Part nostalgia-bomb, part note-taking and part FAQ, what started in GameTrailers as a video game blog is now on Blogger. This blog is a look back at video games, both popular and obscure, from the video game industry's infancy all the way to the previous console generation.
Wow, Komplex is all bark and no bite once he's just a monitor.
Stage 8
Planet Life Force
For Komplex's third form, he just spins around and throws metal debris everywhere. Watch the shadows on the debris to see where it will land, and stay out of Komplex's way as it spins around the room, bouncing off the walls at 45-degree angles.
When you beat Komplex, you'll get rid of him once and for all! You'll bring the planetary life force back to all the planets affected by the Toad Empire! Enjoy your ending!
This is it! The last level! Time to take down Komplex once and for all!
Stage 8
Planet Life Force
After beating the Air Marshall, you'll make it into the core. Before you can do anything, though, Komplex destroys the Righteous Indignation (your ship), leaving you to jump out and float down with your jetpack.
Aside from the mines that you can easily shoot down, you also have scientist toads that have clothes that look a lot like Dr Wily's from the Mega Man series shooting pistols at you from floating platforms. Of all that we have to deal with here, that's all Komplex has before we finally meet him in this very short jetpack section.
You'll finally meet Komplex when you drop to the floor. For his first form, you'll be taking on a robot that jumps from one side of the battle area to the other. The energy balls that it fires on the floor split into six whirls of energy that try to home in on you (and some will). Be prepared to jump over these things when they come your way.
For the second form, Komplex won't have legs. Of course, it can still damage you in other ways, such as sending out those flaming pillars of metal from the second stage down at you and swiping at you with its arms. Your hover will work best for jumping over the pipes...just don't let Komplex whack you.
After enough damage, you'll deal with Komplex's third form...
Read on for naked toads, an explanation on how Toad soldiers are made, and the Air Marshall performing a terrible desperation attempt to kill us all.
Stage 7
Toad Star (continued)
As you autoscroll downwards, you'll be dealing with both Toad Soldiers on jetpacks as well as a conveyor belt full of Toad ships.
The little cryogenic tubes with the toads inside just make me sad. It's like they're crying for help, but as soon as they're freed and/or the tubes break, they change into Toad soldiers. It's like they're not brainwashed and then you just finished the final step in their transformation. I guess they were the toads in the Toad Empire that weren't brainwashed by Komplex, judging by how they look.
You'll then meet the Air Marshall. He'll fly around in his personal vessel, looping around the battle area in a very small circle as he sends his goons after you. Kill them all, then wait for him to lower and hit him with everything you've got. Stay at a distance when he spins around in place (he'll attack you this way), then stay on the move when he gets knocked off, as his vessel will bounce around everywhere and go fast as it does so.
If you don't hurry up, you'll have more enemies to deal with. Ouch.
Anyway, at the end is the Toad Borg...again. He'll come out of the floor in the left center of the battle area, so move a bit to the right before he shows up. There are four cannons in the floor that shoot up a huge crackle of electricity throughout the battle area. The same strategies from the first fight apply, but the big difference aside from the electricity columns around the center of the room is that you have even less room to maneuver around in. What you see in the second Toad Borg battle is what you get.
Once you beat the Toad Borg again, you'll be autoscrolling for a little while...
We take down the mothership and head to the Toad Star to revive the planets!
Stage 7
Toad Star
When you beat the tank, it's on to the Toad Star. The Air Marshal knows you're getting close and will pull out all the stops to get rid of you once and for all!
As you're surrounded by screens airing the Toad Television News broadcast about the destruction of the Toad Mothership, you'll be taking on both Toad Soldiers as well as panels in the floor that pop out and shoot either regular fire or dual lasers. Use your stronger attacks to take care of the panels.
The purple wall with the turrets will shoot fireballs onto the floor that burn for a little while longer upon impact, but there's a chance that they won't even hit you if you're standing in the right spot. The wall doesn't even take that much of an effort to destroy with your regular attack, so using your stronger attacks on it will speed up the inevitable.
You'll then autoscroll to the right a bit before Komplex (or at least, a huge screen with his likeness on it) shows up from the left and tries to ram into you. Shoot the screen up to split it into nine smaller ones. Use your bombs and your stronger attacks to destroy these screens. Jenny and Deadeye's stronger attacks are ideal, since they cover /a wide range of space allowing you to take out multiple screens if you want to save your bombs.
You'll then be autoscrolling upwards, and as you deal with all the enemies, be sure to take out the laser cannons on the left hand wall to make moving around and dodging stuff easier (even though you can jump over the lasers, which have no room between them).
When you beat the mechanical shark tank, you'll go up against even more toads in bumper cars.
You'll then go up against a giant toad tank. You'll be dealing with laser barriers that you'll have to jump over, rockets that are shot at you, the spears at the front of the machine and the spiked arms that can sometimes extend outwards and hit you. When you do enough damage to it, you'll get the head to pop off, and gears will be spilling out of it much like the second boss from the last stage.
When you beat the cyborg spider, you'll free Ro-Dent the old mouse. He'll tell you the only way to restore the polluted planets: find the planetary life force in the Toad Star and send it back to the polluted planets.
Stage 6
Mothership
You'll be in a hovercraft shooting stuff down. The green bumper cars on the track will not only slow you down, but the ones with the toads in them will get closer as they (ironically) move away from you on the tracks they're stuck on. You can actually ram into them to do some real damage, believe it or not.
Unlike the other levels, you have a dual laser blast as well as a huge crescent wave for your stronger attack that can easily reach the other side of the screen.
The lava sharks leave a column of lava in their wake whenever they are destroyed. The large one is a mechanical shark tank, and as you shoot it, watch out for the waves of lava. The ship will sink in and out, but it doesn't really have any other attacks other than splashing the lava at you and the lasers from the laser cannon that can only hurt you if you jump. It can fire the lasers while it's submerged, but the shots are pretty easy to avoid, anyway.
It will send some of the small mechanical sharks to help out, but they aren't anything you haven't seen before.
For the first boss, you'll need to stand at the left side of the screen and pound it with your strongest attacks. This will help you not only deal with the lasers, but also the missiles that home in on you. Shoot them out of the air.
Oh, and the three guys at the controls? It's the Air Marshal and the toad twins Frix and Frax.
The second boss is a machine that throws multiple gears at you. Once again, stay at the left side of the screen so you can dodge the gears as they come at you, and try not to let that thing ram you!
The boss is the cyborg spider. His main attack involves him lifting his arms up and calling for web columns to come down on you. Watch the shadows on the floor and stay away from them as the columns come down.
Once again, we've got to liberate another planet. All in a day's work, I suppose.
Stage 5
Planet Rat
When you beat the Jet, you'll find out that the Toad Empire has taken over the Planet Rat. It's not too late, as Ro-Dent is still alive on the planet, so it's still possible to reverse the overthrow.
The green pipes in the floor shoot out flames. Wait for the flames to dissipate before passing.
The machine gun Toads have some good range, but you still fire at them from far away.
The domes with the yellow lids are multi-directional turrets. Use your stronger attacks from a distance to take them out.
The purple lizards with the flashing knives will try to get in close and try to slash at you. Once again, stronger attacks from a distance are the way to go. They can also block your laser blasts with their weapons, but keep hammering away and they'll eventually succumb.
Destroy the green dome that the Toad soldiers come out of to move on.
The flying Toads with the yellow guns are packing some real heat...they've got lasers. Take them out with stronger attacks.
When you get onto the giant Toad tank, use your stronger attack to get rid of the two turrets that are in your way, and stay on the move to avoid the turret fire. You'll eventually meet the boss, or rather...bosses...
We get on an asteroid and free a mouse with nature powers. Only in Bucky O'Hare, guys.
Stage 4
Asteroid Belt
Willy stops the Climate Converter, while Jenny gets a distress signal from the Asteroid Belt.
If it isn't apparent to you already, the voice acting in this game is really, really good. I'm surprised this game didn't show up on Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.
Anyway, you'll be jumping from one asteroid to the other as the screen autoscrolls to the right. Segments of some of these asteroids will break apart as you stand on them, and if you're on them as they slowly fall (or if you're teetering on the edge of an asteroid), quickly mash the jump button to get off of it with your jetpack!
The rock creatures near the captured prisoner take a good amount of abuse before the crumble and flash out of existence. Use your stronger attack on them, especially when they're close to each other. These guys will roll around and cover a good amount of ground in seconds, so stay on the move!
When you beat all the rock men, you'll rescue the mouse that was behind the energy barrier. He'll help you out by growing plants and trees on the asteroid belt, and this foliage will help you get from one asteroid to another without having to jump everywhere. Use your stronger attack against the robots that look like mines as well as the toad ship. The mouse will show back up and bring segments of an asteroid up for use as a bridge when you reach what seems like a dead end and an unjumpable pit.
When you reach the ship at the other end of this screen, you'll fight a Toad jet. Your main target is the center of the jet. Stand between the cockpit and the jet turbines at the side when it takes off and tries to hit you, and jump over the laser it fires when it returns.
The two laser cannons next to the one in the center will move apart from each other and get back to their original positions as they fire. You'll have to stay on the move here. Using Deadeye Duck's stronger attack if you can move to the side and avoid these two lasers altogether is ideal, as you can sneak in some extra damage. Thankfully, you can also destroy the laser cannons to put them out of commission.
To beat the giant toad sub-boss, shoot at it's mouth when it's open, and avoid the rocks it sucks up and spits out altogether. If you can't avoid the rocks, shoot at them until you give yourself enough room to maneuver. When the sub-boss gets closer to try to eat you and spit you out, back up and keep shooting.
AFC Blinky's stronger attack involves the little cannon on top of his backpack. When you use it, a plume of flame will shoot out from it, and anything that touches it gets burned to a crisp. It's got the shortest range, but it's still pretty useful as it emanates from the backpack cannon for several seconds, dealing multiple hits to any enemies that come in contact with Blinky.
You'll then fight Total Terror Toad as soon as you land, while Willy DuWitt deals with the Climate Converter. He'll jump around the battle area very quickly, and he'll also throw a handaxe at you. Stay on the move and watch his shadow, and you'll eventually beat this guy.
Deadeye Duck's stronger attack is a set of three sparks that move around him in a circular motion as they span outwards. They won't be able to attack everything, but it does a good job of taking out enemies that are around him.
The boss here is the Toad Borg. The Toad Borg will try to grab you with his extendable fists and throw you into the ground. If he grabs you, mash the buttons and wiggle the joystick to break free! He's also pretty slow, and if you use your regular and stronger attacks, you'll be able to bring him down really easily. Once again, keep on the opposite side of the screen and hit him with all you've got, and move out when he's close enough to grab you with those hands of his.
When you beat the Toad Borg, he'll be taken away for repairs and the people of Planet Warren will be freed. The celebration won't last long, however, as you'll soon notice the Climate Converter, and that the people were enslaved into building one. It's time to take this thing out!
Stage 3
Climate Converter
You'll be flying around in this stage. Thankfully, you can move around anywhere you want, but you won't really be able to take advantage of that freedom when Toad soldiers are flying around in a circle and shooting electric bolts that cover the length or width of the screen at you.
When you see the eight-way cannons come out of the partitions in the walls, light 'em up and destroy them as soon as possible.
You'll soon come across a maze of sparks that shoot out electric force fields between one another. Make your move between them when the moment is right.
The good news? There's fourteen regular entries. The better news? They're all REALLY short. Anyway, in this entry, we take on Al Negator and play liberation force for Bucky's people.
Stage 1
Planet Warren (continued)
Al Negator can shoot both on the ground and in the air. When he shoots in the air, the fireball will leave a trail that travels forward on the ground for a short distance. He will also try to jump kick you and whack you with his tail.
Use your stronger attacks against Al Negator, and keep your distance so you can easily avoid his gunshots. He'll have to get pretty close to you to use the rest of his attacks, so just stay on the side of the screen opposite from Al and you should do just fine.
Jenny's stronger attack is a crescent wave that quickly travels forward and does some major damage to anything it touches.
When you beat Al Negator, you'll find out from him that Bucky's people were taken to the planet Punk. It's been mentioned before this scene, but the voice of Deadeye Duck is also the voice of Rattrap from Transformers: Beast Wars and Beast Machines.
Stage 2
Planet Punk
You'll start off in an autoscrolling diagonal shaft where you'll be taking on more Toad soldiers as well as flame jets coming out of the pipes on the walls. Jump over the pipes, and shoot the cages with all you've got to free the people of Planet Warren!
Use your stronger attacks against the ships, especially the ones that fly out and try to run you over. When they stop flying and drop down with a mighty explosion, you know you've taken one down.
You'll then go further down the narrow corridor and onto a lift. Shoot down the missile pods on the wall, and jump over the flaming columns of metal that tumble down!
Konami may have made this little-known comic book into a well-known NES game, but did you know that there was also an arcade game for it as well? Yes, it exists, and Konami is also behind it!
This time around, you can not only play as Bucky O'Hare and Deadeye Duck, but also Jenny the Aldeberan Cat and AFC Blinky.
Anyway, Komplex and the evil Toad Empire are out to take over the galaxy with their feared Climate Changer! Bucky O'Hare, as always, is the galaxy's last hope!
Stage 1
Planet Warren
The voices are actually from the voice actors from the short-lived cartoon series, which explains why they're really good.
Unlike other beat-em-ups, you use your gun as your main attack, and you'll only use hand-to-hand combat when you're in close.
The doors that show up and disappear throughout the game are Willy Duwitt's high-tech closet door. These will give you gun power-ups which will increase the power of your shot or bombs that give you more chances to destroy everything onscreen when you need to.
Pressing Jump and Attack allows you to perform stronger attacks. These are actually different from the regular gunshot and are actually different depending on which character you're playing as. They also all act wildly differently, too, as they all deal multiple hits but cover different ranges and patterns. Bucky's stronger attack is a grenade that deals multiple hits but covers a very short range with its explosion.
When you press the jump button in mid-air, you'll be able to slow your descent down. This technically lets you hover. When you press Jump and Attack at the same time while you're in the air, you'll do a downward kick attack that throws you forward and into enemies for a big hit (it looks somewhat like the TMNT attack, except better).
The enemies here aren't that hard. As a matter of fact, they just stand there and shoot at you, and they're pretty bad at it, too. They'll take only one or two hits to kill. Some throw bombs, but the bombs don't explode until they stop moving.
When the ship lands in front of you, you'll take down all the enemy forces before facing the first boss of the game, Al Negator.
