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Magical Tower

FAQ
NES 1992

Version: 1.0

BASICS
===============================================================================

Controls:
`````````
A        Jump
START    Pause/Resume
SELECT   Restart Floor

You are a hand that shows one of three shapes. Each shape can beat another, but
can also be beaten by the third. Check this list and memorize it>

Rock     beats Scissors
Paper    beats Rock
Scissors beat  Paper

Modes:
``````
You can do single player or play co-op with another player. Both have identical
floors, but you compete for defeating the most enemies on each floor. In Versus
Mode, a player that survives at the end will get a star and after three stars,
that player has won the round. Defeating hands will simply re-spawn more.


Gameplay:
`````````
The aim of the game is to defeat all other hands in the same floor. There are
typically 6 to 15 hands.

You can change shape by defeating another hand, or by running into the same
shape you are currently in. At this point you will turn into the shape the one
you bumped into can defeat. For example, as rock, bump into rock and it will
turn you into scissors. Defeating hand will turn you into the shape they can
defeat. For example, defeat a rock and it will transform you into scissors, as
rock beats scissors. There are also cards that will change you to the shape
shown on it.

You start a floor with 99 seconds on the timer in the top center. When this is
down to 0, the grim reaper will arrive and hunt you down. At this point it is
still possible to finish the floor. There are clock cards to extend the time by
20 seconds. When the timer reaches below 20 seconds, it will flash green to
warn you.

The top also has the current score for each player, as well as the amount of
lives left. For each death it counts down, and when you run out the game is
over.

The only way to get back down in a floor is to drop off a ledge. Jump up with
the A button to advance up the ledges. If the ledges aren't vertically on top
of each other, you can slightly walk to the ledge and then jump up to arrive
at the other ledge. Careful not to drop off.

After changing shape, either by defeating another hand or collecting a card,
your character will flash green for a few seconds. This indicates
temporary invincibility. At this moment, you cannot be defeated by the other
hands, yet you can still continue to defeat them.

There are fans that will blow you into the opposite direction. It makes
movement slower in their direction, but you can get as close as one panel if
you are trying hard enough.

In later stages you will find a transporter. It is a flashing panel in the
block that will take you to the other transporter on the same floor. Use it to
move around.

After 50 floors you get treated the ending. When the credits have rolled, press
START to see a versus stats overview of which player beat how many floors,
plus your final score(s).


Cards:
``````

Every 20 seconds a green monster will fly by and drop cards. Pick them up for
the desired outcome:

Flat Hand - Turns your hand into the paper shape
Fist Hand - Turns your hand into the rock shape
V-Hand    - Turns your hand into the scissors shape
1-UP      - Extra Life
Money Bag - Adds 1,000 to your Score
$ sign    - Adds 5000 to your Score
Clock     - Adds 20 seconds to the time
Boot      - Decreases or increases movement speed, seems random


Scoring:
````````
Defeat a hand for 200 points.
Money bag - 1000 points
$ sign - 500 points
The winner of a round, i.e. the most kills, will also receive a 10,000 point
bonus. If you are playing on your own you are guaranteed to get this bonus as
Player 2 doesn't kill any foes.


Tips:
`````

You are faster than the opponents, use this advantage to hunt them down. This
advantage is gone after hitting Floor 30 though.

Look ahead where the targeted enemy is going. There is often only one way to
get out of this area and it is by means of dropping down a ledge. Simply wait
for it to do that, because very rarely will an enemy camp in a corner.

Enemies tend to follow a pre-set patrol. With fewer enemies left this is much
easier to spot. Check out their route and position yourself. The AI is really
stupid and won't even try to hunt you down if you stand next to them in the
wrong shape.

Changing shapes is good, because it renders you invincible for a short time.
This means you can basically run into enemies and hope you they were the right
shape, it's not always easy to spot when they walk in groups. Just make sure
you aren't about to lose this green armor.

Towards the end of the floor you may need to rely on the green monster to drop
down the required shape-changing card. It's a shortcoming of the game, but you
could also try really hard to get the order of your kills right, thus not
ending up needing a specific hand-icon later. It's not easy, and a lot less fun
to calculate ahead.

Some blocks actually will make you fall through to the lower floor. It's hard
to tell which ones exactly, as there is no ways to spot this without playing
the level yourself. A few times you will notice it seems there are dead-ends
in one side of the level. This is most likely an indication there is one of
these empty blocks to fall through.

As you start the game, you are already vulnerable to dying. Look for an escape
route if an opposing hand is nearby.

Sometimes you need to step on the transporter, only to transport right back and
continue the other side. You cannot jump over the transporter, and whereas this
seems time-consuming it is also the only way to advance into that direction.
Note that the transporter is slow and you want to use it as little as possible.


Glitches:
`````````

I've found that sometimes you warp to a different level when pressing START to
begin the floor. It can skip a level, but may also go back to Floor 1.

In Versus Mode, if both players die at the same time, the game may freeze.


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