Circus Charlie(NES) FAQ
version 1.0.0
by Andrew Schultz
[email protected]
****AD SPACE****
My games page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762/games/games.htm
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INTRODUCTION
NES VS. ARCADE
POINT TOTALS
LEVEL ONE
LEVEL TWO
LEVEL THREE
LEVEL FOUR
LEVEL FIVE
THE GREAT (OR NOT-SO-GREAT) BEYOND
VERSIONS/CREDITS
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INTRODUCTION
Circus Charlie, whom you control, has five different trick circuits he
must complete before he gets the privilege of doing them all again.
This was originally a great arcade game and is still a pretty good NES
game.
NES VS. ARCADE
The NES has too many earth tones, but I suppose it's all right. The
arcade game was totally awesome(you could choose which scene you wanted
to try and even do the same--which would get progressively tougher--five
times) and even had a fun scene where Charlie bounces through tramploine
platforms and past fire breathers and sword jugglers, which was
eliminated--it would be between the NES's levels 2 and 3. The NES has
less complicated control and critical puzzles and point-scoring(for
instance, bonus is determined in plateaued levels by time left on the
arcade, but it is linearly related to time on the NES) but is not too
bad overall. Even if Charlie does look like Raggedy Andy, and there's
nothing cool at the end of the fifth scene.
POINT TOTALS
--in general, you don't get any points for your last jump. So if you
jump through a hoop and land on the finishing platform, you don't get an
extra hundred points.
--bonus points are bumped back up to 5000 if you die. They seem to
decrease at the rate of 40 per second, and if they go to zero, you lose
a life.
--running into anything else except a money bag or coin(first level) is
a killer.
--you can also lose a life by missing the final platform, so don't jump
over it!
--You start with four lives, with extra guys at 20000 and every 40000
thereafter.
--on level one, you can get 500 or 1000 points for getting money in one
of the higher hoops
--you also get 100 points for each time you land after jumping through a
hoop, even one with money. For double hoops on later levels, you get
100 for each hoop--200. It's possible to jump backward through a lower
hoop, but it's very tough.
--you get 200 points for jumping forward over a pot of fire. This can
be done repeatedly.
--you get an extra 100 points if you jump through a hoop and over a fire
pot.
--you can get 5000 points if you jump over a pot and back, a coin pops
up, and you jump to get it. This seems to happen most after 1)you get a
money bag in the higher hoop and 2)you jump back and forth without
jumping through a hoop.
--on level two, you get 500 for jumping over a blue and a brown monkey.
--you also get 1000 for jumping over a brown and two blue monkeys.
--you get 200 for each blue monkey you jump over without jumping over a
brown one
--each brown monkey you jump over gets you 100
--on level three, you get 100 for jumping forward from one ball to the
next
--you get 500 if you jump over a ball to another. However, if you jump
as your ball hits another, you only get 100.
--on level four, you get 100 for the first time you bounce on a set of
two platforms, 200 for the next time, then 400 and 800.
--on level five, you get 500 for each rope you jump to. There are nine
ropes total.
LEVEL ONE
You have one hundred meters to go in this one--Circus Charlie must
jump his lion through hoops and over fire pots. It's not too difficult
to time the jumps through the hoops or over the pits. The main thing is
to learn how to jump through one and over the other without touching
anything(i.e. getting killed.) Hoops come at pretty regular intervals,
so if you can't jump over a fire pot without getting hit by a hoop, back
up and jump through the hoop and then over the pot. Pots appear every
ten meters just before the marker. You cannot run under the low hoops,
and the high hoops are much tougher to jump through.
To get five thousand bonus points, grab the money in a hoop. Then, at
the next fire pot, jump back and forth until a coin flips up in the air.
The coin is worth five thousand. You may not get the coin until hoops
are no longer presence, but just be persistent.
LEVEL TWO
You have sixty meters to go on the tightrope here, and you will
probably never have to back-track, so this is in many ways easier than
level one. Touching a monkey calls Charlie to fall off. One of the
things you need to watch out for is a sequence of three monkeys; at
some point you will want to stop to jump straight up over one of them.
The timing is not too tricky here. There are also some blue monkeys
that run at you and jump over the brown ones in front of them. Usually
the blue monkeys will not run through brown monkeys, so have your guard
up if there's one brown monkey--don't jump too early or you'll hit the
blue monkey. You can jump over the different colored monkeys
separately, but that is tougher and will get you fewer points. At the
end of the level, you'll have to jump up onto a platform to get your
bonus.
LEVEL THREE
You start off eighty meters from the goal. You get there by jumping
from one ball to the next. You can move backwards and forwards and jump
that way, too. You need to watch for another ball bumping into yours or
misjudging a jump. Don't be scared to jump or move considerably
backward. Also note that you have a split second after your ball hits
another to jump.
As far as getting through the level, you will often need to backpedal,
jump to the next ball, and repeat a few times. The balls seem to come
out at random, and your best bet to get through quickly is to learn when
you can jump over a ball and fall a few times in the process.
LEVEL FOUR
You have two hundred meters to go before the end. Despite this being
the longest it's almost one of the fastest. Note first that if you go
slowly then every ten meters takes up 120 units of time. The result?
You will have at least 2600 bonus when you reach the finish line. It's
advisable to put on the brakes after a jump as a platform you must jump
on may come by and ambush you. It's strange that going slowly gets you
the most points and is safest--something that is safest should get you
fewer points. Some platforms are higher than others, so you can't
always go slowly while bouncing, but note that you can change the speed
you and your horse go forward whenever you are on 1) the horse and 2)the
platform, bouncing.
There is no backward jumping here, only small forward jumps, forward
jumps, and fast-forward jumps.
LEVEL FIVE
You start off fifty meters, or ten rope jumps, from the end.
The only time you can make it to the next rope is when you are at the
apex of your swing(if you don't seem to be swinging high enough, just
push left, right, etc. as the rope swings to get there) and the other
rope is close. With correct timing you can breeze through the level
without swinging, but otherwise, it will take a while. Be sure also not
to relax at the end--jumping on the ending platform is as dangerous as
jumping to the next rope. Note that if you jump before the apex, you
will fall, and afterwards, you may bounce on the trampoline under you.
Two bounces later you'll be back on the previous rope, or you can take a
chance pushing forward to grab the next rope. Unlike the arcade there
seems no punishment for holding on too long.
THE GREAT (OR NOT-SO-GREAT) BEYOND
Once you finish five levels, there are slight alterations in some
levels to make them a bit tougher. They're listed below.
--level 1+5x: there may be 2 hoops sometimes that can get pretty far
apart.
--level 2+5x: two blue monkeys may jump over a brown monkey. When in
doubt, wait until the last minute before jumping over a monkey.
--level 3+5x: no big rises in difficulty.
--level 4+5x: the platforms you must bounce on get smaller.
--level 5+5x: I can't see any differences.
Note that game B seems to start with these levels.
END OF FAQ PROPER
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VERSIONS/CREDITS
1.0.0 sent first and probably last version to GameFAQs 7/21/2001
