_____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
_____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
| __ \ |_| | | `| |´ `| |´
| |__) | _ ___ __ _ _ __ ___ _ __| | | | | |
| ___/ \ / \ _/ _` | '_ ` _ \| |/ _` | | | | |
| | \ Y / || (_| | | | | | | | (_| | | | | |
|_| \_ /|_| \__,_|_| |_| |_|_|\__,_| ,| |, ,| |,
/ / ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯
\/
Pyramid 2

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
for the Famicom

- A Guide by 'CJ' Lagoona -

Table of Contents:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

* Introduction ..................... [_0100_]
* Game Controls .................... [_0200_]
- Getting started ................ [_0210_]
* Game Mechanics ................... [_0300_]
- Basics ......................... [_0310_]
- Blocks ......................... [_0320_]
- Power(s) ....................... [_0330_]
- Advancing + Scoring ............ [_0340_]
* Game Screen ...................... [_0400_]
* General Tips ..................... [_0500_]
* Questions ........................ [_0600_]
* Version History .................. [_0700_]
* Legal Stuff / Donations .......... [_0800_]
* Credits .......................... [_0900_]

Use the search codes in brackets (Ctrl + F) to quickly jump to your desired
chapter.

------------------------------++++++++++++++++--------------------------------
+ Introduction + [_0100_]
------------------------------++++++++++++++++--------------------------------

Welcome to my guide covering the pretty obscure Famicom title Pyramid 2. I am
writing this FAQ as a part for the NES FAQ completion project running on the
GameFAQs FAQ Contributors - General board. As far as I'm aware, this title
- published by Sachen in 1990 - was developed by Thin Chen Enterprises and only
appeared without the official license from Nintendo in the Asian continent.
Please correct me on that if I'm wrong.

Pyramid 2 is a Tetris-style puzzle game, with blocks falling down into a finite
well; and your job is to make them disappear by arranging them in full rows
before the fill up to the top. The main difference are the more quirky forms
and some power ups. Also, you don't actually get scores...

-----------------------------+++++++++++++++++--------------------------------
+ Game Controls + [_0200_]
-----------------------------+++++++++++++++++--------------------------------

Controls while playing the game:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Start - Pause and resume the game (screen remains visible)

Select - not used

A button - Turn the current block clockwise

B button - Turn the current block anti-clockwise
(together with Up: activate Bomb)

Right on the direction pad - Move the current block to the right
Left on the direction pad - Move the current block to the left
Down on the direction pad - Move the current block down quickly
Up on the direction pad - (together with B) activate Power Up

_______________
Getting started [_0210_]
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

First of all, NO warning about bad sound. Get your remote ready to turn up the
music volume, because unlike many other obscure NES/Famicom titles, this game
actually has awesome background music tunes!

At the title screen, press the 'Start' button to get to a small menu, where
you can choose your mode and the starting stage. I assume that normally, you
should also be able to choose between 1 and 2 players, but my personal copy
would only allow the 2 player option... which doesn't influence gameplay,
though. If your copy does the same you want to play alone, simply ignore the
right half of the screen where Player 2 would play otherwise.

You can also switch the music on and off, as well as make a free sound test.
I can only encourage you to listen through the music tunes, as there are some
really sweet melodies among them.

In normal mode, as soon as you've placed a block, the next one appears at the
top. In special mode, it doesn't appear automatically, but you have to shoot
one free from a circle of bubbles you share with Player 2. I actually see no
real sense in that, but well...

-----------------------------++++++++++++++++++-------------------------------
+ Game Mechanics + [_0300_]
-----------------------------++++++++++++++++++-------------------------------

______
Basics [_0310_]
¯¯¯¯¯¯

The game concept is quite simple. Remember Tetris? Yes? The main difference
here is that there are different shapes. So basically, there are blocks falling
down step by step, piling up on top of each other if you don't do something
against it. You see the blocks, which are more like clumps of triangles from
the side and they fall into a well 8 units wide and 18 units deep (one square
unit consists of two small triangles).

In order to prevent the screen from filling up and the blocks from reaching
the top - which means GAME OVER -, you have to arrange the blocks such that
they fill an entire plane, parallel to the bottom of the play area. It is also
possible to fill up two planes at a time with the suitable block(s), but this
is already quite a hard task. Given by the size and shape of the blocks, no
triple lines are possible. Such a completely filled plane causes said plane to
disappear and the blocks above the vanished ones fall down one step.

As the player, you can move the blocks sideways and downwards, and you can
rotate the blocks either clockwise or anti-clockwise. For each 20 lines you
eliminate you advance one level. Generally, the higher the level, the more
difficult the game gets - which means in this case that the blocks drop down
faster.

Additionally, you have a certain number of 'Power' (points). These give you the
ability to launch some special 'attacks', which can help you get rid of some
already fixed blocks, thus ideally opening previously inaccessible (honestly,
closed by the player...) spots. Depending on which special you use, it deducts
1, 2 or 3 points from your Power meter.

Both the bombs ('1-point-power') and the blocks fall down at the same speed.
The higher the level you're playing, the less far you can move them laterally
per vertical falling step. So while at the beginning you can move them
horizontally all the way from one side to the other while they drop one step,
this becomes less when the game goes faster (see also the 'Advancing' section).

______
Blocks [_0320_]
¯¯¯¯¯¯
Here's a collection of all blocks I've encountered while playing.
They are all made by assembling 2 to 4 units of the basic smallest triangle:

*
**
*** (this Size 1 piece never appears as a block in the game)
****

I'll give them with all their not always logical or intuitive rotations states:

Size of 2 triangles:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
--- Size-2 ---

..*... *...... ******* ...*...
.***.. **..... .*****. ..**...
*****. ***.... ..***.. .***...
******* ****... ...*... ****...
...... ***.... ....... .***...
...... **..... ....... ..**...
...... *...... ....... ...*...

Size of 3 triangles:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
There are two chiral trapezoids - they are like your left and right hand:
mirror images that you can't get to cover each other with only rotating in the
plane. It's very handy that they're color coded, though, as this helps a lot.
Otherwise it would be very hard distinguishing them.

--- Green trapezoid ---

******* ...*... ****... ****...
****** ..**... *****.. ****...
.***** .***... ******. ****...
..**** ****... ******* ****...
...... ****... ....... ***....
...... ****... ....... **.....
...... ****... ....... *......

--- Red trapezoid ---

..**** *...... ******* ****...
.***** **..... ******. ****...
****** ***.... *****.. ****...
******* ****... ****... ****...
...... ****... ....... .***...
...... ****... ....... ..**...
...... ****... ....... ...*...

Then there's the last size 3 piece, the C-shape, which is a 3/4 part of a big
square standing on a corner.

--- C-shape ---

..*... ...*... ...*... ...*...
.***.. ..***.. ...**.. ..**...
*****. .*****. ...***. .***...
******* ******* ******* *******
***... ...***. .*****. .*****.
.**... ...**.. ..***.. ..***..
..*... ...*... ...*... ...*...

(The c-shaped block does not appear in the lowest difficulty level, level 0.)

Size of 4 triangles:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
--- Size-4 ---

*...... ******* ******* ......*
**..... ******. .****** .....**
***.... *****.. ..***** ....***
****... ****... ...**** ...****
*****.. ***.... ....*** ..*****
******. **..... .....** .******
******* *...... ......* *******

So, in total, there are 5 different kinds of blocks.
While the C-shape and the Size-4 rotate symmetrically, the other three kinds
don't. This can make some maneuvering in narrow spaces tricky and can also
hinders some otherwise neat last minute (or second) rotations.

E.g. in the following case, you can't rotate a red trapezoid into the opening,
but at least you can slide it in from the side:

works doesn't work *
**
************ *********** ***
******** <- **** ******** /-****
******* <- ***** ******* | ****
****** <- ****** ****** v ****
***** <- ******* ***** ****
************ ***********
************ ***********

Then, contrary to the first Pyramid, also the following move doesn't work
(anymore). You cannot slide in a green trapezoid and then turn it in the last
second to fill the hole.

**** *****
**** ****
**** *** A shame it doesn't work anymore.
**** **
*************
*************

________
Power(s) [_0330_]
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
You start out each game with 10 Power points. With these you can activate one
of the following three special attacks: Bomb, Thunderbolt or Mouse. Each use if
these drains your Power meter by 1, 2 or 3 points. To activate, press and hold
down 'Up' on the direction pad, then press 'B'. (This will not rotate your
falling block.) Now there's a highlighted square around the Bomb symbol. Choose
the Power you want to use with 'Up'/'Down' and activate it by pressing 'A'.
Depending on the Power, there are more inputs (directions) needed. Each Power
has its own pattern of eliminating already placed blocks. And if during the
special action you create a freestanding element (which has no connection at
all to a standing one, not even via a corner), then it drops down until it
meets solid ground again.

Bomb 1 Power point
¯¯¯¯
The Bomb drops down like a regular block. It can fly through the currently
frozen fallen block. When it hits a positioned block at the bottom, said block
is eliminated, together with the squares just below and beside it.

B
| Bomb falls
v here
**** * ****
****** -> *** * (here each * represents a square)
******* **** **
******* *******

Thunderbolt 2 Power points
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Choose a column (with 'left'/'right'). The Thunderbolt will then come crashing
down and eliminates all squares/blocks of the selected column.

Mouse 3 Power points
¯¯¯¯¯
The Mouse will come running in from the top right corner and run down the right
wall, then along your blocks' surface and finally up the left wall again. On
its path it nibbles away all sharp tips. I.e. all small ('size 1') triangles
sticking out (having an open angle of 135° except if they're looking up from
the bottom floor) are eliminated. However, I'm not quite sure about the exact
conditions, see e.g. the following situation:

| | | |
|* * | | |
|** ** | <- before | |
|*** *** | | |
|**** ******* ****| after -> |**** * ****|
|***** ***** ****| |**** ** ****|
|****** *** ****| |**** *** ****|
|******* * ****| |**** **** ****|
|**** * *******| |**** * ****|
|**** ** ******| |**** ** ****|
|**** *** *****| |**** *** ****|
|**** **** ****| |**** **** ****|
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The rightmost structure part seems logical. The leftmost one not quite, as also
the top left square has gone. The center structure seems even more illogical.
Here, the single 'single triangle' ('size 1') at the bottom was left intact
while the bottom 'half' of the C-Shape one was eaten away.

There are two ways for you to gain more Power points:

- For each double line eliminated you get +1 Power point.
This is only possible with the Size-4 triangle (easiest to do) and the two
kinds of trapezoids (with the tip pointing down).

- For each level you advance you get +10 Power points.

___________________
Advancing + Scoring [_0340_]
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
As already mentioned, with every 20 lines you make disappear, you advance one
level. And the higher the level, the faster the blocks drop.

Level 0: all the way from one side to the other, all blocks but C-Shape
Levels 1-5: all the way from one side to the other, now all blocks
Level 6: 4 squares per step, 5 if you hold down the direction pad (left/right)
Level 7: 3 squares per step, 4 if you hold down the direction pad (left/right)
Level 8: 2 squares per step
Level 9: 1 square per step
..
(I don't know about possible higher levels, as I never managed to get that far.
The fact that there are more than nine different music tracks in the sound
test menu suggests further levels, but they may just be the same speed as
level 9... like it was for the first Pyramid game.)

Honestly, the title of this subsection is somewhat misleading, as there is NO
SCORING system implemented in this game. Just try to go as far as possible
without a game over.

------------------------------+++++++++++++++---------------------------------
+ Game Screen + [_0400_]
------------------------------+++++++++++++++---------------------------------

This is the screen where all the 'action' happens.

____________________________________
| _________ _________ |
| | | | | |
| | {BS1} | | {BS2} | |
| |________| |________| |
| |¯| | | | | |¯| | |¯| Bomb
| |¯| | | | | |¯| | |¯| Thunderbolt
| |¯| | P A | | P A | |¯| | |¯| Mouse
| ¯ | L R | | L R | ¯ | ¯
|LEVEL | A E | | A E | LEVEL|
|POWER | Y A | | Y A | POWER|
|LINES | P1 | | P2 | LINES|
| | | | | |
| ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ |
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

The screen is cut in half, with the left half belonging to Player 1 (P1) and
the right half belonging to Player 2 (P2).

Accordingly, {BS1} and {BS2} stand for the Block Source for the respective
player, with the corresponding play area being below it. On each side there are
the respective indicators for Level, Power and Lines, and above them the three
selectable Powers (Bomb, Thunderbolt and Mouse).

------------------------------++++++++++++++++--------------------------------
+ General Tips + [_0500_]
------------------------------++++++++++++++++--------------------------------

(thanks to Andrew Schultz for a lot of these basics, and especially for the
drawings concept!)

== Avoid putting an 'upper' triangle in a single square, as you will not be
able to recover that mistake without using a Power. If that square is still
open on one side, make sure to slide something in as soon as possible.

BAD: RECOVERABLE:

+---+---+ +-------+
|***|\**| |******/ <
|***| \*| |*****/ <
|***| \| |****/ <
+---+ + +---+

== This goes together with the aforementioned point: if one can't be avoided,
always try to keep a 'small open space' facing upwards. This becomes clear
when you look at the scenario below.

PERMANENT: POSSIBLY TEMPORARY:

+-----+ +-----+
|*****| |*****| <- clear this row, and
|*****| |*****| the pit below may be
|**+**| +-----+ accessible!
|*/|**| |\ /|
|/ |**| |*\ /*|
+ +--+ +--+--+

== It is (at least to me) intuitive to work with square blocks, so you can try
to create squares from the blocks available. Also longer 45° slopes are quite
convenient. Both features allow e.g. to put on a dreaded C-Shape. Here are a
few examples.

Squares:

+-+---+ +---+-+
|**\**| |**/**|
+---+-+ +-+---+

+-----+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-----+ +-----+
|\***/| |*| |*| |*| |\.../| |..../|
|*\*/*| +*| |*+ |*+-+ |.\./.| |.../.|
|**X**| |\| |/| |/**| |..Y..| |../..|
|*/*\*| |*+ +*| +---+ |..|..| |./...|
|/***\| |*| |*| |..|..| |/....|
+-----+ +-+ +-+ +--+--+ +-----+

Slopes:

+-+ +
/**| /|\
+-+-+ +*|*+
/**|## /|*|*|\
+---+## /#+-+-+#\

== Avoid parallelogram-shaped open spaces in general, they are very ugly,
impossible to fill and a hassle to get rid of using Power(s).

*****+
****/
***/
**/ +
*/ /|
+ /*|
| /**|
|/***|
+----+

== It's not always obvious what the smartest move is. Here's an example that is
somewhat situation dependent. What is the best way to put in that red
trapezoid?

+---+
/****|
/*****|
/******|
+-------+

+---+
|**/
|*/
|/
+---+ +---+
|****\ |***|
|*****\ |***|
|******\|***|
+-------+---+

You could either rotate the trapezoid counterclockwise and drop the shape
in; let's assume it nets a full row in this case. Or you could let it drop as
it is and then move it left when it lands.
Which one is better?
If your position is relatively in order and you're still low in the play
area, you don't want to rotate but slide it in sideways. If you can clear off
the higher of the two rows, you can come back and put an angled piece in
later. It all turns on 1) if your structure is too high up already, in which
case rotating is a temporary reprieve, given this clear the lower row, and
2) if you can actually nail the upper of the two rows afterwards. If that is
the case, then it's worth the extra work and wait to be able to drop the
right piece in later.

== Use your Power(s), and use them wisely. There's no need to save them up for
something later... there's nothing to come! But also don't use them
mindlessly.
- For minor inconveniences on the top rows of your stack, use the Bomb.
- Otherwise, you can try to stack defects (=inaccessible voids) all in the
same column, so you can use only one Thunderbolt to get rid of them all
(and fill the column with e.g. trapezoids).
- I don't recommend using the Mouse at all. While it can remove single tips
on different levels, it only acts on the very surface and is not really
helpfully predictable. Especially for that price (3 Power points).

-------------------------------+++++++++++++----------------------------------
+ Questions + [_0600_]
-------------------------------+++++++++++++----------------------------------

This section is dedicated to commonly asked questions. So far, there aren't
many... But I will update it whenever I feel the need of it - which means as
soon as somebody asks a question that isn't already answered in this guide.
So if you have a question, or have found a mistake or would like to have
something added, don't hesitate to contact me at:

DrLagoona (at) hotmail (dot) com.

__________

Q: What's your highscore in this game?

A: There are no scores in this game. The next best thing would be to count the
number of lines cleared, giving a defined starting level, but I never really
went for such a thing, myself.
__________

----------------------------+++++++++++++++++++-------------------------------
+ Version History + [_0700_]
----------------------------+++++++++++++++++++-------------------------------

Version 1.00 - Guide written with all important sections. This is the first
(08/17/09) official, accepted version.

-----------------------------+++++++++++++++----------------------------------
+ Legal Stuff + [_0800_]
-----------------------------+++++++++++++++----------------------------------

This guide is copyrighted 2009 by 'CJ' Lagoona.
The only websites allowed for hosting and public display are up to now

www.gamefaqs.com
www.neoseeker.com

No part of this file can be used without the permission of the author and
credits to the author. To get permission to host this guide on your website,
drop a line to

DrLagoona (at) hotmail (dot) com

wait for an answer and abide to it. Of course, you can also use this address if
you have comments or questions about my guide. Make sure you have <Pyramid II>
in the subject line, or else I'll shred and eat the e-mail without reading it.
;-)

Pyramid II is a trademark of Thin Chen Enterprise.

Donations
---------

If you'd like to make a donation, even a small one, showing your appreciation
of my work, I will of course gladly accept it. For this, best do it via PayPal
to (the same address given above):

DrLagoona (at) hotmail (dot) com

Of course, replace the (at) with the @ symbol and the (dot) with a .
Much thanks in advance.

-------------------------------+++++++++++------------------------------------
+ Credits + [_0900_]
-------------------------------+++++++++++------------------------------------

..to Thin Chen Enterprises and Sachen for developing and publishing this game.

..to http://www.network-science.de/ascii/ , as I adapted the header ascii from
a design created with this ascii-generator.

..to Andrew Schultz: he let me use his guide for the first Pyramid game as a
base - and I did use a lot of his drawings, ideas and strategies.

..to everyone participating in the NES FAQ Completion Project on the General
FAQ Contributor Board on GameFAQs.

And thanks to CJayC for running GameFAQs. Well, actually, for having created
GameFAQs - and to Sailor Bacon (aka SBAllen) for taking over.