By: Mallow E-mail: mallow2_2000@yahoo.com System: PC Version 1.0
Look, I'm doing this small FAQ in a hurry so, I don't have time to do some fancy layout. Takes too damn long time if you ask me. So, in this guide I may have some tips on some of the levels but for now I only have some basic tips and the cheats. Oh, I have explanations on all of the "special" things, if you're confused on what them all means, then please check it out ok? In time, I believe this FAQ will grow larger as I add more and more info. But this depends entirely on the reader. This is my first FAQ, by the way.
Contents
1. Revision history / Updates 2. Basic tips 3. The cheats and what they do 4. Explanation of all the specials 5. Contact info 6. Credits 7. Copyright stuff 8. End, goodbye
1 . R E V I S I O N H I S T O R Y / U P D A T E S
2000-07-25
- First release, so everything is obviously new.
2 . B A S I C T I P S
Here are some useful and not so useful tips in this game.
- If you're going for a high score, then you should focus more on getting the ball to destroy the bricks, rather then using the gun or some other help thing. You get more points this way.
- Extra lives are your friends, get as many of those as possible.
- Here's a really neat way of getting high points, but it takes forever and isn't that pretty...but you can get TONS of points. Well, what you gotta do is:
When you start the game and the main screen comes up, where it shows what all the special things looks like, press Ctrl-F1 to bring up the Level Editor. This neat little code allows you to re-make all the levels! So, just re-make all the levels with ONLY bricks and then play through them all scoring tons of points! Read my first tip for maximum score.
- Avoid the red things as much as possible. They are not your friends, however, there is one I use every now and then, and it's the one where you speed up the ball slightly, because I find it very annoying when the ball is so damn slow. So, I sometimes take that when I want it to speed up. But it can be pretty hard, though, as it will start moving at an incredibly fast speed. So beware and remember I warned you.
- Always have the ball as top priority. Always. No matter what you see, go for the ball. You may miss an extra life or two but, it's worth it. Rather save a life then getting one. Always have the ball as top priority. Unless you're positive of your skills and you _know_ that you're gonna make it. Just remember that I warned you.
- If you're trying to complete a level, always try to go for the explosives. They can sometimes get rid of thousands of bricks, and it is very useful. It reduces the amount of points you get, but it clears out the levels way quicker. And besides, in most of the levels where they are, it's usually pretty much of a requirement to blow them up in order to finish the level.
- Try to get the ball at the same place. Example: If you hit your ball at a place, try to hit it at the same place again. Repeat this and you should be able to get rid of all of them in no time. This requires some practice, though.
- Learn what all the specials mean. The last thing you want is getting the one where you get twice as small, when you wanted the opposite. That isn't really encouraging. You can check out the "Explanation of all specials" section for further details of what all of them means.
- Don't rely on the lightning that appears after a few minutes when you've got like 1 left and you can't hit it. Don't think like "Oh man!! I can't hit that thing! Oh, I know, the lightning will take care of it!". Don't think that way. Sure, it'll take care of the remaining pain in the *** but you'll lose many points for doing it - you only get 1 point for the lightning.
- Only use the thing which makes everything go down if you have under 5 bricks left which is spread all over. If you take that thing, they will go down, making it easier for you to hit them. This can be pretty useful.
That's all the tips I have for now. If you have any other or want to complain on an existing, feel free to send me a mail and let me know.
3 . T H E C H E A T S A N D W H A T T H E Y D O
At the main screen: Ctrl-F1 - Level editor.
During the game: Ctrl-F1 - Regular paddle. Ctrl-F2 - Grab the paddle. Ctrl-F3 - Guns added to the paddle. Ctrl-F4 - A longer handle on the paddle (faster). F5 - Change the music.
Remember that, when you use the level editor to change the levels, I'm not so sure there is a way to get them back into their original state. I changed the first level and I've still not been able to fix it yet...:) So don't ask me OK?
I think the music change is really worth it, some tunes are actually really good. This shouldn't have been a cheat, it should have been implanted from the beginning! Shame on you whoever made the game!
All other cheats just suck because then you complete the levels while cheating, if you're a man/woman, don't cheat. If you're a wuss, cheat. Although, the cheat which makes it a regular paddle can be pretty useful at times. So, use it if you want. I recommend using it after screwing up the entire gameplay by making a cheat so that you get guns and all.
4 . E X P L A N A S I O N O F A L L T H E S P E C I A L S
This section will explain most of the special things which you can see here and there. This section is not complete.
EXPAND PADDLE: This will cause your paddle to be bigger. This can be quite useful if you're having trouble hitting the ball. It can be as big as the whole screen.
THRU BRICK: This will cause the balls to go through several bricks. Say, you got 7 bricks in a row, the ball can now go through. This includes yellow and black bricks as well.
SET-OFF EXPLODING: This pretty much explains itself. It makes all of the exploding bricks blow up. Can be useful at times.
FIREBALL: This causes the ball to look like some sort of meteor. It will blow up about 3 or 4 bricks at impact. I like this one, it's very useful almost all the time.
SHOOTING PADDLE: This causes "guns" to appear on your paddle. Now you can shoot using the left mouse button. You don't get as many points as you would have with a ball but, it clears out the level faster. Get this and a "Thru Brick" and you're level is complete! :) Just make sure to keep an eye at the ball...
GRAB PADDLE: This is only recommended if you're having several balls. This makes the balls get stuck on your paddle so that you have to fire it off again every time the ball impacts with the paddle. Quite annoying sometimes. Useful too...
SHRINK PADDLE: This is something you want to avoid unless you've gotten tons of Expand paddles. This makes the paddle twice as small as it originally was. I hate this one...
EXTRA LIFE: This is indeed the best you can get. This gives you an extra life. Unfortunately, this one is very, very rare. But it's well worth it if you get one.
LEVEL WARP: This will transport you directly to the next level. Useful if you're really ,really tired at the current level. I don't use it much, though.
ZAP BRICKS: This makes all the "special" bricks appear as normal. For example, we all know that yellow bricks are indestructible and white ones requires several hits. Not to mention all the annoying invisible ones. This one makes them all normal. White turns black, one hit and they're gone. Same thing with yellow only it turns to another color. And, the invisible ones becomes visible and destructible. I like this one.
SLOW BALL: Avoid this. Even if you're ball is at lightning speed. It becomes really, REALLY slow. Too slow for it's own good.
MULTIPLY EXPLODING: This is sort of a "level clearer". If I'm right, this one multiplies the exploding bricks with 4. Pretty useful...especially at the first level... :) Well, this neat thing isn't that useful at all times, mainly because you lose several points by doing this. But it can be pretty good if you want to move on to the next level. But if you're going for points, you should avoid this. But I usually take it. :)
SPLIT BALL: This doubles the amount of ball you have with two. I'm not sure how many balls you can have at the same time but, I could *swear* that I have had 9 balls at a time...
KILL BALL: Avoid this at all cost. This will kill your ball instantly, causing you to lose a life. It's the same thing as missing the ball, both are deadly.
SHRINK BALL: I hate this one too. It makes the ball VERY small. Avoid this one.
FAST BALL: Can be pretty useful at times. It makes the ball speed up slightly...actually pretty much. Make sure you have good reflexes.
SUPER SHRINK: This one, it doesn't need an explanation, it explains itself. Stay away of it. Stay away. Caution. Danger. Beware. You get it. Don't take it...you'll surely regret it.
FALLING BRICKS: This can be used for your advantage. This causes all the bricks fall down one step every time the ball hits the paddle. If you only have 1 or 2 left, you can take this one if you're lucky and they will close up to you. They can never go all the way down, but close enough.
Hmm...I guess it was completed after all. At the top of the section, I said it wasn't complete. However, once I started writing, I couldn't stop. I was like a "Typerator" or something. I spat out 200 words/min (exaggeration) and there was no stopping me. Actually, I average about 7 or 8 characters per second. And that is pretty much all I need to write a small section like this.
4 . C O N T A C T I N F O
Feel free to contact me, at if you find any typos, errors or anything like that.
And, if you do something "special", contribute something or whatever, I will give you my ICQ number as a "reward". You may contact me, and probably get an answer, as long as you:
- Make sure you make it clear what the mail is all about. In other words, a good subject has a better chance of being read, and answered.
- DO NOT; under any circumstances mail me a chain letter. I will delete it immediately. I don't give a damn about those so you'd better not fill my mailbox with that sort of crap.
- Make it readable! Write in English, proper English. I want to be able to UNDERSTAND what you're writing! Also, if you're contributing a strategy of some sort, make it DETAILED, very, very detailed. And what I mean by "proper" English is that, use capital letters, and write NORMAL English. Don't shorten the words when you're not supposed to. Like, some people shorten entire words with only letters. Don't do that, it's annoying to read. Maybe one or two, but don't push it.
- Only mail me ONCE. Some people mail their mails several times. I find that disturbing... Well, it gives me unnecessary much e-mail which will make it take longer for me to answer all my e-mails.
- Remember that, I will answer as soon as I can. Many people mail me at once so I have to spend like all my free time answering mail. That, is something I don't want to do. So, I can't be bothered with a mail with the subject "Answer my mail!" or anything like that. I'll try to answer to the best of my ability. But if you don't get an answer after a week, you can pretty sure say that it was a stupid question, poorly written or something like that. Look above.
- Don't send me porn, or some commercial garbage about some new camera. I don't care. And I'll delete it as well. Just don't send them to me ok?
But hey, feel FREE, very free to e-mail me, I WANT MAILS! Remember, I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability (I check my mail everyday).
That's about it, for now. It's going to be interesting what kind of mailbox I'll have in the next few weeks... I know I may seem (and I am...) harsh but, THAT'S THE WAY IT IS! I wrote this FAQ so I have the right to control! :p
5 . C R E D I T S
Nintendo: For being the lovely company that they are. (I love Nintendo, even if this is a game for the PC)
Whoever came up with PC: For coming up the great idea to make a PC. You gotta love that guy! Or maybe there were several?
Whoever made the game: For doing this, thanks man! Maybe I'll make a FAQ for the sequel to, it's much better. Although it will probably be short, like this one.
CJayC: For being such a lovely guy, mainly for accepting everyone's FAQs, and because he's got the best web site known to man kind... And, he updates his page even when he's got the flu... Now THAT'S what I call cool... He puts a lot of work to his site, he updates several times a day, I wonder if he gets paid for it? ;p Although, I'm starting to get a little annoyed at him, because I've sent tons and tons of FAQs to him (including another version of this one) but none has been posted... Are they really THAT bad? I mean, I've sent an almost complete FAQ for Goldeneye but it never got posted! Etc, etc. Ok, I know it's not so polite and nice (etc) to flame a guy when he's in "Credits". So I'll stop now.
Me: I wrote all of this garbage. Even if it only took me like half an hour, you should be thankful. You really should because as far as I know, this is the first FAQ for this game... :)
6 . C O P Y R I G H T S T U F F
I *borrowed* this from Kao Megura, I hope he doesn't mind...
This FAQ is for private and personal use only. It can only be reproduced electronically, and if placed on a web page or site, may be altered as long as this disclaimer and the below Copyright notice appear in full. This FAQ is not to be used for profitable/promotional purposes; this includes being used by publishers of magazines, guides, books, etc. or being incorporated into magazines, etc. in ANY way. This FAQ was created and is owned by me, Kao Megura (Mallow, not Kao). All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged that are not specifically mentioned in this FAQ. Please give credit where it is due.
Hey, I didn't write all this but the same goes for me. ALL OF IT! Though, if you want to use this FAQ (why would you want to do that?) on your web site, you need to ask my permission first. And, the condition is that you do NOT change or alter it in ANY way. Not the name, or _anything_ AT ALL. And, you _cannot_ ask me to send you the update of this FAQ, you'll just have to look at www.gamefaqs.com. I can't be bothered with that sort of e- mail. I'll just delete it. And, Kao, I'm sorry that I had to use this, which I found at your web site. I am just a rookie FAQ writer, don't blame me!
This guide is Copyright (c) 2000 Mallow. All rights reserved.
7 . E N D , G O O D B Y E
Before I say goodbye, here's a list of things I need.
- I need inspiration of making a little "Walkthrough". There I may present some tips for each and every level. I need inspiration. If I get over 100 mails (from different peoples of course) I will do it. I know a 100 is a little rough but it's tough to write it. I haven't even gone to all of them yet. Too damn many, 50 to be exact. I don't think many people has ever played through all the levels because it is nearly impossible to play like 20+ hours straight just to get a peek at level 50. You have to be a real nut to do that, although, maybe there's some hidden away way to save your score and level and then be able to continue playing it the next day? If you know anything about how to do this, you know what to do. In case you don't know what to do, e-mail me at the usual address. If you don't know what e-mail address I have, look at the top of this document and all over this FAQ. You can find it almost anywhere. So it shouldn't be much of a problem.
- I need lots of mails. That's what I want, yeah, mails...Ahhhhhh...
Well that's about it, for now. I can't think of anything else at the moment... So I guess this is goodbye now. Have fun playing this game that no one knows or cares about. Just as long as you're having fun, then everything is in order. Because that's why you play games, because you hopefully enjoy them. If you didn't know it already I wrote all that meaningless garbage for some extra space...:) Well then. This is goodbye and I hope that this FAQ will grow large and will be of some help to someone. In the next update, I might add a new section or two, which section(s) remains a mystery... Well one of them can be a "Walkthrough" or "Tips for the levels" or something similar. That's what I have in mind but I need opinions and inspiration to do it. Hope you understand. Well, now I've written enough garbage so... Goodbye! No! It can't be goodbye, this file is so small that I can view it with Notepad! Well, I know I'm not allowed to have some shit that doesn't belong here... So I'm unlucky. Right? Oh well, that's life right? Is it? Yeah, it is. Too bad because I don't like it. Oh, now I know something else to add. You should notice how bad the formatting of this document is, just look here and there and you should notice that I haven't spaced the words correctly, well actually I did but I think it's because I switched the program to write with in the middle of it so, I apologize about that and I'll try to fix it ASAP. ASAP stands for As Soon As Possible, if you didn't know. Ok, I'm _really_ desperate, I've now fixed all that but I don't have the heart to remove the above text... I'm just too darn lazy! :)
Now it's REALLY goodbye, Bye! (Sounds pathetic to say goodbye, but I have to)