PrinceWatercress plays Rapid Reload (as Axel) - Part 1 of 6

From the makers of Wild Guns comes a Gunstar Heroes-esque game that never made it to America! Play through six stages and fight the Pumpkin Heads to get the Valkiry - a legendary stone with magical powers - before they do!

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Here's the basic plot of the game according to Wikipedia:

Upon hearing the legend of the treasure known as the Valkiry, treasure hunters Axel Sonics and Ruka Hetfield embark on an adventurous quest to find the legendary stone. However, unknown to Axel and Ruka at the start, there is also a terrorist organization known as the Pumpkin Heads searching for the Valkiry, determined to use the stone for world domination.

When you start the game, you have a choice between Axel Sonics and Ruka Hetfield. We'll be playing as Axel for this playthrough.

Round 1

When you start the game, Left and Right let you move around while Down lets you duck down and aim low. You can also use the D-Pad to aim in any direction, and you can aim downwards while in mid-air. Square shoots, X jumps, Circle lets you use a screen clearing bomb if you have any in the lower-right corner of the screen. L2 lets you aim without moving, while R2 lets you use a wire, which is essentially a grappling hook, in conjunction with the D-Pad so you can grapple onto ceilings and platforms.. Down and X lets you slide. 

Triangle lets you switch between four weapons, and you can tell which one is equipped by looking at the end of your health bar. N is your normal shot, G is your glide shot that can goes forwards and covers more ground when it hits a wall or floor or ceiling, H is your homing shot and can take out three enemies automatically at the same time, and F is your fireball that fires more slowly than the other weapons but does the most damage.

As you shoot enemies, you'll find P Gems. The bigger they are, the more they are worth, and the more P gems you have, the bigger the count will be on the "Power" box at the top center of the screen. While you have Power, your shots will be stronger and do more damage. The power meter will eventually go down to zero, however, and you'll need to get grabbing P gems in order to maintain power and keep it for longer.

Your health is at the top of the screen. You only have one life, and if you run out of health, you'll have to use one of your nine continues to continue the game. If you continue, you'll be taken back to the start of the level where you died.

The foot soldiers will have P gems, and they'll go down easily with any of the weapon. H works best against flying enemies and foot soldiers, though. To take out tanks and mechs, use F. 

The heart with the green glow replenishes a little bit of your health.

You can sometimes grab onto the bottom of platforms by holding Up when jumping. Holding Up and jumping lets you vault up. You can also drop down by jumping while holding Down.

To beat the first area boss, stay all the way to the left, face fight, duck down, switch to F and keep firing so you don't get hit by the machine gun. The area boss won't be able to hurt you.

When you fight area bosses and guardians, the power meter will stop counting down, so you don't have to worry about losing weapon power when fighting the tougher enemies.

Watch out for the machine gun fire from the turrets that come out of the floors and ceilings. Two of them will block your path, but if you duck down right in front of either one, you won't get hit. Watch out for bombs that drop down from the ceilings at times. 

The pick-up that looks like a flashing shuriken is the Boost power-up. This turns the number for the power meter into the word "BOOST" for a little while, and while you have the power boost, your weapon becomes very powerful.

To beat the second area boss, equip F, stay to the left and fire at the boss as it stands still. When it advances, duck down and switch to H, then fire at it and keep ducking to avoid the mace it swings around. When the boss returns, the mace will fly up and hit the ground after the boss straightens it out. Wait for the mace to hit, then get to where it landed when the debris from it rises up. Get to the other side as the boss teleports. The pattern will then repeat. Just remember to stay to the right the second time around.

You'll soon climb up and take out enemies. You'll probably run out of energy soon enough, but there will be a blue P Gem that you can collect for 30 Power. Grab it and get on the elevator.

The guardian for this level is some sort of spider looking thing. Switch to H and shoot the leg until the cannons on them explode. The boss will come back together. Keep firing H and avoid the blue orbs that fire downwards. When the boss' health is down to 2000, use H or F to fire at the boss, and don't be under it when it stops so the big blue laser doesn't hit you. Once you beat the guardian, it's on to Level 2.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 12 of 12

It's time. Today, we finally go face-to-face with Butch Cavendish and rescue the President.

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Welcome to the final part of the game. Butch Cavendish's fortress is up ahead, and Butch has a steam locomotive trap he is waiting to catch you with. Head back to Abilene and stock up on bullets before continuing.

When you run into the guy in black who is in your way, you'll be in one more side-scrolling platforming section. Be ready to shoot diagonally to take out enemies on the way up. You'll have to head right, make your way down, head right, then make your way back up. The wooden bridges move up and down if you jump on them, so be sure to walk on them. There will be an awful lot of enemies here, so you'll need to pay attention to your surroundings and take them out while avoiding their bullets. Thankfully, once you make it to the exit, the guy in black will be gone. You can then head back to Abilene to heal up and stock up before heading to the fort.

In the next section, watch out for the guys on the cart. Stick to the west side of the fort at the start, then stay up to the north while watching out for the guys on the carts, who will shoot at you. When you can't go east anymore, head south. The next part is dead ahead. Enter the building, then goes down the stairs.

The next section is a first-person section. The enemy battles you will have here will have you twisted around a bit, so remember what direction you were facing last before you got into a gunfight. Equip the standard bullets, then go north and follow the path east. Take the turn, then keep heading south. Take the turn at the end, follow the path, and you should be out of there.

Get back to the silver bullets. Use the mine cart to mow down the enemies, then watch out for the red hot spikes on the floor as well as the areas of the floor where the floor sinks down. I usually do nothing but jump to the right as I fight enemies during this whole second section of the underground area.

Wait for the spears to rise up in the center and lower before continuing on. There are conveyor belts here, but it's easy to tell which direction they will push you in.

At the boilers, watch out for the falling plates and wait for them to go back up before continuing. As for the red parts on the floor, don't step on those. They hurt. When you go upstairs, wait for the jets of water to stop shooting out before continuing. At the set of doors at the end, take the middle door.

You'll then be in a top-down section. Make your way through the conveyor belts to the north, then keep heading in that general direction. Avoid the fire bars that spin around as you go, and take out the light blue guys for health whenever you can.

In the area with the gray floor, the bullets will bounce off the walls. You can use this to your advantage and take out enemies from blind corners, but the enemies can take advantage of this, too. 

In the next area, watch out for the fire jets, then make your way to the north. There will be two bosses with machine guns to the north. Make sure you have full health, and take out one guy at a time. Your best bet is to stand at an angle where the enemy can shoot at you, but at the same time, the bullets can't get to you. The bullets can track, but not that well. By taking out one guy and then the other, you will make this a little easier and a little faster to get through, but not by much. The bosses will need to reload, and you can use this opportunity to get some shots in. Once you beat these two guys, you'll be able to head further north, but you'll want to go back and forth between this area and the previous area and take out the TNT throwing guy for health. You're gonna need it!

Before heading to the final chamber, equip the TNT. Throw the TNT at the turret at the front of the train. If it lands right where the turret is, it will blow it up in one shot. From here, get up and forward while avoiding the spikes that shoot out of the train. When the spikes at the start of the train treads start shooting in and out, start jumping to the right. Butch Cavendish will be ahead behind a Gatling gun. Wail away at him with the silver bullets, and when the Gatling gun explodes, Butch will jump over you and shoot at you when you shoot at him. Use this to your advantage and get him to the front of the train, then shoot at him from a distance while avoiding his bullets. It can be a tough battle due to the multiple bullets Butch will shoot at you, but if you get Butch to the front of the train, it's much easier.

Once you beat Butch Cavendish, you'll rescue the President and the game is over. You've just beaten The Lone Ranger!

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 11 of 12

From here, the game becomes the most challenging it can be. Get ready!

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From here on out, you will need the silver bullets, as all enemies will take two hits with the standard bullets to kill.

At the entrance to the base, take out the enemies as soon as you see them with the silver bullets. Watch out for the mines; they do a lot of damage if you run into them. 

If you walk into the Gatling gun from the north, enemies will run at you from the south. You can fire at them with the shot button and aim with the Control Pad and get a lot of bullets, but if you walk away from the gun with the A button, the gun disappears and you can't use it again, but the enemies stop spawning.

There will be three buildings from the entrance to the exit, and you'll go from the south-most one to the north-most one to get the three keys.

For the first building, you'll want to get the enemies to empty their guns before you move in for the kill. Watch out for the spikes; they do damage if you walk into them. The last building in the fort is the only one you should enter; this is where you will face the boss. Go all the way to the north end of the building and stay east of the boss; if you get too close, he will rush at you. Just shoot the boss down with the silver bullets while fending off the enemies, and he will drop a key. Grab the key to get back to the overworld map, then head back to Abilene to heal up and stock up. (You should always head back to Abilene for this between buildings.)

For the second building, tread carefully. There will be cannonballs fired at you, and if you play these levels over and over, you'll figure out where they will land. As for the guy on the Gatling gun, rush in before he starts firing and hit him at an angle. Also, don't get close to the cannons at the end; you will take a lot of damage from the cannonballs if you do. The boss here is the same as the one in the first building, and you'll face him again in the third one.

For the third building, shoot the bullet ahead of time and travel towards the north so the guy on the Gatling gun gets taken out when he shows up on-screen. Stick to the left side of the screen past that, then move past the building and stick to the top. When you reach the two building, head south and take out the enemies from a distance. Wait for the cannonballs to pass by before moving past the cannon, and you'll get to the third boss.

At the fort on the north end, take the south path and watch out for cannonballs. From there, take teh bottom path and get between the cannons before going north. You can walk diagonally to get past the mines; just watch what you're doing. Wait for the cannonballs to stop firing, then make your way to the building.

To beat the boss, keep your distance and fire your shots in when you can. When the boss ducks down to reload, get next to him - but not too close, and let loose with the silver bullets. If you fire fast enough, you'll get him in a loop where he can't fire at all. When you beat the boss, he will tell you that you will lose sooner or later and that the President is being held in Butch Cavendish's fortress, where Butch is waiting to kill us on sight.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 10 of 12

There's no gameplay today. Instead, I drop a whole bunch of info on the plot of the game as well as the Lone Ranger's origin story which we're playing through.

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It's backstory time! If you don't feel like sitting through eighteen minutes of talking with no gameplay, here's all you need to know.

The Lone Ranger's Origin Story

Fandom link

Wikipedia link

Texas Ranger John Reid and his older brother, Captain Dan Reid, were part of a group of six Rangers in pursuit of a gang of dangerous outlaws led by Butch Cavendish. Assisted by a tracker named Collins (who was secretly employed by Cavendish), the Rangers were lulled into thinking that the gang were camped in an area on the far end of a canyon called Bryant's Gap, but Collins had lied to the Rangers; Cavendish and his men were actually waiting in ambush on the rim on both sides of the gap. As it was near dark, Cavendish's plan was to open fire on the Rangers as they rode through and keep shooting until they were sure the Rangers were all dead.

Cavendish was convinced that all of the Rangers were killed in the ambush, but John survived, nursed back to health after being found by an Indian named Tonto, who remembered John as he had once saved Tonto's life when they were boys. When John recognized Tonto, he remembered the name the Indian gave him: "Kemosabe", which meant 'trusty scout'. Tonto then made the observation that John was the only Ranger left, calling him the "lone ranger". John realizes that he will be a marked man once Cavendish finds out that he survived, but Tonto reassures him that he made six graves while burying only five men, so the outlaws will think John died with the others. Now with a strengthening determination to bring Cavendish and his gang to justice for their crimes, John decides that his name must remain buried with his brother and his colleagues and resolves to assume a secret identity and wear a disguise; it was Tonto who suggested that John wear a mask for a disguise, which he made out of cloth from his brother's vest. When John declares that he'll be the Lone Ranger, Tonto vows to help him.

During the ambush, Dan confided in John that his wife and son were coming from the East, and urged John to look after them in the event of his death; he also expected John to leave the Rangers and work the secret silver mine they owned together, and to see that his family gets his share, which John promised. Once recovered from his wounds, John hires an old friend, a retired Ranger named Jim, to work the mine for him. John tells Jim about the ambush and his intent to become the Lone Ranger and then makes an unusual request for Jim to forge silver bullets for him. Thinking that lead bullets would be just as effective, Jim asks why such an unusual request; John explains that the silver bullets are to be used not as a weapon, but a symbol, a symbol of justice to remind himself and others that life, like silver, has value and is not to be wasted. Jim agrees with the idea and makes the silver bullets. John swears Jim to secrecy about his true identity, then tells him that as far as anyone else is concerned, the mine belongs to him. Jim agrees, and John, with Tonto, rides out for the first time as the Lone Ranger.

At first, the Lone Ranger adopted an outlaw persona, which made it easier to infiltrate outlaw camps and capture the members of Cavendish's gang, a task that took years to complete. But even while doing this, the Lone Ranger made it a point to help anyone along the way who needed it. His adventures and heroic deeds earned him and Tonto a widespread reputation as being champions of justice, revered and admired by the good, feared and reviled by the bad, respected by both.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto were now on the trail of Cavendish himself when he fired from ambush on the two of them inadvertently killing the Lone Ranger's horse. Needing a new mount, the Lone Ranger recalls seeing a magnificent wild white stallion who lived in Wild Horse Valley, and decides to search for the horse while trailing Cavendish. They find the great mustang in a fierce death battle with a buffalo, who had gained the upper hand and was about to finish the horse off when it was shot and killed by the Lone Ranger, who then nursed the wounded horse back to health. As much as the Lone Ranger wanted the horse for his own, he was willing to let it go as it fought for his freedom and deserved to be free. When Tonto remarked on the horse's gleaming coat saying it looked "silver white", the Lone Ranger decided that Silver would be a good name for the horse and called out to it. In a gesture stronger than gratitude, the horse stayed on and became the Lone Ranger's partner. The Lone Ranger then trains the wild stallion who learned quickly, and after a few days was ready.

With the stronger and faster Silver as his new mount, the Lone Ranger was now able to overtake and capture Cavendish, finally completing his long mission. But even after accomplishing his goal, the Lone Ranger decided it was for the greater good to continue to help pave the way for law and order in the untamed Western territories, and with Tonto still at his side, he continued to wear the mask and maintain the identity of the Lone Ranger.

The Lone Ranger's Real Name

Wikipedia link

In most media, The Lone Ranger's real name is John Reid. In other media, he has called himself Bill Andrews and Luke Hartman, but John Reid is the most commonly used name.

Also, the word "Kemosabe" is based on the name of a summer camp owned by the father-in-law of American radio actor James Jewell in upstate Michigan.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 9 of 12

In this entry, we head to San Jacinto and rescue Clara, then find out that the nearby U.S. Calvary camp has been taken over by Butch's men.

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At San Jacinto, make your way to the south and be careful on the way there, as the enemies are quick. Enter the large house at the south end.

When you go in, equip the silver bullets. You'll need them to take out the enemies here more easily, especially the one guy who blocks your bullets with nunchaku. A silver bullet will take him down in one hit.

Once you make your way down, you'll be in another cave. Watch out for the stalactites that fall down as you find some stairs that take you back up. Jump off the edge to ensure you jump from one moving platform to another, and watch for enemies that climb on the ceiling as you go.

The boss here will jump around and throw three shurikens at once. Your best bet is to get him on flat ground and corner him. If you can do that, he will just jump back and forth. Use this as an opportunity to hit him with silver bullets every time he lands, and you'll take him down.

After you beat the boss here, you will finally rescue Clara, who calls The Lone Ranger "John." (More on this later.) The Lone Ranger tells Clara that John and his brother were killed by Butch Cavendish, who has now made this very, very personal. (More on this later as well.) You'll then complete this area and head to the next one.

Ahead is a U.S. Cavalry camp. If you talk to the man on the ground, he will tell you that the Cavalry tried to save the President only to be ambushed by Butch Cavendish's forces, who have now taken over the camp. You'll have to get three keys from three leaders who are now in the camp in order to get past the camp and reach Butch's hideout.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 8 of 12

When he head to Abilene to visit the lovely Clara, we find out that she has been kidnapped. How far will we have to go to get her back?

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Our love Clara lives in nearby Abilene, according to Tonto. Let's pay her a visit.

The town just past the bridge is Abilene. East of the train station is the gunshop, while north of the gunshop is the doctor.

One of the men in the houses in the far south tells you that Clara lives on the north side of town. Watch out for enemies along the way. When you head to her house, which has three windows, you'll find out she is gone when you look around and then leave. Tonto will find a note from Butch Cavendish telling you to stop chasing him if Clara's life is to be saved. He just made things personal.

There is a saloon here, but it is not very useful (although you can find out Clara lives in the north here, too).

Go back to the NPC who told you where Clara lived. He will tell you there is an informant at Pike's Peak. (You'll also probably find that out in the saloon, too.)

Pike's Peak is the town to the immediate northeast. Watch out for enemies, as some of them are pretty fast. There is a building with some covered-up double doors, and if you talk to the guy in purple on the right, he will tell you to ask the mine office for directions to the mine.

Head back to Abilene and head to the south. There is a building saying "OFFICE" above the doors. This is the one you want to enter. By talking to the man there, he will tell you that the mine is located in the northern mountain.

Go north and east of Pike's Peak to the flashing star icon. The enemies will throw shurikens, and you'll have to jump over them to avoid them. Also, there are falling stalactites in places, and you'll need to watch out for them. There are also enemies that run at you with swords and also throw firebombs. You'll even need to jump on a moving platform or two to get around, or else you'll land in the same area at the bottom of the mine over and over.

The water slows you down, so jump through it as much as you can.

For the boss, equip the silver bullets, then get him off the ceiling before getting more aggressive with the silver bullets once he hits the ground. Once you beat this guy, you'll find out that Clara is in their hideout.

The hideout will be just east of Abilene and marked by a star icon. Heal up and stock up before going over there, just in case.

Once again,  you'll have to jump on moving platforms and avoid the shurikens thrown by the enemies here. The spiked crushers will come down when you get close; pass by when they come back up. Also, take out the guys climbing the ceilings - and especially the walls - from a distance, as the guys on the wall throw three shurikens at once.

The boss here will use some sort of ninjitsu technique to send clones of himself at you. Thankfully, the silver bullets will take care of him and his clones. Be sure to jump the shurikens as you keep firing at the boss. When you defeat the boss, you'll find out that Clara has been taken to San Jacinto.

You'll soon see a horse-drawn carriage heading to the east. Head east after it. As you do this, you'll be followed by the enemy, who will catch up with you. This will lead to not one but (probably) two first-person shooting segments on horseback, which are the same as they ever were and hopefully shouldn't be any trouble. Unless you're holding Right as soon as you get back on the overworld map, you'll be facing them a second time. Once you make it to San Jacinto on the map, you won't be chased anymore. Use this as an opportunity to go back to Abilene in order to stock up and heal up.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 7 of 12

Apparently Butch Cavendish isn't done ruining our name yet, as he even has the Native American distrusting us. Now we have to put things right again if we want to continue.

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Now that you've cleared your name, the gunshop and the doctor will be back at regular prices again.

The next area is Native American territory, but despite Tonto telling us that the people are friendly, we find out that's not exactly the case when we head north.

You'll be side-scrolling instead of looking through the first person view. Stay in the middle and be ready to aim the gun at other guys at horseback before shooting. The faster you are, the less likely enemies will be able to throw axes at you. If you stay in place, the guys up top will never throw their barrels.

After that section, Tonto will mention that something strange is going on. When you go further, you'll have to do another section of this. After this second section, Tonto will tell you to meet with the chief of the territory to see what is going on. If you need to heal and get more bullets, do so now.

The first teepee you'll see is not where you need to go; however, if you need money at this point in the game, go there now. You'll be facing Native American enemies in this area, and you can get a bit of money from them. Some of them will come out of teepees, and others will be on walls where you can't reach them. Once you advance the plot, you won't be able to grind money anymore.

The second teepee you'll see if actually where you need to go. Compared to the first teepee, some of the Native American enemies will come out of the sand to attack you. Tread lightly as you head north and meet with the Chief.

When you talk to the Chief at the end, he will tell you that Butch Cavendish told him that a masked man would try to rob their country. As a result, they attacked you. Thankfully, the Chief is much more forgiving than the townspeople from the last area of the game, but in order to gain his trust, we must go into the craggy mountains to the south to get a rainbow eagle egg. If you can bring him an eagle egg, he will respect our bravery, trust us and let us move on.

From here, you'll automatically return to the overworld map. From here on out, the Native American enemies in both teepees on the map will be gone, and there will be a marker in the big mountain to the south. After you heal up and stock up back in Brownsville, head over there.

At the beginning, load up the silver bullets and keep them equipped. Watch out for rocks at the start, and jump up to move the screen upwards some more to get more rocks to show up. 

The buzzards take three silver bullets (or four standard bullets).

The rocks with the lighter colors on them will fall down when you stand on them. Thankfully, you can jump your way back to safety.

The coyotes will run at you, and take one bullet to kill no matter what.

At the end of the platforming section, always have one foot off the edge before jumping forward.

The next section is the climb to the egg. It helps to defeat the eagle first, which is pretty easy to do. Get the eagle to dive at you, get away and then turn around while the eagle is at your level. If you can hit the eagle, keep shooting bullets to keep it at your level, and it will eventually fly off. From here, you can take all the time you need jumping up the platforms to get to the egg. There are also no enemies here other than the eagle, which makes things much easier once you defeat the eagle.

Once you get the egg, heal up and stock up back at Brownsville if you need to, then return to the second teepee. With no enemies in the way, you can easily head north and talk to the chief to hand over the egg before continuing on to the next area.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 6 of 12

In this entry, we find out somebody has impersonated us while committing crimes. Now we have to clear our names if we want to go after Butch Cavendish.

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Tonto will tell you that something feels wrong before you enter Silver City. When you enter, however, you will get arrested. Tonto will bail you out and tell you that someone is committing crimes while pretending to be you, and was last seen in Amarillo.

Once you're out of the town, go east to leave, as nobody here is going to help you, including the person running the gunshop. Head north and face the enemy on horseback. This time around, you'll be on horseback, but the controls are the same as the first-person corridor shooting segments we've played in earlier areas. Just remember to watch your bullet count and shoot the men, not the horses, as shooting the horses does nothing.

To the north is Amarillo. Head there, and you'll see some guy who looks just like you run to the right. To advance the plot, just leave the town. If you decide to stick around, however, keep in mind that while the doctor and gunshop owner to the east will help you, it will be reluctant, as they will double their prices due to their not trusting you. As for the townspeople, don't even bother talking to them; you'll get nothing out of it.

You can buy the long barreled pistols at this point in the game, assuming you have the money. Since I'm absolutely loaded, I buy it here when I could get it for $400 down the line. The reason? The added range is really going to be helpful, as your bullets will travel the whole length of the screen.

When you leave town, you'll see the imposter run away to the north to Brownsville. Tonto will tell you that it will be better to wait until you have the cover of nightfall on your side to sneak in there due to the large amount of wild gunmen lurking about.

When it becomes nightfall, everything becomes shades of blue, including your status bar at the bottom of the screen. You'll have to face not one but two men on horseback on the overworld map, but they shouldn't be too difficult. Once you beat them, you won't have to face them again. If you need to, go north and west to Brownsville. Heal up at the doctor, who will be immediately to the east of where you enter.

From here, go to the far north end of town and enter the big house. You'll want to be careful as you take everyone down on the way up to the top floor. At the top floor, advance carefully. Thankfully, you can refill a little of your health here.

You'll then start making your way down to the bottom floor. You'll find another enemy with a heart when you get all the way back down to entry level. When you enter the door, you'll face the imposter. Equip the silver bullets before heading to the right. The imposter will shoot three bullets in quick succession, but if you have a long barreled pistol, you'll be able to take him out a little more easily. Just watch those bullets and hide out close to where you came in if you need to. Six silver bullets will do him in. Once you beat the imposter, you'll be able to clear your name and move on, but not before the imposter tells you that Butch Cavendish has an outrageous plan and that he will get you.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 5 of 12

In this entry, I show off how to get more than enough money to complete the game with, then we move from town to town to take down some outlaws.

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This is a good part of the game to get a ton of money in. Go to the ghost town between Albuquerque and Laredo, then go up to the upper right corner. Just keep moving left and right. You'll get two guys who will keep re-spawning, both of which take two shots to kill. One of them gives you $10 and the other gives you $15. Keep shooting them until you're out of bullets, then go to El Paso, stock up on 50 cases of standard bullets and head back until you have enough to stock up on 50 cases of standard bullets, 50 cases of silver bullets and 10 sticks of TNT, which are the maximum amounts of weapons you can have in the game. From here, you can keep getting more money this way, but $5000 should be more than enough to get through the game.

From here, you'll need to get to the far south side of the area and enter the ghost town that is there. There is a church in the center of the town that you need to enter. Get in, then make your way to the right and take down the enemies as you go. Be careful on the second floor so you don't fall into the pit below.

The boss is a guy in a purple jacket who jumps back when you shoot at him. Trap him behind the wall to the left and hit him with silver bullets as he drops down during his jumps. He'll go down in no time.

From here, head to El Paso and restock and heal. After that, head to Albuquerque and go to the house to the right of the hotel. The woman in the house will tell you that the gunslinger who injured the sheriff is holed up in the hotel. Go to the hotel, talk to the woman at the desk and you'll go inside for a first-person area. Be ready to face enemies, too.

From here, go west, then follow the path north. Keep going until you see a fork in the road. Go east and follow the path from there. At the next fork in the road, go west. There will be a door at the end. Enter it.

From here, you'll be in another first-person area. Take out the bad guys. You'll soon face a guy in a green poncho. Keep shooting him in the head to take him out and shoot down the sticks of dynamite he throws at you at the same time. Once you leave the hotel, go east to leave.

Restock and heal at El Paso, then head to Laredo. Enter the first house you see. The man inside will tell you that the railroad is in danger. Head to the train station. You'll be told that the masked man has boarded a train and may have taken people hostage.

Take the train to Silver City. From here, it's another top-down segment. Take care when shooting down the bad guys as you head to the right, and let them shoot their six bullets and reload so you can move in from there if you have to.

At the end of the train, load up with silver bullets. Head to the right, and when you see the guy in the green shirt and black pants, head to the left immediately to get him away from the passengers. If you can do it, you can get him trapped behind the coal car and you can shoot him with silver bullets from there. He will shoot multiple bullets at a time, so be ready to move out of the way of the bullets before firing. He'll eventually go down, and you'll take out your third wanted criminal before heading to Silver City.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 4 of 12

For the third part of the game, you'll have to noodle around and talk to people until something happens. Thankfully, I was able to figure things out, but it can still be easy to get confused here.

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At the start of the area, Tonto will tell you that the towns in the area were booming due to the gold rush, but now that all of the gold is gone, some of the towns are now ghost towns.

The first city on the path when you head south at the start is El Paso. The sheriff, gunshop and doctor - from top to bottom, respectively - are all near the entrance. If you talk to the sheriff now, he will tell you that he has heard good things about you, but not much else.

At this point in the game, you can get the medium barreled guns. Get them now, as this will increase the range of your shots. Also, be careful in the towns, as it is possible to hit the female citizens with your bullets and lose health from doing so.

The townspeople in this point in the game are not very useful expect in specific circumstances.

In the upper-left corner of the town, you can play a simple variation of five-card draw. After betting some money with the D-Pad and A, you can choose which cards to throw out. "No" lets you hold it, while "Draw" lets you toss them out for something else chosen at random. Afterwards, you'll get to see what you have. If your cards are better than the dealer's, you double your money. Otherwise, you'll win nothing and you lose what you wagered.

From here, head further west. Tonto will tell you that the townspeople are scared of something. Just northwest of El Paso is Albuquerque. Head there. The townsperson to the west of the entrance will tell you to see the sheriff. If a townsperson tells you this, head back to El Paso. Also, go fight the enemies here if you need the money, but be careful. There is also a hotel here. Keep that in mind.

Head back to El Paso and talk to the sheriff. He will tell you that three outlaws have been poking about and that he injured himself trying to arrest them, then ask you to round them up. 

Before going after the outlaws, there is a town further to the northwest. This is Laredo. There is a gunshop, a doctor and a train station here, but the train has not made it to town yet. There is also a firing range in the northwest corner of the town.

Head back to El Paso. If the music changes when you enter a house, you'll be told that a bank has been robbed. This advances the plot. The bank is in the top center of town and has the word "Bank" on it. Talk to the bank teller, and he will tell you that the robbers came from Walnut Grove, which is one of the ghosts towns in the area.

Walnut Area is the ruined buildings at the far south part of the area and is guarded by enemies. The ruined buildings are enemy hideouts, and you can fight enemies there for extra money. The ghost town between Albuquerque and Laredo has a house on the north end with a side-scrolling section, and if you enter it, you can go upstairs and kill the light blue outlaw for health. To go up stairs, just stand in front of a stairway and hold Up on the Control Pad to climb up. From here, you can use Up and Down on the stairs to travel across them.

The enemies in the windows in the top-down outside section don't give you anything when shot, and they eventually come back.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 3 of 12

The second area of the game has us looking for Spanish treasure.

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At the start of the second area, Tonto will tell you that a Spanish treasure from a long time ago is hidden in the area. If you talk to the guy walking around to the south, he will tell you that the rumors about the treasure are true and that outlaws are going after the treasure, and that to find the treasure, one will have to find three pieces of a plate. He has the first plate, but you'll have to find the other two, which are in the mountain and the cave to the west.

Before you go over there, head to the single building to the south. This is the town of Clearwater. There is a doctor and a gunshop here, and further to the west is a bunch of enemies you can fight for money (although there is still the firing range in the previous area that you can still go to). All the way to the west is the village senior (or village elder, if you prefer). If you talk to him, you'll get the same dialogue you got from the guy on the map.

You'll need to use the gun to fight the guy with the rifle. Select your standard or silver bullets, press A to load the gun, then press A to fire the gun. When you run out of bullets, you'll need to press A to reload. Also, when in the towns, do not fire on the women. If you kill one of them with your bullets (which takes just one, by the way), you will lose a good amount of health.

Our first destination is the mountains to the west. Get your gun ready, and be ready to jump off the edges of platforms. The light blue enemies will drop hearts that will replenish four units of health, and the first guy throws TNT. Stay away from the TNT so the blast doesn't hurt you about a second later.

The boss here jumps around and throws knives. When he jumps up, shoot so the bullet hits him on the way down. The closer, the better. He will try to jump again. Do it again. He will keep doing this, and you will keep hitting him. You'll have the first part of the plate.

Next up is the cave. This is a first-person section. Next to your health is a dark green square with the current direction you are currently facing (N, S, E or W). Left and Right lets you turn, Up lets you move forward and Down lets you turn around 180 degrees.

If the music changes while you're exploring, you've run into enemies. The controls for fighting enemies is the same as the firing range mini-game (the Control Pad aims the cursor and B shoots), but this will be a life-or-death situation. As you fight enemies, certain parts of the square divided into four triangles at the bottom center will flash red. If it's one of the triangles to the side, you'll need to turn to the side to face the enemy. If it is the bottom triangle, you'll need to turn around completely. If the top triangle flashes, you're facing the right direction. To turn around, you'll need to hold A, then press Left, Right or Down to either turn to the side (Left or Right) or completely around (Down).

When fighting enemies, you'll need to shoot them before they shoot you. If they throw knives or dynamite at you, you'll need to shoot down the projectile to keep it from hitting you. Also, red enemies will drop hearts. Shoot them to refill health before they disappear. Enemies will also drop money and bullets, and you'll need to shoot those things to get them before they disappear as well. When the frantic music stops, you'll be free to explore again. Keep in mind that the game does not keep track of where you were heading last, so you'll need to keep mental note of that in case the enemies have you turned around. And as always, watch the chamber for your gun in the lower-right corner so you'll know when you need to reload.

At the start, go north, then go east (west is a dead end). Follow the path, and face the enemies at the intersections as you go. Keep going north at the series of intersections, then go east at the dead end and keep following the path. When you see paths to the side, keep going west as you face the enemies. At the end, you'll reach the path leading to the plate. Walk up to it to take it.

From here, head back to Clearwater, heal up and stock up if you have to, then talk to the village senior. He will tell you that the treasure is hidden in a cave to the east, and he will tell you to go there. Head east to where the flashing sheriff's badge is on the map and walk into it to enter the cave. Get your gun ready.

Treasure Cave Map (by Gennadiy_Master)

The treasure is in the upper-left corner of the cave, and you'll have to take a certain path to get there. At the start, head west, then north, then follow the path east. At the fork in the road, head west. When you have a choice between west and north, keep going west. (There is a dead end to the north, but the light blue enemy there will drop health.) You'll need to follow the path. At the last fork, go north. You'll soon find the treasure.

Along the way, you will be facing enemies in this cave. Always keep your gun loaded, and if you need to, get your enemies to fire their gun six times so you can move in for the kill when they reload.

Once you find the treasure, head back to Clearwater, heal up, stock up and talk to the village elder. He will thank you for protecting the treasures, and you'll continue to the next area.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 2 of 12

We've got some outlaws to rustle up if we want to cross the bridge and ride Silver, so let's get to the mountains and get to it!

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To buy things at the gunshop, use the Control Pad to move the arrow to what you want to buy and press A to confirm choices. B backs out. Standard bullets are your standard bullets, silver bullets are bullets that do double damage, TNT is a stick of dynamite that can be thrown to hit enemies with an explosion, and "Short Barrelled" is the short barreled gun that you start with at the beginning of the game. The short barreled gun does not have a lot of range, and you'll find guns with longer barrels as you progress. The same controls work at the Doctor's office.

I stock up on 30 cases of standard bullets and 10 cases of silver bullets, as well as one stick of TNT.

The blinking sheriff's badge icon indicates where you need to go to enter the next area. Walk into it, and you'll get there.

In the side-scrolling sections, you can aim your bullets in seven directions (all but down). Because of this, you can aim diagonally at enemies and take them out from a good distance. You can also duck and shoot down to dodge some bullets.

For best results when jumping from platform in the background to the other, make your jump forward right at the edge.

The enemies that throw barrels are best taken down from a distance.

The TNT does not hurt enemies on contact; only the explosion does.

The boss here is a guy who shoots multiple bullets at a time. For bosses, use your silver bullets. Load your gun up with silver bullets, then duck down and shoot at him. Wait for him to stop flashing before shooting him again. Four silver bullets will take him out.

Once you beat the boss, head back to the sheriff of Dodge City and talk to him to get the letter. Thankfully, the map will be clear of enemy encounters now that you've defeated the outlaws' ringleader. From here, head back to the river and talk to the bridge keeper. He will let you cross to the other side, where you will re-unite with Silver and continue to the second area of the game.

When you complete an area, Tonto will give you a password. Be sure to write it down so you can start back where you left off.

PrinceWatercress plays The Lone Ranger - Part 1 of 12

Can you believe that there's a full-blown video game based on The Lone Ranger? I can't either. This one stayed in America. And that's a shame. Because even if you're not familiar with the source material, it's still good quality gaming on the NES.

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Here is the basis of the story of this game, which you can read here.

Texas Ranger John Reid and his older brother, Captain Dan Reid, were part of a group of six Rangers in pursuit of a gang of dangerous outlaws led by Butch Cavendish. Assisted by a tracker named Collins (who was secretly employed by Cavendish), the Rangers were lulled into thinking that the gang were camped in an area on the far end of a canyon called Bryant's Gap, but Collins had lied to the Rangers; Cavendish and his men were actually waiting in ambush on the rim on both sides of the gap. As it was near dark, Cavendish's plan was to open fire on the Rangers as they rode through and keep shooting until they were sure the Rangers were all dead.

Cavendish was convinced that all of the Rangers were killed in the ambush, but John survived, nursed back to health after being found by an Indian named Tonto, who remembered John as he had once saved Tonto's life when they were boys. When John recognized Tonto, he remembered the name the Indian gave him: "Kemosabe", which meant 'trusty scout'. Tonto then made the observation that John was the only Ranger left, calling him the "lone ranger". John realizes that he will be a marked man once Cavendish finds out that he survived, but Tonto reassures him that he made six graves while burying only five men, so the outlaws will think John died with the others. Now with a strengthening determination to bring Cavendish and his gang to justice for their crimes, John decides that his name must remain buried with his brother and his colleagues and resolves to assume a secret identity and wear a disguise; it was Tonto who suggested that John wear a mask for a disguise, which he made out of cloth from his brother's vest. When John declares that he'll be the Lone Ranger, Tonto vows to help him.

During the ambush, Dan confided in John that his wife and son were coming from the East, and urged John to look after them in the event of his death; he also expected John to leave the Rangers and work the secret silver mine they owned together, and to see that his family gets his share, which John promised. Once recovered from his wounds, John hires an old friend, a retired Ranger named Jim, to work the mine for him. John tells Jim about the ambush and his intent to become the Lone Ranger and then makes an unusual request for Jim to forge silver bullets for him. Thinking that lead bullets would be just as effective, Jim asks why such an unusual request; John explains that the silver bullets are to be used not as a weapon, but a symbol, a symbol of justice to remind himself and others that life, like silver, has value and is not to be wasted. Jim agrees with the idea and makes the silver bullets. John swears Jim to secrecy about his true identity, then tells him that as far as anyone else is concerned, the mine belongs to him. Jim agrees, and John, with Tonto, rides out for the first time as the Lone Ranger.

At first, the Lone Ranger adopted an outlaw persona, which made it easier to infiltrate outlaw camps and capture the members of Cavendish's gang, a task that took years to complete. But even while doing this, the Lone Ranger made it a point to help anyone along the way who needed it. His adventures and heroic deeds earned him and Tonto a widespread reputation as being champions of justice, revered and admired by the good, feared and reviled by the bad, respected by both.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto were now on the trail of Cavendish himself when he fired from ambush on the two of them inadvertently killing the Lone Ranger's horse. Needing a new mount, the Lone Ranger recalls seeing a magnificent wild white stallion who lived in Wild Horse Valley, and decides to search for the horse while trailing Cavendish. They find the great mustang in a fierce death battle with a buffalo, who had gained the upper hand and was about to finish the horse off when it was shot and killed by the Lone Ranger, who then nursed the wounded horse back to health. As much as the Lone Ranger wanted the horse for his own, he was willing to let it go as it fought for his freedom and deserved to be free. When Tonto remarked on the horse's gleaming coat saying it looked "silver white", the Lone Ranger decided that Silver would be a good name for the horse and called out to it. In a gesture stronger than gratitude, the horse stayed on and became the Lone Ranger's partner. The Lone Ranger then trains the wild stallion who learned quickly, and after a few days was ready.

When you start the game, you'll be able to choose between using the controller or the Zapper to play the first-person shooting sections. I use the controller.

When you start the game, you'll need to find your horse Silver in order to travel further into the West. Rumor has it that Silver has been spotted in Tucson.

On the overworld, use the Control Pad to move around. When you see a town, walk into it to enter it.

The nearest town is Tucson, to the west. Go ahead and go there.

In the towns and top-down areas, use the Control Pad to move around, attack with B and talk to people with A. Use Select to switch between your fists and your other weapons. Start pauses the game.

At the bottom of the screen is the HUD. The yellow bars are your health, and if you lose all your health, you'll be forced to continue from the beginning of the section of the game you are playing.

There will always be one person in the town who will tell you which town you are in.

The train station will allow you to go from one part of the overworld map to another for the price of a train ticket. You won't be able to do anything with the train station until you progress through the game, and I end up never using it myself.

The gunshop will allow you to buy standard bullets, silver bullets (which do double damage, travel farther and are useful for bosses) and TNT sticks (which can be used to take care of enemies above you). 

The doctor lets you heal for a price. Keep fighting enemies to get that money. Be careful; some enemies will have guns while others will also throw knives.

There will be enemies in the town. Amazingly, the hitbox on the fists is pretty generous, though we will be using our gun eventually.

Someone in one of the houses in the south side of town will tell you that a white horse has went to the other side of the river. By entering houses, you can talk to people. Use A to speed through the text. B lets you leave.

To use your gun, switch to standard or silver buttons. If the chamber is empty, press A to load. You'll have six bullets. When you shoot all of your bullets, you'll need to press A again to reload the gun with the bullets you currently have equipped. If you need to switch bullet types, do so before reloading.

By going all the way to the south where the river is, you'll find Silver, but you won't be able to reach Silver because the bridge has been pulled up. If you go up to the man in the building near the bridge, you'll find out that the bridge is up to keep outlaws from moving in and out, and that you'll need a letter from the sheriff of Dodge City in order to cross.

Dodge City is between the bridge and Tucson. The sheriff will be in a building with the word "Sheriff" above it. Some towns have this, while others do not. By talking to the sheriff, he will ask you to take down the outlaws in the mountain to the west.

Carson City is further to the west. There is a house in the northwest corner that acts as a firing range. Just pay $10, and you'll be able to practice shooting in first-person mode. You have to shoot down eighteen bottles, and you'll only have eighteen bullets. If you can somehow memorize where all the bottles will fly to and you can shoot them all, you'll get $50; otherwise, you'll get $1 for every bottle you shoot down. There are two sets of patterns for the bottles, and the game switches between them every time you play the firing range mini-game. This is an easy way to get a lot of money early in the game if you have the time and patience.

When firing the gun, you'll need to press A when your gun is empty to reload. Keep that in mind and immediately reload once you fire your last bullet. This is true not just for the firing range, but whenever you're using the gun in the town, in first-person sections, in side-scrolling sections or any part of the game where you can use the gun.

When facing enemies with guns, one thing you can do is wait for them to shoot six bullets and mentally count how many bullets they fire as you go. When they fire six bullets, they will take a few seconds to reload. Use this as an opportunity to move in and make the outlaw pay.

Some enemies will re-spawn in the towns, so be careful.

The cowboys in black that move around on the map are top-down areas you'll have to go through in order to pass by. No matter where you face enemies, they will always leave a little bit of money that you can pick up. Also, some bad guys will take one hit to kill while others will take two. Also, you cannot clear the overworld map of black-clad outlaws; if you get through one enemy section, then get through another, the enemy for the first enemy section will return to the overworld map.

PrinceWatercress plays Mega Man III for Game Boy - Part 5 of 5

Now it's time for the thrilling conclusion! If you can beat this one, you can probably beat just about any Mega Man game from the 1980s or 1990s.

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Dr. Wily Stage 2

After going through some doors, you'll meet Dr. Wily. He walks away, but then you have to deal with some guy with what looks like saw blades on his shoulder pads and head who rises out of the ground like a giant circular saw. This is Punk, the third of the Mega Man Killers, and Mega Man goes after him instead.

Slide or jump over Punk as he goes from one side of the room to the other. You'll need to watch him carefully to see whether he goes high or low. Hit him with fully-charged Mega Buster shots at all times and avoid the Screw Crusher he throws. Any hits you take in this battle takes off a third of your health regardless of whether it is contact damage or via the Screw Crusher. Those Screw Crushers not only do some good damage, but they also cause your Mega Buster shots to bounce off.

Beating Punk gives you the Screw Crusher.

Mega Man will then chase after Wily, who retreats into a base that rises out of the ocean.

Dr. Wily Fortress

Be ready to shoot a Skull Joe with a fully charged shot at the start, as it will throw bones at you from off-screen.

You're going to have to use Rush Jet to get past the spike pit just after the beginning.

At the area where you'll have to slide under some spikes, throw a Shadow Blade upwards at the globe that turns the light off. This thing is supposed to be from Shadow Man's stage (as it appeared there in Shadow Man's NES stage), but doesn't show up until now.

After this, you'll also finally meet the grenade robots. If you charged your Mega Buster up all the way before climbing up the ladder, you'll be able to take them out before they can even reach you. Better yet, keep Shadow Blade equipped and hit them when they jump above the ladder.

This stage is pretty nasty, as you'll be dealing with just about every enemy and hazard in the game here.

Also, the moving ceilings from Dust Man's stage come back, and this time, you have to deal with spikes that move in and out from the floor. You'll need to remember where the spikes are as you move through this section.

The steel walls that you've been seeing throughout the second half of the game can be busted open with the Drill Bomb.

When you go through the door, you'll face the Wall Robot from the first Dr. Wily stage. Same strategies apply: just avoid contact and hit it with the Spark Shock.

Once you beat the Wall Robot a second time, you'll trek a little further before finding the second door. This leads to the final boss.

The first form of Dr. Wily is a crusher with eyes and fists. Stay to the left, and watch out for this missiles. Hit the eyes with fully-charged Mega Buster shots, and use them to take out the missiles if you need to.

The second form finally exposes Dr. Wily. Shoot him with the Screw Crusher as he sends balls at you, since it's the only weapon that can reach him. It will bounce off the balls, but it'll hit Wily if it connects.

When you beat Dr. Wily, you've done it! You've won!

PrinceWatercress plays Mega Man III for Game Boy - Part 4 of 5

Guess what? The game doesn't put the kid gloves back on after Dust Man. Prepare to struggle.

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Dive Man

Remember: you jump much higher when underwater. You'll need to hold the A button down until you reach the height you want to reach, then let go when you get there, which will take some trial and error.

The fish will leap at you if you're close enough. Hit them with charged shots.

The Mettaurs with the snorkels will swim towards you and fire at you as they do.

There will be walls, floors and ceilings lined with instant death spikes. Tread carefully.

Hit the whale robots with your Mega Buster, and use charged shots to speed up their demise. These whales will spit missiles at you, and also send a group of four bombs downwards from their blowholes. They can also suck you towards them with the vacuums in their mouths.

The domed robots with the claw underneath will dive for you when you get close enough. It will return to its original position before immediately diving for you again.

The tiny circular saw that moves back and forth is the "Ha, ha, you can't hit me even with a charged Mega Buster shot, and I also speed up when you're at my level" enemy of the game. It falls to Search Snake.

The stingray robots will dive towards you when you're close enough, but that's all they really do. Have a charged shot ready when they finally meet you, because they do a lot of contact damage.

Near the end, the water will slowly rise and fall...and so will the instant death spike ceilings! Time your movements carefully, and use the water as it rises to extend your jumps just a little more if you need to.

The mines will flash and eventually explode when you get close enough.

To beat Dive Man, equip the Skull Barrier and use it near him. The Skull Barrier will also negate the Dive Missiles that he shoots at you. You shouldn't have too much of a problem with him.

Beating Dive Man gives you the Dive Missiles. Much like Dive Man's, these Dive Missiles will home in on enemies.

Drill Man

The spinning robots that fly around will track you and go straight for you.

The spike blocks won't kill you if you land on the spikes...as embarrassing as it is. The spikes will change position every few seconds. If the left arrow on them flashes, the spikes will be on the sides of the block. If the up arrow flashes, they will be on the top and bottom.

The vertical drop in the middle of the stage has foreboding spikes, slow disappearing platforms and annoying enemies. Remember those jumps you made at the spike pits in Dust Man's stage? You're gonna need to make them again, and this time, you'll have to utilize the platforms that open up and dump you downwards when you land on them, because you'll barely have enough time to get back off them when you get on them in the first place.

You'll see chutes on the ceilings near the end that spit out rocks. Not only can the rocks hit you on the way down, but the fragments that bounce upwards when they hit the floor can also do the same.

Drill Man will dive into the floor and try to reappear from under you. Stay on the move and hit him with the Dive Missiles.

Beating Drill Man will give you the Drill Bomb. Press B once to shoot it, and press B again to make it explode.

Now that you've beaten the last four Robot Masters, you can take on Dr. Wily.

PrinceWatercress plays Mega Man III for Game Boy - Part 3 of 5

Hope you've enjoyed the game so far, because this is where the kid gloves come off.

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Dr. Wily Stage 1

Beating the first four Robot Masters will give you access to the first Dr. Wily Stage.

As soon as you start this level, you'll have to deal with the dreaded disappearing platforms. Get the simple timing of these platforms down. The larger platforms will separate and dump you downwards if you don't jump off of them as soon as you get on.

Once you get past the three slightly difficult pits, you'll take on a large robot that looks similar to the cross-shaped robots that moved back and forth in the first Mega Man game for both NES and Game Boy. This guy will move across the walls, ceiling and floor, and can also make jumping motions at times. Avoid making contact with it as you attack it with Spark Shock.

Once you beat it, enter the teleporter. You'll face four more Robot Masters: Dive Man, Skull Man, Drill Man and Dust Man.

Dust Man

Yep, the Mettaurs are back. Some of these guys will pop out of their hard hats, jump at you and fire a three-way shot. Others just spin around and shoot forwards. Attack them when they're not hiding in their hard hats.

The robots that pop out of the pits are rather nasty. Hit them with a fully-charged Mega Buster shot as soon as you see them and quickly jump over the pit.

The shield robots that fly back and forth can only be attacked from behind.

The crusher robots will try to leap towards you, sometimes making a leap high enough for you to slide or move under them. If you can't get by one, plug away at it with Shadow Blades.

Be careful with the crushing ceilings. Use fully-charged Mega Buster shots to break the blocks that are in your path. You may have to fire and then move right to get rid of a few, then get away before you get crushed.

The gumball machine robots fire mortar shots that will go straight for your current location. Hit these things with both regular and charged Mega Buster shots.

For the pits with the low ceilings above them, make sure one of Mega Man's "front" or "right" foot is off the platform while the "back" or "left" foot in on it. That's when you jump forward.

You'll have to use Rush Coil to get past the spike pit that's five spikes wide. Leap towards the center, use Rush Coil and then move back to the right to get Rush to show up in the middle. You should then be able to make it to the other side. Use it one more time to reach the next ladder.

When you have the choice between the drop to the left and the drop to the right, pick the right path. There's far less enemies.

Dust Man will jump around. If he sucks you towards him, just keep moving away from him. Jump straight up when he fires his Dust Crusher. so the four breakaway shots don't hit you. Hit him with fully-charged Mega Buster shots when he's not using his vacuum.

Beating Dust Man gives you the Dust Crusher, which breaks into four diagonal shots when it hits an enemy. You'll also get Rush Jet, which lets you fly on top of Rush.

Skull Man

The cannons shoot balls that bounce off walls, floors and ceilings. Both the cannons and balls can be destroyed with fully-charged shots.

The Skull Joes are also easily dismantled with fully charged shots. Ditto for the bats, worms and flying cylinder robots.

The domed guns with the faces shoot at you much like the gumball machine robots.

The backgrounds starts flashing slowly at the end.

Equip the Dust Crusher and fire it at him. Avoid him and his firepower if you can. When he leaps into the air, he'll activate the Skull Barrier. Wait for it to disappear before hitting him with the Dust Crusher again.

Beating Skull Man gives you the Skull Barrier. It's a shield, much like Skull Man's version of the weapon.

PrinceWatercress plays Mega Man III for Game Boy - Part 2 of 5

In this entry, I beat the last two Robot Masters put in front of me. At this point, the game seems like it's one I'm going to breeze through. Just wait until the next third of the game, though.

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Shadow Man

The music here is actually better than the NES version.

The bombs, as always, count down when you stand on them. You'll want to step off before they explode.

The frog robots that leap around will always move towards you. The jackhammer robots will move back and forth, and stop every second or so before moving again.

The parachute guys will drop down, then move side to side as they float to the bottom. Hit them with fully charged Mega Buster shots to make getting rid of them easier.

Shadow Man is quite possibly the easiest of the first four Robot Masters to beat with the Mega Buster. To make matters better is the casual re-reminder that you can charge the Mega Buster. After every third jump, Shadow Man will either slide or throw Shadow Blades at you. Just keep your distance and hit this guy will fully-charged Mega Buster shots. This is easy. If you also have it, you can also fire the Gemini Laser at him. Ironically, this wasn't the weapon you beat him with on NES, but since Top Man was in the last game, 

Beating Shadow Man will award you the Shadow Blade. It's a shuriken that can be thrown forward with limited range, but can also be tossed upwards. Think of it as 

Spark Man

Yep, those barriers that toggle off and on every few seconds are back. They're still annoying.

Be very careful with the metal cubes that come out of the chutes. They can't crush you and cause instant death, but they can take out a good chunk of your health. The best course of action is to slide past when you destroy one, so another one doesn't show up and hit you.

The flying robot with the plug arms will shoot an eight-direction shot every few seconds, but it won't happen if you hit it with a fully-charged Mega Buster shot as soon as you see it.

The platforms with the arrows pointing upwards on them will slowly rise you towards the spikes, so you'll want to jump off to the next platform at the right time to proceed.

There is a vertical drop where the walls are lined with spikes, but it's really easy and the only hazard even worth mentioning there are the bomb platforms from Shadow Man's stage.

Spark Man is weak to the Shadow Blade, and just like in the third NES game, you still have the uneven terrain where the floor gets higher as you get closer to the center of the room. Fire the Shadow Blade through walls, and remember that you can fire it straight up when necessary.

Beating Spark Man will net you the Spark Shock. This is a powerful electric spark that can damage tougher enemies.

PrinceWatercress plays Mega Man III for Game Boy - Part 1 of 5

It's time for the third of five games in the Mega Man Game Boy saga. It starts out pretty well, but it gets harder after the first third of the game.

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Dr. Wily's at it again. Predictable. At least the third Game Boy game is actually playable, unlike the first one. Also, after having playing this game for the first time in years, it's also hard.

Don't forget, you can use the charge shot this time around.

The first four Robot Masters are Shadow Man, Snake Man, Gemini Man and Spark Man.

Snake Man

The game is pretty stingy with the health pick-ups. The circle shaped pick-ups give you health, and the rectangle-shaped pick-ups give you weapon energy. Both types of pick-ups come in small and large varieties, with the large variety giving you more.

The snake heads will fire at your current location. A fully-charged Mega Buster shot will easily finish them off.

Just like in the third NES game, you'll be dealing with the giant snakes. The body will be as unstable and wavy as ever, but the weak point is still the same: fully-charged shots to the mouth will win the day.

The flying bell-shaped robots will drop a bomb when you get close enough to them.

Hit the guy that throws the ball and chain when he opens his eye, and when he's still in his throwing poses. Those are the only times he is vulnerable.

The robot that runs straight towards you will jump over you when you get close enough. Be ready to hit him when he lands behind you, so you can get some shots in before he hops towards you.

Eddie will pop up in the middle of levels to give you a power-up. If he gives you something you don't want, don't pick it up. Instead, go back before it disappears, then return. Eddie will be back onscreen, hopefully with something you need.

You'll have to jump off the very edge of a ladder to get the Energy Tank near the end.

The clampers will move up and down a ladder, and stop to close itself in an attempt to crush you in their spiky grip.

The E can is back! Get the Energy Tank and you'll have a health refill that you can use when you pause the game, as always.

The hopping robots will make two or three low hops before making a very high one.

Snake Man will walk back and forth shooting Search Snakes at you. Hit him with the Spark Shot, and try not to die. Use an Energy Tank if you need to.

Beating Search Snake will give you the Search Snake and the Rush Coil. The Search Snake will crawl over floors and walls, while the Rush Coil will let you reach very high platforms.

Gemini Man

The dragonflies will try to lower themselves down at you before flying to the right. The penguins will shoot egg bombs at you was they jump.

The bubbles will create ghosts that you'll have to destroy whenever you shoot them down to clear the way. If you use a fully-charged Mega Buster shot, you won't have to deal with the ghosts. Unless, of course, you want the power-ups, then go ahead.

Shoot at the spinning cranks on the top of the big penguin robots to get rid of them.

After some precision platforming across a long spike pit, you'll finally face Gemini Man. Shoot at him and his clone with the Search Snake, and time it so that you do it in mid-air and can manage to avoid both Gemini Men. After enough damage, the real one will just walk and jump back and forth. Finish him off with more Search Snake.

Beating Gemini Man gives you the Gemini Laser, which can bounce off walls.

PrinceWatercress plays Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus AGAIN - Part 23 of 23

And now for the last of the Master Thief Sprints. Believe it or not, I did all the Sprints for the fourth chapter of the game in only twenty minutes. And that's the game finished...again!

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A Perilous Ascent

This was the last Master Thief Sprint that I did in my initial playthrough during my months-long PlayStation 2 marathon, and it was the hardest. Once again, I do this one first just to get it out of the way. For this one, you won't be rolling a whole lot. The only real strategy that will come in handy here is to use the double jump in the falling icicle segments without getting hit. As for the searchlight section where you have to cross the narrow platforms, you'll have to do those the old-fashioned way, as using the shortcut there will be fatal. Use the double jump in the icicle sections; you'll save the most time there.

Flaming Temple Of Flame

For this one, memorizing the level is essential, as it can be easy to get confused as to where you need to go, especially when you're inside the building where all the disciples are training. As for that fireworks platform with the searchlight on it, I hit it first, then I get on it right as it ascends so I don't get caught. Once you have those two things in particular down, you're good to go. Just remember to double jump where the narrow pathways with the searchlights are when you need to if you need to save even more time.

Duel By The Dragon

After having to go through this one for the Clue Bottles and again for the Vault, you should have an idea as to how to get through this one. You'll want to make sure that you're good with your platforming, and that you don't waste time hitting the fireworks. When you make it to the end, you'll want to run around the stone hand while swinging the cane around so you can easily hit all those firecrackers to trigger the exit. Once the exit is in sight, you'll have no time to waste. Get to it immediately.

The Unseen Foe

Ah, yes. The last one. This is the one Master Thief Sprint where the power to turn invisible gets the chance to shine. Don't forget that you can press the Circle button to go invisible when you need to, especially when you have no way of avoiding a laser or an enemy's spotlight. As for the conveyor belt you have to run against to defeat the enemy at the end, get on the conveyor belt and move forward as the enemy moves his spotlight to one side. Once you're close enough, whack him. For the drop at the end, there is a shortcut where you can go into the middle at one point and then move forward through the lasers to get to the exit, but I take a different approach: jumping to the second platform, then skipping straight to the exit.

And with that, we have 100%. Enjoy the rest of this run, and enjoy the developers' video that comes afterward. Be sure to pay attention, as things are different colors and some enemies and objects have different appearances due to all the footage coming from a pre-final version of the game. 

PrinceWatercress plays Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus AGAIN - Part 22 of 23

Now it's time for the third chapter's Master Thief Sprints. A Grave Undertaking ended up being the hardest out of all the sprints I had to do this time around.

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The Dread Swamp Path

Believe it or not, you can use the spire jump technique to completely bypass the first spider in the stage entirely (something I completely forgot I could do). As for the big creatures that you have to kill both halves of, you'll still have to smack them out of your way when necessary. Just remember that you still have to take a leap of faith in order to make it to the end. Watch out for those searchlights!

The Lair of the Beast

You'll barely have enough time to get through this one. Best advice I can give for this stage is to do the spire point jump from branch to branch and vine to vine, and make those swings on the hooks quick. Even though I fight the enemies here, you can actually skip them. You can also take a bit of a shortcut from running into the water while in a hurry; as a result, you can be bounced further ahead and get a good boost through a bit of the end as a result.

Descent Into Danger

The two minutes and change that you get for this is just enough for you to make it to the exit with a few seconds to spare. Knowing the layout for this stage is definitely well-advised, as you'll need to know where to turn in order to get to the next area. As for those lasers spinning around the column, the more space you have from where you need to get on and where you need to get off, the better. 

A Grave Undertaking

I found some shortcuts and new tactics the second time around, such as using the roots at the tree just above the water at the start and making a path straight to the drum near the three ghost spawners. This one ended up being the hardest one to do, and while some of it is due to the ghosts at the end, at other times it was because I was too fast on the draw when it came to grabbing a rope or getting on a platform. The ghosts at the end will make it very difficult to get to the green light and stop the timer for a job well done, and the best bet for this one is to get a charm during the run and hold on to it until you get to the very end. At this point, you should have all the vaults opened, and if you have the water safety ability, you'll get back on the narrow path and you can get to the exit before the ghosts come back. If you're patient enough like I was this time around, however, you won't need the charm.