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Version History:
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Milo's Astro Lanes is a bowling game for Nintendo 64. It presents itself as a
quirky/funny game that features bowling, rather than a serious bowling sim.
It's tempting to rip on the game for all its faults, but honestly it's a silly
game that can be fun in short bursts.
Choose a character and a ball. As far as I can tell, there's no difference or
advantage from one character or ball to the next, it's just a matter of what
you think looks cool.
When it's your turn to bowl, use the D-pad or C buttons to move your character
left or right on the lane. You can do this before you pick up your ball, which
may or may not be a good idea. (see the "Tips/Strategies" section.) After you
pick up your ball (by pressing A) you use the control stick to adjust how hard
you throw the ball (tilt the stick UP or DOWN) as well as put spin on the
ball. (tilt the stick left or right. More tilt means more spin, indicated by
how sharply the arrow turns.) If you put spin on the ball, the ball will roll
straight until it gets close to the pins, then the spin will take effect.
Typically, throwing the ball straight at the pins will rarely knock them all
down, but it happens every once in a while. Adjusting your starting location
and adding spin can help knock down more pins. Decide how you like to play.
The good news is that once you determine a good combination of location/spin,
you can usually replicate it for every throw and get a similar result. There's
no timed power bar or anything. You just set your strength and spin, then
press A.
After you've picked up your ball to bowl, or after you've thrown it, cycle
through your Specials with the B button, and use them with the Z button. See
the "Items/Specials" section below.
If you're unfamiliar with how bowling is scored, you basically get 10 pins to
knock down on your turn, and a point for every pin you knock down. If you
knock them all down with 1 ball, you get 10 points plus the points of your
next 2 throws. If you knock down all the pins but it takes you 2 balls to do
it, then you get 10 points plus the points you get on your next throw. This is
why the scorecard doesn't show your total score right away when you get a
strike (indicated by a letter "X") or a spare (indicated by a "/"). On the
very last frame of each game, you get to throw a 3rd ball if you manage to
knock down all the pins with 1 or 2 throws. Search online for more
clarification if this terrible explanation is not sufficient. This is a silly,
cartoony bowling game, but it does use standard scoring.
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03 - League Mode
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In League mode, you start in the first of 3 "domes," called Planet, Galaxy,
and Cosmic. Each dome has portals to bowling areas, tunnels to the other domes
(which are blocked off when you start), and a GAME SAVE? thingy, which does
exactly what you think it does. Just walk up to the portals to activate them.
The first time you enter each bowling area, you play against a CPU opponent.
After you beat the CPU, you can re-enter the area for a "bonus" mode, where
you try to knock down all the specially-placed pins using a total of 3 balls.
Feel free to use Specials here, becauase it seems like in some levels the pins
are heavier. You must complete this bonus mode in order to advance to the next
cup in each area.
To open the tunnel to the next dome, complete the Bonus mode in each area in
the current dome.
When you earn a cup in an area, that cup will show in the portal to that area,
to show that you earned the cup. Re-enter an area to try for a higher cup,
progressing from the Cosmium Cup, to the Gold Astro Cup, to the Astrolight
Cup. Once you earn the Astrolight Cup in all 12 bowling areas, you'll see a
CONGRATULATIONS screen, followed by credits.
The manual calls this mode "League Elimination" mode, and it says that if you
lose a match against a CPU player, you have to "start over." But you can just
re-enter the area and try again. You don't have to re-earn the Cosmium Cup or
anything.
At the main menu, you can select TOTALS, which will show your high score in
each bowling area, and how many of each trophy/cup you've earned in League
mode.
There are items in the game that you can use while bowling; the game calls
them "Specials." You collect them by rolling your ball over colored stars in
your lane. Each item can be used as a power-up while you are bowling, or as an
obstacle when your opponent is bowling. The game calls it an "Anti-Special."
In the later levels, when the CPU starts using Specials against you, you have
no choice but to use them right back, and that's when the game gets really
stupid. But here's what you need to know about the 4 Specials. (I got the
names from the game's manual)
1. Blue Star
SPECIAL: Clone Ball
SPECIAL ICON: Shows 3 balls
SPECIAL ABILITY: Adds another ball to the left and right of your ball
ANTI-SPECIAL: Bomb
ANTI-SPECIAL ICON: A bomb with yellow spikes coming out of it
ANTI-SPECIAL ABILITY: Plants a bomb right in front of your opponent's ball.
When the bomb blows up, the ball is gone.
NOTES: More useful when you use it right before the pins, especially on
lanes with uneven terrain.
2. Red Star
SPECIAL: White Dwarf Ball
SPECIAL ICON: Looks like a shiny white ball
SPECIAL ABILITY: Doubles the ball's weight and impact
ANTI-SPECIAL: Bouncy Ball
ANTI-SPECIAL ICON: Looks like a mess of purple bubbles
ANTI-SPECIAL ABILITY: Makes your opponent's ball bounce out of control
NOTES: I've never noticed any difference using this Special. More useful as
an Anti-Special.
3. Green Star
SPECIAL: Speed Ball
SPECIAL ICON: Looks like a ball with fire coming out the back
SPECIAL ABILITY: Makes the ball go really fast
ANTI-SPECIAL: Cosmic Goo
ANTI-SPECIAL ICON: A bowling ball with green goo hanging off the bottom
ANTI-SPECIAL ABILITY: Makes your opponent's ball shrink into nothing
NOTES: If you want a useless Special, this is the one for you. Every time
I try to use it, I watch the ball speed toward the pins, literally
knocking over 1 or 2 before bouncing to the side. Does it also turn
the ball into a ping pong ball? Needless to say, this one is much
more useful as an Anti-Special.
4. Yellow Star
SPECIAL: Mega Ball
SPECIAL ICON: Looks like a giant ball crashing through small pins
SPECIAL ABILITY: Makes the ball huge, knocks over more pins
ANTI-SPECIAL: Pea Ball
ANTI-SPECIAL ICON: Looks like a tiny ball in a bubble
ANTI-SPECIAL ABILITY: Makes your opponent's ball tiny, can fit between pins
NOTES: This is the best special, you can almost always get a strike. Don't
waste it as an Anti-Special.
The manual to the game says that you can collect these items, and use them in
the current game or save them for future games. At first I thought that meant
I could save them up and go into new matches with a huge inventory of each
kind of Special. But it seems like you can't carry more than one of each
Special at a time, and I've seen them disappear without me using them. Not
sure what the rules are.
You'll notice that sometimes when you use an Anti-Special against a CPU
opponent, the CPU will sometimes "counter" the Anti-Special by using another
Special. If you dwarf the CPU's ball, it might use the Mega Ball to return it
to normal size. Or speed up to avoid the goo, or split into 3 so that only 1
ball gets blown up by a bomb, etc. You can do this too, but it's a better idea
to just never use anti-specials at all, and hope the CPU does the same. See my
rant at the very end of the FAQ.
COLLECTING STARS - Throwing the ball through a star will add a Special to your
inventory. But if you wait too long to line up your shot, you'll see the stars
rise up and disappear from the lane. That's why I like to move my bowler left
or right BEFORE I press A to pick up the ball, because that's when the stars
appear and the timer starts. Then I can press A and quickly push the control
stick where I want it, then throw the ball and collect the stars. If you don't
care much about the items/specials, then take your time.
HAZARDS - Some lanes have environmental hazards that can affect your game,
like a huge alien that closes its teeth onto the lane, blocking your ball from
reaching the pins. I find that these hazards operate on a timed loop, so you
can anticipate and avoid them. For example, if you pick up and throw your ball
right when the alien's teeth come down, they will lift back up before your
ball reaches them, and it won't be a problem.
USING ANTI-SPECIALS AT ALL - Just a final note/essay on why you should
generally avoid the use of Anti-Specials.
As you re-enter each area in League mode, the CPU opponents will ostensibly
get tougher to beat. In some cases, this means they will use more Specials
when they bowl, and also more Anti-Specials against you, largely preventing
you from knocking down any pins. You can sometimes counter the Anti-Specials
and knock down a couple, but you have to use Anti-Specials yourself to keep
the CPU's score down if you want to win.
To be clear: when you and the CPU are both use Anti-Specials against each
other, it reduces the game to a silly slapping match, which has nothing to do
with bowling, and it isn't fun. You have to aim your ball toward the stars, so
that you'll have something to attack the CPU with, since you know the CPU will
keep your ball from reaching the pins anyway. It's dumb. It's way better to
actually figure out a way to consistently get lots of pins down (using
Specials when you have them) and have a "real" bowling match with no Anti-
Specials.
I can't say for sure, but it seems like the CPU only uses Anti-Specials
against you if you use them first. I've played many rounds that were very
civil and ordinary, but as soon as I used an Anti-Special against the CPU, it
relentlessly used them on me until the end of the match, sometimes carrying
over into subsequent matches. I tried swearing them off, and eventually the
CPU stopped using them against me altogether. If I did in fact toggle that
"mode" in the CPU player, then I have to include a recommendation to never use
Anti-Specials unless the CPU uses them first.
Sure, if you're in a close match and you think you might lose, you could try
using one against the CPU on its very last throws, when it can't retaliate
against you. But since I've seen "grudges" carry over into other matches, I
personally wouldn't risk it.
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06 - Other Junk
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This FAQ was written by me; my name is Splain. Copy it if you want, but credit
me.
Comments, questions, or corrections can be sent to peoppozo.msn@com. But, you
know, switch the . and @ around.
