PrinceWatercress plays Berzerk (Atari 2600) - Game 5 Longplay

Time for the Game 5 longplay already?

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In Game 5, Evil Otto is back, but at least you can take him out of the picture temporarily with your bullets. Otherwise, it's the same as Game 4: the robots still shoot at you, and you'll need 2,000 points to get an extra life.

PrinceWatercress plays Vanguard - The Longplay

It's time for a commentary-free playthrough with the "default" controls of both difficulty switches on B/Novice. Enjoy!

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Here's the story, according to Wikipedia:

The Gond has been terrorizing nearby space colonies with its periodic raids of destruction. The time has come to put an end to his reign of terror. The player has been selected to pilot an advanced fighter ship with high offensive capabilities, and must enter the cave inside the asteroid where the Gond makes his home, and safely fly through every zone; the Mountain Zone, Rainbow Zone, Styx Zone, Stripe Zone, Bleak Zone, and the City of Mystery (aka Last Zone) where the Gond is rumored to reside. The player must take the Gond out, and succeed in the mission. If unsuccessful, the colonies will be doomed.

There are four different ways to fire your guns, and it all depends on what settings the left and right difficulty switches are set at. If both are set to B/Novice, all guns firing behind you, in front of you and two the sides fire automatically, and you will not fire any of your guns except for the forward-firing gun if you hold the fire button. If you're not firing, you'll move faster than if you were always firing. As for the joystick, it will always allow you to fly in eight directions regardless of switch settings.

You'll get an extra life at 10,000 points, but it's the only extra life you'll be able to get unless you can somehow reach 50,000 points, which will reward you with another one. Also, you can continue at any time if you run out of lives, but only on the first loop. To continue, press the Fire button when the game asks if you want to continue. From the second loop on, it's all or nothing, and you won't be able to continue when you lose your last life.

You start out in the Mountain Zone. You'll need to avoid flying into the sides and into enemies, and you'll also need to avoid being fired upon. You'll also want to get through each area before you run out of fuel. To keep your fuel topped up, you'll need to constantly shoot down enemies. Flying into the E cans will give you temporary invincibility, and as you have it, you can run straight into enemies and destroy them without consequence until the flashing and invincibility music stops.

The next zone is the Rainbow Zone. You'll be moving downwards while avoiding and shooting down the balloon enemies. The trick to doing this effectively and always giving yourself room is to manage your auto-fire so you can move into place more quickly and fire at the enemies from the side as well as from behind and in front. Giving yourself the extra speed not only gets you points faster, but it also gets you through this section faster.

In the Styx Zone, you'll want to watch out for the lasers from the enemy ships. If you can't line yourself up with a ship, take the time to stay away from it rather than re-correcting yourself. The enemies here are the same as in the Mountain Zone, except in reverse order, and you don't have the E cans. Also, watch the walls, as there is more variation in height with those jagged edges compared to the Mountain Zone.

You'll then enter another Rainbow Zone. This time around you'll be traveling upwards while dealing with the balloons. The tactics that you used in the first zone will be useful here.

Next up is the Striped Zone. If you take the left side when you reach a fork, you'll need to destroy the enemies that move back and forth before they run into you. If you take the right side, you'll need to destroy barriers and force field generators. The worst enemies are the squares that move back and forth, which are indestructible. Thankfully, the E cans come back, and the invincibility you can get from them can help you get through enemies and walls temporarily, just like in the Mountain Zone.

You'll then reach a third Rainbow Zone. Once again, you're fighting off those balloon enemies, and once again, you'll need to be careful as you destroy them all.

After this is the Bleak Zone. The curled-up alien enemies will give you a ton of points if you touch them and dock with them, but you can only do this three times. If you do this a fourth time, you'll get destroyed. Also, watch out for the walls, as they can extend towards the center at points. Halfway through, you'll be dealing with 

You'll then face the Gond in the City of Mystery. The longer you wait, the more points you'll get, but watch out for the barriers and the Gond's firepower. I'm never in this screen for long because I hit the Gond as soon as I'm in here.

Once you beat the Gond, you'll enter the second loop. The zones are the same, but they will be in a different order, and some enemies will act differently compared to the first loop, such as the arrow-shaped enemies in the Bleak Zone firing at you.

When you have both the left and right difficulty switches set to A/Expert, the Vanguard's guns fire when you hold the fire button. The guns will fire in the same direction that you move in. If you let go of the fire button, you will stop firing.

When the left difficulty switch is at A/Expert and the right difficulty switch is at B/Novice, the guns fire much like they do with both switches set at A/Expert, except you do not have to move forward to fire forward, as the forward guns fire automatically for as long as you hold the fire button.

When the left difficulty switch is at B/Novice and the right difficulty switch is at A/Expert, the ship fires in the same direction as you move. Pressing and holding the fire button lets you stop firing.

When you have both the left and right difficulty switches set to B/Novice, the Vanguard's guns fire in the direction you move in much like with the left switch at B/Novice and the right switch at A/Expert, but the forward shot is always firing as long as you're not holding the fire button.

PrinceWatercress plays Vanguard - Part 2 of 2

Now that we've done a complete loop of the game, let's check out the other control variants!

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When you have both the left and right difficulty switches set to A/Expert, the Vanguard's guns fire when you hold the fire button. The guns will fire in the same direction that you move in. If you let go of the fire button, you will stop firing.

When the left difficulty switch is at A/Expert and the right difficulty switch is at B/Novice, the guns fire much like they do with both switches set at A/Expert, except you do not have to move forward to fire forward, as the forward guns fire automatically for as long as you hold the fire button.

When the left difficulty switch is at B/Novice and the right difficulty switch is at A/Expert, the ship fires in the same direction as you move. Pressing and holding the fire button lets you stop firing.

When you have both the left and right difficulty switches set to B/Novice, the Vanguard's guns fire in the direction you move in much like with the left switch at B/Novice and the right switch at A/Expert, but the forward shot is always firing as long as you're not holding the fire button.

PrinceWatercress plays Vanguard - Part 1 of 2

I've seen this game quite a lot, but it took being a Let's Player to finally check it out. It's not bad at all!

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Here's the story, according to Wikipedia:

The Gond has been terrorizing nearby space colonies with its periodic raids of destruction. The time has come to put an end to his reign of terror. The player has been selected to pilot an advanced fighter ship with high offensive capabilities, and must enter the cave inside the asteroid where the Gond makes his home, and safely fly through every zone; the Mountain Zone, Rainbow Zone, Styx Zone, Stripe Zone, Bleak Zone, and the City of Mystery (aka Last Zone) where the Gond is rumored to reside. The player must take the Gond out, and succeed in the mission. If unsuccessful, the colonies will be doomed.

There are four different ways to fire your guns, and it all depends on what settings the left and right difficulty switches are set at. If both are set to B/Novice, all guns firing behind you, in front of you and two the sides fire automatically, and you will not fire any of your guns except for the forward-firing gun if you hold the fire button. If you're not firing, you'll move faster than if you were always firing. As for the joystick, it will always allow you to fly in eight directions regardless of switch settings.

You'll get an extra life at 10,000 points, but it's the only extra life you'll be able to get unless you can somehow reach 50,000 points, which will reward you with another one. Also, you can continue at any time if you run out of lives, but only on the first loop. To continue, press the Fire button when the game asks if you want to continue. From the second loop on, it's all or nothing, and you won't be able to continue when you lose your last life.

You start out in the Mountain Zone. You'll need to avoid flying into the sides and into enemies, and you'll also need to avoid being fired upon. You'll also want to get through each area before you run out of fuel. To keep your fuel topped up, you'll need to constantly shoot down enemies. Flying into the E cans will give you temporary invincibility, and as you have it, you can run straight into enemies and destroy them without consequence until the flashing and invincibility music stops.

The next zone is the Rainbow Zone. You'll be moving downwards while avoiding and shooting down the balloon enemies. The trick to doing this effectively and always giving yourself room is to manage your auto-fire so you can move into place more quickly and fire at the enemies from the side as well as from behind and in front. Giving yourself the extra speed not only gets you points faster, but it also gets you through this section faster.

In the Styx Zone, you'll want to watch out for the lasers from the enemy ships. If you can't line yourself up with a ship, take the time to stay away from it rather than re-correcting yourself. The enemies here are the same as in the Mountain Zone, except in reverse order, and you don't have the E cans. Also, watch the walls, as there is more variation in height with those jagged edges compared to the Mountain Zone.

You'll then enter another Rainbow Zone. This time around you'll be traveling upwards while dealing with the balloons. The tactics that you used in the first zone will be useful here.

Next up is the Striped Zone. If you take the left side when you reach a fork, you'll need to destroy the enemies that move back and forth before they run into you. If you take the right side, you'll need to destroy barriers and force field generators. The worst enemies are the squares that move back and forth, which are indestructible. Thankfully, the E cans come back, and the invincibility you can get from them can help you get through enemies and walls temporarily, just like in the Mountain Zone.

You'll then reach a third Rainbow Zone. Once again, you're fighting off those balloon enemies, and once again, you'll need to be careful as you destroy them all.

After this is the Bleak Zone. The curled-up alien enemies will give you a ton of points if you touch them and dock with them, but you can only do this three times. If you do this a fourth time, you'll get destroyed. Also, watch out for the walls, as they can extend towards the center at points. Halfway through, you'll be dealing with 

You'll then face the Gond in the City of Mystery. The longer you wait, the more points you'll get, but watch out for the barriers and the Gond's firepower. I'm never in this screen for long because I hit the Gond as soon as I'm in here.

Once you beat the Gond, you'll enter the second loop. The zones are the same, but they will be in a different order, and some enemies will act differently compared to the first loop, such as the arrow-shaped enemies in the Bleak Zone firing at you.

PrinceWatercress plays Berzerk (Atari 2600) - Game 4 Longplay

Doubling the amount of points needed to get an extra life isn't going to stop me. Welcome to the longplay for Game Mode 4!

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In Game 4, things get a little more interesting. This variation is much like Game 1, except that you'll need to earn 2,000 points to gain an extra life, so you'll need to be a little more careful while getting a high score. At least Evil Otto isn't here.

PrinceWatercress plays Great Greed - Part 28 of 28

It's now time to check out the Extra Files!

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After the credits, you'll then get the Extra Files. Inside is a sound test, where you can listen to all of the music and sounds in the game, a Monster Book that lets you see the stats of all the enemies in the game, and a Profile section that lets you see character profiles for the princesses of the Greene royal family as well as Microwave. If you exit, you'll be taken back to the title screen after the game thanks for playing and hopes to see you again.

With all that said, Great Greed is finally brought to a close.

PrinceWatercress plays Great Greed - Part 27 of 28

In this entry, we beat Bio-Haz, then check out the game's infamous ending.

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Bio-Haz's Castle Map (by StarFighters76)

Before you go into the final room of the game, fight the enemies around here until you have 8000 Experience or less needed for the next level. Once you do that, refill your HP and MP and go in. If you have the Platinum or Duramet Sword equipped, replace it with the Knights Sword, as it is the only weapon that will even damage Bio-Haz.

You'll soon face Bio-Haz, who is disappointed by the gap in values between himself and Sam. For the first battle, use Power and Guard to strengthen up and protect against the occasional critical hit, then start striking with physical attacks. If your HP ever goes under 300, use Heal 4. Bio-Haz will have 2200 HP, can will be able to cast Speed, Freeze 4, Flame 4, Bolt 4 and Power. 

If you don't level up after the battle, you will have enough time to use Heal 4 for the second battle, but just barely. This is why you want the level up between phases.

Once you beat Bio-Haz, he will power-up. Citrus shows up all of a sudden and saves Candy from Bio-Haz's power, and she will show up to do some additional damage, however much it might help, during the battle. In the second battle, Bio-Haz has 4000 HP. He will be able to cast all of the same spells as last time with the addition of Heal 2, so be sure to cast Power and Guard immediately before going at it with physical attacks. Once again, always heal with Heal 4 if your HP ever goes under 300. Eventually, Bio-Haz will just keep casting nothing but Heal 2 more often than not. When that happens, watch your health, keep striking, heal when you need to, and see if you can get a critical hit that will definitely drive Bio-Haz into defeat.

After the battle, Bio-Haz admits defeat and acknowledges the differences between his and Sam's worlds, and admits that one can only abuse one's home for so long before telling Sam not to repeat his mistake. Citrus mentions that she saved herself by falling into a pool of water at the bottom of the cliff where we left her, and that she was able to climb out of the pit on her own. After this, Gum Drop, Truffle and Cup Cake all show up just as the castle is about to collapse. Everyone automatically leaves the castle and gets away on a balloon back to the castle made by Truffle.

Back at the castle, King Greene extends his thanks to Sam for ending the war against Bio-Haz and his forces, and asks you to listen to everyone's words of appreciation. Talk to everyone in the room, then talk to the King, who will reward you by allowing you to marry one of his daughters. If you want, you can save the game here so you can marry not just one of his daughters, but anyone in the room. This is the most infamous part of the game as well as the one reason why anyone would barely known You can marry anyone in the room: any of the princesses, Microwave, Time Out, Lunch Break, the queen and even the king himself. After you make your choice, you'll get a few dancers, then you will be able to talk to your future wedding partner before teleporting back to the real world for any unfinished business. You'll return back to the forest where the other guy who was with you - Sam's father - is waiting for you. Sam and his father will leave, then Microwave will show up and state that there is hope for both worlds before disappearing. You'll then roll credits, where life goes on in the game's world.

Whoever you marry will stand next to you at the end of the game. You can also leave the room and marry no one, and if you do that, Sam's father will be at Sam's side at the ending, indicating that he went to the land of Greene with Sam upon Sam's return.

If you marry Cup Cake, you will be told that you will have to wait until Cup Cake is of legal age, but you will still be able to marry her nevertheless. Even the King and Queen will be briefly hesitant before accepting your choice. You can even marry Gum Drop even though she is in love with someone else!

After the credits, you'll then get the Extra Files. Inside is a sound test, where you can listen to all of the music and sounds in the game, a Monster Book that lets you see the stats of all the enemies in the game, and a Profile section that lets you see character profiles for the members of the Greene royal family. We'll check those out in the next video.

PrinceWatercress plays Great Greed - Part 26 of 28

It's time for the final stretch of the game. 

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Bio-Haz's Castle Map (by StarFighters76)

You'll start seeing some new enemies once you go down the stairs past the newly-opened door.

Cloaker is weak against Bolt magic and can cast Shove. It has 1280 HP, and gives 810 Experience and 103 Gold. It has a chance of dropping a Hacker sword, which is useless at this point in the game.

Crumb can cast Freeze 4, Bolt 4 and Flash. It has 1185 HP and will give 715 Experience and 116 Gold upon defeat. It also has a chance of dropping Regain 1. Make sure your HP is never under 200 while facing one.

Gruelguy gives 800 Experience and 106 Gold upon defeat and is a pretty vanilla enemy. He can still pack a punch, though.

Whinner can cast Thunder 2 and Poison 2. It has 1058 HP and gives 724 Experience and 93 Gold upon defeat, and has a chance of dropping the Duramet Armor, which is the best armor in the game. Cast Power when fighting Whinner; it really helps. It helps to have your HP above 300 at all times while facing one.

Midway through this path, you'll meet a guy who sells Med 3 and Med 4 scrolls as well as all three Regains. Hope you have a lot of money, as you're going to need to stock up to survive here.

You'll know that you're in the last room before Bio-Haz when you approach the door and you see the message saying "Enter." Before you go in, fight the enemies around here until you have 8000 Experience or less needed for the next level. Once you do that, refill your HP and MP and go in. If you have the Platinum or Duramet Sword equipped, replace it with the Knights Sword, as it is the only weapon that will even damage Bio-Haz.

PrinceWatercress plays Great Greed - Part 25 of 28

Once you enter Bio-Haz's castle, there's no turning back!

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Bio-Haz's Castle Map (by StarFighters76)

As soon as you enter the castle, the door will lock behind you.

Witch can cast Flame 4 and Speed as well as Push. It gives 516 Experience and 94 Gold, and has a chance of dropping a Med 3-15 Scroll.

Cutter is strong against Bolt magic and can cast Bolt 2. It gives 528 Experience and 78 Gold.

In the second room, Gum Drop will set up a barrier to get through the barriers in a considerably damaged zone. If you take the wrong path, you'll lose half your HP for each step you take, and the game will make it known to you. If you take the right path, you'll get through it without taking damage. It will take some trial and error to get through here without getting hurt too much. When you reach the end, Gum Drop's barrier will fail, and you'll have to travel the rest of the castle without her.

Mealmush is weak against Freeze magic and strong against Flame magic. It will award you 540 Experience and an astonish 5800 Gold.

In the next section, there is a door that restores HP and MP behind the pot. Don't bother going back for Gum Drop: a rock will fall blocking the stairs. As for the other door, you won't be able to open it...yet.

Knocker has 820 HP and can pack a punch. He is weak against Freeze magic and can cast Power. Beating Knocker gives 715 Experience and 590 Gold, and gives a chance at a Duramet Helmet drop, which is the best helmet in the game.

After a series of spiral staircases, you'll meet Noknight, who is about to kill Candy. Noknight has 1500 HP and can cast Freeze 4 and Heal 2, but he is also weak to Freeze magic. Use Power as well as Freeze 4 to do as much damage as you can, and be prepared to heal yourself. Noknight gives 800 Experience and 25 Gold, and has a chance of dropping a Fix.

After beating Noknight, you'll rescue Candy, who will make a necklace out of the jewels that the princesses gave you. This will give you 5000 Experience right off the bat. Bio-Haz will then suddenly show up at last, and tell you that he has left the path to the top that you could not enter earlier open for you, so you'll need to go back to the room after the Gum Drop section and enter the door to the right.

The three dark, shadowy figures will sell you powerful as well as necessary spells as well as some healing items, so talk to them if you need Regain 2's or Med 3 scrolls. 

PrinceWatercress plays Great Greed - Part 24 of 28

We're almost at endgame. Next stop: Bio-Haz's castle.

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South of Burger is the Flower Field. Head there. Enter the building and talk to the man blocking the door with the Knights equipment equipped. He will let you through. Head north at the royal garden to come out through the other side on the overworld map.

From here, head east to Bio-Haz's village, which is the final village in the game. When you talk to the people, you'll find out that they are all fans of Bio-Haz and it is only because they have been sedated with "medicine" into compliance by Bio-Haz himself. Some of the houses are unenterable, as well. There is a large building to the far north as well as a warehouse in the southwest corner, but you won't be able to enter either of them...yet.

Enter the house to the west in the center of the village. The woman there will tell you that a child is sleeping in the next room. Enter the next room, and you'll meet Cup Cake. Despite her health being affected by the pollution in the area, Truffle has invented a device that will help with fighting Bio-Haz. To get it, we'll have to enter the warehouse south of town, which we will automatically enter.

You'll meet Truffle, who has found the essence of purity in Crater Lake, which will allow any weapon coated in it  to destroy Bio-Haz. Truffle will coat the Knights Sword in the essence (although the game doesn't completely tell you this), then she will tell you that Bio-Haz's castle in in the cave area north of town. Cup Cake will get dizzy and go back to bed, and you'll be left to head to Bio-Haz's castle alone.

Talk to Truffle again, and you'll find out that to get to Bio-Haz's castle, you'll need to enter the sewage treatment plant on the north end of town. You'll need to head in there next. Truffle will then join your party. You can open the chests in this room to get some really good healing items: A Fix, a Regain 3 and a Med 3-10. When you enter the northern building with Truffle, she will be able to open the door by de-rusting it.

The sewage treatment plant is fairly straightforward, and you'll also meet some new enemies. The Pincher has 1240 HP and is weak against Bolt magic, but it can cast Freeze 3 and Flame 4. It gives 521 Experience and only 17 Gold. Be sure to use Power if necessary, as Pincher will start defending when its health gets low.

Zapper is weak against Bolt magic and strong against Flame magic, and can cast Slip and Heal 3. Being a mermaid enemy, Zapper is topless in the Japanese version, but was covered up with armor when the game was brought to the West. She can also hit you with her tail, and she also cries when defeated. The Zapper gives 437 Experience and 130 Gold, and has a chance of dropping a Carbon Shield, which is useless at this point.

At the north end, you'll find a guard blocking the entrance to the sewers. This triggers a fight with another Dicey, but he is easily defeated. Once you stand where one stood, Truffle will be ready to help you enter, and you'll have a choice as to whether you want to enter or not. Once you select "Yes," there's no turning back, so be ready to save before doing this.

In the sewers, stay in the center of the room and just let the water and keep going south. The odd areas in the floor lead further down the sewers. Be on the lookout for chests, which will contain powerful healing items.

Froglegs attacks a lot, and while weak against Bolt magic, it is strong against Flame magic. At 1200 HP, you'll be fighting one of these things for a while. Defeating Froglegs gives 455 Experience and only 7 Gold, and a potential drop of a Chrome Shield, which you're not going to need. 

You'll soon reach the area leading to Bio-Haz's Castle, which also has new enemies. In this area, you'll want to keep heading east while moving around the thick dark lines to get to the castle. Along the way, Gum Drop will catch up with you and tell you that Candy has been captured and in need to rescue. After meeing Gum Drop, you'll soon find the castle.

Drak is powerful and can cast Fire 2, and it gives 610 Experience and 106 Gold upon defeat. It has the potential to drop a Duramet Shield, which is the best shield in the game.

Juggler is weak against Flame magic and strong against Bolt magic, and cast Speed on itself as well as fry you with Thunder 2. It gives 455 Experience and 478 Gold, making it one of the best monsters to face in the area if you need more experience and gold.

PrinceWatercress plays Great Greed - Part 23 of 28

The end of the game is almost in sight. In this entry, we head to the royal castle and save the king and queen.

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Now that we're a bit stronger, let's head east of Burger to Greene Castle.

Greene Castle Map (by StarFighters76)

When you enter the castle, you'll be met by Microwave, who will tell you to look for King and Queen Greene, who should be somewhere in the castle.

The Joker is weak against Flame magic. It can cast Speed to be a little faster, but it won't do much good given how much more powerful we are now. It gives 1048 Experience and 60 Gold, and it can potentially drop a Med 3-10 scroll. At this rate, be ready to get far more gold than experience. Hope you've been farming outside of every town!

Spike is a pretty vanilla enemy. It gives 400 Experience and 96 Gold.

Headcook is strong against Bolt magic and can cast Bolt 4. It gives 391 Experience and 74 Gold.

Be careful which chests you open in the castle, as a good amount of them contain Trash. Some of them contain useless weapons that do no damages, useless armor that barely protects you or useless items which have no use at all, but at least you can sell those. Some of them are worth quite a bit of money.

Huntress can cast Thunder 2 and Confuse. It gives 395 Experience and 77 Gold, and has a chance of dropping a Regain 2.

Dicey is much like Chopper in that it has no MP. It is weak against Bolt Magic and gives 440 Experience and 93 Gold. Once again, another vanilla enemy, but at least this one has an elemental weakness.

The debris on the floor, assuming there is any on the floor of the current room you are in, cannot be walked through.

Dracette is weak against Freeze Magic and can cast Poison 2. It gives 474 Experience and 113 Gold, and has a chance of dropping an Epee, which is completely useless compared to whatever weapon you have now.

Once you make it to the throne room, head upstairs and you'll find out that the King and Queen are being held hostage. You'll soon face the Megagrem. Megagrem has 2000 HP, but all he can really do is attack and cast Shove. Cast Power and slash away, and heal yourself if you go below 200 HP. He gives 5000 Experience and only 10 Gold upon defeat. 

Afterwards, Megagrem will try to blow up the castle, but Microwave blows him away and stops him from doing it. Use the pot to heal your HP and MP. The King will thank you and ask you to catch Bio-Haz on your own. The Queen will tell you that Cup Cake and Truffle have penetrated into Bio-Haz's town to the south, and that you'll need the Royal Family's treasure to get there. Open the chests to get the Knights Sword, Knights Helmet, Knights Armor and Knight's Shield, which are the third best of everything in the game. Equip them all, as you'll need them to get past the flower garden coming up. If you have any of the Platinum armors and weapon, save those for afterwards.

With this, you can now leave the castle. With the Megagrem defeated, there will be no more enemies roaming the castle, so you can open any chests that you missed. After leaving the castle, you can head back to Burger and sell off all the useless stuff.