John Isles, iv <
[email protected]>, presents a game that once proved "it is the '90's
and there is time for" it...
___
| / | / \ \ /
| A | |___| \/
|/ \ | | | /\
| \ |____ | | / \ A Klax FAQ/strategy guide.
This FAQ should only be available at the following sites:
-GameFAQS <
http://www.gamefaqs.com>
-GameWinners <
http://www.gamewinners.com>
If found at any other sites please notify me, as these are illegal copies.
+------------+
|1. CONTENTS|
+------------+
0. TITLE
1. CONTENTS (You're reading them, stupid!)
2. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
3. FAQ HISTORY
4. HOW TO READ THIS FAQ/STRATEGY GUIDE
5. WHAT IS KLAX?
6. CONTROLS
7. SCORING
8. THE WAVES
9. SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS
10. CREDITS & OTHER THANKS
+-------------------------+
|2. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION|
+-------------------------+
Klax is a trademark of Atari Games ©1989-2000. Genesis version licensed to
Tengen, ©1990.
This FAQ/SG is neither authorized nor sponsored by Atari Games.
This FAQ/SG's content is property of John Isles, iv. Some portions of this
FAQ/SG are not of my creation, but credit will be given to those whom it is due
(copied material will be listed as a resource at the end of this document).
This FAQ/SG is copyright ©2001 John Isles, iv. You may alter it (spell/grammar
check, make it look all nice and neat, etc.) for personal use, but you may
NEVER-- I repeat: NEVER-- put your name in my place. Also, you are never
allowed to remove this disclaimer at all. If you would like to post my FAQ/SG on
your site, you MUST ask my permission (by E-mail; address changes will be posted
in future versions), but you may NOT sell or trade it for money, goods, etc.
+---------------+
|3. FAQ HISTORY|
+---------------+
Current version statistics:
9,664 key strokes.
1,410 words separated by punctuation marks.
237 80-character lines.
0.1 What you're reading. Started on 2000.2.22. This document covers the
basics.
+---------------------------------------+
|4. HOW TO READ THIS FAQ/STRATEGY GUIDE|
+---------------------------------------+
This strategy guide is best read with a fixed-width font, like Andale Mono, which
is a free download available from Microsoft. You will be able to tell if the
font you're using is fixed-width if the next two lines are lined up perfectly.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz$!?&¢£´Û*@
+-----------------+
|5. WHAT IS KLAX?|
+-----------------+
After Atari released Tetris in the arcades in 1987, but long before other puzzle
games such as Compile's Puyo Puyo series, this game was released. Instead of
arranging blocks to form lines, it's more of a tile-matching game... mah-jongg on
steroids, if you will.
Gameplay is simple: Tiles approach on a simulated conveyor belt. You have to
catch them and place them in a bin that measures five tiles across and five tiles
high. You score points for arranging three or more tiles vertically,
horizontally, and diagonally, among catching them on your flipper-doohickey.
After meeting a certain quota, you clear the wave, and move onto the next.
HOWEVER, should you fill your bin completely, or allow too many tiles to fall to
their deaths (complete with screams of agony), the game ends.
+------------+
|6. CONTROLS|
+------------+
Here ya go. Although this was written based on only the Genesis version, this
should work for ALL versions of the game, regardless of race, creed, sex, height,
weight, and even build. (But I AM just guessing about this.)
UP: Throws back one tile per use. You throw TOO many back, you'll be in some
very serious jeopardy. (Now, don't start singing that show's tune.)
DOWN: Drags the tiles down faster. ALL tiles will be pulled down, so be aware
of those coming down in the distance. I'd recommend using it for those barren
stretches of conveyor belt.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves your catching platform. Also sets up your platform to create
Klaxes. The most crucial element of the game.
ANY BUTTON: Each press of any button will flip over one tile. If you have more
than one tile on your platform, the uppermost tile will get flipped over.
So, if your platform holds... Flipping them would look like
+-----+ +-----+
| A | | C |
+-----+ +-----+
| B | | B |
+-----+ +-----+
| C | | A |
+-----+ +-----+
(Believe me when I say holding that space bar down was a chore.)
+-----------+
|7. SCORING|
+-----------+
You score very few points by catching tiles, but making Klaxes is what will be
the bulk of your scoring. I'm using ASCII (one of the least useful drawing tools
available today) to list a brief summary of each Klax's scoring.
50 10,000 & 15,000 &
1 Klax 2 Klaxes* 3 Klaxes* 1,000 & 1 Klax
+-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+-----+-----+
| A | | B | | C | | D | D | D |
+-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+-----+-----+
| A | | B | | C | 5,000 & 2 Klaxes
+-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+-----+-----+-----+
| A | | B | | C | | E | E | E | E |
+-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+-----+-----+-----+
| B | | C | 10,000 & 3 Klaxes
+-----+ +-----+ +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| C | | F | F | F | F | F |
+-----+ +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
5,000 & 10,000 & 15,000 &
1 Klax 2 Klaxes 3 Klaxes
+-----+ +-----+ +-----+
| G | | H | | I |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| G | | H | | I |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| G | | H | | I |
+-----+ +-----+-----+-----+-----+
| H | | I |
*Can only be accomplished +-----+ +-----+-----+
if performed after a first Klax. | I |
What a jump from 50 to 10,000, too! +-----+
Even better than expected, these are worth at least 20,000 and 30,000 for the
four and the five respectively. Kewl, huh?
Should you complete two or more Klaxes in one tile, there is a simple formula to
determine the values:
Number of different Klaxes* x total values of Klaxes = points awarded.
(Klaxes E and I combined will score 2 x 20,000pts., for 40,000 total). You can
also earn a relatively easy 260,000 on each of the first two waves by following
this crapola ASCII diagram (yecch!):
+-----+-----+ +-----+-----+
| A | B | | C | D |
+-----+-----+ +-----+-----+
| A | B | | C | D |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| E | E | E | E | E |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| A | B | E | C | D |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| A | B | E | C | D |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
*If this a subsequent Klax, and two different Klaxes are made, the multiplier
moves up one (second would be k+1; third = k+2; etc.).
Here are other scoring methods:
1. Five points for each tile caught, including those you have thrown back (which
won't get you anywhere in a hurry, unless, of course, you like counting to
1,000,000 by fives).
2. 25pts. for each standing tile after clearing a wave (this includes those
tiles which are "about to die", but haven't fallen into that fiery pit of death).
3. 200pts. for each empty bin at the end of a wave (25 bins equal a max of
5,000pts. total).
4. Exceeding the required score in order to clear a wave, you pick up that much
in bonus points. So clearing a 20,000pt. requirement by scoring a total of the
magical "pulling a random number from the open" 33,715pts. on that wave will give
a bonus of about 13,715 (the bonus might be lower after taxes-- for example,
13,712).
5. A big 100,000 for going five waves ahead and clearing it or 200,000 for a
ten-level jump (on warp waves-- 6 & 11-- making a giant X will skyrocket those
bonuses a whopping half-million... that's a massive 500,000pts.!)
+-------------+
|8. THE WAVES|
+-------------+
I guess this would be spoilers for you, but I have decided to list them, contrary
to my belief that spoilers take away from the fun. (Note: The number listed by
the Survival waves is the number of tiles you need to catch; Ironically, tiles
that die go toward the number to go, but letting too many go down will cause game
over.)
1 KLAX 3 | 2 KLAX 5 | 3 DIAGONAL 3 | 4 SCORE 10k
5 SURVIVAL 40 | 6 KLAX 10 | 7 DIAGONAL 6 | 8 SURVIVAL 55
9 SCORE 25k| 10 HORIZONTAL 5 | 11 KLAX 15 | 12 DIAGONAL 13
13 SURVIVAL 75 | 14 SCORE 25k| 15 HORIZONTAL 10 | 16 KLAX 15
17 DIAGONAL 13 | 18 SURVIVAL 75 | 19 SCORE 30k| 20 HORIZONTAL 13
21 KLAX 20 | 22 DIAGONAL 13 | 23 SURVIVAL 65 | 24 SCORE 35k
25 HORIZONTAL 13 |
More to come...
+--------------------------+
|9. SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS|
+--------------------------+
If you have any submissions, strategies, comments, insults, or other stuff you
have to offer, you can currently E-mail me at <
[email protected]>. Be aware that a
response is never guaranteed. Also, if you submit, I-- and I alone-- have the
choice of what gets added or not, AND you are also agreeing to give me the right
to edit the submission.
+---------------------------+
|10. CREDITS & OTHER THANKS|
+---------------------------+
Atari:
For creating this game.
Tengen:
Releasing the game for the Genesis (and other consoles)
Mark Goodson Productions:
For introducing the game on The Price is Right way back in 1990
