Soldier of Light: Photon - The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth
FAQ/Walkthrough
By KingMike
Version 1.1 - January 9, 2003


---------------
VERSION CHANGES
---------------
V1.1 - Added a couple items I missed the first time around.
 Disk 1, a couple more hidden rooms found.

V1.0 - Initial release.

------------
INTRODUCTION
------------

Photon: The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth, also known as Hikari no Senshi
Foton, is a video game made by Takara for the Famicom, in 1987. In this game,
you play as a space guy in a big cavernous maze, trying to find your way to
the leader, I guess. There's no real plot.

--------
CONTROLS
--------

A - Shoot forward (up), enter selection on the menu screen
B - Close window on the menu screen
Start - Pause
Select - Open/Close menu
Pad - Move

-----
ITEMS
-----
Throughout your journey, you will find items, including:
Loader : You will be able to read disks.
Counter : You can see your coordinates.
Compass : You can see what direction you're going.

Cards : You'll need them to enter the hidden rooms.
Stones : You can float through holes through floors
          (use A to move up, and B to move down).
Disks : These hold messages
          (viewable by selecting the MESSAGE command on the menu screen).

-----------
PLAY SCREEN
-----------
On the main screen, you'll see a few things. The main window is the game.
When you move off-screen, the game rotates for your new point of view
(though it doesn't animate the rotation, thanks to early NES programming
technology, probably).
At the top of your screen, you'll see two grey things moving towards the
ends of the screen. I think this is a radar of some sort to tell you when
an enemy is approaching, but I'm not sure. The number there is your health.
Obviously, get hit and it goes down, and you die if it reaches 0000.
When you collect the compass, your direction of travel will also be shown.

THE MENU:
ITEMS : Shows what items you've collected.
MESSAGES : If you've collected Disks, you can read their
          contents here (you need the Loader).
COORDINATES : Shows your coordinates (if you have the Counter).
TELEPORT : You can return to your marker
         (you need to set a marker with the MARK command, and you'll need
         the Teleporter first, of course).
MARK : You can set a marker down (once you have the Teleporter).
PASSWORD : Get a password. If you're about to die, get a password
      quickly. You can resume from that screen with 200 health. If you die,
      the game resets to the title, and you lose progress. So, get
      passwords often to avoid losing progress.
      (Actually, get to a screen with no enemies on it. Nothing's worse
      then entering a password, only to get beaten to death like two
      seconds after you re-enter the game).

WALKTHROUGH (Use maps for reference, if you need to know where places are.
Actually, you'll need to until you get the Counter and Compass)


Floor 5  (floor number = Z value of coordinate)
X11 Y 1: Start the game. Go Up 3, turn left, Follow this path
        to X9, Y4.
X 9 Y 4: Get the Loader. You can now read the contents of the Disks.
        Follow this path up and turn right at the intersection (X9, Y7).
        Go straight to X12, Y7.
X12 Y 7: Get Disk 8. Move down to return to the previous room.
        Head straight up to the pit (X7, Y7).
X 7 Y 7: Fall in a hole, all the way to floor 0.


Floor 0
X 7 Y 7: Where you land. Walk right.
        Follow this path up to the corner (X7, Y10).
X 7 Y10: Continue on this path. Go straight until you find Card 1.
        Turn back down. Now take a right, and up this path to (X15, Y5).
        Turn left, and go up to X15, Y 7.
X15 Y 7: Get Disk 4 here. Here is another hole.
        So, go back down. Now, head straight up, and take the next right.
        Follow this path back to an intersection (X12, Y5).
        Take a right here to get to (X12, Y6). Take a left. Follow this path
        through the corner (X10, Y6), and take a right at the intersection
        (X10, Y4). Go straight until you reach the first left (X5, Y4).
        Take the left turn. Head straight down to get to (X5, Y1).
X 5 Y 1: Get Disk 5 here. Make the next turn (X5, Y0) and take the next right
        turn (X3, Y0). Go up to (X3, Y1).
X 3 Y 1: Get the Yellow Stone here. With this, you can float up holes with a
        yellow-colored light. Go straight up until you reach the
        intersection (X3, Y4). Take the right.
        Now at the next screen (X4, Y4), take a left. Go up to the
        intersection (X4, Y7). Take a right. Go straight to the hole. You'll
        notice it in the ceiling (X7, Y7).
X 7 Y 7: Now with the Yellow Stone, you can use the A and B Buttons to float
        up and down this hole. Float back up to Floor 5
        (the top of this hole).

Floor 5
X 7 Y 7: I believe you'll be facing east at this point. So, turn right. At this
        next screen (X7, Y6), you can walk through the wall to a temple.
        At the next screen (X7, Y5), take a right. Go straight up to a hole
        (X5, Y5).
        You'll find the Counter. At last, you can tell the room coordinates
        yourself (from the menu). Go back down, then head stright up to the
        corner at X7, Y5. Take a right turn. Go straight, then talk another
        right at the corner. Go straight.
X 4 Y 2: Get Card 2 here. Go straight up to the intersection at X2, Y2. Take a
        right. Go straight up.
X 2 Y 5: Get Card 3 here. Follow this path. When you reach a dead endm that is
        another fake wall, so keep going. Reach the hole at X7, Y7.
        Go down to floor 0 again.

Floor 0
X 7 Y 7: You should be facing east (and staring at a wall with an opening to
        the left). Head left. Follow this path as until the next intersection
        (X12, Y6). Turn left. Follow this path until the intersection
        (X15, Y5).
        Turn left. Move up to X15, Y7. Go up this hole to floor 2.

Floor 2 (this is a temple)
X15 Y 7: You should be facing north, with a wall in front, and an opening to
        the left. Take the left. Head straight up, collecting Disk 9 at
        (X10, Y7).
        At the intersection of (X9, Y7), take the right. Follow this path to
        get the Compass at X7, Y9. Now, your direction will be shown at the
        top of the screen. YES! I can now direct you N,E,S, or W. Now, go
        west to X5,Y9.
        Go south to X5, Y8, west to X2, Y8. Remember this room,
        you'll be back soon. Go north, past the hole at (X2, Y11) (which
        you'll also visit soon), to X2, Y13. Go east to X5, Y13, and go north
        along this passage until you get Card 4. Retrace your steps back to
        X2, Y8.
X 2 Y 8:There is a hidden pit on this screen. Fall in it to get to floor 0,
        X2, Y8.

Floor 0
X 2 Y 8:Grab the Green Stone. Walk south to X2,Y7. Find your way back to
       Floor 2 (the hole is at (X15, Y7).

Floor 2
X 2 Y11: With the Green Stone, you can now rise to Floor 7.

Floor 7 (Fortress)
X 2 Y11: Walk up, through the wall. Go east 1 spaces, to X3, Y14.
X 3 Y14: Walk up one space, through a wall.
X 3 Y15: Find Disk 3, fight a boss, the orange ball.
X 5 Y14: Walk through the north (left) wall.
X 5 Y15: Meet a boss, a pink ball. Get an item to increase maximum health to
        4000.
X 8 Y11: Walk through the east wall. Fight the green eyeball thing. To fight
        him, time your shots so that they will fly up and hit him on the
        side, while you dodge out of the way. He will try to crush you
        (taking out your health quickly, which is why you want the health
        boost first). Now that you have beaten him, the lower part of the
        floor will stop shaking, you'll stop losing health for no reason,
        and you will be able to move at normal pace.
X 5 Y 6: If you want Disk 1, walk through the south wall here, and fight
        another ball monster.
X 1 Y 6: You can walk through the south wall to fight another ball monster
        and get an extra Card, if you need one.
X 8 Y 9: Walk through the east wall. Follow this path to a hole that will
        drop you to floor 0.

Floor 0
X15 Y10: Walk north to the intersection. Turn west. Walk straight.
X 9 Y12: Get Disk 2. Keep moving to the intersection. Walk north.
X 4 Y13: The north wall is fake. Walk through it.
X 4 Y14: Get the Vitality Boost. It will increase the max to 9999.
        Turn back and walk south.
X 4 Y10: Get the Teleporter. The south wall is fake. Walk through it.
X 4 Y 9: Get the Red Stone. Go back north, and walk to the intersection.
        Turn east.
        Walk straight, until you get to the next intersection. Walk north.
        Follow this path to a hole.
X11 Y14: You can go up this hole with the Red Stone. Go up to floor 9.

Floor 9 (alien body tissue)
****NOTE: The Counter does not work on this floor, but thankfully, the
****      Compass does. I'll still give you the coordinates, but you may
****      need my map on this floor.
X11 Y14: Your starting point. Walk south two rooms to get the Marker.
        Walk back north one room.
X11 Y13: The west wall is fake. Of course, enter it. Walk west 4 spaces.
X 7 Y13: Take the south path.
X 7 Y 7: Here the path splits. You can take the west path here (it's linear,
        so I don't need to describe it for you), which contains Disk 12, if
        you want it (it will lead you to the same place as the step below).
        However, if you want the faster path, head south, and take the turn
        east.
X 9 Y 5: Take the south fork (If you want Disk 11, go east instead, then head
        south at the next intersection, follow this path to Disk 11, then
        turn around and head back along the path you came, turn west at the
        intersection, and you'll get
        back here), and follow it to the hole.
X 7 Y 0: Take the hole down to floor 0.

Floor 0
X 7 Y 0: Walk east, then north. You'll find a hole. Walk past it to get
        Disk 7, then turn around. Go up the hole, to floor 2.

Floor 2
X 8 Y 2: Run quickly. You'll lose health in this area. Just go straight.
        You have no choice.
X13 Y 2: Go up the hole to floor 5.

Floor 5
X13 Y 2: Go east, then north to the intersection.
X15 Y 4: Doesn't matter which way you go. Either one will take you to the
        next hole.
X12 Y 7: Take the hole up to floor 7.

Floor 7
X13 Y 7: Walk south one space. Continue on the path.
X13 Y 6: Take note that this, I believe, is the last place you can restore
        your health by blasting the enemies that come out (I don't think the
        green slimy things recover your health when shot). When you're powered
        up, continue on.
X12 Y 6: The south wall is fake.
X12 Y 5: The dreaded pink block. Kill it, and move south. Outside,
        move two more rooms south.
X12 Y 2: Walk through the west wall. Fight the orange block. It will move
        downwards a little bit each time it crosses the screen. About 10-12
        shots will do it. Walk through the west wall. Continue on the path
        to the last hole. You will go to floor 10.

Floor 10
Almost there! But, the final two bosses are VERY difficult, so beware.
(I had to savestate alot to beat them).
X10 Y 1: Move north, through the fake north wall at X10,Y4.
X10 Y 5: The ghost. It shouldn't be too difficult. He appears to move in a
        figure 8 around the room. Get your shots in, the move to the sides,
        where your safe (I think). Go north.
X10 Y 6: Go west.
X 9 Y 6: Go west.
X 8 Y 6: Another ghost. Same as before. Go west.
X 7 Y 6: Go north.
X 7 Y 7: The orange ghost. When he's directly above you, he'll shoot a phantom
        ghost (is that possible ?) at you. Try and dodge it, but blast the
        real ghost about 12 times or so, and he's done. Walk north.
X 7 Y 8: THE FINAL SHOWDOWN! This spider boss is by far the hardest thing
        you've fought. I'd say it's the hardest enemy in the game.
        Shoot him, of course, but beware. Each time he hits the ceiling,
        he'll drop a spider on the floor.
        If it grabs you, it suck health out of you (at least 800). Try and
        hit the spider when he's low. If you have to take a hit, it's better
        that at least it's not the one that sucks your health. You must remain
        calm in here, or you'll panic, and you will lose. Try to keep at least
        5000 health for the final boss.
The final boss: Not as hard, but I'm sure the spider sucked your health down.
That jellyfish thing will also suck your health out. The weak point is the
eyes. Unfortunately, the game has a very small hit range for the eyes,
so you'll have to find the proper point to hit. You'll hear a buzzing sound
effect if you've hit the right spot. Try to nail on the left eye as much as
you can once the boss appears, before the jellyfish comes down. Blast it about
10 times or so, then go for the right eye (you'll know you're done with an eye
if it stops shooting bullets).
Hit the right eye about 10 times, then blast the left eye a few more times to
finish the job.
Enjoy the ending, however brief it is. Not even any credits.

----
MAPS
----
Visit my page at http://www.emuxhaven.net/~kingmike/Projects/Photon/maps.htm to
see maps of the game.
If you need some quicky ASCII maps, here they are:
NOTE: Nothing important is on floors 1, 3, 4, 6, or 8. You only pass by them
when going between other floors.

Floor 0
15
14    *      *****
13    *          *
12    ************
11    *          *
10    *  ******  *
9    *  *    *
8  *    *    *
7 *******    *  *
6 *  *     ***  *
5 *  *     * ****
4 ********** *  *
3   * *  * ***  *
2   * *  * *  * *
1   * *  * ******
0  **** **
 0123456789111111
           012345

Floor 2
15     *****
14     *   * *
13  ****   *
12  *  *   *
11  *  *****
10  *            *
9  *  *****
8  ****   *
7     * * *******
6     *   *
5     *****
4
3
2        ******
1
0  *    *
 0123456789111111
           012345

Floor 5
15
14           *
13
12
11  *    *
10       *       *
9       *
8       *
7  **************
6  *    * * * * *
5  *  *** * * * *
4  *    * *** ***
3  *    *   *   *
2  ******   * ***
1  *        *
0  *    *
 0123456789111111
           012345

Floor 7
15 * * * *
14*********
13* * * * **
12* * *****
11* * * * **
10* * *****      *
9* * * * ********
8*********
7* * * * **  **
6*********   *
5* * * *    *
4            *
3            *
2          ***
1          * *
0       *   ***
 0123456789111111
           012345

Floor 9
15*****      *****
14* * *      * * *
13****************
12* * *  *   * * *
11*****  *   *****
10       *       *
9   *** *     ***
8   * * *    ** *
7 *** ***  ***  *
6 *     *  * *  *
5 * *** **** ****
4 *** *   *   *
3     *** *   ***
2       * ***** *
1       *  ** ***
0       *****
 0123456789111111
           012345

Floor 10
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8       *
7       *
6       ****
5          *
4          *
3          *
2          *
1          *
0
 0123456789111111
           012345

---------
THANKS TO
---------
Thanks to the Japanese walkthrough located ar
http://www.materialunder.net/page006.html. It helped me in finding the hidden
rooms of floor 7 (which contain important stuff). I have marked those
rooms on the maps for your convienience.

---------
COPYRIGHT
---------
Foton - The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth is (c)1987 by Takara
This guide is (c)2003 by KingMike. Feel free to post it on your page, just
be sure to give me credit. Don't change it either, okay?

Send any questions or comments on this guide (but no spam or porn or anything
else stupid and annoying like that) to kingmike2001 (at) hotmail (dot) com

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