From tsr@www.komkon.org (|tsr) Meldac NES-51-USA Zombie Nation(tm) --- Introduction 1999. What appeared to be a harmless meteorite crashing in the Nevada desert has turned out to be Darc Seed, an evil alien creature with horrible powers. By shooting strange magnetic rays, Darc Seed had turned the helpless nation into zombies and had brought the Statue of Liberty to life to do his dirty work. These rays had also given him control over many deadly weapons, but none were more powerful than the legendary samurai sword, Shura. When the great head of the samurai, Namakubi, heard that the sword had fallen into evil hands, he set off immediately for the United States. For only he possessed the strength and knowledge needed to recapture the magical sword and free the U.S. from the evil clutches of Darc Seed. Game description Namakubi, the great head of the samurai, has used his mystical powers to transport a fierce holographic representation of his head to the United States to liberate the zombie population from Darc Seed. The only way to break Darc Seed's powerful spell is to destroy everything in sight including buildings, mountains, oil refineries, weapons, renegade zombie soldiers, and any other creatures that are doing his evil bidding. Once a particular object in a given area has been successfully destroyed (for example; a building), liberated zombie hostages will appear. By rescuing these hostages, Namakubi's power will increase and he will have a greater chance of reaching his ultimate test; the final battle with Darc Seed. --- How to use the controller Stage Select Screen Control Pad: Push to select Rounds I, II, III, or IV. SELECT Button: Push to choose between the Easy and Hard Modes of play. START Button: Press to begin the game. Game Screen A Button: Push to fire the smart bomb when in the special attack mode. B Button: Push to fire projectiles from Namakubi's eyes and mouth. START Button: Push to start, pause, and continue the game. SELECT Button: Not used. Control Pad: Push to move Namakubi to the right, left, up, and down. --- How to play the game The object of Zombie Nation is to break Darc Seed's evil zombie spell by destroying everything in a given area, rescuing as many zombie hostages as possible, and avoiding all enemy fire. You begin the game in the Normal Attack Mode. In this mode, you can fire single projectiles from Namakubi's head by pressing the B Button. The game's action moves progressively to the right of the screen and you control Namakubi's movement on the screen by pressing the Control Pad up, down, right, or left. Zombie Nation takes place in the following four areas of the United States: Round I: New York City Round II: The Grand Canyon Round III: The Oil Fields of Texas Round IV: The Underground Caverns of the North Central U.S. Rounds I-III are comprised of two stages followed by a final battle with one of Darc Seed's boss monsters. Round IV consists of one main stage followed by a boss monster battle stage. If you successfully clear all four stages, you enter into single combat with Darc Seed. You can begin the game in any one of the four areas by pressing the Control Pad during the Stage Selection Screen to highlight your desired choise. Then press the SELECT Button to choose between the Easy and Hard game play modes and press the START Button to begin the round. The game will advance in an automatic order from round to round starting with the area you choose to begin with. For example, if you begin in area III, the game will progress in order to areas IV, I, and II. Enemy Characters Namakubi must defeat a wide range of enemy characters as he battles his way through the hostile terrain. These enemies can be human or they can be other dangerous objects including the following: - Zombie Snipers - Attack Helicopters - Jet Fighters - Killer Fire Birds - Renegade Tanks - Deadly Zeppelins - Zombie Soldiers - Water Snakes - Nuclear Missiles - Lava Monsters - Drone Robots --- Boss Monsters At the end of each stage, Namakubi must defeat one of Darc Seed's Boss Monsters in order to advance to the next round. Round I: The Head of Medusa Darc Seed's evil power has brought this ancient symbol of evil back to life. If Namakubi is touched by her scorching flame or poisonous crystal bullets, he will die instantly. Round II: Atlas Darc Seed has brought this legendary figure to life to carry out his wicked plans. Not only can this enormous, muscular giant attack Namakubi with flying shoulder tackles, he can also hurl huge axes with deadly accuracy. Round III: The Nuclear Plant Darc Seed has brought this American nightmare to life. A mobile nuclear power plant that stands over 10,000 feet high. The only way to destroy it is by fighting your way along this dangerous platform and neutralizing the lump of plutonium in the very back of the plant. Round IV: The Venusian Snakes Darc Seed brought these slimy creatures all the way from Venus to terrorize the people of the U.S. The Venusian Snakes fire paralyzing venom bullets while slithering quickly around the screen. Be extra careful with these beasts, because even their carcasses are deadly to the touch. Their only weak point is the head, and if you try to attack from the tail, they will be able to move faster. The Final Battle: Darc Seed After you have survived all four rounds and defeated the powerful Boss Monsters, you must face the ultimate challenge: single combat with Darc Seed. This alien can manipulate strange crystals through telepahy. It is mesmerizing to watch, but most deadly if you let your guard down for an instant. --- The Display Screen The Display Screen, which is located below the Game Screen, contains all the vital information for the game. Life Gauge Rescue Meter Weapon Level The Life Gauge The Life Gauge shows Namakubi's energy level. You begin each roung with eight heads. As Namakubi is hit by enemy fire or passes through Darc Seed's powerful magnetic rays, the heads will begin to turn into skulls (the magnetic rays are far more devastating than other enemy weapons). The round is over when all the heads have turned into skulls. You can increase your energy level by reaching certain score levels as shown below: Points # of heads 10,000 3 20,000 3 30,000 3 40,000 3 50,000 4 60,000 4 70,000 4 80,000 5 90,000 5 When your energy has been used up, you have the option to continue the game from the last stage you were on. You start the game with six continue options. However, as you clear each stage (including Boss Enemy screens) an additional continue option is added (Note: you can only gain a maximum of nine continue options at any time). The Rescue Meter When you destroy a given object such as a building, zombie hostages will be hurled screaming into the air. To rescue them, Namakubi must touch them before they hit the ground. When Namakubi reacues his first hostage, the Rescue Meter will show a human form in the first position of the meter. As he rescues successive hostages, the human form will advance to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th positions on the meter. When Namakubi rescues his 5th hostage, he will activate Double Rapid Fire and the Rescue Meter will clear. If Namakubi recues an additional 5 hostages (ie. a total of 10), Triple Rapid Fire will be activiated and the Rescue Meter will clear again. When Namakubi rescues his third group of 5 hostages (ie. a total of 15), the Smart Bomb will be activated. This awesome device is launched by pressing the A Button and instantly destroys all enemy characters on the screen. (Note: The Smart Bomb can only be used once after which you will return to the Normal Attack Mode). --- Game Tips About Lightning and Laser Beams When Namakubi is hit by a lightning bolt or laser beam, his energy is reduced to 1/8 of its current level. The energy level will continue to be reduced to 1/8 of its current level for each subsequent hit, but will never reach zero. However, once Namakubi is hit by one lightning bolt or laser beam, he will die if hit by an enemy or enemy fire no matter how weak they are. HInts for completing Round III. Be careful when battling the Mobile Nuclear Power Plant. This battle takes place in a maze-like environment. If you get stuck in the lower portion of the maze, you will be unable to escape. Also, destroying the plutonium core at the end of the maze requires 40 direct hits! ---