Ghostbusters

General FAQ/Walkthrough
Written by Vegita, Guardian Of Destiny (VegitaBOD@aol.com)
Version 3.14


Sections:

I    - Introduction
II   - Game Story
III  - Controls
     A   - The City Map
     B   - Driving
     C   - The Shop
     D   - Ghost-Busting
     E   - Climbing Zuul's Stairway
     F   - Battling Gozer
IV   - How to Play
     A   - How to Win
     B   - How to Lose
V    - Various
     A   - Revision History
     B   - Thanks
     C   - No Thanks



------------------------------------Ghostbusters------------------------------------
     -----------------------------I:  Introduction-----------------------------
------------------------------------Ghostbusters------------------------------------

Welcome!  I am Vegita, Guardian Of Destiny, and I see you want help for the
Nintendo game "Ghostbusters".  Wellsir, I'd say I'm fairly qualified to write
the guide for this game.  I've owned the game for years, and I believe I've
actually survived it a few times.  This is not to say that it's a BAD game, I'm
just saying that when you're somewhere around the age of 12 and really aren't
THAT good at things like coordination or rational thought, games that require
both tend to kill you.  However, since my earlier gaming days I HAVE acquired
both, so I think I can handle not only the game but the FAQ as well!

First off, let's get one thing straight: Even though I am Vegita, I will try to
write from an un-biased point of view (although I still think I'm the best at
everything).  Second of all, if I catch anyone copying all or part of this FAQ,
ANY part of this FAQ (not counting little, inconsequential sentences like
"First off, let's get one thing straight), I will destroy you.  I will rip you
limb from limb like the excessively weak individual you are, and then I will
sue you for copyright infringement.  Well, ok, maybe I'll just sue you, but if
I got the chance I'd certainly go for the ripping of limbs from other limbs.

Third of all, I do not own the rights to this game, the names of the characters
in this game or FAQ, or have any ownership whatsoever of this game (except for
the cartridge sitting in my room, that is).  Those are the property of their
respective owners.  If I find a website with this FAQ on it, and it has been
changed in any way, does not give me proper credit, or is selling it without my
knowledge and consent, then I WILL have my lawyers contact that site.  Are we
clear (this means YOU, Vertsk8!)?


------------------------------------Ghostbusters------------------------------------
     ------------------------------II: Game Story------------------------------
------------------------------------Ghostbusters------------------------------------

In 1984, the movie "Ghostbusters" premiered.  The premise was simple - 3 rather
oafish scientists, who study paranormal events, have their funding cut by the
local university.  Thus left to fend for themselves, the 3 Scientists decide to
persue a career in the very field they were studying - by catching Ghosts!  The
movie was an impressive hit, followed by a sequel, a couple cartoon series (and
a couple knock-offs), and a few video games.  This is one of those games.

------------------------------------Ghostbusters------------------------------------
     ------------------------------III:  Controls------------------------------
------------------------------------Ghostbusters------------------------------------

The controls for the game are actually really simple, no matter where you are
in the game.  I should mention, though, that the premise of the game is so
simple that you really only need the control guides to find your way through
the game.


##########III-A:  The City Map Screen##########

A BUTTON - Press this to entera a Building (in conjunction with the Directional
Pad).
B BUTTON - Try as hard as you like, pressing the B BUTTON will do nothing.
SELECT - Press this to pause the game.
START - Press this to see what's currently in your inventory.
DIRECTIONAL PAD - Use the Up, Down, Left and Right Directional Pad buttons to
move your "Ghostmobile" (symbolized by the Ghostbusters Logo) throughout the
streets of Manhattan.

The trick to navigating the game effectively is to know what you're trying to
do - you can visit whatever building you want by simply moving next to it,
holding the DIRECTIONAL PAD in its direction, and pressing the A BUTTON. 
However, you're the Ghostbusters, and sight-seeing is not what your job is -
you're here to bust some ghosts!  Therefore, you need to enter the affected
buildings and nab the Ghosts.  In order to do that, move around the city until
you find a building that is flashing red (they only flash red when you're next
to it, unless you have a Ghost Alarm).  When you find one (assuming you've
already purchased your equipment), enter it, go through the driving scene, and
capture some ghosts!

Map Synopsis - Just so you don't feel foolish, the overview of the map is
simple.  The Building at the bottom labeled "GBHQ" is the Ghostbuster's Head
Quarters.  When you need to empty your traps, go here.  The Buildings at the
Top of the Screen, labeled "GAS" and "SHOP" are (obviously) the Gas Station and
the Shop, respectively.  Finally, the building in the middle of the screen is
Zuul's Building, which you will worry about later on in the game.



##########III-B:  The Driving Screen##########

A BUTTON - If you have a Ghost Vacuum, by pressing the A BUTTON you can suck up
Ghosts that are on the streets.
B BUTTON - Press this to switch the information on the bottom of the screen
(Gas Left and Distance Remaining switches to Money Accumulated, and vice
versa).
SELECT - Press this to pause the game.
START - Press this button if you REALLY want to waste your time.
DIRECTIONAL PAD UP - Speeds up the Ghostmobile.
DIRECTIONAL PAD DOWN - Slows down the Ghostmobile.
DIRECTIONAL PAD LEFT/RIGHT - Although impossible for a 1976 Hearse, by pressing
LEFT or RIGHT the Ghostmobile travels horizontally left or right.  I don't see
how this is possible, but hey, it's just a game...

The object of these scenes is simple - you are given a random distance to your
destination, and you have to get there.  YOu control your car as you drive
towards your destination, all the while dodging other vehicles.  If you collide
with another vehicle, you lose 200 Dollars (stupid collisions...why doesn't the
OTHER guy pay for it?  Doesn't he have insurance?).  Also, while driving along
you will come across Oil Drums and Ghosts.  To save time on refueling, nab an
Oil Drum.  If you have room in your trap(s), run over the Ghost to pick up for
some quick cash.  Eventually, you'll arrive at your destination...however, if
you happen to run out of gas on the way there, you'll be forced to get out and
push Ecto-1 to the Gas Station, and then you'll have to go all the way back to
the building again!

Remember - the longer you drive around without actually going into a building,
the further you have to drive when you actually pick a building.  Save fuel -
make your drives short by making your decisions early..

SPECIAL NOTE - When you speed up, you move a lot faster but also use more gas. 
When you slow down, you move slower but use less gas.  The funny thing is, the
programmers must have gotten the mathematical formula wrong for this particular
equation because if you travel as fast as possible (meaning your car is at the
top of the screen), you travel many times faster than normal while expending
marginally more gas than you would at an average speed.  You're actually SAVING
gas by speeding as fast as possible!  Of course, this DOES have a downside...if
you're going that fast, there's no way to stop quick enough to grab a Ghost or
Oil Drum (or get out of the way of another car).


##########III-C:  The Shop Screen##########

Ah, shopping.  For a lot of people, shopping is a great way to relax and have
fun.  Other people realize that they'd have more fun for their money's worth if
they simply flushed it down the drain.  However, as a Ghostbuster, you need to
do some shopping if you're going to get anywhere in this game.  The shop's
controls are simple:

A BUTTON - Make a Purchase or Sell an Item.
B BUTTON - Switch from the list the items you have purchased (and vice versa).
SELECT - Pressing Select while in the shop does so little, it hurts.
START - Leave the shop.
DIRECTIONAL PAD - Select different items from the shop.

Now, let's talk about the items located within the shop, their prices, and what
they do.

ITEM               COST.           WHAT IT DOES.

Ghost Vacuum       $2,500          Sucks up Ghosts you drive past on the
street.
Sound Generator    $100,000        Slows down the Ghosts in Zuul's Stairway.
Capture Beam       $3,000          You use these in the "Ghost-Busting" scenes
to nab ghosts.  It's a weaker Proton Pack,
                                   but it gets the job done.
Hyper Beam         $12,000         You use these in the "Ghost-Busting" scenes
to nab ghosts.  They have a better range
                                   than the Capture Beam.  It's the stronger of
the 2 Proton Packs.
Ghost Food         $2,000          Distracts the Ghosts in Zuul's Stairway.
Ghost Alarm        $2,000          Shows you which buildings are currently
haunted.
Anti-Ghost Suit    $20,000         Gives you 6 added hits from the Ghosts in
Zuul's Stairway.
Capture Trap       $1,000 (each)   For every Capture Trap you buy, you can hold
1 Ghost.  After that, they have to be
                                   emptied.  You can hold up to 3 Capture
Traps.
Super Trap         $6,000          Unlike the Capture Trap, you can only hold
one Super Trap at a time.  However, each
                                   Super Trap has an unlimited Ghost-packing
capacity, so you never have to stop and unload
                                   ever again.  Saves time, no?

In order to sell something, simply select the item you wish to sell from your
inventory and press the A BUTTON.  You'll only get half of what you paid for
it, so think about what you want to sell before you sell it.  When you want to
leave the shop, just press Start.


##########III-D:  The "Ghost-Busting" Screen##########

This is where you make your main money, so make it count, Ghostbusters!

A BUTTON - Drop the Trap.
A BUTTON (2) - Once the Trap is dropped, Pressing the A BUTTON makes your
Proton Packs come alive, sending the beams out.
A BUTTON (3) - Once the beams have been extended, pressing the A BUTTON yet
again makes the trap suck up ghosts.
B BUTTON - Switches from the left and right Ghostbusters.
DIRECTIONAL PAD - Moves your Ghostbusters to where they can drop the Trap.
DIRECTIONAL PAD (2) - LEFT and RIGHT move your Ghostbuster(s) left and right,
while UP and DOWN change the angle of the Proton Beam.

Now, how do you make money this way?  If you're familiar with the movie, you'll
know that you should hold the Ghosts in place with the Proton Beam while the
trap sucks 'em up.  So set down the Trap, ignite your beams, try to nab a ghost
or two, move it over the trap, and press the A button to suck it up.  Congrats,
you just nabbed a ghost!

Now, the trick to making money quickly off of catching ghosts is simple - every
time you manage to catch a Ghost, you get $200 dollars.  If you managed to nab
2 ghosts at once, you'll get $200 for the first one and $400 for the second. 
Not bad, you've made twice as much as the first one.  If you manage to get 3
Ghosts at once, you'll be awarded $200 for the first, $400 for the second, and
$800 for the third.  If you can somehow get all 4 Ghosts in one try, you'll get
$200, $400, $800, and $1600 for your efforts - you just made $3000 bucks off of
one trip!  Considering the fact that if you get them one at a time the most you
can get is $800 for all four Ghosts, getting more than one at once is CLEARLY
the way to go.

SPECIAL NOTE - you can change the angle of your beams by pressing UP or DOWN. 
The important thing to remember is this - remember what Egon said about
Crossing the Streams?  Well, that doesn't exactly happen in the game, but it
DOES make you immediately leave the Ghost-Busting screen and returns you to the
Map screen.  Be careful where you're wavin' that thing!


##########III-E:  Climbin' Zuul's Stairway##########

Ah, the final area(s).  This is what it all boils down to, folks - you getting
to (and defeating) Gozer, the Traveller.

A BUTTON - By pressing this repeatedly to move.
B BUTTON - Press this to open the door to each floor.
DIRECTIONAL PAD - In conjunction with the A BUTTON, this determines which
direction you move.
SELECT - Pauses the game.
START - If you have any Ghost Food with you, pressing start will make you set
it down.

This stage is nuts!  You have to tap the A BUTTON repeatedly to make the 4
Ghostbusters run up the stairs.  When you come to a door, press the B BUTTON to
open it.  All the while, Ghosts will be homing in on your position, hoping to
touch you (yeah, I know, it doesn't sound as bad as it really is).  If they
touch you 3 times (5 times with the anti-ghost suit), you fall down.  If you
fall down 3 times, Gozer wins...apparently you break your necks during the last
fall, and everyone decides that death is certainly much better than standing
and walking.

To make your trip of the stairs easier, you can purchase some Ghost Food, which
will distract the Ghosts from you.  A Sound Generator causes the Ghosts to move
slower and thus easier to avoid, but it is extremely expensive!  Finally the
Anti-Ghost Suit gives you 2 extra hits (per fall) from the ghosts.  The most
important item you can have to make this easier, though, is a turbo controller
- after a while, your thumb REALLY starts to hurt!

Oh yeah, on Final Note - you're heading up those stairs to beat Gozer, right? 
What're you gonna use, harsh language?  You HAVE to take a Proton Pack with
you, or else you can't even enter!


##########III-E:  Climbin' Zuul's Stairway##########

Finally, Gozer herself!  How do you deal with her?  Let's find out!

A BUTTON - Fires your Proton Pack.
B BUTTON - Diddly.
DIRECTIONAL PAD LEFT/RIGHT - Moves you left and right.
DIRECTIONAL PAD DOWN - Allows you to see the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man climbing
the Building.

Now here's the trick, folks - blast Gozer until she's dead.  Got it?  If the
SPMM climbs the building before you've killed Gozer, then you lose, go it? 
Here's hoping after all that you don't screw up!


------------------------------------Ghostbusters------------------------------------
     -----------------------------IV:  How to Play-----------------------------
------------------------------------Ghostbusters------------------------------------


##########IV-A:  How to Win##########

The layout for the game is simple - you have to survive the trip up to the top
of the Zuul's building.  In order to do that, you should save up and buy at
LEAST a Proton Pack and some Ghost Food.  If you want to make the trip easier,
you're gonna need the Anti-Ghost Suit and the Sound Generator.  In order to
afford that stuff, you're gonna have to bust a lot of ghosts.  In order to bust
ghosts, you need to visit the shop anyways.

Step 1 - Go to the Shop.

My personal suggestion for your first purchases is getting the Capture Beam &
the Super Trap, or the Capture Beam, the Ghost Alarm, and 2 Ghost Traps.  There
is a reason I suggest either:

~~~With the Capture Beam/Super Trap, you won't have to worry about unloading
your traps (and this saves time on constantly driving back to the Headquarters
and unloading them).

~~~With the Capture Beam/Ghost Alarm/Ghost Traps, you'll have to deposit the
Ghosts you collect at the Headquarters, but you won't have to drive around to
find Haunted Buildings.

Step 2 - Start Busting Ghosts.

Ok, so you've got your proton pack and your traps.  It's time to decide what
you want to save up for.  If you picked up the Super trap, I suggest you save
up for the Ghost Alarm.  If you picked up the Ghost Alarm, save up for the
Super Trap.  Easy enough, right?  If you want to make money that much faster,
purchase a Ghost Vacuum when you can affort it - after all, sucking up spooks
on the road gets you that much more money!

Step 3 - Think about what you want to buy.

Remember, the entire point of the game is that you take down Gozer.  You gotta
get to Gozer, and that's what counts.  What do you want to save up for to aid
yourself in reaching The Traveller?  As I said above, I suggest at least having
some Ghost Food (as well as a Proton Pack).  If you want anything past that,
you'll be saving for a while.

Step 4 - Take on Zuul's Stairway.

Good GOD, I never want to have this much trouble with stairs!  Honestly, this
is SO cheesy, I don't know what else to say.  It's bad enough that there are
always 4 ghosts on the stairs, but the hit detection is so poor it's hard to
tell if you're going to get tagged or not!  On top of that, if a Ghost is STILL
on you, you'll take hit after hit after hit until you either fall down or one
of you leaves.  This is SO ridiculous...

Step 5 - Blast Gozer.

Blast Gozer.  You win.  The end.  Happy now?


##########IV-B:  How to Lose##########

There are 5 ways to lose at this game (you'll probably see 'em all, too).

1 - You run out of gas and don't have any money to pay for it.  Why can't you
guys just hoof it until you have enough for gas?  Huh?

2 - The Psycho-Kinetic Reading (PK, listed at the bottom of the screen) hits
9999.  This means New York City officially explodes with Ghosts.

3 - The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man appears, and you don't have at least $10,000
in your bank account.  Apparently, the City expects you to be able to pay for
the damage done.

4 - You are knocked down 3 times while climbing the stairs in Zuul's Building. 
("Gosh, this floor is so comfy, I think I'll just lie here and DIE with the
rest of the city.")

5 - The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man climbs all the way to the top of Zuul's
Building while you're fighting Gozer.  Next time, don't even bother with the
stairs - hitch a ride with this guy!

Frankly, I'd just like to complain a bunch about this particular situation. 
C'mon, why are your guys so lazy?  Huh?  HUH?  "Oh no, I fell down, I guess
I'll just let New York City blow up!"  "Oh no, I'm out of gas, heaven forbid I
WALK somewhere."  "Oh no, The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, an imaginary
advertising icon, is now a 100 foot tall walking monstrocity that is destroying
the City!  I think I'll move to China and change my name to Merle!"  C'mon,
folks, why don't you actually put some effort into what you're doing?


-----------------------------------Ghostbusters------------------------------------
     -------------------------------V: Various--------------------------------
-----------------------------------Ghostbusters------------------------------------


##########IV-A: Revision History##########

05-15-01:  Started this FAQ.
05-18-01:  Finished this FAQ.  Go me!


##########IV-B: Thanks##########

~CJayC (CJayC@gamefaqs.com, www.gamefaqs.com) for putting this FAQ up.

~Al Amaloo (www.gamewinners.com) for being such a cool guy, and having a great
site.

~Vertsk8pro@hotmail.com for giving me a heart attack with your childish "I
stole your FAQ and sold it with my name on it" antics.  Because of that, I now
do dozens of things to make sure people don't steal my work.  If they do, I
know exactly what to look for to see if they took MY work or not.

~Uh...I can't exactly thank God for the role he's taken in my life, because
that would seem like I'm trying to force my religious opinions on someone else
(which I'm not).  Therefore, I'd like to thank "Murray" for the role he's taken
in my life (Murray, you know who you are).


##########IV-C:  NO THANKS##########

If you write me asking for help with the game, I'll send you a link to my FAQ. 
If you ask for specific help, I'll try to aid you.  However, if you ask me
about something that is already covered in the FAQ, I will simply refer you to
the FAQ again.  I wrote the FAQ so that your questions would be answered here,
not so I could repeat that FAQ bit by bit through e-mail for the next few
years.  If you need clarification about something in the FAQ, ask about it -
but don't ask me to repeat anything.

And if you happen upon this FAQ at sites other than these:

www.GameFAQ s.com
www.Gamewinner s.com

Then please tell me ASAP!

Finally, if you are so bored you want to see a pathetically weak Dragon
Ball-related site, go here:

http://come.to/VegitaBOD

or

http://VegitaBOD.tripod.com/Homepage.html


This FAQ Copyright Vegita, Guardian Of Destiny, May 2001
