In 2004 the GameFAQs FAQ Writing Community started a Master System Completion
Project for which I wrote fifteen different FAQs before I moved on to other
projects. My urge to cover more SMS FAQs however has never wavered and that is
why I'm back today in the newest SEGA Master System Completion Project which is
hosted on the FAQ Contributors - General Board. As my fifth FAQ I have chosen
Missile Defense 3-D, which looks like a 3-D version of the classic game Missile
Command. The game is playable with the SEGA Light Phaser and the 3D glasses,
but the glasses aren't mandatory. The game is playable without them, but will
be harder. The Light Phaser is mandatory as playing the game without it will
yield hilarious consequences and the game is already hard enough. Otherwise you
wouldn't be reading this, would you? So let's move onto the guide.
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2.1- General Gameplay [A201]
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Missile Defense 3-D is divided in ten rounds, split over East City and West
City. The game will alternate between defending East and West. In the first two
rounds you will need to shoot down 20 rockets, in the third and fourth round
you are confronted by 30 rockets and starting from there you'll face 40 rockets
each round. At the end you will have destroyed a whopping amount of 340 rockets
which is a lot. I will divide my newest guide in three parts. In the first part
I will give a general explanation about the gameplay and hints to reach the
end. In the following sections I'll give an overview of the looks of the level.
The rockets appear fairly random in each level, with rockets changing in depth
and size according to their distance from you. Using the 3D glasses it will
really feel like the rockets are coming for you, which should also give you a
clue on which ones are more important to take down. They are closest to you,
the easiest to hit and in the first round the most dangerous for your health.
The missiles also get faster each level, which means it gets progressively
harder.
- Lasers ----------------------------------------------------------------------
You start the game off with three lasers, which are your life points. Each
successful round you gain one laser, which allows you to finish the game with a
maximum of 13 lasers. At the end of the game you receive 10.000 points for each
laser that you have gathered at this point, but they also have a more important
meaning. In the first round of East City and West City you yourself can get hit
by rockets, which will result in a red flashing screen. Each time this happens
you lose one laser and you lose the game if you lose all your lasers. By the
time you run the risk of getting hit three-four times each level, you will have
enough reserve to survive the assault. To avoid this situation try to aim for
cruise missiles coming to you first. They are also the easiest targets.
- Game Over -------------------------------------------------------------------
Losing is about the easiest thing to achieve in Missile Defense 3-D, each level
you are bombarded by a maximum of forty rockets and each rocket can destroy the
entire city which results in a Game Over message, with a very grim message. The
message reads: '40 CRUISE MISSILES WERE LAUNCHED FROM WEST BASE. ONE REACHED
EAST CITY. THAT'S ALL IT TAKES. GAME OVER.' Luckily you always have three
chances to shoot down a missile before it hits. There is also a second way to
get the Game Over message, but this one is more difficult. Once you lose all
your lasers - which means you don't have any weapons left - it is also the end.
The message you get then, is a bit less sinister. It reads 'YOUR SPACE LASERS
HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. GAME OVER.' Both messages are to be avoided as you need to
restart from the first level if you lose. There are no save or checkpoints to
save your progress.
- Scoring ---------------------------------------------------------------------
In the olden days most video games revolved around getting a high score, which
is also the point in Missile Defense 3-D. Finishing the game is only one half
of the fun, trying to achieve the maximum score of 820.000 points. Achieving
this result won't be easy as it involves taking out every rocket in the first
round and never losing a laser. Every laser gives you 10.000 points at the end
so even losing one costs you a perfect score. Finishing the game with only one
laser left over, would cost you 120.000 points. Even finishing the game only
gives you 100.000 points so this will make a huge difference.
You also get a bonus score of 10.000 points for shooting down all missiles in
the first round and 5.000 in the second round. However, that is not the only
reason to shoot them down as fast possible. Each level you will earn a certain
amount of points for each rocket you shoot. This amount will decrease for each
round passed. For instance you will earn 500 points for each rocket shot down
in Round 1 of Level 1. It is halved to 250 points for Round 2 and lowered to
100 points for Round 3. You do get a special ending screen for achieving a
perfect score, so it pays to go for it. The scores given in this paragraph are
specifically for the first two levels. The amount of points start rising from
there, but the relative value stays the same.
Decent scores start in the low 500.000 and go up to the high 600.000. Every
score higher than 700.000 is a great score, anything lower than 500.000 means
you need more practice.
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2.2- East City [A202]
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East City is the first environment you will encounter and it is being attacked
from the Western Base. The game starts you off at Western Base where an air
strip is surrounded with sixteen missile launchers. Missiles will pop up out of
those launchers and go off in all directions. Once all missiles have been
launched, you will get an overview of the number of missiles shot down and the
scenery will change to the north pole. The camera switches to bird's eye and
missiles will fly from bottom to top of the screen. Some of them will go in a
straight line, while others will make corners allowing you more time to hit
them. Any rockets you miss, will need to be taken down in the last round at
Eastern City itself. You're standing in front of the city and need to shoot
everything down before they reach the city or you will have lost. You will have
quite some time to hit them, but the missiles get smaller once they get nearer
to the city, so you need to be quick about it.
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2.3- West City [A203]
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The West City levels start off at the Eastern Base, which looks quite different
from the Western Base. This time the airstrip itself contains the missile
launchers which means most rockets will go straight up. Some will bend towards
the screen, but they are an important minority. The second round brings us to
outer space where you can see the Earth. The missiles start off at the back of
the Earth and travel to the front. The third and last round gives us an eagle
eye point of view on the Western City. The missiles are going straight for one
of the skyscrapers and you will have little time to hit them. This level is a
lot more challenging than the Eastern City round. Round 2 is a bit easier in
this level, so you want to take out all missiles except for one or two in Round
2 so you're safe.
