GAIN GROUND Renovation Genesis 1-2 players INTRODUCTION =============================================================================== Welcome to hell. (Ok, this isn't Doom. Lemme try again.) This is what happens when AI runs amok. A computer defense system called GAIN GROUND, originally used for training in a peaceful world, has gone absolutely ballistic and wiped out most of humanity. (Traces of T2 here.) 20 warriors were sent in to neutralize the system and take it over from the inside. 3 remain. Your mission? Go in, rescue any captives and CTRL+ALT+DEL GAIN GROUND for good. There are five specific time areas in the game, and of course as you go along, the weaponry gets more advanced. So watch out and keep yer eyes open. They may become closed sooner than you'd like. Version Changes =============================================================================== v.000001276329876523 The basic faq that I never even once thought I would have to update. I mean, seriously. v.1.0 I recieved a somewhat angry email from a reader stating that I didn't use the character names from the manual, so we (and by we, I mean HIM) did some searching and found 'em. Posted the boring character names next to my awesome ones. Also cleaned up the general formatting a bit to make reading easier, and removed all the repulsive "^_^" smileys. GENERAL Q+A =============================================================================== Q. Hey, cool! I have all 20 players at the start! That old konami code DOES work on this game! A. Bull. You started in hard mode, with all 20 players available at the start. Good luck, Kimosabe. Q. The strat you have listed here for this level is ok, but mine is better! Do you just plain suck or what? A. No. If you find a better way, by all means do it. No skin off my teeth, man. Some characters work better for certain people. Same goes for strats. Q. This part is HARD!!! I don't even have the character you say to use! A. *Sigh* This is when things might get a little complicated. Say for instance you need to smash someone on the other side of a barrier. You have no one who can lob projectiles up and over. If possible, use someone who can shoot in both horizontal directions at once after doing a forward rush to nail him. If you don't have the character in question, improvise. Q. Holy crap. I just lost all my characters in one shot, and have to start back at three. What happened? A. You ran outta time. That is a major killer in this game. If you don't have anyone out yet, and time runs out, be prepared to splutter outward with some four letter words and use a continue. Happens quite a bit in Round 5, so be prepared. Send other Q's to Seph2501@yahoo.com LEXICON AND GENERAL STRAT =============================================================================== For starters, get used to the controls. Your characters might seem a little sluggish at first, but you'll get the hang of it. Become familiar with each character's special attack, as even some of the worst looking attacks may come in handy in certain scenarios. Remember, almost EVERY character has a use. 2 ways to win here. 1. Get everyone into the exit. 2. Blow up everything onscreen. The second method is a little easier, and is what many strategies are based on. Now, there are 2 basic character archetypes, strafing and free. Free characters can shoot their specials in the direction they are facing. Strafing characters can only shoot up. Sucks? Not so. Anyone who has played an FPS will immediately recognize the importance of this. Being able to move sideways whilst firing upward will increase your chances of dodging bullets. Abuse this ability to the max. Whenever there are captives on a level, don't kill all the enemies before rescuing the captives. As soon as all enemies are dead, the level ends. So leave one helpless little grunt off in the corner where he can't reach you and you'll be able to grab the captives in relative peace (but keep an eye on the timer, though. NO character is worth losing 13 or more soldiers.) There are no amount of words I can say that will make you beat this difficult game, save for beat this difficult game or I will kick you in the junk. It is solely dependant on individual skill, so I can only point you in the right direction. Lexicon Sniping- Using a strafing character that has long range and hanging out at the bottom of the screen, hitting everything from a safe distance. Turtle- Someone who is so slow they couldn't catch a cold. Generally used for sniping or smashing. Capture- When one of your guys dies, don't get 16 different colors of pissed off. Just relax... and notice the little GI joe figure where they fell. That character may be rescued by taking them to the exit. Smashing- Taking someone who has ridiculous power, rushing into a glob of enemies, and using their weapons to cleft a nice big hole in the enemy formations. This usually results in a capture. Run 'n gun- Use a strafing character to cross right in front of the enemy, blasting upwards repeatedly. Dash 'n blast- A variation of the above, save for the character used is one who fires 2 horizontal shots. Rescue- Using a fast-as-hell character to grab a captive and immediately rush for the exit, not taking out anything that is out of the way. STRAT GUIDE WORKINGS ============================================================================== Ok. Here is the skinny... I am not going to hand feed you solutions to every single level. I AM going to give practical solutions to the more difficult levels, namely, the boss levels. I am also going to tell you which characters are best for each level, and which characters are the best. The way I see it, skimming through the stuff you don't want to read anyway wastes valuable ass kicking time. Now, on with it, shall we? CHARACTER SYNOPSIS ============================================================================== I know... I'm not using the names from the manual. But gimme a break, will ya? These names are a lot more catchy, anyway. Ed1t: Thanks, grudgingly as it may be so, given to Riff Raff for finding the real character names. Actually, he was a pretty cool guy after the initial email, so any hell I give him henceforth is just for fun. Read the contribution section near the bottom for details. Also, these names were translated from Katakana, so most WILL look funny. If anyone can get ahold of a copy of the instruction manual for the American version, that would be Aces. Abhorigine Ed (Athra)- This is the spearman in the original trio. Slick as snot, but pretty useless on the battlefield. Fires one spear in any direction, special flies up and over. Terrible range, but is great for rescue missions. RATING- 3 (out of 5) Sally (Betty)- Also in the trio. Medium range normal shot, strafing grenade with decent range. Medium speed, not a stellar character by any means. RATING- 2 Private Pyle (Johnny)- This is the guy in orange that is in the original trio. Great range on the rifle, and has good speed. Strafing special, long range. A great character on the starting missions. RATING 4 Flint (Babalu)- This is the viking with the blond beard, so named because of the startling resemblance to Flint the dwarf in the Dragonlance series. Excellent range on the bow, free shot up and over special. Good speed, and quite arguably the best character in the game. RATING- 5 Outback Jack (Gaston)- Blond haired guy with no shirt. This guy is similar to Ed, but his special is strafing and has slightly better range. RATING- 3 Rambo (Moss)- The Native American bowman who is MUCH faster than Flint, but his special is strafing. A little better range, as well. RATING- 4 Mysterio (Robbie)- Has the fishbowl on his head. Extremely slow, but his special is a free missile that has elevation capabilities in the right areas. Medium range normal shot, special is best when used for sniping. RATING- 3 Smashie (Cyber. Wow, THAT'S an apt description!)- Man... this guy is the epitome of destruction. Looks like Sektor from Mortal Kombat 3 with a missle launcher propped on one shoulder. His multi-missle reaches across the WHOLE screen, cutting a swath of destruction very wide. Missles (6) spread out over time, fanning out as their range increases. He is a turtle, though, so beware. As the name implies, he is the best smasher. RATING- 5 Black knight (Glow Knight)- This is the first of the magic knights. Magic knights are tougher in the aspect that their normal shots are twice as powerful as any other character. Decent speed, and he has a decent range on his normal attack, plus his special creates a shield of 4 orbs that destroy enemies on contact. Great for smashing. RATING- 4 Sir Stooge (Fire Knight)- Another magic knight. This guy looks like he stepped off the set of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Same speed as the Black Knight, but his special is a napalm bomb that evaporates whatever it touches. He is ok, but a certainly specialized character. RATING- 3 Waterboy (Water Knight)- Elven water mage. Special creates a fountain that halts enemies that touch the fountain for about 3 seconds. This guy is GREAT for rescue missions, as you can simply freeze a guy in place and then beeline toward the exit. It took me FIVE years to change my opinion about this guy, by the way. RATING- 4 Imoto (Zaemon)- Japanese wind mage. Casts a tornado of destruction that will bounce off walls, and sometimes penetrate them. When you want the element of chance on your side, this is your man. RATING- 3 Boomerang Betty (Mamu)- Has grey hair. Decent speed, flips 2 boomerangs strafing. Boomerangs have great range, and of course return after a short while. Great for those hard to reach places. RATING- 3 Boomerang Bambi (Valkyrie)- Maybe the younger daughter of Betty? Anyway, same as above, but free. RATING- 3 Juan Valdez (Kou)- Tanned guy who looks like a cockroach. Don't let the appearance fool you, though; his special has the same range as Private Pyle and has more shots in it. Same speed as Pyle, too. All the shots do not stack damage, but it creates a bigger "hitbox". RATING- 4 M. Bison (General)- Nuff said. This is the sucky guy with the flamethrower. Manual says "The most powerful character in the game." If by powerful, they mean "slow, weak, useless, dangerous to use, and all around worst" then they were correct. In all fairness, he is ok to smash with, but other than that he is cannon fodder. RATING- 1 Mickey (Professor)- Orange counterpart to Private Pyle, so named because of the paper-looking hat. (Mickey D's, ya know...) His special fires two simulaneous, long range, horizontal shots. Great for opening holes in rows and columns. And just what the hell is he a professor of, anyways? RATING- 4 NARC (Kiddo)- He looks like the cop from NARC, doesn't he? Anyway, same as above, but has SMG's instead of a rifle. Can fire 2 specials in quick succession. Decent speed, too, and he has a monopoly on wizard killing. Has the same giant hitbox shots that Juan Valdez has, making him EXCELLENT for enemies who rush in quick succession from strange angles. Superb character. RATING- 5 Rusty (Mad Poppy) - Wears orange uniform and shades, holds a great big flame launcher. Strafing only and shot does not elevate, he is kind of a turtle. But when it comes to sniping, he's got the market cornered. His shot does about 3 times the damage of a regular shot (like an arrow or bullet.) RATING- 4 Natasha (Honey)- Is she singing into her grenade? In any case, this American Idol reject is a free grenadier who is relatively useless. Up and over with weak range. RATING- 2 LEVEL GUIDES ================================================================================ Round 1, level 1 Suggested character (SC)- Private pyle Round 1, level 2 SC- Private pyle Round 1, level 3 SC- Flint Round 1, level 4 SC- Flint Round 1, level 5 SC- Flint, Black knight Round 1, level 6 SC- Flint, again Round 1, level 7 SC- Rusty Round 1, level 8 SC- Rusty Additional strat- Notice the big ol statue in the middle there? You'll be fighting four at once after the next level. Notice how fast it goes down after getting hit with his special a couple 'o times. Flint may be infinitely useful, but when it comes to bosses, Rusty is a key player. Round 1, level 9 SC- Flint, Mickey Round 1, Boss SC- Rusty Additional strat- Start off strong by blasting away at the statue directly in front of you with his special. After about 7 shots, it'll blow open. You can reach the other one behind it from your sniping spot, but watch out for the other grunts creeping up on you. You can blast through the rest of this level with Rusty if you're careful. Actually, you better be careful; there is no exit, so there are no rescues. Snipe from the back of the level, dodge as necessary, and you'll be fine. Round 2, level 1 SC- Flint, any magic knight Additional strat- You'll notice that the big sword goons take 2 shots to nail- remeber this tactic; shoot once, wait for a quater of a second, shoot again. They'll walk right into it without being able to move. Round 2, level 2 SC- Flint Notice- Flint is, as said before, the strongest character in the game. If you lose him now, your work will be twice as hard until Round 3-1. If you don't want to risk losing him, use another character. In the unfortunate event of Flint's demise, use Rambo (when you get him) Round 2, level 3 SC- Flint, Mysterio Additional Strat- patience is the name of the game in this level. Rush through it and you'll lose about 7 characters. Watch out for the ambushing scumbags that come from the sides and top here. Pick your shots carefully and take your time on this one. Round 2, level 4 SC- Flint, Imoto Round 2, level 5 SC- Flint, Private Pyle Round 2, level 6 SC- See below Additional strat- you will need a diverse range of characters to get though this one. Sure, it can be done in one, but to maximize your chances of winning, use Flint to clear out the archers in the front, a magic knight to clear out ALL THE KNIGHTS BUT THE ONE ON THE FAR LEFT, then a fast character to clear out the back. There are three captives on this level. Don't leave without them. Round 2, level 7 SC- Imoto Additional strat- cast a tornado RIGHT on top of the walls. They will clip right through the wall and smash the guys on the other side. If the knights on the top rush, take them out one at a time using your normal shot and a tornado for cover. M. Bison is here, but only get him if you want; don't risk yourself. Be careful of the wizards, too. They pop up every 3 or so seconds, so be ready to greet them with a few fireballs. Round 2, level 8 SC- Mickey Additional strat- Careful of the wizards here... use your special to stay out of the corridors here. Round 2, level 9 SC- Juan Valdez IMPORTANT! You MUST rescue the captive here. It is none other than Smashie, boss-killer extraordinaire! Leave the slime on the far right alive, and use the top of the screen for clearance. Round 2, Boss SC- Smashie, no contest! Additional strat- Watch out for the wizards here. A full 6 missile blast to their faces usually shuts them up real good. Strafe from side to side and stay as far back as possible. You should be safe in this level, as this is the ONLY boss level with an Exit. If Smashie gets blasted, clear the way with Rusty or Rambo. If not, just run 'n gun as much as possible. Pick off the snipers after the dust clears from the boss and you should have 15 plus characters left for round 3. Round 3, level 1 SC- Juan Valdez, Rambo Additional strat- stay back until a worm pops up. Then nail it 3 times to kill it. DO NOT rush the exit; the gunners will make short work of you. Round 3, level 2 SC- Flint NOTE: If you rescued him in 3-1, you SHOULD have 2. Whatever happens... don't use one to rescue the other... This is really stupid. Cause if THAT one dies... you lose em both! Always use Outback Jack or Ed for rescues unless you are missing them or you need to clear a path to the exit. Round 3, level 3 SC- Flint Round 3, level 4 SC- Flint Round 3, level 5 SC- Flint Round 3, level 6 SC- Ditto Round 3, level 7 SC- .... again, Flint Round 3, level 8 SC- *sigh* AGAIN, Flint Round 3, level 9 SC- ok, finally someone else! NARC, then Flint Round 3, Boss SC- Your first instinct may be to go with Smashie. Notice the bombers up on a high post. You might wanna get someone who can fire up high, like Flint or Rambo. Rambo would be better for this scenario for the strafing ability, and take out the bombers first. Then pick at the bosses one at a time. Their great big fireballs are quick, but Rambo is quicker. After 15-20 arrows apiece, these guys will go down, leaving a few stragglers behind. In the unfortunate event of Rambo's demise, use Flint. Flint dies, go with Outback Jack. On the other hand, if you managed to pick off the bombers on the upper level, then go with Rusty or one of the magic knights. Round 4, level 1 SC- NARC, Mickey Additional strat- Hopefully you notice the increased range on these guys. They're fast and smart and aggressive; a very dangerous mix. Use NARC to dash 'n blast these guys all over the street, and watch for cars. Be more cautious than normal in this round. Round 4, level 2 SC- Boomerang Bambi, Rambo, Flint Additional strat- Use Bambi first, then pick off the snipers with one of the bowmen. Piece o cake. Round 4, level 3 SC- Flint, Rambo Additional strat- Snipe the guys on the other sides of the machines quickly, then take out the middle 2 colums quickly. Soldiers will pour from the top, but kill 'em all until only one remains. Lure him to the bottom and ditch him; Rambo would be good for this. Grab the captive (mysterio) and bolt for the exit. Use an appropriate character to finish the straggler. Round 4, level 4 SC- Rambo Additional strat- This level is absolutely ridiculous. You need a pile of bodies and you need them fast. Solution? The speed and power of Rambo. Take out all the soldiers you can while invincible (about 3 seconds) and head right; FAST. Take out anyone following you with extreme prejudice. There is no place for mercy in the defense of your life! GIVE NO QUARTER AND KILL KILL KILL!!!!!! Then grab the hostages and bolt. Round 4, level 5 SC- Flint Round 4, level 6 SC- Flint, Rambo Additional strat- Watch out for the guys on the far sides of the screen! When you kill them, replacements will pour in from the sides of the screen, at a low angle. Be careful, you could get surrounded really easily. Pop the snipers and bombers, grab the captive and run like hell! Round 4, level 7 SC- Boomerang Betty, Rambo Additional strat- Use the car for cover, then pop the replacements as they appear. Get Betty out safely if possible, but if she gets capped, use Rambo to nab her. Use an appropriate character to do clean up. Round 4, level 8 SC- Imoto Additional strat- I like to think of this level as "The Spiral." Or the "Hellhole." Or more appropriately, "The Masochist's Playground." In any case, this one will be nasty without Imoto. Pop off tornados left and right. They'll nail the guys on the other side of the wall, and the stragglers can be picked off with fireballs. Try not to use anyone else here; they'll get butchered by the guys on the other sides of the walls. If stuck, use Bambi. Round 4, level 9 SC- Imoto, Bambi Round 4, Boss SC- Smashie Additional strat- Take out the ranks of soldiers from a safe distance, then approach the tank hangar. The battle tank will roll out from the hanger and begin to attack after it reaches the direct center of the screen. Avoid the spread shots from the tank (They point in the normal directions, u,d,l,r, but will also fire diagonal, too.) Get REAL close and flail on that special button. It's amazing how quick it goes down after that. You'd better have at LEAST 12 characters going into the next and final round. On the other hand, if you've had a great game, you can have as many as 30. Round 5, level 1 SC- Smashie Additional strat- Approach SLOWLY and blast the ranks that rush down from the sides. Run up the direct horizontal center of the screen, then retreat when the soldiers appear. Be liberal with the special. One more thing... You'd best be on your toes. You have NO continues in round 5. Good luck. Round 5, level 2 SC- Smashie Additional strat- Just camp near the start, dodge as normal. Be extra conservative with your shots here, as you need to get a jump on the time at all times. You cannot afford to run out of time. Round 5, level 3 SC- Bambi, Mysterio Round 5, level 4 SC- Smashie Round 5, level 5 SC- Rambo Additional strat- Watch out of the orbs- they will go through the walls to chase you. Snipe them so that when they go off, the bullets will slam into the walls harmlessly without hitting you. Round 5, level 6 SC- Smashie Additional strat- simply snipin'! Round 5, level 7 SC- Smashie Additional strat- Do NOT touch the green barriers. You will die. You can deactivate them by shooting the metal posts to temporarily shut off the energy. Be careful; on the other side of the first wall and by the exit, two fast buggers will rush out to meet you. Be ready. Round 5, level 8 SC- Bambi Additional strat- lasers will pop out of the walls here; hit them with a couple o boomerangs and they'll pop. Round 5, level 9 SC- Smashie Additional strat- Nail these suckers with missiles and stay on your toes. Dodge the shots and keep blasting. One level away. Don't get sloppy! Round 5, Gain Ground defense system SC- WHATEVER YOU'VE GOT! Additional strat- This one is tough as hell. You'd better have upwards of 5 characters, or you've fought for naught. The walls need to be taken down before you can even reach the GG system. Use your most expendable characters first to take out the barriers, preferrably your fastest ones first. Once the walls come down, look out for missiles and rush the main computer with someone fast, and that fire button should be smoking as you pump millions of shots into GG! Keep flinging your remaining troops at it until it starts to blow. After you take it out, enjoy your lukewarm and somewhat confusing ending! If you are playing on Hard mode, some strategies will change accordingly. Namely,you can get better scores through time bonuses since there are no captives to rescue, unless you've been screwing up. Wanna have some fun? Two players on Hard mode, try to beat the game in under 30 minutes. Not enough fun for you? Try doing it in single player *without losing a single character*. Time trials between players is fun, too. SECRETS AND CHEATS =============================================================================== I am an advocator of cheating in the right circumstances. I see it as... How shall I begin? Every man is born with certain gifts. Some have better speed, others greater reflexes, and so on. Why should the race always go to the swift, or the smartest? I say that cheating is the gift man gives himself. And... it would be wrong for someone to NOT cheat if given the chance. To cheat after you beat an easy game is ok. To cheat before you reach the last level normally is sometimes ok, depending on the circumstances. To cheat on one's spouse or significant other is downright awful. In this game, cheating is for the people who couldn't grasp the game entriely. Or those who just want to beat the snot out of the GG system without fighting long and hard to get there! So, without further ado, here are the cheats and such! Round Select Go to the option screen and press A, C, B, C. The round select should pop up right between sound test and exit. 1-50, every 10 signifies a new round (duh). Go to 50 with only your 3 starting characters and see how far you get!!! Game Genie AVGA-AA8E Infinite time! Great for Round 5! SB9T-BCXE Every kill counts as 8. This is great... until the counter resets and you somehow have to kill 32852 enemies... >_< Contributions, Thanks, and No Thanks ============================================================================ Thanks to Riff Raff for *this* email- I came across the Gain Ground FAQ you wrote for GameFAQs about five years ago. In it, you listed all of the player characters with names you made up for them, rather than the names listed in the manual. Because, you said, your names were catchier than the real names. Yeah, thanks a lot, jackass. That doesn't help those of us who have never seen a real Gain Ground arcade machine, or who don't have access to the Genesis GG manual. The real names aren't listed anywhere on the internet. I've been searching for a long time, and only came up with James, Siren, Tonga, and Zaemon. That's only four out of twenty. If you still have your Gain Ground manual, please redeem yourself by telling me the characters' real names. You can list them alongside your fake names to make them easier to identify. Well, I felt a little odd after reading this. I mean, this game is pretty much COMPLETELY under the radar, and I figured that maybe nobody cared. Well, myself and my good buddy Todd maybe. Yeah, I'd gotten a few emails here and there (but nothing really worth putting this section up for, just "Hey, thanks"; or "Try doing this," etc.) but they were all kinda low key. Well, when getting hit with that, after spending a whopping 3 hours on this Faq (which, in truth, I could have used that time to study for my Japanese exam the next day, whoops) I felt that maybe I *should* "redeem" myself. The jackass part struck me as amusing, but, oh well. Names are posted! Everybody thank Riff Raff. No, seriously. I tried looking myself for about an hour and found squat. I would have never devised the method he did. CLOSING ============================================================================ I feel as though this game, as MANY Renovation/Wolfteam games, did not get due credit. I thought it was totally kick ass, and was a great all around game. Good music, awesome gameplay, incredible graphics for the time it was made... just like Granada (also from Renovation). So grab the ROM, buy it from ebay, or borrow it from a friend. It is worth it all the way. Get these games ASAP- Granada Valis Valis 3 Super Valis 4 El Viento Earnest Evans Arrow Flash Whip Rush Even if they aren't all from Renovation, they all kick severe butt and are worth a 5 minute download and carry heavy anime influence. So if you love retrogaming, go for it! CONTACT INFO, THANKIES, AND COPYWRONG INFORMATION =========================================================================== Props to= Todd, for being a child of the 80's thru and thru and a good sniper besides. Steph, for being unfailingly optimistic in whatever the endeavor. You STILL inspire me. Ayame, for being a ksougaki. Doom, for being Godlike and providing endless hours of massive demon-gutting gameplay. Quake may devastate villages, but Doom got the ball rolling. Not God, because everyone thanks God. God did not help me write this FAQ. God did not help me smash the Gain Ground system. If anything, God has tried to stop me from my goals by having night and college classes. So God can write his own FAQ and thank himself in it. Aya Brea, Morrigan Aenslaed, and Shiki for being radiant in ther Goddess-like beauty and providing me with desktops and Winamp skin ideas. For you, reading until after the strategy guide. Here's a strategy for real life; be kind, don't litter, love like you've never loved before, and fight the good fight. You'll have a good life, guaranteed. CONTACT ME AT- Seph2501@yahoo.com Contact me if- You are a gamer and want to converse about things such as gaming. You have any comments, questions, or ideas on any of the above. You just want to say hi. You are bored. You have a question on ANY Genesis/SNES game. You are a cool upstanding citizen who has some pretty controversial ideas or philosophies. You are a female gamer, simply for that fact that female gamers are few and far between, and are usually good sports. You want to flame and have nowhere else to flame at. DO NOT contact me if- You want to bash me for anything mentioned above. You want me to write a FAQ on anything on the N64 or X-box. You are sending a virus, pointing out anything totally obvious, or asking me if you should marry your cat. You are George W. Bush or any other Republican slime. You just plain suck. Copywrong info- It is wrong to copy. Hence the term copywrong. All above mentioned names, places, or ideas that have a (TM) next to them in real life are all the intellectual property of their respective companies. If I find this FAQ anywhere but Gamefaqs.com without my permission, the person in question is subject to immediate removal from life itself. I will find you. I will bite your head off and go bowling with it. I will use your arm to scratch my back. DO NOT plagiarize my work. Ask me first. Then I will let you sell it, publish it, do whatever to it, and all that. Just ask me first, got that? Excellent. Carry on, citizen. Copyright 2001 Larry "Sol Sadguy" Aldrich