In 2004 the GameFAQs FAQ Writing Community started a Master System Completion
Project for which I wrote fifteen different FAQs before I moved on to other
projects. My urge to cover more SMS FAQs however has never wavered and that is
why I'm back today in the newest SEGA Master System Completion Project which is
hosted on the FAQ Contributors - General Board. In the old project I was the
biggest contributor and this FAQ will place me back in that same old position,
and I hope I get beaten quickly by a lot of people because that would get the
project finished faster. But I need to conquer the lead first and I'm doing
that by covering Bomber Raid, a short but fun scrolling shooter that strongly
resembles Aerial Assault, a previous game I covered, if you ignore the point
of view. It is my main reason for writing this FAQ and I hope you'll enjoy it.
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2.1- Story [A201]
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At first Bomber Raid looks like a game without story and I can't blame you for
thinking that. During the game, no story is mentioned, but thanks to the box we
get a little bit more information. And with a little bit, I really mean a bit
because the story is nothing more then an excuse to SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT...
"Who has Mach-6 speed, helabad weapons, and a love for wastin' dweebs in tanks?
You do. Take to the skies with Two-Mega fire-power in the gnarliest fighter-
bomber game ever. Dive in close to pepper the deck with cluster bombs. Collect
weapons to build up your firepower. Then send a missile up his tailpipe. Killer
explosions. Incredible graphics. Cool sound effects. Hundreds of screens of
dogfight mania. These guys aren't wussies. They have planes, tanks, rockets,
air mines, missiles, cannons, and a lot more."
Your plane has two types of weapons, a regular weapon with unlimited fire that
is controlled by 1, and a cluster bomb of which you have a limited quantity
that is fired with 2. Regularly the player will see small spaceships that fly
over the screen and release small capsules when shot down. These capsules are
the power-ups of Bomber Raid and they come in three varieties. We have the red
kind which gives the player extra planes. These miniature planes take up a
space next to the player's plane and fire when the main plane fires. The number
on the capsule signifies a position for the plane. For instance, 1 means on the
side of the plane while 4 means behind the plane. These planes are destroyed
when you are destroyed and often have no effect on the enemy. They do have one
important effect.
The form of your cluster bomb is determined by the amount of planes to your
disposal. At first, it is a small burst. If you have a smaller plane next to
you, it becomes a bigger burst and if you have two planes it is a circular
burst that gets wider as its gets further and destroys almost all enemies on
the screen. Too bad those cluster bombs are quite rare, you can't get them
from the capsules that are released by the UFOs. Sometimes the destroyed UFOs
turn into an even weirder form. Shoot it down and catch that to get extra
bombs. The last form of power-up is found in the green capsules. The S capsule
raises your speed and the P raises your power which makes your shots stronger.
At first you fire small bullets, but that changes the more P capsules you
catch. Your weapons will grow immensely strong, culminating in its best form
when you fire something that looks like a horseshoe which quickly destroys any
enemy. Once you have that form, you don't need to catch more P.
After lifting off, our battle against the enemy empire starts. One plane with
three lives against a gigantic army with planes, tanks, helicopters and more.
It is going to be a hellish battle, but at least it starts slowly with planes
coming from left and right. One shot will take them out. Once the first UFOs
appear - who give you power-ups - the planes will start flying in diagonally,
which doesn't really change your strategy. Continue on until you reach the sea
where you're confronted by a submarine. It should get destroyed in three hits.
Soon after you should be able to capture a red capsule from a UFO, which gives
you an extra turret. It will come in handy because the planes start appearing
faster now and eventually you will reach three battle cruisers. To achieve this
goal you need to destroy their bridges, which is the central structure on each
battle cruiser. Three hits should take it out if you collected enough power,
but it is also a good time to use a cluster bomb if you have an extra plane
escorting you. If you place your shot correctly, you can destroy two of the
ships at the same time with a bomb.
Once they are all destroyed, you can move on and you're attacked by planes
coming in from the front. Just before they reach you, they will fire and turn
around to get back to the end of the screen. This means if you can't shoot them
down before they reach you, that you get a second chance. Once past this phase
the submarines return. You will have to face three of them, but they don't pop
up at the same time. They'll quickly submerge too, so if you're on the wrong
side of the screen when they attack, just try and avoid their shots. You won't
make it in time to shoot the first.
The later part of the level isn't anything interesting, it consists out of the
same formations of planes and boats like the part I have already explained. It
is just a little while before you reach the boss of this level, which is giant
boat with twenty green turrets on it. Each turret can take multiple shots and
can shoot at you. Try to focus your shots on the regular turrets and if you see
a cluster of four-five turrets visible on screen, you should use your cluster
bombs. They can take them all out in one shot, so don't waste them when there
are hardly turrets visible. Once they are all down, you've beaten Mission 1.
Round 2 looks like Round 1, with your plane above the sea and planes coming in
from left and right; but the scenery quickly changes to land where a new type
of enemies appears. They are tanks, which move slower than planes, but are just
as easily destroyed. Due to their speed, they should form no real threat on
their own. That is why you also get opposition from planes, that come in from
left and right. This level offers no real changes compared to the previous
level concerning enemy movements, but offers a bit more changes in the scenery
to make up for the fact the enemies use mostly the same tactics. For instance,
you'll travel through a valley with tanks on both sides, and a lava field that
regularly spews rocks. It is best not to fly over these lava fields, but to
avoid them because if they spew rocks, you can't avoid them when flying over
them.
A little bit after those lava fields, you will reach the final boss of this
level which is a giant tank. It has five turrets, four smalls on the corners of
the tank and one big in the middle. Focus your attention on the center turret
because that is the main one. If you destroy that, the entire tank is destroyed
which means it wouldn't be foolish to use a cluster bomb. The fight isn't over
yet though, a smaller tank appears with one big turret that fires in multiple
directions at the same time. Stay at the bottom of the screen and fly between
its shots. Even when using cluster bombs, you won't be able to destroy it in
one or two hits. It is better to use regular shots in this case and take it
more slowly. Also remember, both are only vulnerable once they start firing so
don't waste your shots by using your bombs to early.
In our third mission we need to destroy a giant bomber, but that is not the
only noteworthy enemy in this mission. It starts off with regular planes mixed
in with power-ups, but not before long a giant ship will turn up. It contains
five different turrets that need to be destroyed and they can track you so you
will need to be careful when navigating over the screen. A couple of regular
enemies later, three of these ships turn up at the same time. This might be the
time to use cluster bombs if you have them and you have one or two small planes
so you can hit two or three boats at the same time. A couple of screens later a
cargo plane will appear as an enemy, but it is easy to take out. Just aim at
the engines. It will appear more regularly during this level and at one moment
it will even flank you on three sides making for a difficult fight. Focus on
the one in the front first, but don't remain in the center of them. Retreat to
the back of the screen first. You will only move on when they are all shot
down.
The list with novelties in this mission isn't finished yet. The enemy also uses
air-mines on you, which are hanging in the air from parachutes. Those don't
take much to get show down, so you can easily carve a path through them. Just a
little while after, the main boss appears and he is quite original. He appears
from the bottom of the screen so you need to avoid it wings first and get
behind it. You can try to shoot down the turrets on the wings, but it isn't
necessary. You only need to focus on the center where the biggest turret lies
protecting the command center - the glass dome that flashes red - which is the
big weak spot of this ship. Once this is destroyed, the boss is finished.
The fourth mission brings little new to the table. The mission relies heavily
on typical small planes to shoot you down, which means you don't need any weird
strategies here. There are also a limited amount of new enemies, including a
helicopter which acts like a slow flying plane, and cruise missiles that appear
from in front of you and just try to destroy you by ramming you. They are easy
to shoot down and they fly in straight lines, so they shouldn't be a problem.
Once you have survived that first wave, you'll quickly get another three or
four waves before the game stops down with the missiles and tries to overwhelm
you with normal enemies again. Stay calm and you should easily reach the end.
The first boss is a giant helicopter with five targets on the rear and two on
the front. Like the boss of Round 3, you don't need to destroy those targets.
It is the glass dome that is guarded by those seven turrets - and has its own
firepower - that needs to be destroyed. A well-applied cluster bomb can solve
a lot of problems here. Than the second boss appears, a small and fast flying
helicopter that emits fire in every direction. One cluster bomb can destroy it
so use it if you got one, otherwise aim and evade.
This last mission is about as unremarkable as they get, with the first part
looking a lot like the previous missions. The enemies don't bring anything new
with them and their quantity isn't raised. Just concentrate on surviving and
picking up as many P power-ups as possible. After a long flight over arctic
waters - with icebergs - we will reach solid ground and the level really starts
because this is something really new. We're on an air force base with a lot of
stationary turrets and tanks. Meanwhile you're still being attacked by planes.
The amount of enemies is still really limited, so with enough power-ups this
will be quickly over. Once we leave the base, we reach a small sea again and at
this point we find the boss, a massive aircraft carrier. As an aircraft carrier
it will regularly launch new planes in a straight line, making it easy to take
them out; but watch out, other planes will appear from the bottom of the screen
meaning you need to pay attention at all times. Once you reach the hanger you
will find about fifteen turrets serving as the main weapon of the carrier. If
you have a cluster bomb, this might be the time to use them. Otherwise just try
and focus on one side of the carrier before switching to the other side to take
every turret out. Once that is done, the carrier is destroyed and the game is
finished.
