From the makers of Action 52.... ___ __ __ _____ _ __ __ _____ _____ / __\ /\ /\/__\/__\/__ \/_\ /\ /\/\/\ /__\/\ \ \ \_ \\_ \ / / / /_/ /_\ /_\ / /\//_\\ / /_/ / \ /_\ / \/ / / /\/ / /\/ / /___/ __ //__//__ / / / _ \/ __ / /\/\ \//__/ /\ / /\/ /_/\/ /_ \____/\/ /_/\__/\__/ \/ \_/ \_/\/ /_/\/ \/\__/\_\ \/ \____/\____/ v1.1 FAQ/WALKTHROUGH v1.1 - Completed 6/15/10 Written and maintained by Adam Lamontagne Copyright ©2001,2002,2010 Adam Lamontagne A Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game by Active Enterprises Ltd. Cheetahmen II was not designed, manufactured, sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= TABLE OF CONTENTS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I. Revision History II. Introduction III. Story IV. Controls V. Walkthrough VI. Acknowledgements VII. Disclaimer =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I. REVISION HISTORY =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 6/15/10: v1.1 -Removed something that has been bugging me for 8 years. -Removed email address. 3/12/02: v1.0 -Added info on how to access the last 2 levels. -Added Aries' controls information. -Added an Acknowledgements section. -Made a lot of cosmetic changes. -Completed the Walkthrough. 5/22/01: v0.35 -Added a Table of Contents. -Found out that there is actually a way to play the final 2 levels...as the hidden Cheetahman Aries! -Changed to my current email address. 4/2/01: v0.3 -Added a little to the Introduction. -Added Controls section. 3/31/01: v0.2 -Started this FAQ/Walkthrough. -Added ASCII title. -Added Disclaimer. -Added Story. -Added Introduction. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= II. INTRODUCTION =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I'm pretty sure Active Enterprises thought they were on their way to starting a huge Cheetahmen phenomena here. Cartoons, T-shirts, comic books, movies...the sky was the limit! The Cheetahmen would make people forget those Mutant Turtle things...They first appeared on the infamous Acrtion 52 cartridge...52 pseudo-games stuffed into one overpriced cartridge. They probably thought they had trapped lightning in a bottle with this idea until they realized that the 5 young children from Guam they hired to program the game had faked their resumes and were not really graduates of MIT. Action 52 pretty much bombed and the Cheetahmen never got the recognition they deserved. Enter 1996. I happen to be looking through one of the newsgroups, either rec.games.video.classic or rec.games.video.marketplace...it was probably the latter. Anyway, I see a rather vague subject line reading something like, "Cheetaman for Nintendo." I email the guy, Sean Roche, and he tells me he has a ton of these games sitting in storage. They were never officially released and had been sitting in a warehouse for a few years. He would rather sell them in bulk and tells me if I help him find a buyer he'll send me a copy of the game free of charge. Silly me. I still kick myself in the ass for not buying the whole freakin' stash. I contact a couple dealer friends of mine, who thank me for the tip, and 2 weeks later I get a package in the mail. Two copies of Cheetahmen II and a copy of Action 52 for the Sega Genesis, just for helping this guy out. My dealer friends get a ton of Cheetahmen II carts and make a fortune. This was one of the coolest things that ever happened to me, but little did I know the goldmine that was under my nose. These things hit the market and collectors were paying absurd prices for them. I remember seeing one go on eBay for $70!! I suppose I should just be happy for getting my free copies of 3 pretty rare games, but I'm still kicking myself in the arse for being so "wool-headed." I never did ask Mr. Roche how he had gotten ahold of all these Cheetahmen II carts, but then again I probably don't want to know. Anyway, I'm not going to tiptoe around the obvious: the game sucks. That's paying it a compliment. You can take as many polls as you want on what the worst NES game of all-time is, but don't waste your precious time. This game is that dog you all know and love...the 3-legged dog trying to bury a turd on a frozen pond. Why waste time reviewing this thing. Take every aspect of a video game that you find appealing, like graphics, sound, gameplay, play control, etc. Now whatever scale you use to rate games, expand it down below zero by about 10 points. You see, this game makes Bad Street Brawler seem charming and sets off every rating scale known to man. The game is so horrid that it can't even be beaten. Apparently the 5 kids from Guam that were programming this went out for recess and never came back to finish the job. When you get to Level 4 (which is actually called Level 3...apparently they thought it neat to have two Level 3's in the game), you get to the final boss (Ape Man/Man Ape) and after beating him you get to explore the screen for......eternity. You're simpy stuck at a dead end. The boss is gone and you're all by your lonesome. If this were Simon's Quest I'd figure you could kneel down and a whirlwind would wisk you off to the next level, but no such luck here. Another point of interest is the cart itself. Nowhere on the actual cart is even a hint of a Cheetahman. It is actually the same exact cartridge used for Active Enterprises' one other NES game, Action 52. I'm not sure why this is, but something tells me they had plenty of Action 52's lying around, so why not recycle! A real cool dude named TheRedEye actually Tile Layered the game and found sprites for Dr. Morbis and the last Cheetahman that you should get to play as for the final 2 levels, so either there is a secret trick to get to the next level or there is a bug similar to the one in the old Impossible Mission game that prevents you from finishing the game. Either way, I'd like some feedback from you (yeah, you!) on what you think is going on here. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOTE: SOMEONE HAS ACTUALLY FIGURED OUT A WAY TO PLAY AS ARIES! IT INVOLVED A LITTLE ROM HACKING, BUT YOU CAN ACTUALLY PLAY THE FINAL 2 LEVELS OF THIS GAME...READ ON FOR THE DETAILS. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm tackling this game because (1) I haven't written a FAQ in about 5 months and (2) I promised I'd continue my trend of writing FAQs for games that nobody plays or cares about. My goal is to get as little fan mail as possible, so if you are reading this you're really wasting your time. ;) Anyway, have fun playing Cheetahmen II (I smell oxymoron) and prepare to wallow in the filth that is Cheetahmen II! [NOTE: I had basically left this guide to die at v0.35. However, in updating all my other FAQS I realized that the world couldn't live without a full Cheetahmen II FAQ. Therefore, after almost a year without touching this thing, I finally decided to finish the job. Hope you like.] =-=-=-=-=-= III. STORY =-=-=-=-=-= Since the game doesn't have a manual, this is the story we get from the back of the box (please note that the following is transcribed word for word...I guess proofreading wasn't that important to these guys): "DR. MORBIS IS AT IT AGAIN!" "In CHEETAHMEN II Dr. Morbis seeks to destroy the CHEETAHMEN with all new traps and dangers." "Beware, the even more dangerous sub-humans." "This time CYGORE and DR. MORBIS are getting in to it!" "See if you can get the CHEETAHMEN through the jungles and to Dr. Morbis's secret laboratory, but beware of the many traps along the way. Then, when you finally think you've gotten through, you will have to do battle as only the CHEETAHMEN can." "APOLLO will have to fight Dr. MORBIS, ARIES battles CYGORE and HERCULES goes head to head with the newest sub-human...THE MAN APE." ------ Alright, we kind of have a sense of what's going on, but there's more. Fire up the game and let the title screen sit for a few seconds. We now get even more of the story (again, this is typed EXACTLY as it appears in the game): "DOCTOR MORBIS IS BACK WITH A NEW SUB HUMAN! HE WANTS TO STOP THE CHEETAMEN FROM RUINING HIS EVIL PLANS!" "HE CREATES THE APE MAN. THE STRONGEST SUB HUMAN YET!" "DOCTOR MORBIS PLANS TO USE THE APE MAN TO DESTROY HIS FAILED EXPIREMENT...ARIES! APOLLO! AND HERCULES!" "YOU MUST HELP THE CHEETAHMEN FIGHT DOCTOR MORBIS AND HIS EVIL TEAM OF MUTANTS" "STOP DOCTOR MORBIS BEFORE ITS TO LATE FOR THE CHEETAHMEN. YOU CAN NOT LET HIM DESTROY THE CHEETAHMEN." "DURING THE GAME YOU WILL HAVE THREE CHEETAHMEN...A DIFFERENT ONE IN EVERY SECOND LEVEL TO FIGHT FOR YOU......" So from the box and the intro screens we can gather that the 3 Cheetahmen, Apollo, Aries and Hercules were created by this Dr. Morbis...does that mean that the Cheetahmen are the original sub-humans? Anyway, somewhere along the line the Cheetahmen realized that Morbis was an evil bastard and they turned on him. Now our 3 heroes must hunt down Morbis and take out 2 of his new creations, Cygor and the Ape Man (or Man Ape...who knows which one is correct). Go get 'em, cheetah! =-=-=-=-=-=-= IV. CONTROLS =-=-=-=-=-=-= Yes, even the controls are screwy in this game. Each Cheetahman has his own controls, but because of the bug in the game you only get to play as 2 of the 3 Cheetahmen, so control them like this: ----------------------------- | | | + | | +++++ (*) (*) | | + == == B A | | SE ST | ----------------------------- For the first 2 levels you control Apollo. APOLLO: Left/Right: Moves Apollo to the left or right B Button: Jump A Button: Fires Crossbow For the next 2 levels you control Hercules. HERCULES: Left/Right: Moves Hercules to the left or right B Button: Jump A Button: Punch & Kick at the same time A&B Buttons together: If you rapidly press these 2 buttons together, you will not only punch and kick while jumping, but you will actually be able to basically work your way up the screen. You can use this to get to those unreachable platforms in the air and can safely avoid just about every enemy. For the last 3 levels you control Aries. ARIES: Left/Right: Moves Aries to the left or right B Button: Jump A Button: Swing clubs A&B Buttons together: If you rapidly press these 2 buttons together, you will not only punch and swing your clubs while jumping, but you will actually be able to basically work your way up the screen...through mid-air. You can use this to get to those unreachable platforms in the air and can safely avoid just about every enemy. Here are the game's other basic controls: START Button: Starts the game. Also Pauses the action during gameplay. SELECT Button: If you pause the game during gameplay then press SELECT, the game will reset back to the title screen. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= V. WALKTHROUGH =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= LEVEL 1 ------- You start as Apollo, armed with your trusty crossbow, outside near the red fence of the Cheetahmen stronghold. Head to the right and shoot a soldier then get ready for the bird. The bird is about at head level, so since you can't duck in this game and since the bird is too high up to jump over, you will have to hit it with a jumping shot. Keep in mind that an enemy doesn't appear until you scroll to the right, so since there is no time limit in this game, scroll to the right a little at a time until an enemy appears, then back up and deal with it, either by jumping over it or shooting it. You will eventually be able to memorize the patterns of the enemies. Proceed slowly to the right, jumping over several enemies. The next couple of birds can be avoided by just staying under them, as they are flying a little higher than the first. You will then get to some gray blocks that are low enough to jump onto. Get on them and continue jumping from block to block. When you come down from the blocks, keep using the method of taking on one enemy at a time and slowly work your way right. You'll cross a gap and enter an area with several gray blocks that are too high to reach. Walk by a couple of skulls then make a jump onto the next set of gray blocks. There are 4 you can jump across to avoid a few enemy encounters. Proceed up the slopes to the right and over a gap (when you land on the other side of the gap you will be attacked immediately, so be ready). You will now walk by a bunch of red columns. When you walk by the last one you will automatically get transported to Level 2. LEVEL 2 ------- This level starts off with quite a few enemies thrown at you, so proceed slowly. Keep in mind that some of the enemies you jump over might come back towards you when they hit the left wall but if you keep scrolling to the right they may disappear. Go right past the skull posts, over some gaps, past some more skull posts and continue right. There is absolutely nothing special throughout this level so just keep plowing through. Eventually you will get to the 4th set of skull posts. This is where Dr. Morbius attacks. DR. MORBIUS The good doc starts by running straight at you. If you have time, fire a couple crossbow shots into him, then jump over him as he runs at you. You really don't want to touch him, as he does a ton of damage from a mere touch. After you jump over him, turn around and blast him some more as he is running. He will run off the right side of the screen and appear again at the left, still running at you. Just shoot him a couple more times and jump again. Repeat this about 7 or 8 times and you will finally do him in. [Note: If you are using an emulator or cheat code for this game that involves infinite energy for yourself, be aware of this: if you run into Dr. Morbius while having infinite energy, you will kill him really quick, however you will be stuck at this screen, unable to move on. I'm not sure why this is so, but it would be wise to turn off the code while fighting him] LEVEL 3 ------- You are now controlling the big guy, Hercules, for the next 2 levels. His offense is a punch-kick combo, all controlled by one press of the button. Hercules, along with Aries, who you will meet later, possess a nice little ability that Apollo did not have which makes the game a breeze...he can levitate. Press the jump and attack buttons at the same time repeatedly and he will basically be able to jump his way through mid-air. Be careful though not to go up through the top of the screen, as you may get stuck and lose a life. You can pretty much avoid most of the enemies in a level this way, unless you are forced through a tight space. Proceed through Level 3, where you will encounter one of these small spaces. Hercules attack lets him get those low-to-the-ground enemies that Apollo could not. As you move through the level, you will get to an area with some gray blocks. If you head butt some of these blocks from below you will get some coins. They just give you 2000 points, nothing special. You will get to a point where there are still some gray blocks above, but there is lava under the floor. Head past this area and it will look like you are about to enter an enclosed area. Start walking into this area and you are instantly ported to Level 4. LEVEL 4 (titled Level 3 in game) ------- The programmers seem to have gotten their numbers mixed up because when you finish Level 3 and move on to the next level it is titled Level 3 again...we'll just call it Level 4. Move Hercules through the level, preferably taking the high road by skywalking. Again, there is nothing fancy in this level, just a lot of enemies. You will get to an area that is clear of obstacles. Move slowly through this open area, defeated several sets of enemies as you go, and you will finally get to the Ape Man. APE MAN The Ape Man attacks by taking a few steps towards you, then a few steps back. He repeats this method, getting a little closer to you each time he comes forward. To beat him, you have to time it so you get in a kick/punch right as he is at his closest point to you. You really have to estimate how close he will get to you without touching you before he moves back. When he is right in front of you, let him have it. You do not want the Ape Man to touch you, as he does massive damage. Get in about 4 solid whacks and you should do him in. You can also simply jump over him. When you land to his right, the Ape Man just keeps doing his thing until he moves all the way left and off the screen. When he disappears you are just left wondering where he disappeared to and cannot advance. If you defeated him in combat though, you get this same result. This is where the game's biggest flaw kicks in. After you beat the Ape Man, you are left in his room and the game does not advance. I've tried a countless number of methods to beating him, but each time you beat him you are simply stranded at this point in the game. If anyone has ever beaten the Ape Man and continued on to the next level seamlessly, please email me at alamont1@maine.rr.com. For a couple years I assumed this was the end of the game. However, I received an email one day that changed all that. Robert Flory (bmf54123) actually went through the ROM and found evidence that there were 2 more levels included in this game, where you could play as the lost Cheetahman Aries. Here's what he wrote: "I actually went through levels 5 and 6...I wasn't able to get past the last boss, either...he just went "poof" and nothing happened, just like Ape Man. And I really hate to say this (although it doesn't surprise me at all), but I'm almost 100% sure there is no ending scene. There's no ending text or graphics anywhere in the ROM, as far as I can tell, and the only program data I've located so far is for the intro and each of the six levels. And as I stated on the board, the last ROM bank is empty except for a couple of pointers. It looks like they had intended to include an ending, but just never got around to it. The whole game seems like it was completed in a day or two..." Thanks to Robert the world is now able to play the final 2 levels of Cheetahmen II. DO NOT EMAIL ME FOR THE PATCH!! Now, the continued walkthrough: LEVEL 5 (like Level 4, this one is also titled "Level 3" in the game) ------- This stage differs aesthetically from any of the previous 4 stages. There is a red sky with black structures (buildings probably) in the background. The enemies consist of fireballs and robot drones and later tomahawks. You also control the headbanded Cheetahman Aries, who is able to skywalk like Hercules. Use this to your advantage. As you go through the level you will get to a blue area with a lot of platforms. No sweat though, as if you fall you can simply skywalk your way back. Continue to the right and you will get to an area with a bunch of pillars. Just keep plowing through the robot drones and fireballs and you will be warped to Level 6 at some nondescript point. LEVEL 6 (Yes, this is also titled "Level 3" in the game) ------- This level's green background is a contrast to the other 5 levels. You can skywalk over all the enemies in this level, just be careful not to go up through the top of the screen, which means instant death. Keep moving and you will eventually get to an open area where the final boss, Cygore, appears. CYGORE He's wearing yellow pants, a green shirt and is sporting a skullet. He's got a cool looking bionic arm, kind of reminiscent to the medical droid (2-1B) from Empire Strikes Back. Now you must squash him. Anyways, stay to the far left of the screen. He moves back and forth in a set area, but never goes all the way to the left. Stand just to the left of the gap in the background between the 2 blue pipes and just wait for him to approach, whacking him with your clubs when he gets near. After about 17 or 18 hits, Cygore is defeated. Remember when you beat Ape Man back in Level 4. Same thing happens here. Your reward for beating the final boss is the abrupt dead end of the game. Congratulations! [NOTE]: There may be a way that you anti-emulation souls out there may yet be able to play the final two levels. Basil writes: I was just wondering if you have figured out how to consistently get to the last two levels because I know its possible... I've done it! But I have failed to do it again. This is what happened (on a regular toaster-style NES): I beat Man-Ape at the end of Level 4 (actually, he just walked off the screen leaving me all by my lonesome). Then I got bored and bounced around the screen for a while. Then, I killed myself by bouncing too high, and gave up and turned the game off. The next day, I was going to show a friend just how pathetic this game was, so I popped it in and pressed power. To my amazement it started me on Level 5 with all new background graphics and enemies (better than anything I've seen from Active). There was no title screen and I did not press start, it just booted up to Level 5. The last Cheetahman has the same 'jump on air' trick, so I used it to get to the last guy in Level 6. He had one mechanical claw-arm and he just walked back and forth across the screen. But he didn't walk all the way to the left, so you could just stand at one certain spot and get a few shots in. After an eternity of hitting him, he died leaving me to lonely bounce around an empty screen. There was no ending, atleast not accessible to me. I tried to kill myself by jumping too high, but it wouldn't work so I gave up. I tried to duplicate all this some time later, but have consistently failed to get back to level 5 and now it's picking at my brain. I see this walkthrough of yours was last updated in may of 2001, so I was wondering if you've since heard of how to consistently get to level 5? Has anyone else ever encounted this strange phenomenon? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= VI. Acknowledgements =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Robert Flory (bmf54123) - I should actually dedicate this guide to him, as he came up with a way to play Levels 5 and 6. He solved one of the greatest mysteries of all thanks to his mad skillz. Basil - For letting me know that he had actually played through Levels 5 and 6 on the actual cart. He described everything to me before Robert Flory's patch and before my walkthrough, so he could be the only human alive that has played those last 2 levels on the actual cart. Too bad he hasn't been able to duplicate that feat. Sean Roche - The man who unleashed the Cheetahmen to the internet community back in the late '90s. If only I had the cash flow back then to buy his entire stock, I'd be a rich SOB right now. $1500 for 1500 Cheetahmen carts...if I only knew :( Active Enterprises - What else can I possible say about these guys. Read this: http://atarihq.com/tsr/odd/scans/active.html =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= VII. DISCLAIMER =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This FAQ/Walkthrough is not endorsed by Active Enterprises Ltd or Nintendo of America. The information contained within this document is provided without guarantee. All copyrights and trademarks are recognized. This walkthrough may be reprinted, posted in newsgroups, or placed on web sites, as long as the proper credit is given to the author. The most recent version of this walkthrough can be found at: www.gamefaqs.com www.vgstrategies.about.com ©2001,2002,2010 Adam Lamontagne