Dive Alert FAQ for the Neo Geo Pocket Color
Version 1.0 (1/29/04)
By Heimdal Gazzo (
[email protected])
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Table of Contents
Intro
Story
Controls
Gameplay
- Parts explanation*
- Types of weapons
- Miscellaneous hints*
- Enemies*
Walkthrough
Parts*
Training*
Sections marked with a * are incomplete.
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*****
Intro
*****
Dive Alert is a sort of action/strategy game, in which you pilot a submarine
and battle against other submarines as well as various other types of targets.
In between missions you can purchase new parts and weapons to equip your sub
with, as well as participate in generic "N-Missions" to earn more money and
experience, before continuing with the main part of the game, the
"S-Missions". The gameplay seems slow paced and sluggish at first (and will
always be this way to some extent), but your sub's speed can increase
dramatically later on with the right equipment.
Currently, this walkthrough only applies to Matt's Version, and not Becky's
Version, but, from what little I have played so far of Becky's Version, I have
only noticed the following differences:
- Becky and Matt have slightly different dialogue (but it's not much
different, and the story is the same)
- Each version has a different set of Navicoms (all Navicoms in Matt's Version
are female, and all in Becky's Version are male)
- Each version has a different set of submarine hulls (thus, I assume the only
way to complete the Subs section in the Domus is to link with the version
opposite to the one you're playing)
I will probably play through Becky's Version eventually, and if there are any
significant changes to be found, I'll include them in a future version of this
FAQ.
Also, this is my first FAQ (that I've submitted, anyway), so please excuse
this FAQ's extremely poor formatting, disorganized appearance, and any other
problems it might have.
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*****
Story
*****
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(From the game's introduction)
"In the far distant future, the star Sirius B in the constellation of Canis
Majoris has inexplicably exploded.
The effects of the explosion have stretched through the galaxy, devastating
Earth.
All of the Earth's major cities have been vaporized, and billions of human
lives have been lost.
Earthquakes have nearly ripped the Earth apart, and both polar icecaps have
melted, flooding the majority of the land and making it inhospitable to the
few remaining survivors.
By salvaging the remains of their technologically advanced civilization, the
survivors have managed to develop a fleet of small submarines.
In these submarines, they have abandoned the land to look for a new life,
somewhere within the vast ocean that now covers the majority of the Earth's
surface.
One hundred years have passed since the explosion of Sirius B.
Life is no longer what it used to be."
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Basically, you, as Matt or Becky, pilot a submarine, destroying unmaned subs
called Automen, in order to earn points. When you have earned enough points,
you will be permitted to take an exam to see if you are worthy to be allowed
entry into Terra, the paradise city, built, on what little dry land remains
on the planet, by Cur Deus Homo, or CDH.
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********
Controls
********
Left and right rotate your submarine (you'll be able to tell because of the
compass lines moving)
Up moves your sub forward, down moves backward (you won't be able to see any
movement if there aren't any enemies onscreen)
Option button activates a Sonar sweep, which will give you an updated view of
your surroundings (normally, some enemy movements will have a delayed
appearance, for example an enemy might have already submerged even though it
is still marked with a 1; this might also reveal additional enemies). All
movement on the screen stops momentarily while the sonar is active.
A button fires your currently selected weapon during a mission, and confirms
menu choices
B button cancels menu choices, and opens the following menu screen during a
mission (note that the enemies continue to move and fire as the menu screen
is up)
(Weapon 1) > Bal. > Float > Dive
(Weapon 2)
(Weapon 3)
Info
Navi
Weapons - whatever weapons you have equipped on your SAS. The weapon you
select is the one that fires when you press the A button outside the menu
screen. Arrows pointing left and right will appear on the sides of your
active weapon, and pressing left or right will cycle through the options
Bal., Float, and Dive.
Bal. is short for Ballast, and is used to quickly move up one depth level.
You have a limited amount of these, but you can buy more at a Domus. Make
sure to equip them in the set up screen.
Float brings you up one depth level, but it takes a few seconds to take
effect.
Dive is the opposite of Float, bringing you down one depth level.
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********
Gameplay
********
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A. Parts Explanation
Coming Soon (very soon)
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B. Types of weapons
Torpedo : These are the standard weapon type, and are usually the most useful.
They move forward in a straight line when you fire them, and never rise or
sink.
G-Torpedo : These are Torpedos that follow nearby enemies instead of moving in
a straight line. These aren't particularly useful, IMO, due to their tendency
to miss an enemy, and take too much time circling around trying to hit the
enemy. Since you can only have 2 fired weapons on screen at a time, this can
often prevent you from attacking. Like Torpedos, these also will not change
depth levels.
Missile : These weapons track a specific enemy that you choose before firing.
They're more accurate than G-Torpedos, but they can only be used to attack
enemies on the surface. However, you can fire them from any depth level, and
they will go up to the surface on their own. Pretty useful. MAny enemies
towards the end of the game will use these against you.
Mines : When you use one of these, it rises towards the surface of the ocean,
and explodes on impact with an enemy. Other than that, it doesn't move. I
suppose you could learn to be proficient with this weapon, but it isn't very
useful at all. The only enemy in the game that stays at the surface all the
time (aside from the Automen in the introductory battle) uses Depth Charges
against you, making this weapon useless against it.
Depth Charges : The opposite of a Mine, the Depth Charges sink when you use
them. Very useful in one particular boss battle, pretty much useless
everywhere else.
Decoy : I guess this is supposed to draw away enemy fire, or something.
I only tried it once, and it didn't seem to work. It might be useful if you
can get it to work, but you shouldn't need it anyway.
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C. Miscellaneous hints
Coming Soon
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D. Enemies
Enemy Name | HP | EXP | Chips
SAS-A | 3| 1| 25
SAS-B | 8| 8| 100
SAS-C | 13| 40| 400
SAS-D | 21| 120| 600
SAS-E | 34| 240| 6400
SAS-F | 55| 240|26600
Sea Monster|????| 500| 2500
Amoeba |????| 4000|20000
Clione | 3 8| 25
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***********
Walkthrough
***********
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Beginning of First Mission
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The goal of your first mission is to rescue an SAS from the Automen attacking
it. The first part of the mission is simply to reach a location marked with
an X on the map. This area is here for you to get acquainted with the
controls, and see how fast your SAS is; there are no enemies here. More
dialogue will commence once you travel to the X in this area.
The next part of the mission introduces you to Automen, and gives you a good
opportunity to try out your weaponry. The only useful weapons here are the
KRAIT3 torpedoes, however. These Automen are very easy to defeat; they move
slowly, fire infrequently, and never go below the surface of the water.
Simply shoot them down with the torpedoes. You'll notice each destroyed enemy
drops a crate; these can restore HP, or fuel, or oxygen, or contain any type
of submarine parts, from hulls to engines, weapons to ballasts. Most of the
ones in this area will contain HP recovery powerups, which you likely won't
need. Still, you might want to go after them anyway if you have the patience,
as they could contain useful parts. You won't find any parts that aren't sold
in the shops at each Domus, but it can still save you some money. One
important thing to note is that if you collect a crate containing a weapon
that you currently have equipped, it will automatically be added to your
equipped stock. Anyway, once you destroy enough of the Automen here, you'll
be interrupted by more story scenes.
Next up is a more difficult battle. The Automen you face in this final part
of the mission are much tougher. They will change depths, move around more,
and fire quicker than the Automen you met just before. Don't worry too much
if they seem too powerful for you though, as you are supposed to lose this
battle. Destroy as many Automen as you can, until your HP drops too low and
another story scene begins as you are saved by the Lynx.
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End of First Mission
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After a lot more conversation (including a lengthy explanation of the
backstory from your Navicom to Mr. Mihara), you will arrive at a Domus. There
is quite a bit to do here. You should definitely go shopping here,
particularly to buy more torpedos. In choosing your weapons and parts, you'll
need to watch both your remaining money and the weight limit on your sub's
hull. If you chose a smaller hull at the beginning, you probably won't have
much (or any) space for superior engines, motors, or weapons. If you chose a
larger hull, however, there probably is some room to fit better parts, as long
as you can afford them. Either way, you can most likely remove the mines and
depth charges you started with in favor of more torpedos, or to make room for
other improvements. You might find them useful though, so it's up to you. I
didn't find much use for either of those types of weapons, but I'll let you
know about battles in which I recommend bringing them along.
I'm not sure if this was an intentional part of the game's design, but this
is basically the only point in the game in which you can earn a worthwhile
amount of money from the Training minigame. It's faster than joining the
N-Mission, and probably gets you more money right now if you play them both
for an equal amount of time. If you don't enjoy the minigame, don't bother
playing it after this.
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Beginning of Second Mission
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Now you begin your first real mission, an S-Mission. You are ordered to go
investigate reports of a Sea Monster.
The first part is a "go to location X" objective, just like the first part of
the previous mission. This time, however, the X is not on the screen as soon
as you begin. You'll have to follow the red arrow on the compass in the lower
left corner of the screen until you find the X. You will encounter two types
of Automen in this area, SAS-A and SAS-B. SAS-A are pushovers, and the rewards
for killing them aren't really worth it. You should be able to kill an SAS-A
with a single torpedo. SAS-B is somewhat stronger, and the rewards are much
greater. it can take up to three torpedos to kill one of these (even more if,
for some reason, you opted to buy weaker torpedos than the ones you started
the game with). Kill either type if you want though. It isn't really worth
the time to check which type you're facing each time you see an SAS anyway.
Make sure you have plenty of torpedos left over when you reach the X.
After reaching the X, and the conversation with your Navicom, you will engage
in battle with the Sea Monster. It can and will change depths, but not very
often. It doesn't fire at you very often either. There isn't much else to say
here, just keep hitting it with torpedos until the battle is interrupted by
another cutscene.
Next up, you fight the Sea Monster again, this time to the finish. It has
slightly less HP this time, but it's more agressive. You might need to try
dodging some of its attacks this time. Still, it shouldn't be much of a
problem as long as your HP and torpedo stock were high enough going into the
battle. After the battle (and cutscene), you'll be back at a Domus.
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End of Second Mission
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You'll notice that, before the Domus screen appears, your Navicom will inform
you that your submarine has increased an experience level. Technically, it's
actually your hull that gains a level. The first hull level up occurs at 1000
EXP. And, since you get 500 EXP for each of the battles you just fought
against the Sea Monster, you're guaranteed a level up right here, even if you
switched hulls after the introductory mission. With a level up, Size (maximum
weight) and Density (HP) values double, and Resistance also increases. So,
you'll be able to take more hits and carry a lot more/better equipment, but
your maximum speed will decrease.
Now, since you have more capacity on your sub, and quite a bit more money,
make sure you buy some better equipment. Faster engines/motors, larger fuel
tank, better air-tank and battery (so you can stay below the surface longer),
and of course, better weapons. You probably won't have enough money for the
HYDRA line of torpedos yet, so just get a higher level of KRAIT torpedos. Make
sure there's enough space on your sub for a lot of them though. I also suggest
bringing missiles along with you for the next mission.
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Beginning of Third Mission
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Your next S-Mission involves the investigation of an alleged "Phantom Ship".
The first part is, again, a "Go to location X" objective. You know the drill.
The enemies this time are mostly SAS-B, with the occasional SAS-C. Hopefully
you should be able to kill an SAS-B with a single hit from your new, more
powerful weaponry. Two hits at the most. If it takes three hits, your weapons
are too weak. The SAS-C has 13 HP compared to the SAS-B's 8, so two to three
hits would be expected. Neither type of Automen are much threat, so knock
yourself out fighting them. Just make sure you save your missiles (and maybe
a few torpedos) for the battle ahead.
After reaching the X, the the next part of the mission is a battle against
the phantom ship, which you now know is called "The Flying Dutchman", or
Flying-D, as it is referred to in the info menu. The Dutchman will travel
towards the west throughout the battle. As the Dutchman is a ship, and not a
submarine, it can only stay at the surface. When you're on the surface the
Dutchman will fire torpedos at you, but they aren't that difficult to dodge,
and the aren't fired frequently anyway. Still, it's safer to dive if you have
the right weaponry with you. Mines are no good, because the Dutchman uses
depth charges. So, simply stay at depth level 2, and fire missiles. If you
get impatient, use a ballast to go back to the surface, attack with some
torpedos, and dive again before you sustain too much damage.
After inflicting a certain amount of damage, the battle will end with another
cutscene.
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End of Third Mission
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You know what to do now, buy whatever you couldn't afford last time, and
restock your weaponry. It'll be a while before your hull levels up again. You
might want to try N-Mission a few times to speed it up a bit, especially if
you could use some extra cash.
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Beginning of Fourth Mission
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Yet another "Go to location X" for the first part of the mission. There are
SAS-C Automen here, and sometimes you might see a SAS-D. There isn't much
difficulty here, but these enemies do fire their torpedos pretty quickly.
Stick around and earn some experience and money if you like, but, as usual,
make sure to save some HP and ammunition for the boss.
Next up after going to the X is the boss of this mission, the Amoeba. There's
only one round against this guy, so don't worry about saving ammo. The Amoeba
can fire Missiles (or some amoeba equivalent) if you're on the surface, and
G-Torpedos when you and the Amoeba are at the same depth level. All you need
to do, though, is hit it with a lot of torpedos. It doesn't fire that often,
so dodging isn't necessary, just as long as you stay underwater. If the Amoeba
ever goes to the surface, take advantage and fire lots of Missiles at it. Be
careful when firing Torpedos, because the Amoeba can change depth levels
quickly. After you defeat him, the mission is complete.
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End of Fourth Mission
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After that battle, you should be getting close to 10,000 experience points,
which is where your hull will gain another level. You might have even already
reached that if you've played enough N-Missions, and haven't changed hulls.
If not, don't worry about it now. But, if you aren't at hull level 3 by the
end of this next mission, make sure to play the N-Missions until you get
there.
Upgrade your parts as you see fit, but make sure you buy and equip some Depth
Charges for the next mission - at least 25 of them, and preferrably strong
ones. Equip at least 3 Ballasts, as well.
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Beginning of Fifth Mission
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Move to position X, as usual. Right away you should notice an increase in
difficulty in this mission; the usual enemies here are SAS-D, they have
Missiles, and they won't hesitate to use them. To avoid serious damage, and
possible destruction, dive immediately and don't go up to the surface for
very long. As you might expect, there are a few SAS-E's in this mission as
well. You'll get a whole lot of money for killing them. Both types of Automen
in this mission are also very good sources of experience. You'll certainly
need to pay closer attention to your HP than ever this time if you decide to
stay here to fight them for a while.
The boss battle here is against the Clione. This is definitely a strange
battle - the Clione ram into you repeatedly, damaging both you and them,
until they die. They only have 3 HP, so they die quickly, but there are a lot
of them, and you've likely lost some HP on the way here. You might have also
noticed that you start at the fourth depth level in this battle. The trick
here is to go to the surface immediately. The Clione can only go up to depth
level 2, so when you're at the surface they just swarm directly underneath
you. Here's where the depth charges come in. I haven't checked, but I imagine
even the weakest depth charges could kill these guy with one hit. All you
need to do is keep pressing the A button until the battle ends.
An interesting thing to note is that this is the first time in the game that
you'll see more than three enemies on the screen at the same time - but not
the last.
After destroying many, many Clione, you'll arrive at the final part of this
mission, which is really quite simple. All you need to do here is go up to
the surface, and you're done.
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End of Fifth Mission
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Believe it or not, the next mission is the last one. It is very long,
however, and pretty difficult. You'll need to have a level 3 hull, as I
mentioned before. If you don't have one yet, play the N-Mission until you
reach 10,000 EXP. Spend all the money you need to, get the best equipment you
can afford, and equip all the weapons you can carry, but only Torpedos and
Missiles (maybe G-Torpedos if you like them).
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Beginning of Sixth Mission
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Finally, a mission that doesn't start with a move to position X objective.
This first round is a battle against lots of Automen. You'll encounter both
SAS-D and SAS-E, and like in last mission, they both have Missiles, so try not
to stay on the surface. Grab the item drops whenever you can afford to; you'll
be needing a lot of HP and weapons.
After destroying a lot of subs, a very long story sequence ensues. After that,
you face two Guardians, or Gur-bots (...). There's also some SAS-E's around.
Again, you'll want to avoid the surface. Destroy the Automen if it's
convenient, but focus on the Gur-bots, because the battle ends as soon as
they're destroyed. You'll be able to tell them apart from the Automen because
they're usually a somewhat different shape. You probably won't have any
opportunities to collect powerups from destroyed Automen, so just try to
defeat the Gur-bots as fast as possible to avoid damage. They don't change
depths very quickly, so just fire your torpedos rapidly.
Next, after another very long story scene, is a battle against a single
Guardian. There's still Automen around though. Again, stay off the surface,
and just destroy the Guardian as fast as possible. It doesn't seem to be any
stronger than the Guardians you fought before, so this should be an easier
battle, but you should hurry all the same.
Now we arrive at the final battle, against Na Louadch, or, uh, Lou-Lou. That
isn't really a very threatening name, but don't let your guard down. There are
still SAS-E's to fight against as well. Na Louadch has roughly the HP of 2
Guardians, but it's also pretty slow, so just fire torpedos at it repeatedly,
and as usual, stay below the surface whenever possible. Change depths whenever
multiple torpedos or missiles are approaching as well. Focus on Na Louadch at
first, but be careful, because even after you defeat it, the fight won't end
until you destroy the remaining Automen as well.
After that, well, the game's over! I don't know about you, but I was
expecting it to be longer.
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End of Sixth Mission (And the game)
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There is a bit more to do once you've completed the game, however. After the
credits, the game will return to the title screen. If you choose Continue,
you'll find that you have started the game again from the beginning, only you
have all the parts, experience, and money you had at the end of the game.
Also, unlike when you first started the game, you're in a Domus before you
start the first mission.
Obviously, this makes playing through the game again a lot easier, and it
also allows you to continue levelling up your hull, or to level up different
hulls.
In addition, you can now press the Option button to skip any story sequence.
I've already played through a second time, hoping to find a new mission or
something, but found nothing. I'm a bit confused by this, because, in the
game's introduction, you see a robot's head, similar to the Guardians, with
the name "Machio" beside it. I'm pretty sure that isn't the name of any of
the 4 Guardians, and you never hear about or see this Machio during the
course of the game. Maybe if you get a hull to level 5? Or maybe you can
unlock something by seeing all the subs in the game?
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********
Training
********
This game is kind of fun, but it doesn't have any benefit except at the very
beginning of the game. After that, it just takes too long for such a small
amount of money. But, in case you're curious, I've compiled point gains for
most of the targets. Some of these may be incorrect, and some are incomplete,
but I'm in no hurry to finish this section, given how unimportant it is to
the game.
Description of target | # of shots | Front row | Middle Row | Back row
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Small purple sub | 1 shot | 1 point | 1 point | 1 point
Smallish orange sub | 2 shots | 3 points | 3 points | 4 points
Yellow ship | 2 shots | 4 points | 5 points | 6 points
Green ship | 3 shots | 8 points | 9 points | 12 points
Purple ship | 3 shots | 9 points | 10 points | 13 points
Octopus |10? shots |36 points | 46 points | ???
Clock* | 1 shot | 3 points | 3 points | 3 points
Surfing stick figure**| 1 shot | 3 points | 3 points | 3 points
Pink flower*** | 1 shot | 3 points | 3 points | 3 points
*Shooting the clock gives you extra time
**Shooting the stick figure gives you extra ammo
***Shooting the pink flower temporarily freezes the clock and ammo supply
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Copyright and whatnot
This FAQ may not changed without my permission. This FAQ is not intended to
be sold in any way. The only website currently permitted to use this FAQ is
GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com). No other websites may post this FAQ without my
permission. If you wish to post this FAQ on your website, ask me about it via
the e-mail address at the top of the document, and I will consider granting
permission.
And so on, and so forth.
