Walkthrough for It Came from the Desert for Turbografx-16 CD
Created by: Hugues Johnson
http://huguesjohnson.com/
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= About this guide =
===========================
This is the text-only version of the walkthrough posted at:
http://huguesjohnson.com/guides/icftd-tgcd/
The content is the same more or less. The screenshots on the original
guide are neat but not necessary to explain the walkthrough.
The Turbografx-16 version of It Came from the Desert is very different
from the Amiga and Sega Genesis versions, this guide will be of no use
for either of them.
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= General strategy =
===========================
It Came from the Desert features (somewhat) non-linear game play. You
have a certain level of control over what events you see and which
mini-games you play. Unfortunately it's very easy to get sidetracked
and wind up in a position where it's impossible to finish. The first
time I played through I made every effort to avoid the tunnels because
they were a pain, turns out they're extremely mandatory. To win the
game there are several key tasks you need to accomplish:
* Enter the ant tunnels, fight your way to the bottom floor, see
the force field blocking entrance to the queen's lair
* Tell Doc about the force field before Day 5
* Pick-up the two-way communicators from Doc
* Give one of the two-way communicators to Sonny
* Disable the force field on Day 5 or Day 6
* Kill the queen before the ants nuke the town
* Keep winning all the mini-games you encounter
If done right you can win the game as early as the end of Day 5.
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= Day 1 =
===========================
The main objective of Day 1 is to get as deep into the ant tunnels as
possible. Along the way there are a few encounters to advance the
storyline.
The day begins in the Lab. Doc asks you to go out to Borax and re-
enable his radiation sensor grid.
When you can first choose a destination go to the Borax Saloon and
choose Strength. You'll be introduced to the trainer. You'll need to
visit him again on Day 2 to learn the forward flip.
After visiting the trainer you'll fall into the ant mine tunnels. Get
as far as you possibly can. To win the game you need to get down to the
third set of tunnels and see the force field protecting the queen. The
first set of tunnels look like a mine. Keep going through until you
reach the elevator to the next tunnel depth. Keep going until you see
the force field. Once you see it let yourself get captured. If you
don't make it this far on Day 1 that's OK, you will have several
chances on Day 2 and Day 3.
On the next selection go to Lud's Ammo. On the way you'll be stopped by
the Sheriff and have a strange dialog. Your first meeting with Lud is a
little rough but as the game advances he comes over to your side.
Return to the Lab, you should see a total of three sequences with Doc
and receive the two-way communicators. If you made it down to the force
field then there's a fourth dialog where he tells you to find three
transponders. I actually have no idea where or how you find these,
maybe by beating mini-games? By Day 5 Doc somehow has them so it
doesn't matter.
After visiting the Lab you'll automatically return home for a fight
with your parents. After that, go to Foundry. There will be a brief
dialog followed by an easy shooting game. When that's done visit
whichever destination you like to wrap-up the first day.
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= Day 2 =
===========================
If you did not reach the force field on Day 1 then that needs to be the
focus of Day 2. At the end of the day you need to visit the Borax
Saloon to learn the forward flip.
Day 2 begins with Doc explaining his theory about the ant mind. Go to
the Mine Shaft if you need to advance further in the tunnels. If you've
already made it down to the force field then go wherever.
After visiting a couple of places you'll automatically hit an overhead
battle, win it and move on. If you advanced to the force field on the
last tunnel run then return to the Lab. Otherwise, go talk to the
Sheriff then visit the Power Plant. At the Power Plant you'll have a
run-in with one of the workers then be given a choice to run. Choose
Don't Run of course.
You'll automatically go back to the Lab for another dialog with Doc.
Next you'll automatically return home. Look at the TV, this sort of
helps the ending make sense when you get there.
On the next selection screen go back to Borax. Return to the Saloon and
select Strength to learn the forward flip. This will make it much, much
easier to get through the tunnels if you haven't made it to the force
field yet.
===========================
= Day 3 =
===========================
There are two goals for Day 3 - get to the force field in the tunnels
if you haven't and give Sonny one of the two-way communicators you
received from Doc.
Day 3 begins at home. On the firs selection screen choose Sonny's to
give him one of the two-way communicators.
If you haven't made it to the force field, go to Borax and enter the
tunnels, otherwise go to the Atomic Plant for another overhead battle,
do not return to the lab at this point. After the tunnels or overhead
battle then return to the Lab.
Doc informs you that there's a tunnel under the lab which you are
automatically sent to. If you've already made it down to the force
field then just get captured right away and be done with it.
After that you return home, look at the TV if you want to but it's not
required.
If you made it to the force field on the last tunnel run then go back
to the Lab. Otherwise go to Prissy's for a dialog about her sister
acting weird. After talking to Prissy you have another choice. Go to
the Foundry for another overhead battle or Atomic Plant to enter the
tunnels if you need to take another stab at them.
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= Day 4 =
===========================
Day 4 is your last chance to reach the force field. If you've already
been there then Day 4 is pretty light.
Day 4 begins in the Lab where Doc recaps the locations that provide
access to the tunnels. You then immediately enter the tunnel under the
lab. After the fight Doc informs you that his reflector was stolen.
Go to Sonny's first again. After that select the Foundry or Mine to
enter tunnels.
If you don't need to make another tunnel run then go to the Sheriff's
for another shooting game with the next selection. After that go to
Lud's Ammo.
After the dialog with Lud go to the Lab if you finally reached the
force field to tell Doc, otherwise go to either the Borax Saloon or
Channel 14 to waste time.
Back at home you can watch TV or listen to the radio, it doesn't matter
what you choose here. When you're done go back to the Lab where you'll
see a nice map illustrating the areas to protect.
After visiting the lab you have another choice of destination. Go to
Prissy's for another dialog with her, go to the Foundry for a shooting
game, or go to Channel 14 for an overhead battle.
===========================
= Day 5 =
===========================
Day 5 kicks-off the home stretch of the game. By the end of the day you
should have the force field protecting the queen disabled. If you're
really good, you can even finish her off today.
The day starts with a TV sequence. After that choose the Power Plant
or Atomic Plant for an overhead battle, choose the Atomic Cafe for a
shooting game, or go to the Lab for a brief dialog. After going to the
lab you have to choose one of the others anyway so it's a bit
pointless. After the overhead battle or shooting game it's time to
choose a destination again. This time go back to the Lab where Doc will
give an explanation of ants' plan.
The other three destinations are still available after your lab visit.
Choose Prissy's for a shooting game, choose Channel 14 for a dialog, or
choose Lud's for an overhead battle. After all that you automatically
return home for a shooting game.
Head over to the Lab next. Doc is in some trouble. There's an overhead
battle you should be able to win easily. The only thing to watch out
for is that a new hole opens mid-battle near the top-right one, don't
be standing too close when it does. After the battle you find a note
from Doc. And, if you've done everything right, you will receive
message from Doc that the force field has been disabled.
Now go to the Atomic Plant to enter the tunnels and hopefully finish
the game. Advance to the queen's lair and kill her. If you lose you'll
wind up in the light blue tunnel. Compared to the red tunnel this is a
piece of cake, just shoot the slow-moving ants and leap past the
zombies. Whenever you enter the tunnels from now on you'll arrive
directly at the queen's lair.
If you didn't win the game then Day 5 ends with a difficult shooting
game.
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= Day 6 and beyond =
===========================
Day 6 and beyond are all about killing the queen. Enter the tunnels and
go after her every chance you get. The shooting games and overhead
battles get harder as time progresses so it's in your best interest to
finish as quickly as possible.
If the force field hasn't been disabled yet then go to Sonny's first
thing on Day 6. Later in the day you'll receive a message from him
indicating that he's disabled the field. Otherwise just head over to
the Atomic Plant for another shot at the queen.
And that's it for the walkthrough - just keep going to locations with
tunnel access until you kill the queen, anything else is simply a
distraction. The ants will nuke the city if you take too long (Day 8
for sure unless you lose several mini-games then it can happen almost
any time).
===========================
= Defeating the Queen =
===========================
The queen ant is the final boss of the game.. and one of trickier boss
battles in any game I've played. Once you figure out her weak spot it's
actually very easy but getting to that point is tough. Buzz doesn't
have a power meter so one hit is fatal, this obviously leaves no room
for error. The controls aren't spectacular either and it takes some
practice to get them right.
Controls:
* Left, right: Move Buzz
* Up, down: Aim gun
* Button I: Shoot gun
* Button II: Jump
* Button I+Up: Throw grenade
* Button I+Down: Roll grenade on the ground
When you first enter the room start advancing slowly, take a practice
jump to get used to the timing. Even though this looks like the tunnel
level it controls differently. As you approach the queen she shoots
these balls of something at you. Stand still and jump when they get
close. Do not shoot the projectiles, that will send them up into a
spiral that just lands right back on you. When a larvae approaches you
can either jump over it or aim down to shoot it. It's important to
learn the difference between aiming down then shooting vs. pressing
Down and Button I at the same time - the latter will roll a grenade
which usually misses them.
The secret to defeating the queen is to stand just outside of her
reach. It looks like she can hit you but just barely misses:
When you're this close she won't shoot projectiles, you could just
stand in this spot forever if it wasn't for the steady stream of
larvae. Study their timing so one doesn't get you when you're attacking
the queen. When one approaches just shoot it:
Now slide a grenade on the ground by hitting Down+Button I.
When the queen bucks up quickly press Up to aim your gun upwards. Shoot
her in her now exposed body:
These shots will drain her life quickly. You'll only have to repeat
this a couple of times before she's defeated.
There are some screenshots here that illustrate the perfect spot to
stand:
http://huguesjohnson.com/guides/icftd-tgcd/
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= Credits =
===========
This guide is copyright (c) 2009 Hugues Johnson. This was created
specifically for GameFAQs.com, please do not redistribute without
permission.
It Came from the Desert is copyright (c) 1989 Cinemaware Corporation.
This site has no affiliation with Cinemaware Corporation. This document
and its author are in no way affiliated with Cinemaware.
