-----------------------------
B O O M E R R A N G ' R
-----------------------------
GAME: BOOMER RANG'R
PLATFORM: ARCADE
GENRE: PLATFORM
CREATOR: DATA EAST Copyright 1983
AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ: erling1000
E-MAIL: erling1000(at)gmail(dot)com
FAQ VERSION: 1.00
_______________________________________________________________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
1.1 The Controls
1.2 Friends
1.3 Small Enemies
1.4 Waves of Enemies
1.5 Big Enemies
1.6 Other Dangerous Objects
1.7 Bonuses etc.
2. Walkthrough
2.1 Treasure B
2.2 Treasure OO
2.3 Treasure M
2.4 Treasure E
2.5 Treasure RRR
2.6 Treasure A
2.7 Treasure N
2.8 Treasure G'
2.9 Next Worlds
3. Conclusion
3.1 Legal Stuff
3.2 Version Information
3.3 Acknowledgements
3.4 Links
_______________________________________________________________________________
1. Introduction
================
Boomer Rang'r is a "platform game" (according to "The International Arcade
Museum"), or a "non-linear quest spanning across Pangaea" (according to "The
Cutting Room Floor").
Boomer Rang'r is a 3/4 top-down viewed world where you can roam about, until
you get killed or find your way to the next world.
The game is not auto scrolling, so you can wander off in any direction.
On your way you encounter lots of enemies, old cultures and villages, and some
hidden treasures, each marked with one or more letters.
If you find all treasures, you spell BOOMER RANG'R and move on to the next
world, which is a replica of the first world, only with different colours.
You start at a wooden pier on the south coast - maybe Boomer just went ashore,
when the game starts? There are 8 treasures, placed (clockwise from Start) with
the letters
G' - M - B - N - A - O O - E - R R R
If you try to get to a treasure you already took, a detour sign blocks the way.
It's a 1- or 2-player arcade game (2-player game is alternating), with a
vertically oriented screen.
The game features background music besides the sound effects - the music is a
typical 80's arcade style and looping - a bit like electrified East European
folk music, but very nice.
The sound effects are well done, all things considered.
When the level starts and after each tresaure found, a world map shows you
where the different villages and landscapes are placed, and where to find the
hidden treasures. Memorize the path to the treasure you want to find this
round, before you begin.
The game features no bosses, but many different kind of enemies, some times in
massive waves.
This FAQ covers how to deal with the enemies, how to move safely through the
different areas and the rules of the game.
Most of the names are my invention, there are no names to be found (except
Boomer and Dinosaur, in the flyer from Data East), so things are named as to
what they look like.
_______________________________________________________________________________
1.1 The Controls
=================
With the joystick you control a prehistoric man called "Boomer". Your
objective is to find the hidden treasures without being killed by enemies.
You have 2 buttons (the arcade machine featured a double set of buttons, for
left or right hand users), the red button fires your weapon, and the blue lets
you mount a riderless dinosaur: When you encounter a tamed dino, shoot the
rider and mount it.
When riding a dinosaur, you move much faster, and your weapon changes from
boomerang to fireballs. Both weapons are equal in power: the boomerang is a bit
tricky to control, but kills both directions, where the fireball is only
oneway, but can fly farther.
Controlling Boomer without getting killed can be hard. Moving up or down is OK,
but moving sideways is hard because of both the vertical screen and your
boomerang's flying pattern... you get little warning as to what enemies you
meet when scrolling sideways. A trick is to shoot your boomerang and step back
a little and then forwards again shooting once more, like in small spiraling
circles advancing and shooting. Like 2 step forwards and one back all the time.
When riding a Dino it's just shoot and run forwards.
If you get hit by an enemy while riding, your dinosaur dies and leaves you on
your own. That means the dino is also a single-use shield.
_______________________________________________________________________________
1.2 Friends
============
Tame Dino - 500 p
Grey dinos, ridden by Dino Riders. If you kill the Dino Rider without
killing the Dino, you can mount the Dino. If you kill the Dino you get 500
points, but it's better to leave it alone and use it as a backup. It will
disappear, if you scroll it out of screen.
_______________________________________________________________________________
1.3 Small Enemies
==================
Small enemies may appear in small numbers or in waves (see below). The
different small enemies can be found all over the map, but some are often found
at certain locations.
List of small enemies:
Blue Tribesmen - 100 p
A bit like Boomer, but dressed in blue, carrying spears, the first enemy you
encounter. They are medium speed. Lives all over.
Dino Rider - 500 p
A Blue Tribesman, but worth more points, as he shoots at you. Lives all
over.
Vikings - 100 p
Dressed in blue, green shields, horned helmets, carrying spears.
Medium+ speed. Lives at the west coast. and in the north.
Cavemen - 100 p
Dressed in black, has black hair and black beards. They are slow. Lives in
the middle of the island.
Mohawk - 100 p
Dressed in black, has a black mohawk haircut, carrying green clubs. Medium
speed. Lives in the middle of the island.
Blue Cavemen - 100 p
Bigger, dressed in blue, has black hair and beards. Medium to fast speed,
they can do short sprints. Lives in the western village an south of it.
White Bird - 600 p
Small, white and black, chirping like chickens being fed. Very fast. Lives
near Treasure OO.
Blue Water Fairies - 600 p
Cloaked in blue, peeps out (of cloak) sometimes. Medium speed. Lives in the
center desert.
Brown Boulders - 600 p
Rolls with a "bouu - bouu" sound. Slow. Lives near Treasure OO.
_______________________________________________________________________________
1.4 Waves of Enemies
=====================
Waves of enemies occur now and then. Maybe 30 to 50 of the same enemy kind pop
up, and if you are in the open they will surround you. Get into a position
where you can shoot them off, like in a corner or other places with back cover.
Or race away, shooting. Waves of enemies usually only occur once in one round,
and often with a following round without any waves.
If you find a treasure before the wave is through, the next round will start
off with another wave of enemies.
Note, that when the wave is through, Grey Vultures will often pass and throw
rocks at you.
Blue Tribe - ? p
Vikings - ? p
Cavemen - ? p
Mohawk - ? p
Blue Cavemen - ? p
Blue Water Fairy - ? p
Brown Boulders - ? p
A Flock of White Birds - 3000+ p
Like White Birds, but they can divide into more, 8 in a flock, and more
flocks can follow. Kill them off before they split up, they are fast and they
will still pay minimum 3000 points. Not finishing with Grey Vultures.
_______________________________________________________________________________
1.5 Big Enemies
================
Most big enemies appear in small numbers, but the different species usually
appear in certain areas.
List of big enemies:
Green Dino - 1000 p
Medium Speed. Shoots fireballs. Lives near Treasure RRR.
Brontosaur - 1000 p
Grey, with long neck. Shoots fireballs. Medium speed. Lives in the western
village and at reasures N, M and B.
Red Boar - 600 p.
High speed. Lives in the northern strip of land, and in the northern rocks.
Sand Lizards - 1000 p
White and blue, shoots fireballs. Medium speed. Lives in the desert south of
Treasure E.
Grey Vultures - 600 p
Does a fly-by, throwing big rocks at you. Dodges away. To be found all over
the place.
Big Shaman - 100 p
Grey / purple / black. Moves with a "bouunn bouunn" sound. Shoots fireballs.
Medium speed. Lives at the center island and at Treasures N, A and OO.
Pterodactyl - 300 p
Grey. Flyes medium speed. Doesn't kill by touch, but shoots lethal
fireballs. Lives near Treasure B, N and OO.
Plesiosaur - 600 p
Grey, long necked water dinos. Doesn't move away; appears by the shores.
They shoot fireballs, but often not vertical, so you can stand beneath one,
without it being able to shoot at you. And firing fast upwards gives you maybe
10 of them in a row, as they will reappear when shot. But leeching like that
will often make the Grey Vultures chase you around. Or maybe it will set of a
wave of enemies. Lives at the bridge east of the Dino Pickup Place, at
Treasure OO and at the northern strip of land and maybe more places. If you
find a spot where Plesiosaurs spawn, beware of Stingrays from the south. Stay
at the north coast, to avoid attack from the south, if you go hunting for
Plesiosaur.
Killer Whale - 200 p
Black and white whale, jumping out of the water, across vertical bridges.
Medium speed, with a "du-do-du-do" sound. Lives at the central bridge, at
Treasure E, at Treasure RRR and maybe more places.
Stingray - 300 p
Grey. Jumps like Killer whales (with a "wiouw" sound), but across horizontal
bridges, at medium speed. Lives at the bridge east of Dino Pickup Place, at
Treasures M and OO and maybe more places.
Elephant - 1000 p
Grey with white tusks. Shoots fireballs. Medium speed. Lives at Treasures OO
and A.
Giant Spiders - 1000 p
Black and blue, shoots fireballs. Lives in the south west - in the western
village and south of it.
_______________________________________________________________________________
1.6 Other Dangerous Objects
============================
Volcanoes - 5000 p
Volcanoes are found here and there on the island. Sometimes they erupt,
shooting lethal lava diagonally down, left and right. Stay away from erupting
volcanoes, but if you get close by a volcano that starts or are erupting, it
pays 5000 points, and shows a little head (with a pling sound) at the top of
the volcano. Volcanoes seem to follow a pattern too, like which erupt first
etc. That can be useful when hunting for the 5000 p per volcano.
_______________________________________________________________________________
1.7 Bonuses etc.
=================
Bonus after each treasure found:
Letter bonus 2000 p
+
Number of killed enemies x 100 p (number of killed enemies resets to 0 when
you die and after each treasure)
Bonus after clearing all treasures on the island:
Standard tresure bonus
+
1 bonus life
Bonus lives by score:
You get bonus life at:
20.000 p, 40.000 p and then every 40.000 p
That means at 20.000 p - 40.000 p - 80.000 p - 120.000 p etc.
You start the game with 3 lives.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. Walkthrough
===============
General:
At the start there is a position 3 steps up and one to the right, where you can
stand, shooting, leeching points with some practice. But why bother?
If you stay too long in one spot (maybe you found a position where you can not
be touched) Grey Vultures will attack after maybe 15 seconds.
When you are under pressure, with no dino to ride, you might want some peace.
That can be found for a while, if you have an enemy that is not too fast or too
dangerous, then leave one alive and let it follow you on your path. That brings
some peace, because new enemies will often not spawn, before the last enemy
on screen is killed or scrolled away. But Grey Vultures again might attack, if
you are too passive / non agressive.
Dino Pickup Place: from Start move up shooting the 2 Blue tribesmen, turn left
shooting 2 more, wait south of the first big plateau (south of the 2 vertical
pillars on the south eastern corner of the plateau) and a dino rider should
come. It's a great spot for getting a dino before moving on. And if you kill
the 2 first Dinos, just go north, and maybe 3 more will appear in the center
village.
When you stand on a strip of land, water enemies will often attack, especially
when close to a treasure. They tend to appear / live in fixed places. Killer
whales cross vertical strips of land both directions, Stingrays cross
horizontal strips of land from below. Plesiosaur guard horizontal strips of
land from above.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.1 Treasure B
===============
North west corner.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.2 Treasure OO
================
North east corner.
Get a dino near Start, run up to the right passing under the 1st volcano, and
then run North East until the vertical wall, passing 2 volcanoes getting ready
to erupt, earning 10.000 p.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.3 Treasure M
===============
West coast.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.4 Treasure E
===============
East coast.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.5 Treasure RRR
=================
South east corner.
No dino should be needed, it is a short walk to the right.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.6 Treasure A
===============
North coast, west of Treasure OO.
Get a dino before passing the last volcano, or prepare to die by lava. Or find
your way past the volcano from the sides. There is a hidden passage at the
coast, behind the hills, from the west and east (go from Treasure OO to the
west), and there is a sideways passage from the west, a bit above the volcano.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.7 Treasure N
===============
Middle of island, hard to find... go straight up, but stay a bit east of the
main part of the rocks.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.8 Treasure G'
================
South west corner.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2.8 Next Worlds
================
The same as the 1st world, but with different colours. Number of enemies seem
to be larger and some seem a bit faster.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3 Conclusion
=============
When this game came to the arcades, many people found it too hard. They got
killed off before the 1st treasure or couldn't find their way on the island. It
was a game that was expensive to master. As I recall, it was a machine that was
often available and people would choose other machines instead.
But if you take your time and learn the strategies, Boomer Rang'r is an
exciting, fun, challenging game in a fantastic world.
DATA EAST did a good job on Boomer Rang'r.
Boomer Rang'r was also released as "Genesis" on the DECO Cassette system.
If you want to try the game, I'll have to say it's almost impossible, unless
you buy the arcade machine (Boomer Rang'r is very rare) or use an emulator like
MAME (see Links).
Please e-mail me if you have input or questions regarding this FAQ.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3.1 Legal Stuff
================
This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advanced permission from the author. Use of this guide on any
other web site or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright. All content in this guide is
Copyright 2013 by Erling Rohard / erling1000.
Only the sites listed below have permission to
publish this work or to display it:
www.gamefaqs.com
If you wish to put this guide on your site, e-mail me and ask. If you wish to
use info in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so.
If you see this guide on any other site than the one listed above, please
e-mail me.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3.2 Version information
========================
Version 1.00 Dec. 29th 2019: 2nd GameFAQ by erling1000.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3.3 Acknowledgements
======================
Kevin Butler AKA War Doc (author of the GameFAQ for the arcade game Scramble
and many others) - thanks for inspiration for the setup / layout of this FAQ.
Wikipedia's article on Stinger, for some info about the creators of
Boomer Rang'r and trivia about the game, although I know it very well from back
in 1983 and the following years of arcade-gaming.
DATA EAST for making a great arcade game
GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ
_______________________________________________________________________________
3.4 Links
==========
The International Arcade Museum's info about Boomer Rang'r:
https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7190
The Cutting Room Floor's info on Boomer Rang'r:
https://tcrf.net/Boomer_Rang%27r
A huge portal for MAME emulator-stuff:
http://mameworld.info/
