======================================================================
SUPER ALESTE / SPACE MEGAFORCE
- Nintendo Super Famicom / Super Nintendo Entertainment System -
======================================================================

Super Aleste and Space Megaforce Copyright 1992 Compile & Toho

Spherelander Videogame Strategy Guide Series #06 - Version 1.3
Copyright 2001-2002 Faididi (faididi@hotmail.com)
This strategy guide is intended for private use only. This, including
any part of it, may not be copied or distributed for personal gain
without the author's permission.

This document contains about 22510 words.
If what you get is significantly different, somebody might have
tampered with this document (probably by cutting out the copyright
information and walkthrough credits). While I can't do crap about
it (except complain), you should care in the event some important
gaming data have been accidentally removed or if there has been an
error in downloading this guide. If you still give a damn, e-mail
me to inform me that something funny's going on.

---------------------
[0.0] VERSION HISTORY
---------------------

Version 1.3 (Winter'02 Special Edition)
Updated - 12 31 2001 Monday - New Year's Eve
New Feature(s):
- Translated the original Japanese Ending Movie into English.
- Cleaned up some wording and mistakes.
"Our favorite starpilots celebrate the New Year, Zanac-style!"

Version 1.2 (Autumn'01 Extended Cheater's Edition)
Updated - 09 22 2001 Saturday - Autumnal Equinox
New Feature(s):
- Confirmed that the RAM addresses are the same for all versions.
- Corrected the name of the "Charge Gun." Sorry about that, guys.
"But will Zanac Neo kick Super Aleste's ass?"

Version 1.1 (Summer'01 Edition)
Updated - 08 03 2001 Friday - A very special day...
New Feature(s):
- Added the GamePak Code.
- Added some reference material to the Credits section.
"Zanac Neo is gonna kick so much ass...."

Version 1.0 (Summer'01 Edition)
Updated - 06 21 2001 Thursday - Summer Solstice
New Feature(s):
- N/A
"Aleste forever!"

---------------------------
[0.1] CARTRIDGE INFORMATION
---------------------------

Developer: Compile
Publisher: Toho
GamePak Code:
 Japanese: SHVC-A7
 American: SNS-AT-USA
Release Date:
 Japanese: 1992
 American: October 1992
Dimensions:
 American:
  Length: 13.5 cm
  Height: 08.7 cm
  Width:  01.9 cm
  Memory Size: 1.0 MB
Cover Art:
 American:
  Tei, the pilot, is encased inside this wall-like computer frame.
  Only a part of her face can be seen through the section of the
  structure resembling a helmet. In an image imposed beside her to
  the left is the ED-057 Aleste, blazing towards our point of view
  as laser bolts from the four enemy ships flying behind streak past
  underneath it, barely missing their intended target! Perhaps Tei's
  strange "suit" symbolizes the connection between her and the Aleste?

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

INDEX

I.   Background Info
      [1.0] Version Differences
      [1.1] Death from Beyond... Again! (story)
      [1.2] Flight Manual (options & controls)
       [1.2.1] Game Mode
       [1.2.2] Music/Sound/Voice
       [1.2.3] Trigger Settings
       [1.2.4] Controller Test
       [1.2.5] Break Time
       [1.2.6] Sound (MONO/STEREO)
      [1.3] Load-Out (weapons)
      [1.4] In-Flight Refueling (items)
      [1.5] General Hints

II.  Area Strategies
      [2.0] Prologue
      [2.1] Area   1: Nazca Rain Forests
      [2.2] Area   2: Battle Platform
      [2.3] Area   3: Outpost A
      [2.4] Area   4: Nebula .............. (Short Area  2)
      [2.5] Area   5: Caves
      [2.6] Area   6: Outpost B ........... (Short Area  1)
      [2.7] Area   7: Asteroid Field ...... (Short Area  3)
      [2.8] Area   8: Decimated Fleet
      [2.9] Area   9: Outpost C
      [2.A] Area  10: Alien Rain Forests .. (Short Area  4)
      [2.B] Area  11: High Velocity Tunnel
      [2.C] Area  12: Organic Lair

III. Ending
      [3.1] Epilogue - Japanese
      [3.2] Epilogue - English

IV.  Extra Chips (miscellaneous info)
      [4.1] Difficulty Indicator
      [4.2] Secret Pictures
      [4.3] Sound Test
       [4.3.1] BGM
       [4.3.2] SE
       [4.3.3] VE
      [4.4] Boss Battle Strategies
      [4.5] RAM Address Cheats
      [4.6] Game Genie Codes
      [4.7] Game Evaluation
      [4.8] Shooters '92
      [4.9] Really Small Details

V.   Credits

======================================================================
I. BACKGROUND INFO - Do you know how to fly this thing?
======================================================================

If you've played Compile's Blazing Lazers, you will feel right at
home with Super Aleste. If not, don't sweat; learning how to play
Aleste (or for that matter, almost any other shooter) is very easy!

-------------------------
[1.0] VERSION DIFFERENCES
-------------------------

The Japanese Super Aleste and the English versions (Europe's Super
Aleste and America's Space Megaforce) are obviously not the same.
Here are all the differences:

- The original heroes, Tei and Razu, have been screwed over in the
  English versions, where they are replaced by a faceless pilot.
  This is reflected in the Intro Movie (the two panels showing
  our heroes are removed) and in the Ending Movie (a new, animated
  sequence takes the place of the original slideshow). The toony
  pictures of the duo in the Options Screen and Ending are also gone.

- While the original voices are also in English, the European and
  American audiences get treated to more fluent speech. The Japanese
  weapon names have an accent with that neat echo effect, but the
  bosses' tones are pretty much the same. The new English voices
  are generally more clear, with a few exceptions (Jannel's Japanese
  "Hey, hey - look sharp!" sounds better than its English "Hey, look
  sharp!"). The English versions lose the redundant set of voices for
  the weapon names, but they get an additional death groan for Rubar.

- The "SPACE MEGAFORCE!... is presented by Toho" can only be heard in
  the American version. The European version only has "Presented by
  Toho." The Japanese version has none of this, but who cares?

- Besides the voicing, the weapon names are also dissimilar. Some of
  the ID labels are spelled differently ("MUL" is changed to "MPL" in
  the English versions, for example), and some names are completely
  new ("Cracker" is switched to "Scatter Shot"), but the rest are
  untouched. Check the weapons section below for more details.

- One whole tune is missing in the English versions. Theme #02 in
  the Sound Test, which is played during some of the outposts (the
  mini-Areas), vanishes for some mysterious reason. The other, uncut
  outpost tune is used again and again to cover for the missing piece.

- In the English versions, there are a couple changes in the text
  spelling of the Staff Credits and the Options, especially for
  the Difficulty Settings.

---------------------------------
[1.1] DEATH FROM BEYOND... AGAIN!
---------------------------------

  They aren't humans, but they have the power to destroy humankind!
In 2048 AD, several unidentified craft of extraterrestrial origin
approach. Things turn ugly before Earth knows it, because the alien
fleet begins to attack! It's time to alert the Earth Defense Force!

  You are the pilot of the ED-057, the most advanced starfighter
the EDF has to offer. Hop in and blast off to save our blue planet.
Destroy the enemy forces along your way to eliminate their Leader at
their home world. There are 2 "Megaforces" at play here: the enemy,
and YOU!

  Okay, normally our heroes have names. Yes, there are actually two
heroes! If you've never played the original version of Super Aleste,
now's a good time to say hello to Tei and Razu. These two fly the
ED-057 Aleste together, and they make a great pair. Tei's psionic
powers enable her to control the craft directly when she links
herself into it. Razu is just some normal guy who helps pilot the
craft the old-fashioned way - with a control stick! Join them as
they attempt to save Earth by tearing some serious alien ass.

-------------------
[1.2] FLIGHT MANUAL
-------------------

A videogamer is wise to check her options out first. After the Intro
Movie, select "Options" from the Title Screen's Main Menu to enter
the Options Screen.

EXIT - Leave the Options Screen.

GAME MODE - Determine the Difficulty of the game.
            The default Setting is Normal, but you may also select
            the Hard, Hyper, Tricky, and Wild Settings.

MUSIC - Sample the music.
        There are 18 tunes in the Japanese version and
        17 in the English versions.

SOUND - Sample the sound effects.
        There are 63 effects (in both versions).

VOICE - Sample the voicing.
        There are 25 phrases in the Japanese version and
        19 in the English versions.

TRIGGER SETTINGS - Adjust the game's controls.

CONTROLLER TEST / PAD TEST - Check your Controller's Buttons.

BREAK TIME - Screw around with the Mode 7 functions, Aleste-style!

SOUND - Determine whether the audio will be
        played out as monophone or stereo sound.
        Default is MONO. May be switched to STEREO.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1.2.1] Game Mode: How rough do you want it to be?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Difficulty Settings are arranged in a confusing manner,
aren't they? From Easiest to Hardest, here is their order:
    Normal -> Hard -> Hyper -> Tricky -> Wild

What's so different on the more challenging Settings? Nothing, except
for the firing pattern of the enemies. On tougher Modes, more enemies
will shoot at you, and they will do so more frequently.

The Trick and Wild Settings feature the evil "Ricochet Effect"
from Compile's earlier Gun-Nac. On those Settings, EVERY TIME you
kill something, the destroyed bad guy or object will throw a single
bullet at you! In later Areas, when room is tight, this feature will
turn the game into a nightmare!

The English Ending Movie doesn't change depending on this Difficulty
Setting, and the same goes for MOST of the Japanese Ending, so you
might as well save yourself the pain and just stick with Normal
(which is the easiest Game Mode anyway...).  :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1.2.2] Music/Sound/Voice: Love the tunes but hate playing the game?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please refer to the sound section below in Part IV of this guide
to see a complete listing of all the audio bits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1.2.3] Trigger Settings: Like hanging fuzzy dice under your canopy?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon entering this Screen, you will see:

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

  TRIGGER SETTING FOR BUTTONS
    (EXCEPT SELECT AND START)

 PRESS SELECT TO TOGGLE CUSTOM
 SETTING

   MODE 1       MODE 2       MODE 3       MODE 4       MODE CUSTOM
    L: PAUSE     L: SPEED     L: PAUSE     L: SPEED     L: ?
    R: S-CTRL    R: S-CTRL    R: S-CTRL    R: BOMB      R: ?
    X: S-CTRL    X: FIRE      X: S-CTRL    X: S-CTRL    X: ?
    Y: FIRE      Y: BOMB      Y: BOMB      Y: S-CTRL    Y: ?
    A: FIRE      A: S-CTRL    A: FIRE      A: FIRE      A: ?
    B: BOMB      B: BOMB      B: FIRE      B: FIRE      B: ?

  PRESS START TO END

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Well, you don't actually see all of the available Control Modes at
the same time, neatly lined up side by side. I did that just so you
can quickly compare the preset mappings. If you don't like any of
them, you can make your own!

Pressing Select when you highlight a Mode will let you create your
own control scheme (the Button functions will start off being set
to those of the Mode you're highlighting when you press Select).
After enabling the Custom Mode, press Up and Down to highlight
a different Button and press Left and Right to switch the function
assigned to the highlighted Button. The functions are as follow:

 MOVE - D-Pad (Cannot be changed)
  Fly your ship around relative to the screen.
  If you press opposite Directions simultaneously, all movement
  will cancel out. For instance, pressing Left and Right at the
  same time will result in you not moving. This is very bad if
  enemies are flying around waiting to kick your ass....
  (Sorry, you cannot remap these controls.)

 FIRE/SHOT - A & Y (Default settings only; may be changed)
  The trigger Button for your main weapon.
  In a game like Aleste, you will seldom have to release this.

 BOMB - B (Default setting only; may be changed)
  Launch a MegaBomb.
  Hold this Button to launch the MegaBomb further away, because
  releasing this while a MegaBomb is in midair will cause it to
  detonate. Yes, your bombs can fly all the way across the screen
  before detonating! While a MegaBomb is exploding, you will also
  be invincible.

 S-CTRL/S-CONT - X & R (Default settings only; may be changed)
  Toggle between the Primary and Secondary Functions for your weapon.
  Some weapons switch their Functions with a single press, but
  others require this Button to be continuously held in order
  to remain in their Secondary Function.

 SPEED - Select (Cannot be changed)
  Adjust your ship' Speed (relative to the screen).
  The greater your Speed, the faster you can zip around enemy
  shots, but the more precise your coordination will have to be.
  The Aleste has 4 possible Speed Settings, as represented by the
  Speed Meter (the 3 small orange boxes on the top-left corner of
  the screen). The more boxes that are solid, the faster you'll be.

 PAUSE - Start (Cannot be changed)
  Pause the action.
  You may adjust your Speed while the game is paused.

Note: Press L, R, Select, & Start simultaneously to reset the game.
      The timing is tricky, but it can be done.
      (Just don't do it accidentally!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1.2.4] Controller Test: Is the stick still attached to the cockpit?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon entering this Screen, you will see:

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

   CONTROLLER INPUT

       1 2
       P P

    UP O O
  DOWN O O
  LEFT O O
 RIGHT O O

SELECT O O
 START O O

     A O O
     B O O
     X O O
     Y O O
     L O O
     R O O
     
  PRESS "L"+"R" TO CONTINUE

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

The white circle corresponding to a Controller's Button will turn
from hollow to solid if the Button pressed is registered by the
SNES. Nintendo Controllers are durable suckers, but it never hurts
to inspect your hardware from time to time. (Strangely enough,
Controller 2 can be tested here, even though it is never used during
the game. Controllers 3, 4, and 5 cannot be checked by this Test.)
To exit, press only L & R simultaneously on Controller 1.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1.2.5] Break Time: Screw around like any other starfighter pilot!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tired of staring at clouds? Bored outta your mind during some lengthy
downtime? Or is your butt just falling asleep in the cockpit? Well,
you can turn to Break Time, where you get to play around with the
SNES' Mode 7 capabilities! This "Break" has been originally used
during the developmental stages of the game, but Compile is nice
enough to leave it here and let you screw around with it for free!

Using your Controller, you may manipulate the mysterious structure
(is it a space station???). Even better, turn on some tunes from
the Music Option before you spin around and jack off!

 D-Pad
  Press Up and Down to zoom the structure towards the screen and
  away, respectively. Press Left and Right to rotate the structure
  counterclockwise and clockwise.

 Primary Fire Buttons (A, B, X, & Y)
  Pan the structure in the direction relative to the Button
  being pressed. X slides the structure upwards, B downwards,
  Y leftwards, and A rightwards.

 The Other Buttons (L, R, Select, & Start)
  These do absolutely nothing, but you can still reset with 'em!

Note: You can only leave Break Time by resetting the game or
      by blowing up your game console. Stick with the former.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1.2.6] Sound (MONO/STEREO): "Come in ED-057 - do you read me?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most TV sets nowadays come with twin speakers or better, so if you
have one, you have the privilege of enjoying your sorties in full
STEREO glory.

But if you're still using the older sets with a single speaker,
you'd better leave this setting on MONO. Do not set this Option
to STEREO if you're using a monophone TV, because you might not
hear half of the game's audio!

--------------
[1.3] LOAD-OUT
--------------

Ah, the special weapons. Who doesn't love all those big guns strapped
onto your starfighter?

Here are descriptions of the myriad weapons the ED-057 will
find and use. The following is how the data will be shown:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ID NUMBER     : [The weapon's number tag.]
JAPANESE LABEL: [The weapon's name - Japanese version.]
ENGLISH LABEL : [The weapon's name - European & American versions.]
S-CTRL TYPE   : [How the S-CTRL Button is pressed to switch Functions.]
ATTACK POWER  : [The amount of damage each of this weapon's shots
                 deals relative to that of other weapons at the same
                 Power Level. For the purposes of this guide, "weak"
                 will be the damage done by a single MPL bullet.
                 These ratings are only estimates!]
RELOAD PERIOD : [How quickly the weapon can fire another round.]
PROJECTILE FUNCTIONS:
 Primary   - [The projectile(s) for the weapon's Primary Function.]
 Secondary - [The projectile(s) for the weapon's Secondary Function.]
DETAILS:
 [More notes go here.]
TIPS:
 [Extra tips go here.]
LEVEL PATTERNS:
 [Listed here are patterns of the projectiles for every
  Power Level and for both Functions (when applicable).]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ID NUMBER     : #1
JAPANESE LABEL: MUL - Multiple Shot
ENGLISH LABEL : MPL - Multiple Shot
S-CTRL TYPE   : Toggle
ATTACK POWER  : Weak
RELOAD PERIOD : Fast
PROJECTILE FUNCTIONS:
 Primary   - Concentrated forward twin machinecannon streams.
 Secondary - Various multi-directional machinecannon streams.
DETAILS:
 This machinecannon pod system is the default special weapon. All
 ED-057s are equipped with heavy-bore machinecannons, and this weapon
 simply augments their rapid-fire function. The MPL lets you shoot
 slugs in multiple directions or concentrate all your firepower into
 2 streams directly in front of you. While the MPL offers flexible
 patterns of spread fire, it's too weak to effectively deal with
 bigger enemies. Switch to another weapon before meeting a boss!
TIPS:
 If you're fighting one huge enemy with a single target point,
 use the concentrated twin stream pattern. You'll focus all
 your machinecannons onto the bad guy and kill it faster!
LEVEL PATTERNS:
 (The nasty illustrations below are not entirely accurate, but
  they'll have to do. The Patterns drawn out in series under
  each Power Level are the ones available for that Level.)
Wpn   Twin      Front      Round      Cross       Back       Wide
Lvl  Stream     Spread     Spread     Spread     Spread     Spread
 0
       | |        \|/                               |
        A          A                                A
                                                    |
 1
       | |        \|/                    |          |
        A          A                   --A--        A
                                                    |
 2
       | |       \| |/                   |          |
        A          A                   --A--        A
                                         |         /|\
 3
       | |       \|||/       \|/        | |         |
        A          A          A        --A--        A
                              |          |         /|\
 4
       | |       \\|//       \|/        | |        | |       \ | /
        A          A          A        --A--        A          A
                              |         | |        /|\
 5
       | |       \\|//      \ | /     __| |__      | |        | |
        A          A          A       __ A __       A        \ A /
                            / | \       | |       //|\\      /   \
 6
       | |      \|||||/     \ | /     _\| |/_      | |       \| |/
        A        \ A /     -- A --    __ A __       A        \ A /
                            / | \       | |      //|||\\     /   \

ID NUMBER     : #2
JAPANESE LABEL: LAS - Laser
ENGLISH LABEL : LSR - Laser
S-CTRL TYPE   : Toggle
ATTACK POWER  : Strong
RELOAD PERIOD : Slow
PROJECTILE FUNCTIONS:
 Primary   - Concentrated forward blue beams.
 Secondary - Weaker homing (square-track) orange beams.
DETAILS:
 This "Hyper Laser" cannon is possibly the most lethal weapon in your
 arsenal, especially when it's completely upgraded. While generating
 powerful lightning beams is its Primary Function, shooting HOMING
 lasers is its Secondary Function! You can take down several bad guys
 in one shot, plus it hits bosses repeatedly! Another bonus to the
 LSR is that, unlike the homing Missiles, the tracking beams pass
 THROUGH walls and structures, rendering the enemy's barriers useless!
TIPS:
 If the homing laser is tracking something you don't wish to track,
 press the Shot Control Button to let the orange laser fly off as a
 standard blue beam, and then switch back to the Secondary Function
 to fire another homing beam!
LEVEL PATTERNS:
 (No machinecannons are used with the LSR.)
 0
  Primary   - 1 forward short blue beam
  Secondary - 1 forward tracking orange spark
 1
  Primary   - 1 forward long blue beam
  Secondary - 1 forward short orange beam
 2
  Primary   - 2 forward long blue beams
  Secondary - 1 forward long blue beam & 1 forward long orange beam
 3
  Primary   - 3 forward long blue beams
  Secondary - 2 forward long blue beams & 1 forward long orange beam
 4
  Primary   - 2 forward long blue beams & 1 forward snake blue beam
  Secondary - 2 forward blue (wide apart) & 1 forward orange
 5
  Primary   - 2 forward snake blue beams & 1 forward long blue beam
  Secondary - 2 forward snake blue beams & 1 forward long orange beam
 6
  Primary   - 2 forward snake blue beams & 2 forward long blue beams
  Secondary - 2 forward orange, 1 forward blue, & 1 backward blue

ID NUMBER     : #3
JAPANESE LABEL: CIR - Circle
ENGLISH LABEL : CIR - Circle
S-CTRL TYPE   : Hold
ATTACK POWER  : Moderate
RELOAD PERIOD : N/A
PROJECTILE FUNCTIONS:
 Primary   - Revolving plasma orbs.
 Secondary - Orbs' positions locked relative to the ED-057.
DETAILS:
 This energy orb defense grid is a must for defensive pilots. This
 consists of large green energy orbs that revolve around your ship,
 absorbing bullets and damaging baddies. Its Secondary Function
 freezes the orbs in mid-revolution, locking their positions relative
 to you. Doing this, you can ensure yourself protection from one
 side and manually maneuver the orbs right into enemies!
TIPS:
 Need to get rid of a large wave of shots in front of you quickly?
 Hold down the Shot Control Button to lock a Circle in front of your
 ship. Now jiggle left and right, sweeping away all those nasty
 bullets in front of you!
LEVEL PATTERNS:
 0
  1 forward bullet stream
  1 counterclockwise small circle (circular path)
 1
  2 forward bullet streams
  2 clockwise small circles (circular path)
 2
  3 forward bullet streams (wide apart)
  1 counterclockwise medium circle (oval path)
 3
  3 forward bullet streams (wide apart)
  2 clockwise medium circles (oval path)
 4
  3 forward bullet streams (wide apart)
  2 counterclockwise medium circles (circular path)
 5
  4 forward bullet streams (wide apart)
  2 clockwise big circles & 2 faster inner clockwise small circles
   (all circular path)
 6
  4 forward bullet streams (wide apart)
  4 counterclockwise big circles & 2 inner clockwise medium circles
   (all circular path)

ID NUMBER     : #4
JAPANESE LABEL: ALL - All-Way
ENGLISH LABEL : MDS - Multi-Direction Shot
S-CTRL TYPE   : Hold
ATTACK POWER  : Moderate
RELOAD PERIOD : Fast
PROJECTILE FUNCTIONS:
 Primary   - Plasma shots fired in the Direction pressed on the D-Pad.
 Secondary - Plasma shots fired in the last locked D-Pad Direction.
DETAILS:
 A plasma blaster turret mounted underneath your ship, allowing you
 to fire in any (of the 8 cardinal) directions. Its Primary Function
 is to shoot large spheres of energy in the direction you are the
 pressing the D-Pad in. Its Secondary Function is to shoot in the
 direction you were pressing when you've begun to hold the Shot
 Control Button, enabling you to strafe enemies. It's very useful
 for bad guys hiding around tricky corners!
TIPS:
 Pesky enemies sneaking around? Use some old gun fighting tactics
 to win! Hide behind some cover, lean out to squeeze off a few shots,
 and then retreat back to safety! The MDS is best for this type of
 fighting because you can strafe with it.
LEVEL PATTERNS:
 0
  1 forward bullet stream
  1 small plasma sphere
 1
  1 forward bullet stream
  1 medium plasma sphere
 2
  1 forward bullet stream
  2 small plasma spheres
 3
  1 forward bullet stream
  2 medium plasma spheres
 4
  1 forward bullet stream
  2 small plasma spheres & 1 medium plasma sphere
 5
  1 forward bullet stream
  2 small plasma spheres & 1 big plasma sphere
 6
  2 forward bullet streams
  3 big plasma spheres

ID NUMBER     : #5
JAPANESE LABEL: MIS - Homing Missile
ENGLISH LABEL : MSL - Missile
S-CTRL TYPE   : Toggle
ATTACK POWER  : Moderate
RELOAD PERIOD : Moderate
PROJECTILE FUNCTIONS:
 Primary   - Dumb-fire missiles.
 Secondary - Homing missiles.
DETAILS:
 This missile launcher shoots rockets that explode on contact.
 Its Primary Function is to fire rockets that travel in a straight
 path, but its Secondary Function is to fire missiles that track and
 home in on enemies! This is quite handy against several quick moving
 targets. While the MSL can fire more missiles at a time than the LSR
 can with lasers, missiles can be stopped if something else gets in
 their way.
TIPS:
 Homing rockets might pursue things you don't want them to chase (such
 as stray enemy shots), so dumb-fire may be a better choice at times.
LEVEL PATTERNS:
 0
  1 forward bullet stream
  Primary   - 1 backward missile
  Secondary - 1 forward missile
 1
  2 forward bullet streams
  Primary   - 1 forward missile & 1 backward missile
  Secondary - 2 forward missiles
 2
  2 forward bullet streams
  Primary   - 3 forward missiles & 1 backward missile
  Secondary - 2 forward missiles, 2 diagonal forward missiles
 3
  2 forward bullet streams
  Primary   - 1 forward, 2 diagonal forward, & 1 backward
  Secondary - 2 forward missiles, 2 diagonal forward missiles (faster)
 4
  2 forward bullet streams
  Primary   - 5 forward missiles & 1 backward missile
  Secondary - 4 forward missiles, 2 diagonal forward missiles
 5
  2 forward bullet streams
  Primary   - 3 forward, 2 diagonal forward, & 1 backward
  Secondary - 4 forward missiles, 2 diagonal forward missiles
 6
  2 forward bullet streams
  Primary   - 3 forward, 2 diagonal forward, & 1 backward
  Secondary - 2 forward, 2 diagonal forward , 2 diagonal backward

ID NUMBER     : #6
JAPANESE LABEL: C.G. - Charge Gun
ENGLISH LABEL : PWR  - Power Shot
S-CTRL TYPE   : Toggle
ATTACK POWER  : Strong
RELOAD PERIOD : Slow
PROJECTILE FUNCTIONS:
 Primary   - Slow-charge fusion beam with bullet fire.
 Secondary - Fast-charge fusion beam.
DETAILS:
 The big gun. The wait-forever-as-you-build-up-a-massive-deathray
 weapon. You won't be completely vulnerable while you're charging
 up though, because the energy building up in front of your ship
 will destroy certain enemies and small projectiles. The PWR's
 Primary Function allows you to fire your standard machinecannons
 at the cost of reducing the size of the PWR's charged shot.
TIPS:
 Why run around the corner and expose yourself to enemy fire? Shoot
 through rocks and blocks with the PWR's beams! You can kill baddies
 hiding beyond some barriers on the other side of the screen with
 a fully charged beam!
LEVEL PATTERNS:
 (The machinecannons can be tilted a bit to the sides by pressing
  Left and Right on the D-Pad. Only the greatest charged shot(s)
  attainable is/are listed for each Level.)
 0
  Primary   - 1 forward bullet stream, 1 energy globe
  Secondary - 1 thin beam, small charge shield
 1
  Primary   - 1 forward bullet stream, 1 thin beam
  Secondary - 1 thick beam, small charge shield
 2
  Primary   - 2 forward bullet streams, 1 thick beam
  Secondary - 1 thick beam, small charge shield
 3
  Primary   - 4 forward bullet streams (wide apart), 1 thick beam
  Secondary - 2 thick beams, large charge shield
 4
  Primary   - 4 forward bullet streams (wide apart), 2 thick beams
  Secondary - 2 thick beams, larger charge shield
 5
  Primary   - 4 forward bullet streams (wide apart), 3 thick beams
  Secondary - 3 thick beams, even larger charge shield
 6
  Primary   - 6 forward bullet streams (wide apart), 4 thick beams
  Secondary - 4 thick beams, largest charge shield

ID NUMBER     : #7
JAPANESE LABEL: SPR - Sprite
ENGLISH LABEL : SPR - Sprite
S-CTRL TYPE   : Toggle
ATTACK POWER  : Weak
RELOAD PERIOD : Fast
PROJECTILE FUNCTIONS:
 Primary   - Sprites trailing after the ED-057, following its path.
 Secondary - Sprites' positions locked relative to the ED-057.
DETAILS:
 This secondary gunner system provides the classic options/drones that
 accompany you, firing whenever you do. The Sprites' Primary Function
 is to trail after the ED-057, mimicking its path. Their Secondary
 Function is to remain a certain distance away from it, locking
 themselves in their relative positions (very much like the CIR's
 Secondary Function). Whenever your Weapon Level changes, the
 positions of your Sprites will be reset to match your previous
 trail, even if they're still in their Secondary Function. Annoying,
 isn't it?
TIPS:
 While Sprites can absorb hits for you, doing so will fizzle them
 out (the smaller a Sprite is, the less hits it can take before it
 disappears). When a Sprite is destroyed, your Weapon Level will
 actually be reduced, so take care of your Sprites! When it's safe,
 press Down on the D-Pad until all the Sprites overlap your ship,
 and then lock their relative positions. Now they'll be safe inside
 of you, plus you'll concentrate all of your fire, as with the twin
 stream pattern for the MPL!
LEVEL PATTERNS:
 (Sprites towards the end of the chain are more advanced
  and usually fire faster. I am not kidding.)
 0
  2 forward bullet streams
  1 single-shot Sprite
 1
  2 forward bullet streams
  2 single-shot Sprites
 2
  2 forward bullet streams
  2 single-shot Sprites, 1 twin-shot Sprite
 3
  2 forward bullet streams
  2 single-shot Sprites, 2 twin-shot Sprites
 4
  2 forward bullet streams
  3 single-shot Sprites, 2 twin-shot Sprites
 5
  2 forward bullet streams
  3 single-shot Sprites, 3 twin-shot Sprites
 6
  2 forward bullet streams
  6 twin-shot Sprites (all fire at maximum rate!)

ID NUMBER     : #8
JAPANESE LABEL: CRA - Cracker
ENGLISH LABEL : SCT - Scatter Shot
S-CTRL TYPE   : Toggle
ATTACK POWER  : Moderate
RELOAD PERIOD : Fast
PROJECTILE FUNCTIONS:
 Primary   - Straight-fire fragmentation shots.
 Secondary - Curved-fire fragmentation shots.
DETAILS:
 This fragmentary shell launcher shoots large bullets that explode
 into smaller bullets upon contact. Both big and tiny shots deal
 damage, making this effective against packs of minor baddies and
 larger menaces alike! The big shells can crush several tiny enemies
 before splitting up, too.
TIPS:
 Let your shots do the work for you! If you're in tight spots (like
 the Caverns), you can fire at the walls in front of you and let the
 tiny bullets bounce back into enemies hiding around on the other
 side! You can also use the Secondary Function's curving capability
 to ease getting those hard-to-reach baddies!
LEVEL PATTERNS:
 (No machinecannons are used with the SCT.)
 0
  small shell, 3 bullets on impact (1 backward, 2 diagonal backward)
 1
  medium shell, 3 bullets on impact
 2
  medium shell, 5 bullets (1 backward, 2 diagonal backward, 2 lateral)
 3
  big shell, 5 bullets
 4
  big shell, 8 bullets on impact (1 in each cardinal direction)
 5
  super big shell, 8 bullets on impact
 6
  super big shell, 8 bullets on impact (at maximum fire rate!)

---------------------------------------
[1.4] IN-FLIGHT REFUELING... WITH NUKES
---------------------------------------

Okay, you don't actually have to do any mid-flight refueling during
the game (although it'll be cool if you did), but you will need to
grab some nifty items to keep your guns powered-up. Items appear in
many ways. Sometimes small supply ships fly down, and you have to
blast them to make 'em release their goods before they leave the
screen. In other cases, items are hidden inside boxes or other types
of structures. Just blow open the containers to uncover the stuff!

ITEM    : Yellow Power Chip
GRAPHICS: A glowing, yellow, oval gem.
FUNCTION:
 After collecting several of these, your weapon will be upgraded by
 1 Level. The amount you must pick up in a row in order to power-up
 depends on what Weapon Power Level you're currently at:
  From Level 0 to 1:  1 Yellow Chip
  From Level 1 to 2:  2 Yellow Chips
  From Level 2 to 3:  4 Yellow Chips
  From Level 3 to 4:  6 Yellow Chips
  From Level 4 to 5:  8 Yellow Chips
  From Level 5 to 6: 12 Yellow Chips
 The Yellow Chip counter resets if you Level-Up by grabbing a Green
 Power Chip or another Weapon Pod of the same type, but NOT if you
 switch Weapons! Let's say you have a Level 1 MPL. If you grab 1
 Yellow Chip and then grab 1 Green Chip, your MPL Level will become
 2, but you must grab 4 Yellow Chips if you wanna upgrade again. That
 single Yellow Chip you've nabbed before disappears! However, if you
 have grabbed a LSR instead of the Green Chip, that earlier Yellow
 Chip still counts, meaning you only need to acquire 1 more in order
 to reach Level 2 for the LSR. Use this knowledge to your advantage.
 If you're only 1 or 2 Yellow Chips away from another upgrade, grab
 the Yellows before going for the Greens. Likewise, if you don't have
 any Yellows, obtain the Greens first and then pick up the Yellows.
 This way, you won't waste those precious Chips!

ITEM    : Green Power Chip
GRAPHICS: An glowing, green, oval gem.
FUNCTION:
 Upgrades your weapon by 1 Power Level instantly.
 Grabbing this will neutralize any Yellow Chips you've stocked before.

ITEM    : Bomb Pod
GRAPHICS: An octagonal pod with a gold outline and a "B" inside.
FUNCTION:
 Adds one MegaBomb.
 Bomb Pods, of all items, float down the screen the fastest.

ITEM    : Regular Weapon Pod
GRAPHICS: A yellow sphere with a weapon label.
FUNCTION:
 Changes your weapon to the one listed on the Pod.
 Picking up a Weapon Pod that matches the gun you're currently
 equipping will instantly increase your Power Level by 1 (just
 like touching a Green Chip).

ITEM    : Green Weapon Pod
GRAPHICS: A green sphere with a weapon label.
FUNCTION:
 Changes your weapon to the one listed on the Pod.
 The label on this Pod will slowly cycle from #1 through #8, and then
 back to #1 again. Shooting the Pod will freeze the weapon listed, so
 you can quickly swoop in to snatch your favorite gun without having
 it change away. Continue to blast the Pod, however, and it'll morph
 into an Enemy Eraser! (The more powerful your shots, the faster the
 Pod will turn into an EE.)

ITEM    : Enemy Eraser (EE)
GRAPHICS: A swirling swarm of green plasma bubbles.
FUNCTION:
 Destroys all minor enemies on the screen and damages bosses.
 Also turns 1 of your remaining Lives into a Special Life
 (more on this below).

ITEM    : Randar, the Blue Lander
GRAPHICS: A happy, blue, round-shaped dude with large eyes.
FUNCTION:
 Adds 1 Regular Life and upgrades your weapon by 1 Power Level.
 If you keep pumping this dude with weaponfire, it will eventually
 become a Red Lander.

ITEM    : Red Lander
GRAPHICS: A happy, red, round-shaped dude with large eyes.
FUNCTION:
 Adds 1 Special Life, adds 1 MegaBomb, AND maximizes your Power Level!
 This is the ultimate power-up! (I like this guy. I really do.) Sorry,
 Koranda isn't in this game.

-------------------
[1.5] GENERAL HINTS
-------------------

- Regular Weapon Pods tend to appear in order, showing up from #1
  to #8 one by one, and then restarting from #1 again. If you keep
  grabbing every Weapon Pod, you will never power-up quickly enough.
  Stick to a weapon you feel good with and just grab more Pods of
  the same type.

- Unlike in Blazing Lazers, Super Aleste's shifting Green Weapon Pods
  do NOT turn into Enemy Erasers when they touch the bottom edge of
  the screen, so you must shoot them if you want the EE! Green Pods
  bounce back up from the bottom, only to fly away at the top if you
  don't stop 'em first.

- EE bubbles are far more powerful than your MegaBombs. Whereas
  a MegaBomb only affects bad guys who touch its energy bubbles
  (because there are so many of them, some enemies will slip
  through your blast), an EE affects ALL baddies on the screen!
  Of course, unlike MegaBombs, EEs cannot be stocked up.

- Always grab EE. Even if there are no enemies on the screen for you
  to kill, grabbing an EE will turn one of your Lives into a Special
  Life (whose icon looks just like a Regular Life icon but is orange
  instead). Normally, getting killed boots you back to a Checkpoint,
  but if you have a Special Life, you will resume right from where
  you've died! This is vital for later Areas, especially on higher
  Difficulty Settings, where getting blown outta the sky (or vacuum)
  becomes uncomfortably common.

- Special Lives may only be obtained by converting Regular Lives,
  so be sure to earn a couple 1-Ups before grabbing EEs.

- Of course, you can always avoid getting wasted in the first place.
  Keep your weapons upgraded, so getting hit will knock your Weapon
  Level down instead of your Lives. So what if your gun gets powered-
  down; you'll still be alive! Just grab more Chips!

- In a way, the ED-057's Weapon Power Level doubles as its "shields."
  At Power Level 6, getting whacked will drop your Level to 2. Getting
  shot up the butt again (by a relatively weak projectile) will drop
  it further to 0. Sucking up something lethal at Level 0 or 1 most
  likely results in a spectacularly spark-filled and explosive death.

- Okay, so the ED-057 has no real shields, but that doesn't mean it
  never has invincibility. Whenever you grab an item or detonate a
  MegaBomb, you will flash yellow. As short as this blinking is, you
  will be TOTALLY protected from enemies and their shots! Let any
  spare Chips and Weapon Pods you don't need linger on the screen
  for a while. When the action gets heavy, grab the items then to
  avoid death. If there are no items, you'll have to MegaBomb.

- You are never, ever safe! Even after delivering the final blow to
  a boss, any projectiles remaining on the screen can still kill you.
  The only exception to this cheapness is the final Leader, because
  the action stops once you beat it.

- If you still die a lot, don't fret. You have infinite Credits
  (i.e. unlimited chances to continue). Resuming your mission
  will reset your Score to 0, but you get to restart from the
  last Checkpoint you've reached.

- You may stock up to 99 Lives and 99 MegaBombs. When you have over
  4 Lives or MegaBombs, the iconic display for that value will change
  into a numeric display (for example, instead of seeing 5 individual
  MegaBomb icons, you'll see a single MegaBomb icon followed by the
  number "5"). While it's a nice way to keep your screen from getting
  cluttered up, the numeric display can't tell you how many Special
  Lives you have left in reserve! (As long as you have at least 1
  Special Life, the lone Life icon will be orange.)

- If you have less than 3 MegaBombs when you die, you will return
  with 3. Special Lives or not, use up your MegaBombs if you feel
  you're gonna die (like facing a boss with a Weapon Level of 0).

- Stay near the bottom edge of the screen, so you have more time to
  react to dangers up ahead. Few enemies attack from the rear anyway.

- Don't just grab EEs immediately when you have the chance to.
  Wait for as many hazardous objects to gather on the screen
  before touching the bubbles to kill everything in one big flash!

- Keep firing. Even if you don't hit any enemies, you might destroy
  their projectiles. Some projectiles, like the spinning blue ovals,
  can be destroyed by any of your attacks. Other enemy fire, such
  as the little yellow diamond bullets, can only be neutralized
  with certain special weaponfire, such as blue LSR beams.

- The only exception to the fire-forever rule is when you want
  to let a Green Weapon Pod float down or cycle to another weapon.
  Shooting this Green Pod freezes its movement and displayed label,
  but sometimes you want it to come down to you. This way, you won't
  need to leave the safety of the screen bottom to grab the EE.

- Don't be afraid to fly into passive structures. As long as you're
  not smashing into enemy ships or shots, the Aleste will bump against
  walls without trouble. Of course, this doesn't protect you from
  getting crushed between a structure and the bottom edge of the
  scrolling screen!

- You can't get items when you automatically begin your hyperdrive
  sequence after finishing an Area, so grab everything you need
  before it's too late.

- Be sure to set your Speed to one of the higher Settings. When
  you're faster, you can evade enemy fire more easily and swoop
  towards items more quickly. Of course, don't set it so high
  that you can't control your ship.... Filling the Speed Meter
  up to 2 or 3 blocks is a good bet.

- Set your controls up efficiently so they feel comfortable. Don't
  forget how Select always toggles your Speed and how Start always
  pauses the game (plus you can adjust your Speed while pausing).
  Don't be shy when you wanna assign all the other Buttons to
  shooting and bombing functions. You never know what you're
  mashing when you're angry/panicking....

======================================================================
II. AREA STRATEGIES - Funner than downing coffee through a face-plate!
======================================================================

Starting Standard Game High Score: 1500000
Starting Short Game High Score:     300000

Let's get ready to take off. I'll cover each of the Areas in order
(naturally). I'll brief you on some background data and the tactics
you can use to survive the onslaught. Remember, the tricks listed
here aren't the only ones that work. If you find something else you
think is better or feel more comfortable with, I encourage you to
use that instead!

This guide deals mainly with the Standard Game (on the Normal
Difficulty Setting), but that doesn't mean it ignores the Short
Game. Because the Short Game consists of 4 Areas taken from the
Standard Game, you can still find help below. Just look up data
for the proper Areas, and you will find that the tactics can be
applied to both Games. (Standard Areas 6, 4, 7, & 10 correspond
to Short Areas 1, 2, 3, & 4, respectively, but remember how the
Short Game reduces the lengths of those Areas too!)

----------------------------
[2.0] PROLOGUE: THE INVASION
----------------------------

The following is the Introduction.

"SPACE MEGAFORCE!... is presented by Toho."

Here is the description of the slide-show Intro Movie:

[We see Earth from space. It looks so peaceful floating there
 in the dark, quiet void...]

[... and it's equally nice in a big city, where the citizens
 go about their daily businesses.]

[But a light appears in the sky! Even the people driving
 along the freeways between the myriad skyscrapers cannot
 help but stare up at this terrifying phenomenon!]

[The Earth Defense Force is alerted! Everyone scrambles! The two
 officers sitting down at their stations at Central Command stare
 at each other in disbelief as they chart out the alien force's
 flight across South America!]

[The fleet of ED-057s launch off into the bright skies. We can see
 five of these ships soar over the lush green jungles, complete with
 a mighty river cutting through the thick growth, as they race off
 to intercept the intergalactic threat!]

[The camera shifts to the spot just above the canopy of one
 of the ED-057s. We see a pilot gripping his control stick
 (but this guy is not Razu...).]

If you're playing the Japanese version,
you get to see the following two panels:

[We get a closer look at our pilot, Razu. What a handsome fellow!
 Strangely enough, he's not wearing a helmet.]

[But neither does his copilot, Tei, who we now get a closer view of.
 WHOA!!! (At least she doesn't seem to mind the sharp metal things
 jabbing into her back....)]

No matter what version of the game you're playing,
the Intro Movie always ends with this final panel:

[The camera focuses on the pilot's stick. (It's supposed to be Razu
 at the controls, not the other helmeted dude, but this doesn't
 matter since we don't see a face. However, if you study Razu's
 panel carefully, you'll notice that it matches this one better.
 Dude, he holds his stick in a really, really weird way....)]

--------------------------------
[2.1] AREA 1: NAZCA RAIN FORESTS
--------------------------------

REALITY CHECK:

Bullshit - in real life, the Nazca deserts are dry as hell
and are nearly devoid of life. Still, we can always play
along with Compile's warped fantasy worlds.  :)

BACKGROUND:

Welcome to the humid jungles of Peru, where magnificent drawings
by the ancient Nazca of various objects can be seen below on the
rich soil. I guess those signs must be related to space aliens
afterall, eh? The enemy forces are building a floating city in
the skies above the lush forests, and it's your job to take it
down! Swoop in during the early morning hours to put this project
on "permanent hold."

GENERAL TIPS:

The first Area is understandably low on the challenge scale. However,
it seems to drag on for quite a bit. Use the length of the stage to
power yourself up. Dig through the structure to find hidden goodies.
Upgrade your weapons, increase your Special Lives, and stock up on
MegaBombs. The later Areas may be shorter, but they won't be easier!

IN-DEPTH:

Wheee! Start off soaring over the pretty clouds and swat off the
little ships, grabbing the items you find. Turn the Green Weapon
Pod into an EE by shooting it a lot. Grab the EE bubble cloud to
get a Special Life. You can pick up a regular MPL Pod later.

As you fly near the alien structures, hit the reddish-orange segments
in the sectional walls to blow up those walls. You can also destroy
the enemy-releasing pods in your way. Don't get squished by the
indestructable, yellow, glass dome structures while you grab Chips
and the LSR Pod or CIR Pod.

Look around. If you spot boxes hidden behind some grating and have
rear shooting capability to break them open, you can grab the extra
items inside.

Enemies pour out from the sides later on. Blow them up along with
any turrets in the way. Small, floating city blocks will detach
themselves from the main structures to bump into you. These look
like miniature versions of the bigger yellow domes you've saw
earlier, but these can be destroyed (after taking enough hits).
They go down with a good "BOOM!"

Soon, some of these small city blocks will try to fly away with
jets. Yeah, like this will stop you from killing them! After you
blow off their jets, you still need to attack the dome proper to
waste it for good.

Check out those weird drawings below on the plains between the clouds!
There will be a Bomb Pod hidden underneath some grating. Shoot through
the metal wires to get to it.

More free-floating city blocks, followed by the jet-powered ones
that fire back when disturbed wait for you near the end. When you
see monkey drawings down on the ground, prepare to blow through some
structure on the left side for 2 MegaBombs, which may come in handy
for the boss. The Nazca drawings will eventually glow, summoning...

BOSS: Zolba

  "Welcome to the Underworld!"

You're not going to hell - at least not yet! Ignore the SCT Pod if you
don't want it. While you blast Zolba's central yellow glass dome, blow
up its shots and the 4 guns on either side of the dome. 2 rail-arms
will extend out from the sides as you bang up the boss. When both arms
are fully out, the ball that has been the yellow dome will pop out,
revealing the real eye and Zolba's true weak point!

This smaller eye shoots spread bullets. The ball tries to line up
with you while it rolls along the rail-arms, and then it'll zip
across to the other side, catching you if you're not careful. The
ball also shoots more bullets as it bounces around. Bomb the ball
if you wanna kill it and any other shots quickly.

When the ball dies, the arms blow off and Zolba starts to float around
to shoot some more. Each of its volleys consists of 8 shots, spreading
outwards from the eye. Take care when Zolba nears you, since its shots
will not have as much time to spread apart before reaching your ship.

Keep hitting the eye. When it dies, use the time you have before
you hit hyperdrive to grab any needed items that continue to drop
into the screen.

-----------------------------------------------
[2.2] AREA 2: BATTLE PLATFORM - ASSAULT ON LONO
-----------------------------------------------

"Look at the size of that thing!"
        - Wedge Antilles, upon seeing the Death Star for the
          first time, from "Star Wars: A New Hope" (LucasArts)


BACKGROUND:

Holy crap - this is one big-ass sucker! Those aliens must
like their weapons HUGE, and Lono is no different! This guy
is a gigantic, 16-screen-wide battle platform who's out to
get Earth... but not before YOU get it!

GENERAL TIPS:

The nifty idea of assaulting a whole space station is realistically
tied into the gameplay. You cannot hit the parts of Lono until it
is "lined up" with you. Just watch the background and prepare to
kick ass when Lono zooms completely up to your level. Just don't
get distracted by those groovy Mode 7 effects! Also, items will never
leave the plane you're on - their elevation always matches yours!

IN-DEPTH:

You will begin by descending upon Lono, but it'll fire a couple
missiles ahead to greet you first! Keep firing to blow away the
incoming crap that approaches from the top of the screen. Other
alien drones will intercept too.

The shield drones (with green flashing circles in front of them) will
require something that can punch through their shields. The LSR and
CIR are effective here. Look for a Green Pod (and a potential EE)
somewhere among them.

Now Lono will really loom towards you! Don't panic as you pound more
shield drones and their little wiener friends while you close up for
the real assault. When you "reach" the platform, start blowing away
the many turrets of Lono. These gun emplacements come in several
types. Some aim at you, some fire in different directions, some take
more hits to kill, and so on. Your path weaves left and right a bit,
and then, before making a full run over to the other corner of the
platform, you'll automatically pull back up.

Eye the destruction you've left behind from afar! Now you'll zoom
down again to work on another part of Lono. When you reach the corner
section with the many tougher guns, using a MegaBomb helps. As you
sweep to the left, homing weapons can really cover your flank. Homing
or multi-directional shots are even more appreciated when you start
moving backwards. Luckily, you will pull away a second time soon.

Fight off more shield drones as you fly off and prepare for a third
strafing run. When you descend, continue hitting those series of
turrets. You'll pull up and come back down almost immediately for
a fourth attack, which will be the final one.

The Checkpoint before the boss is around here. As you fly towards
the center of the battle platform, notice how the turrets there
cannot be hit... yet.

BOSS: Lono

  "Give me a break, will you?"

No kidding. You've been pounding this guy for a while now, and it's
only gonna get worst - for Lono! It isn't dead yet, because it still
has its central portion intact. This "hub" of the platform consists
of 2 main guns and 7 auxiliary ones, resulting in a total of 9
turrets. The guns on the middle-left and middle-right are the main
ones that fire rings of swirling energy orbs in your direction.

Move quickly and think ahead to avoid being trapped. Set your Speed
to max if you can. Keep blasting while you weave between enemy fire.
The 7 smaller turrets are only standard baddies, so they can be blown
off rather easily. Do it to temper the amount of death coming in.

Now deal with the main guns. Shoot 'em as you fly around their
rings. If you're using the LSR, stick with its Primary Function,
because the rings tend to lure tracking beams away.

After all of its guns go "BOOM!" and Lono's reactor goes critical...

  "Aaaagghh!!"

-----------------------
[2.3] AREA 3: OUTPOST A
-----------------------

BACKGROUND:

Blast through the enemy supply base on your way to the next Area!
Being lightly defended, this small target of opportunity is just
too good to pass up!

GENERAL TIPS:

This mini-stage and others like it may be treated as "Bonus Areas."
They are extremely easy and short compared to the other stages. If
you need to upgrade your ship, now's your chance!

IN-DEPTH:

Easy stuff here. Run through the place, blowing up as many of those
rainbow-colored structures that dot the outpost as you can. The
regular baddies around here are pushovers too.

After the Green Weapon Pod appears, you'll see some armored boxes
(the dull, green, hexagonal, metal structures with the red blinking
lights). These tough containers can only be busted open by dropping
a MegaBomb on them, but they usually yield something nice, like Chips.

The miniboss will appear in the middle of the Area, spraying out
shots while it follows you. Hit it to drive it away sooner.

MINIBOSS: "gunner"

Waste it! The miniboss you've met just a while ago comes back firing
more shots in every direction. It will bob up and down, moving back
and forth across the screen. It will never reach the lower portion
of the screen, so you can just stay low and shoot upwards. Some of
the ED-057's weapons, like the blue LSR beams, can vaporize the
miniboss' little shots.

----------------------------------------
[2.4] AREA 4: NEBULA (SHORT GAME AREA 2)
----------------------------------------

BACKGROUND:

Hiding close to a cloudy nebula is an enemy base. Search the stellar
gases and destroy anything you find in there while you enjoy the view
of the thick green stuff flowing up and down from below!

GENERAL TIPS:

Now the challenge gets pushed up one significant notch. This Area can
be rather nasty if you're not prepared for it. Lethal flames and other
strange obstacles will attempt to trap and fry your ass, so attack
swiftly and destroy the baddies before they can fight back.

SHORT GAME TIPS:

A big chunk of this Area is chopped off here. Some time after the
large wave of ships that leave those annoying flame-trails show up,
you will hit hyperdrive and skip the boss, going on to the next Area.

IN-DEPTH:

Watch out for those pesky flame throwers. You can kill the stocky
tubes to stop them from emitting their hot stuff. As you may have
found out already from your stray shots, the yellow glass structures
here can't be nuked, so ignore them.

The Compile guys just love those bubbles from Blazing Lazers! These
weird moons you see next will expand and contract, trying to bump you
off the screen when you fly beside them. Even though they don't flash
when you hit them in their inflated form, they still get damaged.
They take a lot of hits, but they'll go "BOOM!" eventually!

Small ships will fly somewhat slowly across screen, leaving fiery
trails behind them. Kill these ships to stop the trails from growing,
or shoot the trails to punch a path through them. Be prepared, since
4 ships will simultaneously fly from right to left, walling off
an unsuspecting starpilot. Blast through the ships and trails
with excessive firepower or dash past on the left side to escape.

Fly vertically along the middle afterwards. 4 ships will almost
immediately fly downwards from the top edge of the screen, and the
middle is one of the safer spots to hide in. Stay there, as another
4 will appear from the bottom side, heading upwards this time!

4 moons attempt to expand into you in the next part. Fly past them
when they contract. More flame-trail ships will fly laterally across
your path, but 3 will come down from the top. Blast ahead to increase
your chances of survival.

Now the ships will try to get fresh by using some fancy twisting
and turning moves, creating complex and frightening trail patterns.
No single part of the screen is safe, so don't stop firing - you
might even kill a ship just as it flies straight down towards you!

After more moons, there will be flame throwers to the left and
rectangular gun pods to the right. The MegaBomb you find may help
you deal with the many flamers and guns that follow.

Look out for those spread-shot turrets. You may have seen 1 or 2
earlier on, but now you get to meet several of them at once.
You must kill all 4 corners of a turret to blow it up for good.

Now missiles will take off from their racks to get you. Hit them as
they blast off. When you see even more moons, start moving forwards,
or else fire-trail ships will trap you.

Lots of flame throwers mark the rest of the alien base in this Area.
I hope your weapon is powered-up; you may not be able to kill the
tubes fast enough to stop the heat! If that's not enough, more gun
pods will be waiting for you. Attack them and their shots. Start
sweating - flamers, fire-trail ships, moons, missiles, and a whole
load of other crap will clutter the remainder of your path out of
the nebula!

BOSS: Jannel

  "Hey, look sharp!"

The only thing sharp here are the edges of this oversized egg's
metallic shell! Hit Jannel's core (the metal "brain" with 3 yellow
glass domes) when it reveals itself. The problem is, whenever it
does, it's also trying to kill you!

After the entire shell splits apart, every section will zip down
across the screen, joining back up together on the other side. The
trick is to fly through the open spaces (between the shell parts)
to the other side, so they won't crush you when they recombine.

After sweeping the screen like this, Jannel will open up one side
of its shell, releasing drones that shoot at you. Hit the core some
more while blasting the drones.

Prepare to slip between the shell parts again, since Jannel will move
back up, repeating the whole pattern. Any drones that are present when
Jannel does the screen sweep will zip away very quickly, ramming into
you if you're not careful. Drones aside, keep hitting the core to win.

-------------------
[2.5] AREA 5: CAVES
-------------------

BACKGROUND:

Fly through the hollowed-out innards of a small but very dead
planet to weed out more enemies. The strange, twisting rock
phenomenon in the depths of these caverns is mesmerizing, isn't
it? The alien forces have sucked off all the resources this
now-barren rock has had to offer, and this is a clear example
of what will happen to Earth if you don't win the war!

GENERAL TIPS:

Don't puke at the sight of the flowing "ground river" below; this is
probably the longest Area in the game! Prepare to shoot the enemies
that will intercept you. Weapons that reach through walls or shoot
in multiple directions come in handy during the twisting tunnels,
where danger usually lurks to the sides of your ship. And don't
forget this common roadside warning: beware of falling rocks!

IN-DEPTH:

The small bits of rock can be blasted away easily. If you see little
rocks next to some larger boulders, shooting the small stone will
cause the bigger boulders to fall down and break up near the bottom
of the screen. You may have to move the boulders like this in order
to proceed, but don't get squished in the process!

Take out the tiny robots hiding along the walls, because they like to
shoot bullets at you.

Gray drilling units will dig through particular sections of the
seemingly invulnerable rock. Don't waste too much time on them,
since they're not really out to kill you (unless you touch them).

When you see a dead end, stay AWAY from the bottom edge of the
screen, because 3 of these drillers will appear from below! These
guys should create a path for you. You cannot kill them until they
finish digging out a path, so don't worry about hitting them while
you're firing at the other pesky bad guys.

After the rocky area, you will fly out into wide, open space to
greet squads of flying robots. They zoom up from below in formation,
flying away after a while. Take them out! Next will be hatches in
the rock that release enemies. You can kill the hatches to stop the
tides of bad guys. Weave between all the rock and bullets. Don't get
prodded by the rock columns jutting out (Tei just hates those!).

Left or right? When you come to a fork in the caves, you have to
quickly choose a path. The right one may look like a hopeless dead
end, but a drill unit will save you if you take it! The little rocks
falling down from its digging won't kill you, but the bullets and
lasers from the other baddies will!

The paths eventually join back together, only to branch apart again.
This time, the left side seems to be the dead end, but yet another
driller will save you - or will it? The unit stops before chewing
through all the way! Hurry and kill it before the screen crushes you!

If you're taking the other, non-drilling, non-dead end, non-I-can-
take-this-shit-and-want-even-more-of-it path, just sit tight and
handle the tiny ships that fly out from the hatches. Those cheap
bastards can go through the dividing wall down the screen middle!!

Now quickly shoot upwards at the rock hanging over above you. Don't
blast apart the entire row of rocks, or else you will be trapped by
an unavoidable column of solid stone! Blast though and escape to
meet more robots who fly up from the liquid-like background.

When you find a Green Weapon Pod, prepare to find more enemies and
another series of jutting columns. You will soon enter uncomfortably
narrow passages. Homing and multi-directional weapons help immensely
here. For the additional 2 jutters on the left side, killing them may
seem difficult, but avoiding both them and the flying enemies is even
tougher!

Right above these twin jutters is a Blue Lander buried under some
light rock. I wonder how it got there.... Anyway, destroy the hatch
above it if you can. Blow away the rocks to uncover the little dude,
grab it (or if you have enough time, shoot it until it turns into
a Red Lander before picking it up), and then swoop out before the
screen locks you in. There is also a Bomb Pod stashed away in the
corner to the lower right, but you have to be quick if you wanna
get that AND the Lander. The MDS around here makes your life easier,
doesn't it?

A massive rock block in front of you will impede your progress...
but not when 2 diggers enter from below: one on the left, the other
on the right. Another driller that enters from the right side will
reveal several Chips in the middle! Set your Speed to overdrive
and dash through this new tunnel, grabbing the goods and escaping
before the scrolling screen turns Tei and Razu into a human sandwich.
(Razu: "I'm intrigued!" - huhuhuhuh....) 

If you escape to the right side, you will face stone jutters. If you
find yourself on the left, you will meet more rock rows held together
by small pebbles. As you reach the end of the caves, boulders will
fall downwards, scattering apart to make your life miserable. Shoot
or zip around them to find yourself in the exit tunnel - with another
big boss!

BOSS: Nardork

  "Down with you!"

Now if only Nardork has that stereotypical evil British accent....
This dude is a drilling specialist for the alien forces. Watch out
for its arms, because the "'dork" uses them for both rock digging
and smashing EDF planes! The arms will swing rapidly in a circle
before launching themselves towards your last position, so prepare
to move when you see them whirling above the boss' head. After the
arms retract, fly back underneath Nardork and resume your beating.

Nardork can also pull extra-tough rock out from the sides, letting
them block your shots AND fall onto you! The rocks that fly out from
this operation may kill you too, so never stop firing.

Except for periodically firing homing missiles (which are easy to
beat), Nardork has no other attacks. Hit the red eye whenever it
opens up. Fly around the rocks and the arms to nail the eye, and
stay low to give yourself more time to react to the garbage up ahead.

Once you kill this dude, its shell will crack open, and then its
once-lethal arms will blow off as though it's a cheap, broken toy.
It's all in the effects, man.

-------------------------------------------
[2.6] AREA 6: OUTPOST B (SHORT GAME AREA 1)
-------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND:

Another small staging area for the enemy fleet. Why not blow it up
during your trip to the next Area?

GENERAL TIPS:

Like the previous outpost, this place serves as a storage facility.
Liberate some goods for the human cause while tearing up alien ass.

SHORT GAME TIPS:

Being the first Area of the Short Game, this is an easy scene.
But since you're coming in without any power-ups, you'd better
play it safe. Set your MPL to a pattern with more spread so you
can easily knock out the little enemies. Pick up Chips and bigger
weapons as they come along. By the time you're finished with the
miniboss, you should be ready to tackle the next Area.

IN-DEPTH:

Mmmm... fresh meat! Blast more colorful pods. Zigzag right and
left to get around the tiny spinning barriers if you can't blow
though them.

Later, stay in the middle aisle to grab items and to blast the barrel
mines the miniboss drops on you. The final hardened green container
in this middle aisle (it should be the 9th one) holds a Blue Lander
prisoner. Free it with a MegaBomb.

Afterwards will be some more isolated green containers scattered
throughout the place. They hide various stuff, including Chips
and Weapon Pods.

The twin green containers (you see one on each side) after the
isolated ones hold Bombs Pods. Try to bust open both to earn
a net bonus of 1 MegaBomb! Detonating a MegaBomb directly in
the middle between the 2 containers works best.

MINIBOSS: "bomber"

Like the first miniboss, this guy will bob up and down across the
screen, but it will drop more barrel mines like it did earlier rather
than shoot bullets. Stay underneath to blast through the barrels
and to pound this sad, sad miniboss.

------------------------------------------------
[2.7] AREA 7: ASTEROID FIELD (SHORT GAME AREA 3)
------------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND:

Hunt down the enemy in a dangerous storm of space rocks as you
continue your journey to the aliens' base! Tei will help you navigate
over the big asteroids, but you still gotta handle the little rocks
and countless enemies using the place as a fort.

GENERAL TIPS:

This Area is mainly divided into 2 parts. The first one pits you
against several flying enemies, with some masquerading as lifeless
meteoroids. The second part is the more dangerous one, because
you will face many batteries of anti-aircraft turrets entrenched
behind protective barriers.

SHORT GAME TIPS:

Luckily for you, the Short Game version of this Area is far easier
than its Standard Game counterpart. The stage is shorter, but you'll
still have to fight some of the gun emplacements I've just mentioned
in the preceding section.

IN-DEPTH:

Look out for turrets on the space rocks. Are these chunks (which are
inscribed with strange designs that are somewhat similar to those of
the Nazca) the remains of an alien planet? Well, you're here to keep
Earth from turning into this, so start taking down those bad guys!

In addition to the turrets and their aerial support, drones covered
by rocks will try to surprise you (hitting them makes a strange
"choff" sound). Turrets will appear in series, alternating between
the left and right sides of the screen.

Up ahead, a large square piece of rock will hold hordes of turrets.
A well-timed maximum-Level PWR beam can kill everything in front of
you. The LSR works well too, because it can quickly punch through the
walls some of the emplacements are hiding behind. Look out for the
double-barrel turrets, because they fire thin but fast bolts of deadly
energy! Fortunately, they can only fire forwards in an 180-degree
arc, so they cannot hit you once you fly past them. The other missile
launchers and anti-aircraft guns do not have this limitation, however!

Newer, tougher barriers will appear soon, and the LSR will take a
few more precious moments to chew through 'em. The massive amounts
of projectiles coming at you may be overkill, so have some MegaBombs
ready, just in case.

After 2 lines of small baddies flying in formation, we meet...

BOSS: Rubar

  "What a bright star you are!"

This guy's been cloaked inside the asteroid field, watching you all
this time! As you leave the field, Rubar "warps" in. Neat effect;
too bad it won't keep you from pounding the boss!

Rubar will escape below, and then it'll fly back up, opening a pod
full of projectiles waiting to be unleashed upon you. Stay in the
middle of the screen, shooting upwards at the pod and its missiles.

When you destroy a pod or spend too much time, Rubar will retreat
again to the background, returning only to open up another pod.
Each pod launches different types of projectiles at you, including
hails of bullets, spread shots, rockets, tumbling rocks, and more.

Incapacitate all 6 outer pods, and then the center pod will attack.
Rubar will no longer escape to the lower plane, so expect a flood
of shots that doesn't end until one of you dies. The center pod
fires just like the other 6, but it can change its projectile type.

Blow apart the center, and Rubar goes...

  "Aauugghh!!"

-----------------------------
[2.8] AREA 8: DECIMATED FLEET
-----------------------------

BACKGROUND:

Work your way through the eerie remains of an armada that have tried
to fight the enemy... and failed! As you defend yourself from the bad
guys lurking in the shadows, look out for malfunctioning thrusters
from the wrecks. Those flames, not to mention the awry laser defense
systems, are still hazardous!

GENERAL TIPS:

It may be disrespectful, but blowing the drifting dead ships apart is
the only way out at times. Avoid colliding into them, of course, and
watch what you fire at. You can knock off the rocket boosters and the
accompanying laser emitters to rid the place of those fiery thrusters
and death beams, but hitting the sides of the derelict hulls will
trigger bright explosions that scatter dangerous ship plating all
over the place! Those tall command bridges may be also destroyed
to clear out a path.

IN-DEPTH:

Weave between the wrecks and blast through the obstructing structures
and turrets that are targeting you (these guns can aim in all
directions, so take 'em out swiftly). Cylindrical fuel canisters
may spray out bullets when they blow up, so keep a healthy distance
in between when you start plugging away at them.

Near the middle of the stage, you will see a Yellow Chip and a Bomb
Pod stashed away in the open interior of a ruined mothership. Bomb
the place if you want to rapidly clear out the flame jets, and then
dive in from the back to grab the cargo.

Do the same thing when you see another open interior filled with jet
boosters. A Green Chip is waiting for you inside. The dead crews of
these ships won't be needing this stuff anyway!

Later on, the missile hatches you meet can be killed with some effort.
Is this getting fun, or what?

BOSS: Nont

  "I'll watch you die!"

Man, these bosses just become more and more rude, don't they? Nont,
the enemy carrier, is one nasty customer. Start hitting it as soon
as it comes into view. The 4 gray-plated drones will revolve around
Nont as Nont itself swings around in circular motions. It alternates
between moving clockwise and moving counterclockwise (Nont starts
clockwise first). Just race ahead of the boss, shooting it whenever
you pass by it from underneath.

After the gray plating blows off, revealing the yellow glass nature
underneath, the drones will turn into suicide bombers. Kill them
before they catch up and gang-rape you. Unrestrained MegaBombing
is welcome here.

Now sit below the central unit and pound away at it. It sprays laser
bolts and bullets all around like a mad man, so bank a bit to the
sides as necessary to avoid incoming crap. At this point, it's
relatively easy-going if you have the right stuff. A LSR, even
at Power Level 1, is enough to plow through the shots on Normal.
I have a feeling you'll be seeing Nont again in the near future....

-----------------------
[2.9] AREA 9: OUTPOST C
-----------------------

BACKGROUND:

This is the last of the small enemy bases. Run through it, smashing
up the place before you head to the alien home world to fight off
the last of the hostile forces.

GENERAL TIPS:

Here's another chance to power-up. Consider this Area a "break"
before heading off into the final scenes of the game.

IN-DEPTH:

Time to tear some more ass! Sit in the middle of the screen while
you blow all the crap away, because the miniboss will emerge from
the screen's edges, zipping across from one side to the other, only
to come out from another edge (it starts from the bottom side). As
it passes, it releases tiny enemy ships that fly towards you. Kill
these ships while you hit the miniboss.

Tough layers of spinning triangle barriers will stretch across the
entire width of the outpost, so be ready to punch through a single
point to break out quickly. The miniboss will sneak up from the
back again before this scene ends, so stay away from the edges.

MINIBOSS: "carrier"

Not bobbing around the screen idiotically like the other 2 minibosses,
this dude will move from the top side to the bottom side, move from
the bottom side to the top side, and then repeat the pattern. As it
did over the course of this Area, it'll launch twin homing ships.
Hit it as it passes across the screen, wasting the little suckers
that get in your way. Having the MDS, LSR, or MSL helps a lot.

-----------------------------------------------------
[2.A] AREA 10: ALIEN RAIN FORESTS (SHORT GAME AREA 4)
-----------------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND:

Is this the Nazca revisited? Those drawings must be really, really
related to the aliens, but too bad these guys wanna kill us! You've
come all this way - it's too late to turn back now!

GENERAL TIPS:

The scenery here may be a bit different from that of Earth's, but
the drill remains the same. Blow through the walls and take out
the many turrets lining the floating structures while grabbing
some hidden goods. The MDS is one of the more favorable weapons
in this Area.

SHORT GAME TIPS:

Like Short Area 2, this place will be cut down in size, but unlike
Short Area 2, there's a boss waiting for you at the end! Plow through
the alien structures to find power-ups so you'll be prepared when
you meet up with Zolba. (Zolba's speech here is the one from Standard
Area 1, not the one from Standard Area 10, for some weird reason.)

IN-DEPTH:

There will be a Bomb Pod stuck in a dead end on the right, so get it
before the scrolling screen traps you. A Green Chip is also hidden
to the left, just on the other side, under some more blocks.

There will eventually be a huge swath of blocks in the way. Hidden
behind a few of these many blocks are useful items. A Bomb Pod, for
instance, is on the extreme left side, placed between the screen
edge and a wall.

You will see a wall with a red segment stuck strangely into the right
side of some structure. Whack the wall and you will discover a Blue
Lander! Keep your eyes on the right to spot a Bomb Pod and a Green
Chip too!

You will encounter a small fleet of alien starfighters. Quickly blow
them outta the sky as they take off from their floating stations.

When you leave the narrow tunnel, expect turrets waiting to ambush
you from all around. The MDS, homing MSL, or tracking LSR is a fine
weapon to have at this location.

The last hot spot is marked by a "room" made from more floating,
destructable blocks. Again, there are many, many turrets inside.
Stay near the entrance of the room and let your multi-directional
or homing weapons take out the guns for you.

Once more, the drawings on the ground will flash, this time calling
forth the doorkeeper of the enemy base.

BOSS: Zolba (again?!)

  "Dance or you're gonna lose it!"

Kick some alien ass again! This guy is tougher than the first Zolba
because it releases barrel mines in addition to its regular barrages
of shots. As with the dude back from the beginning of your mission,
hit the yellow dome until it drops out as a ball, and then blast the
ball and Zolba's small eye. The barrels will continue to be dropped,
even after the rail-arms break off. Solve this problem by turning
Zolba into another crater on the cold, hard ground below.

------------------------------------------------
[2.B] AREA 11: ENEMY BASE - HIGH VELOCITY TUNNEL
------------------------------------------------

"Like I told my wife, I never drive faster than I can see."
                - Jack Burton, from "Big Trouble in Little China"
                                (20th Century Fox)


BACKGROUND:

Upon entering the enemy base floating over the alien rain forests,
you find yourself in a network of maze-like walls. Blaze through this
convoluted interior and head straight into the vessel's heart, where
the Enemy Leader lies in waiting!

GENERAL TIPS:

Do some quick maneuvering to avoid becoming a sloppy mess on
the rapidly approaching walls. Push your throttle all the way
to the top, setting your Speed to max. Keep firing to (hopefully)
destroy the segmented walls in your way by hitting their red parts.
Concentrate on surviving first; the items are secondary to your life!

IN-DEPTH:

The scene starts off slow, but it will speed up very soon! From the
start, head left for a Green Chip, MPL Pod, and a CIR Pod. Or, go
right for a Bomb Pod and a Yellow Chip. There are several more items,
but you will definitely not be able to grab all of them. Pausing is
cheap, considered by some hardcore action fans, but it may help you
grab the stuff you need.

Tei finally gets smart and slows down during the last third of this
Area. Beware of those blocky enemies that explode into spread bullets!
Turrets will also line the walls. Power up your guns, and show them
what something like the Level 6 homing LSR can do!

BOSS: none (Yep, this is the only Standard Area without any boss!)

Whew! Take a breath, because you've almost reached the Leader! A SCT
Pod is the final item in the narrow confines of the last corridor.
If you don't want it, be careful not to touch it accidentally.

----------------------------------------
[2.C] AREA 12: ENEMY BASE - ORGANIC LAIR
----------------------------------------

"FIND HIM AND KILL HIM."
        - the secret assignment stamp, from "Top Secret"


BACKGROUND:

Eeeewwww.... check out all that pulsating goo! But now's not the
time to open up your canopy and throw up outside. Fight past the
fleshy defenses to locate and destroy the Leader.

GENERAL TIPS:

Don't be afraid of the cells; you can blast them just like almost
anything else in the game! Hordes of organic defenses will attempt
to crash into you, but what you should really worry about are the
powerful ex-bosses-turned-minibosses and the even more dangerous
Leader!

IN-DEPTH:

Now here's something that isn't in the travel brochure! There are
2 types of cells. The stationary ones are just like the destructable
blocks from the outposts - they can only get in your way. The moving
cells are like little flying enemy craft - they patrol the place and
try to ram into any intruders. The blue, chunky cells follow you,
while the red, circular ones can split apart.

BOSS: Rubar

This reminds me of one of those silly RPG encounters: A Rubar draws
near! This time though, Rubar does not have any rocks it can toss at
you, so it can only throw its arms around. Again, steer clear of the
arms (start moving when you see them twirling in the air/liquid) and
zap the red eye whenever it opens up.

BACK TO ACTION:

Next, some big blue cells that suck up a lotta hits will bunch up and
attempt to stop you. Keep firing! The final Checkpoint in the Standard
Game is right before...

BOSS: Nont

Show this dude how history repeats itself. Unlike Rubar, this carrier
has all of its attacks intact, so don't go soft on it! Before Nont
approaches, kill the cells along the sides of the screen to give
yourself more room to work with. As before, fly away in a circular
pattern during the first part of the battle. When the plates blow
off, kill the drones, and then concentrate on the center unit.

BACK TO ACTION #2:

More big, blue cells will wave back and forth towards you. New large,
red cells will snake around with long, red cell segments. When these
suckers are blown apart, avoid or blast the segments while they fall
downwards. Some of these guys can also toss blue cells at you!

When the music pauses, it's time to meet...

BOSS: Enemy Leader

  "I came from the World beyond...."

I don't care where he comes from; no one messes with Earth and lives!
The center skull is the main target, so blast it whenever it emerges
from its gooey protective shell.

While you're waiting for the Leader to emerge, kill the other skull
heads that come down to guard their master. These heads look just
like the Leader, only they're shaded blue instead of red and their
necks are not tied to the center of the blob-like shell. They may
shoot bullets at you, they may follow you, they may snake around
the screen, and they may even bounce towards you! A dead skull
will break apart like the cells you've met earlier. When several
skulls attack you, avoiding all the crap on the screen will be
difficult indeed. MegaBombs are ideal here - use 'em or lose 'em!

The Leader comes out periodically to squeeze off a couple of shots,
adding more to the nightmare. It will swing in an arc around the
screen, lunging from side to side. Try to hit this red skull first,
because it will retreat back into its shell after a while. The fight
doesn't end until one of you dies a miserable and fantastic death.

If you win, explosions will rip across the Leader's face,
and a blinding flash will engulf the screen! AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!

======================================================================
III. ENDING - Damn right!
======================================================================

Boom - Mr. Big Bad Boss goes "POOF!," and you get out! Now, we
have 2 different Ending Movies here. The original Japanese one
is a concluding slide-show, playing out very much like the Intro
Movie, only there is also text narration being displayed. The
English one has none of this cool stuff, but at least it's animated.
The Staff Credits from both versions are all written down below,
with the errors unedited. See all the differences for yourself!

---------------------------------
[3.1] EPILOGUE - JAPANESE VERSION
---------------------------------

Note: Special thanks go to Tarot for the translations. Great job!

[The stars in the twilight sky shine over the Aleste, downed on some
 rocky terrain. Tei's figure glows brightly inside the open cockpit.]

 "Finally, Super Aleste destroys the core of the huge sphere."

[Razu turns his head, facing the light shining forth from the rear.]

 "At that moment, at the rear of the cockpit...!"

[Tei's psionic powers engulf her slender form as she reaches her full
 potential, lifting herself up from the electronics hooked into her.]

 "Tei suddenly flies out into the sky."

[She floats away from the ship, over the barren landscape.]

 "Tei, flying in the sky."

[She heads for the enemy light.]

 "Tei is advancing towards the sphere. Her objective...?"

[She pours her own pure energy into the enemy light.]

 "Tei goes inside the sphere and releases the many 'thought beings'
  which are trapped inside."

[Turning around, Tei finds Razu staggering up from behind.]

 "Ti says, 'This is the end of all....'"

[With Razu carrying Tei in his arms, the pair heads toward a new
 light in the sky. Several other smaller lights rise up vertically
 alongside the main light.]

 "The sphere, surrounded by the lights emitted by the 'thought
  beings,' takes off towards the far end of the universe."

 "The peace of Earth has been protected by Razu and Tei."

(Staff members' names in brackets have been translated.)

           STAFF

     EXECTIVE PRODUCER
       AKIRA KOBAYASHI
       MOO NIITANI

     PRODUCER
       JUNICHI TSUNODA
       MASATO TAKENO
       TAKA TANIDA

     PLANNER
       [JEMINI HIRONO]

     PROGRAM
       [JEMINI HIRONO]

     GRAPHICS
       [JANUS TERAMOTO]
       KEROL WATANABE
             ITOH
             KOSHIO
             SAWA
             OHNISHI

     SOUND
       TAKEUCHI
       NAGAO
       KATSUMI TANAKA

     SPECIAL THANKS TO
       KATSUJI SUENAGA
       MATSUOKA
          &
        COMPILE STAFF

    HI SCORE [Insert the current High Score here.]
 FINAL SCORE [Insert your own Score here.]

  MODE [Insert the Difficulty Setting here.]

C1992 TOHO CO.,LTD./COMPILE

--------------------------------
[3.2] EPILOGUE - ENGLISH VERSION
--------------------------------

The camera floats up from below the base, lining up above the flat
metal frame just in front of it. Our pilot blazes out of the enemy
base just as it explodes, flooding the screen with white. As she
eases back on the throttle, the pilot looks out to her right to see
the net-like structure that has been a part of the alien base collapse
and disintegrate into thin air. After giving you a thumbs-up, she sits
back and continues to stare out of her canopy.

Wow, the sunset is beautiful, just beautiful....

(The Staff Credits "warp" in along the screen bottom.)

           STAFF

     EXECTIVE PRODUCERS
       AKIRA KOBAYASHI
       MOO NIITANI

     PRODUCERS
       JUNICHI TSUNODA
       MASATO TAKENO
       TAKA TANIDA

     PROGRAMMER
       JEMINI HIRONO

     GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
       JANUS TERAMOTO
       KEROL WATANABE
             ITOH
             KOSHIO
             SAWA
             OHNISHI

     SOUND DESIGNERS
       TAKEUCHI
       NAGAO
       KATSUMI TANAKA

     GAME DESINGER
       JEMINI HIRONO

     SPECIAL THANKS TO
       KATSUJI SUENAGA
       MATSUOKA
          &
       COMPILE STAFF

    HI-SCORE [Insert the current High Score here.]
 FINAL SCORE [Insert your own Score here.]

  MODE [Insert the Difficulty Setting here.]

C1992 TOHO CO.,LTD./COMPILE

It's time to head home. The pilot pulls back on her stick and
flies up and off, banking away over the deep-orange clouds....

======================================================================
IV. EXTRA CHIPS - Other bits and Blue Landers you might find helpful.
======================================================================

--------------------------
[4.1] DIFFICULTY INDICATOR
--------------------------

Okay, this doesn't really, really help you out. It only tells you
how bad the place you're in is, but maybe that can be of some aid
by telling you what to expect. Like Break Time, this is an option
for debugging purposes, but unlike the easily accessible Break
Time, this has to be accessed through a secret code.

On the Title Screen, press Start to load up the Main Menu. Now press
Select twice, holding the Button on the second press. The Cursor
should be highlighting "OPTIONS." While continuing to hold Select,
press Start. You will enter the Options Screen as usual, and you
can release Select when you're on it. Now adjust your Options, exit
the Options Screen, and then start your game (this works for both
the Standard and the Short Games).

Look carefully at the ones digit in your Score. Notice how all the
Points in the game are multiples of 10, making your ones digit "0"
all the time?

With this little trick, this ones digit becomes your Difficulty
Indicator. While you play, it will change from 0 to 7, with the
number reflecting the power of the hostile forces in the location
you're currently at. The greater the value, the tougher the place
will be. 0 means the location is relatively easy, while 7 means
it is extremely nasty! (Some of the higher values appear only
when you play on tougher Difficulty Settings.)

---------------------
[4.2] SECRET PICTURES
---------------------

In the English version of the Guardian Legend, pressing Start at
the end of the Staff Credits rewards the Player with a bonus text
message that gives away a secret Password. Now, in an ironic twist,
the Japanese Super Aleste is the only version of this game that
gives the Player a nice bonus at the end of the Staff Credits!

Press L or R when the Japanese Ending Movie finishes up. When you
see the Copyright 1992 Compile & Toho text, hitting either Shoulder
Button will display a secret photo of Tei and/or Razu that changes
according to the Difficulty Setting you've played on.

~~~~~~
Normal
~~~~~~

We see Tei and Razu walking together, from the waist up. Both are
wearing white T-shirts (with the word "ALESTE" written in bold purple
over the front) and some blue jeans. Tei is pointing up into the blue
skies with her right hand while hooking onto Razu's right arm with her
left elbow. She's also wearing these silly violet gloves that really
enhance her bright blue eyes and cute smile. Meanwhile, a despondent-
looking Razu has these small bandages on his face and limbs, and he
appears reluctant to follow the unscathed Tei as she seemingly tugs
at his arm towards something (probably very dangerous) off the screen.
(Razu is probably thinking: "Oh man, not again!")

~~~~
Hard
~~~~

The two are leaning back-to-back against what appears to be a
railroad crossing sign (with a "X" over the circular part). They
are both wearing blue jeans and white shirts, very much like the
ones described above, only the shirts are plain white. While Razu
has his back towards us, Tei is facing the viewer with her right leg
slightly crossed over her left. Both characters are holding onto some
soft drinks. Razu's raised right hand grips a blue soda can with a
white swirl, while Tei's right hand hangs onto a red can, also with
a white swirl! Her other hand is slipped into the front left pocket
of her jeans. This time, Tei is wearing funny orange gloves instead
of purple ones. The background is a little tougher to make out, but
it appears to be a viewing deck - complete with metal railing - over
a large body of water. The weather is a clear blue. Are the two by
the ocean?

~~~~~
Hyper
~~~~~

This just keeps getting weirder and weirder. We now see Tei kicking
Razu's ass in a basketball match, where the distant stands are
crowded with the vague shadows that are the spectators, under some
bright stadium lights. The two are wearing gym uniforms, consisting
of shirts, shorts, sneakers, wristbands, etc. Tei's uniform is red,
and "ALESTE" is written in blue over a white label on the front of
her shirt. Razu's garb is green, but there's something very tiny
in Japanese scrawled onto his shirt. The image captures Tei as
she's jumping (or flying?) up to the basket, cocking her arms,
about to dunk the ball in her hands. To her right, approaching
from the background, is Razu, scrambling up towards her.
(Razu: "Man, what a day....")

~~~~~~
Tricky
~~~~~~

This image is the same as the one for the Hyper Difficulty Setting.
(Yeah, Razu's getting his ass kicked - bad!)

~~~~
Wild
~~~~

This one is extremely tough to get (without cheating), but it's a
great image of Tei (it's decent yet suggestive...). She's wearing
a white jacket with rolled-up sleeves and a cartoony face (of Razu?)
on the back, a red skirt detailed with jumbled gold English alphabet
letters, pink stockings with white space symbol designs (including
crescent moons, five-pointed stars, circles, and triangles), and
white and light-blue sneakers. Her back is towards us, and her hands
are pushing down the front of her short skirt. She's superimposed
over some simple wallpaper consisting of yellow stars on a purple
background. I don't know, but Tei's cute civilian clothing really
makes her look like a little girl. (Razu: "Huh huh huh huh....")  ;p

----------------
[4.3] SOUND TEST
----------------

Like the audio in Super Aleste? Well, zip over to the Options Screen's
Sound Test and hook up your speakers! Press A, X, Y, L, R, or Start
to play a sound. Press B to silence all the audio. Press Select to
cycle through the rest of the Options. (The tune you've selected will
continue to play until you exit to the Main Menu or manually end it,
even while you're adjusting other Options.) Here are lists of the
music and sound effects. (The times listed for the tunes are only
rough estimates of long they last before looping over again.) Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.3.1] BGM: Background Music
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 ##  Time  Theme (Japanese version - 18 total)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 01  1:15  Outpost B / Alien Rain Forest
 02  1:38  Outpost A
 03  0:38  Boss A
 04  0:47  Boss B
 05  0:40  Boss C (Enemy Leader)
 06  0:09  Area Clear!
 07  1:41  Ending Movie
 08  0:17  Game Over
 09  0:50  Nazca Rain Forest
 0A  1:13  Lono
 0B  1:09  High Velocity Tunnel
 0C  1:09  Caves
 0D  1:10  Nebula
 0E  1:09  Asteroid Field
 0F  1:05  Decimated Fleet
 10  1:21  Organic Lair
 11  0:59  Intro Movie
 12  0:59  Title Screen
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 ##  Time  Theme (English versions - 17 total)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 01  1:15  Outpost B / Alien Rain Forest
 02  0:38  Boss A
 03  0:47  Boss B
 04  0:40  Boss C (Enemy Leader)
 05  0:09  Area Clear!
 06  1:41  Ending Movie
 07  0:17  Game Over
 08  0:50  Nazca Rain Forest
 09  1:13  Lono
 0A  1:09  High Velocity Tunnel
 0B  1:09  Caves
 0C  1:10  Nebula
 0D  1:09  Asteroid Field
 0E  1:05  Decimated Fleet
 0F  1:21  Organic Lair
 10  0:59  Intro Movie
 11  0:59  Title Screen
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.3.2] SE: Sound Effect
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 ##  Effect                  ##  Effect (Both versions - 63 total)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 01  (last music played)     21  light click
 02  beep                    22  laser ring
 03  laser                   23  laser lash
 04  SCT fire                24  laser reflect
 05  warning alarm           25  RANDAR!!! (Blue Lander's Tune)
 06  Shot Control switch     26  chirp
 07  bomb drop               27  booom
 08  MegaBomb!               28  Aleste die
 09  1-Up                    29  laser ring 2
 0A  power-up                2A  Enemy Eraser 1
 0B  low beep                2B  laser boom
 0C  laser hit               2C  Enemy Eraser 2
 0D  thud                    2D  clink 1
 0E  wham                    2E  clink 2
 0F  boom                    2F  clink 3
 10  boooooom                30  deep "Multiple Shot" / blank
 11  flick                   31  wham
 12  SCT breaking            32  whup
 13  enemy hit               33  bang 1
 14  metal hit               34  bang 2
 15  click                   35  Blue Lander grab
 16  boss hit                36  silence
 17  PWR charge 1            37  silence
 18  PWR charge 2            38  silence
 19  PWR charge 3            39  silence
 1A  PWR charge 4            3A  silence
 1B  PWR charge 5            3B  silence
 1C  PWR charge 6            3C  silence
 1D  whud                    3D  silence
 1E  Aleste hit              3E  silence
 1F  silence                 3F  silence
 20  deep "Multiple" / blank
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.3.3] VE: Voice Effect
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 ##  Voicing (Japanese version - 25 total)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 01  Aleste's "Multi-Shot"
 02  Aleste's "Laser"
 03  Aleste's "Circle"
 04  Aleste's "All-Way"
 05  Aleste's "Missile"
 06  Aleste's "Charge Gun"
 07  Aleste's "Sprite"
 08  Aleste's "Cracker"
 09  Aleste's "Multi-Shot" (alternate)
 0A  Aleste's "Laser" (alternate)
 0B  Aleste's "Circle" (alternate)
 0C  Aleste's "All-Way" (alternate)
 0D  Aleste's "Homing Missile"
 0E  Aleste's "Charge Gun" (alternate)
 0F  Aleste's "Sprite" (alternate)
 10  Aleste's "Cracker" (alternate)
 11  Zolba's   "Welcome to Hell!"
 12  Lono's    "Give me a break, will you?"
 13  Jannel's  "Hey, hey - look sharp!"
 14  Nardork's "--!" (?)
 15  Rubar's   "Why is there --?" (?)
 16  Nont's    "I'll watch you die!"
 17  Zolba's   "Dance or --!" (?)
 18  Leader's  "I don't want your opinion of God!"
 19  Lono's    "Aaaagghh!!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Note: Due to the nasty boss voices, I can't make out some
      of the speech, although I'm pretty sure the Japanese
      actors have been really trying to sound sinister.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 ##  Voicing (English versions - 19 total)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 01  ED-057's "Multiple Shot"
 02  ED-057's "Laser"
 03  ED-057's "Circle"
 04  ED-057's "Multi-Direction Shot"
 05  ED-057's "Missile"
 06  ED-057's "Power Shot"
 07  ED-057's "Sprite"
 08  ED-057's "Scatter Shot"
 09  ED-057's "-- Shot" (?)
 0A  Lono's    "Aaaagghh!!"
 0B  Zolba's   "Welcome to the Underworld!"
 0C  Lono's    "Give me a break, will you?"
 0D  Jannel's  "Hey, look sharp!"
 0E  Nardork's "Down with you!"
 0F  Rubar's   "What a bright star you are!"
 10  Nont's    "I'll watch you die!"
 11  Zolba's   "Dance or you're gonna lose it!"
 12  Leader's  "I came from the World beyond...."
 13  Rubar's   "Aauugghh!!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

----------------------------
[4.4] BOSS BATTLE STRATEGIES
----------------------------

The following are condensed versions of the boss tactics from the
main strategy section above. (Minibosses aren't covered, because
they suck.) This quick reference guide is best for those who know
the game but are just a bit rusty on the details. The strategies
are arranged by alphabetical order of the bosses' names.

NAME   : Jannel
APPEARS: Standard Area 4
TACTICS:
 Slip between the shell sections and fly to the other side whenever
 Jannel opens up to sweep vertically across the screen. Hit the core
 when it is exposed, and deal with any drones that are released.

NAME   : Leader
APPEARS: Standard Area 12
TACTICS:
 Kill the other skull snakes while you're waiting for the central
 red skull to emerge from the blob-like shell. When it does, whack
 it. Meanwhile, shoot down or avoid the stuff from the other skulls
 (this sounds much easier than it really is!).

NAME   : Lono
APPEARS: Standard Area 2
TACTICS:
 Destroy the 9 turrets. The middle-left and middle-right turrets
 are the main guns, and they toss rings of plasma spheres at you.
 Fly around the rings and then blast the guns. Killing the other
 7 regular turrets first helps to reduce the amount of crap you
 have to deal with, too.

NAME   : Nardork
APPEARS: Standard Area 5, Standard Area 12
TACTICS:
 This guy throws its arms at you, fires homing missiles, and pulls
 indestructable rock columns out towards you (except in Area 12,
 where there are no rocks for it to work with). Fly around the
 rocks, if there are any, and hit the red eye whenever it opens
 up. The arms will swing around in a circle before punching
 your last position. The homing missiles can be shot down.

NAME   : Nont (a.k.a. Carrier Nont)
APPEARS: Standard Area 8, Standard Area 12
TACTICS:
 Fly away in a circular motion during the first part of the fight.
 Hit the center part whenever you pass by underneath. When the gray
 plates blow off, quickly kill the drones that will chase you, and
 then sit below the remaining central unit and aim upwards at it.
 Avoid or destroy the incoming shots as you keep pounding Nont.

NAME   : Rubar
APPEARS: Standard Area 7
TACTICS:
 Blast the 6 outer pods. You may have to fly around the shots if
 you can't blow through them. After busting up all the outer pods,
 the center portion will attack, but it'll also render itself
 vulnerable. This central pod, unlike the other 6, can fire
 different types of projectiles.

NAME   : Zolba
APPEARS: Standard Area 1, Standard Area 10, Short Area 4
TACTICS:
 Blow off the 4 side guns and hit the yellow glass dome. When the
 rail-arms extend outwards, stay low to avoid the dome/ball that'll
 pop off. Attack the ball and the central eye. When the ball and arms
 are destroyed, Zolba will start to fly around and shoot more spread
 shots. Continue to nail the eye. Standard Area 10's Zolba drops
 barrel mines, too.

------------------------
[4.5] RAM ADDRESS CHEATS
------------------------

Let's get one thing straight: no cheating has been used during
the production of the tactics here, so the material you see above
is quite valid. Still, to make this guide more useful, I'm gonna
cover everything, including the cheating you can do by screwing
around with the RAM values! Come on, cheating from time to time
can be sorta fun....

The following are memory addresses associated with some important
values in the game. The values presented are only recommendations
(I won't want you to mess up your game now, will I?). These are
supposed to work with all versions of Super Aleste / Space Megaforce.
Obviously, you'll need some way to implement these cheats. Get
a Pro-Action Replay device or a SNES emulator that supports
this kind of address-tampering. If you can, enjoy!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Address   Values                                Game Value(s) Affected
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

7E006F    ## (Set from 00 to 06 - Decimal)      Weapon Level
  To ensure you won't die, freeze this value at a high number, such
  as 5 or 6. Try not to set this value above 6, or else you will
  have unpredictable weaponfire ("Level 7" projectiles tend to be
  aimed towards the right)!

7E0152    ## (Set from 00 to 99 - Hexadecimal)  MegaBombs
  By dropping an endless stream of MegaBombs, you'll be unstoppable!
  Note that even though you input a hexadecimal value here, it'll be
  treated as a direct decimal value. For instance, 50 in hexadecimal
  will be treated as a decimal 50!

7E0153    ## (Set from 00 to 99 - Hexadecimal)  Special Lives
  Setting this to a value greater than that of your Regular Lives
  will have no ill effect. Make sure you have more than 0 Regular
  Lives though, or else you won't even be able to continue when
  you die! As with the MegaBomb address, hexadecimal values will
  be treated directly as decimal values.

7E0157    ## (Set from 00 to 99 - Hexadecimal)  Regular Lives
  As with the MegaBomb address, hexadecimal values will be treated
  as direct decimal values. Remember to stock up on Special Lives,
  unless you like to restart from Checkpoints....

7E0242    ## (Set from 00 to 0C - Hexadecimal)  Area
          ## (Set from 00 to 12 - Decimal)
  This keeps track of the Area you're on. When you start the game
  or finish a stage, you will go to whatever Area you've set this
  to. (Watch out - if you freeze this value without adjusting it
  again, you'll keep looping back to the same Area!)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

----------------------
[4.6] GAME GENIE CODES
----------------------

Still need help? Say hello to the Game Genie then. I did not test
out most of the codes below, so let me tell you now that not all
of them are guaranteed to work. These are supposed to work with
all versions of the game, just like the RAM cheats.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
   Code                  Effect(s)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(Concerning Lives)

 DD6D-07AC               Infinite Lives.
 BBBE-A4A8               Start with 100 Lives.

(Concerning MegaBombs)

 DD65-AFAB               Infinite MegaBombs.
 BBC9-DD06               Start with 99 MegaBombs.
 D1CE-D4D6               Bomb Pods give you 6 MegaBombs.

(Concerning Weapons)

 CB68-D4AC + D168-D7DC + D16A-D4DC
                         God Mode. (Weapon Level becomes 6
                                    whenever you're hit.)
 828E-AF6B               PWR beams keep firing until you
                             grab a Weapon Pod or get hit.
 CBC4-0F06 + DDC4-0F66   Weapon Pods always give you the MPL.
 CBC4-0F06 + DFC4-0F66   Weapon Pods always give you the LSR.
 CBC4-0F06 + D4C4-0F66   Weapon Pods always give you the CIR.
 CBC4-0F06 + D7C4-0F66   Weapon Pods always give you the MDS.
 CBC4-0F06 + D0C4-0F66   Weapon Pods always give you the MSL.
 CBC4-0F06 + D9C4-0F66   Weapon Pods always give you the PWR.

(Concerning Areas -  Standard Game only)

 CB6A-0D0D + D46A-0D6D   Start in Area 02.
 CB6A-0D0D + D76A-0D6D   Start in Area 03.
 CB6A-0D0D + D06A-0D6D   Start in Area 04.
 CB6A-0D0D + D96A-0D6D   Start in Area 05.
 CB6A-0D0D + D16A-0D6D   Start in Area 06.
 CB6A-0D0D + D56A-0D6D   Start in Area 07.
 CB6A-0D0D + D66A-0D6D   Start in Area 08.
 CB6A-0D0D + DB6A-0D6D   Start in Area 09.
 CB6A-0D0D + DC6A-0D6D   Start in Area 10.
 CB6A-0D0D + D86A-0D6D   Start in Area 11.
 CB6A-0D0D + DA6A-0D6D   Start in Area 12.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

---------------------------------------------
[4.7] GAME EVALUATION - SOME SERIOUS THOUGHTS
---------------------------------------------

Why did I write this guide? Because I like Super Aleste!
I have a lot of fun helping out people with a videogame
I enjoy playing. But to fully understand this game, we've
gotta take a deeper look:

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

Note: Unless specified, the scoring applies to
      all versions of the game being covered.

Story: Average
   The standard save-Earth-from-those-alien-bastards plot. Really,
 after the earlier Aleste and Zanac titles, you wonder why those
 alien forces keep on coming back. There isn't anything really
 different story-wise, except for the Enemy Leader's base (which
 is taken from the Guardian Legend) and a pilot who can fly (also
 from the Guardian Legend, in a way). The involvement of the Nazca
 drawings is a potential plus, but seeing how Compile got them
 geographically wrong....

Gameplay: Above Average
   Super Aleste is everything that makes a shooter enjoyable. The
 action is plentiful but balanced. You have lots of baddies to blow
 away on all Difficulty Settings. Novices will enjoy Normal, while
 experts will enjoy Hard or something tougher. There are plenty of
 interesting weapons, and the Shot Control System further expands
 on the gunplay. The bosses and scenery are unique too. Who can
 forget the descent upon Lono, with you blasting it into pieces,
 part-by-part? The decimated fleet is also something to remember,
 especially with the exploding hull plating that actually kills you!
   If there's any serious problem, it's the bloody length of some
 of the Areas, especially the caverns of the fifth Area. Fortunately,
 that's balanced by the Short Game, which provides a nice, quick
 bang for Players who lack free time. Plus, the Short Game offers
 some very good practice.

Replay: Average
   The Ending Movies for all Difficulty Settings are pretty much the
 same, so beating this on anything nastier than Normal has no point
 other than for the challenge... or for the secret images in the
 Japanese version. If you can't beat the Standard Game on a tougher
 Setting, you can try it on the Short Game.

Controls: Excellent
   One of the departments Compile excels at. The flawless response is
 paired with intuitive functions (the Shot Control System is simple
 to use, yet it makes your weapons very flexible). Fully customizable
 Button mapping schemes, variable Speed Settings, and the ability
 to control the detonation of your MegaBombs round out the package.

Graphics: Excellent
   Bright, colorful, and sharp details without a hint of slowdown.
 From the light fog in the sunny skies over the deep-green rainforests
 to Lono looming up from below, from the ever-wafting nebula to the
 floating junk of the wrecked fleet, from all those spinning rainbow-
 colored blocks of the outposts to the pulsing beat of the Enemy
 Leader's organic lair, the screen is constantly glutted with details!
 These memorable scenes, coupled with vivid animations, make for one
 breath-taking game. Characters move about fluidly. You can make out
 the flashing lights onboard the Aleste, and you can marvel at the
 twisting form of Rubar as it decloaks.
   If there's anything they can improve, it's the "hyperdrive"
 sequence you see whenever you finish an Area. (This effect has
 been around since Zanac 1!) Come on, Compile can do better than
 that lame reiteration of the ship's graphics. Actually, why don't
 Compile reuse the hyperdrive effect from Gun-Nac? That one looks
 really awesome!

Sound Effects: Below Average
   Argh - Compile really messed up here. There are virtually no sound
 effects other than those of the explosions. To be fair, I gotta say
 how the exploding is great. They're loud and heavy, and several of
 them going off in a chain sounds like the end of the world. But a
 huge absence of weaponfire effects makes this relatively quiet for
 such an action-packed game. Yeah, you can say how a few weapons, such
 as the SCT, emit some sounds, but that's simply not enough. You want
 to be able to hear the roar of the heavy MPL machinecannons, the
 thundering of the LSR, and Earth's personal "F-U" whenever you fire
 a Level 6 PWR beam! But, sadly enough, you get none of that here.  :(

Voice: Above Average
   Right out from the Copyright Screen's spoken message (for the
 English versions), any Player will expect clear voicing throughout
 the whole game. For the most part, that's true. You get plenty of
 it played out whenever you grab a weapon or meet a boss. Rubar's
 extra death groan is welcome in the English versions, too. Voice
 here, then, plays a bigger role than it does in Star Fox, Metroid,
 Axelay, or even Thunder Force. Still, the bosses' messages are
 unclear sometimes (I needed to hear the original Japanese Jannel
 before I understood its English counterpart). On the whole, the
 voices here sound a hell lot better than the ones from Blazing
 Lazers, which shows how much Compile can improve in three years.

Music: Above Average
   I guess Super Aleste cuts back on the sound effects in order
 to have all that nice voicing and music. Compile, who are never
 remembered as much for their music as they are for their gameplay,
 have managed to compose some nice tunes here. The music, unlike that
 of many other shooters (such as BioMetal, Einhander, Xevious 3D,
 Raiden, Gradius, and even Compile's own MUSHA Aleste), doesn't put
 as much emphasis on the space theme. Rather, the Player can notice
 the piano effects. While it may be seemingly out-of-place at first,
 one only needs to cruise around a bit in the ED-057 before the beat
 settles in. The music is more relaxing than that of other shooters,
 and it even sounds like lounge music at times. In this respect, the
 tunes are memorable, and you can certainly recall blasting aliens
 to that calm beat (think of Lono in the second Area).
   One thing that really bugs me is why the first outpost tune is
 cut out in the English versions. It sounds far cooler than the other
 outpost piece, and it really expands on the variety of the music.
 But if there's anything good about the English versions of Space
 Megaforce, it's with the Ending Movie. While you lose out on Tei
 and Razu, the animated feature fits the ending theme so much more.
 Listen to its heavenly tone and hear its simulated chorus. The
 sunset really goes along with this piece, doesn't it?

Overall: Excellent
   The graphics are perfect, the balanced gameplay offers some variety
 through its well-developed weapons system, the controls are ideal,
 the voicing is clear, and the music is inspired. Super Aleste will
 continue to hold top positions in not just the line-up of Compile
 games, but in the ENTIRE roster of space shooters. If you dream of
 becoming a starfighter pilot and happen to own a SNES, Super Aleste
 deserves to be in your library of GamePaks.

   Join the EDF's ranks today. Become a Megaforce.

------------------
[4.8] SHOOTERS '92
------------------

The Year of 1992 was a great moment for space shooters. Gamers
were introduced to more of the ever-flowing tide of titles for
this genre. Sadly enough, the number of new shooters began to
dwindle as 1993 ended....

Here are some other shooters that came out in the same year as
Super Aleste. They are arranged by alphabetical order of their
names. See how they compare with one another!

Axelay (Konami - SNES)
 What some say is the best of the best. From the makers of Sparkster,
 the Rocket Knight, we have the last hope of the Illis System. Blast
 off to fight the enemy armada in 6 highly-detailed side- and forward-
 scrolling Stages. Axelay actually beats Super Aleste in originality
 of gameplay and in audio! Some of the 10 different weapons are truly
 unique. The Round Vulcan, for example, can aim in almost 360 degrees,
 depending on how you hold the trigger Button! The weapon fire has
 a loud WHOOSH, and the explosions are loud and crisp. The main theme
 also has that bold, heroic feeling to it, and each of the bosses
 has its own tune (which is a variant of its own Stage's theme)! If
 Super Aleste has anything that Axelay doesn't have, it is the bright
 graphics. The world of Illis is dark and gloomy, but perhaps Konami
 deliberately did that to convey the dire atmosphere of the setting.

Batsugun (Toaplan - ARC, SAT)
 Is this co-developed by Compile? The overhead action seems similar
 to that of the Aleste series, the MegaBombs are identical to the
 ones in Super Aleste, and one of the pilots, Beltiana, looks just
 like the protagonist from the Guardian Legend! This amazing shooter
 (Batsugun literally means "Fabulous" in Japanese) offers kick-ass
 simultaneous 2-Player action as you rage through 5 lively Stages
 of mayhem. The bosses and explosions are huge, but even bigger
 is the cool twin MegaBomb feature (which you see when both Players
 launch a MegaBomb at the same time)! Just look at the sheer force
 of that thing!!

Bio-Hazard Battle (Sega - GEN)
 This is in no way related to Capcom's Resident Evil series, but the
 gross, slimy, gooping "things" you encounter here will make your
 skin crawl just as much! Taking on the role of one of the 4 unique
 Biowarriors of Avalon, trash biological nightmares in 8 lengthy and
 memorable Stages. From the atmospheric descent to the ruined city,
 from the insanely vast forests to the strike on an infested space
 shuttle, this game taxes the Genesis' graphics processor with
 overwhelming amounts of detail. Although there is some slowdown,
 it only adds to the realism of the animated worms and flying
 "critters" that dance across your screen in fluid motion. Not
 enhancing the effects, unfortunately, is the harsh and grating
 "dead goat" music.

Blazeon (Atlus - SNES)
 The "body-grabbing" shooter. As the pilot of the TFF-01 Garland,
 save humanity by using the enemies' own weapons against them!
 With a special tranquilizing system, you can take control of
 certain enemies. Unfortunately, the unimpressive graphics and
 otherwise simple gameplay make this easy to pass over.

Dogyuun (Toaplan - ARC)
 More overhead 2 Player action along the lines of Batsugun. Remember
 Toaplan's other game, Zero Wing? You know, the game where its
 Genesis version is notorious for its poorly-translated Intro Movie?
 Well, bad English or not (Batsugun has plenty), Dogyuun supports
 a tractor beam-like device too! You can grab items with it, but if
 you grab the other Player, you will combine your firepower, very much
 like in Athena's S.T.G. (see below)! And this seems to be the only
 shooter with 2 types of homing lasers! One is the orange square-track
 beam that looks a lot like the Aleste's, and the other kind is an
 even more awesome-looking circle-track beam! If that's not enough,
 you can also gain control of a giant robot and PUNCH down enemies!

Earth Defense Force (Jaleco - SNES)
 This is originally a '91 arcade game, but the later SNES version has
 some serious differences. Although there are 8 special weapons, you
 cannot change between them (at least not without Game Overing), and
 you are forced to kill enough bad guys in order to "level up" your
 firepower. The arcade version is okay, but the SNES port isn't. The
 console version removes the 2 Player feature, the forceful "take-off"
 Intro Movie, and the difficulty balance. Super Aleste's EDF is no
 way as bad as the one in here....

Firepower 2000 (Sunsoft - SNES)
 Is this the sequel to Sammy's Silkworm? Unlike other 2 Player
 shooters, one Player pilots a helicopter while the other drives
 a jeep. Each of the vehicles has its own strengths and weaknesses.
 The chopper can fly anywhere over the screen (except into bad guys),
 but it can only shoot forwards. The jeep can aim in any direction,
 but its path is checked by various road hazards, such as bottomless
 pits, lava, etc. Play with a friend - with both vehicles, you can
 cover over each other's vulnerabilities!

GleyLancer (NCS - GEN)
 From the makers of Assault Suit Leynos (Target Earth) and Assault
 Suit Valken (Cybernator), you have one incredible shooter. As the
 ace pilot of the Busterhawk Forces, Lucia, take control of the
 advanced GleyLancer craft and save your captured father and the
 world! Before starting your mission, you can select from a diverse
 bunch of patterns for your Gunner drones, and the several special
 weapons you pick up later really add to your firepower! Check out
 the sweeping effects of the Flamer weapon! With a developed story
 and multiple endings, this is one deep game.

Imperium (Vic Tokai - SNES)
 Another generic shooter that tries to separate itself with only a
 few distinct (but mostly superficial) elements. Piloting an advanced
 suit of armor powered by alien technology, fight off more evil
 people. Like in Earth Defense Force, you must earn Experience Points
 in order to upgrade your weapons. The difference here is that you
 can only earn new guns through killing enough baddies, but getting
 hit will cause you to lose them, requiring you to level up again!

Last Resort (SNK - NeoGeo)
 Did Square's Einhander rip off the first Stage from this game? This
 SNK blaster is nothing special, and your weapons here are often too
 underpowered, but everyone wants to play the first Stage just for
 its kick-ass atmosphere. Nothing beats jumping into the TZ-024 &
 YS-024 starfighters and then blazing over all the clueless traffic
 in the nighttime metropolitan city! (You can even blow up the
 civilians if you wanna be a jerk!)

Phalanx (Zoom & Kemco - SNES)
 What may be the third-best SNES shooter, trailing after Axelay and
 Super Aleste. The graphics are small, and the music consists of hard-
 core droning noises, but the gameplay is solid. With a weapons system
 that Einhander's Endymion MkII seems to have borrowed from later on,
 the R.A.F. A-144/R Phalanx Enforce Fighter of the Delia Star System
 has the firepower to (barely) survive 8 Stages of grueling battle.
 While the Destroyer in Stage 5 is something innovative (you have to
 fly around the interior of an ENORMOUS ship that spans 9 screens and
 bring it down by defeating the minibosses lurking within!), the final
 guy seems to be ripped straight off from the Womb in Irem's R-Type.

Raiden (Seibu Kaihatsu & Toei Animation - SNES)
 One of the more popular arcade shooters from 1990. Damn, by the time
 this came out on the SNES, it was easily blown away by the many other
 newer-generation shooters. Still, for simple, pure, 2 Player gang-
 bang action, look no further than this. If you want the original
 arcade feeling in your home though, get the actual coin-op system
 or go for the powerful 64-bit Jaguar version!

Recca / Rekka (Summer Carnival '92 & Naxsoft - NES)
 What I like to think of as Super Aleste on the 8-bit system. Forget
 Zanac and Gun-Nac. This game, although practically impossible to
 beat normally, has it all. A diverse bunch of special weapons. An
 interesting super weapon that you can always charge up and use. A
 well-thought-out secondary gunner/drone system. Rave music. Flowing
 backgrounds that come to life in front of your eyes. Bosses that
 never take up less than one-third of the screen, blowing you
 out of your cockpit. The audio and visual effects are absolutely
 stunning, and I never knew 8-bit games can emulate 16-bit games
 until I saw this. I bet that even certain lame 32- and 64-bit
 shooters can't match up to Recca. If Summer Carnival '92 makes
 the sequel it promises at the end of this game, I'll be one of
 the first to purchase a copy. I just hope they'll include an
 invincibility cheat....

Sol-Deace / Sol-Feace (Wolf Team & Renovation - GEN, SCD)
 This Wolf Team title is one of the later entries on the list
 of Renovation shooters (Whip Rush, Arrow Flash, and Gaiares are
 some others). Like in Silkworm, a supercomputer decides to destroy
 humanity, and as Eric Deace, strap yourself into your father's ship,
 the Sol-Deace, and save everyone, including your girlfriend, Misao.
 Despite the cool animations and some nifty rotation effects, a set
 of weapons that is even smaller than the one in Athena's BioMetal
 keeps this game from truly taking off. At least ramming your ship
 into structures is "realistic," in a certain sense (you scrape off
 against the surfaces unharmed, but you do lose control temporarily
 in a storm of glowing sparks).

Steel Empire (Hot-B - GEN)
 From this division of Activision (these are the same guys who've
 worked on a few pornographic videogames), we have a shooter that
 does justice to "Space 1889." Jump back to an alternate early 20th
 century, when gigantic metal sky galleons fly alongside dirigibles
 and biplanes. As the top ace of the Silverhead Republic, fight
 against the cruel Motorhead Empire in a small but tough Striker
 craft or in an equally heavily-armed zeppelin. The atmosphere of
 this world is a stunning one, especially during that scene when
 you charge enemy lines while a large friendly airship saves your
 ass from hostile artillery!

S.T.G.: Strike Gunner (Athena - SNES)
 As top Air Force sergeants Jane and Mark, storm across lengthy
 Stages blowing away countless waves of enemies in the Year 2008.
 As you fight your way up into space to deal with a satellite laser
 system and to do a Death Star-style run into the enemy base (very
 much like Area 11 in Super Aleste), you get to play with 15 different
 special weapons! The catch is, after you equip a special for one
 Stage, you can't use it again in future zones! This calls for some
 careful planning.... Another cool feature is the ability to combine
 both Players' craft, increasing your firepower! Still, the graphics
 are dull, and the sound effects can use a little work (as with Super
 Aleste, your weapons are nearly silent). Athena's BioMetal sports
 bigger and better graphics, but the gameplay is simplified and
 the special weapons are significantly reduced there.  :(

Thunder Force 4 / Lightning Force (Techno Soft - GEN)
 The Axelay / Super Aleste of the Genesis. Extraordinary graphics,
 fantastic audio, and intense challenge make a shooter zealot's
 dreams come true. The familiar weapons from the prequels return,
 but a new Claw (or CRAW) system also lets you release what the
 title implies: thunderous streams of lethal electricity!

Thunder Spirits (Techno Soft - SNES)
 Thunder Force 3 on the SNES. This is almost identical to the original
 GEN version (but you can no longer select the order of the first few
 Stages). This is fine for those who are new to the series, but you
 might as well stick with Thunder Force 4, which came out around the
 same time. Even better - go for Thunder Force 5 on the Saturn or
 the Playstation!

Varth (Capcom - ARC)
 Colorful and well-animated, but hideously long and boring. The bosses
 also take an inordinate amount of firepower to kill. If you want a
 ridiculously diehard boss, check out Duo here. This sucker can take
 more punishment than all the other shooters' big bosses combined, and
 the Ending here tells you what kind of explosion will result from the
 death of such an insanely powerful killing machine. What saves the
 gameplay from total crapdom is the ability to build up your bombs.
 The more baddies you whack, the more bombs you can get.

Maybe someday in the future, when all these companies get drunk and
meet up at the same office, they can combine every starfighter they
have created (including all the other craft that aren't listed here)
and make one big, fat super-shooter. Think about it - the ultimate
shoot 'em up! From a massive hanger, select one of several sleek and
beautiful ships, and then take off to combat some ultra-evil forces
that are joined together in the same way! Imagine the carnage! Picture
the glee in your eyes as you and your friends blaze beyond cities and
galaxies to fight off towering enemy motherships! Feel the glory of
the starfighter!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.9] REALLY SMALL DETAILS NO STARFIGHTER PILOT GIVES A CRAP ABOUT
------------------------------------------------------------------

Gold Standard
 Have you noticed the prevalence of the yellow glass-like material
 in the enemy forces? In many of the bosses, this strange glass is
 their weak point. Other alien structures, like the floating cities,
 also have this stuff! What's going on? Is there a theme we're
 missing here?

Speed Racer
 Why must so many shooters include a scene where the pilot decides
 to hit warpspeed and blaze through dangerously narrow corridors? Do
 they all enjoy that scene in Star Wars? If those damn starfighters
 can hover and there is no threat of enemies approaching from the
 rear, then why do they wanna shoot through those tiny passages so
 quickly? Of course, if everybody plodded along at a snail's pace,
 life won't be so fun (just look at Zed Blade: Operation Ragnarok).
 I guess every shooter needs an Area 11 now and then (Psygnosis'
 Novastorm takes this to the extreme)!

Naju -> Enemy Leader's Base
 Whoa, talk about recycling old concepts! The Compile guys apparently
 took Naju out from the Guardian Legend and put it here as the base
 of the alien force's Leader! It's not a bad thing though - you just
 can't forget that creepy spherical structure!

Look - Math Is Good for Something!
 Having trouble remembering the order of the 12 Areas in the
 Standard Game? Generally, sets of 2 main Areas are separated
 from one another by those puny outpost Areas. Notice how those
 outposts make up every third Area? Do your multiplication right,
 and you will have an easier time reminding yourself that those
 easy stages are Areas 3, 6, and 9. Man, this is lame....

I Can Talk
 Why are there even voices for the bosses? Aren't they scary aliens
 who only care about turning Earth into butt sauce? So how come they
 wanna talk to you? The most logical answer is they're taunting you,
 but then where do they learn to speak relatively fluent Japanese
 and English? Perhaps they clip out parts of human speech caught
 over the radio and then replay it when they confront you?

Geography 101
 The Namco guys look at the atlas whenever they start drawing up the
 settings for their games. I wish the Compile people do the same. If
 you check your maps, you'll see that there are NO rain forests next
 to the Nazca drawings! The trees are to the east of the dry and
 harsh Peruvian deserts, completely different from what you see
 in Standard Area 1 (I don't care about the alien planet's version -
 they can have trees hanging off from the skies for all I care)!
 Still, lush greenscapes are so much more nice to look at than miles
 and miles of outstretched sand.
 (Very little is known about the Nazca. We're pretty sure they're
  great textile workers, as can be seen from all that pretty
  multi-colored wool that is found in their 2000-year-old tombs.
  Some research has suggested the drawings are not designed to be
  calendars, because the stars in the sky thousands of years ago
  would not have matched the drawings in any statistically significant
  way. So are those drawings signs intended for heavenly deities?)
 Another note on Namco. Their Xevious 3D title also involves Nazca
 drawings that are tied to aliens. Unlike Super Aleste, though,
 the drawings there can be used as surface-to-aerospace death rays!

Krezzy Komparisons
 Here's my favorite part. There are scores and scores of shooters
 out there, but only a few star a ship controlled by both a female
 pilot and a male pilot. Joining Tei and Razu are Alexis and Dan
 (from Telenet's Gaiares, 1990) and Cynthia Matthews and David
 Onizuka (from Athena's BioMetal, 1993).

 Pilot                                        Tei    Cynthia  Alexis
 Flies a cool ship                             x        x        x
 Flies a cool ship with a weird name           x                 x
 Flies a cool ship with a mispelled name                x
 Gets to use a lotta different weapons         x                 x
 Gets to handle a secondary weapon system               x        x
 Stars in an incredibly impossible game                          x
 Gets her name screwed over outside of Japan            x
 Gets her music screwed over outside of Japan  x        x
 Gets plain screwed over outside of Japan      x
 Kills big nasty aliens for bosses             x        x
 Listens to hardcore heavy metal                        x
 Has supernatural powers                       x
 Isn't even from Earth                                           x
 Has a creepily stoic copilot                           x
 Has a copilot who looks like her                                x
 Most likely to get it on with her copilot     x                 x
 Winner                                                Tie!

 These people are all cool, so be sure to check out their
 respective games. Who's your favorite pair of starpilots?

======================================================================
V. CREDITS - Get to know your friendly maintenance crew!
======================================================================

[5.1] Compile (www.compile.co.jp)
 For developing Super Aleste. Get more Compile info at their web site.
 For more Aleste information, also check out Spherelander Guide #04,
 which covers Guardic Gaiden / the Guardian Legend, one of Compile's
 greatest masterpieces of all time.

[5.2] Toho (www.toho.co.jp)
 The guys who've brought us Godzilla and this game. They've also
 helped Compile to bring out Blazing Lazers back in '89 on the
 Turbo Graphix 16 (with the aid of Hudson Soft). Blazing Lazers
 and Space Megaforce, as you may already realize, are practically
 the prequel/sequel of each other.

[5.3] Nintendo (www.nintendo.com)
 Super Aleste, Super NES! The Compile guys release their games
 through all sorts of distributors, but something like Super Aleste
 can only be done on the SNES back then. Not a bad thing at all....

[5.4] Nintendo Power (www.nintendopower.com)
 Thanks to this official magazine publication for introducing me
 to one of my all-time favorite SNES titles. I just wish they have
 covered the final Areas and listed the name of the last boss so
 I won't have to go around making stuff up like "Enemy Leader"
 (how creative!)....
 (Volume 42 - November 1992, featuring LucasArts' Super Star Wars
  and Darth Vader on the front cover, pages 83-91.)
 (I also wish that you guys will correct the summary of Space
  Megaforce in your Official Super NES Game Guide. On page 40,
  you say this game is backed by PASSWORDS and has an Alternating
  2 PLAYER feature. Sorry, we're not playing Iridion or Gradius!)

[5.5] Jay McGavren
 For the Game Genie codes.

[5.6] Tarot (a.k.a. Alan Kwan) (tarot@netvigator.com)
 For the translations of the original Ending Movie.
 Many thanks again, Tarot!

[5.7] Any site that puts this up
 The guys at the pilot's bar tell me to scram, and I crashed my
 fighter on Emerald Coast during my way to the nearest starbase
 (that damn Tornado was flying too close!), so I'm stuck with
 posting this up on the web. Thanks to the guys who maintain
 these great sites so starfighter pilots in need of guidance
 can get some. And more.

[5.8] My fellow Faididis & Spherelanders
 I do the writin', these guys do the strategy plannin'. Of course,
 the big Fdd has a habit of blowing up any Blue Lander it sees
 floating happily through the sky.... Oh no! here comes Faididi!
 Run, Randar, run! WAAAAGGHH! Bash! Boom! KA-BLAMMO! Bleh...!

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

I hope you enjoy playing Super Aleste and reading this strategy guide.
Got questions or comments? Wanna say my tactics suck because I've
got them all wrong? Wanna discuss the Ending Movies? Wanna discuss
shooters in general? Wanna help me trash a pilot's bar? Wanna pester
Sega to make a pure shooter starring Mr. Prower and a particular
flying jester-nightmare? Feel free to e-mail me at

  faididi@hotmail.com

... or post something at Space Megaforce's Message Board
at GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com).

Also feel free to visit the staff's site.
Get your extra gaming info, fun pictures, and illegal goods down at

  www.geocities.com/ed057/index.html

Let us carry on the Golden Torch of Videogaming until the
sun explodes and the evil alien forces arrive to find out
that there's nothing left for them to blast for fun because
all of us have already died a horrible, horrible death.  :)
