A war is raging between the Moon colony Selene and Earth. You
fight for the Moon as a volunteer Einhander pilot, a highly
classified operation of prototype fighters and pilots trained for
suicide runs. The survival rate is zero. You start the game with
a choice of three basic ships, and eight weapons (called gunpods,
hereafter GPs). As you progress you can earn two more ships and
four more weapons, as well as 100 pictures in an art gallery.
Suggested Soundtrack: In-game, or the OST.
- --[2. Ships]---- -
Each of the three different ships can change the feel of the game
entirely. A breif summary of each is provided below.
//> Endymion FRS Mk. III
This ship is great for beginners. It is the only ship to feature
two machine guns, and can load one gunpod. It is also the easiest
to pilot.
//> Endymion FRS Mk. II
This ship can hold three gunpods, with one equipped at a time,
changeable on the fly. It only has one machine gun, but because
it can store extra gunpods, you will seldom be without a weapon.
//> Astraea FGA Mk. I
This ship has one machine gun, and can load two gunpods at a time,
giving it significantly more firepower than any other ship.
However, it cannot fire only the machine gun.
- --[3. SP Bonuses]---- -
Each stage has three SP Bonuses to complete. You earn then by
completing certain tasks. You will be awarded ten thousand,
thirty thousand and fifty thousand points for each subsiquent
bonus. Completeing the bonuses may also change the course of
the level. Finish the game with 15 or more of these to unlock
the first hidden ship. There are 21 total.
//> Stage 1 <\\
SP 1 > shoot all the neon signs. Turn your speed all the way up
(R2) to make this task easier.
SP 2 > after the signs, there will be a carrier ship with a Riot
gun on it. The next ship will be only partially visible
in the lower right corner of the screen, take it out
quickly for the bonus.
SP 3 > at the midboss, shoot off the bottom saucer-like part.
This is harder than it looks, as he moves quickly and has
two guns. After you shoot off the blue shell, you must
destroy the metal underneath. A big gun will help,
Cannon/Flash, Grenade, or Wasp (armed below).
//> Stage 2 <\\
SP 1 > shoot the first two tan enemies at the bottom of the
screen as soon as they appear to make a third red ship
appear. Shoot it for the first bonus.
SP 2 > eventually you will come to a train car with gun
turrets rising out of three sections. You will not
advance until you destroy the unit on the far right (has
no gunpod). Shoot ten of the turrets.
SP 3 > later in the stage, you run into another train car with
turrets. Shoot ten again for the bonus.
//> Stage 3 <\\
SP 1 > there are a few enemies in Stage 3 that have a disc on top
and carry two gunpods each. Take them all out until a red
one appears, kill it for the first bonus.
SP 2 > at the midboss, destroy the green weapon trucks and red
reflector trucks until you get the bonus. Try not to
shoot his legs before you get the bonus or you may miss
the chance.
SP 3 > right after the midboss, a hexagonal shaft will come down
and start dropping out enemies. Destroy it, and then kill
all the dead ships that fall out. You will need a big gun
to accomplish this, Juno works well, or Blade if you use
the fireball trick and hammer the O button.
//> Stage 4 <\\
SP 1 > destroy the body section of the boat without hitting the
tower. Try using Cannon/Flash or Hedgehog. The tower
will fly off, kill it quickly for the bonus. This will
also get you the Juno, one of the secret guns. If you
don't destroy this thing quickly, it will shoot off an
unbelievable amount of missiles and bullets, which you
almost cannot avoid. Work fast.
SP 2 > when you get to the branching tunnels, go as far down as
possible. Near the end you will see a mech type guy
sliding down the ramp with a bunch of sparks flying
everywhere. Kill him for the bonus.
SP 3 > at the end of the stage, you will come to a part with some
silver metal piping. If you got the first two bonuses,
there will be an enemy here who you can kill, and he will
fall and crash into the pipes. If not, you have to get a
weapon that can shoot at a downward angle, like the Flash
or Juno, and shoot the pipes.
//> Stage 5 <\\
SP 1 > just a bit before the midboss, you will come to eight or
so metal beams moving up and down across your path. Shoot
them all down for the bonus.
SP 2 > destroy all the other parts of the midboss besides the
mask/head to earn the second bonus. Do not get the Wasp
when he throws it at you, because it will target his head
and make your task more difficult.
SP 3 > just before the stage boss you see two gray and one red
enemies fly in front of the screen. If you have Wasp,
take out the red guy quickly for the bonus. If you don't
you must kill every single enemy in the upcoming sequence
and he will appear on the screen. Juno will help.
//> Stage 6 <\\
SP 1 > between the two solid rocket boosters you are busy
destroying there are two pods that will randomly release a
red enemy. There is no rhyme or reason to it, and it can
take a while. Patience.
SP 2 > destroy three of the aforementioned pods on the back of
the rocket, while screaming "I bet you wish you released
that red enemy a little sooner now, huh punk?!?"
SP 3 > after the rocket, you fight the stage boss. For the third
bonus, you must take out the small round cap that appears
on top of the main saucer, and then the main saucer
itself. If done correctly, after he dies, he will shoot
out another enemy, who you will automatically follow.
This has to be the best looking boss in the game (IMHO),
endboss taking a close second. He looks like a mechanical
jellyfish, and has a red and orange curtain surrounding
him with some seriously crazy lighting effects. He has
very light armor but is also very quick, he likes to jet
around the screen randomly. Kill him for the last bonus.
//> Stage 7 <\\
SP 1 > kill the first red ship. All three of the bonuses on this
stage will be made easier with the Wasp equipped and set
to homing, as this stage is very fast paced.
SP 2 > kill the second red ship.
SP 3 > you guessed it, kill the third red ship. If you killed
the first two, this guy will carry a Juno.
- --[4. Boss Strategy]---- -
Like just about every shooter to come before it, the bosses in
Einhander move in patterns, which once you know, make the fight
much easier. Also following shooter scripture, the bosses have
weak spots which you must hit to defeat them. In this game, these
spots are usually a pale green. Also note that on a higher
dificulty level bosses will simply shoot more things at you,
but all the same strategy will apply.
//> Stage 1 <\\
Midboss: shoot this guy in the head to defeat him. He has two
guns which can take you out fast, so stay far back and
keep gunning him. If you shoot off both of his guns, he
pulls out a really big cannon. Not recommended. If
you're going for the bonus, shoot off the bottom saucer
portion.
Boss: there are two different possible bosses here. The normal
boss is green and has the number 09 on his side. If you
get all three SP Bonuses for the stage, you will fight a
different boss who is dark purple and has the number 08.
They look the same and have the same attack patterns, but
08 is a bit tougher. First fly as low as possible and
shoot off his foot type thing. Then shoot the main body
portion. Eventually two doors will open up and he will
shoot some red bullets at you. Shoot at where they are
coming from. When he flips back over and isn't flashing
white anymore, he is already dead.
//> Stage 2 <\\
Midboss: this guy is fast, and has a number of annoying moves for
you. Get a big gun and shoot him in the face to kill him
quickly. If you have the Blade, equip it on the bottom
of your ship and stab him with it as soon as you see him.
He will explode instantly.
Boss: this is by far the easiest boss in the game. As soon as
you can hurt him, shoot him with something large in the
round head portion. It will blow up once and reveal a
metal under layer. Take a moment to take care of his
arms, which have a flamethrower and a gattling gun, and
then a Hedgehog and a Vulcan underneath. Then attack his
head again before he brings out the second set of arms.
//> Stage 3 <\\
Midboss: if you want, you can take this boss out in a few seconds
with the Blade. But if you want the second SP bonus,
that doesn't work. When you first see him, attack the
portion in the middle with the two lasers on the sides.
That will blow up. Then he will start spinning around on
the bottom of the screen. If you want to kill him,
attack his legs, which blow up, then attack the body and
he will die very quickly. If you want the bonus, avoid
his attacks until you can destroy five or so of the red
enemies to get the bonus.
Boss: again, Blade works great here, or Grenade, which you can
get from the last enemy on the bottom before the boss.
Shoot his head until the green shell is destroyed. You
can destroy his yellow flaming yo-yo that he throws, but
it takes a lot of firepower. Shoot his head again until
it is destroyed.
//> Stage 4 <\\
Midboss: the midboss on this stage is not the ship, it is the pink
stingray. Stay out of his way when you first see him,
because he will shoot out a bunch of mines. Wait until
they blow up to attack him. Shoot at his armor on the
front of the ship. When this is gone he will jump up and
hang from the two metal beams. From here he can shoot a
big blue laser, or swipe at you with his tail. Shoot the
green portion in his center to take him out.
Boss: this is another boss that could be dangerous if you don't
have a big gun, but is harmless a bunny rabbit if you do.
Funny how that works. So bring the heavy artillery and
give him hell. Shoot the long front part first. Then
some armor will fly over and land on him. Shoot the
green spot on it to take him out.
//> Stage 5 <\\
Midboss: if you are just fighting for the kill, shoot this guy in
the head (a small red shape near the top) , then get the
Wasp when he throws the box at you and hammer the button
until he is dead. The Wasp is essential, because he goes
into the background, and you can't hit him without it.
However, if you want the bonus, you must bring a big gun
and lots of ammo, and shoot everything except his head.
Don't get the Wasp, because it will target his head and
kill him. When he goes into the background, you just have
to wait it out.
Boss: after you shoot off both his arms, this boss can't pose
much of a threat. One shoots large, single blasts, the
other is like a machine gun. Once they are gone, blast
at him until he crashes and blows up all over the ramp.
//> Stage 6 <\\
Midboss: the midboss on this level is the rocket. You must
destroy the two engines on the back of the ship. Just
about any weapon will work here, but be sure to watch for
other enemies, because there will be lots. Also, the
fourth enemy to carry a weapon will have a Blade.
Boss: this is the hardest boss in the game, easily tougher than
the last boss. When you first see him, shoot at the top
saucer part and right below it. When he covers the
screen in yellow lasers, duck between two of the beams.
Then he will put up three spinning blue discs, which
protect him from harm. If you shoot then in the center
they just shoot it back, but if you hit them around the
edges you can destroy them. You can also hurt his three
legs, which will be spinning around. Then he goes into
the background, and shoots three green lasers. These
will track you down, so turn your speed up, and duck and
weave. Next he will throw some smaller yellow discs,
these you can destroy much more easily then the large
blue ones. Then he comes back forward, and that is your
chance to take him out. Hit him with everything you've
got, centered in the upper portion and the saucer at the
top. Good luck.
//> Stage 7 <\\
Midboss: there really is no midboss for this stage. You will
fight about two dozen Einhander ships like yours, each
equipped with two gunpods. If you shoot all three red
ships, the third will carry a Juno.
Boss: the last boss is a huge mech looking guy. He takes up
most of the screen, and has some really spiffy lighting
effects. He is easier than the stage six boss, but moves
a whole lot faster. Shoot the five or so little green
ships that he throws out. Then watch for him to shoot
a huge laser at you. If he does, move quickly to the top
or bottom of the screen. When you are facing him and he
is on the right, fire away. Shoot at the area near the
top, he will flash red when you are hitting the right
spot. You shouldn't have much trouble killing him.
After he dies, you see an FMV sequence of him crashing
into Earth and making a huge explosion (remember the
Einhander magazine ad?). Ok, so he is actually hitting
the atmosphere and not the earth, and the explosion isn't
that big. But I bet you don't remember the ad anyways.
- --[5. Secret Ships]---- -
There are two secret ships, known as the Unknown Type 1: Sodom
and Unknown Type 2: Selene. Both are tough to earn, and add some
replay to the game, or at least give you something to play
towards; even though you'll never get the coveted Selene.
//> Unknown Type 1: Sodom
The Sodom is the same as the small green and yellow police ships
from the first level. This ship makes the game play more like a
standard shooter. Your weapon is powered up a level each time
you get a gunpod, up to level 20. This is fun at first, but has
little practicality, because as soon as you die at a boss, and
can't get any more gunpods, you're wrecked. To get it, beat the
game with 15 or more SP Bonuses.
//> Unknown Type 2: Selene
This is the highest level of achievement in Einhander. It is
difficult to earn, but ultimately rewarding when and if you do.
To get it, complete the game on hard using no more than two
continues. It is like the Astraea, with the two gunpods, but
maxes out your ammo (9999 bullets) whenever you pick up a gunpod.
It is also a slick red, instead of the dull gray of the other
ships. It is named after the moon colony.
- --[6. Secret Weapons]---- -
During the course of the game, you can find four secret weapons.
These weapons are sufficiently more powerful than the standard
ones, enough to drastically change the gameplay, although some
are downright odd to use. Here's how to get them all. After you
get each new weapon, its picture appears in the gallery, and more
importantly you can equip them when you start a new game.
Juno > larger, meaner looking version of Vulcan. Its muzzle flash
is almost as big as your ship.
>Stage 4: when the boat pops out of the water, destroy the body
section, and not the tower. Then the tower will fly
off, destroy it quickly to get the Juno.
>Stage 7: if you kill the first two red enemies, the third will
be carrying a Juno.
Flash > like the Cannon, but much stronger. Shoots a large purple
blast that can penetrate multiple targets.
>Stage 3: complete SP 3 to get a Flash here.
>Stage 5: shoot off all the parts of the midboss until you get
SP bonus 2. A box will drop down and he kicks it
towards you with his good foot, destroy it for the
Flash. Then cause him pain.
Mosquito > a powerful guided missile, controlled with the D-pad.
Utterly useless.
>Stage 4: there is only one known way to get the Mosquito.
After fighting the midboss in stage four (the
stingray), your ship enters a building. There are
some crates in front of you that contain the Spread,
get it. Then drop down to the bottom floor as soon as
you can, fire the Spread backwards at a single enemy
in front of a crate, destroy the crate and you will
get the Mosquito.
Python > a very odd weapon to use. Five powerful explosives
linked together like a chain. Only marginally less
useless than the Mosquito.
>Stage 5: make sure to pick up the Wasp weapon sometime early in
stage five, you will see it a few times. About a
quarter of the way through the level you will see a
very large boxy vehicle drive by and then park (looks
like the big transport ship with tank tread in one of
the Star Wars flicks). As soon as you see it gun the
button, destroy it for the Python.
- --[7. Gallery Pictures]---- -
During the game, you can earn 100 different pictures in a gallery,
numbered 00 to 99. The pictures include shots of gunpods, enemy
ships, bosses, and concept sketches. You will get the pictures of
each of the gunpods after collecting them for the first time. To
get the rest of the pictures, beat the game on easy with all three
of the standard ships, then on normal and hard with one of the
three. Note that you cannot use the Sodom (Unknown Type 1) to
unlock any pictures.
- --[8. Miscellaneous]---- -
> If you die at stage six, you will see a different FMV sequence
and game ending. This is the only place you can see it, and
you must actually end your game here, i.e. use up all you
continues and lives. You won't get another chance to see the
sequence, so make sure try this once.
> The name "Einhander" is German, and means one-handed. All of
the bosses also taunt you in German, which is why you can't
understand them, unless you speak German. If you want to know
what they say, read Zach Keene's excellent guide on the game,
he has many of the phrases translated there.
- --[9. Outro]---- -
Feel free to distribute this FAQ freely to any webpage or BBS as
long as it is left intact and credit is given. You may use any
portion of this FAQ in your own document as long as credit is
given, and please contact the author if you do. Please do not use
this FAQ to gain profits or recognition without permission of the
author. The first version of this FAQ was released 7.29.1998.
Einhander is copyright Square of Japan and SoA.
This FAQ was written by D. Engel, who has also been known to go
by d0wner, ruiner and enginenonine. He is author of the
critically acclaimed Threads of Fate Secrets FAQ, as well as
several books on the positive psychological effects of mushrooms
and other hallucinogens (just don't go looking for them).
Contact info > email: d0wner451 (at) hotmail (dot) com.
PSO: SavageHenry
