Crystal Quest FAQ
System: GameBoy
Version: 1.00
Version Finished on: 03/23/03
Owner: Soylent_Greg --
[email protected]
Table of Contents
-----------------
I. What is Crystal Quest?
II. Controls, Crystals, and Game Basics
III. Tips, Tips, Tips!
IV. Waves 1-10
V. Waves 11 and beyond...
VI. The Enemies
VII. Lives or Bombs?
VIII. Surviving the super-hard waves(for dummies)
IX. Legal Information
I. What is Crystal Quest?
--------------------------
What is Crystal Quest? It's an arcade type game, released by Data East on the
Game Boy in 1991. Seeing as there is no current guide for this game, and that
the friend who gave me the game never got past level 30, I've created one. It
will be chock full of humorous comments and excetera for players and
non-players alike, much like my REmake guide(which was rejected twice by
GameFaqs, despite revisions.)
II. Control, Crystals, and Game Basics
---------------------------------------
The Controls of the Game are as follows:
Control Pad: Moves your ship
A Button: Fires main gun. More on the gun later.
B Button: Detonates a Bomb, destroying all Enemies(and Giant Crystals!)
Start: Pauses
Select: Not used
L Button(GBA): Resizes the game window, causing it to fill the screen.
R Button(GBA): Resizes the game window, causing it to shrink to normal.
Game Basics
-----------
The object of Crystal Quest is to collect all of the small crystals in each
wave and escape. Your ship is in a large, open area surrounded by a thin wall.
On the left and right, however, are massive vents which spill out enemies
trying to stop you. At the bottom of the area is a gate covered with a shiny
forcefield. Once all the small crystals are gone, the forcefield goes with them
and you can enter the gate to escape. Exiting within a time limit gives you
bonus points, and each wave the time limit expands to a maximum of 60 seconds,
or one minute.
In your game area are:
Small Crystals: These are strewn about randomly. Collecting them opens the
forcefield.
Medium Crystals: These are shiny, larger crystals. Though not necessary to open
the forcefield, they are worth a lot of points.
Giant Crystals: No, they're not enemies, though they're frickin' huge. These
super-large crystals appear randomly out of the side vents and are well worth
the risk to get. NOTE: Shooting a Giant Crystal (or using a bomb) destroys it.
Stars: Taking up one space are these white anomalies. Hitting a star kills you
and destroys the star. They often block your path to the exit, and cannot be
bombed or destroyed.
Bombs: They look like the things they look like. Grabbing a bomb adds one bomb
to your inventory.
III. Tips, Tips, Tips!
-----------------------
-In the first few waves, you'll get lots of one-ups from points. Grabbing a
Giant Crystal is usually worth suiciding because you'll almost always get an
extra life and you'll have the point boost.
-Your gun fires a shot at the same speed your ship is traveling at the time.
Therefore, if you're really cruising, the shot will go fast. Moving at a snails
pace will release a shot just crawling from your exhaust, but ready to take out
pursuing enemies(like seekers).
-Speed is everything. Go fast and grab all the crystals before the arena can be
flooded. By the time you reach wave 20 or so, you should be using nothing but
bombs and your wits. Shooting a large group of Spheres is a waste of time, as
they come back fast and easily kill you.
-ONE SHOT will destroy your craft! It's very fragile!
-You can daudle in the first wave for about five minutes or so, if you want.
You'll get plenty of Giant Crystals and won't have to contend with too many
enemies. However, if you wait too long Spheres will begin coming out and
they'll kill you.
-It can be hard to line up your craft so that you can reach the exit without
impacting into it's side. Remember that you can touch any edge of the arena
without dying, except for the side vents and exit wall.
IV. Waves 1-10
---------------
While most of the waves in Crystal Quest are random, and the Crystals and Stars
produced in random spots, the first ten waves have a certain regularity about
them. In these waves, Bombs and Stars first appear, and you'll meet about half
of the different types of enemy in the game. For more info on the enemies,
check the Enemy section. Let's go in-depth:
NOTE: Waves 4-10 may be different at times. Expect slight variations from the
following guidelines.
Waves 1 and 2
--------------
Enemies: Bug Ships(Basic)
Stars: No
Bombs: No
Wave One is the most basic wave of all. The enemies have no attacks and there
are no stars to crash into. Note that it is nearly impossible to get the Time
Bonus in this level, as it is so small. Wave Two is nearly exactly the same,
except that one or two more enemies will enter the arena.
Waves 3 and 4
--------------
Enemies: Bug Ships(Adv.)
Stars: Yes
Bombs: Yes
In Wave Three, Stars and Bombs appear for the first time. The Advanced Version
of the Bug Ship also appears, and it's the first enemy in the game that shoots
back. However, it doesn't aim well and its shot is slow, so you shouldn't have
any difficulty getting past these.
Wave 5
-------
Enemies: Skulls
Stars: Yes
Bombs: Yes
By this wave, there should be a substantial number of stars in the arena, and
the Skulls are about to make things worse. Though they don't attack directly,
they lay Mines, which destroy your ship on contact. Use a bomb to destroy them
quickly, because their mines cannot be destroyed except by suicide. Use the
time after the bomb to gather the crystals and run. Don't let them block the
exit with mines.
Wave 6
-------
Enemies: Giant Blobs
Stars: Yes, for the rest, too.
Bombs: Ditto.
This Wave introduces the Giant Blob, a large sack of crap that floats lazily by
your ship. They have no weapons, but take up a great deal of space. Shooting
them takes too long, so use bombs.
Wave 7 and 8
-------------
Enemies: Skulls(Again?)
These two levels feature more of the same: Skulls. Use the same tactics you did
in Wave 5 and you should succeed.
Wave 9
-------
Enemies: Spheres (Duh-NUH!)
This level is the first one that's really tough, as the Spheres begin to
immediately enter the level and fill your ship full of their wonderful diagonal
bolts of love and affection. Bomb like a maniac until you get out.
Wave 10
--------
Enemies: Spheres, Both types of Bug Ship
The first Compendium level, this wave shows you the basic principle of Enemies
in this game, namely that you can defeat one enemy type easily, but when
multiple enemies attack in the same wave, it gets tough. In dodging the spheres
and their pain sticks, you could crash right into a slow moving bug, or vice
versa.
V. Wave 11... and beyond...
----------------------------
I say "and beyond" because after this Wave, the game gets pretty random,
throwing different groups of enemies after you. The good thing about this is
that Wave 35 is pretty much the same as Wave 90. The bad thing is that all
those waves are really hard once you run out of bombs. But first, lets go over
Wave 11:
Wave 11
--------
Enemies: Spiders
The Spider looks like a big shot from your ship, but with a shell and legs.
Expect lots of bombing as they shoot large balls which bounce off the side of
the arena, gaining speed. Grab the crystals and run.
After Wave Eleven, you'll meet the rest of the enemies and get thrown against
them in various ways. Every 15 Waves, there is a brief cutscene with a ship
shooting an Alien being and a Surfer buzzword like "Radical". After Wave 25,
the exit begins to move back and forth(as if you didn't have enough trouble!)
One more note: After Wave 99, the game continues to display 'Wave 99' over and
over as the wave number. Kinda kooky.
VI. The Enemies
----------------
This section is on the different enemies of Crystal Quest. Here we go:
BRIEF NOTE: These are probably not the actual names of the enemies. I have been
unable to locate their proper names on the internet, and have no instruction
booklet. If someone e-mails them to me, i'll probably update with it (you, too,
can be a star!)
Name: Bug Ship (Basic)
1st Appear: Wave 1
Weapons: None
The Bug Ship is the basic enemy of the game. Don't even worry about them,
they're more harmless than Ralph Nader.
Name: Bug Ship (Advanced)
1st Appear: Wave 3
Weapons: Slow Shot
The slightly more decent cousin of the Bug Ship, this foe has a real (though
disappointingly slow) shot. This guy's only dangerous in conjunction with
something really bad, like Spheres.
Name: Skull
1st Appear: Wave 5
Weapons: None; lays Mines
The Skull weaves unpredictably around the arena, like Laura Bush driving home
after a kegger. It's fairly harmless, but tough to shoot. The mines it lays CAN
be avoided with slow and careful flying, but with other enemies around, that
tactic tends to kill you.
Name: Giant (Freakin') Blob
1st Appear: Wave 6
Weapons: None
These giant masses float around the arena, covering crystals so that you have
to shoot them over and over to get them to leave. They can absorb a ton of
punishment, though, so it's best to use bombs to displace them.
Name: Sphere
1st Appear: Wave 8
Weapons: Fast, Diagonal Shot
The absolute bane of your existance, the Sphere will seek you out and shoot you
dead. In conjunction with other enemies, they become almost unbeatable without
bombs. The best strategy: Run! Run like O.J. to a clambake!
Name: Spider
1st Appear: Wave 11
Weapons: Giant Bouncy Balls
The Spider is another one of those useless enemies you don't notice until its
too late. They look just like giant balls with legs, and fire giant balls which
richochet around the arena. Too many of these things and you'll have to bomb
them.
Name: Crosses
1st Appear: Random
Weapons: Fast Shot
The Cross, which looks like one of those sticky ninja stars you throw at
people, only fires in a straight line. Also, it only fires on you when it's on
a straight line with you. If you catch it during the slight pause before it
fires, it's an easy foe to avoid. Keep Moving!
Name: Spineys
1st Appear: Random
Weapon: None; becomes a Mine when shot
Yet another one of the simple, slow moving enemies you'll run into blindly, the
'Spineys' actually look more like some kind of bacteria, wandering around the
bloodstream of some huge... square man. Their only attack is to turn themselves
into stationary mines when shot/bombed, then after about ten seconds they come
back to life. Run. Run, you fool, run!
Name: X's
1st Appear: Random, but late.
Weapon: Splits into pieces when shot
These... well... they look like EXACTLY like Swastikas. (Was DataEast owned by
the Nazis?) Another late-game entry, these Aryan invaders break apart when
shot, but they aren't filled with gooey chocolate, no sir! Instead, shrapnel
goes in all directions. But, bombs just destroy them, and you shouldn't be
bothering to shoot things at this point, it takes up valuable Crystal-grabbing
time!
Name: Seekers
1st Appear: Random, but late.
Weapon: KAMIKAZE!!!
BANZAI!!! I hate these guys worse than the 'Poopli' kids on the Simpsons. They
shoot out of the gate, run(or crawl?) at you, and explode, killing you
instantly! AAARGH! They look just like some insect reject from Centipede, so be
on the lookout. Especially dangerous with Spheres.
VII. Lives or Bombs?
--------------------
That's the real question of Crystal Quest: Do I want to sacrifice one of my
precious lives in order to grab as many bombs as I possibly can? Well, it
really depends. Early on, lives are much more important than bombs, as you'll
only have three, compared to the 25+ I usually get from Giant Crystals.
However, it's also mui importante to get bombs for when you'll need them to
survive. The cautious and clever Crystal Quest player will take bombs only when
the risk is gauged to be low enough. However, in the later levels, when you're
not getting anymore bonuses and there's 800 Spheres coming at you, bombs become
a precious commodity.
VIII. Surviving the Super-Hard Waves (For Dummies)
--------------------------------------------------
So far, this guide has held your hand through the basic ten levels or so,
guiding you around every major hurdle. One would think that now i'm ready to
release you into the wild, to live free among the galloping horses and wild
shrubberies, right? Guess again! Here's some tips for surviving the later
levels:
-Don't just stand there like Neil Young at a FarmAid concert(what?)! Run!
Standing still will get you shot! Start moving as soon as the level begins.
Sure, you might hit a star, but you might move into the main cluster of
Crystals quicker.
-If you see bombs in the level, immediately start using your bombs to keep away
tough enemies. Grab the bombs as you go about collecting Crystals. If there are
no bombs, use your stockpile only when needed desperately. However, if your
lives drop down to only a few and you have 35 bombs, just start nuking
everything that moves.
-Giant Crystals are STILL your friend. Get 'em!
-Impaling yourself on a star which blocks the exit may be easier then trying to
navigate around and getting shot.
-Balance the number of lives you have with the number of bombs. It's usually a
good idea to have about twice as many bombs as lives.
-Don't destroy your Game Boy when those stupid animations come up!
If you follow all of these tips, you should be on your way to beating the high
score and laughing as the game displays 'Wave 99' over and over again. Best of
Luck!
IX. Legal Information
---------------------
The following FAQ belongs to me! You can't dump it onto your site, or get it
off Kazaa! It may not be used without express permission of the author, me, and
breaking these rules violates the law.
This FAQ may appear on the following sites:
-GameFAQs(www.gamefaqs.com)
-The Total Perspective Vortex (www.geocities.com/turbotassadar)
This document is Copyright 2003 Soylent Greg!
SUGAR!!!!
