This walkthrough was created because at the time of writing it I could find no
walkthrough for Forgotten Worlds and although it isn't one of my favourite
games for the Sega Master System I feel I have a lot of experience and
knowledge of the game that I want to impart to others. Forgotten Worlds is a
side-scrolling shooting game and which is quite different from others because
the player automatically shoots the weapon and there is no way of stopping it.
Instead, the player uses the controller to move and to rotate the player
clockwise and anti-clockwise which means the player can shoot enemies in all
directions. The player has a health bar too which makes the game a lot easier
than other shooting games wherein the player dies as soon as he's hit.
This walkthrough is split up into sections.
These are:
-Technical Information
-My Experience With The Game
-Story/Object Of The Game
-How To Play
-Lucia's Shop
-Weapon Upgrades
-Miscellaneous Upgrades
-Difficulty Levels
-Walkthrough
-Final Notes
Forgotten Worlds was originally released as an arcade game by Capcom in 1988
and released in Japan and the USA. The game was ported to various systems such
as the Commodore 64 and the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1989. The Sega Master
System version is basically a scaled down version of the Sega Mega
Drive/Genesis version. Because the Sega Master System controller only has two
buttons compared to the three buttons on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
controller, there is no shoot button on the Sega Master System version. To
overcome this, the designers decided to make the player shoot automatically.
Because of this, and the fact the game is scaled down, this version is easier
than other versions of the game.
I first got this game in 2001 from a second-hand shop. It didn't take me long
to complete it but I had a lot of fun doing so because of the varied enemies
and weapons that can be found in the game.
Long ago, aliens invaded Earth, enslaved humanity and turned the Earth into a
desolate dust world. In hiding, several humans were born who were raised to be
mighty warriors one of whom would be chosen to drive out the alien invaders and
restore the dust world to Earth again. You control that warrior.
To accomplish this task, you will acquire several weapons, defeat various
enemies and bosses and explore five levels.
The controls are very simple. Remember that the warrior will shoot
automatically and continuously without your having to press a button.
The controls in the game are merely for positioning the warrior on the screen
and for aiming the weapon. Since you haven't to worry about shooting, the two
buttons rotate the warrior both clockwise and anticlockwise enabling the player
to shoot within a complete circle.
All one has to do is make it through the rounds, kill as many enemies as
possible, defeat the end of level guardians and stay alive till the end.
-Use the D-Pad to move the warrior in eight directions across the screen.
-Use the D-Pad to select an item in Lucia's Shop.
-Press Button 1 to rotate the warrior anticlockwise.
-Press Button 1 to choose a selection in Lucia's Shop.
-Press Button 2 to rotate the warrior clockwise.
-Press Button 2 to choose a selection in Lucia's Shop.
-Press Buttons 1 & 2 simultaneously to perform the Mega-Crush attack. Remember
that you must have enough power to do this.
During each round, a door will appear above which the word SHOP is displayed.
manoeuvre the warrior to the door and he will enter the shop. The shop is run
a woman presumably named Lucia. In this shop one may purchase assorted upgrades
and power-ups such as weapons and shields. One thing to note about Lucia's Shop
is that the items available become much more expensive with each visit to
Lucia's Shop. To purchase something, simply highlight the item you choose and
press Button 1 or 2. To leave the shop after either buying something or
nothing, highlight END and press Button 1 or 2.
Zennies: As explained earlier, killing certain enemies will cause blue and
white tokens to be dropped. These tokens are called Zennies and they are the
currency accepted in Lucia's Shop. The small tokens are worth 500 Zennies and
the large tokens are worth 1000 Zennies. Try to grab every Zenny you see.
The warrior has two weapons: a rather weak gun which is always present and
can't be upgraded and a satellite which can be upgraded to any number of
different weapons. Some of these weapons are excellent, while others are a
waste of Zennies. The only way to upgrade them is by buying upgrades at Lucia's
Shop and once purchased, the player must wait until the next shop appears
before he can change it so it's important to choose the right weapon. Luckily
for you I will list all the weapon upgrades that can be purchased here and
describe their strengths and weaknesses.
Only one type of satellite is permitted in the game and so when you buy a new
one, you automatically trade in the old one for half its retail price. If you
don't have enough Zennies to make a purchase but do with the trade in price,
you will be able to purchase the satellite. This only works for purchasing
satellites though as the warrior must have a satellite.
-V Cannon: The player starts off with this weak satellite that shoots two white
shots forward at a slight V angle (hence the name). This weapon is the default
weapon and thus costs nothing; it is however very weak and I highly recommend
upgrading as soon as possible.
-Auto-Tracking Missile: This costs 5000 Zennies from the first and second shops
and shoots missiles that seek out the enemies and damages them. Although the
missiles are weak, this is still a recommended purchase over the only other
option in this shop, the Rear Blaster.
-Rear Blaster: This costs 2000 Zennies from the first shop and shoots four
little brackets behind the warrior. While more powerful than the Auto-Tracking
Missile and cheaper, it is quite difficult to use since the shots fire towards
the rear of the warrior and so to shoot forward, one must face backwards. Not
recommended at all.
-Fire Bomb: This costs 5000 Zennies from the second shop and shoots small fire
bombs at a very low firing rate. Avoid getting this upgrade because while it's
quite strong, the low firing rate will cause you to miss some enemies and put
you at a higher risk of getting hurt.
-Multi-Directional Shot: This costs 3000 Zennies from the second shop and fires
projectiles in eight directions at a reasonable firing rate. This is another
one to avoid because the projectiles are quite weak and it's difficult to aim
for a particular enemy.
-Bounce: This costs 30000 Zennies from the third and sixth shops and shoots
reasonably powerful shots that bounce off walls. This sounds good but it
isn't: the low firing rate makes this weapon quite awful.
-Burner: This costs 20000 Zennies from the third shop and fires a constant
flame at medium range. The flame is quite powerful and because it's constant,
the firing rate is therefore extremely fast. By this time the Auto-Tracking
Missiles would seem quite weak so I recommend upgrading to this.
-Laser: This costs 20000 Zennies from the third and fourth and fifth shops and
is a decent competitor to the Burner. The laser beams penetrate enemies which
sort of makes up for the low firing rate. It's good but I still prefer the
Burner.
-Rolling Barrier: This costs 50000 Zennies from the fourth and fifth shops and
consists of two brown spheres that orbit the warrior hurting/killing anything
they touch. Simultaneously, two extra shots will be fired from the warriors
gun. The spheres are quite powerful yet cannot be aimed which means luck is
involved with whether you kill anything with it. The two shots are quite weak
and useless. Do not be tricked into thinking this weapon is in addition to
your satellite: if it were I'd recommend it; as it happens, it replaces your
satellite and thus I recommend avoiding it at all costs.
-Vulcan Cannon: This costs 50000 Zennies from the fourth shop. This shoots
powerful shots forward and is almost a worthy replacement for the Burner if it
weren't for the low firing rate which can make it slightly more difficult to
kill enemies with. Still, it's a good weapon nonetheless.
-Vulcan Spreadshot: This costs 80000 Zennies from the fifth shop. This fires
four projectiles in a wide range. The shots are weak and it's difficult to aim
but the firing rate is quite high. I don't recommend this.
-4-Way Laser: This costs 30000 Zennies from the fifth shop and shoots two laser
beams forwards and two laser beams backwards. The laser beams are very
powerful and I recommend getting it for the short time between the fifth and
sixth shops.
-Fragmentation Ball: This costs 99900 Zennies from the sixth shop and shoots a
large sphere which upon impact, shoots four smaller spheres that home in on
enemies. This sounds great but isn't. The spheres have a low firing rate, are
slow, aren't that powerful and the homing spheres are next to useless. Avoid.
-Fire Ball: This costs 99900 Zennies from the sixth shop and is the most
powerful weapon in the game. It's very similar to the Vulcan Cannon except it
looks like small orange balls and is much more powerful. Unfortunately it has
the same drawback as the Vulcan Cannon which is its low firing rate; the power
more than makes up for it though and I can't recommend this enough.
Unlike the Weapon Upgrades, some of the Miscellaneous Upgrades can be found
in the game rounds and are therefore free when obtained this way. In the
Walkthrough section I will detail the known locations of these free upgrades.
These upgrades increase in price from shop to shop but not by much rendering
the price increase fairly pointless. I guarantee you that you'll have enough
Zennies to cover the extra cost.
The difficulty level has a small effect on which Miscellaneous Upgrades are
available to purchase. This is explained in more detail below.
-Life Potion: This can cost between 3000-10000 Zennies and will revive the
warrior when he dies. This is effectively an extra life and unlike other games
you are resurrected immediately without having to restart the level. Get them
whenever you can.
-Protector: This costs 5000 Zennies and will allow the warrior to sustain five
hits without taking damage. These are also located in the game rounds; the
locations are in the Walkthrough section.
-Repair Kit: This costs 1000 Zennies and will repair your protector. It's
cheaper than a new one but you'll have a hard time keeping your Protector
between shop visits as they seem to go very quickly. Once your Protector is
used up, you officially have no Protector and have to buy a new one so one is
only permitted to buy one of these if the Protector has between one point and
four points of damage. Needless to say, I've never managed to buy one.
-Power Pack: This can cost between 600-5000 Zennies and will increase the size
of the health bar allowing you to hold more health. I'd recommend buying this
whenever possible.
-Flying Stone: Buying this for 100 Zennies will open a small menu in which you
can choose a bronze, silver or gold stone. The bronze stone (Normal Speed) is
not recommended and will cause the warrior to move extremely slowly across the
screen, the silver stone (High Speed) makes the warrior slightly quicker and
the gold stone (Super High Speed) makes the warrior extremely fast. Although
it makes the warrior slightly difficult to handle, I'd recommend the gold one
as some enemies can only be outrun with it.
-Treatment: For between 300-10000 Zennies you can restore all the warrior's
life up to his maximum. This is pretty essential unless you're a pro at this.
-Booster: For 10000 Zennies, this will increase the power of your firepower.
You only need get it once so get it as soon as you can.
-Super Booster: For 30000 Zennies you can increase the power of your firepower
even more. Like the regular Booster, you only need get this once so get it as
soon as you see it for sale and you'll mow the enemies down with your shots.
-Aqua Stone: This is only 300 Zennies and is only available in the fourth shop
(the one in Round 4) and is absolutely essential to stop the water from making
the warrior move extremely slowly. With this, the warrior moves at his normal
speed underwater.
-Dress: Purchasing this for 99900 Zennies in the sixth shop will give you an
extra 1000000 points once you complete the game. This is fairly useless and
if you have the Zennies, purchase the Fire Ball. On the off chance that you've
been saving your Zennies and you have a spare 99900 Zennies, then get it since
Zennies are only good for points after the sixth shop.
-Yellow Star: This upgrade is only found in the game rounds and is worth 5000
Zennies when picked up.
-POW: Three gold letters spelling POW can only be found in the game rounds and
restores some health.
-Star In Red Circle: I've only found one of these in the game rounds. It
completely restores the warrior's health.
-Treasure Chest: This upgrade is only found in the game rounds and I believe is
worth 5000 Zennies when picked up.
Before I begin the walkthrough I will explain about the difficulties and the
general level design. The game is split into five rounds and at the end of each
round is a boss. Upon defeating the boss, the next round will start after a
very short cut scene. The game itself is a side-scrolling shooter and thus the
screen will move automatically right, up and down but never left at different
points throughout the game. It is possible to die instantly by getting caught
between the edge of the screen and the floor/ceiling so be careful.
There are three difficulty levels from which to choose: Easy, Normal and Hard.
There isn't much difference between the three except that on Easy the player
starts with 5000 Zennies, there are fewer enemies, the enemies shoot less,
their projectiles travel more slowly and the enemies and bosses die more
easily. On Normal, the player starts with 2500 Zennies, there are slightly more
enemies, the enemies shoot a bit more, their projectiles travel a bit more
quickly and the enemies and bosses need more firepower to die. hard is quite a
challenge: the player starts off with no Zennies, there are more enemies, they
shoot a lot more, their projectiles travel very quickly and the enemies and
bosses need a lot more firepower to die. Also on Normal and Hard, the
opportunity to purchase Life Potions decreases since fewer shops sell them.
The enemies are pretty generic. In my other FAQs I go into detail about each
type of enemy because they each need a certain strategy to defeat. In this game
the differences between the enemies are very minor. Every enemy except a couple
will zoom into the screen, shoot and then either zoom off or stay put, shooting
till the screen goes past them. The basic strategy for killing nearly all of
the enemies is to shoot at them until they die while avoiding their
projectiles. If any further strategy be needed I will discuss it in the
Walkthrough section. Generally, the more firepower a type of enemy needs in
order to die, the more chance of dropping a Zenny token. The enemies that need
the most firepower will leave a large Zenny token.
We start the game in The Metropolis. Shoot the formations of aeroplane-like
enemies and collect as many Zenny tokens as possible. it's tough to kill all of
them with the V Cannon but try your hardest. A new weapon will come soon. Next,
dispatch the green reptile enemies while avoiding their projectiles. Do the
same with the flying rats with guns (kill as many as you can for the Zenny
tokens). When the tough ground enemy arrives, the shop is close. Try to kill
these as they drop large Zenny tokens. Manoeuvre the warrior to the door and
you'll go inside.
In the shop, get the treatment as you'll almost certainly need it. If you don't
need it, Lucia won't let you buy it (an honest shopkeeper, a rarity these
days). Get the gold flying stone (Super High Speed), the Power Pack, the Life
Potion and then the Auto-Tracking Missile too. If you have enough left, get the
Protector as well then leave the shop.
Back outside, more green reptilians will be firing. Use them to practise your
rotating shooting technique as you'll need this mastered for the later levels.
The enemies should be much easier to defeat with your new weapon. Kill more
flying rats and collect the Zennies before heading into an are with pipes,
cogs, guns turrets, liquid metal in the background and blue flames. Avoid the
flames if you can as they do damage and try to kill the cogs as they drop large
Zenny tokens. If a large Zenny token gets stuck in front of the pipes and you
have plenty of health, get hurt and while flashing because of the damage, go
through the pipes, grab the Zennies then get back to normal foreground. Kill
the blue and orange barriers for easy Zennies. Repeat all this until you get to
the first boss, the Paramecium.
The Paramecium will shoot orange projectiles at you which can be destroyed but
will prevent your firepower from hitting the Paramecium's core which is
annoying. As well as this, the Paramecium will have several items of rubbish
orbiting it. There are two ways to deal with it: if playing on easy and you
have plenty of health, simply barge straight in and shoot till it's dead, job
done; if playing on normal or hard, you'll need to avoid the rubbish and the
projectiles and try to get the odd attack in (the core will flash when it's
been hit). Rinse and repeat until it's dead. You'll get a small cut scene
before Round 2 starts.
From the start, kill the aeroplanes for Zennies again and tackle the yellow gun
turrets to stop them shooting relentlessly. Green reptilians come next;
dispatch them like before. A new enemy makes an appearance here: some sort of
giant worm with teeth comes out of the sea. Don't try to kill it, as it's too
fast, avoid getting on top of it as it hurts quite a bit and has a strange
suction effect that will pull you downwards and disorientate you. After more
gun turrets, pale purple balls will come out of the sea and morph into flying
grey robots(?); dispatch them for Zennies and move on. Mushrooms will come next
and they're fairly easy. Avoid another giant worm and another shop will appear.
Enter it.
In here, get the Life Potion if it's available. Also get the Treatment, the
Repair Kit if you need it (unlikely) and then get the Booster. I'd recommend
keeping the Auto-Tracking Missile but if you really want to, get the Fire Bomb.
It's more powerful but has a lower firing rate. Avoid the Multi-Directional
Shot at all costs! Leave the shop after you're finished.
Once back outside, kill more green reptilians and gun turrets. Between the two
islands on which the gun turrets lay, shoot, a Protector will appear. Pick it
up and bingo, a free Protector! Further on, kill more purple/grey robots for
Zennies and then more mushrooms. Avoid the giant worm before the screen starts
going up. Here, there are lots of gun turrets. Try to get them all by rotating
your satellite. A thing that resembles a giant tooth shooting laser beams is up
ahead. Try to kill it for a large Zenny token. When the screen gets to the top,
shoot the area just below and to the left of the topmost gun turret fora POW
upgrade. Grab it to restore some health. Kill more guns and then shoot all the
orange and blue barriers for easy Zennies. Kill another few teeth, guns and
barriers until you see a man praying in the background and the screen stops
going right and starts going upwards. The boss will come soon and he's tough.
The boss is the Iron Warlord and he's tough if you don't know his pattern.
First of all, don't bother trying to kill the arm, it's invincible; just avoid
it and wait for the Iron Warlord to appear. Once he does you have to aim for
his face. His face is protected by two shields: one below his face and another
below that shield. Take out the shields while avoiding the arm and his
firepower. Keep the satellite pointing upwards for this and just dodge left and
right. Once they're destroyed they'll shoot blue projectiles once: just avoid
them and then take out his arms. To do this aim for the cone-like objects on
the left and right of the screen. I usually go for the right one. Keep the
satellite pointed up-right and just move left and right to dodge. Once the cone
has gone, the arm will no longer appear on that side of the screen so stay on
that side for now. Position yourself on the right of the screen so you're just
below parallel with his head and his projectiles will shoot to the right,
missing you. From here, take out his left arm by aiming at the left cone. This
could take some time as the arm blocks your shots a bit. Once that's gone, go
for his face. It is possible to position yourself just by his chest and under
his horn so that his projectiles miss you while yours hit his face. If you
can't manage this, just avoid his shots and hit him until he explodes and
you'll be treated to another cut scene.
From the start, take care of the new enemy: the flying archers. They're quite
tough. After a bit, you'll come to two barriers. Shooting one will render the
other invincible and will decide your path. Shoot the top one and the screen
will start going upwards; shoot the bottom one and the screen will start going
downwards. The top path is easier but I'll describe both paths.
Top path: After the flying archers are dead, flying pyramids will dart swiftly
across the screen. Stick to the bottom and avoid or kill them - it doesn't
matter. Once the screen starts going right again, a shop will appear: go
inside.
Inside, get the Treatment and Power Pack and change your weapon if you wish,
I recommend the Burner. Exit the shop now.
Once outside, kill gun turrets and kill easy green enemies for Zennies. After a
short time, you'll get to another split in the path. This is the same split
that comes after taking the bottom path earlier so I'll describe that first.
Bottom path: This is tough because more flying archers come. Take care of them
as best as you can. Once at the bottom, a shop appears. See above for the shop
description. Once back outside, a lot more flying archers appear with a few gun
turrets. Another tough new enemy appears here: the brown skull. These dart
quickly and shoot too and can be quite tricky which is why I recommend the top
path!
At the next choice, I recommend the bottom path but I'll describe both again.
Top path: Defeat the orange flames and then avoid the white, flashes. If you
want to kill them, they drop large Zenny tokens. More archers next followed by
the boss.
Bottom path: Kill/avoid the orange flames until the bottom. Once at the bottom,
there will be six grey and blue scarabs electrocuting each other. They can be
killed but they take a lot of hits: I've only ever managed three. Large Zenny
tokens are your reward for each one killed. Move past the rest and avoid their
electricity and kill some more orange flames. More archers follow before the
boss comes.
The boss here is the Sphinx. First, his head will come off and shoot a bit.
Avoid a direct confrontation with it and attack from above and below; the
Burner really helps here. Once it's gone, the body will attack. It will sit
there spitting out centipedes from it's neck hole. To kill the centipedes shoot
the head but if you do, another one will come to replace it so it's best to
avoid them while attacking the Sphinx's neck hole; again, the Burner is really
useful here. Once it's dead, a cut scene will appear and then it's on to Round
4.
At the start, you will move very slowly because of the water. Don't panic,
you'll get the Aqua Stone shortly. Try your hardest to get the enemies and the
Zennies they drop. To the right of the first pillar a Protector appears if you
shoot there; get it. Beige seahorses will dart in next. They're quite tricky if
you let a lot of them surround you. Grab their Zennies and continue on and
remember not to get trapped between the screen and the pillars! Kill the purple
discs next and when the jellyfish appear, go inside the shop.
Once inside, buy the Aqua Stone, the Treatment and the Power pack. I recommend
the Vulcan Cannon as a weapon and if you can afford it, the Super Booster but
don't worry if you can't afford the Super Booster. Leave the shop.
Back outside, enjoy being fast again and kill more purple discs. When the
screen gets to the bottom, the game gets quite tough - especially if on hard or
normal mode. There are quite a few speedy white things that turn into orange
dragons. You will almost certainly get hit by them - it's unavoidable. Also
notice the weird gun turrets: shoot them to turn them into harder gun turrets;
shoot them again to kill them and they leave behind treasure chests which I
believe give 5000 Zennies but I'm not sure.
Get through this if you can and you'll reach the fourth boss which is a Giant
Crab. He will jump and throw his claws at you. Try to take out both claws one
at a time while avoiding the various things he spits out. Shoot at his middle
repeatedly to kill him and you'll see another cut scene before Round 5.
At the start, shoot the first statue you see to get a Star In Red Circle. Kill
enemies for more Zennies, avoid a giant Chinese dragon that pops out of the
ground at super speed then enter the shop that appears.
Inside, purchase the Treatment and the Power Pack. I recommend also buying the
4-Way Laser too. Leave the shop after you're finished to face some flying green
things. Once you reach the yellow brick walled area, easy blue splodges appear.
Kill them all and move on. The screen will move up eventually and this bit can
be tough. Try to kill the huge guns at the side for large Zenny tokens. The
4-Way Laser makes this easier. Kill the rockets and the little missiles the
guns shoot too. The wall snail things are easy but leave no Zennies. When you
see two yellow platforms appear, shoot above the right one for a POW upgrade.
The screen will then stop after a few more guns as a barrier blocks your path
and shoots yellow rings. Kill it and get the Zennies. Kill more guns and
destroy the red snake thing before another shop appears. Enter it.
I never have enough Zennies for everything I want here so I just get the
Treatment and the Fire Ball weapon Upgrade. If you have enough, by all means
get the Super Booster and the Protector too. Anything extra is useful against
the final boss after all. The Fragmentation Ball and the Bounce are both awful
so make sure you get the right one which is the Fire Ball which is the best
weapon upgrade in the game. Leave the shop after you're done.
Once outside, be sure to grab the Protector which is on the left yellow
platform above where the shop is. Kill more guns, red snakes and barriers
before meeting the final boss which is the War Tyrant at the top of the tower.
Any Zennies you grab before the boss are purely for points now as there are no
more shops.
Before the War Tyrant, fish will come out of two opposite walls. Shoot them or
avoid them as best as you can (it gets tricky) and then you face the War Tyrant
himself. Simply shoot at him to hurt him. He has two attacks: homing brackets
which are easier to avoid and five lasers shot at once which are hard to evade.
Try to keep moving and it makes him less likely to use the lasers and remember
that you can shoot the homing brackets. If playing on easy and you have enough
health, just ignore his projectiles and just barge in and shoot till he's dead.
If playing on normal and hard though you'll have to perfect your dodging
technique.
Once he's dead Lucia thanks you (why didn't she aid your quest by giving you
the upgrades for nothing?) and the inhabitants rebuild the city (I thought you
were saving the whole Earth not just one city?!). The valiant warrior was never
seen again but his legend apparently lives on. Congratulations on completing
the game!
If you wish to post this guide on your site, please send me an e-mail first to
the address below.
I hope you enjoyed this. Although not as good as its Mega Drive/Genesis
counterpart, Forgotten Worlds provides a unique experience on the Sega Master
System.
Having trouble? E-mail me at edwithmj (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk and I will
respond.
