"Duck Dodgers in the 24½ Century!"
Where There's Duck, There's Fire
Planet: Magma
Type: Resort
Size: Big
Atmosphere: Quaint
In Level 1, you have to save politicians who have been held hostage by Marvin the Martian, who is causing havoc throughout the Looney Tunes galaxy. Whether this is all loosely based on old Duck Dodgers cartoons or all part of one grand scheme, the game never explains - you're just going after Marvin the Martian for five levels. Fun, I know.
Oh, and you have to do all this in one sitting. There's no passwords or anything. Shame on you, Sunsoft.
Before you begin a level, you'll be able to buy power-ups. You start off with $1500, and you'll be able to gain more along the way by blasting enemies and taking their money after they die. Each money bag contains $50 worth of money. Some money can be found out in the open if you know where to look. If you die and fight a re-spawned enemy, you won't be able to get money from them again.
The first five are the Freeze Gun, the Electricity Gun, the Three-Way Gun, the Bomb Gun and the Anti-Matter Gun, followed by the Continue Gem and the Extra Life. The purple arrow, of course, lets you exit the store and get on with the game. I'll explain the power-ups as we go.
Section 1
Left and Right let you jump, B lets you jump, Y lets you shoot, Down lets you duck and Up lets you aim upwards. While you can buy guns from the shop before every level, you do have a default blaster with unlimited ammunition. There's nothing special about it, but it gets the job done. Pressing Start to pause the game also pulls up a map that you can use (All explanations for the controls assume you are using Control Type 1, which can be switched to Type 2 - which is slightly different - in the options menu.)
The rocks that come out of the lava, as well as the lava itself, cause damage. The first enemy you'll see here is this cactus guy. Shoot him a few times, then hold X to use your cape as a shield to nullify his spike attack before shooting him again. Defeating enemies causes them to drop cash, which you should pick up before it disappears. You'll also find power-ups throughout the game if you know where to look.
The Nutty Bomb destroys everything on-screen, and also packs a punch on bosses. You can carry up to nine at any time, and you can use one by pressing A.
You have 12 hit points, as indicated by four health units that get smaller until they disappear. Drinking a glass of Orange Juice will replenish it fully.
You also have a jetpack that activates when you press and hold B. You'll be able to fly as long as you have fuel...
The little yellow men come out through cracks in the rock walls. Block their rocks when they burst out, then shoot and block their attacks.
When you shoot, you get knocked back into a sitting-down position. There's no rapid fire, and this sitting position also helps you get through certain spots in the game when you keep shooting (if it doesn't cramp your trigger finger first).
One of the enemies will drop a Three-Way Gun when you destroy him. This gun shoots three shots - two diagonal, one straight. It's most useful when you shoot up (which doesn't knock you back when you do so), or when you're right in front of an enemy.
Jump on the platform after shooting the next cactus, then jump left and use the jetpack. Avoid the mini-volcano that spews rocks, and leap through the wall. Kill the cactus, then you'll be able to fly to an extra life (self-explanatory) and a Continue Gem (Five of these equal one continue, and you start out with one at the beginning of the game. Better save your money for some or remember where they all are, as they're few and far between if you don't buy them prior to the next level).
Going down will give you a glass of Orange Juice if you go left. Also, the lava waterfalls don't damage you. They're just part of the foreground.
The purple arrows are continue points. Touch them, and you'll start at the last one you touched if you die.
If Duck Dodgers says "Hoo-hoo!" when he gets hit, it's one HP of damage. If he says "Mother!" it's three HP of damage - a whole unit! Be careful and know when to block!
When you reach the right-most part of the stage, you'll get the Freeze Gun. This freeze enemies with one shot, but it doesn't damage them. It does, however, give you extra time to either switch to another gun and shoot them down or run away from them entirely if the situation calls for it, as some enemies can be really annoying at times.
When you make it further up, you'll find a Bomb Gun, which shoots a small steel ball that bounces for a few seconds in the direction you shoot it before it either explodes or hits an enemy, It's more powerful than the blaster and can come in handy at times.
When you make it to the resort, Marvin the Martian will water of his own Martian soldiers. Concentrate on one, grab its money when it dies, and shoot the other one as you block its shots. Once the other one's gone, grab the money it drops. The politician here will be freed from the ropes that have tied him up. It's on to the second section (every level has four sections). For best results, use the Bomb Gun on the first Martian soldier as soon as he shows up, so you won't be surrounded for long.
Section 2
There are more Martians here. Some walk around, some don't. They take less damage before dying, unlike the ones you just fought at the end of Section 1.
Pausing the game brings up the map. The blinking dot is your current locations. Small map sure is small.
If you shoot the ones that walk around in the back, block immediately, as they will shoot at you in response just after they turn around. The ones that stand around can be fought like the helmeted Martians. They fire more often (and it also hurts), so shoot, shoot, block, repeat until they're dead. Get used to the Martians, you'll see them throughout the game.
As you traverse the resort, you'll find an Electricity Gun. It fires a beam of electricity that covers more of the screen. No two shots are alike in appearance! It's slightly stronger, but it makes up for that with its speed.
To the right is the pool. This is what Lava Lakes Pleasure Resort has for a pool? I am disappoint. After that is the other half of the resort, as well as more Martians. Take a look around here thoroughly; you'll get two Three-Way Guns, a glass of Orange Juice and a can of Jetpack Fuel for your efforts.
At certain points in the level, you may hear the sound of dripping water. That is a lava drop dripping from the ceiling, and if one touches you, you will take damage.
Before you take the lift down, go right, and leap through the walls to get money and a Continue Gem. Above the lift is another Freeze Gun and another glass of Orange Juice. Going right before you hit the bottom gives you another much-needed Extra Life. Also, watch out for the drops of lava that come down from the ceiling.
Once again, you fight those helmeted Martians at the end of the section. Same strategies apply. If you have the Bomb Gun from the Weapon Shop, it definitely helps.
Section 3
There's a Martian to your left at the beginning; shoot him to get some cash. Regardless of where you go, you'll be doing of lot of falling at the beginning. One of the walls at the beginning has a secret passage to a Three-Way Gun, while another one takes you to another extra life and a Continue Gem. Instead of using your jetpack, jump and shoot at the same time and you can jump higher than normal - enough to grab both of these items. Regardless of which path you take at the start, you'll end up at a continue point and an Orange Juice.
There are quite a few enemies at the beginning and near the end where you can move around and use your jetpack to find a few things. If you know what you're doing, you'll
When you drop down, you can get a Nutty Bomb if you can make it to the first platform you see. If you have jetpack fuel, it's a lot easier. The second one takes you to a Bomb Gun. If you make it to the bottom, you can find another Continue Gem in one of the walls.
At the end (signified by the resort wall), two more helmeted Martians hound you. Same strategies apply. If you go through that lava waterfall close to the end, you can still grab the Continue Gem as well as a fuel can and another Electricity Gun.
Boss
Jump over the buzzsaw once you get close, then get under Marvin and shoot him until the buzzsaw stops going forward. When it nears you, jump back over it and repeat. Make sure that Marvin has stopped flashing before shooting at him again.
After enough shots, the buzzsaw becomes a claw. This time, you'll be moving under it when it moves forward. Stay on the ground unless you want to be either cut to ribbons or blasted into duck fricassee.
After some more damage, the claw is a laser blaster. Look to the left so you can block the lasers and get some more shots on Marvin in the meantime. Thankfully, the pattern for this weapon is ridiculously easy, so it'll be over quickly.
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