Item pickups and misc. FAQ

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***FALCON'S REVENGE***

Item pickups and misc. FAQ
(c) 2008 adventure_of_link
***Version 3.0***

0. Table of Contents

I. Version History
II. Introduction
III. Why write this guide?
IV. Contact Info
V. Legal stuff
VI. Item descriptions
VII. How to actually get the items
VIII. Strategies
IX. Misc. Info

I. Version History

4/27/2008 -- Version 1.0 -- Initial Release

4/30/2008 -- Version 2.0 -- Biggest release to date. As a result, there's a lot
to cover, so here's everything in a list:
* Confirmed several items to be had on the Tornado, as well as found several
new ones.
* Pointed out the fact that you can hold up to five items at a time in your
inventory. I forgot to mention this in 1.0, sorry!
* Seperated the strategies and misc. info into their own sections.
* Slightly re-wrote the introduction.
* Fixed a few formatting/grammatical errors.
* Found out that a Wide Bomb can destroy the Giga-Desp 1's orbs.
* Found a new way to defeat Giga-Desp 2 using the Tornado.
* Re-wrote the damage estimates for the Bomb, Plasma Bomb, and Wide Bomb.

5/19/2008 -- Version 3.0 -- Another big release. Changes are as follows:
* Wong stage, using the Falcon. In order to get the Neutron Beam, the fight has
to last 25 or more seconds, rather than 40.
* Found that Turbo Shots work on ALL forms of Giga-Desp 2.
* Slightly re-wrote several sections and strategies of the guide.
* In the Cobra stage, in order to get the Wide Bomb, you have to die three
times to it rather than two, my bad!
* Wong stage, using the Tornado. In order to get the V-System, the fight has to
last 25 or more seconds, rather than 40.
* Found several more items to be had while using the Tornado, even found one on
the Falcon!
* Fixed some formatting inconsistencies.

II. Introduction

Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge is the sequel (although not directly mentioned)
to the SNES game, Battle Clash (Space Bazooka in Japan.) Like before, you use
your Super Scope to blast the heck out of your enemy STs (Standing Tanks) until
it dies, or until you die (whatever comes first.) This game was released in
1993 by Nintendo. This game never saw a Japanese release, due to the Super
Scope just being a novelty item around the time of MC:FR's release. Despite the
'Scope's waning popularity at the time MC:FR was released, this game is one of
the best games for SNES out there. Buy, rent, borrow, emulate, do whatever it
takes, it is worth every penny and every second of your time!!!

III. Why write this guide? This game is 15 years old!!

As I've scoured the Internet for MC:FR cheats, codes, FAQs, and walkthroughs,
no one has bothered to write up an items FAQ. Just saw the same old codes
(BABY: play as Tornado, BALL: harder difficulty, LABL: name yourself, etc etc
etc.) over and over, with no mention of items, until now. All tricks have been
self tested by me, many times over and over. If you find a new way to get an
item, or find a way to get an item on a stage that I haven't found yet
(*cough*Siamang*cough* ;) ) do contact me.

IV. Contact Info

e-mail: [email protected]

Please DO contact me if you notice any errors in this guide or find new ways to
get an item, if you just wanna discuss the game, put this FAQ on your site, etc
etc etc. I ask that you DO NOT send me any spam, viruses, threats, etc.
Use common sense.

V. Sites who are allowed to use this FAQ, copyrights, ya know, the legal stuff

As of now, the following sites are allowed to host this FAQ:

* GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com
* Game Winners (http://www.gamewinners.com)
* Neoseeker (http://www.neoseeker.com)

If you want to host a copy of this FAQ, do e-mail me for permission. Most
likely I will say yes, as long as the FAQ remains in its entireity, and that
you give credit where it's due (eg: don't go around saying this is your guide.)
You are also allowed to download, print, and use this un-modified FAQ for your
personal use.

VI. Item Descriptions

Bomb: Deals weak to light damage to your enemy, useful for destroying energy
bolts, missiles, etc. that come your way. You get one bomb per enemy, up to a
maximum of five (5).
<spoiler>USEFUL AGAINST ARACHNUS AND GIGA-DESP 1 (so long as you have five in
your arsenal!!!)</spoiler>

Plasma Bomb: A much more powerful version of the Bomb, dealing light to
moderate damage. Needs to be charged up once per use.
<spoiler>USEFUL AGAINST VIRVIUS 2!!!</spoiler>

Wide Bomb: The strongest bomb you can get. This deals moderate to heavy damage.
Like the Plasma Bomb, it needs to be charged before use.
<spoiler>MORE USEFUL THAN THE PLASMA BOMB AGAINST VIRVIUS 2!!!</spoiler>

Disrupter Bomb: Disrupts the enemy movements for a short time, usually exposing
vulnerabilites in the process.
<spoiler>NEWBIES: USEFUL AGAINST COBRA!!!</spoiler>

Lightning Bomb: Lights up even the darkest of stages.
<spoiler>Although the only dark stage in MC:FR is Giga-Desp 1</spoiler>

Shield: Protects your ST with a shield for a short time. Blocks off energy
bolts, missiles, etc etc.
<spoiler>USEFUL AGAINST GIGA-DESP 2!!!</spoiler>

V-System: A more advanced version of the Shield, this not only does what the
Shield does, but it also amps up your attack power, as well as center your
ememy on the screen so it cannot move. A caveat: it will slowly drain your life
energy to critical condition, so use when necessary.
<spoiler>USEFUL AGAINST GIGA-DESP 2 ON THE SKULL FORM!!!</spoiler>

Neutron Beam: Fires a big huge beam of energy, which can penetrate through even
the toughest armor, causing moderate damage. A caveat: it will drain your life
energy to critical condition upon using.

Energy Recovery Unit: Protects your ST with a shield long enough to fully
restore your life energy. Would've been more useful if you used this after
firing a Neutron Beam, let alone using the V-System...

Homing Laser: Fires bullets at the enemy to destroy/point out all weaknesses.
If you use this when no enemy is present, the item will be wasted.
<spoiler>NEWBIES: USEFUL AGAINST GROKEN!!!</spoiler>

VII. How to get the items (which is what you've been wating for!!!)

I've noticed several things when you get items: It depends on how much time you
take up during the fight, how many times you die and the time spread between
each death, as well as your current life energy. This guide will be listed in
each stage's chronological order (from Garam Mark II to Giga-Desp 2), as well
as the condition(s) you need to perform in order to get each pickup using both
STs. One more thing: Keep in mind that you can hold up to five items in your
inventory, so pick and use wisely! Yes, if you meet a condition to get an item,
and you have five (of any) items already in stock, you won't recieve it.

| ENEMY ST | Falcon | Tornado |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |SHIELD: Defeat Garam |PLASMA BOMB: Defeat |
| |with 45 or more seconds |Garam with 50 or more |
| |on the timer. |seconds on the timer. |
| | |OR.... |
| | |SHIELD: Let the fight |
| | |last about 20 seconds |
| Garam Mark II | |and lose to Garam (HINT:|
| | |Destroy his legs and let|
| | |the double rocket punch |
| | |destroy you.) Then on |
| | |the next go, destroy |
| | |Garam with 30 or more |
| | |seconds on the timer. |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |N/A |N/A |
| Siamang | | |
| | | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |NEUTRON BEAM: Defeat |V-SYSTEM: Defeat Wong |
| Wong |Wong with 25 or more |with more than 25 |
| |seconds on the timer. |seconds on the timer. |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |V-SYSTEM: Obtained no |N/A |
| Griffin |matter what, it is given| |
| |to you by Rola. | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |PLASMA BOMB: Defeat |HOMING LASER: Defeat |
| |Viscount with 50 or more|Viscount with 1 minute |
| |seconds on the timer. |or more on the timer. |
| |OR... |OR... |
| |WIDE BOMB: Let the fight|WIDE BOMB: See Falcon, |
| Viscount |last about 50 seconds |except on the second go |
| |and lose to Viscount. |you need to destroy |
| |Then, on the next go, |Viscount with 10 or more|
| |destroy Viscount with |seconds on the timer. |
| |30 or more seconds on | |
| |the timer. | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |N/A |N/A |
| Thanatos | | |
| | | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |DISRUPTER BOMB: Defeat |DISRUPTER BOMB: |
| Arachnus |Arachnus with 50 or more|See Falcon. |
| |seconds on the timer. | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |HOMING LASER: Defeat |HOMING LASER: |
| |Cobra with 50 or more |See Falcon. |
| |seconds on the timer. |OR... |
| |OR... |WIDE BOMB: See Falcon. |
| Cobra |WIDE BOMB: Lose to Cobra| |
| |three times with about | |
| |50 seconds between | |
| |losses, then on the 4th | |
| |try, defeat Cobra with | |
| |30 or more seconds on | |
| |the timer. | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |HOMING LASER: Defeat |WIDE BOMB: Defeat Groken|
| |Groken with two or more |with two or more minutes|
| |minutes on the timer. |on the timer. |
| |OR... | |
| |ENERGY RECOVERY UNIT: | |
| |Use the Neutron Beam on | |
| Groken |Groken, let the fight | |
| |last about 1 minute and | |
| |20 seconds. Lose to it. | |
| |THEN, on the next try, | |
| |defeat it in about a | |
| |minute, using the | |
| |Neutron Beam on it. | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |N/A |N/A |
| Virvius 1 | | |
| | | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |LIGHTNING BOMB: Obtained|LIGHTNING BOMB: See |
| Virvius 2 |no matter what. |Falcon. |
| | | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |N/A |ENERGY RECOVERY UNIT: |
| Giga-Desp 1 | |Obtained no matter what.|
| | | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |None |None |
| Giga-Desp 2 | | |
| | | |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

VIII. Strategies.

You may have noticed the spoiler tags in the item descriptions, as well as
losing to fights, etc. This section will explain some strategies I use, as well
as uncover the spoilers.

To intentionally lose fights: Simple, just keep defending and losing your life
until the timer gets within ~10 seconds of the condition (ex: Viscount, you
need to lose once to get the Wide Bomb. Just defend his attacks and let the
light attacks hit you until about 50 seconds into the fight, and let him pummel
you. Then on the next go, kick his butt, and you have the Wide Bomb!!)

Garam Mark II: This is the easiest of the fights. Like before, he is your first
enemy. He DOES have one critical weakness though, and it requires some time to
get it downpat... you launch a treble energy bolt at his chest, and when he
jumps up, he will expose his flashing waist. Hit this waist with your energy
bolt, and he will die, regardless how full his life meter is. Another thing to
watch out for, is when you get his life to near death, he will launch a rocket
punch at you. Also, if you destroy his legs, he will launch a DOUBLE rocket
punch at you, which can be quite deadly.

Siamang: This guy is quick, and very, very strange. However, he'll go down for
the count, easier than what Garam ever could do. Simple, just launch two treble
energy bolts at his tail, and this fight is over. For newbies, I would wait to
launch the treble energy bolt when Siamang fires his energy bolt from the tail,
so it'll make it easier to aim for his tail.

Wong: Another easy guy to put down.. When the battle starts, he will move to
the right, and in the process, exposing the joint to one of his arm cannons.
Hit this joint with an energy bolt and not only does the cannon go away, but
his face cannon appears briefly just begging you to launch an energy bolt at
it. So go on ahead and do so!!! After that, just launch energy bolts at his
body and he will go down for the count.

Griffin: In the Falcon, the wings cannot be destroyed, but in the Tornado they
will give way when you fire a fully charged Hyper Shot at them. In any case,
start off by blowing away the two spike things at the top of his head. Then,
keep wailing away at the chest with treble energy bolts until he dies.

Viscount: Ah yes, the resurrected Baron, just waiting to get revenge on you.
This fight can be tough, but if you destroy his bazooka, this fight will be a
piece of cake. Bonus points if you also destroy his legs. Oh yeah, just about
every time you launch a bomb on him, he will run away from it like a coward.
However, you can use this to your advantage (especially in the Tornado.) As he
runs, begin charging your energy and when he reappears on screen, fire away.
He will run again in the opposite direction this time, do the same thing as you
did before. If you destroy his bazooka, he may throw his shield at you. You
should be able to block it off with an energy bolt, or you can hit his chest
with an energy bolt and he will keep the shield.

Thanatos: The champion of the Battle Game, and the being responsible for Mike's
father's death. This time, it only took him three days to conquer the Earth and
re-assign the Chiefs. For whatever reason, he is back.. and so it is time to
vanquish him again. There is no real weakness to speak of here, except his
chest. However, if you can destroy his hands, you'll make his tri-attack only
work from the head so it won't be as deadly. When you get him down to near
death, he may start using rocket punches, even rocket kicks! Just keep
focusing on his chest, defend against his energy bolts, turbo shots, and
missiles, and you'll own him.. for good this time (hopefully.) Now, one
question remains: the end... or is it?

Arachnus: IT IS MOST IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT ATTACK HIS STOMACH!!! To do so
would be a lethal mistake (unless, of course, you have plenty of bombs and/or
have a Plasma Bomb with the intent of getting the Wide Bomb.) Just defend his
shots, attack in his face or the wing things on his stomach, and in fifty or
so seconds you have the Disrupter Bomb (which will be useful in the next fight,
especially for the newbies.)

Cobra: As said before, the Disrupter Bomb is useful here for newbies, as it
exposes the shield's weak point (although you can nail it after you have your
gun drained by his shield.) As the shield absorbs your energy bolts, it will
power up his hand-gun, and you will most likely be done for. That said, destroy
his shield, then his hand-gun, wail away at his chest, and you'll have him
whining to his momma (literally!)

Groken: This fight will be one of a few toughies you'll face (with Virvius 2
being next if you didn't get the bombs, as well as Giga-Desp 2, as you have to
destroy the enemy in a certain order.) Also, as stated before, the Homing Laser
you obtain from Cobra (and/or Viscount) will be useful here (unless of course
you opted to get the Wide Bomb, which will be useful later.) Use the Homing
Laser to destroy the tentacles on the Groken, then it'll send out one
tentacle-ish thing at a time from its sides, which you have to destroy those
too. After that, two eyestalks come out from its armor, and will attempt to
pummel you. Defend their shots with an energy bolt. After this, the red panel
will open up a weakness, use a treble energy bolt (or a hyper shot) to hit the
weakness, and it'll be vulnerable to ANYTHING (even turbo shots and ESPECIALLY
the Bomb!!!) Another note here, is that its armor is reflective. So if you fire
an energy bolt or higher at the armor, it'll just bounce the shot right back
onto you. Note that it doesn't reflect turbo shots though. Another thing, if
you're using the Tornado, just keep wailing on the first form with a bunch of
(fully charged) hyper shots, and you'll have this fight made (but you may not
get the Wide Bomb though, as you have to let the fight last two minutes or
more to get it.)

Virvius 1: Some things to note about this fight: first and obviously, this ST
is similar to the Thanatos, except the body is yellow in color and it'll split
into two or three different forms, depending on his life energy. Next, the
pilot is the REAL Anubis, so all the Thanatoses you fought were all clones.
Last, Virvius will fly in ALL directions, not just left and right like with
Thanatos. If you have any homing lasers, you may want to save them for when
he splits into his multi-forms, otherwise just keep hitting the multis with
turbo shots until you find the real one, then wail on the real one with an
energy bolt. As Virvius loses energy, he'll fight stronger, even throwing
rocket punches and rocket kicks your way.

Virvius 2: As stated before, THE PLASMA AND WIDE BOMBS (ESPECIALLY the Wide
Bomb) ARE YOUR FRIENDS HERE, USE THEM!!! Do so, as they will take out all of
his eyes (using the Plasma Bomb will leave only one eye, which is why I put
more emphasis on the Wide Bomb) and his bottom two pods, as well as drain his
life energy by about half, making this fight considerably easier. From here,
just destroy both of the upper pods when the mouths open, then keep wailing on
the center pod when the mouth opens, until he goes into submission. Note that
if you use the Wide Bomb and then the Plasma Bomb, the upper two pods will not
be destroyed, and Virvius will only take minimal damage from the Plasma Bomb,
because it only hits the tusks (fang-things that move on its mouth?) on the
center pod. Instead, just use your Wide Bomb and save your Plasma Bomb for
Giga-Desp 1 if you lack regular bombs. If you use your Plasma Bomb and it
leaves one eye, it can be easily destroyed with an energy bolt. One more thing:
if you have good aim, you should be able to hit the tusks (fang-things that
move on its mouth?) on the center pod with an energy bolt, and Virvius will
take damage.

Giga-Desp 1: I hope you saved all your regular bombs, your Plasma Bomb, or even
a Wide Bomb, as you will need them to destroy all his floating orbs. Otherwise,
just try and defend and do what you can. Use your lightning bomb here. When the
Giga-Desp opens up (you will notice when the background gets twisty and the
music track changes) and exposes his eye, LET LOOSE WITH A TREBLE ENERGY BOLT
(OR A HYPER SHOT,) PRONTO!!! Otherwise his energy bolts will kill you,
regardless of how many you managed to ward off and regardless of how full your
life meter is. HOWEVER, this is useless but is worth mentioning: you can
destroy the deadly energy bolts with a bomb!!

Giga-Desp 2: Hoo boy, A LOT is to be said about this fight. First, foremost,
and obviously, this is the last fight in the game, and he has Rola captured.
This battle's outcome depends on what ending you get. There are a total of six
endings to be had, and some of them have to be obtained in order to raise your
rank (the thing which appears at the title screen.) The Endings chart is as
follows:

| ENDING | Falcon | Tornado |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |Defeat Giga-Desp 2 while|Defeat Giga-Desp 2 while|
| Very Good |keeping Mike and Rola |keeping Rola intact |
| |intact | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |Defeat Giga-Desp 2, but |N/A |
| Good |let it kill Mike and | |
| |keep Rola intact | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |Defeat Giga-Desp 2, but |N/A |
| Bad |kill Rola to expose his | |
| |"weak point" | |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| |Defeat Giga-Desp 2, but |Defeat Giga-Desp 2, but |
| Very Bad |kill both Mike and Rola |kill Rola to expose the |
| | |"weak point" |
|-----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

YES, Mike does and can die. No kidding. However, Carol doesn't, no matter how
much you try. You may have noticed things in the table concerning a weak point,
right? Well, the thing that Rola guards is in no way, shape, or form, a weak
point. Yes, every time you fire an energy bolt at it, it'll just absorb the
blow, like a sponge, as life energy for the Giga-Desp. HOWEVER, regardless of
what part of the Giga-Desp you are fighting, IT WILL BE VULNERABLE TO TURBO
SHOTS!!! Another thing you may notice is that his life energy is not at 100%.
Why, who knows. Be careful though, because if you fire energy bolts at the
Giga-Desp and you don't hit a weak point or Rola, it will absorb the blow and
use the energy to make this battle that much tougher, and it will gain some new
parts in the process. OKAY... I think I've finally cleared all the bases about
this guy, so let's get on with the killing, eh? I'll provide instructions for
the Falcon, then the Tornado. In the Falcon, I hope you have your Shield and
V-System handy, these will be useful. When you start the fight, use the Shield
and charge your gun's energy, waiting for the Giga-Desp to open both of his
eyes. Use an energy bolt to take out the eyes, one at a time. Then it'll open a
third eye above it, again, one energy bolt takes it out. After this, he'll lose
his sides. Here, you can either wail on him with turbo shots, or wait for a
tentacle-ish thing to come out (almost Groken style) and destroy it, it's up to
you how you take care of part two. Finally, you'll be at part three, which is a
floating skull that is 100% vulnerable to anything you dish out at it, even
energy bolts. If you killed Rola during this part or sometime before, this'll
be tough, as the skull will float about throwing you for a wild ride. HOWEVER,
by now your shield should be gone, so go ahead and bust out the V-System and
kick some arse!!! Now all you do is kick back and watch the ending.
In the Tornado, I hope you have your Energy Recovery Unit and V-System handy, as
these will be useful. Start off by charging all your energy bolts. Let Tornado
take as much damage as needed to charge as many as possible. When the eyes open
up, fire all your superturbo shots at them. This will send Giga-Desp into part
two. When the third eye opens, fire all your superturbo shots at it. This will
instantly send him into part three (the skull) and you should be in critical
condition by now. At this time, use your Energy Recovery Unit, then let loose
with the V-System and go all out with a Hyper Shot to end the bout. Then get
out your popcorn and watch the ending!!

IX. Misc. Info.

ROM Information: If you have the ROM of MC:FR, you may notice that on newer
emulators it won't play due to it having hacked content. This is because
someone hex-edited the ROM to make it detect as a Super FX game and hoped it
would run. At the time of this hack, no emulator could emulate the OBC-1 chip
the game used, so instead someone "fixed" it to where the emulators detected
the game using a SuperFX chip, as they thought this was the chip the game
used, as well as the SuperFX being (partially) emulated at the time. However,
if you pick up a ROM tool such as NSRT, you'll be able to fix the ROM and play
it as it should be played.

Codes: If you didn't see the codes the first time, here they are again (and
there's more, too!) Oh yeah, you enter these at the title screen.

B, A, B, Y: Play as the Tornado rather than the Falcon, but you still have to
train with it.

B, A, L, L: Play with a higher difficulty.

L, A, B, L: Name yourself, if you don't like your pilot to call you Partner.

Up, Up, Down, Down, L, R, L, R: Erase all records.

Press X at the title screen and you can access your battle records, and even
access all the stages to practice!! However, you only get your trusty gun and
one (that's right, ONE) Bomb. Oh, and you still need to calibrate the darn
thing, just press the pause button to bring up your adjust aim screen while in
battle, preferably before you start the fight. It only needs to be done once.

..This wraps up this FAQ. Credits go out to Nintendo for making this game in
the first place, as well as myself for finding out all this info and making the
FAQ.