Frenzy(Arcade) FAQ version 1.0.0
copyright 2003 by Andrew Schultz
[email protected]
Please do not reproduce this FAQ for profit without my permission. It
required a good deal of effort, and I do not look to profit off my work.
However, if you ask me nicely, mentioning my name and this specific
game, I will hopefully be un-lazy enough to reply to you.
** AD SPACE **
My home page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762
================================
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
1-1. THE GAME AND HISTORY
1-2. BOARD LAYOUT
2. CONTROLS
3. ENEMIES
4. STRATEGIES
4-1. STARTING OFF
4-2. SUICIDING ROBOTS
4-3. ANTICIPATORY GAMES
4-4. DUCKING
4-5. KILLING EVIL OTTO
4-6. SPECIAL ROOMS
4-7. FLEEING AND GENERAL STUFF
5. POINTS AND STUFF
6. LEVELS
7. VERSIONS
8. CREDITS
================================
1. INTRODUCTION
1-1. THE GAME AND HISTORY
Frenzy is the sequel to the hit Berzerk, which got ported to a lot of
consoles that look really crummy now. But it was a good game to port.
You were a human in a maze with lethal walls, and you had to escape,
preferably shooting robots in the process for points. There was this
obnoxious invincible smiley face that bounced at you if you took too
long, called Evil Otto, who was apparently the boss of the gang. The
robot colors changed, robots got faster and shot more, and the game
petered out quickly for the casual player, but the mystique of Evil Otto
helped keep the game going, along with some great garbled sound
clips('Intruder alert!') The main tricks involved noting when your shots
could clip the tops of robots or when robots could shoot each other
getting to you.
If I may recommend monsieur a port(he said, adjusting his cummerbund)
then I recommend tha Atari 2600 port where you can gun Evil Otto down
and there are lots of options to stupidify the game so you can play for
a while. The robots are big dumb targets and change colors, and you have
a cool extra-life tune. But it just doesn't have the same cheesy
synthesized voices.
Frenzy picks up where Berzerk left off, but walls are now
nonlethal(you just can't run into them) and of two varieties: shootable
and reflective. The reflective one allows for surprise deaths--
opponents' and your own--as missiles fly around. You can now shoot Evil
Otto although he comes back stronger, and there are special boards with
weird machine. It's more strategic even with the big problem that the
number of robots is irrelevant to the difficulty at times(except when
you'll just get outright killed as too many are close) but it's just as
easy to get a big point boost from them. Still the shooting and ducking
and even bunkering action is a hoot, and there are all sorts of ways to
sucker robots into doing your work for you. And there are weird bosses
of a sort, machines which look cool and shoulder some of Evil Otto's
load regarding the humor. Or what seems like humor when you don't get
killed.
1-2. BOARD LAYOUT
Mazes are randomly generated. You always seem to have a way to get
through them, and walls can either reflect or absorb shots. You can take
chunks out of walls, and the sizes are strictly controlled. A typical
level might look like this, scaled for practicality:
+****+****+****+****+****+****+
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
+---- ****** * + +
* * | *
* * XX | *
* * XX | *
* * XX | *
* * | *
+ + * ****** *****+
* * * *
* !! * * *
* !! * * *
* !! * * *
* * * *
+ + ***********----- +
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
+****+****+****+****+****+****+
+ = corner dot you can't shoot down
_| = reflective wall
* = non reflective wall
Dead ends or roadblocks may occur when you hit a scene with a machine
stationed in the box marked X. Otherwise without any enemies you can get
anywhere from anywhere else without shooting walls, provided enemies
don't get in the way too much.
You appear in the area marked ! to start the game and after you lose a
life. Depending on where you exit the maze, you'll reappear in the same
area, on the opposite edge of where you exited. The door you left
through will be blocked. Getting your bearings ASAP is important because
the robots don't wait long before they start moving and shooting.
Inner intersections will be shootable if there is one non reflective
wall connected to them.
2. CONTROLS
They're pretty simple--a dot length away from the wall, you'll stop
and you can't go farther. Hold down the fire button, push a direction
and release to shoot. You can walk or shoot in any of eight directions.
Be sure to conserve your shots as you can only have two on the board at
one time. Yours are thicker than the others and seem to go a bit faster.
Beginners, or players in a rush, may fire right away whenever they
can. This can cause a bullet to appear in your path as you continue
obliviously. The only advice I can give to avoid this is patience. Every
bullet should be directed at a bad guy, or at carving out a wall.
Because you can go through walls. If there is a break in a horizontal
wall three dots wide, you can run up or down through it. You can even
leave the room that way, which is useful if Otto seems to have you
trapped. However, if you shoot the dots from right to left then you
can't run straight up. You can also shoot five dots in a vertical line
to sneak through, but that can take more time. Also note that if you run
left against a wall it turns green and you can't shoot it. This is a
weird bug, and it doesn't happen if you lean right on a wall, but
backing up and shooting should work.
If you run diagonally and a wall is blocking you in one of the four
cardinal directions, you'll run in the unblocked direction, which can
save a bit of time.
Note that if you stand next to a wall and shoot, no reflections will
ever hit you. Also note that if you shoot left/right bullets go above
you as they bounce back and if you shoot up/down they go right on the
carom.
3. ENEMIES
There are two basic enemies: the fat crystal ball types and the skinny
skeletons. Each one requires a slightly different approach, but you
should be able to take most one on one. They don't seem to have any
different algorithms for firing at you. They try to move towards you at
all times. If you are in range, they fire at you. This happens even with
a normal or reflective wall in the way. They also tend to go faster as
more get packed off. Whether one is as fast as you at the end is really
random.
Crystal ball types may move diagonally to chase you. In fact this is
less dangerous at times as they are less likely to nail you with a
diagonal shot. The skeletons generally move toward you to the
up/down/left/right, first looking for a diagonal shot and then running
at you.
Enemies fire diagonally from the tops of their heads. This creates
some problems for you, as you fire from your sides. The main thing to do
with enemies is to hit a blind spot and blast them.
Enemies are also slightly right handed. When you fire up/down, your
hand goes to the right. Theirs does, less so. The result is that you
lose an up/down firefight staying in the same place.
Enemies also explode and take out anything directly adjacent. That
includes you if you're too close but they can also make a chain reaction
and kill each other.
EVIL OTTO is another proposition entirely. He pops up where you
started the level, and the more enemies the level starts with, the
longer he'll take to show up. When he first appears you can outrun him--
for a while. Then another faster Otto appears and chases you. Also, if
you hit Otto three time, he goes splat and another faster one takes his
place. I've been able to kill three, but eventually he just leaps
halfway across the screen.
One hit and Evil Otto gives a neutral mouth, then he frowns,
then...splat.
There are also machines that appear from time to time depending on how
many waves you've survived. The first is a big yellow face. It will
frown and generate four VERY fast Evil Ottos if you gun Otto down. It
will also smile if you get killed. Annoying little ****.
There's also a machine with conductors and static running between
them. Shooting it gets you 100 points, and the bad guys stop moving.
This isn't always good--if one is stuck in a good bunker place, you can
kiss the end of level bonus good bye. But the machine's guarded by walls
you can decimate easily, so it's pretty easy to take out. But it should
not be a priority.
The third machine looks like it is sticking its tongue out at you.
Cassette eyes and punch card tongue. It says stuff like GIGO(garbage in
garbage out) and X1Y5. Shoot it, and the bad guys don't get to fire.
This is very high priority to knock out. The only problem is that it may
be accessible only by a diagonal shot as it's bordered by four
reflective walls. One however should be connected to a shootable walls,
meaning the nexus will be something you can shoot. Your next shot will
take the machine out. It is 100 points.
The final machine is a gadget that cranks out crystal balls. If you
can shoot the crystal balls produced then it will be easy to get the
bonus, as you don't have to shoot all the bad guys. You can't shoot the
machine as it's entirely protected by reflective walls. Once you beat
this machine you go back to the original yellow monsters.
4. STRATEGIES
In general you should try to clear the board out--leaving quicky when
under fire is a last resort as the next level will only get tougher. The
hardest part is starting but if you note that the last bad guy just
won't line up then you should get out of there. Note you have a lot of
time even with Otto around.
4-1. STARTING OFF
It's important to take a quick appraisal of the position and kill off
the bad guys closest to you. If a diagonal one is close, get out of the
way and try to mow him down from above later. Be sure not to go to the
wall too soon. The general strategy is to shoot enemies in any obvious
cardinal direction and run so that diagonals turn into ones you can
shoot via the cardinal directions. You'll also want to pick out a
bunker. If one bad guy keeps shooting at you, be sure to run past him.
4-2. SUICIDING ROBOTS
Engaging every robot in a gunfight is time consuming and dangerous.
It's far easier to get them to kill themselves, or each other. The best
way to do this is to sit with a reflective wall between you and a robot.
Then you can move up or to the right and if they fire they can take
themselves out.
If the robot is a long distance away from the wall that reflects its
shot, you can take a long time to get him to line up with you. Stay
behind the bullet's path, and he'll die. If another robot is very close
he'll die in the explosion.
Another good way to wipe robots out is to make them shoot diagonally
when they have reflective walls on two sides and are in a corner. You
can also nail them when they're between two reflective walls.
You can also use Evil Otto to take the robot out. Stand between Otto
and the robot, close to an exit, and wait for Otto to run it over.
4-3. ANTICIPATORY GAMES
Robots will walk into your line of fire if you know how they move
around. Here are a few tricks below.
--stand above the top of a wall and fire to the side as robots on the
other side follow you up.
--stand under the side of a horizontal wall and fire up. Robots should
walk into this.
--skeletons don't always walk all the way, so when dealing with them if
they're vertically displaced, fire up at them and walk right once your
shot's halfway there. They'll walk into it, and they won't harm you much
by shooting.
--if bad guys are walking towards you, you can time a shot so it hits
them, or you can line yourself up with them, shoot, and walk out of the
way.
--you can cancel out their shots with yours, but don't count on it.
--if there's a reflective wall behind you, let the bad guy shoot, move
away, and return. His own violence hath vanquished him, and stuff.
--in the position below, shoot the vertical wall. Monsters will creep
through the opening to the slaughter. The same trick works rotated 90
degrees, or flipped across x- or y-.
*
* < non reflective
*
* reflective
* v
*-----
^
shoot here, five times, so the bad guys fit
4-4. DUCKING
Bad guys may duck, but you can, too, while you get your bearings and
decide who to shoot next. However there's often a problem as to how to
get out. There are a few rules of thumb so that you can figure out what
you're doing soon enough.
--#1 rule: to get somewhere safe, you'll want to have space to run
diagonally to avoid diagonal bullets. Remember, moving perpendicular to
something coming at you gets you out of its way the quickest. Plus if
you move from straight to diagonal you don't lose any speed in the
direction you were going. Also I find that if monsters shoot diagonally,
you'll want to evaluate which way to move. Be sure not to run so the
shot target goes across your body. When in doubt, move diagonally and
fire if lined up with a bad guy.
--You can also duck in a room exit and fire up/down in case of monsters
clinging to the left side. You won't get hit.
--Behind a reflective wall is always safe from obvious threats. You may
want to peek from behind it, fire, and go back, to pick off the robots
that threaten the most.
--While ducking you may want to pull back from a robot on the other side
of the wall. Let's say it's above you. You can run right, then run left,
and fire when you're out from under it. The robot should walk into the
fire. Popping up above a vertical reflective wall is a bit tougher.
--Behind a wall that can be shot, be sure not to give robots the bright
idea of shooting diagonally. Instead let them carve out a hole, stay
away from the edge, move down(assuming the wall's vertical) and see if
you can take out their feet. For a horizontal wall, run left and shoot
down. It's less of a sure thing here and you'll want to be close in.
--If it looks like you're going to get killed by horizontal fire, you
can try to go for broke and let the bullet slip between your head and
body--it's a crusty little quirk, but the machine won't record contact.
Keep a steady hand, though.
4-5. KILLING EVIL OTTO
It's not always practical for the points, but it's fun if you have him
lined up. So why not take a shot at him?
With Evil Otto the easiest way to kill him is to get above him and
fire down. His bouncing won't be as much a factor as it is when you are
firing left/right. You can do this a few times, but he bounces
deceptively high, and the game is--well--sympathetic to computers. Also
when you fire left/right he tends to slip down and so you need to follow
suit. Be sure that, if you need to kill him, you aren't shooting with
much of a backdrop, or he's quite far away. Don't head to the exit right
away, but shoot at him a couple of times so your shots don't take
forever to disappear, and then start running away as you fire. If he's
too close, though, you're better off shooting up a wall to try to flee.
4-6. SPECIAL ROOMS
The special rooms with big machines may prove awkward unless you know
what they're doing. Then it's easy to learn what you should do.
BIG YELLOW FACE: use it as a bunker. Don't bother trying to shoot it,
even through a diagonal corner. It gives no points and does you no
favors. Also be careful shooting Otto. Be prepared to exit IMMEDIATELY
after, but do enjoy how the face frowns.
STATIC GENERATOR: clear the bad guys in the immediate area, then move
quickly to shoot a hole in it to stop enemy fire. Beware--bad guys will
stop and you'll have to move diagonally to avoid some fixed sentinels'
shots, and it's easy to get overconfident--but being able to position
yourself vertically at will should make the rest pretty easy.
MACHINE STICKING TONGUE OUT: after the initial clearance, find a bunker
and try to shoot diagonally if necessary. Avoid combos of reflecting
walls. Shoot diagonally, move up/down, and try again until you hit a
vulnerable corner, then do it again.
MACHINE CRANKING OUT CRYSTAL BALLS: proceed as normal. Let the robots it
produces shoot at you and kill themselves so you can collect an easy
bonus. You don't have to kill everyone, even.
4-7. FLEEING AND GENERAL STUFF
--An up/down firefight is better for you than a left/right one given how
tall and narrow you are. So it is probably better to exit out the sides
if you can.
--It's better to flee to the right and not the left, because if you get
too close to the left wall, you can't shoot.
--Shooting a hole in a top/bottom wall is most expedient as it takes
fewer shots.
--Opening up a contiguous hole is a matter of moving up, firing right
quickly, and repeating. If you overrun then run back, and you may have
to run back the way you came to leave through the hole you made.
--Make sure you start so that an intended part of your hole isn't the
unshootable pivot on the invisible grid of possible walls.
--Always try to kill the nearest bad guy first. Bad guys far away may
walk in front of each other, and you can let them do the dirty work
then.
--Shooting in the same direction twice quickly isn't worth it. Even if
you hit anything, the second bullet will get lost in the fire. See if
you can target two bad guys at once, shooting the nearer first. Make
your own crossfire.
--The fewer robots there are, the faster they go. This becomes relevant
when you need to decide the last one to kill. In some cases if a
skeleton stands above you, you just won't be able to hit him. Run if the
last one is too fast and too close.
5. POINTS AND STUFF
--50 points for a skeleton or an orb that gets killed
--1/2/4/5 points for each wall piece shot
purple wall/blue joints : 1
red wall/yellow joints : 2
green wall/? joints : 4
? : 5
all whites : everything bounces
--you get points for enemies killed(or Otto shot) while you're
imploding, but not walls shot
--20 points each time you hit Evil Otto, up to 3 times per Otto
--10*# of monsters originally in the room as a bonus
--100 for destroying the machines that control robots in certain rooms
Dip switches work as follows:
--CROSSHAIR PATTERN displays a grid on the screen ad nauseum
--extra guys can be NONE or every 1000-15000
(note extra guy every 1000 often means you don't even have to solve a
majority of the levels--you can get shot and still get an extra guy)
--you can have coin multiplier 1-15 or 1-15 coins per credit A/credit B
Here are the voices:
--'the-humanoid-must-not-destroy-the-robot'
--'robot attack' when Evil Otto appears
--'search attack kill and destroy' when he regenerates
[the voices aren't terribly clear. Sort of scratchy. Maybe they need
ROBOT-tussin, ha ha]
6. LEVELS
Levels change when you leave a place without getting killed. The
number of monsters also seems to follow a set order. The list below
shows what happens if you go through without getting killed. In general
monsters get faster and can shoot more often as the levels increase. If
you get killed then the # of robots cycles but the internal level
number/difficulty does not.
| robot | enemy | wall | # of |
| color | shots | theme | robots |
--+-------+-------+-------+--------+
L1| yellow| 0 | purple| 12 |
L2| red| 1 | purple| 18 |
L3| red| ? | purple| 6? |
[later]
After you face the machine that grinds out crystal balls, the game
cycles back. Walls are worth at least 4 and if you die you may be bumped
back or forward a screen.
End of FAQ proper
================================
7. VERSIONS
1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 8/31/2003, main strategy more or less done
8. CREDITS
Thanks to bloomer, daremo, falsehead, RetroFreak, Snow Dragon, etc. from
GameFAQs on AIM.
Thanks to mame.net for keeping cool games like this alive.
