MANUAL FOR THE NES GAME : VINDICATORS by Tengen, Inc. (c) 1988 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ascii text manual scanned and edited by Martin Nielsen 1997 This manual can be found on NES WORLD - http://www-kvu.ah.dk/~i1q (E-Mail: d0p@sofi.ah.dk) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- OBJECT OF THE GAME/GAME DESCRIPTION: The year is 2525 and the planet Earth is in peril. Its destructiun is imminent unless you stop an attacking force of evil alien space stations. Riding inside Vindicators, the most powerful battle tanks ever created, you must infiltrate each station and destroy its control center. Roam every level of each station in search of fuel, battle stars (used to costomize your tank) and keys (to leave a level and enter the next) - all the while repelling fierce couriter attacks by enemy tanks, turrets, mines and flying saucers. PROBLEMS? We recommend that you read this instruction booklet to learn and master the operation of this game. By doing so you'll have hours and hours of fun with your family and friends! Should you have any further problems or questions about playing this game or any of Tengen's games, please call a Tengen game counselor at (408) 433-3999 Monday through Friday from 8:30AM - 6:OOPM Pacific Time. PRECAUTIONS: 1. This is a high precision game. It should not be stored in places that are very hot or cold. Never hit or drop it. Do not take it apart. 2. Avoid touching the connectors, do not get them wet or dirty. Doing so may damage the game. 3. Do not clean with benzene, paint thinner, alcohol or other such solvents. Note: In the interest of product improvement, specifications and design are subject to change without prior notice. VINDICATORS: TM Atari Games; (c) 1988 Tengen, Inc. Nintendo and Nintendo Entertainment System are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTROL FUNCTIONS Vindicators is for one or two players. Plug your controllers into Ports 1 and 2. Control Pad : To move Select : Switch between special weapons (Smart Shots and Bomb Cannons) Start : Start/Pause Button B : Shoot normal weapon Button A : Shoot special weapon Forward __ | | ____| |____ Left |____ ____| Right | | |__| Backward Your normal weapon is a regular shot. Your special weapons are Smart Shots and Bomb Cannons. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GAME For one or two players, this exciting science-fiction game challenges you to wipe out 14 alien space stations with Vindicators, the battle thank of choice in the far-flung future. Start the game by customizing your Vindicators. Once you've infiltrated a station, your mission is to locate and destroy its control center. Enemy resistance is strong as every level of the multi-level station is equipped with turrets, mines and other booby traps. You must also defeat highly mobile enemy tanks and flying sausers that constantly patrol the aliens' fortifications. Your fuel supply is very volatile. Constantly replenish your fuel by picking up fuel canisters at the many levels of each station. Pick up Battle Stars along the way which you can use to "buy" the following: * Tank speed fuel - You need both speed and fuel to stay alive. * Increased shot range - Allows you to shot an enemy from a greater distance * Increased shot power - Packs more wallop to your regular shots. * Force shields - For greater protection so your tank can take more hits without being destroyed. * Smart Shots - A special weapon that can track any type of enemy on the screen, except mines and electric towers. * Bomb Cannons - A special weapon that's much more powerful than regular shots. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENEMY ARMORED VEHICLES * Aggressor - This deadly tank tracks you and, once it locks on, followss you relentlessly. * Darter - Tracks and approaches in a darting motion, then backs up and darts again. * Orbiter - Tracks and circles around you in partial orbits, attacks, then circles once more in a random circular direction. * Hovercraft - By far the most mobile and dangerous due to its fire power. Its bahavior is similar to the Aggressor, but it can hover. * Saucers - Can only be destroyed with Smart Shots. ENEMY BOSSES Enemy bosses guard doorways between levels of each space station. * Sentry Robot - Easily defeated with bombs. * Skull Sentry - Smart Shots are handy to stay out of it's range but bombs are most effective. * GunGun - Use a combination of bomb, shield and shot power to defeat GunGun. Or find a spot that GunGun cannot hit you but which lets you shoot bombs. This second method takes longer since your bombs lose some effectiveness. * Mega-Brain - Weaken first with smart shots. then it can be defeated like GunGun, especially if you shoot at its eyeballs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- HINTS FOR GAME PLAY * Force Shields reduce fuel loss. * Pick up keys to leave one level and enter the next level of a space station * the control center is also known as the Bonus Room. Pick up as many objects as possible before the clock runs down and the room blows up. If you don't exit in time, your fuel level is cut in half. * If you shoot the other player's tank, you'll transfer from fuel to him * Some alien forces can only be destroyed by using special weapons (Smart Shots and Bomb Cannons) * Objects may be found under turrets. * The amount of fuel per fuel tank varies according to difficulty level. The easy level gives you 6 fuel units, the medium, 5, and the hard, 4. The maximum you can amass is 40 fuel units. * Purchase screen: Once Shot Power is maximized, it becomes Shot Speed. Smart Shots/Bomb Cannons are selectable at any time. * For Enemy Bosses, weaken them first with Smart Shots, then attack as quickly as possible with bombs. Try storming Enemy Bosses with at least 20 shields, 20 to 30 bombs, and full shot power. By spreading thee Smart Shots, you can maximize the effectiveness of the bombs. EOF