Introduction
-------------
Back in 1994, Columbia/TriStar released an action film titled Cliffhanger.
The film starred Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow and even garned two
Oscar nominations (go figure). Hoping to cash in on the film, a number of
video games were produced. The walkthrough covers the Super Nintendo version
of the game, and I cannot guarantee that any of the information here crosses
over to other versions of the game. You'll find maps of the levels here,
along with an enemy appearance guide. The maps are divided up as screens,
but this is somewhat misleading. For the purposes of this game, a 'screen'
is defined as the extremities you can move without killing any of the
enemies present. Thus a 'screen' could be as small as one screen on your
television, or as large as three. As for the enemy lists, not all the
enemies are necessarily present at once on the screen; several of them may
appear after you've killed some of their friends. The story follows the
movie closely, but if hadn't seen the film you probably would have no idea
what was going on. I've included all the text from the game at the beginning
of each level it appears in. Gameplay itself is more reminiscent of Golden
Axe then Final Fight and is for one- or two-players (via a code).
Controls
---------
Block - (X)
Dash - (-> -> or <- <-)
Jump - (A)
Kick - (B)
Punch - (Y)
Shot Gun - (X, while you have a gun)
Sweeping Kick - (L or R)
Throw - (X, while you have an item)
Stage 1-1
----------
Radio: Please help, we're stranded. We were hiking and lost our bearings!
Jessie: The winds are too strong to get a chopper up there. You'll have to
rescue them on foot!
*Gabe and Hall, veteran rescue climbers, are summoned to help the stranded
hikers but unexpectedly a plane crash.*
Gabe: What happened to the hikers?
Hal: I don't know... Let's go find out.
Travers: We've lost three metal boxes in the plane crash.
Qualen: You know, suits, pants, socks, 100 million dollars... the usual
stuff.
Travers: You two have the expertise to help us get them back. Shall we get
started? The lights on this tracking device show exactly where the
money is.
Qualen: Recognize these locations? Or should I jar your memory?
Travers: Get the money.
Qualen: The faster you find the bags, boys, the bigger the finder's fee.
Gabe: Right... All the bullets we can eat! I need to get that money to save
Hal. I just hope I can get to it before they do.
Map:
[4][5]
[1][2][3][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
Screen 1
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x2
-Hazards: none
Screen 2
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 3
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 4
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 5
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
Screen 6
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 7
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: Pit
Screen 8
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1 / Red Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 9
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: Pit
Screen 10
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Red Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: Pit
Screen 11
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Red Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 12
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
Stage 1-2
----------
Map:
[3][4]
[2]
[1]
Screen 1
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
Screen 2
-Enemies: Green Rifle Man x2
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 3
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 4
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
Stage 1-3
----------
Map:
[1]
Screen 1
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Avalanche
Stage 2-1
----------
Gabe: Qualen? I've got the first case of money and I'm going for the second
one. You better not lay a finger on Hal or you can kiss your money
good bye.
Hal: Don't come down, Gabe! They're after you!
Map:
[1][2][3][4][5]
Screen 1
-Enemies: Green Bald Man x1 / Green Uzi Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 2
-Enemies: Green Bald Man x1 / Green Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 3
-Enemies: Blue Knife Man x2 / Green Knife Man x2
-Hazards: Water
Screen 4
-Enemies: Green Bald Man x1 / Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 1
-Enemies: Green Bald Man x1 / Blue Knife Man x1 / Green Knife Man x2
-Hazards: Water
Screen 2
-Enemies: Green Bald Man x1 / Green Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: Logs / Water
Screen 3
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Water
Screen 4
-Enemies: Blue Knife Man x1 / Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: Pit
Screen 5
-Enemies: Green Bald Man x1 / Blue Knife Man x2 / Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: Water
Screen 6
-Enemies: Blue Knife Man x1 / Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: Pit
Screen 7
-Enemies: Green Bald Man x1 / Blue Knife Man x2 / Green Knife Man x1
Blue Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: Water
Screen 8
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Green Uzi Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 9
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Logs / Water
Screen B
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
-Boss: Heldon
Before facing Heldon, make sure you pick up the uzi dropped by the
Uzi Man on the previous screen. Having this item makes this battle
a lot easier. Heldon attacks in one of three ways; either he jumps
at you, backhands you, or charges you. He's got quite a range for
all of his attacks, so you have to watch out. At the beginning of
the battle, unload your uzi on him. This should bring him down most
of the way, allowing you to move in and pummel him the rest of the
way down. When he moves to either charge or jump at you, simply move
up or down to dodge. He should fall in no time.
Stage 3-1
----------
Gabe: Hey Qualen! I've got your second case of money. That makes about 60
million dollars. Hal better be perfectly safe, or else!
*The storm's getting worse. I better get to Douglas Cabin!*
Jessie: Frank, I'm getting worried. The storm is getting stronger and
stronger.
Frank: Do you think something is wrong?
Jessie: I don't know. Drop me off at Douglas Cabin. Gabe and Hal have to go
there to escape the cold. I'll wait for them in the cabin. Come back
for me later.
Frank: Copy, Jessie. Over and out.
Map:
[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
Screen 1
-Enemies: Green Bald Man x1 / Yellow Uzi Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 2
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
Yellow Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 3
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Broken Bridge
Screen 4
-Enemies: Green Heldon x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 5
-Enemies: Green Heldon x1 / Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 8
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: Broken Bridge
Screen 9
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: Broken Bridge
Screen B
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
-Boss: Delmar & Kynette
This guys aren't that tough. Basically Delmar and Kynette are
nothing more than stronger versions of the Bald Man. They block,
punch, kick, and occaissionally jump kick you. Fight them like you
would any other enemy duo. If you have a knife, this fight is much
easier as they won't be able to block your slashes.
Stage 4-1
----------
Gabe: What are you doing here!?
Jessie: Looking for you. Gabe, you're frozen!
Gabe: I'm all right. You gotta get out of here. You've got to go back now!
Jessie: But where's Hal? What's going on?
Gabe: The distress call was a fake. A bunch of fugitives crashed their plane
and they're using Hal to find their lost cash. Once they find the
money, he's in danger... That's why I have to get the money first.
Jessie: I'll go tell Frank.
Map:
[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Screen 1
-Enemies: Blue Heldon x1 / Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 2
-Enemies: Blue Delmar x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: none
Screen 3
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Large Water
Screen 4
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Moving Ice / Water
Screen 5
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Large Water / Moving Ice
Screen 6
-Enemies: Blue Delmar x2
-Hazards: Water
Screen 7
-Enemies: Blue Delmar x1
-Hazards: Large Water / Moving Ice
Screen 8
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
Stage 4-2
----------
Map:
[6]
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
Screen 1
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
Screen 2
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Falling Debris
Screen 3
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Falling Debris
Screen 4
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Falling Debris
Screen 5
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Falling Debris
Screen 6
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
Stage 4-3
----------
Map:
[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Screen 1
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 2
-Enemies: Green Bald Man x1 / Blue Delmar x1
-Hazards: Water
Screen 3
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Logs / Water
Screen 4
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Logs / Water
Screen 5
-Enemies: Blue Delmar x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: none
Stage 5-1
----------
Qualen: Gabe, have you found all the money?
Gabe: Yes.
Qualen: Good, because I've just picked up somebody you might be interested
in. I think you owe me 100 million dollars in helicopter fare.
Gabe: Meet me at the top of the Bitkar Laddar...
Screen 1
-Enemies: Blue Ponytail Man x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 2
-Enemies: Green Rifle Man x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 3
-Enemies: Green Knife Man x1 / Blue Uzi Man x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 4
-Enemies: Green Rifle Man x2
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 5
-Enemies: Green Bald Man x1 / Green Knife Man x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 6
-Enemies: Brown Heldon x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 7
-Enemies: Blue Heldon x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 8
-Enemies: Green Rifle Man x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 9
-Enemies: Blue Delmar x2
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 10
-Enemies: Green Rifle Man x2
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 11
-Enemies: Green Heldon x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 12
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 13
-Enemies: Black Delmar x1 / Blue Delmar x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 14
-Enemies: Green Rifle Man x2
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 15
-Enemies: Green Heldon x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 16
-Enemies: Green Rifle Man x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 17
-Enemies: Black Delmar x1 / Green Heldon x1
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen 18
-Enemies: Green Rifle Man x2
-Hazards: Cliff
Screen B
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: Cliff
-Boss: Ryan
If you have a knife, Ryan is extremely easy. Simply slash away and
he will literally walk right into it over and over. He does this
because if you don't have a knife, he grapples and pummles you to
death. This means you pretty much have to make it through the entire
stage without losing a single life, a difficult but not impossible
task. Quite frankly, I'm not sure how you could make it all the way
to the top without a knife!
Stage 6-1
----------
Gabe: I've got your luggage! Give me Jessie!
Qualen: Throw up the money first!
Gabe: When she's safe!
*Qualen lowers Jessie from his chopper.*
Qualen: Let me have it!
Gabe: Don't you want to count it?
*Gabe throws the money case into the chopper blades.*
Screen B
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
-Boss: Travers
Travers is by far the hardest boss you've faced thus far, which is
ironic because he only has one attack. Travers will stand on the
far left and fire his uzi continuously, and that includes when you
are attacking him. He fires in one of three directions; straight
ahead or to the upper or lower left. He will move up and down so
that he can always have you right in front of him. Luckily once you
get him down to about two-thirds of his health he will switch tacts
and come at you with punches and jump kicks. From here on out he
fights like a normal enemy, meaning he can be defeated like one.
Stage 6-2
----------
Map:
[B]
Screen B
-Enemies: Blue Delmar x1 / Green Ponytail Man x1 / Green Heldon x1
Green Ryan x1 / Green Uzi Man x1
-Hazards: Cliff / Falling Debris
-Boss: Chopper
That's right, you have to take down Qualen's chopper! You begin by
climbing downward and descending the face of the cliff. Qualen will
then fly in in his chopper, armed with a rifle. He'll fire at you
as you make your way downward. Eventually someone else in the
chopper will begin throwing dynamite at you. The resulting
explosions will cause debris to fall. Make your way downwards,
avoiding all of this. Eventually you will land on a ledge. From
here you need to attack the chopper directly, all the while regular
enemies are jumping from the chopper to the ground to fight you.
(The Enemy List above is done in the order that the enemies jump
out of the chopper.)
Stage 7-1
----------
Gabe: I'm going after Qualen.
Jessie: Don't do it Gabe! He's dangerous!
Gabe: I have to. I can't let him get away. Come on Qualen... one last
challenge!
Map:
[B]
Screen B
-Enemies: none
-Hazards: none
-Boss: Qualen
You've made it to the final boss, and surprisingly he's not as hard
as the last two bosses. Qualen is armed with a knife, He uses this
weapon to either jump and slash at you, to make three quick slashes
as he moves either forward or back, or to cut wide arcs around him.
No matter how much damage you deal, Qualen can neither be deprived
of his knife nor knocked down. Therefore the best strategy is to
jump kick him, then follow it with three quick punches. He will
counter with a slash. This will result in you dealing four hits to
each of his, which should give you the victory if you can avoid his
other attacks.
The End
--------
*Gabe, exhausted, climbs back to Jessie.*
Hal: Gabe, do you think you could have put a little less effort into that
climb? I thought you were in shape!
Gabe: I guess I'm just falling apart!
Jessie: I don't mind. I'm great with repair work.
*Jessie kisses Gabe.*
Enemy Data
-----------
This section describes the behavior of the various enemies you will
encounter throughout Cliffhanger. Bosses are listed at the end in the order
they appear in the game. Bosses also sometimes appear as regular enemies,
albeit in a weakened form.
Bald Man
-The Bald Man is one of the tougher basic enemies. His health is generally
high and his attacks do a decent amount of damage. Mostly the Bald
Man will move towards you, then grab and throw you when he's close
enough. He also will block a lot of your hits, making him even more
annoying.
Knife Man
-The Knife Man wields a small knife with which he slashes at you with. He
will also throw knives at you, his range covering the screen. He may
drop a knife if you defeat him, allowing you to pick it up.
Ponytail Man
-The Ponytail Man is your most basic foe. He kicks and punches, but that is
about it.
Rifle Man
-The Rifle Man is usually found on small ledges in climbing sections of a
stage. He aimsin your general direction, then fires three volleys.
He pauses between each set of three, giving you time to either move
past him or move towards him for an attack.
Uzi Man
-The Uzi Man possess an uzi, which he fires at you in short bursts. He
deals a lot of damage with each shot, but if you kill him he'll
usually drop an uzi for you to use.
Heldon
-The boss of Stage 2-2. Heldon attacks in one of three ways; either he jumps
at you, backhands you, or charges you. He's got quite a range for
all of his attacks, so you have to watch out. Reappears frequently
as a regular enemy after that. In some cliff levels, Heldon will
throw rocks at you as you climb.
Delmar
-One of the bosses of Stage 3-3. Delmar fights just like the Bald Man. He is
paired with Kynette when you fight him in Stage 3-3. When Delmar
reappears as a regular enemy, he gains an attack whereas he throws
exploding powder at you.
Kynette
-One of the bosses of Stage 3-3. Kynette fights just like the Bald Man. He
is paired with Delmar when you fight him in Stage 3-3.
Ryan
-Boss of Stage 5-1. Ryan is a grappler who will pummel you senseless unless
you have a weapon, preferably a knife. When armed, you can take down
Ryan no sweat.
Travers
-Boss of Stage 6-1. Travers will stand on the far left and fire his uzi
continuously, and that includes when you are attacking him. He fires
in one of three directions; straight ahead or to the upper or lower
left. He will move up and down so that he can always have you right
in front of him. After losing a third of his health he will come at
you with fists and jump kicks, making him nothing more than a
glorified Ponytail Man at that point.
Chopper
-Boss of Stage 6-2. The battle takes place down a cliff face, you armed with
your wits and Qualen with his chopper and rifle. If that wasn't bad
enough, you also have to deal with falling debris and dynamite. Once
you climb downwards far enough and reach the ledge, regular enemies
will begin jumping out of the chopper. While this is occuring, the
chopper will try and hit you. You have to deal damage to the chopper
itself in order to harm it.
Qualen
-Final boss. Qualen fights with a knife. He uses this weapon to either jump
and slash at you, to make three quick slashes as he moves either
forward or back, or to cut wide arcs around him. No matter how much
damage you do, Qualen can neither be knocked down nor deprived of
his knife. Defeat him and you win the game.
Walker
-Player 2 in Versus Mode (see Versus Mode below). Plays identically to Gabe.
Hazard Data
------------
Here we have an explanation of the various hazards you will face in
Cliffhanger.
Avalanche
-In some stages you have to outrun an avanlanche. The avanlache takes up the
back of the screen, following you throughout the level. If it
touches you, you're dead.
Bats
-In caves, bats fly in packs across the screen. They knock you to the ground
and cause damage if you touch them. They cannot be hurt. The Bat
Chase is just like the avalanche, only this time you're being chased
by bats.
Broken Bridge
-Most of the bridges you cross have both holes in them and weak spots that
become holes the instant you step on them. Be careful.
Cliff
-Some levels require you to climb upwards. If while you're climbing you get
shot (i.e. by a Rifle Man), you will fall and die. Usually you have
to get shot twice in a row to fall, but sometimes it only takes one
hit.
Falling Debris
-Falling debris is simply something that falls from above the screen and
damages you if you get hit.
Falling Ledges
-Sometimes when you are jumping from ledge to ledge over a pit, a ledge you
have recently landed on will fall out from under you.
Logs
-In some levels it is necessary to jump on the backs of speeding logs to
make it further in the stage. Logs speed downward, off the screen.
They are then replaced by another log that speeds downward.
Moving Ice
-In levels where you have to jump across the ice, some of the ice platforms
float back and forth in the water. Missing them results in your
death.
Pit
-Falling down a pit will result in your death. A large pit means you have
to dash and jump to get across it.
Rope Pit
-Some pits require you to use a rope to cross, instead of jumping from
ledge to ledge.
Stallactites
-In caves, stallactites will sometimes fall from the ceiling unto your head.
Water
-Falling in the water will also result in your death. A large body of water
means you have to dash and jump to get across.
Versus Mode
------------
There is a secret versus mode for Cliffhanger. To access it, input this code
on the title screen with the second controller five times:
B, Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, A
Then simply press Start. You are now in a two-player versus mode, whereas
Player 1 and Player 2 can duke it out one-on-one. There is no sound made on
the title screen, so don't worry about that. Controls are identical to one-
player mode. Once the battle is done, it will just reload again.
Game Genie Codes
-----------------
Infinite Lives
-3C8B-1D69
Start each life with a knife
-336F-1D69
Don't lose knife when you throw it
-DDC2-CDA5
Closing
--------
Cliffhanger is (c) Columbia/TriStar and Sony Imagesoft
