.8SX28ZXXai . :WM.: ZMi MM M@ MMMMMM 8M MMMMMMM7MZ M8 MMMMMM WMMMMMM MMMMMM0 WM ZM MZ M2 M M ;M MZ M7 M; M M SW 7M @7 WW MM 0M MZ MS M: M iM MB M7 Mi M M SM XM MZ MB MM 0M Ma MS M: M iM MB MM M7 Mi MMMMWM S@ MMM8 MZ MB MM 0M MM MS M: M iM MB B0 Mr Mi M M S@ M2 MZ MB MM 0M .MW Wa M M ;M MZ aB M, M; M ,M SM MZ M7 @W MM 0M 7MMMMX MMMMMM 8MMMMMM;BMMMMMM MMMMMM:XM; SM;WM aMMBMMMMMM8 WM ZM .r@Mir,8Mr. .a7rXaS7rS: *************************************************************************** VOlguard II - FAQ/Strategy Guide. Written By: Kain Stryder. E-Mail Address: ssj4kain@aol.com. Walkthrough Version: Final. Last Updated: 5/29/07. System(s): Famicom. *************************************************************************** ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = Table Of Contents = =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= | [ I. Introduction ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ INTR1 ] | | | | [ II. Current Updates ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ CURUP2 ]| | | | [ III. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions.) ] . . . . . . . . . . [ FAQ3 ] | | | | [ IV. How To Play ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ HOTOP4 ]| | A. Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ CONTR4.1 ] | | B. Moving Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ MOAR4.2 ] | | C. Power Ups & Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ POUOB4.3 ]| | D. Tips & Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ TITR4.4 ] | | | | [ V. The Walkthrough ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ THEWA5 ] | | | | [ VI. Analyzing The Enemy ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ ATE6 ]| | | | [ VII. Secrets ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ SECR7 ]| | | | [ VIII. Credits ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[ CRED8 ]| | | | [ IX. My Words ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ MYWO9 ]| =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = Table Of Contents = =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ NOTE: I've added a Search Engine into all my FAQs now. To use this, if there's something you wish to find instantly in my FAQ, in the above table, on the left is the name of a section or sub-section. To the right is a weird code, like GOK5.1. Basically, if you wish to go to the section where I tell you about Goku under The Playable Characters Of The Story, on your Keyboard, hold Ctrl and then hit F and a window will open. Type in GOK5.1 and hit Find Next. It'll bring you to that section instantly. The code to reach the Table Of Contents is just that: Table Of Contents. I hope this makes browsing my FAQs easier for you. Enjoy! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ INTR1 ] = =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Hello again, everyone and welcome to another one of Kain Stryder's FAQs. This is my 40th FAQ I've written now and I hope for many more to come. Alright, enough with that :P, let's get onto the details. This time, I'm writing for Volguard II, a relatively unknown Side Scrolling Shooter, that, for it's age, is insanely complex, apparently. Although not the best game out there, it's simple enough that it's long overdue for a guide. Anyway, this guide is to NOT be on ANY other site, except for GameFAQs. I do NOT want to see this ANYWHERE else, unless I say so. Please do not edit or claim this guide in any way, shape or form, because I worked hard on it and I hate to see people claim things that aren't theirs to begin with and say they created them. Please just use this as a source and nothing more. Now, with that said, let's get on with the guide. Enjoy! Update: This Walkthrough is now available at IGN, Neoseeker and any other sites I've allowed via E-Mail to host this file. If I did not give you permission to host this FAQ on your site, then you're hosting it illegally and if you're reading this on a site with any variatin of "cheat" in its name, please notify me so I may take the necessary action. Thanks. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = II. Current Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ CURUP2 ]= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 5/29/07 - I've completed the walkthrough and everything else as much as I possibly can and marked it as the Final version. If I ever need to update it again with corrections or reader submitted information, I'll do so, but until then, it's complete. So, enjoy! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = III. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions.) . . . . . . . . . . . . [ FAQ3 ] = =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Q. So, what's the oddities about this game? A. Through research on some Japanese sites, apparently this game had a bunch of hidden things to it. It's mostly just small features, mostly to do with Points and such, but from what I gather, DB Soft, the creators of the game, either had a contest or something, where anyone that could score 1,000,000 Points on Level 4 only would receive some badge or reward. Now, this may be a mistranslation on my part, as it may just be in game, but I've never found a hidden ending or cutscene, as the game just loops back to Area 1 after you complete Area 25. However, it's not called Area 1, but Area 25, 26, etc. For more information and links to the Japanese sites, check Section VIII. Credits for them. Q. Is this game beatable on a Famicom? I've heard rumors of how hard this Level 4 is... A. I'd like to say it's possible, but after attempting a playthrough on Level 1 all the way to Area 25...I'm saying no. Even after experiencing Level 4, it's not possible unless you're cheating in a way. The creators of this game are sick and it's just incredibly hard. Level 4, after Area 1, basically becomes a slaughter fest. All Enemies spam their attacks and it's nearly impossible to keep up, let alone dodge anything or repair yourself. Level 1-3 have no difference as far as I've seen and according to the Japanese sites, only Level 4 "counts", so take that as you will. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = IV. How To Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ HOTOP4 ]= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - A. Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ CONTR4.1 ]- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, here's the controls for the game. Thankfully they're as basic as you can get. D-Pad - Moves your ship in whatever direction you wish. You can move left, right, up and down freely, even diagonally. Select - Allows you to select what Level you wish to play on at the Title Screen. Start - Pauses the game, showing you what Area and Level you're currently on. B Button - If you have the Mech Attachment, pressing this drops you into a Gundam like Mech, allowing you to walk on the ground. While in this form, pushing this Button lets you throw out a punch to attack any other Mechs or Structures. A Button - Fires your Bullets and Bombs, both at the same time. If you have no POW, then it just fires Bombs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - B. Moving Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ MOAR4.2 ]- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, like any Side Scrolling game, basically the screen constantly is moving to the right and you have to move your ship to avoid objects and enemies. The screen only stops moving once you reach the Boss of an Area. If you run into any solid object, not including Power Ups or your Flag Ship, you'll take damage, which will vary on the Structure. Crashing into an enemy or being hit by Enemy fire will also hurt you, again, this amount varies based on the Enemy. This is all very basic and all you need to know if you've never played a Side Scroller before. There's a few more things, though. When you've acquired the Mech Attachment and you hit the B Button to form into the giant Mech, be sure nothing's directly below or slightly nearby you, as you'll land and either destroy or seriously wound yourself. On the ground, Enemies above you will mostly ignore you, but they will fire at you still periodically. The screen also moves VERY SLOWLY at this point and if you crouch down, it will stop moving completely. This will NOT stop Enemies from appearing, so do NOT do this for long, as it can easily spell your doom. Now for the over all screen explanation. Basically, you have a bar at the top of the screen listing 1UP which represents just you, the player. Then to the right, you have your current Score and to the right of this, your High Score. If the game has no saved Hi Score, you'll be fitted with a Hi Score of 10,000 to beat. When you're defeated, you can enter a Hi Score into the game and it'll be saved for that Level on the Title Screen. Now, to the right of this is a light blue box with 00 under it. This is your Energy. Whenever you take damage, this number will increase all the way up to 99. If you're damaged at 99, you die and it's Game Over. This box will change color from light blue, to orange, to red, to signify an urgency in recovery. Other than this, if you hit the Start Button, you can see which Area and Level you're currently in. This is also shown if you are defeated, to give you an idea of how far you've gotten. Other than this, let's take a look at the Title Screen. There's 4 Levels to choose from, however, Levels 1-3 are virtually the same, with no differences in them. Each has 25 Areas, all the same, never changing. If you can by some grace of God clear all 25 Areas, the game will loop back infinitely. The difference with Level 4 is, after Area 1, the game becomes virtually impossible to complete, especially with Save Stating on an Emulator. ALL Enemies literally spam their attacks and your screen is just filled with gun fire, it's absolutely ridiculous. Apparently, there's some hidden feature or something if you can reach Area 25 and 1,000,000 Points, but honestly, good luck getting there. Anyway, to select your Level, use the Select Button to choose and then hit the Start Button to begin. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - C. Power Ups & Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ POUOB4.3 ] - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, here's the overview of all the Power Ups and types of objects you'll encounter in the game. Famicom Controller - Basically, you can't destroy this, collect it or ram into it. What it does is, sometimes in Areas, you'll see this with certain areas on it colored in blue. This represents a Button Combination you must hit, which when successful, will destroy all Enemies on the screen. For example, say you see the Up Button and A Button colored blue. Hold Up and press the A Button and if done at the same time, the Famicom Controller will explode and everything will disappear. Grey Battery - Hard to describe what this thing is, as even the site I got information off of didn't give it an exact name. Basically, it looks like the Famicom Controller, but can't be destroyed or crashed into. Instead, simply run into it to recover POW and Energy. However, what the site doesn't really make clear is, apparently the last 2 columns of your score affect either getting more POW or Energy. Basically, odd and even numbers affect if you'll get more POW back or more Energy back. Flag Ship - Basically, a huge White Ship that'll appear at the top of the screen once you destroy enough Radars. Going onto it will restore 1/2 of your Energy and give you a POW increase, as well as an upgraded weapon, depending on your POW when you entered the Flag Ship. If your POW has only a solid pink area, you'll get a POW energy increase only. Radar - At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a ton of structures. The only way to destroy these is to hit them with your Bombs or go into Mech Mode and shoot/punch them. When enough of these have been destroyed, which the amount needed varies on the Area, all Enemies will run away and your Flag Ship will appear to heal you. Sometimes, Airplanes will fly by and you must kill them all in order to get the Flag Ship to appear immediately after. Face Structure - I'm guessing an Easter Egg...kind of. Basically, it's a building shaped like a face and when destroyed, it nets you 5,000 Points. It's stronger than normal Structures, so don't take it lightly when you're Bombing it. Structures - Basic buildings and orb like things. Some will shoot at you, but rarely. They either can take 1-2 Bombs and yield 100-200 Points when destroyed. Mostly useless, however, they are useful to build up your POW when you have the Barrier equipped. Growing Wall - A constantly rotating, indestructable wall. Usually, they'll appear alone and when shot at enough times, hit with a Bomb or Barrier, they'll grow in size 5 times before reverting to normal size after taking more damage. VERY dangerous, especially if there's literally a wall of them. If you come into contact with them, you'll take MASSIVE damage. Avoid them as best as you can and DO NOT hit them with your attacks. Electric Wall - Basically, it's a long device that looks like it's filled with electricity. They either are stationary or constantly moving. Only killable via the Barrier and even then, it takes a LOT of hits and the reward is 10 Points. Anyway, avoid them at all costs, as if you touch them, like the Growing Wall, it's Game Over pretty much. Very dangerous, avoid at all costs. Mech Attachment - Sometimes throughout each Area, you'll come across 4 other Ships with some strange thing in the middle. Fly into it to acquire a Mech Attachment, which allows you to transform into a Mech by hitting the B Button. Be careful, as if you do this with a Structure below you, it could kill or seriously wound you. In this mode, you will SLOWLY heal yourself, but it's mostly useless since Enemies WILL keep coming and damage you. At times, it's a godsend to heal up in, especially if you're in the 90s in terms of Energy, but you need to get a feeling on when to heal and when to stop. Just being in this mode heals you, no special action is required. Also, the B Button is used to throw a punch, incase you run out of POW in this mode and are fighting another Mech that the Enemy has dropped onto the Battlefield. To get back into Flight Mode, hit the Up Button to jump up and rapidly press the B Button to switch. Main Gun - Your starting weapon. You'll always have this, unless you run out of POW. To replenish it, destroy Enemies with minimal gun fire, as in, don't constantly press the A Button if there's few Enemies about, but let your Main Gun do the work for you. Collecting a Grey Battery and entering your Flag Ship also recovers your Main Gun, as well as defeating a Nucleus on the Battle Station Boss. If you run out of POW, you'll only be able to fire Bombs, so be careful. Note: When you have the Mech Attachment, during Flight Mode, it will also shoot when you do, however it doesn't drop Bombs. Rapid Fire - Acquired if your POW has the first grey area on the bar filled in anyway, when you come into contact with the Flag Ship. If you do not have this and instead only see pink, you'll just a POW recharge up to this point and nothing else. Anyway, with Rapid Fire, you can fire MUCH faster and makes clearing Enemies MUCH easier. If you go below 20% POW, you will lose this feature. 8 Way Fire - Acquired if your POW has the first grey and pink area on the bar filled when you come into contact with the Flag Ship. If you don't have this, based on your current POW, you'll be rewarded based on the % of what it currently is. With this upgrade, whenever you fire a single round, you'll fire a shot in 8 direction. While useful, this heavily eats up precious POW, so be careful in using it. Laser - Acquired if your POW has the first grey, first pink and second grey areas filled when you come into contact with the Flag Ship. If you don't have this, based on your current POW, you'll be rewarded based on the % of what it currently is. With this upgrade, your Main Gun will deal more damage than normal. Very useful, especially during Battle Station Boss fights. As a side note, if you have this and acquire the 8 Way Fire, this'll make ALL your shots in 8 directions as strong as the Laser. Barrier - The most useful Power Up. If your POW is almost or even completely full when you come into contact with the Flag Ship, you'll receive the Barrier. The Barrier is a constant moving series of Shields that circle around you, hitting anything and everything that comes near you. This thing's POWERFUL, it can murder anything it touches and it's indestructable, so enjoy it while you have it. It's disabled for Boss Battles, but returned to you afterwards. BE CAREFUL: This thing fuels Growing Walls like a virus and can easily be your downfall if you're not careful. Note: If you have the Barrier equipped and get the 8 Way Fire equipped, you'll lose the Barrier. However, this doesn't apply the other way around, just as a heads up. Penguin - What an odd looking...figurine...bonus points if you get that reference :P, heh, but yeah, basically it's a Penguin. According to the Japanese sites, you have to do something specific in order to obtain ridiculous Points for it...like, 10,000,000 or so. I've only seen it twice myself, once in Area 24 on Level 1 and during Area 1 on Level 4. Hitting it nearly killed me and shooting it made it drop down to the bottom of the screen and changed its facial expression, allowing me to grab it. This did nothing, though. Any additional information would be helpful, as the Japanese guy wasn't even sure what the hell he was supposed to do and only saw this thing once ever. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - D. Tips & Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ TITR4.4 ]- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - I highly, highly suggest you play this game on an Emulator. Attempting it on a Famicom isn't going to let you enjoy this game in the least. Perhaps it'll give you a challenge, but if you're looking to "beat" this game, you'll want Save States. I can't stress this enough, the game's just that difficult. If you think "Oh I can beat him" then by all means, go for it and I wish you the best. The game, if you already aren't aware, is quite possibly the hardest game on the Famicom. The sheer length of the game, with only 1 life, no continues and no save feature just adds to it. Again, don't take this game lightly or you'll never see Area 25. - Always try to destroy Radars whenever possible. 9/10 you'll have, say, 20 Energy and feel confident that you don't need your Flag Ship, but that can change very, very quickly. Never get arrogant and always aim for them when able. What seems easy now could be a nightmare just moments away. - Whenever you're seriously wounded and aren't sure how much longer until a Flag Ship arrives, if you have the Mech Attachment, form into it and kneel down for as long as you can. This will SLOWLY recover your Energy, however it won't stop Enemies from flying by and attacking. Sometimes, this is useful, other times, it's near impossible and suicidal to even attempt this. Use at your own risk. - The Mech Attachment can be a life saver or a huge burden. The times it comes in handy are during waves of Mini Black Ship attacks and that's about it. When a wave of these small pests appear, get into your Mech Mode and stand still; all the ships will ignore you and fly by. This is VITAL later on in later Areas, as there's times these waves last over a minute and attempting to avoid/destroy everything is next to impossible. The time it's a burden, is when Hoppers are about. The only solid way to avoid these things, as directly fighting/avoiding them is just not worth it, is to fly into the upper left hand corner as far as you can and just sit there. The Hoppers will barely miss you and pass right on by, but with the Mech Attachment, they'll always hit you. To get rid of this, crash it into an Enemy or let it get hit with Enemy Fire. - If possibly, play this game with a Turbo Controller. Having this option makes parts of the game easier, but only with just firing your gun. Just a note, but this'll drain your POW incredibly fast, so really only use it in heavy dogfights or on the Battle Station Boss. - Play this game on Levels 1-3 if you want a chance of beating it. Level 4 is next to, if just plain impossible to even complete. After Area 1, the game enters what I call Extremely Hard Nightmare Mode, in which all Enemies gain Rapid Fire and they never stop shooting. As a heads up, each Level is the same game, same Enemies, etc, just with different difficulty. - If you happen to have the Barrier and come across a huge wall of Growing Walls, there's a way to get by without seriously wounding or outright killing yourself. Well, two ways, actually. The first is to just go into Mech Mode and stand still and kneel down. The other takes some precise timing, but you can rush through an opening in the wall so that as you do, your Barrier comes up from underneath you, over head and hits the Growing Wall, making it bigger just after you pass. If done right, you'll take no damage and can simply carry on. By all means, if you have the Mech Attachment, use it and only do the latter if you don't have this. - Randomly and sometimes, you may encounter the Penguin, a basic structure just floating there. According to the Japanese sites, it's unknown on what makes him appear, how to collect him, etc. From my gathering, do NOT touch him, he'll severly hurt you and if you shoot him, he falls down, with a hurt expression on his face. Once you do this, you can touch him to acquire him, but what he does exactly is unknown. If anyone has any information, be sure to let me know. Thanks. - Shooting Radars during a Boss Battle will not summon your Flag Ship, so don't rely on any additional help going into a fight. - For an easy time to acquire easy POW, if you have the Barrier, simply just stroll at the bottom of the screen and let it whack every Structure you come across. This takes 0 ammo and will easily increase your POW. - If you ever run out of POW, you'll be reduced to only having Bombs. This can easily become fatal for you and there's really no way to restore your POW. There are two ways, but you have to pray you're lucky. One is you can grab a Grey Battery, which you have to be ridiculously lucky to come across and the second is calling your Flag Ship. If you run dry, just start Bombing Radars and hope for the best or else it's Game Over. - When you reach the Boss of an area, which, it's basically the same guy over and over, the only way to defeat him is to destroy the Barriers below the frame of the city on the Battle Station. Once you do, you'll see 3 orbs or Nuclei, which can't be destroyed in any way until all the Barriers around them are destroyed. After this, simply destroy the Nuclei and you'll win. Simple, no? - Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. It's not always wise to attack some Enemies or even attempt to destroy some. For the majority, a lot of Enemies will run off or just go away on their own. For instance, the White Mech doesn't have to be fought at all, especially if you don't have a Mech Attachment to even fight him. If you do or don't have this, just sit in the upper left hand corner and he'll eventually run away. His attacks will rarely if ever hit you and trust me, it's better this way. Another thing is, Wall Crawlers are ridiculously strong and not worth fighting. When they appear as balls and form into...whatever and begin their climb onto the screen, just zip below them fast and let them go away. Just remember this, as it could save you a lot of frustration later on. - Be careful, sometimes if you're too far to the right when an Enemy Wave appears, they'll appear to the left of the screen instead of to the right like in normal Shooters. If this happens, it may be difficult to avoid, so try and stick to the left as much as possible. You do have some breathing room, but don't abuse it, heh. - A small tip. Whenever you're fighting the Battle Station Boss, you can't Pause your game. Annoying, but if you're about to fight one of these and need to go away or something, do it before you encounter it when you're flying to it. Whenever your Ship flies upwards and you can't move it, you're about to fight the Boss, so now's the time to Pause the game. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = V. The Walkthrough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ THEWA5 ] = =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Alright, there's not much to tell here, so there'll be no subsections for this, just one solid section, as this game's linear, short and Holy Mother of God ridiculously hard. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Story - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have no idea. I don't have the manual, as it's a Japanese game and I doubt there's a very strong story. From what I can gather, you're some kind of Pilot who's defending Earth from...something. I'm guessing an evil nation of some kind, as it doesn't appear to be Aliens or anything. Your purpose is to inflitrate their base and take out their defenses and army, then kill their leader...I guess. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Walkthrough - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, the game's split up into 4 Levels, which you choose at the Title Screen. Levels 1-3 are virtually the same in layout, Enemies, what have you. This also applies to Level 4, but with a twist: See, the game has 25 Areas. Think of these as the actual Levels to the game. Anyway, after Area 1 in Level 4, stuff becomes hard. I'm talking imagine if a game had Easy, Normal and Hard Modes. This is Extreme Hard Nightmare Mode. I wish I was exaggerating, but I'll give you an example. Usually, Enemies in this game just appear, fly around and occassionally will all fire at you. It's simple to dodge stuff, but then again, it's not, so you'll take 1-2 hits and move on. Standard, right? Well, here's Level 4: Imagine if every Enemy had Rapid Fire and never stopped firing. Ever. Following me yet? Yeah, you have a general idea now. Apparently, this game was so hard, they had a contest or something hidden in the game of a hidden ending if you acquired 1,000,000 Points on Level 4 and reached Area 25. This is what I'm gathering off the Japanese site in broken English as aheads up and I may be wrong, feel free to write in and correct me. So, for the time being, I'll be explaining Level 1 mostly, as it doesn't really matter which Level I describe, the game's the same, just toned up difficulty depending on which Level you pick. Ok, so, where to begin. All I can really offer for this section is just information in general, I can't clearly walk you through the 25 Areas, sadly. The blunt of the info is in Section IV. How To Play, D. Tips & Tricks, so look there for a large part of how to conquer this game. For the rest, the game as I've said before has 25 Areas. From Areas 1-11, it's generally easy, but you'll feel like the game may be too difficult at times and you're constantly trying for Power Ups or a Flag Ship to heal. I went through to Area 15 before learning about how to call my Flag Ship, so...yeah that was fun. I thought it just randomly appeared. Knowing how to call it makes this game 50 times easier, so master this, it's vital. Around Areas 12-15, the game starts picking up and you'll have a hell of a time pressing on. Areas 16-25...Hell. Welcome to an actual incarnation of it, as it's the best way I can explain it. There's a few spots where Mini Black Ships come in HOARDS at you for a solid minute and do NOT let up. The ONLY way to avoid them safely is to convert into Mech Mode if you're lucky enough to have it and just stand there. If not...Game Over, unless you can masterfully dodge and shoot down everything in sight with near 100% accuracy. Good luck on that and I hope you have a ton of Energy. Anyway, periodically ever 1-3 Areas, depending on the Area, you'll have your Ship forcefully go into the upper left hand corner, as a Battle Station appears. You must destroy this to continue onto the next Area, so check Section VI. Analyzying The Enemy for more details. Other than the Red Starship Boss at the end of Area 25, this is the only Boss you'll ever fight. Speaking of which, if you can by some miracle reach Area 25, especially on a Famicom, you'll find a Red Starship waiting for you. For a game as hard as Volguard II, the final Boss is a complete and utter joke. Defeating him "restarts" the game in a sense, that you start back at Area 1, but it's listed as Area 25, 26, etc still. And that's basically the game. It's just you surviving through wave after wave of Enemies, occassionally fighting a Boss, until you can reach Area 25 to fight a Red Starship. It sounds stupid, but if you're seriously looking for a challenge...by all means, this is THE game for you. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Ending - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sadly, there isn't one. Apparently, there's a hidden one if you can clear Level 4 with 1,000,000 Points, but in all honesty, it's a hoax or just repeats after Area 25 like the other Levels. For a game of it's time and file size, I highly, highly doubt this game has THAT much to it. That's like saying Super Mario Bros. has a hidden ending if you clear the game 10 times and have a maxed score. If anyone has any information, however, feel free to submit it to me. I'd be glad to source you and clear this up. It's interesting to say the least and I'd be happy to learn about it. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = VI. Analyzing The Enemy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ ATE6 ]= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This is probably the second most thing that surprised me in this game; just how many Enemies there are, especially for a game of its age and time. The first being just how hard this game is. Anyway, I digress. Below is a Beastiary if you will of all the various Enemies you'll find in Volguard II with information and Point Values. Just a small note, but the vast majority of Enemies and Structures give anywhere from 10-500 Points, some give 600 and rarely you'll get 1,000-5,000, even 9,999 at parts. Enemy Name: 1/64 Scale Battle Station. Description: A rare sight and only seen in later Areas, this thing looks like a scaled down Battle Station, but be aware, it's VERY powerful, fast and can easily destroy you. Usually comes in with a few others and can take a VERY large beating, especially from a Barrier. Destroy it quickly or else you will die. POints: 600. Enemy Name: Airplane. Description: An Enemy Airplane that blocks your Flag Ship from assisting you. When these are destroyed, usually all must be, your Flag Ship will appear. They usually will pop up after x amount of Radars have been destroyed. Low threat otherwise and easily taken out. Points: 100. Enemy Name: Barrier. Description: An odd wall surrounding the Nuclei holding up the Battle Station. Points: 150. Enemy Name: Battle Station. Description: The only Boss in the game, this thing appears at various Areas in the game. Usually, whenever your Ship is thrown upwards and you're unable to move, you're about to fight this, so be ready. Be warned, you can NOT call your Flag Ship OR Pause the game while fighting this. Points: 10,000. Enemy Name: Black & White Ship. Descripion: A horizontal line Ship colored part black, part white. Very low threat and easily avoided. Points: 20. Enemy Name: Boomerang. Description: An orange Boomerang shaped Ship that flies either very slow or very fast. Minimal threat and not very dangerous period. Points: 30. Enemy Name: Cargo Plane. Description: It actually looks like a LARGE Jet Fighter, but it merely drops off either a White Mech or a Bomb that explodes into 4 fragments and can cause massive damage if it hits you. Not sure if it can be destroyed and if so, it'd probably only yield 10 Points. Easily avoided, just ignore it, as it doesn't attack. Points: 10. Enemy Name: Hopper. Description: An orange Ship that bounces on two legs and hops/jumps across the screen, shooting at you. Highly annoying and more trouble than they're worth. Avoid them at all costs, as they're not worth wasting POW on. Points: 120 Points. Enemy Name: Horizontal Ship. Description: A small, horizontal ship colored white with some grey trim. Comes in waves that just move up and down and will occassionally shoot at you with 3 Bullets. Moderate threat, but easily taken out via Bombs or just avoiding them. Points: 50. Enemy Name: Jet Fighter. Description: Usually appears near the end of Areas or randomly after a wave. Minimal threat, as it merely just flies by very fast and can only be a threat if it crashes into you. Shoot it fast or avoid it completely. Points: 1,000. Enemy Name: Mini Black Ship. Description: A small, circle like Ship that is highly evasive and hard to destroy. Very dangerous, as it often comes in waves and if it crashes into you, expect to take heavy damage. Avoid them in Mech Mode if possible and at all costs. Points: 20. Enemy Name: Mini Pink Ship. Description: A rarely seen ship, this little pink circle attracts Mini Black Ship, which encircle around it. Destroying it makes Mini Black Ships begin to "attach" themselves to you, but more like crash into you. Usually, you don't have a choice and must destroy them, but the Point reward is good. Points: 9,999. Enemy Name: Mini Red Mech. Description: A very small, annoying Enemy, this thing appears with a few others. They bounce around and are highly dangerous. Destroy them as soon as you can. Points: 20. Enemy Name: Nuclei. Description: The orbs holding up the Battle Station. Points: 3,000. Enemy Name: Pod Ship. Description: A white Ship shapped like a Pod. Comes with others that sort of move in a wave like pattern, occassionally shooting at you. Minimal threat and best avoided. Points: 80. Enemy Name: Radar. Description: A Structure that blinks red. When enough of these are destroyed, your Flag Ship will appear to help you. Destroy these at all costs, as they are vital in getting your Flag Ship to heal you at all times. Points: 200. Enemy Name: Red Starship. Description: The "Boss" of the game. If you can reach the end of Area 25, you'll get to fight this thing, a palette swap on the White Starship. For a last Boss and for how hard this game is, this guy's a complete joke. Minimal threat, unless you're seriously low on Energy. Defeating him "wins" the game, as it "starts" back at Area 1 again. Points: 5,000. Enemy Name: Statue. Description: A grey Statue that serves as a mere obsticle in your path, appearing where the background meets the sky in very few parts of a couple of Areas. Takes a lot to destroy them and it's best to just avoid, unless you have a Barrier. Avoid them otherwise, as they can very much so cause heavy damage to you. Points: 2,000. Enemy Name: Structures. Description: A varitey of buildings seen about the ground. To save space and time, instead of just writing up a handful of differences, I've made this into 1 "Enemy". They're all basically the same, take 1-2 hits from a Bomb to be destoryed or multiple Main Gun attacks and give about the same amount of Points. Rarely, if ever, shoot at you. Points: 100-200. Enemy Name: Turbo Fan. Description: A fan shapped Ship that twirls about slowly, usually in a group. Minimal threat. Points: 20. Enemy Name: Wall Crawler. Description: It first appears as a pure white circle and will eventually drop down to the bottom of the screen and form into a machine. Next, it'll crawl up the left side of the screen and once it "meets" your Ship on a horizontal line, it'll throw itself at you. Easily avoided by just moving past it fast, however you usually have to avoid a few of them and other incoming Enemies. Moderate threat and not worth, if even possible, to destroy. Points: ???. Enemy Name: White Mech. Description: An Enemy Mech dispatched from a Cargo Plane. High threat and best just avoided by flying in the upper left hand corner of the screen. If you don't have the Mech Attachment, it'll simply run away once it appears. Points: 5,000. Enemy Name: White Orb. Description: A weird little white Ship with blinking lights on it that flies around a bit, shooting at you. Very hard to destroy unless you have a Barrier. If you don't, just avoid it, as it's a high threat to you. Points: 3,000. Enemy Name: Wrench Ship. Description: Basically, this ship looks like a head of a wrench. It's white in appearance with some grey trim. When it appears, it'll appear with others, but it won't do anything and simply disappear off screen, UNLESS you attack it. If so, it'll start rapidly attacking you, eventually running away. Moderate threat and either not possible to destroy or not worth it. Avoid it at all costs. Points: ???. Enemy Name: White Starship. Description: A huge Ship that fires 2 Bullets at a time, rapidly. Moderate threat and only appears rarely by itself. Destroy it to continue on. Points: 5,000. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = VII. Secrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ SECR7 ]= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= None at the moment. If you have any, please send them to ssj4kain@aol.com. Thanks! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = VIII. Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[ CRED8 ]= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Well, here's where I give credit to the ones that helped make this guide possible. Here's the following people I'd like to thank: DB Soft - For making this game, of course. It's extremely hard to "beat" it, but nice job none the less, especially on something so old. Myself - For writing this guide. Thanks for reading it and I hope it helped you in playing the game. odino - For pointing me at two VERY helpful Volguard II sites for basic game information and just interesting tidbits. If you're interested yourself, check them out here: http://www.geocities.co.jp/Playtown-Knight/7865/volguard2.html http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA029912/vol2.html Note: Run them through the Google Translation if you need help reading them. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= = IX. My Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ MYWO9 ]= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Thanks for reading my guide, first of all. I sure hope it helped you. If you wish to submit something to this guide, send it to ssj4kain@aol.com and label the subject as "Submit-Volguard2" and as nothing else please. It isn't too hard and I'm not asking for alot. If you have any questions regarding this game, also send them to me and label the subject as "Question-Volguard2" please. Again, not asking much here and it isn't hard to understand. Now for the legal stuff. This guide was created by Kain Stryder. It is not meant to be used on any other site besides GameFAQs and any other site I've deemed to have it hosted on. It's not to be edited in ANY way for other use. (Unless I give permission to do so.) I did not create, nor take in participation of creating Argus. I am not affiliated with Jaleco Entertainment, nor the team who made it. I also don't have the rights to it. I am a writer simply giving out information to other gamers of Argus. Copyright © 2007 by Kain Stryder. All rights reserved.