FAQ\Guide for 
Getter Robot : The Big Battle!
or 
Getta Robo : Dai Kessen

(Whichever title you prefer. ^_^)

by Zhou Tai An (kain@pacific.net.sg)

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Disclaimer : I am getting SO tired of writing these...anyway, if you're using
this guide anywhere, please notify me. Thanks. And make it non-profit uses.

Why am I writing a guide to this game? Because I'm a fan of super robots in
general and caught every episode of Starvengers when I was a kid. ^_^ 
(American version of Getta Robo for those not in the know) I guess that's
reason enough. So, on to the next part of the guide - SWITCH ON!

******

Basic Hints :

1. What skill to pick? Resurrect. Well, that would be my choice...certain
others like HP or EN Regen might suit your playing style more, though. 

No, I'm not writing out a complete skill list. :(

2. Until you get the Whale Warship (Kujira) you're going to have to conserve
HP and Energy like the blazes - Michiru's Ready Command raises EN for your
Repair Bot to heal. Do NOT let either die. Also, despite the temptation, don't
whip out moves like the Getta Beam or Daisetsuzanoroshi (except in desperate
cases) since the Getta will take a LONG time to replenish it's energy 
supply - and unlike normal mecha it uses Getta Energy, so it can't be recovered
with Michiru's Resupply command. (This applies to all the later Getta's too.)

3. Snipe. That is, use long-range attacks to lower your foes' HP. Michiru's
Vulcan, your Repair Bot's Vulcan and Getta 2\Rygar's Getta Piston\Maha Special
can all hit the enemy without them getting a chance to counterattack most of
the time. Later in the game, Getta Beams work well.

4. Make use of the fact that Benkei has HP Regen in the early game. It'll
come in useful.

5. Always try to kill as many enemies as possible to gain the maximum amount
of experience, and don't neglect your support units (Michiru, main character)
in this respect.

6. Two things - one, you can't accidentally hit your own units with multi-hit
attacks, and if you're Level 5 with 999 EXP and gain 500, you're then Level
6 with zero.

7. All units can repair themselves. Don't forget this.

8. When an attack is REALLY weak and it's blocked, it sometimes won't do any
damage at all. (Well, if you count one point as damage...) This makes things
like the Mack Rifle useless in the middle and end game, so watch out.

9. Multi-hit attacks have 2 advantages; they can't be dodged nor counterattacked
and the enemy sometimes doesn't even get a chance to block. Keep this in 
mind - it'll come in handy. 

And that's it for now. It's not a terribly difficult game. ^_^

******

Chapter 1

The game begins with you being introduced to the Saotome Research Institute
and a movie in which the Getta moves by itself - Prof. Saotome ruminates on
how he has to get the Getta operational to fight the invaders from the stars.
Ryouma Nagare is recruited and it's off to the first mission. After calming
the frantic Hayato down enough to launch (this guy's supposed to be a 
genius?) you start the battle.

Easy enough. Use Hayato, Ryouma and the Prof. to beat the stuffing out the 
enemy. If you have problems here you might as well stop playing the game 
entirely. ^_^

Anyway, once the gravity of Earth's safety is impressed upon Hayato he agrees
to join the team and you await the arrival of Musashi, the last Getta pilot.

Chapter 2

Enemies attack before the introductions are done with...not much of a 
problem. You'll need to wait one turn before Musashi appears and then you
can transform into Getta.

Gor makes his appearance here, threatening humankind with extinction since
his Dinosaur Empire came first and was driven underground only by mysterious
Getta energy...anyway, you should have no problems again with this mission -
just be cautious and don't overextend yourself.

Chapter 3 - Getta Vs Getta

This one's kinda tough. Nion of the Dinosaur Empire has stolen the new 
Heavy Armored Getta types...you need to take out his Getta 1 before he 
trashes the nuclear reactor east of the city.

Now, things aren't as bad as they look. For one, Nion won't move until you
take out the other two stolen Gettas, so make sure you're close to the
reactor when you destroy the last one. You're outnumbered, so make good use
of Getta Robo G and use Benkei's HP Regen to your advantage.

Nion takes roughly 4-5 turns to blow up the reactor, but he will summon 
reinforcements and will NOT attack you - only the reactor. Be sure you're
close enough and have enough energy to take him out.

Chapter 4 

Reasonably easy. The jellyfish monster Gera is going to destroy the town and
you have to stop it. Okay. The main problem with this stage is the missile
emplacements the enemy has, and the fact that they're a LOT of them.

First things first - despite the temptation, DON'T transfer your hero and
Michiru into Getta Robo. Keep them in their original mecha, but do make use
of your recently-acquired Getta Robo G.

Now, use the Bear-type that Benkei pilots to lure out the enemy without
venturing too close to the missile pods (they have a range of FIVE). Once
enough are destroyed you can assault the pods directly - block all their
attacks and you should be fine.

Gera is a bit tough, though. It will use an electrical attack with a good
range to do damage, so move Getta Robo G in to do the bulk of the work but
keep everyone else away - if you've been frugal with your healing you should
have enough to keep Getta alive. Once beaten, Gera will expand. Don't get all
flustered - first, take out all the other enemy mecha THEN move Getta onto
the red square. It'll take some damage (and four turns) but eventually, the
surge of Getta power into the huge Gera will destroy it. (The Gera was 
attempting to concentrate it's power to grow huge, but the influx of Getta
energy will overload it.)

Chapter 5 - A New Power and New Foes

Though it looks like you're not going to be able to complete this stage, don't
worry. ^_^ Reinforcements will arrive soon enough. (Turn 8 or so I think...)
Anyway, hunker down somewhere close to the first island you find and WAIT for
the enemies to come to you - DON'T attack them first. Snipe a lot and conserve
your resources.

When Getta-Zan (the female-only Getta) and the Whale Warship arrive you can
then rumble. FINALLY you can actually recover Getta energy! The enemies are
probably closing in by now, so let rip with Getta Beam and Getta-Zan's many
multi-hit attacks. Your entire team can now heal each other (main character
heals Warship, Warship heals everyone, Michiru recovers EN) so the rest of
the battle should be easy - don't get cocky, though. Gor's own warship is
POWERFUL and can down a Getta in two shots. Fight carefully.

As the movie then shows, Gor dies a futile death, railing at the Getta for
destroying his civilization...until a flash of light from above annihilates
him. The Getta team discovers a new threat...the Empire of a Hundred Ghosts.

Chapter 6 : Protect the Lab! (Part One)

Hayato's old nemesis, Ryuji, will appear with his own mecha. Big deal. ^_^
You still have the Whale Warship, and therefore Getta Energy recovering is
possible and therefore this stage is a cinch. The only thing to really 
remember is that all the normal enemies are stronger now, so don't be careless.
Nothing much else.

The new Getta will attempt to launch to fend off the attacking enemies but
fails...that is, until you've destroyed all the remaining enemies. Getta-Go,
while not as powerful as the other three models, still packs a punch. Three
things to remember - Tornado Attack has a whopping range of six, the heavy-type
version of it can recover HP, and it uses normal EN and not Getta Energy.

Near the end of the stage, the team will receive a distress call from the
Saotome Research Institute. You can then return or continue to fend of the
remaining enemies. I opted to go back, so I don't know what the other choice
brings.

Chapter 7 : Protect the Lab! (Part 2)

Right at the start, Burai (Ruler of the Hundred Ghosts Empire) pops up and
taunts you all for a while about how he will use your own Getta Energy to
destroy you - his plans are foiled by the Professor blowing up the entire lab
to prevent that from happening. (Not too sure on this...was playing in a 
hurry) The stage then begins in earnest. 

Even though you have a new Getta, there are TONS of enemies on this stage, so
you're in real danger of being swarmed. To counter that, try advancing to
the right side of the screen to take out the enemies there and prevent yourself
from getting hemmed in. You might also want to shift Michiru, Benkei and your
hero into the original Getta Robo for more fighting power, since you have a
warship.

Be wary of both the small 1450 HP mecha, which are fast, and the really
huge 3200 HP ones, which have a helluva punch. Getta Beam works wonders on the
former and you'll need to wait the latter out.

After destroying all the enemies, some mutated bugs from the explosion at the
lab will drop from the sky. Both Burai and Professor wonder at the long-term
effects of this...anyway, the new foes should be a cinch. Concentrate on 
levelling up Getta-Go a bit.

Chapter 8 : Mobile Warship Texas 

The Earth Federation has mobilized it's defensed to deal with both the bugs
and the Hundred Ghosts Empire, so off you go to meet them - and, while you're
at it, Texas Mack and it's super-bad Japanese speaking pilot. ^_^

Some of the Federation pilots are angry at you all (the Japanese) for starting
this whole bug mess; your main character tries to explain but to no avail.
Enemies then appear, cutting short the whole argument. 

During the second turn (and for about 10 turns thereafter) huge beams of 
energy will rain down from the sky - this is totally random, hits anywhere 
and does damage to friend and foe alike. Everyone including the enemy leader)
wonders where this is coming from...the only thing certain is that it's a 
variant of the Getta Beam.

On to the main battle. Most of the new robots you'll be getting aren't that
useful (the long-range weapons will prove effective at sniping, though) so
don't level them up much - Texas Mack is an exception, having a strong main
weapon in the Texas Blade and a 7 range Mack Rifle. Try to have all 4 Gettas
in the field; if not, you will be swamped.

Speaking of which, the enemies will swarm you because their sole objective
is the destruction of the Texas; you'll lose if it blows. So early on, venture
slightly outwards to take out as many enemies as possible *safely* - later 
on, you'll have your hands full dealing with enemy reinforcements (they appear
around Turn 12-14) Use a decoy to lure the boss's attention away from the
Texas, and make good use of the two warships you now have. The Texas can't 
move, BTW, so take that into consideration when formulating a strategy.

Chapter 9 : True Getta Robo

Hayato is put in charge of the team heading to discover the source of the
mysterious beams (to the consternation of one of the Federation pilots ^_^) 
- you'll also be getting all the pilots you fought with in the last chapter.

Getta Energy Furnaces have been set up by someone, and you're going to have
to take them down before knocking out the beam generator in the middle. The
enemy might not seem like much at first, but 1) most of your units can't move
well in space (for instance, Rygar's usually incredible movement range is
reduced severely) and 2) the bugs can. They also have pretty good close and
long-range attacks, so watch out. On the plus side, they're weak - a Getta 
Beam and a light attack follow-up will kill one. Because they tend to clump,
KageBunShin, Getta Tomahawk Boomerang and missile attacks work well too.

Be VERY careful when actually destroying the Furnaces - reinforcements will
immediately appear. The first one only produces two Heavy-Type bugs, but the
second will make a veritable storm appear, so only destroy it when you have
all 4 Gettas ready to go - if not, you're asking for it. Keep in mind that 
the Furnaces themselves have a Getta Beam-like attack AND a close-range one;
this can spell doom for your party if there are bugs around which can close 
and attack the next turn. Stay out of the way, tread cautiously and you 
should be fine, though. The Whale Warship can actually fire it's weapons
in this stage, which is an added plus. 

Once you've done all the Furnaces in, the central cannon prepares to fire
anyway - you're too late! But no; in true Super Robot tradition, Shin Getta
Robo arrives to save the day...only using 20% of it's power, no less. ^_^

Chapter 10 : Bio-weapon Terror

Following a discussion about Hayato musing that Shin Getta Robo might be
TOO powerful, you're off to foil the Hundred Ghost Empire's plans for a 
biological weapons facility. Easy enough, especially since the very first
you'll realize playing the stage is that Shin Getta kicks absolute ASS. ^_^

As for the stage itself, it's quite straightforward despite having to 
destroy the irritating missile emplacements. You have 5 turns to take out
each one. You shouldn't have any trouble with them except for maybe the
last two, which are WAY at the bottom of the map - to buy yourself extra
time, try not to destroy a missile emplacement until the very last turn
before it goes off. Two other things to remember - you can use the Texas
in this stage (horrible movement, but it has five spaces to dock and a
mega-powerful cannon) and the missile emplacements can fire a pretty-powerful
multi-hit weapon; short range, though, so stay out of the way.

What else...let's see, assorted enemy reinforcements will show up but they
shouldn't be a problem. Transfer some Federation pilots into your old Getta/s
to maximize fighting potential - that's about it.

Chapter 11 : The Final Day of the Empire

Easy stage. Use everything you've learned up to this point and you should
be fine. Really. It's very simple. ^_^

Anyway, after you've destroyed about five enemy units the rest will begin a 
mass attack against you. Kill them all (it's very easy with the two warships)
and Burai will then use his own unit. THIS is slightly tough since it has
a weapon which is not only multi-hit but can do a great deal of damage. 
Have all your units fire a round of Getta Beams at it and it should go down
the next round.

Despite being defeated Burai will have his final revenge by firing a beam
into the Earth's atmosphere which disrupts it's gravitational balance,
causing disasters around the globe. The Getta Team regroups to plan it's
next strategy. 

Chapter 12 : Arrival of Professor Lando

The man in question was a former research at the Saotome Institute, but was
dismissed once he was found to have been using Getta Energy on human test 
subjects. He's also the person responsible for the orbital satellites, and 
captured Showa's (the female pilot of Getta-Go's) older brother.

This stage is more or less a repeat of the last - after Rasetsu shows up to
taunt you for a while, you have to beat monsters you've fought throughout the
game. No sweat.

Chapter 13 : Brother and Sister

You'll see some scenes of Shinichi trying to fight his mind-control and 
failing, whereupon he will attack the Getta Team.

Hard. Firstly, Shinichi is POWERFUL - capable of dealing about 1000 damage per
attack, and he can multi-hit. Secondly, there's lots of enemies and they will
swarm you. 

You have two main fighting strategies; try to take out some of the enemies and
then retreat back into formation, or hunker down and fight it out. For the 
first, you're going to have to gauge your movement carefully so as not to get
overwhelmed, but it makes things easier in the long run.

Once you've decided on your approach, it's either 1) take Shinichi down ASAP
(you win the stage automatically) which can be accomplished with an all-out
attack (Shine Spark, Stunner Sunshine - basically everything. Save first.) or
draw his fire so you can kill all the enemies in the stage for more experience.
In that case, use a decoy (Showa. Shinichi will ONLY attack Getta-Go if it's
present) to deplete his EN.

Once taken down, Shinichi will be restored to his former self for a few 
moments - he thanks his sister and urges her to defeat Professor Lando for 
him. 

Chapter 14 : Black Getta

Because of the many fights they've been through, the Getta Team returns to
the Saotome Research Institute for maintenance. However, they are attacked by
the spaec bugs (who say that all humanity will be destroyed by them 
eventually) during this and their only defense is the Black Getta, a 
one-seater. 

Pick your pilot carefully. Take someone with a useful skill, of course (HP 
Regen, Critical, Resurrect, Counterattack or something - stuff like Move Twice
won't get you far) and plan all movements with care. Save the Whale Warship's
EN to heal both itself and the Black Getta.

As long as you're careful you shouldn't have too many problems with this one,
really.

Chapter 15 : Whirling Malice

The next three chapters are in optional order; I'm writing them in the order
that I played them in.

The Getta Team is called on to reinforce the Earth's Federation's forces all
over the world, and your first destination is Germany. Upon arriving, you
discover that what seems to be a huge whirlwind has levelled the city - the
handiwork of none other than General Bat, resurrected by Lando.

This stage is a cakewalk. All the Gerah's can't move, and neither can the
Mecha Typhoon Bat pilots. Take out the pitiful number of ordinary troops and
then attack Bat when he's not putting out a Shock Wave. Don't step into the
whirlwind either.

Chapter 16 : Super Weapon Bolga

The made-over Gol of the Dinosaur Empire is attacking a Russian nuclear 
weapons installation - in desperation, the commander orders the Super Weapon
Mode of Bolga, the well, Super Weapon, to be used despite unfinished testing.
The Getta Team arrives to aid their defense. This is a wait-it-out mission;
16 turns and Bolga will fire.

You can NOT kill all enemies on the stage instead. ^_^ The Cyber-Beast Dai
is indestructible - all attacks will do zero damage.

First thing to note is that the enemies swarm. Second is that Bolga is 
rather fragile - 3-4 attacks will do it in. Third is that the Dai is deadly
at close range but sucks further away; you'll have to keep it at that 
distance. Armed with this information, you should be able to finish the 
stage...it's quite straightforwards.

Last note : Have one robot with Repair on standby at all times. Also, you
might want to detach a Getta or two to take out advance forces of enemies 
before their link up with the main group.

Once destroyed, Gol will thank the Getta Team from freeing him from Lando's
control - you're now off to England.

Chapter 17 : Return of the Emperor

A tidal wave has swept over the city, causing massive damage; another of the
side-effects of Burai's Anti-Grav Beam. Burai himself is back in cyborg form,
and without further ado the Getta Team prepares to do battle.

Another pretty easy stage. Just remember that most of the enemies on this 
stage fight much better in the water and that some attacks of yours can't be 
used on them when submerged. Reinforcements will appear about your original 
position once you've taken out about half the enemies, so be careful. Besides
that, sit tight and let them come to you.

Burai is a different ballgame. Save before fighting him. Cycling Gettas (using
one, then retreating to the Whale Warship and healing) works well enough -
this ensures that the Uzara doesn't close and use it's devastating Anti-Grav
Beam on the rest of your troops. He's got a lot of HP, so be prepared for a 
long battle. The Beam doesn't seem to work underwater, so that's a safe 
haven of sorts.

As the Uzara falls once more, Burai will beat a retreat but vows to return
to kill the Getta Team. (Yeah right...)

Chapter 18 : Texas Vs Dragon Turtle 

Rasetsu (Lando's right-hand man) advances on an Alaska base with the 
Professor's most powerful war machine yet - the Dragon Turtle. After some 
light banter and jokes with Jack and Mary, the Texas sets out to try and stop
it. 

The most important things to remember in this stage are :

1. The Texas must move closer to the Dragon Turtle at EVERY possible 
opportunity.

2. The Texas must NOT be destroyed. Duh. ^_^ (Keep one robot with repair
ready at all times.)

3. If possible, don't let enemies attack it since this will slow it down -
but don't sweat a few hits now and then. The Texas will resume full speed in
a turn or two. 

4. The Dragon Turtle packs a very long-range, very powerful cannon and CANNOT
be stopped by placing a unit in front of it.

That's about it. If you've gotten this far, you don't need help with the rest
of the stage. The last thing I feel I should mention is that 3-4 turns before
the Dragon Turtle leaves the edge of the map, massive enemy reinforcements 
show up - you might need to kill lots of these to level up for the next 
stage, which is...

Chapter 19 : Final Showdown at Snaketooth Castle

Professor Lando's true plans are finally revealed - he will create the 
Anti-Getta to devolve all of humanity to it's most basic form, thereby
controlling creation...as the Getta Energy evolves so shall his Anti-Getta
return all to it's roots.

Your problems REALLY start when he fires a beam which the Team barely avoids;
this has the unfortunate side effect of splitting your whole party apart, 
making combination difficult at best. Bad enough? Enemies appear RIGHT IN THE
MIDDLE of you, along with Burai, who's back again. Rough. 

Actually, though the situation can be remedied fast enough with the correct
movements - use your characters with Move Twice well and get the Whale 
Warship out of there. You'll probably have to split your forces to both sides
of the screen. 

Once all your Gettas have managed to conbine, fighting carefully should allow
you to knock out all the troops in the middle so that you can concentrate on
Burai. He's quite tough this time around (multi-hit, high damage, long-range
Magma Cannon) but slow. Whittle away at him with Getta Beams and he should
go down before long.

Now you've got to deal with Lando. Take out all his puny troops and Beam him
to death - the idiot doesn't even have a 5-square range attack! When he
goes down about 4000-5000 HP, he will summon reinforcements; hunker down and
beat them off. He will do this again when just about to croak - once again,
blow them to smithereens. Then you can kill the old geezer in peace. ^_^

Professor Saotome congrajulates you all on a job well done and the Getta
Team returns home for a well-deserved rest.

Chapter 20 : Into Space

I bet you forgot about those space bugs, didn't you. ^_^ 

It turns out the true purpose of the Getta program was to build spacefaring
vessels, so Prof. Saotome produces the Getta Emperor, the original form of
the Gettas. You head to the Moon on a test flight and are ambushed by the
bugs.

First things first - no Getta Robo G, and no Federation pilots. Adjust your
party according; I usually ditch Texas Mack for the Black Getta. Besides 
that, if you've gotten THIS far, I don't need to help you with the stage -
all the same rules apply. Be cautious, the bugs can move a lot faster than
you and will swarm like crazy. 

When you take down about half of them, the bug leader will then appear and
talk about how he\she\it will destroy humanity and sic his mega-bug on you.
Don't these guys ever learn? Destroy all the reinforcements (you'll need to
move around the map a bit so you don't get cornered) and then hit the last
bug - it's slow, lots of HP, has a long-range weapon - typical boss. Getta
Beams will do the trick. You might want to use the Emperor Beam to lower his
life as well. Oh yeah, and the Getta Emperor can move pretty fast and has
5 spaces.

Once the bugs are cleaned up, the Professor will return with alarming news -
the frozen Getta Robo G in the Getta Emperor's storage compartment (placed
there when it went berserk during an experiment) has started absorbing 
Getta Energy from all available sources - if not stopped the Emperor will 
lose all power! The Professor reluctantly orders you to return to Earth.

This turns out to be a blessing in disguise, though - having absorbed some
power already, the effects of the experiment have created a Getta that 
evolves...you now have access to the final Getta, Shin Getta Robo G. Once
you've finished rejoicing, it's on to the final battle...

Chapter 21 : The Great Showdown 

It's a face-off with the bugs on the moon; the bug leader (whose name I've
forgotten) tells the Getta Team that he will eradicate humans for the defeat
he has suffered a few hundred years ago by another Getta...not surprisingly,
most of the Team don't know what the hell he's talking about until both
Professor realize that a Getta must have gone back in time to stop the rise
of the Bug Empire.

When the talking's done with the real battle begins. Now, if you thought
Shin Getta was powerful...despite's it's incredible amount of power, you 
need to conserve Shin G's GE during the battle since most of it's attacks
require a lot of it. It's up to you whether to bring Getta-1 or Getta-Go,
though - the former has the Getta Beam and Machinegun but is weaker; the
latter has worse attacks but more HP.

You've never seen swarming till you play this stage. You basically can't
kill any of the enemies since new ones will appear in the blue spawning pool,
so just head into the center of the mass and destroy as many as possible for
experience for now - be careful of large one which was the boss of the last
stage; there are three now. Bide your time until you kill enough bugs and
wait enough turns, at which point, your friends from the Federation show
up and kick enough ass to make the stage playable. ^_^ You can now kill the
bugs permanently, so go to it.

Last up is the Chrono Worm. Careful - 21000 HP and a VERY long-range multi-hit
attack are nothing to shake a stick at. It also has some other ones which 
are shorter range but weaker; still no reason to let your guard down, though.
Take out all the bugs and SAVE before tackling this monster - using one Getta
at a time is probably the safest strategy.

Once that's over, sit back and enjoy the ending. ^_^