Xenophobe FAQ/Walkthrough By Andrew M. Evans aka AndrewM (AndrewM@NESHQ.com)

Xenophobe FAQ/Walkthrough By Andrew M. Evans aka AndrewM ([email protected])

Version 1.00 Released March 20, 2010

Looking for anything NES? Visit my hopefully-but-probably-not comprehensive NES
Site at www.neshq.com!

--== Table of Contents ==--
Section 01 ----- Revision History
Section 02 ----- Disclaimer
Section 03 ----- Introduction
Section 04 ----- Basic Controls
Section 05 ----- Playing the Game & Strategy
Section 06 ----- Enemies
Section 07 ----- Weapons
Section 08 ----- Items
Section 09 ----- Stages
Section 10 ----- Game Genie Codes
Section 11 ----- Closing Notes, Credits, and Thanks

--== Section 01 - Revision History ==--
03/20/2010 v1.00 Original FAQ

--== Section 02 - Disclaimer, Legal, and Rant ==--
This FAQ is open and free.
Post it wherever you want, however you want. If you want to post it on your
site, have at it. If you want to translate it, modify it, or do something else
entirely with it, that's up to you. Whatever you do with it please give credit
to me as the original author. And, if you're feeling generous, leave my
shameless plug for NES HQ in there. This FAQ is open and free. Really. Call the
license model whatever you want, but you can post it wherever you want.

Information should be free and open, including NES FAQs.

--== Section 03 - Introduction ==--
I'm Andy, I run NES HQ (www.neshq.com). I don't have any partciular attachment
to Xenophobe and there's already a perfectly good FAQ written for this game by
DJosef. However, his FAQ is restricted so I thought I'd whip this one up. The
game itself is pretty terrible in a number of aspects. This isn't a review so
I won't bore you with the details but suffice it to say that this game is not
making it to the hall of fame anytime soon. In fact, if it had a seasonal
movie made after it they would title it "The Holiday Craptacular."

So, on to the game. Xenophobe was released to the U.S. by Sunsoft in 1988.
You're one of three characters who is tasked with killing aliens on space ships
and moonbases. Once you clear a level you move to the next spaceship or
moonbase. Not a really complex, challenging, or really even enjoyable game.
Hey, just being honest here.

As mentioned above, you do at least get the option of the three characters -
Dr. Kwack, Mr. Fogg, and Dr. Zordirz. All three of them look like the end
result of a bad alien experiment which is, I assume, why they're hunting the
aliens in Xenophobe. Of course we're not given any back story in the game so
this is pure conjecture on my part; take it for what it's worth. All three
characters are the same. This is only natural - since the game is so awful you
can't really expect much else. That being said, I recommend you use Dr. Kwack
since mutant ducks shooting guns are always awesome. Like Bull from 'Night
Court' riding a dolphin to shoot Osama bin Laden with lasers awesome. Anyway, I
digress. On to the meat of the FAQ.

--== Section 04 - Basic Controls ==--
Directly from ye royal instruction manual:
Select - Selects one or two players. Also selects character at screen.
Start - Starts game. Pauses game during play.
B Button - Fire weapon.
A Button - Jump. Pick up items. Press down and A to crouch/crawl. Also
used to call elevator or warp. Pretty down and A to throw a
bomb.

--== Section 05 - Playing the Game & Strategy ==--
General Gameplay
- Enemies take off a fixed amount of damage. That amount is described below,
in section 6.
- Items are randomly generated. Each item does the same thing every time it's
picked up. Items are described in more detail below, in section 7.
- You start with 1000 health. You can get more health, although I'm not sure
what the max health is (and don't intend to play the game long enough to
find out). When your health goes to 0 you die. You get 200 health for
clearing a level. (Note: this is in the manual but I have noticed in several
occurences where I cleared a level and didn't get the bonus.)
- It doesn't matter whether you move rooms or not.
- Max possible score is 990,000 (credit to DJosef's guide)
- There is not an actual ending to the game. When you beat all eight levels of
the game it starts back over at level 1. Your score is maintained during
this, so if you're some kind of masochist you can play until you hit the
990,000 score mark. Really though, why would you?
- Two player game play is the same as one player, just that the screen at the
bottom is used for player 2. Note that in two player mode both players use
the same character (Dr. Kwack x 2 = double awesomeness) with different
color outfits.
- Each enemy hits at a different damage (described in enemies section).

Level Start
You will start each level in the same place each time. Levels are described a
bit more below, in section 8.

Enemy Generation
There are certain fixed enemies that will be in every room. For instance, there
will always be a Laser Ball in room one of level 1. Additional each room will
generate enemies every few seconds. As far as I can tell this enemy generation
is random.

Level Promotion & Pacifism
As far as I can tell each level lasts for five minutes, regardless of how many
enemies you actially kill. I have played through several levels without actually
killing a single enemy. This results in a unique situation for this game where
you can play the game indefinitely without actually accruing any points. If you
count beating all eight levels as beating the game then it is indeed possible to
beat the game without scoring a point.

Door Glitch
On a related note, there is a little delay when moving from one room to another.
Due to this delay you can exit one room to another then immediately exit the new
room, returning to the old room. With this strategy it's possible to not only
beat the game without scoring a point but also without interacting with any
enemies or losing any life. This makes it one of a handful of games in which you
can do this.

--== Section 06 - Enemies ==--
Note, these descriptions and values are taken directly from the manual. I've
added 'looks like' and 'notes' fields to differentiate the enemies:

Enemy (Xeno): Critter
Genetic Description: A cross between a small three-legged squid and a scorpion.
Xeno Offense: Latches onto exterminator
Health Damage: 10
Point Value: 100
Looks Like: Little bug
Notes: Crawls on ground. You can shake these off by pressing A when they latch

Enemy (Xeno): Snotterpiller
Genetic Description: A very large, leaping, heavily armored cross between a
lizard and a caterpillar.
Xeno Offense: Spits slime
Health Damage: 50
Point Value: 500
Looks Like: Kind of balls up. Looks like a bony tiger when it leaps
Notes: Watch out for high damage from this one

Enemy (Xeno): Laser Ball
Genetic Description: Hovering ball droid with built-in laser.
Xeno Offense: Laser
Health Damage: 10
Point Value: 250
Looks Like: Hovering ball
Notes: Easy to kill.

Enemy (Xeno): Giant Slime Ameoba
Genetic Description: A mutant ameoba. Escaped from 20th century science class.
Xeno Offense: Blocks off exterminator path
Health Damage: 20
Point Value: 250
Looks Like: Bubble
Notes: Starts on floor but alternates between floor and ceiling

Enemy (Xeno): Spiderion
Genetic Description: Cross between spider and scorpion.
Xeno Offense: Hangs from ceiling and drops bombs
Health Damage: 100
Point Value: 250
Looks Like: Ceiling-mounted robot
Notes: Takes 50 life when you jump into this guy. Easiest killed from across
the room so bombs can't reach you.

Enemy (Xeno): High voltage force wall
Genetic Description: N/A
Xeno Offense: N/A
Health Damage: 50
Point Value: N/A
Looks Like: Electric field
Notes: Manual calls this a 'hazard'. It can't be killed or passed through.

Enemy (Xeno): Slime from ceiling
Genetic Description: N/A
Xeno Offense: N/A
Health Damage: 50
Point Value: N/A
Looks Like: Slime hanging from a ceiling!
Notes: Manual calls this a 'hazard'. It can't be killed.

--== Section 07 - Weapons ==--
These are also taken directly from the manual. As noted earlier, there isn't any
rhyme or reason as to when these appear.

Weapon Type Point Value Firepower
Phaser Gun Single Shot 100 1
Laser Pistol Rapid Fire 250 2
Lightning Gun Medium Range 250 3
Smoke Gun Short Range 250 5
Bomb Plastic Explosive 500 Maximum

--== Section 08 - Items ==--
These are also taken directly from the manual. As noted earlier, there isn't any
rhyme or reason as to when these appear.

Item Point Value/Function
ID Card 500
Fuel 250
Medicine I 200 w/ Health Recovery
Medicine II 100 w/ Health Recovery
Document 250
Cup 250 w/ Health Recovery
Tool 250
Skull 500
Knife 250
Bomb 500
Floppy Disc 500
Mystery Object ?

--== Section 09 - Stages ==--
Note that there are eight rooms per floor of a space station. This is per floor,
so Level 1, with one floor, has 8 rooms; Level 2, with two floors, has 16 rooms,
and so on.

Level Name # of Floors
1 Mother Ship 1
2 Mother Base 2
3 Star Base 3
4 Moon City 4
5 Star Port 3
6 Moon Port 2
7 Star Ship 3
8 Star City 4

--== Section 10 - Game Genie Codes ==--
Increase starting energy for both players - LASIZOPA
Infinite energy for both players - AAKIYNUT
No energy pickups allowed - SXNITVOO
Start at level 2 - TAKSAPYA
Start at level 3 - IAKSAPYA
Start at level 4 - GAKSAPYA
Start at level 5 - LAKSAPYA
More energy to player 1 only - LAVILONY + AIVIIOGI

--== Section 11 - Closing Notes, Credits, and Thanks ==--
The vast majority of the information in this guide is straight out of the
Xenophobe manual (available on NES HQ if you want it), so the majority of the
credit for this goes to the manual itself. I did spend some rather painful time
playing this abomination of a game, so the rest of the info came from that
wretched experience that I'm trying to expunge from my memory.

Please be sure to check out NES HQ at www.neshq.com, which is the most popular
NES-specific site on the Internet. Maybe you'll feel compelled to contribute
to it as well and help build the most comprehensive NES resource on the net.
And finally, send any questions to me at [email protected].

Lastly, I would like to give thanks to Jose Olé brand foods. I picked up some
of their delicious microwaveable chimichangas and they are delicious and
probably humungously unhealthy. However, without them I surely would have lost
my sanity while playing the steaming pile of diseased elephant dung that is
Xenophobe.