Satan's Hollow FAQ(Arcade) version 1.0.0
copyright 2003 by Andrew Schultz [email protected]

Please do not reproduce this FAQ for profit without my prior consent. However,
if you write a polite e-mail to me referring to me(and this FAQ) by name, then
I will probably say OK. But if I ignore you that means no--and I am bad about
answering e-mail. Sorry.

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My home page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762

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         OUTLINE

 1. INTRODUCTION

 2. CONTROLS

 3. ENEMIES

 4. LEVEL OUTLINE

 5. GENERAL STRATEGIES

 6. VERSIONS

 7. CREDITS

================================

 1. INTRODUCTION

 I am sorry to say that my fond memories of Satan's Hollow don't add up to
much now. It was pretty enthralling to have something Biblical and much more
interesting than a sermon, especially since I think my mother coughed up the
quarter for the game after I had bowling practice. It's a nitpicky game
although it does have an interesting concept--shoot monsters to build a bridge
to the right, where you get to fight a pitchfork dude, and then you can come
back to the left with increased firepower.

 The game gets pretty nasty with you being able to move only on the left half
of the screen, all the monsters coming down at once, and oh yeah, the whole
screen turning dark for a stretch. But it's still somewhat fun to poke at a
few levels before continuing, just as long as you don't try to get anywhere.

 2. CONTROLS

--You can shoot two bullets at once before getting any power ups. Then it goes
to four, then you get four streams: two bullets, one, two, one--a bit wider
than normal. There's some space between these and if you're good you can rake
half the screen.
--If you're killed, your power ups get knocked one back.
--The shield, listed at 15, drops to zero after one continued use
--You must let go the shield button to recharge, but you can use it once the
total goes back positive. It will just run out more quickly.
--Watch out. The shield doesn't start up immediately. Not only do you need to
anticipate things, you need to anticipate them well in advance.
--you can't cross a bridge once it's been damaged, and the bridges must do
more than create a walkway--they must cover all of the diagonal lava chasm
before you can cross.

 3. ENEMIES

 There are three basic types of enemies:

1. green birds(120 points)

 These have regular missiles that appear just before they drop them. You can
kill them or their missiles with shields. In the original levels in the cycle
of seven, they have fixed patterns to start and eventually move in a circular
fashion near the bottom. Otherwise they can hone in on you as they descend.
These become rarer as you advance through the levels.

2. red birds(225 points)

 These drop glowing bricks which can still be absorbed by shields. They're
not faster than green birds, but the bricks can destroy part of the bridge
you're building. They also hone in on you as they come down--never a fixed
pattern.

3. midget devils(240 points)

 These are the nastiest. They drop bombs which, if not absorbed by your
shield, burst for two seconds--you can't touch that area. They don't destroy
bridges but can cut you off. They will also come down to attack you but stay
up more often than not, to drop their nasty bomb. Try to focus on these, but
the problem isthat they're in a circle usually guarded by something else.

 All of these may try to take a ship of yours, but the last two won't unless
no-one is left.

 There are two types of one on one enemies:

1. face with scepter(1000/500/250 points)

 These have fixed patterns which aren't always clear. They appear on levels
7x+3, 7x+5 and 7x+7 as counted below and begin to go faster than you around
level 11. They squirt out a flame jet below, then stop, then retry. Your best
way to get past these is to stay on the other side and use the shield, run at
them and fire a bit. The sceptre-faces tend to either bounce back in the
middle or take a clear circuit around that cycles pretty quickly even if it's
not easy to follow. You can also wait at an edge and wait for it to cross the
center line.

 At the beginning you get 1000 for killing one of these, but if the battle
takes too long then it gets bigger twice. Too long and it's a stalemate--no
one wins.

 This is not bad at all if you have multiple shots: rake from one side to the
other as you fire, and you won't need much strategy. With only two you can
still rake but need to be careful crossing over--if you run -with- the face,
it will catch up to you and your shield will run out.

 If you die, you are kicked to the net level.

2. Pitchfork guy(1000 + 1000 * current levels already won)

 These are not too bad, actually. They'll often move in circles or figure
eights, which are not too bad. The pitchforks cam be avoided or shielded and I
find that if you wait a half-second after the music ends, stay in the center,
and fire, you usually get a hit. Because these guys move so quickly you'll
often get a hit when you don't seem to deserve to--small compensation for the
rest of the game.

 Of course you can also move from one side to the other and fire if you have
extra firepower. But the key wrinkle to later levels is that you need to avoid
the spiralling fireball. Be sure never to drain your shield and in fact you
can stand in its way and guard with the shield. That will make it vanish and
give you a few clear, free and relatively stressless shots at the pitchfork
guy.

 Losing this fight kicks you back to the normal levels, one ahead of where
you came in. Winning does the same but you get a nice bonus in points and
firepower.

 4. LEVEL OUTLINE

White flag=1 level solved
Red = 10 levels solved
White/red = 50 levels solved

 The very basic level outline is as follows:

7x+1:

Two circles of four green birds circle clockwise. These are easy enough to
pick up but you will note that this is a great place to pick off a lot of the
bridge. You can nail the monsters one at a time and although they loop around
at the bottom, they're a bit predictable. Use the shield to get by the
missiles and then pick off the birds--you can use the shield for this, too.

7x+2, 7x+4, 7x+6: there are several formations here, detailed later.

7x+3, 7x+5, 7x+7: this is a scepter/mask guy. The patterns vary and most of
the time you'll need to stay far away and run at it and shoot.

If you visit the pitchfork guy, you will skip the level you just played. You
get an extra flag if you clear a level--there's none for a stalemate on
7x+3/5/7 or winning the pitchfork level.

The spaces in the abyss are 6 bridge squares, then 9 the next time, 12, and 14
thereafter.

Now there only seem to be so many formations for the levels. They may
eventually cycle but that doesn't seem likely immediately.

LEVEL 2:

6 birds going counterclockwise.

It's a bit tougher here to shoot all of them down, but you can always just
clean everyone out and probably get a few bridge pieces. You'll never see this
formation again.

LEVEL 3:

The bad guy is very slow, and you shouldn't have much problem with him. Run
across if you must while he breathes fire, but you can probably nip in while
he's not breathing.

LEVEL 4:

 __   __
/  \ /  \
|    X    |
v   / \   v
\ /   \ /
 X     X
/ \   / \
^   \ /   ^
|    X    |
\  / \  /
 --   --

Two intersecting ellipses. Sit in the center and fire. You don't want to go to
the corner until the birds have started to target you. Then use a shield and
go there--pick up a bridge part if you must.

Here's the first level where, if you've built the bridge, you may want to run
to the right. It can get you out of a bind.

LEVEL 6:

  |  |
  |  |
  |  |
  |  |
 /    \
<-      ->

 You can sit under one of the lines down and fire away--you'll kill everyone
on that side with few problems. Then you can go and pick at the other one. I
prefer to nail the right, so that you don't have to worry about bridges.
Things get complicated if you miss with the first few shots.

LEVEL 9:

   ---->---
  /        \
 /          \
/            \
|              |
|   ---<----   |
\ /        \ /
 X          X
/ \        / \
|   --------   |
|              |
\            /
 \          /
  \        /
   --------

Again you have to play the center and move to the right here. An oddity is
that if you keep firing around the hill, birds will seem to pop out from the
mountain. But the right corner does seem to be a bit safer than the left--so
if you've managed to create somewhat of a bridge I recommend you use the right
hand side for all it's worth and try to get through this one.

LEVEL 11:

This is another level that really isn't too bad. The birds start in a huge
formation, clump together and then swoop down on you. Again I recommend
starting at the left and then moving right. Use shields only when necessary,
then move back left. You'll be able to hit a lot of bad guys because they're
so close, but be sure to sweep when shielded too--that will complement your
firepower nicely.

LEVEL 13:

See level 6.

LEVEL 16:

 -        -
/ \      / \
|   \    /   |
|    -<--    |
\          /
 \        /
  \      /
   \    /
    ----

This is a nasty sort of level to have to face, and I generally try to duck out
if possible. The next best option is again the center where the monsters are
close. Try to time things so you shoot the red bird that's hanging around.

At this point the 7x+3, 7x+5 and 7x+7 levels should only afford the bridge
piece at the end of the level unless things quiet down near the end and you
can pick off enemies individually.

LEVEL 18:

 |   |
 |   |
 |   |
 |   |
 |   |
 |   |
  \ /
   X
  / \
--   --

Here you can start in the center and inch to the left. It's important not to
go too quickly because the birds will hone in on you. Moving slowly will force
them to readjust--a ship length or two, wait and recharge the shield, repeat,
and then burst back to the right and start again. If you can get just to the
left of the intersection then you know you will wipe out the bad guys that
will have a head start on swooping near the corner.

LEVEL 20:
   -->-
  /    \
 /  <-  \
/  /  \  \
|  /    \  |
| |      | |
| |      | |
|  \    /  |
\  \  /  /
 \  --  /
  \    /
   ----

Same story: hit the center, move to the right when they drop. Level 23 is
equivalent.

LEVEL 25:

 --- ---
/   X   \
|   | |   |
^   | |   ^
|   | |   |
\   X   /
 --- ---

Go a bit to the left of center, wail away, then try to go right(you can
reverse this if the bridge is not well built.)

 5. GENERAL STRATEGIES

--You will want to get used to the weaving of the eight green birds every
seven levels. A few bridge pieces there will save you a good deal of sweat
later.
--If you are able to count levels then it is best to hit the pitchfork guy
after completing 7x+6. That way 7x+1 will give you a bit of room for the next
wave, and you will be able to duck to the right which is generally safer.
--Monsters skim horizontally along the bottom before picking a ship up. And
they only need to get to the spire top and not the very top to cost you a
ship. However you can leave to the next scene and regain the ship, or you can
even run through the enemy ship and shoot it to get it back. It's possible to
delay shooting the ship to get an extra bridge piece but don't do it unless
the action is really calm.
--Building more bridge means more space but in the more busy levels you'll
need to put a priority on survival.
--If you can get the enemies down to three or four and pick them off
individually, that should help build a bridge quickly. But if two come at you
at once, don't try to nail each.
--If enemies are descending on you, don't use the shield until they are a
couple ship lengths above you. Shields are precious.
--One strategy to avoid demons' fire bombs is, instead of running away, to
wait for them to come to you and then use the shield. It increases your range
and you won't have to maneuver evasively.
--Stay in one place and move two ship lengths over when it's dark. It's tough
to locate where the enemies are but this should fool them a bit.
--If the monsters come down all at once you can sweep across while using a
shield to take many of them out.
--Watch out--the level isn't over until all missiles drop or expire. It's
possible to be killed after you won a level or killed a monster above. Tap
'shield' if you're not sure and ALWAYS use it when you're very close--they can
fire posthumously.
--I find you can build up your arsenal pretty early, but I prefer to wait. The
wrong timing when you get through levels and you're stuck on the edge in a
tough one.
--Sweeping gunfire when you're powered up makes the floating mask much easier.
And the pitchfork man too.
--running into a missile isn't a bad thing if 1)there are no real monsters
around and 2)you have the shield. It may be a great way to defend a bridge or
a passageway you'll need soon from destruction/fire. And it can render
pitchforks and fireballs useless.
--Beware of the corner as birds do seem to swerve to get under you. Also use
the sounds well to detect when you can move right back out.
--You can even fake out the missiles by moving side to side, and don't be
afraid to touch the shield button to get past a few to the other side.
--When in doubt, wait until the next level before facing the bad guy. You
canalso hang around the right edge and do a bunk when it gets too much.
--I believe the screen turns dark and light again with time but I found it's
generally worst around 40000 and stays that way for two levels. So be prepared
to focus on the enemy eyes and stay well away from those, accounting for enemy
width.
--each level essentially requires only a few jerks to steer clear of the
monsters and then mop up. They have to be precise, though.
--Beware of regenerating in an unfavorable position. I've had my ship reappear
just as bombs were dropped.

End of FAQ proper

================================

 6. VERSIONS

1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 11/03/2003 complete for practical purposes. If there's
some pattern to the later levels I'm too impatient to try to cheat and find it
or even to look into it really.

 7. CREDITS

The usual GameFAQs gang. They know who they are, and you should, too, because
they get some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer, daremo,
falsehead, RetroFreak, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, and others I forgot.
War Doc for pushing me by example to look for that one more game that
needs/would like coverage.
CJayC for creating GameFAQs.com so that I could post cute little time wasting
guides like this.
mame.net and the cheats section for helping me replay this--and get somewhere
in it
My new cat Otto who provided an even better distraction than the Internet
while I was typing this up(and playing it. Which accounts for why any help I
give you in breaking 100000 shows my strong teaching skills and not my weak
playing skills.)

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