SKY DESTROYER guide .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:..:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. Version 1.0 (01/12/2005) Version History: -3/27/2006, added 1up as a host. 1.0: Basic Guide Complete - 01/12/2005 .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:..:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. Legality: This Guide is Copyright, 2004, Matthew McIntyre This guide may not be used on a website or in any public forum where it is protected by copyright without the consent of the author. Websites with permission to use this Guide: www.GameFAQS.com www.neoseeker.com faqs.IGN.com www.1up.com Sky Destroyer is copyright TAITO /===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===/ Table of Contents: 1.0: The Introduction 2.0: The Aircraft 3.0: Playing the Game 3.1: Special Game Mechanics 4.0: Game Progression 5.0: Enemy Breakdown 5.1: Enemy Firepower 5.2: The Air 5.3: The Sea 5.4: Fortified Islands 6.0: Credits /===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= **Section 1.0: Introduction** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Sky Destroyer Guide is for my brother, whom played this game on our 31-in- 1 to the point that I’d thought it’d be worn out. Sky Destroyer astounds with its simplistic brilliance. While “all you do” is shoot and drop torpedoes, the game has a number of features that are more subtle. You’ll fly your Zero, that Japanese warbird of infamy, over the ocean/sea destroying enemy aircraft. The aircraft have real life counterparts – or at least closely resemble them – and will barrage you with relentless malice as the game progresses. Sky Destroyer offers a great challenge in this respect. With no discernable end in sight, how far can you go? /===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= **Section 2.0: The Aircraft** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Because the aircraft in this game have real life roots I’ve included a brief blurb on the crafts and why I think they fit. *Player Craft Model: A6M1 Type 0 Carrier Borne Fighter (or derivative) Nicknames: Reisen, Zeke, Zero, Zero Sen For its time, the Zero was a very quick and maneuverable craft, quite deadly in a dogfight and able to outclass many opposing planes. With its range and power, the Zero would be used extensively in the war. It’s speed and tenacity helped take America by surprise a Pearl Harbor. However, by the end of the war the plane would start to be old, outclassed by more powerful engines. Zero were then used for kamikaze purposes to compensate, leaving few serviceable today. Judging by the colour scheme of the player craft and the infamy of the Zero overall, there’s a fair certainty that what you're flying is a Zero. *Enemy Craft ***Grumman F6F Hellcat (or XF6F-3) Nickname: Aluminum Tank Again, the colours and shape matches here. The Hellcat especially would resound in Japan, as it was implemented to challenge their air superiority of such craft as the Zero. The XF6F-3, actually, was designed with information from a captured Zero. ***Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress or Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The term ‘Flying Fortress’ is basically synonymous with the large 4 engine bombers. The Superfortress, though not as famous as the B-17, was a longer range heavy bomber, over 5000 miles and a 20000 pound payload of bombs. Though, because of its fame, the B-17 may be the reasonable choice. Regardless of what model it is supposed to be, it is clearly a heavy bomber. I recommend Boeing because of the fame as well as the shape of the cockpit used on the sprite. It seems rounded in a similar way as the Boeing craft. /===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= **Section 3.0: Playing the Game** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A: Machine gun (may be held for rapid; see section 3.1) B: Torpedo D-Pad: Move around the sky Now, how exactly does it all work? You’re going to be flying against a constant wave of Hellcats, just your little Zero against a fleet of aircraft and aquatic vessels. Basically, use the gun to take out your aircraft foes and use your torpedo to destroy any aquatic targets and fortified islands. Also note that the screen wraps horizontally, keep flying right and you’ll eventually wind up at the exact position you were a little bit ago. =-=-=-= 3.1: Special Game Mechanics -=-=-=- So, is there anything you should know about Sky Destroyer if you hope to survive? Yes, there are two special mechanics in the game that affect how well you’ll do. 1) Wear and Tear: You’ll notice that your Zero’s guns will rapid fire when you hold down the A button. You’ll be thinking “HEY! That’s great! I’ll just do this for the whole game! Well, don’t. The longer you hold the button down, the slower your guns will fire. It’s like your engines are overheating or something of that nature. Instead, tap the button against the Hellcats and use your rapid fire on a FF (Flying Fortress). You’ll find that by the end of the Scene anyways, your shots will have basically diminished regardless. But towards the end, you’ll be attempting to bomb the Fortified Island, so your rapid fire won’t be as necessary. 2) Quantity over Quality This is an interesting one, the more enemies you destroy, the slower they upgrade their abilities. So, if you dodge enemies and don’t bother shooting them, they’ll become more and more aggressive. This applies primarily to the Hellcats and its about the only enemy you can acutely see the trend in. As you play, the Hellcats will begin to fire normal bullets at you and later, bombs. However, there seems to be correlation between your aggression and theirs. Maybe since you’re destroying so many of their craft, they are retaliating in kind. Not only do their shots become increasingly advanced, but the degree to which they attack does, as well. Later in the game, the screen will be literally filled with bombs. /===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= **Section 4.0: Scene Progression** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A scene starts and ends in the daytime, but it’s not bright all the time. The scene will progress ala: Day -> Sunset -> Night -> Day (or Morning I suppose, but it is the same as say). Day: Light blue sky, blue Hellcats. Sunset: Orange sky, blue Hellcats Night: Dark blue sky , light blue Hellcats Day/Morning: Same as Day, except a Fortified Island will appear. Now, each transition between these portions of the scenes is marked by a group of red Hellcats. These cannot shoot you, and are there for bonus points. For the first few scenes, you’ll usually encounter 2 Flying Fortresses per time zone. This changes later in the game, where they’ll become much more frequent (ie One will appear when another is destroyed or leaves). After awhile on the second day of the Scene, an Island will appear down on the water. This is the target of the Scene, y ou must destroy it to win. So, you will be shooting torpedoes at the mobile cannon, and the island will be destroyed when it a torpedo connects with the cannon. After this, you’re taken to a bonus round, where you attempt to shoot down a bunch of red Hellcats that are swooping in you. In late bonus games, a Flying Fortress may grace you with its presence. Red Hellcats cannot shoot you - the same does not apply for the Fortress. Unless you’re going for a wreckage bonus, concentrate on shooting Hellcats and dodging the Fortresses’ bombs. Both scenes and lives work on a counter that begins throwing other characters at you after 9. So you could have ! lives and be on scene ; /===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= **Section 5.0: Enemy Breakdown** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Though honestly, there isn’t much to a scene in Sky Destroyer, there’s no environmental threats in this game other than the water. So, the largest threat is your enemies. They will be coming in great numbers and greater tenacity as the game progresses. They’ll attack you from the top and bottom and won’t give you much room to move, or breathe. =-=-=-= 5.1: Enemy Firepower -=-=-=- There’s really only two shots you’re going to have to worry about in this game: your regular gunfire and your bombs (or missiles I guess). Regular Fire: This is kind of star shaped, or at least jagged looking. They are red so get to know the shape of them so you can react to them properly (as opposed to treating them like a bomb). They move towards you, and move quickly. This shot must come directly in contact with you to register. This is the first shot that Hellcats will use, so watch out. Bomb/Missile: More rounded and smooth looking than the regular fire, it’s kind of hard to tell if a missile is on the same plane as the Zero. While it would be best to just avoid these altogether, sometimes you’re pinned in by them. You can fly over a bomb (as in, move the Zero across the sprite), but if it explodes, you are toast. That’s how bombs operate, they’re tricky. They will explode causing a radius of damage rather than a point like the regular fire. They will become extremely common later, so get used to them. =-=-=-= 5.2: The Air -=-=-=- Ah, the open sky. Home of lots of points and fun. Stick to the air for most of the time, more points, and you’ll probably stay alive longer. **Hellcat: These are the Blue aircraft that swoop in on you from the distance. When the game starts, they won’t even attack the Zero. However, they’ll get dangerous eventually. when they start attacking you, they’ll shoot regular fire. This isn’t too dangerous on its own but there will be plenty of Hellcats on the screen, not to mention other threats, soon enough. They’ll next use bombs, which can be a real pain. When you have a few Hellcats coming in at one time, all launching bombs, or a combination of both ammunition, it can get hectic really quick. So concentrate on Hellcats, for the most part. When you destroy a Hellcat from afar, it will smoke into the sea, nice show of wreckage. There’ll just be an explosion if they’re up close. Hellcats swoop in at angles, they don’t just fly in straight from the back. -o- ***--O-- *****==( )== A Hellcat getting closer, however, the curve of the craft is more severe than this and you may get a mix when the aircraft are coming in. But for the most part, it is best to line up under them, and fire as you move horizontally opposite them. You can pursue them if you want, but it may be more trouble than it is worth. **Red Hellcat: This only differs from the Hellcat in that it does not shoot you. This is a bonus aircraft and appears in the bonus rounds as well as between times of the day. **Flying Fortress: This huge bomber’s propellers are so loud they drown out your Zero. The sound is telltale, you’ll always know when a FF is around. So what does this monster look like? Four huge engines and a large plane that doesn’t leave the background. It hovers around in relatively the same place while firing bombs at you. It’s rate of fire is fairly quick, it’s no slouch but it’s not excruciating. One of the biggest challenges with the FF is the presence of Hellcats. It’s best to concentrate on attacking a Flying Fortress regardless of the number of Hellcats, just worry about dodging their fire. If you bring an FF down, it will destroy all enemies on the screen. They’re a high point target. There’s also the wreckage factor here – sometimes when you destroy an FF a blue ball (same colour as a Hellcat, and will be red when the Hellcats are red) will be plummeting towards the water. If you manage to shoot this before it hits the drink, you’ll get 15000 points. Nice. Take a look: /// O That’s essentially it. It’s a blue sphere with blue lines coming off it. (sometimes red) However, an FF can depart the screen as quickly as it arrived, so you need to learn the movements. When attacking the Fortress, I find it best to strafe across from one wing to the other. =XXOXX= O = Cockpit X = Propeller % = Destroyed Propeller This is a rough representation of the craft. You’re going to want to be slightly under the craft, it’s in the background so the guns will need to fire up to hit it for the most part. =%%OXX= So, you strafe across one set of engines, and they’ll be noticeably damaged. Work on the other set: =%%O%X= Please note that the aircraft is just as dangerous now than it ever was. At this stage in the game, you may lose your cool and it could escape, but just work on hitting that last engine. =%%O%%= equals (((((BOOM))))) Once all four engines have been hit, the FF is downed. Again, look for the falling debris. This is not the usual debris of a Hellcat shot from afar, remember that it looks like a comet. Now, more often than not, strafing the plane won’t be a viable option. Of course I mean when you’re under heavy fire. While I wouldn’t stay in too close a proximity to the FF, you may have to hover along side it in order to bring it down. Now, you could try to move across it, but that may not be successful. You could do this: =X%O%X= The two middle engines are the easiest to hit successively in my experience. However, this set-up forces you to go out to the side and then back over to the other. If you took awhile hitting those middle engines, it might escape on you. So, you could reverse it and attack like this =%XOX%= The two middle engines are the easiest to hit in succession, and this makes them the final target. It’s a practical way to do it, but this will take as much time as the last strategy. also getting into the core of the plane is dangerous, there’s less time to react to shots. Regardless of your strategy, you don’t want to be doing this: 1. =%XOXX= 2. =%XO%X= 3. =%%O%X= While it will still be very possible to destroy the FF, this or a similar progression just means that you were approaching it haphazardly. A lot of time was likely wasted and it will probably escape. Don’t worry about it though, you’ll be forced into this situation more than once. It might even be best to pull back if you’re doing poorly, less shots to dodge for nothing. =-=-=-= 5.3: The Sea -=-=-=- Well, there are actually more unique threats out on the water than the in the air, but they persist in using bombs as their primary means of attack. I do recommend staying in the air because there’s more points and the enemies are much easier (aside from the FF). You’ll need to hit a sea-based enemy with a torpedo to destroy it, something that takes accuracy and timing. Ultimately, the sea may be too hectic for you to concentrate on these targets efficiently. You will get some fire from the sea coming up to meet you though, so watch out! **Large Ship A large ship that appears on the horizon. It will turn around and leave the screen a short time after arriving. You can torpedo it to get points, it does not attack you. **Battleship This ship comes in from the background and fires at you, then moves back out. It moves slightly horizontal when it arrives, then departs. Attack by dropping the torpedo directly towards it if it is coming out of the background. If it is going to be turning, drop the torpedo slightly ahead of it. Don’t bother sending one to chase it up the screen. **Submarine The sub moves above and under water, firing bombs/missiles at you while it is not submerged. Drop the torpedo ahead of it to destroy it. It is invincible underwater. =-=-=-= 5.4: Fortified Islands -=-=-=- Some time into the second day of a scene, a huge island will appear on the horizon. You’ll see something like this. I____O_______I, where O is a large (relative size) moving object. This is actually a cannon, and represents the last threat of the sea, or if you will the only land threat by technicality. Regardless of its definition it is the boss of the scene, as the scene ends after you destroy it. You must hit this with a torpedo, so you’ll need to contend with both air and sea targets. Don’t think just because the boss is here everyone else is taking a rest. You’ll even hear some FF’s up in the sky as you try to blow the cannon up. What you need to do is drop a torpedo in the path of the cannon, making them collide. This, of course, is easier said than done when you’re under bombardment, but if you connect you’ll destroy the cannon, the island, and go on tot he next scene. Destroy the island? Yup, pretty good for a little Zero, no? So, the cannon moves from one side of the island to the other, and then goes back the other way. It’s basically at the farthest or close to the farthest reach of your torpedoes, so time it accordingly. The cannon’s firepower is bomb, and as with the FF, it can be trick when you can’t see it coming very well. So, don’t stay directly in front of the cannon. The Fortified Island isn’t always the same, aesthetically, either. Take a look at this run: 1: Island 2: City – brownish orange and white 3: white/grey city 4: Black/Purple City 5: Snow Capped 6: Grey City 7: Black/Purple City 8: Large Industrial/ Orange/Green 9: Grey snow capped 10: Black/Purple City 11: Orange City 12: Orange/White Industrial 13: Black/Purple Island 14: Orange/Green Industrial 15: White Orangish Brown City Each number is a scene. Islands are just islands with the cannon, a city has buildings, snow capped are fairly larger peaked islands (with snow caps), and industrial are smoke stacks and that kind of thing. There’s a nice bit of variety here, but the cannon will always move the same. /===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===//===/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= **Section 6.0: Credits** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Thanks go out to my brother, for being the inspiration for this guide and a good source of info. I also thank my hosts, for allowing you to see this, and Taito for making this radical game. This guide may not be used on a website or in any public forum where it is protected by copyright without the consent of the author.