/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ z o m b i e R E V E N G E by SEGA a less-than-definitive, arcade and kinda Dreamcast FAQ by Mav (c) 2000 email: web_tester226@yahoo.com \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Version 0.99 NOTE: As with all Internet FAQs, this FAQ is protected under international copyright law. Reproducing this FAQ in any manner, shape or form without the express permission of the author is strictly prohibited. This FAQ is intended as a guide to help interested and would-be interested Zombie Revenge players towards better progress, higher scores, longer playing times, and hopefully more fun! And don't forget, it's only a game... Version History, Etc.-- v0.5 -- 7/23/2000: Liftoff/creation date of my first, albeit somewhat "incomplete" Zombie Revenge FAQ. More updates to come if I forget something, have new insights, new techniques, or defeat that annoying two-part second-to-last boss on the weirdy floating small lighted platform so as to go on, face Zed in his two forms, and finally finish the game. 8/8/2000: Recently played Zombie Revenge three or so times after a 6-8 week hiatus to refresh my memory about move names, cinema info, game strategy. Somewhat dismayed at the decay of my performance from being away from ZR for a while :), but getting back up to 100%. 8/9/2000 -- v0.5 complete! Wow I wrote a lot :P. 8/21/2000 (pre-"Game Day" report :P): I'm backkkkkk! To Zombie Revenge, that is. I'll try to play the game using Linda and Rikiya to get you more accurate info on attacks, damage, combo abilities, and character strategies. As for finishing the game, I'm contemplating swallowing my pride and using continues *gasp* to see this FAQ to the very end...but maybe not yet... (post-"Game Day" report): Arrghhh! It is with great regret that I inform you that (yeah I know I said "that" twice) I returned to the arcade only to see Zombie Revenge gone! I'm afraid for good, too. And some of the replacement games are very questionable. Ah, fate :P. What do I do now...get good at fighting games?!?? (Which I've never been much good at, and thus aren't too crazy about, incidentally) Why arcades remove the games I like, beats me. I guess Zombie Revenge wasn't getting enough quarters or something. But to replace a 1999 3-D kick-butt action game with some 1990 2-D side-scrolling ripoff of Street Fighter and Fatal Fury that probably plays like garbage...that's just wrong :( :P. Well, this basically means that since Zombie Revenge is no longer at the arcade (and the only other place I found it also replaced it with...a fighting game) the FAQ can never truly be completed, since I can't pass the game or play any of the other characters now. The next update to this FAQ will be titled "v0.99" in "commemoration" of the cool game that got away :P. 8/26/2000 -- updated v0.99 complete. Too bad it doesn't look like I'll ever get to v1.0... Added a "Playing Screen" section... after realizing that I made readers infer that there were life bars, weapons, time limits, scores, etc. :P... for the sake of completeness. Includes numerous typographical/grammatical/formatting/whatever corrections, and more of the longwinded commentary and extraneous thoughts (including a few reflecting on the recent disappearance of Zombie Revenge from the local arcade) that makes this FAQ a nightmare to download on anything less than a broadband connection :P. Minor updates may be added later. ***Advance thanks to BLui, who helped inspire me to write this FAQ, and whose GameFAQ got me started in Zombie Revenge! His FAQ also helped fill in some blanks for the move names, combos, holding moves, and Act names where my memory fails me. S E C T I O N S ------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction/Disclaimer II. The Story III. "Select Players...": Stick, Linda and Rikiya 1. Stick Breitling 2. Linda Rotta 3. Rikiya Busujima IV. The Playing Screen V. Moves List 1. Basic Moves 2. Advanced Moves 3. Advanced Gunplay 4. Basic Combo Moves 5. Advanced Combo Moves 6. Advanced Fighting Techniques 7. Higher Scores Through Cool Combos 8. A Note on Zombie Poison 9. A Note on Two-Player Games VI. Items and Weapons 1. Pickups 2. Special Weapons VII. Walkthrough Part I: Woodside City Part II: Edward Street Part III: Industrial Sewage Plant Part IV: Chemical Plant Part V: South Union Railway Part VI: Cassandra Part VII: Mount Sacrifice Part VIII: The House of the Dead Part IX: The Dawn VIII. Helpful Hints, Closing Thoughts, Mysteries of the Game, and Other Stuff IX. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction/Disclaimer Here begins my first attempt at an arcade FAQ (though the FAQ might also be helpful for Zombie Revenge players on Dreamcast's Arcade Mode), and very first Internet FAQ of anything, really. Hope you find it helpful, or at least amusing and entertaining to read. Heck, I think it's fun to read through FAQs of great games I'll never even play :). There's lots of great FAQ writers out there! Zombie Revenge is really a great game, though it might take some time getting used to. (e.g. slight control problems) This FAQ also goes out to all the can-do gamers who've seen the game, watched others play it, and decided to pop in those quarters and give it a spin, to HECK with the humiliation of being a beginner! Trust me, I sure felt nervous as heck before I finally mustered up the courage to begin my video game quest against Zed and his minions of evil. It's not over yet, but I DO have a firm hold on the top score board...and if I can do it, so can you! Of course, no FAQ or guide of any kind can replace the experience you get from playing the game for yourself. At the very least, I'd like it if this FAQ could help gamers who like the game, but can't get past the first boss (yep, he's a real doozy in the early going), or gamers who'd like to get to the next levels, or gamers who'd like to refine their techniques and kick their scores up a notch (props to Emeril Lagasse), etc... Which brings me to the obligatory "Disclaimer" section. First off, sorry if my FAQ reads like a novel. This FAQ will attempt to tell you _everything_ I know about playing the game. But heck, maybe you'll warm to my rambling yet conversational style :P. Please refer to my quick reference guides if you just wanna know the moves first. As for the items and weapons...there's just too many to put in a quick reference chart :). Second, I apologize if my FAQ starts sounding kinda know-it-all with all the add-ons, heads-up notes and do's and don'ts that I'm bound to start adding as I get this FAQ on the road. Be forewarned: I think lotsa folks might find my playing style a bit...weird ;), but I think going for the combos and fancy plays is one of the reasons we play games in the first place -- to get the high scores! (if not win the affection of members of the opposite sex [maybe not], get bystanders oohing, aahing, and swarming to see your bad self kick major zombie booty, and so on...oops, I'm rambling again) Third, as I hinted to on the "splash page," this FAQ is in no way meant to be the definitive way to get ahead in Zombie Revenge. This FAQ is written from a single-player point of view and my own style of playing, since I don't normally play with other players (unlike in Area 51 -- 2 1/2 hour one-credit glory days and glory plays, not to mention super- sore wrists, Entity, you bonus hogger); the only player I really play is Stick Breitling; I haven't passed the game, though I'll wager I'm the best (Zombie Revenge) player at my local arcade; many times I go for points over safety and survival; I don't always get to the same level with my plays; etc. If my strats don't work for you, try your own! Well enough of the build-up, here comes the FAQ! Hope you enjoy it! ************************************************************* II. The Storyline (fictional, of course) A government experiment to "recycle" the dead for military use has gone horribly wrong, and an entire city has already fallen to its ravages. It's now crawling with zombies. As it seems, foul play and sabotage by a mysterious figure named Zed are responsible for the mayhem. Of course, it's up to the forces of good (you) to stop this madman. Basically, you, as one of three elite AMS agents, have been assigned to single- (or double-) handedly foil the evil Zed's plot to raise an army of horrifying undead soldiers which would surely take over the earth...if you didn't stand in their way. (See BLui's FAQ for the actual in-game text) If that weren't enough, you have a set time limit with which you must complete a stage, or a demon of destruction will swoop in and finish you off! Now that you know what you've gotta do, it's time to save the world! ------------------------------------------------------------- III. "Select Players...": Stick, Linda and Rikiya 1. Stick Breitling Character Info: Stick Breitling is a early-to-mid 20s AMS agent who has the most personal involvement with Zombie Revenge's (ZR's) zombie crisis. It seems his parents were also scientists who worked on the mysterious government project which has since backfired. Aside from the moral struggles that must surely come about from his parents' indirect involvement in this disaster and knowing what source material was used for the experiments, Stick must now face a neverending undead horde. Analysis: In my humble opinion, Stick Breitling is THE character to use in the game. He is ideal for beginners and I would probably say all players. Stick is a well-balanced player with a nice variety of useful moves, pretty good footspeed, and most importantly, the quickest if not most powerful melee attacks. He is _most_ definitely the go-to guy if you're looking for the highest scores (more on that later). His handgun, which all characters have as a default weapon, is the "weakest" of the characters, but is still plenty good enough. 2. Linda Rotta Character Info: The lovely Linda Rotta is the youngest AMS agent, being barely into her 20s, and may or may not have a romantic connection with Stick (we'll never really know, but isn't that the way it always is?). Despite outward appearances, she is not a character to be underestimated. Used properly, she is a force to be reckoned with. Analysis: Linda's primary advantage would be that of speed. She is the most nimble of the characters and has the fastest dash. Unfortunately, her superior footspeed does not carry over to her melee ability. Her hand-to-hand combat attacks are for the most part very slow and not very powerful, which can at times lead to vulnerable moments. However, it seems in gameplay demos and BLui's FAQ that these attacks are quite maneuverable, allowing Linda to handle more than one zombie at once. In any case, her slower and weaker melee attacks are somewhat compensated for by her superior firing speed of the handgun. I repeat: Firing SPEED. She won't lock on any faster, or do any more damage. I would recommend only advanced players use her. 3. Rikiya Busujima Character Info: This mysterious Japanese AMS agent, in his 30s, bears numerous scars and even a metallic mesh that partly grafts his face! At the same time, however, his melee attacks reflect possible "enhancements" that improve his ability to battle the minions of Zed. Although he speaks only Japanese, Stick and Linda, who are also fluent in Japanese, can easily communicate with him. (Don't worry, everything spoken in the game is subtitled anyway). Analysis: Rikiya's defining attribute seems to be raw power, although this is debatable from my limited experience using him. His attacks are somewhat faster than Linda's, but not nearly as fast as Stick's. His standby basic combo, however, ends in two short-range but wide-arcing attacks that can really hurt multiple enemies at once. Rikiya is the slowest of the characters, although his dashing speed seems to match Stick's. Rikiya's additional advantage is his more powerful handgun, which not only looks bigger, but can also finish a job in 2 shots whereas Stick or Linda would require 3. All of his moves are fun to pull off and watch, and quite over-the-top, but I wouldn't choose Rikiya until passing the game or getting good with using Stick first. Note: To select alternate costumes for the characters (thanks to BLui for the tip), simply depress and hold the start/play button and then press any of the other three buttons to begin (you can let go as soon as your character is chosen) ------------------------------------------------------------- IV. The Playing Screen The screen/character interface for Zombie Revenge is very simple and straightforward. Your character's essential info will be displayed in the top left corner of your screen if playing solo, or the top right corner of your screen if playing as a second player. Right next to your character's picture is a test tube positioned horizontally (thanks to BLui for pointing this out) filled with yellowish liquid. This is your life bar, which will decrease as you take hits from enemies, projectiles and obstacles. If your life bar runs out, it's game over...with one possible exception :). Underneath your life bar is an image of a handgun, the default ranged weapon for all characters. To the right of this is the number of bullets remaining in the loaded clip (represented by little bullets). A fully loaded clip holds 10 shots. To the right of the bullets remaining indicator are little bullet clips, which represent the number of spare clips you're carrying at the present time. As you empty your loaded clip one spare clip will disappear from your reserve while you reload. You can carry up to 5 spare clips. Underneath the handgun info display will pop up special weapons displays with the image of the weapon you have and the ammo it has left, if applicable. In the top center of the screen is your time counter. Make sure you clear each scene within the time remaining, as you can't extend or freeze the time counter! Or else... Under the time indicator appear any special items you might come across and collect, such as a diskette, a flashlight, a weapons bag, or an elixir. These items are automatically used/activated when the need arises or at certain times. Finally, at the bottom left or bottom right corner of the screen, again depending on if you're playing solo or 2-player, is the all-important score. Don't be scared of the fact that there's EIGHT numerical placeholders...I've barely been able to break 300,000, much less 99,999,999 :P. Go for the highest score you can! In the middle of all of this is where the action takes place. Awesome 3-D graphics, character models, animation, etc., from a basically third- person perspective...you get the idea :). Now that we know our interface, let's proceed to the moves list. ------------------------------------------------------------- IV. Moves List 1. Basic Moves On the ZR arcade cabinets there are three buttons: Guard (G), Punch (P) and Shoot (S), from left to right. O O --->| O P O | G S joystick, moves character in all directions ------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK REFERENCE: Basics Joystick -- move, hold in a direction to climb up/jump down from low- level platforms G: makes your player guard P: makes your character punch S: fires one shot from your handgun Dash: Press G while moving Roll: Press G and P while standing still Clear Out Attack: Press G, P and S at once Dash Attack: Press P or S while dashing Charged Physical Attack: Press and hold P for about one second and then let go Charged Handgun Attack: Press and hold S for about three seconds, wait for player animation ready position, and let go Guard Break: Press P rapidly just after blocking an attack Attacking Fall: Hit G, P or S just as you are being hit by an attack (when you're not blocking) Fall Recovery: Press P rapidly after falling Back Attack: Press G and S at the same time ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK REFERENCE: Combos and Holding Moves Basic Combos (button presses must be fairly quick): Stick: 1. Press P 5 times or P rapidly until combo finishes 2. P, P, S Linda: 1. P, P, P while joystick is neutral 2. P, P, P while holding joystick towards enemy 3. P, S, P, P Rikiya: 1. P, P, P, P or P rapidly until combo finishes 2. P, S, S, S Holding Moves (performed after pressing and holding P briefly; you must hit zombie with the button press; zombie cannot be facing too far away from you; see following section for more details) Stick: 1. Press P 3 times or rapidly while joystick is neutral 2. Press S 3 times or rapidly 3. Press P 3 times or rapidly while holding joystick towards opponent Linda: 1. Press P 3 times or rapidly while holding joystick towards opponent 2. Press S 3 times or rapidly while holding joystick towards opponent 3. Press S 3 times or rapidly while joystick is neutral Rikiya: 1. Press P 3 times or rapidly while joystick is neutral 2. Press S rapidly and continuously while joystick is neutral 3. Press S rapidly and continuously while holding joystick towards opponent ------------------------------------------------------------- --Guard Guard is one of the most essential functions in getting through Zombie Revenge, although it may not be often used. Shortly after pressing and _holding_ Guard (Caution: there is a slight lag before your guard is really up), your character will assume a defensive position where you are currently facing. He/she can then block all manner of attacks so long as they are headed directly at you (with some small degree of error). Guard will help you deflect punches, swipes, grabs, electric bolts, zombie spit, lunges, and more for only a fraction of the cost of life than if you took the attack full-on, or unsuccessfully tried to run from an attack that's just too fast (e.g. one tick of life vs. 1/3 or WORSE). You can even block many boss attacks. You will almost always take a little damage, but you can take a ton of blocked hits as opposed to only a handful of unblocked hits, depending on the zombies you're facing. Guard also has more advanced defensive uses. Of course, guarding has its limitations, as it should since many fighting games of this type don't allow for blocking, especially with a dedicated button. Guard will help you block many attacks, but not ALL of them (don't worry, I'll try to make the unblockables very clear). You can only successfully block attacks that don't come in from too far of an angle from where you are presently guarding. You certainly can't block an attack from behind. Your guard will probably break down if more than one zombie is attacking you. Also, you can't move to adjust while your guard is up. However, you can drop your guard immediately at any time to continue moving. --Punch When weaponry won't do the trick (and in many situations it won't), one must resort to fists and feet. Luckily all three characters are quite capable of melee combat, if in varying degrees and styles. Press the Punch button when facing an enemy to, well, throw a punch. Stringing multiple and fast presses of the P button (and P followed by the S button in various combo presses) allows for your bread-and-butter basic combos, as a single jab does next-to-no damage to a normal zombie, although it will stun them. P can also be used for advanced tactics. --Shoot While melee attacks are great and all, perfect for getting physical with the undead, there will be many times when charging in just won't work. Either the zombie will be spitting projectiles at you from afar, multiple zombies will be headed your way, getting close is much too dangerous, or punches will go over the zombie's head (especially those that are short or crawling). That's when the default handgun weapon, activated by the Shoot button, comes in. Pressing S will fire one bullet at the enemy. However, effective use the default handgun requires the proper technique. You aim the handgun at one zombie at a time, and at a close enough range a blue spherical sight will appear, signifying that you're locked on. You can lock-on to a target from a good distance away. You can certainly shoot and hit now, but damage will be very limited. Emptying your clip at the zombie in this manner (with just a blue-sight lock, or, in other words, not taking the time to aim) will get up to a 10-hit combo, but will do VERY little damage, while you have to reload, draining your precious supply of ammo and leaving you vulnerable in the process (chances are the zombie will continue right on towards you). By keeping your sight trained on your target zombie, your handgun will power up, the sight turning from blue to yellow to orange and finally red as you take careful aim at your target, where it will do the most damage with only one bullet. This feature is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! The gun also has a secondary function. 2. Advanced Moves Moving around, blocking, punching and shooting alone will serve you well through the early part of the game. However, more advanced moves will enhance your character's ability, get you farther in the game, and ultimately improve your ZR gaming. These moves are the Dash, Roll, Clear Out Attack, and the Dash Attack, Charge-Up Punch, Charge-Up Handgun attack, Guard Break, Attacking Fall, and Fall Recovery...oh, and the Back Attack (silly me). What you get is a surprising amount of gameplay and character depth with the use of only three buttons. --The Dash The Dash should definitely be one of most frequently used "advanced" moves. Not only will your character move much faster, so as to get out of harm's way, charge into the fray, etc., you will be able to burst out of the dash into the all-important Dash Attack! Execute the Dash by simply walking your character in any direction, and while doing so press the Guard (G) button. He/she will be able to run for a considerable amount of time (about 2 seconds) so long as you do not stop running. The Dash can be started very easily over time as you learn to hit the Guard button immediately after moving. While you don't turn corners so well when Dashing, you can instantly stop the Dash by letting go of the joystick to its neutral position. After that, you can immediately do something else, or start the Dash again. In this manner you could practically Dash as long as you want with almost no stops. --The Roll The Roll is another useful move which will make your character execute a roll by pressing the Guard and Punch (G and P) buttons at the same time while you are NOT moving. Rolling can be used to quickly move a short distance to get out of harm's way. It even inflicts a small amount of damage on any enemies it hits (even those on the ground or knocked to the ground), and it can be performed 2 or 3 times in a row. However, excessive Rolling will drastically reduce the speed of the Roll, rendering it quite useless in battle, and the slow Roll will not hit enemies, so try to use it sparingly. The Roll also has advanced applications to help extend combos! --The Clear Out Attack If you've seen most beat 'em up games in the style of Final Fight, you're probably quite familiar with the Clear Out Attack. Hitting all three buttons at once (G, P and S) will cause your character to spin wildly in place, arms out, turning you around 180 degrees and knocking down all nearby normal zombies. To my knowledge every zombie hit by this attack will suffer the rough damage equivalent of a fully powered handgun shot. The Clear Out Attack's biggest limitation, of course, is that it takes your lifebar to execute. Most of the time. Occasionally you can pull it off for free, but the occasions are rare and there is no pattern for it. The even BIGGER limitation is that as far as I know, it takes off the most life of any of the clear out moves of any game. I'm talking somewhere between 1/6 and 1/5 of your OWN life with a single clearout. And life-ups are not too easy to come by. Worse, if you accidentally clear out on an already defeated but still falling or un-disappeared foe, you will still suffer the large life deduction. Thus, use this attack VERY sparingly around your foes, and only when you're surrounded or absolutely must knock down the zombies fast (e.g. otherwise you eat two shotgun blasts, which will almost certainly wipe off your life bar). Also note that you can't execute clear out attacks if your lifebar is less than the life cost it would take to execute. However, you can execute the Clear Out Attack with impunity and with no cost to your lifebar as long as you don't hit a zombie/enemy with it :). Fine, you might say, but why on earth would I toss clear out attacks if there's no zombies around? For fun? To beat the stuffing out of thin air :P? Actually...the clear out attack is very useful, especially for getting to those hard-to-reach boxes (more on this later). The attack can be performed fairly quickly and as many times as you want to knock around things, knock DOWN items, and break open boxes and destructible barriers, etc. Besides, it looks cool and causes the screen to shake and stuff! --The Dash Attack This advanced move is executed by pressing either the P or S button while Dashing, and before your Dash is completed. This attack is extremely useful, though it does even LESS damage than the Roll, as it will knock down non-crawling normal zombies. This will give you all sorts of opportunities in terms of breathing space, focusing on one zombie at a time, shooting at a zombie while it's flat out on the ground for effectively free and safe damage, and so on. The even better news is that a good hit will knock down up to three zombies at once! Stick, Linda and Rikiya all have different Dash Attacks. Stick will Dash Attack with his left arm sweeping out in a limited arc before hitting home, allowing knockdowns with offset hits (the swinging left arm shadow, basically). Linda will leap in the air and come down with an overhead kick; unfortunately, her Dash Attack takes the longest to execute and needs excellent control and distance judgment to use. Rikiya will Dash Attack with both arms thrust straight forward, yelling out like the take-no-prisoners guy that he is, and appears to have an edge in terms of range. The Dash Attack does have some lag and recovery time after it's executed, but with practice you can execute a Dash Attack mere moments after your last one finishes up. How? Thanks to the responsive buttons on the ZR cabinet, you can start moving, hit G and almost immediately afterward hit P or S, launching from a stop into an instant Dash Attack if needed. Right after the Dash Attack ends (at least for Stick and Rikiya) you can repeat the process. (use your index and third finger to hit G then P or S in a quick left to right pressing motion for best results) --The Charge-Up Punch While I have yet to see any real use for the Charge-Up move, it does have its uses, and it's great for when you feel the need to show off, or let a Boss know that you simply can't be beat...even when using the charge-up move :P. The Charge-Up move is executed by holding down the P button for about a second, then letting go. NOTE: If you hit and hold P but hit a zombie, you will go into a holding move ready position and it will take much too long to execute a charge-up move if you can at all. Charge-Up moves vary. Stick will jump into the air with a quick double- kick, hitting a zombie twice and launching normal zombies into the air for possible juggle opportunities. In any case the move will knockdown. Linda will lunge a short distance forward with two quick and slightly arcing punches, possibly hitting multiple enemies but NOT knocking any down. Rikiya will raise his arms to concentrate his energy, then release it in a purplish blaze; the problem is, though, you can't move while charging Rikiya's move, the range is horrible, and I've never actually hit any zombie with it -- also, whether it knocks down is unknown to me. If you're ever really gonna use the Charge-Up move, you basically will need to throw a punch in the air and then move around while charging up for the attack, as hitting the zombie with that punch will begin a holding move combo since you're holding down the button after the hit (See Basic Combo Moves for details.). Still, you can immediately begin charging for another charge-up attack even as your first one is being pulled off, meaning for example that Stick can double kick a mere second after the first move so long as you press and hold the Punch button again while Stick executes the double kick. This does not apply to Rikiya though, I believe. --The Charge-Up Handgun Attack This move is also not always frequently used, but I find it much more useful than the Charge-up physical attack. I always use this move at least a couple times in every game :). Pressing and holding S will cause your character to enter a windup position for about 3 seconds before snapping back to the ready with their handgun drawn, ready to fire as soon as you release the S button. Releasing the S button will use up 5 bullets. So what? The resulting blast will shoot straight with a fairly wide blast radius, and deal a fully powered single shot's worth of damage on any zombie it hits, usually knocking down the normal zombies unless the shot merely grazes them (and even then it will still do full damage). Careful and skillful use of the charge-up handgun move will allow you to knock down multiple zombies bunched together in a single blast. Additionally, there's a little trick: you can still fire the full power charge up blast with less than 5 bullets in your clip! Just charge and fire as normal and your clip will be emptied and reloaded to the full 10 from your reserve. Also, unlike the guarding move, you can swivel in place slowly while in the charge-up handgun ready position to adjust your aim (use the joystick), but you will only be able to move left or right; your blast will always shoot straight from the shoulder and cannot be adjusted up or downwards. In the meantime, you will have to deal with the rather long startup time for the move. Still, you can cancel the windup anytime, and this move is great for knocking down zombies from a safer distance. You can move or fire again immediately after firing a charged blast. You might wonder, OK, so this cool move uses up 5 bullets after I end my windup. But I have to press S before I hold it, and I always have to use up a bullet, so I lose 6 bullets! The solution: Throw a punch first. Hit P, and then press and hold S very quickly afterward. After the punch, you will begin the windup with no wasted bullets. So you can still fire the charge-up with but one bullet left (and that can be very handy). --The Guard Break How can you tell if your Guard worked? Instead of seeing your character reel from a hit, you will instead see a purplish-bluish blocking light, and hear a blocking-type sound. Guard successful! But now what? Luckily, the Guard button can be used for more than just turtling. Right after you successfully guard from an attack, but not before, begin pressing the P button rapidly as you recoil slightly from the enemy's attack. You will then recover more quickly, crouch slightly, then charge forward with a short range shoulder dash. This move will knock down any zombie it hits, and do slight damage, allowing for great breathing room when dealing with a crowd. I do not recommend Guard Breaking against bosses. --The Attacking Fall Of course, not everything can be blocked, and sometimes your reflexes won't allow you to block either. Getting hit happens. But you do have limited recourse. By hitting either G, P or S just as you are hit, you will (hopefully) turn to face the enemy and fire four quick and fairly damaging shots back at the enemy as you fall. The connecting shots have a good chance of knocking down zombies. Being able to fall out of a zombie assault, firing as you fly backward, is often much better than reeling from a zombie attack, leaving you stunned and vulnerable to others. After you fall, you may also further retaliate with a recovery attack on the way up. This move is just about the hardest Advanced Move to execute, as it requires excellent timing (and who WANTS to get hit?) --The Fall Recovery When you fall, it will generally be because you successfully pulled off an Attacking Fall, got knocked down by the only trap crate I know of, got knocked down by the first boss, got absolutely floored by a shotgun blast, etc. In any case, you can recover with a feet-first charge at the enemy as you get back up by pressing the P button rapidly, rather than merely standing up. This will stun the zombie/s you hit. Do not use this move against Bosses, it usually does no good. --The Back Attack Now this move is pretty darn useful, at certain points. Pressing G and S at the same time will have your character execute an attack in back of them without turning around. This can of course be a good thing if you need to stop a zombie coming in from behind you. The attacks vary, but in general the range of the attack is quite decent, as in Stick's back kick, and the Back Attack can even be used towards combo strings :)...although it isn't the fastest move and doesn't do much damage. Fun for use in breaking down a paneled-up door and other objects "no-look" style. 3. Advanced Gunplay The handgun can be used for much more than hitting a zombie from far away for a small amount of damage. You can only have 60 bullets max at any one time, after all. It is quite integral to distance and even close-range gameplay! Firstly, the most important way to expand your handgun's potential is to conserve your bullets. Train your sight on a zombie (after you lock on, you will track the target so long as another doesn't get in range or in the way), letting the sight turn to red or as red as possible before firing. You will get far more damage from a single powered-up shot, and get the zombie bashing done much faster. Remember that you can also aim and fire shots at a fallen zombie, reducing its life bar or finishing it off before it gets back up. There are times, though, when rapidly firing off shots can also be useful (why wait for a red lock on a zombie that's almost done for?), so use your own judgment. Without getting into too much specifics at this point (I'll have gameplay examples later), your handgun can be used to 1) finish enemies more quickly at close range, and 2) even be used to string together combos! You will find after playing ZR several times that the closer you are to the zombie (or if the zombie is headed towards you), your sight will turn from blue to red much faster. If the zombie is practically right next to you, you can execute a full-powered single shot in less than a second! I don't consider this a bug or cheating at all since if you're so close to the zombie, you won't have much trouble aiming at it. While even a full-power handgun shot's damage isn't quite as high in comparison to that of most standard physical attack combos, you can reduce a zombie's lifebar by incredible amounts with relatively quick single charged shots up close. This is possible as most normal zombies do not attack you immediately after getting close, and also that the full power shot will often stun them or knock them back while you are already charging up for another red sight lock. Single shot lag is very low, and you can do practically anything not long after the shot is fired. Do experiment, but in a nutshell, using close-up shots followed- up with physical combos can do devastating damage, defeating a zombie even before it is knocked down! Secondly, experiment with the aiming feature of the handgun to string together really nice and long combos. You can finish off one zombie with punches and kicks, then turn to a fresh zombie and firing off a blue lock-on shot soon after, closing in quickly to extend the combo with further punches, handgun shots, or possibly a combination of both. 4. Basic Combo Moves Here's the Basic Combo moves for Stick, Linda and Rikiya: NOTE: In order to do the basic combos, you'll need to press the specified buttons fairly quickly, as the fighting system for combos is slightly time-delayed, where you press the buttons "in advance." Stick's Basic Combos: 1. Straight Flush -- Press P five times rapidly, or to eliminate the guesswork, just hit P until the knockdown punch :) Stick will execute four quick jabs, then a slight windup before finishing up with a knockdown punch from the opposite hand for a 5-hit combo. As the name of the move implies, Stick can really only advance in a straight line while performing this move. It does appear possible to refocus Stick on another opponent to finish the 5-hit chain IMMEDIATELY after the first hit, but I haven't gotten it down...it's either very hard to do or it's a random bug. Straight Flush is a very powerful basic combo which does not take long at all to execute as compared to Linda's and Rikiya's basic combos...however, it also happens to be the combo I use least often. Why? It's the slowest of Stick's two combos, and takes a bit longer to finish up than the Heel Thrash combo does. There also seems to be a longer recovery time after the knockdown punch. This wouldn't be so much of a problem given the high damage of the combo if it weren't for the fact that Stick covers a LOT of ground when doing the Straight Flush. Depending on the situation, this either means you'll combo straight into a group of enemies, or move too far away, or just generally move around too much. You'll probably feel a lack of control since Stick will be attacking in long segmented line patterns with this. Straight Flush, despite those disadvantages, happens to be just perfect for other uses. If you need damage quick, Straight Flush will do better than a Heel Thrash or fancy combo. Also, should you be lucky enough to run around to the backs of Bosses, you will not be able to keep them stunned WITHOUT continually hitting them with the Straight Flush (as many Bosses are pushed forward quite a bit when hit from the back). 2. Heel Thrash -- Press P, P, S fairly quickly. Stick will throw two quick jabs followed by a two-hit axe kick which knocks down, for four hits in total. While the combo counter will only acknowledge hit combos 5 and over, this can easily be remedied by _finishing up_ with the Heel Thrash, which only requires three button presses for four hits (less effort, hehe). This combo is also a no- worries combo as the axe kick will lock on to the enemy and will always connect. This combo is in my opinion THE best basic combo that Stick could use, with a few possible exceptions. Here's an estimated time comparison of Straight Flush and Heel Thrash: Straight Flush: Total combo time including recovery = 1.7-2.0 seconds Heel Thrash: Total time including recovery = 1.2-1.5 seconds In ZR, things can get really fast-paced in the heat of melee combat. Having a quicker basic combo, even one that's a _little_ quicker, can often times be critical to success! Heel Thrash does a little less damage than Straight Flush, but it's still plenty enough. I prefer using Heel Thrash as my basic combo as it executes a bit more quickly, has a lower recovery time, and most importantly, you more or less stand in place while the combo is executed! Thus you can stay in one place and dispatch zombies with precision. There are no real disadvantages to using Heel Thrash, except when you are in situations where covering ground with your attacks is important (and such occasions will arise). For example, bosses being hit in the back with Heel Thrash will likely recover as they are forced forward while you stay in place, so they can turn around and before you know it, you're in trouble again. Another problem with Heel Thrash is that you must commit to the 2-hit axe kick when you press P, P, S -- while the Straight Flush can be fully controlled and stopped simply by pressing P less than 5 times (See Advanced Combos for more details). All in all though, Heel Thrash is my preferred standby. Linda's Basic Combos: 1. Sunrise Uppercut -- Keep the joystick neutral and hit P, P, P. Linda will execute two punches and one uppercut. I'm pretty sure the combo is for three hits and not four. This combo is slow, has some recovery time, and does not do nearly as much damage as Stick's combos. It also doesn't knock down. The damage caused is about one fully powered handgun shot. There is possible combo potential since the zombie won't fall..._but_ I don't think Linda was intended as a combo character. 2. Heartbreaking Hurricane -- Hold the joystick towards your opponent and hit P, P, P. This move will cause Linda to execute toward two punches, the second hitting low, following up with a dragon punch-style rising double-fist hammer type thing (sorry, but it's best way I can describe it :P). I believe this combo does five hits in total. Again, not a very damaging combo, and rather slow, but this one does knock down. Since the zombie will fly kinda high after the hammer fist swing knockdown, you will be able to hit the downed zombie not long after you recover. 3. Stepping Kick -- Press P, S, P, P fairly quickly. Linda will perform a series of punches and kicks ending in a hop kick for five hits total. This combo will knock down (I think). The timing of the hits is a bit odd, but the combo is the fastest of Linda's moves. Just note that it's a fully preset combo though, for only one zombie at a time, and you have to wait for all five hits before you do anything else. If you want extended combos, this is probably the best combo to finish off with. The damage done is also somewhat higher than the above two combos. Of course this move is still rather slow compared to Stick's attacks. I don't have much experience using Linda, but I imagine her slower physical attacks don't fare as well against most Bosses. The solution would be to attack from a distance whenever possible with the handgun. Rikiya's Basic Combos: 1. Busujima Sonic Boom -- Press P four times quickly. Rikiya will punch once with each fist and then execute two wide arcing attacks with nifty accompanying swooshing sounds :) (oh yes, and those battle cries). The trick with these last two attacks is that any normal zombie caught in the attack radius will be hit and knocked down (given they take both hits). If you finish off a normal zombie with the swoosh attacks, they will neatly come apart at the waistline -- cool effect, but this also means you can't do any more combos on them... Damage for this move is very good, but as for being superior to Stick's Straight Flush, I'm don't think it's much better if at all. Disadvantages with this move are that it's kinda slow, with recovery time longer than Stick's moves. Rikiya also covers a fair amount of ground with this move (heck, even his regular jab moves him forward a bit). Also, I've seen other players attempt to use the radius attack advantage against large crowds and as a general rule, it doesn't work. My guess is the radius attack (which isn't 360 degrees) wasn't intended for that purpose given it's very short range. 2. Busujima Combo -- Press P, S, S, S fairly quickly. Rikiya will begin a three hit punch combo (it's kinda slow and involves turning backhands), start a long windup (yep, you won't get to extend the 3-hit after this), and unleash a rather flashy purple flaming energy backhand with energy trails that should connect for a 6-hit burst of a combo. Thus, it's 9 hits in all, though the best combo you'll get is 6. This combo does great damage, but it just so happens to be THE slowest basic combo in the game...hence no practical applications. Of course, if you want to show that near-gone last zombie who's boss, feel free to whip this one out of your bag of tricks. Stick, Linda and Rikiya also possess a variety of so-called "holding moves." Very flashy, but usually not very useful. So generally, you leave these moves for the very last zombie still in your way. All hold moves are performed by pressing P to hit a zombie, then KEEPING P held down for a short time after the hit connects. If you just tap P, it registers as a standard hit. You'll know it worked if the hit causes a rain of blue-white sparks, the character crouches backward into a ready position amidst some shading effects, and says "Take that!" or "Take this!" (or whatever funky yell Rikiya cries out :)), and you see a red console button that seems to demand you start button mashing right away. You can now start the holding move of your choice. Even if you didn't want to do a holding move, I suggest you pull one off quick -- you'll waste more time by not doing so and waiting for your character to leave the ready position. Stick: 1. Chest Crusher Theoretically, just keep the joystick neutral and press P, P, P. For better results hit P until the move starts. For BEST results don't STOP hitting P until the move is finished. Pure and simple. Stick does three nifty low gut punches, the last of which knocks down. It covers considerable ground and is fun to watch. The punches look powerful, but I'd be surprised if they do one powered- up handgun shot's worth of damage (so what the heck IS one powered-up handgun shot's worth of damage? See Walkthrough Part I for the "answer"). In short, a pretty weak holding move. However, it's also Stick's fastest holding move. This is the only holding move I know that can also be used to EXTEND/finish combos (requires quick timing), and man you look good when you do it to tack on three flashy hits. (e.g. to get from 17 to 20 hits in STYLE! :)) 2. Boomerang Kick Tapping S a few times is supposed to be enough. However, to ensure you get all the hits, just tap S throughout the combo. The windup is a bit long, so any combo you mighta been doing before is done with, but the end result is 3 quick high kicks, brief pause, 3 more quick high kicks, and a 2-hit front and reverse roundhouse kick that really SHOULD knock down after all that punishment. :) The end result: 8 hit-combo, the best you can get from this type of move (but trust me, if you like combos, flash and scoring, you can do MUCH better!). This is one of my favorite holding moves to do. Does supreme damage, the most of any preset-type combo, but sorta slow. 3. "Zombie Revenge" (OK, I made this name up ;)) Hold the joystick towards your opponent and hit P three times, but you know what I'd do by now :P. Stick gets MAD! Well, maybe not, you wouldn't actually see it, but it's a VERY brutal move. Stick will initiate a so-so speed shoulder charge to knock down the target zombie, and then, depending on if you keep pressing the buttons, get up to 7 additional hits (or is it stomps?) on the zombie. 8 hits total, you end up with a 7-hit combo. In case you were wondering, the shoulder charge can continue your present combo for one hit...on occasion, but the other 7 hits won't count. It's an entertaining move for some, a total shocker for others...it'll definitely get other people's attention if they happen to be watching you. It'll get funny looks from other people for sure if you do this move on every zombie :P. Does pretty good damage. You know, it'd be really um interesting, if not controversial, if the intro sequence for ZR was just Stick stomping and stomping away on a fallen zombie. Maybe even funny... ("Disclaimer: Only undead 3D fictional zombies were harmed in the making of this intro") Linda: 1. High Pressure Bomb Hold the joystick towards the opponent and hit P three times. Linda will first knock the zombie over, get some air using the zombie as a trampoline and...well, land on the zombie. No idea how much damage this move does, but you WILL find Linda's holding moves are the flashiest (and thus coolest, in my opinion) in the game. 2. Neck Drive Hold the joystick towards the opponent and hit S three times. Linda will again demonstrate the proper usage of zombies as a trampoline, but unfortunately for the zombie this time, the zombie will still be standing when it takes the punishment. This time, Linda will execute two sets of two stomps on the zombie's FACE (OUCH!), all while about 6 feet in the air, and end with a double foot knockdown blast as she backflips a good distance away with a clean landing. This does a 5- hit combo, and I think for decent damage. One heck of a move to see up close, but man it has its problems. You might think that this holding move would give you a tactical advantage during combat, as you can pound on zombies with impunity while you're in the air, way out of reach! This is true. You might also think that by head-pounding the zombie right in front of you, you can finish off backflipping right behind a host of formerly comin-right-at-cha zombies. That's also true. Problem is that Linda, having finished the supreme out-of-reach combo, will then proceed to wave at? taunt? (I'm not sure) the zombies for about 1.5 seconds, making total recovery time about 2 seconds. Ouch. Even the zombies will be on to you by then. Thus, I suggest you use this move with caution. 3. "Zombie Rag Doll Toss" (OK, I made this one up too ;)) Keep the joystick neutral and hit S three times. Again, another interesting move. Unsure of the damage done. Linda will first grab the zombie by the neck, slam the zombie down, then heft the zombie up, swing it about 60 or so degrees, and let it go the hard way -- with a knee to the midsection. She'll then clap the dust off her hands =). So much the worse for the zombie if a wall happens to be in the way :). Oh, and I did I mention she only uses one hand? I must note here that Linda is one heck of a strong lady (in character as well as physical strength) -- in the gameplay demo you see her doing this move on a 300-pounder of a zombie, and I repeat, with only one hand!!! Thus she can lift practically any normal zombie. Another interesting aspect of this move is the lifted zombie will also hit any other nearby zombies in its path (for a little damage, I think) while being helplessly swung around by Linda. At the very least, I guess this move would temporarily halt a zombie advance from the front. Again, though, not a very useful move. Rikiya: 1. Busujima Throw Keep the joystick neutral and hit P three times. Probably the most useful holding move in the game! It's very quick, although damage isn't great. Rikiya will grab the zombie by the arm, tossing the zombie overhead with a 180 degree turn and giving it a nice hard slam on the ground. So, whatcha get is a downed zombie and Rikiya turned around 180 degrees. If a zombie's coming up from behind, or more than one zombie, this throw will make for great repositioning since recovery time from the throw is also very low (and all of your enemies are now in front of you). Immediately after the throw you can also shoot at the downed zombie...but watch out as the zombie might grab your foot, leading to the zombie smothering you on the floor for a bit of damage. You can shake free with button mashing and stomp the zombie some before the zombie drags you down, but no matter the outcome, just button mash for best results! 2. Busujima Hold Keep the joystick neutral and hit S like crazy. A very un-useful move, though interesting in its own right. Rikiya will grab the zombie's leg, get down on the ground, pull on that leg, and basically try to do as much damage as possible. This move is ultra-slow, won't combo, and I'm not really sure about damage. Note the zombie can also reverse the hold if you don't jam on S fast enough, and of course that's bad news. Save it for the very last zombie. 3. Busujima Fireworks Hold the joystick towards the zombie and hit S like crazy. Rikiya will hold the zombie up with one hand and gather energy in that hand (it'll be easy to see) in an attempt to explode the zombie. If successful you'll see a nifty explosion, and watch the zombie go flying, or get blown apart. The problem is that this move hardly finishes off zombies with full life-bars (at least to my knowledge). Maybe my minimum required button presses is too high, and maybe you only need two or three P or S presses. But really, the best way to do these holding moves is to keep button mashing until the move ends, because otherwise you might not get all of the hits in, or the move will backfire on you (possibly in Rikiya's case). Trust me on this one, if you button mash (you don't have to press em too fast or hard, other people are gonna play too!) until the holding move is done, you're guaranteed all the hits even on a zombie with a string bean's worth of life left. I don't believe button mashing will increase damage, though. Since I'm gonna keep playing Stick until I pass the game (DOH!!!), note that the move descriptions for Linda and Rikiya may be inaccurate -- sorry, but I just don't play them much (and I certainly can't now :P). I've either done their holding move once or I've seen what other players do. But don't worry, the basic formula is very simple, so if the move doesn't work, you either just press P or S a lot, or you hold the joystick towards the zombie and press P or S a lot. Works every time :) 5. Advanced Combo Moves There really isn't much to pulling out the big string combos, once you get the hang of things. The key is timing of the button presses. The cool part about the combo system is that many-hit combos can be accomplished in any number of ways. However, the basic 10+ hit combo will usually begin with physical attacks. It will also have to do (usually) with NOT finishing your characters' basic combos. WHAAAT? You might ask. Don't worry, I'll give you the combos I use in the walkthroughs as I use them, so you might understand the method in my madness :P. But I'm serious. The groundwork of combos, melee ones anyway, is not just doing the basic knockdown combos. For example: *****Linda is the slowest character in terms of melee fighting and throwing punches, but even she can rack up some decent combos. Experiment with hitting P only twice before hitting P three times to finish the P-based basic combos. If my memory serves me correctly, then: You got yourself a zombie. Hit it twice by hitting P twice. After the second punch in the combo is finished, wait a bit then do either the neutral PPP combo or the flying hammer punch PPP combo. You will then get 5 hits or 7 hits! Now suppose you hit PP, wait a bit, hit PP again, and THEN do the flying punch combo. Now you have 9 hits! I believe the same logic also applies to the PSPP combo. After hitting PP, you can tack on 5 hits with PSPP for a 7-hit combo! Keep experimenting to see how you can create longer and more damaging combos! ***** So why do advanced combos? Several reasons. If we're talking general gameplay, you'll find that executing extended combos does more damage to the zombie. More importantly, you can finish off a zombie before knocking it down, and make sure that zombie won't get back up to haunt you. Of course, as you go on to higher and more difficult levels you'll find that the flashy combos won't do the trick as the zombies come too fast and furious. But even then simpler advanced combos will still be very important, in that you can tack on extra hits without the recovery time of the basic combo's finishing moves. To illustrate: *****Rikiya is also not the best character to use for making nice long 10+ hit combos. However it's not too hard to do. This is because Rikiya's attacks are somewhat faster than Linda's. The bread-and-butter of Rikiya's extended combos will derive from not finishing the PPPP basic combo. You're fighting a zombie. PPPP would normally do 4 hits and knock down. You won't even get a cool ghostly floating "5 HIT" above your head. But try one quick P jab first, THEN going into PPPP. That's 5 hits! You won't get any more damage from the combo since the jab is so weak, but you get the idea. Now try doing PPP (you get one swoosh only), then PPPP. You'll get 7 hits for Rikiya and a ton more damage! Also notice that recovery from the PPP alone is significantly faster. PPP, wait, PPP, then PPPP does 10 hits and still more damage! If the damage is enough to take a zombie out in one go, even better since you won't have to deal with it anymore! If you keep doing PPP, wait a bit, PPP, etc. you'll tack on major hits! In fact PPP, wait, PPP, wait-type combos are Rikiya's best advanced combo tools before finishing up with PPPP (PSSS won't extend the combo past the first three hits) ***** In my humble opinion, advanced combos will improve the fighting ability of even the weaker hand-to-hand fighters such as Linda. It will make Stick, however, an _extremely_ dangerous zombie buster. Here's how: *****Stick Breitling has no advantages when it comes to using his handgun. Linda can fire hers faster and Rikiya's will deal more damage per shot. However, he has the ultimate advantage in his very quick hitting (I guess he musta been at the speed bag a whole lot :P). For this reason it's not inconceivable for Stick to do 10-hit combos on zombies at all. Even 20-hit combos. Even 30-hit combos with his fists and feet alone. I've done 60+ hit combos with certain (lucky) chaining and stringing techniques! While Linda would need to use PP to start her bigger combos since the P jab alone is just too slow, and Rikiya is best off with PPP only for pretty much the same reason, Stick is able to jab with impunity! His single P jab is very fast, and can net you huge combos given the timer isn't ticking down to 0 and you've only got one zombie left to finish. But P jabs alone are boring and do very little damage. Stick can derive 1, 2, 3, and even 4-hit strings (well maybe not PPPP strings, they lag some afterward and if you're not careful, you end up with the 5-hit basic combo) out of his Straight Flush, and use them again and again with very little recovery time to pound at his foes while tacking on mondo hits and also points. Just remember, it's all about timing. A good low-level advanced combo to use for Stick is PPP, quick wait, followed by PPS or PPPPP. You'll get 7 or 8 hits and do much more damage! PPP, PPP, then PPS will do 10 hits, and so on. PPP by itself will do almost one full-power handgun shot's worth of damage, and you can perform the PPP again almost immediately after the third punch hits. Given Stick's speed in hitting, you will find that using extended combos dispatch zombies much faster than doing just one basic combo and waiting for the zombie to get back up... And by all means, don't just use PPP to extend combos all the time. Mix-n-match with P and PP as well! Given the interesting nature of the fighting engine, you'll get combos that are impressive and even "to the beat!" Try this one out for Stick, for example: PPP, PPP, P, P, PPP, P, P, P, P, PPPPP. Remind you of any floor-pad dancing games? :) ***** I have to note that with extended combos does come less damage per successive hit for all characters. PPP may be pretty powerful to start, but PPP strings after the combo meter hits, say, 10 or 15, won't do as much damage. But it'll still hurt quite a bit! 6. Advanced Fighting Techniques Here's just a few pointers to use your characters more effectively in ZR: 1. Dashing is great. But Dash Attacks are essential for knocking down zombies and getting more space to fight and less zombies to concentrate on. Use it often. Good use of the Dash Attack can keep practically all normal zombies on the floor. 2. Don't underestimate the value of the charged-up handgun shot. It's slow to warm up, but it can knock down 3 or more zombies at once with decent damage. It will help you dispatch zombies from a distance and give you more time to deal with them. 3. Don't think you have to knock zombies down with basic combos alone. With Rikiya and Stick, you might want to consider quick hits combined with Dash Attacks to keep from getting hit. 4. Advanced combos are also useful in that they end when you choose for them to end. For example, if Stick is concentrating on one zombie with PPP, PPP, and is up to 6 hits while other zombies are closing in, he's not in the same pinch as if he had just finished a Straight Flush, or had to reload his gun, both of which take recovery time. Stick can stop the combo, run, back attack, roll, attack another zombie, dash attack, clear out...you get more options! 5. Guarding is extremely important in reducing damage from zombie attacks, and really should be used at least once against _almost_ all bosses. It will save you from many a big hurt. 6. When moving around, you should try to be Dashing as much as possible, with certain exceptions. You're just faster that way. With practice Dashing around will become second nature. 7. If you're in the mood for big bad 15+ hit combos, don't think that you have to get all the hits in on one zombie otherwise the combo meter resets! You can chain together a massive combo on multiple zombies with quick reflexes and closing in fast. When doing this, you also don't have to use knockdown moves either if it's faster (though I usually do to keep my rhythm and control) 8. Timing is everything! Especially for the combos. As you go along, you'll eventually establish a "rhythm" with your character, very much so in terms of button presses. 9. Always, always experiment. Often times you'll find your own unique and effective way to make it past the various areas with the highest scores and least damage taken. You'll find certain items to be useful and other less so. You'll even find additional uses for some of the items you come across. 7. Higher Scores Through Cool Combos OK, so advanced combos are useful for tacking on more damage. But so what if I have a 15-hit combo compared to, oh, a 9-hit one? An attractive incentive for high scorers: MORE POINTS. And I mean it. Here's a quick point breakdown. Single Handgun Shot - 50 pts. Single Punch - 50 pts. Every punch/shot up to 5-hit combo - 50 pts. each. Every punch/shot from 5-9 hit combos - 50 pts. + 20 pt. bonus = 70 pts. each. 10-hit combo - 50 pt. bonus on the 10th hit 11-hit combo - 60 pt. bonus on the 11th hit 12-hit combo - 80 pt. bonus on the 12th hit... 13-hit combo - 100 pt. bonus 14-hit combo - 150 pt. bonus 15-hit combo - 200 pt. bonus 16-hit combo - 250 pt. bonus 17-hit combo - 300 pt. bonus 18-hit combo - 350 pt. bonus 19-hit combo - 400 pt. bonus 20-hit combo - 500 pt. bonus Each additional hit: 500 pt. bonus It really adds up! The special moves are also good for increased points! For example: Dash Attack: 50 pts. base for each hit Roll: 100 pts. base per hit Clear-Out: 100 or 150 pts. base per hit Charge-Up Shot: 150 pts. per hit Don't forget that the handgun can also be used to extend combos as well! Experiment! 8. A Note on Being Poisoned Lone zombies aren't too hard to handle. But add additional zombies to the mix and things get interesting, with hits harder to avoid. Whenever you are hit by a zombie or projectile, you will notice that you will get about double of a purple mist over your lifebar for the damage that you take. This mist, as it fills up if you take more damage, will eventually slow you down to a dangerous extent if you're hit too much. You'll literally turn purple and start limping, and the poison takes time to wear off. However, your attacks will become more powerful to compensate. Hopefully you'll never get into such a situation, but the following super combos will be available if the poison meter (purple mist) takes up over half of your lifebar. I'll leave it to you to see what they do. Stick: P repeatedly; or P, P, S, and then S repeatedly Linda: P repeatedly while holding the joystick towards your opponent Rikiya: P repeatedly; or, P, S, S, S (you might want to keep hitting S afterwards) Do note that there may be other high-poison meter super combos or special moves I haven't uncovered yet, especially for Linda. Experiment! Also note that you also seem to temporarily improve in other departments when the poison meter is high. If you're knocked down, you seem to get up quicker if you use a rising attack, and the rising attack may hit more than just one nearby zombie on the way up... 9. A Note on Two-Player Games I don't usually play two-player games, but if you do or are thinking about it, here's some very general tips. See BLui's FAQ also for more details. 1. Your attacks and weapons will do less damage (all of em, even mass destruction special weapons), because you'll be fighting the same number of enemies, but with two players. This applies ESPECIALLY to holding moves, which do dramatically less damage. This is good for combos but bad for getting the job done quickly. Plan accordingly. Also, while a red-sight lock is also less powerful, consider having both players focus red-sight locks on the same zombie. It's very effective. 2. Don't get in each other's way. Some attacks will affect the other player; while no damage will be done, it'll stun your partner and possibly cause big trouble. Don't be on opposite ends of the screen if you can help it as the other player can't progress in the level, and you do have a time limit to deal with. 3. Try to plan ahead which zombies to target first, etc. While it sounds somewhat scripted, and the zombies you run across are the same each game, it'll help you get farther along. Trust me, the game won't play the same every time ;) 4. Try to cooperate during boss fights. For example, one character can attract the boss's attention while the other gets behind the boss and hammers away, so that the other player can now join in or wait around to cover in case things get ugly. A stronger character might also want to act as the tank while waiting until a life up comes along. If the other player is defeated and quits, the damage will return to the one-player setting (just watch out for your former partner, who is now a green zombie ;)). 5. Be mindful of the bonuses around. You might want to leave a certain weapon for the other player if he/she's better at using it, or let the other player pick up spare handgun clips, or more importantly let a beat-up player have the life-up. I've seen good and cooperating two- player teams get quite far on one play. V. Items and Weapons Here's a list of the items and weapons you'll come across in ZR and what they do. There's a whole lot of em. 1. Pickups These first four items are obtained simply by walking over them. Bullets - The most common item in the game, and important for keeping your handgun ammo supply up. Every zombie you defeat will drop one of these, so if you're careful about using your ammo you'll never run out. Gives you one clip of 10 bullets, and you can hold 5 spare clips max at a time. Point incentive: You'll find you get a 200 pt. bonus after picking up 3 clips so long as you haven't used up your present clip (had to reload). You'll continue getting the 200 pt. bonus for picking up the extra clips so long as you don't reload. It pays to spare ammo! (Sometimes...) Antidote - The second most common item in the game, found on many but not all zombies, the antidote herb will completely remove any poison from your lifebar. As you get better at avoiding attacks, though, you'll also be rewarded with point incentives. If you pick up 2-3 antidotes without getting hit, you'll start getting 300 pt. bonuses for each antidote you pick up thereafter (usually, anyway). Life-up - Probably the most crucial item in the game. Appears in various locations, and almost always in hidden locations or boxes. Depending on the life-up you get, you will receive anywhere from 10-100% of your life back. The life recovery for each specific life-up box does vary from game to game as well. You'll also get point incentives from life-up boxes. If your lifebar is presently full, you'll get a really nice 2000 bonus pts. for every life-up box you pick up. This can mean racking up really high scores in certain situations. Elixir - The rarest item in the entire game, there's only one of em. (okokok, so there's only one Drill and one Cannon Shot in the game that I know of too, but hey, I'm making a value-based judgment here -- see below for why I think the Cannon Shot and Drill don't even compare ;). The magical elixir essentially acts as a free continue, as you will be automatically brought back to full health once if your lifebar runs out. It's even better though because your score won't reset :) I don't remember if you get a point bonus for picking this up. ------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Special Weapons All of the following items are picked up by pressing P (or S?) while over the item (the square around the item will glow as you step over it). Be very careful when using these weapons! If you are hit even once by anything, you will drop the weapon and have to pick it up again. On the other hand, with the exception of the hatchet, you can't let go of the weapon unless you get hit or use it up! Shot-based weapons cannot be reloaded with fresh ammo -- you'll need to pick a new one up. You will still be able to Dash and Dash Attack with many of these weapons in hand. You will also be able to block while carrying many of these weapons, but not all. If you absolutely need to, you can still use a Clear Out Attack while holding many of these weapons, but the range and effect will remain the same. Pipe - Found in Area 1 and Area 2. Slowdown Factor: Low. You can still dash and dash attack. Rating: Good Press P to swing. This pipe is essentially a ranged melee weapon you can use for a certain number of hits (about 16-20 swings). Pressing PPP will execute three relatively quick hits (not as fast compared to Stick, but it's much faster than Rikiya and Linda's attacks) for very good damage. Note that the pipe hits will not knock down, though this means you can keep swinging away until a zombie goes down. Another advantage is that your character will swing the pipe in very wide arcs, hitting zombies to the side of you and even right behind you. The pipe can also be used for fairly nice combos, using P swings, PP swings (more difficult), or just plain PPP. After a number of hits your player will lean back some and toss away the pipe, so be careful. I still find it quite useful when you can find it. You will be unable to punch while you have the pipe, but you will be able to fully use your handgun. Axe - Found in Area 3 and 5. Slowdown Factor: Moderate. Dashing/Dash Attacking still possible? Rating: Very Poor Press P to swing. This very big and heavy axe can be used once for one big swing at a zombie. Should it connect it'll lodge in the zombie's skull and it's bye-bye for the zombie no matter what. If it misses you can keep swinging until it connects. You can also fully use your handgun since the axe is used by one hand. However, this axe slows you down quite a bit. In any case, the axe has a very long wind-up, and if you whiff it can be bad news. The zombie must also be standing for you to hit with the axe (if it's too short, below you or crawling, no go). I just wouldn't use it. Hatchet - Found in Area 5 and Area 8. Slowdown Factor: Very Low. Dashing/dash attacks still possible. Rating: Very Poor Press P to throw. You'll find hatchets on the highly annoying and dangerous hatchet- zombies later on. You can still use your handgun, but you can't use your fists. The hatchet, while a throwing weapon, does very little damage to anything it hits, so I don't recommend you pick one up. Machine Gun - Found in Area 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, but I don't think 9 :P. Slowdown Factor: Moderate. You can still Dash/attack. Rating: Very Good Holds 40 bullets. Has lock-on ability. Press S to fire an aimed stream of 5 bullets at the enemy (get a blue sight lock-on first). Press P to fire an unaimed stream of 10 bullets in a wide arc. Machine guns are very common weapons, found in every area. Firing rate is very good. One S-burst will only do maybe the damage of a red-sight handgun shot, but I find this weapon absolutely fantastic for dealing quick distance damage to foes. Against a larger group of foes, it won't do much, but if you concentrate your fire or fire P-bursts, you'll still do considerable damage and be better off in the long run. You get slowed down quite a bit by it, but this is compensated for by the machine gun's versatility and nifty combo potential. :) The machine gun can also directly aim at and hit downed zombies or zombies on raised platforms. This weapon will only knock down weaker zombies, but it will send all zombies packing with the proper use. Shotgun - Found in Area 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Slowdown Factor: Moderate/High. You can still Dash/attack. Rating: Depends...in general, Moderate/Low. Holds 6 shells. Does not lock-on to targets. Press S to fire one shot. Press PPP to hit a zombie three times with the shotgun itself, which knocks down. Shotguns are also very common in ZR, but I find them generally less useful. Firing rate is poor, with considerable reload time needed. This wouldn't be so bad as the shotgun often deals tons of damage to a group of zombies in front of you (though it doesn't knock down). The problem is that either by virtue of a bug or having to aim very precisely, hits will either do awesome damage or REALLY LOW damage (maybe one Roll's worth). This problem only seems to apply to non-Boss zombies, though. Still, many times the shotgun will do terrible damage just when you need it most. The fact that it doesn't lock-on also makes things difficult at points. For some reason, though, if a ZOMBIE carrying the shotgun hits you with it, it _always_ hurts :) (and knocks YOU down, btw :P). Also, the shotgun slows you down, so be careful with it. The PPP knockdown combo has almost no practical use, is super-slow, and does pathetic damage. Dash attack instead. Overall, the shotgun is useful, but only for some occasions. Grenade - Found in Area 1, 6, 7, 8. Slowdown Factor: Very Low. You can still Dash/Attack. Rating: Good Press P to let 'er rip. Does lock-on, though it isn't necessary to work. Can't be reused if you miss. :) The grenade are one of the three mass-destruction type explosives you'll find in ZR. It's also the most useful. Note that you'll never be hurt by the grenade. While you can only carry one at a time, it can wipe out all zombies within a limited radius after thrown with a really impressive boom. You can still use your handgun while carrying it. It doesn't take too long to let it fly, but you'll be in a mandatory crouching "Take Cover!!!" animation (not actually blocking though) until the grenade blows. Of course that doesn't matter if the grenade blows everything up :P. The lock-on ability makes the grenade doubly useful...but in general, as soon as you see any blue-sight lock, chuck it! Even if it wasn't the best target to toss the grenade at, in most cases you'll have some margin of error *grin*. Careful, it occasionally misses and rolls some ways off the mark. Also note that in two-player games, the grenade and all mass-destruction devices will not necessarily mean instant doom for the zombies, though it'll hurt em quite a lot. Land Mine - Found in Area 4 and 7. Slowdown Factor: Pretty Low. Dash/Attack still possible. Rating: Good Press P to lay the mine. It will be primed to explode in about 3-4 seconds. This is the second-most effective of the big boom devices in ZR :). It will also never hurt you. You can still use your handgun. The advantage over the grenade is that after you set the mine, you're free to move about and do whatever you want. No take cover animation. The bad news is that the mine is time-delayed, so it isn't the best bet for moving targets. Still, since you get explosions about the size of the grenade's, it isn't so bad :P. Of course any zombie in the blast radius is history. Same damage rule as the grenade applies in two-player games. Cannon Shot - Found in Area 6, and that's pretty much it. Slowdown Factor: Moderate/High. You can still Dash and Dash Attack. Rating: Very Poor Press P or S to let loose one big-butt rocket at the enemy. One shot only. This is the third mass-destruction weapon in ZR. It's also the least effective, unfortunately. To be honest, that's really not giving it a fair shake, but the only appearance it does make is in an area full of fast and dangerous enemies where you couldn't possibly use the cannon shot effectively. (Whew! Say that 10 times real fast!) Think of the destructive power as that of a launched land mine or grenade. I've never actually hit anything with it, however...no lock-on ability, and it fires horizontally (not like you get to use it against any bosses anyway). Well, it looks cool anyway...it's a guitar case! Your character will mount the cannon shot on his/her shoulder and fire it bazooka- style. :) I just wish the cannon shot coulda been available in narrow corridor-type areas... Guitar - Found in Area 6, and I think that's it. Slowdown Factor: Moderate/High. Dash/Attacking is possible. Rating: Moderate/Low Holds, hm, 48 bullets? (24 per case) Press S to fire an concentrated burst of about 8? bullets at the enemy. Press P to fire an unaimed burst of about 16 bullets at the enemy in a wide sweeping arc. This is the less powerful but sorta more useful cousin of the Cannon Shot, which only comes in one case. This guy comes in two cases! :):) It's not bad to use, but it takes time to fire and it burns up ammo really quick. Luckily it does fire pretty quickly, once it does. There doesn't appear to be any lock-on ability, but if the zombie you're firing the guitar at is more or less in your line of sight, then you will automatically adjust to hit it when you press S. It'll spray the enemy with bullets for good damage, but it might not knock down. Combine that factor with a considerable reload time and a long enough time just to aim and shoot and you should really think twice about using this weapon on a fast-approaching zombie crowd. Dual Handguns - Found in Area 2 and maybe 7. Slowdown Factor: Very Low. Dash/Attack is possible. Rating: OK Holds 40 bullets, 20 per gun. Press S to fire 5 shots at one enemy. Does lock-on. Press P to fire 10 shots in a wide arc. Think of the dual handgun as a slower-firing version of the machine gun, and you'll get the idea. You can move around quicker while you use this weapon, and you can also combo with it, but the problem is, well...it's a slower-firing version of the machine gun. Won't get the job done as quickly, and I think it does the same amount of damage. Since you'll have the choice to use this weapon or the machine gun, I'd go for the machine gun...but if you gotta use the dual handguns, you're still good to go. Gasoline Canister - Found in Area 4 Slowdown Factor: Moderate/High...I think Dashing and Dash attacking is possible Rating: Not Bad Holds a whole lotta gasoline. Press S to douse the floor with gasoline. Press P to swing this 5-gallon sucker at the zombies, and PPP for a 3- hit knockdown combo. This weapon is actually quite interesting. In its S use (dousing the floor), it's completely useless (at least to me). It looks like you're applying floor cleaner to the ground. Where's my mop?!? You can move around while emptying the gas can's contents on the floor, but...why even bother? It's just silly. Here's the deal: Once the gas is on the ground, you can create a nifty area explosion by thereafter igniting it, which is possible by firing off a shotgun in the direction of the spilled gas. It might also damage you, though, if you're near the flames which result. So OK, all I need to do is let go of the gas can, find me a shotgun, and blast the gas to get me a zombie barbecue, right? Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. The gas can will stick onto you like no other weapon. I haven't EVER been able to empty the gas canister, or toss it off by whacking some zombies with it. Thus, you'd have to get hit before you drop it and go for the shotgun. Even if you could let go of it, going for the shotgun, getting clear, and hoping that the zombies haven't moved from the place where you spilled the gasoline is just too much trouble anyways. Surprisingly however, the P-swing use is far more useful. It's slow to start, but three mighty swings at a zombie later and you've got a knockdown combo that does rather good damage. The gas can even whacks zombies on the ground, the swings are so sweeping! Looks funny too :). Of course, the slowness of the attack is a real problem in Area 4...but at least it's better than nothing. In Area 4, I use it for one specific purpose :), but in general, I don't recommend you get stuck with it. Taser - Found in Area 4 Slowdown Factor: Very Low, Dash/Attacking is OK. Rating: Awful Press P to fire a short-range electric beam at the zombies (shock it with the taser) Again, perhaps I'm not giving the taser its due. But in the only scene where you can use it, it just doesn't have any practical use (and you'd want to go for another weapon instead). You basically need to clear the room of all threats anyway before you can access it. As such I can't honestly say how much damage it does. When I've used it, I also haven't ever hit anything with it. Drill - Found in Area 4. Slowdown Factor: Supremely High. Don't even think about dashing. Rating: Worse than Awful Press P to swing the drill around in a short arc to damage multiple foes (low damage). Press S to concentrate on drilling the heck out of one zombie. It's big, it's slow, it's powerful, and it's no use in the one scene where you get to use it. By the stage you find it, all of the zombies are capable of smacking you around with multi-hit attacks, so avoid picking the drill up at all costs...at least until only one unarmed zombie is left. The drill is good for S-drilling 5 or so zombies to oblivion, but it'll take too long to focus on one zombie, because by the time you want to drill another, you're surrounded. Still, it's not a bad deal using the drill on the last zombie remaining...the S-drill will carve a rather nasty hole in the poor zombie for about 15-18 hits, and has a nice whiny sound. Chain Gun - Found in Area 7 and 8. Slowdown Factor: High, can't dash with it Rating: Not bad Holds 80 bullets, if I remember correctly. No lock-on (sigh). Press S to fire a rapid burst of 16 bullets at one opponent. Press P to fire a burst of 32 bullets in a wide arc. Now we move on the really big guns. This chain gun is even bigger than the drill! Well, this weapon is really good for firing merciless streams of bullets at them zombies, though depending on how you use it you get 5 or 2.5 uses max. I've only tried this weapon against the Area 7 Boss, but it must do fabulous damage IF it connects with normal zombies. Hopefully it'll either knock down or shred your target zombie to a pulp. Which is pretty much the biggest issue with this big gun. Since there's no blue lock-on sight for this weapon, you've got to aim right at your target -- easier said than done -- since the auto-correction before firing doesn't always kick in. If you miss, you're in real trouble. On the other hand, if you're feeling lucky, you can hit a zombie for a meaty 16 hits! The chain gun also has combo potential. I once hit the Area 7 Boss for a 30-hit combo with the chain gun, and if you keep jamming on S (given you started from close range), you could probably do better! Overall, use with caution. Laser Gun - Found in Area 7 and 8. Slowdown Factor: High, can't Dash with it Rating: Not bad Holds about 18 or so laser charges. No lock-on. Press S to fire a single straight laser blast. Press P to fire an arcing burst of about 3-4 laser shots. Yet another big gun. But since I never use it, I can't tell you much about it other than to experiment. The S-blast is very efficient (really, you get the most shots out of all the weapons), it only uses up one charge, but like the chain gun, it's straight-line hit or miss. Not good against a big lumbering Boss. I don't have a clue what kinda damage the laser gun does. In general, I wouldn't use the laser gun unless there's only one zombie left (Area 8), and I wouldn't use the gun for the Area 7 Boss unless you're feeling adventurous. *****Actually, I did just use the Laser Gun on the Area 7 Boss not too long ago...check the Walkthrough for the results. ***** Flamethrower - Found in Area 4 and 7. Slowdown Factor: High, in that you can't Dash, but you'll be able to move at near-walking speed. Rating: Supremely Good! (Ok, I'm biased, but it is effective) Press P (or S) to spit a stream of mid-ranged flame to ignite zombies. No lock-on, but that's not a problem. When fired continuously, streams flame for about maybe 10 seconds. One of my personal favorite big guns! First found in Area 4, just pick it up and start firing! This gun is different from all the others in that there's no reload time whatsoever. Essentially, that means you can walk around and activate the flamethrower with impunity. One secret to using the flamethrower properly is to tap P in bursts, rather than burn up all the ammo in one shot. It will greatly extend the usage of the flamethrower. Using the flamethrower in narrow sweeping motions is also effective against groups of zombies. The flamethrower does excellent damage and can really clear out a whole room of zombies, given its good range. Also effective against the Area 7 Boss should you choose to get it. Where will you find these items? Some are just laying there. The hatchets, machine guns and shotguns are sometimes held by the zombies, and you'll need to knock them down to make them drop the weapons. All others can be found by breaking open certain crates, or entering secret doors. And finally, we get to... VI. Walkthrough Notes: (all "*****COMBO" opportunities I have are while using Stick) (all "*****" sections contain additional commentary/secrets/etc.) Part I: Woodside City Stick, Linda and Rikiya are hanging out in their armored carrier transport when they receive a cryptic e-message from Zed, signed with love toward all humans :P. Yeah right. Linda wonders, "Are we still following this guy?" Stick replies, "He's the one making the zombies. To catch him we have to follow." And with a "Let's go!" you're on your way. Difficulty: Low Life-ups: 2 (for 20-30ish% replenishment total) Expect to lose this much life: Maybe 10-25% You're fine if you leave the Area with: at least 50% life Secrets: 2 Combo Opportunities: 2 really, and possibly more The very first level serves all sorts of purposes, it's generally a starter course in playing the game. This is by no means to say it's an easy level, though -- it can all end very quickly if you don't know how to properly deal with the Boss at the end. Once you leave the safety of your very big, solid, multi-wheeled transport (which no longer seems to be able to help you on your journey), the game begins. The first wave of four slow, weary-looking zombies will start coming at you. They really pose no threat, they can only swipe at you once for 8- 10% damage or grab you for even less damage. You can easily defeat them simply by standing in place and firing four red-sight shots. Note that their lifebar is pretty much exactly equal to the damage of a red-sight handgun shot for future reference (if you're playing Rikiya you get about 10% bonus damage on that). *****POSSIBLE COMBO OPPORTUNITY: (All of these combo examples are done using Stick) Shoot down only the first two zombies you see. Then walk up to the third zombie (closest to you) and just keep hitting it with weak P jabs. You will get anywhere from 9-12 hits. By then the zombie will either be defeated or the fourth zombie will be right in front of you. Continue the chain by closing in with P jabs on the fourth zombies (finish off the third zombie first if it's still got life left when the fourth zombie gets there). You get up to a 25-hit combo on just 2 weak zombies this way. You could also keep the combo going by adding on additional hits after the combo meter hits about 20 and the fourth zombie still has a little life left. At 20 hits, do PP, P, PP, P, PPS for 30 hits and a knockdown! But that's STILL not all! You can keep the combo going by executing a Roll immediately after the PPS finisher. If you connect twice, you end up with 32 hits (though typically you settle for 31 :P)! Not bad for the first scene! ***** After the four zombies are dealt with there comes a second wave of four zombies. This time you get 2 funky walking zombies with baseball caps and 2 red-coat zombies. The baseball-cap zombies can leap in the air with a non-guided fist swing attack that can hit for 1/5 damage and knock you down if you don't run out of the way or shoot them out of it. They can also hit you with an arcing sideways arm swipe for about 1/6 or 1/7 damage. If you're unlucky, they can even hit do a 3-hit combo on you for over 1/2 damage (watch for a very important lag between the second and third attack)! Luckily all of these attacks are fully blockable...if you see them coming. The red-coat zombies can either shoot at you with their weapons, swipe at you once for low damage, or grab you for also low damage. The best way to deal with the above zombies is to attack the red-coat zombies first. Since they carry one machine gun (about 1/3 damage if you're hit) and one shotgun (almost 1/2 damage!) and can shoot it at you (and you can't block the bullets), that makes them more dangerous, and higher priority to get rid of. Go for the zombie nearest the your transport first. As soon as you get a lock on the zombie (can hit it), bring it down with a PPS combo (or PPP, PPS if you want). You'll notice the PPS combo does just enough to put down the zombie. Take note of the damage if you want. You can then charge into the fray and knock down the shotgun-holding red zombie. These three zombies won't be hard to deal with as long as you take the initiative and are not afraid to get in there with dash attacks. Be careful though as the shotgun-holder may let off a shot. If it starts to aim at you and track you and you don't think you can hit it in time, just keep dashing away from it at a safe distance (MAKE it track you by running left or right from it) and there's a chance the zombie will miss, possibly igniting the gas under it :). After the zombies are cleared, you are instructed to lift up the aluminum vertical sliding "door" and enter the next room. Don't forget to break open the big crate for an extra machine gun, and take the time to practice your moves outside if you've still got a lot of time on the clock left. I advise you pick up a machine gun for this next section. So you don't accidentally waste ammo, go up to and face the big door and hit G instead of P or S to enter the next room. You'll first find two red-coat, but unarmed zombies, waiting for you there. You'll also see a cowering girl there that you really should save (you don't have to, but you're a good guy, it's your job!). Here's where the machine gun comes in handy to take care of these 2 zombies. ****COMBO: This one's really easy since you've got the fast-firing machine gun at your disposal. Walk in as far north as you can (just to right behind the girl -- "Help me! Helllllp!" :)) as soon as you enter the room, and then start opening fire on the nearest zombie. Spray 2 S- bursts at it in quick succession. The first 5 shots will connect and send the zombie flying, and some if not all of the next 5 shots will connect. Don't wait too long, and as soon as you see the blue lock-on sight on the zombie in back (you don't really even have to look for the sight, the target switching is more or less automatic), plug away with the S-bursts. The combo should still continue. Don't stop firing even after the zombie gets blown to bits...you can still get hits on what's left of the zombie :) This will yield anywhere from a 35 to 40-hit combo by only using the machine gun's 40 bullets (and practically standing still, no less)!! Cinch combo for big points baby! Sure to turn heads at the arcade. ***** After the two red-coat zombies are dealt with, down will come 3 more zombies (2 armed) after some shaking and rumbling. The camera view will whip around 180 degrees. First off, position yourself near the back of the room (opposite from the aluminum door), and get ready for a shotgun- holding zombie to drop from the ceiling and get back up. As soon as you get a sight lock, do a PPS combo or whatever and get rid of it. You will usually be able to run up to the next red-coat zombie and dash-attack it down before it lets off a shotgun blast. ***NOTE: Machine-gun and shotgun-holding zombies can be tricky even though they do take considerable time before firing at you, and it's easy to tell if and when they're going to fire at you. If you can't close in with melee attacks in time, there's also the possibility of stunning it with handgun shots, special weapons or the charge-up shot to buy more time. The problem is that all except the charge-up shot will merely stun the zombie for a short time. For all the recoil the hit seems to do, the zombie is still as ready as ever to pull the trigger after its quick recovery. Also be careful as the charge-up shot will at times "graze" the zombie for full damage, but will not knock down... *** The only other zombie left is a pretty weak one that can't pick up weapons, so deal with those two as you please. After you've defeated all the zombies, the girl (if she's still alive) won't thank you. Instead, she'll strike a rather pouty pose, and give you a disk ("Here! A man with the golden eyes said to give it to you!"). It's useful for later. If she doesn't survive, just pick up the disk left on the ground. Now head out the door before the time runs out (While she wonders "How did I get myself into this mess?"). Don't pick up any shotguns unless you have to. You're now back outside. You can pick up the shotgun the zombie left behind if you want and then head straight for the Boss if you want, but if you've been hurt at all or want the 2000 pt. bonus head for the regular door to the left of the aluminum sliding door and hit G, P or S to enter the ***SECRET ROOM***. You'll find a weak zombie and a life-up perched atop some boxes. You can try this Stick combo practice on the zombie: P, P, PP, P, PPP, PPS + 2 rolls if you want (or make your own combo!). Then after the zombie's gone, just keep punching the boxes to make the life-up (10-15% life up) drop down. Handgun shots and even clear-out attacks will also help, and hitting the boxes gets you about 30 pts. per hit. Head on out after you're done. Before going for the Boss, I highly recommend you get the Shotgun. It will be immensely useful in the early going. However, if you wanna combo up on the Boss, get the machine gun on the ground first (there should have been two, one on the red zombie and the other in the crate). Note that the machine gun will do less damage per burst and just won't do the job as well. Head in the direction of the guiding blue arrows and you'll face... BOSS: Scrapyard Monster - not too hard Walking towards what looks like a scrap heap, Stick feels rumblings underneath and wonders "What?" (this expression varies depending on character...e.g. Rikiya will say "I smell evil"). What indeed? Welp, next thing ya know there's a really really big monster who's quite literally full of junk bursting outta the heap, who seems none too pleased to see you! Attacks: (damage to you based on your full lifebar) All attacks are blockable except the shockwave! 1. Tantrum attack from getting hit too much; will tremble and be invincible, then lunges forward with two claw swipes. Also produces shockwave that will knock you over if you're too close. Does various damage to you, from about 1/3 to maybe 1/8 damage depending on where you are when the Boss pulls off this move, and how much you get hit by it. 2. Lunging claw swipe/punch (in place). 1/4 damage. 3. Counter attack. Boss will turn red and charge at you, hitting you for about 1/12-1/15 damage and knocking down. 4. Extreme anger attack. Boss will raise both arms in the air, shaking, and then bring them both down in a mighty blow, knocking down. Does about 4/5 damage to you if not blocked! 5. Grab attack. Boss will grab you and head squeeze for about 1/15 damage...if you don't shake out of it with the joystick and button mashing, he'll double-slam you headfirst for about 2/3 or more damage! If you do shake out of it (quite easy to recover), you'll recover and kick him in the face for about 1/8 or so total damage to him, and will then shake free. For a first Boss, this superzombie has an amazing arsenal. But play your cards right and you'll take only minimal damage. You WILL learn to block here, or face near-certain defeat. Getting this Boss down to 50% life (long green bar near the bottom of your screen) can be done in many ways. The easiest way is to take your shotgun (which hopefully has at least 5 shells in it), and fire off 4 shells without thinking at the monster, since you'll start the battle facing right at it. That'll rip off 50% from the Boss. The second way, if you're a combo nut (though I don't recommend this much for the reasons above and below), is to empty your machine gun at the Boss. You should get in at least a 30-hit combo as the Boss will just sit there and take the damage (for now). The Boss will probably NOT be down to 50% life though. Note for ways 1 & 2 that the Boss may occasionally launch into a tantrum attack after you damage the Boss for about 50%. The best thing to do is just start Guarding until it's over. The third way, if you forgot to take a weapon along (though you really really should bring a weapon), is to just run in there and hammer away with basic combos. Again, the Boss will not counter until his lifebar is about 50%. Careful for the tantrum/anger attacks though. The Scrapyard Monster will have two normal zombies to assist it. If you have the shotgun, try to run away from the Boss after the fourth shotgun blast and try to get both zombies roughly within your sights. With luck you can take em both out in one shot, and possibly even hit the Boss again too! This won't be so easy if you have the machine gun. In general though, getting the first Boss down to 50% is pretty easy. But keep a firm hold on the joystick. The perhaps slightly overly responsive controls once made me face away when the Boss was launching a Supreme Anger Attack and I ate it for 80% damage. Owwww. Now comes the harder part. The Boss will now turn red and do a long- distance charge (no, it's not a collect call :P) at you if you hit it even once. The charge/swipe won't hurt you much, but it'll knock you down and eat away at your valuable time (and if you run out of time it's just plain Game Over). You WILL take damage, but once you get the hang of things, only minor block damage. Here's my approach: Trying to run around and hit the Boss in the back while playing alone is a dicey proposition. Running away from what seems to be a slow-moving claw punch is surprisingly difficult since the Boss tracks you, and if you're hit, you'll get hurt a whole lot. So...what I recommend is to run away as far as possible once it's just you and the Boss (after the Boss is down to 50% life and you used up your special weapon) and get in as many red-sight locks as you can, firing after the handgun is fully powered up. But if it looks like the Boss will reach you with his counter attack after a shot, immediately hit G to start blocking and you should be able to easily block the hit. Now comes the somewhat more tricky part. While this is optional, I do it all the time :). After blocking the charge, Dash up to the Boss quick if the distance is short enough, stop, then throw a punch and KEEP HOLDING P for a holding move (if the attack the Boss does is non-tantrum, you'll hit him out of it), it takes guts but it practically never fails ;). Then, hit P like crazy and you'll extract a pipe from the Boss himself (no damage to the Boss though)! So great, I have a pipe now, you may be thinking. What good does it do if any combo I try will immediately result in getting knocked over by a charging attack? Well for one thing the Boss will be hunched over in pain for a short amount of time, plenty good enough to get in a point- blank red-sight shot...but careful, it might counter, so be ready to block if you have to. You can then give the Boss a one-swing whack with the pipe if it still doesn't counter (one swing does quite good damage), and by then it probably WILL charge at you. Block it, you'll have plenty of time. Then, fire a shot (it should be pretty powered up since you walked in close -- yes, walking up to the Boss and NOT Dashing works just fine at this point). Block the charge. If you can, walk up and swing the pipe once. Block. Fire a shot. Block. Repeat as necessary so long as you have the pipe. If you keep on blocking, moving in close, swinging the pipe once, blocking and firing once, this whole process takes maybe 15 seconds, tops :) You'll find that this method, though a bit tricky, will put down the Boss in the quickest and easiest way, since you don't have a lotta time to waste. If you get knocked over and thus lose the pipe, just try and get in there, substituting a single punch for the pipe swing...there's no critical need to pick up the pipe again especially if the Boss is close by. Don't recover from a knockdown with a rising attack, this frequently means you hit the Boss and it just counters you down again before you can do anything (and it just looks silly, hehe...since the rising attack does well, a shred of damage on the Boss, you'll never defeat it in time). If you need breathing space, you can do another P-based holding move (punch the Boss and hit P like crazy) and shoulder charge the Boss a good distance away for some breathing space after the pipe's out. Just stay aggressive and keep blocking and the Boss will go down without much trouble at all. You are victorious! You now have the remaining time to run over to the narrow alleyway to begin the next stage. Before you do, though, be sure to get the hidden life-up and the grenade first. The life-up crate will usually be hidden in the back after the camera view shifts, and you can _usually_ get to it (but sometimes the camera is cruel and the life-up is inaccessible...or maybe you somehow broke open the crate early in the Boss fight, didn't notice the life-up and it disappeared...oh well, no biggie). Run up to the crate (it's at the top of the scrap "hill" surrounded by the metal-fence barrier) and smash it with a Roll, a Clear Out Attack (easiest way :)), a pipe swing COMBO if you still have the pipe, or a Clear Out Attack with the pipe to get the life-up (10-15%). Many times, your lifebar will be refilled to 100% (See? Block damage isn't THAT bad...), and you're back in business! Before entering the next area, I highly recommend that you break open the small crate just before the alleyway to pick up the Grenade. You're now headed to... ------------------------------------------------------------ Part II: Edward Street Difficulty: Low generally; can depend on luck sometimes Life-ups: 0 Expect to lose this much life: 0-all%, hopefully 0 You're fine if you leave the Area with: at least 25% life Secrets: basically 0 Combo Opportunities: 2, 3 with good Pipe use Whichever character you're playing at the time will now hop over the small barrier of wood and other junk to enter Edward Street, making various comments. For example, Stick will say "What's happening?" and Linda will say "Is that another zombie, too?" Really? Another zombie? You gotta be kidding me! :) (the voice scripting/acting can get sorta silly, I have to say) After the computer type letting you know where you are, you'll see four zombies drop down and start heading for you. Actually, I stand corrected, THREE zombies...I believe the fourth zombie flies? shimmies? slithers? ;) out of the garbage container to your right and just falls flat on its face...it's a subtle detail, but a really nice touch :). If you didn't pick up the grenade from the last area, or used it on the boss, no worries -- use lots of dash attacks and keep your distance and you shouldn't get hurt too much. These zombies can only swipe or grab to my knowledge, no multi-hitter combos YET. If you DO have the grenade, however :), give it a whirl and keep pressing P right before the transition cinema ends to make sure you toss it right away. Take cover!!! If the grenade doesn't miss and roll like it occasionally does, it'll blow the heck outta 3 zombies for about 450 or so pts. Sure, no combos, but better safe then sorry...besides, it's fun to use the grenade. :) The other zombie, who was apparently spared as it was still on the ground and not yet "hittable," should stand up by then. Until to get to the door in the alleyway, all you need to do is deal with this zombie and the upcoming baseball cap zombie as you like, it's really, really easy. If you feel like it, you can try hitting some of the garbage containers on the right side to cough up some bullet clips, but I don't think it's worth your time. Especially if you're gonna make up the points in grand style with this next combo :). *****COMBO: Should you wish to combo your way to the door, it's also pretty easy to do ;)!. Start hitting the surviving regular zombie (remember, the funny one that clambered out of the garbage can into the cruel world only to taste the floor? :P) with P jabs and/or other small combo sets and keep advancing until you see the baseball cap zombie approaching. Now, you can either finish off the regular zombie quickly, or try to move in between punches (you can slightly "push" zombies as you move with no harm to yourself as long as they aren't attacking) so that when you hit the zombie, it hits the baseball cap zombie right behind it! :) In any case with some good timing you can move in and start hammering away at the baseball cap zombie with P jabs or whatever you feel like, extending your combo. If you wanna get fancy and practice those advanced moves feel free to do so, like finishing with a PPS combo (for Stick) and then doing two Rolls in succession (you _could_ try using the handgun on the downed opponent, but by then the zombie probably has less than zero life :P --remember you can still hit zombies quite a bit after they're defeated and still standing-- but it doesn't work so well). You can get anywhere from 30-50 or more hits! Don't worry if you can't carry the combo to the baseball cap zombie though. Two smaller combos are still plenty good enough ;) ***** In the meantime you will also come across a flashlight on the ground. Get it for a cool flashlight effect in front of you or just for kicks, it's not necessary to have it. You will now come to a door which the game very clearly tells you to enter. Walk up to it and hit G, P or S (I'd hit G from now on to enter doors) to enter. Once inside, you'll be in a small, dimly lighted room with two zombies that pose no threat to you whatsoever. One of them is even holding a rag (if the rag had a SEGA logo, it'd be funnier, but it's still strange enough) and will continue to hold it for a while. Deal with them however you want or make yourself a... *****COMBO: If you wanna try for a nice string/chain combo involving a quick transition to a second zombie with handgun shots that also looks really cool, check this one out! Go for the zombie that's not holding any rag first. Start with P jabs and move on to PP or PPP sets to get in closer to the rag-holding zombie and finish off the regular zombie before you string along the combo. (It's actually not as difficult as it sounds.) By then you should have 10-15 or so hits and one defeated regular zombie. Now, move left VERY quickly (you should now be something to the right of the rag zombie, who's since tossed the rag) and try to get a blue-sight lock in that zombie as soon as possible (it takes some practice but it's second nature after a while). As soon as you get one, fire off a single shot. You'll notice that if you were fast enough, your combo counter increases! Now move in and finish the combo however you like -- don't do just single P jabs though, use PP and PPP sets, since you've gotta get rid of both zombies in a short amount of time. This can net you up to a 30+ hit combo...not too shabby at all. ***** After the two zombies are defeated (watch your time), dash attack or just plain hit the two-door metal cabinet to the northwest to grab a pipe (optional) and some bonus pts. for opening the cabinet. Then get next to the dusty old computer the game points you to and press a button to insert the disk you got into it. You then get a cinema with a weird floating head who claims not to be your enemy (I wouldn't know about that...), and you'll then be presented with three cards to choose from, red, blue or yellow. Press a button to pick a card, any card, it doesn't really matter until the very end. The floating head will now compliment you on sealing your fate (ha ha) and give you further instructions...but if you just want to pick the darn card and get on with things, hit the start button to speed things up. You're now free to leave the small room and get back on the street. Before you do, though, you might want to empty your present handgun clip to get a full clip of 10 bullets (you'll need them for the next section). Get in the habit of reloading your gun before heading for the next scene, it's good practice and hey, if you're good you'll need FAR less then 50 bullets (full clip + 4 spares) to get past a room...besides the zombies drop extras along the way. You can also take the time to practice your charge up shot right now. Wind up for a charged handgun shot and turn left or right as you need to and aim for the folding chair that's now in the back of the room thanks the camera angle change. If you hit it, you get 500 pts. and the chair folds itself! ;) Head on out. Back outside, you'll be facing south and you'll be headed in a due south direction. Make sure your handgun has a full clip and follow the arrows to meet... Three bats which suddenly fly out of a manhole! (Yeesh, they're good) You'd best try and get rid of them as quickly as possible since another big wave of zombies isn't far behind. If you don't get rid of the bats they'll become a big problem. The good thing is that these bats have very little life. My best advice is to just stand in place as the bats fly out and fire away at the bats without trying to get a powered-up hit. As you fire though, don't just fire blindly; fire your handgun with deliberate, well-timed S presses. This seems to get you past this area better. You can usually drop the 3 bats with 6 shots standing in place. The bad news is that this doesn't always work. You can aim at those bats way up high, but they will be somewhat hard to track and will occasionally dive at you for about 1/7 damage. If you ever see a bat swooping down at you, block right away. Don't be fooled, since the attack is much faster than it looks. Should you defeat the bats you've only got the oh, 5 or 6 zombies left to deal with? Whew! The first one you should really take care of, though, is right "behind" you. As the zombies variously come out of the manhole or drop from the sky, this red coat zombie will fall down carrying a machine gun. If you happen to have the pipe on you though, getting rid of this zombie will be a snap. Wait until you can attack the zombie, and first wait until you get a red-sight lock, which won't take very long since you'll be right next to it. Fire a single shot once the handgun shot is fully powered and THEN immediately combo with a PPP pipe swing combo (don't start off swinging the pipe, you need to save it and it takes longer to get the job done). You'll be simply amazed by the damage you do! In fact...oops, no more zombie-from-behind problem, cuz he's done for. :) One less thing to worry about, at least. Unfortunately in the meantime the other zombies are comin' at cha and there's another red coat zombie with a machine gun getting ready to fire. If he's gonna be trouble, rush in and dash attack him flat. Be aware of your surroundings though...a brown zombie will crawl out of the manhole while you're putting down the red-coat zombie behind you, and usually whiff a claw swipe in your direction...but it'll end up kinda close to you. At this point you may find yourself surrounded. This is exactly where the pipe excels. Use any combination of pipe swings once you're in the thick of things to bash your way out, smacking all nearby enemies for good damage and possible nice combos before the pipe is used up. Do try and "focus" your attacks though...you want at least 1 or 2 enemies gone, not just heavily damaged, before the pipe is used up. If you lose the pipe, you could always pick up the machine gun and let fly some S- or P- bursts to make some room. Or just keep your distance and use your handgun. Just be very careful now since many of the zombies can multi-hit for terrible amounts of hurt. In the end, though, you'll usually be able to get past this area with no life lost after some practice. Head on to Area 3 by entering the manhole, and hit the box way at the back for handgun clips and bonus pts. if you haven't done so yet. ------------------------------------------------------------- Part III: Industrial Sewage Plant Difficulty: Low/Medium Life-ups: 2 (normal route), 3 with lucky "???" box, 5 with secrets (so...about 25-40% replenishment normal route, 35-50% replenishment if you're lucky, and about 100% replenishment if you get all 5 life-ups) Expect to lose this much life: 0-30% You're fine if you leave the Area with: at least 50% life Secrets: 4 Combo Opportunities: 2 You'll now see a brief cinema where our three heroes are near the manhole (you see this from the "manhole's perspective"). Stick is kneeling and looking down into the manhole. Linda's also looking down, hands on knees. Rikiya is, well, doing what Rikiya does. :) Stick breaks the brief silence with a "Let's go!" Linda nods, Rikiya locks and loads (so cool) =), and the cutscene ends. Enter the next episode. You're now headed down a ladder on a field trip to the sewer :P! I think Stick sums it up best: "That smells aweful" (misspelling included in the game). But that's not all that's awful down here... The reason why I said you're OK even if you have only 25% or so life left is because this level provides opportunities to get a good sum of life-ups and "build up" your health, and with practice you'll lose little or no life until you have to face the final Boss. This level will emphasize the use of the handgun and other weapons over melee combat. After you drop down from the ladder (camera view will face north, and so will you), you'll be greeted with 2 brown sewer zombies (careful, they can hit quick and hard), 2 grayish crawling zombies (new), and 2 very large but stationary Venus Fly Trap-like plants (also new). The crawler zombies can move fast and will stay low to the ground so only handgun shots are practical until they stand up. Also, the zombies can make a slow leap at you at any time without warning, and can hit for about 1/7 damage. The crawling zombie, once standing, can also charge forward with a fast lunging one-handed swipe at you (light damage). These attacks, like all the attacks so far except the machine gun/shotgun, are blockable. So great, now you have to deal with 4 quick-hitting zombies and 2 big plant-things that you've never seen before (lucky you though, they don't move). Fear not -- it's actually quite easy. There's two ways to go about this. You will begin the level with an immediate height advantage -- they'll all be in the water, while you'll be on a raised platform. If you need to play really cautious you can even stand in place and aim at the zombies for red-sight shots as they shimmy on over and slowly crawl up to your level, and you'll have no trouble at all. You could even get rid of the flytrap monsters with no problems while standing on this platform/walkway. However, if you want to get a bit more adventurous, feel free to drop in the water. It's actually almost as safe, if you use the power of the charge-up shot. Way #2: Jump into that lovely sewage by moving right and face towards the advancing enemies (they're still very far away). Don't worry, the water won't slow you down a bit. If you don't want to waste the 6 shots in pressing then holding S, toss a punch first and then hold S down to begin the charge-up handgun shot windup. Move the joystick left or right to adjust your aim and try to get as many zombies in your sights as possible, but if you can only knock down two, fine, don't wait for the perfect shot or you're in trouble! And then, as soon as you get a nice group of zombies standing near each other, let that charged shot fly! On a good day you can hit up to 4 monsters, knocking down 3 zombies and getting rid of one of the flytraps since the shot goes through opponents. An easy 600 pts. In any case just stay where you are and fire red-sight shots at the survivors (who may be missing certain chunks by now :)), using melee attacks to ward off any zombies that get too close. You'll then be left with a good amount of time and one flytrap left to finish off. Move back onto the platform and head on over to the middle left of the room, where you'll see a blocked tunnel/large industrial fan. Shoot into the tunnel to hit a concealed box, which yields you three bullet clips and a life- up! (15-20% healing) Now move on to the flytrap and finish it with a single red-sight shot from your player's maximum range -- the flytrap will spit unaimed and blockable arcing purple projectiles all around it a good distance from where it is, and if you're too close that means a potential ton of hurt. Never use melee attacks on the flytraps. You now move onto the next scene, where a crawler zombie will move right up to you. Finish it easily with a single red-sight shot, and move up a little to the right (camera will face right) so you don't get nicked by the laser there. If the zombie suddenly stands up after the shot (only to fall again), hit it up if you want for some points and melee combat practice (for example, I find [P, PPP, dash attack] or [P, PPS, roll] good "drills" to make sure I've got my coordination down). Don't move too far right from where the zombie was -- just stay away from the laser's limited range -- and strike a charge-up handgun pose (facing right) and wait until the timer hits the low 40s. Why? You could do this scene in other ways, but this way is in my opinion the least trouble for you. This is because if you moved up to face the platform zombies, you'd be surrounded by four brown zombies, all of which can attack quickly or from afar by spitting purple goo at you! Sure enough, two brown zombies will stand up from the water to your right (looks like they'll be the ones surprised now), but don't fire the charge shot at them until they see you, turn around and start moving towards you (they'll be hittable then). You'll watch em take a spinning flying knockdown hit after eating the charged shot blast :). Then it's a simple matter of red-sight locks while they're flattened (or Rolls if you're feeling cocky) to finish them off. Try not to hit the floating crate marked "???" if you can help it, there's a "technique" for a higher chance at a life-up prize. Now continue to move east. You'll find two brown zombies on a platform who can spit the purple stuff at you and one flytrap blocking your way. Move eastward carefully so you can only see and get red-sight shots at one brown zombie at a time, and they'll never have the chance to fire at you. If they do, just block, it's easier than trying to run away. Now there's only the flytrap left. From maximum range, fire 2 red-sight shots and another quick shot to get rid of it, it's got a pretty big lifebar. Rikiya only needs to use 2 shots, the lucky guy. Now, before you turn your attention back to the "???" box, empty your clip and don't hit the box (credits to BLui for the tip). Now turn back west and punch the box. You could Clear Out on it, but it might hurt you sometimes. Having a full clip when you punch the box seems to mean a higher chance of getting a 10-15% life-up. The other two alternatives are 3 bullet clips, or the bad-news prize...a bat. If the bat flies out, just aim at it, wait for the red-sight and bring it down. If you clear out on the box and the bat's in it, the bat's history...but you'll also take the clear out move damage penalty (and be left wondering, "Huh?!?" ;)) You're not done here yet, though. If you're interested in picking up some special weapons, and who isn't?, head on up to the platform and break down the panel blocking up the door (I find the no-look back kick a very flashy way of doing this :P), then enter the secret room. You'll now be in a small room with a single weak zombie. Take care of the zombie first, and then break down the 3 boxes on top for a load of bullet clips and an assortment of weapons to choose from should you want to take them. You can also be a real showoff and break all three boxes at once by using a clear-out move just left of the center box (you won't lose any life so long as the zombie you beat up has disappeared). Remember, crates are worth points! I recommend picking up the machine gun. Once out of the weapons room, head right to enter the third scene. Careful -- it's a bit more dangerous this time. The gimmick about this scene is that rather large chunks of rock will plummet from above. Frequently. Rapidly. Mercilessly. And I really doubt you can block these suckers :). Maybe you can, but do you really wanna find out ;P?! Any zombie here is also fair game for getting hit but if the unlucky recipient of the virtual stone anvil to the head is you, you'll get knocked down for a whopping 1/3 damage, which is really not good since from here on in til Area 5 you'll want to keep your lifebar up as high as possible. While on the ground, you could even get creamed with yet another falling rock. The best way to avoid this is never to stay in any one place for too long a time. Also keep an eye out for falling rock shadows appearing near you. Don't use high recovery-time moves, and keep running around, and you should be safe. Now, onto the enemies you'll face. You will be headed "southward" (like heading out of the playing screen) and the camera adjusts accordingly. You'll first be met with two crawling zombies with kinda high lifebars who will quickly float their way towards you. A brown zombie with a large lifebar will follow not far behind. Should you have the machine gun (:):):)), you now have a chance to launch into another big combo! *****COMBO: Sure, you're limited to the 40 shots of the machine gun, but hey, don't get greedy! As soon as you finish walking into the next area with the transitional cinema, look for or get a blue-sight machine gun lock on the closest crawler. Let loose three quick S-bursts at it. Since the crawlers just take the bullets (while crawling) with no recoil, getting the combo meter up to 15 is a breeze. Now, with a little luck the next crawling zombie will have been far enough away so while you were hitting one crawler, you also weren't hitting the other (this does happen quite often btw). Get a lock on this zombie quick and plug away 3 more S-bursts to bring your combo meter to 30 hits! Woooo! It gets better if you've still got some spare luck left. Try and get the brown zombie in your sights now and use up the last 10 shots in your machine gun with S-bursts. The first 5 shots will send the zombie flying, but the next 5 still have a good chance to connect. You could get up to a 40-hit combo! ***** If you don't have the machine gun or just get unlucky, just try to get red-sight shots and do quick combos on those three zombies and move around a lot to keep the rocks from hitting you. *****Note: Should you enter this area with a low life-bar, you might want to try your luck and enter the secret room to your left first (but bring a machine gun). After you begin the scene, run to the left side, climb up to the platform, and enter the door using the G button. Deal with the two crawlers and the brown zombie later. You'll then be met by five zombies with very high lifebars, who can all attack very quickly. If you're gonna get your lifebar back up, you're gonna hafta earn it big time. As soon as those five zombies get REALLY close to you, and it won't take long, let loose with the machine gun. Rip at them zombies with unaimed P-bursts, and don't stop firing until the machine gun is empty. If you can afford the life, get in there and give em a whack with a Clear Out Attack to help even the odds a little. With all those bullets flying around the life ups (50% restoration) will have been long freed from the crate :) so go get em, they do disappear after a while! The biggest problem about going for the life-ups here is that you've gotta fight five very tough zombies in a very tight space, and the way to the lifeups is often crammed with zombies. Even the best players will have trouble avoiding getting hit. I'm not one of those players...I've only been lucky enough to beat all 5 zombies and escape unharmed once. Even if most of the machine gun bullets hit, the zombies are still gonna have a lotta life left. My best advice for anyone brave enough to head in this room (read: I don't recommend you head here unless you gotta) is 1) bring a fully loaded machine gun with you (shotguns won't work because the zombies won't stop coming...if you're going to MAKE this work with the shotgun, you'll probably going to HAVE to use up a clear out attack on the zombies); 2) never stop firing or moving; 3) use dash attacks and rolls; and 4) keep to the basic combos. Ah, to have a grenade for this room :P. As you play more, you'll find that although the room might not be worth the trip (in that you come out with less life than you started with), you can survive it. ***** Three zombies down (8 if you entered the first secret room in this scene). Three to go. It's not too bad, really -- you've got a pretty weak brown platform spit zombie to your left, a stronger one of the same variety to your right, and a flytrap in the center. Take out one of the spit zombies first with the handgun -- I go for the stronger one first -- and then head out to take care of the other one. Remember, as soon as you see the little green lifebar pop up (when fighting one zombie at a time), you're already starting to establish a handgun lock. Note! Spit zombies are not like gun-toting zombies in that if you fire off a quick shot to stop the zombie before it spits at you, you really WILL buy yourself more time -- it'll have to go through the spitting prep animation all over again. So don't be afraid to fire a blue-sight shot if you have to. After getting rid of the two brown zombies, you can then get rid of the flytrap now, or save it for later, and get up on the platform to your lower right near the end of the scene and enter the door. Don't forget, rocks are still falling from the sky the whole time, so watch your step. Then enter the "secret" room. It's really not so much a secret since you can see the door. But this s