Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday

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Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday Walkthrough Version 1.1
By Dancin' Homer at dancinhomer@rpgfan.com
05/27/01

Table o' Contents

• Part zero: Walkthrough History
• Part one: How To Set Up Your Team And Cheat At It Too
• Part two: The Story So Far
• Part three: The Trouble With Terrines
• Part four: Albino Brain Chiggers!
• Part five: Floor it, Grannie
• Part six: Save the Wee Space Bunnies
• Part seven: Intergalactic Space Goons Shouldn't Breed
• Part eight: Albino Brain Chiggers! Part two (Optional Mission)
• Intermission: Let's All Go to the Lobby...
• Part nine: Jail Break (Optional Mission)
• Part ten: Death to MCI! (Optional Mission)
• Part eleven: Crossbows Just Won't Cut It
• Part twelve: The Great Justin Robeno (Optional Mission)
• Part thirteen: The Unlucky Mission (Optional Mission)
• Part fourteen: Party at Talon's Place (Optional Mission)
• Part fifteen: Welcome to the Jungle
• Part sixteen: Dinner And Dancing (Optional Mission)
• Part seventeen: Rainbow 6 in the 25th Century! (Optional Mission)
• Part eighteen: Cruisin' With the Big Boys (Very Optional Mission)
• Part nineteen: Je M'apelle Bite Me
• Part twenty: The Armory
• Part twenty-one: The Shmooze List
• Part twenty-two: Legal Stuff
• Part twenty-three: Special Thanks Spot

Part zero: FAQ history

• 0.1- The FAQ is born! FAQ stops at Part 7
• 0.2- Fixed some organizational errors. Added Parts 0, 8-13.
• 0.3- Fixed some organizational errors. Added Note to the Readers. Added Parts 14-17. Found the Plasma Thrower.
• 0.4- Fixed some organizational errors. Added Parts 18-20.
• 0.5- Finally remembered to add Shop Lists.
• 1.0 - Turned Part 3.2 into Part 20. Added information to Part 20. Added parts 21 and 22. Updated Part 19.
• 1.1 - Edited Bucky's Tip #1. Started adding maps up to Part 5. Added Part 23.

Note to the Readers - This FAQ is written for the Sega Genesis version of the game. If you are not playing the Genesis version, you might notice a few things wrong here or there. However, the bulk of this should be consistent no matter what version you are playing. Also, the numbers of enemies faced in most set battles are random. The ones I found were merely the ones I found, and your gameplay may vary from my own slightly. Experience points also change depending on how many allies you have. Finally, remember that my maps are not EXACTLY correct. This is my first shot at making them in a walkthrough, so if you have problems with them, live with it :P

Part one: How To Set Up Your Team And Cheat At It Too

Welcome to the exciting world of Bucky O'Hare and his galactic super animal pals! What? This is a different cheesy space thing? Oh, sorry. Welcome to Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday! Anyway, before you can start playing, you must first create your team of super heroes. This section is pretty easy to understand, but just so my FAQ will be more comprehensive, I'll cover the most important parts.

• Race - This is the species of your character. The three options are Humans (Well rounded and capable of any career), Desert Runners (Strong, yet slightly idiotic. Incapable of being a rogue or a medic), and Tinkers (Small, fast, and intelligent, yet weak beyond compare. Can only be medics).
• Career - This is the character's primary skill. The four options are Warrior (Strongest type and capable of learning Leadership skills), Rocket Jock (Second strongest type and capable of using Jury Rig skill to fix a damaged rocket in the midst of battle), Rogue (Third strongest type and capable of using Bypass Security skill to, well, bypass security), and Medic (The puniest of them all and capable of bringing a fallen character to his feet with the Treat Wounds skill). You should try to have every type in your group. Make sure to realize that Warriors are the slowest to level up.
• Other - This menu lets you decide if your hero will be male or female (This has no effect on your character) and also lets you roll your attributes again.
• HP - This is how much life you have. Getting hurt reduces it. Once it's gone, you fall down go boom. A fallen hero is unconscious until the end of battle, comatose until healed, dying, or dead. Once a guy is dead, that's it for him. I suggest loading if and when this happens.
• AC - This is your Armor Class. The lower the number is, the less chance you have of getting hit. Also, when you do get hit, you usually take less damage too.
• Strength - This is the muscular power of your hero. As far as I can tell, this affects the distance you can move per turn. It also improves damage done with melee weapons.
• Dexterity - This is the agility of your hero. It affects your armor class.
• Constitution - This is the physical health of your hero. It affects your HP.
• Charisma - This is the debonair charm of your hero. As far as I can tell, it affects the Fast Talk skill's success rate.
• Technical (?) - This is the mental capacity of your hero. As far as I can tell, it affects the success rate of all skills.

Bucky's Tip #1: It's obvious that you can get a better character by rolling your stats until they come out really high, but if you want to suck every possible HP out of the game for your humans and desert runners, try this trick. If you repeatedly switch the job of the character you're working with, his HP will change every time. Be patient and you can really get a nice little boost for your efforts. Of course, Tinkers can't change jobs this way, so the only method for them is to repeatedly change races. It works just the same though, and Tinkers need every HP they can get.

There, now that we've gotten through that, you get to name your characters. I chose a theme for my names and gave each character a name related to soup. Soup is yummy. After you get the names out of the way, you must assign each character his skills. Here is a list of them in no particular order and what they do. Remember, each character only gets 8 points for now, so use them wisely.

• First Aid - This is the character's ability to patch up those nasty injuries that hurt us so very much. It can be used to turn a fallen character's status from dieing to unconscious. Also, it lets you get back more HP after battle. Everyone should get some training in this.
• Zero Gravity Maneuvering - This is the character's ability to walk around in space. Whenever you fight in a place without gravity, there is a chance that this skill will improve your walking distance and accuracy. Everyone should get some training in this.
• Library Search - This skill is nearly useless. Whenever you find a library, you can use this skill to find a few interesting tips there. Each tip also gives you 100 experience points. There is one extra mission for you to accomplish if you get this skill, but it has few bonuses. Give this to only one character and don't waste too much training on it.
• Perception - I am not quite sure, but I think that having a high perception skill allows you to notice items and secret things that are normally invisible to you. Train one person to be proficient in this skill.
• Fast Talk - A neat skill that has saved me more than once. This skill affects your bluffs, intimidations, and lies, and without it, you won't stand much of a chance. Train one person to be proficient in this skill.
• Demolition - FIRE IN THE HOLE!!! MWAHAHA!!! This skill lets you blow up whatever needs blowin' up. It's not needed often, but it still helps to have. Train one person to be proficient in this skill.
• Climbing - This affects your ability to climb. Obviously, any hero team has to do a little climbing at some point, so I guess it has some purpose. Train one person in this.
• Stealth - This skill is nice, but by no means necessary. You occasionally see the enemy before they see you, and if your whole team is good at being stealthy you can dodge the fight. Of course, those skill points are hard to get. The other advantage to using Stealth is only available to Cutlass or Monosword wielders. By sneaking up behind the enemy for a rear attack, you sometimes get the option to backstab instead, causing heavy damage and gaining nearly perfect accuracy.
• Programming - This skill affects your character's hacking ability. It's useful, but not always necessary. Train one person to be proficient in this skill.
• Rocket Repair - This skill affects how successfully your character can weld shut a hull breach. Because you have to fight a few space battles, you might want to pump a few points in here just to be safe. However, it is possible to simply ignore it if you have a good fast talk skill or don't mind getting healed at Salvation III for free.
• Leadership - This skill is only applicable to warriors. It affects your ability to recruit characters around you to fight for your cause. Pump as many points into here as possible, because having more targets... er, friends, can really help out sometimes. It also increases the chance that you will succeed at the tactics roll before each round starts, letting your side attack first.
• Jury Rig - This skill is only applicable to rocket jockeys. Make sure that this skill is high, because it is the only way to fix broken parts on your spaceship. Don't leave home without it.
• Bypass Security - This skill is only applicable to rogues. Whether you have to break out of jail or jimmy open a door, this skill does it all. Make sure that one character is proficient at it.
• Treat Wounds - This skill is only applicable to medics. If it weren't for this skill, medics would be useless. It allows them to bring a fallen ally back into fighting condition, but he will still be weak. Like all career specific skills, this one is a must.
• Combat Training - This skill is only applicable to warriors and uses special points that are specifically for it. For every point that you put into this, your warrior will do 1 more point of damage and have 5% better accuracy, but it only works for the weapon you choose for him to train in. I'd suggest either Monoswords or Dart Guns, but Laser Pistols are also nice.

Okay, you've picked what your character will be like. Now do it five more times. Unless you want a handicap of epic proportions, use a full team. My suggested team is two warriors (One human and one desert runner), two rocket jockeys (One human and one desert runner), one rogue (Human of course), and one medic (Tinker). Now, let us see...

Part two: The Story So Far...

The year is 24 something, and I don't feel like checking when exactly. The important part is that it's THE 25th CENTURY!!! In Earth's future, the evil Russo-American Mercantile (Or R.A.M.) has decimated the planet's resources and plans on conquering the entire solar system as soon as Earth is out of the way. Fortunately, the New Earth Organization (Or N.E.O.) is doing its best to save the world! You've just joined the group hoping to pound some genetically altered mutants or save a planet or something. Now, let us begin.

Part three: The Trouble With Terrines

Enemies

Terrine Warrior - These guys are quite pathetic, but they aren't harmless. They carry a Laser Pistol and a Spacesuit. Collect the Suits so you can sell them, but leave the pistols, which have less value. Try to take these morons out first. Worth 12 experience points and 40 credits each.

Terrine Leader - A slightly buffer versions of the Warriors. These guys have a wee bit more life, but their biggest advantage is in their weaponry. They carry Laser Pistols, Cutlasses, Dazzle Grenades, and Smart Suits. Try to get a Smart Suit for each character for a -2 bonus on your AC.

NEO Warrior - The few, the proud, the NEO warriors. Actually, they are pretty plentiful and I see no reason for them to be proud. These guys are your friends, and will gladly help you out if you have a high enough Leadership skill. They seem to be using nothing more than a Laser Pistol, but they make nice targets and take a few hits for you. Send them right up to the front line for the most useful effects.

Your group has been assigned to Salvation Station for salvage duty, but that doesn't matter right now. Why? Because an army of homicidal mutant Terrines has just invaded the Chicagorg (No, that's not a typo on my part) airport where you happen to be! A fallen companion tells you to go find the emergency missile controls and save the day.

Legend

• X - Start. This is where you begin the level at.
• F - Fire. Causes minor damage and forces you to retreat.
• E - Event. Not worth anything, but provides information.
• A - Enemy. You are attacked by foes.
• L - Lock. The door cannot be opened.
• T - Trap. The door cannot be opened and enemies attack.
• S - Spoils. Treasure, loot, booty, etc.
• O - Boss. The final battle of the level.

           _     _ 
          |_|FFF|_|F 
           F        F _ 
           F         |E| 
           F  X        F 
           F   |E|   |E_|     | 
     ______F             F ___|__ 
    |  |    |             |    O | 
    | E    E       LL    T|L  |  | 
    |__|    |_____|LL|____|  _|__| 
    |  |                      | 
    |_A  _____        _  __  _| 
    |  |E     |A|E|  |  E  |S | 
    |_E_______|_|_|LL|_____|__|

Mission Objectives: Locate and Activate Defensive Missiles, Save Airport

Bucky's Tip #2: When in battle, try to get in side and rear attacks. After you shoot at an enemy or after he shoots at you, he will turn in that direction. If you position your character behind the enemy or to its side, it will be less able to dodge your attack. This also counts for you, so watch your back. Also, make sure to kill off enemies one at a time. A wounded foe can still hurt you. A dead one can't.

Level Breakdown
As you search this area, Terrines will randomly attack you, so don't waste time. First, head southwest of where you start. If you head in any other direction, horrible explosions will drive you back. You will find a door into the building. Go in. To your left is a Lecture Hall. There is nothing of importance inside so ignore it. South of there, you will find the Officer's Lounge and the Canteen. The Officer's Lounge is filled with bodies so ignore it too. The Canteen is filled with Terrines, so rush in and whack the fools. To your right, you will find the rest rooms. There is one Terrine warrior in the ladies' room (Boldly going where no man has ever gone before) and nothing in the decimated men's room. To the north, you can see a security door, but it's locked. Further to the right, you will find the waiting room. There's nothing here of value. Continue right until you find the medical office. The moment you enter, an angry guard kicks you out. It's probably for the best, though, because a grenade goes off inside seconds later. Enter again for 2 explosive grenades. North of there, you will find a door that says "Authorized Personnel Only". March on in and you'll encounter a group of 6 Terrine warriors and 1 Leader. Oh joy. You are surrounded at first, so try to take out all the enemies of one side to prevent rear attacks from the enemy. Make sure to get rid of all the warriors first. You shouldn't have too much trouble. After the fight, a RAM technician tries to shoot at you while fiddling with the controls. Here are the choices you can make and what each one leads to:

• Shoot - One of your heroes fire at the technician. I don't think you can miss. He dies, but first he prepares a grenade on the missile terminal. Options "Dive on Grenade" and "Flee" appear.
• Charge - You tackle the technician with the same results as the "Shoot" option.
• Hide - You duck into a safer position. Changes the "Hide" option into the "Flee" option, but nothing else changes.
• Dive on Grenade - One of your heroes must jump onto an exploding grenade to stop it from destroying the terminal, but he/she will take 10 points of damage. You gain 2000 experience points, 1000 credits, full health, and complete the mission.
• Flee - You run like a little pansy and flying saucer people blow up the whole building. It causes instant death for you, thus removing a pathetic coward from existence. DON'T DO THIS!

Congrats! You just beat the first mission! But before we go on to the next, you visit Salvation III. Here is the NEO headquarters, full of bright, cheerful individuals dedicated to cleaning up the Earth. It also contains a medical center for the injured, a bar (It's the only one that doesn't have brawls in the entire universe), a meeting room, and the weapons shop. You can do some schmoozing at the bar if you wish or have that nasty mole on your back taken care of if you want, but I suggest going to the gunnery first. Here, you are introduced to the wide world of firearms. Pick out some nice boom-sticks here (For more information on the game's many boom-sticks, see Part twenty: The Armory), and then head on over to the meeting room to learn of your next mission, which just might involve...

Part four: Albino Brain Chiggers!

Enemies

• Small E.C. Gennie - These tiny terrors are more annoying than dangerous. They have a weak close range attack, but they tend to appear in large numbers. Beware, as a hit from them can induce Dizziness, which lowers accuracy and dodge percentages. Worth 25 experience points each.
• Large E.C. Gennie - These are the first large enemies you will encounter, as they cover two squares instead of the normal one! More importantly, they have more life than their tiny cousins, do more damage (They're still close range though), and can poison your people! Zounds! Destroy them on site or pay the consequences. Worth 33 experience points.
• RAM L.D. Robot - These things are quite painful. They are armed with Martian Laser Pistols and don't mind using them. Fortunately, they have little life and go down before causing you too much aggravation. Worth 25 experience points each.
• RAM H.D. Robot - As with the light defense models, these things have powerful Martian Laser Pistols. However, they also have higher life, but don't come in such large numbers. Worth 42 experience points each.
• Comatose Hero - If one of your heroes goes unconscious, he will eventually come to and try to kill you. Obviously, he will be just as strong as he was before and will use whatever weapon he's carrying. Show no mercy, but receive no prize.

Your boss, Mr. Turabian, tells you to go out into Earth's orbit in search of freaky things. You comply willingly, unaware that one of the most annoying parts of the game is approaching. After a few days of searching, you find an old unidentified ship. As soon as you enter, a glowing phantasm screams by you! Creepy. The doors lock behind you, sealing you within this ghastly hole of death.

Mission Objectives: Locate Information on the Ship's History, Neutralize any Threats to NEO, Escape Alive

Legend

• X - Start.
• E - Event.
• I - Information. An important event.
• B - Bonus. An event that gives you experience.
• A - Enemy.
• M - Medic. Also known as your best friend in the whole wide world.
• L - Ladder. Going up?
• V - Vent. Going down?
• T - Trap. Using the thing here summons enemies.
• S - Spoils.
• D - Delayed Attack. Once a condition is met, enemies show up here.
• 0 - Boss.

Floor 1 
 __________ 
|_|      EL| 
|V _____   | 
| |     |  | 
| |     | I| 
| |   __|  | 
| |  |  __ | 
| |__| |  I| 
|______|___| 

 
Floor 2 
 ____________ 
|_|___|   | L| 
|V     B__|  | 
|  __        | 
| |__|  __  E| 
|  ____|EE|  | 
| |    |EE| _| 
| |    |EE  X| 
|D|____|EE|  | 
|__D__I|IE|_E| 

 
Floor 3 
 _________ 
|_|     |L| 
|V|_|_E_| | 
| __  _  _| 
|   |E |E | 
|___|E_|E_| 

 
Floor 4 
 _________ 
|_| |EEE|L| 
|V __ ___ | 
|T|  E |MS| 
|      |__| 
|______|__| 

 
Floor 5 
 ______ 
|_|II|L| 
|V __| | 
|  BA| | 
|______| 

 
Floor 6 
 ______ 
|_| O|L| 
|_   |A| 
|_|____|

Level Breakdown
As you wander around in here, horrible Gennies and robots will randomly attack you, so please hurry. Also, each hero now has an evil parasite in their brain that they picked up in the air, so your first objective is to find a medical station. As you walk, the heroes will go into a coma one by one, so hurry up. Head left as soon as you enter the ship. In here, you will find bits of a recording. One piece will tell you a secret code that the game remembers for you. Head out into the hall again. To the south, you will find a gun turret that does nothing for you. Ignore it. To the north, you will see a ladder. Go up it twice and you will be on floor 4. To the south of the floor 4 ladder, you will find the medical office! In the first room, you will find a computer. Use it, and then take it. You will find 5 Antidotes beneath it. Go left and it will tell you that medical equipment hangs around here. Use it, and it will require a code. Here are the choices you can make and what each leads to:

• Conchitez - The machine will not accept the code and robots will attack, plus you lose all hope of removing your brain parasites. DON'T DO THIS!!!
• Will - The machine will accept the code.
• Buck - Same results as Conchitez. DON'T DO THIS!!!
• Vilnikov - A valid code.
• Simonov - I never tried this one. Little help?

If you put in the proper code, all of your people will be healed and you gain 500 experience points! Now you don't have to worry about brain parasites, and if you take any damage, you can return for a quick boost. Head west of the medical lab and you will find two doors. The north one contains information on Mr. Conchitez, currently deceased, and on some doctor of no importance. To the south is an empty cargo bay. Further west is bio-monitoring station. Use it and a Large ECG will attack you. Kill it. North of there is the air ducts, which act as another ladder if you have some skill in Perception. However, there is a small chance that one of your heroes will encounter a herd of Small ECGs within and will have to fight them alone.

Bucky's Tip #3: These battles in the vents are wonderful for building up experience. Each one is worth about 300-400 points, plus whoever does the fighting gets an extra 200. Spend some time here and you'll be thankful when you get back home.

Head back to the ladder and go to floor 5. Follow the one path you are given and you will find a computer console. If you have a rogue, you can shut it down with your Bypass Security skill. This will shut down all robots and gives the rogue 250 experience points, if she succeeds. To your right is a room full of (Now inactive) robots that you should ignore, and to the north, you will meet the sentient hologram of Scot.Dos. He is a NEO sympathizer and tells you that you must find some argon gas to kill off the little monsters running around and if you don't hurry, they will grow up into their final stage. He then tells you to head to either floor 4 or 1 to find it. Go back to the ladder and head to floor 3, ignoring Scot's messages to you. South of the ladder, you find a room with a folder in it that says that the ECG was designed to drop brain parasites, explaining what happened to you earlier. Head left, and you will find another 2 rooms. The north one is empty except for some signs of battle, and the south one just contains a diary revealing RAM's plans to use the ECG horde to wipe out the earthlings. Further left, you find a room that has several bodies in it. One holds a log containing another computer access code and hints that some gas can control the ECG swarm. Obviously, we already know that it's argon, but that's okay. Head back to floor 2 and head west. You'll find a door leading to the ship's garden. Inside, a monstrous plant quickly soothes the party almost to sleep and then wraps up one of your members! Here are the choices you can make and what each leads to:

• Attack - Destroy the plant, but the attacked hero takes 10 points of damage from the evil thorns. You discover it was actually a highly advanced ECG and gain 250 experience points.
• Flee - You try to abandon your friend, but the plant lures all of you in. You deserved it. It causes instant death for you. DON'T DO THIS!
• Watch - You decide that dieing won't be so bad and are eaten by the plant critter. It causes instant death for you. DON'T DO THIS!

Now that you've grabbed all possible experience on the ship, head down to floor 1 and explore the southeast corner. You should find the argon there. If it's not there, then it is on floor 4. The placement seems random. In any case, once you find it, go to floor 2. Head all the way to the west, and then go south. As soon as you open the door, a Large ECG will attack. Kill it, and then continue. At the end of the hall, you will find the Air Sampling Center. Hook up the argon tank for a cool 500 experience points. The ECGs begin dieing, but don't celebrate yet! One of the super-intelligent Stage 3 ECGs has reversed the flow and is stopping you from saving the day! Scot tells you to go to engineering to override the alien freak, so leave the room. Another Large ECG will attack along the way. Kill that one too. Go to the ladder and rush down to the east side of floor 1. A computer console will be down there. Have your hero with the best Jury Rig skill try to fix it, but in the mean time, ECGs attack! Here are the choices you can make and what each leads to:

• Stand - You bravely face the monsters and just fix the wiring in the nick of time. The ECGs die without a fight. You gain 1000 experience points.
• Retreat - You abandon the computer and try to run, but soon you are surrounded. You are stuck in a nearly impossible battle with 8 large ECGs and 4 Small ECGs. If anyone has beaten this battle, inform me of the results. I didn't feel like trying.

All seems to be going your way... UNTIL A VOICE INFORMS YOU THAT ONE OF THE ECGS JUST SET OFF THE SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE! Rush to floor 6, enter the door, go up to the computer console, get 500 experience points, and everything will finally be settled. Well, everything except for the mysterious gunman in the airlock who's shooting at you! One of your heroes will take 7 points of damage, and then a battle will begin with a pair of Stage 3 ECGs.

BOSS BATTLE!

• Stage 3 ECGs - These two zombie-like monstrosities are annoying, but not that hard. They have a large amount of life, good defense, and carry Martian Dart Guns, Martian Smart Suits, and Martian Monoswords. Try to kill them off one at a time, and make sure to have your injured characters run. Two hits from these guys would kill most characters by now. After the fight, collect everything. Worth 50 experience points each.

Now that those two are taken care of, your heroes notice something in the escape pod. Inside, you find a Stage 3 ECG with a bomb! Here are the choices you can make and what each leads to:

• Shoot It - The creature flies out into space to die and you run away in time to escape the blast. The ship is now yours, and you return to Salvation III. You gain 1000 experience points and complete the mission.
• Flee - The thing throws the bomb after you, killing itself and causing 24 points of damage to all of your heroes. If you survive that, the rest is the same as the "Shoot It" option.

Congrats again! You just completed the second mission, and you got a nice rocket ship for you to use as a bonus. Now, as yet another old saying goes...

Part five: Floor it Grannie

Enemies

! = Found on RAM ships
@ = Found on Pirate ships
# = Found on Mercurian ships

• ! RAM Warriors - These are the basic foot soldiers of the RAM army. They carry Rocket Pistols, Aerosol Grenades, Cutlasses, Protective Goggles (Prevents Blindness), and Heavy Body Armor. They are somewhat dangerous, but as long as you take them out one at a time, you should have no problem. Make sure to grab the Heavy Body Armor and a pair of Goggles for everyone. You will face these guys at almost all points in the game.
• ! RAM Technician - These are the unseen villains normally behind the scenes who build all of those lovely Robots you'll fight with along the way, as well as many other fiendish mechanical creations. They are not very good fighters though, and have almost no life, little defense, and can only aimlessly fire at you. They use Heat Guns and Smart Suits. Worth 21 experience points and 56 credits each.
• ! RAM H.S. Robot - Martian Rocket Pistols can hurt if they hit, so beware. Try to defeat them quickly, but make sure you don't use Rocket Pistols. They don't work too well. Worth 100 experience points each.

! Terrine Leader

• @ Pirate Leader - I hate these guys. They have a ton of life, good defense, good offense, and to top it all off, they carry Stun Grenades, Dazzle Grenades, Heavy Body Armor, Protective Goggles, and a Rocket Pistol. Always kill them first, or else you may wind up with half your team Stunned.
• @ Pirate Warrior - I moderately dislike these guys. They have less life than the Leaders and cause less damage, but their defense is the same. They carry Dazzle Grenades, Heavy Body Armor, and Rocket Pistols. These guys should be your last concern.
• # Mercurian Warrior - The evil frogs of space are almost exact clones of their wimpier RAM cousins. They carry Rocket Pistols, Aerosol Grenades, Cutlasses, and Martian Heavy Body Armor. Fight them just like you would a RAM Warrior.
• # Mercurian Technician - These guys are more like Terrine Warriors than anything else. They carry Laser Pistols and Smart Suits. Just shoot them.
• # Mercurian Leader - FEAR THEM! FEAR AND TREMBLE BEFORE THEM! These pyromaniacs carry PLASMA THROWERS! You know, those big fire-spewing death guns that the RAM Combat Robots use. Kill these guys on site or pay the rather nasty price.

Upon returning to Salvation III, you are informed that an evil plot is going on involving the Ceres asteroid belt, Mars, and Venus. You are told to explore Ceres first. Now, it's time to disobey the rules and search the galaxy for neat things in your new space jalopy. Here are the many scenic areas of space and what they contain.

Legend

• G - Gym. Lets you level up.
• S - Shop. Buy stuff.
• M - Medic. Get full life.
• L - Library. Research useless junk.
• B - Bar. Get wasted and shmooze.
• H - Hangar. Repair/reload your ship.
• O - Off Limits. You can't go past here.

Salvation (Earth)
Smart Suit - 1200 Credits
Laser Pistol - 335 Credits
Cutlass - 100 Credits
Rocket Pistols - 400 Credits
Poison Antidote - 400 Credits
Heat Gun - 500 Credits
Needle Gun - 210 Credits
Space Suit - 500 Credits

      __   __   __ 
 __  |S_| |M_| |B_|  __ 
|  |_|  |_|  |_|  |_|  | 
| G ______   _______ H | 
|__|      |O|       |__|

Tycho (Earth)
Stun Grenade - 100 Credits
Lunarian Monosword - 32000 Credits
Aerosol Mist Grenade - 100 Credits
Dazzle Grenade - 100 Credits
Poison Antidote - 800 Credits

Pavonis (Mars)
Martian Cutlass - 400 Credits
Cutlass - 200 Credits
Monosword - 2000 Credits

New Elysium (Venus)
Protective Goggles - 20 Credits
Poison Antidote - 800 Credits
Venusian Laser Pistol - 2680 Credits
Smart Suit - 2400 Credits

Hielo (Mercury)
Heavy Body Armor - 6800 Credits
Protective Goggles - 40 Credits
Mercurian Heat Gun - 16000 Credits

    _____ 
   |     | 
   |_ L _| 
   __| |_ 
  |  |  O| 
  |_G  | 
     | |_ 
   __|  B| 
  | S  |_| 
  |__| | 
 __  | | 
|  |_| | 
|   H _| 
|____|

Thule (Space)
Rocket Pistol - 800 Credits
Martian Rocket Pistol - 2000 Credits

Aurora (Space)
Space Suit - 2000 Credits
Smart Suit - 4800 Credits
Protective Goggles - 40 Credits
Battle Armor w/Fields - 12000 Credits

Hygeia (Space)
Cutlass - 200 Credits
Grenade Launcher - 1000 Credits
Heat Gun - 1000 Credits

Juno (Space)
ECM Package - 200 Credits
Dazzle Grenade - 200 Credits
Aerosol Mist Grenade - 200 Credits
Stun Grenade - 200 Credits
Chaff Grenade - 200 Credits

Psyche (Space)
Laser Pistol - 670 Credits
Martian Laser Pistol - 1340 Credits

 _____ 
|     | 
|_ S _| 
  |  _| 
  | |   _ 
 _| |__| | 
|O   ___B| 
  | | 
 _| |_ 
|  H  | 
|_____|

Pallas (Space)
(Nothing)

Fortuna (Space)
(Nothing)

Vesta (Space)
(Nothing)

Ceres (Space)
(Nothing)

        __ 
       |  | 
       |  | 
 ______|H_| 
|O  _  ___| 
| G| B| 
|__|__|

First off, visit scenic Juno. Here, for the low price of 200 credits each, you can purchase an ECM Package. These are automatically equipped, but sadly, I have no idea what they do. Buy them anyway, and if you discover their purpose, fill me in. Next up, go to Thule. Here, you should purchase a Martian Rocket Pistol for each character. They are very useful for the next part of the game. Now, enter a bar and keep talking until a fight breaks out. If you decide to stay, you will encounter RAM Warriors. Take the Heavy Body Armors, equip them (they should be the best available now), and head on to Aurora. Here, you can purchase Body Armor W/Fields for only 12,000 credits each! You should be able to afford one, but you'll want one for everybody soon. Go fight RAM warriors and sell their armor until you have enough. Next, head to Venus' New Elysium and pick up some Venusian Laser Pistols. Finally, go off to Hygeia and purchase a Grenade Launcher for your grenade-carrying heroes. By now, you should be nearly broke, but you won't need any credits for a while anyway.

Bucky's Tip #4: In space, you will occasionally find RAM, Pirate, or Mercurian ships. If you are lucky, you can Threaten or Bluff your way out of the situation and make 100 experience points in the process. If you're not lucky, you head straight into combat. If you don't like running, I suggest that once combat starts and you have the chance to attack, aim for the weapons first with your laser cannons. Once they're gone, try to disable either their engines or controls, then close in on and board them. If you capture their ship by finding the control system and/or the engine system, you gain a whole pile of credits for your efforts, but blowing up a ship is only worth a few experience points. Also, because your more entertaining weapons use ammo, it's often too costly to use them. Refills at most spaceports are quite expensive. If you go to Salvation III instead, you can fix up the hunk of junk for free.

It's now time to go...

Part six: Save the Wee Space Bunnies

Enemies

! = Found on Floor 1
@ = Found on Floor 2

• ! Hyper Snake - These things are pathetic. They have poor defense, poor offense, but good speed. They probably can't hurt you at this point, but they can dodge Rocket Pistols. Kill them last.
• ! Hyper Scorp - These pests also have poor defense and offense, as well as poor speed, but they can hit you from time to time. Beware as their poison can really put a damper on your day.
• ! Hyper Crab - These are the only dangerous enemies down here. They have high offense and defense, but fortunately, they lack any other bonuses. Destroy these first. Worth 20 experience points each.
• @ Space Rats - No matter how poorly your team is doing after all of those Hyper Animal fights, you shouldn't be worried. These things have terrible life and defense and a pitiful close-range attack. Each one should go down in one attack. Worth 21 experience points each.

You are now off to investigate the enemy base at Ceres in search of information on the Doom's Day device. Make sure you are prepared and have at least a few Antidotes. You'll need them.

Mission Objectives: Locate Secret Plan Data, Rescue the Children, Rescue the Gennies (Optional), Rescue the Space Bunnies (Optional), Escape From Base

Level Breakdown
Upon entering, you are greeted by a RAM soldier who asks you if you are here to help. Here are the choices you can make and what each leads to:

• Attack - You fight the guard, completely blowing your cover and making things just plain difficult. DON'T DO THIS!
• Bluff - If you have a high enough Fast Talk skill, you can convince him that you were sent to help out and are allowed in.

Now, he'll tell you to go to the meeting room. Head left, and another guard will show you the room. Apparently, it's your job to go into a sub-level of the place, find some kids, and escape via a different elevator, because the one you go down in will be blown up. Also, mutant Gennies will be trying to kill you the whole way, and the asteroid base is being evacuated, leaving you all alone. How nice. Leave the room and go south. You will see three small rooms to your left. Enter the middle one. A frantic woman will ask you if you've seen the kids. Here are your choices and what each leads to:

• Yes - She calms down and leaves with the others.
• No or Remain Silent - She panics and runs after the kids.

Anyway, continue south and then turn right. A guard will give you 2 Demo Charges, 2 Antidotes, and an Explosive Grenade. You will see a small room with a 1 in it. This is the elevator. Before you go in, go right one more room. Here, you will find some poisoned Gennies. If you have a medic heal them, you'll get 2500 experience points. Do this, and then head down the elevator. Once at the bottom, head left, and then north. Ignore the first door, skip the second, and when you reach the cross roads, go north. Skip the third door, and by this time, you will probably have encountered your first hyper creatures. In the fourth room, you find some useless notes about Gennie development. The fifth room is Dr. Williams, but has nothing in it. The sixth room contains computers, and if you have a good programmer in your party, you can find a message about the plan on Mars and get 750 experience points. The seventh room is the same, but you now face a crossroads. Head south and skip the first and second doors. Enter the third to find a keycard. Skip the fourth and you'll be at another crossroads. Go south and you'll see a dead RAM warrior. Skip the first door, and the second will be barricaded. Blow it open for 750 experience points, and inside, you find the kids. They will now follow you, but they can't get hurt or anything, so don't worry. Go back out and head south. Skip the first door and enter the second. Inside you find laser schematics and a prototype of the Doom's Day device, and you gain 250 experience points. Leave this room and head back north. At the crossroads, go right this time, and then south. Skip the first door, but enter the second. Inside, you find the space bunnies, and as the children gather them up, Hyper Crabs attack. Wipe out the crustaceous threat and receive 750 experience points for your bravery. Enter the next door to hear about a man with "daggers in his arms" (Talon). Keep going south, and in the next room, you will find a pack of Gennies. If you enter, you encounter 4 Hyper Scorps and 2 Hyper Snakes. Wipe out the scorps first, then the snakes, and then receive the Administrator's ID card and 500 experience points. Keep going south and you will wind up near the prototype laser room. Enter to hear a motivational-yet-insulting speech, and then head back out. Go left and enter the door with the 2 written on it. One of the kids will give you a rope and away you go. You are now on the first floor and all of those Hyper Animals have been replaced with puny Space Rats. Head right until you reach a corner, and then go north and enter the first door you see. Enter it and then go into the first door to the north. An old man will be there who turns out to be a grandfather to one of the kids. Go back into the hallway and head north. On the way, you'll pick up 2 Aerosol Grenades and 2 Antidotes. Keep going until you find a crossroads. If you head left and enter the first door to the north, you will discover that all laser research has been moved to Gradivus Mons on Mars. Also, there is a robot-shut-down switch. Perhaps robots attack if you don't bluff your way in? Oh well. Go back to the crossroads and go north, then turn left to find the escape ship. Everyone loads on and leaves, you've saved the day, and 1500 experience points are promptly given to you. Go south from the escape ship and then west, until you see the hallway you entered initially. You are free, it would seem, but as a much older saying goes...

Part seven: Intergalactic Space Goons Shouldn't Breed

Enemies

Pirate Captain

Pirate Warriors

• Pirate Combat Robot - This thing will make you cry. It has a psychotic amount of health, high defense, immunity to Rocket Pistols and Laser Pistols, and carries Explosive Grenades for normal weaponry. Before killing anything else, kill this with Monoswords and Dart Guns. If you stand right next to it and get very lucky, it will throw a grenade at you and hit itself with the blast. It might not be a fair tactic, but it helps. Also, approaching the Robot before it fires its grenade can sometimes force it to physically attack you. Sure, it might hurt a bit, but not half as much as the explosion would have.

Suddenly, space pirates attack your ship, causing immense damage! You have three options to choose, but they all do the same thing. You are then given the choice of surrendering or dieing. Obviously, it's not that tough to choose. If you bought the Body Armor W/Fields, go do some brawling. Otherwise, give up. Now, if you fight, you will encounter an army of the previously mentioned foes. If you win, you'll do it again. Beat them, and you'll do it a third time. Finally, after that fight, Stun Grenades are thrown onto your ship and you pass out. You awaken in a dank cell...

Mission Objectives: Capture Engines, Capture Deck (Optional), Escape From Ship

Level Breakdown
You are allowed out of your cell and told to follow your guard. You can try to run, but he'll just shoot you. Follow him, and you'll meet Talon. This maniac is planning on selling you to RAM, but offers you a chance to beat him in one-on-one combat for freedom.

BOSS BATTLE!

• Talon - This fight is utterly impossible. While you have no equipment and have a 5% chance of hitting him, he has a 95% chance of hitting you. The best I have ever done is having him miss me once. My advice is to not accept the offer to fight him and just give up, because whoever fights him will be left with 1 hit point for the next part.

Once you lose or surrender, your team is brought back to the cell. Again, you are given three choices, but each one leads to the same thing eventually. Once you escape your cell, you meet ::gasp:: BUCK ROGERS HIMSELF!!! He saw you get captured and will now be assisting your team with your escape. He has a Lunarian Cutlass, a Pistol, and a Lunarian Smart Suit. In the Genesis version, you can't remove his gear. Sorry. Now, go to the far right cell to pick up 2 Demo Charges, 1 ECM Package, and 2 Stun Grenades. Leave the cellblock, and then go to your right. In the first door you'll see, you'll encounter some pirates. Kill them. Continue the process going around the entire floor. After clearing all of the cabins, go through the northernmost door. Inside, you will find an autodoc. Here are your choices and what each leads to:

• Reprogram Autodoc - If you have a good programmer, you can trick the autodoc into healing your team. If you don't have a good programmer, it sets off a nasty alarm. You are then given the chance to retreat. If you do, nothing happens. If you don't, enemies attack, battle ensues, and the autodoc is destroyed.
• Heal Team - If done before reprogramming, it will set off the alarm. Otherwise, it does what it says.
• Leave - You ignore the autodoc and continue on your way.

Bucky's Tip #5: Reprogramming this thing is somewhat random. I suggest you save before you do it so you can load if you fail. Keep trying and you'll get it eventually. This trick works for all random events like this.

Even if you don't use it, head to the left of the autodoc to find a small closet with 2 Antidotes in it. Go to the ladder and head to floor 2. Go south immediately to find the mess hall. Fight the pirates within and then leave out the door you came in through. Go to the door to the left. Inside, you will encounter one of the vilest creatures in the universe, the Pirate Combat Robot. The fight inside is only hard if you let the robot live for more than two turns, so don't. Once everything is dead, you realize that you've stumbled across the armory. You find 2 Demo Charges, 2 Explosive Grenades, 8 Stun Grenades, 1 Rocket Launcher, 5 Dart Guns, 5 Heat Guns, 10 Cutlasses, 5 Heavy Body Armors, 1 Mercurian Cutlass, and 2 Grenade Launchers. After gorging on guns, leave the armory and head to the northern door. Buck informs you that it's trapped, and then gives you the option to open it yourself or let him do it. If he does it, you just get in. If you have someone with a high Bypass Security skill do it, you get 1000 experience points. If you fail, the trap goes off, but I've never seen it go off. Anyway, you go inside, discover that it's Talon's room, and find a computer. Again, if you let Buck do the work, you find out that placing explosives in the mess hall's galley will weaken the defenses on floor 4, but doing it yourself also gives you 1000 experience points. Go back to the mess hall, enter the galley door, and blow up the place. Alarms go off, power shorts, guards are scattered about, and you gain 5000 experience points. Head to floor 4, and get ready for a mean fight. 2 P. Combat Robots, 2 Pirate Warriors, 2 and 2 Pirate Leaders guard the areas. Use whatever you have (Explosive Grenades perhaps) against the Robots, but try to get your party members far away from each other to keep the damage to a minimum. Hopefully, Buck will destroy one with his almighty Pistol, but if not, just kill the Robots yourself, and then move on to the Pirates. After the fight, the floor will be yours. There are three walls covered with control panels. Walk into each one to destroy it, and once all the controls are smashed, you're home free. Head to floor 2. Of course, if you feel angry at Talon for attacking you, you can go to floor 1 for revenge.

BOSS BATTLE!

• Talon - This time, you have all of your gear and are able to take down the goober. Sadly, he's got friends. There are 2 P. Combat Robots, 2 Pirate Leaders, and 2 Pirate Warriors here as well. As always, kill the Robots first. Talon is surprisingly weak, so just let Buck kill him. Use Explosive Grenades and your new Rocket Launcher liberally, because this is the last big fight for quite some time. If you want to weaken Talon even more, use Dazzle or Stun Grenades on him, but it isn't necessary. This fight shouldn't take more than 3 or 4 turns.

For your heroic efforts, you get nothing. Yes, it's a rip off, but that's how revenge is sometimes. Go to floor 2, get in your ship and head home after receiving 10,000 experience points for your troubles. Also, Scot finds some interesting information. Apparently, Talon hid some more ECGs somewhere in the solar system and someone named Garrity knows the exact location. He was last seen at Pallas.

Part eight: Albino Brain Chiggers! Part two (Optional Mission)

Enemies

! = Found in Thule Prison
@ = Found on Psyche Asteroid

• RAM Combat Robot - This is the second nastiest enemy in the game. These giant yellow ants are immune to Laser and Rocket Pistols, making combat unnecessarily difficult. They have an enormous amount of life, medium defense, and wield Rocket Launchers. Fortunately, they can only attack every other turn. Try to use Chaff Grenades on it to disable its weapons, then kill it with whatever else you have. Worth 383 experience points each.

Small ECGs

Large ECGs

Stage 3 ECGs

As soon as you get back to Salvation, you are informed of the horrible fate of Jason Dupare, a top NEO agent. During an infiltration mission, he was captured right after finding vital information concerning the Doom's Day device. He is being held hostage in the Radium mines of Thule, and you must rescue him.

Mission Objectives: Eliminate ECGs, Salvage Equipment, Destroy Infested Asteroid

Level Breakdown
First, we have to take care of our friend Garrity. Go to Pallas, enter the bar there, and he will be found in a booth less than sober. After giving him a quick bribe (Don't worry, you don't lose any money), he gives you the password to get into Talon's base. You should not try to go there yet. It wouldn't be pretty. Now, go to Thule Prison. When you enter, Scot informs you that radiation levels are disgustingly high, so don't waste time. There is one door to your south, and as soon as you enter it, you encounter a RAM Combat Robot. If you get walloped during that fight, go back to your ship to get full health. Why did we come here if we were just going to run away? This was to show you just what you are going to be fighting soon. Aren't I kind? Now, head to Psyche. Yes, we are going to beat this one.

Real Level Breakdown
When you reach Psyche, a distress signal will be received from a nearby asteroid. Enter it. Inside, you see that the lights are flickering and something bad has obviously happened. Head east to go through the airlock. The door to it is leaking and bits of spacesuits are floating around, so it's pretty obvious what happened here. Head north to reach the Communications Room. Inside, you find that electronics are broken everywhere, and several Small and Large ECGs quickly attack you. You are now much stronger than before, so just wipe them out. Go into the door to the north to find a dying miner. He tells you that Talon gave them the ECG canisters disguised as treasure. Go back to the airlock door, but head south this time. Enter the door to find some dead miners and some ECGs. Kill them. Continue into the door to your right. Here are more corpses and a note from Talon describing his villainy more thoroughly. Head right and enter the door. Inside are more normal ECGs and 1 Stage 3! However, even this boss enemy is pathetic now. Kill them all and steal the goods. Continue right and then head down when you reach a curve. You will reach a fork here. Go left first. Kill off more ECGs, collect 2000 credits, a Battle Armor W/Fields, some other goodies, and destroy the baby ECGs you find afterwards. Repeat the process to the right, but instead of finding a Battle Armor W/Fields, you find a Lunarian Smart Suit that is less powerful but is worth 9600 credits. Go back up to where you fought the first Stage 3 and then go north. At the end of the hall, you will find 8 Explosive Grenades and a cache of high explosives. If you wish, you can make the ECGs extinct using this. When you do, you are asked how long you want the timer to be before it explodes. My record is 17 seconds, but as long as you keep it somewhere above that, you should be safe. Fortunately, random encounters stop the clock. Once you get to your ship, this mission is over. Go sell off your spoils and buy whatever you want.

Intermission: Let's All Go to the Lobby...

Now, if you've played this far, I congratulate you. Things are getting a bit trickier, aren't they? However, too many people are wasting time inside these days. Save the game and turn it off for the moment. Go to your kitchens, make yourselves a sandwich, go outside, breathe some fresh air, work out until you have abs of steel, and have a nice day.

Part nine: Jail Break (Optional Mission)

Enemies

RAM Combat Robot

• RAM Assault Robot - These are the nastiest enemies in the game. They have the same life, defense, and mobility as the Combat Robots, but the resemblance ends there. They carry Explosive Grenades that they usually use and the terribly powerful Plasma Thrower. Try to surround it on all sides and kill it off quickly. Worth 208 experience points each.

Now that you've gotten vengeance against the species that tortured you not too long ago, it's time to save that guy from Thule. Make sure that you are prepared first. Go to Tycho on Earth and buy a Lunarian Monosword for all of your Monosword wielders. These things cost 32,000 credits each, but it's worth it. The upcoming robotic enemies are extremely hard to beat without them. Once you have all that worked out, head to Thule.

Mission Objectives: Deactivate Security, Rescue Jason

Level Breakdown
Head back into the prison once more. Go past the place where you fought the Combat Robot and enter the next door. Inside are two Assault Robots, so SAVE BEFORE THIS FIGHT! Keep your people away from each other and stay near the Robots. Hopefully, you can kill one in the first turn. Go all out here and you should survive. If you need health, go back to your ship. Once that's done, go into the door to your left. The radiation is particularly high here and dead bodies can be seen in a mummified state. Go down and in one corner you will find 3 Chaff Grenades and 1 Stun Grenade. Go back to the room where you fought the Assault Robots and head south. In here is another Combat Robot. Kill it. Take a right and you will encounter yet another Combat Robot. Kill this one too. There are two monitors in this room. The first says that the radiation levels are too high. The second is a self-defense control console. If you try to reprogram it, you will either succeed, stopping all Robots in here and earning 500 experience points, or fail and summon another Combat Robot. Keep trying this until you get it right and then enter the northern door. If you try to do this without reprogramming the computer, mounted gun turrets will do some damage to you and drive you back. Once inside, you can enter any of the jail cells to find Jason. He is nearly dead, but manages to tell you that the Doom's Day device is being built over Mercury. He faints and you have to carry him out. If you wish, you can then enter any other cell to rescue another weak prisoner, but it doesn't seem to do anything. Go carry Jason back to Salvation III and pat yourself on the back. There isn't any prize, but at least you saved a potential ally.

Part ten: Death to MCI! (Optional Mission)

Enemies

RAM Combat Robot

RAM Warriors

RAM Technician

• Desert Apes - What do you get if you cross King Kong with the Grim Reaper? These 9'7" scythe-armed primates are surprisingly inaccurate, but they have nice offense when they hit. They have too much life for their own good, but patience will easily take them down. Don't let them surround you though.
• Sand Squids - The cosmic calamari are easy enough to not be on my hate list. They are slow moving, easy to hit, and only have medium life, but they do have a moderately powerful attack and are poisonous. Kill them on sight with just about any weapon. Worth 104 experience points each.
• Martian Combat Gennie - These warriors are designed specifically for Martian combat. They carry Cutlasses, Laser Pistols, Stun Grenades, and Heavy Body Armor. Take them out before they stun anyone. Worth 33 experience points and 29 credits each.

If you trained someone in Library Searches and have been browsing the books from time to time, you may have discovered that a secret communications base is hidden on Hygeia. Obviously, we can't let the enemy maintain control of this base and some corrective measures are in order. Nothing in here is truly dangerous by now, so let's have a little fun.

Mission Objectives: Break Stuff, Hurt People, Steal Things

Level Breakdown
Go to Hygeia, enter the base, and get ready for a rude welcome. As soon as you are in, alarms blare and a RAM Combat Robot is released. Blow it up and go back to your ship if you're hurt. Continue along the path until you reach a large room. In here, a zookeeper will release an army of Desert Apes upon you. Treat them like you would an army of Large ECGs, but without the poison. If you explore the bottom left part of the room, you will see some poor trapped Desert Apes giving you the puppy-dog look. If you let them out, they attack. If you go right from there, you find more apes that throw various things found on the floor of their cages at you, causing about 4 points of damage to 2 party members. Ignore them and head north until you reach a fork. Go right and enter the southern door. Inside, you will find a Combat Robot and some backup communications equipment. Kill the Robot and break the machines. Now, go back to the fork and take a left, and when you see another fork, go up. At the end of that hall, you find some RAM Warriors and some Sand Squids. Wipe them out and treasure the moment, because those Squids are very rare. Go back to the room with the backup equipment, but this time, take the northern door. You will find the cowardly base commander, but he runs off and leaves some RAM Warriors and one RAM Martian Combat Gennie. Kill them and then use the control panel on the wall to contact NEO. You then smash the panel just for the sake of it. Continue into the next room. Again, the commander runs off and a RAM Combat Robot stops you. Kill it and then destroy more stuff. Follow the commander into the next room. This time, there are no guards, but you still smash everything in sight. Chase him down for the final time. Here you encounter 4 untrained RAM Technicians. If you die here, I pity you. After they bite the bullet, you destroy the last of the equipment as well as the commander with a single explosive shot, finishing the mission.

Part eleven: Crossbows Just Won't Cut It

Enemies

! = Found on RAM Scout Cruiser
@ = Found on Mars surface
# = Found in Desert Runner village
$ = Found in Gradivus Mons

! # $ RAM Warrior

! RAM Technician

! Terrine Leader

• ! RAM H.S. Robot - These machinations are probably the most dangerous things on the ship. These ones carry Rocket Pistols, but aren't very accurate, and although they have a decent amount of life, you should have no problems with them.

# RAM Assault Robot

$ RAM Combat Robots

@ Sand Squid

@ $ Desert Ape

$ Martian Combat Gennie

• @ Hexadillo - The giant hexadillos of Mars are more of a nuisance than anything else. They have low offense, terrible defense, and only a medium amount of life. Worth 75 experience points each.
• # $ D.R. Warrior - The residents of Mars are strong, proud, and stupid enough to fight without armor. They also carry primitive crossbows that cause almost no damage. If they didn't have a good amount of life, they'd be worthless, but they do provide nice targets. Worth 80 experience points and 83 credits each.
• $ RAM Guard Dog Gennie - Although far, far bigger than a breadbox, these mutant canines are literally incapable of causing physical harm. I must have been attacked by the things dozens of times and never received so much as a scratch. Kill them last. Worth 18 experience points each.

Mission Objectives: Infiltrate Mars, Gain Villagers' Cooperation, Repulse RAM Invaders, Destroy RAM Fleet, Destroy Gradivus Mons

Level Breakdown
If you remember correctly, you were told long ago to investigate Gradivus Mons. We've cleared out enough unimportant side quests for the moment, so maybe we should finally go do that. Go to Mars and enter the Mars High Desert. On the way in, you will encounter a RAM Scout Cruiser. If you can Fast Talk your way past, go ahead, but chances are you will have to fight it. The RAM Scout Cruiser is the weakest ship type in the game, so you shouldn't have much trouble. Just kill its weapons, destroy the engines or controls, board it, and capture the engines and deck. After that is out of your way, you will land on Mars and start driving around in the Buck-mobile. Head southeast until you find a village, but you may get attacked on the way. Enter the village. Once inside, a female Desert Runner approaches you. She tells you that they are at war and all outsiders must be tested. Here are your choices and what each leads to:

• Step Forward - You battle a RAM Assault Robot for admittance.
• Attack - You wipe out an army of Desert Runners, but afterwards, RAM troops invade. DON'T DO THIS!
• Talk - You are silenced and a RAM Assault Robot is activated before you can react. Except for the fact that the Robot gets to attack first, the effects are the same as "Step Forward".

If you didn't choose to attack the Desert Runners, and if you beat the Robot, the woman will introduce herself as Atha. She tells you to go to the center of town to meet Tuskon, war leader of the Desert Runners. You are informed that RAM gliders will be attacking soon, and his plan involves luring the enemy in with his warriors and then letting you kill them off. Although it isn't a great plan, you don't have much choice. The enemy quickly invades and you are sent into battle. You start off fighting RAM Warriors and Martian Combat Gennies. None of these are capable of fighting very well, so just send all of the D.R. Warriors you enlist using the Leadership skill up to the front line and waste the idiots. If you decided to attack the Desert Runners, they won't help you. Just keep wandering around town mopping up any RAM soldiers you meet. Also, explore the many buildings here. There will be two pieces of demolition gear hidden randomly in two separate buildings, and you need to find them eventually. Some houses may contain a RAM Assault Robot, so be careful. After 3 battles, it will say that all the enemies are gone. This is a lie. Head back to the center of town. Tuskon will tell you that RAM is now sending warships to bomb the town and send out more troops. Go outside and fight more fights. This time, you will encounter Martian Combat Gennies AND RAM Assault Robots. Take out the Robots first, but spread out so your team doesn't get paralyzed by the Gennies. After 3 more battles, peace will again settle over the land momentarily. Talk to Tuskon and he will tell you that giant warships are coming and that you must now find the two pieces of equipment at once if you haven't found them yet. Explore the town until they are yours, and then give them to Tuskon. You are then told to set the bomb and radio. Anyone can do it, but if the hero has any Demolition skill, he will gain 1000 experience points for the process. Everyone else gets nothing. Everyone flees the village through a secret cave, the enemy enters the town only to blow up, and the Desert Runners decide to band together to get RAM off of their planet. They tell you to meet them at the blue rock to the northwest before the final assault on Gradivus Mons. When you get there, they will ask for your help. If you say no, Tuskon will wind up dead and everything will be much harder for you. If you say yes, he will offer to join your party (Nearly unarmed) and help you in your quest. Say yes. Once you enter the base, you encounter 3 RAM Warriors and 3 RAM Guard Dog Gennies. Kill them all quickly. If you take too long, an alarm will sound through the base and things will get messy. Continue along the path until you reach a room filled with caged Desert Apes. Although they aren't my favorite allies, Tuskon will tell you to let them free using the control panel. He will tame them and tell them to wreak havoc throughout the base if you set them free, chasing off some guards nearby. Head north until you find a pair of doors going left and right. Go left. Inside you will find 5 Stun Grenades, but if you released the Apes, they will also be there. Just stay there and Tuskon will soothe them once more. Now take the right door. If you released the Apes, this room will be empty. If you didn't, 7 Martian Combat Gennies will be waiting for you. Continue along, and ignore the little closet you find. You will reach another guard post with the same results as the first one. Continue to your left until you find a room with another pair of doors to the left and right. If you didn't release the Apes, the left one will contain an intercom system that you can have fun with. If you use it to jeer at the RAM soldiers, RAM Combat Robots and Martian Combat Gennies will attack. If you use it to set a false alarm, they will all flee the building in fear of the imaginary "alien bacteria" you tell them about. If the Apes were released, just head right, and then go upstairs to floor 2. Go south until you reach a fork in the road. Head left for now, and when you reach another fork, continue right to find several offices. The first one to the north contains information on the Doom's Day device. The first one to the south contains RAM Guard Dog Gennies. Kill them. The second offices to the north and south are empty. When you reach a crossroads, head north if you released the Apes. Inside, you will find an undamaged intercom to play with. After you do that, or if you already did it earlier, head south at the crossroads. Inside is an Autodoc, but its controls are unfamiliar to you. Have a hero with a high Treat Wounds skill operate it, but be careful. If you screw it up, you take damage. Now, go take the path to the right. Inside, you will find the main gates, an army of rabid, bloodthirsty Desert Runners right outside of the main gates, the controls to open the main gates, and 5 RAM Warriors and 5 Martian Combat Gennies. Kill off the guards and open the gates using the console. You are then attacked by RAM Guard Dog Gennies, but there is a slight chance that a RAM Combat Robot will attack as well. Fortunately, several Desert Runners will come to your aid. Defeat the enemy and then head back to the first room of floor 2. When you reach that fork in the road that you turned left at, turn south instead. It will lead you to a secret elevator that is now open to you. Atha will tell you to go up there and destroy the RAM Death Ray. Go up the elevator. To your left, you find a locked door, but you can open it with a Bypass Security skill or a Demo Charge. Inside, you find several small offices. They are all empty, but at the end of the hallway is another intercom. Use it if you haven't yet. If you go north instead, you will find the Death Ray. Before you head to the console and destroy it, go to the room to the north. Although there is a door to the right and a door to the left, ignore the left one and go right. Inside, you will find 4 ECM Packages and some Battle Armor. Either give it to Tuskon or sell it later. Now head to the console and use it blow up the weapon, go to the intercom to warn the Desert Runners to run, and get out of here! As you run out of the base, Atha will approach you and give you some blue pass cards. The base explodes, the Desert Runners thank you for your help, and you are given 10,000 experience points for successful completion of the mission. As you rocket away, Scot informs you of a ship heading to Ceres being followed by pursuers. Let's check it out...

Part twelve: The Great Justin Robeno (Optional Mission)

Enemies

RAM Warrior

This is officially the easiest mission in the game. There is no real background story behind it. Enjoy!

Mission Objectives: Locate Justin Robeno, Rescue Justin Robeno, Locate Prototype, Escape

Level Breakdown
Once you reach Ceres, head straight for Dave's Diner. After you mingle with the crowd once, you will overhear some RAM folks mention that Justin Robeno managed to escape their grasp and flew off to Fortuna. Get back into your ship and head off to Fortuna. Once there, enter Hexaburger. This time, you will see a technician being dragged away by RAM security. You get into a fight with 6 RAM Warriors (Scary!) and pummel them into the ground with ease. Justin then tells you that you must head to Pavonis Starport to pick up a RAM prototype of inestimable value. You also gain 1500 experience points for your brave deed. Follow the nerd's advice and soar to Mars. Go to the library and do some searching. Justin will find the prototype, but unfortunately, it was all a setup. RAM forces burst in to attack you. Beat up the 10 RAM Warriors and you'll try to escape, but more troops block you on the way out. Kill yet another group of 10 RAM Warriors and continue on your way out. Leave, but make sure to notice the typo here. I' pretty sure that befire isn't a word. Head to Salvation Station, collect 2000 experience points, get congratulated for finding information vital to the cause of good, and then beat it. You've finished your work here. By the way, after completing this particular mission, it becomes impossible to leave Pavonis without encountering a group of 10 RAM Warriors, but what are the chances you'll ever need anything at this dump again?

Part thirteen: The Unlucky Mission (Optional Mission)

! = Found on Scout Cruiser
@ = Found on Medium Cruiser

! RAM Scout Cruiser

@ RAM Medium Cruiser

• ! RAM Assassins - The black-clad killers of RAM are more powerful than any live soldiers you've met so far. They have a disgusting amount of life, carry Chaff Grenades, Martian Laser Pistols, Heavy Body Armor, and Martian Cutlasses, and basically just make things irritating. They shouldn't pose too much of a threat, but fight smart or you may lose a hero. Also, try not to use Rocket Pistols on them or they'll stop you with a Chaff Grenade.

! @ RAM Warrior

@ RAM H.S. Robot

@ Terrine Leader

@ RAM Technician

This isn't really a mission. It's just something that happens to over- greedy space pirates like myself who happen to attack the wrong RAM Scout Cruiser. You will know that you screwed up after you enter. Here are the details.

Mission Objectives: Defeat RAM Assassins, Capture Ship, Survive Encounter with Second Ship

Level Breakdown
After you defeat the ship in space combat, kill off the puny RAM Warriors guarding the thing. Go to the end of the first hallway, and where more puny RAM Warriors or Robots normally attack you, 5 RAM Assassins now greet you. After killing your would-be killers, Scot informs you that another, much larger ship is coming. Head up to the level 4 and secure the bridge. The enemies guarding it will still be easy, but all random encounters along the way will be Assassins. After taking the bridge, head down to level 1. Capture the engine room as well, and the mission is half over. As soon as you capture the first ship, a second one appears in firing range. It's a Medium Cruiser, so be careful. Take out its weapons and controls as usual, and if you're feeling particularly spiteful, board the sucker. The only real difference when it comes to battle on board larger ships is that the random fights tend to contain a few more enemies. Capture the second ship in the same way and you'll have taught RAM a lesson about trying to ambush the Maelstrom Rider. By the way, another strange situation I've encountered while pirating ships would be the "Sore Loser" scenario. After pummeling the ship and boarding it, the game informed me that the enemy captain activated the self-destruct sequence and that I had 50 seconds to capture the ship. I still managed it, but there was no bonus prize whatsoever.

Part fourteen: Party at Talon's Place

Enemies

RAM Guard Dog Gennies

RAM Warriors

RAM Martian Combat Gennies

RAM Assault Robots

You remember Talon, don't you? He was that punk who tried to kill you after you saved the bunny wabbits. Anyway, it's time to go raid his fortress of any useful treasures and gain a little experience while we're at it.

Mission Objectives: Pursue RAM Commander, Destroy Robots, Escape

Level Breakdown
Head to Aurora and then enter Talon's base. Inside, you are greeted by a small group of RAM officials who mistake you for Talon and give you his eviction notice. The little mix-up is worked out when a soldier points out that you don't have blades coming out of your arms, but they still decide to kill you. Wipe out the 5 RAM Warriors and 3 RAM Guard Dog Gennies they send against you and then chase after the officer through the northern door. Random fights will occur consisting of RAM Guard Dog Gennies and RAM Warriors, so use them to heal up should the need arise. You find him again, he mutters something about hidden treasure, and you fight an exact duplicate of the last battle. Go out the left door and fight 6 more RAM Guard Dog Gennies. To your south is a trashed sleeping quarters that you should skip. If you head left, you'll find an empty mineshaft and some robot maintenance gear, but none of it is important. Head north instead and skip the hallway to the right for now. There will be 2 doors in front of you here. The right one is merely an inactive weapons console, but the right one contains a group of 3 RAM Technicians, 3 RAM Guard Dog Gennies, and 5 RAM Warriors. Kill them all and then check the 2 computers in the room here for 500 experience points each. Now head back to that passage to the right. The officer will escape out the far door and you will again face 5 RAM Warriors and 3 RAM Guard Dog Gennies. Kill them and chase after the little rodent. On the other side, you face yet another copy of the fight before. Go south, and in this last room, you find the commander's personal troops. Kill the 4 RAM Warriors and the 3 RAM Martian Combat Gennies, equip everyone with Dart Guns or Monoswords, and then proceed towards the computer to the left. Talon's voice yells out from beyond the grave informing you that there is no treasure here (Aw man...), but he does send out a RAM Assault Robot that toasts the cowardly commander and makes the whole trip worthwhile. Trash the Robot as usual. Head back to the entrance, but try not to get killed by the random RAM Assault Robot fights along the way. After that, the mission is complete. I suppose it was a useless mission, but at least you have it out of the way.

Part fifteen: Welcome to the Jungle

! = Found on Venusian surface
@ = Found in Lowlander village
# = Found in RAM base

Enemies

• ! @ Acid Frogs - Depending on your actions, these amphibians will either befriend or... uhmmm... befoe you. They are almost as weak as the RAM Guard Dog Gennies, but they get to make a long-range and short- range attack in one turn. They make great targets and it's usually worth it to ally with them. Worth 104 experience points each.
• ! # Swamp Hornets - Although an individual Swamp Hornet is not a threat, you never face an individual Swamp Hornet. Instead, you face large swarms of these weak little creatures, armed to the mandibles with Dizziness inducing stings. Anybody have a Plasma Thrower or Rocket Launcher? Worth 15 experience points each.
• ! # Ursadders - The Ursadder is the most powerful creature on Venus and should not be taken lightly. It takes quite a beating before going down and can cause significant damage to you no matter what armor you have. They do provide some decent amounts of experience, but it's rarely worth the effort. Worth 87 experience points each.
• ! @ RAM Venusian Combat Gennie - I loathe these creatures. Although they only have a moderate amount of health, these freaks carry Explosive grenades and aren't stingy with them. They also have Heavy Body Armor, Cutlasses, and Protective Goggles. Before all else, make sure that these things are dead. Also, you might want to send out clusters of Lowlander Warriors to lure fire away from your troops. I know it's mean, but so are these guys. Worth 50 experience points and 60 credits each.

! @ # RAM Warriors

• ! Lowlander Warriors - These critters are very similar to the Desert Runner Warriors. They both have a lot of life, they both appear in huge numbers, and they both are too weak to kill a single RAM Warrior. These guys carry Laser Pistols and are basically nothing more than targets for you to use in this one battle.
• ! @ Venusian H.S. Robots - Flying eyeballs may be something you'd expect to find in other games, but not in a science fiction one. However, the Venusian H.S. Robot doesn't seem to realize that. Kill them with anything except for Rocket Pistols before they fire their Venusian Dart Guns. Worth 100 experience points each.

@ # RAM H.S. Robots

• ! # Acidium - These giant slugs are quite strong (Yet inaccurate) and have a decent amount of life, but almost no defense. They make up for this by absorbing half of your attacks with no ill effects. I suggest Laser Pistols for killing them, but anything will work. Worth 106 experience points each.

@ # RAM Assassin

Next up on our path of destruction is scenic Venus, land of the lizard- like Lowlanders. Before you do that, I suggest you buy 2 more Body Armors w/Shields and Venusian Laser Pistols for the friends you'll be getting soon. This land is the only source of Gravitol in the universe and RAM has enslaved most of the Lowlanders to harvest the rare rocket fuel. Let's change that, shall we?

Mission Objectives: Locate Lowlander Village, Aid Lowlander Village, Destroy RAM Gliders, Free Lowlander Prisoners, Locate Landon's Son (optional)

Level Breakdown
As soon as you land, Scot informs you that there is a Lowlander village just past the swamps nearby, but before much can happen, you are attacked by a group of Lowlanders led by Leander. They quickly demand to know who you are and who sent you. Here are your choices and what each leads to:

• Attack - You fight the Lowlanders and ruin all hope for peaceful co- existence. DON'T DO THIS!
• NEO - You tell the Lowlanders that you are a member of NEO and wish to help them, but they don't trust you. You are asked to surrender peacefully and given the following choices.
• Yes - Before you are given the chance to surrender all of your earthly possessions, a group of 6 RAM Warriors and 1 RAM Venus Combat Gennie attack you. You gain 2000 experience points after the battle.
• No - Same results as Attack. DON'T DO THIS!

After the battle, Leander will apologize to you for his mistrust and ask to join, if you didn't just kill him. Take him in, give him the Venusian Laser Pistol and Body Armor w/Fields, and grab an extra pair of Protective Goggles for him from the battle's spoils. Now, go to the lake nearby with the pink outline. Once there, you will find some Acid Frogs. Here are your choices and what each leads to.

• Fight - You battle the frogs, gaining a little experience but missing out on some fine allies. DON'T DO THIS!
• Leave - You leave without a fight.
• Befriend the Frogs - If your Leadership skill is high, you can get these things on your team. They will be found in battles on the surface of Venus. If your Leadership skill isn't high, they won't appreciate your visit very much. If you succeed, you gain 5000 experience points.

Anyway, sooner or later you will meet a frightened Lowlander who asks if you are NEO members. This may happen before you reach the frogs. If you say no, he runs away, but if you say yes, he'll ask you to help out his family. Say yes and you encounter RAM Venusian Combat Gennies who you can either fight or run from. Say no and you'll hear weapons firing in the distance that you can investigate or ignore. In any case, you either fight or you don't. If you do, you are in for a tough battle. You encounter 6 Venusian Combat Gennies, and unless you kill them off quickly, that means 6 Explosive Grenades coming at you EACH TURN. Keep your people far away from each other and hope those Acid Frogs lure away some firepower from you. After the battle, the Lowlanders thank you and run off without any sort of reward. Continue north until you reach the village of small huts. It's crawling with RAM Assassins and RAM Venusian Combat Gennies, so be careful. Inside, you find several dead Lowlanders, killed with Laser Pistols. First, head left and you will see a gray door. If you open it, you'll release a stampede of Acid Frogs into the village to bother RAM soldiers. Don't do it yet. Go right and you will find a building. Inside is a RAM officer. Have your hero with the highest Stealth skill steal his key ring and then leave. If you decide to kill him, he wakes up and calls out 3 RAM H.S. Robots and 2 Venusian H.S. Robots to help him. Go north from this house and enter the first one you see. Inside is a Lowlander with a gun who asks for your identification. Tell him you're from NEO and he'll tell you to explore the research facility to the southwest and you'll get 500 experience points. If you leave without telling him, he'll lock the door. To the west, you will find a storeroom. Inside, you'll find some Demo Charges. Then go back to that gray door with the frogs behind it and open it. If you explore the Acid Frog pen you'll find some Frog Food. DON'T EAT IT! Head back to the storeroom and go inside. If you feed the Acid Frogs within, you receive 5000 experience points as well as Acid Frog assistance in future battles. Go northeast until you find a single-room building. Inside is a pair of Lowlanders who tell you to meet them in the northeast corner of town. Go north from that building and you will find a large hut. Inside it, you find a small child. If you have Leander, he tells you that the baby wants you to help him find his father. Take Zane into your group and give him whatever spare equipment you have, but please don't try to use him in battle too much. He only has 4 HP after all. Go to the northeast corner of town as you were asked to. A Lowlander will ask you to go to the giant storage hut on the west side of town to fetch some medical gear. He gives you a code for its door, a Venusian Dart Gun, and Venusian Heavy Body Armor. Make sure you have the key from the officer near the entrance to town and then head back to the storage hut where you found the food. Just to the left of there you find the big storage hut with the medicine in it. There is also a Mercurian Rocket Pistol, a Venusian Monosword, and 3 Antidotes in the back room as well. Take the medicine to the Lowlander and you will be told of a secret room in the RAM base, plus you receive 3000 experience points. Leave town at once, but DON'T GO BACK INTO SPACE! If you approach your ship, Leander and Zane will run off. Instead, travel southwest from the village until you see a Stonehenge- like building. Scot tells you that it's part the old space elevator and is probably filled with hiding RAM soldiers and weapons. Enter and head south, but ignore the path to your right. It leads to a pack of Ursadders and an Ursadder den that has nothing of value. Go through the winding halls and then take the ladder down into the underground lair. Once you're there, head south. The first room is an empty meeting room. The second and third are merely closets. Enter the fourth to encounter a RAM technician who says that if you let him go, he won't sound the alarms. Here are your choices and what each leads to:

• Let Him Go - He sounds the alarms, flooding the building with enemies. DON'T DO THIS!
• Interrogate Him - You get a Security Card and 1250 experience points. The option "Tie Him Up" appears.
• Tie Him Up - You tie the bum up, gag him, and lock him in a broom closet.
• Kill Him - MWAHAHAHAHA! NEVER TRUST A NEO AGENT! Don't do this until you interrogate him.

After all that is over, Scot discovers from a nearby computer that RAM intends to use gliders to wipe out every Lowlander on the planet. Leave the room and open the door to the south using your new Security Card. Follow the hallway until you see a door. Go by it to find a Detonator Card, and then go through the door. You'll find a huge hangar filled with gliders inside. Enter the door on the other side of the hangar and go west to find a detonator box and 4 Explosive Grenades. If you activate the box, all of the gliders explode, you gain 5000 experience points, Swamp Hornets and Ursadders can be randomly fought down here, and RAM basically has a bad day. If you decide to head back to the jungle for any reason, you will now find a large area of the tunnel which has collapsed in your path. Have your hero with the highest Climb skill climb over and clear it out if you take this path again. Otherwise, head east and travel through the underground tunnel. Follow the tunnel and you will reach a door to the right and a door to the left. The right one is empty and the left one will only open if you got the key ring from the village. To the north is a pair of barracks. To the south is one empty barrack, but the path continues in that direction. Continue to find 2 more barracks to your left and a large room to your right. Inside are several RAM officers. Here are your choices and what each leads to:

• Run - You flee and take a small amount of damage for your troubles, plus the alarms are sounded. DON'T DO THIS!
• Surrender - They shoot you for a large amount of damage and you are given the same set of choices. DON'T DO THIS!
• Fight - You pummel 9 RAM Warriors into the ground.

Keep going down the hallway, ignoring the next 3 rooms. You will find an elevator at the end of the hallway. Go to floor 3. Enter the first door to the south to clear out some RAM Assassins. Then continue through the hallway, taking out any randomly appearing Robots you happen to encounter. Check each of the offices along the northern wall for Assassins and then continue to the western hallway. It leads to a prison full of Lowlanders who tell you of their leader Landon who is searching for an exit on floor 4. They also give you a secret knock to use there to summon him. Go back to the room filled with offices and head south to find a pair of clearly marked computer rooms. The one on the right is empty, but the left one contains several RAM Warriors. Here are your choices and what each leads to:

• Leave - They see how cowardly you are and attack with free first hits. DON'T DO THIS!
• Attack - You attack them, causing confusion among them and gain free first hits. DON'T DO THIS!
• Intimidate Them - They beg for mercy. The option " Show Mercy" appears and "Leave" disappears.
• Show Mercy - You gain 1000 experience points and tie them up in a closet.

If you wish, you can then enter the closet to the south and slaughter the bound and gagged RAM Warriors, but that would be stupid. Go back to elevator and go to floor 4. Enter the door to your left to find a one door to the north and one to the south. The north one contains 5 Acidiums and the south has 7 RAM H.S. Robots. Clear them out, explore the Acidium room thoroughly until you find a secret door, and then go back to the room outside the elevator. Take the southern passage. You will quickly meet Landon who takes Zane with him and you get 1500 experience points. He then tells you to go to floor 1, lab 2 to find a Retinal Lock Pick beneath a floor tile. By the way, if you lost Zane at some point, you merely miss out on the 1500 points. If you wish, you can explore the area behind Landon in order to find a mangled acid pump. If you further investigate it, you will stumble upon a nasty horde of Ursadders without any reward for beating them. Head back to the elevator and then to floor 1. Head south until you pass through a door and then go through the passage to the north. Pass through 2 doors and continue along the hallway until you reach lab 2. Near the southeastern corner is the Retinal Lock Pick. Now, return to where you found Landon. He'll tell you to go find the Lowlander prisoners and take them to the Acidium chamber with the secret door. Visit Landon one more time to receive 2000 experience points for your help in their escape. If you still have Leander, he will now leave your party. Scot informs you that there is nothing else to do on Venus, so head back to your ship and return to Salvation. All is not well though, as your boss tells you that Atha from Mars has been kidnapped! If you do not go to Juno and rescue her, they'll kill her. Your boss then tells you that your current mission to Mercury is more important, but Buck encourages you to go rescue her.

Part sixteen: Dinner And Dancing (Optional Mission)

Enemies

RAM Assault Robot

If you spend enough time flying through space aimlessly, you will receive a message from NEO asking you to visit Chez Luna on Tycho space station. Orders are orders, so drop what you were doing and head there right away.

Mission Objectives: Meet With Wilma Deering, Assist Her In Escaping

Level Breakdown
Enter the Chez Luna Café and mingle four times. After the final mingle, Wilma Deering, Buck Rogers' fiancée, will wave to you. She explains that she needs a distraction so that she can go meet someone. You are told to attack the security robot that will be passing by in the hallways, and in payment, you are given a handy little Mercurian Dart Gun. Go out into the hallway and tango with the RAM Assault Robot. Wilma meets with her target and leaves, giving you 1000 experience points for your bravery. If only all RAM Assault Robots were worth that much...

Part seventeen: Rainbow 6 in the 25th Century! (Optional Mission)

Enemies

RAM Combat Robot

RAM Assault Robot

RAM Martian Combat Gennie

Now it's time to test your Buck Rogers mastery with the hardest mission the game has to offer. Even though Atha never really helped you out much (Heck, she set loose a mechanical ant on you for crying out loud), it's time to save her from RAM's clutches.

Mission Objectives: Infiltrate Juno Base, Rescue Atha, Escape From Trap

Level Breakdown
Before you do anything here, make sure that all of your heroes have a Dart Gun of some type and that at least one hero has a Grenade Launcher and a healthy supply of Chaff Grenades. Without that gear, you're doomed. After you have all of that, head to Juno. As soon as you enter the rendezvous point, a squad of Martian Combat Gennies and a RAM Combat Robot ambushes you. Try to kill the ant quickly and make sure to spread out your troops to prevent mass Stunning. Speakers blare that you have met your match and that Gilbert is ready for you, and the door behind you is firmly locked, preventing your escape. Go through the hallway until you reach a crossroads. A sniper will begin shooting at you from the north. If you want the most experience, continue left and you will encounter 2 Combat Robots and an Assault Robot at the corner. Head north until you find a door to your right. Inside are some more RAM Combat Gennies and a Combat Robot. Beat them and then continue until you find a door to the north. Enter there and clear out some more Gennies and Robots. Finally, walk into the dead end of this hallway to encounter a single Combat Robot. Kill it and you should be able to get some life back from this battle. If you weren't concerned with experience, simply take the north path to chase down the sniper. Of course, you don't get to simply fight a sniper. No, instead you wind up attacking a pair of Combat Robots and 4 Martian Combat Gennies. After that, you find a hall to the north and a door to the south. If you head north, you step on a weak mine and summon some more Martian Combat Gennies. Fight them if you need some life, but not if you have less than 15 hit points. At that point, a mine could kill you. Ignore the rest of the hallway as it is filled with nothing more than two mines and instead head south to the door. Inside is another group of Martian Combat Gennies and one Combat Robot. Pound 'em and go through the door to your left to finally meet up with Gilbert, queen of destruction. She has an impenetrable force field around her and carries a switch that will fire countless guns on you. Even worse, Atha gets thrown into a Desert Ape pen. Gilbert laughingly releases one more Assault Robot on you before she blows you all to kingdom come. Thrash it and then, as your prize, receive a surprisingly high 2000 credits for beating it. Even better, you find a Rocket Launcher in the wreckage. Gilbert is about to kill you when Atha escapes, breaks the arm off of the ape, and impales Gilbert on the pointy object. You all escape using Gilbert's control box and Atha is safely returned to her allies. Swell, ain't it?

Part eighteen: Cruisin' with the Big Boys (Very Optional Mission)

Enemies

RAM Warrior

RAM Technician

RAM H. Security Robot

Terrine Leader

Level Breakdown
If you wish, you could go and beat the game right now. In fact, you could have much earlier, but that's beside the point. Now, if you really want to do every possible task in the game, you may have noticed the RAM Heavy Cruisers. Beating one of these boasts a nice little 2100 experience point prize plus whatever experience you gain inside, so training with these is much faster than just fighting in bars and such. Of course, should you ever encounter this monstrous spacecraft, defeating it in combat is extremely difficult. Bristling with countless guns, I have found only one method that lets you defeat this puppy easily. Keep your distance at 3, and then use Laser Cannons to destroy all of its weapons. At that distance, it can only hit you with its Heavy Missiles, but once they're out of the way, you're safe. After destroying guns, take out the controls with Missiles and Laser Cannons. Finally, charge in to board. Inside, you'll notice that very little is different, except that each random battle contains 20 or so enemies. Bring those Rocket Launchers and Plasma Throwers along. Of course, after you capture every control console in the huge ship, you also get a decent cash prize and 2100 experience points, plus whatever you found on board. If you happen to encounter a ship known as the Sahara, things will turn out a bit differently. A speaker will yell out that if that if you manage to reach the prisoner's area, all prisoners are to be killed. Explore the ship a bit until you find a bunch of those energy field cells that you were imprisoned in while fighting Talon. Enter that area and a group of seven RAM Warriors will attack you. Now, although this may sound easily done, you have to do it quickly or the other guards will kill the prisoners. I wiped them out in 2 turns, but you may have more time than that. Anyway, after beating them, enter the cell one space to your north and enter. You appear just in time to save the prisoners from 16 RAM Warriors and 8 RAM Technicians. Please, enjoy your Rocket Launchers and Plasma Throwers here. You release the prisoners, they help capture the ship, and that's that. As a final note, there is one other thing to worry about when boarding Heavy Cruisers. In rare cases, they will try to capture your ship through the boarding tubes. Always remember where you came in, because once Scot tells you that they've begun, you have only moments to get back there. You'll encounter 16 RAM Warriors and 8 RAM Technicians, then the enemy ship will surrender. Now, all that's left is Mercury

Part nineteen: Je M'apelle Bite Me

Enemies

! = Found in Main Area
@ = Found in Core
# = Found in Top Floor

! # Mercurian Warrior

! # Mercurian Leader

• ! @ Mercurian H.S. Robot - These spider-like creations are not that dangerous, but they are annoying. The only real threat they pose comes from their Mercurian Rocket pistols, which they use evenly with Dazzle Grenades. Whittle away at their stupendous amounts of life with pretty much any weapon.

@ RAM Combat Robot

@ # RAM Assault Robot

# Mercurian Technician

• # Mercurian Combat Gennie - Ouch. Very ouch. These freaks carry Martian Monoswords, Martian Laser Pistols, Battle Armor, and Explosive Grenades. They are only found in the final battle and take quite a beating before going down. Smite them with Rocket Launchers for best results.

Mariposa 3 is a large energy station out in the middle of space, home to the frog-like Mercurians as well as their leader, the Sun King. It would seem that RAM has some other uses for the complex and the final showdown for the Doom's Day device may just take place here. Using all the stolen goodies you've picked up along the way, it's time to attack.

Mission Objectives: Avoid Security, Find and Destroy Doom's Day Device, Get Out Alive

Level Breakdown
Upon entering using the stolen access code you picked up in your travels, walk over to the security door. Your stolen IDs and Blue Pass Cards will get you through easily. On the other side, you find your old friend Wilma Deering. She takes your Pass Cards in order to "distract security for you". I don't know how that could help, but she does offer you this little trinket of advice - avoid security gates. Remember, as you explore the area, guards will occasionally show up. Here are your your choices and what each leads to:

• Fight - You fight the enemy and blow your cover. DON'T DO THIS!!!
• Evade - You usually manage to escape the guard, but occasionally get caught.
• Wait - You are approached by the guards and given the chance to talk your way out of it. All of the three choices have the same success rate.

Wander around for a while until an old man walks up to you and says, "One if by land." Here are your choices and what each leads to:

• Ignore - He simply walks past. DON'T DO THIS!!!
• Speak - He asks "Are you the dancers?" Options Yes and No appear.
• Accost - He laughs and runs away. DON'T DO THIS!!!
• Yes - He tells you that the Sun King is waiting in the Mariposa 3 center for you.
• No - He walks on. DON'T DO THIS!!!

Head to the northern part of the station and ignore the south side. Continue north after passing "U R U Holoportraitaire" to find a bizarre bazaar. If you explore, you can find a few weird items here and there but nothing of use. Head east immediately until you reach a parrot. Here are your choices and what each leads to:

• Feed - He bites you for 1 hit point of damage. DON'T DO THIS!!!
• Play - He bites you for 1 hit point of damage. DON'T DO THIS!!!
• Ignore - You walk past.

Head north after the parrot to find an old computer. Scot will let you know that things are getting a bit fishy in the stock markets and both the Sun Kings and RAM are preparing for trouble on earth. Head south until you find a blue door that says, "To Rue de S". Continue until you reach a fork in the road. Head east and then south, ignoring all side doors. From here, you have several choices. If you head southwest, you will find the Mercurian Stock Market and get to battle a large group of Mercurian Warriors, Mercurian H.S. Robots, and one Mercurian Leader. If you head southeast, you'll find a security checkpoint bristling with Laser Cannons. I suggest you ignore this area. Head northeast, passing through the plaza, until you reach the core. Inside, there are four floors. The first three floors each have a hidden medallion for you to find. Remember to be ready for random Robot attacks.

• First Floor - Take the northwest door, head west, and then go south until you find a small room. Inside, you find a maintenance robot vacuuming and coming surprisingly close to the medallion. Have your Rogue grab it away and then go on to the next floor.
• Second Floor - Go to the southeast corner and find a small room. Search it three times and you'll find the second medallion.
• Third Floor - Go to the southeast corner. Inside, you find a trapped plaque with a medal on it as well as some deactivated robots. Have your Rogue remove the medallion. If she fails and the trap goes off, destroy the RAM Combat Robot and RAM Assault Robot and then continue.
• Fourth Floor - Head to the northeast corner and walk through the hallway with the plaque that says, "Abandon all hope ye who enter here". Walk to the door, give the guard the medals, and he will let you in. When you reach the sun king, answer oui three times. He will deactivate the core lasers and tell you to capture the Doom's Day device for him. Of course, you plan to destroy it, but he doesn't need to know that. Go to the core once more and head to the top of Mariposa 3.
• Top Floor - As soon as you enter this area, you hear the countdown to firing begin. Head north as far as you can, and then go west. You'll find a staircase. Climb it twice, then head south until you see a room with a sign that reads, "Danger - Power Room". Enter and have your best climber cut the juice to the Doom's Day device. This is only a temporary solution though. Head to the southeast corner and use the retinal lock pick you found earlier to get through the door. Head south until you can't go south any more and then head east. Enter the first door to the south you find. Inside are 3 RAM Assault Robots, 2 Mercurian Combat Gennies, and 4 Mercurian Technicians. Ignore the Techs and go all out against the Robots and Gennies, as this is the last big battle. After you win, you hear that the weapon (And Mariposa 3) will explode in two minutes. A cluster of Mercurian Technicians and a RAM Assault Robot rush in to stop the countdown, but you should have no trouble defeating them. Quickly rush back to the staircase and go down one flight of stairs. Walk through the hallway until you are attacked by a group of Mercurians. Kill the lot of them. Go all the way to the right side of the area, past the escape pods, and Scot will unlock the pod doors. Enter one of the remaining escape pods and fly away, watching as both the evil Frenchmen and the RAM Doom's Day device go up in flames. Yippee. The end.

Part twenty: The Armory

Here is a list of all the game's weaponry and such. Remember that my comments are based on my experience with the game. If you want to waste your money and use a Cutlass, go right ahead. Also, keep in mind that Martian, Venusian, Mercurian, or Lunar equipment gets various bonuses.

Unarmed - For the idiotic or suicidal only. Battling without weapons has no range and does pitiful amounts of damage. Don't even try it.
1-2 damage (affected by strength) x1
Range - 1
Acc. - +0%

Laser Pistol - This fine little weapon fires 3 beams at the enemy for a medium amount of damage. It is an extremely balanced weapon, but does not hurt some robots. Also, Aerosol Grenades create thick clouds that this weapon cannot penetrate. If you didn't already own one, I'd suggest that you buy one for each person. It comes in handy very often and works well when used with a Rocket Pistol at your side.
1-8 damage x3
Range - ???
Acc. - +20%

Rocket Pistol - This heavy firearm launches 4 large missiles at the enemy for heavy damage and is decently accurate. While many enemies are impervious to it, fleshy critters seem to have more trouble getting out of the way. Chaff grenades create particle clouds that prevent rockets from passing. It's a fun toy when it works, but make sure to carry something else too, okay?
1-10 damage x4
Range - ???
Acc. +20%

Dart Gun - This insidious creation fires 6 clouds of darts at the enemy for a pitiful amount of damage, but you've got to love the accuracy on this baby. If you can train a warrior in the ways of the Dart Gun, expect good results. It is a weapon designed for those enemies that are just too hard to hit, and the best part is that nothing is immune to it. The Dart Gun is a must-have for any hero, especially near the end.
1-3 damage x6
Range - ???
Acc. - +20%

Heat Gun - Although this spitfire shoots out 2 huge fireballs for monstrous damage, and although nothing seems to be immune to it, this weapon's accuracy just makes it too hard to use. If you want to play with it, go ahead, but it just never grew on me.
2-12 damage x2
Range - ???
Acc. - +20%

Cutlass - I hate this thing. The light and effective Cutlass is a close range weapon that can do a fair to large amount of damage, but it can lead to problems in zero gravity situations. Always carry a back up weapon. Why do I hate it, you ask? Because of the next goodie on our list.
1-7 damage (affected by strength) x2
Range - 1
Acc. - +0%

Monosword - WOOHOO! This weapon is almost exactly like the Cutlass, but it does a bit more damage, making the Cutlass a thing of the past... well, maybe the near future. Anyway, no party is complete without a Monosword wielder or two, but make sure they have a gun for those long- range predicaments.
1-10 damage (affected by strength) x2
Range - 1
Acc. +0%

Grenade Launcher - This item cannot be bought here, but will become available later on. By carrying this, your heroes can shoot their grenades much farther than they could throw them.

Explosive Grenade - These things have saved me on many occasions. They do a heavy amount of damage to not only the place where it explodes, but also to all adjacent spaces. As the old saying goes, "Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear warfare." Once you find them, stock up.
4-40 damage (small area effect) x1
Acc. - +10

Dazzle Grenades - Although useful when fighting some bosses, these toys are mostly useless. If they hit, they will blind all effected friends and enemies, lowering their hit rate and dodge rate. However, if the target is wearing Protective Goggles, the Dazzle Grenade is useless. By the way, it will occasionally do 1 or 2 hit points of damage as well. I've killed a Pirate Warrior with it once, but I never want to waste that much time again.
1-2 damage (small area effect) x1 +Blindness
Acc. - +10

Stun Grenade - This is another item that is useful at times, but not often. It stuns all targets affected by it for a varying amount of turns and lowers their dodge rate. They also cause light damage. They're more useful for the enemy than for you.
3-6 damage (small area effect) x1 +Stun
Acc. - +10

Aerosol Mist Grenade - These things create large clouds of smoke that prevent the use of Laser Pistols. That's it.
0 damage (small area effect) x1 +Stops Lasers
Acc. - +10

Chaff Grenades - These produce large clouds of chaff, preventing the use of Rocket Pistols, Plasma Throwers, and Rocket Launchers. They are invaluable near the end.
0 damage (small area effect) x1 +Stops Projectiles
Acc. - +10

Rocket Launcher - These are the least-common weapons in the game and can only be found in two side areas. When equipped, you can fire one very large explosive device at any point, causing extraordinary amounts of damage to a very large area. All enemies (and friends) found within suffer greatly, so make sure that your aim is right. What are the disadvantages to this? First, it takes a whole turn to reload after every shot. Second, it reduces your movement ability to a crawl. Third, if you miss your attack, the missile still hits a spot adjacent to the target. If you are aiming at a large group of enemies that is far away from your group, that's good, but when firing in close quarters, beware. I guarantee you will kill yourself at least once playing with this.
5-50 damage (medium area effect) x1
Range - ???
Acc. - +15%

Plasma Thrower - This item can only be found by defeating Mercurian Leaders. Use at your own risk. This monster deals a rather nasty amount of energized flaming death across the field in a huge range, but it's very hard to use without vaporizing yourself. Like the Rocket Launcher, it's a no-no in close combat and has all the same disadvantages. The only real use for it is taking out huge hordes of weak enemies.
4-40 damage (large area effect) x1
Range - ???
Acc. - +20%

Space Suit - How do you go to the bathroom in these things? AC -4

Smart Suit - An S Mart employee's uniform. AC -6

Heavy Body Armor - Standard storm trooper gear. AC -8

Battle Armor - Big and blue. AC -10

Body Armor w/Fields - Top o' the line laser repellent. AC -12

Poison Antidote - Whenever poisoned, your hero will fall over and be unable to fight. Using a poison Antidote will help fix this.

ECM Package - ???

Protective Goggles - Makes you immune to Dazzle Grenades.

Part twenty-one: The Shmooze List

When in bars, various hints and tips pop up from time to time. However, you occasionally wind up hitting the button so fast that you miss out on some of them. Sure, they may be worthless, but here's a list of them anyway.

Salvation
"The Sun King on the third Mercurian Mariposa is known to be eccentric,"
"Beware of surprise attacks when traveling overland."
"In space combat, shoot out the controls and weapons. Then you can board."
"I hear a RAM packing company lost their contract for Gennie containment units."

I know there isn't much here yet, but I'll be working on it in further updates.

Part twenty-two: Legal Stuff

I don't care where this walkthrough goes, but please, if you have any respect for the gaming industry, guys named Homer, or things that rhyme with "orange", please don't change any of it, under penalty of horrible, tormenting death at the hands of a guy named Jeff*. Thank you very much.

* - Not guaranteed. It will make you a social outcast**, however, and bad luck will hopefully torment you until the end of your days.

** - Also not guaranteed.

This document Copyright 2001 Andrew Demario

Part twenty-three: Special Thanks Spot

Thanks go to the Cinnabon Company for making what might just be the world's tastiest treat.
Thanks go to Jeff. It doesn't matter which one. If you're Jeff, then I appreciate it.
Thanks go to Lucille Balle for being so lovable.
Thanks go to the King of the Chickens for pointing out a few differences between versions.
Thanks go to Kevin Sorryiforgotyourlastname for help with the Stealth skill.
Thanks go to MystifMkII for showing me the Tinker HP boost trick in Bucky's Tip #1.