Heiankyo Alien(Arcade) FAQ/Walkthrough
version 1.0.0 by
[email protected](anti spam spoonerism)
Please do not reproduce for profit without my consent. You won't be getting
much profit anyway, but that's not the point. This took time and effort, and
I just wanted to save a memory of an old game and the odd solutions any way I
could. Please send me an email referring to me and this guide by name if
you'd like to post it on your site.
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OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS
3. STRATEGIES AND LEVELS
4. VERSIONS
5. CREDITS
================================
1. INTRODUCTION
Well, I finally found a game worse than Targ. Targ, the game I saw at a
laundromat where I realize people would be better off spending that quarter
to watch laundry tumble around. A game where you couldn't even laugh at the
bad bits, as in Poly-Play, or New York! New York! Maybe there are a lot of
other obscure ones. But Heiankyo Alien is right up there for not being any
fun. You get the feeling it's not really the game's fault. It's a simple
affair, on a 7x7 grid, much like Targ, with squares in the middle and a few
passages blocked off. A bunch of monsters chase after you, and you dig holes
for them to fall into before you cover them up. They move randomly, which is
good because otherwise you'd be caught right away, but it is bad because when
one guy is left, you can just get tired of waiting, and he will sneak up
behind you. But the game TRIES, with a simultaneous 2 player mode.
Still, I was in the mood for just writing about short games, and this did the
trick. I'd gotten the GameBoy cartridge by mistake in an eBay auction, but
Brian Sulpher already wrote a nice guide for that version. The GameBoy
version was a bit more robust, unsurprisingly, since they had 11 years to
prettify it. It still had the old arcade mode, though, which I played first
because I thought it'd be easier to learn. Ha ha.
2. CONTROLS
Player 1 has the directions and button 1 and button 2. Holding button 1 for 5
iterations digs a complete hole. If a monster falls in an incomplete hole, it
escapes and will probably gobble you up, unless a hole is at an intersection.
You need 2 grid spaces between you and a monster to dig a hole.
You also don't have time to dig both of 2 aliens that fell in at the same
time, which means even when you have what should be exceptionally good luck
in this game, it's bad luck.
Tapping a direction 4 times moves you 1 grid square over.
You cannot anticipate your next move with a diagonal move, which is rough
luck if an enemy is following you. They are random, though(slightly more
likely to go straight,) and never stay put. They are also as fast as you are.
The points you get for potting one are also random, but they increase after
each wave of 3.
Enemies stay in holes for about 4 lengths of travel. So that means once one
falls in, you need to get over pretty quickly.
If a second enemy touches a hole, they both escape. As when an enemy touches
a hole, you have a grace period to get out of there.
3. STRATEGIES AND LEVELS
The first level has 4 enemies, the second 6, the third 8, and then they loop
again. I played a few loops and nothing new really happened. I'm going to
assume that there is nothing subtle that happens when you turn the level over
at 255. The placement of blocked alleys is random, and there are usually 7 or
8 of them.
It's tough to tell whether you should make holes at intersections or between
them. At intersections, you are more likely to trap someone quickly, but if
someone else comes along--splat. And they can come along from two ways.
Because the best strategy is to surround yourself with holes so that no one
can sneak in, placing something at an intersection is very risky. And if you
are working for a really high score, you need to be patient. So put holes
between the intersections for safety and also for quantity, as you'll see
below.
You'll also want to use whatever blocked passages there are as protection. If
there is an L anywhere, use that and put bubbles 3 paces from each corner.
You can also use a corner square, extending it:
| XXX
|oXXX
| XXX
| o
| XXX XXX
| XXXoXXX
| XXX XXX
| o
+--------
Note that this allows you 4 places to trap enemies instead of 3. There's
still a problem if too many enemies rush you at once, in which case, dig a
few up and then run around til you find another empty corner. You may even go
with, for starters,
| XXX XXX
|1XXX2XXX
| XXX XXX
| 3
+--------
Then expand later.
The wall is excellent protection if you can't hit a corner, and you can build
a small fortress with holes in 3 directions too. Enemies can't run over each
other, so they probably won't get to you. You have to resign yourself to the
frustrating prospect of chance deaths eventually happening. Eventually, two
enemies will run over the hole and run you into the fortress you built. You
won't be able to dig out in time. But if you just stand somewhere and let
enemies fall where they may.
The beginning of the level is the toughest part, but once you get one enemy,
you have the chance to take a break and find where to go next.
While building holes to create a fortress, build the first one where the most
enemies are. Take that chance. If one falls in too soon, run away. If you
build against the few enemies and the many enemies leak into that last hole
in your fortress, you're toast. Problems the other way around are more likely
to be just inconvenience.
End of FAQ Proper
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4. VERSIONS
1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 12/14/2007, complete
5. CREDITS
Thanks to the usual GameFAQs gang, current and emeritus. They know who they
are, and you should, too, because they get/got some SERIOUS writing done.
Good people too--bloomer, falsehead, Sashanan, Masters, Retro, Snow
Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, War Doc, Brian Sulpher, AdamL, odino, JDog and
others I forgot. OK, even Hydrophant in his current not-yet-banned message
board incarnation. I am not part of his gang, but I want him to be part of
mine.
