Game copyright 1987 LJN Toys, Ltd., 1987 Universal City Studios
Licensed by Nintendo
*Version FINAL*
This guide copyright 2006 Matt Toothman. This guide is for individual use only,
and only to be found at GameFAQs.com.
If necessary, you can contact me at:
matt dot toothman at gmail dot com. Replace the appropriate words with the
appropriate characters. Please mention the title of the game in the subject
line. If you have comments, corrections, or additions to this guide, then by
all means let me know.
Version history:
061206 1.0: Found guide on old computer. Finished bonus stage
results, gussied the whole thing up, and submitted it
to GameFAQs.
2004 .95: Next version to include complete bonus stage results,
otherwise complete.
-----------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----------------
The NES game JAWS is based on the 1975 movie of the same name, in which a
great white shark terrorizes a sleepy beachfront community. Roy Scheider is
the out-of-his element new guy in town who must solve the dangerous shark
problem...AT ANY COST!!!
Unfortunately, the only connection this game has to the movie is that
they're both about a shark. You (the player) are a scuba diver
(Scheider? Who knows?) with a harpoon gun, firing at seemingly helpless sea
creatures until JAWS happens to appear. They don't give you any motivation,
though...there is no mention of the countless beachgoers and young coeds that
JAWS has devoured. You just plunk around until a shark that's bigger than the
rest comes onscreen, and then you harpoon that for a while.
Still, the simple gameplay is surprisingly engaging. If this is your first
time playing, you're in for one of the better movie-to-videogame conversions.
*Get items as soon as they appear. You only have 5 seconds, which goes
faster than you think.
*Points serve no purpose on this game, so don't bother going for starfish.
You could try to get a high score, but who are you going to impress?
*Stay away from the edges of the screen during the underwater scenes.
That's where the bad guys come from!
*You can have a max of 3 harpoons onscreen at once.
*You can pass through JAWS' fin if you are at the very surface of the
water. Don't try this with the small sharks.
*The shallow-water scenarios are generally more difficult because of the
proximity of the bottom of the screen. Jellyfish can surprise you much more
easily. Stick to the deeper blue water where you have room to maneuver.
*If you have a turbo controller, use it! There is no strategy to the
shooting element of this game, all of the enemies swim directly at you
and make no attempts to evade your shots. Your thumb is going to be tired
after you finish this. At power level 1, it will take you over 1000 shots
to kill JAWS.
*Your power level doesn't affect any creatures except JAWS. It will take you
2 shots to kill a ray at level 1 or level 9.
*Get a few crabs quickly. The added speed will give you an edge. The 4th and
subsequent crabs that you get will no longer increase your speed.
*At lower power levels, killing a small shark will often end the scene.
You begin in an overworld in a ship. The secondary objective of the game,
other than to defeat JAWS, is to increase your power level. You do this by
collecting conch shells, which are in turn dropped by the sea creatures you
defeat. When you have enough conch shells to reach the next level, just sail
into one of the two ports and your power level will automatically be increased
(you can't visit the same port twice in a row). Before you can reach power
level 2, though, you must purchase the JAWS RECEIVER for 5 shells. This
(worthless) item makes a terribly annoying noise whenever JAWS is close, and
also sporadically when he isn't. This would be useful if not for the fact that
you can see JAWS' fin sticking out of the water when he's close ^_^ and
there's no way to avoid him anyway.
Although there are only 3 basic enemies (stingrays, jellyfish, and small
sharks), the enemies come in a variety of 'scenarios'. The scenario you
encounter depends on your current power level. For instance, at power level 1
there are no small sharks. On power level 9, there is a possible 'all-shark'
scenario.
Buy the receiver and increase your power level to 3 or 4 before you try to
take on JAWS. Since he recovers 4 energy bars if the scene ends before you can
reduce his energy to zero, attacking before level 3/4 is fruitless. Bonus
scenes, which occur randomly, are a good way to increase your shell count
quickly. Doing well in one of these can net you 7 or 8 shells.
Around level 3 or 4, you should notice a small submarine on the overworld
map. By sailing up and touching it, your diver will operate a mini-submarine in
subsequent scenes. The submarine has missiles (same as harpoon gun) and bombs
(same as the ship's bombs). The submarine is also faster and easier to maneuver
than the diver. In addition to those excellent features, the sub lets you take
a hit and not lose a life (you just revert to diver form).
-------------
Fighting JAWS
-------------
When you feel ready to take on the legendary JAWS, sail around until you see
his fin sticking out (or listen to that terrible RECEIVER), and run into him.
If you 'hit something' while JAWS is nearby, he will often swim into the scene.
JAWS just swims back and forth. He isn't any more threatening than any of the
other creatures, just bigger. He swims more slowly as you shoot him, so get
behind him and mash on the B button. If you're properly powered up, you should
be able to kill him in a single encounter.
After you reduce his life to nothing, the scene shifts to a first-person
view from a boat. You are given 3 STROBES (press A) that make JAWS leap out of
the water. The goal here is to hit A when JAWS is in front of the boat to make
him jump. Wait until JAWS is about at the black line just off the boat, then
press A. Then press B to stab him with the front of the boat. JAWS rotates
around when he jumps, exposing his white belly for a second. You have to get
him in the white part of his body. Stabbing him in the eyes or back of the head
doesn't work for some reason.
After you successfully gore JAWS with the business end of your boat, you are
treated to a cinema showing JAWS' corpse sinking down to the seafloor, then a
scene with your seaplane flying over a river. Still no mention of why you just
killed this shark, but LJN probably assumed that everyone knew who JAWS was
anyway. They're probably right.
------------
Ingame lists
------------
-ENEMIES-
Enemy Points Behavior
Jellyfish 50 ascend vertically from seafloor
at higher levels: move toward you
as they ascend
Stingray 110 swim horizontally, alternating directions
at higher levels: swim twice as fast
Small shark 580 swim horizontally,
stays on same horizontal plane as you
at higher levels: come in pairs or triplets
JAWS 20 pts per shot swims horizontally,
stays on same horizontal plane as you
-ITEMS-
Any item can be dropped by any enemy.
Conch Shell- 30 points. You need to collect these to purchase the RECEIVER and
increase your power level.
Crab- 30 points. Increases your diver's movement speed.
Starfish- Awards bonus points. They come in 500, 1000, 2000, and 5000 point
varieties (1000 and 2000-point starfish are the most common).
-POWER LEVELS-
*The number of shells listed is the amount you need for the increase, not
your total cumulative shell count.
*The 30 is assumed, as I have never gotten a perfect score.
-------------
Credits/Outro
-------------
Nintendo, for producing some of the most innovative, fun, and influential
games out there.
LJN/Universal Studios, for bringing JAWS to the small screen.
My parents for giving me this game in 1987.
Myself for playing at least 5 hours of JAWS while writing this guide.
This document is legal and intellectual property of Matt Toothman. [061206]
