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. I have recently become the top
contributor for the project, and at the moment I'm trying to help this project
become bigger than the last. I'm picking up random games that I can find in a
friends collection and using them to finish off games one by one. One of the
games I have chosen is the fairly simple shooter Poseidon Wars 3D, which mostly
relies on your knowledge about the controls and the game mechanics. As such, a
detailed walkthrough won't help you throught the game. Instead I give you this
FAQ to learn you how to play the game and reach the end.
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2.1- Story [A201]
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Manual ------------------------------------------------------------------------
The unthinkable has happened: An invasion force has crossed the seas intent on
conquering your homeland. Your navy has been caught unprepared. Ships are sunk,
lives lost. In desperation, your country rolls out Poseidon, a fast-attack
training cruiser with green cadets aboard, including you! Your mission: Train
just as fast as you can, sharpening your fighting skills to the max. When
you're ready, set sail for hostile waters and nail the enemy ships before they
invade your home soil!
Alone at watch, you eye the inky black waters of the ocean. Suddenly, your
radar bleeps a warning: bogeys at 12 o'clock! The alarm sounds. Enemy ships
appear over the horizon. Hot lead fills the air as tracers light up the night
sky. You line up the cross hairs of your cannon on an enemy jet screaming in
toward your ship. You squeeze the trigger. Will you bag him before he sends
you to the bottom of the sea?
Cover -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Battle Stations! Battle Stations! Your country is being attacked. You'll be
fighting on the U.S.S. Poseidon; an armor-plated attack cruiser with radar,
sonar, 76mm cannons and surface-to-surface missiles. First come the training
rounds. They'll throw everything they have at you... jets, cruisers, torpedoes,
cannons. And then the fun really starts! Combat missions! You're on the open
seas. You have blips on the radar. Line up your gunsights and let 'cm have it.
You pick up an enemy cruiser on your sonar. Get ready with an armor piercing
missile and send them to Davy Jones locker. If you complete your missions, you
will be awarded with the Navy's highest honor...a promotion to Fleet Admiral.
Best of all, you can play it in SegaScope 3-D or in 2-D. So everyone can play.
But command the Poseidon well, or the enemy will send you to the briny deep!
Poseidon Wars 3D is a one-player game, but the game still uses two controllers.
The most basic functions are on the first controller and you don't need a 2nd
controller to play the game. Some more advanced functions are present on the
second controller, so you might consider hooking up your second controller.
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/ | \
| Move | You would think shooting would be the most important part of |
| | the controls, but that isn't true. Moving the cursor is the |
| | most important and you use the D-Pad to achieve this. |
\_____________|_______________________________________________________________/
/ | \
| Shoot | Shooting is very easy in this game, you just need to press 1. |
| | You can't run out of bullets, so you don't need to worry that |
| | you won't have enough firepower. |
\_____________|_______________________________________________________________/
/ | \
| Missiles | Your second weapon consists of ship to ship missiles that are |
| | too slow to hit any aircrafts. They aren't necessary for the |
| | regular ships, but ideal to attack any bigger ones. |
\_____________|_______________________________________________________________/
/ | \
| Escape | Sometimes you just want to run away because you can't win a |
| | mission and you just want to quit. On a second controller you |
| | can push the 2 button to leave the mission. |
\_____________|_______________________________________________________________/
/ | \
| 2D/3D | Normally the game is played in 3D, but by pressing button 1 |
| | on the second controller, you can switch to 2D. This is ideal |
| | if you can't play the game in 3D.
\_____________|_______________________________________________________________/
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2.3- How To Play [A203]
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The game consists out of thirteen missions in total, starting with a couple of
training missions and ending with eight regular missions. The five training
missions show you the different possibilities of the games before you can make
the choice between the eight following to destroy the invading troops. The game
is played in the exact same way during all missions, but they are longer and
harder. In each mission you have a limited amount of health and fuel to reach
the end and destroy the command ship. If you run out of health or fuel, it is
'Game Over' and you need to restart the mission.
The five training missions are called Lance CL-38, Crush the Convoy Fleet,
Manticore CV-57, Recover The Port and CGN-63 Halbard. The first four can be
tackled in any order by pressing left or right on the D-Pad. CGN-63 Halbard is
always the last mission. Once you have finished, you can start the eight actual
missions. The first seven - Gauntlet CG-47, Golem BBN 62, Crush the Convoy
Fleet, Bullova CGN-51, Cyclops CVS-62, Recover The Port and Hydra SSN-11 - can
be tackled in any order. Sea Devil CVN-68 is always the last mission. Switching
is done by using the D-Pad.
During each mission you'll use up fuel and missiles, and lose health. Luckily
your ship will be regularly upgraded. For instance, your fire power increases.
During Training Missions 2, 4 and 5; and Battle Missions 2, 3, 4 and 6 your
fuel and missiles are completely replenished. Your health is repaired by 1/4 at
the end of each mission, and completely at the end of Training Missions 2 and 4
and Battle Missions 2, 4 and 6. Keep this in your mind. If you see you have a
lot of health, it might be wiser to start off another mission first. This goes
double for fuel because you can also recover it by destroying fuel tankers, one
of the most common enemies.
In battles you need to use radar and sonar to spot where enemies will appear
and take care of them as fast as possible. During missions it isn't important
to aim 100% correctly, the physics of the game are a bit off so it is very easy
to hit planes from a great distance. Start by firing at the planes and then
focus on the ships if you have to chose. You can also set up a curtain of fire
by continuously firing which helps you guard against missiles and torpedoes.
Once you have fired, move your cursor and aim for the next enemy for maximum
efficiency.
During missions you will use up fuel, which is normal, and take damage which is
bothersome. The damage can affect your Radar, your Sonar, your Missile Launcher
and your Engine. Your Radar and Sonar will malfunction if they take too much
damage, your engine will start using up more fuel and your missiles will lose
accuracy. Each of these is indicated by a little lamp. If the lamp turns red,
you're in trouble. If the lamp turns black, you're screwed. The radar and the
sonar stop working, missiles can't be launched anymore and your engine uses up
a big ass load of fuel. This is the sign you need to start a repair mission.
At the end of the mission you get an overview of your achievement, and a score
that is added to your total score. Based on your total score you can reach new
ranks until you reach the top rank of Fleet Admiral, which is your ultimate
purpose. You have to be careful though, you also lose points for using up your
fuel, firing missiles, escaping, taking too much time and taking damages. Like
this, it is possible to lose points and ranks if you screw up too much.
You need to reach the rank of Ensign to pass the training missions. Otherwise
you need to restart. If you don't reach Cadet after the five missions, you fail
and have to start from scratch. If you're a Cadet, you need to restart your
training.
_____________________________________________________________________________
/ | \
| Ranking | Points |
\______________________|______________________________________________________/
| | |
| Failure | 0 - 4,999 Points |
| Cadet | 5,000 - 14,999 Points |
| Ensign | 15,000 - 24,999 Points |
| Lieutenant Jr. | 25,000 - 34,999 Points |
| Lieutenant | 35,000 - 44,999 Points |
| Lieutenant Commander | 45,000 - 54,999 Points |
| Commander | 55,000 - 64,999 Points |
| Captain | 65,000 - 74,999 Points |
| Rear Admiral | 75,000 - 84,999 Points |
| Vice Admiral | 85,000 - 94,999 Points |
| Admiral | 95,000 - 104,999 Points |
| Fleet Admiral | 105,000 - 999,999 Points |
\______________________|______________________________________________________/
We know there are a lot of ways to lose points, but luckily you can also win
points. You gain points by destroying the enemy. This chart shows how much you
gain.
_____________________________________________________________________________
/ | \
| Enemy | Points & Benefits |
\______________________________|______________________________________________/
| | |
| AV-220 Attacker | 600 Points. |
| AWACS Early Warning Aircraft | 1,000 Points, Less Enemy Aircrafts. |
| Bullova | 2,000 Points. |
| Cyclops | 3,000 Points. |
| FA-129 Fighter | 600 Points. |
| Frigate | 500 Points. |
| Gauntlet | 1,500 Points. |
| Golem | 1,500 Points. |
| Halbard | 2,000 Points. |
| Hydra | 3,000 Points. |
| Lance | 1,000 Points. |
| Manticore | 1,000 Points. |
| Missiles | 10 Points. |
| Morning Star | 1,000 Points. |
| Phoenix | 1,000 Points. |
| Sea Devil | 5,000 Points. |
| SH-716 Attack Helicopter | 600 Points. |
| Tankers | 200 Points, Extra Fuel. |
| Torpedoes | 10 Points. |
\______________________________|______________________________________________/
