MACROSS M3
Import Dreamcast

Episode Guide

Version 0.6

(c) 2001 Edward Ju, All Rights Reserved.


* Introduction

This is a quick and dirty guide I've slapped together for the express 
purpose of helping those who are playing the game for the first time and 
were stuck on a level they cannon clear.  I do not have the luxury of 
taking the time to write a full-blown FAQ or walkthru, so if you have 
any specific questions on a particular level, feel free to e-mail me at 
gundam@loop.com and I will add the answer in a revised version of this 
guide.  As of now, Version 0.6 contains only the first half of the game.  
It is a revised version of the first release (Version 0.5), and contains 
several corrected mistakes, rewritten passages that aim to make things 
clear, and the addition of the Executive Summary section (for the 
benefit of those who just need to get to the point immediately).  This 
work-in-progress is becoming more formalized than the quickie guide I 
have originally envisioned.

I call this guide an Episode Guide because that's how the game refers to 
groups of levels, or missions.  Sometimes an Episode can contain only 1 
mission, sometimes the game would decide to give you a full-course meal 
of 3 linked levels.  The game unlocks certain levels within an Episode, 
although I haven't been able to nail down what triggers their release 
other than the observation that they appear to be time-released like 
Tekken characters.  You just need to play through all the Episodes a few 
times before all the levels are released.  The implication is that you 
need a memory card with sufficient room, otherwise you will need to 
start from scratch every time you boot the game.

Each unlocked level becomes playable in Free Mission mode.  However, the 
tips contained in this guide are written for players dealing with the 
level in Story Mode (by beginning a New Game or Load a saved Game via 
the VMU).  If you are playing the level in Free Mission mode, the 
strategy here will work equally well, but you almost always have better 
plug-ins and variable mechs available then what I recommended here, and 
pilot selection will not be an issue there.

* Distribution

Feel free to pass this along to fellow gamers, but I reserve the 
copyright and other related right to this guide.  That means you should 
not alter the contents of this document without permission, even if it 
contains misspelling and bad grammar.

You are not supposed to profit from distributing this document, be 
prepared for the worst if I find out that you do.

* Valkyrie Overview

Model #   Plug-in slots   Simultaneous missile lock-on (standard #)

VF-1J     3               2
VF-4      4               3
VF-3000   5               3
VF-5000   6               4
VF-9      5               3
VF-14     7               5
V. Graug  6               N/A (no lock-on missile available)
VFX-11    7               7
YF-19     8               7
YF-21     7               8

Note that the Variable Graug is not equipped with homing missiles, 
therefore even if you install 2 sets of extra missile plug-ins, it will 
not fire any homing missiles even though the HUD shows 2 are available.

The YF-19 and YF-21 from Macross Plus are unavailable in Story Mode and 
only selectable in Free Mission mode after you have entered the correct 
passwords for each Valkyrie in the Internet Mode's Password section.

* Plug-in Overview

The 12 known plug-in modules are listed, from top to bottom, as they 
appear on the selection screen going from left to right:

# of slots required  Plug-in name and function

1                    Booster Upgrade  booster lasts longer

1                    Lock-on Speed Upgrade  faster lock-on

1                    Terrain Protection  Fighter takes less 
                     damage from hitting terran

1                    Mobility Upgrade  more maneuverable

2                    Shield Upgrade  shield lasts longer

2                    Missile Upgrade  bigger damage

2                    Gunpod Upgrade  bigger damage

3                    Extra Missiles  get an extra missile
                     for every 3 available missiles, limited to 10

3                    Lock-on Range Upgrade  lock-on further targets

3                    ECM  slows down enemy reaction

4                    Music  plays the Minmay pop song "Shao Bih Long" 
                     (Little White Dragon) and causes confusion and 
                     reduced morale in the ranks of Zentradi forces, 
                     causing them to send out less combat units and 
                     fight less ferociously

5                    Music  plays the Minmay song translated from the 
                     artifact found in the Do You Remember Love movie.  
                     Effect on the Zentradi is more powerful than the 
                     Little White Dragon song, at a cost of an extra 
                     plug-in slot

Note that many of these plug-ins can be made more powerful by multiple 
installation, if your Valkyrie has enough empty slots to take them.  For 
example, installing the Extra Missile plug-in twice will get you even 
more missiles than what you get from a single installation.

* How to Use This Guide

The Executive Summary section lays out the pilot, Valkyrie, and plug-in 
selection that I have found to be useful  it is not a be-all-end-all 
setup, so you are free to experiment with different combinations.  
However, if you are stuck on a level, I highly recommend you try what's 
worked for me by going with the recommended setup.  It doesn't really 
matter which pilot you choose if you just want to "go to the next 
level", but the ones I recommend are based on who I had chosen when I 
got the good ending.  The third pilot, Moa, is a captured Zentradi who 
still has issues with fighting against her own kind, therefore it is 
best to use Max in Episodes where you will be facing off Zentradi units, 
because you will get a bad ending if Moa is not happy.  I am also not 
sure if you can get a good ending if you do not unlock all levels.

The Executive Summary also sums up the basic strategy you need to use in 
order to clear the level without being destroyed or running out of time.  
I recommend reading the Detailed Guide section if you are already stuck 
on a particular level, since you are more likely to find specific 
pointers that directly address your problem.  

You can consult with the Valkyrie and Plug-in Overview sections above at 
the beginning of each Episode, they should come in rather handy. 

* Episode 1  Destroy All Enemy Squads

Executive Summary:

Pilot: either Max or Millia
Valkyrie: VF-1J (only possible choice)
Plug-ins: booster upgrade x 3
Basic strategy: gun down incoming wave using gunpod (press A quickly and 
repeatedly), and use special all-out missile attack to clean up the 
remaining few pests (X-Y-X-Y-A action command).  Go with Battroid or 
Gerwalk mode.

Detailed Guide:

Pick either pilot (Max or Millia).  VF-1J is the only Valkyrie 
available.  I believe you only get the booster upgrade and terrain 
protection (its icon shows a fighter flying into a mountain) plug-ins 
here, so just go with boosters all the way (you'll be skybound, no point 
in installing terrain protection plug-in for this mission when there is 
nothing other than moving targets for you to fly into).

Use your gunpod (press A repeatedly instead of holding it down) to take 
out each wave of enemies that come at you as they are appearing.  You 
can knock out a good percentage of them that way.  Contrary to what you 
might have learned from flight simulators, the Valkryie's gunpod here is 
rather accurate and powerful.  Sometimes they are more effective than 
missiles, you just need to figure out which kinds of enemy units are 
more vulnerable to the gunpod, and which ones are easier to kill with 
the missiles.

Alternatively, you can use the multi-missile tactical attack by pressing 
X-Y-X-Y-A (you will need five filled segments from the Action Point bar, 
located at the lower left side of the screen, in order to execute it) as 
the enemy units are entering the area.  You will know that you did it 
correctly if you see your Valkyrie transform into Battroid (robot) mode 
and start shooting out tons of missiles from its back.  If your Valkyrie 
is firing its gunpod instead, then you've just performed the X-Y-A 
action, which is sort of useless, and wasted 3 Action Points.

In order to get enemy units in your line of sight, observe the yellow 
triangles that go around the large green circle on your HUD.  As you fly 
around, you will see them spin around the circle.  You want to try to 
put their triangular representation on top of the green circle, so you 
can see them actually inside the green circle and fire at them.

Once they start to engage you and fly around you, it's time to transform 
into either Battroid or Gerwalk form and start to track them.  Try to 
nail them with the gunpod or missiles.  Ammo is unlimited, so just keep 
firing even though nothing's inside the green circle yet.

You can fire missiles by holding down the A button for a while and then 
release when you acquire a lock-on, which is done by following a target 
and placing it within the large circle on your HUD.  Once the circle 
turns from green to red, it means missile is ready to launch, and if you 
hear the lock-on tone, you should release the A button before you lose 
the lock-on.  The longer you can hold the A button while maintaining a 
lock-on, the more missiles you can lock onto the target (subject to the 
number of missiles your Valkyrie can simultaneously lock-on).  The VF-
1J, unfortunately, can only lock-on to a maximum of 2 missiles at a time 
unless you install the extra missiles plug-in, which is not available 
for this episode. 

A good strategy for this episode is to spray enemy units with gunfire as 
they are entering the combat zone.  When you have successfully trimmed 
them down and it becomes a dogfight, use the X-Y-X-Y-A special missile 
attack to hit the remaining units which are hard to lock-on.  Engage in 
dogfight if the all-out missile attack doesn't kill off the remaining 
units of the wave and wait for your Action Point bar to refill, then 
repeat the special missile attack.  You should be able to defeat all 
waves within the time limit using this pattern.

* Episode 2  Destroy Enemy Fighter

Executive Summary:

Pilot, Valkryie, and plug-ins are carried over from Episode 1. 
Basic Strategy: use a combination of gunfire and X-Y-X-Y-A all-out 
missile attack to finish off the only enemy unit.

Detailed Guide:

Technically, this should be Episode 1-2, because you are not returned to 
the ship for new briefing.  You are basically given a new mission 
objective to destroy the escape plane of a spy.  This is a hidden level 
and does not always get unlocked, so you may not get to play this level 
at all. 

There are no waves of enemy units, just 1 unit that you must destroy.  
It will not sit there and take your abuse, instead it will fire homing 
missiles at you.  In fact, that is the first thing it does as you are 
entering the combat zone, so you will need to either dodge them or just 
take a few hits so you can get down to business sooner.  

A few all-out special missile attacks (X-Y-X-Y-A action command) will 
take care of it, unless you want to practice your gunnery skills.  Just 
make sure you don't run out of time.  Change into battroid or gerwalk if 
you have a hard time tracking of your enemy in Fighter mode.

* Episode 2-1  Fly Through the Canyon

Executive Summary:

Pilot: either Max or Millia (I used Max to get the good ending)
Valkyrie: VF-4 
Plug-ins (in order of preference/importance): booster upgrade, shield 
upgrade (if available), terrain protection, gunpod upgrade (if 
available)
Basic strategy: stay in Fighter mode, use booster when there aren't 
mines nearby and use the X-X-A chaff/flare escape when you are being 
locked-on by homing missiles.  Try to get to the end of the canyon as 
soon as you can and avoid wasting time engaging targets.

Detailed Guide:

Like all married couples, Max and Millia were spending some quality time 
at yet another session of domestic dispute.  Suddenly, duty calls in the 
form of a scramble siren.  Pick either pilot.  I usually go with Max, 
since he will be facing off against a Zentradi pilot later (more on this 
topic later).  You should also have the VF-4 unlocked by now, I usually 
go with it, although you can go with VF-1J if you are used to how it 
handles (the VF-4 behaves a bit different than the VF-1J, but the extra 
missile and plug-in slot helps).

By now, a few plug-ins should have been unlocked.  You can pick these if 
they are available: 

- booster upgrade (take at least 1)
- shield (icon shows the fighter in center of a sphere, generally not 
  available, but if you see it, take it)
- protection from terrain (if you have enough slots, take 1)
- gunpod upgrade (icon shows a bigger gunpod over a smaller one, highly 
  recommended)
- missile upgrade (icon shows a larger missile over a smaller one, not 
  necessary)
- extra missiles (icon shows a bunch of missiles, not necessary)

I usually go with a booster upgrade, a terrain protection, and either 
the gunpod upgrade or the shield upgrade, depending on which one is 
available.  The most important plug-ins are the booster and the shield, 
if available.  If you don't see the shield plug-in, get a terrain 
protection.  A gunpod upgrade should also be used, if available.

This level requires you to fly through a canyon.  Time is your greatest 
enemy.  Your other headache is the barrage of homing missiles on your 
tail (you'll hear the siren and see the word "WARNING!" on the HUD, 
warning you of approaching missiles).  Here you must master the other 
important tactical action command: X-X-A.  It drops chaff and flare to 
bail you out of homing missiles, and will come in very handy here.  This 
action depletes only two segments from the Action Points bar, so you can 
do it again immediately or relatively soon.  Just make sure that your 
Valkyrie is not heading to the ground or a cliffwall when you perform 
this action, because you do not have control of the Valkyrie when the 
action is being performed.  When you regain control of your Valkyrie, 
you don't want it on the brink of hitting the ground or cliffwall, 
causing the shield to deplete or destroy your Valkyrie, if the shield is 
gone.

Stay in Fighter mode as much as you can  it may be a bit disorienting 
at first, but if you have played Air Combat (aka Ace Combat for Japanese 
original version) on the PlayStation, then this level should be a total 
piece of cake.  In fact, it is possible to finish this level entirely in 
Fighter mode.  Use your booster whenever possible to make your trip 
proceed faster.

In this level, you will encounter 2 kinds of obstacles (besides the 
cliff walls and the ground, which are hurtful if your fighter flies into 
them): mines and turrets.  The mines just float in the air, waiting for 
you to fly into them so they can detonate and drain your shield.  You 
can use the gunpod to shoot them, but be warned that you need to get 
them to blow up twice before they are rendered harmless.  Best to avoid 
getting close to them at all, because most of the time they are already 
in your face by the time you get one to blow up for the first time.  

The turrets fire homing missiles at you.  You can lock some missiles on 
them to take them out, but a few well-timed chaff/flare action (X-Y-A) 
works beautifully to bail you out of the hot zone.  Remember, your goal 
is to fly to the other end of the canyon, and spending time blowing 
stuff up is not on top of your priority.  When you fly, make sure that 
you don't fly too high  there is an invisible ceiling.  If you get too 
close you will see a warning on screen that says you are about to leave 
the combat area, and the game will forcibly transform your fighter to 
Battroid mode so you'd drop to the ground.  Not a good thing to happen 
if you are flying through a buttload of turrets and/or mines.

In short, avoid collision, stay in Fighter mode and fire up that booster 
often, avoid flying too close to the mines, and chaff/flare whenever you 
hear a lot of WARNING! beeps.  

* Episode 2-2  Destroy Enemy Intelligence Facility

Executive Summary:

Your pilot/Valkyrie/plug-ins carry over from the previous level.  Here's 
where your shield, booster, and gunpod upgrade plug-ins really shine. 
Basic strategy: primary goal is to destroy all red-flagged Targets, 
shaped like a giant antenna.  Enter the complex in Fighter mode, 
transform to Gerwalk when engaging the opposition.  Pick off the 
guarding turrets and Destroids by hopping/jumping (using the booster) 
while moving left and right unpredictably, then destroy the nearest 
Target before rushing (Fighter mode and a bit of booster) to the next 
Target area.  Act as fast as you can, do not waste too much time using 
lock-on or special missile attacks  for the time they cost you, the 
gunpod is much more efficient.

Detailed Guide:

This is an unlocked level, you may or may not get it.  Be happy if the 
game sends you to Episode 2-3 after you complete 2-1, because this is 
one of the toughest levels, and takes a lot of practice.  However, I 
believe you need to unlock and beat this level in order to get a good 
ending.  So grin and bear it if you do end up here.  I spent a whole 
night here before I figured out a working strategy to clear it.  Don't 
get frustrated if you run out of time often  play through this level a 
few times so you can get a mental picture of the structure's layout and 
where the Targets are.  Once you know where they are, it will help you 
complete your task faster.

You start outside a building complex.  Your goal is to destroy the 
enemy's intelligence facility, namely the antenna-like radar dishes 
located inside the complex.  They are marked red on your HUD as TARGET, 
and you cannot lock onto them using the missile.  That's where your 
gunpod upgrade comes in handy.  Without the plug-in, you will be 
spending more time on destroying these targets (I think there were 5 in 
all) and time is once again your greatest enemy here.

Missiles, even special full-out attacks, aren't terribly effective here.  
You need to fire your vulcan like mad at moving targets (Destroids) and 
turrets that are protecting each antenna, and keep moving wildly so they 
cannot hit you.  The Destroids can get you with their guns if your 
movement is limited to hoving left and right in Gerwalk mode, so use the 
booster often and make yourself hard to track or lock-on.  Don't even 
try this level in Battroid mode, it is too slow for the pace of this 
level, not to mention the lead salad your Battroid would be getting is 
no good for your health.

Start by transforming into Fighter mode and fly into the complex.  Pick 
a red Target, fly there (position the red triangle on top of the green 
circle and fly in a straight line), and visually confirm the posted 
guards so you can pick a spot to land without being surrounded.  
Transform to Gerwalk mode and start firing your gun at the guards  
these include at least 1 turret and a couple of Destroids.  They are 
tough customers and if you want to lock missiles onto them, it'd take a 
long time.  Quick-firing gunpod takes less time to blow them up.  Try to 
take out the turret first if you can, so there will be no homing 
missiles after you.  When you are attacking the Destroids, try to move 
around a lot  swing left and right while jump up and down using the 
booster.  This makes you hard to target so your shield will last longer.  
Hop around and fire like mad, once you take out the guards you can fire 
at the red Target unmolested.  As it is blowing up, transform to Fighter 
mode and rush to the next Target area, repeat the process of picking off 
Turret and Destroids until you blow up all the red Targets.  

If you have enough shield left (indicated on the bar on the lower right 
side of the screen) when you only have 1 Target remaining to be 
destroyed and time is running tight, you can just shoot the Target 
instead of trying to clear the area of guards.  As long as you keep 
moving and jumping around while shooting at the Target, you can do it 
without being shot to a piece of Swiss cheese.  Just make sure the 
Target stays inside the big green circle while you are moving around and 
firing.

In short: hop a lot while swinging left and right constantly as you 
attack the guards, and move as fast as you can between Targets!

* Episode 2-3  Disable Unidentified Zentradi Fighter

Executive Summary:

Pilot/Valkyrie/plug-ins are once again carried over from 2-1 and 2-2.  
If you have missile upgrade or extra missile plug-in, they will make 
this level easier, but you don't need them to win this level.
Basic strategy: show no mercy, X-Y-X-Y-A all-out special missile attack 
whenever you have 5 or more Action Points on the AP bar.  Fire your 
gunpod like mad while the Action Points are regenerating, and keep 
moving so you're not a still target.

Detailed Guide:

After the tough levels of 2-1 and 2-2, you are rewarded with a one-on-
one with a Zentradi Variable Graug, which flies and attacks like a freak 
on speed.  By the time you got a lock-on and are ready to fire, the 
bastard is already behind you pumping lead into your back.  

Not to worry!  Use your X-Y-X-Y-A all-out special missile attack.  Fire 
your gun blindly while your Action Point bar refills, because the Graud 
flies around so fast and crazy you are bound to get some licking in as 
it gets in front of you and try to shoot you at point blank range.  
After a few all-out missile attacks, victory should be yours as you 
carry out your order to disable the enemy and capture it along with the 
pilot.

The pilot turned out to be a Zentradi female named Moa.  Max and Millia 
decide to make her a micron (human-size her) and adopt her as their own 
daughter.  This family is where the game gets its name "M3" from (Max, 
Millia, and Moa).  As a side note... whatever happened to Mylene, their 
baby daughter seen in the original Macross TV series?!  

* Episode 3-1  Clear All Enemy Squads

Executive Summary:

Pilot: Max (after all, it's the guy's duty to protect females)
Valkyrie: VF-3000 
Plug-ins: shield, missile upgrade/extra missiles/gun upgrade, lock-on 
speed upgrade/mobility upgrade.
Basic strategy: all-out missile attack action command (X-Y-X-Y-A) and 
gunfire/missile lock-ons while you recharge the Action Points.

Detailed Guide:

Your mission is to escort the newly developed VF-5000.  I picked Max for 
this mission to get the good ending, and flew the VF-3000 (which usually 
is unlocked by now, the VF-9 is sometimes unlocked at this point as 
well), which has 5 plug-in slots.  Play around with the available plug-
ins you find suitable to your style, 

Since this is a space mission, don't waste your valuable plug-in slots 
on terrain protection.  I think a shield upgrade (if available) and 
missile upgrade are very helpful here, you can put either the mobility 
upgrade or lock-on speed upgrade for the remaining slot, depending on 
your playing style.  If you don't feel like bothering with trying to 
lock-on enemies, then get the mobility upgrade.

If the Minmay plug-ins are available, you might want to consider them  
their icons appear as musical notes.  One of them takes up 4 slots, and 
the other one takes up 5 slots.  The Minmay plug-in plays one of her 
songs and sends protoculture shock across Zentradi enemy ranks, causing 
them to lose their morale and will to fight, thus sending out less 
attack units.  The later waves of this mission contained Zentradi units, 
so a Minmay plug-in would help.

This Episode plays very much like Episode 1, just use the same strategy 
and rely on a combination of special all-out missile attack and the 
gunpod firing or locking-on missiles, and you will do fine.  Stay in 
Battroid mode or Gerwalk mode if you need to track your opposition for 
gunfire or lock-on missiles.

* Episode 3-2  Defeat Enemy Reinforcement

Executive Summary:

Pilot/Valkyrie/plug-ins are carried over from previous level.
Basic strategy: same as the previous level.

Detailed Guide:

This is one of the hidden, unlocked level, so you might not always get 
this level.  I have not been able to get a good ending without unlocking 
this level, though.

The opposition has sent reinforcement, and these are tougher customers 
than the lame-o units you just dealt with in the previous level.  Do the 
same thing you did in Episode 3-1 while being careful not to stay a 
still target, as the enemies are more active and aggressive now.

* Episode 4-1  Fly Through the Canyon

Executive Summary:
Pilot: Moa
Valkyrie: VF-5000 (if available, otherwise pick VF-9 or VF-3000)
Plug-ins: booster upgrade, shield upgrade, missile upgrade, lock-on 
speed upgrade or terrain protection
Basic strategy: same as Episode 2-1, but you must transform to Gerwalk 
mode when you come upon a beam gate and destroy at least the lowest row 
of beam activators before you can hover under the other rows of beam 
barricade.  X-X-A when homing missiles are on your tail and there are no 
obstacles in front of you.

Detailed Guide:

This one is very similar to Episode 2-1, but tougher.  While Episode 2-1 
can be finished without any attacks or transformation, that's not the 
case here.

There are no Zentradi units in this Episode, so it's a perfect one to 
send Moa out for some action.  I think the best unit unlocked at this 
point would be the VF-5000.  Take that even if Moa's Variable Graug is 
available  the Variable Graug cannot be equipped with homing missiles, 
therefore you'd be denied the special all-out missile attack and lock-on 
missile attacks if you pick the Variable Graug.

As for plug-ins, you will definitely need shield, booster, missile 
upgrades, these take up 5 slots in the VF-5000 and leaves you with only 
1 slot, so choose between lock-on speed upgrade, terrain protection, or 
mobility upgrade depending on your playing style.  Don't waste slots on 
the Minmay song plug-ins for this Episode, since there are no Zentradi 
opposition here.

As you start this mission, you are once again flying through a canyon.  
Same rules from Episode 2-1 apply here.  Don't fly too high.  Avoid 
collision.  X-X-A chaff and flare if the Warning! beep gets too scary, 
and try to avoid the mines.

Here's what's new about this level: forked paths and beam gates.

Instead of a linear canyon like Episode 2-1, you will come upon forked 
paths as you fly through the canyon here.  You will need to check them 
out for yourself to see which side you want to fly through the next time 
(trust me, you'll die plenty and get to practice here).  If you pick the 
wrong path, you'll have to deal with a ton of mines, enough to make sure 
you take the other path next time.

The beam gates are easy to deactivate, just lock-on to both sides, blow 
out the beam activators and boom, the blue beam disappears.  You only 
need to blow out the lowest row of beam in order to go under the other 
beams in Gerwalk mode.  Once you get through the gate, change to Fighter 
mode and try to make up for loss time.  Look out for homing missiles and 
mines too.

Once again, your goal is to get to the end of the canyon, not to blow 
everything up, so strategize accordingly.  The only thing you really 
need to deal with here are beam gates, more specifically each gate's 
lowest row of beam.

* Episode 4-2  Destroy Disguised Turrets

Executive Summary:
Pilot/Valkyrie/plug-in are carried over from the last level.
Basic strategy: enter the hot zone in Fighter mode, lock-on to each 
missile turrets (yellow triangles) and fire off 3 or 4 homing missiles 
on them.  Change to Gerwalk mode after destroying all missile turrets 
and deal with the Cannon Turrets (red-flagged Targets) by jumping around 
while gunning them and avoiding firing from bugs hiding under the sand.

Detailed Guide:

I am not sure if this is one of the hidden levels that gets unlocked, 
but it's a pain just like Episode 2-2.  Once again, you need to spend a 
lot of time hopping around like a grasshopper in Gerwalk mode and keep 
moving to avoid becoming a still target, and the booster upgrade 
installed earlier now comes in very handy.

You start from a safe area.  Approach the enemy's camp in Fighter mode 
and stay in Fighter mode while you fly around the center of the facility 
and try to take out all the turrets that can fire homing missiles at 
you.  Use missiles, lock-on and fire.  

Once you've taken out all the homing missile turrets, transform to  
Gerwalk mode and approach the Sphinx-like structures one by one.  They 
are actually disguised turrets and fire huge shells at you in fixed 
intervals.  Hop and jump while swinging left and right, just keep the 
head of the Sphinx (the disguised turret) inside the big green circle so 
you can pump more lead into it.  After one blows up, get to the next one 
quickly.  I believe there were 5 total.  While working on the disguised 
turrets, you may be shot by mobile bugs that seem to be firing at you 
from under the sand.  You can choose to deal with them or not, just make 
sure you are doing well with time.

* Episode 4-3  Destroy the Mother Bug

Executive Summary:
Pilot/Valkyrie/plug-ins are carried over from 4-1 and 4-2.
Basic strategy: use the all-out missile attack special Action command as 
much as you can, lock-on as many homing missiles as you can while the 
Action Points replenish.  Repeat until you exterminate the big bug 
(Target).

Detailed Guide:

You discover that those bugs that were firing at you while moving under 
the sand were no accident.   Apparently, giant insects were bred for bio 
weapon applications.  Well, one of them has gotten so huge and it sends 
out little bugs like it was the SDF-1 sending out little Valkyries!  
Your mission is to squash that ugly bug carrier and maintain mankind's 
superiority over insects, of course.

I believe this is not a hidden/unlocked level, so you will get it even 
if no matter what.  This boss level is fairly easy, just make sure you 
don't allow the mother bug overwhelm you with its minions.  The mother 
bug sends out a squad of new bugs at fixed intervals, so no matter how 
good you are at taking them out, there's always more where that came 
from.  Therefore, you should concentrate your attack on the mother bug 
(red-flagged Target) and not waste your time with the little bugs.
 
For this episode, I recommend staying in Fighter mode and never 
transform.  The little insects come at you fast, if you are in Battroid 
or Gerwalk mode you will get gangbanged.  Fighter mode gives you the 
speed and agility to outrun them.  

Use your special all-out missile attack as soon as you get enough Action 
Points.  You will need to do it a lot in order to destroy the mother bug 
before time is called.  While the AP bar is being filled, charge the 
giant bug and lock-on as many missiles as you possibly can.  Release the 
missiles as they all lock-on and once you fly past the mother bug, hit 
the booster to gain some distance before you do a 360 degree turn to 
reacquire it in your sight for another round of locking-on.  Repeat 
until you get 5 Action Points for another all-out missile special 
attack. 

The gunfire is useful against the little bugs that constantly spew forth 
from the giant bug, but I really think it's a waste of time to knock 
these good-for-nothings out.  Concentrate your firepower on the giant 
bug and keep moving in Fighter mode, and you will clear this boss stage 
without much trouble.

*** Coming Soon... the remaining 4 Episodes!

* Totally Unrelated Stuff I Just Felt Like Including

The Limited Edition copies of Macross M3 came in a DVD-sized box made of 
cardboard paper has features an original illustration of the game's main 
characters on the box cover.  However, the only item you get inside, 
besides the game itself, is a card.  The card depicts one of the 3 main 
characters  Max, Millia, and Moa.  Unfortunately, you don't know which 
card you will get until you break it out of the box.  If anyone has a 
Millia card and wants to trade it for the Max card I have, feel free to 
e-mail me at gundam@loop.com

There is a sweepstakes number printed on each card, unfortunately the 
contest is only open to residents of Japan, so even if you have the 
grand prize winning number, it's still worthless outside of Japan.

