"Don't think sorry is easily said." - "Eye in the Sky" - Alan Parsons Project +------------------------------------------+ | | | Galactic Crusader | | For the Nintendo Entertainment System | | FAQ | | By T. Jackson (see section 5.03) | | Started: 6/3/04 | | Finished: 6/3/04 | | Last Updated: 6/5/04 | | Version 1.1 | | | +------------------------------------------+ This guide is best viewed in 800x600 or 1024x768 resolution with the Courier New font on your browser's "small" text setting (CTRL + -). It was composed in Notepad+. Table of Contents: I. Introduction 1.01: Table of Contents 1.02: Introduction 1.03: Dedication II. Basics 2.01: Story 2.02: Controls 2.03: Items/Weapons III. General Strategies 3.01: General Strategies 3.02: Bosses 3.03: Ending IV. Last Words 4.01: Copyright Information 4.02: Revision History 4.03: Contact Information 4.04: Credits 4.05: Ad Infinitum -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I. Introduction -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 | 1.01: Table of Contents | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 Look up. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 1.02: Introduction | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 Hello, and welcome to this guide for Galactic Crusader. It is a rare NES game that is often overlooked. However, it is a Galaga clone with backgrounds and crazy enemies. If you missed this and played Galaga, you're not missing much. This game is also a lot like another Galaga knockoff, Phoenix (for the TI-83 calculator) inasmuch as the weapons can be upgraded. Yeah. I can only help you so far with this game. Most of it is skill. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 1.03: Dedication | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 This guide is dedicated to all the people who have played this rare game. Yes, that could mean you! And to Chris "Kao Megura" MacDonald. May he rest in peace. http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/85.html -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- II. Basics -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 | 2.01: Story | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 From the instruction manual (copyright Bunch Games 1990. All rights reserved.) Your starship is alive -- a metamorphic creature that can transform from a huge flying insect into a metallic destroyer. Penetrate squadron after squadron of bizarre alien fortifications! March onward to a final confrontation against an all-powerful enemy. Riveting. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 2.02: Controls | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 It's a space-fighter game, so the controls are simple. ------------------------------- | Button | Function | |--------|----------------------| | A | Fire | | B | Launch companion pod | | Up | Move up | | Down | Move down | | Left | Move left | | Right | Move right | | Start | Pause | | Select | Nothing | ------------------------------- 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 | 2.03: Items/Weapons | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 Device C. - Device Carrier. An extra ship is attached to yours to help you fire. Gamma D. - Gamma Device. You can fire two shots at one time. Photon D. - Photon Device. You can fire three shots at once. Shield - Revives your ship's shields. It looks like a city under glass. Red Pod - Downgrades your weapons to a straight shot. Blue Pod - Fires straight plasma waves. Yellow Pod - Fires circular pulsar waves. Combo pods - These are pods that have multiple colors. They combine the two color types with weapons. For instance, if you find a red and blue pod, your weapons will be downgraded to the first time of plasma. Star - You are temporarily invincible. Note that all weapons -- Device Carriers included -- can be upgraded. However, if you have a fully upgraded plasma gun and get a yellow pod, you go down to the first level of pulsar waves. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- III. General Strategies -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 3.01: General Strategies | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 Because the fleets are unpredictable, all I can do is give you suggestions about how to play. -First off, watch the field for powerups. These will almost always help you. -Unlike most Galaga ripoffs, you do NOT want to stay in the back the whole time. You have the entire field to manuever around in. Use it! -Many enemies like to circle you. Arrow Ships especially. To combat these, fall back so that you are behind them and fire away. -If you encounter an enemy ship that is blinking, be sure to keep your distance. When it is destroyed, it will shoot out spikes in four directions. -When on stage five, be sure to stay away from the sides. Corrosive Spiders will come out from the sides. They move like this: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diagram 3.01a | -------------- - - | | - - | | Spider - - Spider Spider Spider | | - - | | - - ---------------------------------------- Spider - Starting point of the spiders | - - Horizontal path | | - Vertical path | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And only like that. -Use your companion ship to your advantage. If you want to, fire it out to clear away oncoming fighters. You can also attach it to your ship to add to your firepower. If you want, fire it out and make it land behind you to attack enemies coming from the rear. -See what you can avoid. You can avoid, like, half of stage three's enemies by just staying to the lower-left side of the screen. -When enemies swarm you, fall back and fire at them. -Keep upgrading your weapons. The better weapon you have, the better chance you have of surviving. -Upgrade your companion as soon as possible. The super type of companion can be used as a shield from basic shots. -**IMPORTANT**: In stage six, find the Pulsar Wave and keep it as your weapon. Now that you have the basic stuff, you can make your way through most of the game. It is hard and will require a lot of skill. At the end of the stages, you will fight a boss. I'll list the strategies for them in the next section. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 3.02: Bosses | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 The bosses in this game take a LOT of hits. Have patience! -- Found: Stage 1 It's a big cube that flies around. It fires four or fives shots from its ports and will always fire them forward. You can pretty much stay on the bottom for this. Weave through the shots and fire at it. -- Found: Stage 2 Gorous fires three bats at you. These bats hurt a lot. You could hit blood baseballs with these. Anyway, there are two patterns to the bats. He can fire them close together or far apart. For the former, wait until they have passed before you go firing at Gorous. For the latter, weave through the closest bat to you before firing. -- Found: Stage 3 Spirous has really long arms and is the first boss to actively track you. The trick to defeating Spirous is to fly around in circles a lot. When you are in front of him, fire a few shots at the Spirous to hurt him, and then continue the pattern. This is even more effective if your companion pod is behind you. -- Found: Stage 4 This huge monster is huge. Like I said. Anyway, he fires two spheres at you in a diagonal pattern while launching big blasts of fire. The trick is to fire at his tail while avoiding the balls. When the path is clear, move over to the other side of the screen while firing to hit his head. Repeat this process. A lot. -- Found: Stage five This guy is really no different from the Dragon King, except that he is smaller and does follow you around to an extent. He fires like this: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diagram 3.02a | -------------- ----- / \ | 0 | \ / // ----- \\ // || \\ // || \\ // || \\ ------------------- //, \\, || - Shots | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wait for an opening and then run through really quickly while firing. This is the second hardest boss in the game, next to... -- Found: Stage six The final boss. If you have any doubts as to why I call him Death, you have not played this game. He fires a laser shot that is straight like the King Dragon's fire. He fires two small lasers diagonally like the Super Space Octopus. Hs also fires gigantic spheres that circle around. It is hard to recommend a status for this fight. On one hand, you definitely want a shield. On the other, you avoid shots better when you are small. Just go in with a shield and find out what works best for you. Firing at his cloak does not damage him. I used a combination fast-forward and turbo fire button on this guy for ten minutes and he did not die. I spent well over four hours fighting him and had a few other people try him too. So far, no one has been able to defeat Death. I don't think it is possible. I welcome any input you might have. And of course, the NES king himself, Adam L. succeeded in beating Death. I never figured the weapon choice would be so important. "I beat Death. You must get to him with the Pulsar Wave (doesn't have to be at full power... can be at normal or full power, as long as it is the Pulsar Wave). Just stay at the bottom of the screen and keep firing to shoot the ball of flame that comes out of his mouth while avoiding the laser that comes out of his mouth. He also fires bolts from his hands, but if you stay really close to the laser that is fired out of his mouth, just to the right or left of it, you will avoid the bolts too. So basically you stay at the bottom center of the screen, just moving slightly to avoid the laser each time it comes at you. Just keep firing the Pulsar Wave and you will do him in in no time." So there you have it, folks. To bring death to Death, simply bring the Pulsar Wave into battle. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 3.03: Ending | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 This could be the only game that actually involves happy butterflies flying around in its ending. A butterfly -- presumably your ship -- flies around a castle. The words "The End" come into the background. Congratulations! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- IV. Last Words -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 | 4.01: Copyright Information | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 Galactic Crusader and all other characterse, stages, items, and related things are copyright 1990 to Bunch Games, Inc. This guide/FAQ/walkthrough is copyrighted (c) 2001-2004 to Trace Jackson, and is the intellectual property of Trace Jackson. This guide/FAQ/walkthrough is protected under International Copyright Laws. Please feel free to put this anywhere you like, as long as I get credit for it. After all, this is to help the readers! It should be spread around! I WOULD like it if you emailed me asking for permission, but it's not necesary. Just realize that the latest updates to this guide can and will always be found at IGN FAQs (faqs.ign.com), GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com), and Meowthnum1.com (www.meowthnum1.com). Just please credit me for it and don't make any profit off it. The following are sites that can not use my work. If you see these sites using any of my FAQs, please e-mail me ASAP. Each of these websites are sites that have plagiarized myself or others in the past, or simply taken our works without our prior permission. Since they do not have enough respect for the authors (or an ignorance of the law), I am expressly forbidding them from using my work. I will not condone such sites that partake in these actions. 911 Codes http://911codes.com 9 Lives http://www.9lives.ru/eng/ Bean's PSX Dimension http://www.bean.dk/psx/index.htm Cheat Code Central http://www.cheatcc.com Cheat Index http://cheatindex.com Cheat Matrix http://cheatmatrix.com Cheat Search http://cheatsearch.com Cheatstop http://www.panstudio.com/cheatstop/ CNET Gamecenter http://games.netscape.com/Faqs/ Console Domain http://www.consoledomain.co.uk Dirty Little Helper http://dlh.net Dark Station http://www.darkstation.com/ Dreamland http://kirby.pokep.net Games Domain http://www.gamesdomain.com Game Express http://www.gameexpress.com Games Over http://www.gamesover.com/ Mega Games http://www.megagames.com Square Haven http://www.square-haven.net Ultimate System http://www.flatbedexpress.com VideoGaming.net http://www.videogaming.net/ 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 4.02: Revision History | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 Version 1.0 (6/3/04) - Everything is complete up to Death, presumably the last boss. Again, if you have any input, let me know. Version 1.1 (6/5/04) - Thanks to Adam L., Death has been defeated and the strategy updated. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 | 4.03: Contact Information | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 Before emailing me, please make sure that whatever question you have wasn't addressed here in the guide. If it's not a question (i.e. input, suggestion, correction, etc.), please go ahead and email me. I'm not too picky about grammar, but if I have no idea what you're saying, I might ask for some clarification. I'll take emails in Spanish or English. Doesn't matter to me. No me importa. I'd appreciate whatever you've got. Questions (again, as long as it's not answered here), inputs about ideas that I've raised, suggestions or corrections for the guide, requests for using parts of the guide, problems in life, jokes (as bad as some of these are in the guide), praise emails (ha!), or whatever else is on your mind. Email: meowthnum1 [at] meowthnum1 [dot] com I wasn't too bad about doing the spam thing at first. Now half of my emails are virus emails. Just replace the [at] with @ and the [dot] with .. You could also use AIM. I'd prefer these be quick questions, but I really can't stop you from long, involved ones. To be honest, I prefer emails. AIM is still here. That's TracesWritingAIM. 0==~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 4.04: Credits | 0==~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 -Adam Lamontagne - Succeeding in defeating Death. -Lilly Jackson - Trying to defeat Death. -Pillsbury - Trying to defeat Death. -Brian Sulpher - Trying to defeat Death and encouraging me beyond belief. This guide would not be here otherwise. -VGK - Trying to defeat Death. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 4.05: Ad Infinitum | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 (Literally: "La Bamba"). This game is tough. If you can beat Death, you certainly deserve a pat on the back. Or ice cream. --Trace Jackson