FAQ de la "Ristar" a.k.a. RISTAR.FAQ (v1.0) CONCEIVED, WRITTEN, AND EDITED BY: Jess Ragan FURTHER EDITED AND POSTED BY: Jeff Bogumil Before I start out this FAQ, first please keep in mind that I'm new at this, and that this ASCII file was written in Q-BASIC (currently the only ASCII reader & creator I have access to), so for goodness sake, have mercy on me! If you have any comments, send them to Jeff's E-Mail address, as I have yet to ob- tain one (I know, I'm such a leech... at least he's getting his 'Net feed at no cost aside from his college tuition, and he offered me to do this, so why not?), and if this FAQ needs updating or correcting, let me know through Jeff as well. Special thanks go to Jonathan Deitch of KLOV.ALL fame as well as Galen Komatsu of a dozen different FAQs for their quality postings, which in turn inspired RISTAR.FAQ, as well as Andy Eddy for the use of his site and of course, Jeff Bogumil for further correcting and posting this publication. "Ristar" is a registered trademark of Sega, which is why it'll probably be $20 in the upcoming months. Look for "The Gameroom Blitz: BAUD Edition", an electronic fanzine by the editors of this FAQ, coming soon (OK; I'm lying. Give me a few months first...) to an EG fanzine site near you! Please, SOMEBODY kill 'Soul Asylum '! PUHLEEEEEASE!!!! EGM is the literary equivalent of a den of vipers, so kill them, too. Can I say the words 'kill them' on the Internet? Can Margar- et Cho call herself "Assy" now, too?! I don't care as long as her sitcom stays cancelled... Will "Jon Stewart" still keep his site now that his show's been cancelled? And will I ever shut the hell up!? Anyhow, here's the FAQ... may it bring you much joy and happiness. Mozzeltov! As you can tell from that heinous spelling error, I'm not Jewish. OK, OK! I'll REALLY shut up now! But wouldn't you rather listen to my witty repertoire... HEY! Where are you going!? All right already! I PROMISE to keep my mouth shut now! Geez... This "Ristar" FAQ is a public service of JessCreations*,Co. All rights (& wrongs) reserved This FAQ (or its author) is not to be held responsible for sexually transmitted diseases, the Oklahoma City bombing, excessive underarm hair, food poisoning as a result of Hormel Spam(tm), or any bad programming (OK, ANY program- ming) on the Fox network. Feel free to blame this FAQ for the recent cancellation of "Full House". Copyright: 1995 JessCreations*, Co. If you laughed at any of the above, get psychiatric help. ======== CONTENTS ======== I. INTRODUCTION II. GENERAL TIPS III. STRATEGIES FOR EACH PLANET 1. Flora 2. Undertow 3. Scorch 4. Sonata 5. Freon 6. Automation 7. Space City IV. FINITO V. PASSWORDS -------------------- *** INTRODUCTION *** -------------------- It's not hard to see that "Ristar" is a big-time clone of "Sonic" & the millions of other mascot games available for the SNES & Genesis, but lucky for us, that doesn't by any means prevent it from being enjoyable. Hell, if you ask me (not that anyone would; this is just to prove a point), I fully believe that this l'il beaut is better than "Sonic & Knuckles", with or WITHOUT its Lock-On technology gimmick. I mean, give me a break! What's so exciting about having to pay $70 to buy rounds that were already in the Japanese game? Yeesh. But this FAQ isn't about how idiotic S&K or Sega is (you'd need a hard drive the size of Keanu Reeves' to even come close to storing a file THAT long!)- I'm talking about "Ristar" here. Anyways, like I was saying, it's great. Not as terrific as Nick Rox has often suggested in "Die Hard Game Fan", but that's not much of a surprise from a magazine that recommends Ocean games, eh? Sorry, I'm off the subject again. Like I was saying, "Ristar" is a Sonic-style action ad- venture title with "Bionic Commando"-ish overtones. As the eight-ball-esque title character, you've got to relieve a solar system of the influence of an alien space pirate named Greedy (not exactly an intimidating name, but it beats 'King Dedede', right?). Your only weapon is a pair of gangly, stretchy arms, & as is typical of these games, you'll find a zillion different uses for them be- fore you're through. Problem is, there's more to the game than defeating the Greedster... like "Sonic", there's hidden bonus stages to be found & treasures to be procured within them. A good many of these are tricky to reach, so that will be the main focus of this article. I'll cover the rounds themselves, as well, but frankly, since each is pretty straight-forward and not that difficult to complete in the "normal" mode, I won't get into any sort of ornate detail about those unless I feel it's absolutely necessary. I'll also provide you with strategies with which to beat the bosses, as these guys can really be tough nuts to crack. But first... -------------------- *** GENERAL TIPS *** -------------------- The manual in all its wisdom advises players to "grab every wall". You will often find, however, that this isn't enough. To get all of the prime good- ies, you'll more than likely have to CLIMB each wall to the top before the loud metallic 'bong' will sound & the item will be shaken from its perch & into your grubby little hands. This is a long & tedious process at times, so unless you absolutely have to max out your score, don't bother unless your health is at 3 stars or less. Don't speed through rounds. There are hidden enemies that like nothing better than to get the jump on impatient toddling star-faced kids, & if you take hits, your technical bonus goes down. You can't die in the bonus rounds, but each time you're hurt, the timer speeds up. Avoid this, as it could not only ruin your chances of snagging the treasure, it may very well cost you free continues, too, as these are rewarded to more proficient bonus round players. Any area with two one-ups can be harvested repeatedly by the age-old "grab both & die" technique, although both must be hidden in treasure chests for this to work (those in nooks & crannies come back as stars the 2nd time around). To access some areas, Ristar will sometimes have to hang from enemies & swing over to them. Annoyingly enough, once he's got his hands on something, he WILL snap back into it to finish it off, so be sure you're REALLY close to the land mass on which you'll land before you let go of the grab button. You'll get the best chance to get the 20,100 point hieght bonus if you grab the star handles at the end of each stage FACING TO THE LEFT. This way, It's easier to time the meteor strike & to control Ristar after he lets go. ---------------------------------- *** STRATEGIES FOR EACH PLANET *** ---------------------------------- ===== FLORA ===== A heavily forested planet filled with neon-colored bats, rabbits, & lizards. This is the world from which Ristar recieves the distress call which informs him of his father's capture & Greedy's evil plans to dominate the solar system. This laid-back planet is the perfect spot for Ristar to test his abil- ities. AREA 1: you'll probably notice a lot of bushes here. Be aware that they usually contain either strangely aggressive rabbits or exploding pollen spores that can be removed with a quick hop or two. There's also a few high-altitude footholds that contain a few gems & whatnot- access these by nimbly leaping the hovering fly traps (these open, so watch it). Greedy's orblet creatures are scattered throughout this round, so dispatch them as necessary as you explore the terrain fully. Halfway through the stage, you'll come across a 1UP in a hole & later, the entrance to a snake's lair scattered with holes. The snake's head will appear from one of these portals, look around, & head for a new hole. Grab him several times quickly to dispatch him, taking care to avoid bodily contact with the head, then continue to the end of the stage. BONUS ROUND LOCATION: There's a star handle about a screen before the wall that forces Ristar to take on the snake. Swing yourself diagonally upward & to the right on this handle to reach this wall & the special star handle which serves as the bonus round entrance. TO GET THE TREASURE: There's only one handle here. Launch upwards & slightly to the right or left & you'll land right on the land mass where the treasure, a STAR ICON, is. Bust open the chest & grab the treasure & it's yours to keep for the rest of the game (great; I sound like Pat Sajak now!). AREA 2: There are cocoons in the trees that contain orblets. Bop 'em to remove their contents, then waste the little creeps. If you take the low road, you'll have to bring down a few trees to continue- DON'T grab their leafy tops. If you do, tons of orblets will rain down from the branches to give you plenty of trouble. Halfway through this round, the lights will dim & some goon deep in the background will toss (of all things) deadly strawberries at you to impede your progress. Run to avoid them, taking care to bop the lizard hidden in the hill between the first & second lantern trees. Hit the top of these lantern trees to light your way through (not totally necessary, but helpful), then grab the star handle & it's off to Riho, the first boss. BONUS ROUND LOCATION: At the top of the screen, there are a series of annoying purple bats that toss land mines at you. Grab each one before/after they do & drop to each landmass they carry you to. Eventually, you'll see the bonus round handle. TO GET THE TREASURE: There's a series of partitions here that tests your ability to climb. And climb you will- grab each horizontal partition from the bottom & each vertical one at a diagonal angle until you see the chest, then grab that too. A beautiful CRYSTAL APPLE is the reward for your troubles. BOSS: After passing by some gratuitous lighting effects, Ristar will encounter the leader of the land, corrupted by, appropriately enough, a monkey on his back (I couldn't possibly make this up, folks...). Luckily, Riho's attacks are pretty half-hearted (just a few giant snowflakes & a tiny tornado), so grab the old coot by the legs & bop 'em. Every third successful hit will bring down your true enemy- while he's eating dirt, bop him, too (you can also lure him off Riho's back by getting caught in that tornado, but more often than not, you'll be sucker punched if you try). Three hits sends the little bastard to a much deserved permanent vacation & you to your next desination... ======== UNDERTOW ======== A planet whose surface is composed almost entirely of water seems like quite a threat, but since Ristar is an accomplished swimmer, & stars don't really need to breathe, it's not really a problem at all. Too bad there's the matter of Ohsat the hammerhead shark & his rowdy gang of aquatic life to make up for this... AREA 1: There's not much to say, really, aside from "watch out for the hidden eels in the seaweed" & "keep running if you find yourself on dry land to avoid the flying fish". Mostly, this is just an intro to the rigors of swimming, so if you take your time, you'll find that this is actually pretty relaxing... almost mesmerizing with that translucent water... and... I... ahhhhhh..... oh! 'Scuse me, I think I just got a little caught up in the moment there... BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Couldn't be easier- just go straight up after the round fills with water. To the far left, you'll find the handle floating just above a small island. TO GET THE TREASURE: There's an oval-shaped gauntlet which you've got to nav- igate to reach the treasure, a CLAM. Keep in mind that, since you're underwater, the prize will be swept up in the current & you'll have to go after it (or perhaps take the opposite route to run into it, whatever). I prefer going right as opposed to down to snag the treasure- the route down is a shortcut, but I'll be damned if I can snag the clam before it speeds off going this way. AREA 2: This round takes a little more skill. It's a long series of underwater catacombs, filled with dangerous nautili & enemy generators (these look like Incan artifacts). Before you enter these, take note- there's a free 1UP on that seemingly unreachable island just above the water. Give yourself a good runn- er, SWIMMING start, then cling to the right side of this land mass until a stray bubble comes your way. Hop on it, then to the island before it pops (the bubble, not the island, stupid!). There it is. Snag it & make your way through the caves, keeping in mind that you'll have to kill the generators & nautili to open the pathways to new locations. To kill each nautilus, bop its offspring, then it three times after it fires out a sea urchin. The strategy to destroy the generators varies, but in general, clear the way to reach it & bop it once to rid yourself of this pest. Once you're out of the caves, the round is just about over, but... BONUS ROUND LOCATION: ...you don't want to go speeding off until you've taken the treasure, right? Of course. Go the the far left once you're out of the caves. Destroy the generator, then walk to the edge of the land mass where the small orange starfish resides. Drown it if it attaches to you, then hop the bubbles one by one until you reach another hovering island & the handle. TO GET THE TREASURE: If you'll look carefully, the numerous handles in this round form a 'greater than' symbol like this- >. Grab the handle nearest you, then the one at the point of the symbol, then swing up to the treasure chest. Bop it & you'll recieve a rather hyperactive TEA SERVICE. Que? BOSS: Ohsat isn't too big a deal if you stay out of his path of movement, generally about 3-4 inches from the surface of the water. To beat him, grab him as he comes into your field of perspective. You'll bop him & break open one of the four corks holding the water in. Occasionally, he'll let loose a herd of coelecanths (prehistoric fish) that'll take the same path he normally does or some jellyfish-like detonators which are equally easy to dodge. Worse are the torrents of rocks that rain down as Ohsat tears the place down with his ham- mer-like head- swim off the screen & you'll be fine. After four hits, Ohsat will be beached- & that's the perfect opportunity to finish him off. ====== SCORCH ====== Things get harder (to say nothing of hotter) on this desolate Mercurian world. There's never a shortage of fire here, giving you plenty of opportunities to toast poor Ristar's buns (does he have any?) should you slip up, & the boss here is no pushover, either. There's a cache of extra lives for the resourceful Ristarian in the second round, but that aside, this is one round that just won't let up. AREA 1: As you begin, you'll note that there's an orblet launcher placed over four thrusters. Swing down on the pipe below it, waste the orblet, & hit the switch & it's as good as gone. Turn the thrusters off & continue. There's a set of traps here. You can elect to set these off with the handy-dandy Ristar decoy (a small pewter statue), or manually, by triggering them with your toe & scampering off before the trap falls. Either way, you've got to destroy the cages to move on. Once you have, you'll eventually come across a vulture. Bop it & leap from pit to fiery pit. Making your way through, you'll come across several white circles similar to those that set off the traps earlier. If you want a free gem, trigger this too, although be warned that doing so sends in a near ocean of flame that becomes VERY hard to elude if you're not an expert climber. Once you've made your way up via climbing the various pipes after the trap, you'll be confronted with a large quantity of flaming debris. Run like hell & use the floors above as umbrellas whenever possible. Soon after this, you'll discover what amounts to a memory test. Orblets will pop out of six holes. Bop them in the sequence in which their eyes appear & you'll get free goodies- fail to do so &... well, just do it right, OK? After this, the round ends & you're on your merry way. BONUS ROUND ENTRANCE: Remember the handle you saw after that vulture? Use it to spring straight upwards. After some trail & error & a little aerial exploration, you'll see the handle. TO GET THE TREASURE: It's another gauntlet, this time with plenty of ladders & nasty spikes that serve as punishment for those that fail to grab each set of rungs accurately. Make your way upward and then to the right & down carefully, then eventually claim your prize: a FLAMING SWORD. Cool, huh? Too bad you can't actually USE it... AREA 2: you're in a steel factory, now, apparently. You may explore the place at will, as there are plenty of star handles here that'll ensure your safety, but the unadventurous low road is fine to take, too. Just don't forget to take a pitstop at the cache, a long vertical stretch of area peppered with profitable dead ends. Use the handle at the bottom to first grab the 1UP chest to the top-right hand corner of the cache, then bop the ground directly under it to cash in yet again. Continue on once the cache's dried up, killing the orblets protected by a flame shield by grabbing them from above (dispose of the large bullet-spitting half-orbs by grabbing them when not spewing flames [duh!]). Use the pulleys to make your way up the walls, taking care to avoid the flame-shooting cannons recessed into them, then continue until an orblet you can't reach literally trashes the place with a well-timed dynamite blast. From here, you're almost finshed. Just keep to the right & you're there. BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Remember the above described cache? Of course, here's where the handle is. Just take a LEFT from the handle below & you should find the bonus round entrance (now actually REACHING it is tricky- Rise is a little hard to guide in those meteor strikes!). TO GET THE TREASURE: There's a long, LONG horizontal line of star handles here, so obviously, meteor strikes are the key to the treasure here. Simply grab a handle, spin like mad, let go, then grab another handle when your momentum runs out. You'll have to do this 4 or more times to reach the FLAME POT. BOSS: A giant mechanized mole with an attitude is your nemesis here. Run like mad to the right, grabbing the blue star if you've taken damage from the fall- ing rocks. Once you're face to face with him, remember to stay near the right or left side of the screen... he'll usually burst forth from the center. Once he has, watch his arm- if he swings it as if to pitch an underhanded softball, he's going to toss a ground breaker. If he lifts it as if to point toward you, he'll launch both arms, one by one, at you. In either case, leap the projectiles and bop him. Should he take to the air, grab his arm as it comes down and ride it up to him, where he'll be vulnerable to yet another hit. After taking two hits, the mole drops you down a shaft, where you'll have to fight him on your way down to terra firme (to reach some, you've gotta hit him - in mid-air, no less). The second time you're dropped down the shaft will be his last if you manage to grab him one more time. From this point, you'll discover that a much smaller red mole was pulling the strings inside the mech- & yes, he's still a threat, if not to the extent that his robot was. Bop him quickly & grab the handle for a one-way trip to... ====== SONATA ====== This music-obsessed planet of birds is your next stop. It's quite a contrast from the previous worlds you've visited... in fact, it'd be hard to tell that Greedy's got his claws in the place if it weren't for the occasional orblet & a tone-deaf raptor named Awaunek. AREA 1: This round has you playing errand boy to a series of aspiring music- ians. Note the simplicity of the BGM near the beginning- every time you succ- essfully deliver a metronome to one of these song sparrows, the soundtrack actually lengthens somewhat. The trick to delivering each metronome is as fol- lows (in no particular order): study the layout of the land, use the fans and portals for quick transportation of your precious cargo, kill any orblets you you see (as they'll spirit the metronome away if you give them the chance), & stand under the pincers to have them take the metronomes over spikes. After your fourth & final delivery, you'll have to contend with a menacing concerto of three goofy birdmechs. Each will take three hits to destroy, & they're only vulnerable with their heads down, so it'll take some sharp reflexes to scrap them all. When their heads begin to bob & the music changes, orblets will fly out from either side of the screen to liven things up- their pattern, a sharp sine wave, is fairly easy to anticipate & counter. Once the mechs are destroyed, you'll find the end of the stage to the immediate right. BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Just before you reach the second song sparrow, you'll notice a series of light blue footholds. Climb these until you reach an alcove with the bonus round handle inside & you're off! TO GET THE TREASURE: This is easily one of the hardest items to reach, as the path to it is littered with empty treasure chests. You've got to use these chests as stairs from which you can grab a set of rungs on the ceiling. Once you've accomplished this, snagging the BELLS is simply a matter of swinging from the left side of the glowing partition seperating you from the treasure to the right. However, one mistake on the chests is all it takes to prevent you from reaching the bells at all. By all means, take your time- you only get one chance to do this, so do it right. I suggest grabbing the third chest from the bottom & working your way up, then falling on the first column & carving out some neato stairs from which you can reach the partition & treasure. AREA 2: There's no big twists to the basic game engine here- just make your way to the right as usual. Be careful when you slide down ropes on the hand- bars- more often than not, spikes will be waiting for you on the dismount. Jump off early to avoid necessary damage. Also, note that the large metal ob- jects to which the ropes are tied often have items (like 1UPs!) in them, so bop them & cash in. There are sumo wrestlers in key spots- learn to anticipate just when they'll toss their dolls (!?!), then waste them once they're unarmed & the offending object has been lept. Dancing electric guitars guard the path to especially useful items- they cannot be destroyed, & their patterns are erratic, so be well advised that crossing these paths could spell death for Ristar. Halfway through the round, there are a series of drums which serve as trampolines. This part is tough to navigate, so practice a little before going into the nastier spiked areas (don't worry, you'll be afforded the chance to). Once the drums are out of the way, the round is just about over. BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Once you're in the midst of the drums, you'll notice a shaft lined with spikes. Yep, you guessed it- the entrance is down here and to the right. Keep your energy high, as the shaft isn't the only area in this path that's dangerous. Once you've grabbed the bar at the bottom, you'll be bounced mercilessly in an equally claustrophobic tight spot. Grab the walls of the spiked pockets to avoid impalement & make your way to the right, where the bonus round awaits. TO GET THE TREASURE: Starting from the left, you must bounce your way over a series of spike-encrusted mountains. You can get stuck a good many times on these spines & still make it to the treasure, but if you want to go for the continue, you'll want to try to hit the direct centers of each glowing tramp- oline pad & steer as far as possible to the right without scraping the left side of each mountain (for obvious reasons). The treasure here is a CLEFF NOTE STATUE of some sort. BOSS: Your foe here is Awaunek, a shower-singing scoundrel who aims to torture an audience with his not-so-golden throated rendition of the BGM (note how it alters whenever he sings). To rid the auditorium of this menace, you have to bop his perch about three times (keep yourself at about arm's length to avoid being trapped between his sour notes & the perch). He won't harm you when he rolls off, but once he's recovered, watch out! He can rain down feathers & dive-bomb you like nobody's business. From here, you've got two choices. Keep Awaunek occupied while the song sparrow belts out a tune that, when complete, will award Ristar some much-needed health, or just bop 'em twice if you're feeling impatient. If you choose the latter, he'll swoop back to the perch, knock off the sparrow, & continue screeching until he's knocked off again. Keep beating Awaunek to a pulp and, after about three perch dismounts, he'll be through for good, & you'll be ready to zip up that parka & head for... ===== FREON ===== Hey, what's a "Sonic" clone without an ice world? Original? Oh, but I digress... this is the "Ristar" equivalent of such a land, & it's pretty obvious that Rise should've brought along a pair of cleated shoes or at least some salt or SOMETHING- most of the terrain here is just too slippery for words, even in comparison to those of other Sonicky games. Along your travels, you'll meet a parsnickity kid who you'll eventually befriend (after his 10,000 attempts on your life, no less!). He'll come in handy when you're toe to toe with the head honcho here, one very large & hungry beastie named Itamour. AREA 1: Your main foe here is an alien child that looks like a cross between a pill bug & a panda. He's not a big deal, though... what's worse are the in- numerable ice slicks that'll make your life hell as Ristar slips & slides his way over them. The only way to gain control here is to jump- while doing so, you can switch positions or ditch the slick you're on entirely. There are icy gems on some of these paths that act as instant momentum builders- just one touch of a full-sized gem is the equivalent of about 3 seconds of wild spinning on a handle, so take advantage of them when possible. Later in the round, you will once again encounter that annoying kid- he'll try to shishkabob you with icy spines first, so lure him away from them, then make your move over the spines & to safety. Once that's over, be prepared for a snowball fight of epic proportions- to roll a snowball, don't DO anything. Rise'll make it on his own; but once it's finished, quickly grab it & toss it right at your adversary's vulnerable purple midsection (the best time- when he's holding a snowball over his head). Three direct hits is enough to send the little wiener packing. BONUS ROUND LOCATION: There's a set of icy blue keys on the high road along with a few hovering icicle droppers. Dispatch the ice droppers while taking care not to fall off the collapseable keys- towards the end of these keys, you will see an outcropping of land just above you. Grab the handle located not so conveniently on its left, & you're as good as there. TO GET THE TREASURE: You'll be doing a lot of slipping & sliding here (sound familiar?), so at the first ice slick, leap over the curl & grab the rung on the right-hand wall, then the partition so as to slide left on the second ice slick & avoid the one furthest down entirely. Leap the curl at the far left (if you don't, you're screwed), then the treasure, a delicious ICE CREAM SUNDAE, is yours. AREA 2: Hmmm... shades of Undertow here! That's right, the water is back. That's no big deal, but the loonie tossing ice bombs on the shore is, so obviously, taking a dip is much perferrable to dealing with him. If you by chance DO have to tangle with him, note that his bombs can be deflected with a simple flail of your trusty arms, & that the snowmen provide a vantage point from which to finish him off. The toad statues, however, are a different story- they can drop the bombs, too, & they CAN'T be stopped. BONUS ROUND LOCATION: It's a little complicated & definately the longest of the paths to the bonus round, but hey, isn't it worth it? To reach this one, take the landlubber's route until you reach a waterfall teeming with salmon (OK, there's just two, but the sentence sounded better that way, OK?). The trick here is to swing from the first salmon, then snag the second on the fly & grab the icy partition QUICKLY, as for some strange reason, Rise can't hang from the second unless you grab it first (come to think of it, you could do it that way, too...). From here the path becomes painfully obvious, but it's still pretty long... eventually, you'll see a pyramid of ice slicks. Ride these to the top, leaping to reach each higher level, then dismount at the top, heading for the left. You should land on a plot of ground with a toad statue & the entrance on it. TO GET THE TREASURE: This is kind of tricky- you first must leap from an ice slick into a opening not much larger than Rise himself, then swim quickly thru a series of spikes to the destination, which is also guarded by an ice slick. Here's what to do- time your first jump just right (it takes several tries), then zip thru the spiked channel in S-shaped arcs by pressing the jump button & steering like mad thru them. Once back on dry land, jump to the far left wall & climb it until you're high enough to reach the partition. Swing across that & claim your prize- a fabulous ICE GEM. BOSS: You're feeling pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you? Well, don't get too cocky- the boss here, Itamour, is large & definately in charge. While one of the least intellegent world leaders on Greedy's payroll, this frosted flake has a tough sore spot to exploit & his various nasty attacks are more than enough to make up for his lack of a complex pattern. Your one-time nemesis will offer his support by bringing out dish after dish of hot curry, which you must in turn toss into Itamour's mouth. To do this, stand at about the 4th orb on the bridge and, as he's chomping on frozen radishes (please, don't ask), hop straight up & toss the plate at It's lips after he stops chew- ing (just before he opens his mouth, IOW). Should you succeed, Itamour will freak out & leap above the screen's view- watch his shadow. It'll rest either at the far left of the screen or a Ristar's length from it. If it's the latter, head for the far left; if it's the former, stand a Ristar's length from the shadow. Itamour will hurtle back to Earth & bounce back to the right- if you've positioned yourself correctly, it'll give you the perfect opportunity to run under him. Once he's back, he'll proceed to eat radishes, or possibly you if he's feeling testy (he may also opt to freeze you in your tracks- wriggle free quickly to break the ice's grip). If the latter happens, & you're holding a plate of curry, toss it quickly & if he eats both you & the plate, you won't sustain any damage. After about 4-5 helpings, you'll have thawed It out & he'll be helpless to defend against a head butt. Do so & your last planet'll be... ========= AUTOMATON ========= Called "Automation" in the Sega manual for reasons I have yet to fully comprehend, the first half of this android-filled assembly plant is per- haps one of the most annoying parts of the game. The second, entitled 'The Brain Maze ', isn't really non-linear at all & in fact will probably remind veteran gamers of Black's Dice Maze, one of the more inspired rounds in Treasure's fantastic "Gunstar Heroes". In any event, here are both in greater detail... AREA 1: There are PLENTY of aggravating places here. After defeating what would at first glance appear to be a renegade accordian from Fox's less than acclaimed kid's show "The Fox Cubhouse" (warning-it splits in two after the first hit), you'll encounter a grid of girders which switch positions every time you hit the grab button. Climb up this confusing mess as best you can, hitting grab whenever your support or overhead disappears, heading to the left &, when at the top, the right (on the rungs overhead). You should find a glowing surface with properties similar to the ice slicks' in Freon. There's a treasure chest with a 1UP on a ledge on its right. Leap the slope & claim your prize. After continuing to the right, you'll see floating surveillance robots (bop these the FIRST time they appear, for they'll fire lasers the next) and a small vertical bed of spines. Swinging from the left of these spines to the right won't hurt you, so do so to continue on. You'll come across some anti-gravity shoes about 1/3rd into this round- touch them & they're yours. I must warn you that this footwear is somewhat of a mixed blessing, however- they're next to impossible to activate at will, yet they always manage to work at the WORST times. Drop down from this point & head to the left, then drop down again & head for the right. You will see a long shaft with spiked girders inside it. Float or climb into this rather nasty chimney, then QUICKLY grab each girder from the bottom, grab either side of the shaft after swinging over the spikes, then repeat the process until you've made it out. It'll take some trial & error to get the timing right for this particularly tough part of the game, so be prepared to go thru a few lives (& quite a few obscenities) before you can make it out consistantly. From here you have two options- head to the left & pick up some rather tricky 1UPs, or just continue to the right & glide your way thru bed after bed of spikes via several small green choppers, taking care to time each dismount precisely. Once this part's been negotiated, a long wide corridor & a wall seperates you from your last challenge. Grab the handy-dandy star handle & fire to the right and the wall's history (Kool-Aid style! Don't you remember that... oh, never mind). you'll come face to face with a helmeted orblet & a literal army of lesser orb- lets much like the ones you've seen in spades on the previous planets. This armada has four patterns- rain (in which they first attack you in unison, then hover above just out of reach & each take a potshot), helix (where they spill to the floor & spiral around the ground you're on), cross (where they assume a cross formation & spin at you), & circle (where the sargeant orblet shields himself with his flunkies). In rain, dodge the initial attack, then grab or dodge the raining baddies & bop the sarge when possible. In helix, sidestep the first attack, then grab the sarge from below. Work your way into the last formations & take the sarge from there. After 5 consecutive hits, the orblet's leader finds itself on its back, where you can finish it (& the stage, mercifully) off. BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Remember the shaft with those spikes? Go to the left from this point, where you'll be met with an assortment of unfriendly critters and a wall you've gotta climb. Take out the accordian(s) clinging to it, then make your way up & swing from orblet to orblet until you see the entrance. TO GET THE TREASURE: Much like the drums, there are a set of glowing pads that serve as trampolines. All you need to do is bounce to the top of the screen, avoiding the spikes, of course, switch positions with either glowing partition, then fall down the shaft AVOIDING the pads that hinder your progress downward. The MACHINE PART is your reward for such dilligent work. AREA 2: This 1/2 of Automaton is, in direct contrast with the first, a great deal of fun to play, since it's so much different from the other rounds in the game. In a nutshell, you'll be trapped in a series of rooms, each with its own transporter. To leave one room & enter another, you'll need to either find an activator gem with which to turn the transporter on or, occasionally, just find it. Given its straightforward nature, I won't dwell too much on this round, but there are a few things you should be aware of. For one, you'll sometimes find rooms with foreground/background teleporters. There's a glitch in the game that makes the conditions in both planes of vision identical, so even if you're in the foreground & an enemy is in the back, you WILL take damage if you touch it. Also, you can't leave a room until you've returned to the foreground. Next, in an earlier section of this round, you'll have to battle a large blue robot which will try to press you into the wall on the far left. As it takes steps, hit its feet- this will make it lose its balance & stumble backward. Gain enough ground & the mech takes out a wall & itself in the process. If there's a room with 2 transporters, go off the beaten path & enter the hard to reach one for freebies like 1UPs & the round's secret treasure. There are rooms with floating platforms in them, as well- hit them from the bottom & they'll start moving vertically (BE CAREFUL, though- they can & will crush you if you're between them & a wall). At one point, you'll find a room with some SERIOUSLY deteriorating wallpaper - take it down by grabbing loose ends, but be aware that there'll be orblets & an incredibly annoying droid that will pour from the openings left behind. It's best to just find the gem & leave well enough alone from there. Oh, & if you find yourself in a room with just one star handle, grab it quickly & hang on for dear life, because you won't have one if you're caught in the literal downpour of orblets with no means of protecting yourself. BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Near the end of the stage, there's an L-shaped room with an abundance of spikes. You'll find yourself at the hinge of this L with two ways to go. Grab the star handle & head up, keeping your course as straight as possible so as to avoid running out of momentum prematurely. Swing over to the transporter from the lone orblet & enter the transporter & you're there! TO GET THE TREASURE: This one was INCREDIBLY tough to figure out, as it looks to the naked eye as if it's literally impossible to complete given Ristar's limitations. Not so, compadre. The trick here is to grab walls just below the oval-shaped purple gems (which can't be grabbed) with a simple horizontal flail of the hands, then QUICKLY grasp diagonally at the wall above it. Surprise, surprise! The star boy actually makes it!!! The same advice pretty much applies through the entire stage until you've reached the end, where you must grab the three suspended land masses consecutively, then swing to the middle one & grab at the island where the treasure resides. A lucky diagonal shot at the glowing partition & jump to the island itself is all it takes to collect your much- deserved prize, a spinning, diamond-shaped icon I call an ARTIFACT. Congratula- tions! They're all yours. Too bad they don't enhance the ending at all & I have all the passwords from the post-win screen in this FAQ (don't kill me!)... BOSS: Eeeee, Stimpy! A nice, easy to defeat mech! Just what we all needed af- ter some real SOBs on the previous two planets. Some advice, though- those monitors aren't there for show... when the robot on them tosses a bolt, you'd better damned well know when to jump. Once you're face to face with it, stay that way by pounding its eyes with head butts. Don't let up until the monstro- city drops to its knees. At this point, the scientist in the booth overhead will get in on the action by dropping a large pair of pincers on you. Coax the pincers over to the mech... it'll be hit instead & lifted back into the battle. Repeat the above described process about 3-4 times and he's toast. From here, Greedy's Space City will launch & you'll be ready for your final battle. ========== SPACE CITY ========== Well, you've made it. The previous six planets have been purged of Greedy's influence & you've even managed to scrap his most powerful soldier & sneak onto the tyrant's battleship. But none of this will matter if you can't defeat the big cheese himself. After all, he's got plenty of orblets to go around, & big, intimidating mechs are a dime a dozen these days, what with the price of technology so low and all. Even the gigantic hole you've made from literally bursting thru the wall of his cruiser (hey, Kool-Aid... um, forget it...) is no big deal, although that's probably all the more reason for him to be extraordinarily pissed off at you. So even with all the work you've done, this Fight's for all the marbles. So don't screw this one up! AREA 1: After making a spectacular entrance, you'll have to make your way up through the bowels of the ship. You won't be alone, but don't worry about the eye- it can't hurt you (yet...). After a nice, long, & relatively easy-going climb, you'll find a huge doorway that'll lead you to the... BOSS: That pesky scientist is back, & you've gotta confront him at close range this time. That wouldn't be a big deal if it weren't for his steed, a serpentine mech which becomes active after that eye nestles itself into the proper socket. No matter. Mech or no mech, you'd have to be a complete goober to lose to this guy- just constantly beat on that eye just like you did with the good professor's last creation. If you're as tenacious as Adam Schwimmer's terrier, the laser blasts & boomerangs (which are the worst) won't give you too much trouble. Pretty soon, the eye will begin to show obvious damage & the scientist will drop down in an attempt to fix it. Hit 'em & the entire mech will sustain the damage. After 5-6 such hits, it's toast. Enter the tube & you're to the second area... AREA 2: WHAT area 2? All this part is is an excuse for Sega to throw in some plot continuity & some nice eyecandy. Ristar gets sucked into the final con- frontation at this point, & it lasts about, eh, 5 seconds. It looks nice. GREEDY!!!: Yes, it's that devious little world conquerin' fool himself. He's not really in the mood to get his hands dirty at first, so he'll just toss out a few little cannon-orbs to keep you occupied. As they rez in, stick your hands out in anticipation of the moment when they're ready to attack- if your timing is right, you'll snag one just before the quintet fires & save yourself from taking damage. Dispense with the cannons & Greedy'll enter the fray himself. He still won't do too much in the way of attacking at this point (although he WILL drop 2 orblets if you succeed in grabbing him), so you'll want to take ad- vantage of this courtesy & leave him alone when he lifts his arm. When he does, he'll surround himself with small black orblet-ettes. Pace to avoid these (i.e. run to the right as he tosses one, then run to the left), then if you can, turn for the last one & grab it before it hits the ground. Presto! You get a star for your troubles. You can not only fill your life bar this way, but also keep a few stars ferreted away on the screen itself should you need them, effectively giving you more life than you can actually keep in your meter. With that said, you SHOULD hit Greedy whenever possible otherwise. After about 5 hits, Greedy flips his cape open & disappears, & from here, THIS is where he means business. Once he reappears, he'll create a vortex which his orblets are oblivious to. Grab & hold on to them to avoid being sucked out. Once the vortex is sealed, Greedy warps around the screen, appearing & disappearing twice. Jump up and snag the heel of his extended leg & Ristar will headbutt Greedy right where it hurts. Of course, this by no means endears him to our little hero, & he'll demonstrate this fact by sending down lightning bolts. When you see electricity crackle in a sort of outline of Greedy, take a running leap to the left and the bolt will miss (unless he manages to back you into a corner, which often happens. THAT is what those extra stars are for, boys & girls...). When Greedy once again takes to the skies, continue giving him, er, low blows, and after 5 such hits, the big guy takes a tumble & the REAL fun begins. Sit back and enjoy the ending- you've earned it. -------------- *** FINITO *** -------------- WARNING! SPOILERS FOLLOW! (Don't read this if you want it to be a surprise): After Greedy takes his 10th lump, the moment is captured in a cinematic slow as the screen becomes letterboxed (ooh, how Spielburgian! No, that's synonymous with 'crappy', isn't it? Sorry...). To ensure the possibility of a sequal, Greedy scrapes himself up from the floor & makes a convenient escape alongside his accomplice & that strongarmed mech you tore up on Automaton. The ship begins to self-destruct & Ristar finds himself trapped. Lucky for him, though, a star handle appears, giving him a split-second or two to escape the wreckage himself. The kid squeals out a barely audible "Hasta la vista, baby" & the ship, well, what do YOU think? There's a nice series of Ristar animations & postcard-esque artwork that accentuates the initial credits screen, then a somewhat clunky-looking rotating galaxy that accompanies the U.S. credits. And of course, Ristar finds his pop, who's a full 20x times larger than the tyke himself (I tell you, either Ristar is the youngest mascot game hero EVER or puberty for the Ristarian species must be one helluva bitch). To give you an idea of his size, all you actually see of the guy is his arms, & they take up about 1/4th the screen themselves! Don't ask me how Greedy managed to capture this behemoth but let himself fall to a puny little bugger like Rise... Oh, & after all of this, you'll be awarded passwords for all of the treasures you've collected. Don't worry about this, though, because this is covered in the next section... ----------------- *** PASSWORDS *** ----------------- "Ristar" doesn't use passwords as most games do (i.e.complete a round & get a code for it), & I to this day can't can't figure out why. I guess it's kind of original for the game to give them out after you've won, but still, I don't much care for getting half a password just because I missed a treasure that was nearly impossible to reach in the first place. It really doesn't matter, though. Thanks to Nick "I only know two adjectives" Rox & the staff at Die Hard Game Fan, I've got 'em all anyways! I think. Here goes... AGES- About as helpful as those "About" files in Microsoft programs. Just says (C) 1995 SEGA ENTERPRISES or something & that's it. DOFEEL- "Sonic CD"-style "Time Attack" mode. See how quickly you can rip thru bonus rounds in this one. The Sega game counselor staff have posted their best times for each, & believe me, they're as hard to beat as "Soul Asylum" albums are to listen to. I've come within a second & a half of the 4-1 record, though. ILOVEU- The elusive round select! Practice on tough stages & bonus with this very handy code. This is also the code that the CPU teases you with if you've collected just 10 (?) treasures. MAGURO- A booby prize code if ever there was one. With this, you can alter the music in the BGM selection screen much like Awaunek would. Loads of fun there. MUSEUM- Fight all eight bosses in what's called a "Boss Rush" mode. My best time here is about 12 minutes & 3 seconds- the CPU record is set at 30 mins. SUPER- Rediculously hard difficulty setting. Ristar croaks at one hit, & there are absolutely NO stars to pick up. Mercifully, this code also comes with the ability to use unlimited continues (you'll need 'em with one life per credit!). XXXXXX- Any codes entered will be erased- no more shutting off the system for the same effect! Waahoo!!! Well, that's it. I hope this FAQ was of some help to all you "Ristar" fans out there (there better be more than just Jeff & myself!), and here's to hoping that Sega's got a sequal planned (not on that idiotic 32X, either. I like "Ristar", but not enough to put me through THAT kind of torture...). Oh, I almost forgot... an extra special 'Domo Arigato' goes out to the rental est- ablishments that made this possible for someone as cheap as myself; great places like "Blockbuster Video" (hey, Ara & Ben... if you hate the place so much, why don't you complain to the CEO about it?! He's got an unlisted number, after all...) and Rick O'Shea's (that's his real name! I swear!!!) 'Hometown Entertainment ', the oasis in the desert of video game rentals that is Edmore, MI. If you're desperate to talk to me (and who isn't? HA! I kill me!!!), my phone number is (517) 427-5205. Well, that's it. Time to wring the sweat from my underwear (air conditioning...must...have...air conditioning...), so I best be going. See you on the flip side (of a 3 1/2" disk or CD-ROM!? How?)!!! [End of file]