I. How To Play
II. Planet Flora
A. Overview / Enemies
B. Riho
III. Planet Terra (US Version)
A. Overview / Enemies
B. Insomniac
IV. Planet Fanturn (Japanese Version)
A. Overview / Enemies
B. Insomniac
V. Planet Sonata
A. Overview / Enemies
B. Awaeuck
VI. Planet Timu
A. Overview / Enemies
B. Robo-Rabbit
VII. Planet Automaton
A. Overview / Enemies
B. Uranim
VIII. Planet Greedy
A. Overview / Enemies
B. Adahan
C. Inonis
D. Greedy
IX. Copyrights
=============
How To Play
=============
Ristar is a 2D platformer for the Genesis and GameGear. This guide covers the
GameGear version. You walk around in a 2D world like most platformers, jumping
and fighting as you go. In this game you do battle by "grabbing" your enemies
and headbutting them. Pressing Button 1 shoots out Ristar's hands, allowing
him to grab any enemy standing before him. Once he has ahold of an enemy,
releasing the button makes him hit it. Sometimes you'll want to hold on to
enemies so they can take you places, so it's not always best to kill them right
off. Pressing Button 2 makes Ristar jump.
Handholds work in different ways. Some function as ledges you can grab and
climb through, others as bars to cross pits. Their function should be pretty
obvious when you see them. A third type of handhold are the spinning bars you
see around. Grabbing and holding one of these and then holding the direction
you're spinning will make you spin faster and faster around the bar. Let go to
fly through the air briefly, invincible while you remain a "shooting star."
This type of handheld also appears at the end of every stage. Grab it and spin
to see how high you can get at the edge of the stage!
Different items appear along the way that you can pick up. Here's a rundown
of what they are and do:
() Big Stars
Big Stars appear everywhere and can be either grabbed or touched.
Getting one-hundred of these gives you an extra life.
() Blue Orbs
One of these can be found in the first and second stages of each
planet. Collect both on a planet to go to a Bonus Stage filled with
Big Stars.
() Invincibility Star
Bronze-colored stars found in treasure boxes that make you invincible
for about fifteen seconds.
() Jewels
Jewels give you points, but nothing else. They're found in holes in
trees, walls, etc.
() Little Stars
Little Stars appear in chests. Grabbing one of these gives you a hit
point back. Sometimes they appear in groups of three. This variaton
fills all four of your hit points back to full.
() Small Ristar
A Small Ristar, found in chests, gives you an extra guy.
==============
Planet Flora
==============
The first planet, Terra, is quite simple. You begin the game and immediately
start in a green place with large flowers and trees. The enemies you face are
all rather simple. As this is a platformer, I'll largely be focusing on the
bosses and enemies in this guide. For each planet I'll list all the enemies you
will face with brief descriptions, then discuss the boss of the particular
planet in greater detail. The enemies on Planet Terra are as follows:
() Blue Blobs
The basic enemy you'll see throughout the entire game. Here they just
move back and forth in a set area. A quick grab and hit will take them
out no problem.
() Moles
Moles pop up in the second stage. These guys hide underground and pop
out of their burrows when you approach. After that they just move back
and forth. Approach their burrows slowly and wait for them to jump out.
Grab them as they do and hit them once to defeat them.
() Owls
These enemies are annoying and are best just avoided. They fly about
way above your head and then try to dive down. You generally cannot
reach them from the ground, so you have to grab them as they dive. This
can be difficult, so it is usually best to just run right by them and
not even worry about trying to kill them.
() Rabbits
The rabbits are like the blobs except they're bigger and they hop when
they move. They're easy head-on, but can pose a small annoyance if you
have to come up on one from below. They hop at a set rate, so move in
for the kill right after they hop. A single hit defeats them.
() Spearmen
Spearmen appear rarely in stage two. They wield a spear and try to
throw it at you. A single hit finishes them and yields you their
spear. This can then be picked up and thrown either at enemies or at
a wall/tree. Jumping on the spear as it is sticking out of a tree or
wall will allow you to bounce off it and, sometimes, reach special
places.
Once you make it to the third stage you face your first boss. In the original
Genesis version there were bosses in the first stage of each planet, but that
has been dropped here. Instead you only face bosses at the third stage of a
planet. The first boss is named Riho.
() Riho
Riho is the final boss of Planet Terra and offers a bit more of a
challenge then the snake. Riho, as you will no doubt notice, is
being controlled by an alien on his back. That alien is your
ultimate objective here, not Riho. You have to strike Riho,
however, in order to get to it. But first let's stalk about his
attacks. Riho has two attacks: a mini-whirlwind he shoots from his
hands in a down-left or down-right angle and a rain of glowing
swamp matter. Stay under Riho to avoid the whirlwinds, then merely
duck in-between the rain when he summons it. You need to hit Riho
three times to knock the alien off of him. You can hit Riho when
he is high by jumping and grabbing upwards. Once you knock the
alien off Riho run up to it and grab hit. If you wait too long the
alien will jump back on Riho. Hitting the alien will change Riho's
color and force the alien to jump back on him. Hit the alien three
times to defeat it and liberate Riho and Planet Terra.
===============
Planet Terra
===============
Depending on the version of the game you have, you will either be sent here or
to Fanturn. The US version sends you to Terra. This planet is short, only one
stage long. Here are the enemies to expect:
() Blue Blobs
They're back, but now they wear little hats. Kill them to pick up their
hats and toss them like Oddjob.
() Bombers
These big guys fly about on floating pods and rain bombs or blobs down
upon you. A single hit kills them, but sometimes it is best to just
run by. If you can't, you generally need to get on something high and
jump at them, grabbing them in mid-air.
() Dynamite
Burning sticks of dynamite hop about this level not unlike the rabbits,
except these guys also like to explode when you're nearby to damage you
before you can grab them. If you can avoid them, let them blow
themselves up before you go near. If not, just try and grab them
quickly to avoid getting caught in any explosions. One hit finishes
them off safely.
() Spearmen
Same as on Planet Flora.
The boss is intact, however, so you can still fight him. He appears in the
second stage:
() Insomniac
Insomniac is one of two all new bosses in the GameGear version of
Ristar. Insomniac is trying to sleep when you enter his room. He
immediately begins throwing pillows at you. He does this once or twice
and then starts sucking you in. After that the bat above covers the
light and Insomniac starts sleeping again, releasing salive bubbles.
If you hit Insomniac he'll immediately skip to the sleeping stage.
There are twp things you need to do here. Your main target is
Insomniac, however you also need to eliminate that bat. Start the
fight by hitting Insomniac to get him to go to sleep. Now grab one of
the bubbles (they won't hurt you) and ride it upwards. Let go near the
top of the screen and grab and hit the bat before you fall. Insomniac
will awaken and start attacking again. Repeat this three times to kill
the bat. Now focus solely on Insomniac. Move up to him and just start
grabbing and hitting him repeatedly. He'll be stunned for a moment
after each hit, giving you time to hit him again. You have to take the
bat out first though, because if you don't Insomniac will start glowing
and become invincible after a couple of hits for several of his sleep
cycles. He takes quite a few hits, but isn't too tough once the bat is
out of the picture.
================
Planet Fanturn
================
If you're playing the Japanese version of the game you go to Fanturn instead
of Terra. Fanturn is the better level of the two because the second stage is
actually the entirity of Terra. This place is a fantasy-based world and stage
one is vastly different from stage two, featuring a skyhigh cloud stage
instead of the pirate ship. Here are the enemies to expect:
() Blue Blobs
They're back, but now they wear little hats. Kill them to pick up their
hats and toss them like Oddjob.
() Bombers
These big guys fly about on floating pods and rain blue blobs down
upon you. A single hit kills them, but sometimes it is best to just
run by. If you can't, you generally need to get on something high and
jump at them, grabbing them in mid-air.
() Dynamite
Burning sticks of dynamite hop about this level not unlike the rabbits,
except these guys also like to explode when you're nearby to damage you
before you can grab them. If you can avoid them, let them blow
themselves up before you go near. If not, just try and grab them
quickly to avoid getting caught in any explosions. One hit finishes
them off safely.
() Owls
These enemies are annoying and are best just avoided. They fly about
way above your head and then try to dive down. You generally cannot
reach them from the ground, so you have to grab them as they dive. This
can be difficult, so it is usually best to just run right by them and
not even worry about trying to kill them.
() Rhino
These things charge straight at you. They take three hits to the front
to kill. They can jump too, so watch out.
() Slime
This is a projectile throwing enemy like the Spearmen, but this one
doesn't move. You'll find them just resting on the ground or sometimes
on platforms that move about. A single hit kills them.
() Spearmen
Same as on Planet Flora.
The boss is the same in both version of the planet:
() Insomniac
Insomniac is one of two all new bosses in the GameGear version of
Ristar. Insomniac is trying to sleep when you enter his room. He
immediately begins throwing pillows at you. He does this once or twice
and then starts sucking you in. After that the bat above covers the
light and Insomniac starts sleeping again, releasing salive bubbles.
If you hit Insomniac he'll immediately skip to the sleeping stage.
There are twp things you need to do here. Your main target is
Insomniac, however you also need to eliminate that bat. Start the
fight by hitting Insomniac to get him to go to sleep. Now grab one of
the bubbles (they won't hurt you) and ride it upwards. Let go near the
top of the screen and grab and hit the bat before you fall. Insomniac
will awaken and start attacking again. Repeat this three times to kill
the bat. Now focus solely on Insomniac. Move up to him and just start
grabbing and hitting him repeatedly. He'll be stunned for a moment
after each hit, giving you time to hit him again. You have to take the
bat out first though, because if you don't Insomniac will start glowing
and become invincible after a couple of hits for several of his sleep
cycles. He takes quite a few hits, but isn't too tough once the bat is
out of the picture.
===============
Planet Sonata
===============
Yep, this place is back from the original Genesis version. You'll find it to be
somewhat similar if you played the original, except harder. Here are the
enemies to expect:
() Blue Blobs
Same as always, but this time they can electrify themselves. As they
move back and forth they will sometimes stop and electrify themselves.
If you grab them while they are electrified you will be damaged.
() Bobbing Birds
These things are stationary. They slam their heads down at random
intervals, hurting you if you're beneath. They can be killed with three
hits to the head. Hit them when they strike. It's best to kill them
instead of risking it by running under them while they can still strike
you.
() Bombers
These big guys fly about on floating pods and rain blue blobs down
upon you. A single hit kills them, but sometimes it is best to just
run by. If you can't, you generally need to get on something high and
jump at them, grabbing them in mid-air.
() Dancing Bird
These fat bird ladies spin about so fast they throw the little birds
they are dancing with, but not to worry as another is bound to fall
from above to take their place. You cannot hurt the little bird that
is thrown/falls and it hurts you if you touch it. As for the big bird,
you can only hurt her when she is not spinning. One hits kills her,
but if you try to grab her while she spins you'll be the one taking
the pain.
() Fat Guys
The Fat Guys are you first multi-hit regular opponents. These guys are
rather larged and simply chase after you slowly. Hit them once to make
them smaller and faster. Hit them again to finish them off.
() Sleeping Birds
Not enemies, but in stage one you have to bring them an alarm clock to
move past. They're all in obvious places, except the third one which is
on the lower of two possible routes.
() Slime
This is a projectile throwing enemy like the Spearmen, but this one
doesn't move. You'll find them just resting on the ground or sometimes
on platforms that move about. A single hit kills them.
There is a boss on stage one on Sonata, a change of pace from the other planets:
() Bobbing Birds
These things are stationary. They slam their heads down at random
intervals, hurting you if you're beneath. They can be killed with three
hits to the head. Hit them when they strike. There are two of them, but
another threat appears as well. If you take too long the maestro bird
above you will summon four blue blobs that will fly across the screen
one at a time in a up and down pattern. You might as well kill these
when they appear as dodging them can be somewhat difficult on the
GameGear screen.
The main boss awaits you on stage three:
() Awaeuck
This bird can be kinda rough. Awaeuck has different attacks at
different points in the battle. He begins on the pedestal and is
apparently singing very badly as the musical notes that come out
of his mouth hit you. There are two types, the ones that come in
groups of three and float outward and the the ones he drops and
bounce along the ground. He also will drop both at once or the
same type multiple times. As this is going on, ceiling tiles are
raining down around you too, so there's a lot that can hit you.
You need to make your way towards the pedestal and hit it three
times. Hitting Awaeuck at this point is impossible. After three
hits he is knocked from the pedestal and rolls across the ground.
While he is rolling he cannot hurt you, so let him pass right
through you. When he stops rolling he will rise up and begin to
fly. While flying you can hit him and need to do so twice, which
will make him return to the pedestal. While flying he has two
attacks, a dive that either goes straight down or at an angle and
a feather rain that drops feathers everywhere. While this is
going on the ceiling tiles are still raining down. He'll go back
and forth each time you either hit him twice or the pedestal
three times. He takes a total of eight hits to finish off (not
counting pedestal hits). Hitting the pedestal three or four times
when Awaeuck is not on it will warrant you a star, so keep that in
mind if your health ever gets low.
=============
Planet Timu
=============
In the US version this planet is called Freon, but it is clearly not the same
as the planet from the Genesis version so I've used the Japanese name. This
planet is all about time, as you'll find out quickly:
() Blue Blobs
Not much to say that hasn't already been said about these guys. They
hop, they electrify, they pretty much do everything you've seen up to
now on Timu.
() Bombers
Two Bombers appear at the very end of stage two. Just run past them and
through the exit before the Time Bomb attached to you explodes.
() Dynamite
In stage two these guys are back, but now they paratroop in on blue
ballons.
() Fish
These guys are invincible. They swim around aimlessly, but if you hit
one it starts to flash and grows spikes. It now will chase you through
the water and never stop. Getting out of the water is the only way to
lose it at this point.
() Time Bombs
Walking through certain walkways in both stages will attach a bomb to
Ristar. Clocks count down all around you and you have until the timers
reach zero to make it to water, which somehow dislodges the bomb and
saves you.
() Wizards
These strange-looking fellows teleport in and summon Blue Blobs. They
only appear in some parts of stage two, but can be quite annoying.
They generally do not come back to the same spot twice.
Another new boss for you here in stage three:
() Robo-Rabbit
This guy is a push-over at eight hits to win. The Robo-Rabbit hops
about in the hourglass you fight in trying to bounce on you. Hit him
to make him freeze you. This takes a moment, givng you a chance to
either try and hit him again (if you're feeling lucky) or to get in a
good spot (if you want a certain victory). When he freezes you he fires
three bullets: one up and forward, one forward, and one down and
forward. The angle is always the same. You cannot break free of this
until after all the bullets are gone, so getting in position is key to
this battle. Once you see the angle getting in the right place is a
snap. I prefer right below and to the side of the boss. He cannot hit
you from there and when he drops you will not get hit, but will be in
the perfect position to strike again.
==================
Planet Automaton
==================
Automaton is your last planet to liberate. After here you head for Greedy's
Space Fortress, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. First you have to tangle
with these guys:
() Blue Blobs
Back again.
() Dancing Bird
Back in one room of stage two.
() Dynamite
Back again.
() Fat Guy
Two appear in one room of stage two.
() Fire-Breather
These black-faced enemies spit fire in a steady stream. Avoiding
getting hit by one can be tricky in tight places, but luckily they
only take one hit to dispatch. They hop to move, so catch them mid-air
to make absolutely sure you don't get burned.
() Hoverbots
These small Hoverbots float back and forth over spiked areas and follow
the same route over and over. You have to grab these and jump from one
to the other over the spikes to get through. Not really enemies per se,
but a tight spot in the first stage nonetheless.
() Hyper Rabbits
The old Rabbits seem to be back in stage two, but this time if you hit
one it starts to flash and will chase you. It is indestructable, but it
cannot jump in its second form. Hit them and then run.
() Manhole Guy
These guys hide under manholes and lift them to throw out Blue Blobs or
spears. Hit them as they begin to lift their manholes to kill them.
Don't fall in the hole left behind.
() Owl
Back again in one room of stage two. This time you probably should kill
it by jumping up and grabbing it from below.
() Rhino
The Rhinos are back at the end of stage one. They got their same old
tricks, but luckily there is a spinning handhold right before them,
allowing you to sail past them with relative ease. Later in stage two
you'll have to fight them head-on again, so just keep at it.
() Spearmen
These guys reappear in stage two. This time use their own spears
against their comrades in arms.
Another boss from the Genesis version appears in the final stage of Automaton:
() Uranim
Uranim is a lot easier then the previous bosses. You begin the
battle approaching Uranim while he throws stuff at you. Watch the
television screens behind you to see when something is coming.
Jump right as you see the screw on the televisions. Keep going
until you get to Uranim. Uranim has a few attacks, although you
don't really have to worry about them. He will throw things
dropped by the claw above him, he punches, and he charges and
shoots fireballs. None of this really matters though, as you
should just start hitting him as soon as you are close enough.
While you're hitting him none of his attacks can hurt you. Just
keep it up until he collapses. In the Genesis version you now had
to do some tricky jumping stuff, but here all you need to do is
dodge the claw that now tries to attack you while Uranim is
immobilized. Soon enough Uranim will rise and you need to repeat
the whole process again. He takes a good number of hits, but he
shouldn't be much of a problem if you made it this far into the
game.
===============
Planet Greedy
===============
They call it Planet Greedy, but I'm pretty sure it is just his Space Fortress
from the Genesis game. Oh well, it is a lot different from that game anyway.
<<< READ THE BOMBERS ENTRY BEFORE BEGINNING THE LEVEL >>>
() Blue Blobs
Your final time seeing these guys. They got those Oddjob hats again,
at first anyway...
() Bombers
You spend the whole first stage dealing with the Blue Blobs one of
these guys drops on you. You can kill him with the hats the Blue Blobs
drop by throwing them upwards, but then he just gets replaced by one
that throws Blue Blobs without hats. This part here is probably the
biggest bunch of <crap> I've seen in a game ever. What you must
absolutely do in the first stage is kill one of the Blue Blobs with a
hat and pick it up. Now wait and let the Bomber throw three more out
(no more then three can appear at a time). Now throw the hat up at the
Bomber to kill him. Get another hat and hit the next one the same way,
remembering that there will be no more hats after these first four.
You have to hit four Bombers, one with each hat which disappears
success or fail after you throw it. Kill all four to move on, otherwise
you'll be trapped in a neverending elevator stage. (I went for thirty
minutes with no success at finishing the stage in any other fashion.)
() Greedy's Orbs
Seen at the beginning of the final battle with Greedy (see Greedy
below for more details).
After besting the four Bombers you start a three boss circuit:
() Adahan
As you finish off the Bombers, Adahan burst from below the elevator.
This cybernetic groundhog then brings his whole body up after it.
Obviously you don't want to be standing where he comes out (center
of the screen) After he rises he'll fly to a corner and launch his
claws across the screen. You cannot hurt him during this point, so
just avoid his rising and run under him while he shoots his claws.
After he finishes firing his claws he'll dive down and drop off the
elevator. You still cannot hurt it, so don't even bother trying.
After he does this whole thing a few times, he'll land on the
elevator instead of dropping and start sending dirt (?) waves at you.
Jump over these and hit him as he tries to do it again. If he's
not about to attack he will block any attempt to harm him, so you
have to time it just right. He'll repeat the whole dropping thing
again, so just repeat what you've done before. Hit him twice to
start the next phase. Now the elevator will shake and the background
start falling. The boss will fall from above, but you do not fall as
in the Genesis version (you actually are still standing where you
were just fine). Catch him as he dives and hit him, or if he passes
you, see which side of the screen he disappeared on as he'll be
hanging on the wall on that side not far down. You can catch him here
as he ascends upwards. One hit starts the previous phase up again.
Hit him two more times to start falling again. Hit him again to
repeat the first phase again. He switches back and forth like this
for the rest of the fight. He takes a total of thirteen hits to
destroy. If Adahan is shooting his claws you can actually grab onto
them and ride them up to him, hitting him as you approach. Generally
you'll get damaged doing this, but it might be worth a try.
() Inonis
Of course now you're at the second stage and it's got a boss here
waiting for you. The robot Inonis pilots is simpler then his Genesis
counterpart. For starters he has only a wide laser gun and a small
machine gun. Also, you can damage him by hitting him. Run up to him
and strike him five or six times to damage the eye on the robot,
then wait for Inonis to jump out and fix it. Hit as he is repairing
the eye to deal damage. To avoid his attacks, either stand back (for
the machine gun) or stand close and strike Inonis as his weapon fires
(for the wide laser). Keep it up and then you'll see his older
attacks: mines he drops right in front of him and a boomerang he
launches form his tail. Both of these are easy to dodge, moreso then
the guns. six hits to Inonis himself destroys him and sends you to
Greedy himself.
() Greedy
You've finally made it to Greedy's throne room. If you were
expecting a challenge you will not be disappointed. Greedy attacks
you with a wide array of different strikes and he takes a lot of
hits to bring down. Greedy begins this fight by sending out three
orbs that shoot bullets at you. They fire, then move. Each takes
one hit to destroy. After taking them down Greedy jumps into the
fray. In this intial stage he teleports to a place in the room
and moves twice rapidly. You have to try and grab him while he
does this. Sometimes during this stage he will fly high and
surround himself with a shiled of black blobs. He'll start sending
them down at you quickly. To dodge this just run back and forth as
they strike where you just were. Each time you hit him he drops
one blue blob that you need to kill (it will stay on the screen
until you do so). Hit him four times to move on to his next stage.
Now Greedy will throw back his cape and get serious. He begins by
opening a vortex in one of the upper corners that starts sucking
you in. Two blue blobs will drop down while this is happening.
Because of the physics of the GameGear game, this is a lot harder
then it should be. In the Genesis game you could hold onto the
blobs while the vortex was open, but in this version you sometimes
instantly kill the blobs if you grab them. Instead you might want
to try and just keep shooting your hands out. Each time you do
you are momentarily stopped, preventing you from getting sucked in.
This is very frustrating as more often then not you will not be
able to pull this off and will get sucked into the vortex. It is
almost impossible from here on out, especially with Greedy's other
attack during this stage. Greedy will mix up his vortex action by
teleporting around at ground level and firing an electrical blast.
This attack is not as bad as the Genesis version, but is still
very hard to dodge. He's a little ways in the air, so you might be
able to dodge left or right quick enough to get out of the way. To
hit him either by jumping in the air and grabbing him as he tries
to open a vortex or as he rises after an electrical attack. No
blobs fall when you hit him during this stage of the battle. Keep
moving and don't give him a chance to teleport next to a
stationary target for an easy strike from his electrical blast.
Hit him four more times to finish him off and win the game.
============
Copyrights
============
Ristar The Shooting Star is (c) Sega
