Cobra Triangle

I noticed there isn't much for walkthroughs on this game, so here's a guide that
should help with conquering this seemingly difficult game.

Since some levels are redundant, or self explanatory I'll only focus on
important tips that will get you through to the end.  Also, since my walkthrough
will concentrate on getting past the 25 levels, I won't be going into great
details on scoring, upgrades, or anything like that.


Controls
------------------------
Directional pad: Steers the boat
Select:  Used to power up your boat.  As you collect pods, the various upgrades
will flash at the bottom of the screen.  Press select to choose the flashing
upgrade.
Start:  Pauses game
B:  Accelerate
A:  Fire weapons

Upgrades
------------------------
Turbo: You will accelerate faster from a stand still
Fire: Changes the style of your gunfire (I prefer the spread fire that shoots
forward)
Speed: Changes the top speed of your boat
Missile: Gives you powerful missiles-the last missile upgrade gives homing
missiles
Force: Gives temporary invincibility, temporary homing missiles, and REFILLS
energy


Note:
You will sometimes find a fork in the river.  Choosing left or right will affect
the order of levels.  My walkthrough always chooses the LEFT branch of the
river (Route 1 below).

*A big thanks to ktwo  for mapping out the level order for all branches of the
river.  There are 2 river forks that you will come across.  The first is in level 1
and the 2nd is in level 9.

NOTE:
Finish L has logs
Finish I has icebergs


Route 1 (Fork left on level 1, Fork left of level 9)
1-Race
2-Pods
3-Mines
4-Finish L
5-Monster
6-Target
7-People
8-Waterfall
9-Race
10-Monster
11-Target
12-Mines
13-Finish I
14-Race
15-Pods
16-People
17-Monster
18-Target
19-Race
20-Mines
21-Finish I
22-Waterfall
23-Monster
24-Monster
25-??

Route 2 (Fork left on level 1, Fork right on level 9)
1-Race
2-Pods
3-Mines
4-Finish L
5-Monster
6-Target
7-People
8-Waterfall
9-Race
10-Monster
11-Target
12-Finish I
13-Mines
14-Race
15-Pods
16-People
17-Monster
18-Target
19-Race
20-Finish L
21-Mines
22-Waterfall
23-Monster
24-Monster
25-??

Route 3 (Fork right on level 1, Fork left on level 9)
1- Race
2- Mines
3- Pods
4-People
5-Monster
6-Target
7-Finish L
8-Waterfall
9-Race
10-Monster
11-Mines
12-Mines
13-Finish I
14-Race
15-People
16-Pods
17-Monster
18-Target
19-Race
20-Mines
21-Finish I
22-Waterfall
23-Monster
24-Monster
25-??

Route 4 (Fork right on level 1, Fork right on level 9)
1- Race
2- Mines
3- Pods
4-People
5-Monster
6-Target
7-Finish L
8-Waterfall
9-Race
10-Monster
11-Target
12-Finish I
13-Mines
14-Race
15-People
16-Pods
17-Monster
18-Target
19-Race
20-Finish L
21-Mines
22-Waterfall
23-Monster
24-Monster
25-??



Tips & Most of a Walkthrough
------------------------
Level 1 (Race):
This should be where you max out your boat with all upgrades.  Just cruise
straight ahead, pick up the pod, and STOP right about where the pod was.  While
you sit there, boats will come towards you, and many will carry pods.  Just
blast them, and collect the pods as they cruise towards you.  If you get out of
place, just return to your position.  When your time gets down to 16 (the music
will change), race towards the 1-up.  After you collect it, you will start over
and you will retain your power ups.  Using this method of upgrading, and the
then collecting the 1-up, you can get all your upgrading done on the first
track.

Level 2 (Pods):
You should be powered up after the first race.  There are just a few things you
should remember:  be sure to collect the 1-up in this stage, stay a good
distance ahead of the beam, and make sure you have your power ups built up to
FORCE when you leave this level.  The easiest way to leave this level with FORCE
is to not collect pods until you have your 1-up.  After you collect your 1-up,
and reveal the hidden question marks (which could be more 1-ups), then collect
pods until you have FORCE.  Some pods are worth 1 power up & some are worth 2.
Note: If your missile power up is flashing, and you collect a number 2 pod, you
will loop past the FORCE upgrade.  To prevent this, cruise past the ramps until
you find a number 1 pod, then turn around and collect it off the ramp.  You must
keep a fair distance ahead of the beam to do this.

Level 3 (Mines):
Deliver the mines by swerving back and forth to keep the enemy boat off your
tail.  If the enemies on shore are giving you difficulty, you have enough time
to go kill them first, and then continue on with the mission.  A more efficient
way is haul the mine towards the delivery point, and blast away when you get
close.  You should take out some enemies while firing this way.  One other tip,
your boat is in danger of blowing up at the delivery point.  I'm not 100% sure
what causes this, but I believe it is either due to crossing over the middle of
the delivery point, or else driving too slow in the delivery point.  When I'm
dropping off mines, I swoop around so that as the mine is delivered, I'm already
turning towards the beginning of the level to pick up another mine.

Level 4 (Finish):
This level is easy if you have a FORCE ready.  First, just dodge some logs (move
right, left, and then in between).   When you get to the whirlpools, that's when
you should activate your FORCE.  Then, just speed towards the finish line, and
avoid a few more obstacles when your FORCE is done.  If you don't have the log
positions memorized, just let off the gas as soon as they come on the screen.
While you are stalled, you can turn towards the opening, and then accelerate
around/through them.

Level 5 (Monster-Sea Serpent):
For starters, hold the A button until the start of the battle, and you will
score a quick hit on the monster before the fight even begins.  For strategy, I
like to keep to the left side of the screen.  Just get a feel for how often the
monster shoots.  If you stay to the left, you won't have to worry too much about
his tail hitting you, so you just have to worry about his firing attack.  Just
move top to bottom while he is firing, stall, turn & shoot, and then go bottom
to top, stall, turn & shoot.  You should be able to take him down without losing
a life, as long as you are moving while he is shooting.

Level 6 (Target):
You'll get a 1-up if you hit all the targets.  The main thing to remember is
that the targets are in a pattern, but they don't simply alternate back and
forth.  It will be something like left, right, left, left, right, left, left
etc.  Once you learn this pattern, the other target shooting stages are very
similar.

Level 7 (People):
You can earn a 1-up on this level if you keep all 8 people from being captured.
It's quite difficult though, so don't be discouraged if you miss the extra life.
I have never gotten an extra life myself on this stage.  Since you have a fully
powered boat with homing missiles, you should get past this stage without dying.
The UFO's shots will take away life, but just try to hit him before he hits you.
If the time is close, and you have only 2 life bars left, speed around the
people's boundary in a circular motion while shooting, so the UFO doesn't kill
you and you can still hit boats with your homing missiles.

Level 8 (Waterfall)
Do not fear the waterfall stage no matter what you've read. :)  With an upgraded
boat, you don't need lots of runway before you hit the ramp.  When the level
starts, speed straight ahead for the first ramp (this one is not moving).  Now,
for the rest of the course, there are different ways to approach the ramps, and
here they are.
Turn around method:
When you are headed towards the ramp, do a 180, so you are facing into the
current.  Do some tapping on the gas so you don't go over the falls, and get
into a position next to the shore on one side of the river.  Your boat should be
positioned so the back of the boat is even with the ramp.  When the ramp is
touching your boat, and is headed towards the other side of the river, give it
the gas, and turn a 180, so that you meet up with the ramp.  The most important
part of this method is to give it a little practice, so you know how and where
to meet the ramp.
Drifting method:
This method is probably a little easier, but I recommend trying them both to see
which one you prefer.  After you make that first jump, you will notice that the
direction of the current changes halfway to the ramp.  Give the boat just enough
gas to cross over that point, then stop accelerating.  Now, notice the position
of the whirlpool and ramp, and as soon as you see a clear path towards the ramp,
accelerate and steer for it.
The last ramp has 2 whirlpools before it, so it can be pretty tricky.  Just try
one of the 2 methods, and don't worry if you lose 1 life on that last whirlpool.
One other important thing to point out... if you do die during the race, your
boat will be temporarily invincible for a couple seconds.  Use this time to
cruise through the whirlpool, and go straight for the ramp.

*Tip sent in from ktwo (another waterfall strategy to try out)
Wait for a second when it starts and then give full throttle until the finish.
You'll hit all the ramps and avoid all the vortexes!

Level 9 (Race)
Not too much to mention here.  You will need to leave this race with a FORCE
power up.  I usually use one during the race, and then build up for another one.
If you get to the finish line area without it, turn around and just cruise back
and forth until some pod boats come out.  Even if you lose a boat in this
process, it's worth it, because the FORCE will refill your life meter, as well
as give you some invincibility time.  One other thing to mention, is that if you
hit a ramp, don't do any steering, and you should land fine.  Just make sure you
hit that ramp at full speed.  The ramps in the races are always located in wide
sections of river, just before a curve.  So, if you prefer to avoid them, then
don't go in the middle of the river when it's wide.

Level 10 (Monster-Crab)
Probably the easiest monster in the game.  When the race starts, steer right,
and swoop below the crab.  Then, swoop around him, and head up towards the upper
right corner (behind the crab).  Go to that corner, and turn around.  He will
shoot towards you, but won't hit you if you are in the corner.  There may be one
shot that gets lucky and hits you during the level, but you will get past this
without losing a guy.

Level 11 (Target)
Nothing special, just see level 6

Level 12 (Mines)
This level is a bit tougher than level 3.  There are 2 enemy boats this time,
and they move faster.  There is also an island in the middle, so you have to
steer around it.  In order to be successful against the faster boats, you will
have to do some sharper cornering than in level  3.  I am pointed almost
perpendicular to the shore when I'm doing my swerving.  I will pick up a mine,
and do 2 sharp turns before the island, and my next turn will be around the
island.  If you get that far with your mine, then you are almost home free.
After you deliver the first one, if might be helpful to blast the enemies on the
shore.  You should definitely take out the 2 enemies on the island, and with
skill, you can blast them while you are taking the first mine.  Don't worry if
time runs low.  You should be able to get a mine to the delivery point in about
10-15 seconds.

Level 13 (Finish)
When you try this level for the first time, you might wonder if it's even
passable.  When you figure out how the icebergs work, you will probably find
this level to be easy.  This is the level where you will use your FORCE.  To
start out, you can get a feel for the icebergs.  First, you'll see the water
ripple, then the iceberg comes up.  The best strategy for this level is taking
it a little bit at a time.  Move forward for a second or 2, and then learn where
the icebergs will pop up.  Steer accordingly, and then move forward past that
part, and study the ripples again.  There are some places where the icebergs
will always pop up (especially towards the end of the race).  In those places,
you will have to steer towards the clear part of the river, and then proceed
forward.
The most difficult part will probably be where there are icebergs that move back
& forth, and you have to steer around or in between them.  I find both ways to
be equally challenging, so just pick one.  There are advantages to going around
the outside though.  If you time it wrong, keep your boat going forward, because
the iceberg should pause for a second, and you can sneak by.  Also, if those
moving icebergs don't touch the shore when they go back and forth, you can fit
around the outside of them.
If you have any difficulty with the guns on the shore during the race, take them
out before moving farther.  Usually they aren't much of a threat though.  On a
final note, during this race, the river gets narrow during 2 parts of the race.
You should use the FORCE when you are going to start the second narrow part.
This will get you pretty close to the finish, and will refill your life meter,
which will probably be pretty low by now.  From there, just do some B button
tapping to figure out where the icebergs will pop up while treading some water,
and then move to the clear area and proceed.

Level 14 (Race)
Nothing new here.  Just remember not to steer when you go off of ramps, and use
FORCE during this race when you get them, or when your energy is low.

Level 15 (Pods)
This time they added bombs to the course.  I use FORCE during this level, just
to stay alive with all the bombs, and you should leave this level with a FORCE
too.  There is a 1-up that you should collect also.

Level 16 (People)
This one can be a pain if you get killed during the countdown.  Start this level
just like normal (kill boats & UFO's when they come onto the screen).  The most
important thing is to keep an eye on your life meter.  If you have FORCE, use it
when you have 2 or 4 bars left (the UFO missiles will take away 2 life bars).
By filling up your life meter like this, you should stay alive for the entire
race.  Now, if you get down to 4 bars, or if you are down to 2 people, this is
where you should change your strategy.  Keep killing boats and the UFO until
there is a person outside of the boundary.  Then pick him up, and keep circling
around the outside of the people boundary while shooting.  There will be heavily
armed UFO's that show up, but just keep the pedal to the metal and keep firing
until the countdown ends.

Level 17 (Monster-Octopus)
This is another easy monster.  Hopefully you have the gun that shoots 4 bullets
forward.  I haven't tried it with the other guns, but it might work just as
easily.  Just wail on the trigger as fast as you can while the level is starting
and turn just a slight amount to the left.  You should take away almost all of
the creature's energy before you get hit.  Then, aim at him, and continue to
fire.  He has an attack where his arm will grab up and take your boat under, but
with this fast attack method, he shouldn't even get to that part of his attack.

Level 18 (Target)
Nothing special, just see level 6

Level 19 (Race)
See tips for level 9 and 14.  Make sure to leave this race with FORCE.

Level 20 (Mines)
This level is just like 12, except it goes to the right instead of the left.
Also, there is a whirlpool circling around the delivery point.  If you use sharp
turns like in level 12 (nearly perpendicular to the shore), you should be able
to see the whirlpool ahead of time and be able to easily avoid it.

Level 21 (Finish)
Here is the level where you use your FORCE.  The icebergs pop up faster, but I
think it's just to mess with your head (it's not like you could go over them
before either).  See level 13 for some pointers, and again, try to wait until
the second narrow portion to use FORCE.  This time, the guns on shore are the
stun guns, so you'll probably want to do a quick turn and shoot towards their
direction.  With a 4 way gun, it should be easy to hit them, and then you don't
have to worry about your boat drifting down river.  Again, use the slow advance
method, where you move ahead a little, let off the gas and steer clear of the
icebergs, and then advance a little more.  If you are getting low on time, and
you are close to the finish, you will probably want to speed ahead.  If you lose
a life this way, it will be much better than having to start at the beginning of
this level.

Level 22 (Waterfall)
This level has faster moving ramps, and circling whirlpools.  See the info for
level 8.  If you use the turn around method, you will need to turn quicker,
since the ramps move faster.  Just remember that if you lose a guy, immediately
go towards the ramp, because you will have a couple seconds worth of
invincibility to get you past the whirlpool.

Level 23 (Monster-Red Sea Serpent)
Another contender for the easiest monster to kill.  You will notice a very short
time limit.  All you have to do is keep on the gas and keep moving away from the
monster.  He will die all by himself.  Just don't shoot and you will stay alive
(shooting equals a quick death for yourself).

Level 24 (Monster-Shark)
Here's a monster that puts up a good challenge.  The shark!  You'll notice that
he has a pretty easy pattern to avoid, which is moving back and forth.  Now for
the tough part.  You can only hit him when he comes out of the water, and you
have to be in front of him for your shots to register.  Depending on how many
shots you get him with, you can take away anywhere from 1 life bar to 1/2 of his
entire life meter!  If you are in his way though, he will swallow your boat and
take away 1 life instantly.  I haven't noticed a definite pattern to when he
comes out of the water, but he will usually go back and forth 2-4 times, and
then come out.  To beat him, the best method I've found is to stay on the left
edge of the screen.  Then, get your boat to the area where he is approaching,
but don't stay directly in his path.  As he gets closer, you should be turned so
that you can hit him if he surfaces.  Start firing like crazy towards him, and
then get prepared for the next opportunity.

*Tip sent in from ktwo
On the shark, try to move in opposite direction. If he goes to the left, go to the
right and so on. This way you'll have a good chance of getting in front of him
when he surfaces.  This will become more difficult when the shark speeds up
towards the end, but should get you off to a good start.

Level 25 (??)
Hopefully this walkthrough has helped so far.  For level 25, you are on your own
unfortunately.  Once you get past the first 24 levels, you should be skilled
enough to handle this one.


Questions/Comments
------------------------
Feel free to email me if you have questions or comments about this walkthrough.
If it helped you conquer this game, I'd be happy to hear about it.  If you are
having difficulty with a particular area, just email and I can try to give some
more pointers.  I can be reached  at [email protected]

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