Karnov FAQ/Walkthrough
By Kaine Andrews
Version 0.32 - 3/4/04
Version History:
0.32 - Fixed a few errors on point values, added some more enemies, finished
the Table of Contents to reflect all the levels, fixed a few typos. - 3/4/04
0.30 - Added additional Bosses, fixed some spelling errors, tweaked the
description of certain items. 3/4/04
0.25 - Added Walkthrough of the first level, added initial Enemy and
Boss sections. 3/3/04.
0.15 - First edition of the guide, intended primarily as a placeholder and
to allow people to contribute if they've got anything in particular to add.
Covers Characters, Story, Versions, Controls, and Items. 3/3/04.
-----/ Special Notice \--------------------------------------------------------
| This FAQ is written by Kaine Andrews. Information in this FAQ has been |
| assembled through a lot of work, trying and retrying several things, and |
| took some doing to put together. I'd like to respectfully ask that if you |
| use this information elsewhere, you at least give mention to me, and don't |
| call it your own work. Karnov, Data East, GameFAQs, NES, Nintendo and other |
| such terms are, obviously, trademarks, copyrights, etc. of other people, |
| and this FAQ in no way challenges or attempts to steal any of their work, |
| blah, blah, blah. Additions or suggestions to the FAQ are welcome. E-mail |
| me at
[email protected] with the topic of "Karnov FAQ" or something |
| similar, if you have anything you feel needs to be added. Credit will be |
| given where appropriate. |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A further note: Sections of this FAQ have special codes attached to them, for
ease in browsing. If there's a particular section of the guide you're looking
for, check the Table of Contents for the code in []'s. Then do a Find on
that, and it should skip right to what you're looking for.
-----/ TABLE OF CONTENTS \-----------------------------------------------------
I. Characters [KARCHAR]
II. Story [KARSTOR]
III. Versions [KARVER]
IV. Controls [KARCONT]
V. Items [KARITEM]
VI. Walkthrough [KARWALK]
a. On the Road Again - Level 1 [KARLVL1]
b. Animal House - Level 2 [KARLVL2]
c. Karnov, Dinosaur Hunter - Level 3 [KARLVL3]
d. The Frozen North - Level 4 [KARLVL4]
e. Under the Sea - Level 5 [KARLVL5]
f. Tower of Power - Level 6 [KARLVL6]
g. It's a Dry Heat - Level 7 [KARLVL7]
h. Come Fly With Me - Level 8 [KARLVL8]
i. Out of the Frying Pan... - Level 9 [KARLVL9]
VII. Enemies [KARFOES]
a. Regular Enemies [KARMONST]
b. Boss Monsters [KARBOSS]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----/ Characters (Code: [KARCHAR] ) \-----------------------------------------
Well, there isn't really a whole lot to post in here, seeing as there aren't
really any major characters beyond Karnov himself.
Karnov:
Karnov is, in the American NES version at least, the shortened name of
circus strongman Jiborav Karnovsky. From what little we know of him, he
apparently learned to breathe fire from somewhere, and was putting that talent
to use in the circus until the call for adventure came along, and he set out
to find the ancient lost Treasure of Babylon. So far as anyone has been able
to tell, he is apparently middle-aged, and has no close family relationships.
For gamers hungry to see more of Karnov - though I've no idea why - you can
also find him in the games Fighter's History and Bad Dudes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----/ Story (Code: [KARSTOR] ) \----------------------------------------------
Again, this being an action title from reasonably early in the life of the NES,
there isn't much story to go around. Karnov has heard tales of the ancient
Treasure of Babylon, and has run off to go find it. Of course, over the course
of the journey, plenty of vile monsters and insane cultist-types attempt to
stop him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----/ Versions (Code: [KARVER] ) \--------------------------------------------
Karnov, like many early NES games, was a port of an arcade game, and I've
also seen a Commodore 64 version floating around. Though the basic premise
of the game remains the same in all versions, there were a few changes made.
Probably the most drastic of these is the namechange and plot alterations
between the arcade version and the NES version; in the arcades, Karnov was
a prince of a Middle Eastern nation, chosen by Allah to locate the stolen
treasure of Babylon. Due to Nintendo's issues with censorship regarding
religious considerations and the "Russian Craze" of the mid-80s, Karnov
became a circus strongman from Russia, with no real reason to go out looking
for the Treasure beyond the thirst for riches and adventure. Oh well. We
can't all be perfect, I suppose.
NES Version:
Designed and Released by Data East, available 1988.
Arcade Version:
Designed and Released by Data East, date unavailable. (I remember playing it
in the arcade when I was very young, so I'm tempted to say around 1986.)
Commodore Version:
Designed by Data East, Released by Activision, available 1988.
The above information was gleaned from www.gamefaqs.com. Any additions or
corrections in this area are more than welcome.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----/ Controls (Code: [KARCONT] ) \-------------------------------------------
Often considered to be one of the most frustrating aspects of this game, the
controls can be somewhat difficult, especially for those who don't have the
benefit of a manual. Thus, we present... the controls!
_________________________________________________________
| Nintendo |
| |-| |
| ___| |___ ______ ______ _ _ |
| | | | | | | / \ / \ |
| ---| |--- ------ ------ \ / \ / |
| | | Select Start B A |
| - |
---------------------------------------------------------
| | | | |
| - Use Items | | - Jump
| - Pause |
- Move, Select Items - Fire, Throw Boomerang
Ugly, isn't it? Anyway. The control pad moves Karnov; with it, you can
jog along to the left or right, or duck - not that ducking has much real
purpose in the game. Pushing B makes Karnov launch a fireball, or throw the
Boomerang if you've equipped that. Pressing A allows Karnov to jump - and,
unlike many video game characters of his era, Karnov proves remarkably
agile in the air, able to control his movement to the left and right fairly
well in mid-jump. Start puts the game on pause, or releases the pause.
Pressing Select activates the currently selected Item.
A brief note on selecting items is likely necessary: Any time you press left
or right on the keypad, your Item selector - represented by the flashing box
on the stripe near the bottom of the screen - will move one Item over in that
direction. Pressing Select will activate whatever Item is currently flashing,
which can lead to all kinds of irritation when you wanted to use the Ladder and
you just wasted a Bomb or something. Thankfully, Karvov's designers were not
complete idiots, and allowed you to make selections even when the game is
paused. Thus, a lot of the time, it's easiest to pause, move the cursor to
pick your item, and then WITHOUT MOVING activate it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----/ Items (Code: [KARITEM] ) \----------------------------------------------
As you make your way through Karnov, you'll find a number of helpful items to
give you a hand on your journey. Realistically, you could beat the game
without touching any of these, so far as I am aware, but they make things
so much easier, so why not use them?
Fireball:
You'll see these floating in midair throughout the levels. They look just
like what they should - small red (or blue, more on that momentarily) circles
just hanging there - and are reasonably plentiful in the early stages. Picking
one of these up does one of three things: Either it increases Karnov's
firepower (pardon the pun), it restores his Health, or it does nothing at all.
Fireballs net you a 100 point bonus, as well.
Basically, Karnov starts off shooting one fireball at a time, but if you pick
up a Fireball, it enables him to shoot one more. The maximum number Karnov can
launch at once is three, which spread out to cover slightly above his head
and slightly below - or just run on the ground, if there's nothing below him.
If Karnov has been hit by an enemy, he'll turn blue, and so will the Fireballs.
Picking one up when they're blue will restore Karnov to fighting shape, but
won't grant you an extra Fireball.
If Karnov is normal-colored and already has three Fireballs, picking them up
does nothing at all.
Karnov Symbols:
Scattered through the levels, you'll find yellow boxes with a capital "K"
inside. Picking them up nets you 50 points, and adds to the counter in the
lower-right portion of the screen. Finding 50 of them gives you a 1-Up.
Jump Boots:
These look like little Persian slippers in a yellow box. Using these allows
Karnov to jump nearly twice as high for a limited period of time. They last
for about 45 seconds, and a warning klaxon will sound when time is almost up.
They are consumable, but fairly common. Also worth an additional 50 points,
for those keeping score.
Bomb:
They look like... well. Bombs. In a yellow box, like so many of these Items.
Using one will cause a small explosion that does a small amount of damage to
nearby enemies. There is a slight delay - about 2 seconds - between using
the bomb, and it going off, so don't rely on them to pull you out if you're
allready surrounded. They're consumable, but fairly common. Bombs, like most
items, snag you a cool 50 points upon pickup.
Ladder:
Looking like what it claims to be, the Ladder is probably the most-used item
in the game. You'll find 2 or 3 of them in nearly every level, usually
around the continue points, so never fear losing one. When used, the Ladder
shoots up from Karnov's position, allowing him to climb to heights he might
not otherwise be able to reach. The ladder isn't consumable; you can use
it as much as you want. In order to return it to your inventory, you need to
climb back down it; when you hit the bottom, it'll shrink back down and go
back to the Item Menu. (Which brings up the pressing question of exactly
where Karnov puts all this stuff, but I think that's a matter for physics
professors.) I imagine you can already guess this, but there's 50 points in
it for you, when you pick one of these up.
Boomerang:
Again, it looks like what it says it is. The Boomerang is likely a close
second in the "actually useful" Item category. When you activate the
Boomerang, Karnov's normal Fireball attack is replaced by throwing the
Boomerang. The upside? The Boomerang does quite a bit more damage than Karnov's
Fireballs, even capable of destroying most bosses in a single hit. The bad
part? You have to catch it on the rebound, or it's gone. Thankfully, you
can carry lots of this consumable, and there's plenty of them to be found in
the later levels, so you should be all right. Just use them sparingly.
Big Bomb:
These are the star-shaped things you'll occasionally find; they don't
appear to be particularly common, but I've never found that to be a big
problem since they're not all that great in the first place. If you get
mobbed by tons of enemies, they can be helpful, but other than that they'll
most likely just rot in your inventory. Using one causes a pretty multi-color
explosion and some scattering of shrapnel, causing decent damage to everything
on the screen. I've heard people claim that this can even damage Karnov, but
I've never seen it happen. They're consumable, so stock up if you feel the
need.
Magic Mask:
This item differs a bit from most of the others; the game will not allow you
to select it, but it will automatically highlight when there's a reason to use
it. The Magic Mask allows you to see items that would normally be hidden, and
then go grab them. In spots where the Magic Mask is usable, a small bell will
be heard, and other items won't be selectable until you use the Mask. Using
the Mask makes it disappear from your inventory, but unlike most of the
consumables, you can only carry one at a time.
Diving Helmet:
In my opinion, the icon for this one doesn't look much like a helmet; it
looks more like a yellow bubble in a box. That's okay, though, since it
still works. You can only use this item when underwater, though it isn't
automatically selected like the Mask. When you do, Karnov dons a little
helmet, and his swimming speed is vastly improved. And never mind exactly
how he shoots Fireballs underwater, let alone through the mask. Some questions
are better left unanswered. Like the Mask, using the Helmet removes it
from your inventory, and you can only carry one at a time.
Shield:
The shield lets Karnov survive a little longer, in some instances; when you
use it, Karnov gets a shield that will block a few enemy shots. It does
nothing for direct body contact, though. The amount of damage it can sustain
seems based on what kind of hits it's taking, but that could be just my
imagination. You can only carry one Shield at a time, and it goes away when
used, so pick your times wisely.
Icarus Wings:
Probably the absolutely least useful item in the entire game, the Icarus
Wings grant Karnov the power of flight for a brief - very brief - time. They
seem to last about 20-30 seconds, though I haven't had a chance to time it out
exactly. During that time, you can move Karnov wherever you like in the open
skies; just be sure you're not hovering over a bottomless chasm or an enemy
when they give out. Like the Boots, they'll give a warning klaxon when time's
almost up, and like the Mask, they'll only be selectable when standing in
certain places. A small bell will sound and they will automatically be
highlighted when it is possible.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----/ Walkthrough (Code: [KARWALK] ) \----------------------------------------
Here's where the meat and potatoes of the guide begins. Note that in several
places, you have choices as to how to get where you're going, so I'll try
to point such things out as we go along. Also note that the list of items you
may find in an area is by no means complete, and any additions you'd like to
point out can be sent to me at the e-mail address at the beginning of the
FAQ.
A note on the monsters; only rarely will you find notes on how to dispose
of them in the Walkthrough portion of this FAQ - usually if the environment
or circumstances dictate a special strategy. In most cases, information about
killing a particular beastie can be found in the Enemies section of the FAQ.
And yes, I know, there's levels past 6. I haven't gotten there, yet. Give me
time, people. :)
-----/ On the Road Again: Level 1 (Code: [KARLVL1] ) \-------------------------
As all the levels will, this one begins with Karnov being teleported to the
start of the area in a bolt of lightning. Let's not worry about how circus
workers command the powers of the storm... let's just get on with kicking some
monster butt!
First off, on that screen, you'll see a few Floating Eyes. Zap them as needed
and head to the right, hopping up onto the platforms. Snag the Fireball there,
drop down from the right side of that platform, grab the Ladder, and hop up
to grab the ever-so-tantalizing "K" floating in the sky.
Now that you have that Ladder, you can get ahold of the Jump Boots. Jump back
to the left and activate the ladder underneath the Boots icon. Climb on up
and grab 'em, then dismount, retrieve your ladder, and resume your trek to the
right.
There's a Bomb, sitting nice and pretty on that ledge, but don't just rush up
and grab it; there's a Gray Rock Man about to appear and fling some boulders
your way. Inch forward until he appears, fry him, then jump up and grab your
prize. But wait, there's more! Stand where the Rock Man appeared, and deploy
the ladder again. Climb on up and you'll see a Fireball there. Sometimes,
for whatever reason, the Ladder won't quite reach, so climb down and try
again until it does. Be careful in grabbing the Fireball, though, as a Long
Dragon likes to come swooping by right around here and knock you around a
little. Once you've got the Fireball and the Dragon has been taken care of,
climb back down and continue to the right.
Sometimes Blue Soldiers will appear here; they're nothing to worry about,
since they only take one shot to dispose of, but don't dilly dally or they
might start swarming you. Just keep mashing on the B button and creep forward;
eventually a Chicken Bone will appear, and try to shoot you. If you're using
the "don't stop shooting" method, most of the time you'll kill it before it
even gets a shot off, but deal with it however you wish before continuing.
You'll see a whole bunch of Ks floating in front of the building, but before
grabbing them, dispose of the Gray Rock Man guarding them; then use your
Ladder if you feel like grabbing them. If you climb to the top of the Ladder
and trigger your Jump Boots, there's another batch of Ks you can reach up top.
All in all there's about 9 of them, which isn't a bad haul, but it's up to you
if you want to go to the trouble. Just past all that is another Rock Man,
a red one this time. Zap him and move ever onward.
You've come upon a lovely little bridge. You've got two choices here; jump
on up and continue across, or spare a few seconds, and go under to snag some
extra Ks. If you go under, just torch the Floating Demons as they come up,
grab the Ks, and then turn around, and climb back on top. If you elect to
ignore the Ks, just jump on upward, disposing of the Floating Demons as you
go.
Once on top of the bridge, you'll notice a couple of Bombs sitting up in the
sky; again, don't get greedy, as a Gray Rock Man is waiting for you. Blast him,
then use your Ladder to collect the Bombs if you like. Resume advancement,
destroying the Red Rock Man and Chicken Bone as they appear - and the flock
of Floating Eyes that on occasion decides to put in an appearance - then drop
down the stairs. DO SO CAREFULLY! If you can do this without allowing the
screen to scroll too far to the right, you can walk left a little to go under
the bridge and snag 3 more Ks and a Fireball, if you keep going left. Then head
on to the right, zapping any Floating Demons that decide to crash the party.
At the split between the white and gray buildings, you'll see a K; jump up at
it, moving right as you jump, and fire a volley as you do so. A hidden item
should appear. It appears to be random exactly what you get, though the only
items I've gotten from it so far are the Magic Mask, a pair of Icarus Wings, a
Big Bomb, or a lousy K.
Dispose of any Floating Demons who continue to hang around, head right, and
meet the boss of the area, the ever-exciting Merman! He's fairly easy; the
basic strategy listed for this monster will do you fine. Once he's gone,
down comes the lightning, and off to Level 2 you go.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----/ Enemies (Code: [KARFOES] ) \--------------------------------------------
Enemies in Karnov come in basically two varieties. The annoying, and the
really annoying. :) Basically, things that shoot fall into the latter category,
while those that just try to run into you are the former. Enemies are listed,
as best as possible, in the order you'll run into them in the game.
You'll have to forgive the names; some of them are dredged up from my memory
of the instruction manual, when I had this game in the dark, long ago era of
the age of 8, while others are just ones I made up, and probably aren't all
that helpful.
A note on the "levels appearing;" this is just the places I've seen them
so far. Some enemies - notably the bird, bat, and "soldier" types will
sometimes not show up in an area, and so I may have missed them. Also, since
the FAQ is still under construction, anything there for the moment is just
where I remember seeing them. That information will be updated as I near
completion.
I also make occasional mention of the "boundary problem;" this refers to
the habits of many enemies to simply die if you scroll a certain amount past
their spawning point. Most of the regular monsters suffer from this, meaning
if you run far enough, even mobile enemies will just self-destruct. This,
obviously, won't work on bosses, and at least one normal enemy is immune to
the effect as well.
Anyway. On to the beastiary.
----/ Regular Enemies (Code: [KARMONST] ) \------------------------------------
FLOATING EYE
Point Value: 30
Levels Appearing: 1, 2
Description: A small, green and white floating eyeball thing. They have
no real pattern to speak up, just floating around, generally towards the right
side of the screen. One shot will take care of them, and they generally don't
get too close, so you can usually safely ignore them.
GRAY ROCK MAN
Point Value: 100
Levels Appearing: 1, 2
Description: A laughing hulk made of rocks, slate gray in color. He doesn't
do much, just fling boulders at you, one at a time. The boulders can be
blasted away with one or two shots, and the Rock Man himself only takes
3 or 4, most of the time.
LONG DRAGON
Point Value: 500
Levels Appearing: 1
Description: A long floating snake-o-death, the Long Dragon is generally
Red or Green. I have yet to find any difference between the two. They have
no real attacks, just swoop around the screen disregarding such silly mortal
concepts as gravity, and trying to smack into you. They take about 5 shots
to ground, permanently, but are worth the effort, points-wise. It also makes
travel a bit safer, as unlike many enemies, they don't seem to suffer from
the "boundary problem" mentioned above.
BLUE SOLDIERS
Point Value: 100 (As far as I can tell. It's difficult shooting just one)
Levels Appearing: 1
Description: Skinny human midgets with swords, dressed in blue military
uniforms of some kind. They walk towards you, waving their blades, all in
all attempting to appear menacing; it would work better for them if they didn't
go down in one blast. They can prove to be problematic if you stay to long on
a screem where they spawn, though, since they can and will swamp you quickly.
Thankfully, in addition to being weak, they are probably the most prominent
sufferers of the boundary problem of any enemy, and rarely stick around for
long. The best strategy for them is to just keep moving foward, blasting as
you go.
CHICKEN BONE
Point Value: 100
Levels Appearing: 1
Description: Strange-looking gargoyle things, they seem to enjoy dropping down
from trees and then proceeding to hop around, firing 2 and 3 round blasts
at Karnov. Since their initial descent is so slow, you have plenty of time to
kill them before they touch down and make nuisances of themselves; they usually
only take about 4 shots to kill.
RED ROCK MAN
Point Value: 120 (Destroying his boulders also gets you +120 points each)
Levels Appearing: 1, 2
Description: Just like Gray Rock Men, only Red. The same strategy applies
to this guy, but he can throw two boulders in quick succession, which can
trip you up if you're not aware of it and try to jump at him without
waiting for him to throw both.
FLOATING DEMON
Point Value: 100
Levels Appearing: 1, 8
Description: They look like nasty little imps, riding around or grafted onto
poison clouds. They appear on the right side of the screen, lift up like a
sudden jump, float down, then repeat. They can fire, usually single shots,
and most often choose to let loose on the way up, but occasionally they'll
fire just before they hit the bottom of their "hop." 4 shots or so will get
rid of them, and their fire is relatively easy to avoid.
BLOCKHEADS
Point Value: 200
Levels Appearing: 2
Description: Big pink faces that just sit there and shoot the occasional
fireball at you. There's not much to these guys; just jump and fire, timing
your jumps to avoid their fireballs. When you hit them a couple of times,
they'll develop cracks all over them, and hit them a couple times more, they
die. All in all, it takes 5 hits to dispose of one of these. Be careful
when they're around, though, not to scroll the screen too far; they tend
to appear in packs.
TENGU
Point Value: ????
Levels Appearing: 2
Description: Strange bird-men looking things, they always appear in pairs.
They tend to show up at either side of the screen, hover there for a second,
and then divebomb Karnov at the center. You can kill them; they're just not
worth the effort. If you keep walking right and don't stop, 99% of the time,
they'll just criss-cross behind Karnov and disappear. The other 1% of the time,
you'll get pinged, or they'll come back for another round. They take about
5 shots to take down, and are fairly difficult to hit; again, I reiterate,
not worth the trouble. Just keep walking.
GIANT BAT
Point Value: 120
Levels Appearing: 2
Description: Badly animated, blue, vaguely bat-shaped things. They tend
to appear in packs, ranging from 3 to 8, and fly in a box-shaped pattern. Not
really dangerous unless the screen is getting crowded. One shot sends them
packing, so the best solution is just to fire randomly and constantly in areas
where they appear.
STARMAN
Point Value: 200
Levels Appearing: 2, 3
Description: If you've ever played Earthbound on the SNES, you know what
they look like; big yellow guys in space suits. They usually pop up right
in front of you and just stand there, looking intimidating. You have plenty
of time to just blast them into oblivion while they do this; just fire like
a madman when they show up. If you don't kill them fast enough, it will
release a small explosion of parts, turn into a rolling ball, and roll
towards you; so far as I can tell, you can't hurt them when they're doing
this. After that, they'll reform - dodge the flying parts as they return to
it - and you'll get another crack at it.
LIGHT SNAKE
Point Value: 150 per segment
Levels Appearing: 3
Description: A long strand of small multicolored balls that zaps around the
screen in straight or diagonal lines, making an incredibly annoying noise
all the while. Like the Long Dragon, they seem completely immune to the
boundary effect, and ignore gravity, so it's best to blast them before they
cause too much trouble. It takes about 5 shots to destroy each segment,
and I believe they have about 6 segments; so 30 shots alltogether, give
or take. If you can get them to go diagonally away from you, then come
at you head on, you can usually blast them before they touch you, but they
tend to have rather unpredictable movement patterns.
CRAG MAN
Point Value: 220
Levels Appearing: 3, 9
Description: Oh, sure. They look like innocent, unassuming rock outcroppings...
at first, at least. But when you get close, they jump up and start walking
towards you, tossing the occasional fireball just for laughs. These guys aren't
really much of a threat; just start shooting at them when you see the rock
piles. Most of the time, you'll kill them before they have a chance to get up.
You can recognize them because their "mountains" are a light yellow, instead
of the brown or blue that the more common background elements are.
MACHO MAN
Point Value: 120
Levels Appearing: 4, 7
Description: Ohh, yeah! Snap into a Slim Jim! Or any of the other hundred
inane comments one would care to make about former big wrestling star
Randy Savage. That's what these guys look like; bad wreslters who don't
realize their careers are over. They drop down from the sky, often in
large numbers, and proceed to start hopping around like fleas on crack.
Thankfully, one shot gets rid of them, and like Blue Soldiers, they suffer
heavily from the boundary problem, so they're not too much of a pain.
PIGEONS
Point Value: 50
Levels Appearing: 7
Description: Ugly green birds that flap their way across the screen,
generally in packs of three or four. They appear mainly to harass you while
you're climbing up the pyramid in Level 7, but are fairly easy to deal with;
just make sure to fire off a couple volleys of fireballs with each jump up,
and you should clear them out before they even have much chance to move. One
shot does them in.
GARGOYLES
Point Value: ????
Levels Appearing: 8
Description: Highly annoying statues that block your path in a number
of places during Level 8. They sit there, look scary, and fire volleys
of three fireballs at you as you approach. Equip the Shield if you don't
feel comfortable dodging with the Icarus Wings, and blast away; 6 shots or
so should do it. Note that the whole monster doesn't disappear when you "kill"
these guys, only the color of the eye changes from yellow to a normal gray.
Basically, if it's not shooting at you, it's safe to pass.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----/ Boss Monsters (Code: [KARBOSS] ) \--------------------------------------
MERMAN
Point Value: 300
Levels Appearing: 1
Description: It's a giant fish with a human face. Sort of. He hasn't got
much of an attack pattern, really; walk towards you, launch a fireball, jump,
repeat. That lends itself well to easy disposal of the beastie; just duck,
mash the B button like a psychopath, run under him when he jumps, repeat.
NEMEAN LION
Point Value: 100
Levels Appearing: 2
Description: A big green lion that occaisionally shoots fire, but more often
contents itself with leaping back and forth across the screen, the Lion is,
like most enemies, fairly easy to defeat. When he first appears on the
screen with his Tamer (see below), just start firing like a madman;
the Lion won't even have time to attack, most often, and even if he does,
he's liable to only get a single shot off before he's dead.
LION TAMER
Point Value: 150
Levels Appearing: 2
Description: A tall looking man in a white robe. The Tamer doesn't do a whole
lot, except occasionally smack his Lion (see above), making it spit fireballs.
Like his animal friend, if you just start firing incessantly when he appears
on screen, he should be dead before he can get a shot off.
REX
Point Value: 500
Levels Appearing: 3
Description: A towering menace of thousands of pounds, six-inch daggers for
teeth, and a roar that paralyzes all who hear it in fear. Or maybe it's
just a 10 foot tall beastie that wants to do those things when it grows up.
Either way, Rex is not the most intelligent of animals, and generally just
walks slowly to the left, attempting to pin you in a corner, spitting fire
all the while. The easiest way to dispose of him is to equip your Boomerang,
and the Shield if you don't feel very adept at dodging fire, walk towards him,
and let fly. DON'T JUMP WHEN YOU DO THIS. The Boomerang will fly out, circle
back around, and hit him in the back of the head. If you timed it right, you'll
just need to jump over his first volley of fireballs, grabbing the Boomerang
in the process. One hit should do him in. If not, repeat.
If you absolutely insist on fighting him without the Boomerang, you'll almost
definitely want to use the Shield. Just activate the Shield and stand still,
mashing on the B button. Provided you have at least 2 Fireballs, he'll go
down in short order; if you've only got 1, you'll have to hop up to hit him
in the head, and this fight becomes much more difficult. Time your jumps to
go over his Fireballs, and fire like mad while airborne. Rinse, repeat.
LAMIA
Point Value: ????
Levels Appearing: 4
Description: She looks something like a centipede on steroids, only with
a human's head and arms. Like Rex, she doesn't have much in the way of
strategy beyond pushing you to the left and shooting at you while she does it.
Like Rex, your best friends will be the Boomerang and the Shield. She does
have one annoying trait, however, and that's the fact that she's immune to
damage unless she's standing up. When she's crawling on the floor, you can't
touch her, but shooting at her a little bit will get her to rear up. When she
does that, equip the Boomerang and throw. It usually takes two hits to get
this to work, and it's hard to grab your Boomerang on the return flight, since
she shoots a lot more than Rex, so bring extras if you can.
Again, like Rex, I don't recommend attempting this with the normal Fireball,
but if you really want to do it, the strategy's the same; equip the Shield,
and shoot for all you're worth, jumping if you only have one Fireball,
standing still if you've got 2 or more.
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