___ __________ ___________ ___ __________ ___________ | | | || | | | | || | | | | __ ||___ ___| | | | __ ||___ ___| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_____ | |__| | | | | |_____ | |__| | | | | || | | | | || | | | |_________||__________| |___| |_________||__________| |___| _ _ _ _ \\_/ | _ _ | \_// \_ _||.| |.||_ _/ \\ |_| |_| // \\_|___|_// __| |__ /__| |__\ /__| |__\ /__| |__\ / |_______| \ Why yes, that IS A CRAB! How good of you to figure that out. What? You thought is was just some random assortment of text... well, aren't you just a humongous MEANIE! Copyright Tokuma Shoten 1985 Written By Brian P. Sulpher E-mail: briansulpher@hotmail.com Version 1.1 Dates Written: March 1st to March March 2nd, 2005 I dedicate this to the NES fans out there, as this one is part of the NES FAQ completion Project of 2004-2005, courtesy of the FAQ Contributor Board. We honour the most truly awesome and great system... the Nintendo Entertainment System! Never mind about Atari, Commodore 64, Colecovision, Sega Master System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, or any of the newer systems, we all know that the good old NES is where true gaming is at! Also, for Cougar, Howler, and Koonce. I miss you, and I hope you are living it up in the afterlife as you did in this world. You will always be in my memories, and you will never be forgotten. ----------- Version 1.0 ----------- -Submitted guide on March 2nd, 2005 ----------- Version 1.1 ----------- -Submitted guide on 16th of September, 2005 -I added in Retronintendo and Honestgamers as sites allowed to use my FAQs -Altered the format to make it easier on the eyes of the reader ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------Table Of Contents------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Introduction 2) Controls 3) Game Basics 4) Obstacles 5) Scoring 6) Final Word ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------Introduction-------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Lot Lot seems like an odd little game... which it is. Released early in the life of the Famicom, it is one of those puzzler gems that never managed to reach North America's shores, yet it is highly addictive in it's thinking play as well as it's frantic scrambling. Add in a crab that somehow is able to irritate just by being seen at all, and you have one Jim Dandy of a game that no one should not go without experiencing at least once! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------Controls----------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) This section will look at the controls for keeping the Crab from taking those small pellets away! D-Pad...: Moves the arrow around the screen, allowing SELECT..: Moves cursor on the beginning screen between the one player and two players option. START...: Confirms the number of player selection as well as pauses/unpauses the game. B Button: No apparent use. A Button: Cause the arrows to spin, changing the two cell's holdings around. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------Game Basics---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) This section will cover the basics of the game, including a map of the play area to better illustrate how the rules of the game. o------------o | Game Board | o------------o _ _ |_| |_| |_|_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|_| |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_| |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_| |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_| |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _ _ _|_| |_|---------|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ |_|| || | | |_| | | |_| || | |_| _|| | |_| |_ | | |_| |_||_||_| | |_| |_| |_| ||_| |_| __||_| |_| _||_| |_| |_| |_| P T S |_| P T S |_| P T S |_| P T S |_| The top layer of this game board is where the pellets first enter the board. They will fill this area, waiting for some of the floor panels to change colour, indicating that they are open for pellets to pour through into a waiting cell. This is when the player will need to start moving the pellets away from the upper cells to the lower ones, in an attempt to score some points. Now, the one cell (the bottom-left one) does not have these same bricks that will appear and disappear (well, only along the bottom are these missing), allowing pellet flow. Instead, whenever a single pellet (or multiple, it does not matter) are trapped inside this cell, the evil crab will rise from the depths to use it's razor sharp claws to rend the elastic floor, dropping the pellets downwards. This is HORRENDOUSLY EVILLY BAD for you as the pellets that fall down will enter the OUT hole, meaning that the current life being played will be extinguished FOREVER! o----------------------o | Arrow Movement Rules | o----------------------o There are two arrows that are used in the game, the Red Arrow and the Green Arrow. The Red Arrow is the one that is directly under the control of the player, moving around the screen in the desired directions. The Green Arrow however, mimics the movements of the Red Arrow, but with a time delay of about 4 seconds. This delay is intentioanl, as it is how the player will be able to switch the pellets between the cells, as they press the A Button to cause the arrows to spin, trading the pellets from the two cells that they are currently occupying, which is how to get the pellets into good scoring position and save them from that dastardly Crab! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------Obstacles----------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) This section will take a look at the few obstacles and the rules that govern their behaviours. o--------------------o | Wily and Evil Crab | o--------------------o This is the main concern for you as you play. The nasty, shelled creature lives in the OUT hole, waiting for pellets to fall into the bottom-left cell on the game board. When this occurs, he will use his claws to cut the elastic, but first he has to climb that high. So, as soon as the noise indicating that the Crab is on the move, move your arrow down towards the bottom-left cell, on the way pass over an empty cell. Now when the second arrow starts following the same movement path, switch the empty cell and the afflicted bottom-left cell, meaning the Crab will be forced to leave, since no more pellets are available for him to go after! o----------------o | Stopper Pellet | o----------------o A darker pellet, this rounder is not able to be scored by rolling into a 50 point hole, as it does not roll through a wall that was opened up. However, it can be dropped through a floor opening, so try to keep them concentrated there for ease of scoring. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------Scoring------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) The following section will cover scoring, including once the goal score for that level is reached. o--------------------------------o | Scoring Towards The Goal Score | o--------------------------------o As mapped in the section entitled "Game Basics", the following breakdown for scoring for each column (from left to right) is: OUT......: Whenever a single, small pellet comes to rest in this area, the evil and wily Crab will attempt to cut the elastic holding the pellets up, ending that life for you. 0 Points: Pellets that fall in here will not score you any points, but they will be cleared from the screen, creating extra area for more pellets to be stored in. 10 Points: Pellets that fall in here will net you a mediocre 10 points apiece. 30 Points: Pellets that fall in here will net you a decent 30 points apiece. 50 Points: Pellets that fall in here will net you a fantastic 50 points apiece. So, to finish the levels as fast as humanly possible, concentrate on keeping the pellets over on the right side of the board, so they will fall into the 30 point hole ot even pour out the right side of the structure to score the coveted 50 points per pellet! However, as thing get more hectic, just be sure to keep the left side of the structure clear, or that Crab will most definitely get your pellets! o--------------------------------------o | Scoring After Getting The Goal Score | o--------------------------------------o Upon reaching the scoring goal for a level, the game will continue on, allowing the player to build upon their score, meaning that reaching the next level's goal will be a tad easier. In fact, the game generously donates an extra 20 seconds to score as many of the remaining cell's pellets into the higher end point holes (usually the 50 point spot). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------Final Word---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) As is the usual, this walkthrough is copyright property of Brian P. Sulpher, 2005. The only website, group, person, etc. to have access to post it is www.gamefaqs.com, www.ign.com, www.retronintendo.com, and www.honestgamers.com. You must ask for permission before posting this, as doing so without consent is a violation of international copyright law. If you liked it, hated it, have anything to add, then please E-mail me at briansulpher@hotmail.com. You can also contact me through MSN messenger through the same E-mail address. A rather neat puzzle game, it makes a fabulous time diversion for anyone who enjoys a challenge and some frantic re-arranging. Definitely give it a try, as a true puzzle fun will enjoy the challenge!