==============================================================================
Rolling Thunder 3 (Mega Drive / Genesis) (1993)
==============================================================================
Rolling Thunder 3 Copyright 1993 Namco
This document is created by Faididi and Co. (faididi@yahoo.com)
Copying or distributing this, in whole or in part, for profit
without the explicit permission of the author is prohibited.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[-] Document Version History
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 2000 (2000-06-24 Saturday)
- Initial release.
Version 2002 (2002-12-31 Tuesday)
- Corrections made.
Version 2003 (2003-07-19 Saturday)
- Corrections made.
Version 2004 (2004-07-19 Monday)
- Corrections made.
Version 2005 (2005-07-19 Tuesday)
- Document streamlined.
Version 2006 (2006-07-19 Wednesday)
- Document streamlined.
Version 2008 (2008-07-19 Saturday)
- Corrections made.
Version 2010 (2010-07-19 Monday)
- Corrections made.
==============================================================================
[0] Contents
==============================================================================
[1] Overview
[1.1] Story
[1.2] Characters
[1.3] Living the Life of a Secret Agent
[1.3.1] Controls
[1.3.2] New Features and Changes
[1.4] Configuration Screen
[1.5] Weapons
[1.6] Doors and Bonuses
[1.7] Round Clear Screen
[1.8] General Tips
[2] Strategies - Standard Rounds
[2.0] Prologue
[2.1] Round 1: Oil Refinery
[2.2] Round 2: The Factory
[2.3] Round 3: Highway
[2.4] Round 4: Las Vegas Night
[2.5] Round 5: Dread's Building
[2.6] Round 6: The Pacific Ocean
[2.7] Round 7: Easter Island
[2.8] Round 8: Underground Base
[2.9] Round 9: Hijack
[2.A] Round 10: Castle of Dread
[2.B] Epilogue
[2.C] Staff Credits
[2.D] Hard Differences
[3] Strategies - Extra Rounds
[3.1] Round Ex A: Sewers
[3.2] Round Ex B: Mines
[3.3] Round Ex C: Warehouse
[4] Miscellaneous Information
[4.1] Passwords
[4.1.1] Standard Passwords
[4.1.2] Secret Passwords
[4.2] Sound Test
[4.3] Quick Reference
[4.3.1] Weapons
[4.3.2] Maskers
[4.3.3] Other Enemies
[4.3.4] Objects
[4.3.5] Boss Strategies
[5] Reference
[5.1] Game Source Information
[5.2] Really Small Details
[5.3] Document Credits
[6] Contact Information
==============================================================================
[1] Overview
==============================================================================
Namco's Rolling Thunder 3 is an action shooter, like the previous
installments. Although it lacks the 2-Player Mode found in
Rolling Thunder 2, it features vastly improved gameplay, controls,
and visual and audio effects.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.1] Story
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the late 20th century, satellites around the globe are being shot
down, disrupting communications and causing wide-scale panic. The secret
international police agency known as Rolling Thunder uncovers the criminal
organization behind this plot: Geldra. Believed to have been destroyed,
Geldra is now led by Gimdo, the enigmatic successor to Mabu. Agents Leila
and Albatross are immediately sent out to stop him.
Rolling Thunder also gives an assignment to another agent, named Jay.
His mission is to eliminate Dread, Gimdo's right-hand man. By bringing
down the top two links in Geldra's chain of command, Rolling Thunder
can permanently shut down the terrorist group.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.2] Characters
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1.2.1] Good Guys
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rolling Thunder
A classified division of the World Crime Police Organization (WCPO).
Leila
Rolling Thunder's finest agent, but even the best can get into trouble, as
with what has happened in the first installment. Thanks to some help from
Albatross, Leila is now someone for Geldra to fear again.
Albatross
Leila's current partner. In the first installment, Albatross was called in
to break her out and to stop Mabu.
Jay
The only available agent left to take on the Dread case.
Ellen
A Rolling Thunder communications officer. Ellen is Jay's link to the
agency's headquarters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1.2.2] Bad Guys
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Geldra
A powerful organization seeking to conquer the world. Geldra uses robot
agents, known as Maskers due to their metallic visages, to carry out its
dirty work.
Mabu
Geldra's original leader, who is not of this world. Despite Mabu's ability to
fire laser bolts from his fingertips, Albatross has managed to destroy him.
Gimdo
The new leader of Geldra. The destruction of the satellites is only the
first part of his scheme. Unlike Mabu, Gimdo is more than just an alien.
Dread
The current second-in-command of Geldra. Dread also has green skin and can
shoot laser beams from his hands, but at least he doesn't have two agents
coming after him.
Male Maskers
The backbone of the Geldra forces. Male Maskers carry guns, although their
metal fists are deadly, too. The colors of their uniforms indicate their
ranks, which determine how many hits they can take and how they attack.
Female Maskers
New to the series, these lethal ladies don't carry guns like their male
counterparts, because they prefer to thrust their sharp heels through their
victims instead of shooting them. Female Maskers must come close before their
kicks become dangerous, but they can backflip to avoid gunfire. If they jump
down from an upper floor and land on Jay, he will lose 1 Life Point.
Heavy Maskers
Bigger and meaner versions of the standard male Maskers. They can suck up
tons of damage, and some of them go nuts with their automatic pistols when
they aren't throwing uppercuts at Jay. Like the female Maskers, these guys
show up for the first time in this installment.
Panthers
A Masker's best friend is a large robot cat. These beasts are tough and
fast, patrolling Geldra facilities restlessly. Their low profile makes
them a little more difficult to hit.
Bats
Geldra doesn't just experiment with robotics. Around since the first
installment, these flying monsters will dive at unwanted agents.
Turrets
These guns constantly scan their surroundings, firing at any intruders.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.3] Living the Life of a Secret Agent
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1.3.1] Controls
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Movement Pad (D-Pad) - Move. Press Left and Right to walk. Press Down to
kneel. Press Up to enter doors or to aim diagonally upward. When driving
a vehicle, Jay moves in the direction pressed (relative to the screen).
On the Password Screen, press this to move the Input Cursor.
Fire Button (B) - Fire the Revolver. Unlike in real life, Jay can still shoot
if he runs out of ammunition for this weapon, although his bullets will be
slower and his firing rate will be decreased. On the Password Screen, press
this to enter a character.
Special Weapon Button (A) - Use the equipped special weapon, or slash
with the Knife if there is no special weapon ammunition remaining.
On the Password Screen, press this to move the Output Cursor backward.
Jump Button (C) - Jump. No matter how long this is pressed, the height of
the jump will be the same. Hold Up and Down while pressing this to climb
up to a higher floor or to drop down to a lower floor. These floor-switching
jumps are referred to as "super-jumps." (Jay cannot super-jump onto or off
from a second floor if there isn't any railing.) On the Password Screen,
press this to move the Output Cursor forward.
Pause Button (Start) - Pause. On the Password Screen, press this to move the
Input Cursor to "END." To reset the game, press A, B, C, and Start together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1.3.2] New Features and Changes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Jay can shoot while jumping, and he can also shoot diagonally upward
(with the Revolver).
- Running out of handgun ammunition isn't as bad as before. While Jay's
"ghost" bullets are still slower than usual, he can fire more than one
onto the screen at a time.
- There are many more weapons. Jay always carries his Revolver and his
Knife, and he can begin a Round equipped with a special weapon.
- Jay must be buffer than he looks, because he normally begins with
3 Life Points instead of 2. This means he can suck up two bullets before
slumping over. Furthermore, getting wasted results in Jay continuing
from where he has died instead of putting him back at a Checkpoint.
- Extra Rounds (the hidden ones) and vehicle scenes have been added.
- The rest of the level design is simplified. There are no more moving
platforms, sliding lifts, bottomless pits, or background passageways,
and there are no more secret doors that hide Life Bonuses or ammunition.
However, Jay can still use some non-door parts of the backgrounds to
avoid Maskers and bullets. There are also no loading points like in
the Mega Drive / Genesis version of Rolling Thunder 2.
- There are new kinds of enemies. The robot panthers here are also easier
to kill than the ones from the previous installments, because Jay can just
kneel and shoot to hit them.
- The Timer is gone, and there are no more doors that award Time Bonuses.
However, if Jay takes too long to finish a Round, a Masker sniper will
begin shooting at him.
- The 2-Player feature is gone.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.4] Configuration Screen
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission - Adjust the Difficulty Setting. The default setting is Normal.
By entering a certain Secret Password, this option may be changed to Hard.
Left - Adjust the number of Lives. The default setting is 3, but this may be
changed from 1 to 3, or by entering a certain Secret Password, from 1 to 5.
Music - Sample the music. There are 24 tunes. The default selection is
Bad Drums.
Sound Effect - Sample the sound and vocal effects. There are 29 effects that
can be sampled. (These include all of the vocal effects but not all of the
sound effects.) The default selection is 1.
Demo - Adjust the Movie Setting. The default setting is On, but this may
be changed to Off to automatically skip the Movies.
Exit - Return to the Main Menu.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.5] Weapons
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the Weapon Select Screen (which appears after the Round Intro Screen for
non-vehicle Rounds), Jay can choose a special weapon with which to begin.
Press A or C to toggle the Cursor on and off. (Set it to off for no special
weapon). Press B or Start to choose a special weapon, if any (Jay should
say, "You got it!"), and then to begin the Round. A special weapon becomes
unavailable on the Weapon Select Screen (indicated by a red X mark) only
if Jay begins a Round with it and then finishes that Round.
For the purposes of this document, the damage values listed here are
estimates and are not necessarily the actual values used within the game.
Weapon: Revolver
Damage: 2 Points per bullet
Ammunition: 40 rounds (Jay gets 50 rounds from doors)
Notes:
Jay's handgun. This is the only weapon in the game that can also be aimed
diagonally upward, even while jumping, making it very effective against
enemies lurking on balconies.
Weapon: Knife
Damage: 4 Points per slash
Ammunition: N/A
Notes:
Jay's trusty blade. A slash from the Knife is twice as powerful as a bullet.
This can be used only when there is no special weapon ammunition.
Weapon: Full Auto (Machinegun)
Damage: 2 Points per bullet
Ammunition: 60 rounds
Notes:
The familiar automatic weapon dating back from the first installment.
Its damage per shot is equal to the Revolver's, but it fires much faster.
Weapon: Shotgun
Damage: 2 Points per pellet
Ammunition: 30 shells
Notes:
Although much weaker than its older counterpart, the new Shotgun has more
spread, letting Jay hit even Maskers who are on a higher floor. Up close,
Jay can punch multiple pellets into a single Masker, killing him or her
immediately. Each shell produces four pellets: one straight forward,
two upward, and one downward.
Weapon: Laser (Laser Rifle)
Damage: 4 Points per bolt
Ammunition: 20 charges
Notes:
Fires laser bolts that can cut through multiple enemies in their path.
These bolts won't go through crates and other kinds of cover.
Weapon: Bazooka
Damage: 10 Points per rocket
Ammunition: 10 rockets
Notes:
Launches a rocket that can kill almost any enemy with a single hit, but
ammunition for this weapon is very limited.
Weapon: Cannon (Grenade Launcher)
Damage: 4 Points per napalm patch, 2 Points per shell
Ammunition: 20 shells
Notes:
Launches shells that explode into patches of napalm upon contact with the
ground. The shells themselves can damage bad guys, and they can bounce off
walls. If Jay touches his own flames, he will take 2 Points of damage.
Weapon: Fire (Flamethrower)
Damage: 2 Points per burst
Ammunition: 60 bursts (approximately 7 seconds' worth)
Notes:
Releases bursts of fire that can incinerate Maskers. These bursts have a
short range of about four character lengths. In the previous installment,
this weapon releases flames in large, abrupt bursts, but now it does so
in a slower and more controlled manner.
Weapon: Grenade
Damage: 4 Points per explosion, 2 Points per grenade
Ammunition: 30 grenades
Notes:
Just like the ones used by Maskers. This explodes shortly after striking
the ground, hurting anybody near it. Hold Up when throwing a Grenade to
toss it up high onto a second floor. The Grenade itself can damage enemies.
If Jay touches his own explosions, he will take 2 Points of damage.
Weapon: Flash (Flash Grenade)
Damage: 0 Points per explosion
Ammunition: 20 grenades
Notes:
Stuns all Maskers on the screen and reduces their defenses. While stunned,
a Masker stops in place and will die from a single hit. (The flash effect
is similar to the one in Rolling Thunder 2, which occurs whenever the heroes
shoot a force field Masker from the back. However, blinded Maskers in that
installment do not have lowered defenses.) The Flash Grenade itself cannot
damage Maskers, and it has no effect against other kinds of enemies.
Weapon: Cracker
Damage: 8 Points per explosion
Ammunition: 20 grenades
Notes:
A more powerful version of the regular Grenade. This has a bigger blast
radius, and its explosions linger on for a longer period of time. It comes
in smaller quantities than the Grenade. The Cracker itself cannot damage
enemies. If Jay touches his own explosions, he will take 2 Points of damage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.6] Doors and Bonuses
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Normal Doors
These are usually empty, but Jay can use them to hide from Maskers. Some
doors contain a Life Bonus. If Jay has less than full Life (1 or 2 Life
Points), the Bonus will restore it to maximum (3 Points). If he is at full
Life, he will gain an extra Life Point. He can have up to 5 Life Points,
meaning he can potentially suck up three bullets before getting wasted.
Marked Doors
These contain whatever is written next to them.
Bullet - Revolver (50 rounds).
Auto - Machinegun (60 rounds).
Arms - Machinegun (60 rounds).
Shot - Shotgun (30 shells).
Laser - Laser Rifle (20 charges).
Bazooka - Bazooka (10 rockets).
Cannon - Cannon (20 shells).
Fire - Flamethrower (60 bursts).
Bomb - Grenades (30 grenades).
Flash - Flash Grenades (20 grenades).
S - Special. Gives Jay ammunition for any special weapon he has
selected at the beginning of the Round. If he has not chosen one, he
will receive a Life Bonus instead of special weapon ammunition.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.7] Round Clear Screen
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the end of every Round, Jay will earn some extra Points.
Jay receives an extra Life at every 10000 Points.
Weapon Score
10 Points are added for every unit of special weapon ammunition remaining.
Bullet Score
10 Points are added for every Revolver round remaining.
Life Score
100 Points are added for every Life Point remaining. Extra Life Points
are not carried over into the next Round. Jay always begins a Round
with 3 Life Points in Normal Mode and 2 Life Points in Hard Mode.
Score
The total Score, including the Points from previous Rounds.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.8] General Tips
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Beginning a Round without a special weapon has the advantage of awarding
Jay with a Life Bonus whenever he enters a special ("S") door. These
additional Life Bonuses may be more helpful than bringing a special weapon
into a Round.
- Special weapons cannot be used while jumping, and except for the Grenades,
they cannot be aimed upward.
- During Rounds where Jay rides a vehicle, he should stay on the left side
of the screen so he has more time to react to dangers up ahead. He doesn't
need to worry about bad guys sneaking up on him from the back, because
a warning symbol will appear if a Masker is approaching behind him.
Colliding with Maskers who are riding other vehicles costs 2 Life Points,
while colliding into stationary objects costs 1 Life Point.
- Before Jay can finish a Round, there cannot be any Maskers left on the
screen.
- If Jay takes too long to complete a Round, Ellen will give him this warning
message over the radio: "Jay, this is HQ! Enemy attack increasing. Hurry up!"
As soon as she finishes, the sniper's targeting reticle appears. When the
reticle turns red, a focused explosion will erupt there, blasting Jay,
Maskers, and anything else in its way. Jay will also refuse to hide behind
doors (he steps back out as soon as he goes in), and the sniper will keep
attacking until Jay reaches the end of the Round or dies.
- If Jay gets wasted but has at least 1 Life in reserve, he will continue
from where he has died.
- If it's Game Over, Jay's Score is reset to 0, and he may continue by
restarting from the beginning of the Round. There are infinite Credits.
- Passwords are displayed on the Game Over Screen. They record which Round
Jay has reached and which weapons from the Weapon Select Screen he has used.
Every Password consists of five characters.
==============================================================================
[2] Strategies - Standard Rounds
==============================================================================
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.0] Prologue
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rolling Thunder Status Report:
Agent Albatross/Leila engaged with Gimdo case.
[We see an image of Leila and Albatross facing off against
several Maskers and Gimdo at the Geldra base in Giza, Egypt.]
Available Assets: Jay
[A pair of hands in fingerless gloves loads a revolver.]
[Jay's profile is shown along with details of his agent status.]
Profile
Operative: Jay
Clearance: JC-KAL
Team: Rolling Thunder
Status: Available
[Dread turns around to face the viewer, flinging his cape to one side as
dozens of Maskers rise in the foreground.]
[More stats for Jay appear, adding to whatever is already displayed.]
Height: 6.2 ft. (184 cm)
Weight: 183 lbs. (83 kg)
Age: 35
Blood: A
[A helicopter flies over the nighttime Las Vegas Strip.]
[The rest of Jay's profile is shown.]
Full Name: Classified
Birth Place: Classified
Nationality: Classified
[The profile fades away as Jay's figure appears, facing to the left.
He turns toward the camera, aims his gun, and fires, leaving a
bullet hole in the screen.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.1] Round 1: Oil Refinery
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Password:
Normal - -----
Hard - RISKY (Begin a New Game in Hard Mode.)
Story:
Inside a briefing room at the WCPO headquarters...
... the projector displays an image of Dread, seen blending in among other
people, on the screen. Jay sits quietly as his boss speaks from a desk in a
dark corner of the room.
"Jay, you've got a real winner this time. Your target is Dread, the
second-in-command of the Geldra terrorists. He was last seen in a Southern
California oil refinery. Investigate immediately. Good hunting!"
"Yes, sir!," replies Jay as he stands up. The projector turns off.
General Hints:
The first Round is a great place for Jay to warm up. The terrain is simple,
and most of the enemies are blue Maskers, who die with a single hit. Blow
up the fuel tanks to create explosions that will kill anybody near them.
Jay can also jump onto the fuel tanks for fun.
The free special weapon in this Round is the Machinegun (Auto).
The sniper will appear after 2 minutes, 50 seconds.
Walkthrough:
When Jay walks over to the right, a helicopter will fly out from the
distance toward him. Looks like trouble already. Go up to the first white
fuel tank. As soon as a Masker jumps down, fire. If Jay's shots don't kill
the Masker, they will destroy the tank near him, resulting in a blast that
will still waste the bad guy. Three Maskers will jump out of the chopper
one by one, so wait for them to land and then pick them off. When Jay gets
to the pile of crates, a Masker will appear from the back. When Jay goes
on to the right, there will be another two Maskers and one fuel tank.
To the right should be Building F-01. A Masker will appear from the back.
Up ahead is another Masker on the balcony. Shoot up to kill him. Now duck.
A bit more to the right is a Masker hiding behind a drum. Wait for him to
stand up before shooting him. Jump past the drum. (Jay shouldn't worry about
the flame. It won't kill him.) Now duck again while pumping shots into a
slew of Maskers. The green Maskers suck up two bullets before dying.
At Building ID-E2, another Masker appears behind Jay. Beyond the fuel tank
is a Masker hiding behind a pile of drums and crates. Past that are some
more Maskers on the second floor. Enter the lower "Bullet" door for extra
ammunition. When Jay gets up to the next fuel tank, more Maskers will
appear, including a green one and any others who come out from the doors.
At Building SE-1, watch for a grenadier Masker on the balcony. Waste him.
Now, the next building will have more Maskers appearing on the second floor
and from the back. The top door is an "Auto" door. Jay should go in for
a Machinegun if he wants it. On to the right are about three more Maskers,
one of whom is green.
The next building contains some good stuff. The top left door is a
"S" door (it will give Jay Life Points if he hasn't started the Round
with a special weapon), and the top right door also hides a Life Bonus.
As soon as Jay steps past Building F-S1, several green Maskers will appear
left and right. Duck and shoot in both directions, hitting them before
they can fire back. On to the right are one or two more Maskers. Jay won't
be able to go into the last two doors, because he will have reached the end.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.2] Round 2: The Factory
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Password:
Normal - FFEOU
Hard - OSEPF
Story:
Jay kneels down beside the body of a broken Masker he finds inside
a building. "They don't make them like they used to," he thinks to
himself as he eyes the damaged yet very sophisticated frame. He leans
forward for a closer view. "Looks like the recycle bin for this Masker.
Dread must be close!" He checks over to his left and notices the
entrance to a Geldra manufacturing plant.
General Hints:
There are lots of boxes and doors for Jay to use as cover. To hit the
panthers and the boss when they are on the ground, kneel and shoot.
The free special weapon in this Round is the Laser.
The sniper will appear after 3 minutes, 35 seconds.
Walkthrough:
Begin by heading right until reaching the first door. There will be Maskers
on the right, on the top, and on the left. Also on the top is a panther. Kill
the Maskers, but wait for the panther to come closer. If it jumps down, Jay
can shoot or slash it. He can also back away and aim up at it. To the right
are some grenadiers. Get ready to jump to another floor or to leap away from
the blasts. A few Maskers may come out from some doors. Just turn around and
kill them before moving ahead. (These doors will keep generating Maskers.)
Now, a second panther will appear on the second floor. Jay should aim up
or kneel to shoot it, depending on which floor he is standing. Later, a
third panther appears on the first floor near the "Laser" door. Kill it
and the Maskers around it before getting the Laser. Right after the "Laser"
door is another panther, but this one is on the top floor. The next door
(which is on the second floor) hides a secret Life Bonus. Get it.
At the top there should soon be a "Bullet" door. Jay is probably low
on Revolver ammunition by now, so he should step into it. Besides more
grenadiers at the bottom, there will be three panthers. The first is at
the bottom, the next is also at the bottom, and the last is at the top.
After these cats, there is a dead end...
... or is it? Jump down over the railing, dropping onto the lower levels.
See those suspicious-looking boxes over by the lower left corner? If Jay
hits the boxes on the left side enough times, a hidden doorway will appear,
leading to an Extra Round.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If Jay chooses to check out the hidden doorway now and miss out on
the kick-ass story, go to the "Round Ex A" section of this document.
If Jay decides to finish up the Factory and continue his mission like
what he is supposed to do, continue on.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To the right is an "S" door on the second floor. Look out for green Maskers
and grenadiers. (Whoa. Check out those assembly lines in the background.)
The fourth door after the "S" door hides a secret Life Bonus. (It is on the
lower floor). Ahead are more Maskers. Jay should be careful not to stray
underneath a Masker who may drop grenades onto him. After the last door
on the second floor, there are just a few Maskers left. Jay should watch
his back while he kills the two green ones to the right.
Boss: Spider - 100 Life Points (50 bullets' worth of damage)
The Spider usually walks back and forth on the right side of the screen.
Jay should stay on the left, but not at the far left edge. He needs to give
himself some retreating room, so he should stay about a quarter-screen's
length away from the left edge. He must duck if he wants to hit the Spider,
due to its low frame. The boss has three attacks.
The Spider begins by shooting slow yellow bullets from a small turret on
its left side. Observe the turret's angle. The bullets usually go over
Jay's head as long as he ducks. If not, he can simply super-jump over them.
When the Spider takes enough damage, its turret will be destroyed. At this
point, its top-mounted cannon activates, with a targeting reticle appearing
in tandem. When the reticle locks on and turns red, an explosive shot will
be launched toward that spot in about one second. Just walk away from the
reticle or super-jump to avoid the explosion. The shot itself won't kill Jay.
If the Spider freezes, it is going to leap onto Jay's last position. To avoid
this attack, Jay should simply walk to the left. (This is why Jay should stay
away from the left edge of the screen. He can't super-jump over this attack.)
The Spider may pounce at any time, whether its small turret is busted or not.
The real challenge comes from keeping track of both the reticle and the
Spider's movements. The slow yellow bullets aren't a problem because they
are very easy to avoid. The other two attacks are nastier because they are
much faster. Jay must give himself enough room from the left edge of the
screen so he can always back away from the Spider whenever it pounces.
Spend the rest of the time kneeling and shooting, when the Spider is
crawling on the ground and its reticle isn't red. If Jay can concentrate
on avoiding the Spider's attacks, he will kick its ass in no time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.3] Round 3: Highway
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Password:
Normal - SSEPC
Hard - IAEOH
Story:
Jay takes out his radio inside the control room. "Jay reporting,
clearance JC-KAL. Discovered Dread's office." He turns to a monitor
on his left. "Masker stock has been depleted."
"Jay, our satellite is tracking a car leaving the refinery,"
responds Ellen from her station back at HQ.
"Too late!," Jay thinks to himself as he races back to the surface.
Searching through a nearby garage, he spots a dusty, brown motorcycle
over his right shoulder. It's old, but it looks functional. "Will pursue!
Must be Dread."
"Understood."
General Hints:
This is the first of the two vehicle Rounds in the game. Watch out for
construction materials. Colliding with a Masker is as bad as getting shot.
A warning symbol will appear if an enemy is approaching from the rear.
Walkthrough:
Jay will be racing down a lane under construction to catch up to Dread.
First, a Masker will come out from the back on the top lane. Stay away from
him while blasting a second Masker to the right. If Jay gives the rear Masker
some room, the Masker will pull up to the front, letting Jay shoot him.
There are only two wooden horses that Jay has to look out for in this scene,
and both of them are placed fairly close together. When a third Masker comes
from the back, the first wooden horse will be showing up quickly. Go to the
bottom lane to avoid this barrier. Shortly afterward there will be another
wooden horse. This time, go to the top lane to avoid it. (This lower horse
also approaches more rapidly than the first one, for some weird-ass reason.)
The fourth and fifth Maskers will appear from the back and from the front.
The front one can throw grenades. The sixth Masker is on the top lane up
front. The seventh and eighth will, again, come from both sides. Now, the
next four Maskers are in the front. After them are two more from the back
and two more in the front. Then there will be one Masker to the left and
another one in front. One more comes up from ahead. After him, three Maskers
will surround Jay front and back. When Jay gets the chance, he should weave
between them and blast them. The last Masker will back up his buddies from
the rear. The appearance of the Las Vegas cityscape marks the end.
Story:
[Dread tosses three Flash Grenades out from his limousine window,
blinding Jay. Jay grinds to a halt, and Dread gets away. Damn.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.4] Round 4: Las Vegas Night
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I still remember those nights...."
-- Artemis, from Namco's Phelios
Password:
Normal - FSEOA
Hard - XSEOH
Story:
Jay blinks hard, his eyes still reeling from Dread's flash grenades.
"Lost him!"
Just then, Ellen's voice comes through on his radio. "H.Q., clearance Jay.
Vehicle has left satellite path. We have lost track. Informant lead places
Dread in Las Vegas."
"Copy. Will proceed."
General Hints:
Take a walk down Moon Street. This is the only Round where female Maskers
appear. They can backflip through Jay's shots, and they can suck up a lot
of damage, especially the heavily armored gold ones. (It's amazing what
a shinier paint job can do.) The rest of the enemies here are the weak
blue male Maskers. If Jay doesn't mind wasting ammunition, he can break
the electric signs and the street lamps for fun.
The free special weapon in this Round is the Bazooka.
The sniper will appear after 2 minutes, 50 seconds.
Walkthrough:
Ignore the neon cowgirl sign in the background while walking over to the
right. Behind Jay is a blue Masker, and in front is a red Masker. Get rid
of both. The first door Jay will see is labeled "Bazooka." Now when did
casinos start handing out dangerous weapons to the public? Grab it before
the next two red Maskers drop down from the second floor.
Past the first Moon Street electric sign is another red Masker. Kill her
and then watch out for two blue Maskers in front of the next building. One
of them loves grenades. After those two will be a gold Masker. Give her a
rocket. Two more blue Maskers will appear, and past them is an "S" door.
Showing up at the next building are two gold Maskers, so pump a rocket
up each of their asses. A red Masker will catch up from the rear and a
blue Masker will come in from the front, too. The next pair of red and
blue Maskers will drop down from the second floor. Another red Masker
is on the ground a bit ahead. Later, two red Maskers will show up,
followed by two blue ones. Be sure to go inside that "Bullet" door.
When Jay reaches the next few street lamps, a red Masker will walk up.
In front of the buildings ahead are even more red and blue Maskers.
The next spot may be tricky. A gold Masker and a red Masker will jump
down from the second floor. They are backed up by a blue grenadier.
The single door here hides a Life Bonus.
Up ahead are more bad guys. After the twin gold Maskers, there will be five
red Maskers trying to kill Jay. He will die if he doesn't get out fast, so
he should try switching between floors to outmaneuver them. A little further
to the right, on the ground floor, is the entrance to the Moon Street Hotel,
which is a front for Dread's operations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.5] Round 5: Dread's Building
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Password:
Normal - KFEPZ
Hard - OFEOP
Story:
Jay steps into the Moon Street Hotel, adjusting his right glove. He looks
left and right. "How crass! Even in Vegas his bad taste stands out!"
"H.Q., clearance Jay," interrupts Ellen over the radio, "Unidentified
helicopter leaving your location."
Jay pulls out his revolver. "That weasel won't slip away so easily
this time!"
General Hints:
As usual, jump between floors and enter doors as needed to avoid bad guys.
The red heavy Maskers can fire very quickly, and they can suck up even more
damage than the female Maskers. They also seem to like pointing at Jay a lot.
The free special weapon in this Round is the Flash Grenades.
The sniper will appear after 3 minutes, 35 seconds.
Walkthrough:
Directly ahead are two blue Maskers and one green Masker. A third blue Masker
appears from the back. After them is another green Masker, accompanied by
the first red heavy Masker. Jay may consider knocking the big guy around
long enough just to run away instead of wasting ammunition to kill him.
Next, there will be two green Maskers. Jay should keep going to the right
until he sees a naked angel statue. Its ass will block the shots from the
green Masker on the other side. Whoa.
In front are three additional heavy Maskers, with more green Maskers coming
from the back. Go up to the second floor and deal with the heavy dudes.
Jay should see a "Bullet" door on the higher floor. Enter it.
The next part has several Maskers on the upper floor. (Check out all those
empty but nice halls in the background.) An "S" door will be on the second
floor, guarded by another heavy Masker. After this part there will be two
heavies and two blues. A door on the second floor hides a Life Bonus. At
the next angel statue, four Maskers appear on the higher floor. Use the
statue for cover, jumping up and killing the Maskers when the path is clear.
Down the hall will be a door labeled "Flash." Go in and steal some of
Dread's stun bombs. These suckers are quite useful against the oncoming
set of three green and two heavy Maskers. Don't be shy with the Flash
Grenades. They are plentiful enough to last for the rest of the Round.
If Jay wants to go to the second Extra Round, he should slowly move up to
the next angel statue, killing any Maskers in the way. Get on the second
floor and slowly move above the angel statue. Now drop down onto the head
of the statue, and then walk off to the right, landing on the bottom floor.
There will be a second angel statue. Hit this statue repeatedly to reveal
a secret doorway. (This statue, unlike the others, makes a sound if Jay
hits it with his Knife.) The reason why Jay has to drop on top of the
first statue's head is so he won't accidentally scroll the screen upward,
locking away the lower floor where this doorway is.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If Jay chooses to enter the hidden doorway behind the statue, go to
the "Round Ex B" section of this document.
If Jay decides to catch up to Dread like what he is supposed to do,
continue on.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Get up to the helipad on the roof. Jay should throw Flash Grenades to stun
any Maskers in his way. He can also shoot upward through the floors to
kill them. If Jay doesn't have Flash Grenades, he will have to climb up
slowly, shooting diagonally and hiding behind crates and doors. Jay cannot
super-jump onto a higher floor if there is no railing above him. The roof
is on top of the twelfth floor.
Story:
[Jay reaches the roof just as Dread jumps onto a helicopter that is
taking off. Crap. Too late again.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.6] Round 6: The Pacific Ocean
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Password:
Normal - AAEOZ
Hard - XSEPJ
Story:
Dread smiles as he hangs onto the side of the helicopter.
"See you later, if you live! Ha, ha, ha...."
"You call that living with your complexion, puss face?," shouts Jay over
the roar of the rotors as he crouches low on the floor, half-blinded by the
helicopter's searchlight and down-wash. However, Dread flies away over the
Vegas skyline, too far away for those words to be heard. Damn, Dread escapes
again! Jay's head droops as Ellen's voice comes over the radio.
"H.Q., clearance Jay. Return to H.Q. ASAP."
Back at the WCPO skyscraper, clouds float serenely past the tall, silver
building. Inside the same briefing room Jay has been in a day earlier, a map
marks Dread's route from Las Vegas. The boss speaks, "Dread has made his way
across the Pacific to Easter Island. Capture him if possible. Good luck!!"
"Yes, sir!," Jay salutes to his superior in the shadows. Just then, Ellen
steps into the room, holding some files.
"There is a ship waiting for you in Chile," she cheerfully informs Jay.
General Hints:
Jay will begin a short distance from the shores of the island, because of
the Maskers and the mines guarding its coastal waters. Move down to avoid
most of the scuba Maskers, and move around or super-jump over the mines.
A warning symbol will appear if an enemy is approaching from the rear.
Walkthrough:
Soon after departing from the boat, Jay will meet a scuba Masker. Avoid him
and his knife by staying on the lower side. Keep staying on the lower side.
When a Masker sneaks up from the back, a floating mine will appear on the
top side. More stab-happy scuba Maskers and jetski Maskers show up soon.
Again, stay low to avoid the scuba dudes, and shoot the ski Maskers. When
another Masker catches up from the back, another mine will pop up on the top.
After two ski Maskers appear in the front with some scuba Maskers, three more
skiers will come, with two from the back and one from the front. When another
Masker appears from the front, stay low to avoid a third mine on the top.
Now immediately move up, because a fourth mine will enter on the bottom.
Three ski Maskers show up ahead, followed by the fifth mine on the top.
Three more Maskers appear in front, then two pop up from the rear. When
another Masker comes from the front, a sixth mine shows up on the top side.
Now, a square patch of four mines covers the entire width of the path ahead.
The only way to avoid the mines is to leap over them. Get as close to them
as possible and then super-jump. (Hold Right to move forward in the air,
reducing Jay's chances of having a mine jabbed up his butt upon landing.)
Maskers now come in left and right. One last mine appears on the top side
when a Masker from the rear does the same (this is the second guy after
the patch of four mines), so stay low. After the tenth and final Masker
of this group of bad guys, Jay will reach the shore.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.7] Round 7: Easter Island
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Password:
Normal - SSELI
Hard - CCEOP
Story:
Jay jumps off from his jetski. Walking onto the rocky shore, he pulls
out his radio. "Jay reporting, clearance JC-KAL. I've reached Easter Island.
Will continue investigation."
"Understood," answers Ellen.
Jay gazes upon the massive moai. A fresh, tropical wind lightly breezes
over the pleasant, grassy landscape. "At least he picks scenic hideouts,"
Jay thinks to himself, "Those stone heads are really quite interesting."
General Hints:
What a beach. The terrain here is uneven and tricky to cross, and the
Maskers are more grenade-crazy than ever. Some of the structures, such
as the wooden crates, are too short to provide adequate cover, so prepare
to do a lot more jumping. Jay also has to fight a boss at the end.
The free special weapon in this Round is the Flamethrower (Fire).
The sniper will appear after 3 minutes, 35 seconds.
Walkthrough:
Jay may be enjoying the clear air and the surf washing up around his ankles,
but this is no vacation. He should walk forward and take out the blue and
green Maskers. Like in the first Round, a helicopter carrying Maskers will
appear. When the helicopter leaves and Jay gets rid of a green Masker past
a mound of rocks, he should watch out for a grenadier. Due to the landscape,
grenades may bounce right back to the thrower.
When Jay sees a few crates on top of a large rock hill, he will be stuck
with a bunch of green Maskers and a blue grenadier. When he climbs down on
the other side, he can kneel on a crate and slash the green Maskers jumping
up and down. He should watch out for more grenades while continuing right,
where he will find a "Bullet" door. Afterward is a grenadier behind some
boxes. Jump and shoot him.
Now, on the right are an "S" door and even more grenadiers. Get ready to
jump away from the blasts. If Maskers appear above Jay, he should shoot
up at them. The next door after this "S" door hides a secret Life Bonus.
Get it, but be wary of the pair of green Maskers to the right.
Walk across the field to the next door, which is marked "Fire." Burn off
the three or four green Maskers in the vicinity. If Jay hates the flame's
crappy range, he can keep using his Revolver. Past the next door will be
another pair of green Maskers. After those two are more Maskers. Don't worry
about running low on ammunition, because there is a second "Bullet" door.
Now continue to the right. The crates here are too small to block low
bullets, so if one of the several green Maskers here kneels and fires,
Jay must jump to avoid their shots.
Boss: Centaur - 100 Life Points (50 bullets' worth of damage)
Although it is twice as large, this guy is easier to kill than the Spider,
if Jay knows what to do. The Centaur basically walks left and right across
the entire screen, firing a machinecannon on its arm and shooting homing
missiles out of its ass. Unlike with the Spider, the Centaur's size does
not require Jay to kneel to hit it.
Jay starts on the left. He should stay underneath the right part of the
railing above his head, shooting the Centaur as it walks toward him. When
it launches a homing missile, don't move immediately. When it raises its
arms and shoots bullets, then super-jump upward onto the above railing.
If Jay times his leap correctly, both missile and bullets should pass by
underneath without hitting him. When the front of the Centaur passes the
right edge of the railing, Jay should jump off to the right, run underneath
the railing at the other side, turn, and fire. Again, when the missile
comes, Jay should not super-jump until he is about to be hit by the bullets.
Now jump and run back to the left side and repeat this tactic until the boss
turns to smoldering crap.
How does this work? When Jay stands still on the ground, the missile will
angle down toward him. By jumping at the last moment before the bullets hit
him, Jay will pull himself up above the missile. The missile, being slow,
won't be able to change its direction quickly enough to reach him. Standing
below the part of the railing that lies closer to the center of the screen
further reduces the distance the missile has to try correcting its path.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.8] Round 8: Underground Base
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Password:
Normal - LSEKL
Hard - ZSESB
Story:
Jay stands in front of the smoking remains of the Centaur.
"Located and terminated security robot. I believe I've discovered
Dread's main base. Will proceed."
"Understood," responds Ellen, "Take care, Jay."
General Hints:
The heavy Maskers are back, but unlike the ones in the fifth Round, not all
of them are the super-tough red ones. The tan dudes take fewer bullets to
kill. The turrets swing around in an arc, firing if Jay is within range.
Stay on the higher floors to avoid the lower turrets. The best way to destroy
turrets is to hop up and shoot them from a distance. As for the bats in
the lower levels, they flap along the top of the screen and then dive down
at Jay. Jump or aim up and then shoot them. There is another boss here.
The free special weapon in this Round is the Cannon.
The sniper will appear after 3 minutes, 55 seconds.
Walkthrough:
Off to the right are already some bad guys. First, Jay will meet a tan heavy
Masker accompanied by one or two other regular Maskers on the lower floor.
Up on the top is a turret. Waste the Maskers from afar, and then jump up
and shoot the turret. There will be another turret and more Maskers as Jay
walks past the large glass panel, which lets him peer out into the sea.
(This Round should be called "Undersea Base," not "Underground Base.")
When Jay reaches the first "Bullet" door, he should look out for a grenadier
on the top floor and a turret about one screen's length past him. Move along
slowly, taking out more heavy Maskers and a few additional turrets. There
will be yet another turret adjacent to a second "Bullet" door. The next
door after this one hides a Life Bonus (which is on the higher floor).
Watch out for turrets and grenade-equipped Maskers lurking there.
There is an "S" door on the lower floor, but if Jay wants to see the last
Extra Round, he shouldn't walk too far past it on the lower floor. Stay
on the top floor. Go to the high wall on the far right side, and repeatedly
whack it. (The wall doesn't make a sound when it is hit.) When the wall
is destroyed, Jay can step right into the edge of the screen to enter the
Extra Round. (If Jay goes on the lower floor, he may cause the screen to
scroll downward, locking off the top floor where this exit is located.)
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If Jay chooses to take the concealed exit, go to the "Round Ex C" section
of this document.
If Jay decides to stick with the mission until the end, continue on.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The vertical area leads to the lower levels of the base. To the right are
a bat and a grenade Masker. The bats are easy to kill. If Jay is on the
higher floor, he can simply hop up and shoot them. If he is on the lower
floor, he can wait for them to fly to the top right corner of the screen,
where they will dive down at him. When they do, aim up, and then BLAM!
Nail them in the face.
A heavy Masker, a grenadier, and a bat will surround Jay when he reaches the
next "Bullet" door. From there, about three or four more bats will approach,
along with three heavy Maskers (two red, one tan) and a few grenadiers
before the "Cannon" door. Continuing forward, Jay will get to waste more
bats and Maskers. All that ammunition from the three "Bullet" doors and
the "S" door should help him finish off the red heavies in his way. The
boss is waiting in the control room.
Boss: "Dread" - 80 Life Points (40 bullets' worth of damage)
"Welcome Jay. Here's the place. I'll make your future over!"
Yeah, Dread says some pretty strange stuff, and his Life Points are less
than those of the previous bosses. Dread himself won't shoot Jay, because
four turrets on the ceiling will do that for him. When Dread raises his
arm, two turrets will each fire a shot at Jay's last position. The trick
here is for Jay to shoot Dread when the turrets aren't gunning away at
his ass and to get on the move when they do.
Stay under and slightly to the right of the second turret from the left.
Now kneel and start shooting Dread. Whenever the turrets fire, Jay must
super-jump over their shots if they look like they are going to hit him.
Because Jay is not standing directly underneath the second turret (he is
a little to the right, remember?), the turrets' shots will be angled in
a manner that either makes them easy to super-jump or makes them miss
entirely. (If Jay positions himself really well, the four turrets will
always miss him, and he won't even need to jump at all.) After Jay avoids
the shots, he should continue blasting Dread.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.9] Round 9: Hijack
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Password:
Normal - USEXA
Hard - ZSESK
Story:
After deactivating the laser turrets and inspecting Dread's devastated
corpse, Jay pulls out his radio. The huge glass display panels behind
him lie plugged with bullet holes in several spots. "H.Q., Jay reporting.
The Dread situation has been resolved. I'm returning to base."
"Congratulations," comes Ellen's happy voice through the static.
Later that night, Jay relaxes in his seat on the airplane. "Homeward
bound!," he thinks to himself. Taking out an alien terrorist leader is
enough for one day, and he needs a break. As Jay sits there in his blue
suit, peering out into the twilight skies, he hears a commotion up at
the front.
"What are you doing?!," cries out a young, female voice.
"Shut up and sit down!," comes a cold, metallic reply.
Uh oh.
A Masker steps out from behind the screen and into the aisle, holding
a frightened stewardess hostage, his gun pressed against her head.
"We're hijacking this flight!," he sneers as more Maskers emerge.
"Great!," mutters Jay as he hastily pulls off his jacket while the other
passengers scream and duck for cover, "Too bad I don't get overtime!"
Good thing he always carries his revolver with him.
General Hints:
This Round is a little weird. Like in the vehicle scenes, Jay can't begin
with a special weapon, but unlike in the other scenes, he can't super-jump.
What Jay can do, however, is hide. As long as he hides between two chairs,
he won't be hurt, and the same goes for the Maskers. Don't worry about the
passengers, as they can't be harmed.
Jay will eventually run out of ammunition here, but he can still stick with
using "ghost" bullets and patiently advance toward the front of the plane.
The sniper won't be appearing here. Luckily for Jay, there are also no enemy
grenadiers aboard the plane.
Walkthrough:
Walk right into the main passenger section. Jay should immediately run up to
the seats so he can hide between them. After he kills the first Masker and
steps past where he has been, a second Masker will show up from the back,
along with a third one from the front. Carefully lean out and kill them.
When Jay continues ahead, two Maskers will appear from the back, trapping
him again. Repeat the same trick, leaning out and squeezing off a few shots
before ducking for cover.
Jay will run out of ammunition after a while, probably while he is facing
off against a trio of Maskers up front. Jay should fire as much as he can,
because if a Masker closes in on him, there is a good chance he will die
when he leans out again. This is especially true when three Maskers catch
up from behind as Jay is dealing with a fourth one to the right. He needs
to turn around and kill them quickly or else they will gang up on him.
Don't forget to use the Knife if the bad guys are close enough.
When another three Maskers show up from the back, one after another, Jay
is close to the end. Just watch out for two or three more Maskers up ahead.
Big airplane, eh?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.A] Round 10: Castle of Dread
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Since you have traveled so very far, be my guest and let me entertain you!"
-- Sherudo Garo, from Namco's Time Crisis
Password:
Normal - USEZP
Hard - PSELF
Story:
Jay finds himself alone as the last few passengers escape toward the
safety of the rear. In front of him, on the movie screen, is Dread's
ugly visage. So the guy on Easter Island has just been a double!
"You're getting to be quite a bore," says Jay.
Dread only smiles. "I found your report of my demise rather amusing,"
snickers the Geldra terrorist, "Such a refined sense of humor is so rare
these days. I'm quite a fan of yours, so much so that I've decided to
invite you over to entertain me!"
"No thanks!," answers Jay, frowning, "I never date people from work."
Then he hears Ellen's voice. "H.Q., clearance Jay. We intercepted
Dread's message. Transmissions emanate from 66.254N by 27.835W."
Jay looks out of a window as he listens to Ellen. "I believe that I'm
going there whether I like it or not." The plane, controlled remotely,
adjusts its course and eventually lands on a runway near the coordinates
Ellen has just mentioned, on a small island hidden in the Denmark Strait.
Looks like it will be a long night.
General Hints:
Expect to fight a massive amount of enemies. Jay will have to spend a lot
of ammunition to deal with the seemingly endless stream of Maskers, many of
whom throw grenades. There are also several panthers. At the end, Jay will
have to fight the real Dread.
The free special weapon in this Round is the Shotgun.
The sniper will appear after 4 minutes, 25 seconds.
Walkthrough:
Approach Dread's home and prepare to start firing. Blast a panther on the
right and a blue Masker sneaking up from the left. Next, a trio of orange
Maskers appears. Then, there will be a second panther, followed by more
orange Maskers and another blue Masker from the rear. Barge straight
through the main entrance, killing everything in the way. If a Masker
manages to squeeze off a low shot, jump to avoid it.
There will be a "Bullet" door. Jay needs its ammunition for the four panthers
and a slew of Maskers lining the floors and balconies, including one who
comes up from behind as Jay enters the door. Be sure to waste the grenadiers
on the second floor. The bombings get heavier near the "Shotgun" door. Jay
should enter it if he doesn't have something more powerful already. Beyond
the several grenadiers immediately to the right is another "Bullet" door,
on the second floor. Go in to get some much-needed ammunition.
Ahead is nothing but Maskers and a panther. Watch both sides because orange
Maskers (some are grenade-equipped) will pour into the place. As for the
panther, Jay can save himself some ammunition by letting the grenadier on
the top accidentally drop bombs onto it.
When Jay reaches what appears to be a dead end, he has to super-jump
upward. He should stay on the left half of the screen here to avoid
the orange grenade guy at the top, who is waiting on the far right side
to surprise him with explosives.
As soon as Jay resumes advancing toward the right, the Masker wave begins
anew, so he should continue to watch both sides. When he gets to the area
with a higher floor, there will be a few grenadiers along the lower floor.
Past several more orange and blue Maskers, Jay will find an "S" door. Beware
of the orange grenadier on the right edge of the screen. His grenades can
reach the door. This "S" door isn't the only thing holding some good stuff
around here. To the right are two more doors. The lower one, a "Bullet"
door, will replenish Jay's ammunition, and the higher unlabeled door hides
a Life Bonus. Grab them all, but kill a nearby panther first.
Keep going. To the right will be a single-floor stretch guarded by two
panthers and the last members of the Masker army. When Jay approaches a
building with a lone door on the top, two orange Maskers appear on either
side of the screen. Both have and will throw grenades, so kill them quickly
or jump up to the higher floor to avoid their blasts. Waste everyone,
including any bad guys who come out from the single door. This same door
hides the last Life Bonus before the boss.
Boss: Dread
"You're a dead man!"
The final battle consists of two phases. For the first phase,
Dread comes after Jay with a big-ass powered suit of armor.
Robot Suit - 100 Life Points (50 bullets' worth of damage)
Dread doesn't play fair, does he? Fortunately for Jay, the suit is easy
to beat. Dread will walk back and forth on the right side of the screen,
so Jay should stay on the left.
Dread fires only high shots and low shots. Jay can tell which type of shot
will be fired by observing the height of Dread's arm cannon. If Dread ever
fires a low shot, it will always be preceded by a high one. Jay can duck
or super-jump over the high ones, but he can only super-jump over the low
ones. (Yes, Jay can super-jump, despite the gooey alien substance on the
"ceiling.") All of Dread's shots take the same amount of time to charge up.
After the suit is destroyed, Dread will hop out and run off.
When Jay is ready for the second phase, he should follow him...
Dread - 100 Life Points (25 Knife slashes' worth of damage)
... and run up really, really close to him, so close that Jay's entire
Knife can cut through Dread, but not so close that Jay will touch the boss
by accident. Why should Jay follow this seemingly insane tactic? Well,
wasting the suit has cost almost all of his ammunition. Jay won't have
enough rounds left to gun down Dread, because the boss is not vulnerable
all the time. Therefore, the best tactic is to constantly hit Dread hard.
Dread attacks by firing different types of laser beams in the same order.
First, he aims forward, shooting a straight beam that can be ducked. Next,
he aims up and fires a reflecting beam that bounces through the hall at an
angle. Then, he kneels and shoots a low straight beam that can be avoided
only by super-jumping. Finally, he aims down and fires a reflecting beam
very much like the second one, except this bounces through the hall in a
mirrored pattern. Dread will keep repeating these attacks.
Jay can hurt Dread only when he is charging up and firing his beams.
(Jay can tell by looking for a faint spark of light forming around
Dread's hand.) By continuously stabbing the boss, Jay will hit Dread
more than he will if he stays away and fires slow bullets. Before using
this tactic, make sure the Knife is ready. Jay should blow off all his
remaining special weapon ammunition after destroying the robot suit.
When Dread aims high (for a high straight beam or an upward beam), Jay
should just kneel and keep slashing. When Dread aims low (for a kneeling
straight beam or a downward beam), Jay needs to super-jump. As soon as
Dread extends his arm and starts charging up, Jay has about one second
to react before the beam emerges. If Jay isn't close enough, the angled
beams will reflect back into him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.B] Epilogue
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Story:
Jay lowers his weapon. "It's finally over," he sighs with relief.
"H.Q., clearance Jay," buzzes Ellen over his radio, "Albatross and Leila
have reported defeating Gimdo."
"I've taken care of Dread."
Suddenly, Dread staggers up behind Jay! "Ha, ha...," he coughs weakly,
"Don't you ever learn?"
Jay turns around to face his foe again. "What? More Maskers to junk?"
"If it were only that simple!," gasps the terrorist as he clutches his
bleeding chest, "The base has a self destruction mechanism wired to my heart.
When my heart stops, the base will be destroyed along with you, my friend."
It can't come any sooner. Dread's base explodes violently, its castle
walls erupting into a giant ball of flames, disintegrating every tree
in the vicinity.
"Jay......," Ellen yells, "Jay, do you read me?!...."
Silence.
Ellen quietly stands up from her station. The other five officers
in the communications room gather next to her without speaking.
[The screen fades to black, and then the text of a report scrolls across
the screen.]
Report: Rolling Thunder
Clearance: JC-KAL
Status:
Operatives Albatross and Leila
defeated Gimdo
and his terrorist infrastructure.
Operative Jay purged Dread
and his organization.
Geldra has been eliminated.
Investigation of Dread's base
has uncovered one body,
but due to the extensive damage,
identification is impossible.
The whereabouts of
agent Jay are unknown.
Recommend change of
operational status to M.I.A.
" End of File"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.C] Staff Credits
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[The credits roll by as the background images change very slowly.]
[We see the back of a man standing on a huge pile of rubble.]
Rolling Thunder 3 Staff
Producer
R2-Unit
Planner
Rairu 1 Go !
Programmer
Paddock Tondabayashi
[A revolver is dropped onto the rocky mess.]
Object Design
Issiy
Rairu 1 Go !
Yossy MK2
Back Ground
Yossy MK2
Demo Graphic
Rairu 1 Go !
Yossy MK2
Sound Programmer
Senkan Kiyoshi
[We now see the remains of Dread's base from the outside. The figure stands
in front of where the castle has been. His shadow stretches across the
entire paved entrance under the morning light.]
Music Composer
Rose & Dick Boy !!!
Sound Effect
Rose & Dick Boy !!!
Special Thanks
Masami.F
Kunfu-Man
Oja
Yuko
Mokkun
[The screen fades to black.]
Presented by Namco
Very Good !!
Normal mission is completed.
Let's try Hard Mission!!
Password is "RISKY"
......Good luck!!!
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The message above is the one displayed after finishing the game in
Normal Mode. To view a different message and a secret image, finish
the game in Hard Mode.
The new message and the extra image are as follows:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Congratualtions!
All missions are completed.
You're a fantastic player!
We thank you for playing.
From Naoki, Rairu, Yossy, and Dick!!
So long...
[We see Ellen and Jay standing together. Jay is bandaged up a bit,
and Ellen has closed her eyes and is smiling, leaning on him.
So much for Jay's stance on not dating people from work.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.D] Hard Differences
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To access Hard Mode, enter the Secret Password, RISKY.
Here is a summary of the changes in Hard Mode:
- The hero gets weaker (unlike in Rolling Thunder 2, where the bad guys get
tougher). Jay now has 2 measly Life Points by default instead of the usual
3, so the game plays a little more like the previous installments, although
Jay still continues from where he is if he gets wasted. The Life Bonuses he
receives will always add 1 Life Point, never 2 like they can in Normal Mode.
Fortunately, he can still stock up to 5 Life Points.
- Okay, so enemies may die with the same number of hits, but they do
become slightly smarter. Maskers now kneel and fire low shots more often.
- The Epilogue has a different message from the developer and an extra image.
- The scenery has new paint jobs, but they don't affect the gameplay in
any way. Here are descriptions of the color scheme changes in Hard Mode:
Round 1 - The blue daytime sky is now an orange afternoon sky.
Round 2 - The green walls are now tan.
Round 3 - The sunset is deeper, and the desert is shaded purple.
Round 4 - The blue buildings are now brown.
Round 5 - The blue walls are brown, and the blue angel statues are gray.
Round 6 - The clear blue morning is now a late yellow afternoon.
Round 7 - The bright day is now a warm night.
Round 8 - The green walls are now tan.
Round 9 - The blue sky outside is now a black night sky, and the purple
carpet is now blue.
Round 10 - The gold interior is now silver, and the blue statues at the
front are now gold.
Round Ex A - The gray brick walls are now brown.
Round Ex B - The brown rocks are now gray.
Round Ex C - The blue walls are now gray and yellow.
==============================================================================
[3] Strategies - Extra Rounds
==============================================================================
For the purposes of this document, the designations "A," "B," and "C"
are used to distinguish the Extra Rounds from each other. In the game,
all Extra Rounds are simply listed as "ROUND EX."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.1] Round Ex A: Sewers
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Entrance:
In Round 2: The Factory, go to the bottom of the vertical area. At the
lower left corner is a stack of boxes. Hit the boxes on the left side
until they blow up, uncovering a secret doorway.
Story:
No story here. This is an Extra Round, and it doesn't tie in with the rest
of the plot. This is probably a stage that Namco has designed early on but
didn't use as a Standard Round in the final version of the game. The idea
of running through Geldra-occupied sewers would have been cool, though.
General Hints:
Jay should have little trouble in the Sewers. The only enemies here are
blue Maskers and bats. To kill the bats, jump or aim up and then shoot them.
The free special weapons in this Round are the Cannon, the Machinegun,
and the Flash Grenades.
Walkthrough:
Jay begins at sector E1. To the right, at sector E2, are two Maskers and
a "Bullet" door. Jay should get himself out of the sludge and hop up for
some ammunition. On his way to sector E3 are a bat, a third blue Masker,
and a "Cannon" door. On his way to E6 are a second bat, two blue Maskers,
an "Auto" door, and another door hiding a Life Bonus. Keep going on
beyond E7 to EE to find one more bat, more Maskers, and a "Flash" door.
When Jay reaches the ladder at the end, he will automatically climb up and
magically appear on the streets of a city famous for its dazzling casinos.
(Go to Round 4.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.2] Round Ex B: Mines
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Entrance:
In Round 5: Dread's Building, go to the bottom of the vertical area
(it is after the "Flash" door). Jump onto the second floor and walk
above the female angel statue. Drop down onto this statue's head and
then walk off to the right, toward another statue. Hit this second
statue until it is destroyed, revealing a secret doorway.
Story:
Again, no story here. Like the Sewers, the Mines may be a prototype stage
that has never made it into the final product as a Standard Round. Still,
it looks awesome with its old railways, its falling water, and its abandoned
shovels. This is perhaps the most eye-catching Extra Round of all.
General Hints:
The blue Maskers are few, but stay alert because some may come out from
doors. Take out the bats by jumping or aiming up and then shooting them.
The free special weapons in this Round are the Grenades, the Shotgun,
and the Bazooka.
Walkthrough:
Follow the faded yellow arrow and go right, toward a "Bullet" door. There
will be two bats around here, and a Masker may come out from the door. The
next door to the right on the same floor holds a Life Bonus. Watch out for
another set of two bats and a Masker. Up ahead are even more bats. There
will be a pair of doors, "Bomb" and "Shot." (This is the only "Bomb" door
in the game.) A bat is waiting beyond this point. Keep going to find a
"Bazooka" door guarded by two blue Maskers and a bat.
When Jay walks past the "Bazooka" door, he will hit the end, climbing out
of the Mines and emerging on a popular Pacific Isle. (Go to Round 7.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.3] Round Ex C: Warehouse
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Entrance:
In Round 8: Underground Base, go to the top of the vertical area. Stay on
the upper floor and hit the wall on the far right edge until it blows up,
and then walk into this edge.
Story:
Those who've played the first installment should immediately recognize this
place. Walk past the old, cobwebbed doors, reliving Albatross' memories.
Things are a little different, however. Look out for killer bats in addition
to blue Maskers. The open windows and the crumbling walls reveal a clear
night complete with a full moon. A nice touch here is the old door labels.
The "Auto" sign is changed back to the original "Arms" sign, and Jay can
still find Machinegun ammunition behind those doors.
General Hints:
This Extra Round is just like the others. Jay can collect a ton of extra
Machinegun ammunition as he blasts a handful of blue Maskers and bats.
Again, to kill the bats, jump or aim up and then fire.
The free special weapons in this Round are Machineguns.
If Jay is looking for the door that gives him a Time Bonus,
he won't find it, because this game does not have a Timer.
Walkthrough:
Ignore the broken door at the beginning. Move forward to a "Bullet" door
with two Maskers near it. Walk past underneath the high, open windows,
killing three Maskers and two bats. Jay will see a pair of doors. The
right one hides a Life Bonus. On the top are two more Maskers and an
"Arms" door. Continue right and take out another two Maskers (three
if one more comes out from the door) and two bats. A second "Arms" door
is on the bottom floor. (This is the old Machinegun door.) Past this
are the last Masker and the last bat.
The wrecked wall opening up to the night sky marks the end.
Jay will now teleport to the final level. (Go to Round 10.)
==============================================================================
[4] Miscellaneous Information
==============================================================================
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.1] Passwords
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.1.1] Standard Passwords
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Passwords here give Jay access to all the special weapons at the
beginning of the Rounds. The times listed indicate how long Jay has
to finish the Rounds before the sniper appears, or, in the case of the
vehicle scenes, how long the Rounds last. Ellen's warning speech itself
takes up an additional four seconds.
******************************************************************************
Round Name Normal Hard Time
******************************************************************************
1 Oil Refinery ----- (RISKY) 2:50
2 The Factory FFEOU OSEPF 3:35
3 Highway SSEPC IAEOH (1:35)
4 Las Vegas Night FSEOA XSEOH 2:50
5 Dread's Building KFEPZ OFEOP 3:35
6 The Pacific Ocean AAEOZ XSEPJ (1:20)
7 Easter Island SSELI CCEOP 3:35
8 Underground Base LSEKL ZSESB 3:55
9 Hijack USEXA ZSESK -:--
10 Castle of Dread USEZP PSELF 4:25
Ex A Sewers ----- ----- -:--
Ex B Mines ----- ----- -:--
Ex C Warehouse ----- ----- -:--
******************************************************************************
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.1.2] Secret Passwords
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To access various hidden options, enter the Secret Passwords.
(Jay should say, "You got it!")
RISKY - Access the Hard Mode option. Finish the game in Hard Mode to see
what really happens to Ellen and Jay. (This Password is revealed at the
end of the Staff Credits in Normal Mode.)
ANNOY - Access the 5 Lives option. This allows Jay to increase his initial
amount of Lives, making the game easier to finish, especially in Hard Mode.
GREED - Toggle Ellen (as a playable character) on and off. Entering this
Password replaces Jay with Ellen. Both characters have equal abilities,
so the gameplay remains the same. The only difference is that Ellen does
not have a story, and she just goes through the Rounds for no apparent
reason. (The Demo option will always be set to Off as long as Ellen is
selected. However, the Epilogue, which remains the same, will still appear
at the end of the game.) To switch back to Jay, enter this Password again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.2] Sound Test
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Press Left and Right to cycle through the tunes or effects. Press B or C
to play them. Press A to stop them.
Not all of the sound effects can be found here. For example, the warning
buzzard (heard when entering an incorrect Password or trying to select a
special weapon that has already been used) is missing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.2.1] Background Music
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Name Time Tune (24 total)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bad Drums 0:19 Configuration Mode, Password Screen
Bad Road 2:41 Staff Credits
DammBad 2:02 Oil Refinery
Bad Fairy 1:39 Title Screen
5 Black Vol 5 1:31 Las Vegas Night
Bad Rouge 1:00 The Pacific Ocean
Bad Joke 1:15 Hijack
No Way Out 1:35 Castle of Dread
Bad Bob 1:36 Movie
Bad Night 0:52 Underground Base
Bad Moon 0:08 Weapon Select Screen
Bad Babe 1:00 Round Intro, Spider, Centaur
Bad Elf 2 1:23 Highway
Bad Shade 0:22 Leila and Albatross (Prologue - Part 1)
DayFly 0:52 Game Over Screen
Bad Situation 1:07 Easter Island
8 St. in N.Y 1:18 The Factory
Bad Movie 0:14 Sniper
Bad Ramega 0:41 Extra Round
Siesta 1:44 Epilogue
Main St. 1:52 Dread's Building
Bad Dave 0:05 Round Clear
Bad Blue 0:41 Dread
Bad Opinion 0:57 Jay (Prologue - Part 2)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.2.2] Sound Effects and Vocal Effects
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
## Effect (29 total)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
1 Revolver shot
2 Flamethrower burst
3 explosion
4 Machinegun shot
5 helicopter engine
6 Laser bolt
7 bullet ricochet
8 Namco logo flash
9 Moon Street electric sign break
10 Moon Street lamp break
11 flash (lock-on for targeting reticle)
12 female "Ow!" (Ellen hit, female Masker hit)
13 female "Ha!" (female Masker kick)
14 robot panther growl
15 female "Ahhgh!" (Ellen die)
16 Jay's "You got it!" (Weapon Select Screen, Secret Password)
17 Jay's "Owch!" (Jay hit - touching a Masker, getting shot)
18 male "Oh!" (male Masker shout)
19 Dread's "Welcome Jay." (Round 8 boss - Part 1)
20 Ellen's "Enemy attack increasing." (warning message - Part 2)
21 Jay's "Uullwwrraahh!" (Jay die)
22 Dread's "You're a dead man!" (Round 10 boss)
23 Ellen's "Hurry up!" (warning message - Part 3)
24 Dread's "Uullwwrraahhughh!" (Dread die)
25 click (revolver reload in the Prologue)
26 Jay's "Ow!" (Jay hit - getting punched)
27 Dread's "I'll make your future over!" (Round 8 boss - Part 3)
28 Ellen's "Jay, this is HQ!" (warning message - Part 1)
29 Dread's "Here's the place." (Round 8 boss - Part 2)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.3] Quick Reference
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the purposes of this document, the damage values listed here are
estimates and are not necessarily the actual values used within the game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.3.1] Weapons
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Rounds listed indicate which ones contain free ammunition for the weapon.
Weapon: Revolver
Damage: 2 Points
Ammunition: 40 rounds (50 rounds from "Bullet" doors)
Round: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, Ex A, Ex B, Ex C
Weapon: Knife
Damage: 4 Points
Ammunition: N/A
Round: N/A
Weapon: Full Auto (Machinegun)
Damage: 2 Points
Ammunition: 60 rounds
Round: 1, Ex A, Ex C
Weapon: Shotgun
Damage: 2 Points per pellet (4 pellets per shell)
Ammunition: 30 shells
Round: 10, Ex B
Weapon: Laser (Laser Rifle)
Damage: 4 Points
Ammunition: 20 charges
Round: 2
Weapon: Bazooka
Damage: 10 Points
Ammunition: 10 rockets
Round: 4, Ex B
Weapon: Cannon (Grenade Launcher)
Damage: 4 Points (flame patch), 2 Points (shell)
Ammunition: 20 shells
Round: 8, Ex A
Weapon: Fire (Flamethrower)
Damage: 2 Points per burst
Ammunition: 60 units (approximately 7 seconds)
Round: 7
Weapon: Grenade
Damage: 4 Points (explosion), 2 Points (grenade)
Ammunition: 30 grenades
Round: Ex B
Weapon: Flash (Flash Grenade)
Damage: 0 Points
Ammunition: 20 grenades
Round: 5, Ex A
Weapon: Cracker
Damage: 8 Points
Ammunition: 20 grenades
Round: (none)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.3.2] Maskers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Touching grenades or hand-to-hand attacks, excluding the scuba Maskers'
knife-stabs, deals 1 Point of damage to Jay. Touching bullets, explosions,
knives, or other vehicles deals 2 Points of damage to him.
Type: Male Blue
Life: 2 Life Points
Attack: fires pistol, throws grenades, punches, rides vehicles
Round: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, Ex A, Ex B, Ex C
Type: Male Green
Life: 4 Life Points
Attack: fires pistol, throws grenades, punches
Round: 1, 2, 5, 7, 8
Type: Male Brown (hijackers)
Life: 4 Life Points
Attack: fires machinepistol, hides behind cover
Round: 9
Type: Male Orange (elite guards)
Life: 4 Life Points
Attack: fires pistol, throws grenades, punches
Round: 10
Type: Male Scuba
Life: 2 Life Points
Attack: stabs with knife, rides jetski
Round: 6
Type: Female Red
Life: 4 Life Points
Attack: high kicks, low kicks, jump kicks, heel stabs, backflips
Round: 4
Type: Female Gold
Life: 6 Life Points
Attack: high kicks, low kicks, jump kicks, heel stabs, backflips
Round: 4
Type: Male Heavy Tan
Life: 8 Life Points
Attack: fires pistol, punches
Round: 8
Type: Male Heavy Red
Life: 10 Life Points
Attack: fires machinepistol, punches, angrily points at Jay
Round: 5, 8
Type: Sniper
Life: N/A
Attack: fires explosive rounds with precision cannon
Round: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 (when Jay takes too long)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.3.3] Other Enemies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Type: Panther
Life: 4 Life Points
Attack: pounces laterally, pounces vertically
Round: 2, 10
Type: Bat
Life: 2 Life Points
Attack: dives diagonally downward
Round: 8, Ex A, Ex B, Ex C
Type: Turret
Life: 2 Life Points (4 Life Points in Hard Mode)
Attack: fires mini-cannon
Round: 8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.3.4] Objects
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Type: Fuel Tank
Life: 4 Life Points (8 Life Points in Hard Mode)
Round: 1
Type: Secret Door
Life: 80 Life Points
Round: 2, 5, 8
Type: Wooden Horse
Life: N/A
Round: 3
Type: Moon Street Electric Sign
Life: 10 Life Points
Round: 4
Type: Moon Street Lamp Post
Life: 2 Life Points
Round: 4
Type: Floating Mine
Life: N/A
Round: 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[4.3.5] Boss Strategies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: Spider
Life: 100 Life Points
Attack: fires small turret, fires top-mounted cannon, pounces
Round: 2
Notes:
Stay on the left while kneeling and firing at the Spider. The boss can
pounce anytime at Jay, so he should give himself some room from the left
edge of the screen into which he can retreat. The boss always pauses for
a moment before it jumps.
The Spider first uses its small turret. Jay can kneel under or jump over
the slow yellow bullets.
When the Spider suffers enough damage, it activates its big cannon.
A targeting reticle will also appear and begin to track Jay. When the
reticle turns red, Jay has about one second to move away (either by
walking to the sides or by super-jumping) before an explosive shot
is fired there. The explosion, not the shot itself, can kill Jay.
Name: Centaur
Life: 100 Life Points
Attack: fires machinecannon, fires homing missile launcher in its ass
Round: 7
Notes:
Stay under the right side of the railing on the left side of the screen.
Keep firing at the Centaur, even when it launches a missile. When the
boss' machinecannon fires, Jay should super-jump up just before the bullets
hit him. If his timing is right, both missile and bullets should pass by
harmlessly underneath him.
From here, simply jump over to the right when the boss below walks past.
Run to the right side of the screen and repeat the tactic, only this time
do it from the opposite side.
Name: Dread (Fake)
Life: 80 Life Points
Attack: makes ceiling turrets fire for him
Round: 8
Notes:
Stand a bit to the right of the spot directly below the second turret
from the left. From there, kneel and keep shooting Dread. When the turrets
fire and their bullets look like they are going to hit Jay, Jay should
super-jump straight up. When he lands, he should resume firing. If Jay
positions himself really well, he won't even need to jump at all.
Name: Dread (Robot Suit)
Life: 100 Life Points
Attack: fires high shots, fires low shots
Round: 10
Notes:
Stay on the left and fire at Dread. Kneel under the high shots, and
super-jump over the low shots. Look at the height of Dread's arm cannon
to see whether the shots will be high or low. A low shot is always preceded
by a high one.
Name: Dread
Life: 100 Life Points
Attack: fires straight laser beams, fires reflecting laser beams
Round: 10
Notes:
Run up very close to Dread and gut him with the Knife. When Dread aims high
(either a standing straight shot or an upward shot), kneel and keep cutting.
When Dread aims low (either a ducking straight shot or a downward shot),
super-jump to avoid the beam. Dread takes about one second to charge up
before he fires. Jay must stand close enough to Dread so the beams won't
reflect into him, but he shouldn't get so close that he will touch Dread.
==============================================================================
[5] Reference
==============================================================================
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[5.1] Game Source Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Rolling Thunder 3
Code: T-14096 (North American)
Developer: Namco
Producer: Namco
Genre: action shooter
Players: 1
Save: Password
Size: 1.50 MB
Publisher: Namco
Release Date: 1993-05-19 (North American)
Release Date: 1993------ (European)
UPC: 722674020213 (North American)
Cover Art: (North American)
Jay, riding a motorcycle, is in the middle of a desert highway, fending
off Geldra forces. He fires a handgun that looks nothing like a revolver,
and he is also firing it with his left hand. Two Maskers, a red-clad one
behind him and a green one (with red gloves and a blue helmet) in the
foreground, have their high-tech pistols drawn. To the left of the green
Masker is a robot panther, and there is another panther jumping onto
Jay's right arm, which is gripping the bike's throttle. Despite the deep
orange-yellow sunset, the bike's headlight is turned on. Obviously, this
scene doesn't occur when he reaches Las Vegas at the end of the third Round.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[5.2] Really Small Details About Which No Secret Agent Gives a Crap
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funny Damage
The damage system is pretty weird. While Jay's different weapons can deal
a wide range of damage to enemies, Jay himself can suck up only 1 Point
of damage or 2, even if he hits himself with his own weapons. (Jay can kill
himself with the Cannon, the Grenade, or the Cracker by jumping forward to
catch up to the blasts as soon as the explosives leave him. With the Cannon,
he can also bounce the shells off walls back toward himself.)
Extra Round Patterns
The Extra Rounds have lots of similarities. All of them replace the Standard
Rounds where Jay cannot begin with a special weapon, the Rounds preceding
them are always some sort of a large indoor area, and the concealed entrances
are always located behind a destructible object within a vertically scrolling
area. Is this all a coincidence, or is Geldra just not trying anymore?
Something Wrong with the Scenery, Case Number 1
Do people see the Geldra Organization as a group of outlaw heroes? In Jay's
mission briefing, there is a picture of Dread standing beside several humans,
all of whom seem pretty comfortable hanging around with folks who have green
skin and strange heads and who also commands armies of killer robots.
Masker Magicians
Ever notice how the Maskers' shots don't actually come out from their guns
when they kneel and fire? When they shoot low, their bullets come out from
a point that is clearly below the barrels of their pistols. Freaky.
Something Wrong with the Scenery, Case Number 2
At the Oil Refinery, plenty of pipes are leaking, and small flames lie
burning all over the drums. Having fire next to vast amounts of fuel isn't
good, and if the stuff has been burning before Jay arrived, how come the
Maskers there haven't fixed it up? Dread will be so pissed when he arrives
to work, only to find a smoking crater in the desert.
Jay on the Road... and the Sea
Have you noticed how Jay shoots from vehicles? On the bike, he seems to
fire with both hands. How does he keep the bike upright? On the jetski,
he also fires with his left hand, but isn't he right-handed?
More Water Stuff
Anybody knows the number of the boat from which Jay leaves in the
sixth Round? You can only make out the last two digits: 21.
More Road Stuff
Do you remember the two wooden horses that get in Jay's way during the third
Round? Do you also remember how the second horse approaches faster than the
first one? If Jay is driving at the same speed, how exactly is that possible?
Even More Road Stuff
At the end of the third Round, after Dread throws out the Flash Grenades
and Jay stops, what happens to all the other vehicles on the road? Maybe
the blinding flash of light has caused everybody behind Jay to crash and
clutter up the highway with bodies, oil, broken glass, and lots of blood,
blocking off everything that will otherwise smash into Jay.
Something Wrong with the Scenery, Case Number 3
Las Vegas is one hell of a place. Not only do you get legalized gambling
and flashy lights, you also get creepy robots walking around without anyone
noticing. Maybe people think the Maskers are a part of a show or something,
but that shouldn't explain all the flying bullets, grenades, explosions, and
killing going on at the place. There is also that door with a "Bazooka" sign
next to it. Damn, we have seriously got to go back to Vegas someday.
Las Vegas Casinos
Have you checked out those casinos in the fourth Round's background?
You can see the following: Moon Street, Cats Hall, Golden Night, Star
Casino, King Coin, Gold Lake, and Red Rose. There are some other details
too, but they are too small to read. Also noticeable are a cowgirl sign,
a board displaying "Mimi," and a big fat blimp.
Fear, Loathing, and Vandalism in Las Vegas
You may already know that Jay can break certain things along Moon Street. The
electric signs can be destroyed with five bullets, and the street lamps can
be shattered with a single shot. Jay can also throw Grenades up at the lamps.
Something Wrong with the Scenery, Case Number 4
With what kind of airline does Jay ride? We hope the food there is decent,
because there seems to be no washrooms aboard the plane he takes.
Jay's Outfit
During the Staff Credits, when Jay is standing over the rubble of Dread's
castle, his clothing doesn't look right. Where does he get that jacket?
Ellen's Outfit
The Ellen you can play as a secret character seems quite different from the
one who shows up in the Movies. Her clothing is more casual, not to mention
how it's a bit more revealing. Just check her out on the Game Over Screen
or pause whenever she shoots her gun. Whoa.
Jack Slate Plays Rolling Thunder
In Namco's Dead to Rights (which is developed by a totally different team),
the hero, Jack Slate, carries a wide repertoire of disarming moves. One of
them is called, interestingly enough, "Rolling Thunder."
Krezzy Comparisons
Just for fun, let's compare Jay (from Rolling Thunder 3) to Richard Miller
(from the Time Crisis series).
Name Jay Richard
Is a secret agent x x
Doesn't work with a partner x x
Carries infinite ammunition x x
Uses a big revolver x
Uses a bigger semi-auto x
Doesn't have to reload x
Can hide behind cover x x
Always has cover behind which to hide x
Stars in a plot involving a pretty girl x x
Gets to save the girl x
Gets really "involved" with the girl x
Kills homicidal robots x x
Kills brightly colored bad guys x x
Fights a lunatic for a boss x
Fights an alien for a boss x
Fights this boss in a castle x x
Wears a cool leather jacket x
Actually says something x
Drops dead with one bullet in Hard Mode x x
Has super-human abilities
(i.e. super-jump or climb castle
walls without any special gear) x x
Winner Tie
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[5.3] Document Credits
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Namco (www.namco.co.jp)
For creating Rolling Thunder 3.
Sega Visions
For providing some information about Rolling Thunder 3.
(See the August/September 1993 Issue, page 48.)
Spherelanders
For playing through the game and figuring out the best tactics.
Extra thanks to Alex Round for actually authoring this document.
==============================================================================
[6] Contact Information
==============================================================================
mail: faididi@yahoo.com
==============================================================================
==============================================================================