3d Battles of the World Runner- 1987 Square
FAQ by James Beier Copyright 2001, Vegeta_McCloud@hotmail.com
Gamefaq Name Aganar

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1. Why I am writing this FAQ
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     While I was watching an old ABC Signal tape with tips for NES 
games, I happened to see one with a tip for World Runner. The game 
looked really cool, so I got it. It was surprisingly fun, and then I 
noticed that it was made by Square. Puzzled by why no one remembers it, 
I did some research on Square's earlier games, and sure enough, this was 
one of them. Since no one remembers it I have taken it upon myself to 
write an FAQ for it combined with my review to encourage people to play 
this.

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2. Table of Contents
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1. Why I'm writing this FAQ
2. Table of Contents
3. Version History
4. Controls
5. Items
6. Walkthrough
7. Boss Guide
8. The Alternate World
9. Game Over

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3. Version History
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V 1.0 December 19, 2001- I finally got up the courage to start writing 
this. This is my first FAQ, so this might take awhile.

V 1.1 December 22, 2001- Added an FAQ for World 3 and 4. Also added new 
boss strategies and expanded on old ones. 

V1.15 December 22, 2001- Appearently by pressing select, the game has a 
3d mode which is activated, if you have glasses. This sounds too cool to 
be done on an NES game.

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4. Controls
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Up- Run faster

Down- Run  Slower

Left- Move to the left

Right- Move to the right

A- Jump

B- Fire

Start- Pause

Select- Enables 3d mode. If you have 3d glasses, the pictures will jump 
out at you.

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5. Items
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Items in this game often determine your strategy throughout the game. If 
you chose not to use weapons or protection, you will always be jumping. 
However, if you use items, the game becomes much easier although much 
more risky. Items can be found by smashing into green or white pillars. 
The following can come out of them:

Potion- this makes you invulnerable for one hit. It turns you orange to 
let you know it's on. When you are hit, you change back to your normal 
color.

Rocket- this allows you to fire without reaching a boss. It is very 
useful, but like the potion, fades when you get hit, so it is better to 
use this sparingly.

Mushroom- Contrary to Mario's growth Mushroom, this kills you instantly. 
Avoid it or your game will end.

Atom- This little thing doesn't appear much, but is quite useful. It 
will make you invincible for approximately 3 seconds. Ironically, I've 
only found it in places where there aren't many enemies with the 
exception of Level II.

Heart- this can only be found in the Alternate World. It gives you an 
extra life.

Balloon- you do not receive this by crashing into a pillar. This are 
scattered throughout the level. If touched, it will lift you to the 
alternate world.

Star- Like the Balloon, this is not received by crashing into a pillar. 
It is lying around in many places. If you see one or a series in the 
air, it means you must time your jump to get all of them. All it really 
does is increase you score, or possibly give you an extra life if you 
get enough. If you die, all of them are lost.

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6. The Walkthrough
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Here is my walkthrough for the game. The game itself is quite difficult, 
but progresses through practice. Hopefully, this will make your 
progression easier. This will take awhile and I will be making many 
changes throughout the course of the FAQ, so bear with me and be 
patient.

Author's Note: Because an ABC Signal Video gave me the idea to write 
this, it is written like one.

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Level 1
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This is the first level, so you might want to not worry about getting 
through it and just get a general feel for the game. I strongly suggest 
this. Right at the beginning you will see a small area of green pillars. 
Crashing into the first row will get you a rocket, allowing you to fire 
at unwanted enemies. Crashing into the second will get you a potion to 
make you invulnerable for a hit. Crashing into the third will be 
rewarded with instant death from a mushroom. 
     After moving on you will encounter your first enemies. They are 
small, ugly, and green. Although they may seem like something to get in 
a fuss about, they aren't. This is the first level. Just move out of the 
way or jump over them. Soon you will come to a black pit you must jump 
over. Don't jump too far. After doing a series of small jumps you will 
encounter these small white-floating faces. Again, don't worry about 
them.        
     Here there is no real strategy for learning how to get past this. 
Just play around with it and learn where the large jumps and the small 
jumps are. You should be in World 1_2 now. When you get here, your time 
limit will reset. Don't stress yourself out about getting to the next 
world before the time runs out, in this level, its not a factor.
     Ok, now you should be getting to your first balloon. Grabbing on to 
it will take you to the Alternate World, also known as world 1_B. Here 
there are no enemies, just stars. Have fun, explore, collect the stars. 
Also here there are pillars. Most will contain potions, however, usually 
the last one before leaving the world will contain a heart.
     Now that you've gotten past that, you should come back to world 
1_2. Mainly there are just a lot of stars. There should be another 
balloon around the area, so watch for it, and just go at a steady pace.
     It shouldn't be too long before you get to World 1_3. Once you get 
here you will have a chance to replinish your items. Watch here for 
baloons and fire cactuses. They will kill you if you touch them, but if 
you follow them they will usually lead you to where you need to go.
     World 1_4 is fairly short. Just dodge the enemies and watch out for 
the variation in small and large jumps.
     Finally, you're at the first boss. As soon as you get to him you 
will hover into the air and start to fight him. If you couldn't fire 
before you can now. When he comes at you dive to the side of down. Start 
firing rapidly at his head for a quick kill. Congradulations! You've 
gotten past the first level.

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Level 2
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Here you will meet several new opponents. Your first will be these 
little oval shaped monsters. They move fast, but aren't really a 
problem. Avoid them , you've got bigger fish to fry. The blue pillars 
are your source of items here. Take what you need and run off. The main 
challenge in World 2_1 is jumping correctly. Again, get acquainted with 
the level to learn when to jump. Watch out for the small blue balls when 
jumping though. They like to follow you so that when you land you'll hit 
them and die. A gun is helpful here.
     Now we face World 2_2. It's not really hard, just time consuming. 
Here you will see these small hands, which will block your path. 
Intentionally ram into one then quickly jump over it to avoid wasting 
time looking for a blind spot. When you start to see fire cactuses and 
stars, immediately go into that lane and stay there. It is the blind 
spot in the hands' range.
     You will soon come to an area where you will be tempted to follow 
the stars instead of the cactuses. Don't. stay in the cactus lane. When 
you get to World 2_3 you will be able to replenish your items once 
again. This part is pretty easy, but don't get cocky, it gets a little 
tricky with the overflow of enemies.
     Now you're at the boss. This one is mechanical and has a little 
more life, so watch out. This time not only his head can kill you. After 
beating him another one appears. Use the same strategies to beat him and 
you're done.

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Level 3
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This level introduces the Froggy Springs. Curse them! For world 3_1 all 
you need to do is avoid enemies and keep a steady path on the springs. 
It takes practice to get adjusted to them, but it will eventually. There 
aren't any new enemies here, but they're still annoying as ever.
     World 3_2 takes the most practice of any of the first 3 Worlds. You 
will start off by just jumping on springs. After a couple rounds of it, 
while jumping on one, a fire cactus will block your path. Here comes the 
tricky part. You must now turn left or right, getting the angle just 
right so that you land on another spring. Keep going steadily from there 
until it happens again, and switch. The key here is looking ahead to see 
where the next spring is. Chances are you'll have to jump to that area. 
When you get to an area where you start being engulfed by green flames, 
just keep going straight, they won't hurt you. After awhile you'll 
finally reach the end of the world.
     When you get to world 3_3 immediately stop going on the springs. 
Here you will need to actually jump because the springs will either take 
you too far or not far enough. Here, like the other world 3's you will 
be able to replenish your items. After a couple of jumps and dodging 
enemies you will find a row of balloons. Get on it and make another trip 
to the alternate world. In the alternate world there are many pillars, 
but only the last one contains a heart. When you leave, you will 
encounter a very difficult part.  Jump on the first spring, but slow 
down a bit so you will hit the spring in the middle. After that you will 
encounter the fire cactuses blocking your path again, so use the 
strategies you hopefully developed from World 3_2. If you keep a 
straight path at a certain point, when you enter land you should crash 
into a pillar. This will contain a heart.
     Finally, World 3_4. You'll run into a couple of pillars near the 
beginning. Just get what you need and continue. Dodge the green flames 
and keep a steady pace. The boss isn't too far ahead. The fire cactuses 
here don't really do much, so don't worry about it. You won't need to be 
doing any more jumping.
     You've reached the boss. This one is black so it fades in with the 
background. Just use his shadow to fight him and kill him quickly and 
his other. Now you can move on to World 4.

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Level 4
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World 4_1 is a pain in the arse. Hands are all around the pits, so to go 
through you must jump within the blind spot where the fire cactus lane 
is. As I have said before, these things will guide you, so wherever you 
see two of them, immediately run to that area so you can jump freely. 
After awhile you will find two pillars. One of them contains a potion, 
another contains a mushroom. After that the lanes will start having a 
fire cactus at the end. Dodge to either side to avoid it, but not to far 
or you will crash into a hand. You will encounter a couple of these, 
then enter World 4_2.
     World 4_2 I dub "small world" because it has small cactuses and 
pillars. Get items from the pillars, and dodge the cactuses. In between 
a row of cactuses should be a balloon. Grab it, and once again enter the 
alternate world. On the right side of the stage (the balloon was on the 
left) you will find the small pillars. I'd suggest staying on that path. 
After some of those you will find the white-faced ghouls who now can 
jump and orange little spherical guys. Dodge them and after a minute you 
will be in World 4_3.
     It's World 4_1 all over again, except this time the hand are on 
land as well. Don't hesitate to slow down because it is difficult to get 
the timing right to get between the cactuses. Half way through you'll 
find a pillar with a clock. This isn't essential, but it can be helpful 
in case you are slowing down.
     You should be used to having to fight two bosses, but you're in for 
a surprise this time. You get to fight 3!
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7. Boss Guide
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For the first boss, just dodge him and fire at his head. When he's 
turned fire a few quick shots at his tail to send up a spark or two. 
When he comes at you its best to keep firing unless he's really close in 
which case you should dive to the side, then start firing again. When he 
turns orange, it means he's close to dieing. Finish him off quickly and 
the level will end. I'd suggest playing through this level a lot, 
because the boss strategy you learn here carries on to every level after 
it. Also, you will need to play this level again every time you turn the 
game off.

The Second boss(s) provides more of a hassle. When you encounter him, 
fire at his head, but be more cautious this time. When he turns around 
and starts flying back is your golden opportunity. Fire rapidly until he 
turns orange. Then when he comes back shoot. Don't start celebrating to 
early, because another one is right behind him. Do what you did before, 
but be careful because if you die, you'll have to fight both of them all 
over again. This one goes down more quickly than the most one because 
you should have gotten the hang of it now. One rotation around should 
have it pummeled. If it isn't, just keep firing. He'll go down soon. 
Practice makes perfect, and bosses are the things you need the most 
practice with.

The Third boss is tricky because he is black, so he camouflages with the 
background.  What you need here is a couple lucky shots and skill. When 
the light flashes you can see him and his shadow so start firing. 
Remember where you hit him because if one part of him catches on fire 
you'll need to use it to hit the rest of him. Fire close to where the 
first place sparked to kill him. If you can't seem to hit him just fire 
everywhere until a piece sparks. Using his shadow helps you figure out 
his position and how to dodge him. When he turns orange, you should be 
able to defeat him easily since he will no longer blend. Another one 
will appear. Quickly hit this one in the head and you will be able to 
see him since he will have a red outline around him. This one is 
considerably easier than the other, so don't hesitate to fire quickly. 
Just be careful.

The Fourth bosses are god-easy. It may be longer, but he's still a 
weenie. Just use the strategies you used on World 2. He's a pushover, 
but they decided to balance it out by having 3 of him. Oh well, that 
doesn't make it any harder, just longer.  Beat the other two with a 
couple bonks in the heads and kill them quickly. The bigger they are, 
the harder they fall.

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8. The Alternate World
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Otherwise known as World _B, this is the Alternate World. It's sort of a 
break point if you're tired from fighting. Here your only objective is 
to collect stars and items. It can be accessed by reaching a balloon. In 
the alternate world you can find Potions and Hearts. Hearts are the main 
reason one should come here. They are usually the last pillars you reach 
before the world vanishes. Get to it for an extra life. 
Every world has its own unique Alternate World. In the earlier levels, 
it's just to get stars, but later the emphasis changes to hearts.

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9. Game Over
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This is the section on how to avoid death and the consequences.

What Happens:

When you die, you lose one life, lose all your items, lose all your 
hearts, and you must restart that world over again. So, if you died at 
World 4_2, you would restart at that world, but not at that point. 
However, if you get a game over, you restart at World 1_1 with everthing 
gone.

How to avoid it:

1. Don't take stupid risks like jumping over a fire cactus.
2. Don't think you're Rambo because you can fire. The fireball is a last 
minute resort. If you find alot of enemies dodge them or jump over them, 
only fire if you can't do anything else.
3. Practice. I can't stress this enough. The game is challenging and 
very unpredictable. The only way to get through it is to practice and 
get a feel for it. I can't tell you when every long slope or short one 
is. This FAQ is meant to HELP you. You must actually learn how to play 
the game.

If All Else Fails:
If you come up with the unfortunate event of a Game Over, hold A and 
press start. You should start over in the level you were in. So, if you 
got a game over in world 3_4, by doing this trick, you will start at 
World 4_1


What to look for Next Update:

-Walkthrough for level 5
- More boss strategies
-Monster list (this will take awhile)
- Detailed "Alternated World" descriptions for every level

Also, I love feedback. It helps me write better. To anyone who views 
this, email me. Tell me what you think I should improve on or your 
general opinion.
