A. Introduction/Version History
I. P38 Lightning
II. F5U Flying Pancake
III. Ta152 Focke-Wulf
IV. Ki84 Hayate
V. J7W Shinden
VI. DH98 Mosquito
VII. Some more comments but about the game...
VIII. Credits
IX. Legal Blahblah
X. Things to do
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A. Introduction/Version History
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Strikers 1945 II is an old game. But even though it is old, I still find it
very challenging and fun. I hope anyone who still plays the game and manages to
come across my guide/FAQ will find it useful.
Also, do note that all of these observations were made only in Normal Mode.
I didn't explore the other difficulty levels as up to now, I can't finish
Normal without using a continue. I won't try another difficulty level,
especially the more difficult ones until I can finish the game without using a
continue.
Finally, I played the game mostly on single player. So I have little to no idea
as to what things will change (especially regarding enemies) when in Two player
mode.
Version : 0.40 (guide started, general impressions of the ships)
Version : 0.50 (P51 Lightning part finished)
Version : 0.60 (F5U Flying Pancake part finished)
Version : 0.70 (Ta152 Focke-Wulf part finished)
Version : 0.80 (Ki84 Hayate part finished)
Version : 0.90 (J7W Shinden part finished)
Version : 1.00 (DH98 Mosquito part finished)
Version : 1.10 (tips, more research into the ships)
**Speed**
- Determines how fast the ship moves across the screen.
Slow - Easy to dodge bullets with, but creates a problem when avoiding lots
of enemy fire. Best to move between shots when faced with boss fire*.
Average - A compromise between slow and fast speeds. Can evade both scattered
enemy shots and zigzag in-between boss fire. But doesn't excel at
either when compared.
Fast - Best for circling around huge scattered shots. Not advised to zigzag
with as its easy to fly into enemy fire.
* Scattered Enemy Shots - Seen when mid-to-huge ships drop lots of enemy fire.
Also, this type of enemy fire has patterns which can
be memorized by players and evaded easily with Slow
aircraft.
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* Boss Fire - This is what I term for the one of the most annoying
types of enemy fire. This type usually is a mix of
patterned shots AND random shots (generally in your
direction). The two sure fire ways of avoiding them
are using bombs or specials which can destroy enemy
fire.
**Weapon Type**
- Determines how the weapons spreads across the screen. Each ship has a
primary gun and a rocket/option.
The following are limited to the primary guns of the ships. The rocket/option
weapons will be covered in the individual sections of the ships themselves.
Concentrated - This weapon pattern is usually contained to the width of your
craft, with the maximum taking up the entire width of the ship.
Also, this weapon type has one of the fastest firing rates and
shot speeds in the game.
Spread - As the name implies, this type of weapon fire spreads across the
screen. It's usual coverage with 2 or 3 powerups is around 1/3
to 1/2 of the screen at full spread (being at the lowest part of
the screen). Doesn't fire as fast as the other type and can only
have around 3-4 volleys of fire on screen at a time.
**Weapon Strength**
- How powerful the weapons of the ship are.
Weak < Average < Good < Excellent
These are based on my observations. They may be inaccurate.
**Special Weapon**
- What the special weapon does, how powerful it is. Special Weapons can be
charged up to Level 3. In order to charge your special weapon gauge, you
only have to destroy enemies. You can delay the release of the special
weapon by holding down the shot button.
**Bomb**
- What happens when you use it, how powerful it is.
**Comments**
- My opinions and observations regarding the ships.
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I. P38 Lightning
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These missiles when launched have a very short launch delay before
accelerating towards enemy craft. Each Missile will home in on its own target
unless there are too few targets on screen where they concentrate on the poor
SOB. Can only be launched in volleys and will not relaunch unless all missiles
have exploded or have gone off-screen. This is problematic as sometimes, there
is one missile circling the screen trying to smash into small ships
unsuccessfully (either you destroyed them first with gunfire or they went
offscreen and another target presented itself). This is because the missiles
have very good turning rates and high top movement speeds but bad acceleration.
1 Power Up - 2 missiles
2 Power Ups - 3 missiles
3 Power Ups - 4 missiles
**Weapon Strength**
- Primary Gun : Good. Can take down mid-sized enemy ships easily.
- Rocket/Option : Average. Looks strong, but is relatively weak in the later
stages. When powered-up, 1 missile can take down 2-3 enemy
fighters before exploding.
**Special Weapon**
Level 1 : Launches two small green rockets forward. Will burst and spread lots
of bomblets when it reaches an enemy, with the bomblet dispersal
mostly in a circular pattern. The bomblets spread to only a small
area of the screen but lasts for 2-3 seconds.
Level 2 : Launches two big white bombs ahead. Will explode and deal lots of
damage to a large area but the explosions fade quickly. The explosion
balloons horizontally, around 4/5ths of the screen.
Level 3 : Launches 1 big green bomb ahead. Will explode into a huge fireball
(around 3/4 of the screen) which will destroy enemy fire and nearly
everyelse on the screen. Lasts for around 4-5 seconds.
**Bomb**
The Lightning will perform a loop and 5 P51 Mustangs will enter the screen in a
V formation centered on the Lightning. These Mustangs take a lot of damage and
deal above average damage even though it doesn't look like it. After 3-5
seconds, the Mustangs will veer towards the edge of the screen that they are
closest to but still firing away. The Mustangs can be destroyed by enemy fire.
Covers around 1/3 or 1/2 of the screen (where they are deployed).
Overall Bomb Quality 3/5 (Bad deployment can make it ineffective)
**Comments**
Very effective for the early stages but seems to get weaker as you progress
as it is a rather large target and its Homing Missiles can't seem to cut it
especially when matched up against mid-size to huge ships.
The best strategy I have when using this ship is concentrating on the tough
ships with the Primary Guns and letting the Homing Missiles take care of
any or all of the small fry. Use level 1 bombs on the tough ships once later
on in the game in order to kill them before they spread a huge amount of
scattered fire on the screen making concentrating on them difficult. Don't use
the bomb special when in a corner. Best used when in the middle.
This is the biggest ship in the game and also seems to have a shorter charge
time for its special weapon gauge compared to other ships (second observation
still unconfirmed).
My overall rating for this ship is 3 out of 5.
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II. F5U Flying Pancake
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Located on the tail-wing tips of the Pancake, these lasers will automatically
target and try to shoot down any and all enemy craft. The priority of these
lasers are usually on the smaller and weaker enemy craft. When upgraded, the
laser reloading-rate increases along with a slight increase in damage dealt.
1 Power Up - 2 lasers
2 Power Ups - 3 lasers, primary gun spreads to 1/4 of screen at max
3 Power Ups - 4 lasers, primary gun spreads to 1/2 of screen at max
**Weapon Strength**
- Primary Gun : Weak. Probably the weakest in the game, it takes around 3
to 4 seconds or more of full fire on a mid-sized ship
before it goes down...on full upgrade.
- Rocket/Option : Average. Individually, the lasers are weak but the rapid
fire especially at full upgrade more than compensates for
the lack of power.
**Special Weapon**
Level 1 : Creates a single laser beam in front of the craft. Deals a good
amount of damage but fades quickly. Estimated to last for four
seconds.
Level 2 : Creates two laser beams at the sides of the Pancake. The damage
it deals is astonishingly good and lasts for a good amount of
time too. Powerful enough to take down 2-3 mid-sized enemies
just by strafing the beam along them. Estimated to last for five
seconds.
Level 3 : Creates one HUGE beam that envelops the ship and takes around
1/4 of the screen. All enemy fire that enters the beam is
vaporized, along with any unlucky ship that strays into its
path. Lasts a bit longer than the Level 2 charge.
Note : Unlike the other special weapons of the other aircraft, this is one
that cannot be 'spammed'. That is you cannot fire off another special
until the previous laser beam has dissipated.
**Bomb**
2 B-35 Flying Wings suddenly enter the screen, each one occupying half of
the screen and advance up to around half of the screen where they stay for
a moment. The Wings don't deal a lot of damage and also can't take that
much damage compared to the bomb/specials of the other ships, but you can
be assured that they will soak anything that comes their way. The Wings
will veer to their respective sides of the screen once their runs are
completed.
Overall Bomb Quality 2/5 (It's just a portable umbrella.)
**Comments**
Its speed is its main weapon. With good eyes and excellent reflexes, you can
probably last for good amount of time on this ship. Its damage is pathetic but
the special weapon more than makes up for it.
My strategy for this is to use the special weapons when possible on the
mid-sized enemies while keeping to the near bottom of the screen.
This is the smallest ship in the game.
My overall rating for this ship is 4 out of 5.
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III. Ta152 Focke-Wulf
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When launched, these spinning rockets sort of prep themselves before
accelerating rapidly ahead. They explode upon impact leaving a roundish
explosion, that has a considerable radius for a normal weapon, and lasts for at
most a second. The delay in launch can be irritating at times as the enemy you
planned the rocket to become intimate with can move and evade the rocket
completely.
1 Power Up - 2 rockets
2 Power Ups - 3 rockets
3 Power Ups - 4 rockets
**Weapon Strength**
- Primary Gun : Average. Can usually take down a medium-sized enemy with
1 - 2 seconds of fire.
- Rocket/Option : Good. The long delay before the explosion dissipates is the
main cause for its damage.
**Special Weapon**
Level 1 : Releases a plasma mine that creates a purple web of energy just
barely the size of your ship. It lasts for about 2 seconds on screen
but the greatest thing about this is that it can destroy enemy fire.
Additionally, the plasma mine deals above average damage to any
enemy it comes into contact with.
Level 2 : Releases a plasma mine that creates a bigger web of energy, one that
even newbies will find easy to hide in. It lasts longer than the
first.
Level 3 : The energy web that this plasma web creates is so huge, you can fit
two Focke-Wulf's in it wing-tip to wing-tip. For those that can't
imagine its size, it is almost 1/4 of the screen. Lasts a good
amount of time.
**Bomb**
The Focke-wulf does a loop and a HUGE rocket passes by, the A9 A10. The
Focke-Wulf comes back into the game smack dab in the middle of the rocket. This
would mean that Focke-Wulf is guaranteed a safe place to start again with. The
missile takes around 1/3 of the screen horizontally and deals average damage to
anything it smashes into. Too bad it doesn't go boom. I'd love to see the
fireworks loaded into this one.
Overall Bomb Quality 3/5 (Ensures that you will be alive when the bomb hits)
**Comments**
Admittedly, this is a ship that I don't use too often. This doesn't mean I
don't have a healty dose of respect for it. With good firepower and a special
weapon that can destroy enemy fire at level 1, this ship can and will prove
powerful in the hands of a skilled player.
I don't recommend using the level 3 special. It takes too long to charge.
Either time the level 1 special to release just when the enemy ship/boss is
about to release a huge amount of firepower. With proper timing, you could
have an area clear of enemy fire just when you need it.
This ship's special weapon gauge seems to charge up slower compared to the
other ships.
I'd give this ship a 4 out of 5.
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IV. Ki84 Hayate
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Probably the most effective and useful rocket/option in the game. The J8M
Syusui can only fire upward, meaning that it has to position itself in front of
an enemy before it can fire. It practically homes in on enemies and will keep
on firing until the enemy is dead.
1 Power Up - 1 Mini fighter
2 Power Ups - 2 Mini fighters, primary gun spreads to 1/3 of screen at max
3 Power Ups - 3 Mini Fighters, primary gun spreads to 1/2 of screen at max
**Weapon Strength**
- Primary Gun : Average. Nothing remarkable except that it seems to spread
faster per upgrade compared to the other ships.
- Rocket/Option : Good. With a fast firing rate and tracking capability, the
Syusuis are one of the most powerful rocket/options in the
game.
**Special Weapon**
Level 1 : Will deploy a single Syusui on the location where the Hayate is on
and will keep on firing forward (while moving left and right a bit)
until its time runs out. It has an astonishing amount of firepower
for its size and is usually enough to take down medium sized enemies
before they are able to fire.
Level 2 : Reploys two Syusuis this time. They rotate, giving the fire that
they shoot a helix like image.
Level 3 : Delpoys four Syusuis.
**Bomb**
When the bomb button is pressed, a bomber swiftly moves up into the screen.
This is the Fugaku. Can absorb huge amounts of enemy fire and has numerous
guns on it, this support ship is one of the best covers in the game. This ship
roughly takes up 1/3 of the screen. Compared to other bombs that call up
support aircraft, this one seems to be able to soak up more damage than the
rest.
Overall Bomb Quality 4/5 (I think of it as a Flying Tank)
**Comments**
This is probably the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ship of the whole
lot. Quick, with good firepower and a better than most bomb weapon, it is
hard not to like this ship. It is however, one of the few ships whose special
weapon cannot destroy enemy shots even at level 3.
The strategy I use for this ship is to memorize per stage where the big ships
pop out of and deploy a level 1 special whose firing path is on the ship.
This will almost instantly kill the ship once it arrives. Also, avoid using
its level 3 special as it is a waste of time. Using a level 1 special is
more efficient, faster, and seems to have more firepower compared to a level
3.
This ship gets a 5 out of 5 for me.
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V. J7W Shinden
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These energy rockets move quickly across the screen in a slightly diagonal
manner once launched, that is the left rockets veer slightly right while the
right rockets veer slightly to the left. Once they make contact with an enemy
they don't explode. Rather they slow down, stop moving diagonally, and
continuously deal damage to the enemy. They keep on moving through the enemy
until either that enemy is destroyed or they managed to drill through the
enemy without killing it. They will continue doing this until they go off
screen. You can only launch a specific number of rockets per upgrade and you
can't fire any more unless a rocket goes off screen.
1 Power Up - 2 rockets
2 Power Ups - 4 rockets
3 Power Ups - 6 rockets
**Weapon Strength**
- Primary Gun : Good. It looks weak since it only begins with a single
stream of shots at initial level. Trust me, it just
looks weak. The rapid fire of the guns seems to be
the cause of its damage.
- Rocket/Option : Average. Each rocket just passes through small fighters
like a hot knife through butter. Medium ships are
destroyed after 2 seconds with 4 rockets knifing through it.
Just the rockets mind you.
**Special Weapon**
Level 1 : Will propel a Shinden-shaped energy blast forwards. Starts off
a bit slow then suddenly breezes across the screen. When it hits
something, there is a telltale sound like a sword-slice SFX. It
deals HUGE amounts of damage even at Level 1, just a single pass
of this can destroy most enemy ships with ease.
Level 2 : Almost no perceptible difference from a level 1 special. I think
that this deals more damage than a level 1 and that it is slightly
bigger than the level 1.
Level 3 : The Shinden Performs a loop and a HUGE slab of energy (again
shaped like a Shinden) takes up 1/2 of the screen and annihilates
everything in its path. This weapon is so powerful, that some
bosses die from it instantly. Plus, the energy slab also destroys
enemy fire.
**Bomb**
B7A Ryusei Kai's bomb the area, destroying enemy fire and dealing good damage
to all enemies on-screen. Then 6 of the Ryusei Kai's swoop in to provide fire
support for a second or two then leave via the nearest screen edge (left or
right). This last part of the bomb provides good cover but the Ryusei Kai's
seem to be easily destroyed/shot down by enemy fire.
Overall Bomb Quality 3/5 (The Ryusei Kai's just leave too quickly)
**Comments**
Probably has the most POWERFUL special in terms of dealing damage in the
shortest possible amount of time. Its special also has one of SFX in the game
that I like the most.
The strategy I use for this is to spam the Level 1 special at any medium sized
enemy I can see and to relentlessly use it against bosses.
I give this ship a 4 out of 5.
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VI. DH98 Mosquito
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Nothing special with this weapon's launch style. Just zooming on ahead after
launch. The explosion radius seems to be smaller than the Spinning Rockets of
the Focke-Wulf but they make up for it in terms of damage and fire rate.
1 Power Up - 2 rockets
2 Power Ups - 4 rockets, primary gun spreads to 1/4 of screen
3 Power Ups - 6 rockets, primary gun spreads to 1/3 of screen
**Weapon Strength**
- Primary Gun : Average. Seems to spread more slowly per upgrade compared
to other ships with spread weapons.
- Rocket/Option : EXCELLENT. These rockets can take down most medium sized
enemies with 3 or 4 hits.
**Special Weapon**
Level 1 : Will deploy a single bomb that detonates quickly. The following
firestorm from it will advance forward zigzagging left and right.
Takes up around 1/5 or 1/6 of the screen.
Level 2 : Will deploy two bombs. The firestorm it creates will have two
explosion paths moving in a helix like formation upwards. Takes
up around 1/3 of the screen. Very powerful.
Level 3 : Will deploy two bombs. The ensuing firestorm it creates will
destroy any enemy in its path except bosses. We're talking about
at least 1/2 of the screen being cleared of baddies in 2 seconds.
Frightening to behold...and a waste of energy in my opinion. This
is because it takes too long to charge up.
Note : This is another special weapon that CANNOT destroy enemy fire even at
level 3.
**Bomb**
Mosquito FB's will fly overhead, bombing the whole area. Most enemies and and
ALL enemy fire will be vaporized almost instantaneously. This bomb runs last for
at most 2 seconds, after which the 5 Mosquito FB's will fly into the screen and
provide supportive fire and soak up enemy shots. The sad part here is that these
aircraft will leave the screen quickly, after about 3 seconds.
**Comments**
This ship probably has the most firepower concentrated on it, especially when
paired with its special attack. Also, this has the only bomb that can
obliterate most enemies and enemy fire instantaneously. Although its rather
slow speed can be annoying especially when facing higher stages with lots of
enemy fire.
Timing the level 1 special right can reap huge benefits by releasing it just
in time as the mid-sized enemy ships are entering the stage. You can almost
destroy them without allowing them to fire a single shot. Spamming the level 1
or level 2 specials at bosses is highly recommended since the level 3 special
can't destroy enemy fire. Its better to release a huge lot of these than
zigzagging through bossfire waiting for the special gauge to fill up.
This ship gets a 4 out of 5 for me.
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VII. Some more comments and tips about the game...
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- The enemies get stronger as the game progress. They shoot more projectiles
and get tougher as you progress.
- Be thankful if you get the area with the SYUMI TYPE ZERO Boss as your first
stage. This area is VERY difficult when you encounter it as stage 3 and
onwards. This is because of the Big browninsh airplane that appears around
5 seconds after the stage begins. Usually, it takes at least 1 bomb to
survive this part of the area.
- It seems that regardless of the difficulty, the ships in each stage pop out
in specific numbers and locations only.
- In the later stages, weapon upgrades drop more infrequently. So don't die.
- Train yourself to smack that bomb button when you are sure that an enemy
shot WILL hit you. Its better to waste one bomb than to lose 4 bombs, the
weapon upgrades you have accumulated and one life.
- As much as possible, try to memorize where big enemies in each stage appear.
- Ships with concentrated fire-type weapons seem to have better bombs for
clearing stages of enemy fire.
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VIII. Credits
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Psikyo
- For releasing the game
revolverroach
- For introducing me to the game back in highschool
The other guy
- For making a FAQ on Strikers 1945 II. I hope that my FAQ completes what your
FAQ began.
ADMU (my college)
- For giving me a schedule that allows me to have time to do this.
Home of the Underdogs
- I like old games.
GameFaqs
- For hosting this faq
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IX. Legal Blah Blah
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All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
This may be 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 advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web
site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation
of copyright.
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X. Things to do
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1. Ship strategies
2. A stage guide maybe? like what enemy appears when and where...
3. upgrades per power up attained (including increase in width for concentrated
type weapons and number of volleys of shots for spread type weapons)
4. Ships speeds seem to be inaccurate to some degree, will try out more.
