___________.__ __ .__ __
\_ _____/|__|______ ____ _______/ |________|__| | __ ___________
| __) | \_ __ \_/ __ \ / ___/\ __\_ __ \ | |/ // __ \_ __ \
| \ | || | \/\ ___/ \___ \ | | | | \/ | <\ ___/| | \/
\___ / |__||__| \___ >____ > |__| |__| |__|__|_ \\___ >__|
\/ \/ \/ \/ \/
FIRESTRIKER FAQ v1.01
-----------
by TIDQ (Email at the Bottom)
+=============================================================================+
& Table of Contents &
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
For ease of use, hit Ctrl+F to search for a specific section name or number.
You can also search directly for a game quote.
1.0 Preface
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Game Basics
1.3 Characters
1.4 Controls
1.5 Powerups
2.0 Walkthrough
2.1 Stage 1
2.2 Stage 2
2.3 Optional Stage 1
2.4 Stage 3
2.5 Stage 4
2.5 Stage 5
2.6 Stage 6
2.7 Stage 7
2.8 Stage 8
2.9 Stage 9
2.10 Stage 10
2.11 Stage 11
2.13 Optional Stage 2
2.14 Stage 12
3.0 Miscellany
3.1 Legal Stuff
3.2 Emailing Me
3.3 Version History
3.4 Special Thanks
+=============================================================================+
& 1.0 Preface &
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
================
1.1 Introduction
----------------
Back in the later days of the SNES, a game by unknown developer DTMC was
quietly released and never really got off the ground. The sheer originality of
it though would make it unforgettable by the few who actually managed to play
it. That game is Firestriker, the subject of this FAQ.
The concept is interesting. You are a knight charged to save the four kingdoms
of the world, except normal weapons are ineffective against the monsters.
Instead, you must use your sword to strike a glowing orb called the Trialight
around the screen like a pinball. The Trialight is used to destroy enemies and
obstacles as you make your way through dungeons. There's even a multiplayer
game for up to four people.
This is the first version of this FAQ. The walkthrough is fully complete, so I
am considering this a complete guide with not much, if anything, left to add.
The only part of the game I've neglected is multiplayer, which I might add
later if people email and express interest, or if I just feel like it. This
game is so unknown that I'm not really holding out on the email thing though.
===============
1.2 Game Basics
---------------
In Firestriker, you play... well, the Firestriker. There are actually four
Firestrikers, and you'll recruit the other three as you progress through the
game. They all pretty much have the same powers, but sometimes you need a
particular one for a given dungeon.
The dungeons are spread across an overhead world map akin to Super Mario 3.
Some of the dungeons need to be completed before others, but for a large part,
you have some freedom to pick when you want to do certain dungeons. My guide
is just the suggested order in which you tackle the stages.
Each dungeon is divided into a number of rooms, all in a vertical line. You
start at the bottom of the dungeon and have to find a way into the next room
going up, whether that's killing all the enemies or finding a key or simply
plowing through obstacles and forcing your way through.
There are two ways to lose. The trialight is impervious to damage, but the
Firestriker (ie the character) has a health meter represented by a line of
hearts, ala Zelda. The trialight also acts like a pinball in that it's
constantly falling towards the bottom of the screen if you don't hit it. If the
ball falls off the bottom of the screen, you lose a life. Lose one life, and
you start the room over. Lose all your lives and you have to start the entire
dungeon over. You have infinite continues, though.
To help prevent the ball from falling off the screen, you have a nameless
helper Mage sitting at the bottom of the screen. If the trialight comes
anywhere near the Mage, he automatically volleys it back upwards. He's also
invincible to damage, and most importantly, you can position him yourself with
the L and R buttons to protect weak spots in the floor.
==============
1.3 Characters
--------------
________________
The Firestrikers
With the exception of Garum's slow speed, there is no difference between the
Firestrikers' play style that I can see readily. You are required to use
specific Firestrikers in specific stages though.
- Slader
Slader is a medieval knight and the first character you control. He hails
from the Kingdom of WIND, where the Trialight resides. That is why you get
to control him first. That, and he's the only Firestriker alive at the
beginning of the game.
- Eno
This guy is a humanoid bird. Eno hails from the Kingdom of Fire. He doesn't
have to be the first Firestriker you recruit, but he's the first in my
walkthrough, as he's the easiest to get.
- Garum
Well, Garum is very cool-looking. I give him that. However, he is so slow.
The dungeons where he's required are some of the most troublesome in the
game. He's a golem/robot/whatever from the Kingdom of Earth. I really don't
recommend using him other than the two dungeons he's needed.
- Loa
The lovely Loa is a female mermaid. Yes, I know that's redundant to call a
mermaid female, but there was Aquaman. She hails from the Kingdom of Water,
and she'll probably be the last character you unlock.
________________
Other Characters
- King of the WIND
The guy who sends you on your quest is the King of the Wind Kingdom. Either
English isn't his first language, or the translators had a rough time with
his dialogue. In any case, you'll learn much more about the complexities and
turmoils of the King's inner conflict as the game progresses.
- Wylde
The big baddie of the world of Firestriker. Wylde is an Arch Mage who
apparently was once not so bad. Ironically, the only thing that can harm
Wylde, the trialight, was created by Wylde himself. Well, that was rather
stupid of him. He would have free range to take over the world if only he
hadn't done that.
- Spel
Spel is the first of Wylde's minions. He guards the Seal of Wind and looks
like a flying tiger.
- Mental
Mental is the second of Wylde's minions, who guards the Seal of Fire. I
honestly can't tell if Mental is a man or a woman. I've gone back and forth
trying to decide.
- Morel
This guy is a very angry rock wall. He can't move, but he spits a mean
fireball. He's another of Wylde's monster brigade, and he guards the Seal of
Earth.
- Intel
Yes, the evil company behind the Pentium Processor is now working for Wylde.
I knew that was going to happen! Actually, it's probably a coincidence. He
guards the Seal of Water.
============
1.4 Controls
------------
- A Button
The A button causes your character to spin around, hitting the trialight from
any side. You can hit the trialight in one of eight different directions. The
way the trialight is hit is not dependent on where you hit the ball, but
rather what direction you're moving. If you're running right, the ball will
go right. If you're running diagonally, the ball will go diagonally. However,
pinball gravity will curve any trajectories downward. If you're standing
still when hitting the ball, the direction you last walked before stopping
will determine where the ball flies. Note that it's harder to hit diagonally
if you're not moving.
Also, the A button will shoot your initial shot when starting a room.
- B Button
The B button does the same thing as the A button, except you can't use it to
start off a room.
- Y button
The Y button does a Power Shot. Power Shots are limited in supply. They only
fire directly upward. Normal shots will bounce randomly when hitting an
obstacle or enemy. A power shot will cut through any destroyable obstacles,
not necessarily killing them but at least the ball won't get knocked out of
the way. Breakaway blocks that normally take more than one hit to kill will
instantly vaporize. I don't use this very much at all, but there are times
where its use is apparent.
- X button
Not used.
- L/R buttons
Move the Mage left and right. There will be areas of the bottom of the screen
where the ball can fall through, and you can position and reposition the Mage
where he's most needed. Pretty simple.
============
1.5 Powerups
------------
Powerups are most commonly found in treasure chests, although enemies often
drop them as well. Treasure chests actually can be destroyed without the
Trialight, but you'll receive damage for doing so. In other words, just do it
the right way.
- Heart
A small heart will refill one unit of health on the health meter.
- Large Heart
The larger heart is uncommon, but it will fully refill your health.
- Lifebox
This increases your maximum health by one heart. There are six Lifeboxes in
the game. Four of them are required to be gotten upon beating each of Wylde's
four minions. The other two are in optional dungeons.
- Power Shot
Pick up a powerup with the world "POW" on it to get another Power Shot. You
can have a maximum of three saved up.
- 1-Up
A powerup with a star on it is a 1-Up. You can have a maximum of three lives
at a time. Losing a life makes you start over your current room. Losing all
lives means you have to start the dungeon over.
+=============================================================================+
& 2.0 Walkthrough &
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The levels do not have to be completed in an exact order. The stages are
numbered in this guide according to my suggested path through the game. Because
of this, and because they're unnamed, each levelled is identified by its
location on the world map.
Once you're done listening to the king, head on to the first stage.
===========
2.1 Stage 1
-----------
Location: The big tree right next to the starting castle.
This is a beginner stage. There's really not much to comment on, but I'll try
my best.
- Room 1
Take the opportunity to grow accustomed to the controls here. Practice
launching the ball forward, to the side, and diagonally. The enemies and
treasure here are optional. The main goal is breaking the blocks in the back
to advance into the next room. Do that when you're ready.
A skill you'll find useful for other levels where you have to break blocks in
the back is to advance right up next to the blocks. If you can continuously
volley the Trialight upwards at that short distance, you'll take care of
obstacles more quickly.
- Room 2
Same thing as the first room. The enemies and treasure are optional. Take
them out if you like, then power your way through the back wall. Beginner's
stuff.
- Room 3
Immediately at the start, things will drop at you. If you can kill any of
them, they'll become hearts. DON'T bother trying to kill the spike balls.
They can die, but it takes many hits. Too many. Instead, just aim for the
exit.
- Room 4
The blocks here are already weakened. I recommend just plowing right up the
middle and finishing the stage.
Next is Spel's fortress. If you notice the path going directly north from the
tree, you can't go there yet. The path will open after winning the next stage
though.
===========
2.2 Stage 2
-----------
Location: To the west of the big tree. It looks like a green Parthenon.
- Room 1
Notice that here, the weak spot on the bottom of the screen isn't in the
middle. Rather, it's divided on the left and right sides of the screen. This
isn't the last time you'll see that. Move the Mage over one side, then you'll
only have to worry about the other. I find this level easier if you go up
the left or right side, but then you'll miss the treasure. It's a toss-up.
Don't worry about the enemies and just concentrate on clearing a path.
- Room 2
All the treasure chests in this room contain Power Shots, so feel free to use
plenty of them. They'll rip through the blocks, so take advantage. Powershots
are useless on the back door though. You'll have to use quick volleys to
open it bit by bit. Squeeze through and you're ready for Spel.
- Room 3
Here's your first boss.
****************
* Boss: SPEL *
****************
Spel shouldn't give you much trouble. He constantly shoots green projectiles
in a spread pattern towards the bottom of the screen. The projectiles can be
taken out in one swat of your Trialight. The big annoyance is the
projectiles throwing off your aim for his weak point, which is obvious the
glowing orb in the middle. You'll know when you've registered damage because
he'll flash gray and cause small explosions. The explosions HURT, so back
away after you hit him.
You might also notice that the orb changes from red to blue and back again.
When it's red, your attack will bounce off him. He's only vulnerable when
it's blue. Keep to the bottom of the screen and volley shots straight at
him. He can't attack straight ahead, so just stand right in front of him
when you can. About six direct hits will do him in.
After the battle, you'll receive a Lifebox to increase your maximum health by
one. Several new pathes will also open up. In fact, the levels don't have to be
taken in a particular order. The order of levels from here on out is simply the
order that I personally used.
====================
2.3 Optional Stage 1
--------------------
Location: The previously blocked cave directly to the north of the big tree.
The first optional stage is very simple and has another heart container inside,
so there's little reason to not do this stage.
- Room 1
In the first room, don't worry about the ball falling off the bottom of the
screen, because it CAN'T. Of course, while the bottom of the screen is
invulnerable to breaking, so is the top of the screen. Instead of breaking
though, the goal here is to defeat the two enemies in the room, a giant red
blob and a giant green blob. The red blob will make wimpy small green blobs,
and the giant green blob will shoot bullets at you. They take a lot of hits
to kill, but there are no major obstacles in the room, giving lots of room to
move around. Don't forget the treasure chests in the corner of the room,
because you won't have a chance to nab them after the blobs are defeated.
- Room 2
Nothing hard here. There's a single chest in the middle of the room. The
holes in the floor can be traversed by the ball, but not you. Hit the chest
with the ball then take the long way around to nab it. A new Lifebox is
yours.
===========
2.4 Stage 3
-----------
Location: A brown castle southwest of where Spel's fortress used to be.
- Room 1
Here, you'll be introduced to an annoying obstacle, the brown pot. Well,
they're probably not pots, but they do resemble pots from Zelda fame.
Regardless, these pot-like objects will allow the free movement of the
Trialight over them, but they will act like a wall when you try to walk over
them. This makes following the ball up the screen difficult. Try to stay back
and avoid the bullets. Just hammer an opening up the middle of the screen and
you're done.
- Room 2
The goal in this room is to take out all of the enemies. That includes the
flames at the top of the room. The red flame spawns annoying spiders that
home in on you. Fortunately, one well-angled shot will take it out. The
bottom of the screen has two blocks that are weak and will disintegrate
without much effot, making it easier to gameover by falling off the bottom.
- Room 3
This area is pretty easy. Take care of the enemies in the middles of the
room, then try to bounce towards the left or right side. The Trialight will
bounce around so much that it'll most likely end up eliminating the flames by
itself. Kill all enemies to advance.
- Room 4
Finally a good use for the power shot. Two well-aimed powershots can
eliminate both rows of flames in a matter of seconds. The problem is getting
the ball in position to do so. In all else fails, just bounce the ball around
to kill the flames. Although that will take a fair share longer to do. Defeat
the evil blue fire, and you're done with the stage.
===========
2.5 Stage 4
-----------
Location: A tower directly south of Stage 3.
- Room 1
The starting room has several baddies to annoy you, but the goal here is
simply to pound your way into the wall of the next room. I suggest going up
just right of the middle, although you can also advance up the far left. Do
close short volleys to knock down the back wall and you'll be done hopefully
quickly.
- Room 2
It's a boss fight!
*******************
* Boss: FIRIGER *
*******************
In this room is a mini-boss of sorts. It looks like a centipede at first,
but shooting it will reveal that it's actually a bunch of little bugs that
scatter about. The bugs move so slowly that you might not notice that
they're even moving. You don't have to kill all of them. In fact, after
killing only about half of the bug horde, the game said that I had won. Go
figure. Easy stage.
After clearing the place, you'll unlock ENO, the "STRIKER of FIRE." ENO is
needed to venture into the next stage. Now you can also select a different
striker before each stage.
===========
2.6 Stage 5
-----------
Location: To the west of Stages 3 and 4. It's another Parthenon-type building.
Note that the game will kick you out and back to the world map if you aren't
using ENO.
- Room 1
The block in the back of the room can only be moved by ENO. The block needs
to be hit many times before you can advance, so you might want to take out
the enemies first. Homing spiders and spiked balls swarm about. Interestingly
enough, you don't have to move the block ALL the way back to advance. After
enough hits you can just walk forward and through to the next room.
- Room 2
This room is a gimme. I really don't think anyone will have trouble here.
First take care of the bats near the entrance. They'll probably run into you,
given the close quarters. However, all of the treasure chests around will
probably give you enough health to make up for any damage taken. After the
two bats are gone, just take your time volleying open the door in the back.
- Room 3
Now we have the second major boss of the game.
******************
* Boss: MENTAL *
******************
Mental fights very, very similarly to Spel, with three basic differences.
Instead of firing four projectiles at a time, Mental fires five, including
one straight in front of him. Also, after Mental takes damage, instead of a
ring of explosions like Spel, he'll dive straight forward. In other words,
don't stand in front of him after he's hit. The biggest difference in this
fight though is the bottom of the screen. In almost all stages up until now,
the weak tiles on the bottom of the screen have been concentrated in the
middle. Here, the center is solid, while the far left and the far right are
the weak points. There's no way the Mage can cover all that ground all the
time. Instead, try to keep the mage covering one side, and have yourself
watching the other side.
Other than those differences, it's precisely the same fight. The orb in the
middle is the weak point, and it's only vulnerable part of the time. Keeping
the ball from falling off the screen is the number one. Be patient, and
he'll whittle down. This is the toughest room of the game so far. No less
than ten direct hits will bring him down.
===========
2.7 Stage 6
-----------
Location: A village-looking place on the path directly west from where Spel's
fortress used to be. This is the first of the three "ice" stages.
- Room 1
For some reason, this room takes a while. The goal is to rid the screen of
enemies. The giant snowballs kill themselves. The main annoyance are the
black squares that spawn the killer mouthes. Use diagonal attack to take them
out. After the squares are gone, take care of the runaway mouthes. There are
also three little snow creatures that all contain health in them if you need
it.
- Room 2
In this room, you have to kill all of the enemies except for the little guys
in the bottom left corner. Don't let them out if you can help it and just
keep bouncing the ball until the bats, the black square, and the mouth are
dead.
===========
2.8 Stage 7
-----------
Location: Directly east of Stage 6. It's a cave.
- Room 1
This is a great place to get hearts. Although you'll probably take your share
of damage as well. You have to kill most of the blobs before the door will
open, but they all drop hearts upon killing. The whole area is clear of
obstacles, so just run amok and don't let the ball fall off the bottom.
- Room 2
Time for another mini-boss. Huzzah!
*****************
* Boss: ZAMZA *
*****************
Yet another mini-boss that isn't too tough. It's tougher than Firiger
though. The two metal scorpions will fire bullets as they pace up and down
the screen. The floating chest contains the rare large heart, which refills
your life to full. You might consider saving it until partway through the
fight. As you've probably noticed, the camera follows the Trialight, not
your character. Since there's a huge, gaping hole around this room, I
suggest standing completely still when the ball goes to the top of the
screen. It's better to risk getting shot than to walk blindly into a hole.
Just keep pummeling until the scorpions bite the dust.
After the battle, you'll unlock GARUM, yet another Striker. He's of the EARTH
variety, and is needed to complete a couple levels. He also looks pretty cool.
Too bad he's very annoying to use, as you'll find out in the next couple of
levels.
===========
2.9 Stage 8
-----------
The game will kick you back to the world map if you don't use GARUM on this
stage.
- Room 1
This stage looks simple, but it's a pain in the butt. You need to hammer the
rock in the back until it knocks back and you can walk through. However, the
ball bounces off it aimlessly, making it impossible to do a continuous
volley. There are holes on the side, blocks in the middle, spike balls
everywhere, and on top of that, GARUM is so SLOW. Never use him on levels you
don't have to. I suggest actually keeping GARUM near the top of the screen
and just controlling the Mage to lob the ball back up to him. You're too slow
to walk back and forth between the top and bottom of the screen a couple
dozen times.
- Room 2
There are a ton of blocks to break here. Fortunately, the opening at the
bottom is small, so the mage can protect it easily from the constant
bouncing. You might notice that not all of the blocks here are breakable,
even though they're all identical. The openings are on the left and right of
the beginning. The stage can be grueling only because Garum's slowness lets
the ball get away from him so much. You should be able to finish it without
much trouble. It just takes a while.
- Room 3
There's nothing friendly about this room. It looks intimidating from the
get-go. Obviously, you need to take out the projectile spewers on the side of
the level. Spike the ball sideways into the ones near the bottom. The ones
near the top pretty much need to be taken out with diagonal attacks though.
If you haven't perfected the diagonal attack yet, now's a good time to master
it.
- Room 4
This room will probably be a godsend. I was low on health by the time I got
here. If you can hang through the first three rooms, you'll be rewarded with
large heart powerups here, letting you refill yourself as necessary. Use one
at the beginning and save one for later. Take the ball up the left or right
side. Doesn't matter which. Either you need to wait for the spike balls to
drop to the bottom of the screen before ascending, or try to sneak the ball
in between the ball and the wall. Then you'll need to walk through the ball
and take damage, but you can still get the ball to the top of the screen that
way. Keep bouncing the ball in a small area until you open the blocks to the
middle of the screen. The mouth will probably give you a lot of damage unless
you run back to the bottom. Try to kill it. Then go back and grab the last
large heart if you need it. Once you shimmy the ball towards the door in the
middle, you can use continuous volleys to open it since the walls are so
close.
- Room 5
Finally, the boss.
*****************
* Boss: MOREL *
*****************
If the game has seemed easy up to this point, you might change your mind
now. Morel can be tough. Unlike the last two elemental monsters, this guy
doesn't run around. He's simply a face on a wall. However, like Mental, the
weak tiles on the bottom of the screen are divided. Have the Mage guard one
and you keep an eye on the other. Even then, Garum still might have a hard
time getting over to one side in order to catch the ball.
Morel's attack pattern is fortunately decipherable. He will start foaming
fire in his mouth. That will eventually turn into a chain of fire. The chain
will first travel horizontally until it's directly over you. Then it will
dive downwards. It attacks in a L-shape, in other words. When he spews fire,
one of his eyes will turn red and become a weak point.
This leaves two ways to attack the red eye. The first is with a diagonal
volley across the screen. The problem with this is that you have to climb
higher up the screen for a diagonal volley to hit him. Climbing higher means
you probably won't have time to dodge.
The better way to attack is to position yourself and the Trialight in the
middle of the screen right when he attacks. In general, to avoid the fire
chain, stay low and move in the opposite direction. In other words, if the
chain starts out moving right, go left. If it goes left, you go right. If
you start near the center, you can dodge the fire more quickly after it's
spewed. When his mouth starts foaming, fire straight up at an eye. Then move
over to the other side quickly. Hopefully, with timing practice you'll score
a hit. Often times, the eye you're aiming for won't be the weak point, so
just be persistent.
The good thing is that when he's damaged, he'll shower rocks on the screen.
These take just one hit to destroy, and all of them yield a heart to help
refill some health. And you will most likely need that health. Keep it up
until he's toasted rubble. Pick up the new Lifebox as your reward.
============
2.10 Stage 9
------------
Location: The town directly south of where Spel's fortress used to be.
This is a short level and should be an incredibly easy breath of fresh air.
- Room 1
Simple. There are a medusa head and two hands floating around. Take out the
head to make a key appear. The head will drift randomly, but the hands will
home in on you. Keep moving to avoid them or knock them out of the way with
the Trialight. Grab the key to advance to the next room.
- Room 2
Here you'll find a few rows of eggs. There's a key in one of them, and it's
always the one in the middle of the back row. If you're low on health though,
I suggest breaking all the eggs until you find ample hearts. Some eggs have
grubs in them, but they're easily defeated. Grab the key to finish this short
stage.
=============
2.11 Stage 10
-------------
Location: Directly south of Stage 9. It's a cave.
Note that you will be kicked back to the world map if you don't use Garum in
this level.
- Room 1
Extremely simple. Just hit the ball straight forward and follow it on foot.
The passage to the exit is narrow, so you can just keep volleying forward
without the ball getting away. Knock the block backwards until you're
advanced.
- Room 2
Garum's lack of speed will be a liability here. The path to the exit is
straightforward. Just clear a path of breakaway blocks, but the map is
covered with little blobs that will slowly home in on you. I found myself
conserving more health by going for the exit rather than trying to kill all
enemies first.
- Room 3
Start by quick volleying the giant snowballs to death. You can find the key
to the door in the upper-left, but there's a 1-up on the right side of the
map you might want to grab first. This room is light on enemies, and it
shouldn't give you much problem.
- Room 4
Yet another mini-boss guarding the last Firestriker.
*****************
* Boss: MOURA *
*****************
This boss is strangely enough just four boulders running around the screen.
What's fortunate is that these guys are naturally slow enough for even Garum
to evade. The only challenge is that when these guys get hit, then bounce
quickly across the screen and will probably hit you. The boulders only move
in diagonals so try to keep your distance. When possible, let the ball do
its thing by itself and volley from across the screen. If you have a good
bit of health left, this will be a piece of cake.
Beat Moura, and you'll unlock Loa, "STRIKER of WATER." Now you don't ever have
to use the crappy Garum ever again. Hooray!
=============
2.12 Stage 11
-------------
Location: Southeast of Stage 9. It's another Parthenon-type building sitting in
the middle of the ocean.
Note that it's necessary to complete this level with LOA. Otherwise, your life
will slowly drain away. Unlike other levels where they want you to use a
specific striker, this one will not kick you back to the world map if you make
the wrong choice. Instead, you simply have to let yourself die until you're out
of spare lives. So please, don't accidentally make the wrong choice here.
- Room 1
The one annoyance here is a blue eel creature swimming around. He can
actually target bullets at you to the nearest 45 degrees. Once you can
position the trialight in front of the exit though, you can quick-volley it
open easily. Don't bother trying to take out the enemies unless they're
really bothering you.
- Room 2
The most annoying thing about this room is that the crabs take so many hits
to kill. The bottom of the screen is easily guarded by the Mage, so just try
to get the crabs out of the way. Avoiding damage is almost impossible, so
just get in position to make a lot of hits and go guns blazing. The door on
top is the standard one that opens a little bit more with each hit.
- Room 3
Already at the boss. This stage is obviously a lot shorter than the Morel's
stage.
*****************
* Boss: INTEL *
*****************
Intel can be easy or hard. It depends on yur ball control. Most of the
bottom of the screen is taken up by breakaway blocks. In addition, there's a
wall that extends down most of the screen. This means if the ball gets away
from you, it can start bouncing frantically along the bottom of the screen
and fall off.
Try to keep the ball either near the far right or far left of the screen at
all times and hit the ball directly upwards as much as possible to keep it
under control. This works out well since the boss only leaves himself
vulnerable of the left and right sides of the screen.
Intel's weak point is the shiny orb on his head. The head will swing all
around the screen, spitting red bullets straight forward. It only becomes
exposed to attack when it swings all the way right or left, but it's
generally not that hard to hit. After he gets hit, he'll wait a few seconds
and then lunge at you. Running far left or right should fix that, but don't
lose the ball while you're busy dodging. Also watch out for the mini
explosions on the screen which can be avoided by staying low. Intel is
easier than Morel, so hopefully by this point you have the hang of it.
=====================
2.13 Optional Stage 2
---------------------
Location: Just before you go into Wylde's base, go west from where the crystal
barrier is/used to be. You can only access this area once all four seals have
been broken, and it looks like a small circle of stones.
This stage is a must before you take on the final battle with Wylde. Yes.
- Room 1
Treasure chests! Tons of treasure chests are abound, and the only thing that
can stop you is accidentally hitting the ball into the exit. Fill up on on
Power shots, 1-ups, and probably most importantly, health. When you're done,
hit the ball up the middle.
- Room 2
A lone chest sits in the middle of this room. Aim your initial shot anywhere
but the middle straight into the rock, and you'll fly right out of the level.
Use diagonal shots to get the ball into position and then hit it sideways
into the chest. Now you have the final Lifebox.
If you accidentally slip past the Lifebox or want to grab more powerups, simply
re-enter the level as many times as you like and go again.
=============
2.14 Stage 12
-------------
Location: The north middle of the map. It's the only thing that looks like it
could be a final dungeon.
Before going to the final stage, make sure you've gotten both of the optional
Lifeboxes from the optional stages. Also, make sure your health is at least
near full capacity.
- Room 1
This will be one of the worst rooms you face so far, and there's not a whole
lot of advice to give. There are three medusa heads, and they will each spit
out a clone trialight. The trialight clones only take one hit to kill, but
the medusa heads will immediately make a new one for everyone that's
destroyed. That meaning, the number of clone trialights flying around will
always equal the number of remaining medusa heads.
The way to tell the difference between your trialight and the bad ones is
their trajectory. The bad trialights will bounce with a consistent speed and
angle, like a pool ball. Your trialight will of course float around in a
pinball fashion as per usual.
There's almost no way to make it through this stage and take no damage.
However, you can take much less damage by staying away from the action
entirely. There will be so much stuff bouncing around the screen that you
won't need to put your hands on the trialight to keep it in motion. Let it
hit things on its own and stand off to the side.
- Room 2
This room is deceiving. At first it looks like the goal is to defeat the
statues. Oddly enough, it appears that only the bottom two statues are
defeatable. At least, playing for five minutes straight didn't allow me to
kill anything other than the bottom two. The goal is simply to get through
the top of the screen. All six statues will be firing bullets trying to keep
you down. There's a very easy way to get past them though. POWER SHOT. Just
a single power shot can get you past the statues. However, you still have to
break the blocks into the next room. If you accidentally let the ball fall
back down to the bottom, then your power shot was wasted. Well, you have
three of them. If you run out, you'll probably take a lot of damage before
beating the room.
One unusual aspect about this room is that there are four exits in the back
of it. It DOES matter which one you go in. You will fight a boss in Room 3.
Which boss you fight depends on which exit you choose. Here are the exits and
corresponding bosses.
Far Left - Mental
Second from the Left - Intel
Third from the Left - Morel
Far Right - Spel
Obviously, Spel is the easiest boss, so please aim for the far right.
- Room 3
It's a boss! WHICH boss it is depends on which exit you chose, as explained
just now. If you need reminder of these bosses' patterns, they're elsewhere
in the guide.
- Room 4
Finally, you've made it. It's the evil Wylde. Get ready.
*****************
* Boss: WYLDE *
*****************
Wylde is absolutely pathetic at first, and intentionally so. He basically
just floats around the screen for you to hit him. Eventually he'll shoot
very slow projectiles. Those projectiles will become hearts when shot if
you need them. It's not possible to make it this far and have trouble with
Wylde. Too easy. Just hit him ten times and he'll go down... or will he?
Of course it wasn't that easy.
Now he'll transform. There are a couple of things to watch. First off, he
has a large shield. This thing will bounce back shots quick and hard. Watch
your weak tiles and make sure they don't break. The snake-like arm
wandering around your screen is the target. Much like Intel, it's easiest
to hit on the left or right side and he fires projectiles straight ahead.
If you need it, the projectiles turn into hearts. Very handy. When he's
hit, his head will lunge at you, so move sideways. Ten hits will take it
down.
Hold on. That's just the arm. Your next target is the shield. You can't hit
the shield directly, so you'll have to take out the shoulder of the arm
holding the shield. This is harder to hit, which is why it's so important
to take out the attack arm first. Now you can take your time and eliminate
the shield with no pressure. About ten more hits will do it.
Without either arm, the obvious main target is now Wylde's eye. His attack
pattern will now resemble Morel's. He will send out fire in L-shaped
fireballs. Use the same strategy as before of staying near the middle and
moving in the opposite direction as the fire. This is in some ways easier
than Morel, because Wylde's eye never closes. On the other hand, he also
fires shots faster. Let the ball first hit off the wall. When the ball
comes back directly in front of you, then fire straight forward. If you can
survive hitting him ten times in the eye, you'll win!
Congratulations! You've beaten the game!
+=============================================================================+
& 3.0 Miscellany &
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
_______________
3.1 Legal Stuff
This FAQ is Copyright 2005 by me. Any publishing of this guide without my
explicit permission isn't allowed. Plagiarizers will be hunted down.
Firestriker is the Copyright property of DTMC. I am in no way affiliated with
the company or its employees.
_______________
3.2 Emailing Me
My email is
[email protected]
I would love to hear any feedback. If you have a question, please make sure it
isn't already answered in the guide. If you report something missing from the
guide and I decide to add it, I'll give full credit.
___________________
3.3 Version History
2/8/05 - v1.0 The first and complete version of the FAQ is submitted to
GameFAQs.
11/15/05 - v1.01 Fixed the table of contents, which was inconsistent with the
sections in the actual body of the FAQ.
__________________
3.4 Special Thanks
Special thanks to DTMC for making this game, and thanks to Nintendo for
distributing it.
Thanks to GameFAQs for hosting the guide and being an overall great resource
on the internet.
______________________________________________
Firestriker FAQ (c) 2005 John "TIDQ" Robertson
