/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ * 3rd Edition * ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZ a not-quite-definitive, Z ZZZZ arcade/sorta Dreamcast Z ZZZZ and newly re-updated FAQ! ZZZZZ by Mav ZZZZ (c) 2000-2002 email: web_tester226@yahoo.com ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZZ ZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZ ZZZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ Z ZZZZ Z ZZ ZZ ZZ Z ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZZ ZZZZ Z ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ Z ZZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZZ ZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZ _ _ _ _ _ ZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZ ZZZZZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ Z ZZ ZZ ZZ Z ZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ Z ZZZZZ ZZZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZZZ ZZ Z ZZ ZZ ZZZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ Z ZZ ZZ ZZ Z ZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ Z ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZZZZ Z ZZZZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZZZZ by SEGA (Copyright 1999) v0.99b \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ |Version 0.99b -- new ASCII art (made it myself!); major FAQ overhaul.| |Second Update started 6/22/2002, completed 7/18/2002 | |(see Version History at the very end of the FAQ for details) | --------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: As with all Internet FAQs, this FAQ is protected under international copyright law. Reproducing this FAQ in any manner, shape or form without the express permission of the author is strictly prohibited. This FAQ is intended as a guide to help interested and would-be interested Zombie Revenge players towards better progress, higher scores, longer playing times, and hopefully more fun! And don't forget, it's only a game... ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Advance thanks go out to: -- BLui, who helped inspire me to write this FAQ, and whose GameFAQ got me started in Zombie Revenge! His FAQ also helped fill in some blanks for a modest number of move names, combos, holding moves, and Act names where my memory failed me. Be sure to check out his and R-Jay's FAQs for end boss info! (Alas, you won't find much on Zed here...) Advance _apologies_ (ehhe) go out to: -- CJayC for (me) writing rather long FAQs and burning up all his bandwidth when the infrequent visitor comes along :). Thanks for accepting them anyway! =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+= T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+= >>> To quickly navigate this FAQ, simply type in any of the below section headers or sub-headers using your browser's Find function (e.g. by typing "Stick Breitling," "Advanced Combo Moves," "Moves List," "Pickups," "South Union Railway," "ZR Walkthrough," "Helpful Hints," and "Credits."). >>> To return to this section, use Find on the phrase, "TABLE OF CONTENTS." For best results, you may have to start from the top of the text file before using Find, depending on whether or not you have wrap- searching capability. TABLE OF CONTENTS [I. Introduction/Disclaimer] [II. The Story] [III. "Select Players...": Stick, Linda and Rikiya] 1. Stick Breitling 2. Linda Rotta 3. Rikiya Busujima [IV. The Playing Screen] [V. Moves List (and other important gameplay stuff!)] 1. The Controls and Basic Moves (includes all quick ref charts) 2. Advanced Moves 3. Advanced Gunplay 4. Basic Combo Moves 5. Advanced Combo Moves 6. Advanced Fighting Techniques 7. Higher Scores Through Cool Combos (and High Scores in General) 8. A Note on Zombie Poison 9. A Note on Two-Player Games [VI. Items and Special Weapons] 1. Pickups 2. Special Weapons [VII. *** ZR Walkthrough ***] The world of Zombie Revenge is divided into 9 Areas: Part I: Woodside City (Area 1) Where your quest to defeat the Evil Zed begins. Stay on your toes! Part II: Edward Street (Area 2) A dark, foreboding, dangerous, but manageable walk, dash and thrash-athon through a narrow alleyway. Part III: Industrial Sewage Plant (Area 3) An educational trip to the sewer. Really! You'll see what I mean :) Part IV: Chemical Plant (Area 4) Forget about the chemicals! They're the _least_ of your worries... Part V: South Union Railway (Area 5) You've never had a train ride like _this_ before. Part VI: Cassandra (Area 6) Also known as "Adrenaline City." Part VII: Mount Sacrifice (Area 7) Tonight's forecast for Mt. Sacrifice: Gale-force winds and a 90% chance of rainy doom. The going's only gonna get tougher, but don't give up! Part VIII: The House of the Dead (Area 8) Surprises big and small await you at every turn. An especially big surprise awaits you at the end. ;) Part IX: The Dawn (**INCOMPLETE**) (Area 9) Lost in a confusing labyrinth, your only way out is through the evil Zed. Or is it? Whatever final horrors you face, you've got to succeed to save the world! [VIII. Helpful Hints, Closing Thoughts, Mysteries of the Game, and Other Stuff] [IX. Credits] =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= **************************** * I. Introduction/Disclaimer * **************************** Here begins my first attempt at an arcade FAQ, and very first Internet FAQ of anything, really. (This FAQ will also be helpful for Dreamcast players on Zombie Revenge's Arcade Mode.) Hope you find it helpful, or at least amusing to read. Personally, I think it's fun to read through FAQs of games I'll never even play...or see :)!. (There's lots of great FAQ writers out there!) Zombie Revenge (also referred as "ZR" throughout this FAQ as shorthand) is really a great game, though it might take some time getting used to. True, there's slight control problems, but the still eye-popping 60fps graphics and immense gameplay depth make this game one of the best there is. (I'll try and keep a lid on parentheses from here on in. Promise. ;) ) This FAQ goes out to all the can-do gamers who've seen the game; maybe watched others play it; and finally popped in those quarters, to HECK with the humiliation of being a beginner! Believe me, I was nervous as heck before I finally mustered up the courage to begin my video game quest against Zed and his minions of evil. I never quite got there :), but I DID have a firm hold on the top score board...and if I can regularly score 250,000+ points with a Level 9 AMS badge, so can you! Of course, no FAQ or guide of any kind can replace the experience you get from playing the game for yourself. At the very least, though, I'm hoping this FAQ helps gamers who like the ZR, but can't get past the first boss (yep, he's a real doozy in the early going). Or gamers who'd like to get to higher levels. Or gamers who'd like to refine their techniques and kick their scores up a notch (props to Emeril Lagasse), and so on... Which brings me to the obligatory "Disclaimer" section. First off, sorry if my FAQ reads like a novel. This FAQ will attempt to tell you _everything_ I know about playing the game. And I assure you NEW Version 0.99b will fill in the rest of what I forgot to include ;)! But hey, maybe you'll warm to my rambling yet conversational style :P. If you just wanna know the moves first and save the heavy reading for later, check out my quick reference guides by jumping to the "Moves List" section. But as for the items and weapons...well, there's just too many to cram in a quick reference chart :). Second, I apologize if my FAQ starts sounding kinda know-it-all with all the add-ons, heads-up notes and do's and don'ts that I'm bound to start adding (and actually did add) as I get this FAQ on the road. Be forewarned: I think lotsa folks might find my playing style a little...well...weird ;). But in my humble opinion, going for the combos, special items and fancy/risky plays are a big part of why we play games in the first place -- to get the high scores! (If not win the affection of members of the opposite sex [...maybe not], get bystanders oohing, aahing, and swarming to see your bad self kick major zombie booty, and ...oops, I'm rambling again. :P) (Sorry folks...I guess the parentheticals are here to stay. As are the emoticons :).) Third, as I hinted on the "splash page," this FAQ is in no way meant to be the definitive way to get ahead in Zombie Revenge. This FAQ is written solely from a single-player point of view and my own style of playing, since I don't normally play with other players (unlike in Area 51 -- 2 1/2 hour one-credit glory days and glory plays, not to mention super-sore wrists, Entity, you bonus hogger). The only player I really played was Stick Breitling. I haven't passed the game, though I was more than likely the best ZR player at my local arcade. Many times I go for points over safety and survival. I don't always get to the same level with my plays. Etc. If my strats don't work for you, try your own! Well enough of the build-up, here comes the FAQ! Let's get this show on the road! =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= ******************************************* * II. The Storyline (fictional, of course) * ******************************************* A government experiment to "recycle" the dead for military use has gone horribly wrong, and an entire city has already fallen to its ravages. It's now crawling with zombies. As it seems, foul play and sabotage by a mysterious figure named Zed are responsible for the mayhem. Of course, it's up to the forces of good (you) to stop this madman. Basically, you, as one of three elite AMS agents, have been assigned to single- (or double-) handedly foil the evil Zed's plot to raise an army of horrifying undead soldiers which would surely take over the earth...if you didn't stand in their way. (See BLui's FAQ for the actual in-game text) If that weren't enough, you have a set time limit with which you must complete a stage, or a demon of destruction will swoop in and finish you off! Now that you know what you've gotta do, it's time to save the world! FUN FACT: I don't know what "AMS" stands for. I'm sure it means something all nice and justice-y. =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= *************************************************** * III. "Select Players...": Stick, Linda and Rikiya * *************************************************** 1. Stick Breitling (Your typical all-around hero.) ------------------ [Character/Story Info:] Stick Breitling's a early-to-mid 20s AMS agent who has the most personal involvement with the zombie crisis. It seems his parents were also scientists working on the enigmatic government project which has since backfired. Surely Stick struggles with the moral dubiousness of his parents' research, knowing what source material was used for the experiments. In addition to these burdens, Stick must now face a neverending undead horde. [Analysis:] In my humble opinion, Stick Breitling's THE character to use in the game. He's an ideal choice for beginners, and probably all skill levels. Stick's a well-balanced character with a nice variety of useful moves, pretty good footspeed, and most importantly, the quickest if not most powerful melee attacks. He is most _definitely_ the go-to guy if you're looking for the highest scores (more on that later). His handgun (all characters have one as a default weapon) is the "weakest" in the game, but it's still plenty good enough. 2. Linda Rotta (Lithe and lethal femme fatale.) -------------- [Character Info:] The lovely Linda Rotta is the youngest AMS agent, being barely into her 20s, and may or may not have a romantic connection with Stick (we'll never really know, but isn't that the way it always is?). Despite outward appearances, she's not a character to be underestimated. She's an AMS prodigy, after all ;). As you'll find in gameplay, she's a force to be reckoned with. [Analysis:] Linda's primary advantage is speed. She's the most nimble of the characters and has the fastest dash. Unfortunately, her superior footspeed doesn't carry over to her melee ability. Her hand-to-hand combat attacks are usually very slow and not very powerful, which can at times lead to vulnerable moments. However, it seems in gameplay demos and BLui's FAQ that these attacks are quite maneuverable, allowing Linda to handle more than one zombie at once. In any case, her slower and weaker melee attacks are somewhat compensated for by her superior handgun firing speed. I repeat: Firing SPEED. She won't lock on any faster, or do any more damage. Thus, I recommend only advanced players use her. From what I can tell, the key to being a good Linda player is precision. 3. Rikiya Busujima (Too cool for words ;).) ------------------ [Character Info:] This mysterious Japanese AMS agent, probably in his 30s, could almost qualify as a zombie himself. Rikiya bears numerous scars and even a metallic mesh partly grafting his face! At the same time, however, his melee attacks reflect possible "enhancements" that improve his ability to battle the minions of Zed. Although he speaks only Japanese, Stick and Linda, who are also fluent in Japanese, can easily communicate with him. (Don't worry, everything spoken in the game is subtitled anyway). [Analysis:] You'd think Rikiya was all about raw power, but from my limited experience using him, that's highly debatable. His attacks are somewhat faster than Linda's, but not nearly as fast as Stick's. Damage-wise, expect results similar to using Stick. Rikiya's standby basic combo ends in two short-range but wide-arcing attacks that can really hurt multiple enemies at once. Rikiya's additional advantage is his bigger, badder, more powerful handgun, which can often finish off zombies in 2 shots whereas Stick or Linda would need 3. Rikiya is the slowest of the characters, although his dashing speed seems to match Stick's. All of his moves are pure fun to pull off and watch, and quite over-the-top, but I wouldn't choose Rikiya until passing the game or getting good with using Stick first. NOTE: To select alternate costumes for the characters (thanks to Blui for the tip), simply depress and hold the start/play button and then press any of the other three buttons to begin (you can let go as soon as your character is chosen). They're quite nifty. =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= ************************ * IV. The Playing Screen * ************************ The screen/character interface for Zombie Revenge is very simple and straightforward. Your character's essential info is displayed in the top left corner of your screen if playing solo, or the top right corner of your screen if playing as a second player. Right next to your character's picture is a test tube positioned horizontally (thanks to BLui for pointing this out) filled with yellowish liquid. This is your life bar, which will decrease as you take hits from enemies, projectiles and obstacles. If your life bar runs out, it's game over...with one possible exception :). Underneath your life bar is an image of a handgun, the default ranged weapon for all characters. To the right of this is the number of bullets remaining in the loaded clip (represented by little bullets). A fully loaded clip holds 10 shots. To the right of the bullets remaining indicator are little bullet clips, which represent the number of spare clips you're carrying at the present time. As you empty your loaded clip one spare clip will disappear from your reserve while you reload. You can carry up to 5 spare clips. Underneath the handgun info display will pop up special weapons displays with the image of the weapon you have and the ammo it has left, if applicable. In the top center of the screen is your time counter. Make sure you clear each scene within the time remaining, as you can't extend or freeze the time counter! Or else... Under the time indicator appear any special items you might come across and collect, such as a diskette, a flashlight, a weapons bag, or an elixir. These items are automatically used/activated when the need arises or at certain times. Finally, at the bottom left or bottom right corner of the screen, again depending on if you're playing solo or 2-player, is the all-important score. Don't be scared of the fact that there's EIGHT numerical placeholders...I've barely been able to break 300,000, much less 99,999,999 :P. Go for the highest score you can! In the middle of all of this is where the action takes place. Awesome 3-D graphics, character models, fluid animation, etc., from a basically third-person perspective...you get the idea :). Now that we know our interface, let's proceed to the moves list. =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= *************** * V. Moves List * *************** 1. The Controls and Basic Moves ------------------------------- On the ZR arcade cabinets there are three buttons: Guard (G), Punch (P) and Shoot (S), from left to right. Here's a _very_ rough approximation of a dedicated ZR cabinet's controls. In reality, the S button is considerably "higher" than the G button, and just a little "lower" than the P button. O O --->| O P O | G S joystick, moves character in all directions Combine this with the quick reference charts below, and you'll have all you need to play the game. If you're into the nuances of the moves and maximizing their effectiveness, however, you'll want to read on for more detailed descriptions and analysis. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QUICK REFERENCE: The Basics Joystick -- move, hold in a direction to climb up/jump down from low- level platforms G: makes your player guard P: makes your character punch or pick up a special weapon S: fires one shot from your handgun G, P, or S are also used to open doors and passageways Dash: Press G while moving Roll: Press G and P together while standing still Clear Out Attack: Press G, P and S at once Dash Attack: Press P or S while dashing Charged Physical Attack: Press and hold P for about one second and then let go Charged Handgun Attack: Press and hold S for about three seconds, wait for player animation ready position, and let go Guard Break: Press P rapidly just after blocking an attack Attacking Fall: Hit G, P or S just as you're being hit by an attack (when you're not blocking) Fall Recovery: Press P rapidly after falling Back Attack: Press G and S at the same time ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QUICK REFERENCE #2: Combos and Holding Moves Basic Combos (button presses must be fairly quick): Stick: 1. Press P 5 times or P rapidly until combo finishes 2. P, P, S Linda: 1. P, P, P while joystick is neutral 2. P, P, P while holding joystick towards enemy 3. P, S, P, P Rikiya: 1. P, P, P, P or P rapidly until combo finishes 2. P, S, S, S Holding Moves (performed after pressing and holding P briefly; you must hit zombie with the button press; zombie cannot be facing too far away from you; see following section for more details) Stick: 1. Press P 3 times or rapidly while joystick is neutral 2. Press S 3 times or rapidly 3. Press P 3 times or rapidly while holding joystick towards opponent Linda: 1. Press P 3 times or rapidly while holding joystick towards opponent 2. Press S 3 times or rapidly while holding joystick towards opponent 3. Press S 3 times or rapidly while joystick is neutral Rikiya: 1. Press P 3 times or rapidly while joystick is neutral 2. Press S rapidly and continuously while joystick is neutral 3. Press S rapidly and continuously while holding joystick towards opponent ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Still interested in the finer details of the controls? Excellent! Believe it or not, strategy and technique are just as important, if not more so, than pure button-mashing reflexes. Basic Moves: Expanded Descriptions ---------------------------------- [Guard] Guard is one of the most important functions in getting through Zombie Revenge, although it's not often used. Actually, scratch the "important" part. It's an absolute _necessity_ to doing well and scoring high! Shortly after pressing and _holding_ Guard (caution: there is a slight lag before your guard is really up), your character will assume a defensive position where you're currently facing. He/she can then block all manner of attacks headed directly at you (with some small degree of error). Guarding will deflect punches, swipes, grabs, electric bolts, zombie spit, lunges, and more for only a fraction of the cost of life than if you took the attack full-on, or unsuccessfully tried to run from an attack that's just too fast. Do the math: would you rather lose one tick of life, or 1/3 life and WORSE? Not only that, you can even block many boss attacks. You'll almost always take a little damage, but you can take a ton of blocked hits as opposed to only a handful of unblocked hits, depending on the zombies you're facing. Guard also has more advanced defensive uses. Of course, Guarding has its limitations, as it should, since many fighting games of this type don't allow for blocking, especially with a dedicated button. Not ALL attacks are blockable (don't worry, I'll make the unblockables very clear). You can only successfully block attacks that don't come in from too far of an angle from where you're presently guarding. You certainly can't block an attack from behind. Your guard will probably break down if more than one zombie is attacking you. Also, you can't move to adjust while your guard is up. However, you can drop your guard instantly and move freely if the need arises. [Punch] When weaponry won't do the trick (and in many situations it won't), one must resort to fists and feet. Luckily all three characters are quite capable of melee combat, if in varying degrees and styles. Press the Punch (P) button when facing an enemy to, well, throw a punch. Stringing multiple and fast presses of the P button (and P followed by the S button in various combo presses) allows for your bread-and-butter basic combos, as a single jab does next-to-zero damage to a normal zombie, although it _will_ stun them. P can also be used for advanced tactics. [Shoot] While melee attacks are great and all, perfect for getting physical with the undead, there will be many times when charging in just won't work. Either the zombie will be spitting projectiles at you from afar, multiple zombies will be headed your way, getting close is much too dangerous, or punches will go over the zombie's head (especially those that are short or crawling). That's when the default handgun weapon, activated by the Shoot button, comes in. Pressing S will fire one bullet at the enemy. However, effective use the default handgun requires the proper technique. You can aim the handgun at one zombie at a time, and at a close enough range a blue spherical sight will appear, signifying that you're locked on. You can lock-on to a target from a good distance away, and will automatically track it unless you move, it goes out of range, or something gets in the way. But blue-sight shots are terribly weak, have no stopping power, and mean you have to reload more frequently, which leaves you vulnerable. Thus in most situations you should wait for a red-sight lock. By keeping your sight trained on your target zombie, your handgun will power up, the sight turning from blue to yellow to orange and finally red as you take careful aim at your target, where it will do the most damage with only one bullet. This feature is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! The handgun also has a secondary function. 2. Advanced Moves ----------------- Moving around, blocking, punching and shooting alone will serve you well through the early part of the game. However, these more advanced moves will enhance your character's ability, get you farther in the game, and ultimately improve your ZR gaming. These 10 moves are the Dash, Roll, Clear Out Attack, Dash Attack, Charge-Up Punch, Charge-Up Handgun Attack, Guard Break, Attacking Fall, Fall Recovery, and Back Attack. What you get is a surprising amount of gameplay and character depth with the use of only three buttons. [#1: The Dash] The Dash should be one of most frequently used "advanced" moves. Not only will your character move much faster, so as to get out of harm's way, charge into the fray, etc., you'll also be able to burst out of the Dash with the all-important Dash Attack! Execute the Dash by pressing the Guard (G) button. He/she will be able to run for about 2 seconds as long as you don't stop running. With time, Dashing becomes second nature. While you don't turn corners so well when Dashing, you can instantly stop the Dash by letting go of the joystick to its neutral position. After that, you can immediately do something else, or start the Dash again. In this manner you can Dash as long as you want with almost no stops. [#2: The Roll] Another very handy move, execute the roll by pressing the Guard and Punch (G and P) buttons at the same time while you're NOT moving. Rolling has defensive, evasive, and even offensive uses. It can be used to quickly move a short distance to get out of harm's way. It can get you safely _under_ certain obstacles and attacks. It even inflicts a small amount of damage on any enemies it hits (even those on the ground or knocked to the ground)! In addition, you can Roll 2 or 3 times in a row. However, excessive Rolling will drastically reduce the speed of the Roll, rendering it quite useless in battle. Since the slow Roll will not hit enemies, use it sparingly. The Roll also has advanced applications for extending combos! [#3: The Clear Out Attack] If you've seen most beat 'em up games in the style of Final Fight, you're probably quite familiar with the Clear Out Attack. Hitting all three buttons at once (G, P and S) will cause your character to spin wildly in place, arms out, turning you around 180 degrees and knocking down all nearby normal zombies. To my knowledge every zombie hit by this attack will suffer the rough damage equivalent of a fully powered handgun shot (you'll see exactly how much damage that is in the Walkthrough). The Clear Out Attack's biggest limitation, of course, is that it takes your lifebar to execute. Most of the time. Occasionally you can pull it off for free, but such occasions are rare, random, maybe even buggy. The even BIGGER limitation is that as far as I know, it takes off the most life of any of the clear out moves of any game. I'm talking somewhere between 1/6 and 1/5 of your OWN life with a single clearout. And life- ups aren't too easy to come by. Worse, if you accidentally clear out on an already defeated but still falling or un-disappeared foe, you'll still suffer the large life deduction. Thus, use this attack VERY sparingly around your foes, and only when you're surrounded or absolutely must knock down the zombies fast (e.g. otherwise you eat two shotgun blasts, which almost certainly wipe off your life bar 99 times out of 100). Also note that you can't execute Clear Out Attacks if your lifebar is less than the life cost it would take to execute. However, you can execute the Clear Out Attack with impunity and with no cost as long as you don't hit a zombie/enemy with it :). Fine, you might say, but why on earth would I toss Clear Out Attacks if there's no zombies around? For fun? To beat the stuffing out of thin air :P? Actually...the clear out attack is quite useful, especially for getting to those hard-to-reach boxes (more on this later). The attack can be performed fairly quickly and as many times as you want to knock around things, knock DOWN items, break open boxes and destructible barriers, etc. Besides, it looks cool and causes the screen to shake and stuff! [#4: The Dash Attack] This advanced move is executed by pressing either the P or S button while Dashing, and before your Dash is completed. This attack is extremely useful, if minimally damaging, as it will knock down non- crawling normal zombies. This will give you all sorts of opportunities in terms of breathing space, focusing on one zombie at a time, shooting at a zombie while it's flat on the ground for free and safe damage, and so on. The even better news is that a good hit will knock down up to three zombies at once! Stick, Linda and Rikiya all have different Dash Attacks. Stick will Dash Attack with his left arm sweeping out in a limited arc before hitting home, allowing knockdowns with offset hits (the swinging left arm shadow, basically). Linda will leap in the air and come down with an overhead kick; unfortunately, her Dash Attack takes the longest to execute and needs excellent control and distance judgment to use. Rikiya will Dash Attack with both arms thrust straight forward, yelling out like the take-no-prisoners guy that he is, and appears to have an edge in terms of range. The Dash Attack does have some lag and recovery time after it's executed, but with practice you can execute a Dash Attack mere moments after your last one finishes up. How? Thanks to the responsive buttons on the ZR cabinet, you can start moving, hit G and almost immediately afterward hit P or S, launching from a stop into an instant Dash Attack if needed. Right after the Dash Attack ends (at least for Stick and Rikiya) you can repeat the process. (use your index and third finger to hit G then P or S in a quick left to right pressing motion for best results) [#5: The Charge-Up Punch] While I have yet to see any real use for the Charge-Up move, it does have _some_ value, and it's great for when you feel the need to show off, or let a Boss know that you simply can't be beat...even when using the charge-up move :P. Personally, I use it for humiliating the Electric Predator Boss at the beginning of the fight :). The Charge-Up move is executed by holding down the P button for about a second, then letting go. (NOTE: If you press and hold P but hit a zombie, you'll go into the holding move ready position. At this point your only feasible option is to go with a holding move.) Charge-Up moves vary. Stick will jump into the air with a quick double- kick, hitting a zombie twice and launching normal zombies into the air for possible juggle opportunities. In any case the move will knockdown. Linda will lunge a short distance forward with two quick and slightly arcing punches, possibly hitting multiple enemies but NOT knocking any down. Rikiya will raise his arms to concentrate his energy, then release it in a purplish blaze; the problem is, though, you can't move while charging Rikiya's move, the range is horrible, and I've never actually hit any zombie with it -- also, whether it knocks down is unknown to me. If you're ever really gonna use the Charge-Up move, you'll basically need to throw a punch in the air, _then_ move around while "charging up" for the attack. Still, you can immediately begin charging for another charge-up attack even as your first one is being pulled off, meaning for example that Stick can double kick a mere second after the first move so long as you press and hold the Punch button again while Stick executes the double kick. Same of Linda's charge-up move, but not for Rikiya's. [#6: The Charge-Up Handgun Attack] Now _here's_ a charge-up attack with real use, unlike the one mentioned above. I always use this move at least a couple times in every game :). Pressing and holding S will cause your character to enter a windup position for about 3 seconds before snapping back to the ready with their handgun drawn, ready to fire as soon as you release the S button. Releasing the S button will use up 5 bullets. So what? The resulting blast will shoot straight with a fairly wide blast radius, and deal a fully powered single shot's worth of damage on any zombie it hits, usually knocking down the normal zombies unless the shot merely grazes them (and even then it will still do full damage). Careful and skillful use of the charge-up handgun move will allow you to knock down multiple zombies bunched together in a single blast. Additionally, there's a little trick: you can still fire the full power charge-up blast with less than 5 bullets in your clip! Just charge and fire as normal and your clip will be emptied and reloaded to the full 10 from your reserve. Also, unlike the guarding move, you can swivel in place slowly while in the charge-up handgun ready position to adjust your aim (use the joystick). Aiming is limited to moving left or right, though; your blast will always shoot straight from the shoulder and can't be adjusted upwards or downwards. In the meantime, there's the rather long startup time for the move. Still, you can cancel the windup anytime, and this move is great for knocking down zombies from a safer distance. You can move or fire again immediately after firing a charged blast. You might wonder, OK, so this cool move uses up 5 bullets after I end my windup. But I have to press S before I hold it, and I always have to use up a bullet, so I lose 6 bullets! The solution: Throw a punch first. Hit P, and then press and hold S very quickly afterward. After the punch, you'll begin the windup with no wasted bullets! So you can still fire the charge-up with but one bullet left (and that can be very handy). [#7: The Guard Break] How can you tell if your Guard worked? Instead of seeing your character reel from a hit, you'll instead see a purplish-bluish light from the point of attack (or a successful deflection of a projectile attack), and hear a blocking-type sound. Guard successful! But now what? Luckily, the Guard button can be used for more than just turtling. Right after you successfully guard from an attack, but not before, begin pressing the P button rapidly as you recoil slightly from the enemy's attack. You'll then recover more quickly, crouch slightly, then charge forward with a short range shoulder dash. This move will knock down any zombie it hits, and do slight damage, allowing for great breathing room when dealing with a crowd. Don't Guard Break against bosses, though. [#8: The Attacking Fall] Of course, not everything can be blocked, and sometimes your reflexes won't allow you to block either. Getting hit happens. But you do have limited recourse. By hitting either G, P or S just as you're hit, you will (hopefully) turn to face the enemy and fire four quick and fairly damaging shots back at the enemy as you fall. The connecting shots have a good chance of knocking down zombies. Being able to fall out of a zombie assault, firing as you fly backward, is often much better than reeling from a zombie attack, leaving you stunned and vulnerable to others. After you fall, you may also further retaliate with a recovery attack on the way up. This move is by far the hardest advanced move to execute, as it requires excellent timing (and who WANTS to get hit?) [#9: The Fall Recovery] When you fall, it will generally be because you successfully pulled off an Attacking Fall, got knocked down by the only trap crate I know of, got knocked down by the first boss, got absolutely floored by a shotgun blast, etc. In any case, you can recover with a feet-first charge at the enemy as you get back up by pressing the P button rapidly, rather than waiting until your character automatically stands back up. This will stun the zombie/s you hit. Like the Guard Break, though, don't use it against bosses. [#10: The Back Attack] The Back Attack is moderately useful at certain points. Pressing G and S at the same time will have your character execute an attack in back of him/herself without turning around. This can of course be a good thing if you need to stop a zombie coming in from behind you. The attacks vary, but in general the range of the attack is quite decent, as in Stick's back kick. The Back Attack can even be used towards combo strings :)...although it isn't the fastest of moves and does pretty low damage. It's fun for breaking down a paneled-up door and other objects "no-look" style. _Very_ fun. :) 3. Advanced Gunplay ------------------- The handgun can be used for much more than hitting a zombie from far away for a small amount of damage. You can only have 60 bullets max at any one time, after all. It is quite integral to distance and even close-range gameplay! Firstly, the most important way to expand your handgun's potential is to conserve your bullets. Train your aiming sight on a zombie (after you lock on, you'll track the target so long as you don't move, and another target doesn't get in the way), letting the sight turn to red or as red as possible before firing. You'll get far more damage from a single powered-up shot, and get the zombie bashing done much faster. There's also an _additional_ aspect of the red-sight lock-on. You'll notice that just as your aiming sphere turns fully red, it flashes. It's not just for show. In fact, if you fire off a shot at this exact moment, it will knock back many normal zombies! (Why is this important? You'll often find that zombies headed in your direction aren't exactly fazed in their advance by even a red-sight lock -- they'll take the hit and keep on coming.) Remember that you can also aim and fire shots at a fallen zombie, reducing its life bar or finishing it off before it gets back up. There are times, though, when rapidly firing off shots is a much better strategy (why wait for a red lock on a zombie that's almost done for?), so use your own judgment. Secondly, experiment with the aiming feature of the handgun to string together really nice and long combos. You can finish off one zombie with punches and kicks, then turn to a fresh zombie and firing off a blue lock-on shot soon after, closing in quickly to extend the combo with further punches, handgun shots, or possibly a combination of both. For example, you'll find with experience that the aiming sphere also doubles as a lock-on device for your _physical_ attacks! Thirdly, without getting into excessive specifics (I'll have gameplay examples later), your handgun can be used to finish off enemies more quickly at close range! You'll find after playing ZR several times that the closer you're to the zombie (or if the zombie is headed towards you), the faster your sight changes from blue to red. If the zombie is within melee distance, you can fire a full-powered single shot in less than a second! This seems perfectly logical: since you're so close to the zombie, you won't have much trouble aiming at it. While even a full-power handgun shot's damage isn't quite as high in comparison to that of most standard physical attack combos, you can reduce a zombie's lifebar by incredible amounts with relatively quick single red-sight shots up close. How? Most normal zombies don't attack immediately, even when next to you, while the full power shot will often stun them or knock them back as you charge up for yet another red sight lock. This also seems perfectly logical: they're slow-witted zombies, after all! :) Single shot lag is very low, and you can do practically anything not long after the shot is fired. Do experiment, but in a nutshell, using close-up shots followed-up with physical combos can do devastating damage, defeating a zombie even before it is knocked down! This awesome strategic possibility is but one way that ZR separates itself from the rest of the beat-em-up crowd. 4. Basic Combo Moves -------------------- Here's the Basic Combo moves for Stick, Linda and Rikiya. This section is divided into Basic Combos and Holding Combos to make their distinctions more clear. NOTE: In order to do the basic combos, you'll need to press the specified buttons fairly quickly, as the fighting system for combos is slightly time-delayed, where you press the buttons "in advance." (As an aside, the rabid ZR fan [such as myself ;)] might find yet _another_ hint of true gaming genius behind this fighting system: if you were the character in the game, you'd probably quickly plan out your attack before actually following through. In this sense, you "telegraph" your intentions to your character just as if you were in the middle of the action! If that's what the programmers were really thinking...very, very nice touch. Anyway, onto the combos!) *****BASIC COMBOS: [Stick's Basic Combos:] <1. Straight Flush> -- Press P five times rapidly, or to eliminate the guesswork, just hit P until the knockdown punch :) Stick will execute four quick left jabs, then after a slight windup finish up with a knockdown punch from the right for a 5-hit combo. As the name of the move implies, Stick can only advance in a straight line while performing this move. It does appear possible to refocus Stick on another opponent to finish the 5-hit chain IMMEDIATELY after the first hit, but I haven't gotten it down...it's either very hard to do or it's a random bug. Straight Flush is a very powerful basic combo which doesn't take long at all to execute as compared to Linda's and Rikiya's basic combos... nonetheless, it's also the combo I use least often. Why? It takes a bit longer to finish up than the Heel Thrash combo does. There also seems to be a longer recovery time after the knockdown punch. General rule of thumb: longer recovery time is bad :P. The other problem is that Stick covers a LOT of ground during this attack. Depending on the situation, this either means you'll combo straight into a group of enemies, or move too far away, or just generally move around too much. Another general rule of thumb: precision is good :). Straight Flush, despite those disadvantages, happens to be just perfect for other uses. If you need to deal damage quick, Straight Flush will do better than a Heel Thrash or fancy combo. Also, should you be lucky enough to run around to the backs of Bosses, you won't be able to keep them stunned WITHOUT continually hitting them with the Straight Flush (as many Bosses are pushed forward quite a bit when hit from the back). <2. Heel Thrash> -- Press P, P, S fairly quickly. Stick will throw two quick jabs followed by a two-hit axe kick which knocks down, for four hits in total. While the combo counter will only acknowledge hit combos 5 and over, this can easily be remedied by _finishing up_ with the Heel Thrash, which only requires three button presses for four hits (less effort, hehe). This combo is also a no- worries combo as the axe kick will lock on to the enemy and will always connect. In my opinion, Heel Thrash is THE best basic combo that Stick could use, with a few possible exceptions discussed below. Here's an estimated time comparison of Straight Flush and Heel Thrash: Straight Flush: Total combo time including recovery = 1.7-2.0 seconds Heel Thrash: Total time including recovery = 1.2-1.5 seconds In ZR, things can get really fast-paced in the heat of melee combat. Having a quicker basic combo, even one that's a _little_ quicker, can be critical to success! Heel Thrash does a little less damage than Straight Flush, but it's still plenty enough. I prefer using Heel Thrash as my basic combo as it executes a bit more quickly, has a lower recovery time, and most importantly, you more or less stand in place while the combo is executed! Thus you can stay in one place and dispatch zombies with precision. There are no real disadvantages to using Heel Thrash, except when covering ground with your attacks is important (and such occasions will arise). For example, bosses being hit in the back with Heel Thrash will likely recover as they are forced forward while you stay in place. By the time you can close in, they'll probably have turned to face you, meaning you're in trouble again. Another minor problem with Heel Thrash is that you must commit to the 2-hit axe kick when you press P, P, S -- whereas the Straight Flush can be fully controlled and stopped simply by pressing P less than 5 times (See Advanced Combos for more details). All in all though, Heel Thrash is my preferred standby. [Linda's Basic Combos:] <1. Sunrise Uppercut> -- Keep the joystick neutral and hit P, P, P. Linda will execute two punches and one uppercut. I'm pretty sure the combo is for three hits and not four. This combo is slow, has some recovery time, and doesn't do nearly as much damage as Stick's combos. It also doesn't knock down. The damage caused isn't great, only equal to about one fully powered handgun shot. There _is_ possible combo potential since the zombie won't fall..._but_ I don't think Linda was intended as a combo character. <2. Heartbreaking Hurricane> -- Hold the joystick towards your opponent and hit P, P, P. This move will cause Linda to execute two punches, the second hitting low, wrapping up with a dragon punch-style rising double-fist hammer type thing (sorry, but it's best way I can describe it :P). I believe this combo does five hits in total. Again, not a very damaging combo, and rather slow, but this one _does_ knock down. Since the zombie will fly kinda high after the hammer fist swing knockdown, you'll be able to hit the downed zombie shortly after you recover. Probably the most useful basic combo in Linda's arsenal. <3. Stepping Kick> -- Press P, S, P, P fairly quickly. Linda will perform a series of punches and kicks ending in a hop kick for five hits total. This combo also knocks down (I think). The timing of the hits is a bit odd, but this combo is the fastest of Linda's moves. Just note that it's a fully preset combo focusing on only one zombie at a time, and you have to wait for all five hits before you do anything else. If you want extended combos, this is probably the best combo to finish off with. The damage done is also somewhat higher than the above two combos. Of course, this move is still quite slow compared to Stick's attacks. I don't have much experience using Linda, but I imagine her slower physical attacks don't fare as well against most Bosses. The solution would be to attack from a distance whenever possible with the handgun. [Rikiya's Basic Combos:] <1. Busujima Sonic Boom> -- Press P four times quickly. Rikiya will punch once with each fist and then execute two wide arcing attacks with nifty accompanying swooshing sounds :) (oh yes, and those battle cries). The trick with these last two attacks is that any normal zombie caught in the attack radius will be hit and knocked down (given they take both hits). If you finish off a normal zombie with the swoosh attacks, they will neatly come apart at the waistline -- cool effect, but this also means you can't do any more combos on them... Damage for this move is very good, but as for being superior to Stick's Straight Flush, I'm don't think it's much better if at all. Disadvantages with this attack are that it's kinda slow, with recovery time longer than both of Stick's combos. Rikiya also covers a fair amount of ground with this move (heck, even his regular jab moves him forward a bit). Also, I've seen other players attempt to use the radius attack advantage against large crowds and as a general rule, it doesn't work. My guess is the radius attack (which isn't 360 degrees) wasn't intended for that purpose given its very short range. <2. Busujima Combo> -- Press P, S, S, S fairly quickly. Rikiya will begin a three hit punch combo (it's kinda slow and involves turning backhands), start a long windup (yep, you won't get to extend the 3-hit after this), and unleash a rather flashy purple flaming energy backhand with energy trails that should connect for a 6-hit burst of a combo. Thus, it's 9 hits in all, though the best combo you'll get is 6. This combo does great damage, but it just so happens to be THE slowest basic combo in the game...hence no practical applications. Of course, if you want to show that near-gone last zombie who's boss, feel free to whip this one out of your bag of tricks. *****HOLDING MOVE COMBOS: As mentioned earlier, Stick, Linda and Rikiya also possess a variety of so-called "holding moves." They're very flashy, but usually not very useful. You should probably leave these moves for the very last zombie still in your way. All holding moves are performed by pressing P to hit a zombie, then KEEPING P held down for a short time after the hit connects. If you just tap P, it registers as a standard hit. You'll know it worked if the hit causes a rain of blue-white sparks, the character crouches backward into a ready position amidst some shading effects, and says "Take that!" (Stick) or "Take this!" (Linda) or... whatever funky battle cry Rikiya yells out :). If that's not enough of a visual cue, there's also a red console button that seems to _demand_ you start button mashing right away. You can now start the holding move of your choice. Even if you didn't want to do a holding move, I suggest you pull one off quick -- you'll waste more time by not doing so and waiting for your character to leave the ready position. [Stick's Holding Moves:] <1. Chest Crusher> Theoretically, just keep the joystick neutral and press P, P, P. For better results hit P until the move starts. For BEST results don't STOP hitting P until the move is finished. Pure, simple and fun :). Stick does three nifty low gut punches, the last of which knocks down, while covering considerable ground. The punches _look_ powerful, but I'd be surprised if they do one powered-up handgun shot's worth of damage (so what the heck IS one powered-up handgun shot's worth of damage? See Walkthrough Part I for the "answer"). In short, Chest Crusher's a pretty weak holding move. However, it's also Stick's fastest holding move. This is the only holding move I know that can also be used to EXTEND/finish combos (requires quick timing), and man you look good when you do it to tack on three flashy hits. (e.g. to get from 17 to 20 hits in STYLE! :)) <2. Boomerang Kick> Tapping S a few times is supposed to be enough. However, to ensure you get all the hits, just tap S throughout the combo. Boomerang Kick is one of my personal favorites :). The windup is a bit long, so any combo you mighta been doing before is done with, but the end result is 3 quick high kicks, brief pause, 3 more quick high kicks, and a 2-hit front and reverse roundhouse kick that really SHOULD knock down after all that punishment. :) The end result: an 8 hit-combo, the best you can get from a holding move (but trust me, if you like combos, flash and scoring, you can do MUCH better!). Does supreme damage, the most of any preset-type combo, but slow to execute. <3. "Zombie Revenge"> (OK, I made this name up ;)) Hold the joystick towards your opponent and hit P three times, but you know what I'd do by now :P. Stick gets MAD! Well, maybe not, you can't actually see it in his face, but it's an _unquestionably_ brutal move. Stick will initiate a so-so speed shoulder charge to knock down the target zombie, and then, depending on if you keep pressing the buttons, get up to 7 additional hits (or is it stomps?) on the zombie. 8 hits total, you end up with a 7-hit combo. In case you were wondering, the shoulder charge can continue your present combo for one hit...on occasion, but the other 7 hits won't count. It's an entertaining move for some, a total shocker for others...it'll definitely get other people's attention if they happen to be watching you. It'll get funny looks from other people for sure if you do this move on every zombie :P. Does pretty good damage. (You know, it'd be really, um, interesting ;), if not controversial, if the intro sequence for ZR was just Stick stomping and stomping away on a fallen zombie. Maybe even funny... ["Disclaimer: Only undead 3D fictional zombies were harmed in the making of this intro"]) [Linda's Holding Moves:] <1. High Pressure Bomb> Hold the joystick towards the opponent and hit P three times. Linda will first knock the zombie over, catch some air using the zombie as a trampoline and...well, land on the zombie. No idea how much damage this move does, but you'll find Linda's holding moves are the flashiest (and thus coolest, in my opinion) in the game. <2. Neck Drive> Hold the joystick towards the opponent and hit S three times. Linda will again demonstrate the proper usage of zombies as a trampoline, but unfortunately for the zombie this time, it'll still be standing when it takes the punishment :). This time, Linda will execute two sets of two stomps on the zombie's FACE (OUCH!), all while about 6 feet in the air, and end with a double-foot knockdown blast as she backflips a good distance away with a clean landing. This does a 5- hit combo, and I think for decent damage. One heck of a move to see up close, but it has serious problems. You might think that this holding move would give you a tactical advantage during combat, as you can pound on zombies with impunity while you're in airborne, way out of reach! This is true. You might also think that by head-pounding the zombie right in front of you, you can finish off backflipping right behind a host of formerly comin-right-at-cha zombies. That's also true. Problem is, Linda, having finished the supreme out-of-reach combo, will then proceed to wave at? taunt? (I'm not sure) the zombies for about 1.5 seconds, making total recovery time about 2 seconds. Ouch. Even the zombies will be on to you by then. Thus, I suggest you use this move with caution. <3. "Zombie Rag Doll Toss"> (OK, I made this one up too ;)) Keep the joystick neutral and hit S three times. Yet another interesting and highly entertaining move. Unsure of the damage done. Linda will first grab the zombie by the neck, slam the zombie down, then heft the zombie up, swing it about 60 or so degrees, and let it go the hard way -- with a knee to the midsection. She'll then clap the dust off her hands =). So much the worse for the zombie if a wall happens to be in the way :). Oh, and I did I mention she only uses one hand? I must note here that Linda is one heck of a strong lady (in character as well as physical strength) -- in the gameplay demo you see her doing this move on a 300-pounder of a zombie, and I repeat, with only one hand!!! Thus she can lift practically any normal zombie. Another interesting aspect of this move is the lifted zombie will also hit any other nearby zombies in its path (for a little damage, I think) while being helplessly swung around by Linda. At the very least, I guess this move would temporarily halt a zombie advance from the front. Again, though, not a very useful move. [Rikiya's Holding Moves:] <1. Busujima Throw> Keep the joystick neutral and hit P three times. Probably the most useful holding move in the game! It's very quick, although damage isn't great. Rikiya will grab the zombie by the arm, tossing the zombie overhead with a 180 degree turn and giving it a nice hard slam on the ground. So, whatcha get is a downed zombie and Rikiya turned around 180 degrees. If a zombie's coming up from behind, this throw is great for repositioning since recovery time is minimal (and all of your enemies are now in front of you). Immediately after the throw you can also shoot at the downed zombie...but watch out as the zombie might grab your foot, leading to the zombie smothering you on the floor for a bit of damage. You can shake free with button mashing and stomp the zombie some before the zombie drags you down, but no matter the outcome, just button mash for best results! <2. Busujima Hold> Keep the joystick neutral and hit S like crazy. A very un-useful move, though interesting in its own right. Rikiya will grab the zombie's leg, get down on the ground, pull on that leg, and basically try to do as much damage as possible. This move is ultra-slow, won't combo, and I'm not really sure about damage. Note the zombie can also reverse the hold if you don't jam on S fast enough, and of course that's bad news. Save it for the very last zombie. <3. Busujima Fireworks> Hold the joystick towards the zombie and hit S like crazy. Rikiya will hold the zombie up with one hand and gather energy in that hand (it'll be easy to see) in an attempt to explode the zombie. If successful you'll see a nifty explosion, and watch the zombie go flying, or get blown apart. The problem is that this move hardly finishes off zombies with full life-bars (at least to my knowledge). Holding moves, for the most part, are little more than an entertaining diversion. Advanced combo moves, on the other hand, combine the best of utility and style. 5. Advanced Combo Moves ----------------------- There really isn't much to pulling out big combos once you get the hang of things. The key is timing of the button presses. The cool part about the combo system is that many-hit combos can be accomplished in any number of ways. However, the basic 10+ hit combo usually begins with physical attacks. Oh, and by NOT finishing your characters' basic combos. WHAAAT? You might ask. Don't worry, I'll give you the combos I use in the walkthrough as I use them, so that you might understand the method in my madness :P. But I'm serious. The groundwork of combos, melee ones anyway, is all about saving basic knockdown combos 'til the very end. Let's start with Linda as the first example: *****EXAMPLE #1:******************************************************** Linda's the slowest character in terms of melee fighting and throwing punches, but even she can rack up some decent combos. Experiment with hitting P only twice before hitting P three times to finish the P-based basic combos. If my memory serves me correctly, then: You got yourself a zombie. Hit it twice by hitting P twice. After the second punch in the combo is finished, wait a bit, then do either the neutral PPP combo or the flying hammer punch PPP combo. You'll then get 5 hits or 7 hits! Now suppose you hit PP, wait a bit, hit PP again, and THEN do the flying punch combo. Now you have 9 hits! I believe the same logic also applies to the PSPP combo. After hitting PP, you can tack on 5 hits with PSPP for a 7-hit combo! Keep experimenting to see how you can create longer and more damaging combos! ************************************************************************ Well that was interesting, you may reply. So why do advanced combos? Several reasons. If we're talking general gameplay, you'll find that executing extended combos does more damage to the zombie. More importantly, you can finish off a zombie before knocking it down, and make sure that zombie won't get back up to haunt you. Of course, as you go on to higher and more difficult levels you'll find that the zombies come too fast and furious for fancy stuff. But even then simpler advanced combos will still be very important, in that you can tack on extra hits without the recovery time of the basic combo's finishing moves. To illustrate with Rikiya this time: *****EXAMPLE #2:******************************************************** Rikiya, like Linda, isn't exactly the best character to use for making nice 10+ hit combos. It's somewhat easier for him, though. The bread- and-butter of Rikiya's extended combos will derive from stopping short of the full PPPP basic combo. You're fighting a zombie. PPPP would normally do 4 hits and knock down. You won't even get a cool ghostly floating "5 HIT" above your head. But try one quick P jab first, THEN going into PPPP. That's 5 hits! You won't get any more damage from the combo since the jab is so weak, but you get the idea. Now try doing PPP (you get one swoosh only), then PPPP. You'll get 7 hits for Rikiya and a ton more damage! Also notice that recovery from the PPP alone is significantly faster. PPP, wait, PPP, then PPPP does 10 hits and still more damage! If the damage is enough to take a zombie out in one go, even better since you won't have to deal with it anymore! If you keep doing PPP, wait a bit, PPP, etc. you'll tack on major hits! In fact PPP, wait, PPP, wait-type combos are Rikiya's best advanced combo tools before finishing up with PPPP (PSSS won't extend the combo past the first three hits). ************************************************************************ In my humble opinion, advanced combos will improve the fighting ability of even the weaker hand-to-hand fighters such as Linda. It will make Stick, however, an _extremely_ dangerous zombie buster. Here's how: *****EXAMPLE #3:******************************************************** Stick Breitling has the ultimate advantage in his very quick hitting (I guess he musta been at the speed bag a whole lot :P). For this reason it's not inconceivable for Stick to do 10-hit combos on zombies. Even 20-hit combos. Even 30-hit combos with his fists and feet alone. I've done _60+_ hit combos with certain (lucky) chaining and stringing techniques! While Linda would need to use PP to start her bigger combos since the P jab alone is just too slow, and Rikiya is best off with PPP only for pretty much the same reason, Stick is able to jab with impunity! His single P jab is very fast, and can net you huge combos given the timer isn't ticking down to 0 and you've only got one zombie left to finish. But P jabs are boring and do pathetic damage. Where's the fun in that!? :P Stick can derive 1, 2, 3, and even 4-hit strings (careful, PPPP is a tricky string with some lag time afterward) out of his Straight Flush, using them again and again with very little recovery time to pound at his foes while tacking on mondo hits and also points. Just remember, it's all about timing. A good low-level advanced combo to use for Stick is PPP, quick wait, followed by PPS or PPPPP. You'll get 7 or 8 hits and do much more damage! PPP, PPP, then PPS will do 10 hits, and so on. PPP by itself will do almost one full-power handgun shot's worth of damage, and you can perform the PPP again almost immediately after the third punch hits. Given Stick's speed in hitting, you'll find that using extended combos dispatch zombies much faster than doing just one basic combo and waiting for the zombie to get back up. And by all means, don't just use PPP to extend combos all the time. Mix-n-match with P and PP as well! Given the interesting nature of the fighting engine, you'll get combos that are impressive and even "to the beat!" Try this one out with Stick, for example: PPP, PPP, P, P, PPP, P, P, P, P, PPPPP. Remind you of any floor-pad dancing games? :) ************************************************************************ I have to note that with extended combos does come less damage per successive hit for all characters. PPP may be pretty powerful to start, but PPP strings after the combo meter hits, say, 10 or 15, won't do as much damage. But it'll still hurt quite a bit! 6. Advanced Fighting Techniques ------------------------------- Here's just a few tips to use your characters more effectively in ZR: [Tip #1.] Dashing is great. But Dash Attacks are essential for knocking down zombies and getting more space to fight and less zombies to concentrate on. Use it often. _Very_ often. Good use of the Dash Attack can keep practically all normal zombies on the floor. [Tip #2.] Don't underestimate the value of the charged-up handgun shot. It's slow to warm up, but it can knock down 3 or more zombies at once with decent damage. It'll help you dispatch zombies from a distance and give you more time to deal with them. [Tip #3.] Don't think you have to knock zombies down with basic combos alone. With Rikiya and Stick, you might want to consider quick hits combined with Dash Attacks to keep from getting hit. You get the knockdowns you need with more flexibility. [Tip #4.] Advanced combos are incredibly useful in that they end when you _choose_ for them to end. For example, if Stick is concentrating on one zombie with PPP, PPP, and is up to 6 hits while other zombies are closing in, he's not in the same pinch as if he had just finished a Straight Flush or had to reload his gun, both of which take precious recovery time. Stick can stop the combo, run, back attack, roll, attack another zombie, dash attack, clear out...you get more options! [Tip #5.] Guarding is extremely important in reducing damage from zombie attacks, and really should be used at least once against almost every Boss. It'll save you from many a big hurt. Given ZR's steep difficulty, it shouldn't take much convincing on my part :). [Tip #6.] With certain exceptions, when you're moving, you should really be Dashing. You're just faster that way. With practice Dashing around will become second nature. [Tip #7.] If you're in the mood for big bad 15+ hit combos, don't think that you have to get all the hits in on one zombie! The combo system is quite forgiving, and the combo meter _won't_ reset if you can find a new target in time! You can chain together a massive combo on multiple zombies with quick reflexes and closing in fast. When doing this, you also don't have to use knockdown moves either if it's faster (though I usually do to keep my rhythm and control) [Tip #8.] Timing is everything! Especially for the combos. As you go along, you'll eventually establish a "rhythm" with your character, very much so in terms of button presses. [Tip #9.] Always, always experiment. Often times you'll find your own unique and effective way to make it past the various areas with the highest scores and least damage taken. You'll find certain items to be useful and other less so. You'll even find additional uses for some of the items you come across. 7. Higher Scores Through Cool Combos (and High Scores in General) ------------------------------------ OK, so advanced combos are useful for tacking on more damage. But so what if I have a 15-hit combo instead of, oh, a 9-hit one? An attractive incentive for high scorers: MORE POINTS. And I mean it. Here's a quick point breakdown. Single Handgun Shot - 50 pts. Single Punch - 50 pts. Every punch/shot up to 5-hit combo - 50 pts. each. Every punch/shot from 5-9 hit combos - 70 pts. each. But a mere 20 pt. bonus can't be _all_ you're after, right?? :) 10-hit combo - 50 pt. bonus on the 10th hit 11-hit combo - 60 pt. bonus on the 11th hit 12-hit combo - 80 pt. bonus (on the 12th hit) 13-hit combo - 100 pt. bonus 14-hit combo - 150 pt. bonus 15-hit combo - 200 pt. bonus 16-hit combo - 250 pt. bonus 17-hit combo - 300 pt. bonus 18-hit combo - 350 pt. bonus 19-hit combo - 400 pt. bonus 20-hit combo - 500 pt. bonus Each additional hit: 500 pt. bonus Those bonuses really up! And don't forget about your advanced moves! Dash Attack: 50 pts. base for each hit Roll: 100 pts. base per hit Clear-Out: 100 or 150 pts. base per hit Charge-Up Shot: 150 pts. per hit Note that if you're interested in high scores, the scoring system seems to be a bit different than most (with the Metal Slug series as a possible exception). Actually defeating a zombie, or even a Boss, doesn't net you any points. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) You're gonna get your best scores from the actual hits and combos you do, because that's were most of the points are to be gained. A final note for this section: Why else should you strive to score high? A mini-incentive, aside from making the Top 10 Scoreboard (no initials, though), is the "merit badge" of sorts. Depending on your final score and overall progress, you will receive AMS badge rankings from Level 1 to Level 9, which will be shown at the very end of your game. Badges get progressively cooler and more decorated, and the Level 8 AMS badge is a nifty white one with the AMS insignia. But Level 9 is a golden one :). Oh, and I'm pretty sure the character you played is also noted in the Top 10. 8. A Note on Being Poisoned --------------------------- Lone zombies aren't too hard to handle. But add additional zombies to the mix and things get interesting, with hits harder to avoid. Whenever you're hit by a zombie or projectile, you'll notice a purple mist over your lifebar equal to about double the damage that you take. If you're hit too often and too quickly, the poison will eventually slow you down to a dangerous extent, unless an antidote herb is nearby. You'll literally turn purple and start limping, and the poison takes time to wear off. However, your attacks will become more powerful to compensate. Hopefully you'll never get into such a situation, but the following super combos will be available if the poison meter (purple mist) takes up over half of your lifebar. I'll leave it to you to see what they do. Stick: P repeatedly; or P, P, S, and then S repeatedly Linda: P repeatedly while holding the joystick towards your opponent Rikiya: P repeatedly; or, P, S, S, S (you might want to keep hitting S afterwards) Do note that there may be other high-poison meter super combos or special moves I haven't uncovered yet, especially for Linda. Also note that you also seem to temporarily improve in other departments when the poison meter is high. If you're knocked down, you seem to get up quicker if you use a rising attack, and the rising attack may hit more than just one nearby zombie on the way up... 9. A Note on Two-Player Games ----------------------------- I don't usually play two-player games, but if you do or are thinking about it, here's some very general tips. See BLui's FAQ also for more details. [Tip# 1.] Your attacks and weapons will do less damage (all of em, even mass destruction special weapons), because you'll be fighting the same number of enemies, but with two players. This applies ESPECIALLY to holding moves, which do dramatically less damage. This is good for combos but bad for getting the job done quickly. Plan accordingly. Also, while a red-sight lock is also less powerful, consider having both players focus red-sight locks on the same zombie. It's very effective. [Tip #2.] Don't get in each other's way. Some attacks will affect the other player; while no damage will be done, it'll stun your partner and possibly cause big trouble. Don't be on opposite ends of the screen if you can help it. If you don't stay fairly close, you can't progress in the level, and you do have a time limit to deal with. [Tip #3.] Plan ahead as to which zombies to target first, etc. While it sounds somewhat scripted, and the zombies you run across are the same each game, it'll help you get farther along. And don't worry one bit about any boredom factor; the game won't play the same every time. ;) [Tip #4.] Cooperate during boss fights. For example, one character can attract the boss's attention while the other gets behind the boss and hammers away, so that the other player can now join in or wait around to cover in case things get ugly. A stronger character might also want to act as the tank while waiting until a life up comes along. [Tip #5.] If the other player is defeated and quits, the damage will return to the one-player setting (just watch out for your former partner, who is now a green zombie ;)). [Tip #6.] Be aware of the bonuses. You might want to leave a certain weapon for the other player if he/she's better at using it, or let the other player pick up spare handgun clips, or more importantly let a beat-up player have the life-up. I've seen good, cooperating two-player teams get quite far on one play. Perhaps a self-evident tip, but worth mentioning nonetheless. Mindful that we've just finished a really long section, here's some additional indications that we're moving on to the Items and Weapons section: /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ -+-+- BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK -+-+- ******* the items and weapons section ******* -+-+- BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK -+-+- ******* is next ******* -+-+- BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK -+-+- \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ;) ******************************* * VI. Items and Special Weapons * ******************************* Here's the complete list and descriptions of the items and weapons you'll come across in ZR. There's _20_, to be exact. 1. Pickups ---------- These first four items are obtained simply by walking over them. [Bullets] - The most common item in the game, and important for keeping your handgun ammo supply up. Every zombie you defeat will drop one of these, so if you're careful about using your ammo you'll never run out. Gives you one clip of 10 bullets, and you can hold 5 spare clips max at a time. You'll find you get a 200 pt. bonus after picking up 3 clips so long as you haven't used up your present clip (had to reload). You'll continue getting the 200 pt. bonus for picking up the extra clips so long as you don't reload. It pays to spare ammo! (Sometimes...) [Antidote] - The second most common item in the game, found on many but not all zombies, the antidote herb will completely remove any poison from your lifebar. As you get better at avoiding attacks, though, you'll also be rewarded with even more bonus points. If you pick up 2-3 antidotes without getting hit, you'll start getting 300 pt. bonuses for each antidote you pick up thereafter (usually, anyway). [Life-up] - Unquestionably the most important item in the game. Those precious boxes of life-up goodness you knew and loved from House of the Dead are back, and almost always in hidden locations or boxes. Depending on the life-up you get, you'll receive anywhere from 10-100% of your life back. The life recovery for each specific life-up box does vary somewhat, but predictably, from game to game. Score-wise, it _really_ pays off to keep your lifebar is perfect condition. Not only will you receive awed looks of amazement from the crowd due to your...well...mad skillz ;), you'll also get a really nice *2,000* bonus pts. for every life-up you get when your lifebar is at 100%. In a certain secret room which I'll mention in the walkthrough, this means BIG points. [Elixir] - The rarest and most coveted item in the entire game, there's only one of em. (okokok, so there's only one Drill and one Cannon Shot in the game that I know of too, but hey, I'm making a value-based judgment here -- the Elixir is infinitely better than those heaps of junk ;).) It's easy enough to find, but very difficult to get. Why? The magical elixir acts just like a free continue. The moment your lifebar runs out, you'll automatically be restored to full health. Not only that, your score won't reset :). I don't remember if you get a point bonus for picking this up. 2. Special Weapons ------------------ All of the following 16 (!) weapons are picked up by pressing P (or S?) while over the item (the square around the item will glow as you step over it). Be very careful when using these weapons! If you're hit just once by anything, you'll drop the weapon and have to pick it up again. On the other hand, with the exception of the hatchet, you can't let go of the weapon unless you get hit, use it up or swap it! Shot-based weapons cannot be reloaded with fresh ammo -- you'll need to pick a new one up. Also know that by standing over a usable weapon lying on the ground, you will "swap" your existing special weapon. Though useful (your old weapon is still available if you want it back), it takes considerable time to complete the swap. The last thing you wanna do when a horde of zombies is on your case is to be trapped in a weapon swap when you'd much rather fire off a few salvos to, well, get 'em _off_ your case :). So keep clear of special weapons when you're happy with the one you have. But I'm quite sure that if you've played stuff like Shadows over Mystara, you're aware of this. While basic combos can't be done, you'll still be able to Dash and Dash Attack with many of these weapons in hand. You'll also be able to block while carrying many of these weapons, but not all. Some weapons even allow you to continue using your handgun. If you absolutely need to, the Clear Out Attack is usually available while holding many of these weapons, but its range and effect will remain the same. Here we go! [1. Pipe] - Found in Area 1 and Area 2. Slowdown Factor: Low. You can still Dash and Dash Attack. Rating: Good Press P to swing. This pipe is, well, a pipe. Technically, it's a 4-5 foot aluminum- looking narrow cylindral object that doubles as a ranged melee weapon good for a certain number of hits (about 16-20 swings) ;P. Pressing PPP will execute three relatively quick hits (not as fast compared to Stick, but it's much faster than Rikiya and Linda's attacks) for very good damage. Note that the pipe hits will not knock down, though this means you can keep swinging away until a zombie goes down. Another advantage is that your character will swing the pipe in very wide arcs, hitting zombies to the side of you and even right behind you. The pipe can also be used for fairly nice combos, using P swings, PP swings (more difficult), or just plain PPP. After a number of hits your player will lean back some and toss away the pipe, so be careful. Still, it's quite useful when you can find it. You can still use your handgun. [2. Axe] - Found in Areas 3 and 5. Slowdown Factor: Moderate. Dashing/Dash Attacks still possible. Rating: Very Poor Press P to swing. This very big and heavy axe can be used once for one mighty swing at a zombie. Should it connect it'll lodge in the zombie's skull and it's bye-bye for the zombie no matter what. If it misses you can keep swinging until you hit something ;). You can fully use your handgun since the axe is a one-hander. However, this axe slows you down quite a bit; has a very long wind-up; and if you whiff, it can be bad news. Also, if the target zombie's it's too short, below you or crawling, no go. Avoid picking this up. [3. Hatchet] - Found in Areas 5 and 8. Slowdown Factor: Very Low. Dashing/Dash Attacks still possible. Rating: Very Poor Press P to throw. You'll find hatchets on the highly annoying and dangerous hatchet- zombies later on. You can still use your handgun. The hatchet, while a throwing weapon, does very little damage to anything it hits, so I don't recommend you pick one up. [4. Machine Gun] - Found in Areas 1-8, but I don't think 9 :P. Slowdown Factor: Moderate. You can still Dash/Dash Attack. Rating: Very Good Holds 40 bullets. Has lock-on ability. Press S to fire an aimed stream of 5 bullets at the enemy (get a blue sight lock-on first). Press P to fire an unaimed stream of 10 bullets in a wide arc. Machine guns are very common weapons, found in every area. Firing rate is very good. One S-burst will only do maybe the damage of a red-sight handgun shot, but I find this weapon absolutely fantastic for dealing quick distance damage to foes. Against a larger groups, it won't do much, but if you concentrate your fire or fire P-bursts, you'll still be better off in the long run. You get slowed down quite a bit by it, but this is compensated for by the machine gun's versatility and nifty combo potential. :) The machine gun can also directly aim at and hit downed zombies or zombies on raised platforms. This weapon will only knock down weaker zombies, but it will send all zombies packing with the proper use. [5. Shotgun] - Found in Areas 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Slowdown Factor: Moderate/High. You can still Dash/Dash Attack. Rating: Moderate/Low Holds 6 shells. Does not lock-on to targets (if only it did...). Press S to fire one shot. Press PPP to hit a zombie three times with the shotgun itself, which knocks down. Shotguns are also very common in ZR, but I find them generally less useful. Firing rate is poor, with considerable reload time needed. This wouldn't be so bad as the shotgun often deals tons of damage to a group of zombies in front of you (though it doesn't knock down). The problem is that either by virtue of a bug or having to aim very precisely, hits will either do awesome damage or REALLY LOW damage (maybe one Roll's worth). This problem only seems to apply to non-Boss zombies, though. Still, many times the shotgun will do terrible damage just when you need it most. The fact that it doesn't lock-on also makes things difficult. For some reason, though, if a ZOMBIE carrying the shotgun hits you with it, it _always_ hurts :) (and knocks YOU down, btw :P). Also, the shotgun slows you down, so be careful with it. The PPP knockdown combo has almost no practical use, is super-slow, and does pathetic damage. Dash Attack instead. Overall, the shotgun is useful, but only for some occasions. [6. Grenade] - Found in Areas 1, 6, 7 and 8. Slowdown Factor: Very Low. You can still Dash/Dash Attack. Rating: Good Press P to let 'er rip. Does lock-on, though it isn't necessary to work. Can't be reused if you miss. :) The grenade are one of the three mass-destruction type explosives you'll find in ZR. It's also the most useful. Note that you'll never be hurt by the grenade. While you can only carry one at a time, it can wipe out all zombies within a limited radius with a really impressive boom. Well, all zombies that aren't Bosses. :) You can still use your handgun while carrying it. It doesn't take too long to let it fly, but you'll be in a mandatory crouching "Take Cover!!!" animation (not actually blocking though!) until the grenade blows. Of course that doesn't matter if the grenade blows everything up :P. The lock-on ability makes the grenade doubly useful...but in general, as soon as you see any blue-sight lock, chuck it! Even if it wasn't the best target to toss the grenade at, in most cases you'll have some margin of error *grin*. Careful, it occasionally misses and rolls some ways off the mark. Also note that in two-player games, the grenade and all mass-destruction devices will not necessarily mean instant doom for the zombies, though it'll hurt 'em quite a lot. [7. Land Mine] - Found in Areas 4 and 7. Slowdown Factor: Pretty Low. Dash/Dash Attacks still possible. Rating: Good Press P to lay the mine. Once primed, it explodes in about 3-4 seconds. This is the second-most effective of the big boom devices in ZR :). It will also never hurt you. You can still use your handgun. The advantage over the grenade is that after you set the mine, you're free to move about and do whatever you want. No take cover animation. The bad news is that the mine is time-delayed, so it isn't the best bet for moving targets. Still, since you get explosions about the size of the grenade's, it isn't so bad :P. Of course any zombie in the blast radius is history. Same damage rule as the grenade applies in two-player games. [8. Cannon Shot] - Found in Area 6, and that's pretty much it. Slowdown Factor: Moderate/High. You can still Dash and Dash Attack. Rating: Very Poor Press P or S to let loose one big-butt rocket at the enemy. One shot only. This is the third mass-destruction weapon in ZR. It's also the least effective, unfortunately. To be honest, that's really not giving it a fair shake, but the only appearance it does make is in an area full of fast and dangerous enemies where you couldn't possibly use the cannon shot effectively. (Whew! Say that 10 times real fast!) Think of the destructive power as that of a launched land mine or grenade. I've never actually hit anything with it, though...no lock-on ability, it's slow, and it only fires horizontally (not like you get to use it against any bosses anyway). Well, it looks cool anyway...it's a guitar case! Your character will mount the cannon shot on his/her shoulder and fire it bazooka-style. :) I just wish the cannon shot coulda been available in narrow corridor-type areas... [9. Guitar] - Found in Area 6, and I think that's it. Slowdown Factor: Moderate/High. Dash/Dash Attacking is possible. Rating: Moderate/Low Holds, hm, 48 bullets? (24 per case) Press S to fire an concentrated burst of about 8? bullets at the enemy. Press P to fire an unaimed burst of about 16 bullets at the enemy in a wide sweeping arc. This is the less powerful but somewhat more useful cousin of the Cannon Shot, which only comes in one case. This guy comes in two cases! :) :) It's not bad to use, but it takes time to fire and it burns up ammo awfully quick. There doesn't appear to be any lock-on ability, but if the zombie you're firing the guitar at is more or less in your line of sight, then you'll automatically adjust to hit it when you press S. It'll spray the enemy with bullets for good damage, but it might not knock down. Of course, the autocorrect might just miss everything! :) In general, you should really think twice about using this weapon on a fast-approaching zombie crowd, unless you've got backup. [10. Dual Handguns] - Found in Area 2 and maybe Area 7. Slowdown Factor: Very Low. Dash/Dash Attack is possible. Rating: OK Holds 40 bullets, 20 per gun. Press S to fire 5 shots at one enemy. Does lock-on. Press P to fire 10 shots in a wide arc. But wait, don't I already have a handgun!? Well, yes, yes you do, but these are _dual_ handguns. Well what's the difference?! :P Think of the dual handgun as a slower-firing version of the machine gun, and you'll get the idea. You can move around quicker while you use this weapon, and you can also combo with it, but the problem is, well...it's a slower- firing version of the machine gun. Won't get the job done as quickly, and I think it does the same amount of damage. Since you'll always have the choice to use this weapon or the machine gun, I'd go for the machine gun...but if you gotta use the dual handguns, you're still good to go. [11. Gasoline Canister] - Found in Area 4. Slowdown Factor: Moderate/High...Dash/Dash Attack possible (?) Rating: Not Bad Holds a whole lotta gasoline. Press S to douse the floor with gasoline. Press P to swing this 5-gallon sucker at the zombies, and PPP for a 3- hit knockdown combo. This weapon is actually quite interesting. In its S use (dousing the floor), it's completely useless (at least to me). It looks like you're applying floor cleaner to the ground. Where's my mop?!? You can move around while emptying the gas can's contents on the floor, but...why even bother? It's just silly. Here's the deal: Once the gas is on the ground, you can create a nifty area explosion by thereafter igniting it, which is possible by firing off a shotgun in the direction of the spilled gas. It might also damage you, though, if you're near the flames which result. So OK, all I need to do is let go of the gas can, find me a shotgun, and blast the gas to get me a zombie barbecue, right? Unfortunately, that's far from easy. The gas can will stick onto you like no other weapon. I haven't EVER been able to empty the gas canister, or toss it off by whacking some zombies with it. Also, running for the shotgun while hoping that the zombies haven't moved from the place where you spilled the gasoline is just too much trouble anyways. Surprisingly however, the P-swing use is far more useful. It's slow to start, but three mighty swings at a zombie later and you've got a knockdown combo that does rather good damage. The gas can even whacks zombies on the ground! Looks funny too :). Of course, the slowness of the attack is a real problem in Area 4...and you can't use your handgun while holding it...but at least it's better than nothing. In Area 4, I use it for one specific purpose :), but in general, I don't recommend you get stuck with it. [12. Taser] - Found in Area 4. Slowdown Factor: Very Low, Dash/Dash Attacking is OK. Rating: Terrible Press P to fire a short-range electric beam at the zombies (shock it with the taser) Again, perhaps I'm not giving the taser its due. But in the only scene where you can use it, it just doesn't have any use (and you'd want to go for another weapon instead). You basically need to clear the room of all threats anyway before you can access it. As such I can't honestly say how much damage it does. When I've used it, I also haven't ever hit anything with it. (You can use your handgun while holding the taser.) [13. Drill] - Found in Area 4. Slowdown Factor: Supremely High. Don't even think about dashing. Rating: Worse than the taser :) Press P to swing the drill around in a short arc to damage multiple foes (low damage). Press S to concentrate on drilling the heck out of one zombie. It's big, it's slow, it's powerful, and it's no use in the one scene where you get to use it. By the stage you find it, all of the zombies are capable of smacking you around with multi-hit attacks, so avoid picking the drill up at all costs...at least until only one unarmed zombie is left. Curiously, you can still block while carrying this two- handed monster (your handgun can't be used). The drill is good for S- drilling 5 or so zombies into oblivion, but it'll take too long to focus on one zombie, because by the time you want to drill another, you're surrounded. Still, it's not a bad deal using the drill on the last zombie remaining...the S-drill will carve a rather nasty hole in the poor zombie for about 15-18 hits, and has a nice whiny sound. [14. Chain Gun] - Found in Area 7 and 8. Slowdown Factor: High, can't Dash with it Rating: Not bad Holds 80 bullets, if I remember correctly. No lock-on (sigh). Press S to fire a rapid burst of 16 bullets at one opponent. Press P to fire a burst of 32 bullets in a wide arc. Now we move on the really big guns. This chain gun is even bigger than the drill! Oh, maybe 2-3 times bigger ;). It's got fantastic stopping power, and is excellent for firing merciless streams of bullets at them zombies, though depending on how you use it you get only 5 or 2.5 uses max. I've only tried this weapon against the Area 7 Boss, but it must do fabulous damage IF it connects with normal zombies. Hopefully it'll either knock down or shred your target zombie to a pulp. Which is pretty much the biggest issue with this big gun. Since there's no blue lock-on sight for this weapon, you've got to aim right at your target -- easier said than done -- since the auto-correction before firing doesn't always kick in. If you miss, you're in real trouble. Also, it takes precious time to actually fire off the chain gun. On the other hand, if you're feeling lucky, you can hit a zombie for a meaty 16 hits! The chain gun also has combo potential. I once hit the Area 7 Boss for a 30-hit combo with the chain gun, and if you keep jamming on S (given you started from close range), you could probably do better! It's hard to deny that satisying feeling when you hit something with the chain gun ("Eat THIS, evil zombie scum ;)!"), but overall, use with caution. [15. Laser Gun] - Found in Area 7 and 8. Slowdown Factor: High, can't Dash with it Rating: Not bad Holds about 18 or so laser charges. No lock-on. Press S to fire a single straight laser blast. Press P to fire an arcing burst of about 3-4 laser shots. Yet another big gun. But since I never use it, I can't tell you much about it other than to experiment. The S-blast is very efficient (really, you get the most shots out of all the weapons), it only uses up one charge, but like the chain gun, it's slow to fire and straight-line hit or miss. Not good against a big lumbering Boss. Damage appears good, but it isn't dealt quickly enough. Also, it has very little stopping power, as opposed to the humble but effective machine gun. I wouldn't use the laser gun unless there's only one zombie left (Area 8), and I wouldn't use the gun against the Area 7 Boss unless you're feeling adventurous. :) [16. Flamethrower] - Found in Area 4 and 7. Slowdown Factor: High, in that you can't Dash, but you'll be able to move at near-walking speed. Rating: ***Supremely Good!*** Press P (or S) to spit a stream of mid-ranged flame to ignite zombies. No lock-on, but that's not a problem. When fired continuously, streams flame for about maybe 10 seconds. No hedging here...it's my favorite big gun in ZR! First found in Area 4, just pick it up and start firing! This gun is different from all the others in that there's no activation lag or reload time whatsoever. Essentially, this means you can walk around and activate the flamethrower with impunity. The secret to using the flamethrower properly is to tap P in bursts, rather than burn up all the ammo in one shot. It will greatly extend the usage of the flamethrower. Using the flamethrower in narrow sweeping motions is also effective against groups of zombies. The flamethrower does excellent damage and can really clear out a whole room of zombies, given its good range. Nice flame effects too, I might add. :) Very effective against the Area 7 Boss should you choose to get it. ****************************** So...where will you find all these? Some are just laying there. The hatchets, machine guns and shotguns are sometimes held by the zombies, and you'll need to knock them down to make them drop the weapons. Almost all others can be found by breaking open certain crates, or entering secret doors. Finally, at long last, we get to...the walkthrough!!! /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ -+-+- BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK -+-+- ******* the WALKTHROUGH section ******* -+-+- BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK -+-+- ******* took its sweet time getting here, but here it is! ******* -+-+- BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK -+-+- \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Z O M B I E r @ ========================= @ r e : ----------------------- : e v : | ********************* | : v e : |* VII. ZR WALKTHROUGH *| : e n : | ********************* | : n g : ----------------------- : g e @ ========================= @ e Z O M B I E Notes: -- ">>>>>COMBO:>>>>>" denotes combo opportunities available while using Stick. -- Subsections separated with "**********" offer additional commentary, secrets, or other useful side information. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ++++++++++++++++++ ZR - Part I: Woodside City - ZR +++++++++++++++++++++ your quest begins >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Stick, Linda and Rikiya are just hangin' out in their cozy armored carrier transport when they receive a cryptic e-message from Zed, signed with love toward all humans :P. Yeah right. Linda wonders, "Are we still following this guy?" Stick replies, "He's the one making the zombies. To catch him we have to follow." And with a "Let's go!" you're on your way. (True, it's not the most inspired dialogue you've ever heard.) --[QUICK STATS]--------------------------------------------------------- Difficulty: Low BOSS Difficulty: Low Expect to lose this much life: Maybe 10-25% You're fine if you leave the Area with: at least 50% life Life-ups: 2 (for 20-35% total health) Secrets: 2 Combo Opportunities: 2, and possibly more ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The very first level serves all sorts of purposes, it's generally a starter course in playing the game. This is by no means to say it's an easy level, though -- it can all end very quickly if you don't know how to properly deal with the Boss at the end. Once you leave the safety of your very big, solid, multi-wheeled transport (well, it wouldn't be much fun if you could just steamroll over everything :P), the game begins. The first wave of four slow, weary-looking zombies will start coming at you. They're virtually harmless, only able to only swipe at you once for 8-10% damage, or grab you for even less damage. You can easily defeat them simply by standing in place and firing four red-sight shots. Note that their lifebar is pretty much exactly equal to the damage of a red- sight handgun shot for future reference (if you're playing Rikiya you get about 10% bonus damage on that). But if you'd like to start racking up big points right away... :) >>>>>COMBO: (All combo examples are done using Stick) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Shoot down only the first two zombies that you automatically target. Then walk up to the third zombie (closest to you) and just keep hitting it with weak P jabs. (I know I said P jabs are boring, but here's one instance where P jabs are the only attacks that really work.) You'll get anywhere from 9-12 hits. By then the zombie will either be defeated or the fourth zombie will be right in front of you. Continue the chain by closing in with P jabs on the fourth zombies (finish off the third zombie first if it's still got life left when the fourth zombie gets there). You get up to a 25-hit combo on just 2 weak zombies this way. Or, you could also keep the combo going by getting a little fancy after the combo meter hits about 20. Try PP, P, PP, P, PPS for 30 hits and a knockdown! But that's STILL not all! Try executing a Roll immediately after the PPS finisher. If you connect twice, you end up with 32 hits (though typically you settle for 31 :P)! Not bad for the first scene! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Now comes a second wave of four zombies. This time you get 2 funky walking zombies with baseball caps and 2 red-coat zombies. The baseball-cap zombies aren't much trouble, but they _do_ have a variety of attacks. They can leap in the air with a non-guided fist swing attack that hits for 1/5 damage and knocks you down if you don't dodge, block, or shoot them out of it. They can also hit you with an arcing sideways arm swipe for about 1/6 or 1/7 damage. If you're unlucky, they can even hit do a 3-hit combo on you for over 1/2 damage (watch for a very important lag between the second and third attack)! Luckily all of these attacks are fully blockable...if you see them coming. The red-coat zombies can either shoot at you with their weapons, swipe at you once for low damage, or grab you for also low damage. The best way to deal with the above zombies is to attack the red-coat zombies first. Since they carry one machine gun (about 1/3 damage if you're hit) and one shotgun (almost 1/2 damage!) and can shoot it at you (and you can't block the bullets), that makes them your first priority. Go for the zombie nearest the your transport first. As soon as you get a lock on the zombie (can hit it), bring it down with a PPS combo (or PPP, PPS if you want). You'll notice the PPS combo does just enough to put down the zombie. Take note of the damage if you want. You can then charge into the fray and knock down the shotgun-holding red zombie. These three zombies won't be hard to deal with as long as you take the initiative and just get in there with dash attacks. Be careful though, the shotgun-holder may let off a shot before you get there. If the zombie starts to aim at you and you don't think you can hit it in time, just keep dashing away from it at a safe distance (MAKE it track you by running left or right from it) and there's a good chance the zombie will miss, possibly igniting the gas under it :). After you've cleaned things up, you're instructed to lift up the aluminum vertical sliding "door" and enter the next room. Don't forget to break open the big crate for an extra machine gun, and take the time to practice your moves outside if you've still got a lot of time on the clock left. For a fun combo, pick up a machine gun for this next section. :) So you don't accidentally waste ammo, go up to and face the big door and hit G instead of P or S to enter the next room. You'll find two unarmed red-coat waiting for you there. You'll also see a cowering girl there that you really should save (you don't have to, but you're a good guy, it's your job!). And since you have the machine gun ready (right?), you really should try this combo out ;). >>>>>COMBO:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This one's really easy since you've got the fast-firing machine gun at your disposal. Walk in as far north as you can (just to right behind the girl -- "Help me! Helllllp!" :)) as soon as you enter the room, and then start opening fire on the nearest zombie. Spray 2 S-bursts at it in quick succession. The first 5 shots will connect and send the zombie flying, and some if not all of the next 5 shots will connect. Don't wait too long, and as soon as you see the blue lock-on sight on the zombie in back (you don't really even have to look for the sight, the target switching is more or less automatic), plug away with the S-bursts. The combo should still continue. Don't stop firing even after the zombie gets blown to bits...you can still get hits on what's left of it :) This will yield anywhere from a 35 to 40-hit combo by only using the machine gun's 40 bullets (and practically standing still, no less)!! Cinch combo for big points baby! Sure to turn heads at the arcade. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> After the two red-coat zombies are dealt with, down will come 3 more zombies (2 armed) after some shaking and rumbling. The camera view will whip around 180 degrees. First off, position yourself near the back of the room (opposite from the aluminum door), and get ready for a shotgun- holding zombie to drop from the ceiling and get back up. As soon as you get a sight lock, do a PPS combo or whatever and get rid of it. You'll usually be able to run up to the next red-coat zombie and dash-attack it down before it lets off a shotgun blast. ************************************************************************ SIDENOTE: Machine-gun and shotgun-holding zombies can be tricky to deal with if you've got other things to take care of first. If you can't close in with melee attacks in time, there's also the possibility of stunning it with handgun shots, special weapons or the charge-up shot to buy more time. Problem is, everything else except the charge-up shot will merely stun the zombie for a short time. For all the recoil the hit seems to do, the zombie is still as ready as ever to pull the trigger after its quick recovery. Also be careful as the charge-up shot will at times "graze" the zombie for full damage, but NOT knock down... ************************************************************************ The only other zombie left is a pretty weak one that can't pick up weapons, so deal with those two as you please. After you've defeated all the zombies, the girl (if she's still alive) won't thank you. Curious. Instead, she'll strike a rather pouty pose, and give you a disk ("Here! A man with the golden eyes said to give it to you!"). It's useful for later. If she doesn't survive, just pick up the disk left on the ground. Now head out the door before the time runs out (while she wonders "How did I get myself into this mess?"). Don't pick up any shotguns unless you have to. You're now back outside. You can pick up the shotgun the zombie left behind if you want and then head straight for the Boss if you want, but if you've been hurt at all or want the 2000 pt. bonus head for the regular door to the left of the aluminum sliding door and hit G, P or S to enter the ***SECRET ROOM***. You'll find a weak zombie and a life-up perched atop some boxes. You can try this Stick combo practice on the zombie if you want: P, P, PP, P, PPP, PPS + 2 rolls (or make your own combo!). Then after the zombie's gone, just keep punching the boxes to make the life-up (10-15% life up) drop down. Handgun shots and even clear-out attacks will also help, and hitting the boxes gets you 30 pts. per hit. Head on out after you're done. Before going for the Boss, I highly recommend you get the shotgun. It will be immensely useful in the early going. However, if you wanna combo up on the Boss, get the machine gun on the ground first (there should have been two, one on the red zombie and the other in the crate). Note that the machine gun will do less damage per burst and just won't do the job as well -- and I'm not _that_ combo-crazy ;P. Head in the direction of the guiding blue arrows and you'll face... ******************************* <<< BOSS: Scrapyard Monster >>> (He ain't so tough.) ******************************* Walking towards what looks like a scrap heap, Stick feels rumblings underneath and wonders "What?" (this expression varies depending on the character). What indeed? Welp, next thing ya know there's a really big monster bursting outta the heap, and he don't look happy to see ya! Oh, and did I mention he's literally full of junk? ---[BOSS ATTACKS:]------------------------------------------------------ Damage estimates are based on your full lifebar. All attacks are blockable except the shockwave! #1. Tantrum attack. Occasionally, if you're hitting the Boss too much (probably if you somehow got behind it), he'll tremble in anger and lunge forward with two claw swipes. The Boss is invincible during this time. Careful, the attack also produces a shockwave that will knock you over if you're too close. Damage to you ranges from about 1/3 to maybe 1/8 damage depending on where you're when the Boss pulls off this move, and how much you get hit by it. #2. Lunging claw swipe/punch (in place). 1/4 damage. #3. Counter attack. The Boss will turn red and charge at you, hitting you for about 1/12-1/15 damage and knocking down. #4. Extreme anger attack. The Boss will raise both arms in the air, shaking, and then bring them both down in a mighty blow. Does about _4/5_ damage to you and knocks down if not blocked! #5. Grab attack. The Boss will grab you and head squeeze for about 1/15 damage...if you don't shake out of it with the joystick and button mashing, he'll double-slam you headfirst for about 2/3 or more damage! Ouch! If you do shake out of it (quite easy to recover), you'll recover and kick him in the face for about 1/8 or so total damage to him, and safely fall out of his grip. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [BOSS STRATEGY:] For a first Boss, this superzombie has an amazing arsenal. But play your cards right and you'll take only minimal damage. You'll learn to block here, or face near-certain defeat. Getting this Boss down to 50% life (long green bar near the bottom of your screen) can be done in many ways. The easiest way is to take your shotgun (which hopefully has at least 5 shells in it), and fire off 4 shells without thinking, since you'll start the battle facing right at the Boss. That'll rip off 50% from that huge green Boss lifebar. The second way, if you're a combo nut (though I don't recommend this much for the reasons above and below), is to empty your machine gun at the Boss. You should get in at least a 30-hit combo as the Boss will just sit there and take the damage (for now). The Boss will probably NOT be down to 50% life though. Note that in either case the Boss may occasionally launch into a tantrum attack after you damage the Boss for about 50%. The best thing to do is just start guarding until it's over. The third way, if you forgot to take a weapon along (though you really really should bring a weapon), is to just run in there and hammer away with basic combos. Again, the Boss will not counter until his lifebar is about 50%. Careful for the tantrum/anger attacks though. The Scrapyard Monster will have two normal zombies to assist it. If you have the shotgun, run away from the Boss after the fourth shotgun blast and try to get both zombies roughly within your sights. With luck you can take em both out in one shot, and possibly even hit the Boss again too! This won't be so easy if you have the machine gun. But whatever special weapon you have, make sure you empty it soon. Your handgun will take over from here. Now comes the second and harder phase of the fight. True, the helper zombies are gone for good, but they were never an issue. The Boss will start turning red and do a long-distance charge (no, not a collect call :P) at you if you hit it even once. The charge/swipe won't hurt you much, but it'll knock you down and costs valuable time (and if you run out of time it's just plain Game Over). You'll take damage here, but once you get the hang of things, only minor block damage. Here's my approach: Trying to run around and hit the Boss in the back while playing alone is a dicey proposition. Running away from what seems to be a slow-moving claw punch is surprisingly difficult since the Boss tracks you, and if you're hit, you'll get hurt a whole lot. So...what I recommend is to run away as far as possible once it's just you and the Boss (after the Boss is down to 50% life and you used up your special weapon) and get in as many red-sight locks as you can, firing only after the handgun is fully powered up. But if it looks like the Boss will reach you with his counter attack after a shot, immediately hit G to start blocking and you should be able to easily block the hit. OK, so what next? Granted, the following strat feels a little risky, but I highly recommend you follow it. After blocking the charge, dash up to the Boss quick if the distance is short enough, stop, then throw a punch and KEEP HOLDING P for a holding move (if the attack the Boss does is non-tantrum, you'll hit him out of it), it takes guts but it practically never fails ;). Then, hit P like crazy and you'll extract a pipe from the Boss himself (no damage to the Boss though)! If you need some reassurance, I've _never_ taken any damage from doing this. Besides, it's kinda neat to literally rip out a weapon from the Boss. :) So great, I have a pipe now, you may be thinking. What good does it do if any combo I try will immediately result in getting knocked over by a charging attack? Don't worry about that yet...the Boss will be hunched over in pain for a short amount of time, plenty good enough to get in a point-blank red-sight shot. If it counters, block it. You can then give the Boss a one-swing whack with the pipe if it still doesn't counter (one swing does quite good damage), and by then it probably WILL charge at you. Block it, you'll have plenty of time. Then, walk in close to the Boss and fire a shot (notice how your proximity affects the shot's power). Block the charge. If you can, walk up and swing the pipe once. Block. Fire a shot. Block. Move in and pipe swing once. Block. Fire snother shot. Block. Repeat as necessary so long as you have the pipe. If you keep on blocking, moving in close, swinging the pipe once, blocking and firing once, this whole process takes maybe 15 seconds, tops :) You'll find that this method, though a bit tricky, will put down the Boss in the quickest and easiest way, since you don't have a lotta time to waste. If you get knocked over and thus lose the pipe, just substitute a single punch for the pipe swing...there's no critical need to pick up the pipe again, especially if the Boss is close by. Don't recover from a knockdown with a rising attack, this frequently means you hit the Boss and it just counters you down again before you can do anything (and it just looks silly, hehe...since the rising attack does well, a shred of damage on the Boss, you'll never defeat it in time). If you need breathing space, you can do another P-based holding move (punch the Boss and hit P like crazy) and shoulder-charge the Boss a good distance away after the pipe's out. All told, now that you're armed with the secrets of the Guard button, the Boss will go down without much trouble at all. You're victorious! You now have the remaining time to run over to the narrow alleyway to begin the next stage. Before you do, though, be sure to get the hidden life-up and grenade first. The life-up crate will typically be hidden in the back (out of the screen) after the camera view shifts, and you can _usually_ get to it (but sometimes the camera is cruel and the life-up is inaccessible...or maybe you somehow broke open the crate early in the Boss fight, didn't notice the life-up and it disappeared...oh well, no biggie). Run up to the crate (it's at the top of the scrap "hill" surrounded by the metal-fence barrier) and smash it with a Roll, a Clear Out Attack :), a pipe swing COMBO if you still have the pipe, or a Clear Out Attack with the pipe to get the life-up (10- 15%). Quite often your lifebar will be fully restored (see? Block damage isn't THAT bad...), and you're back in business! Don't forget to break open the small crate just before the alleyway to pick up the Grenade before you go. You're now headed to... mounting unease >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +++++++++++++++++++ ZR - Part II: Edward Street - ZR +++++++++++++++++++ <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Your character will now hop over the small barrier of wood and other junk to enter Edward Street. Stick will say "What's happening?" while Linda will ask "Is that another zombie, too?" Really!? Another zombie? You gotta be kidding me! XD But to answer your question, yes Linda, that is another zombie. Oh, and you might want have a good long talk with the guy who writes your lines. I recommend using the Zombie Rag Doll Toss to get your point across. ;) --[QUICK STATS]--------------------------------------------------------- Difficulty: Low generally; depends on luck Expect to lose this much life: 0-all%, hopefully 0 You're fine if you leave the Area with: at least 25% life Life-ups: 0 Secrets: basically 0 Combo Opportunities: 2-3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the computer type letting you know where you're, you'll see four zombies drop down and start heading for you. Actually, I stand corrected, THREE zombies...I believe the fourth zombie flies? shimmies? slithers? ;) out of the garbage container to your right and just falls flat on its face...it's a subtle detail, but a really nice touch :). If you didn't pick up the grenade from the last area, or used it on the boss, no worries -- use lots of dash attacks and keep your distance and you shouldn't get hurt too much. These zombies can only swipe or grab to my knowledge, no multi-hitter combos YET. If you DO have the grenade, however :), give it a whirl and keep pressing P right before the transition cinema ends to make sure you toss it right away. Take cover!!! ;) If the grenade doesn't miss and roll like it sometimes does...BOOM!!!!! It'll blow the heck outta 3 zombies for about 450 or so pts. Sure, no combos, but better safe then sorry...besides, it's fun to use the grenade. :) The other zombie, who was apparently spared as it was still on the ground and not yet "hittable," should stand up by then. Until to get to the door in the alleyway, all you need to do is deal with this zombie and the upcoming baseball cap zombie as you like, it's really, really easy. If you feel like it, you can hit some of the garbage containers on the right side to cough up some bullet clips, but I don't think it's worth your time. Especially if you're gonna make up the points in grand style with this next combo :). >>>>>COMBO:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Should you wish to combo your way to the door, it's pretty easy to do! Start hitting the surviving regular zombie (remember, the funny one that clambered out of the garbage can into the cruel world only to taste the floor? :P) with P jabs and/or other small combo sets and keep advancing until you see the baseball cap zombie approaching. Now, you can either finish off the regular zombie quickly, or move in between punches (you can slightly "push" zombies as you move with no harm to yourself as long as they aren't attacking) so that when you hit the zombie, it hits the baseball cap zombie right behind it! :) In any case, you can move in and start hammering away at the baseball cap zombie with P jabs or whatever you feel like, extending your combo. If you wanna get fancy and practice those advanced combos then feel free, like finishing with a PPS combo (for Stick), then doing two Rolls in succession (you _could_ try using the handgun on the downed opponent, but tends not to work so well). You can get anywhere from 30-60 hits! Don't worry if you can't carry the combo to the baseball cap zombie though. Two smaller combos are still plenty good enough. ;) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> In the meantime you'll also come across a flashlight on the ground. Get it for a cool flashlight effect in front of you or just for kicks, it's not at all necessary to have it. You'll now come to a door which the game very clearly directs you to enter. Walk up to it and hit G, P or S (I'd hit G from now on to enter doors) to enter. Once inside, you'll be in a small, dimly lighted room with two zombies that pose no threat to you whatsoever. One of them is even holding a rag (if the rag had a SEGA logo, it'd be funnier, but it's still strange enough) and will continue to hold it for a while. Deal with them however you want or make yourself a... >>>>>COMBO:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> And it's a fun one :). Go for the zombie that's not holding any rag first. Start with P jabs and move on to PP or PPP sets to get in closer to the rag-holding zombie and finish off the regular zombie before you string along the combo. (It's actually not as difficult as it sounds.) By then you should have 10-15 or so hits and one defeated regular zombie. Now, move left VERY quickly (you should now be something to the right of the rag zombie, who's since tossed the rag) and get a blue- sight lock in that zombie as soon as possible (it's second nature after a while). As soon as you get one, fire off a single shot. You'll notice that if you were fast enough, your combo counter increases! Now move in and finish the combo however you like -- don't do just single P jabs though, use PP and PPP sets, since you've gotta get rid of both zombies in a short amount of time. This can net you up to a 30+ hit combo...not too shabby at all. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> After the two zombies are defeated (watch your time), dash attack or just plain hit the two-door metal cabinet to the northwest to grab a pipe (optional) and some bonus pts. for opening the cabinet. Then get next to the dusty old computer the game points you to and press a button to insert the disk you got into it. You then get a cinema with a weird floating head who claims not to be your enemy (I wouldn't know about that...), and you'll then be presented with three cards to choose from, red, blue or yellow. Press a button to pick a card, any card, it doesn't really matter unless you make it to the final boss. Can't decide? I usually pick the blue one :P. The floating head will now compliment you on sealing your fate (ha ha) and give you further instructions...but if you just want to pick the darn card and get on with things, hit the start button to speed things up. Wait, didn't that guy have golden-looking eyes? Ah, just forget about that for now. You're now free to leave the small room and get back on the street. Before you do, though, you might want to empty your present handgun clip to get a full clip of 10 bullets (you'll need them for the next section). Get in the habit of reloading your gun before heading for the next scene, it's good practice and hey, you'll never need anywhere _close_ to 50 bullets (full clip + 4 spares) to get past a room. Besides, the zombies drop extras along the way. Want a more exciting way to empty your clip? Try practicing your charge-up shot right now. Wind up for it, turn left or right as you need to and aim for the folding chair in the corner. If you hit it, you get 500 pts. and the chair folds itself! ;) Head on out. Back outside, you'll be facing south and headed in a due south direction. Make sure your handgun has a full clip and follow the arrows to meet... Three bats which suddenly fly out of a manhole! (Such skill! Such sense of dramatic timing! Heh.) You'd best get rid of them as quickly as possible, since another big wave of zombies isn't far behind. Otherwise, things get complicated. Fortunately, these bats have very little life. My best advice is to just stand in place as the bats fly out and fire away at the bats without going for anything near red-sight shots. As you fire though, don't just fire blindly; use deliberate, well-timed S presses. This seems to work the best. You can usually drop the 3 bats with 6 shots while standing in place. However, this doesn't always work. You can aim at those bats way up high, but they will be somewhat hard to track and will occasionally dive at you for about 1/7 damage. If you ever see a bat swooping down at you, block right away. Don't be fooled, since the attack is much faster than it looks. Should you defeat the bats you've only got 5 or 6 zombies left to deal with :P. Whew! The first one you should really take care of, though, is right "behind" you. As the zombies come out of the manhole or drop from the sky, this red coat zombie will fall down carrying a machine gun. If you happen to have the pipe on you, getting rid of this zombie will be a snap. Wait until you can attack the zombie, and then wait until you get a red-sight lock, which won't take very long since you'll be right next to it. Fire a single shot once the handgun shot is fully powered and then IMMEDIATELY use a PPP pipe combo (don't start off swinging the pipe, you need to save it and it takes longer to get the job done). You'll be simply amazed by the damage you do! In fact...oops, no more zombie-from-behind problem, cuz he's done for. :) One less thing to worry about, at least. Unfortunately, the other zombies are comin' at cha and there's another red coat zombie with a machine gun getting ready to fire. If he's gonna be trouble, rush in and dash attack him flat. Be aware of your surroundings though...a brown zombie will crawl out of the manhole while you're putting down the red-coat zombie behind you, and usually whiff a claw swipe in your direction...but it'll end up kinda close to you. At this point you may find yourself surrounded. This is exactly where the pipe excels. Use any combination of pipe swings once you're in the thick of things to bash your way out, smacking all nearby enemies for good damage and possible nice combos before the pipe is used up. Do try and "focus" your attacks though...you want at least 1 or 2 enemies gone, not just heavily damaged, before the pipe is used up. If you lose the pipe, you could always pick up the machine gun and let fly some S- or P- bursts to make some room. Or just keep your distance and use your handgun. Just be very careful now since many of the zombies can multi-hit for terrible amounts of hurt. In the end, though, you'll usually be able to get past this area with no life lost after some practice. Since there's no Boss in this area, you're all done here! Head on to Area 3 by entering the manhole, and hit the box way at the back for handgun clips and bonus pts. if you haven't done so yet. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> i smell +++++++++++++ ZR - Part III: Industrial Sewage Plant - ZR ++++++++++++++ <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< a rat You'll now see a brief cinema with our three heroes are near the manhole (you see this from the "manhole's perspective"). Stick's kneeling and looking down into the manhole. Linda's also looking down, hands on knees. Rikiya is, well, doing what Rikiya does. :) Stick breaks the brief silence with a "Let's go!" Linda nods, Rikiya locks and loads =), and the cutscene ends. Enter the next episode. --[QUICK STATS]--------------------------------------------------------- Difficulty: Low/Medium SUB BOSSES Difficulty: Low BOSS Difficulty: Lower Still :) Expect to lose this much life: 0-30% You're fine if you leave the Area with: at least 50% life Life-ups: 2 (normal route), 3 with lucky "???" box, 5 with secrets (so...about 25-40% replenishment normally, 35-50% if you're lucky, and about 100% replenishment if you get all 5 life-ups) Secrets: 4 Combo Opportunities: 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You're now headed down a ladder on a field trip to the sewer :P! I think Stick sums it up best: "That smells aweful" (sic). But that's not all that's "aweful" down here... Though you might not think so, you're OK even if you have only 25% or so life left because this level provides ample opportunities to "build up" your lifebar. Also, with practice you'll lose little to no life before facing the final Boss of this stage. So if you've been having a bad gaming day up til now, buckle down, stay calm, and cheer up! :) Oh, and remember that part way up in the table of contents about this being "educational" and all? Well, this level emphasizes the use of the handgun and other weapons over melee combat. It's a great place to learn and hone your distance attacking skills. After you drop down from the ladder (camera view will face north, and so will you), you'll be greeted with 2 more of the brown sewer zombies you've already encountered (careful, they can hit quick and hard), 2 grayish crawling zombies (new), and 2 very large but stationary Venus Fly Trap-like plants (also new). The crawler zombies move fast and stay low to the ground, so only handgun shots are effective until they stand up. Also, the crawlers can make a slow leap at you at any time without warning, and can hit for about 1/7 damage. The crawling zombie, once standing, can also charge forward with a fast lunging one-handed swipe at you (low damage). These attacks are all blockable. So great, now you have to deal with 4 quick-hitting zombies and 2 big plant-things that you've never seen before (lucky you though, they don't move). Fear not -- it's actually quite easy. There's two ways to go about this. You begin the level with an immediate height advantage -- they'll all be in the water, while you'll be nice and dry on a raised platform. If you're feeling really insecure, just stand in place, fire red-sight shots. and you'll have no trouble at all. You could even get rid of the flytrap monsters with no problems while standing on this platform/ walkway. However, if you want to get a bit more adventurous, feel free to drop in the water. It's almost as safe if you use the charge-up shot. [Way #2:] My personal favorite approach :). Jump into that lovely sewage by moving right and face towards the advancing enemies (they're still very far away). Don't worry, the water won't slow you down a bit. Face the zombies and ready your charged-up handgun attack. (Remember, if you don't want to waste the 6 shots in pressing then holding S, toss a punch with P first before holding S down.) Move the joystick left or right to adjust your aim, getting as many zombies in your sights as possible... even if you can only hit two of 'em, that's fine. As soon as you get a nice group of zombies standing near each other, let that charged shot fly! On a good day you can hit up to 4 monsters, knocking down 3 zombies and getting rid of one of the flytraps since the shot goes through opponents. An easy 600 pts, and a great demonstration of the charged-up handgun's power. Whatever method you choose, just stay where you're and fire red-sight shots at the survivors (who may be missing certain chunks by now :)), using melee attacks to ward off any zombies that get too close. You'll then be left with one flytrap to finish off and plenty of time to spare. Move back onto the platform and head on over to the middle left of the room, where you'll see a blocked tunnel/large industrial fan. Shoot into the tunnel to hit a concealed box, which yields you three bullet clips and a life-up! (15-20% healing) Now move on to the flytrap and finish it with a single red-sight shot from your player's maximum range -- the flytrap will spit unaimed and blockable arcing purple projectiles all around it for a good distance, and if you're too close that means a potential ton of hurt. Always keep your distance from the flytraps. You now move onto the next scene, where a crawler zombie will move right up to you. Finish it easily with a single red-sight shot, and move up a little to the right (camera will face right) so you don't get nicked by the laser there. If the zombie suddenly stands up after the shot (only to fall again), hit it up if you want for some points and melee combat practice (for example, I find [P, PPP, dash attack] or [P, PPS, roll] good "drills" to make sure I've got my coordination down). Don't move too far right from where the zombie was -- just stay away from the laser's limited range -- and strike a charge-up handgun pose (facing right) and wait until the timer hits the low 40s. Why? You could do this scene in other ways, but this way is in my opinion the least troublesome approach. If you moved up to face the platform zombies, you'd be surrounded by four brown zombies, all of which can attack quickly or from afar by spitting purple goo at you! Sure enough, two brown zombies will emerge up from the water to your right (looks like they'll be the ones surprised now). Don't fire the charged shot at them until they see you, turn around AND start moving towards you (they'll be hittable then). Now fire away and watch them imitate bowling pins! :) It's a simple matter of red-sight locks while they're flattened (or Rolls if you're feeling cocky) to finish them off. Try not to hit the floating crate marked "???" if you can help it, there's a "technique" for a higher chance at a life-up prize. Continue moving east. You'll find two more brown zombies on a platform, and one flytrap blocking your way. Move east carefully so you can only see and get red-sight shots at one brown zombie at a time, and they'll almost never have the chance to fire at you. If they do, just block, it's easier than trying to run away. Now there's only the flytrap left. From maximum range, fire 2 red-sight shots and another quick shot to get rid of it, it's got a pretty big lifebar. Rikiya only needs 2 shots, the lucky guy. Now, before you turn your attention back to the "???" box, empty your clip and don't hit the box (credits to BLui for the tip). Now turn back west and punch the box. You could Clear Out on it, but it might hurt you sometimes. Having a full clip when you punch the box seems to mean a higher chance of getting a 10-15% life-up. The other two alternatives are 3 bullet clips, or the bad-news prize...a bat. If the bat flies out, just aim at it, wait for the red-sight and bring it down. If you clear out on the box and the bat's in it, the bat's history...but you'll also take the clear out attack's damage penalty (and be left wondering, "Huh?!?" ;) ) You're not done here yet, though. If you're interested in picking up some special weapons, and who isn't?, head on up to the platform and break down the panel blocking up the door (I find the no-look back kick a very flashy way of doing this :P), then enter the secret room. You'll now be in a small room with a single weak zombie. Take care of the zombie first, and then break down the 3 boxes on top for a load of bullet clips and an assortment of special weapons to choose from. You can also be a real showoff ;) and break all three boxes at once by using a clear-out move just left of the center box (you won't lose any life so long as the zombie you beat up has disappeared). Remember, crates are worth points! I recommend picking up the machine gun. Once out of the weapons room, head right to enter the third scene. Careful -- it's a bit more dangerous this time. The gimmick about this scene is that rather large chunks of rock will plummet from above. Frequently. Rapidly. Mercilessly. And I doubt you can block these suckers :). Maybe you can, but do you really wanna find out ;P?! Any zombie here is also fair game for getting hit but if the unlucky recipient of the virtual stone anvil to the head is you, you'll get knocked down for a whopping 1/3 damage. While on the ground, you could even get creamed with yet another falling rock. The best way to avoid this is never to stay in any one place for too long a time. Also keep an eye out for falling rock shadows appearing near you. Don't use high recovery-time moves, stay on the move, and you should be safe. OK, onto the enemies you'll face. You'll be headed "southward" (like heading out of the playing screen) and the camera adjusts accordingly. You'll first be met with two crawling zombies with kinda high lifebars who will quickly float their way towards you. A brown zombie with a large lifebar will follow not far behind. Should you have the machine gun (:):):)), you now have a chance to launch into another big combo! >>>>>COMBO:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sure, you're limited to the 40 shots of the machine gun, but hey, don't get greedy! As soon as you finish walking into the next area with the transitional cinema, look for or get a blue-sight machine gun lock on the closest crawler. Let loose three quick S-bursts at it. Since the crawlers just take the bullets (while crawling) with no recoil, getting the combo meter up to 15 is a breeze. Now, with a little luck the next crawling zombie will have been far enough away so while you were hitting one crawler, you also weren't hitting the other (this does happen quite often, btw). Get a lock on this zombie quick and plug away 3 more S-bursts to bring your combo meter to 30 hits! Woohoo! It gets even better if you've still got some spare luck left. Get the brown zombie in your sights and use up your last 10 shots with S-bursts. The first 5 shots will send the zombie flying, but the next 5 still have a good chance to connect. You could get up to a 40-hit combo! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (If you don't have the machine gun or just get unlucky, just use red-sight shots and quick combos on those three zombies and watch out for falling rocks.) *****NOTE:************************************************************** If your lifebar's low, you might want to try your luck with the "secret" room to your left first (but bring a machine gun). After you begin the scene, run to the left side, climb up to the platform, and enter the door using the G button. Deal with the two crawlers and the brown zombie later. You'll then be met by five zombies with very high lifebars, all combo attackers! If you're gonna get your lifebar back up, you're gonna hafta earn it big time. As soon as those five zombies get REALLY close to you, and it won't take long, let loose with the machine gun. Rip at them zombies with unaimed P-bursts, and don't stop firing until the machine gun is empty. If you can afford the life, get in there and give em a whack with a Clear Out Attack to help even the odds a little. With all those bullets flying around the life ups (50% restoration) will have been long freed from the crate :) so go get em, they do disappear after a while! The biggest problem about going for the life-ups here is that you've gotta fight five very tough zombies in a very tight space, and the way to the lifeups is often crammed with zombies. Even the best players will have trouble avoiding getting hit. I'm not one of those players...I've only been lucky enough to beat all 5 zombies and escape unharmed _once_. Even if most of the machine gun bullets hit, the zombies are still gonna have a lotta life left. My best advice for anyone brave enough to head in this room (read: I don't recommend you venture in here unless you gotta) is 1) bring a fully loaded machine gun with you (shotguns won't work because the zombies won't stop coming...if you're going to MAKE this work with the shotgun, you'll probably HAVE to use up a clear out attack on the zombies); 2) never stop firing or moving; 3) use dash attacks and rolls; and 4) keep to the basic combos. Ah, to have agrenade for this room :P. As you play more, you'll find that although the room might not be worth the trip (in that you come out with less life than you started with), you can survive it. ************************************************************************ Three zombies down (8 if you entered the first secret room in this scene). Three to go. It's not too bad, really -- you've got a pretty weak brown platform spit zombie to your left, a stronger one of the same variety to your right, and a flytrap in the center. Take out the spit zombies one at a time with the handgun -- I go for the stronger one first, but the order doesn't matter. Remember, as soon as you see the little green lifebar pop up (when fighting one zombie at a time), you're already starting to establish a handgun lock. Note! Unlike the gun- toting zombies, if you fire off a quick shot to stop a _SPIT_ zombie before it spits at you, you really WILL buy yourself more time -- it'll have to go through the spitting prep animation all over again. So don't be afraid to fire a blue-sight shot if you have to. After getting rid of the two brown zombies, you can then get rid of that last flytrap now, or save it for later. Get up on the platform to your lower right near the end of the scene and enter the door to the second "secret" room. Don't forget, rocks are still falling from the sky the whole time, so watch your step. This particular secret room should be a required visit for all players, because it contains a life-up (10-15% life) guarded by a single weak zombie. If you get rid of the zombie with the Boomerang Kick move, or corner the zombie and finish it very quickly, the many laser cannons situated around the room will never charge and fire at you (they won't hurt much, but remember, damage is bad! :P). You're then free to break open that nifty crate on top of another crate (which can't be opened, too bad) and pick up your reward: the life-up and two antidotes High scorers, this could be worth 2600 bonus pts. in total if you've been good about avoiding attacks. Once outside again, move south to meet the Sub Boss(es). << SUB BOSSES: Two Very Big Plant-Things >> (Easy, if you take the right approach.) ---[SUB BOSSES' ATTACKS:]----------------------------------------------- All of the Sub Bosses' attacks are blockable, if I remember correctly (except the rocks). #1. Charge-up to fire purple spit projectile. Does something like 1/7 damage. The Sub Bosses will flash between whitish and reddish, and when they flash so quickly that they look almost pink, they're about to fire the projectile. Also watch for the plant zombies to kinda stand their ground as an indicator for this attack. If you damage them enough, they will fire double projectile shots with greater frequency; as you might expect, this does double the damage if both connect. #2. Jump. If you're bothering a Sub Boss from too far away (with handgun shots I'd imagine) it'll cover the distance quickly with a quick jump near you. A Sub Boss might also jump in to assist its partner. I'd imagine you take some damage if a Sub Boss lands on you, but the move isn't intended to do that. You can hit the Boss out of the jump with a blue-sight lock while it's in midair...it'll fall to the floor and you can shoot at it some while it's on the ground. #3. "Plant Knee Bumper." A bit hard to describe, this is the Sub Boss's only physical attack. It can occasionally bump you with some of its root leg things for minor damage (maybe 1/8), but only if you're not attacking it. If you're fighting this close, you're almost certainly on the attack -- meaning you may never see this move in action. #4. Earthquake Jump. You'll be able to tell this highly annoying attack from the regular Jump as the Sub Boss(es) will leap straight up and down quickly, causing a shaking effect. You'll probably take damage if the Sub Boss itself lands on you, but that's not its intent. This shaking jump will cause several rocks to fall from the sky and land near your area. BIG trouble if it hits. So if the Sub Bosses do this, run from your present position and you'll be fine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [SUB BOSSES STRATEGY:] The biggest annoyance about this Sub Boss is that it's really Sub _Bosses_. You get not one, but two giant plants to deal with -- which can get tough for the single player. (Two player strategy is easy -- each player take one Sub Boss and hack away with basic combos.) The good thing is that each sub boss is ridiculously weak. Even a blue-sight shot will take off some damage. The problem is that if you don't attack right away, you'll find it impossible to focus on one Sub Boss since the other one is on the attack (e.g. charging up for a projectile shot). Let me first tell you about the approaches that don't really work. Do NOT attack from long range with the handgun. The playing field (you'll start off moving west to battle the giant plants) is too large, and the giant plants will be too far away to deal with effectively. Charge-up shots won't work well enough either. Granted, a red-sight lock does immense damage -- a sub-boss can take no more than 6 or so such shots -- but from a distance, the lock takes far too much time. Firing a lot of unaimed shots won't do nearly enough damage either. So, NEVER fight this battle by waiting for the two Sub Bosses to come to you. The other thing you shouldn't do is bring down one Sub Boss with basic melee combos. It doesn't work Stick, and I doubt Rikiya can pull it off. You'll find that though basic combos do lots of damage to a sub boss, it won't do enough of it fast enough - the Sub Boss can take oh, 25-30 hits, and in the meantime the other guy is free to concentrate on you. What DO you do then? The key is obviously taking down one of the Sub Bosses, since after that the remaining one is no problem. This is where the quick-charging close-up red-sight lock becomes critical to success, because it works on bosses, too! And it's nearly foolproof in this case. As soon as you can move, head in a West/Southwest direction (just walk, don't dash) while the sub bosses are falling to the ground. You'll be on a more or less direct line to meet the closest giant plant. Get yourself aligned so that the first giant plant is between north and northwest of you (not too tough), and establish a lock. By now you should have at red, orange-red or at least orange lock on the sub boss. Fire a shot. The sight will quickly power up. Fire again once you get a red sight. Repeat. Repeat. Keep at it even if the big plant's double jumps in. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Easy as 1-2-3...-4-5-6-7. :) Seriously, you can beat the first sub boss in less than 8 shots and 10 seconds. One down, one to go. And since the "fresh" Sub Boss can't counter as long as you keep up the assault on it, that means it's time for a... >>>>>COMBO!!!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Well, only if you want to...but since you'll have so much time left over, you don't have much of an excuse _not_ to :). The Sub Boss will just sit there while you dole out the hits (it doesn't get forced back or anything), so make yourself a really big combo! You could always jab the sub boss into submission with Stick or possibly Rikiya, but come on, you're not THAT score-crazy, right?? ;) Mix up the hits for maximum zombie busting enjoyment. Depending on how you go about your combo, you'll get anywhere from 20 to 60 hits. After the Sub Boss falls you either roll to extend the combo, or try hitting it with the handgun while it's on the ground, possibly tacking up to 10 more hits. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you find that you can't quite get rid of the first sub boss when the second sub boss enters the picture, don't worry. The first sub boss won't have much life left, and it's just a matter of finding the right time to finish it off. Your main concern is blocking/avoiding the purple spit, and especially the falling rocks if they perform such an attack. The falling rock shadows are not always so easy to see, and if you're in the middle of a combo when a sub boss stomps, you could be in real trouble. Once I was doing just fine, though dealing with both sub bosses at once, when one sub boss did the rock stomp. 3 quick rocks and one chain-combo later... "Continue? 9...8..." But as long as you pay attention, you should easily make it through unscathed. After the Sub Bosses are done for, you'll enter another sewer room. It's a snap, just use the handgun. Make life easier for yourself by immediately climbing out of the water and up to the platform on your right. Avoid the axe on the ground, you don't want to be burdened with it. You'll see four crawling zombies in the water not too far off (you will be facing "north" or into the screen). Run along the platform and shoot each one down with a single shot, even an orange sight will be plenty enough. After these zombies are dispatched, run towards the northeast corner of the room and turn around. You'll soon see five brown zombies coming out of the water. Luckily for you they're all easy to take out, since they must clamber up to the platform first before even _attempting_ to attack you. Snipe away from above, firing a red- sight shot and then a quick shot to finish each one off. Note that Rikiya may only need one shot to finish the job. Repeat 4 times, and use melee attacks if a zombie gets onto the platform and moves in too close. There'll be an abundance of bullets and antidotes for you to pick up after you beat them all. After the last wave's done, the camera view shifts and you'll notice a stream of rats pouring into an inactive fan. Follow them and you're on your way to the... ******************************* <<< BOSS: Electric Predator >>> (Pretty easy.) ******************************* Take a short breather and watch the transitional cinema while Stick, Linda and Rikiya make their way into the tunnel/pipe/fan (funny, even if you're only playing 1 or 2 players you'll always see all three in the cinemas). After a quick fade you'll now be in a medium-sized grayish room...with a weird machine inside (giant monster mold? :P). Wonder what it is. Stick will shout "It's coming out!" But what is it? Meet Mr. Electric Predator... Lucky for you, since this superzombie Boss just seems to have been created/released from cold storage/whatever, it's pretty slow and not difficult to run away from. In a sense it's a way easier boss than the Scrapyard Monster. However, it does make up for the slowness and pretty weak physical attacks with its dangerous bolts of electricity. ---[BOSS ATTACKS]------------------------------------------------------- All Boss attacks are fully blockable! Lucky you! (Electrical) #1. "Bowling Ball Bolt." After a very quick windup the Boss will toss an electric bolt that runs a short distance along the ground. Rather fast, so be careful. 1/7-1/8 damage. #2. "Short Range Roast 'n Toast." The Boss will take considerably more time to windup for this attack (watch it kinda rear back and get really charged up with electricity) just before shocking the living daylights out of anything about "five feet" from it (it will look like a stream of bolts covering the ground in a 120 degreeish radius). This includes the boss's own helper zombies. If you're nailed by it, you fry and get knocked down (I think) for 2/5 life lost! #3. Tantrum Electrical Clear Out Attack. If you damage the Boss enough, or if it just plain feels like it, it will hunch over, as if to roll into a ball, and turn a translucent shade of blue. What it's doing is charging up to release 4 very long-range electric blasts from its body in all directions (like one bolt north, one east, one south, one west). While in the animation for this move, the Boss cannot be hurt. Also note that this move happens faster than you'd expect. Does about 1/6-1/7 damage. #4. Electric Slam. Not to be confused with a dance of a slightly similar name. :P (Sorry, I know that was a corny joke just then :).) The Boss will utter a ghostly zombie sound (as an audio cue, though it's hard to hear in a noisy arcade), and slowly attempt to grab you with its long reach. It _looks_ like the Scrapyard Monster's lunging punch but careful, it's not! Should you be unlucky enough to be grabbed by the Boss, you'll be raised about 10 feet in the air by one hand, utterly fried with electricity (strangely, you don't take any damage yet), and promptly slammed on the ground for a whopping 2/3 damage! The worst thing is that there's nothing you can do to shake out of it. Your only hope is that you're playing with another player. Have that player hit the Boss ASAP to make it release you, and you'll take no damage. (Physical) #1. Simple Claw Swipe. The Boss will uppercut swipe you at close range with either one or two hands. About 1/6-1/8 damage to you. There may be variants of this attack where the Boss will dash towards you a bit before the swipe. #2. Counter Claw Swipe. After the Boss's life is down to about 1/2, it will start recoiling from a hit slowly (the Boss will rear back a little, looking kinda clearish), then dash a good distance forward and attempt to knock you down with a two-handed charging swipe. It's not as fast as the Scrapyard zombie's counter, so it is possible to run away from it, but be careful. Like the Scrapyard Boss, when performing its counter attack, this Boss becomes much harder to damage. _Unlike_ the Scrapyard Boss, it's much easier to stop the counterattack without having to block. Does about 1/6-1/8 damage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [BOSS STRATEGY:] The best way to finish off this Boss is with mostly melee attacks first, and then red-sight handgun shots later. You'll start off at the back of the Boss room (facing "southward" or out of the screen) with an automatic lock on one of the two fast crawler zombies (Boss helpers) closing in from the southeast. I suggest you fire once at it. Some people try to run around and let the Boss accidentally fry its own helpers (it looks amusing :)), but it can be risky. Wait for red-sight locks if possible and shoot down the crawlers while standing in place, then life becomes easier for the first part of the Boss fight. If you can't, just run away to get some space. The crawlers are no threat to you, and the Boss is quite slow. Before long, either you'll beat 'em, or the Boss'll fry em for you :). After the crawlers are finished, it's just you and the Boss again (but no dinner and a movie, that's for sure). Until the Boss is hurt to around 50% life, or does it's first tantrum attack, don't let up with the melee attacks. What I like to do is make the Boss reel by pegging it with a couple of handgun shots from far away. While stunned, it's perfectly safe to move in. Dash in there and you should be able to get off a few basic combos, and maybe even a charged-up physical attack to add that extra-special insult to injury ;). The Boss will quickly disappear after several hits and teleport to a new location (watch the moving shadow) where it will probably do an electric attack. Keep your distance and prepare to block any electric bolts headed your way. Then, fire off a couple more blue-sight handgun shots after the attack's over to stun the Boss again and hammer away with more basic combos. You can repeat this process until the Boss hits about 50% life, or it does its first tantrum attack. Be careful, the Boss will take aim even with the horizontal bolts, so I advise you face the Boss and block just in case. Now things start to get more difficult, as the Boss will start counterattacking after taking a single hit. The best thing to do is keep your distance and wait for red- sight locks with your handgun, since these shots do pretty good damage. Watch for your sight lock before the Boss charges forward to counter, and you can often stop its dash. This second phase of the fight requires some patience and quite a bit of handgun ammo, but you probably won't need to pick up any extra clips. The Boss will continue teleporting and firing off electric attacks, but stay quick on your feet and the Boss should go down with you taking minimal block damage, if any. You'll usually be left with maybe 1 or 2 spare clips after the Boss fight. Whew! Now, head on out to the elevator to the right of where you started (just follow the arrows), and you'll be headed up to... <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< twisted +++++++++++++++++ ZR - Part IV: Chemical Plant - ZR ++++++++++++++++++++ science >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Your three heroes will board the elevator and head on up to the next level. Midway, Rikiya, deep in thought, says, "I'm not afraid of dying, are you?" Linda and Stick look at him, perhaps surprised. --[QUICK STATS]--------------------------------------------------------- Difficulty: Medium BOSS Difficulty: Depends on the weather ;) Expect to lose this much life: 10%-all You're fine if you leave the Area with: any shred of life left Life-ups: 1 (for about 10-20% health) Secrets: 2 (2 "hidden" boxes) Combo Opportunities: 1 really big one, typically ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After a quick departure from the elevator, you meet the first wave of attackers. Even this first part can be tricky, as all three zombies you face are combo-capable. The two skinnier worker zombies have pretty low life, but can attack as quickly or faster than the brown zombies from the previous area. The bigger zombie has a ton of life, but attacks more like a baseball cap zombie (thus, less dangerous). Get rid of the two worker zombies ASAP, because not long after you start the level, two more worker zombies will drop down packing serious heat in their shotguns. Having five tough zombies on you at once, 2 of em armed with those annoying shotguns, is not a good thing. You'll begin this level at the back of the room, and you have to advance northward to the large catwalk. Immediately after you leave the elevator you'll see the two worker zombies (they can carry weapons, but are unarmed) approaching you. Knock over the closest zombie as soon as you can with a PPS combo (if playing Stick). Knock down the next worker zombie very quickly in the same way (with PPS - hopefully the axe kick will also stun the big zombie behind the worker, buying more time for you). With both worker zombies floored for the moment, quickly finish both using the handgun. Do what you can to make sure the big zombie in your way, because you probably won't have time to defeat it before the two shotgun holders drop down from the ceiling/sky. They'll be way up at the "northern" end of the scene. These shotgun holders are a real pain. Unlike previous armed zombies who drop in, they recover from the jump down very quickly and then proceed in short order to aim their shotguns at you. This can be, of course, a scary experience. Should both fire and connect, it gets even worse because of the terrible amount of damage shotgun blasts do. The additional problem is that the shotgun-wielder zombies are juuust far enough apart so that you'll HAVE to take them on one at a time. Fear not though, there's still a way to get rid of them safely...most of the time. The secret is to charge into the fray. It also helps to know exactly when the armed zombies will become hittable so you don't waste precious time whiffing attacks. What I would do is to knock down one of the zombies with a dash attack (I go for the one on the left, but it doesn't really matter). As soon as you do, get that other zombie knocked down before it fires (you'll have some time for this)! -- but another dash attack isn't always the best way. At this crucial time it has a strange tendency to miss the zombie, maybe since you'll be kinda far into the screen and things are harder to judge when the camera's not close up. The remedy for this is to quickly establish a sight lock on the zombie so you know you'll hit it, and then knock it down with a quick combo (PPS for example). If you succeed, you can take care of the rest from here. :) If you find that for some reason this just doesn't work (you can't bring the first zombie down soon enough, you miss, whatever) and you might be about to take gee, 50%-90% damage?, the best thing you can do is to get between or near the zombies and let loose right away with a Clear Out Attack (don't worry, this move has some range). Don't try a Roll or anything fancy, just trust me on this one. Sure, you'll take damage using the move, but hey, 2 knocked down zombies and a 1/5-1/6 damage penalty is much better than the alternative. After the shotgun zombies are dealt with, it's only a matter of finishing off the straggling big zombie to move on to the next, mercifully EASIER scene. This can be done in any number of ways -- if there's time left, you might wanna consider a fancy combo if you're into scores. Anyhow, it's easy to clean up if you've survived all the threats so far...you could even do it by picking up one of those hit-or- miss shotguns the worker zombies left behind. :P Congrats, you did it! But don't head east to move on to the next scene yet! It's time to reap the rewards of your hard labor (you really wouldn't have had much of a chance to get the goodies before since you were so tied up with the zombies)! This comes in the form of two crates on the far north end of the scene. Break them open for lots of nice stuff. The higher one can be reached with a punch, but the other crate will require a pistol shot to break open...or a gas can, if you're conserving ammo =). You could also _try_ to use the shotgun to bust open both crates :P. In any case, the higher crate will yield a life-up (10- 20% life up) and that ever-so-fun-fun-fun gasoline canister I mentioned earlier. Pick up the land mine, it's perfect for the next scene. After following the arrows, your player will do a quick hop over the metal pipes to the east, and the camera view will switch once again to a northward perspective. This scene is a two-parter. Once you finish the first wave, you'll then be able to move further along the catwalk to face the second wave. So what's the first wave? Two zombies. Whew, what a relief! But wait, they're NEW zombies...zombies you haven't been before...the intensely annoying hatchet zombies! So annoying, in fact, they warrant a full blown discussion on how to best deal with 'em. *****[HATCHET ZOMBIE INFO:]********************************************* First, I'll give you the good news. These hatchet guys do attack with what seems like lightning speed, but as with all normal zombies, their attacks are all blockable. Secondly, they don't attack fast in the way that a fast regular zombie can drop you with 3 quick hits for like 60% damage. They'll only deal you one attack at a time, and their attacks do only moderate damage (I'd say about 1/6-1/7 damage). The better news is the power of their attacks is diminished considerably if you get rid of the hatchets they're carrying. Now for the bad news. The hatchet zombies attack REALLY fast. They have two main ways of doing this: 1) with a spinning, semi-homing mid-air attack that runs into you like a flying buzzsaw blade (careful, they can fly backwards and THEN swoop in for the hit); and 2) a dashing slash from their hatchet. They can also throw their hatchets at you for really low damage, but you don't ever wanna be left reeling from a hit around these guys. The other bad news is that these guys can really gang up you in numbers, buzzsawing you and dash-slashing you all over the place...and as you might imagine that really hurts. Yet another bit of bad news is that these hatchet zombies are short -- regular attacks might not all connect, so the best way is to knock em over is with a dash attack. ************************************************************************ But there's good news to compensate. If you have the land mine on you right now, you won't have to worry about this new threat until Area 5...and 6, and 8 :P. In any event, the hatchet zombies in the early going are terribly weak, so going for red-sight locks is key. Here's what you do for the two hatchet zombies at hand. If you took the shotgun by accident, fire away and you should still be OK. If you have nothing, red-sight the hatchet zombies one at a time and you should also still be OK. But hopefully you took that land mine. If you did, lay it down as soon as you're able to (right before the camera pans from the hatchet zombies to you), and just keep blocking until the land mine explodes. In most cases the hatchet zombies will be close enough to be utterly blown away while you only take a minor shred of blocking damage (they'll be attacking you). In practically all cases one of em will go up in smoke, so dealing with the remaining one is no prob. Make note though, don't hit it with blue-sight shots unless you must. Aim, aim, aim! These annoying zombies take almost no damage from blue-sight shots. Took care of the hatchet zombies? Great! Now RUN FOR IT!! "Huh?? Which way?" ;) North, towards the flamethrower in the far northwest corner. Why? Because very soon, a group of zombies will pop up from all directions, 1 or 2 of em with machine guns! Before you actually pick it up the flamethrower, though, dash attack the zombie nearest the weapon first. If you can do quickly enough and get the flamethrower in hand, the rest is a breeze. Or is it a barbeque? ;) Roast any immediate threats first, namely the armed worker zombies who took the trouble to climb up from the side of the catwalk (!) just to meet 'n greet you. It's really just a matter of walking around with your mid-range can of flaming zombie purification ;), cooking your enemies a little past well done. For best results, tap P rather than holding it down the whole time. On a good day, you'll clear the whole room with the flamethrower and still have almost 5 seconds of flame left (can't bring any special weapon over to the next section though). On an average day you'll have a surviving zombie with almost zero life left. Combo it down or pick up one of the machine guns to finish the job :P. If for some reason you can't get to the flamethrower (I've always been able to, even on bad days), just do that thing you've been doing, and you should be fine. You know, knock over the weapon-carriers first, fight the good fight, and so on. You'll now be directed to walk over the ramp/heap of sheet metal and other stuff to enter the next scene. The camera angle will switch to a horizontal angle so you'll be facing east...but of course you might have to run back and forth to finish the fight. Before all heck breaks loose, though, you'll see a poor chemical worker guy go flying through an office window. Why is he a poor guy? Because he just flew through an office window! Running to his aid, your character will ask "All you all right?" The worker, who's been too badly wounded, can only weakly warn you that "This place is gonna explode in three minutes..." "What happened here?" you plead. It's too late -- the worker starts convulsing and turning into a zombie before your very eyes. The office from which the unlucky worker flew forms a backdrop from your next battle...and the first zombie you'll have to take out is that same worker. Horrible as this may seem, this former human is now one of the enemy. Even more horrible ;) the "fresh" zombie can be the start of... ...wait for it... ;P <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The single most ambitious and wild combo opportunity in the game, in fact!!! Poor zombie's now gonna be a combo punching bag. As soon as it gets up (is hittable), it's time to get this party started. :) The first step towards this potentially fantastic combo is getting the zombie from about the middle of the scene to the far wall on the east side. How? With Stick's combo ability. I'd do a combo like this, one that covers lots of ground while hitting the zombie towards the east wall. P, P, PP, P, P, PP, P, P, P, PPP, PPP, PPS, and then PPS again (strangely, the second PPS works). If everything went according to plan, you're now at the east wall with a 20-25 hit combo. By now, the second wave of worker zombies has already dropped in and started towards you. Time to earn your combo stripes! I'll leave it up to you to create your own combo from here. But you ABSOLUTELY MUST immediately turn around and fire off a quick blue-sight shot on the cloest zombie to the left, or the combo will stop! If you're fast enough, the combo continues...use handgun shots until you can get close enough to add in melee hits (you can move in a little bit, fire a shot, move in a little bit more, then fire another shot, the combo system's fairly forgiving). Note that there's also two other worker zombies out there to string the combo onto! Warning: Pulling off this combo stunt is a bit tough, and is only possible with Stick. The three zombies coming in from the west are fast hitting and dangerous. And sometimes, you just can't keep the combo going for whatever reason. Don't worry, you also can defeat this wave of zombies the safe way, and take no damage (see below). But if you're into combos, you can reap some serious point rewards. I was once able to string the combo from the human-turned-zombie to the other three worker zombies for a whopping 60+ hits (but nowadays my combo hits the low 40s). And no special weapons :)! If you're willing to take the risk, you'll end up with very impressive and impressive-looking results. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you take the safe approach, just finish off the new zombie. After you've dealt with that zombie, the other three zombies in the second wave will come falling down. Oh, and whatever you do...avoid the drill! Whether or not you want to try the combo above, you should now run over to the right end of the screen to prepare for the new zombies' arrival. If you want to take care of them safely, do this if you're using Stick. Establish a red sight lock on the closest zombie. Be sure you're within melee range. Now fire and immediately combo with a PPS. Get a red lock on the next zombie and repeat. The combined damage of the red shot and the PPS combo will completely drain the zombies' lifebars :). 3 shots and 3 basic combos later, the zombies are done for, you've haven't been in any risk of taking a shred of damage, and you're all set for the (ugh) third wave of FIVE worker zombies this time. This third wave looks harder to defeat than it really is. It's just a matter of choosing your targets to thin out the zombies' ranks. Five zombies will drop in all over the scene, three of em armed (2 machine guns and 1 shotgun). Get yourself left of where you found the worker who was thrown out the window, and a safe distance from the 2 unarmed zombies who will drop down. These are your first targets: floor em with a single red-sight shot, they have little life. Now run on over to the machine gun zombie to your left. Take it out. I'd suggest starting with an aimed shot, and then a basic combo (use Straight Flush :)!) to tack on big damage and finish the zombie before it's knocked down. Now it's just a matter of taking care of the other two zombies. Dash over to them and dash attack both down. Use a quick handgun shot before moving in if you think you'll need a little bit more time while the zombies recover. Finish off at least one of the two (e.g. the weaker one) After this, it's easy. You still wanna give the drill a try?! Oh, OK. ;) Just make sure that last worker zombie hasn't rearmed itself, it might shoot before you drill it. Whew. Not too bad. Make sure you've got a full handgun clip, and head down the stairs on the east end to meet... ****************************************** <<< BOSS: Big Two-Headed Monster Thing >>> (This can be a nightmare, or a breeze. Consult your magic 8-ball :P.) ****************************************** You'll start running down the stairs in hot pursuit of a fleeing Zed. Stick, Linda and Rikiya finally catch up to him outside. Zed looks mildly impressed, remarking "So you made it here alive...not bad for a human." Stick asks, "What are you doing??" Zed simply responds "Why am I doing this....he he he he, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...YOU FOOLS!" (Zed didn't exactly answer the question, did he ;)?) In the meantime, a VERY big ugly reddish two-headed superzombie monster on four legs (meet the Boss) is making its way through a building, breaking down the pipes in its way. With a final ferocious charge, the monster demolishes the last barrier between it...and you. Ut oh. Here comes a possibly tough fight. I suggest you keep your lifebar as high as possible before facing the Boss. Every last sliver is critical. ---[BOSS ATTACKS:]------------------------------------------------------ These are all blockable, amazingly, except for maybe two or three! (Physical) #1. Radius Claw Swipe. The Boss will lash out with a sweeping claw that covers tons of ground. Blockable, but if it hits, expect to take 1/3 or more damage and get knocked to the ground. Careful, this swipe comes in various speeds. There are some windup signs. #2. "Use Your Head" attack. This attack gives new meaning to the phrase "two heads are better than one." Ick. The monstrous Boss has a second skully/fleshy head embedded in its chest. It will whip out this head very quickly for a short-range attack that hurts for about 1/3 or so damage. Blockable, but it's hard to see coming. #3. Counter Claw Swipe. If you've been watching the countering patterns of the Scrapyard Monster and the Electric Predator, this will be a familiar attack to you. After taking a hit when it gets hurt enough, the Boss will turn red and do a radius claw swipe in an attempt to knock you away. This attack isn't too fast, luckily, and you can easily see it coming. Life is greatly complicated by the Boss's helpers, however, who are created by the Boss itself (see below). Blockable, but you take heavy damage (1/3ish) if you're hit. #4. Helicopter Counter Claw Swipe. You won't see the Boss do this move too often. In fact, you won't ever see it do this move unless you're really pounding on it and its helpers are too far away to get there in time. The Boss will appear to cringe more than it usually does as you nail it with punches (and you think, "Yeah! This sucker's MINE!"). But then, making the distinctive Boss zombie audio cue roar (from Area 1 and 3 Bosses at certain points), it flies up about 15 feet in the air, spinning around with its claw out kinda like a helicopter! If you don't notice this and you're still up close, you'll be knocked over, but for mercifully less damage (about 1/4 to 1/5). Remember, getting hit by this Boss is not a good thing. Blockable. #5. Evasive Jump. The Boss normally does the Evasive Jump when you've been pounding on it up close. It will ready itself for a moment and then spring very high into the air (I wonder if it's got onboard rocket boosters?), float around a while, and fly over to a new location. You get hurt big time (1/3+ damage) if it lands on you from this jump. Be careful because the Boss won't always jump a long distance away. I don't think this is blockable. #6. AMS Agent Snack Time. Brutal, though thankfully rare. The unluckiest of ZR players will witness this happen to their character, and I'm not sure how to describe it. Basically the Boss grabs you, slams you, and proceeds to munch on you while you're on the ground. There's no way to shake out of it, and you'll be messed up for 70-80% damage if you're lucky enough to survive. This attack is hard to see coming, and I'm not sure if it's blockable. Your best defense against this is to stay on the attack. If you've got another person playing with you, have the non- grabbed player whack that Boss and spring you loose QUICK! (Projectile/Range) -- used only if you're not up close #1. Projectile Spit. If you fight the Boss from a distance it will frequently use it's second head to fire a wide arc of about 10-15 or so purple goo blasts at you (same damage as the other purple spit from Area 3). Avoiding this attack is difficult even from far away. The attack is very quick, though blockable, and does serious short-range damage. #2. Flamethrower. The Boss will rear up on its hind legs and proceed to suck in air for a long time. Move in and give it a few quick hits to cancel this attack! Otherwise it sets itself back down and unleashes VERY long-range clouds of flame. The Boss tracks, and the flame is unblockable and unavoidable except at the most extreme distances. Does about 1/5 or more damage depending on how much you're hit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Also note that as the Boss begins to take damage it will lay (ew) four eggs that very quickly hatch into giant scorpions (littler than the boss, but big enough to smother your face!). These suckers are fast, a bit hard to see, but fortunately very weak. A blue shot will finish them, normally. They also do very little damage to you. Still, they can hit you virtually on contact, or can leap in the air to hit or stun you as you struggle to rip them off your face. You can never truly be rid of them, as the Boss will just lay more eggs. Your biggest problem with these little helpers is that they'll keep you busy or reeling while the Boss smacks you around with the heavy hits. I honestly don't have a 100% effective method of taking out this Boss. The fight's often unpredictable and occasionally unfair. Perhaps Sega made this Boss _too_ difficult. But you must defeat it to move on, so try your best! To win, you've gotta to move in close and pound away with physical attacks. I've never seen anyone take this Boss down from a distance at the local arcade. Red-sight shots don't charge up as quickly, and don't hurt the Boss enough. Here's how I go about it, playing Stick. At the very outset of the fight (you get a wild camera swing with a kinda at the floor view), run on over to the boss (move in a southeast direction). You could just start pounding away, but then the scorpions will start to hatch and then things get really tough. What I do is Dash right up to the Boss, and then start blocking right away. The Boss will then do the second-head attack or the swipe attack. After blocking, I then try to run around the shortest way to the monster's backside while the monster is recovering from the attack. (I'm three for three on my last three games, though, I guess you just need to be quick) Then start pounding away at it whether you succeed or not. If you can attack the Boss from behind, the hatching scorpions can't reach you, and that's a definite plus! After several hits, the monster will cringe/prepare to jump away. At this moment the monster takes much more damage from attacks, but the window of opportunity is too small to worry about it much. Besides, your melee attacks still do plenty enough damage. Chase the Boss after it flies off and try to start hitting it in the back again. If you can, excellent -- just watch for the helicopter-type move. If you can't, keep pluggin' away with PPPPP (straight flush) UNLESS you see the Boss start to glow red. If THIS happens, keep the combo short to PPP (much less recovery time) and immediately start blocking to intercept the swipe. After blocking, return to the attack until the Boss tries to counter again. Block the counter, and chase it when it runs off. You might also want to shoot the Boss just as it takes to the skies, every bit of damage helps. This Boss fight would be quite easy, really, if it weren't for the @#$^@#!! scorpion helpers interfering with your progress while the Boss seizes the chance to beat you up. But really, this aspect of the fight is out of your control. You can only hope the scorpions will either ignore you while you're beating on the Boss close up (which they generally won't) or that the Boss jumps far enough away so the scorpions can't follow immediately, in which case it's just you and the Boss for a brief period of time. You can't waste much of your time shooting down the scorpions if you're exclusively playing the close-up game, which is to my knowledge the one best way to beat the Boss. Catch-22, it seems :( Stick to short combo sets, be an active blocker and play aggressive and you'll usually finish off this monster. (I can only imagine the problems a Linda player would have, though...) If you start getting hit around by the Boss, DO try things like an attacking fall. Don't run away, because you'll will probably get pegged by something else. The Boss has an annoying tendency to "combo" you around with very damaging blows while you're still recovering from the last one. Kinda cheap if you ask me, but no one said the zombies played fair, I guess. Even after playing ZR for close to a year, I can only get past this Boss about 90% of the time. Too many random factors are involved in the fight. Another problem is that even if you don't get _hit_ by the Boss, you'll have to block, and if you don't have much life to spare, the block damage will add up. But hopefully my strategies will lead you to victory. If anyone knows a better way to deal with this Boss, lemme know! Should you make it to the next stage, you'll be handsomely rewarded with life-ups (maybe Sega's programmers figured it's time to give the player a mid-game break)...but you have to make it past this next section first. After the Boss meets its dramatic end, you'll see the chemical factory blow up just like the worker said it would. An AMS helicopter with the good guys on board will show up, ready to take you away. Stick asks if everyone's OK, and is about to grab the ladder the helicopter drops down. But Rikiya will notice a number of big zombies still around in the wake of the explosion, telling Linda and Stick "It's not over yet!" But don't worry, it will be very soon. Just use your handgun wisely and you should take no damage at all. You'll now be surrounded (kinda) by a ring of fire, the helicopter ladder waiting for you on the right side when you finish your mission objective (Shoot down the surviving zombies!). You won't have much space to move, but don't worry, it doesn't seem like the flame will hurt you. As long as you use mostly red-sight shots and target the closest threats, you'll take no damage at all. The fourth zombie will come from behind you, but even a single back attack could finish it off ;). Still, if you don't wanna take chances, turn around and shoot it, then get back to business. You'll have to defeat about 10-12 zombies, but it's all really easy. If you find yourself with plenty of breathing space, try to rack up small 10 or 10+ hit combos with quick shots from the handgun ;). After you're done, follow the blue arrows to hop on the ladder and be on your way to... doomfreight >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +++++++++++++++++ZR - Part V: South Union Railway - ZR +++++++++++++++++ <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Once aboard the helicopter, your fellow AMS operative/support staff will inform you of "The next instruction!" In other words, where Zed's bringing along his virus of doom. In the meantime, one of the big zombies will get a hold of the helicopter, but it's quickly shot off :) So where are you headed to? "South Union Railway! South Terminal Cassandra!" (the railway first) "The train is loaded with explosives, and the virus is headed for Cassandra!" Enter a cool cinema where the helicopter drops you on top of the virus-carrying train. Don't spend too much time admiring the sights...you'll soon be met with company! --[QUICK STATS]--------------------------------------------------------- Difficulty: Medium, varies depending on how you play BOSS Difficulty: Very Low, but stay sharp anyway! Expect to lose this much life: 15%-all You're fine if you leave the Area with: at least 75% life Life-ups: 14!!! As in, tons. :) Secrets: 4 Combo Opportunities: Maybe 1, but you've got to improvise ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The "scenes" in Area 5 take place on top of individual railway cars. Nifty. In case I didn't tell you who the company you're having was, it's five hatchet zombies. WHAAATTT? How on earth do you deal with 5 of those @*%@$!$!@#!!s at once? Here's what I think are the two best ways: [Way #1] assumes you have at least 30-50% life remaining as a safety net in case you get hit. And a full clip of 10 shots too, there's no time for reloading. You can try this method even if your lifebar is near zero (as it can be), but you're obviously taking a risk. You'll also need any life left over for the secret room underneath (inside the railway car). Still, it saves the most trouble; also, I never take any damage when I do this :). Here's the secret: all 5 hatchet zombies don't come out at once. Three fly up to the top of the train one after another, and then two more follow after a brief pause. Deal with each one as soon as they arrive and become "hittable" (this also coincides with "active" and "able to hit your character," btw) and it all becomes quite easy. But how? Starting to think I'm gonna bring up the quick-charge close-up red-sight handgun shot technique again? You better believe it!!! You'll be facing east on a more or less horizontal battleground. Move "east" to meet the first hatchet zombie when it pops up so that you're right in front of it. Fire one shot once you get the red-sight and very quickly follow it with a blue-sight shot to finish off the hatchet zombie. Recall the 5 brown zombies from Area 3, it's fundamentally the same technique. Also note that lucky Rikiya might only need one red- sight shot in this scene to get the job done. Now run up right next to the second hatchet zombie to fly atop the train and repeat the process. Same for the third. If you were quick enough, you can easily dispatch the next two hatchet zombies like fashion, using up a measly clip of ammo :). You have the advantage here; although the hatchet zombies are fast, they won't attack you right away. Even if you can only bring down 3 zombies, don't panic. Dealing with 2 isn't too tough, attack with aimed shots, block if you must, dash attack if you need to, and so on. After beating the hatchet zombies rather handily, you can now head down into the secret room on the same car (DON'T go to the next scene!) for your reward. Really, [Way #1] isn't half-bad. [Way #2] assumes you're way too low on life to risk having to fight the hatchet zombies (hey, you gotta stay in the game right?). What you do is enter the secret room inside the train car right away. You'll have plenty of time before the zombies attack. Of course, if you enter the secret room first, you've got _all_ of the hatchet zombies to contend with once you're back on top of the train car, so be careful. Now, where is this secret room? It's basically right under where you start (the camera angle can change on you so you might have to adjust), and you must climb down into the car. How? "Probe" your way along the car with the joystick and the G button if you can't find the entrance...but it's normally visible as the train car's "middle" window that's a little more well lighted than the others (this is because there's an opening there for you to enter). If you can see the window you can also see a red-coat zombie inside. This is the window to go for. Once you make your way down to the secret room, you'll find 4 red coat zombies waiting for you, 2 of them armed, 2 on each side of the car. You'll have to earn the life-up on the south side. Don't worry...it's not too tough. Since you're closer to the "north" side of the car (camera view is vertical), hit the closest zombie once, and then floor both zombies on the north side with dash attacks since they're close together. Why? This assures that the armed zombies on this corner won't nail you before you reach the life-up on the south side. After they're temporarily flattened, dash attack the other two zombies on the south side. It's really pretty easy, just make sure the armed zombies don't fire their machine guns at you. Quickly collect the life-up before it disappears. If the fallen zombies are in your way, try using a roll to get past them. After retrieving your tasty life-up, you may notice your lifebar creeping up quite a bit. And it won't stop refilling right away. And in fact, it might get completely refilled :). This life-up is good for 50- 100% healing, which is why it's _always_ a good idea to get it. Generally speaking, you'll almost _always_ be somewhat beat up _before_ you grab it, and almost _never_ have _less_ than 80% life once you grab it. It's a more-than-fair trade for your efforts. Well deserved after all the zombie bashing you've been doing! Don't forget the four formerly floored zombies though -- they've still gotta be dealt with. Use one of the machine guns they dropped, or whatever you feel like, to get rid of them. Without weapons, they're no threat to you. Before you open the sliding car door on the north side (with G, P, or S) to leave, pick up a machine gun with lots of ammo in it, and then head on out. If you chose [Way #2] the hatchet zombies will be waiting for you outside. In that case, I suggest you face the zombies, start blocking right away, make space with the guard break move, and then let loose with the machine gun as soon as you can. If you've gotten this far, you'll probably make it to the next scene. A clear out attack might also help if you're in trouble, since the hatchet zombies don't have much life. Head in the direction of the arrows to make the short hop to Car #2. Now the train heads into a tunnel. Good stuff! The camera angle will switch so you face north. Again, there are two ways to deal with these zombies depending on whether or not you have a machine gun. But this car is super easy. You shouldn't take any damage at all since the zombies are thw slow-moving, slow-attacking, and you have plenty of space to move around. Deal with the zombies any way you please -- just be careful not to stay in the middle of the car for too long, now and then a light post will come up and smack you for a bit of damage. If you have the machine gun, have a combo field day. If not, use aimed shots until the zombies get close, or use a charged shot to knock 'em down. You'll face 5 or 6 zombies, all unarmed, but they won't come out all at once. Having cleared the train car of zombies, you can now head towards one of two secret rooms (and practice rolling under the light posts if you feel so inclined). Both rooms involve a measure of risk, one much more so than the other. In fact, if your lifebar is high enough (nearly full) you might want to play it safe and avoid both rooms altogether. But if you're interested in everything this game has to offer (especially for high scores =)!!!), head on down to one or both of these rooms. Here's what I do. I normally head for the secret room in the northwest corner of the car first. Don't go too far north or you're in the next scene, though. You may notice a hint of a stepladder at that corner: press a button to climb down it into a cargo room. And what a cargo room it is! 10, count 'em, 10 life-ups!!! Needless to say you'll get more than your share of life-ups here. Unfortunately, that's not all you'll find. The life-ups won't stick around for long, so you'll have to grab em right away. This also means that you won't have the benefit of "insurance life-ups" when three groups of two zombies start dropping out of nowhere. If you're playing it safe, this room's probably not worth your time. If the hatchet zombies messed you up on the last car (to under 50% life), though, you should still take the zombies on. You'll probably come out with more life than you started with, and it's not that hard to survive this room. What I do is quickly collect all ten life-ups before the zombies come along. I then do a quick PPS combo on each zombie as it becomes hittable. I'll repeat this four times in all; twice for the first two weak zombies, and twice for two red coat armed zombies which follow. After the two hatchet zombies drop in, I'll then throw a Clear Out Attack to knock the hatchet zombies down and damage the other four zombies still on the ground. Then by using the handgun (not the unreliable shotgun), I'll finish off the hatchet zombies first and then everything else. The lifebars of all your foes are rather high, but I find that about 70-80% of the time all the damage I'll take is that of the Clear Out Attack's penalty...and I don't even think I'm using the best strat to get rid of the zombies. After you clear the secret room, climb up the stepladder to get back atop the train. You might be asking, why risk going into a secret room that's only a little less risky than the Area 3 one (the small room with 5 zombies) especially if your lifebar is full? I guess the primary reason is points ;). If you have a full lifebar going into the northwest secret room, you can rack up a quick *20,000* points by collecting the 10 life-up boxes. That's huge! The other reason is that since with you'll generally leave the secret room with only the clear out attack damage, you can then head to the secret room on the southeast corner (look for the stepladder) to recover most if not all of that damage with the life-up there. The southeast room is much easier to handle compared to the northwest one, although the life-up is still guarded by three not-too-durable zombies. They single-swipe at you quickly, but can't combo. You'll enter the secret room from the right side, with the life-up at the back of the room. Dash straight to the left past the zombies, then make a tight left "U-turn," heading right and dash attacking down the two zombies nearest the life-up. Strange as this sounds, you can actually knock down 2 zombies at once. Collect the life-up for about 15-20% healing and proceed to dash attack down the other zombie/shoot it out of the picture/whatever. Keep your attention focused on one zombie at a time and keep the zombies on the ground and you probably won't take any damage at all. After leaving the secret room (if you chose to enter it), head north to hop on Car #3. Well, there's no more hanging light posts to worry about...enjoy the fresh air and night sky. Or, maybe not. Now you have two red-coat zombies (1 armed) and two hatchet zombies to deal with, all with very high lifebars! This is probably the car where you have the greatest risk of being seriously beat up, or worse. The best way to deal with this bad situations is to first knock down the machine gunner zombie on the far side (you'll basically face north), knocking down the hatchet zombies beforehand if you can do it safely. Whether you pick up the machine gun or not, the important thing is to get a good amount of breathing space. There's no real formula to follow for defeating this wave, but you could use the machine gun to weaken the zombies (recommended), go for the hatchet zombies first, etc. Aimed shots are a must. Just make sure no red coat zombie is armed, or things get really complicated, really fast. Should you not be faring well against the zombies (and it's often a tough fight), head over to just short of the northeast end of the train car and enter yet another secret room. Inside this car you'll find two life-ups (for about 40-50% health) guarded by two red-coat zombies, 1 armed. Just dash attack-them down and deal with them as you please, it's a snap. Save the machine gun for the outside if you haven't defeated the zombies on top yet. _Don't_ shoot the dynamite packs in the secret room unless you want to risk injury, and don't waste your bullets on the hanging bat creature behind the bars. It'll come out before long :P. After getting your life-ups and the machine gun, head on out the door on the left. After you clear this car, charge up on the life-ups in the northeast secret room if you haven't done so yet; discard the machine gun; and ready a full handgun clip for the next car -- which houses the Boss. *************************** <<< BOSS: Winged Zombie >>> (Piece of cake.) *************************** After making one last hop to the final train car, you'll notice that _something_ is trying to bust through the metallic ceiling of the train -- and doing a frighteningly good job. Two or so punches later, the Boss frees itself from its (temporary) prison and flies out to face you. ---[BOSS ATTACKS:]------------------------------------------------------ All attacks are blockable! #1. Flying Wing Swipe. The Boss will swoop in a short distance forward and execute a very quick swipe with its wing and claw. About 1/7 or so damage. #2. Hovering Projectile Spit. The Boss will hover in the air for a bit, out of reach from your handgun, and then spit out a red projectile towards you. Easy to see coming, does 1/7 damage. It's just like the purple spit, only redder. :) #3. Grab. The Boss will swoop in to grab you (kinda like the scorpions do), and will continue to do damage until you shake it off with button mashing and wiggling the joystick. You'll know the Boss tried the grab if you block what looks like a small, slow swoop attack. If you shake the Boss off quickly, damage done to you is minimal (1/8-1/10 or even less depending on your reaction time). #4. Large Swoop. The Boss will fly way out of reach, as the camera view changes to where you can barely see the back of your head as it follows the Boss. The Boss will now start to swoop in again aiming right for you as the camera changes to the Boss's perspective. Just block this. Rolling is possible but timing may be tricky. Damage done is unknown since I've never been hit by this attack. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [BOSS STRATEGY:] The flying Boss is a pushover, despite the fact that it can bash its way through metal. Maybe it's all tired now? :P In any case, this Boss is a welcome relief after the tough fights atop the train cars. Since there's a good chance your lifebar is less than 100% from those tough encounters, you'll want to make sure the Boss's attacks, though weak, don't hurt you any further. Life-ups from here on in are few and far between. The first thing to do against this Boss is to run to about the middle of the car, getting pretty close to the Boss, and then start blocking. Continue to block until the Boss attacks you. You _could_ choose not to block and fire off a handgun shot, but all too often you'll be sucker- punched with a lightning-quick counter. The Boss will trick you by not getting stunned by your hit, and you won't be able to recover and block the incoming attack. After you block the Boss's attack (or only if you're confident that the Boss won't attack you), open fire with your handgun. You really should get the first shot to be somewhat aimed, but otherwise you can just fire blue-sight shots after that -- you'll frequently reduce the Boss's to almost 50% this way with a single clip. If the large swoop follows, just block it for a little damage, then turn around and finish the Boss off in two passes and 2-3 clips. The Boss will surely fall before your superior ability, as long as you have at least enough life to take block damage. Rolling to evade attacks is a possibility, but it'll take time, patience, and likely a few continues to get it right. After beating the Boss, you still have one more objective to accomplish. Follow the arrows into the engine room. You must now stop the train before it crashes into the Cassandra terminal, which would presumably mean bad news. An orange speed bar indicator will appear on the screen after you enter (you're now in the head car), and you'll need to stop the NAOMI train :) by pulling on the brake lever in the center of the room on the north end. Careful though...hold the joystick neutral near the brake lever, and THEN press P, you're less likely to throw punches that way. Did I mention one pull isn't going to do the trick? It will take a good deal of work on that brake lever to get the job done. Good thing it doesn't break ;). Oh, and did I forget to mention that three zombies keep you busy as well, and that replacements keep falling down as you get rid of them? Despite the complicating factor of the zombies, your job's really quite simple. You have ample time to finish this objective, so clear the room of zombies first before pulling the brake lever. The key, yet again, is quick-charging close-range shots, but you won't need much more than a yellow-orange lock. These weal zombies also can't do anything but single-swipe, but again, you can't afford to lose any life here because the going gets tough, and soon. Here's whatcha do, just use your handgun and make sure you don't have to reload while the zombies are after you. Once inside the engine room, wait patiently for the first zombie to drop down, and at least the second, before you start shooting 'em down in quick succession. Get rid of the first zombie first, and so on. Ideally, you want to have all three zombies in the room at once so you can quickly take them all out. Then return to pulling the brake lever for a little bit. In this way you don't have one zombie constantly dropping in to annoy you, since the three replacements must all drop in again. It boils down to wait, wait, wait, drop, drop, drop, shoot, shoot, shoot, pull the lever, shoot, shoot, shoot, pull the lever, etc... Just be careful of any swipes and you should escape any damage. Don't hesitate to fire off a quick shot if you think a zombie might swipe at you. Don't combo though, you don't have the time. Also note that every couple of replacement waves, a zombie might drop down next to the brake...just finish off the 3-zombie wave and get back to pulling. After you reduced the orange speed bar to zero, you'll be done here and headed to... <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< no back ++++++++++++++++++++ ZR - Part VI: Cassandra - ZR ++++++++++++++++++++++ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> turning Enter a cinema of your character doing his or her best to stop the train before derailing and crashing in Cassandra. Ooh and ahh at the nifty lighting effects, and did I mention crisp 3D graphics? You'll ultimately be successful, as the NAOMI train sends a small wooden barrier flying but stops just short of a much larger metal barrier. One quick hop off the train, and onward you go. --[QUICK STATS]--------------------------------------------------------- Difficulty: Medium/High, luck definitely a factor BOSS Difficulty: Medium, your low lifebar notwithstanding Expect to lose this much life: 20%-all You're fine if you leave the Area with: at least 50% life Life-ups: 0, so be careful Secrets: 3 Combo Opportunities: None really ------------------------------------------------------------------------ As soon as you hop off the train, the next scene begins. The camera will be slightly overhead, and three single-swipe zombies will move in. The biggest problem here won't be the zombies themselves so much as the fact that all three are headed for you at once at a pretty fast clip. You could knock 'em all down dash attacks, but I find it much safer just to stand your ground with the handgun. Don't use aimed shots though -- harness the power of the charge-up shot. Aim carefully and you should be able to knock down two of them at once. You can take it from here :). Before you head off to the next scene, be sure to break open the crate on the north end (guitar) and on the south/southwest end (machine gun, this crate is harder to see) if you want the 1000 bonus pts. But just for the points ;). I wouldn't bother going for these weapons to deal with the three zombies you dispatched with your basic gear just fine, and I REALLY don't recommend taking these weapons at all into the next scene (UNLESS you're playing 2-player). Now go through the gate on the upper right side empty-handed to enter the big nasty room of zombie doom! The next room can be very tricky unless you make a break for the weapons of mass destruction. Even then, it's still tough -- there's 2 hatchet zombies (low lifebars), 2 armed Area 4 worker zombies (high lifebars) and I believe 2 regular non-comboing zombies (high lifebars) to deal with all at once! Lately though, I've been able to get through this room without taking damage about 60% of the time. ***** (Two-player note! I've seen a two-player group do quite well against the zombie horde in this scene by each picking up the guitar and the machine gun before entering the next scene. As soon as they did, they opened fire with P-bursts (wide arc shots) and didn't stop firing 'til they ran outta bullets. It was silly, cool, and effective all at the same time :). They also racked up some impressive combos. In any case, the zombies are thereafter either completely wasted or dramatically weakened so that the fight now becomes much easier. If you're playing two-player, I highly recommend this strategy for this room. You might not have to do the one-player strat afterward since it's two AMS agents vs. 6 zombies...much better odds :). The only reason why this works for two-player games is because you can spray rains of zombie-blasting flak around -- 88 bullets in total.) ***** If you're playing alone, you don't have the luxury of firing P-button blasts. You'll either be slashed by the hatchet zombies or floored by the shotgun-carrying zombie before you empty the special weapon. The key is to go for the hidden grenade. You'll start the scene facing east in the middle-left end of a very large playing field. At the far south is a crate that contains a cannon shot. Don't even think about getting this one. Forget I even mentioned it! ;P Instead, you'll want to break open the crate carrying the much quicker and more useful grenade, which is the box to the southeast (by the door leading to the next Boss). I follow a modified version of BLui's strategy for this section. Before running from the crowd, I dash straight at the hatchet zombies in the early going. I run a short distance east and immediately dash-attack down the hatchet zombie which is further to the south (lower on the screen). This may seem completely idiotic, with the shotgun zombie right in front of you starting to aim, and another nearby hatchet zombie still standing, but it's not. Why? Because you can then make that same shotgun zombie miss when it fires. Every time :). The still-standing hatchet zombie will also NOT attack you right away (at least on the local arcade's ZR cabinet). Anyway, NOW'S the time you start running like hell ;). My advice is to run southeast like there's no tomorrow, but not in a straight line! Instead, run more like you're following the arc of a wide circle in a counterclockwise direction (dash more south than east in the beginning). Establish as much distance from yourself and the shotgun zombie as you can while running towards the grenade, and certainly don't stop running when it locks, loads and fires. But when it's almost done tracking, loading and firing, make sure you're now running much more east than south. Remember my advice from Area 1: MAKE that zombie track you. If you do it right, the shotgun zombie always misses by a mile. It might even shoot open the cannon shot crate for you :). Resist the temptation to grab it! It can't aim like the grenade can. Here's where things get iffy. Now you must break open the grenade crate and chuck its cargo. Unfortunately, the grenade won't just fall...it bounces for a precious few seconds before you're able to pick it up. The crate can be reached with a punch, but then you have to basically stand still while the zombies home in on your position...not good, especially with those hatchet zombies. So...right after the shotgun zombie misses, you'll probably still have some ways to go before reaching the crate. Your best bet is to hit the crate with a quick handgun shot before you reach it (you can't lock-on to it, so you'll hafta aim manually) so that the grenade is ready for pick-up, or at least almost done bouncing, when you arrive. Most of the time you'll survive to at least _see_ the grenade :P. Now it's a matter of picking up the grenade and chucking it at the first blue-sight lock you see. You now pray for rain, hope that it hits, and also hope that there's lots of zombies clumped together so that life gets easier. If that just doesn't seem like a good idea, run around the playing field once you grab the grenade and find yourself a better opportunity to throw the grenade. Remember, by dashing in wide arcs the armed zombies will almost certainly miss you, and you can outrun any zombie except the hatchet zombies. Usually the grenade will at least hit something. 5 zombies to go is better than 6 to go. But make the grenade count -- while in your take cover animation, the other zombies are free to attack -- and, gulp, blast you with a shotgun or machine gun -- before you're able to move again. Now that the grenade has (hopefully) done its job, you'll now have to rely on your instincts to get rid of the survivors before facing the Boss. Finish off the hatchet zombies first if any survive, avoid the armed zombies until then, then knock down any surviving armed zombies to disarm them if you can do so safely. Then just deal with the surviving normal zombies. Even if you can't get to the grenade, or it missed, or whatever, don't lose hope! The battle is half won if the hatchet zombies are taken out -- and remember, they can't absorb much damage. I've been able to clear this scene once without the grenade with hit-and-run tactics. Keep at it! Should you make it past this scene, you can always give cannon shot a spin, but watch your time. Lucky you, after just two short scenes you've gotta beat the Boss. Follow the arrows through the double doors (ready a fresh handgun clip) and you'll find yourself facing... ************************ <<< BOSS: Giant Head >>> (Fairly tough.) ************************ You'll run down the narrow corridor leading to the Boss, and before long, your party gets a good look at the goopy monstrosity. It's basically a big pinkish-reddish weird giant head with multiple eyeballs, (but not where the sockets are -- ewwww) with something of a lizardish neck attached to a column/pool of green slime. Simply put, it defies description. Ick. The sight of this weird Boss will make Linda fall to her knees. Aw, c'mon, she's a rough-and-tumble AMS agent, but hey, I didn't write the script :P. Get ready for an interesting fight. ---[BOSS ATTACKS:]------------------------------------------------------ Note: the majority of this Boss's attacks are UNblockable. (Projectile) -- both have start-up signs and charging time. #1. Laser Blast. Kinda like the second head of the Area 4 boss, but not, the Boss will open its mouth to reveal -- a laser cannon!!?!? Don't gawk too long, it'll start charging and then fire a streaming straight-line laser blast for about 2-3 seconds which tracks you. If you're in its path from the beginning, you're hit multiple times for 50-70%+ damage. If you're caught by the laser after running from it for a couple of seconds, you're still hit multiple times, but only for 30-40% damage. The Boss's head must be in a specific retracted state, and not hanging overhead, before it can do this move. #2. Torrential Reddish Spit. The Boss will hang its head maybe 6-10 feet above you and then spit out a large vertical column of dark reddish fluid that tracks you. Lasts about 4-5 seconds. If it connects it does multiple hits, but strangely for ridiculously low damage. You shouldn't be too afraid of this move, but remember, avoid damage wherever possible, especially now. The Boss must be hanging its head somewhat downward, looking directly downward, before it can perform this move. ("Head-based" :P) #1. Head Butt (don't laugh). Watch for some start-up signs, for example when the Boss isn't moving much or just seems to be staring at you. It will then charge down rather quickly to home in on your position. If it head butts you, you take 1/3+ damage. The Boss's head must be somewhat high in the air and not hanging overhead before it can perform this move. #2. Triple Head Bang (again, don't laugh, I'm trying my best here). The Boss will hang its head above you for a little while, but instead of doing the Torrential Reddish Spit move, it will instead proceed to hit the floor three times with its head. It won't try to track you. Watch for an abnormally long lag while the head hangs over you, and for the head NOT to be facing downward at you. If you're hit you'll probably automatically stagger out of its range to avoid the next two hits. The actual hit does no more than 1/10 damage. However, what it also does is bring down 4 the little scorpion helpers Area 4 Boss helpers) from the ceiling to assist it. Be very careful, the Boss seems to love performing a Laser Blast right after the scorpions land. The Boss must be hanging above you to do this move. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [BOSS STRATEGY:] I suppose you can be thankful this Boss doesn't seem to have more attacks, or any super-duper slam/munch/shock/whatever moves (that I know of). But its four attacks are plenty bad enough. Don't forget, the laser blast attack can hit multiple times for serious hurt. The only way to defeat this Boss is to take careful aim and fire only red-sight shots at its head whenever possible. Be patient, as the Boss can move its head out of range for a short while. Also, the Giant Head is quite durable, so expect to hit it many times before it falls. Just conserve your ammo as much as possible, and you'll be in no danger of running out. The key is recognizing the Boss's patterns. There are start-up signs for everything, and you can be assured that unless the Boss is in certain positions, it will be unable to attack you in a certain way. For example, don't worry at all about the head butt or the laser if the Boss hangs just above you. (As you gain experience fighting it, you'll HOPE it hangs its head above you all the time, the two attacks it can't do are much more powerful =)=)=).) Do worry about the column of spit or the calling down of the scorpion helpers though. The Boss's attacks are basically "events." Anticipate and react accordingly to avoid harm. In between the attacks are ample opportunities to shoot at the "Big Zombie Head" and get at least one red-sight shot off. But by my estimate, you'll probably need at least 15-20 red-sights to take care of business ;). If scorpions are summoned...well, do your best to get rid of 'em. Since they have more life than the Area 4 scorpions, they can complicate matters a whole ton. Luckily, they WON'T come down again unless the Boss re-summons them. Also, since the projectile attacks track, you have no choice but to run or face certain doom. However, I'd be careful about just plain dashing around for the Laser attack. True, dashing around is perfect for the spit attack. However, the Boss tracks just as well while it's charging to fire its _Laser_ whether you move or not. There may also come times where you're dashing in one direction and you run out of space too quickly, in which case you eat the later part of the laser attack, which is quite painful. What you do while the Boss BEGINS charging is to merely walk around (for about a half second). Since the room you have to move is somewhat limited, if you're near a corner take the time to turn yourself around. But don't walk for long, and break into a dash before it fires the laser. You'll get hit much less by the Laser with this technique, since you won't have to cover as much ground and have less of a chance of running out of running room. Also be warned that the only really effective way to dodge the laser is to make it track you left and right. The laser beam is rather wide and fires at an angle; running from the end of the laser isn't effective, and you'll get zapped if you try to make the laser fire over your head. Run from the laser itself. Other than the laser, another big worry to deal with is the Head Butt, since it hurts so much. My best advice to you is to just block to deflect it well before the Boss actually starts to headbutt you. You can run from the head, but you'll need a lot of space and you'll need to be very fast. The Boss will also be very persistent in running you down. If you can avoid it, great, you get some free shots in. The problem with this strategy is that you frequently won't have much life to spare when you fight the Boss. The block damage from the headbutt is more than a little, and wears down your lifebar considerably, but it's far better than taking 1/3+ damage in one blow that you probably can't afford. I'd only try running away if I knew I didn't have enough life left to block the headbutt. My suggestion is to always block. But _when_ to block the head? You want the Boss to use this attack as little as possible, since it's probably the most dangerous attack, but at the same time you want to be sure you can attack the head without it "countering," although the Boss technically does NOT have a counter attack. You'll find that the biggest warning sign is when the Boss has its head higher in the air, and it just seems to be staring at you and following you as you move around, if you're moving around. If this happens, just face the Boss and start blocking right away until it headbutts. If you fire a shot at it, you'll all too often fall for a trick very similar to the "Area 5 First Handgun Shot Sucker Punch" (See above). After you hit it, it will "counter" and pound you before you can recover and block in time. Remember that the Boss headbutts quicker than you think, and that even after you recover from the handgun shot, you still need some time to put up your guard. But I'm digressing. Since excessive blocking against this Boss will cost you valuable life in the long run, try to make it use its other attacks by 1) staying on the move and 2) not firing too many shots at it at any one time. If you're scoring too many successful hits, the Boss is likely to headbutt (be especially watchful if you hit the Boss and it suddenly recoils backward). If you just stand there and shoot at the Boss, you'll almost certainly have to block another headbutt within seconds. Because the Boss can take some serious punishment, the block damage vs. Boss damage trade-off probably won't be in your favor. Just keep this advice in mind and you shouldn't have too tough a time with this Boss. One note though - if you fire an unaimed shot at the slime column and see a machine gun fall out, don't get it. It'll slow you down too much. Another thought -- the Triple Head Bang attack is one that requires quick response. The scorpions summoned are weak by themselves, but they can hit you practically on contact, and when the Boss is charging up to blast you this means really bad news. Targeting and eliminating the four scorpions quickly is not an easy task. One possible way of preventing this attack is 1) firing a quick volley of unaimed shots at the Boss before the Head Bang to make it recoil its head or 2) try hitting the head with a melee attack (practically impossible though, but you could always try Stick's charge-up double-kick, I guess). Maybe you're just out of luck if the Boss gets ready to headbang. But experiment and see if these or other methods succeed in halting this annoying attack. After you defeat the Big Scary Head, relax, stretch your hands and fingers, control your breathing and your pulse :), and enjoy the cinema before you arrive at... fitful >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ++++++++++++++++++ ZR - Part VII: Mount Sacrifice - ZR +++++++++++++++++ <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< slumber Good thing the movie's pretty long! You need the break! In this cinema, our three heroes look around surprised as the Boss's environment trembles. Enter Zed, Take 2, big surprise. Zed will go through his usual "must take revenge by destroying humanity" thing. Stick bravely dismisses this as nonsense. Linda suddenly breaks down and covers her face with her hands, asking why Zed's leading them around, and wondering if they're all gonna die. Huh?!?!? Anyway... Zed then goes through his normal "ha ha ha ha ha" routine, remarking that Stick especially must suffer (but why?) as green gas erupts from the floor. Stick wonders: "What's with the smoke?" He soon finds out. Before long, our heroes fall to the floor ("W.....H.....A.....T....."). We next find our AMS agents lying face down on a decidedly spooky dirt path (I guess this is Mount Sacrifice) with very well-done moody lighting, rain effects, and windswept trees. Stick recovers first, and everyone's fine. It's a good thing, since a new threat is about to attack! --[QUICK STATS]--------------------------------------------------------- Difficulty: Medium/High BOSS Difficulty: Fairly Low (1st form), Medium/High (2nd form) Expect to lose this much life: 25%-all You're fine if you leave the Area with: at least 50% life Life-ups: 1, but ya gotta extract it from the Boss ;) (10-15% life) Secrets: 1 Combo Opportunities: 1, maybe ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You'll need all the life you can get when you arrive in this section, since you encounter a "new" breed of zombie. These green zombies, present in this area and the next, can and will both spit at you and combo you around like nobody's business. They _seem_ similar to the brown zombies of Area 3 but they're more durable, attack more quickly, and unlike the brown zombies, aren't "assigned" to any specific task. You'll notice after time that the Area 3 brown zombies have a primary means of attack, either standing on a platform and spitting at you, or actually moving in and attacking you up close. The platform zombies won't normally use the combo moves, and the melee-type brown zombies won't often spit at you. The green zombies have no such scruples. Try as you might, you'll often find yourself getting hit at least once or twice before getting to the Boss, especially in the first scene...it's a pain, but hey, an AMS agent's gotta do what an AMS agent's gotta do. Unfortunately, every regular zombie in this area is a green zombie. And the very first wave is none other than 3 green zombies. Oh boy. You'll begin on the west side of the screen, the camera taking a horizontal perspective until you get to the Boss. The green zombies are a good distance to the east in this first scene, blocking the way forward. Start dashing towards them right away, but not directly. Dash in a east/south easterly direction so that the green zombies will all be above you in the screen, or due north. You need to dash at the start because one or more of the zombies is programmed to spit at you at the outset. Yeah, close combat could get rough, but it's better than getting spit at from afar. I wish you good luck :P. It's up to you to deal with them as best you can without them nailing you with either melee attacks or spit. This is the difficult part. For some reason dash attacks miss much more often for me...grrr...leaving you more vulnerable to spit attacks. I suggest you knock down asmany of the three zombies as you safely can, block any incoming spit, and use basic combos or close-up shots to do quick damage when possible (I recommend PPS). With luck you'll make it to the next scene unscathed. You'll hop over some patches of fire in a transitional cinema, and find yourself nearby three landmarks: 1) an open building or back of a vehicle? at the north, 2) a cave-like bunker to the southwest, and 3) the second and final "???" box in the game. Save the mystery box for last and don't break it open until you defeat all the zombies -- it contains a green zombie who will roll out and usually knock you over, though it apparently does no damage. Out of the vehicle/building/whatever will come 3 or 4 green zombies for you to deal with. The initial problem here is that until the zombies actually leave the structure, you can only see their feet. This means you can't really tell if they're gonna spit at you. One thing I usually do which helps is to peg them with a charge-up shot as the zombies become hittable. It knocks them down and leaves me better able to concentrate on one zombie at a time until they exit the structure. Just damage them as much as possible before they come into full view (now you have to deal with spit AND combo attacks), and then do what you did last scene to defeat them all. Overall, the odds of getting hit this scene are a bit lower. If you have some leftover time and you're a point/combo fan like I am, feel free to break open the zombie-trapped box now :) Since there's no other zombies left anymore, and you're not hurt from being knocked over, take out your frustrations on this lone zombie with a niceeeeee long combo :P. Don't fight it all the way to the east end, though. Before your Boss fight, you'll want to pick up some special weapons! Enter the secret cave/bunker to the southwest by kicking open the doors (press G). You'll be treated to a special room where you can select three weapons by "shopping" for them in a first-person perspective. Use the joystick to pan your viewpoint from weapon to weapon, and press P to select (this is the first time you get to see the special weapons in their close-up glory :)), but choose quickly, you don't have much time. As you press P to select your desired weapon it will show up in a weapon slot. Grab three weapons and you're off to fight the Boss. Some words of caution...be careful what you choose. You get many options, but limited time. The first-person perspective isn't immediately intuitive because you select the weapon which is in the "center" of your field of view, rather than walking over it and picking it up (you don't see your character here, you seem to instead look through his/her eyes). Also, the camera pans rather fast from weapon to weapon, it can get kinda dizzying. Talk about polygon-pushing power! Also note that you can only take one of a certain weapon (no three grenades for you), and you can't change any choices you've made. Be careful with selecting with P as well, I suggest you tap it lightly. That all being said and out of the way (I know, heck, it's a BONUS room!), it's time to pick what weapons you want. It's up to you, of course, but I would ALWAYS pick two weapons -- the machine gun (get the shelf with the two machine guns on top in your sights) and the grenade (you start off looking right at em). For the third weapon, I'd go with either the chain gun or the flamethrower. The flamethrower is probably the safer bet since the chain gun isn't great at aiming. You could also select a land mine or the shotgun as viable alternatives (unsure about dual handguns and other weapons, look around if you have enough selection time). You'll eventually remember where everything is, so don't sweat it too much. Additional Special Note: I would *avoid* the futuristic looking gun you might come across while shopping for weapons against the Boss. That's the laser gun. While it's wonderfully efficient, it slows you down, you can't dash with it, and most importantly, it lacks the stopping power you're gonna need. It does SUPER damage against the Boss -- I got the Boss down to 1/3 life and still had some laser charges left -- but the Boss isn't blown back when you fire the weapon, and firing rate is much too slow. This gun wouldn't stop a counter attack or keep the Boss away from you. It also can't lock-on. Feel free to admire it for a couple of seconds, but don't get it. If you choose it by accident, fear not -- use it for the first part of the Boss fight, then swap it for another weapon as soon as the Boss gets close!!! Sorry if it seems like I spoke 10 volumes too many about the bonus room -- but really, it's very important to take the right weapons to even the odds, since the Boss has 2 forms. After you leave the weapons room (about, oh, 5 minutes before you finished reading those last 5 paragraphs :P), you'll notice you don't actually "have" the weapons ready for use. What you DO have is a "Weapons Bag" with the weapons inside. Don't worry about it for now, and head east to meet the Boss...who looks kinda like the Area 1 Boss, but with a spookily grayish human face! ******************************************** <<< BOSS: Mechanical Monster (two forms) >>> (Pretty tough.) ******************************************** ---[BOSS ATTACKS:]------------------------------------------------------ Attacks: They are exactly like that of the Scrapyard Monster, but I can't remember exactly how much damage each attack does. I think the damage done is basically similar except for the counter attack, which does more damage when it knocks you down. All the attacks this Boss has in common with the Scrapyard Monster are blockable except the old shockwave tantrum thing. This Boss also has some extra attacks to make it more dangerous. Physical Attack - Shoulder Charge. After not very long of a start-up at all, the Boss will start running at you to knock you down. Worse, the shoulder charge TRACKS. It only _looks_ slow; it can catch up to Stick's dash with frightening speed, especially if you're not far away. The Boss will keep running for a long time to knock you down and if it does, you suffer about 1/6-1/8 damage. This is NOT blockable. (Weapons attacks -- not blockable) #1. Chaingun attack. The Boss will crouch on one knee, stop, and open up a chain gun in its chest, proceeding to blast away in a wide arc (looks identical to one P-burst from the chain gun you can carry). If you're not close to the Boss when he fires, you'll take really low damage if you get hit at all. If you're in front of him and don't hit him out of the move, you'll probably suffer heavy damage. In general, just keep your distance and you'll be fine. But if you have an opening...break open that 6-pack of AMS Agent wup#$$!!! Not a very dangerous move, and one you should take full advantage of. #2. Rocket Attack. The Boss will stop, stand straight up and open a panel in its chest to reveal four small red-tipped rockets. If you don't hit the Boss out of it, the rockets will launch one at a time. They will be somewhat guided and then fall to the ground after a time, one by one.. If they all hit you, you take about about 50-60% damage (about 1/8+ damage per rocket) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [BOSS STRATEGY:] When Zombie Revenge was still around the local arcade, I constantly noticed people trying to circle Bosses to hit 'em in the back. If you can pull it off, it works well -- Bosses are always vulnerable from that angle and have a hard time fighting back. A perfectly valid strat. The classic problem is that actually running around to the back of a Boss is difficult, at least for me. The Boss pivots to track you as you run, and will often whack you good before you can circle it. While this Boss is pretty slow, trying to run around it after it attacks is still a very risky proposition, especially if you don't have much life to spare (and I rarely do). If you can run to the back of this Boss, excellent, hammer away with PPPPP if playing Stick and just watch out for the temper tantrum shockwave, back off and start pounding again. Otherwise, here's where the Weapons Bag comes in to make this a fairer fight. The Weapons Bag you collected will automatically drop to the ground at the beginning of the Boss fight. Out will magically pop the three weapons you chose earlier, ready for you just when you need 'em the most. And you'll need 'em soon, since the Boss is lumbering towards you. Fortunately, you and your weapons are a good distance away, so take the time to pick one up (heavier weapons usually pop up behind you). I'd take the flamethrower or chain gun first. If you have the flamethrower, it's a piece of cake, flame the Boss at maximum range and watch his lifebar melt away...just remember that if he does a tantrum attack or counters, he's near impossible to damage for the time being. The tantrum attack probably won't reach you, but if his _counter attack_ looks like it might, flame the Boss good to stop him in his tracks. Do note that the flamethrower will probably hurt the Boss for less damage than the chain gun -- about 1/2 damage as opposed to 2/3 damage on the big bad superzombie -- but also keep in mind that you never have to worry about missing and reloading. If you have the chain gun...well...aim at the Boss as best as possible and wait til he gets pretty close before letting loose with the S-burst. If it works, he'll be drilled for up to 16 hits and be bumped _way_ back :). The chain gun is the superior keep-away weapon, and does better damage on the Boss if all the bullets hit, but since it doesn't aim well, use it with care. Repeat until the weapon is empty, and always wait until the Boss is "within range" to mow it down with the S-burst. The Boss should now be at around 50% life, and only rarely will he have had even a _chance_ to touch you. The flamethrower and chain gun make excellent keep-away weapons. Next, I suggest you move on to the machine gun. Sure, it's not nearly as powerful as the shotgun, which actually does pretty nice damage against the Boss, but it's better for three reasons: 1) it fires more quickly and you're slowed down a bit less by it, 2) you can fire 8 bursts of ammo at the Boss vs. 6 shells, and 3) it has the all-important lock-on capability. The blue lock-on sight makes this weapon the most worry-free of all to use against the Boss. Range is good, and as soon as you have a blue sight, fire an S-burst. Don't burn all 40 bullets at once (actually get 8 blue sight locks) and be patient, and the Boss will be further damaged, again without ever having had a chance to hurt you. The machine gun also does a decent job at keeping the Boss away. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> DIGRESSION: ...You know, now that I think about it, I might have been leading any readers astray :P! Getting a flamethrower, THEN a chain gun and grenade is also a potent combo. In theory the chain gun will almost certainly finish off the first form of the Boss after the flamethrower's done its job (or vice versa). So why'd I tell you to get that wimpy machine gun in the first place when you can play with REAL fire :P?!? Well, I have a valid defense for not thinking of this earlier ;). Don't forget, the machine gun locks on. Also note that in the very beginning, you and the Boss are quite far apart, so you have ample time to get a heavy weapon from the Weapons Bag. This is usually no longer the case once your first heavy weapon's used up. Also note the general rule that as Bosses lose life, their attacks get more aggressive. Thus, you're at risk of a shoulder charge or even a rocket attack (particularly bad news since you'll have to run from it at top speed to avoid it). But hey. If you've had better luck than me with using the chain gun first, superb! Get the flamethrower next and burn that Boss to the ground. Just be on the lookout for any incoming attacks... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> So hey, things aren't going so bad after all, and you still have the awesome power of the grenade left! But save it unless you're really feeling insecure. The Boss should now be near 1/4 life or less. Now all you have to do is bring that down to 0 to finish the first half of your fight. Not as easy as I'd like it to be without the grenade, though. Try keeping your distance and using aimed shots. If the Boss does a weapons attack, interrupt it if you can (physical attacks, possibly a fast volley of blue-sight shots if far away) and hit the Boss in the back while it's vulnerable. If the Boss does the charging attack on you, dash away with quick cornering and hope he doesn't catch you -- although you CAN take advantage of the Boss's relative stupidity. There's a very big metal wall that serves as a boundary for this fight, and if you can "steer" the Boss into it, it will stop the charge and the Boss will be stunned :). Let me know if there's a better way to avoid the shoulder charge. When the Boss is almost out of life in its first form, it will drop a life-up (10-15%). Don't get it yet, though -- the life-up sticks around a while, and the Boss is standing over it. When the Boss is at 0 life, it will automatically perform one tantrum attack before it goes into its second form. The second form is actually a mini-boss which comes out of the Boss itself! It acts as a mini hatchet monster and also as a mini-scorpion in terms of its attacks. It's also very, VERY small, too small to possibly hit with fists. It is somewhat fast and can lightly damage you. This miniature Boss is no threat to you by itself. However, the original Boss will still be around to attack you freely, and this makes things difficult. The trick to putting down this Boss once and for all is to concentrate on attacking the little zombie/creature Boss, since only it takes any damage. The Big Boss is now invincible, although it can be stunned. Luckily the Little Boss takes heavy damage from well-aimed handgun shots. Still, it won't be easy finding opportunities to hit it. Here's where the grenade you also hopefully chose comes in real handy :). Run over to the grenade and get it as soon as it's safe to. Pick up the life-up too if you haven't done so yet. Of course, the grenade, being so light and all, doesn't slow you down a bit, and since only handgun shots are of any real use at this stage, you can afford to carry the grenade with you until the time is right. What you're looking for are occasions where: 1) the Little Boss is either separated from the bigger Boss by some distance, 2) the Big Boss is performing a useless attack like the chain gun move, or 3) you've been able to hit the little Boss while it's flying in the air so it's now downed for the moment. If you can get a blue-sight lock, chuck the grenade at the little Boss and hope it hits. (You might want to shoot the Little Boss once with a quick blue-sight shot to stun it first, though, this seems to increase the odds of success.) If the grenade hits...KABOOOOOM!! The Little Boss will take 60-70% damage! A definite, definite help :). Right about now, some of you more savvy players might be asking "Why only the grenade?" True, you could use a heavy weapon on the Little Boss...I've seen 2-player teams pick the flamethrower to barbeque the thing for about 50% damage :). A _solo_ player can probably burn the Little Boss to a crisp in 3 seconds flat! So why not? My answer: Mobility. You want to be at full speed since you've got 2 Bosses occupying the field now, and to best avoid the Big Boss, who you won't focus on, and chase the Little Boss, you can't be burdened with anything other than a grenade. What good will your flamethrower do if the Big Boss launches a long-distance rocket assault? But that's just my humble opinion, of course. Moving on... Even if the grenade misses, don't worry too much. The little Boss is vulnerable whenever the big Boss can't effectively protect it, or if you can knock the little Boss down mid-air and pelt it with quick-charging shots. With patience, luck and skill, you'll prevail, and this Boss will be done for good. Congratulations on surviving yet another tough battle! You're now going to enter... breaching <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ++++++++++++++ ZR - Part VIII: The House of the Dead - ZR ++++++++++++++ the wall >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> That big red metal wall barrier I mentioned earlier turns out to be a giant door! Our heroes watch as it gives way for them to enter, and so the assault on the House of the Dead begins. --[QUICK STATS]--------------------------------------------------------- Difficulty: High BOSS Difficulty: Medium/High Expect to lose this much life: a lot, 0 up to the Boss if you're extremely skilled or extremely lucky You're fine if you leave the Area with: unsure, at least 50% life Life-ups: 2 (for about 70-100%+ life altogether) Secrets: 3 Combo Opportunities: 1-2, maybe ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you get here, you REALLY deserve a pat on the back! It's difficult with one player and one credit :P. You won't get much time to control your surely erratic breathing and racing pulse since the cinema is rather short (hey -- this game is INTENSE), but things aren't so bad to start. All battles up to the actual House of the Dead (HOTD) will be shown from a vertical camera angle, and you'll begin each scene facing north and having to progress north. When I finally make it here, I frequently find my character in quite a trashed state; very rarely do I actually have anything near half a lifebar :). And all the life-up goodies are still out of reach! Luckily, the first scene is easy. You begin on the road leading to some outer entry gates. You'll face three very weak regular zombies far to the north. Just get rid of them any way you like, they're absolutely no threat to you. Knock all three down with a charge-up shot, it's fun :). Stand in place and use your handgun and you'll take no hits. Enter the gate to the north to enter the next scene, a gated fountain area. This area's not too hard if you play it right, although you now have to deal with up to 5 green (ugh) zombies. Try as much as possible to take care of them one at a time. The first zombie will hop out of the fountain in the center to land near you (don't worry, it's programmed to, don't move til it drops to the left of you and you won't take any damage). Get rid of it quickly with three quick-charging red-sight shots, as long as any other green zombies in the area aren't ready to spit at you (they would be to your north). After that, finish off the zombie to the north if the other three haven't yet clambered out of the fountain. Just remember these general rules of thumb. Block any incoming spit, make frequent use of the dash attack, use quick-charging shots, and do quick basic combos or more dash attacks to floor the zombies again. After you're all done here (you can usually clear the room without taking any damage), empty your clip for a fresh one and leave through the north gate. You'll then come to a bridge leading to the HOTD. If you played the HOTD light gun game, this is all starting to look very familiar to you :). A lone green zombie will be at the far end of the bridge. Immediately dash in to close the distance gap so it doesn't get the chance to spit at you. Don't worry, it won't attack right away. Then plug away its lifebar with those oh-so-great quick-charging shots :). Three or four should do the trick, no knockdowns required, and you get the job done much faster! Now run back across the bridge, firing a quick shot midway...for some reason you'll usually nail one of the two green zombies who have since shown up from the back. This is a good thing. Finish running across the bridge and deal with the two green zombies, it isn't too difficult with all you've learned so far. You stand a good chance of making it through this scene unscathed, too. Congratulations. You've played it smart and conserved your lifebar up to this point. It's just too bad that it's hard to have a lot of life coming into this area, because things get more difficult in the next two scenes. Now that you've beaten the zombies in the bridge scene, head over the bridge and up the stairs to the north to enter the next scene, but watch for the frogs bouncing across your path, shoot them or run while there's a gap to avoid taking damage. Now you face four zombies, and they're ALL PACKING SHOTGUNS!!! Scary? You betcha! Don't panic, it's manageable with practice. The camera will swoop in on the two armed zombies at the top of the stairs, looking like they'll end your game in 2 seconds. They're really won't (yet), it's just for show. These are your first targets. Dash attack them down quickly and THEN damage them as much as possible before the two armed zombies at the bottom of the stairs move within firing range. Remember, the shotgun zombies, like you, can't aim upwards...but be wary of the shotgun's wide area effect. Also remember, if they DO stop and aim, it means they've got a lock on ya. I think you should go disarm them now. :) Try not pick up a shotgun due to the slowdown factor and the unreliable damage it does. While you have averted the shotgun threat temporarily, the zombies will inevitably rise and re-arm. This now becomes an exercise in precise dash-attacking and quick shots and combos to keep 'em all from either shooting you or crowding you (careful, these guys can combo attack). Clear out if you must. Luckily, these zombies don't have much life. Man, that was a lot of work just battling your way to the front door! But there's still 2 waves of enemies between you and the nearest life-up... Follow the arrows north and you'll now find yourself in the HOTD. It's brightly lit, but don't get cozy. Two hatchet zombies will come down from the chandelier above and attack, and lucky for you, the last two. But there's also two fast-hitting zombies who will soon converge from behind. Now, I have absolutely no doubt that you would survive this room with a full lifebar. You can burn a few Clear Out Attacks to even the odds. ;) The problem here, as I've said so many times before (sorry :)), is that from Cassandra to here, you have to make do with a single life-up. That said, you're almost to the legendary life-restoring elixir, if you can just get past this and the next wave of enemies. This room lends itself to potential starting strategies that I haven't been able to practice. But you _will_ be locked-on to a hatchet zombie right after the cinema. So you have the chance to get a free hit, which is important. But if you try to basic combo, the punches might go over the hatchet zombie's head. If you try to shoot it down with quick- charging shots, the two zombies from close behind will get you. If you try to run around, the other hatchet zombie will soon fall from the chandelier and give chase. In any case, you must somehow dispatch four durable and fast-moving opponents. Any advice I can give is theoretical at best, but make getting rid of the hatchet zombies a first priority ...the two regular zombies are much less dangerous. If you do have about 40-50% life, try a Clear Out Attack once the two zombies from behind get into range, so that 2 or 3 zombies will be temporarily floored. Keep moving as best you can in the somewhat tight space, and knock down the two regular zombies if it's safe so you can work on the hatchet zombies. Should you survive, head on over to the left by the staircase (knock over any statues if you wish). You'll now be facing three bats at the top of the stairs, but they're a piece of cake -- three quick shots standing in place should drop them all. After this, though, DON'T head up the stairs! Instead, face leftwards and press G, P or S near the wall with the picture frame to kick open a secret passage!! Once inside you'll find two spiked walls slowly closing in, a host of brown zombies (but different looking and weaker), and at the far end of the cavern, the coveted Elixir!!! Get to that Elixir by dash attacking or very quickly getting rid of the zombies in your way. Don't just run at the Elixir, or a zombie might hit you on the way. Get the elixir (blue bottle) by climbing up the platform. Success! But now you have to get out, and worse yet, even more brown zombies have sprung up. Deal with them quickly (I recommend handgun shots and PPS), avoid the spikes that are closing in as best as possible (they damage you for about 1/6), and finish off all the zombies so that you can leave the room. If you've made it all this way and now have the Elixir in your grasp, bravo! You've earned an effective free play, since you'll be brought back to full health if your lifebar runs out. Now head up the stairs. You'll soon face four armed zombies once again, but these are the familiar, non-comboing red coat zombies. Isn't that reassuring? ;) Knock down the three in the back of the room (due north) with dash attacks ASAP, and then turn your attention to getting rid of the armed zombie behind you. Then pick up a machine gun and rip those zombies to shreds. You should make it through unhurt. Remember your Clear Out Attack if you can still afford its lifebar cost. Head into the narrow corridor for the next scene, replete with flaming torches for lighting. The wall (or is it a gate?) will slam behind you and you must now face a new enemy, the laser zombies. Strangely enough, they're not that dangerous at all! They can fire a guided laser attached to their arm (can't be knocked off) that hits for 1/7ish damage (don't know if this is blockable), or stab at you with the gun attachment itself (blockable), but to compensate, they act very slowly. They also start with kinda low life. So run in there and raise some hell (or, un- raise the undead, whatever :P), and take full advantage of their poor reaction time. Charge-up shots also work well to knock these zombies down. Just keep an eye on any of the six zombies readying an attack, and you should be just fine. When I was on my "A+" game (in score and progress -- can't play anymore, sniff :P), I had the elixir and about maybe 7% life left, and I made it through with the 7% life left. Although I was largely running on nerves, I still think this room isn't too hard. Next up for you is the Sub-Boss, somewhat familiar looking, who you must face in a narrow corridor. << SUB BOSS: Burning Zombie >> (Easy, usually...) ---[SUB BOSS ATTACKS:]-------------------------------------------------- The Burning Zombie has the same attacks as the Scrapyard Monster, basically, except for the flaming stuff :). I don't know what damage any of these attacks do since I've been lucky enough never to get hit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [SUB BOSS STRATEGY:] This Boss is VERY slow, and quite vulnerable to handgun shots, especially aimed ones. Unfortunately you can't quite finish the job before it reaches you. Since the Boss is quite slow, I would try to run around it when it attacks (you might want to try blocking the attack first), and pounding it in the back until it's finished. Or heck, if you have life to spare, block one of its attacks and run all the way to the other side of the room to shoot it down, that might work just as well too! Just watch for any tantrum attacks. The Boss also makes good combo fodder as it takes a long time to fall after you defeat it. The barrier gate to the north will now open and you'll now have to about 6 laser zombies spaced out in a large corridor. Breezy. Again, take full advantage of their slowness, and dash past them all (easy) to enter a secret room on the northeast end of the hall. Don't engage 'em in combat just yet. Once you enter the door, defeat the two weak zombies in there (not a problem), and hit the dresser? repeatedly to make a life-up (10-20% life) fall from the top. Then hit the cabinet to pick from one of several weapons. I'd get the grenade. If for some reason you can't find things around here, toss Clear Out Attacks like crazy (they're free unless zombies are in the way) if you have enough life to execute them (AFTER the zombies have disappeared) and you'll make the items fall out sure enough. After you leave the secret room, use the grenade as you wish to thin the ranks of the laser zombies. Dealing with them from here is a snap, hit them with charged shots from afar, and rush in up close. You shouldn't take much damage, and it will be a GREAT help to you if you don't have to use the elixir up to this point. Yeah, whatever, you might say. My lifebar is still pretty low, and now I have to face the Boss, it doesn't matter, does it? Actually it kinda does. To the left wall of the door you enter to face the next Boss are two pillars. Tucked in between is a secret crate that holds a life- up...the special kind that fills 50-100% of your lifebar (recall Area 5)! You probably won't have a chance to get it until you clear the scene of zombies, though. Shooting the crate is a bit tricky, but you should get the life up after a few tries. Your lifebar will now be restored to 60-100% right before the Boss fight, a very handy and welcome reward. That's why you save the Elixir!!! Head through the doors to face the largest Boss ever! ******************* <<< BOSS: Giant >>> (Very tough.) ******************* The head of this monster will remind you somewhat of the Area 6 Boss...but don't look into that tidbit too much :P This sucker doesn't have many moves to anticipate, but they all do BIG damage. And did I mention this Boss is huge? You only fight its upper body... ---[BOSS ATTACKS:]------------------------------------------------------ (Physical) -- both blockable #1. Pancake Hand Sweeper. The giant Boss will use his right hand (it appears from your view as his "left" hand) to swipe or squash you flat. If you don't block (and properly), say goodbye to 1/2 of your lifebar. #2. Grab. The Boss will use his right hand once again in an attempt to grab you. If it does, you're slammed around like a rag doll, and there's nothing you can do about it. I'd say this move would just about finish you off in any circumstance. I've never been hit by it (lucky me) but I have seen the Boss slam the stuffing out of a grabbed zombie and I'll tell you, it's not funny...well it is to see the zombie get punished instead :P. (Projectile) -- unblockable Laser Eye -- The Boss will spend a very long time charging up (the head even smokes :)), and then fire a searing laser blast from its eye that tracks, but for a much longer period and duration than the Area 6's Boss's Laser. Lucky for you it doesn't track as fast. Does unspeakable damage and multiple hits if it connects, but it probably won't finish you in one shot. The double-laser variety, however, probably will finish you if you're hit, no matter what. The double laser occurs after the Boss has been significantly damaged. Not much changes except the power and possibly the tracking duration of the laser. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [BOSS STRATEGY:] Facing the Boss by itself is surprisingly easy, actually. You can shoot any one of three targets on its body (head or either of two hands, but I think shooting the head does the most damage), and the Boss's attacks come very slowly with long build-ups. Blocking the physical attacks actually don't cost you much life at all, maybe because blocking is a mandatory thing this time (you could run from the Area 6 Boss's head butt, but you can't run from the swipe and grab here, at least to my knowledge). For some reason, though, your best bet with blocking the physical attacks is to run over to the far right side of the playing field (I think there's a stack of wood there), then block facing leftwards before the hand comes down. You'll never be hurt this way, but according to BLui you'll get clobbered if you're anywhere other than at the far right of the screen. Why? Maybe it's a momentum thing. Curiously, the Boss only attacks with his right hand... The laser blast is also pretty easy to deal with. Once you figure out how long the laser takes to charge (VERY IMPORTANT!!!), it's easy to run from -- make sure you're either on the extreme left or right end of the screen and run straight to the opposite end once the laser fires and it will miss. I don't recommend just standing around before the laser fires, instead walk around some so you can be ready to dash (see Giant Head Boss strat from Area 6). Unfortunately, there's the complicating factor of two regular non- comboing helper zombies. Dagnabbit, not those boss helpers again! :P You can get rid of them for the time being, but two more replacements will promptly arrive. Just dash-attack them down when they get close, and if it's safe. If they manage to get in your way, you're at risk of being utterly flattened or barbequed by the Boss, but that's where the elixir comes in to save the day :) Concentrate fire on the Boss's head if you can (targeting is a little difficult). You have plenty of time for a couple of red-sight shots after each attack finishes. The Boss takes a long time to attack, and just ignore the shaking and growling it does while you're hitting it. You can even punch it in the face, but that's not always possible. Just be ready to react once you see the start-up signs (watch for the Boss just staring at and following you to be ready). Should you succeed, the Boss will die a dramatic death, and you're headed for the final stage... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +++++++++++++++++++++ ZR - Part IX: The Dawn - ZR ++++++++++++++++++++++ ray of hope <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (THIS SECTION IS INCOMPLETE. Cinema info unavailable.) --[QUICK STATS]--------------------------------------------------------- Difficulty: High FINAL BOSS Difficulty: Very High (both forms) Expect to lose this much life: who knows? You're fine if: you win the game :) Life-ups: 2, both from Bosses (replenishment values unknown) Secrets: 0 Combo Opportunities: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Welp, you're finally here. Deep within the inner sanctum of the headquarters of evil, you'll face "the man with the golden eyes" in a fight to the death. It won't be easy, but should you defeat Zed in his two forms, the world is saved... Unfortunately this walkthrough won't tell you how to defeat Zed, since this humble author has never made it to him yet! Arrggh! But please do read BLui's and R-Jay's FAQs on the GameFAQs site for good in-depth strategies and information. I'm not sure how exactly you get where you are, but our AMS heroes are suddenly transported across time and space or something like that in some really trippy and really cool graphical effects. I clearly remember that it was impressive :). Next thing you know, you're headed downward on a elevator-type platform, and must next battle a total of 8 laser zombies! It's actually more like fighting 4 at a time...as you defeat one, a fresh laser zombie will take its place. The battle isn't quite as easy as last time in the more confined corridors of Area 8, since the laser zombies will surround you, starting off at each corner of the platform. But the one time I was at this Area and fought them off, I'd only been hit once for about 1/7 damage. The trick at the very beginning is to not worry too much about the other laser zombies and to basically hit up the zombie nearest you until the other 3 are pretty close. It's then a matter of very quick combo sets, shots and dash attacks when they prepare to attack you (maybe even incomplete combos in the case of Stick -- e.g. use PPP instead of PPS). Remember, laser zombies are pretty slow to the attack. The fight is tough since the zombies have high lifebars, but your real opponent is the clock. Stand and deliver, but don't feel you need to do a whole bunch of damage to one zombie before focusing on another. I did my fighting using Stick with a quick shot here, a dash attack there, a 2-hit PP on one laser zombie, a PPP on another, and even when pecking away like this (probably not the best method) with almost no full basic combos, I still had enough time left to head off to the next scene. With patience and a watchful eye you'll vanquish 'em all. You now head to what appears to be an dark abyss of empty space. But it's not entirely, actually; paths and platforms made up of shiny lighted white cubes will rise for you to face your first Boss, your old friend the Electric Predator. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SUB BOSS 1: Electric Predator, Take 2 -- easy, so very easy... Attacks: Same as Area 3 Electric Predator, except now the electricity bolts are greenish....oooooooooooooooooo If you've gotten this far the Electric Predator is a complete piece of cake. The Boss's attacks are still all blockable, it doesn't move any faster, I don't think it does ANYTHING differently. As long as you can still withstand a few ticks of block damage, you should be able to breeze past this guy. The only difference this time is a smaller area with which to fight. Don't worry, you can't fall off the floating platforms. Just deal with this Boss the exact same way as you did in Area 3, since this Boss is exactly the same, and you'll be just fine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Well that was easy (though you're probably bemoaning every last tick of lost life by now). Can't say the same thing for the next Boss, though! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SUB BOSS 2: Mechanical Monster, Take 2 (in the second form) -- very hard Attacks: Same as before This battle is nail-grindingly annoying because the Boss is in its second form. True, all you have to do is shoot down the weak Little Boss to win, but this time the platform you have to work with is terribly small. Meanwhile, the Big Boss is still invincible as usual :(. This makes the Boss infinitely more dangerous since you can't run around as well to avoid its attacks. The shoulder charge is probably almost impossible to avoid (maybe you can roll out of the way, I don't know, I didn't make it past this Boss even with 60% life), and don't even think about running from the rocket attack if the Boss fires em off into the air, hit the Boss out of it ASAP!. Should you be able to defeat the Boss, according to BLui's FAQ, hit the big Boss several times after it's finished off and before it falls to make it drop a very crucial life-up. After this, it's on to Zed at last. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ But since ZR isn't around anymore, I'll never GET to Zed!! *sigh* Well, here's what I know firsthand anyway... ********************************* <<< END BOSS: Zed (two forms) >>> (REALLY tough.) ********************************* I can't tell you much of anything about his attacks, moves or difficulty, except for what I've seen from other people who used continues to beat him. Lots and lots of continues. He is by all accounts very fast, durable, and all-around tough even in his first form. Luckily many of his attacks don't do too much damage, but the problem is that Zed can fly and swoop with impunity, and also that Zed just has so many attack options available to him -- he can blast you with lasers from above, use a flaming hand, teleport at will, and even use his handgun! And I don't think I've identified his full repertoire. Many of his attacks are also unblockable. Should you beat his first persona, Zed will collapse, and ask our heroes "Why do you still want to live?" before transforming into the mighty God of Destruction (looks kinda like Magician from HOTD). The second fight gets even tougher. The former Zed now gains more attacks, gets speed enhancements on his old ones, and according to what card you chose at the Area 2 computer terminals, a _custom_ set of attacks if you beat him up enough. All the while the background is absolutely psychedelic. You'll have to see it to believe it. Even in today's era of GeForce 4 Ti4600s and ATI Radeon 8500s with 128MB DDR RAM, you're sure to be impressed. Needless to say, since you've gotta face a superfast flying final boss, the handgun is absolutely critical to success. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Since this FAQ will perpetually (?) lack a Boss Strategy section, I highly recommend (again) that you follow the advice of BLui and R-Jay's FAQs on gamefaqs.com. With their help, you just might win the day for the side of good. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Zed will drop bullets and a single life-up as you score successful hits, and these items will be invaluable to you. His alter-ego also drops ammo. Should you defeat the fearsome God of Destruction, you'll find our heroes in an open field after their victory. Deep in thought. Stick wonders out loud about "My father..." (hmm...you don't mean anything like "Zed Breitling," do ya?) ...but just then, the AMS helicopter comes to take our heroes away, perhaps for more adventures ahead. Maybe we'll find out what Stick meant if we ever get a Zombie Revenge 2. :) Aou'll now see all of the rooms and scenes from ZR in reverse order (starting from the last level) while the credits roll, except now things are rather lighter and brighter since the zombie threat has been averted...for now. You'll finally revisit the room where you saved the girl, and she's still there, hours later! Why? She's waiting for the money promised from Zed for giving you the disk! Oops, she might not get her check in the mail for quite some time... :P and so the game draws to a close. And so does the walkthrough. :) =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ -+-+- BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK -+-+- ******* helpful hints and other stuff ******* -+-+- BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK -+-+- ******* are just below ******* -+-+- BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK BIG CONSPICUOUS SECTION BREAK -+-+- \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ ************************************************************** * VII. Helpful Hints, Closing Thoughts, Mysteries of the Game, * * and Other Stuff * ************************************************************** I apologize for not having a more complete FAQ, but the game's incredibly difficult to beat with just one credit :). It's a very challenging, but also very fun game. With practice you'll find you can go for 20-30 minutes on a single credit, even on an average day...and that's a LOT of 3D gaming goodness for your money! Spread the joy of ZR to everyone :) if you have the game or know of a ZR arcade game nearby, you never know how long the somewhat less popular games are gonna stick around... Just schedule things around your games :P. Keep experimenting as you go on, implement effective strategies to get you through each scene in the best possible conditions, and always be thinking about new techniques and battle strats... Here's a whole bunch of semi-random thoughts from me that you may or may not find useful, they're kinda disorganized but hey, they're fresh theories you might want to try out (many of which I haven't tried myself)... [Area 1] - you might be able to make a significant combo out of the 2 baseball cap zombies you find in the stage. [Area 2] - Remember, you don't have to wade into a bunch of zombies in the alleyway with the Pipe, as I always do (though you should always pick up the Pipe to quickly polish off the machine gun zombie that falls down behind you). You can choose to play it safe and fire at the zombie crowd from a distance with the machine gun, just watch out for the other machine gun zombie. [Area 3] - Ah, purple spit zombies. They won't be too much trouble here, but they will be in later areas. Do note that zombie spit always tends to fly and connect rather high. Is it possible you could roll to make the purple spit fly over you without harm? Also note how if you're playing Rikiya, you have distinct advantages in this level. Where many occasions call for two shots with Stick and Linda, Rikiya players may only need one due to higher handgun damage. This translates to FANTASTIC quick-charging red-sight shot damage and lots of opportunities for dealing quick and heavy damage to zombies. There may be uses for Rikiya's charged-up physical attack (the purplish close-range energy field) that I don't know about. You could possibly try it on the secret room with the five zombies in this Area. Clear Out on them, and then collect your energy and see if you can hit em with the energy blaze while they're down (don't bring in a weapon). Heck, you never know what might happen :). But try it at your own risk! [Area 4] - Might the Roll work to duck under the claw swipes of the Boss? The swipe looks kinda low, but you never know... [Area 5] - If you can find you can roll under the light posts in the tunnel without getting hit, you might want to try using Rolls against the Boss at the end when it swoops or swipes at you. The timing may be difficult, but you might be able to avoid block damage, especially the Boss's large swoop attack frequently hits for _two_ ticks of block damage. [Area 6] - Remember the big room of gloom n' doom right before the Boss? There may be more ways to get through it safely than I've thought of. No, this doesn't mean getting the cannon shot :P. For example, could you defeat one of the hatchet zombies outright before making a run for the grenade? Rikiya might have a good chance of doing that. One less hatchet zombie will spare you a bunch of trouble. Also, is getting the grenade and then tossing it right away the best idea? It usually works fine, but what if you disregard everything I said and ran well around the zombie horde in this scene (don't hit any zombies, just head south then east or straight for the grenade box), and just hit the grenade crate right away? Given you can usually run around the zombie bunch, could you then either 1) run away without the grenade and make the zombies follow you so you could pick it up later or 2) pick up the grenade, but then run around the zombies until you can find a good time to toss it? And bringing up the Roll once again...could you use it to avoid headbutts from the Boss just before it hits you to avoid taking block damage? [Area 7] - I noted above that once you run around the green zombie wave at the beginning so that all the zombies are north of you, dash attacking them all down seems really tough. This might be because some of the three zombies are not "hittable" yet (true, one did spit at you though) If you find it very hard to hit some of the green zombies in this first wave, look into whether certain zombies are immediately hittable and if others are not. This'll help you to prioritize which zombies to go for and possibly minimize damage taken in that scene. Invoking the Roll yet again for the Boss: could you Roll away in a certain direction to avoid its shoulder charge? [Area 8] - When you reach the staircase with the 2 shotgun zombies up top and the 2 at the bottom, do you necessarily have to keep switching your attention between those at the top of the stairs and those at the bottom? Or, could you disarm them all, then stay down the bottom of the staircase? Remember that your handgun can aim upwards and downwards and their shotguns can't, and also that there's a considerable height difference from the bottom to the top of the staircase. When you meet the laser zombies, note that their long streaming semi- guided curving laser blast things hit rather high. If you can't block these blasts, can you roll under them? The same goes for the Giant Boss at the end. Are there alternatives to just blocking all the time? And could you possibly roll under the laser or hand if you're in a pinch? [Area 9] - Yep, here comes more droning speeches about the Roll...but in the End Boss strats that BLui and R-Jay have, they mention that rolling may be absolutely essential to effectively dealing with Zed's swoops, even the big ones. Also, I've heard (and actually seen) that when you pick the blue card at Area 2's computer terminal, the attacks of the God of Destruction do seem relatively the same after he gains the "powers" of the card, and are thus easier to deal with. Maybe picking a card chooses the Boss's difficulty and changes the ending...but heck, if you're just trying to pass the game for the first time, why NOT pick the card that translates into an easier Boss fight? [Other random thoughts and mysteries:] Which Stick, I've been able to occasionally pull off a PPPP string followed immediately by a roll. Is this repeatable? Might this be useful? You can cancel out of a roll anytime into a Clear Out Attack. Some of the strats I listed here can also be used by Linda and Rikiya players. Machine gunning zombie combos are equally easy since all characters handle special weapons the same. You can beat the Area 1 Boss the same with Linda and Rikiya, I've tried it myself. You can use the Pipe with either Linda or Rikiya in Area 2 with the same results as Stick. General gunplay is the same for all three characters, and they can all use the quick-charging shot technique with devastating results. Also, don't forget to ask yourself "Are there any secrets I haven't found yet?" Every life-up you can find is critical to success at ZR. Once you get used to the game, I guarantee you'll be having fun and coming back for more. Just make sure you keep your social/academic/ work/other important aspects of life in harmony and balance :) =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= Hey? Where'd that Big Conspicuous Section Break go? Well, since we're winding down, there's no need for it now. And...well...it's my FAQ! ;) *************** * VIII. Credits * *************** Again, thanks to BLui for providing much of the inspiration to write this FAQ of Zombie Revenge in the first place. Thanks also for R-Jay for the great End Boss Strategy that I can't use right now since ZR is gone :) Additional thanks to all who've critiqued this FAQ on the GameFAQs message boards. Your feedback was invaluable and doubled as the ultimate impetus for this (rather substantial) overhaul/revision. =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=+-= That's it for the FAQ! Thanks for reading it! With Love Toward All Humans, --Mav :) ;) ;) ***END*** For those interested, here's the Version History! ************************* * Version History, Etc.-- * ************************* v0.5 -- 7/23/2000: Liftoff/creation date of my first, albeit somewhat "incomplete" Zombie Revenge FAQ. More updates to come if I forget something, have new insights, new techniques, or defeat that annoying two-part second-to-last boss on the weirdy floating small lighted platform so as to go on, face Zed in his two forms, and finally finish the game. 8/8/2000: Recently played Zombie Revenge three or so times after a 6-8 week hiatus to refresh my memory about move names, cinema info, game strategy. Somewhat dismayed at the decay of my performance from being away from ZR for a while :), but getting back up to 100%. 8/9/2000 -- v0.5 complete! Wow I wrote a lot :P. * * * * * 8/21/2000 (pre-"Game Day" report :P): I'm backkkkkk! To Zombie Revenge, that is. I'll try to play the game using Linda and Rikiya to get you more accurate info on attacks, damage, combo abilities, and character strategies. As for finishing the game, I'm contemplating swallowing my pride and using continues *gasp* to see this FAQ to the very end...but maybe not yet... (post-"Game Day" report): Arrghhh! It is with great regret that I inform you that (yeah I know I said "that" twice) I returned to the arcade only to see Zombie Revenge gone! I'm afraid for good, too. And some of the replacement games are very questionable. Ah, fate :P. What do I do now...get good at fighting games?!?? (Which I've never been much good at, and thus aren't too crazy about, incidentally) Why arcades remove the games I like, beats me. I guess Zombie Revenge wasn't getting enough quarters or something. But to replace a 1999 3-D kick-butt action game with some 1990 2-D side-scrolling ripoff of Street Fighter and Fatal Fury that probably plays like garbage...that's just wrong :( :P. Well, this basically means that since Zombie Revenge is no longer at the arcade (and the only other place I found it also replaced it with...a fighting game) the FAQ can never truly be completed, since I can't pass the game or play any of the other characters now. The next update to this FAQ will be titled "v0.99" in "commemoration" of the cool game that got away :P. 8/26/2000 -- updated v0.99 complete. Too bad it doesn't look like I'll ever get to v1.0... Added a "Playing Screen" section... after realizing that I made readers infer that there were life bars, weapons, time limits, scores, etc. :P... for the sake of completeness. Includes numerous typographical/grammatical/formatting/whatever corrections, and more of the longwinded commentary and extraneous thoughts (including a few reflecting on the recent disappearance of Zombie Revenge from the local arcade) that makes this FAQ a nightmare to download on anything less than a broadband connection :P. Minor updates may be added later. * * * * * 6/22/2002 -- Where has all the time gone? Missed me? ;) In any case, I'm back! :P Nothing new in the way of content, I'm afraid, but here in the now-underway Version 0.99b I've got a homemade, brand-spanking-new "splash page," improved format (hopefully) and a fresh batch of substantial tweaks and corrections comin' right up! I've also decided to move the perhaps amusing but admittedly lengthy Version History to the very bottom of the FAQ so we can get straight to the point. Why? Cuz it's my FAQ! :) If you've actually been following the different versions of this FAQ, you might also notice that I'm mixing in comments over the old text, putting emoticons _after_ the ends of sentences instead of before, and all kinds of other interesting stuff! Why? Cuz it's my FAQ! ;) Oh, and in case you were wondering...the wonderful arcade goodness that is Zombie Revenge is still nowhere to be found :(. 7/17/2002 -- "Did You Know?" This FAQ is actually only 72 characters per line, as opposed to the usual 79! What gives? While typing this FAQ, my margins were set at 1.25" on both sides as compared to the traditional 1". I never even noticed I was "out of line" with the usual standard until a couple days ago! But hey...I kinda like it the way it is. 7/18/2002 -- v0.99b update complete! Whew. All sorts of changes have been taking place, though hardly on a 24/7 basis. The reformatting work is just about complete...it's probably much better-organized than the previous version. You may think it's overkill, but on the other hand, I think it greatly enhances readability and finding your way around this rather lengthy FAQ. On the _other_ other hand ;P, you wouldn't know what changed from the previous versions if you've never seen them before. :) Anyway, aside from the retrofitted formatting scheme throughout, I'm been picking apart sentences, quite often tidying up bad grammar and stuff here and there. I'm sure there's still some things somewhere in this FAQ that could use some adjustment, but I think I've done enough for this revision. Hey, I could always do a Version 0.99c, right? :P I've also added a few things that I never addressed in Version 0.99. For example, the red-sight lock "flash," AMS Agent Level rankings, and other minor details. Wow...it's been just about 2 years since I embarked on this first FAQ of mine. Heck, it's been just about 2 years since I last saw a Zombie Revenge arcade cabinet :P. It took some work to do all this (and a better memory than I can usually muster), but it's been a lot of fun. To those who read this, I humbly present Version 0.99b for your perusal.