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FAQ de la "Ristar"
a.k.a. RISTAR.FAQ (v1.0)
CONCEIVED, WRITTEN, AND EDITED BY: Jess Ragan
FURTHER EDITED AND POSTED BY: Jeff Bogumil
Before I start out this FAQ, first please keep in mind that I'm new at
this, and that this ASCII file was written in Q-BASIC (currently the only ASCII
reader & creator I have access to), so for goodness sake, have mercy on me! If
you have any comments, send them to Jeff's E-Mail address, as I have yet to ob-
tain one (I know, I'm such a leech... at least he's getting his 'Net feed at no
cost aside from his college tuition, and he offered me to do this, so why
not?), and if this FAQ needs updating or correcting, let me know through Jeff
as well.
Special thanks go to Jonathan Deitch of KLOV.ALL fame as well as Galen Komatsu
of a dozen different FAQs for their quality postings, which in turn inspired
RISTAR.FAQ, as well as Andy Eddy for the use of his site and of course, Jeff
Bogumil for further correcting and posting this publication. "Ristar" is a
registered trademark of Sega, which is why it'll probably be $20 in the
upcoming months. Look for "The Gameroom Blitz: BAUD Edition", an electronic
fanzine by the editors of this FAQ, coming soon (OK; I'm lying. Give me a few
months first...) to an EG fanzine site near you! Please, SOMEBODY kill 'Soul
Asylum '! PUHLEEEEEASE!!!! EGM is the literary equivalent of a den of vipers,
so kill them, too. Can I say the words 'kill them' on the Internet? Can Margar-
et Cho call herself "Assy" now, too?! I don't care as long as her sitcom stays
cancelled... Will "Jon Stewart" still keep his site now that his show's been
cancelled? And will I ever shut the hell up!? Anyhow, here's the FAQ... may it
bring you much joy and happiness. Mozzeltov! As you can tell from that heinous
spelling error, I'm not Jewish. OK, OK! I'll REALLY shut up now! But wouldn't
you rather listen to my witty repertoire... HEY! Where are you going!? All
right already! I PROMISE to keep my mouth shut now! Geez...
This "Ristar" FAQ is a public service of JessCreations*,Co.
All rights (& wrongs) reserved
This FAQ (or its author) is not to be held responsible for
sexually transmitted diseases, the Oklahoma City bombing,
excessive underarm hair, food poisoning as a result of
Hormel Spam(tm), or any bad programming (OK, ANY program-
ming) on the Fox network. Feel free to blame this FAQ for
the recent cancellation of "Full House".
Copyright: 1995 JessCreations*, Co.
If you laughed at any of the above, get psychiatric help.
========
CONTENTS
========
I. INTRODUCTION
II. GENERAL TIPS
III. STRATEGIES FOR EACH PLANET
1. Flora
2. Undertow
3. Scorch
4. Sonata
5. Freon
6. Automation
7. Space City
IV. FINITO
V. PASSWORDS
--------------------
*** INTRODUCTION ***
--------------------
It's not hard to see that "Ristar" is a big-time clone of "Sonic" &
the millions of other mascot games available for the SNES & Genesis, but lucky
for us, that doesn't by any means prevent it from being enjoyable. Hell, if you
ask me (not that anyone would; this is just to prove a point), I fully believe
that this l'il beaut is better than "Sonic & Knuckles", with or WITHOUT its
Lock-On technology gimmick. I mean, give me a break! What's so exciting about
having to pay $70 to buy rounds that were already in the Japanese game? Yeesh.
But this FAQ isn't about how idiotic S&K or Sega is (you'd need a hard drive
the size of Keanu Reeves' to even come close to storing a file THAT long!)-
I'm talking about "Ristar" here. Anyways, like I was saying, it's great. Not as
terrific as Nick Rox has often suggested in "Die Hard Game Fan", but that's not
much of a surprise from a magazine that recommends Ocean games, eh? Sorry, I'm
off the subject again. Like I was saying, "Ristar" is a Sonic-style action ad-
venture title with "Bionic Commando"-ish overtones. As the eight-ball-esque
title character, you've got to relieve a solar system of the influence of an
alien space pirate named Greedy (not exactly an intimidating name, but it beats
'King Dedede', right?). Your only weapon is a pair of gangly, stretchy arms, &
as is typical of these games, you'll find a zillion different uses for them be-
fore you're through. Problem is, there's more to the game than defeating the
Greedster... like "Sonic", there's hidden bonus stages to be found & treasures
to be procured within them. A good many of these are tricky to reach, so that
will be the main focus of this article. I'll cover the rounds themselves, as
well, but frankly, since each is pretty straight-forward and not that difficult
to complete in the "normal" mode, I won't get into any sort of ornate detail
about those unless I feel it's absolutely necessary. I'll also provide you with
strategies with which to beat the bosses, as these guys can really be tough
nuts to crack. But first...
--------------------
*** GENERAL TIPS ***
--------------------
The manual in all its wisdom advises players to "grab every wall". You
will often find, however, that this isn't enough. To get all of the prime good-
ies, you'll more than likely have to CLIMB each wall to the top before the loud
metallic 'bong' will sound & the item will be shaken from its perch & into your
grubby little hands. This is a long & tedious process at times, so unless you
absolutely have to max out your score, don't bother unless your health is at 3
stars or less.
Don't speed through rounds. There are hidden enemies that like nothing
better than to get the jump on impatient toddling star-faced kids, & if you
take hits, your technical bonus goes down.
You can't die in the bonus rounds, but each time you're hurt, the timer
speeds up. Avoid this, as it could not only ruin your chances of snagging the
treasure, it may very well cost you free continues, too, as these are rewarded
to more proficient bonus round players.
Any area with two one-ups can be harvested repeatedly by the age-old
"grab both & die" technique, although both must be hidden in treasure chests
for this to work (those in nooks & crannies come back as stars the 2nd time
around).
To access some areas, Ristar will sometimes have to hang from enemies
& swing over to them. Annoyingly enough, once he's got his hands on something,
he WILL snap back into it to finish it off, so be sure you're REALLY close to
the land mass on which you'll land before you let go of the grab button.
You'll get the best chance to get the 20,100 point hieght bonus if you
grab the star handles at the end of each stage FACING TO THE LEFT. This way,
It's easier to time the meteor strike & to control Ristar after he lets go.
----------------------------------
*** STRATEGIES FOR EACH PLANET ***
----------------------------------
=====
FLORA
=====
A heavily forested planet filled with neon-colored bats, rabbits, &
lizards. This is the world from which Ristar recieves the distress call which
informs him of his father's capture & Greedy's evil plans to dominate the solar
system. This laid-back planet is the perfect spot for Ristar to test his abil-
ities.
AREA 1: you'll probably notice a lot of bushes here. Be aware that they
usually contain either strangely aggressive rabbits or exploding pollen
spores that can be removed with a quick hop or two. There's also a few
high-altitude footholds that contain a few gems & whatnot- access these
by nimbly leaping the hovering fly traps (these open, so watch it).
Greedy's orblet creatures are scattered throughout this round, so dispatch
them as necessary as you explore the terrain fully. Halfway through the
stage, you'll come across a 1UP in a hole & later, the entrance to a snake's
lair scattered with holes. The snake's head will appear from one of these
portals, look around, & head for a new hole. Grab him several times quickly
to dispatch him, taking care to avoid bodily contact with the head, then
continue to the end of the stage.
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: There's a star handle about a screen before the wall that
forces Ristar to take on the snake. Swing yourself diagonally upward & to the
right on this handle to reach this wall & the special star handle which serves
as the bonus round entrance.
TO GET THE TREASURE: There's only one handle here. Launch upwards & slightly to
the right or left & you'll land right on the land mass where the treasure, a
STAR ICON, is. Bust open the chest & grab the treasure & it's yours to keep for
the rest of the game (great; I sound like Pat Sajak now!).
AREA 2: There are cocoons in the trees that contain orblets. Bop 'em to remove
their contents, then waste the little creeps. If you take the low road, you'll
have to bring down a few trees to continue- DON'T grab their leafy tops. If
you do, tons of orblets will rain down from the branches to give you plenty of
trouble. Halfway through this round, the lights will dim & some goon deep in
the background will toss (of all things) deadly strawberries at you to impede
your progress. Run to avoid them, taking care to bop the lizard hidden in the
hill between the first & second lantern trees. Hit the top of these lantern
trees to light your way through (not totally necessary, but helpful), then
grab the star handle & it's off to Riho, the first boss.
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: At the top of the screen, there are a series of annoying
purple bats that toss land mines at you. Grab each one before/after they do &
drop to each landmass they carry you to. Eventually, you'll see the bonus round
handle.
TO GET THE TREASURE: There's a series of partitions here that tests your
ability to climb. And climb you will- grab each horizontal partition from
the bottom & each vertical one at a diagonal angle until you see the chest,
then grab that too. A beautiful CRYSTAL APPLE is the reward for your troubles.
BOSS: After passing by some gratuitous lighting effects, Ristar will encounter
the leader of the land, corrupted by, appropriately enough, a monkey on his
back (I couldn't possibly make this up, folks...). Luckily, Riho's attacks are
pretty half-hearted (just a few giant snowflakes & a tiny tornado), so grab
the old coot by the legs & bop 'em. Every third successful hit will bring down
your true enemy- while he's eating dirt, bop him, too (you can also lure him
off Riho's back by getting caught in that tornado, but more often than not,
you'll be sucker punched if you try). Three hits sends the little bastard to a
much deserved permanent vacation & you to your next desination...
========
UNDERTOW
========
A planet whose surface is composed almost entirely of water seems
like quite a threat, but since Ristar is an accomplished swimmer, & stars don't
really need to breathe, it's not really a problem at all. Too bad there's the
matter of Ohsat the hammerhead shark & his rowdy gang of aquatic life to make
up for this...
AREA 1: There's not much to say, really, aside from "watch out for the hidden
eels in the seaweed" & "keep running if you find yourself on dry land to avoid
the flying fish". Mostly, this is just an intro to the rigors of swimming, so
if you take your time, you'll find that this is actually pretty relaxing...
almost mesmerizing with that translucent water... and... I... ahhhhhh..... oh!
'Scuse me, I think I just got a little caught up in the moment there...
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Couldn't be easier- just go straight up after the round
fills with water. To the far left, you'll find the handle floating just above
a small island.
TO GET THE TREASURE: There's an oval-shaped gauntlet which you've got to nav-
igate to reach the treasure, a CLAM. Keep in mind that, since you're
underwater, the prize will be swept up in the current & you'll have to go
after it (or perhaps take the opposite route to run into it, whatever). I
prefer going right as opposed to down to snag the treasure- the route down
is a shortcut, but I'll be damned if I can snag the clam before it speeds off
going this way.
AREA 2: This round takes a little more skill. It's a long series of underwater
catacombs, filled with dangerous nautili & enemy generators (these look like
Incan artifacts). Before you enter these, take note- there's a free 1UP on that
seemingly unreachable island just above the water. Give yourself a good runn-
er, SWIMMING start, then cling to the right side of this land mass until a
stray bubble comes your way. Hop on it, then to the island before it pops (the
bubble, not the island, stupid!). There it is. Snag it & make your way through
the caves, keeping in mind that you'll have to kill the generators & nautili
to open the pathways to new locations. To kill each nautilus, bop its
offspring, then it three times after it fires out a sea urchin. The strategy
to destroy the generators varies, but in general, clear the way to reach it
& bop it once to rid yourself of this pest. Once you're out of the caves, the
round is just about over, but...
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: ...you don't want to go speeding off until you've taken
the treasure, right? Of course. Go the the far left once you're out of the
caves. Destroy the generator, then walk to the edge of the land mass where the
small orange starfish resides. Drown it if it attaches to you, then hop the
bubbles one by one until you reach another hovering island & the handle.
TO GET THE TREASURE: If you'll look carefully, the numerous handles in this
round form a 'greater than' symbol like this- >. Grab the handle nearest you,
then the one at the point of the symbol, then swing up to the treasure chest.
Bop it & you'll recieve a rather hyperactive TEA SERVICE. Que?
BOSS: Ohsat isn't too big a deal if you stay out of his path of movement,
generally about 3-4 inches from the surface of the water. To beat him, grab him
as he comes into your field of perspective. You'll bop him & break open one of
the four corks holding the water in. Occasionally, he'll let loose a herd of
coelecanths (prehistoric fish) that'll take the same path he normally does or
some jellyfish-like detonators which are equally easy to dodge. Worse are the
torrents of rocks that rain down as Ohsat tears the place down with his ham-
mer-like head- swim off the screen & you'll be fine. After four hits, Ohsat
will be beached- & that's the perfect opportunity to finish him off.
======
SCORCH
======
Things get harder (to say nothing of hotter) on this desolate
Mercurian world. There's never a shortage of fire here, giving you plenty of
opportunities to toast poor Ristar's buns (does he have any?) should you slip
up, & the boss here is no pushover, either. There's a cache of extra lives
for the resourceful Ristarian in the second round, but that aside, this is
one round that just won't let up.
AREA 1: As you begin, you'll note that there's an orblet launcher placed over
four thrusters. Swing down on the pipe below it, waste the orblet, & hit the
switch & it's as good as gone. Turn the thrusters off & continue. There's a
set of traps here. You can elect to set these off with the handy-dandy Ristar
decoy (a small pewter statue), or manually, by triggering them with your toe
& scampering off before the trap falls. Either way, you've got to destroy the
cages to move on. Once you have, you'll eventually come across a vulture. Bop
it & leap from pit to fiery pit. Making your way through, you'll come across
several white circles similar to those that set off the traps earlier. If you
want a free gem, trigger this too, although be warned that doing so sends in
a near ocean of flame that becomes VERY hard to elude if you're not an expert
climber. Once you've made your way up via climbing the various pipes after the
trap, you'll be confronted with a large quantity of flaming debris. Run like
hell & use the floors above as umbrellas whenever possible. Soon after this,
you'll discover what amounts to a memory test. Orblets will pop out of six
holes. Bop them in the sequence in which their eyes appear & you'll get free
goodies- fail to do so &... well, just do it right, OK? After this, the round
ends & you're on your merry way.
BONUS ROUND ENTRANCE: Remember the handle you saw after that vulture? Use it to
spring straight upwards. After some trail & error & a little aerial
exploration, you'll see the handle.
TO GET THE TREASURE: It's another gauntlet, this time with plenty of ladders &
nasty spikes that serve as punishment for those that fail to grab each set of
rungs accurately. Make your way upward and then to the right & down carefully,
then eventually claim your prize: a FLAMING SWORD. Cool, huh? Too bad you can't
actually USE it...
AREA 2: you're in a steel factory, now, apparently. You may explore the place
at will, as there are plenty of star handles here that'll ensure your safety,
but the unadventurous low road is fine to take, too. Just don't forget to take
a pitstop at the cache, a long vertical stretch of area peppered with
profitable dead ends. Use the handle at the bottom to first grab the 1UP
chest to the top-right hand corner of the cache, then bop the ground directly
under it to cash in yet again. Continue on once the cache's dried up, killing
the orblets protected by a flame shield by grabbing them from above (dispose
of the large bullet-spitting half-orbs by grabbing them when not spewing
flames [duh!]). Use the pulleys to make your way up the walls, taking care
to avoid the flame-shooting cannons recessed into them, then continue until
an orblet you can't reach literally trashes the place with a well-timed
dynamite blast. From here, you're almost finshed. Just keep to the right
& you're there.
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Remember the above described cache? Of course, here's
where the handle is. Just take a LEFT from the handle below & you should find
the bonus round entrance (now actually REACHING it is tricky- Rise is a little
hard to guide in those meteor strikes!).
TO GET THE TREASURE: There's a long, LONG horizontal line of star handles here,
so obviously, meteor strikes are the key to the treasure here. Simply grab a
handle, spin like mad, let go, then grab another handle when your momentum
runs out. You'll have to do this 4 or more times to reach the FLAME POT.
BOSS: A giant mechanized mole with an attitude is your nemesis here. Run like
mad to the right, grabbing the blue star if you've taken damage from the fall-
ing rocks. Once you're face to face with him, remember to stay near the right
or left side of the screen... he'll usually burst forth from the center. Once
he has, watch his arm- if he swings it as if to pitch an underhanded softball,
he's going to toss a ground breaker. If he lifts it as if to point toward you,
he'll launch both arms, one by one, at you. In either case, leap the
projectiles and bop him. Should he take to the air, grab his arm as it comes
down and ride it up to him, where he'll be vulnerable to yet another hit.
After taking two hits, the mole drops you down a shaft, where you'll have to
fight him on your way down to terra firme (to reach some, you've gotta hit
him - in mid-air, no less). The second time you're dropped down the shaft
will be his last if you manage to grab him one more time. From this point,
you'll discover that a much smaller red mole was pulling the strings inside
the mech- & yes, he's still a threat, if not to the extent that his robot
was. Bop him quickly & grab the handle for a one-way trip to...
======
SONATA
======
This music-obsessed planet of birds is your next stop. It's quite a
contrast from the previous worlds you've visited... in fact, it'd be hard to
tell that Greedy's got his claws in the place if it weren't for the occasional
orblet & a tone-deaf raptor named Awaunek.
AREA 1: This round has you playing errand boy to a series of aspiring music-
ians. Note the simplicity of the BGM near the beginning- every time you succ-
essfully deliver a metronome to one of these song sparrows, the soundtrack
actually lengthens somewhat. The trick to delivering each metronome is as fol-
lows (in no particular order): study the layout of the land, use the fans and
portals for quick transportation of your precious cargo, kill any orblets you
you see (as they'll spirit the metronome away if you give them the chance), &
stand under the pincers to have them take the metronomes over spikes. After
your fourth & final delivery, you'll have to contend with a menacing concerto
of three goofy birdmechs. Each will take three hits to destroy, & they're only
vulnerable with their heads down, so it'll take some sharp reflexes to scrap
them all. When their heads begin to bob & the music changes, orblets will fly
out from either side of the screen to liven things up- their pattern, a sharp
sine wave, is fairly easy to anticipate & counter. Once the mechs are
destroyed, you'll find the end of the stage to the immediate right.
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Just before you reach the second song sparrow, you'll
notice a series of light blue footholds. Climb these until you reach an alcove
with the bonus round handle inside & you're off!
TO GET THE TREASURE: This is easily one of the hardest items to reach, as the
path to it is littered with empty treasure chests. You've got to use these
chests as stairs from which you can grab a set of rungs on the ceiling. Once
you've accomplished this, snagging the BELLS is simply a matter of swinging
from the left side of the glowing partition seperating you from the treasure
to the right. However, one mistake on the chests is all it takes to prevent
you from reaching the bells at all. By all means, take your time- you only get
one chance to do this, so do it right. I suggest grabbing the third chest from
the bottom & working your way up, then falling on the first column & carving
out some neato stairs from which you can reach the partition & treasure.
AREA 2: There's no big twists to the basic game engine here- just make your
way to the right as usual. Be careful when you slide down ropes on the hand-
bars- more often than not, spikes will be waiting for you on the dismount.
Jump off early to avoid necessary damage. Also, note that the large metal ob-
jects to which the ropes are tied often have items (like 1UPs!) in them, so
bop them & cash in. There are sumo wrestlers in key spots- learn to anticipate
just when they'll toss their dolls (!?!), then waste them once they're unarmed
& the offending object has been lept. Dancing electric guitars guard the path
to especially useful items- they cannot be destroyed, & their patterns are
erratic, so be well advised that crossing these paths could spell death for
Ristar. Halfway through the round, there are a series of drums which serve as
trampolines. This part is tough to navigate, so practice a little before going
into the nastier spiked areas (don't worry, you'll be afforded the chance to).
Once the drums are out of the way, the round is just about over.
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Once you're in the midst of the drums, you'll notice a
shaft lined with spikes. Yep, you guessed it- the entrance is down here and to
the right. Keep your energy high, as the shaft isn't the only area in this path
that's dangerous. Once you've grabbed the bar at the bottom, you'll be bounced
mercilessly in an equally claustrophobic tight spot. Grab the walls of the
spiked pockets to avoid impalement & make your way to the right, where the
bonus round awaits.
TO GET THE TREASURE: Starting from the left, you must bounce your way over a
series of spike-encrusted mountains. You can get stuck a good many times on
these spines & still make it to the treasure, but if you want to go for the
continue, you'll want to try to hit the direct centers of each glowing tramp-
oline pad & steer as far as possible to the right without scraping the left
side of each mountain (for obvious reasons). The treasure here is a CLEFF NOTE
STATUE of some sort.
BOSS: Your foe here is Awaunek, a shower-singing scoundrel who aims to torture
an audience with his not-so-golden throated rendition of the BGM (note how it
alters whenever he sings). To rid the auditorium of this menace, you have to
bop his perch about three times (keep yourself at about arm's length to avoid
being trapped between his sour notes & the perch). He won't harm you when he
rolls off, but once he's recovered, watch out! He can rain down feathers &
dive-bomb you like nobody's business. From here, you've got two choices. Keep
Awaunek occupied while the song sparrow belts out a tune that, when complete,
will award Ristar some much-needed health, or just bop 'em twice if you're
feeling impatient. If you choose the latter, he'll swoop back to the perch,
knock off the sparrow, & continue screeching until he's knocked off again.
Keep beating Awaunek to a pulp and, after about three perch dismounts, he'll
be through for good, & you'll be ready to zip up that parka & head for...
=====
FREON
=====
Hey, what's a "Sonic" clone without an ice world? Original? Oh, but I
digress... this is the "Ristar" equivalent of such a land, & it's pretty
obvious that Rise should've brought along a pair of cleated shoes or at least
some salt or SOMETHING- most of the terrain here is just too slippery for
words, even in comparison to those of other Sonicky games. Along your travels,
you'll meet a parsnickity kid who you'll eventually befriend (after his 10,000
attempts on your life, no less!). He'll come in handy when you're toe to toe
with the head honcho here, one very large & hungry beastie named Itamour.
AREA 1: Your main foe here is an alien child that looks like a cross between
a pill bug & a panda. He's not a big deal, though... what's worse are the in-
numerable ice slicks that'll make your life hell as Ristar slips & slides his
way over them. The only way to gain control here is to jump- while doing so,
you can switch positions or ditch the slick you're on entirely. There are icy
gems on some of these paths that act as instant momentum builders- just one
touch of a full-sized gem is the equivalent of about 3 seconds of wild spinning
on a handle, so take advantage of them when possible. Later in the round, you
will once again encounter that annoying kid- he'll try to shishkabob you with
icy spines first, so lure him away from them, then make your move over the
spines & to safety. Once that's over, be prepared for a snowball fight of epic
proportions- to roll a snowball, don't DO anything. Rise'll make it on his own;
but once it's finished, quickly grab it & toss it right at your adversary's
vulnerable purple midsection (the best time- when he's holding a snowball over
his head). Three direct hits is enough to send the little wiener packing.
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: There's a set of icy blue keys on the high road along
with a few hovering icicle droppers. Dispatch the ice droppers while taking
care not to fall off the collapseable keys- towards the end of these keys, you
will see an outcropping of land just above you. Grab the handle located not so
conveniently on its left, & you're as good as there.
TO GET THE TREASURE: You'll be doing a lot of slipping & sliding here (sound
familiar?), so at the first ice slick, leap over the curl & grab the rung on
the right-hand wall, then the partition so as to slide left on the second ice
slick & avoid the one furthest down entirely. Leap the curl at the far left
(if you don't, you're screwed), then the treasure, a delicious ICE CREAM
SUNDAE, is yours.
AREA 2: Hmmm... shades of Undertow here! That's right, the water is back.
That's no big deal, but the loonie tossing ice bombs on the shore is, so
obviously, taking a dip is much perferrable to dealing with him. If you by
chance DO have to tangle with him, note that his bombs can be deflected with
a simple flail of your trusty arms, & that the snowmen provide a vantage
point from which to finish him off. The toad statues, however, are a
different story- they can drop the bombs, too, & they CAN'T be stopped.
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: It's a little complicated & definately the longest of
the paths to the bonus round, but hey, isn't it worth it? To reach this one,
take the landlubber's route until you reach a waterfall teeming with salmon
(OK, there's just two, but the sentence sounded better that way, OK?). The
trick here is to swing from the first salmon, then snag the second on the fly
& grab the icy partition QUICKLY, as for some strange reason, Rise can't hang
from the second unless you grab it first (come to think of it, you could do it
that way, too...). From here the path becomes painfully obvious, but it's still
pretty long... eventually, you'll see a pyramid of ice slicks. Ride these to
the top, leaping to reach each higher level, then dismount at the top, heading
for the left. You should land on a plot of ground with a toad statue & the
entrance on it.
TO GET THE TREASURE: This is kind of tricky- you first must leap from an ice
slick into a opening not much larger than Rise himself, then swim quickly thru
a series of spikes to the destination, which is also guarded by an ice slick.
Here's what to do- time your first jump just right (it takes several tries),
then zip thru the spiked channel in S-shaped arcs by pressing the jump button
& steering like mad thru them. Once back on dry land, jump to the far left wall
& climb it until you're high enough to reach the partition. Swing across that
& claim your prize- a fabulous ICE GEM.
BOSS: You're feeling pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you? Well,
don't get too cocky- the boss here, Itamour, is large & definately in charge.
While one of the least intellegent world leaders on Greedy's payroll, this
frosted flake has a tough sore spot to exploit & his various nasty attacks are
more than enough to make up for his lack of a complex pattern. Your one-time
nemesis will offer his support by bringing out dish after dish of hot curry,
which you must in turn toss into Itamour's mouth. To do this, stand at about
the 4th orb on the bridge and, as he's chomping on frozen radishes (please,
don't ask), hop straight up & toss the plate at It's lips after he stops chew-
ing (just before he opens his mouth, IOW). Should you succeed, Itamour will
freak out & leap above the screen's view- watch his shadow. It'll rest either
at the far left of the screen or a Ristar's length from it. If it's the latter,
head for the far left; if it's the former, stand a Ristar's length from the
shadow. Itamour will hurtle back to Earth & bounce back to the right- if you've
positioned yourself correctly, it'll give you the perfect opportunity to run
under him. Once he's back, he'll proceed to eat radishes, or possibly you if
he's feeling testy (he may also opt to freeze you in your tracks- wriggle free
quickly to break the ice's grip). If the latter happens, & you're holding a
plate of curry, toss it quickly & if he eats both you & the plate, you won't
sustain any damage. After about 4-5 helpings, you'll have thawed It out & he'll
be helpless to defend against a head butt. Do so & your last planet'll be...
=========
AUTOMATON
=========
Called "Automation" in the Sega manual for reasons I have yet to
fully comprehend, the first half of this android-filled assembly plant is per-
haps one of the most annoying parts of the game. The second, entitled
'The Brain Maze ', isn't really non-linear at all & in fact will probably
remind veteran gamers of Black's Dice Maze, one of the more inspired rounds in
Treasure's fantastic "Gunstar Heroes". In any event, here are both in greater
detail...
AREA 1: There are PLENTY of aggravating places here. After defeating what
would at first glance appear to be a renegade accordian from Fox's less than
acclaimed kid's show "The Fox Cubhouse" (warning-it splits in two after the
first hit), you'll encounter a grid of girders which switch positions every
time you hit the grab button. Climb up this confusing mess as best you can,
hitting grab whenever your support or overhead disappears, heading to the
left &, when at the top, the right (on the rungs overhead). You should find
a glowing surface with properties similar to the ice slicks' in Freon.
There's a treasure chest with a 1UP on a ledge on its right. Leap the slope
& claim your prize. After continuing to the right, you'll see floating
surveillance robots (bop these the FIRST time they appear, for they'll fire
lasers the next) and a small vertical bed of spines. Swinging from the left
of these spines to the right won't hurt you, so do so to continue on. You'll
come across some anti-gravity shoes about 1/3rd into this round- touch them &
they're yours. I must warn you that this footwear is somewhat of a mixed
blessing, however- they're next to impossible to activate at will, yet they
always manage to work at the WORST times. Drop down from this point & head
to the left, then drop down again & head for the right. You will see a long
shaft with spiked girders inside it. Float or climb into this rather nasty
chimney, then QUICKLY grab each girder from the bottom, grab either
side of the shaft after swinging over the spikes, then repeat the process
until you've made it out. It'll take some trial & error to get the timing
right for this particularly tough part of the game, so be prepared to go
thru a few lives (& quite a few obscenities) before you can make it out
consistantly. From here you have two options- head to the left & pick up some
rather tricky 1UPs, or just continue to the right & glide your way thru bed
after bed of spikes via several small green choppers, taking care to time
each dismount precisely. Once this part's been negotiated, a long wide
corridor & a wall seperates you from your last challenge. Grab the
handy-dandy star handle & fire to the right and the wall's history
(Kool-Aid style! Don't you remember that... oh, never mind). you'll come
face to face with a helmeted orblet & a literal army of lesser orb-
lets much like the ones you've seen in spades on the previous planets. This
armada has four patterns- rain (in which they first attack you in unison, then
hover above just out of reach & each take a potshot), helix (where they spill
to the floor & spiral around the ground you're on), cross (where they assume a
cross formation & spin at you), & circle (where the sargeant orblet shields
himself with his flunkies). In rain, dodge the initial attack, then grab or
dodge the raining baddies & bop the sarge when possible. In helix, sidestep
the first attack, then grab the sarge from below. Work your way into the last
formations & take the sarge from there. After 5 consecutive hits, the orblet's
leader finds itself on its back, where you can finish it (& the stage,
mercifully) off.
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Remember the shaft with those spikes? Go to the left from
this point, where you'll be met with an assortment of unfriendly critters and a
wall you've gotta climb. Take out the accordian(s) clinging to it, then make
your way up & swing from orblet to orblet until you see the entrance.
TO GET THE TREASURE: Much like the drums, there are a set of glowing pads that
serve as trampolines. All you need to do is bounce to the top of the screen,
avoiding the spikes, of course, switch positions with either glowing partition,
then fall down the shaft AVOIDING the pads that hinder your progress downward.
The MACHINE PART is your reward for such dilligent work.
AREA 2: This 1/2 of Automaton is, in direct contrast with the first, a great
deal of fun to play, since it's so much different from the other rounds in the
game. In a nutshell, you'll be trapped in a series of rooms, each with its own
transporter. To leave one room & enter another, you'll need to either find an
activator gem with which to turn the transporter on or, occasionally, just find
it. Given its straightforward nature, I won't dwell too much on this round, but
there are a few things you should be aware of. For one, you'll sometimes find
rooms with foreground/background teleporters. There's a glitch in the game that
makes the conditions in both planes of vision identical, so even if you're in
the foreground & an enemy is in the back, you WILL take damage if you touch it.
Also, you can't leave a room until you've returned to the foreground. Next, in
an earlier section of this round, you'll have to battle a large blue robot
which will try to press you into the wall on the far left. As it takes steps,
hit its feet- this will make it lose its balance & stumble backward. Gain
enough ground & the mech takes out a wall & itself in the process. If there's
a room with 2 transporters, go off the beaten path & enter the hard to reach
one for freebies like 1UPs & the round's secret treasure. There are rooms with
floating platforms in them, as well- hit them from the bottom & they'll start
moving vertically (BE CAREFUL, though- they can & will crush you if you're
between them & a wall). At one point, you'll find a room with some SERIOUSLY
deteriorating wallpaper - take it down by grabbing loose ends, but be aware
that there'll be orblets & an incredibly annoying droid that will pour from
the openings left behind. It's best to just find the gem & leave well enough
alone from there. Oh, & if you find yourself in a room with just one star
handle, grab it quickly & hang on for dear life, because you won't have one
if you're caught in the literal downpour of orblets with no means of
protecting yourself.
BONUS ROUND LOCATION: Near the end of the stage, there's an L-shaped room with
an abundance of spikes. You'll find yourself at the hinge of this L with two
ways to go. Grab the star handle & head up, keeping your course as straight as
possible so as to avoid running out of momentum prematurely. Swing over to the
transporter from the lone orblet & enter the transporter & you're there!
TO GET THE TREASURE: This one was INCREDIBLY tough to figure out, as it looks
to the naked eye as if it's literally impossible to complete given Ristar's
limitations. Not so, compadre. The trick here is to grab walls just below the
oval-shaped purple gems (which can't be grabbed) with a simple horizontal flail
of the hands, then QUICKLY grasp diagonally at the wall above it. Surprise,
surprise! The star boy actually makes it!!! The same advice pretty much applies
through the entire stage until you've reached the end, where you must grab the
three suspended land masses consecutively, then swing to the middle one & grab
at the island where the treasure resides. A lucky diagonal shot at the glowing
partition & jump to the island itself is all it takes to collect your much-
deserved prize, a spinning, diamond-shaped icon I call an ARTIFACT. Congratula-
tions! They're all yours. Too bad they don't enhance the ending at all & I have
all the passwords from the post-win screen in this FAQ (don't kill me!)...
BOSS: Eeeee, Stimpy! A nice, easy to defeat mech! Just what we all needed af-
ter some real SOBs on the previous two planets. Some advice, though- those
monitors aren't there for show... when the robot on them tosses a bolt, you'd
better damned well know when to jump. Once you're face to face with it, stay
that way by pounding its eyes with head butts. Don't let up until the monstro-
city drops to its knees. At this point, the scientist in the booth overhead
will get in on the action by dropping a large pair of pincers on you. Coax the
pincers over to the mech... it'll be hit instead & lifted back into the battle.
Repeat the above described process about 3-4 times and he's toast. From here,
Greedy's Space City will launch & you'll be ready for your final battle.
==========
SPACE CITY
==========
Well, you've made it. The previous six planets have been
purged of Greedy's influence & you've even managed to scrap his most powerful
soldier & sneak onto the tyrant's battleship. But none of this will matter if
you can't defeat the big cheese himself. After all, he's got plenty of orblets
to go around, & big, intimidating mechs are a dime a dozen these days, what
with the price of technology so low and all. Even the gigantic hole you've
made from literally bursting thru the wall of his cruiser (hey, Kool-Aid... um,
forget it...) is no big deal, although that's probably all the more reason
for him to be extraordinarily pissed off at you. So even with all the work
you've done, this Fight's for all the marbles. So don't screw this one up!
AREA 1: After making a spectacular entrance, you'll have to make your way up
through the bowels of the ship. You won't be alone, but don't worry about the
eye- it can't hurt you (yet...). After a nice, long, & relatively easy-going
climb, you'll find a huge doorway that'll lead you to the...
BOSS: That pesky scientist is back, & you've gotta confront him at close range
this time. That wouldn't be a big deal if it weren't for his steed, a
serpentine mech which becomes active after that eye nestles itself into the
proper socket. No matter. Mech or no mech, you'd have to be a complete goober
to lose to this guy- just constantly beat on that eye just like you did with
the good professor's last creation. If you're as tenacious as Adam Schwimmer's
terrier, the laser blasts & boomerangs (which are the worst) won't give you
too much trouble. Pretty soon, the eye will begin to show obvious damage & the
scientist will drop down in an attempt to fix it. Hit 'em & the entire mech
will sustain the damage. After 5-6 such hits, it's toast. Enter the tube &
you're to the second area...
AREA 2: WHAT area 2? All this part is is an excuse for Sega to throw in some
plot continuity & some nice eyecandy. Ristar gets sucked into the final con-
frontation at this point, & it lasts about, eh, 5 seconds. It looks nice.
GREEDY!!!: Yes, it's that devious little world conquerin' fool himself. He's
not really in the mood to get his hands dirty at first, so he'll just toss out
a few little cannon-orbs to keep you occupied. As they rez in, stick your hands
out in anticipation of the moment when they're ready to attack- if your timing
is right, you'll snag one just before the quintet fires & save yourself from
taking damage. Dispense with the cannons & Greedy'll enter the fray himself.
He still won't do too much in the way of attacking at this point (although he
WILL drop 2 orblets if you succeed in grabbing him), so you'll want to take ad-
vantage of this courtesy & leave him alone when he lifts his arm. When he does,
he'll surround himself with small black orblet-ettes. Pace to avoid these (i.e.
run to the right as he tosses one, then run to the left), then if you can, turn
for the last one & grab it before it hits the ground. Presto! You get a star
for your troubles. You can not only fill your life bar this way, but also keep
a few stars ferreted away on the screen itself should you need them,
effectively giving you more life than you can actually keep in your meter.
With that said, you SHOULD hit Greedy whenever possible otherwise. After
about 5 hits, Greedy flips his cape open & disappears, & from here, THIS is
where he means business. Once he reappears, he'll create a vortex which his
orblets are oblivious to. Grab & hold on to them to avoid being sucked out.
Once the vortex is sealed, Greedy warps around the screen, appearing &
disappearing twice. Jump up and snag the heel of his extended leg & Ristar will
headbutt Greedy right where it hurts. Of course, this by no means endears him
to our little hero, & he'll demonstrate this fact by sending down lightning
bolts. When you see electricity crackle in a sort of outline of Greedy, take a
running leap to the left and the bolt will miss (unless he manages to back you
into a corner, which often happens. THAT is what those extra stars are for,
boys & girls...). When Greedy once again takes to the skies, continue giving
him, er, low blows, and after 5 such hits, the big guy takes a tumble & the
REAL fun begins. Sit back and enjoy the ending- you've earned it.
--------------
*** FINITO ***
--------------
WARNING! SPOILERS FOLLOW!
(Don't read this if you want it to be a surprise): After Greedy takes
his 10th lump, the moment is captured in a cinematic slow as the screen becomes
letterboxed (ooh, how Spielburgian! No, that's synonymous with 'crappy', isn't
it? Sorry...). To ensure the possibility of a sequal, Greedy scrapes himself
up from the floor & makes a convenient escape alongside his accomplice & that
strongarmed mech you tore up on Automaton. The ship begins to self-destruct &
Ristar finds himself trapped. Lucky for him, though, a star handle appears,
giving him a split-second or two to escape the wreckage himself. The kid
squeals out a barely audible "Hasta la vista, baby" & the ship, well, what
do YOU think? There's a nice series of Ristar animations & postcard-esque
artwork that accentuates the initial credits screen, then a somewhat
clunky-looking rotating galaxy that accompanies the U.S. credits. And of
course, Ristar finds his pop, who's a full 20x times larger than the tyke
himself (I tell you, either Ristar is the youngest mascot game hero EVER or
puberty for the Ristarian species must be one helluva bitch). To give you an
idea of his size, all you actually see of the guy is his arms, & they take up
about 1/4th the screen themselves! Don't ask me how Greedy managed to capture
this behemoth but let himself fall to a puny little bugger like Rise... Oh, &
after all of this, you'll be awarded passwords for all of the treasures you've
collected. Don't worry about this, though, because this is covered in the next
section...
-----------------
*** PASSWORDS ***
-----------------
"Ristar" doesn't use passwords as most games do (i.e.complete a
round & get a code for it), & I to this day can't can't figure out why. I guess
it's kind of original for the game to give them out after you've won, but
still, I don't much care for getting half a password just because I missed a
treasure that was nearly impossible to reach in the first place. It really
doesn't matter, though. Thanks to Nick "I only know two adjectives" Rox & the
staff at Die Hard Game Fan, I've got 'em all anyways! I think. Here goes...
AGES- About as helpful as those "About" files in Microsoft programs. Just says
(C) 1995 SEGA ENTERPRISES or something & that's it.
DOFEEL- "Sonic CD"-style "Time Attack" mode. See how quickly you can rip thru
bonus rounds in this one. The Sega game counselor staff have posted their best
times for each, & believe me, they're as hard to beat as "Soul Asylum" albums
are to listen to. I've come within a second & a half of the 4-1 record, though.
ILOVEU- The elusive round select! Practice on tough stages & bonus with this
very handy code. This is also the code that the CPU teases you with if you've
collected just 10 (?) treasures.
MAGURO- A booby prize code if ever there was one. With this, you can alter the
music in the BGM selection screen much like Awaunek would. Loads of fun there.
MUSEUM- Fight all eight bosses in what's called a "Boss Rush" mode. My best
time here is about 12 minutes & 3 seconds- the CPU record is set at 30 mins.
SUPER- Rediculously hard difficulty setting. Ristar croaks at one hit, & there
are absolutely NO stars to pick up. Mercifully, this code also comes with the
ability to use unlimited continues (you'll need 'em with one life per credit!).
XXXXXX- Any codes entered will be erased- no more shutting off the system for
the same effect! Waahoo!!!
Well, that's it. I hope this FAQ was of some help to all you "Ristar"
fans out there (there better be more than just Jeff & myself!), and here's to
hoping that Sega's got a sequal planned (not on that idiotic 32X, either. I
like "Ristar", but not enough to put me through THAT kind of torture...). Oh,
I almost forgot... an extra special 'Domo Arigato' goes out to the rental est-
ablishments that made this possible for someone as cheap as myself; great
places like "Blockbuster Video" (hey, Ara & Ben... if you hate the place so
much, why don't you complain to the CEO about it?! He's got an unlisted number,
after all...) and Rick O'Shea's (that's his real name! I swear!!!) 'Hometown
Entertainment ', the oasis in the desert of video game rentals that is
Edmore, MI. If you're desperate to talk to me (and who isn't? HA! I kill
me!!!), my phone number is (517) 427-5205. Well, that's it. Time to wring the
sweat from my underwear (air conditioning...must...have...air conditioning...),
so I best be going. See you on the flip side (of a 3 1/2" disk or CD-ROM!?
How?)!!!
[End of file]
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