NINJA SPIRIT
v 1.3
2-6-06
author: Dimetric Houston
e-mail:
[email protected]
CONTENTS:
Introduction
Updates
Story
Controls
Life Units
Enemies
Weapons
PowerUps
Stage Strategies
Tips, Tricks and Secrets
Credits
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INTRODUCTION:
Hello all. This FAQ covers the game Ninja Spirit. Ninja Spirit is a game
made for the Turbografx-16. It is a good old-school action game.
I am not going to bother with the copyright stuff. If you are low enough
to try to bank a profit off of this, or you decide to plagiarize it, that's
your wretched morality.
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UPDATES:
v 1.0 8-2-99
-First edition. Completed up to mission 6.
v 1.1 8-4-99
-Completed game.
-More strategies and clarifications added.
-Updated Tips, Tricks, and Secrets.
-Added Life Units section.
-Updated Credits section
-Updated Enemies section
v 1.2 9-3-05
-added new strategy for Stage 6 boss.
-updated Credits section.
v 1.3 2-6-05
-added additional strategies for Boss 1,2, and 6.
-updated Credits section.
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STORY
Your father has been murdered by a mysterious half-man half-beast
creature. You have set out to avenge his death. You are Moonlight,
the avenging ninja.
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CONTROLS
D-pad: Move Moonlight. Down is crouch. Allows you to direct weapon
attacks.
Button 1: Jump (tap for small jump, press for large jump)
Button 2: Attack with weapon
Select: Choose weapon (displayed in upper left corner)
Run: Pause
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LIFE UNITS
There are two difficulty modes in Ninja Spirit. They are the PC-Engine Mode
and Arcade Mode. PC-Engine mode is default and is the easier setting. In
this mode Moonlight has five life units, displayed by numbers in the upper
right corner of the screen. As you get hit, this number drops. When it hits
zero you lose a life. Enemy hits take off varying amounts of life. The
green ninjas take off one unit for example. Most enemies will drain all your
life with one strike so be careful.
Arcade Mode is more difficult in that Moonlight has only one life unit. No
number is shown in the upper right corner of the screen. In this mode one
hit from ANYTHING will kill you.
Note: This FAQ is written using PC-Engine Mode.
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ENEMIES
There are a few normal enemies in Ninja Spirit to watch out for. Below are
their descriptions. Most enemy names are from the manual.
Ninja:
Green--the most common type of foe. Dressed in dark greenish-red garb. They
often just run at you and then strike with their sword. At other
times they will leap at you from a high jump to hit you with their
swords as they come down.
Red--these appear out of nowhere and throw bombs at you. They don't move
from their position.
Black--these are seen traveling along ceilings. They try to hit you if you
are traveling along the ceiling as well.
Orange--VERY IMPORTANT!! These ninjas carry your powerups. You will see
them either running at you or just sitting in the air. The ones that
run attack like the Green ninja. The ones that sit in the air do
nothing.
Purple--these carry dangeous sickle and chain weapons. Seen in Stage 3, they
appear out of smoke like the Red Ninja and throw the weapon out.
THESE WEAPONS WILL KILL YOU WITH ONE HIT!! Fortunately or
unfortunately these ninjas can only throw their weapons straight in
front of them.
Yellow-Green--these ninjas throw knives at you. They may throw one or five.
The knives can be fast or slow.
Wolf--called "White Rain" in the manual. These annoying wolves come at you
from the sky. Best taken care of with the sword.
Earth Ninja--annoying opponent that appears underneath floors and tries to
hit you with its spear. You can tell where it will appear by
the moving dirt.
Mysterious Monk--another dangerous opponent. These folk come running at you
with spinning staffs (the manual says they are swords, but
they look like staffs to me). THE STAFFS CAN KILL YOU
WITH ONE HIT, and these monks will throw the weapon if
you are in the air.
Ghost of Fugitive Warrior--yet another opponent that can kill you in one hit.
These hulking brutes fade into existance slowly
and walk equally as slow. Yet, they can take
quite a pounding, and they swing their swords with
notable speed.
Mr. Ryuichi--a dangerous foe. They first appear in Stage 6. They move fast
and when they get close they lash out with a sword strike. The
sword strike can take four to five life units. It's best to use
distance weapons like shurikens or bombs to deal with these
foes.
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WEAPONS
You are armed with four weapons which are available to you throughout the
game. One of Ninja Spirit's merits is deciding which weapon to use in
different situations. Certain weapons work better in some situations than in
others. Use the SELECT button to choose which weapon you wish to use. The
weapon icon in the upper left corner of the screen will change to show what
weapon you are using. Below are a description of the weapons and comments on
each. Names in parenthesis are the manual names). Descriptions are from the
manual. Comments are my own.
You will notice that your weapons are shown with a light blue background. If
you pick up a certain powerup, this background will change to red. This
indicates that your weapon is powered up. Each weapon can power up only
once.
SWORD (Righteous Cloud-the Magic Sword)--Can be used to attack in four
directions. Also effective against an enemy throwing knives and bombs.
Increase your power to increase your sword's range of attack!
Comments: Incredibly useful! With only four weapons to use, each had better
be pretty dang useful, and the sword takes the cake. The ability to
protect yourself from projectiles (knives and bombs) proves invaluable.
The four directions of attack are truely covered by the sword. In Stage
3 when gun enemies are coming from both sides and ninjas are coming from
above, the sword will take care of them all. When powered up, an arc of
energy moves in front of the sword, providing even more protection and
striking range. This should be the first weapon you power up--with some
exceptions.
SHURIKEN (Swirling Leaf-the Throwing Knife)--Can be used to attack in sixteen
directions. Can be thrown in succession. Increase your power and you
can throw three knives at once!
Comments: Looks like a shuriken so that's what I'm calling it. Don't let
the "sixteen directions" pop your eyes out. The sixteen
directions comes into play when the weapon is powered up. The
shuriken can be thrown in eight directions normally. When powered
up, you throw one straight, and one at an angle above and below
the straight one. You are still throwing in eight directions,
just with extra help. Anyway, this weapon is useful for distance
attacks. It is difficult to work with unpowered, so go for the
powerup if you want to use this, unless the enemy is coming
straight at you. This weapon really shines in some areas of
Stage 1.
BOMB (Bamboo Thunder-Bomb)--Can be used to attck in eight directions. This
weapon has tremendous destructive power. With increased power, you can
throw bombs in succession!
Comments: Why can't they use simple names? Doesn't "tremendous destructive
power" sound familiar? (Hint: Check the Weapons section of
my Bloody Wolf FAQ). Well this weapon is quite destructive. It's power
is its merit. It can get rid of those enemies requiring multiple hits
to kill (like the monks). Great for clearing out the area when enemies
are coming from all over.
SICKLE AND CHAIN (Rising Dragon-Sickle and Chain)--Can be used to attack in
eight directions. Effective at long ranges. Good for defending against
an enemy throwing knives and bombs. With increased power, this item
allows you to stage a "gyrating" attack!
Comments: A toss-up kind of weapon. It does have range, but its power is
not as high as the sword or bomb. I'm still working with this one. The
"gyrating attack" is the ability to "spin" the weapon. If you attack
in one direction and move the controller in a circular motion, Moonlight
will twirl the weapon to the direction you indicate--all with the weapon
still out. It's a great way to cover arcs of area without having to
continuously throw the weapon. With the right controller movement, you
can actually twirl the weapon completely around you, providing a type of
shield.
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POWERUPS
There are several powerups you can get in Ninja Spirit. They appear as a
piece of paper with a colored ball on it. The ball color indicates what type
of powerup it is. Descriptions are below. The label I am using is the ball
color.
Remember, ORANGE Ninjas carry all powerups.
Red (the entire powerup is flashing)--MOST IMPORTANT!! These are the
powerups that will powerup your weapons. Absolutely get these at all
costs--except at the cost of losing a life of course :)
When you get one of these, the current weapon you are using powers up. If
you get another powerup but don't change weapons, the weapons power up in
order of sword, shuriken, bomb, then sickle-and-chain. So if you are using
the shuriken in powered up form and get another power up, the sword will
be the weapon powered up. A third powerup powers up your bomb, and so on.
Purple (not flashing)--The manual says this color is red, but it was purple
on my television. If yours is red, then the "not flashing" applies
to you. This powerup destroys all enemies on the screen. It is quite
useful, as enemies gang up on you like clockwork in this game. It lasts
for about three seconds, continously destroying enemies while it works.
Blue--gives you a shadow alter-ego. This is like the shadows in Ninja
Gaiden 2. The shadows mimic your movements, including weapon attacks.
You can have at most two shadows.
Yellow--places a protective fire shield around Moonlight (and the shadows if
you have any). This is not that useful as the damage is weak.
Enemies your sword can destroy in one strike will take two or more
hits from this before dying. Still, the extra damage and shielding
can help, so get it if you can, but don't kill yourself.
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STAGE STRATEGIES
This sections provides some strategies for the stages. It will list what I
believe to be the best weapon(s) to use, as well as any other info on the
stage I deem necessary. It will also give strategies on the boss of each
stage.
Stage and Boss names are from the manual. Orange ninjas appear in all stages
and will not be mentioned as enemy types.
STAGE 1
Best Weapons--sword and shuriken
You will run into Green, Yellow-Green, and Earth Ninjas here. At the start,
use your sword on the enemies. The Earth Ninja can be killed by crouching
and attacking--you will stab through the floor. Powerup your sword with the
first available powerup and you will get through the temple part with no
problem.
When you reach the outside (with the grass and platforms you can jump on),
you can either stay with the sword or use the shuriken. If your shuriken is
not powered up, use the sword. Yellow-green ninjas will jump up out of the
ground and throw five knives in an arc at you. Your sword can stop the
knives. You should have a shadow by now.
When you reach the end with the two gray platforms in the ground, you will
notice that you can no longer go to the right. Before you reach this point,
perform a long jump in such a way that one of your two shadows (you did get
both of them, didn't you?) is near the top of the screen. You want to get to
the extreme right of the screen. Switch to the shuriken. Now start throwing
(use rapid fire). Yellow-green ninjas will start jumping out of the two gray
platforms in the ground. They will jump straight up and throw knives. If
your shadows are positioned correctly, you can hit them while they are still
jumping out. If your shurikens are not powered up, you may miss a few. In
this case, use the sword and just protect yourself (press UP+attack to swing
over your head) until they all come out.
After they all come out and go back into the ground (or are killed), the boss
will appear.
Boss--Asura
Don't let this boss' size intimidate you. Of course, if you don't have any
shadows, THEN you can be intimidated :) The shurikens or bomb will be most
useful here. The boss has four arms that will charge up energy and release
fireballs in eight directions. The screen gets cluttered with all those
fireballs going everywhere. If you have shadows and positioned them as I
mentioned earlier (one near the top of the screen), one shadow will be even
with the boss' head. This is the weak point. Put rapid fire to max and fire
until it's dead.
If you don't have any shadows (or just have one), just fire at a diagonal
from where you are or get directly under the boss heads and fire up.
The screen corners are safe areas.
The following tip comes from Aaron Koo (quoted verbatim):
"first off for the first boss the easiest way to kill him
is to have your upgraded sword. if you have your helpers then it's
even easier. when you get to the part where the ninjas jump up and
throw knives at you just stand in the middle and jump up once. your
helpers should be in the air and just keep attacking upward. you'll be
protected from the knives. when the boss appears don't move. just keep
attacking upward. the attacks can't penetrate your attack."
STAGE 2--The Two-axed Ogre
Best weapons--sword and bomb.
Forest stage here. Red ninjas make their first appearance here. You will
use your sword throughout this stage--the bomb is mentioned because you will
use it on the boss. Use your sword to destroy the bombs the red ninjas throw
at you. When you reach the rocky area with the clearing (blue sky), wolves
will start coming at you from above. Overhead swipes (UP+attack) will take
care of them.
Fireballs will starts approaching you in the second patch of forest. You can
use bombs to get them, but I just kept with the sword and kept moving. The
red ninjas are here too, and things get ugly with the fireballs (which can
take a beating) and the bombs coming at you, so just keep moving, taking out
any red ninjas in your way.
Boss--The Two-axed Ogre
The Ogre appears on the middle tree. He will charge at you through the air
with his axes in front. He can kill you in one hit, so be careful. The bomb
is the way to go on this boss. You must jump around to avoid the boss'
charges. When you first start (when the boss music first starts playing),
get on the left tree and jump up the branches. If you are fast enough, the
boss will appear below you and start climbing up. If not, he will appear on
the same horizonatal level with you. Jump over him and fire down with your
bombs. Set the rapid fire all the way up. You will need to get a feel for
when the boss will charge so that you don't jump into his charge. When you
are on the ground, start firing at the position the boss was in while you
were coming down. If he appears on the center tree, get to the right or left
side of the screen. Watch carefully. When he charges, jump over him toward
the opposite side of the screen (fire at him while doing this--you want to
get as many hits in as possible. DO NOT jump straight up! You will fall on
him and die. While moving to the other side of the screen, turn and fire at
the boss. Keep jumping and firing at all opportunities and you will kill the
boss.
The following tip is from Aaron Koo (quoted verbatim)"
"for the second boss i handle him almost teh same as the first boss.
with the only difference being that i jump around. the boss should
follw and thus get in the attack of your helpers. just stay one step
ahead of him and you'll be fine."
STAGE 3--"Hanzo" the Fiend
Best Weapon--sword, shuriken (powered up) and bomb
Leaping green ninjas will start this stage off. Overhead sword swipes will
finish them. Also, the gun-toting foes appear here. These are very annoying
opponents. The run at you, then drop flat to the ground and fire at your
feet. Your sword works wonders here and I also believe you can see the
sickle and chain shine here as well. If your shuriken is powered up, you can
hit the gun enemies as soon as you see them, and thus get them out of your
hair. An unpowered shuriken will require you to crouch to hit them
if they drop before you fire. This wastes a precious few milliseconds that
gives the gun enemy behind you time to shoot. With the sword, you will only
be able to protect yourself (passive approach, but safe).
The blue ground will slow you down considerably, but be VERY careful if you
try to jump through it. I suggest you just walk the distance. If you want
to jump, use small jumps. The wolves will come at you later on while
traveling through this bog. The reason I say be careful is that the darn
staff monks come out in force here. If you are in the air, you will likely
be dead while coming down, unless you are using a powerful weapon (like the
bomb). The monks come from front and behind. I suggest using your sword.
The monks don't throw their weapons while you are on the ground directly
horizontal from them. When you hit them with your sword, it will move them
back a bit. Inch forward (and you wll be inching) while swinging.
It will be slow indeed, but the protection is crucial.
Boss--Hanzo the Fiend
Unless there is some hidden secret, this boss is crazy easy. Use bombs here
(with rapid fire set to max) and kiss this boss goodbye. If you have shadows
you can set one of them to aim at his head, but your bombs will damage him
through his sword. He moves so slow that you should be able to kill him by
the time he gets to you.
If he does get too close for comfort, just jump over him, get to the other
screen edge and continue firing away. All he seems to do is swing and walk.
STAGE 4--Den of Demons
Best weapons--Bombs and sword
The stage starts in a place which appears to look just like where you started
the game. Earth Ninjas appear, but two new opponents show their faces.
Black and Purple ninjas. The black ninjas move along the ceiling and won't
pose a problem at all if you stay on the floor. The purple ninjas are rather
annoying. They appear out of a puff of smoke and then throw their killer
sickle and chain weapons. Use bombs here completely. The purple ninjas can
take a hit from other weapons and still throw theirs. The bombs should kill
them before they do this. If they somehow manage to live, put the rapid fire
up--you DO have a powered up bomb here, don't you? Well, if you don't, use
the bombs anyway. The purple ninjas can only throw their weapons straight
forward, jump your way through this part of the stage. When you see the
smoke, hit the air (small jump) and fire at the smoke. The explosion should
kill them upon appearance. Keep going to the end of this part.
In the next part, everything appears normal except that there are holes in
the floor. The holes are filled with green spikes. The spikes and holes are
NOT very noticeable at all so you may end up falling into them before you
know it.
To counter this, take to the ceiling. Perform a large jump until Moonlight
attatches himself to the ceiling. Now the Earth Ninja can not reach you, but
the black and green ninjas still can. Absolutely use your sword here. You
can stab through the ceiling and kill the black ninjas (consider it inverse
Earth Ninja killing). Orange ninjas appear in the air here, so jump off the
ceiling to kill them then jump back on after getting the power up. Keep
heading the right to go to the next part. If you are on the ceiling you will
need to jump to the floor to proceed.
Now the rock ceiling will start coming down slowly to crush you. Head to the
right quickly and do not stop for anything. Only grab powerups right next to
and in front of you. Going back is a deadly error. It can be done, but is
quite risky to go back to get a powerup and still try to beat the ceiling.
Red ninjas will be your opponents here, so your sword is your weapon (the
sickle and chain may work too). Jump and move as needed, but keep moving.
After the ceiling, the boss appears.
Boss--Enchanted Stones
The boss consists of two large square stones that move around the screen
attempting to crush you. The weapon of choice is the bomb. It seems the
boss can only kill you by pressing you against another surface like
the side walls, floor, ceiling or maybe the other stone. Jump around
avoiding the stones while firing at them. Be careful of getting cornered.
If a stone stops moving, it may be setting you up for the other stone to trap
you between them.
The stones have four areas on them that can be destroyed. The areas are
the ends of the cross-like decoration on the stones. When these areas
are destroyed, the stone may still move, so don't let the guard down if the
stone's decoration is completely gone. Both stones must be destroyed to win.
Stage 5--The Tribe of the Nine Wind Demons
Best Weapon--Sword or Sickle and Chain
This stage requires you to jump up the mountain until you reach the boss.
You will use the rock platforms and the gray branch-things to hop up the
mountain. Red and green ninjas will be the opponents here, as well as a new
menace. Purple gas will emit from various places on the mountain. These gas
emissions can hurt you. There is no indication of where the emissions will
eminate, so you will have to watch and jump carefully so that you can adjust
your movement if you see a gas emission coming.
You can move to the right if you wish, but the boss is located up. Orange
ninjas are all around this place (they hang in the air if you are up the
mountain), so if you aren't powered up, hang around and kill some of them to
get yourself some powerups.
Boss--Evil Wind? (may be the Tribe of the Nine Wind Demons)
This boss appears riding a giant kite :) What you have here are nine people,
eight of which fire at you. They are all on the kite. Each of the eight
shoots three knives at you, so the screen can get quite cluttered with
weapons. The weapon of choice here is the sword. The middle person (dressed
in yellow) doesn't seem to fire at you, but this is the one I believe you
have to hit. You can kill the other eight people with a few strikes, but the
yellow one remains the whole while. The other eight people will regenerate
after a while, so keep attacking. The boss won't hurt you if they touch you,
only their weapons will, so you can just stand in a spot to attack and
protect yourself. To be aggressive, chase after the boss when they are far
away, but keep your protection up. If you are good with the "gyrating"
sickle-and-chain attack, you can use it here.
Stage 6--Thunderclouds
Best Weapons--Sword. Maybe sickle and chain too
Normal horizontal stage here, but wow do they turn up the heat! Enemies come
like ants on this stage. New opponents make an appearance here. First are
single versions of the stage 5 boss. IOW, one person on a small kite :)
They still fire three knives at you. The second opponent is Mr Ryuichi.
Early in this stage, often you will see five knives come out of the sky and
converge at one point on the ground. It is best to use your sword and do the
overhead attack to protect yourself.
Also early in the stage, you will be traveling across rocky areas which are
slightly elevated from the ground. The staff monks appear on this stage, and
if they are on a lower portion of the ground than you, they will throw their
staffs. Use your sword to stop the thrown staff.
Continue onward until you meet the boss.
Boss--Ghosts of Fugitive Warriors
The boss here consist of several Fugitive Warrior Ghosts. There are about
eight of them. Use bombs here. One ghost will appear where you are standing
when the fight starts. Quickly move away and turn and attack. Get ready to
jump again when you start to see another ghost appear. The ghosts will
appear in the spot where you are standing. If you don't get rid of the one
that appears where you are, it will stay on the screen. You don't want all
those instant-kill ghosts on the screen, so make absolutely sure you kill
each one that appears. A little strategy is offered below.
When the fight starts, get on the large rock on the left. When you start to
see the ghost appear, do a SMALL jump to the long low rock elevation on the
right. Quickly turn around and bomb the ghost. Now watch for the next ghost
to appear where you are. Jump to the large rock now and turn and fire. If
you have shadows you can try to fire diagonally downward, else just stand
and fire straight in front of you. When the next ghost appears, jump to the
low rocks again. Continue this pattern until you defeat them all.
NEW! Here is a new strategy given by Maxime Proulx-Longin (quoted verbatim):
"The sixth boss is even easier than the explanation you did as you can go to
the right where the ghosts appear, jump a little bit and always attack with a
bomb under you. The ghost will swing in the air and by the time his blade
return to its place he is destroyed. I know it's a cheap strategy but it
works very well and it makes this boss one of the easiest of the game"
Another strategy, this one from Aaron Koo (quoted verbatim):
"for the sixt boss just jump on top of the first rock and jump once and
attack down with bombs. it's very similiar to the strat you have posted
but with a bit more security."
STAGE 7--The Bloody Battle
Best Weapons--Shuriken and Bomb
This is the final stage. It's actually short but does have one quite tedious
section to it. As you start out, gas emissions will erupt in various places
(just like in Stage 5). You may wish to go slow so that you can see where
the gas will eminate. Keep a watchful eye so that you can avoid the gas.
You can also walk on the ceiling (like in the second part of stage 4), but
gas erupts around here as well so be careful. The only enemy that appears is
some Mr. Ryuichi, but with the gas emissions, battling him can be tedious.
Use powered shurikens to help you here. Two orange ninjas hanging in the air
will be your powerups in this first section. When you reach the edge of the
ledge, get ready for the tedious part of this stage.
When you fall off the ledge, you will engage in a long fall downward. As you
fall you will see green ninjas with their swords out. They don't move or
anything, just sit with their swords above their heads. The problem here is
that falling on them will instantly kill you (the one time the Green ninjas
actually pose a serious threat). You are falling at a speed such that you
can not kill the ninjas in time before you hit their swords. You can try to
use bombs, but a better solution is below.
Note: I wrote this solution from a hint mag long ago, so I'm quoting
it directly.
"Once you get to the ledge, fall off and hold to the left until you reach the
wall. Then move Moonlight one character space away from the wall and shoot
straight down."
By doing this, you will fall down a safe "corridor" with the ninjas all
around you. As far as I have seen, you don't even need to shoot, as NO
enemies will hit you. Just let gravity take over here. The toughest part
about this solution is trying to get to the left wall before the ninjas start
appearing. You have to be quick, but go too fast and you will run flat upon
a rising ninja. Practice here to get your speed and timing correct. Firing
a weapon seems to momentarily stop you, so you can do this if you are moving
too fast.
At the bottom, if the boss does not instantly appear, head to the right.
There are two orange ninjas here. They are at the extreme left and right of
the screen. Move over these areas until they appear. One is a shadow, the
other is a powerup.
Boss--no name
This is it! The last boss. The boss just sits where it is and fires these
greenish semi-homing lightning bolts at you. The bolts move fast and it is
somewhat difficult to tell exactly where they will go. Try to trick them by
jumping so that they will go up. Use bombs are any other distance weapon
here (I suggest bombs for damage). DO NOT use your sword. Jump and hit the
boss in the head and dodge those bolts. The bolts do not instantly kill so
don't worry too much if you are hit.
Keep attacking the boss' head until it dies. Once you win, you will discover
an interesting fact about Moonlight.
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TIPS, TRICKS, AND SECRETS
Note: 1 and 2 are Buttons 1 and 2 respectively.
Stage Select--you can find this trick at GameSages (sages.ign.com).
Sound Test--found at GameSages
Strange Message--At the title screen, press 1,2,2,1,SELECT, then RUN. You
will see an odd message at the bottom of the screen.
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CREDITS
God--for the strength, life, and intellect to do this FAQ
GameSages--for the Stage Select and Sound Test tricks
Video Games & Computer Entertainment--the Strange Message trick
Unknown--for the tip on the last stage.
Maxime Proulx-Longtin--tip on Stage 6 boss.
Aaron Koo--strategies for Stage 1,2, and 6 bosses.
I hope you have enjoyed this FAQ. If there are any corrections, additions,
etc. that you see that need to be put here, please e-mail me and let me know.
Thanks for reading.
[email protected]
Dimetric Houston
The End
