage which will modify your chassis and enable the shells. For the Buggy, you can see that is has no ammo capacity at all, and this is because it comes to you without a Main Gun slot. These extra shells have to be fired using a main gun, so if you want to use them for the Buggy you must alter the SE slot to a Main Gun slot, and then install a Main Gun. 8. What is Modification? Modification is a customisation option for all your tanks. You can increase and decrease many things, for example: the number of ammo shells that the tank can carry, the ammo for the guns, the defence for tank parts, and the percentage Hit and Evade for C-Units. The overall load that the tank can carry can also be increased by boosting the engine. These modifications are not available at the start of the game and some of them are very expensive. If you increase something it will add to the weight, and if you decrease something, it will have the opposite effect. 9. What is Load? Load is the term used for the weight that the tank can carry. It is dependent on the engine that is equipped, and the more expensive engines can carry more weight. This means that the tank can carry heavier weapons and more armour tiles. You can see the current load carried by a tank if you look at the tank menus. 10. Where are the Tank Menus? There are two tank menus, one of which you can access from the BSCon, and the other from the Main Menu screen. The BSCon menu will give you information about every tank you own, even if you are not currently using one. You must be driving a tank (or someone in the party must be), to see the information about it from the main menu. -------------------- 2. Tanks You can Own -------------------- =========== 1. MOSQUITO: Leorad =========== Find the first tank on the second floor down inside the hole in the ground to the south of home. You have to survive two rounds fighting the Sniper dog enemy. Then you will automatically be joined by Red. After he drives off you can claim the tank. Chassis - Mosquito Weight 4.00t Ammo: 0/8 Defence 60 Slot type: MA: Cannon 1 (none of the slots can be changed) AU: Autogun 1 SE: Special 1 (can be added) ========= 2. BUGGY: Pobre Obre ========= This is found on the top floor of the Factory, to the east of Pobre Obre. Just ask the CEO for it, three times, until the flowers agree. To get back down, just fall off the edge and then through a hole in the floor. NOTE: You can use on foot weapons while fighting inside the Buggy. Chassis - Wild Buggy Weight 3.58t Ammo: 0/0 Defence 58 Slot type: MA: Cannon AU: Autogun 1 SE: Special 1 (can be changed to Cannon) ======= 3. VAN: Rocco ======= North west of Rocco, inside the Peerless Hospital. You must defeat Mad Muscle (and his Muscle Car) to get it. NOTE: You could have 4 SE guns equipped to the Van, or change all slots to Autogun. Chassis - Van Weight 5.12t Ammo: 10 (shells) Defence 75 Slot type: MA: Cannon 1 (all slots can be changed) AU: Autogun 1 SE: Special 2 ======= 4. LAV : Sol ======= In plain view at Sol. You must defeat the Mutant Crocodile in Sol Sewers to be given the tank. Chassis - Armoured Vehicle Weight 7.50t Ammo: 5 (shells) Defence 98 Slot type: MA: Cannon 1 (can be changed to SE) AU: Autogun 1 SE: Special 2 ======== 5. TIGER: Freeza ======== Northeast of Freeza there is a cave at the furthest west of the sand dunes. Go to the bottom floor and use the Metal Detector to search for it. You can buy the Metal Detector in Freeza. Chassis - Tiger Weight 16.30t Ammo: 32 (shells) Defence 100 Slot type: MA: Cannon 1 AU: Autogun 1 SE: Special 1 (can be alterd to Autogun) ========= 6. ABRAMS: Port Slum ========= South east of Audrey, in the bottom building at the port you will find someone selling tanks. You have to buy this tank by making him an offer he can't refuse. Keep trying until he says yes. (May cost around 14,000 gold) Chassis - Abrams Weight 11.31t Ammo: 21 (shells) Defence 120 Slot type: MA: Cannon 1 (none of the slots can be changed) AU: Autogun 1 SE: Special 2 ============ 7. RED WOLF : Secret Waterfall Base ============ A long way south from Yuge. Defeat Gomez and his tank to receive this lovely red tank from Red Wolf. Chassis - Red Wolf Weight 13.00t Ammo: 64 (shells) Defence 150 Slot type: MA: Cannon 1 AU: Autogun 1 (can be changed to SE) SE: Special 2 ============ 8. WHITEMUU : Ghost Base ============ At the bottom floor of the Ghost Base. Must have CARD ID (o), obtained from the locked room at Peerless Hospital. You need the Lock Hacker Tool to open the door at the Hospital, and this is obtained at Port Slum. Chassis - White Tiger Weight 16.00t Ammo: 0/40 (shells) Defence 100 Slot type: MA: Cannon 1 AU: Autogun 2 SE: Special 2 --------------------- 3. Tanks You Can Rent --------------------- Although it costs nothing to rent a tank, it can turn out to be quite costly since half your winnings from fights will be deducted, and that includes if you have to leave the tanks and fight on foot. The money is deducted automatically, so there is no way around this, and the rental tank will stay in your possession until you return it to the rental garage OR, if it gets too badly damaged to function. The SP (Shield Points) listed is the maximum for each tank, and they come to you with none. This means that you MUST buy some armour tiles for them or they quickly will suffer damage. If it is too much, the tank will automatically return to the Rent-a-Tank place, and you will be left without a tank, though there is no other penalty. As you can see from the list, the majority of the rental tanks come to you fully equipped with guns, and ready to roll, (apart from the lack of Sp). The VIP ones can only be accessed once you have the VIP Rental System on your BSCon, and they need to have parts added, but make sure you remove anything before returning a tank, or it will be lost forever! The BSCon states that four is the maximum number of tanks that can be rented at any one time, but when I tried to rent lots of tanks at once, using the VIP Rental System, (I wanted to take a picture of them all together), it would not let me have more than three. Leorad, Pobre Obre, Audrey, Freeza Renter #1: Sp 245 Chassis - Half Truck, 9mm Machine Gun Audrey, Freeza, Il Migra Renter #2: Sp 225 Chassis - Sherman, 55mm Gun, 9mm Machine Gun, ATM Missile Il Migra, Sol Renter #3 Sp 550 Chassis - Sherman, 95mm Gun, Gatling Gun, Burner Dragon Il Migra, Sol, Eden Renter #4 Sp 1515 Chassis - Gepard, 35mm Machine Gun, 25mm Machine Gun Sol, Eden Renter #5 Sp 710 Chassis - Hetzer, 125mm Cannon, 11mm Machine Gun, Tomato Typhoon Eden, Santa Poco Renter #6 Sp 1535 Chassis - Gepard, 48mm Machine Gun, LI Peanut Santa Poco Renter #7 Sp 445 Chassis - Hetzer, 165mm Long Tom, 25mm Machine Gun, LI Peanut Renter #8 Sp 985 Chassis - Panzer, 175mm Cannon, Flame Thrower, Fiveless 5 Canabelle Renter #9 Sp 1365 Chassis - Panzer, 195mm Cannon, Thunderstorm, Excalibur Renter #10 Sp 530 Chassis - Panzer, 180mm Spark, Thunderstorm, Interceptor VIP Rental (Anywhere on the world map) Renter #11 Sp 5170 Renter #12 Sp 5145 Chassis - Half Truck Chassis - Tractor Renter #13 Sp 4755 Renter #14 Sp 3795 Chassis - Half Truck Chassis - Gepard, 88mm Machine Gun =============================================================================== 7. Wanted Enemies =============================================================================== The Hunters' Office in most towns will give you details of the local fugitives, or Wanted monsters. You can also see posters of these enemies in some bars and inns as well as in the Hunter's Office and every Wanted monster will net you a reward. You can collect this reward at any Hunters' Office after you have defeated one of them, and you can also defeat them in any order you like. This list shows the order in which they are listed on the BSCon, but only AFTER you have defeated them. Some Wanted enemies can be easy to find, even if their appearance is random, but others can take a long time before they appear, although this can vary a lot from game to game, so I guess it is partly dependent on luck. "Event" simply means that the fugitive will be visible and waiting for you. Defeating a Wanted enemy does not get you much in the way of gold, but it will reward you with a lot of experience points, and of course you can then collect the bounty for killing them. All the details are given in the main text. 1. SALMONELLA CLAN 1,000G Leorad, Canabelle Found: Northern Cave Random (easy to find) 2. DR.RAFFLESIA 1,200G Pobre Obre Found: Negi Bog Random (variable) 3. DOS PIRANHAS 3,000G Pobre Obre Found: Bridge to Factory Random (variable) 4. MAD MUSCLE 5,000G Rocco Found: Peerless Hospital Event 5. MAMMOTH TANK 10,000G Freeza Found: Under Freeza Event 6. BEETLA 12,000G Freeza Found: Sand Dunes Random (easy) 7. BRASS BANSHEE 15,200G Freeza, Il Migra Found: Corona Building Random (easy) 8. ZEPPELIN 19,950G Il Migra, Sol Found: Devil's Tower, Sol. Random (easy) 9. Mr. KAMIKAZE 22,000G Eden Found: East of Crack, (West of Sol) Random (very hard to find) 10. MUKADELON 32,000G Eden Found:North-South Subway Ruins Random/event (only appears after an event) 11. GOMEZ 50,000G Santa Poco Found: Secret Waterfall Base Event 12. DUST FRANKEN 81,500G Santa Poco Found: Organic Waste Landfill Random (moderately hard) 13. SALMONELLA HQ 99,899G Canabelle Found: Scorched Factory Random (moderately hard) 14. RODRIGUEZ 100,000G Hell's Gate West Found: Run-Down Oasis Event 15. ROMMEL GHOST 160,000G Hell's Gate West Found: Centre Desert Random (easy) 16. BAD VALDEZ 200,000G Found: Hound Cavern Event =============================================================================== 8. Game Over =============================================================================== Basically there is no game over, except when you choose, and you can choose to end the game at any time, even after only playing for a short while! All you have to do is speak to Hunter's Dad in the garage at Leorad, and agree to come back home. Keep confirming this again and again, and the game will end, but you can choose to continue from that point, as Dad will automatically make a save for you. (He really doesn't believe that you would prefer to be a mechanic.) There is no permanent state of death though there is only one place where you can find something to revive a dead party member, and even then, you are only allowed to have one of these items at a time. It is just available as an emergency measure, and you are unlikely to need it. If one of your group dies you will have to drag them around in a coffin, until you take them back to Leorad and ask Dr. Mince to revive them. There is no charge for this service and no penalty. If you all die in battle, Dad will rescue you and your party, and Dr. Mince will revive you all, and you lose nothing. If you are paralysed and dead, you will be cured, and revived. The only drawback is that you will be at Leorad, and your tanks may be somewhere else! =============================================================================== 9. Tips and Tricks ============================================================================== 1. Modify the C-Unit Dashboard Layout to make the Aux Cannon at the top left corner. This makes it a little easier for ordinary battles since you will be using these guns most of the time to save expense. You can change the tank battle commands in any way that suits you. 2. Don't leave your tanks too long unattended outside, or they will get bird crap on them which doesn't sound very nice, and although this does not add to the weight, it cannot be removed until you find a tank wash, and there is only one in the game. Not only that, but it uses up one of your slots for Tank On-Board Tools. The same thing is true of the Lead Mushrooms, which will grow on your tanks if they are left too long in damp caves, and they have the additional drawback of adding to the weight of the tank. 3. You can sell things for half what you paid for them, though some of the strange sounding items that are dropped by some enemies can only be sold at a bar to a bartender. 4. You can go where you like, when you like. The only limit is your ability to defeat certain enemies that block your path to the next area. This is not always the case, so have fun exploring wherever you can. 5. Once you reach a town that is listed on the BSCon you can return there using the Dog System. Buy this handy device as soon as you can. It is an on-board tool for tanks and can be bought in many places. It is first available from the on-board tools store in Pobre Obre. 6. When you first arrive at a town, check the BSCon for all the information about the services and shops there. If there is no sale on, you can leave and return until there is, and so buy things more cheaply. 7. Always search for items in towns before deciding what to buy. Always buy shells, Plate Packs and some healing and throwing tools from Vending Machines as you may get a prize. 8. Once you obtain the Lock Hacker Tool, take it everywhere you go, as it will enable you to unlock many doors. 9. Tow a tank, once you have one to spare, and you can use it as a back-up in case of broken parts, and to take any extra tank parts that you might find. A towed tank can also give extra support in battle if it has the correct C-Unit and weapons equipped. 10. Dad, at Leorad, will always repair any broken tank parts for free, but only if you refuse to pay. 11. Keep broken protectors and you can exchange them for cash and new protectors at Port Slum. This is the only way to get the best protectors in the game, as they cannot be purchased. 12. Don't worry about running away from battles. You can always find a Wanted enemy again so long as it has not defeated you. 13. You can find items in the field without using the Metal Detector IF you know exactly where to look. Use the "Check" command on foot or in tanks. =============================================================================== B. W A L K T H R O U G H *WALK =============================================================================== I have organised this walkthrough based on the main towns as they are listed in the BSController. Each town has a section on the services, followed by the walkthrough for that town, including all the items that can be found. When you arrive at a new town, look at the BSCon to find all the services for that town, and lists of what is for sale. =============================================================================== 1. L E O R A D *LEO =============================================================================== LOCATION At the south of the world map, just west of the centre. AREA ENEMIES Cannon Hopper, Enormous Ant, Meteor Snail (green), Murderous Amoeba, Wandering Polytank WANTED Salmonella Clan: 1,000G Dos Pirhanas: 3,000G COMMENT This is your home town, and the only place where you can be revived if dead, and have your tanks repaired for free. It is is also the only place where you can store things in the Trunk Room, and you have your very own tank garage where you can leave any tanks in safety. -------- Services -------- Equipment Store Tools Store Others... Memory Centre Hunter Office Hotel Massage Bar Dr.Mince Refill Station Auto Repair Transfer Centre Trunk Room Equipment Store Tools Store --------------- ----------- Pingpong Shot...........30G Healing Capsule.........10G Bow Gun ................80G Rocket Firework..........5G Shotgun ...............180G Blaze Bottle............10G Army Greaves ...........10G Repair Kit..............80G Denim Overalls .........40G M-Toll...................5G Work Clogs .............15G NOTE: Don't bother saving to buy the Shotgun as you really don't need it, and you can find one in the Northern Cave after getting your first tank. The Bow gun is less expensive and a good buy at this stage of the game. In one of his emails about the game, MAV suggests that you could sell off everything you find and afford to buy the Shotgun. All Tools and Arms items are listed in the lists section of the FAQ, and the BSCon will give you information about everything in your possession. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Walkthrough ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Garage: Hunter's room: Sister's Towel in chest Hunter's room: Wooden Box: 7 gold Parents room: Father's Shirt in chest Stove: Fire Extinguisher Sink: Liquid M-Toll Hotel: Pine Soap in chest in lower empty upstairs room M-Toll is in the chest in both ground floor rooms Bar: Fire Extinguisher in sink Dr. Mince's: Chilly Cells in fridge Fire Extinguisher in sink ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: I have included a lot of extra detail in this section, intended especially for those who might not be familiar with the basic principles of a Metal Max/Saga type game. If you are, then you will already know what to do. Party Okay, this is your first town and as is normal in most RPGs, you are a rookie, but in fact it is worse than that. Take a look at your current status by looking at the command "Party," Hunter's name, and "Stat", and you can see that your title is "Disowned Son." Keep an eye on your status and you will find that your title changes as you accomplish different things in the game. At the moment the only member of the party is Hunter, but later you will get two companions, a Mechanic and a Soldier. Their given names are randomly generated. While you are still at the status screen press A (action button) and it brings up a new window showing MONSTER BADGES. You won't have any at the moment, but when you do, each one will show as a winged medal with a striped ribbon. You will get one for each WANTED monster that you defeat. o--------------o | NAME Lv 1 | | | The left side of the screen will show your current HP | Item Stat | You can also see your current G (gold) which is none. | Arms Tank | o--------------o Look at your items and you have two. Your Hunter's BSCon, which you can access from the item menu or directly from the main menu, and one Rocket Firework, an attack item. Take a closer look and you will have three options: Use, Trade or Toss. Don't choose "Toss" or you will end up throwing it away. The USE command is needed for healing items and sometimes for making use of a key or special item. "TRADE" allows you to give an item to another party member. Arms: You currently have a Pingpong Shot as a weapon and Denim Overalls for protection. On this screen you can see your status for attack and defend. You don't yet have a tank, and you also don't have any money. Dad Dad will always be rude to you, but try to ignore his barbs and make sure you speak to him when you or a party member (when you get some), increase in level, and he will teach you the next stage of the mechanic's "repair" skill. Actually he will do more than that. If you have damaged tanks and ask him to repair them, and then tell him you can't afford it and not to bother...just follow the dialogue options to do this...he will do all the repairs for free! (I am not sure if he always does this, but so far he has, every time.) He is always found in the same place, standing by the machine to the right of the doorway. These options are not available until you have found the first tank. Storage Before you go exploring there are one of two things to bear in mind. You are restricted to 12 items in your "Tools" (items) inventory, and 8 in your "Arms" (equipment) inventory. If you find something and don't have room for it, it will be put back and you once you do have the space, you can pick it up again. There is also the option to store as much as you want in the garage "Trunk Room". This is only available at home, at the back of the garage in Leorad. You can deposit and withdraw anything here, except tanks. There is parking for those to the right at the back of the garage: where you see the large red letter P. The only awkward thing about the storage facility is that you have to select each item or piece of equipment in turn, which is a little time-consuming. Actually you can't store as much as you want, as there is a limit to the amount that can be stored, but it seems to be set separately for each category. So far I have reached the limit with tank parts, and that is 32. Despite never selling anything and storing every item and piece of equipment, I have not run out of space yet for the other categories, so I guess it is going to be enough for most people. Computers A couple more things. The small computer screen next to the ladder will become a familiar object as there are a number of these in various places throughout the game. Check it out, (literally, press the option "CHECK") and you will see a screen and some numbers and buttons. Most of these machines only need you to press LOAD, (or sometimes ON), so do this now and a new function will be uploaded to your BSController. This is the level indicator, which works for Hunter and his companions. It is quite useful when you start killing target enemies for extra rewards. More on that later. Big Sister Now go up the ladder and you can speak to Big Sister. She is always here, knitting or washing up or cleaning. By talking to her you automatically rest in your room and heal all HP. Again, this works for all party members, and you can do this as often as you like. Finally, after picking up the Sister's Towel from the chest in your room, and opening the wooden box to get the princely sum of 7 gold, take Father's Shirt from the chest in the other bedroom, and then check the stove for Fire Extinguisher, and the sink for Liquid M-Toll. After getting all the items go through the door near the ladder and out onto the balcony, and simply...walk off the edge. You don't do any damage, and this is a useful reminder that you CAN in fact do this, since it is a handy trick for getting out of some awkward places later in the game. Dr. Mince At the back of the town behind the pond is a large building. If you get into trouble fighting monsters, this is where you will end up. Go inside and meet Dr. Mince and his trusty companion, Igor. If anyone dies, return here, and Dr. Mince will revive them. If everyone dies, Dad will rescue you. There is no Game Over or permanent state of death. It cost nothing for this service and Dr. Mince enjoys his work. Find Chilly Cells in the fridge and Fire Extinguisher in the sink. These are favourite hiding places wherever you go, so always rummage around in kitchen appliances. Visit the bedroom and check out the brain. Poor Lola... Euro Head right and down from the main room at Dr. Mince's and there is a wooden box in the middle of an open area. Check this and it contains a money eating creature named "Euro". You can re-name it if you like, and feed it money to make it grow. You can also make it move different parts of its body by pressing a few buttons. It is quite sweet, but I am not sure of its ultimate purpose, if indeed it has one at all. Transfer Centre There is another building behind Dr. Mince's house and an old man blocks the door. This is the Transfer Centre, and you cannot get inside. In fact, even when you gain access to other Transfer Centres and return here using this helpful device, you cannot get out of the that door. (Eventually you can get out of here, when you have an item that unlocks doors.) There is a Transfer Centre in every town, although sometimes they are hidden away, often down a ladder or in an out of the way building. You can use them to travel in-between towns when you are not using tanks. Make sure to use them from time to time and eventually you may get a transfer malfunction... More on this in a later location, but nothing to worry about. Bar Most towns have one of these and it is always a good place to find out new information. Usually there will be one girl that wants you to buy her a drink. Always agree (they are cheap enough) and she will give you some hints in return, sometimes they are useful, sometimes not. You can sell the food type monster drops to the barman. Chilly Cells from Dr. Mince's place is an example of the things the barkeeper will buy. You can also find a jukebox which will play music from the game, and often a mini-games machine. Here you can lose lots of gold betting on a frog race, or shooting down pedestrians in a cross-fire shooting game. In Leorad bar, sell the Chilly Cells you found and receive 35G. Speak to the man in red who is standing by the bar; his name is Red Wolf and you will meet him again. You can talk to the other regulars as well, and take the Fire Extinguisher from the sink behind the bar. (By the way, if you are not in a chatty mood, you don't have to talk to everyone, in fact even if you don't talk to Red Wolf, this will not effect subsequent events.) Hotel There is a massage man in this inn, and he will cure you if you have been paralysed, but this is something you won't need to worry about just yet. Most inns will allow you into their rooms to steal things without having to pay for a night's sleep, though sometimes you will have to pay for a room in order to get access to items. The only downside to staying at an inn is that sometimes there will be a mosquito in the room and this will deplete your HP by 1 point. You can avoid this, if it bothers you, by carrying the item, M-Toll, which will automatically kill any mosquito. There is one M-Toll in the ground floor left room chest of drawers and another in the right hand room. For now, take the Pine Soap from the chest in the bottom upstairs room. You can talk to the two people in the rooms for information on how to tow a tank, and about the southern cave, which is where you will be going after leaving Leorad. After being told not to, by the person on the landing, push the flower pot over the edge and follow it. Equipment and Tools Store This is marked with an icon of body armour and easy to spot. If you look at your current "Arms" you will see that you have a Pingpong Shot weapon. Buy some additional armour, but obtain the Healing Capsules from the Vending Machine in the Memory Centre as you might get lucky and receive a free gift. The "Arms" seller always has a red cap and the "Tools" seller has a blue one. You need to make sure they are at the counter so you can speak to them. (Just a minor detail, as sometimes they are distracted.) Hunter's Office/Memory Centre These are often in the same building, and close to each other, though not always. In Leorad they are. Speak to the person behind the counter nearest the door and you can save your game. (You are given a dire warning if you choose not to save.) The Hunter's Office is behind this at the back of the room. You can find out more details about the local bad guys: in this case it is the Salmonella Clan, and Dos Pirhanas. You can also collect the rewards after killing one of the enemies on the Wanted list. Take a look at the posters on the back wall to see pictures of the outlaws. Target Monsters The other option is to find out about the current Weekly Target. These are set randomly, but it will be one of the monsters in the current location. If you kill some of these Target enemies and return to the Hunter's Office (any office will do), you can collect the extra cash reward. There is a catch though. The Target will change when Hunter increases his level. You could find that you have killed a few, and come back ready to get the gold only to be told, sorry, the Target has changed and so you will get nothing. There is another slight snag. Say you kill a few and collect the bounty, and then your level increases. This may occur because you have found a new area with stronger enemies or ones that give more experience, but there are none of the Target enemies any more. No matter how far you go, or how many levels you increase, the Target will remain the same until you have killed at least ONE more of them. Then, when you report back to the Office, they will tell you the Target has changed and a new monster will be waiting for you to kill lots of them for extra cash. (I found it hard keeping pace with the Target monsters as I had moved on to other areas of the world map and was not interested in fighting weaker enemies just so I could find the Target, and then get them to change it. There is a more detailed explanation of the Weekly Targets and how you can make the nest use of it, in the Lists section of the FAQ.) Signal Transmitter When you can afford it, agree to have a receiving function added to the BSController. You have to ask to buy the signal, and it costs 1024G and the Hunter Office guy will add a signal transmitter for free. This will give signal coordinates on the world map, but there is no need to worry about this now, just don't forget about it. (In fact, even when you do have the money to buy it, it is of very limited use.) Vending Machine This is the red machine at the entrance to the Hunter's Office. You will find these everywhere. There are masses of them, and not just in towns, but also in dungeons and special out-of-the-way locations between towns. There are three different kinds. Ones like this, sell Healing and Attack Tools for on foot fighting, some of them sell things for tanks such as armour plating or Repair Kits, and the third kind sell different kinds of Shells, also for tanks. Prize: Baddie Promo (Salmonella Clan) Healing Capsule x 1 10G Healing Capsule x 2 20G Healing Capsule x 4 40G Healing Capsule x 6 60G Rocket Firework x 1 5G Blaze Bottle x 1 10G It is a good idea to buy these items from a Vending Machine rather than from a shop. There is a reason for this. Time it so the flashing light stops on the centre spot and you will receive a free gift! These vary in usefulness, but so far I have managed to get a few Baddie Promos (pictures of the Bad Guys), a Lead Mushroom (which adds unwanted weight to a tank) and various On-Board Tank Tools. This vending machine will give you the Salmonella Clan Baddie Promo as a prize if you buy any of the items and hit the spot. Renting a Tank Rent-a-Truck is in the small tent to the right of the entrance to Leorad. You may not notice the tent at first, not just because it is cleverly disguised as the same colour as the sand, but because it only arrives once you have the first tank, and have left Leorad for wider pastures. (You have to find the first tank on foot.) If you want to rent the tank it does not cost anything to get, but it DOES cost half of everything you earn when monsters drop gold. I was not sure when this rental place appears, as despite killing the Salmonella Clan and visiting Pobre Obre the traders had still not arrived. In fact it does not appear until after you have defeated the two Big Cannon, by which time it is probably not a lot of use to you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i. Southern Cave/Mosquito ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: South east of Leorad Enemies: Enormous Ant, Meteor Snail, Murderous Amoeba, Potato Vulcan, Cannon Hopper, Bionic Pooch. Items: Healing Capsule, 57g, Old Coin, 106 gold, Camouflage Fatigues Extras: Mosquito Tank NOTE: Old Coin will assist in getting a Sale if you get good luck. Save before using it (Tip credit to MAV.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preparation The cave is found nearby to Leorad. Walk south and to the east you will see a hole. You can enter this hole. However, first of all you might want to fight a few battles and gain a couple of levels. You can stay close to home and pop back to heal for free by having a good night's rest at home, and also use the gold gained from fighting a few battles to buy a better weapon:the Bow Gun, and some protective equipment and Healing Capsules. If you manage to kill some of the target monsters you will get the extra reward for these as well. You may need to store or sell some of the items you have found in order to have enough space in your inventory for a couple of healing capsules. Finding Items MAV's MAPS! These maps are all credit to MAV. Many thanks indeed for sending these to me, and granting permission to use them. LEVEL 1: __ ____________/ \ |_2_________ | ____________________ \ |__| | 1) Empty Box | __________ | 2) Healing Capsule ___________| | | | 3) Empty Box | | | | | >>> ___ |___ | | |___________ | | <<<\ | \ | |___| | \1 | | 000 | | / | 3 000 | | | |__,---. |_______| | | | / | (____________________| Walk down the slope and speak to the man there. There is nothing to find if you explore to the right except an empty wooden box, so walk to the far left of the cave, and up the narrow passage and then left to find a wooden box containing a Healing Capsule. Retrace your steps back down the narrow passage and continue left and down the ramp. (There is another empty box down the central narrow passage, so no point in going there.) LEVEL 2: _____ ____________ |_1 | | ______ | __| | | |______| | | |_____| |___________ | \ 1) 57 Gold | ______ ___ _____ __ \ 2) Old Coin | | | | | |__ | | | | 3) 106 Gold | | | | /WWWW | | | | / 4) Camouflage Fatigues | \ | | | T S | | | | / S Use the switch to open | <<<| | | \ 4| |__| | | this wall (WWWW). | | | \ | |________| | T Claim the tank here. |______| |___| |____B 3 2 | |__________| From the bottom of the ramp follow the path up the screen and head up along another narrow passage and left to find a wooden box with 57g. The enemy Potato Vulcan can hurt you badly while you are on foot and alone, so run away if need be. You should be around level 4 by now and have bought the stronger Bow Gun and some protective equipment, the Work Shoes, and a couple of Healing Capsules. Now head all the way right, ignoring the two narrow paths that head down the screen, and the other one that goes up. At the far right wall walk down the narrow passage and then left. You will see a large dog here. There are two chests, the first has Old Coin and the second has 106 gold. You can take the things from the boxes, but you cannot get past the dog. The dog will not attack until you speak to him, and answer Yes! Fighting Bionic Pooch o---------------------------------------------------------------------------o | Bionic Pooch Southern Cave | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Drops | 32 gold (Drop after 4 rounds: Puppy Gourmet) | | Experience | 20 | | Attacks | Launches a Launcher Shell. | o---------------------------------------------------------------------------o All you need to do is to last for two rounds. The launcher shell from the Bionic Pooch will do around 25 HP damage at level 3/4, if you are defending. You can select Guard, or use an item to heal and then a red tank will show up, and Red Wolf will destroy the enemy in one shot! By the way, RED WOLF will turn up even if you haven't spoken to him in the bar at Leorad. NOTE: If you are after the Puppy Gourmet drop make sure to defend and heal and with a bit of luck Red Wolf may take two rounds to kill it. The drop is not guaranteed since 4th round drops are rare, but MAV obtained this one time. Save before hand if you want to make sure. Answer Yes to Red Wolf. After he takes off again, get the Camouflage Fatigues from the wooden box to the right of the green tank and equip them. Approach the green tank and select "Check" to claim it. You can rename it if you want, or keep the default name. o---------o----------------o | | | | T A N K | *T1 MOSQUITO | | | | o---------o----------------o Tank Controls and Options To see what the tank has equipped, open the Tank menu, and there are four options. (You can also view most of this information from the BSCon. Select SEE ALL to see a summary, and NO.1 to see the details of the Mosquito.) o-----------------o | Mosquito | o---------o o---------o | Program | Tools Status | Hunter | | _ _ _ | Parts C-Unit | SP | SP shows the current amount of SHIELD | | | | POINTS, and underneath is the maximum o-------------------------------------o amount possible. Select STATUS, CHASSIS INFO, and you'll see that you can have up to eight shells (AMMO), although there are none at the moment. These shells can be bought at Ammo stores, and are additional to any guns that are equipped. You have two slot types: One MA, the Main Gun, or Cannon, and one AU, the Autogun or Auxiliary weapon. There is no SE slot, (for Special guns). If you check under TOOLS you can see that there are no Tools loaded at present. You can buy these and find some, and they will generally give the tank additional defensive abilities. The PARTS menu shows information for all parts, and this is where you go if you need to remove ARMOUR TILES. The C-UNIT gives three options. The "Overall Balance" shows four qualities of your currently equipped C-Unit. You'll see that it has a thick yellow line indicating good Durability, and a thin line for Mods. There is nothing against Power and Defense, so this C-Unit is poor in those areas. Check "Program Maintenance" and you'll see that the C-Unit has no programs. You cannot change this, or the Balance of the C-Unit. Better C-Units give better balance and more programs. Finally look at "Dashboard Layout" and alter this (REINITIALIZE) in any way that you like. You can do this for each tank. Driving and Fighting Battles You will notice that the tank only has one gun equipped, and that is a main gun, so you might want to use the command DE-TANK and fight the easy battles on foot, thus saving ammunition. If you do that, you will be back in your tank after the end of the battle, so you don't have to get back in to drive on. Leaving the Southern Cave Select the command DRIVE, and then the option GET IN, to drive the tank. Now drive up to the small plate on the wall, which is a computer screen. Just select "OPEN". This will open the Gate: in fact the wall ahead of you. It is just a short cut. Drive through the gap and then left, and down, and then up the ramp to the right. From here drive up the screen, and then right to find the next ramp. You can speak to the man without getting out of the tank if you want. --------------------- New Options at Leorad --------------------- Return to Leorad and now dad will have new options for you. Speak to Dad and there is a new menu. Request Repairs.........Dad will repair any broken tank parts for free. But only if you refuse to pay! Ask for Instruction.....When you (and other party members when you have them) increase a level he will give a lesson in repairing tanks. Your repair level increases by 1 and you can use the Repair Kit to mend a broken tank part if it is partly damaged. (It shows as yellow on a separate screen when you select to USE the Repair Kit.) However, Hunter cannot use the skill, so I am not sure what benefit there is in bothering to train him at all. Give Money..............Try this to see what reaction you get. Return Home.............Agree to return home and stop being a Hunter. Just saying hi..........Try this to see what reaction you get. Refill Station Every garage has a man in red who will refill your armour tiles or plates, and ammo. In Leorad he is standing at the back of the garage next to the Trunk Room. Armour tiles cost 1 gold for every 10. Ammo for the 37mm Gun, and all Main Guns costs 5 gold for each piece, and the cost for SE weapons could be 150 or more gold for each piece. (Life's too short to check out them all...) The left set of options allows you to refill everything for all tanks at one go, or to just refill all armour plates, or ammo. The right set of options allows you to add armour plates to one tank only, and to decide exactly how many to add. You can also buy ammo for each gun on each tank in turn, and decide how much ammo you want to have restocked. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ii. Northern Cave/Salmonella Clan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Location: North east of Leorad Enemies: Murderous Amoeba, Enormous Ant, Wandering Polytank, Meteor Snail, Potato Vulcan, Pyro Monkey, Bomb Turtle, Cannon Hopper. Items: Shotgun, 40-Plate Pack, 7.7.mm Machine Gun. Extras: Salmonella Gang ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: If you want to gain all titles for all party member then don't go after the Salmonella Caln until after you have recruited them all. This cave is situated to the north east. Drive west from Leorad and then north around the rocks to the east until you see a group of dead trees. Then go west and there is an opening in the mountain to the north. It is worth while paying a visit here to get the Shotgun and tank weapon, even if you don't intend to fight the Salmonella Gang just yet. This cave is situated to the north east. Drive west from Leorad and then north around the rocks to the east until you see a group of dead trees. Then go west and there is an opening in the mountain to the north. It is worth while paying a visit here to get the Shotgun and tank weapon, even if you don't intend to fight the Salmonella Gang just yet. Armour Tiles You can speak to the man near the entrance and he will tell you about removing armour plates if you overload a tank. If you are unsure about this, look at your tank menu and then select PARTS. Armour Tiles (or Plates),are listed here. Check the Armour Tiles screen and it will show you the current SP and Load. If the Load exceeds the amount of weight the tank can carry then the figure will show as a minus number. For Example: SP 418 Load 0 -3.10t That would mean that you had to remove 310 tiles in order to get your overloaded tank to move. Use the directional buttons to scroll through the numbers on the left of the screen until you see the that there is no longer a minus number. Of course it is slightly wasteful, if you have to throw away perfectly good armour tiles, but sometimes it is the only thing to do. Finding Items MAV's MAPS! More MAV maps! Thank you again for these. LEVEL 1 ___________________________________________ 1) 76 Gold | ____ | 2) Hand Grenade | | \ ________________________ | 3) 40 Plate Pack / o\ \ | | | | o2|####\ `----------------. | | \__o/####### | | | ######/ 3 |## | |ooo| ####/ /###>A <<<| |ooo| ## >B /#### | | | ############| __/ ____ \ \ ############| (____/ \ \ | | |________| 3 | | >C| |_________________________________________/ |___| Drive down to the next floor and head down the screen to the right to open the box with the gold (1). Then drive up and right and down until you have to leave your tanks where the ground is rocky (C). Walk down to find a rope ladder and at the next floow walk up and left to find a box with a Shotgun (4). Then return to your tanks, as there is nothing else to find down here. Once back inside your tanks drive all the way to the left and down the screen, staying on the same level, and get out again to open the wooden box. This contains a Hand Grenade (2) LEVEL 2 ________________________ | | | D>>> | | ____________________| | \ -----------. ____ | <<>B| / / \___ | | `-----' / \ >>| To bottom level 4 ____/ ___________/ / \ / ,---. \ | / \ | | | | | 5) 7.7mm Machine Gun | 5X\_____/ | X = Hole will open! \ X / \___ ____/ | | ___ | |__________/ | | <<