======================================================================
ROLLING THUNDER 3
- Sega Genesis (Sega Mega Drive) -
======================================================================

Rolling Thunder 3 Copyright 1993 Namco

Spherelander Videogame Strategy Guide Series #02 - Version 1.1
Copyright 2000-2001 Faididi (faididi@hotmail.com)
This strategy guide is intended for private use only and may not
be distributed for personal gain. This, or any part of it, may
not be copied without the author's permission.

This document contains about 16924 words.
If what you get is significantly different, somebody may have
tampered with this document (probably cutting out the walkthrough
credits and copyright information). While I can't do crap about
it (except complain), you should care in the event some important
gaming data is accidentally removed or if there is an error in
downloading this guide. If you still give half a rat's ass,
e-mail me to inform me that something funny's going on.

---------------
VERSION HISTORY
---------------

Version 1.1
Updated - Sunday 12 31 2000
New Features:
- Running time corrections for the music are made.
- Game staff credits are added. (Check the Ending section.)

Version 1.0
Updated - Saturday 06 24 2000
Jay finally gets a break in the internet realm.

======================================================================
======================================================================

INDEX

I.   Background Info
      - What's Going On (story)
      - Who's Who (character summaries)
      - What's In, What's Out (what's new in this game)
      - Living the Life of a Secret Agent (controls and tips)
      - Options
      - Weapons (special and unspecial)
      - Behind Door #1... (about doors and the bonuses behind 'em)

II.  Round Strategies (story mode)
      - Introduction
      - Round  1: Oil Refinery
      - Round  2: The Factory
      - Round  3: Highway
      - Round  4: Las Vegas Night
      - Round  5: Dread's Building
      - Round  6: The Pacific Ocean
      - Round  7: Easter Island
      - Round  8: Underground Base
      - Round  9: Hijack
      - Round 10: Castle of Dread

III. The Ending
      - Epilogue

IV.  Secret Rounds
      - Round Ex A: Sewers
      - Round Ex B: Mines
      - Round Ex C: Warehouse

V.   Secret Agent Secrets (miscellaneous stuff)
      - Passwords
      - Secret Passwords
      - Various Values (quick reference)
      - Fun with Audio
      - Really Small Details
      - Game Evaluation
      - Other Spy Games

VI.  Credits

======================================================================
I. BACKGROUND INFO - Review this before going on your mission
======================================================================

---------------
WHAT'S GOING ON
---------------

In the late 20th Century, satellites around the globe were being
destroyed, disrupting communications and causing a wide-scale panic.
The secret international police agency known as "Rolling Thunder"
uncovered the criminal organization behind this insidious plot:
Geldra. Thought to be destroyed, Geldra is now led by Gimdo, the
enigmatic successor to Mabu. Agents Leila and Albatross are
immediately sent out to stop him.

But that's not all. Rolling Thunder also sends another agent
after Dread, the second-in-command of Geldra. By destroying the top
two links in the chain of command, Geldra will surely be
eliminated. And who is this third agent? He's a new guy who goes
by the name Jay.

So yes, Rolling Thunder 3 takes place at the same time as Rolling
Thunder 2, but it concentrates on Jay's adventures. As he's about
to find out, sometimes the #2 bad guy can just be as worse as #1...

---------
WHO'S WHO
---------

Rolling Thunder
 A secret branch of the World Police Organization (WPO).

Leila
 Rolling Thunder agent #1. She's the best there is, but even the
 best can get into trouble, as what happened in the first
 game. Fortunately, Albatross bailed her out, and now
 she's something for Geldra to fear.

Albatross
 Rolling Thunder agent #2. In the first game he was called in to
 rescue Leila and to stop Mabu. Geldra's back now, but so's he
 and Leila.

Jay
 Rolling Thunder agent #3. New to the group, he's just as highly
 trained as the other two heroes. Plus he's the only available
 agent left to take on the Dread case. Let's hope his wits and his
 revolver will keep him in one piece.

Ellen
 A communications officer for Rolling Thunder. She backs up Jay in
 this game, serving as a link between him and HQ. Beats me, but
 I sense something special going on between those two...

Geldra
 The criminal organization Rolling Thunder's after. These guys use
 robotic agents to do their dirty work. Known as Maskers due to their
 metallic visages, these bots are capable of doing many things a
 human can, including firing a gun, throwing grenades, holding
 hostages, engaging in high-speed chases, setting up terrorist
 threats over the phone, ordering drinks at the local bar,
 making fake pizza orders to Round Table, etc...

Mabu
 The first leader of Geldra. This guy is defintely not from Earth.
 Albatross managed to waste him despite his ability to fire lasers
 from his fingertips.

Gimdo
 The new leader of Geldra. The destruction of the satellites is
 only the first part of his grand scheme. Unlike Mabu, he's
 more than just an alien....

Dread
 The next guy under Gimdo. Like the other 2 bosses, he can fire
 lasers from his hand and has green skin. Unlike the others,
 he doesn't have two agents out to tag and bag his ass.

Male Maskers
 The backbone of Geldra forces, these guys have been around for some
 time. They carry guns, although their iron fists are also deadly.
 The colors of their uniforms indicate their ranks (which determine
 how many hits they take, how they attack, etc.).

Female Maskers
 New to the Rolling Thunder series, these bad babes don't carry
 guns like their male counterparts. Why? Because they enjoy
 thrusting their sharp heels through Jay! When they get up close,
 their kicks become extremely lethal. If they jump down from
 an upper floor and land on Jay, he'll get hurt bad and lose
 1 Hit Point. Adding insult to injury, they can backflip through
 his bullets without a scratch.

Heavy Maskers
 The meanest of the Maskers. These guys take up the most hits, and
 they fire their pistols like machineguns if they're not throwing
 uppercuts at you. Not fun to toy with. Like the female Maskers,
 these guys show up for the first time in Rolling Thunder 3.

Panthers
 A Masker's best friend is a robotic cat. These cybernetic beasts
 are tough and fast, patrolling Geldra facilites relentlessly.
 Their low profile makes them hard to hit.

Bats
 Geldra doesn't just experiment with robotics. Around since the
 first game, these gigantic flying rats will dive at any agents
 snooping around.

Turrets
 Not as smart as Maskers, but just as dangerous. These guns
 constantly scan their surroundings, firing at intruders.

---------------------
WHAT'S IN, WHAT'S OUT
---------------------

Rolling Thunder 3 contains the intense action from the previous
games, but there are plenty of improvements and differences too:

 - Jay can shoot upwards diagonally, although only with his normal
   pistol. Very useful for Maskers lurking on a balcony.

 - He can jump and shoot! Jay can hop over a bullet while
   firing back at Maskers!!

 - He has a much better weapons system. Jay gets a ton of special
   weapons to play around with, plus he can start a Round equipped
   with one! Even better is his Knife - now the Maskers aren't the
   only ones who can put up a fight at close quarters!

 - To give the game more variety, Namco added the vehicle scenes.
   Jay gets to ride a motorbike and a jet ski! These stages
   are just as fun as the normal ones, maybe even more!

 - Jay is buffer than he looks, because he starts off with 3 Hit
   Points instead of 2! This means that he can suck up a bullet
   and write it off as a scratch. A break for gamers new to the
   series!

 - And dying makes him continue from where he was instead
   of putting him back at a checkpoint! (Hardcore Rolling Thunder
   agents may scoff at this....)

 - There's no more time limit (there are also no more
   doors that give you time bonuses)! But if Jay takes too long to
   finish a Round, a Masker sniper will start shooting at him!

 - Stage design is simplified. There are no more moving platforms
   or sliding lifts, and there are no more background passages (In
   the prequels, there were areas where you can walk behind a fence
   to sneak past enemies). Rolling Thunder 3 has none of this, but
   Jay can still use some of the background to avoid Maskers
   and bullets (see Round 9). Doors remain as useful as ever.

 - Secret Rounds are added, but hidden doors are removed.

 - The enemies gets some development too. Rolling Thunder 2 has
   the invertebrate-based Maskers who roll explosives at you and
   walk around with force fields. New are the martial arts Maskers
   and the scuba diving Maskers. The robot panthers are also easier
   to hit than the previous ones (you can just kneel and shoot).

 - The only serious step backwards in gameplay comes from the removal
   of the 2 Player feature. Jay will have to go it alone, but at
   least he's backed up by Ellen through radio support and has enough
   special weapons to make the hero of any first-person shooter sweat.

 - The graphics got a major makeover. Backgrounds and characters
   are more detailed. The cinematics look like movies too!

 - The music is more plentiful and inspiring than ever. Unfortunately,
   the hilarious CD Player mode from Rolling Thunder 2 isn't here.
   (You know, the "Alien Masker Music Band" in the Music Option?)

---------------------------------
LIVING THE LIFE OF A SECRET AGENT
---------------------------------

Q. What does this strange multi-buttonned device do, Q?

A. Here's the layout for the game's controls:

 D-Pad - Moves Jay around. Left and Right is to walk. Down is to
         kneel. Up is to enter doors and to aim diagonally upwards.
         Also moves Jay in the vehicle scenes.
 A     - Uses the current special weapon. If Jay doesn't have one,
         he will slash with his Knife instead.
 B     - Fires the revolver. Unlike real life, he can still shoot
         if he runs out of ammo, although his shots will be
         slower and his reload time will be terribly longer.
 C     - Jump! Use this with the D-Pad to change directions in midair.
         By holding Up or Down as Jay jumps, he can reach a 2nd floor
         or drop back down to the 1st floor, respectively. (These
         jumps are also refered to as "super-jumps.")
         Note: You cannot super-jump onto or off a second floor
               if there isn't any railing!
 Start - Pause! The standard in many videogames. :)

Q. How many ways can I avoid getting killed?

A. A lotta ways! The most basic manuever is to kneel down.
   You can avoid high projectiles this way. (Practice this
   both in the game and in the real world.) Next, you can hide behind
   doors (hold Up in front of one). Maskers who can't see you can't
   kill you. Another method is to jump. You can hop over low
   bullets, away from grenades, or up onto a safer 2nd floor.

Q. Should I blow my ammo like a madman?

A. No! Even Rambo tried to conserve his bullets and explosives. By
   saving up your ammo, you'll be prepared to take on any unexpected
   wave of Maskers. Ammo refills are few and far in between, so every
   bullet counts. You can also use the Knife if a Masker is close
   enough. Waste enemies, not ammunition.

Q. What's the best special weapon?

A. I really can't tell you. Each agent will have her or his own
   tastes, so what you like is up to you. A later section details
   all the weapons, so you can take a look for yourself. Do know
   that not starting a Round with any special weapon can earn
   you more life.
   (Read about the Knife in the weapons section below!)

Q. Why can't I choose a special weapon again?

A. If you selected one and finished the following Round, you can't
   use it again. Try to save up the better weapons (Bazooka,
   Flash, etc.) for the tougher Rounds. All Rounds are designed
   to be beatable, even if you don't start off with a special
   weapon. Like in the previous Rolling Thunders, you can also
   pick up free weapons within the Rounds themselves.

Q. Who is that sniper?

A. Beats me. Whoever it is, the sniper just wanna kill Jay. If you
   take too long (approximately 2 minutes and 50 seconds) to
   complete a Round, Ellen will warn you over the radio with this
   message: "Jay, this is HQ! Enemy attack increasing - Hurry up!"
   As soon as she finishes, the sniper's targetting reticle will
   appear. When the reticle turns red, an explosive shot will be
   fired, killing Jay, Maskers, or any other destructable objects
   in the way. Jay will also refuse to hide behind a door
   (he steps back out as soon as he steps in), and the sniper
   will continue to attack until you finish the Round, reach a
   boss, or die.

-------------------
CHOOSE YOUR OPTIONS
-------------------

Select "Configuration" from the Main Menu, if you choose to accept.

MISSION - The difficulty of the game. Until you enter a certain
          secret Password, you can't select Hard.

LEFT    - How many Jays do you need? Trust me and leave it on
          3. Even better, use that secret Password that lets
          you select up to 5 Lives in reserve.

MUSIC   - Rolling Thunder 2 had great tunes, but Rolling Thunder
          3's kick ass! Press B or C to play a tune and press A
          to stop the music.

SOUND
EFFECT  - Like the sounds too? Again, press B or C to play an
          effect and press A to stop. This section includes
          the game's voice bits, but not all effects.

DEMO    - Even better than the audio are the movies.
          Leave this on if you want to see the exciting
          cinematics between every Round.

-----------------
CONCEALED WEAPONS
-----------------

What's under that coat of yours? In Rockin' Kats, sewer rats flash
you and then toss razor-sharp hats. In Rolling Thunder, you would
be wise to pack enough metal to set off three metal detectors
at the same time.

Here's how the weapons are covered:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[weapon name]
 - Damage:       [The amount of hurt each projectile deals.
                  For the purposes of this guide, 1 normal
                  handgun bullet deals 2 Points of damage.]
 - Initial Ammo: [The amount of ammo you start with if you choose
                  this weapon at the beginning of a Round or the
                  amount you'll get if you find this
                  behind a door (except for revolver bullets).]
 [more descriptions and other notes]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Revolver
 - Damage:        2 Points
 - Initial Ammo: 40 bullets (you get another 50 from doors)
 Jay's favorite weapon. It shoots straight and will serve as your
 most valuable tool.

Knife
 - Damage:        4 Points
 - Initial Ammo: n/a
 Jay carries this in case of emergencies, the emergencies being
 running outta ammo. This is twice as strong as a regular bullet,
 and it costs nothing to use, so you might as well slash Maskers
 who are close to you instead of shooting them.
 NOTE: If you enter a special ammo door but you didn't select
       any special weapon at the beginning of the Round, you'll
       get a Life Bonus instead. Sometimes it's not so bad to
       walk around with only a knife, ya' know?

Full Auto (Machinegun)
 - Damage:        2 Points
 - Initial Ammo: 60 bullets
 The familiar weapon that has been around since the first game.
 It's just like your regular gun but fires at a much faster rate.
 Great for clearing out rows of Maskers.

Shotgun
 - Damage:        2 Points per pellet
 - Initial Ammo: 30 shells
 Rolling Thunder 2's Shotgun was nothing like a shotgun, but this
 one is. Although much weaker than it was in the last game, the
 new Shotgun has more spread, letting you hit Maskers on another
 floor! Up close, you can punch multiple pellets into some tougher
 Maskers, killing them immediately. Each shell produces 4 pellets
 (1 straight forwards, 2 upwards, 1 downwards).

Laser
 - Damage:        4 Points
 - Initial Ammo: 20 charges
 Fires an energy bolt straight ahead. The beam isn't fast, but
 it can cleave through several Maskers at once.

Bazooka
 - Damage:       11 Points
 - Initial Ammo: 10 rockets
 An instant favorite for fans of brute force. The rocket
 kills almost everything with one hit, but the limited ammo
 will be a problem.

Cannon
 - Damage:        4 Points (napalm), 2 Points (shell)
 - Initial Ammo: 20 shells
 Lobs a shell that explodes into a patch of napalm when it strikes
 the ground. Both the shell and the fire hurts Maskers. You can
 also bounce the shell off of walls. If you somehow manage to
 touch your own flame, 2 Points of damage will be done to you.

Fire (Flamethrower)
 - Damage:        2 Points
 - Initial Ammo: 60 bursts (approximately 7 seconds worth)
 Also from Rolling Thunder 2, this releases bursts of fire that
 can incinerate any Masker nearby. Its short range reaches up
 to about 4 character lengths away. In the previous game, this
 weapon releases large flames in abrupt bursts, but now it
 does so in a slower, more controlled manner. I guess Jay is
 really just that good.

Grenade
 - Damage:        4 Points (explosion), 2 Points (grenade)
 - Initial Ammo: 30 bombs
 Just like the ones used by Maskers. They explode on contact,
 hurting anybody nearby. Hold Up when throwing one to toss
 the Grenade up high onto a second floor. If you somehow
 manage to touch your own explosion, 2 Points of damage will
 be done to you.

Flash (Flash Grenade)
 - Damage:        0 Points (explosion), 2 Points (grenade)
 - Initial Ammo: 20 bombs
 One of my favorites. These suckers blind all Maskers on the
 screen when it blows, giving you time to escape. Even better
 is that all blinded Maskers have reduced defenses - they can
 be killed with 1 bullet! Extremely useful against female
 and heavy Maskers.

Cracker
 - Damage:        8 Points (explosion), 2 Points (grenade)
 - Initial Ammo: 20 bombs
 Nastier than the regular Grenades. These things have a bigger
 blast radius and the explosions linger on longer. Of course,
 the extra weight means Jay can carry fewer of them. If you
 somehow manage to touch your own explosions, 2 Points of damage
 will be done to you.

-----------------
BEHIND DOOR #1...
-----------------

What's behind a door? You never know (unless if they're
marked, of course).

Normal doors
 Usually empty. Use them to hide from Maskers.
 Sometimes they hide a Life Bonus. If you have less than full
 life (1 or 2 Hit Points), the Bonus will refill it to max
 (3 Points). If you're at full life, you will get an extra
 Hit Point! You can have up to 5, meaning that you can
 take 3 bullets before dying!!

Marked doors
 Contains whatever's written next to it. Here's a list:
  Bullet  -> Gives you 50 bullets for your revolver.
  Auto    -> Gives you the Machinegun (60 rounds).
  Arms    -> Gives you the Machinegun (60 rounds).
  Shot    -> Gives you the Shotgun (30 shells).
  Laser   -> Gives you the Laser (20 charges).
  Bazooka -> Gives you the Bazooka (10 rockets).
  Cannon  -> Gives you the Cannon (20 shells).
  Fire    -> Gives you the Flamethrower (60 bursts).
  Bomb    -> Gives you some Grenades (30 grenades).
  Flash   -> Gives you some Flash Grenades (20 grenades).
  S       -> Stands for "Special." Gives you ammo for the special
             weapon you selected in the beginning of the Round.
             If you didn't choose anything, the door will act
             like a normal door with a Life Bonus.

======================================================================
II. ROUND STRATEGIES - Top secrets for your eyes only
======================================================================

"Lock and load, then rock and roll."
            - from a Sega Visions magazine ad for "Rolling Thunder 2"


Okay, here's how it works:

I start each Round off with what happens in the cinematics (with some
minor changes such as improvements in the punctuation). I'm giving
this spoiler alert in advance, so you won't screw yourself over by
reading too far ahead (if you care, anyways).

Then I'll give you an overall description of the stage and what to
expect in the General Tips. After that, I'll go into depth and tell
you exactly what to do. Bosses, secrets, and other specific tips
will be covered in these In-Depth sections.

Secret Rounds will be covered in the next part after this one.

Important Note! I played through all the Rounds without bringing along
any special weapons. What does this mean for you? You'll be at an
advantage if YOU choose to start with a special weapon because YOU
will have extra firepower relative to mine! Feel free to do so, and
if you really like starting every Round with the same special weapon,
then you're welcome to use the Passwords, which give you access to
all weapons at the beginning of each Round!

--------
PROLOGUE
--------

Rolling Thunder Status Report:
 Agent Albatross/Leila engaged with Gimdo case.
(An image of Leila and Albatross facing off against several
 Maskers and Gimdo at the Geldra base in Cairo, Egypt.)

Available Assests: Jay
(A pair of hands loads a revolver.)
(Jay's profile is shown along with details of his agent status.)

    Profile
  Operative: Jay
  Clearance: JC-KAL
  Team:      Rolling Thunder
  Status:    Available

(Dread turns around as dozens of Maskers rise in the foreground.)
(More stats for Jay appears.)

  Height:  6.2 ft. (184 cm)
  Weight:  183 lbs. (83 kg)
  Age:     35
  Blood:   A

(A helicopter flies over the nighttime Las Vegas strip.)
(The rest of Jay's profile is shown.)

  Full Name:   Classified
  Birth Place: Classified
  Nationality: Classified

(The profile fades away as Jay's figure appears, facing the left.
 He turns towards the screen, aims his gun, and fires, leaving
 a bullet hole in your TV. That good-looking bastard!)

---------------------
ROUND 1: OIL REFINERY
---------------------

PASSWORD:
 Normal -  N/A  (New Game)
  Hard  - RISKY (Use this to start a New Game on Hard Mode)

STORY:

  Inside a briefing room in the WPO HQ...

  The projector displays an image of Dread standing among some other
people on the screen. Jay sits quietly as his boss explains his
mission from a desk in a dark corner of the room.

  "Jay, you've got a real winner this time. Your target is Dread,
the second-in-command of the Geldra terrorists. He was last seen
in a Southern California oil refinery. Investigate immediately.
Good hunting!"

 "Yes, sir!," replies Jay as he stands up. The projector turns off.

GENERAL TIPS:

  For a first stage, this is a great place to get used to the game.
The simple terrain is easy to navigate, and most of the Maskers are
blue, meaning that they die with one hit. Watch out for the fuel
tanks. You can jump on them, but why not blow them up instead? Their
explosions kill any Masker stupid enough to stand next to them. The
free special weapon that shows up in this Round is the
Machinegun (Auto).

IN-DEPTH:

  As soon as you step right, a helicopter will fly out from the back.
Looks like trouble already!. Go up to the first white fuel tank. As
soon as a Masker jumps out, fire. If your shots don't kill him,
you'll destroy the tank, which can also kill him. A total of 3
Maskers will jump out of the copter, so wait for them. When you get
to the pile of crates, a Masker will appear behind you. When you
go on to the right, there'll be another 2 Maskers and 1 fuel tank.

  To the right should be Building F-01. A Masker will appear from
behind. Up ahead is a Masker on the balcony. Shoot up to kill
him. Now duck! A bit more to the right is a Masker hiding behind a
drum. Wait for him to stand up before shooting him. Jump past the
drum (don't worry about the fire - it won't kill you). Now duck
again as you pump rounds into a slew of Maskers. Remember that the
green Maskers take up 2 bullets before dying. At Building ID-E2,
another Masker appears behind you. Past the fuel tank is a Masker
hiding behind a pile of drums and crates. Past that is some more
Maskers on the 2nd floor. Enter the lower "Bullet" door for more
ammo. When you get up to the next fuel tank, more Maskers will
appear, including a green one and any others who come out from the
doors. At Building SE-1, watch for (among other baddies) a grenadier
Masker on the balcony. Kick his ass!

  Now the next building will have more Maskers appearing on the
second floor and from behind. The top door is an "Auto" door - go
in for a Machinegun if you want it! On to the right are about 3
more Maskers, and one of them is a green one. The next building has
a lot of goodies. The top left door is a "S" door (it will give
you life if you didn't start the Round with any special
weapon), and the top right door also has a Life Bonus!

  As soon as you step past Building F-S1, a bunch of green
Maskers will appear left and right. Duck and shoot both directions,
hitting them before they can squeeze off their own shots. On to the
right will be one or two more Maskers. Don't bother going into the
two doors, because you've reached the invisible finish line! Yippie!

--------------------
ROUND 2: THE FACTORY
--------------------

PASSWORD:
 Normal - FFEOU
  Hard  - OSEPF

STORY:

  Jay kneels besides a broken Masker body he finds inside a building.
"They don't make them like they used to," he thinks to himself. He
leans forward for a closer view. "Looks like the recycle bin for
this Masker. Dread must be close!" He looks over to his left and
notices the entrance to a Masker factory.

GENERAL TIPS:

  The Factory is a step up in difficulty from the first Round.
Still, there's a lot of boxes and doors to hide behind. The robot
panthers are something to worry about, and so's the Spider-bot boss
at the end of the line. The free special weapon in this stage is the
Laser. You can try to save some Laser charges for the boss.

IN-DEPTH:

  Start off by heading right until you reach the first door. There
will be a Masker on the right, on the top, and on the left. Also
there on the top is a panther. Kill the Maskers but wait for the
panther. If it jumps down, you can shoot or slash it. You can also
back up and aim up at it. To the right are some grenadiers. Get
ready to jump up to another floor or jump away from the blast.
A few Maskers may come out of some doors. Just turn around and
kill them.

  Now, a second panther will appear on the 2nd floor. Aim up or
kneel to shoot it, depending on which floor you're on. Later a third
panther appears on the 1st floor near the "Laser" door. Kill it and
the Maskers around it before getting the Laser. Right after the
"Laser" door is another panther, but this one is on the top floor.
Good reason - It turns out the next door (which is on the 2nd floor)
holds a secret Life Bonus. Get it!

  On the top there should soon be a "Bullet" door. You're probably
low on revolver ammo now, so be sure to go in. In addition to
more grenadiers on the bottom, there will be 3 panthers. The first
is on the bottom, the next is also on the bottom, and the last is on
the top. After these cats there'll be a dead end. Or is it? Jump down
over the railing into the second half of the Round. See those
suspicious boxes over on the lower left corner? If you hit the
left side enough times (the boxes have about 80 Hit Points), a secret
door will appear, leading to a Secret Round!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

IF you choose to check out the secret Round now and miss out on the
   kick-ass story, go to "ROUND EX A" in the "SECRET ROUNDS" section.

IF you want to finish up the factory and continue your mission
   like what you're SUPPOSED to do, continue on below.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  To the right is a "S" Door on the 2nd floor. Watch out for
green Maskers and grenadiers. (Whoa! Check out those assembly lines
in the background. Talk about Maskers-in-the-Making!) The fourth
door after the "S" door has a secret Life Bonus (it's on the
1st floor). On to the right are more Maskers. Be careful not
to stay under a Masker who might drop grenades on you. After the
last door on the 2nd floor, there will be just a few Maskers left.
Watch your back while you kill the 2 green ones to the right. When
the music changes, it's time for the boss to make its entrance!

BOSS: Spider Robot - 100 Hit Points (50 bullets worth of damage)

  This guy can be tough. It mainly walks back and forth on the right
side of the screen, so you should stay on the left. But don't sit
at the far left edge; you want to give yourself some room. Stay about
a quarter screen distance from the left edge. You must duck if you
want to hit the boss due to its low frame. The spider has 3 attacks:

#1  It starts off shooting slow, yellow bullets at you from a small
turret on its left side. Look at how it's angled. The bullets
usually go over your head if you duck. If not, you can super-jump
over them.

#2  When the Spider takes enough damage, its turret will be
destroyed. At this point its top-mounted cannon will be activated
and a targetting reticle will appear. When the reticle locks
on and turns red, an explosive shot will be launched towards that
spot in about 1 second. Simply move away from the reticle or
super-jump to avoid the explosion. The shot itself won't kill you.

#3  If the spider freezes, it'll jump onto your last position. To
avoid it, simply walk to the left. (You can't super-jump
because the spider is pouncing, not running, onto you!)
The spider can do its jump attack anytime, whether its small
turret is busted or not. And this is why I'm telling you
to stay away from the left edge of the screen.

  The real challenge comes from keeping track of the reticle and the
spider's movements. The yellow shots aren't a problem as they're easy
to avoid. The other 2 are nasty because they're better aimed. Remember
to give yourself room so you can always back away from danger. The
best time to kneel and shoot is when the spider is still moving and
when its reticle isn't red. Concentrate on avoiding the spider's
attacks, and you'll destroy it in no time.

----------------
ROUND 3: HIGHWAY
----------------

PASSWORD:
 Normal - SSEPC
  Hard  - IAEOH

STORY:

  Jay takes out his radio inside the control room. "Jay reporting,
clearance JC-KAL. Discovered Dread's office." He turns to a monitor
on his left. "Masker stock has been depleted."

  "Jay, our satellite is tracking a car leaving the refinery,"
responds Ellen back from her station at HQ.

  "Too late!," Jay says to himself as he returns to the surface.
Searching through a garage nearby, he spots a dusty, brown
motorcycle over his right shoulder. It's old, but not broken.
"Will pursue! Must be Dread."

  "Understood."

GENERAL TIPS:

  A new mode for the Rolling Thunder series. The controls are simple:
You can speed up, slow down, switch lanes (press Up and Down),
shoot, and, strangely enough, jump (and even super-jump)! The cars on
the foreground don't kill you, so don't worry about them. You only
have to watch out for enemy Maskers and construction materials left
on the road. Stay on the left side of the screen to give yourself
more time to react to danger up ahead. A warning symbol will appear
if a Masker is coming up from behind. Beware - getting shot or
colliding with another Masker will hurt you by 2 Hit Points.

IN-DEPTH:

  First, a Masker will come out from the back on the top lane. Stay
away from him as you blast a second Masker to the right. If you give
the rear Masker some room, he may pull up in front of you, letting
you shoot him. When a third Masker comes from the back, there will be
a construction sign whizzing by. Get on the bottom lane to avoid the
wooden horse. Shortly afterwards will be another sign. This time, get
to the top lane. No more construction crap for the rest of the Round!

  Maskers 4 and 5 will appear from the back and from the front. The
front one can throw grenades. Line yourself up to hit them. Masker 6
is on the top lane up front. 7 and 8, like 4 and 5, will come from
both sides. Now, the next 4 Maskers are in the front. After them are
2 more from the back and 2 more in the front. Then there'll be one
Makser to the left and another one in front. Now one more comes up
front. After him, 3 Maskers will surround you front and back. Avoid
them if you can. When you get the chance, weave between them and
blast them. The last Masker will back up his buddies from the back.

(In-game movie)
  (Dread tosses 3 Flash Grenades out of his limousine window,
   blinding Jay. Jay grinds to a halt, and Dread gets away.)

------------------------
ROUND 4: LAS VEGAS NIGHT
------------------------

PASSWORD:
 Normal - FSEOA
  Hard  - XSEOH

STORY:

  Jay blinks hard, his eyes still reeling from Dread's
Flash Grenades. "Lost him!" Just then, Ellen's voice comes
through his radio.

  "H.Q., clearance Jay. Vehicle has left satellite path. We have
lost track. Informant lead places Dread in Las Vegas."

  "Copy. Will proceed."

GENERAL TIPS:

  Take a walk down Moon Street! Don't get distracted by all the
pretty lights as you search for Dread's hideout. This is the only
Round in the game where you fight female Maskers. That's good,
because you don't want to meet them again! These babes suck up a
lot of damage, and they tend to kill you when they get up close.
Plus, they can backflip through your bullets. Avoid them if you
can, especially the gold ones (it's amazing what difference a
shinier paint job can do! ;). Other than that, there's nothing
else to worry about. The only other enemies here are the weak blue
male Maskers. The free special weapon here is the Bazooka (great
for getting rid of the gold Maskers). And, oh, just for fun,
you can break the light boxes and the street lamps!!

IN-DEPTH:

  Ignore the neon cowgirl sign in the background as you walk over to
the right. Behind you is a blue Masker, but in front is a red Masker.
Get rid of both. The first door you'll see is labelled "Bazooka."
Now when did casinos start leaving dangerous weapons open to the
public? Grab it before the next two red Maskers come down from the
2nd floor.

  Past the first Moon Street light box is another red Masker. Do her
off and then watch out for two blue Maskers in front of the next
building. One of them loves grenades. After those two will be the
first gold Masker in the game. Compliment her on her looks by handing
her a rocket. Two more blue Maskers will appear, and past them
is a "S" door.

  The next building will be an ammo drain. Two gold Maskers show up,
so hand them each a rocket. A red Masker will catch up from the rear
and a blue guy will come in from the front too. The next pair of red
and blue Maskers will drop down from the 2nd floor. Another red Masker
is up ahead on the ground as well. Later on two red Maskers show up,
and then 2 blue ones will. Get the ammo from the "Bullet" door.

  When you get to the next couple of street lamps, a red masker will
walk up to you. Say hello with your gun. In front of the next couple
of buildings are even more red and blue maskers. The next spot will be
tricky. A gold and a red Masker will jump off from the 2nd floor.
They're backed up by a blue grenadier. Go into the single door here
for a drink and a Life Bonus!

  You'll need that drink. I mean, extra Life! Right on ahead are more
Maskers. After the twin gold Maskers, there will be five (5!) red
Maskers trying to gang-rape Jay. You will die if you don't get out
fast, so try switching between floors to outmanuever them. Get around
those curvaceous babes before they impale you with their heels. A
little more to the right on the ground floor is the entrance to the
Moon Street Hotel, a front for Dread's dark operations.

-------------------------
ROUND 5: DREAD'S BUILDING
-------------------------

PASSWORD:
 Normal - KFEPZ
  Hard  - OFEOP

STORY:

  Jay steps into the Moon Street Hotel, adjusting his right glove.
He looks left and right. "How crass! Even in Vegas his bad taste
stands out!"

  "H.Q., clearance Jay," says Ellen over the radio, "Unidentified
helicopter leaving your location."

  Jay pulls out his revolver. "That weasel won't slip away so
easily this time!"

GENERAL TIPS:

  More classic Rolling Thunder action. Jump between the two floors
and enter doors as needed to avoid the bad guys. The new danger to
look out for are the red heavy Maskers. These guys look much buffer
than the regular skinny Maskers, and they seem to give out orders
a lot (you can see 'em pointing at you or something). They can
fire very quickly, and they suck up even more hits than the
female Maskers. The free special weapon here is the Flash Grenade.
Use them to stun the green and heavy Maskers so you can take them
out with one shot.

IN-DEPTH:

  Right in front of you are 2 blue Maskers and 1 green one. A 3rd
blue Masker appears from behind. After them is another green Masker
accompanied by the first "boogieman" red heavy Masker. Take care,
knowing that it may be better to knock him around long enough just
to run away. There will be 2 more green guys. Keep going to the right
until you see a naked angel statue. (At least it doesn't kill
you like a female Masker...) It will block the shots from
the green dude on the other side.

  Up ahead are 3 more heavy Maskers, along with more green Maskers
coming up behind. Go up to the 2nd floor and deal with the heavy guys.
Knock them off the ledge if you don't want to kill them to save ammo.
You should see a "Bullet" door on the top floor. Go for it.

  The next part has several Maskers on the top floors. (Check out all
those empty but nice halls in the background!) Anyway, a "S" door
will be on the 2nd floor, guarded by another big guy. After this
part will be 2 heavies and 2 blues. Take extra care. A door on the
2nd floor will give you a Life Bonus when entered. At the next angel
statue, 4 Maskers will be on floor 2. Use the statue for cover,
jumping up and killing them when it's clear.

  Down the hall will be a door labeled "Flash." Go in and steal some
of Dread's light bombs. These suckers will be useful for the oncoming
sets of 3 green and 2 heavy Maskers. Don't be shy with 'em - you'll
have enough to last for the rest of the Round.

  If you want the 2nd Secret Round, listen carefully. Slowly move
up to the next angel statue, killing any Maskers in the way. Get
on the top floor and slowly move above the angel statue. Now
drop down ONTO the head of the statue, and walk off to the right.
There will be a second angel statue. Hit this statue repeatedly
to reveal a secret door. (This statue, unlike the others, makes a
sound if you hit it with your Knife. It has 80 Hit Points.) The
reason why you want to drop onto the first statue's head is so
you won't accidentally scroll the screen upwards, locking away
the lower floor where the secret door is.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

IF you choose to enter the Secret Round behind the statue,
   go to "ROUND EX B" in the "SECRET ROUNDS" section.

IF you want to catch up to Dread and see some more exciting
   movies, continue reading.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Get up to the helipad on the roof. As you climb the floors, throw
Flash Grenades to stun any Masker in your way. Don't forget that you
can shoot upwards through the floor to take them out. If you don't
have any Flash Grenades, you'll have to slowly make your way up,
shooting upwards and hiding behind the crates and doors. This
hard way takes much longer, possibly letting the sniper appear.
Remember that you can't super-jump onto a higher floor if there's
no railing above. The roof is ontop of the twelfth floor.

(In-game movie)
  (Jay reaches the roof just as Dread jumps onto a helicopter that's
   taking off. Crap - you're too late again!)

--------------------------
ROUND 6: THE PACIFIC OCEAN
--------------------------

PASSWORD:
 Normal - AAEOZ
  Hard  - XSEPJ

STORY:

  Dread smiles as he hangs onto the side of the helicopter.
"See you later, if you live! Ha, ha, ha..."

  "You call that living with your complexion, puss face?,"
shouts Jay over the roar of the rotors as he's kneeling on floor,
half-blinded by the copter's searchlight and the down-wash. But
Dread flies away over the Vegas skyline, too far away for those
words to be heard. Damn! Dread got away again! Jay's head droops
as Ellen comes onto the radio.

  "H.Q., clearance Jay. Return to H.Q. ASAP."

  Back at the WPO skyscraper, clouds float peacefully past the
tall, silver building. Inside the same briefing room Jay had
been in a day earlier, a map shows Dread's route from Las Vegas.
The boss speaks, "Dread has made his way across the Pacific
to Easter Island. Capture him if possible. Good luck!!"

  "Yes, sir!," Jay salutes to his superior in the shadows. Just
then, Ellen steps in, holding some files.

  "There is a ship waiting for you in Chile," she cheerfully
informs Jay.

GENERAL TIPS:

  Despite the name of the Round, you don't actually cross the
entire ocean (although it'll be cool if you did...). You start
a few kilometers off from the island's shore because of the
Maskers and the floating mines guarding the coastal waters. The
jet ski controls just like the bike, and this Round is played
similar to the 3rd one. Stay near the left edge of the screen,
looking out for other Maskers, including the scuba ones who jump
out of the water to stab you. Instead of construction junk in
your way, you get mines. Move around or jump over them.
Remember - you can still super-jump!

IN-DEPTH:

  Right in front of you will be a scuba Masker. Avoid him and his
knife by staying on the lower side. Keep staying on the lower side.
When a Masker sneaks up behind you, a floating mine will soon appear
on the top side. More scuba knifers and jet ski Maskers will show up.
Again, stay low to avoid the scuba dudes and shoot the ski Maskers.
When another Masker catches up from behind, another mine will
appear on the top side.

  When 2 ski Maskers appear in the front with some scuba Maskers,
3 more skiers will pop up, with 2 from the back and 1 from the
front. And when another Masker appears from the front, stay low to
avoid a mine on the top side. Now immediately move up as another
mine will enter on the bottom side.

  3 ski Maskers will show up ahead, followed by the fifth mine on
the top side. 3 more Maskers appear in front, then 2 will appear
from the rear. When another Masker comes from the front, a mine
appears on the top.

  The next part will be "fun." A square patch of 4 mines will cover
the entire area up ahead. The only way to avoid the mines is to jump
over them. Get as close to them as possible and super-jump to safety
(hold Right to move forwards in the air as much as possible). Now
the rest of the stage should be relatively smooth sailing.

  Maskers will appear left and right. One more mine appears
on the top side when a Masker from the rear does the same (this is
the second guy after the quad-mine patch), so stay low. Then after
the tenth Masker, you'll reach the shore.

----------------------
ROUND 7: EASTER ISLAND
----------------------

PASSWORD:
 Normal - SSELI
  Hard  - CCEOP

STORY:

  Jay jumps off his jet ski. Walking onto the rocky shore, he pulls
out his radio. "Jay reporting, clearance JC-KAL. I've reached Easter
Island. Will continue investigation."

  "Understood," answers Ellen.

  Jay gazes upon the massive monuments. The refreshing air breezes
lightly over the pleasant, grassy landscape. "At least he picks
scenic hideouts," he thought, "Those stone heads are really
quite interesting."

GENERAL TIPS:

  Well, what a beach. The terrain is trickier to get around on,
and the many Maskers are tougher and more grenade-happy. To top this
stage off, you fight another robotic boss at the end. Here's a tip:
stay low! If you're below the enemy's reach, they can't shoot or
punch you (but they can still drop bombs on you!). Also remember
that some structures, such as wooden crates, are too short to
serve as effective cover, so be prepared to do a lot more jumping.
The free special weapon you can find is the Flamethrower (Fire).

IN-DEPTH:

  Go to the right and take out the blue and green Maskers. Like in
Round 1, a helicopter will appear. When the helicopter disappears
and you get rid of a green masker past a mound of rocks, watch out
for a happy grenadier. Due to the landscape, it's quite possible
to let a bad guy's grenades bounce right back into him! If this
happens, you'll save yourself from a lot of trouble and ammo
consumption!

  When you see some crates ontop of a large rock hill, you'll be
stuck with a bunch of green Maskers and a blue grenadier. When you
get down on the other side, you can kneel on a crate and slash
the green guys jumping up and down from below. Watch out for more
grenades as you continue to the right, where you'll find a "Bullet"
door. Go ahead and feed your revolver. Afterwards is a grenadier
behind some boxes. Jump and shoot him.

  Now, on the right are a "S" door and even more grenadiers. Get
ready to jump away from the blasts. If Maskers appear above you,
shoot up at them. The next door right after this "S" door holds a
secret Life Bonus! Get it, but be wary of the pair of green
Maskers to the right.

  Go across the field to the next door, which is marked "Fire."
Hell yeah! Burn off the 3 or 4 green Maskers in the vicinity
if you wish, but its short-range can suck. Or, you can shoot them.
Past the next door will be another pair of green Maskers. After
those two are even more Maskers. Don't worry, since a second
"Bullet" door will fill you up.

  Now continue to the right. Remember that the crates are too small
to block low bullets, so if one of the several green Maskers kneels
and shoots, you'll have to jump. When you see a building with some
railing on top but no door, you're on to big boss #2.

BOSS: Centaur Robot - 100 Hit Points (50 bullets worth of damage)

  This guy is easier than the Spider boss, even if it's twice as
huge. It basically walks left and right across the entire screen,
firing a machinegun on its arm and shooting a homing missile
out of its butt. Unlike the Spider, the Centaur's size doesn't
require you to kneel to hit it. Here's what to do:

  You start on the left. Stay underneath the railing on the far left
and shoot it as it walks towards you. When it launches a homing
missile, DON'T move! When it raises its arms and shoots bullets at
you, super-jump upwards. If you time it correctly, both bullets and
missile should pass by underneath without hitting you! When the front
of the centaur reaches the edge of the building, jump off to the
right, run underneath the far right railing, turn, and fire. Again,
when the missile comes, stand still, super-jumping only when you're
about to be hit by the bullets. Jump and run back to the left side
and repeat this pattern until it dies.

  How does this work? By standing still on the ground, the missile
will angle down towards you. By jumping at the last moment before the
bullets hit you, you pull yourself up above the missile. The missile,
being slow, won't be able to change its direction quickly enough to
come back up and hit you. The centaur boss doesn't learn from its
mistakes, and even its solid 100 Hit Points can't save it from
being a moron. Just keep up the pattern where you alternate between
the left and right sides of the screen, shooting the boss as it
walks toward you. You'll reduce it to scrap metal soon enough.

-------------------------
ROUND 8: UNDERGROUND BASE
-------------------------

PASSWORD:
 Normal - LSEKL
  Hard  - ZSESB

STORY:

  Jay stands in front of the smoking remains of the centaur.
"Located and terminated security robot. I believe I've discovered
Dread's main base. Will proceed."

  "Understood," responds Ellen. "Take care, Jay."

GENERAL TIPS:

  Just as tough as the last Round, but by now I know you're good
enough to handle anything, including an increase in grenade Maskers,
right? Well, just use the basic tactics and your common sense to
avoid the bad guys. Anything you should worry about? Yep. First,
the heavy Maskers are back, but unlike the ones in Round 5, not all
of them are the super-tough red ones. The tan dudes take fewer
bullets to kill. Next, there're the turrets. These suckers swing
around in an arc, firing if you're next to them. Stay on the top
floors so the lower turrets can't hit you. The best way to take
them out is to hop up and shoot them. Lastly, watch out for the
bats in the second half of the stage. These guys fly around on the
top of the screen and then dive down at you. Just aim up to hit
them. Think the boss you just whacked was too easy? Don't worry;
there'll be another one in this level. Be sure to stock up on ammo.
The free special weapon here is the Cannon.

IN-DEPTH:

  Off to the right are already some nasties. First, you get a tan
heavy Masker accompanied by one or two other Maskers on the lower
floor. Up on the top is a turret. Waste the Maskers from a distance
and then jump up to destroy the turret. Afterwards there'll be
another turret and more Maskers as you walk by the big glass panel,
which lets you look out into the sea. Nice view! (This Round should
be called "Undersea Base," not "Underground Base!")

  When you get to the "Bullet" door, look out for a grenadier on
the top floor and a turret about one screen after him. Go along
slowly, taking out more heavy Maskers and a few additional
turrets. There will be yet another turret adjacent to a second
"Bullet" door. The next door after this one contains a Life Bonus
(it should be on the top floor). Watch out for turrets and
grenade-equipped Maskers lurking around.

  See the "S" door on the bottom? Wanna see the last secret Round?
Well, if you want to, don't walk too far past the "S" door. Stay
on the top floor just to be safe. Go to the wall on the top right
corner and whack it repeatedly (it has 80 Hit Points). When
it's destroyed, step into the edge of the screen. (If you went
down, you might scroll the screen, locking off the top floor.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

IF you went past the secret wall, go to "ROUND EX C" in 
   the "SECRET ROUNDS" section.

IF you choose to stick with the mission until the end, read on.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Continuing down leads to the 2nd part of the undersea base. To the
right will be a bat and a grenade Masker. Bats are easy to take out.
If you're on the top floor, just hop up and shoot them. If you're on
the lower floor, wait for them to fly to the top right corner of the
screen, where they'll dive down at you. When they do, you aim up
and "BLAM!" Your diagonal shots will always hit 'em.

  A heavy Masker, a grenadier Masker, and a bat will surround you
when you reach the next "Bullet" door. From there, about 3 or 4 more
bats will approach along with 3 heavy Maskers (2 red, 1 tan) and
a few grenadiers on your path to the "Cannon" door. After grabbing
the Cannon (or ditching it if you want to keep your current special
weapon), continue to the right, killing more bats and Maskers. All
that ammo from the 3 "Bullet" doors and "S" door should help you
finish off the red heavies in your way. When you reach the control
room, prepare yourself for the boss.

BOSS: "Dread" - 80 Hit Points (40 bullets worth of damage)

  "Welcome Jay - Here's the place. I'll make your future over!"

  Yep, you read that right. Dread says some pretty strange stuff,
and his Hit Points are less than those of the previous bosses.
Dread won't shoot you, because 4 turrets on the ceiling will
do it for him! When he raises his arm, two turrets will fire a
shot at your last position. The trick here is to shoot Dread
when the turrets aren't firing and to get on the move when they do.

  Here's an effective technique. Stay under and slightly to the
right of the 2nd turret from the left. Now kneel down and start
shooting at Dread. When the turrets fire (the reload period is the
same, so time yourself), super-jump over the shots. Because
you're not exactly under the turret (you're a little to the
right, remember?), the turrets' shots will be angled in a way
that lets you jump over them. (If you position yourself really
well, every shot will miss you entirely, and you don't have to
move at all!) After you avoid the shots, continue to blast Dread.
You'll know it when he dies.

---------------
ROUND 9: HIJACK
---------------

PASSWORD:
 Normal - USEXA
  Hard  - ZSESK

STORY:

  After deactivating the laser turrets and inspecting Dread's
devastated body, Jay pulls out his radio. The huge glass display
panels behind him lie plugged with bullet holes in several spots.
"H.Q., Jay reporting. The Dread situation has been resolved. I'm
returning to base." Ellen's happy voice comes through the static.

  "Congratulations."

  Later that night, Jay relaxes in his seat on the airplane.
"Homeward bound!," he thought to himself. He needed a break.
Taking out a terrorist leader was enough for one day. As he sat
there in his blue suit, wondering about the other two agents and
Ellen, he hears something up in front.

  "What are you doing?!," cries out a young female voice.

  "Shut up and sit down!," comes a cold, metallic reply.

  Uh oh.

  A Masker steps out from behind the movie screen and into
the aisle, holding a stewardess hostage, his gun aimed at her head.
"We're hijacking this flight!," he says as more Maskers appear.

  "Great!," mutters Jay while the other passengers scream and duck
for cover, "Too bad I don't get overtime!" It's a good thing he
always carries his gun with him.

GENERAL TIPS:

  This Round is a little weird. Like the vehicle stages, you can't
start with a special weapon. And unlike the regular stages, you
can't super-jump (because you're in a cramped airplane, ya' know?).
But what you CAN do is hide! As you gun down the Maskers in the
aisle, hold Up between two chairs to hide. Don't worry about the
passengers - they can't be harmed. You won't be hurt either if you
stay hidden. Note that the same goes for the brown Maskers.

  Let's get one thing straight: You WILL run out of bullets!
And there's no way you can take out everyone with your Knife
without getting hurt really bad. It's better to use your slow
bullets and to advance slowly towards the front of the plane.

IN-DEPTH:

  Time to make like Time Crisis. Take a breath and walk right
into the main passenger section. Immediately run up to the first
seats so you can hide behind them (hold Up). After you kill the
first Masker and step past him, another will show up from the back,
trapping you between him and yet another one up front. Carefully
lean out and whack 'em both.

  When you take them out and continue on, two Maskers will 
appear from the back, trapping you again. Do the same thing,
leaning out and squeezing off a few shots before ducking for
cover. After these guys, fewer Maskers will come up from the
rear, so you just have to concentrate on the several groups
up ahead to the right. You should be able to do fine for
the rest of the stage.

  But you want more help, right? Okay then. Eventually you'll run
outta ammo, facing off against 3 Maskers up front. Fire as much as
you can, because if one of them steps up in front of you, there's
a good chance you'll die when you lean out. This holds especially
true when 3 Maskers come up from behind and you're busy with
a fourth one to the right. You gotta turn around and kill them or
else they'll gang up on you. Don't forget that you can use the
Knife if they're up close.

  When another set of 3 Maskers shows up from the back, one after
the other, you're close to the end. Just watch out for
two or three more Maskers up in front. Big airplane, eh?

-------------------------
ROUND 10: CASTLE OF DREAD
-------------------------

PASSWORD:
 Normal - USEZP
  Hard  - PSELF

STORY:

  Jay dusts off the last Masker and makes sure the passengers are
safe. In front of him, on the movie monitor, is Dread's ugly mug. So
it turns out the guy in the undersea base was only a double! "You're
getting to be quite a bore," says Jay. Dread only smiles.

  "I found your report of my demise rather amusing," says the
Geldra terrorist, "Such a refined sense of humor is so rare these
days. I'm quite a fan of yours, so much so that I've decided
to invite you over to entertain me!"

  "No thanks!," answers Jay, frowning, "I never date people
from work."

  Then Jay hears Ellen's voice. "H.Q., clearance Jay. We intercepted
Dread's message. Transmissions emanate from 66.254N by 27.835W."

  Jay looks out of a window as he listens to Ellen. "I believe that
I'm going there whether I like it or not." The plane, controlled
remotely, lands on a runway near the coordinates she mentioned.
Looks like it'll be a long night....

GENERAL TIPS:

  This is it - the last Round! (I kinda like the word play in the
Round's name. It's a dreadful castle, but it's also Dread's castle!
HAHAHAHA!!! Eh? What? You don't think it's so funny? Okay then.)
It's not the type of enemies you should worry about; it's the
massive amounts of them! A seemingly endless wave of Maskers (and
a couple panthers) will take a big drain on your ammo. Plus, many of
them throw those damn grenades that are really hard to avoid. And
at the end, you'll have to fight Dread, which sucks even more.
The free Shotgun you find will help a lot.

IN-DEPTH:

  Make yourself welcome! Start off blasting the panther on the right
and a blue Masker from the back. Afterwards there'll be a trio of
orange Maskers. Next will be a second panther, followed by more orange
Maskers and another rear blue Masker. Barge right through the main
entrance, killing everything in your path.

  There will be a "Bullet" door. You need it for the 4 robot panthers
and a slew of Maskers lining the floors and balconies, including one
who comes up from behind as you enter the door. Be sure to hit the
grenadiers on the 2nd floors. Bombs get heavier near the "Shotgun"
door. Go inside if you don't have something more powerful already.
Past the several grenadiers immediately to the right is another
"Bullet" door on the 2nd floor. Go in and get yourself some!!

  On to the right is nothing but Maskers and a panther. Watch both
sides as orange Maskers (some grenade-equipped) will pour in.
For the panther, you can save yourself some ammo by letting the
grenadier on the top drop bombs on it by accident. When you hit
the dead end, super-jump upwards. Stay on the left half of the
screen to avoid the orange grenade guy at the top, waiting on
the right side to surprise you.

  As soon as you start moving right again, the Masker wave will
begin anew, so continue to watch both sides. When you get to the
part with a 2nd floor, there will be a couple of grenadiers on
the bottom.

  Several orange and blue Maskers later, you'll reach a "S" door.
Beware the orange grenadier on the right edge of the screen. His
grenades can reach the door! The "S" door isn't the only good
stuff around here. To the right are two more doors. The lower
"Bullet" door will replenish your ammo supply, and the top door
has a secret Life Bonus! Get everything, but take out a panther
nearby first.

  Continue on! On the right will be a single-floor stretch
containing 2 more panthers and the last bits of the Masker army.
When you reach a building with a lone door on the top, two
orange Maskers will appear on both sides of the screen. Both HAVE
and WILL throw their grenades, so kill them or jump up to the 2nd
floor! Waste everyone, including the guys who come out of the
single door. Behind that single door is your last Life Bonus and
break before the boss. If the extra life can't get you by, nothing
else but your skills will.

BOSS: Dread (For real this time!)

  "You're a dead man!"

  There are 2 parts to this fight. For the first part, Dread
will appear in a big-ass powered suit of armor. Cheap bastard!

Robot Suit - 100 HP (50 bullets worth of damage)

  Dread doesn't play fair, does he? Fortunately, the suit is an easy
fight. Like the Spider boss, Dread will walk back and forth on the
right side of the screen. Stay on the left and shoot to the right.

  Dread only fires high shots and low shots. You can tell which shot
he'll fire by observing the height of his arm cannon. If he ever
shoots a low one, it'll always be preceeded by a high one. You
can duck or super-jump over the high ones, but you can only
super-jump the low ones. The shots always take the same amount of
seconds to charge up, so time your jumps accordingly. And yes, you
can super-jump, despite the gooey alien substance on the "ceiling."

  When the suit is destroyed, Dread will jump out and run off.
Follow him...

Dread - 100 HP (25 Knife slashes worth of damage)

  ... and run up really, really close to him! That's right, all the
way up!! So close that all of Jay's Knife goes through him, but
not so close that you'll touch him by accident. How do I explain my
"insane" strategy? Well, the suit took almost all of your ammo. You
won't have enough bullets remaining to shoot Dread down since
he's not vulnerable all the time! The best tactic is to hit him
hard constantly. Read on.

  Dread fires a bunch of reflecting lasers in the same order. First,
he'll aim forwards, shooting a straight beam that can simply be
ducked underneath. Next, he'll aim up and fire a beam that bounces
through the hall at an angle. Then, he'll kneel and shoot a low
straight beam that can only be avoided by super-jumping. Finally,
he'll aim down and fire an angled beam very much like the second one,
which reflects throughout the hall. Dread will continue to repeat this
pattern until one of you dies.

  Know that you can hurt him ONLY when he charges up and fires
his lasers (You can tell by looking for a faint spark of light
forming around his hand). By continuously stabbing him, you'll
hit him more than you would if you stayed away and fired slow bullets.

  This part is all in the timing and reflexes. When Dread aims high
(a high straight laser or an upwards laser), you just kneel and
slash him. When Dread aims low (a kneeling straight laser or a
downwards laser), you have to super-jump. When Dread extends his
arm and you see his hand charging up, you have almost one second
to jump before the beam comes out. If you're not close enough, the
angled beams will reflect right into you. But don't get too close
because touching him also kills you!

  Keep slashing and jumping and a hard-earned victory will be yours!!

======================================================================
III. THE ENDING - Now else can a secret agent do?
======================================================================

--------
EPILOGUE
--------

  Jay lowers his weapon. "It's finally over," he sighs with relief.

  "H.Q., clearance Jay," buzzes Ellen over his radio, "Albatross
and Leila have reported defeating Gimdo."

  "I've taken care of Dread."

  But suddenly Dread staggers up behind Jay! "Ha, ha...," he
weakly laughs, "Don't you ever learn?"

  Jay turns around. "What? More Maskers to junk?"

  "If it were only that simple!," gasps the bleeding terrorist as he
clutches his chest, "The base has a self destruction mechanism wired
to my heart. When my heart stops, the base will be destroyed along
with you, my friend."

  It can't come any sooner. Dread's base explodes violently, its walls
erupting into a giant ball of flames, disintegrating all the trees in
the vicinity of the castle.

  "Jay......," Ellen screams, "Jay, do you read me?!..."

  Silence.

  Ellen stands up from her station quietly. The other five officers
in the communications room gather next to her. No one spoke.

                                . . .

Report:    Rolling Thunder
Clearance: JC-KAL
Status:
  Operatives Albatross and Leila defeated Gimdo and his terrorist
infrastructure. Operative Jay purged Dread and his organization.
Geldra has been eliminated.
  Investigation of Dread's base has uncovered one body, but due to
the extensive damage, identification is impossible. The whereabouts
of agent Jay are unknown. Recommend change of operational status to
M.I.A. 

" End of File"

                                . . .

(Credits roll by as the background images change VERY SLOWLY.)

(You see the back of a man standing on a huge pile of rubble.)

           Rolling Thunder 3  Staff

        Producer
            R2-Unit

        Planner
            Rairu 1 Go !

        Programmer
            Paddock Tondabayashi

(A revolver is dropped onto the rocky mess.)

        Object Design
            Issiy
            Rairu 1 Go !
            Yossy MK2

        Back Ground
            Yossy MK2

        Demo Graphic
            Rairu 1 Go !
            Yossy MK2

        Sound Programmer
            Senkan Kiyoshi

(The camera shows the remains of Dread's base from the outside.
 The figure stands in front of where the castle was. His shadow
 streches across the entire paved entrance in the morning light.)

        Music Composer
            Rose & Dick Boy !!!

        Sound Effect
            Rose & Dick Boy !!!

        Special Thanks
            Masami.F
            Kunfu-Man
            Oja
            Yuko
            Mokkun

(The screen fades to black.)

        Presented by  Namco

        Very Good !!

        Normal mission is completed.
        Let's try Hard Mission!!
        Password is "RISKY"
                        ......Good luck!!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Okay, you got the message from Namco, right? By entering the secret
Password, you can now access Hard Mode and play the game again on
a more challenging level! What's different? Let's see:

- In Rolling Thunder 2, the bad guys got tougher. In here, you get
  weaker! Yep, Jay has 2 measly Hit Points instead of the normal 3.
  Now the game plays more similar to the prequels! Note that you
  still continue from where you are when you die.

- Some scenery will change. This doesn't affect gameplay in any way,
  unless if the different colors screw you up. Easter Island in Round
  7 is daytime on Normal. On Hard, it's night-time.

- You see what really happens to Jay and Ellen! The ending on Hard is
  practically the same, except the message from Namco is different
  and there's an extra image of our heroes.

**** SPOILER ALERT!! ****
 Don't read on if you don't want to see the extra image and message!
 (All errors are unedited.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

        Congratualtions!
        All missions are completed.
        You're a fantastic player!
        We thank you for playing.
        From Naoki, Rairu, Yossy, and Dick!!
                            So long...

(You see Ellen and Jay standing together. Jay is bandaged a bit,
 and Ellen has closed her eyes and is smiling, leaning on him.
 See - I told you there's something special between them!!    ;)

======================================================================
IV. SECRET ROUNDS - The Rounds that don't make sense!!
======================================================================

Yep. They really don't make sense because they have no part in the
story, plus they make you miss out on some of the movies. But they're
still interesting, so here goes...

------------------
ROUND EX A: SEWERS
------------------

HOW TO GET IN:

  In Round 2: The Factory, go to the bottom of the vertical area.
On the lower left corner is a stack of boxes. Hit the boxes on
the left side until they blow up, uncovering a secret door.

STORY:

  No story here. This is a Secret Round, and it doesn't tie in
with the rest of the mission. This was probably a stage that
Namco designed early on but didn't use it in the final version.
The idea of running through Geldra-occupied sewers would have
been cool though.

GENERAL TIPS:

  You can't really die here. These extra Rounds are easy as
hell (even easier than Round 1!), and they give you a
chance to load up on plenty of special weapons. You get
revolver ammo, Cannon shells, Machinegun ammo, and Flash
Grenades. The only enemies are blue Maskers and bats. To kill
bats, jump or aim up to shoot them.

IN-DEPTH:

  You start off at sector E1. To the right at sector E2 are
two Maskers and a "Bullet" door. Get yourself out of the sludge
and hop up for some ammo. On your way to sector E3 are a bat,
a third blue Masker, and a "Cannon" door. On your way to E6 are
a second bat, two blue Maskers, an "Auto" door, and another door
with a Life Bonus. Keep going on past E7 to EE to find one more
bat, some more Maskers, and a "Flash" door. When you reach the
ladder at the end, you'll climb up and magically appear on the
streets of Las Vegas.

-----------------
ROUND EX B: MINES
-----------------

HOW TO GET IN:

  In Round 5: Dread's Building, go to the bottom of the vertical
area. (It's after the "Flash" door.) Jump onto the second floor
and walk above the female angel statue. Drop down on the statue's
head and then walk off to the right, up to another statue. Hit
this second statue until it's destroyed, revealing a secret door.

STORY:

  Again, no story here. Like the Sewers, the Mines could have
been a prototype stage that never made it into the final
product. Still, it looks awesome with the old railways, falling
water, and the abandoned shovels. Definitely more eye-catching
than the Sewers!

GENERAL TIPS:

  This is another chance to load up on special weapons for the
next Round. You get revolver ammo, Grenades, Shotgun shells,
and Bazooka rockets. The blue Maskers are few, but stay alert
because some might come out of the doors. Take out the bats by
jumping or aiming up to shoot them.

IN-DEPTH:

  Go right until you reach the "Bullet" door. There will be two
bats around it, and a Masker might come out. The next door to
the right on the same floor holds a Life Bonus. Watch out for two
bats and a Masker. On to the right are more bats. There should be a
pair of doors: "Bomb" and "Shot." (This is the only "Bomb" door
in the game. Pretty weird, huh?) A bat is past this point. Going on
ahead is a "Bazooka" door guarded by two blue Maskers and a bat.
Don't walk past the door or else you'll hit the invisible finish
line and exit. Get the Bazooka if you wish before climbing out
of the mines and emerging on a Pacific Isle.

---------------------
ROUND EX C: WAREHOUSE
---------------------

HOW TO GET IN:

  In Round 8: Underground Base, go to the top of the vertical area.
Stay on the top floor and hit the wall on the far right edge. When
it blows up, walk into the right edge.

STORY:

  Gamers who played the first Rolling Thunder will recognize this
stage immediately - it's the first Round in the first game! Only that
things are a little different. Walk past the old, cobwebbed doors,
reliving your memories. The open windows reveal a clear night
complete with a full moon. A nice touch is in the old door labels.
The "Auto" sign is changed back into the original "Arms" sign!

GENERAL TIPS:

  The last Secret Round is just like the others. Gorge yourself
on extra Machinegun ammo as you blast a handful of blue Maskers
and bats. Again, to kill the bats, jump or aim up and fire.
Oh, by the way, if you're looking for the door that gave you
a time bonus, you won't find it since Rolling Thunder 3 removed
the timer! At least the Machinegun doors are still around....

IN-DEPTH:

  Ignore the broken door behind you when you start. Go right to a
"Bullet" door with two Maskers around it. Go past underneath the
open high windows, killing 3 Maskers and 2 bats. You'll see a pair
of doors. The right one hides a Life Bonus. On the top are two more
Maskers and an "Arms" door. Continue right and take out another
two Maskers (3 if one more comes out of the door) and 2 bats. There
is another "Arms" door on the bottom floor. (This is the old
Machinegun door!) Past this is the last Masker and the last bat.
The crumbled wall opening up to the night sky marks the end of
the Round. Now teleport to the main entrance of Dread's castle!

======================================================================
V. SECRET AGENT SECRETS - Other bits and pieces that might help!
======================================================================

---------
PASSWORDS
---------

Can't get past some Rounds? Well, here's your chance to skip
ahead and see what you've been missing! And yes, the Passwords
listed here give you access to ALL special weapons!! Yeeee-hah!!
(These are the same Passwords shown above in the Strategies section.)

Round    Normal   Hard  
  1      -----    -----    ->  Oil Refinery
  2      FFEOU    OSEPF    ->  The Factory
  3      SSEPC    IAEOH    ->  Highway
  4      FSEOA    XSEOH    ->  Las Vegas Night
  5      KFEPZ    OFEOP    ->  Dread's Building
  6      AAEOZ    XSEPJ    ->  The Pacific Ocean
  7      SSELI    CCEOP    ->  Easter Island
  8      LSEKL    ZSESB    ->  Underground Base
  9      USEXA    ZSESK    ->  Hijack
 10      USEZP    PSELF    ->  Castle of Dread

----------------
SECRET PASSWORDS
----------------

Want even more fun? The next few passwords can make your life
easier... or harder! After entering one of these, you should
hear Jay say "You got it!" (like in the weapon select screen).

RISKY - Access Hard Mode Option
 You can now select Hard in the Configuration Mode under
 the "Mission" Option. Only by beating the game on Hard do
 you see what really happens to Ellen and Jay. You receive
 this Password if you stick to the end of the Credits after
 finishing the game on Normal.

ANNOY - Access 5 Lives Option
 3 Jays can't get you by? Then how about 5? This Password almost
 doubles the men you have in reserve, making this a real
 break for most gamers. Also cool is this doesn't affect the
 movies, so you can use it to finish the Hard Mode and still
 see the complete ending! The strange part is the game doesn't
 tell you about this Password like what it does with the
 RISKY Password...

GREED - Toggle Ellen On/Off
 This replaces Jay with Ellen. Both characters have the same
 abilities, so the gameplay remains the same. The only
 difference is Ellen doesn't have a storyline - she just
 goes through the Rounds Jay goes through for no apparent reason.
 (The Demo Option will always be OFF, no matter what. Only the
  ending movie, which is unchanged, will be played.) Like the
 ANNOY Password, the game doesn't tell you about this one!
 Note: Enter this Password again to switch back to Jay.

--------------
VARIOUS VALUES
--------------

It's fun to play around with numbers sometimes. The following
is a quick reference chart containing condensed data on
enemies, weapons, and more.

NOTE: The values shown aren't necessarily those used in the
      game - they're just very, very rough estimates that
      make comparisons easier for the purposes of this guide.
      There are bound to be some errors.

Maskers
 Male Blue
  - Life   : 2 Hit Points
  - Weapons: pistol, grenades, punch, can drive vehicles
  - Appears: all Rounds
 Male Green
  - Life   : 4 Hit Points
  - Weapons: pistol, grenades, punch
  - Appears: almost every Round
 Male Brown (highjackers)
  - Life   : 4 Hit Points
  - Weapons: rapid-fire pistol, punch, can hide behind cover
  - Appears: Round 9 only
 Male Orange (elite guards)
  - Life   : 4 Hit Points
  - Weapons: pistol, grenades, punch
  - Appears: Round 10 only
 Male Scuba
  - Life   : 2 Hit Points
  - Weapons: knife, surprises you by jumping out of the water
  - Appears: Round 6 only
 Female Red
  - Life   : 4 Hit Points
  - Weapons: high kick, low kick, jump kick
  - Appears: Round 4 only
 Female Gold
  - Life   : 6 Hit Points
  - Weapons: high kick, low kick, jump kick
  - Appears: Round 4 only
 Heavy Tan
  - Life   : 8 Hit Points
  - Weapons: pistol, uppercut
  - Appears: Round 8 only
 Heavy Red
  - Life   : 11 Hit Points!
  - Weapons: rapid-fire pistol, uppercut, angrily pointing at you
  - Appears: Rounds 5 & 8

Other Enemies
 Panther
  - Life   : 4 Hit Points
  - Weapons: pounce
  - Appears: Rounds 2 & 10
 Bat
  - Life   : 2 Hit Points
  - Weapons: dive
  - Appears: Round 8 & all 3 Secret Rounds
 Turret
  - Life   : 2 Hit Points
  - Weapons: mini-cannon
  - Appears: Round 8 only

Bosses
 Spider Robot
  - Life   : 100 Hit Points
  - Weapons: small turret, top-mounted cannon, pounce
  - Appears: Round 2 only
 Centaur Robot
  - Life   : 100 Hit Points
  - Weapons: machinegun, homing missiles that come out from the butt
  - Appears: Round 7 only
 Dread (Fake)
  - Life   :  80 Hit Points
  - Weapons: none (turrets do his shooting)
  - Appears: Round 8 only
 Dread (Robot Suit)
  - Life   : 100 Hit Points
  - Weapons: high and low shots from an arm cannon
  - Appears: Round 10 only
 Dread
  - Life   : 100 Hit Points
  - Weapons: reflective lasers (4 types)
  - Appears: Round 10 only

Other Structures
 Secret Door
  - Life   : 80 Hit Points
  - Appears: Rounds 2, 5, & 8
 Moon St. Light Box
  - Life   : 10 Hit Points
  - Appears: Round 4 only
 Moon St. Lamp Post
  - Life   :  2 Hit Points
  - Appears: Round 4 only

Weapons
 Revolver
  - Damage:  2 Points
  - Ammo  : 40 bullets
 Knife
  - Damage:  4 Points
  - Ammo  : Infinite slashes
 Full Auto (Machinegun)
  - Damage:  2 Points
  - Ammo  : 60 bullets
 Shotgun
  - Damage:  2 Points per pellet (4 pellets per shell)
  - Ammo  : 30 shells
 Laser
  - Damage:  4 Points
  - Ammo  : 20 charges
 Bazooka
  - Damage: 11 Points
  - Ammo  : 10 rockets
 Cannon
  - Damage:  2 Points (shell), 4 Hit Points (flame patch)
  - Ammo  : 20 shells
 Fire (Flamethrower)
  - Damage:  2 Points per burst
  - Ammo  : 60 time units (10 seconds)
 Grenade
  - Damage:  4 Points (Can be thrown upwards)
  - Ammo  : 30 bombs
 Flash (Flash Grenade)
  - Damage:  0 Points
  - Ammo  : 20 bombs
 Cracker
  - Damage:  8 Points
  - Ammo  : 20 bombs

Jay's Stats (Taken from the intro movie)
 Height: 184 cm (6.2 ft)
 Weight:  83 kg (183 lb)
 Age:     35
 Blood Type: A

--------------
FUN WITH AUDIO
--------------

The "muzak" in Rolling Thunder 3 is bad to the bone, so it makes
sense for "Bad" to be a part of so many tunes' names! Although the
funny and cute "Alien Masker Music Band" from Rolling Thunder 2
is away on vacation, you can still groove to the tunes in the
Configuration Mode. The running time is only a very rough estimate,
and it measures how long the tune plays before looping over.
Enjoy!

Theme (24 Total)  Running Time   Where it's played
 Bad Drums             10s        Config. Mode & Password Screen
 Bad Road           2m 40s        Ending Credits
 DammBad            2m            Round 1: Oil Refinery
 Bad Fairy          1m 40s        Title Screen
 5 Black Vol 5      1m 31s        Round 4: Las Vegas Night
 Bad Rouge          1m            Round 6: The Pacific Ocean
 Bad Joke           1m 15s        Round 9: Hijack
 No Way Out         1m 35s        Round 10: Castle of Dread
 Bad Bob               39s        Between-Round Cinemas
 Bad Night          1m            Round 8: Underground Base
 Bad Moon               8s        Select Weapon Screen
 Bad Babe           2m?           Round Intro, Spider & Centaur Bosses
 Bad Elf 2          1m 20s        Round 3: Highway
 Bad Shade             22s        Leila & Albatross Intro
 DayFly                50s        Game Over Screen
 Bad Situation      1m  6s        Round 7: Easter Island
 8 St. in N.Y       1m 17s        Round 2: The Factory
 Bad Movie             14s        "Time-Out" Sniper
 Bad Ramega            40s        Secret Round
 Siesta             1m 43s        Epilogue
 Main St.           1m 50s        Round 5: Dread's Building
 Bad Dave               4s        Round Clear
 Bad Blue           1m 25s?       Dread Boss
 Bad Opinion           57s        Jay Intro

Who knew Namco can make one hell of an action game with so few
sound effects? Well, not exactly, since not all effects can
be sampled here. (For example, the warning buzzard you hear
from entering an incorrect Password or trying to select a special
weapon that's already been used is missing here.)

SE #    Description
 1       revolver shot
 2       flamethrower burst
 3       explosion
 4       machinegun shot
 5       helicopter engine
 6       laser
 7       ricocheting bullet
 8       Namco logo flash (when you turn on the system)
 9       Moon Street light box breaking
10       Moon Street lamp breaking
11       flash (lock-on for targetting reticle)
12       female "Ow!" (Ellen and female Maskers)
13       female "Ha!" (Female Masker kick)
14       robot panther growl
15       female "Ahhgh!" (Ellen's death sound)
16       Jay's "You got it!" (Select Weapon Screen, Secret Passwords)
17       Jay's "Owch!"
18       male "Oh!" (Male Masker voice)
19       Dread's "Welcome Jay." (Round 8 boss, part 1)
20       Ellen's "Enemy attack increasing." (sniper alert, part 2)
21       Jay's "Uullwwrraahh!" (Jay's death sound)
22       Dread's "You're a dead man!" (Round 10 boss)
23       Ellen's "Hurry up!" (sniper alert, part 3)
24       Dread's "Uullwwrraahhughh!!" (Dread's death sound)
25       click (revolver reload in intro movie)
26       Jay's "Ow!"
27       Dread's "I'll make your future over!" (Round 8 boss, part 3)
28       Ellen's "Jay, this is HQ!" (sniper alert, part 1)
29       Dread's "Here's the place." (Round 8 boss, part 2)

---------------------------------------
REALLY SMALL DETAILS NO ONE CARES ABOUT
---------------------------------------

Funny Damage
 The life system in Rolling Thunder 3 is really, really weird.
 While Jay's special weapons deal a wide range of damage to
 enemies (from the weak Revolver bullets to the almighty Bazooka
 rockets), Jay himself can only receive two types of hurt.
 He gets either 1 Point of damage or 2, but never more. That
 explains why a Cracker explosion deals only 2 Points of damage
 to him if he touches it, even if the same blast will deal
 8 Points to a Masker. Oh yeah, if you're wondering how Jay
 can kill himself with his own explosives, do the following.
 Equip the Cannon, the Grenade, or the Cracker. When the
 projectile leaves Jay, jump forwards to catch up to the
 explosion. Jumping also helps by breaking Jay out of his
 "recover" animation, designed to keep him from walking into
 his own fire.

Alternate Settings
 I've already mentioned this one above. Easter Island will
 be at night instead of day if you play on Hard.

Something Wrong in the Scenery
 Do people see the Geldra Organization as a modern day
 Robin Hood? I notice in the briefing during the first
 Round's movie that a picture of Dread mixing in with other
 humans is shown. Maybe people are ready to meet aliens
 without freaking out?

Las Vegas Casinos
 Did you check out those casinos in the background? I don't
 recall seeing any of them when I was actually in Vegas.
 Let's take a look at some of 'em:
   "Moon Street" (The casino the stage path takes place on)
   "Cats Hall"
   "Golden Night"
   "Star Casino"
   "King Coin"
   "Gold Lake"
   "Red Rose"
 There are some other stuff too, but the words are too small
 to read! I also noticed a cowgirl sign, something that
 looks like "Mimi," and a super-happy-looking big blimp.
  (In Super Double Dragon 4, the casino in the first stage was
   called "Star on the Star." Maybe it's related to "Star Casino?")
 For those who never went to Vegas, you might wanna stop there
 if you ever happen to pass by it. Rolling Thunder 3 only gives you
 a small taste of the nighttime atmosphere in the city that never
 sleeps. Just don't wander around asking people for the
 Moon Street Casino, or else you might get beat up....

Vandalism in Las Vegas
 Did I tell you about this already? You can break certain stuff
 along Moon Street. The light boxes can be blown up with
 5 bullets. The lights on the street lamps can be shattered more
 easily with a single bullet. Just for fun, you can also try tossing
 Grenades up at them!

Something Wrong in the Scenery 2
 What kind of airline does Jay go to? I'm really interested
 because the plane he was in during the hijacking scene
 had plenty of room. In fact, there was so much room, the
 movie screen is about a mile away from the rear seats. I also
 hope the food is decent, because there's no washroom!

Jay on the Road/Sea
 Have you noticed how Jay shoots from vehicles?
 On the bike, it seems that he fires with both hands. How does
 he keep the bike upright? And on the jet ski, he fires with
 his left hand. I thought he was right-handed!

More Water Stuff
 Anybody knows the number on the boat Jay gets off from?
 You can only make out the last two digits: 21.

More Road Stuff
 After Dread throws out the Flash Grenades and Jay stops on
 the highway, what happened to all the cars? Maybe the
 bright flash of light caused everybody behind Jay to crash
 and clutter up the highway with bodies, oil, broken glass, and
 lots of blood, blocking off anything that would otherwise
 smash into Jay.

Something Wrong in the Scenery 3
 In the first Round, plenty of pipes in the oil refinery are
 leaking, and small fires burn all over the drums. An important
 lesson here: Fire is not good next to vast amounts of oil. If
 the stuff's been burning BEFORE Jay arrived, how come the
 Maskers hanging around didn't fix up everything?
 Dread will be so pissed when he arrives to work only to find
 a smoking crater in the desert...

Ellen's Outfit
 The Ellen you play as a secret character is different from the
 one who shows up in the movies. Her clothing is more casual, plus
 it's a bit more revealing - just check out her Game Over Screen!
 Eeeewwww!!

Jay's Outfit
 In the ending during the rolling Credits, you see Jay standing
 over the rubble of Dread's castle. It's nice to know that he
 somehow survived the blast, but why is his clothing different?
 Didn't he come in WITHOUT a jacket?!

Something Wrong in the Scenery 4
 Man, Las Vegas must be one hell of a place. Not only do you
 get legalized gambling and flashy lights, you also get
 creepy robots walking around without anybody noticing! Maybe
 people think the fancy female Maskers are a part of a show
 or something. And there's still that door with a "Bazooka"
 sign next to it. I gotta go back to Vegas someday!

Time Crisis is Really the Sequel to Rolling Thunder
 Have you noticed the similarities? Both star secret agents, and
 there's some heavy gun-and-hiding action going on. Both RT2 and
 TC2 involve space shuttles too...
 Just for fun, let's compare Jay (RT3) to Richard Miller (TC1)

 Name                                Jay    Richard
 Is a secret agent                    x        x
 Carries infinite ammo                x        x
 Uses an old revolver                 x
 Uses a big pistol                             x
 Doesn't have to reload               x
 Can hide behind cover                x        x
 Always has cover to hide behind               x
 Has super-human abilites
    (can super-jump or climb castle
     walls without any special gear)  x        x
 Stars in a plot
     involving a pretty girl          x        x
 Gets to save the girl                         x
 Actually gets
     involved with the girl           x
 Fights a lunatic for a boss                   x
 Fights an alien for a boss           x
 Drops dead with
     1 bullet on Hard Mode            x        x
 Wears a cool leather jacket                   x
 Actually says something              x
 Winner                                  Tie!

 Both characters are really cool, although their similarities
 can be quite disturbing. And am I the only one who thinks
 Ellen and Rachel MacPherson's voices are done by the same
 voice actress who did Artemis in Phelios (also made by
 Namco for the Genesis)? Okay, maybe they're done by different
 people, but you'd never know, considering how the Genesis'
 non-perfect sound processor can distort voices....

---------------
GAME EVALUATION
---------------

Why did I write this walkthrough? Just because I like
Rolling Thunder 3!! I also like the other Rolling Thunders, but
I wanted to write a walkthrough on RT3 first because it took
the series to a new level and it was a part of the 16-bit
universe's Golden Age. It was a chance to help others on a
game I enjoyed a lot.

Here's a deeper look into RT3:

SCORING:
 Poor -> Below Average -> Average -> Above Average -> Excellent

Story: Above Average
 Okay, its not Metal Gear. You still have a simple definition
 of good guy and bad guy. But the lines are great, the Rounds
 tie in extremely well with the plot, and you get your share of
 surprises (the hijack, Dread's self-destruct mechanism).

Gameplay: Excellent
 You just can't beat the action! It's intense fun as you jump
 out of danger and blast Maskers and other robot monstrosities.
 Many elements from the prequels are present, but vast
 improvements (in the special weapons and the difficulty curve)
 and kick-ass additions (such as the vehicles and the secret Rounds)
 make this a top-notch game! The only serious drawback is the lack
 of the 2-Player feature. Perhaps the Genesis couldn't deal with 2
 Players and the enhanced graphics and sounds simultaneously
 without resulting in speed problems, or maybe Namco decided that
 concentrating on 1 Player was more effective. What's your take?

Replay: Average
 The game is short though, and there's only two difficulty
 settings. Still, some people will play this again and
 again to relive the great story and to check out the
 fantastic music (more on that later).

Control: Excellent
 Jay isn't the fastest man in the universe, but his controls
 are responsive and easy to learn. All 3 Buttons are used
 intuitively on the Genesis controller, giving you more control
 than in the previous installments. I especially like how you
 can fire your special weapons separately from your revolver.
 Now how about another Button for the Knife?

Graphics: Excellent
 Some of the Genesis' best visuals are stuffed into this
 tiny little cartridge. The characters are alive with high
 details and fluid animations, and the backgrounds are
 flush with movement, such as the clouds floating by the skies,
 the flames in the oil refinery, the twisting water in Dread's
 island base, and the alien surfaces in Dread's domain. Las Vegas
 doesn't look as good as it does with all the glittering lights
 in Rolling Thunder 3. The best part is the between-Round
 cinematics, which push the story (and the cartridge's memory
 limit) along with bits of animation. It's like a miniature movie!

Sound Effects: Excellent
 Guns and bombs sound like what they're supposed to be. A lot
 can go on in the speakers without making the game suffer too much.
 Unfortunately not every sound effect can be sampled in the
 Configuration Mode.

Voice: Excellent
 Incredibly clear given the Genesis' relatively crappy 8-bit
 sound processor. You can hear what everyone says. Even if
 dying isn't a good thing, you can still hear the agony in
 Jay's "Uullwwrraahh!"

Music: Excellent
 A large variety of lengthy tunes keeps the game interesting.
 Many tunes are memorable, and they all have a good beat. The
 saxaphone is probably the best simulated instrument. The intro
 tunes, "Bad Shade" and "Bad Opinion," really flow together.
 (Although is the picking of Jay really a poor opinion???) And
 when you hear "Bad Movie" (the Masker Sniper theme) you tend to
 panic and lose your cool. What are your favorite pieces?
 I particularly enjoy "5 Black Vol 5" (again, the sax thing), "Bad
 Rouge," and "Bad Situation," although I like all the others too.

Overall: Excellent
 With great gameplay, graphics, sounds, music, voicing, and
 storyline, you have a wonderful package. Definitely a keeper,
 you should be glad to play such an excellent game! And if you
 haven't already, check out Rolling Thunder 2 to see the other
 side of the story! (You see how Geldra was planning to
 replenish the Masker stock through marine invertebrates!)

---------------
OTHER SPY GAMES
---------------

Well, I might as well leave you with the titles of some other
videogames that involve heavy spy action.

Rolling Thunder 1 & Rolling Thunder 2
 The prequels to this kick-ass Namco game.

Code Name: Viper (aka Dead Fox)
 Capcom tried to show off Namco by creating a better version of
 Rolling Thunder 1. The former I don't know, but the latter is true.
 In this game, you are "Mr. Smith," a really angry man with a mission.
 Your boss orders you to infiltrate and stop dead the drug cartels
 in South America, and along the way you rescue prisoners who'll
 reveal an important criminal figure, bit by bit. The gameplay is
 similar to Rolling Thunder, where you can walk, shoot, and super-jump.
 Even the numerical passwords are similar to the NES Rolling Thunder's.
 The embarrassing part is this very early game surpasses Rolling
 Thunder 2 in play control, because you can move AND shoot while
 jumping! Mr. Smith can also extend his life bar just like Jay! The
 only thing Smith can't do is aim up, but the interactive environments
 (conveyor belts, lift tubes, etc.) more than make up for that. I
 guess Namco used (instead of suing) Capcom to come up with R. Th. 3.
 You should look at this if you really like Rolling Thunder.

Sly Spy
 Fans of this old Data East arcade game will remember the sultry
 female voice saying the game's name every time the title screen
 appears. Your man goes by the name Sly, but you might as well call
 him James Bond. Everything, from the plot involving Cold War era
 ICBMs to the Golden Gun to the dude who kills you by throwing
 a hat with a razor-sharp brim, this game reeks of Ian Fleming's
 super-spy character. The gameplay kinda resembles Rolling Thunder's,
 and you have the basic 2D platform elements. Special scenes like
 a parachuting stage, a motorcycle stage (unlike Jay, Sly can duck and
 aim up on his bike), and scuba diving stages add some touches.
 Chances are you won't find this machine lying around in the local
 7-11 anymore, so emulate it if you wanna get sly.

Spy Hunter
 Drive a car. Blow up enemy cars. That's as simple as this old
 Sunsoft arcade classic gets.

Game on, and keep the action rolling.

======================================================================
VI. CREDITS - Who should I thank? I'm not at liberty to say....
======================================================================

Namco
 Without game developers like these guys, I would have commited
 suicide by now from a lack of good games. Namco has talent, but
 you already know that by now, right? I wonder what its next
 spy action game will be. Here's a few other Namco games in case
 you're interested: Pac-Man, Xevious, Phelios, Burning Force,
 Tekken, Ridge Racer, Time Crisis, and Point Blank. Sorry if my
 memory is fuzzy at this moment and I forgot some other titles.

Sega Genesis (or the Sega Mega Drive)
 I need a platform to play on, of course! While Sega usually lags
 behind in the market, it still makes platforms that support
 some pretty damn cool games.

F.X. Nine
 This guy wrote short novels based on the storylines from old
 8-bit NES games, which is kinda like fanfics, only people paid
 real money to read them. Nine's stories inspired me to transfer
 the movie scenes from Rolling Thunder 3 into the ASCII text you
 see above.

Jeff Rovin
 His pocket books full of gaming tips inspired me to write guides.
 Of course, he got paid and all I get from writing this is the
 knowledge that I helped some people (like what? Two?) out there.

The site you found this classified document on
 Thanks to the host for kindly posting this up. I need an
 outlet to let loose my blabbering personality since real life
 always tells me to shut up. Even spies need to blow off
 steam eventually.

My fellow Faididis & Spherelanders
 For helping me through the game and figuring out the best
 strategies. Plus they're really funny, and they let me hang out
 with the "Alien Masker Music Band" backstage.

======================================================================
======================================================================

Hope you enjoy Rolling Thunder 3 & this strategy guide.
Got questions or comments? Wanna tell me that I missed something?
Or do you just wanna say my writing sucks?
Feel free to e-mail me at

    faididi@hotmail.com

Let us carry on the golden torch of videogaming until the sun
explodes, making all life on Earth die a horrible, horrible death,
and no one cares, except for Geldra, who gets another leader to
take over the remains of our world. :)
