METAL STORM
Version 1.0
Last update - Friday 06 16 2000
Copyright 2000 Faididi (faididi@hotmail.com)
This walkthrough is intended for private use only and may not
be distributed for personal gain.
Metal Storm Copyright 1990 Irem America Corp.
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INDEX
I. Background info
- Story
- Stats (for the M-308 Gunner)
- How to Pilot your M-308 (Controls)
- Items
- Structures (the Arrow platforms)
II. Stage Strategies
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Stage 3
- Stage 4
- Stage 5
- Stage 6
- Stage 7
III.After the Ending
IV. Extra Stuff
- Passwords
- Game Genie Codes
- Really Small Details
- Personal Thoughts
V. Credits
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I. BACKGROUND INFO - Stuff you might want to know about
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STORY
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In 2501, mankind faces a disaster. The powerful LaserGun on
Cyberg, a battle station on Pluto, suffers a fatal malfunction!
Intended to serve as protection from hostile aliens, it is now
bent on destroying the Solar System! Neptune was the last planet
to become space dust. Now Earth's only chance is to send the
advanced M-308 Gunner to Pluto to activate Cyberg's self-destruct
device.
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STATS
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The M-308 Gunner
Height: 3 meters
Mass: 952 kilograms
Power Level: 1300 kilowatts
Armour: Geopolyum Alloy
Weapons:
Fusion Rifle (w/ Magnetic Clamp Stock Power Magazines),
Plasma Beam, Shield Force, and Gravity Fireball
Special Equipment:
Gravity Control Device (GravCon)
(The GravCon allows normal function in any gravitational field)
Anti-Gravity Unit, Hyper Boosters, Armed Movable Wings,
Sensor Array, Night Vision Scopes, Thermal Vents
Function:
All-Purpose Combat Robot
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HOW TO PILOT YOUR M-308 WITHOUT TURNING INTO SHEEEET METAL
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D-Pad - Move the M-308 and aim upwards and downards
(Relative to your TV screen)
B - Shoot!
A - Jump!
Select - Cycle between Start and Password on the Main Menu
Start - Pause the game (Great for taking photos!)
Reversing Gravity
Press Up and A to flip gravity. To return gravity to normal,
press Down and A. Controls always remain relative to the screen.
Why Should I Care to Reverse Gravity?
Flip gravity to get past obstacles you otherwise can't overcome.
Can't get past some spikes? Then try running along the ceiling!
What Else Can I Do with This?
You can make longer and higher jumps by flipping gravity at the
right time. If you reverse gravity at the peak of your jump,
you can cross huge chasms (providing there's a ceiling on the
other side). You can also jump pass 2 floors at a time, if the
floors are close enough together. Because you're partly
through the 2nd floor at the peak of your first jump, reversing
gravity will let you drop up through this 2nd floor.
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THE ITEMS YOU FIND ALONG THE WAY
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P Chip - Plasma Beam
Modifies your fusion rifle to fire more powerful shots.
The Plasma Beam is stronger and wider than your standard shots,
plus it can penetrate some structures that your standard shots
couldn't.
Also adds 1000 Points.
S Chip - Shield Force
Generates a protective barrier in front of you.
This barrier absorbs some projectiles and damages enemies
it touches. It faces the direction you press. If you leave it
facing one direction, you can lightly tap the other direction to
turn around without moving it. In effect, you have a rear shield!
Also adds 1000 Points.
G Chip - Gravity Fireball
Envelopes you in flames whenever you flip gravity. Enemies and
projectiles touching you will be damaged or destroyed.
Also adds 1000 Points.
C Chip - Crusher
Destroys all enemies on the screen when grabbed.
Also adds 1000 Points.
A Chip - Enhanced Armor
Gives you enough protection to suck up an addition hit.
The M-308 will look bulkier if it already has this.
Also adds 1000 Points.
B Chip - Bonus Points
Adds 5000 Points.
But Points don't really do anything...
T Chip - Extra Time
Adds more time to your clock.
Almost every Stage starts you off with 400 seconds.
(You get 200 seconds if you restart from the checkpoint.)
There are no time limits for bosses.
Also adds 1000 Points.
1-Up Chip - Extra Life
Gives you another chance when you blow it by getting
yourself blown up. Tends not to reappear like the other
items if you die and restart the section you were on.
Also adds 1000 Points.
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THE STRUCTURES IN YOUR PATH OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
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Normal Platforms
You can jump through them from any direction. They are either
unmarked or have 2 tiny Up and Down Arrows in them.
Up-Arrow Platforms
You can only jump up through them from the bottom.
Down-Arrow Platforms
You can only jump down through them from the top.
(Reverse gravity to jump downwards.)
Reinforced Walls
Regular shots won't go through them, but the Plasma Beam will
Really Reinforced Walls
NO shots will go through them, not even Plasma Beams, death rays,
acid sprays, nuclear explosions, peanut butter, etc.
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II. STAGE STRATEGIES - Get the dirt down on every Stage!
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STAGE 1 - Access Corridor Alpha
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BACKGROUND:
This was designed as a route for maintenance crews. It looks like
they won't be needing it anymore! Being lightly defended, this
corridor serves as a great entry point for the M-308.
GENERALLY WHAT TO DO:
Nothing in this Stage can really kill you. You'll have no problem
navigating the simple terrain and blasting the easy little robots
in your way. Just remember that the blue droids reverse gravity
whenever you do.
IN-DEPTH:
Section 1-1:
Go right past the blue robots. These guys just run
left and right on the floors and ceilings. Their gravity
is reversed along with yours.
After the 10th blue bot you'll find a white bot circling
a platform. Get rid of it, but watch out for another white bot
coming at you on the floor. You can reverse gravity and go on
the ceiling if you want to avoid it.
2 more blue bots between 3 Double-Arrow platforms are next. You
don't really have to kill them, but do it for the Points anyway!
Jump on the platforms or reverse gravity to get up the high
wall. Now jump across the spikes or run along the ceiling.
WATCH OUT for the red turret on the other side. If you're on the
ceiling, run ahead and kneel "down" (press Up) before the
shot comes. Behind this turret may be another blue bot. Take out
the turret by jumping up when it stops firing or hit it from the
ceiling. Now go on to the first checkpoint in the game!
Section 1-2:
Stay on the floor. Shoot upwards to blow up the turret on
the platform. Now jump up to grab some goodies. The
Armor will definitely help, but the Gravity Fireball will let
you zip through enemies and their projectiles when you reverse
gravity. Flip gravity again to jump back down through the floor.
Stay on the ground. There will be another turret. Gravity
Fireball upwards, blow it up, and then go back down to the floor
just to be safe. Ahead are 2 more turrets and 1 blue bot. If you
gravity flip up you can take them out with ease. Right afterwards
there are another 3 turrets. You should know what to do by now.
Jump up the platforms and meet 1 blue bot. Drop down and meet 1
turret. Reverse gravity and blow up one more turret on the ledge.
Gravity Fireball through the shots if you want to.
Get on the ceiling now. Jump downwards through the 2 platforms.
Run right slowly because there's a huge robot guarding the
hallway. It sweeps through the entire path, and there's no way
out until you destroy it, so keep firing. When it gets too
close, run back to give yourself some room.
The next room is the last one. Look out for 2 blue bots when
grabbing the Plasma Beam on the top. You lose the Gravity
Fireball, but the P Beam is much more useful for now. Go right
to the 1st boss...
RED ALERT!: Gorgoth (Reactor)
Gorgoth is a ceiling-mounted reactor, but that doesn't mean it
doesn't want to pound you! Think of it as an oversized doorguard
for Cyberg.
Being the first boss, Gorgoth is pretty easy. It periodically
shoots out a set of 3 energy rings aimed vaguely in your direction
(because its tracking ability sucks). Also coming out of Gorgoth
is a big pinkish-purple dome. That's its weakness - shoot it
enough times and mister big bad reactor goes BOOM!
There are 3 places you can stay at. The first one is underneath
Gorgoth and slightly to the side. Gorgoth will shoot the rings
straight down, but they'll miss. The other 2 places are on
the ceiling to the left or right. If you kneel, the rings also
can't hit you. Stand up and shoot at the dome when it comes out
on your side.
The dome pops out in a complex pattern. The dome's first four
appearances are on the bottom, on the right, on the left, and on
the left again. If you're fast and equipped with the Plasma Beam,
you can kill Gorgoth on the dome's second exposure on the right.
There are rumors of Gorgoth self-destructing. If you wait long
enough, it supposedly blows itself up! I haven't tried it yet...
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STAGE 2 - The Tesseract Tunnel
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BACKGROUND:
The Tesseract Tunnel is Cyberg's first true line of defense.
Nevertheless, it uses warp technology to confuse intruders. The
looping corridors are lined with extra robots and traps to make
life even harder.
GENERALLY WHAT TO DO:
Once you get used to the screen warping, you'll have no trouble
getting to the end. Press towards the right, jumping up or down
to get around any walls in your way. Use the looping to your
advantage!
IN-DEPTH:
Section 2-1:
Welcome to warping technology! Run right until you see 2 blue bots.
Up leads to down and vice-versa, so don't worry about falling off.
Get rid of the blue bots and go on. If you jump ontop of the yellow
floor, you'll see a Bonus Chip. If you jump onto the bottom of the
floor, you'll find a Plasma Beam. If you already have the Plasma
Beam, go for the Bonus instead. (You can't get both.)
Beware the green traps - when you get between them, you only
have a short amount of time to move out before they clamp down
on you. Hop up and immediately jump up again.
When you're through, go on to the right. Jump upwards past
another pair of green traps. Keep going right. You should see
a Bonus Chip on the other side of a wall blocking you, and you
should see the Armor Chip on the bottom. Get the Armor (reverse
gravity if you need to) if you don't have some already.
Getting the Bonus requires even faster reflexes. You can jump
up, grab it, and jump again quickly. You don't get more Lives
from Points, so if you don't want to get it, then skip it and
save yourself some trouble. Now go up and continue to the right.
Flip gravity and stay on the top if you already aren't. Quickly
jump downwards past the double set of green traps. As soon as
you go right, a white ship will appear. Shoot and get rid of it.
(These guys can shoot stuff out from their backs.)
Now you should be between several floors stacked together like
a staircase. The trick here is to jump up and to the right.
Keep moving unless if you want your M-308's butt to be fried.
You have 5 floors to go until you reach the checkpoint.
Section 2-2:
There should be a 1-Up Chip on the top right corner of the screen.
Jump into the space between the spikes, and then flip gravity
before you hit the spikes to drop up to the 1-Up. This 1-Up
DISAPPEARS if you die, so you gotta pick it up now if you want it.
Jump through the Up-Arrow platform and continue on. The red and
white gates swing open and shut whenever you flip gravity. If
you're in their path when they swing, you die, Armor or no Armor.
The trick here is to find a safe spot to reverse gravity in.
For the first gate, stay to the far right and flip gravity. Easy,
right? Do something similar for all the other gates. Go on until
you see 2 turrets. If you have the Plasma Beam, you can shoot
through the floors and get them. If you don't have it, you'll
have to go through the Up-Arrow platform and do it the hard
way. Be careful not to fall onto them due to the wacky screen
looping.
Now jump up along the staircase-like structure until the next step
up is a spike floor. Reverse gravity and continue right. Drop up
into the Armor. Jump to the underside of the spike floor (to the
left of the gate). Go rightside-up and carefully jump across to
the right. Go through the Up-Arrow platforms. See that Bonus?
Go upside-down and jump down to the ledge below the gate. Reverse
gravity again to fall onto the Bonus. (The Bonus might disappear -
you may "scroll" it off the screen by accident.)
Get out and drop into the vertical shaft to the right. You'll keep
falling, so move right to go on. There are 2 more gates. Manipulate
gravity as needed to get past them. Go upside-down and jump
through the Down-Arrow platform if you want a Plasma Beam. Before
jumping down and out, use that trick where you reverse gravity at
the peak of your jump to go past the 2 plain platforms to the left.
Once you're on the bottom, you can find a path to another Bonus!
Jump out quickly, as a bunch of flying white ships will approach!
Take them out before they can squeeze off their shots. Jump through
the platforms to avoid shots and to get past walls. Keep moving
right to the next Red Alert Sequence.
RED ALERT!: Energizers (Plasma Cannons)
"They keep going and going and going..."
- Energizer Battery Bunny ad
The Energizers are plasma cannons mounted on a wall. You'll need
to get past these guys if you want to get out of the Tesseract
Tunnel.
Don't get confused by the screen warping - There are a total of
5 Energizers, and all are equally deadly. Each one fires
independently, so you'll never know when one will open up and
attempt to roast you. When you start, fire like a madman at the
Energizer in your corridor. When it's beak-like helmet retracts,
jump up to the floor above. Chances are that the Energizer that
just fired won't shoot again for some time, so reverse gravity and
jump back down to the corridor you started from. Fire again, and
this time the Energizer should blow up. There's still 4 more to
deal with, but at least now you've got a safe spot to rest in.
There are 2 ways to clean up the others from here:
1 - Do the same thing you did for the first Energizer. Jump out
of the way before the Energizer in front of you fires and
risk getting blasted by another one above/below you, OR...
2 - Take advantage of the Plasma Beam's width! Stand a little to
the left over where the red floor meets the yellow floor. The
Plasma Beam can't go through the yellow floor, but it can go
through the red floor. The trick is to let the outer edge of
your shots hit the remaining Energizers. (They have to open
up to extend themselves into your shots.) You can hit them,
but they can't hit you!!
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STAGE 3 - Gravitrain Access Corridor
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BACKGROUND:
Cyberg's automated supply route has become another line of defense.
The trains that ride along the gravity track are strong enough to
crush anything in their path. The spikes and robot drones lining
the corridor make it even more dangerous.
GENERALLY WHAT TO DO:
Move slowly forwards, avoiding the Gravitrains. Don't worry - you
have more than enough time to finish this Stage. When robot drones
appear, destroy them first. Take extra care when you need to jump
over spikes - you still have to watch out for the Gravitrains!
IN-DEPTH:
Section 3-1:
Start moving to the right because the Gravitrains will come soon.
If one of them appears and is going to ram into you, shoot it.
These green suckers are easy to spot, and they appear at a
certain frequency. As soon as one passes by or is destroyed, hurry
up and move ahead. When you get to the spike floor, jump across
(which is riskier) or go along the ceiling. Grab the Gravity
Fireball. The Gravity Fireball will protect you when you flip.
If you don't want the Gravity Fireball, then how about the Shield
Force? There's one to the right, placed on the ceiling. Work through
the Gravitrains and pick it up, since it's probably more useful.
To the right, underneath a ledge, is an Armor Chip. Take it,
especially if you don't have one already.
Keep going to the right, but watch out for a white turret on the
top of the screen. If you have the Gravity Fireball, you can
blaze upwards and blow it up, along with any Gravitrain in the way.
If you have the Shield Force, sit on the bottom and fire upwards.
The Shield will save you from Gravitrains and the turret's
projectiles. Flip gravity and move on to the right, onto the
checkpoint. When the screen stops scrolling, the Gravitrains will
stop appearing (to prevent cheap shots, ya' know?).
Section 3-2:
Again, watch out for the Gravitrains as you go right. Shortly
after the checkpoint there should be a Plasma Beam and Armor.
You can only get one, so decide carefully. (Remember that if you
die, you can come back here.) Get what you need and continue on.
When you get into the narrow passageway, go upside-down and run
along the ceiling, over the spikes. Ahead of you on the bottom
is an energy column trap. These traps can't be destroyed, but you
can shut them off by reversing gravity. Likewise, they can be
turned back on when you flip again, so be sure to get the hell out
of their way! Drop down and run over it. Jump on the little
platform, and then hop over the spikes. Just tap the A Button
unless if you enjoy wearing spikes as hats.
Stay on the floor to be safe, and go right. On the top will be
another white turret. When no Gravitrain's around, aim up and blow
it up. Now, go upside-down and race along the ceiling. Hop or just
run over the small set of spikes and go above the small platform.
If you stand right between the two parts of track, where the track
bends down and wraps around underneath the small platform, you'll
be safe. Kneel if you're not too confident. When it's clear, move
right until you get to more spikes. Flip back down onto the 2
longer platforms. The Gravitrain track cuts through the next
platform, but you won't fall through the cut part. Going above or
below this platform is up to you.
The next part requires you to be upside-down. Stand on the bottom
of the very small ledge that's jutting out. When you're ready, jump
down and run underneath the wall and on to the other side, where
it's safe. Remember, you can blast any Gravitrain in front of you.
Want the Bonus? Blow up the Gravitrains on the other side, quickly
run to the right, drop up to the ceiling, and run back to the left.
Get the 5000 Points, get back up to the ceiling, and continue on
to the right. Reverse gravity next to the spikes and drop down
to the platform below. The screen will have stopped scrolling by
now, so be happy! You're done with the Gravitrains!
RED ALERT!: Gultzen (Laser Field / Disc Drone)
This guy is more dangerous than it looks. There are 3 things to
look out for: the 2 sets of lasers criss-crossing each other at
a perpendicular angle, the 2 discs revolving around Gultzen,
and Gultzen itself.
Gultzen starts off above you. Aim up and pound it. After
awhile, it will unlock itself and move. It can only go to 4 spots
around the room, marked by the big yellow circles in the
background. It goes to the spot closest to where you are, so move
as soon as it unlocks itself. The hard part comes from timing
your way through the laser bolts without getting whacked by
Gultzen or its circling death-blades. When Gultzen locks itself
down, start shooting again. The blades will block your shots,
but you'll hit Gultzen most of the time anyway.
The lasers divide the screen into 4 quadrants. You must be in
a quadrant different from that of Gultzen's - The circling blades
will cover the entire quadrant it's in. Run left and right or flip
gravity to get past the gaps between the laser bolts. The safest
way to move is to go couterclockwise around the room. It's harder
to avoid Gultzen if it cuts diagonally across the screen.
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STAGE 4 - "The Cage"
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BACKGROUND:
Originally created to transport scientists safely through fields
of space mines, this strange structure has been modified by Cyberg
into a flying death-trap. It will take passengers closer to the
Core, but along the way they must endure various hazards.
GENERALLY WHAT TO DO:
Sit on the side opposite of the cage's movement. If it moves right,
stay on the left so you have more time to see what's up ahead.
The Cage moves in a preset pattern. If you want to, memorize its
path to make it easier for yourself. You only have a short amount
of time to grab any power-up that appears before the Cage moves
away. Time is also not of concern here - the Cage will move
through its route in the same amount of time, so don't worry
about the timer.
IN-DEPTH:
Section 4-1:
You start off with 500 seconds on the timer, but it doesn't matter.
The Cage will start moving to the right. Stay on the ceiling if you
want the Gravity Fireball. The green orbs are floating "mines."
They don't explode; they're more like indestructable barriers that
kill you when touched. The first green orbs you'll meet are placed
on the bottom and the top of the Cage's path. Jump or gravity
flip by them. You can use the Gravity Fireball to go through them.
Get to the ground as soon as possible. A grey orb will appear very
soon. These orbs sport a spinning disc blade, very much like
Gultzen's. Shoot the grey orb and destroy it. Note that its
revolving disc also gets destroyed. Right after this grey orb is
another one, but this one's on the top. Shoot it from underneath,
and then gravity flip to the ceiling to avoid the next 2 green orbs.
After the Cage moves a little more to the right, you'll see an Armor
Chip stuck between a triad of green orbs. Gravity Fireball
through the orbs to get the Armor and then flip again back out.
In the top right corner is a Plasma Beam. Act fast - the Cage will
temporarily stop and then continue upwards. Don't get trapped by the
green orbs!
When the Cage moves up, wait for 3 pairs of green traps. Remember
these guys from Stage 2? They close in on you when you're between
them. Stay on the floor. When the bottom pair is almost lined up
with the top of the M-308's head, gravity flip and drop up through
them. Kneel just in case.
Now look out for 3 white turrets in the upper right corner.
Get back to the Cage's lower left and deal with them quickly as
the Cage will now start moving to the right. Stay low and avoid the
next pair of green orbs. Gravity flip to avoid some more green
orbs. Soon enough a grey orb will appear on the top, so prepare to
blast it. After you do, run up to where it was and gravity flip
down to fight another grey orb. Be careful not to scrape against
the green orbs.
Now get ready for the regenerating blue turrets. These guys
will reappear shortly after you blow them up, so keep blasting
them. You don't need them to fill the Cage with their spinning
crescent shots! (You can destroy these shots.) The first one is
on the right. When the Cage moves up, there'll be another one on
the left. As soon as the Cage moves right again, a third and
fourth turret will appear from the top and from the bottom,
respectively. The Cage will pause with 2 turrets in it, so stay
in the lower left corner and blast upwards and rightwards to
keep them at bay. The Cage will now continue to the right, and
another turret will appear on the top. After this fifth turret,
prepare to fight the only minibosses in this game!
MINIBOSSES: The Galons (Surface Drones)
These guys can really sweep the floor. There are 4 Galons, and they
start racing clockwise around the Cage's surfaces. They'll speed up,
slow down, and then fire a circular shot in the direction opposite
the side they're on (the top Galon shoots downward). After that,
they repeat the pattern in the other direction.
Start off by pumping the Galon to your left as much as possible.
Jump over the oncoming Galon from your right. Now just keep firing
left or right as you lightly hop over the Galons running underneath
you. Control your jumps so you can match their speed. When they
stop, shoot the closest, easiest to hit Galon. Just hang on, and
you'll be turning the last Galon into mince meat in no time!
Section 4-2:
No problems, right? Now that you passed the checkpoint, you should
be ready to take on the second half of the Cage's tour. It now
starts going to the right. In the lower half will be a Shield Force.
Above will be Armor. Grab both for an easier time.
New enemies! These little red bugs will run out to the Cage's edge
and then rush at you! The M-308's gun might not be able to hit it,
so be prepared to jump or gravity flip out of the way. The Shield
Force can destroy them. The first one will be right behind the
S Chip. Soon more will come from various directions.
Stay in the middle of the ceiling to give yourself more
room. You also want to be on the ceiling for the next part.
After 4 or 5 bugs there will be 3 items. On the top is the rare
Crusher, and on the bottom are a G Chip and a P Chip. The Cage
makes it tough for you if you want the Crusher because it will
move down and right really fast. Pick up the Crusher before the
Cage moves away and the bug on the bottom will die. Now quickly
decide what you'll want - the Gravity Fireball, or the Plasma
Beam? I go for the P Chip because I love brute force, but you
should go for what you like. If you want to, you should might
even want to keep the Shield Force - all 3 weapons can help.
Now more red bugs will appear, but the real danger now comes from
the shield turrets. Why do I call them shield turrets? Because
they are armored on almost every side! They spit out little shots
that are hard to see, and they take up a lot of room and damage.
Get to the ground and destroy the first turret you see from the
bottom. Watch out for any shot it shoots out. If you have the
Shield Force, use it.
After the first shield turret and another bug, the Cage will move
up. The next shield turret will appear on the left, and its open
side is also on the bottom. If you don't want to risk getting
crushed by it, move to the right. You can use the Gravity
Fireball if you want to. Soon a third turret appears on the
right, but its open side is on the top.
Now comes the barriers. A wall to the right will form up from the
top and bottom edges of the screen. (It makes a distinctive
"wwhhrrnn" sound.) Once formed, a launcher in the middle will
drop a missile at an angle. Stay back so you can jump
up and shoot the central launcher. If you don't kill it, the
Cage will continue on, pressing you against it.
Next comes 2 more of these walls, at the same time! Stay in the
MIDDLE, or else! The walls will form to your right and to your
left. Hop up and kill the left wall first because the Cage
will reverse itself and go left. If you jump straight up in
the middle, you will avoid the missiles. After you blow the
left wall away, run left and take care of the right wall.
Take a quick breath as we move into the final part of the Cage's
route! When the Cage goes down, flip up to the ceiling so you can
see the green orbs coming up. Stay to the left so you can shoot at
the white ship that will appear from the right. Aim downwards as
another white ship comes from the left. The Cage will now move
down and to the left and then abruptly shift to moving down
and right. Jump, kneel, and flip gravity to avoid the green orbs.
Be careful not to get trapped in a corner!
Now 2 white ships will appear: one from the top left, the other
from the lower right. Take caution shooting them as the Cage shifts
left and right through more green orbs. Quickly move to the left
or right side of the Cage because more green orbs will cut through
the its middle. Stay on the floor if you're on the left side to
avoid getting whacked when the Cage moves right. On to the bosses!
RED ALERT!: Kridon & Zoniar (Battle Drone & Laser Cannons)
These guys are even meaner than the Galons! I'm not sure if I'm
getting the names right, but that's not important now. I'll
refer to the bouncing red drone as Kridon and the twin lasers
as Zoniar.
Kridon just bounces around the inside of the Cage at 45 degree
angles. It's nothing compared to Zoniar, who shoots vetical
lasers right through the Cage!
Take out the two parts of Zoniar first. When you start, run right
underneath Kridon and shoot down at the lower Zoniar. The top part
fires first, giving you time to destroy the bottom one as the top
part is moving towards you. When the top part does fire, move to
the right. Room will be tight! When the top part is done, shoot
upwards at it. If you didn't kill the bottom part, you'll have to
do it now. If the top part is still around, you'll be really
hard-pressed. Try the Plasma Beam - you can kill Zoniar really
fast!
With both Zoniar gone, Kridon is just a piece of cake. Just run
around it, reversing gravity if you need to. Waste Kridon, and
then it's on to Stage 5!
More tips! Kridon is the main boss. If you kill it first, Zoniar
blow up along with it. If you want to, you can beat these bosses
without even pressing the B Button! Get some extra Armor, and
then touch Kridon. You lose the Armor, but Kridon blows up and
you win!!
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STAGE 5 - Laser Defense Corridor
--------------------------------
BACKGROUND:
Cyberg's next line of defense is composed of lasers - a
lot of them! Not only are twin laser turrets nested throughout
the place, a lethal column of high-voltage energy sweeps
through the entire corridor!
GENERALLY WHAT TO DO:
As soon as you start the Stage, you must move forwards
continuously, stopping only to take out the laser turrets. The
energy column will catch up to you before you run out of time,
so keep moving.
IN-DEPTH:
Section 5-1:
Talk about beam dreams! You don't see the energy column yet, but
it's defintely coming! To the right is a twin laser turret.
When it stops firing, run underneath it and gun it apart. If
you think it'll fire again, you'll just have to move to the side
and wait. To the right are two more turrets. Again, wait for them
to stop and then shoot them. For the lower turret, you can
kneel down partly over it and shoot it without falling in.
The Plasma Beam helps immensely here as its strength lets you take
out the turrets faster. Its width also doesn't require you to stand
in front of them as much as you would need to if you were using
the regular shots.
Go on and you'll find another turret on the bottom of a vertical
section. After that comes turrets # 5 and 6. Take out the lower one
first. The other one can be tricky - you have to flip gravity to
reach it. When it's going to fire again, you must flip back down
and wait again. Try to use the Power Beam as it saves you
a lotta time and is wide enough to hit the turrets without having
you step all the way up to them. After you waste them, go on
right until you meet yet another laser turret on the bottom. Take
it out and read the next part before going on...
LIGHTLY hop up on the orange block to the right and stay on
the BOTTOM because to the right are 2 more turrets, and
one aims right through the middle of the screen! You'll have to
jump up and shoot it when it's not firing. Also clear out the
lower turret. You should see Armor on the ceiling and a Plasma
Beam on the bottom. I strongly encourage you to get both if you
don't already have them. Keep going right, and there should be
a single turret in the middle. Take it out or run past it.
Now get on the ceiling. Soon 2 turrets will appear, with
one shooting left through the middle of the screen and the other
shooting up vertially. When it's clear, quickly grab another
one of those neat Crushers on the top right. That should take
care of those nasty turrets! Drop back down onto the platform
and move right. A 3rd turret will shoot to the left above your
head. If you want to, grab the Shield Force and then get the
hell out. Continue right to the checkpoint!
Section 5-2:
We now have a turret on the ceiling. Quickly kill it before the
boogieman-man energy column catches up to you. (This turret
doesn't appear if you die and restart from the checkpoint.)
Head right to a second turret, which is one oriented vertically.
If you have the Shield Force, jump onto the side and hold
Down on the D-Pad. The M-308 will push the Shield down onto
the turret, destroying it! Grab the Armor and Bonus and
continue on.
Now comes a tough part. Take the middle corridor when you reach the
green floors. There will be little blue flying bugs that will
zip from right to left. If you hit them, they release a large wave
of energy at you. And if you don't shoot them, they will release
the energy wave backwards at you anyway! But it's safer to let
them release it from the back because you'll have more time to
react this way. The wave is wide enough to cover one whole
corridor. If the bug flies through the middle of the corridor,
its wave will cover the entire corridor. If it flies through
the floor, its wave will cut cover 1/2 of the corridors above
and below the floor. You can kneel under (or above) the bugs
and some of the waves.
As I said, take the middle corridor. When you meet a wall,
jump up and take the top corridor (it's a bit easier).
Get back down into the middle corridor as soon as you can.
Remember to jump and kneel to avoid the bugs and waves.
Staying in the middle corridor offers you the chance to
jump into another corridor.
At the end you should see a trio of turrets. Get on the
ceiling where it's safer. If you have the Shield Force,
get to the far right and drop down on the ledge above the
highest turret. Press Down and push the Shield into it.
Now you can drop down to the orange block left of the
middle turret and above of the lowest turret. Again, press
Down to destroy the 2 turrets with the Shield. If you don't
have the Shield Force, you'll have to take out the turrets
the hard way. (Kill the middle, top, and bottom turrets in this
order.) Note that you can kneel under the lasers of the lowest
turret.
After the triple turrets, get on the ceiling. If you don't, you'll
get waxed by a turret shooting near ground level. Drop down to
the turret's right side and kill it. Remember, you can duck its
lasers. Now the last 2 lasers are to the right. You can't hit
them because they're enveloped by some tough reinforced structures,
so you can only avoid them. To grab the Plasma Beam, stay
upside-down on the wall between the two turrets. When they stop
firing, drop up, grab the Chip, and reverse gravity to
drop back down. Hold left or right to move to the side, away
from the lasers.
To meet the boss, you gotta go down into the narrow passageway on
the right. You'll have barely enough time to make it through
before the lasers come on again. Reverse gravity and run along
the ceiling if you have trouble jumping in rightside-up.
Tip: If you don't mind losing out on some time bonus, you can
wait for the death-beam column to catch up. That sucker kills
everything it touches, including the turrets trapped in the
tough structures. Be sure to move as soon as the turrets are
gone as the column will be uncomfortably close by then.
RED ALERT!: Multatron (Triformer)
This guy is not fun. As its name implies, it transforms into
different forms, with each form having its own attack.
Multatron stays on the right, floating up and down and shooting
everything it got to the left. Spikes above and below it keep
cheap M-308 Gunners like you from sneaking underneath it. So,
yep, you gotta use the room you have to avoid its lasers.
Multatron has 3 forms, and it changes into a different one as
you beat it up.
Form 1 - Blue
Multatron will fire tiny diagonal laser bolts at you. They reflect
off the ceiling and floor, so you should take extra care. If a
shot is coming at you, jump over it, run underneath it, or run
away from it. It all depends on where you are in relation
to the shot. Be sure to keep firing as you're avoiding the shots.
Form 2 - Red
Now Multatron gets mad, and it'll start to shoot 90 degree angle
lasers at you. A tiny laser bolt will come out horizontally.
When it's over you, it will bend straight down or straight up.
It alternates between going down and going up, so keep this in
mind as you're pounding Multatron.
Form 3 - Green
Multatron is even meaner than before, but this form may be the
easiest to beat! It now shoots vertical beams of plasma at
you (similar to the blue bugs' in the previous section). Jump
or flip gravity to avoid these walls of death.
But after the 3rd form, there's still more! Am I kidding?
No! Multatron is now really angry, and it'll constantly change
to confuse you. This is probably the toughest part of the fight,
since it'll shoot out two lasers at a time! This means twin
diagonal shots, twin 90 degree shots, and twin plasma walls!
Just keep firing and switching your strategies to keep up with
Multatron, and you'll eventually beat it!
----------------------------
STAGE 6 - Free Fall Corridor
----------------------------
BACKGROUND:
The closer you get to the Core, the nastier the defenses become.
Even worse than the Tesseract Tunnel, the Free Fall Corridor
pushes warp technology to its limits. The entire Stage is patrolled
by endlessly floating traps, so the looping screen is the least of
your worries.
GENERALLY WHAT TO DO:
Slowly move towards the right, watching out for gun emplacments
on the floating platforms. For the huge traps that emit massive
columns of energy, reverse gravity to switch them on and off. You
may have to "fall around" them to go on. Do the same for the spikes,
reversing gravity and looping around them when necessary.
IN-DEPTH:
Section 6-1:
You'll start off standing on one of the many blue platforms floating
up. Go right and you should see 2 energy column traps. Remember
these guys from Stage 3? Reverse gravity to shut them off. Go on
right to a S Chip, a P Chip, and a 3rd trap. After you get what you
want, go on. Soon a white turret will appear above a large blue
platform. Take it out by shooting it from underneath or by hanging
under the small blue platform to its left.
To the right are orange and white platforms. Look out for another
turret, but watch out even more for the white platform as it
carries a load of red and white turrets. Take it slowly when you
take them out. It's very easy to loop around and accidentally
fall onto them.
Past the white platform are some pesky flying robots. These guys
pop out quickly from the right, squeeze off a shot, and then
fly away back to the right. Kill them or avoid them. Another
energy column trap marks the end of this section.
Section 6-2:
And yet another trap marks the beginning of this section! This
guy disappears if you die and restart from here. Go on to the
right until you see some spikes. Look for the Armor above one
set of spikes. Grab it - it's easy to reach! Past the Armor
is one more trap. Flip upside-down and carefully move around it.
Soon you should see a white platform. You know what this means:
more turrets! This white platform, unlike the last one, carries
more white turrets. Past this white ship are a vertical series
of blue platforms in front of a longer blue platform. Watch out
here - there are 4 red turrets and more flying robots.
2 of the turrets are on the bottom, and 2 are on the top.
Now to the right of the blue platform are some orange ones.
Flip gravity to avoid the spikes. When you're on the big
orange platform, flip upside-down and drop up past the spikes
on the right side, landing on the underside of the orange
platform. From here, flip back rightside-up and drop down
onto the blue platform. Doing so shuts off the first of the
next 2 traps and lets you pass. Now jump above the spikes
to the right and flip gravity again. You should drop upwards
onto the underside of the next blue platform. This will shut
off the last trap. When it's clear, quickly run to the right
and off towards the many blue platforms to the far right.
Before you meet a horrible death on the spikes above, flip
gravity and drop onto one of the blue platforms. Now just
go right.
RED ALERT!: Triad Voltars (Hanger Modules)
These guys were originally made to perform maintenance duties
around the hanger, but now they're your personal platforms to
hell! Having no attacks of their own, they must use the lethal
bands of energy running along the floor and ceiling.
The 3 box-like Voltars will circle the room in a counterclockwise
fashion very much like that of the Galons, only they don't change
their speed or shoot. Whatever you do, don't touch the floor or
ceiling. The Voltars will attempt to crush you or force you onto
the energy bands.
This fight may be even harder than the one with Multatron. Only
one Voltar is vulnerable at a time, and there's a pattern to
who can be hit next. You start off standing on the lower Voltar.
When it races up the right wall, jump to the left and onto the
next Voltar on the bottom. The Voltars aren't evenly spaced
apart, so you must adjust your jumps depending on the distance
between the Voltar you're standing on and the one you're about
to jump onto.
As you jump, be sure to shoot to the left, hitting the Voltar
on the other side. Remember that only one can be damaged at
a time, so be patient. If it's hit, you'll know it.
Once you damage a Voltar, the next one behind it will be
vulnerable. When you hit all 3, the pattern will restart, and
you'll have to find the next vulnerable Voltar. Once you
hit it, keep getting the others. When you hit a Voltar for
the 3rd time or so , it will turn RED. This means that it's
one shot from being destroyed!
Note! This trick works only if you hit all the Voltars one
after the other, in order. If you mess up, there's a good
chance you'll mess up and die!!
"Okay, so I start to destroy the Voltars. But they're also my
safety platforms! What the hell am I supposed to do?!," you might
ask. I say, "Don't worry!" Remember that you're invincible as soon
as you beat the boss(es). The trick is to time your attacks so you
kill the last Voltar before touching the energy bands. Kill
the first one by doing the usual jump-left-and-fire trick. Then
blow up the 2nd Voltar (the one you just jumped from) by aiming
up at it. Now there's only the one you're standing on left. You
can aim down and blast it, or you can drop off to the side,
turn around, and shoot it in midair.
If you win, the energy bands will shut off, and you'll be on
your way to the Core...
------------------
STAGE 7 - The Core
------------------
BACKGROUND:
The last of the Core's defenses is the toughest. All the bosses
you destroyed from the past are brought back in a final effort
to stop you from blowing up Cyberg.
GENERALLY WHAT TO DO:
Choose your weapon and fight through a gauntlet of all the
previous bosses! After you get past this final line of defense,
it's on to the Self-Destruct Mechanism!
IN-DEPTH:
Section 7-1:
You start off in a short hallway with 100 seconds on the clock.
At the end are 3 Chips: the Plasma Beam, the Shield Force, and
the Gravity Fireball. Pick one and step to the right to start
the horrible torture. If you die, you only restart at the boss
you were at. If you Game Over, however, you gotta start
everything again!
Sections 7-2 to 7-7:
Nothing else much I can say here. It's all up to you. You can
use the strategies I listed for beating the bosses, or you can
use your own. Use what you're more comfortable with and go
teach the bosses how history repeats itself! When you do off
the Triad Voltars once more, it on to the final...
RED ALERT!: The Self-Destruct Device
This isn't really a boss, but you got a minimal 30 seconds
to complete this section! You see, the LaserGun is done
recharging at this point, and it's about give Earth the
Death Star treatment.
The Self-Destruct Device is a giant, metallic, er..., uh...,
"shaft." (heh heh ;) To blow up Cyberg, you gotta
"plug" the Device into the wall on your left. (heh heh heh heh ;p
So how do you move something the size of a battleship across
the room? Actually, you don't. See those little nodes
on the side of the Device? They look like clustered bunches
of writhing wires. Shoot them off - there are a total of 4
nodes. Every one you destroy will slide the Device closer
to the wall. You can jump up to shoot them, but it's easier
to go underneath them and just aim upwards. Don't touch the
nodes by accident - they can still kill you!
When you destroy the last node, the whole Device clicks in,
and you win!! Enjoy the ending!
======================================================================
III. AFTER THE ENDING - So what's next?
======================================================================
How'd you like the ending? Sucks, doesn't it? I won't spoil it
for those who haven't beaten this game yet, but I'll just say
that it offers a really stupid reason for letting you play again
on a more difficult setting.
So what's different about Hard Mode? Well, it's damn tough,
that's for sure! Here's a list of what happens when you play
through the "new" version of Cyberg:
Enemies start doing things they normally wouldn't.
Remember the blue bots from Stage 1? Guess what? They shoot
at you now! Remember the green traps in Stage 2? They snap
shut like if someone injected turbo fuel into them!
Enemies more than double in many places.
Happy, easy-going areas have become death-traps! Enemies you're
not supposed to see until two Stages later show up! They pour
in like fiends, pounding you with hail after hail of laserfire
and literally creating walls with their bodies!
Bosses get tougher than they need to be.
You know Gorgoth, the reactor boss, from Stage 1? Yeah, it turns
out it had stuff you never knew about! It fires an additional
shot that homes in on you! Looks like its aim isn't so bad now,
isn't it?! And the Galons in Stage 4's Cage? They move so fast
that even the Nintendo can't keep up with them! (This is where
I got stuck and gave up! :(
The Gravitrains get some better armor.
The familiar green shuttles you knew are no more. Taking their
place are bad-ass looking black shuttles that are invincible!
The Cage just ain't "The Cage" anymore.
Okay, it's still a cage, but everything else is different!
The route is takes is now a complex monster, and the new
enemies are definitely frightening.
There are many more things that get "improved," but I'll spare
you the horror. For now, just be happy that you beat the
damn game. Hey, Normal is okay, right?
======================================================================
IV. EXTRA STUFF - Other bits and pieces you might find helpful!
======================================================================
---------
Passwords
---------
Can't get past some Stages? Well, here's your chance to skip
ahead and see what you've been missing! As an added bonus, the
Passwords listed here give you some very decent equipment.
Note: The @ stands for the Heart Symbol.
Game 1 (Normal Mode - You start with the Plasma Beam and Armor)
Stage 1 --- - ---- - --- -> Access Corridor Alpha
Stage 2 S4T - 17RL - XT9 -> Tesseract Tunnel
Stage 3 86C - KRQX - KQ@ -> Gravitrain Access Corridor
Stage 4 @GD - G3ZM - V8B -> "The Cage"
Stage 5 BWQ - BCQ1 - KV8 -> Laser Defense Corridor
Stage 6 8F0 - L3ZT - VN3 -> Free Fall Corridor
Stage 7 X0B - ZSRW - BXV -> The Core
Game 2 (Hard Mode - You start with only the Plasma Beam)
Stage 1 !LG - TFCN - 3JZ
Stage 2 3DZ - @22N - G@C
Stage 3 L3V - R0WH - WKW
Stage 4 50N - 065B - KM3 (I stopped here)
Stage 5
Stage 6
Stage 7
----------------
Game Genie Codes
----------------
Still need more help? If you have a Game Genie, you may be in luck!
AASOYYPA Infinite Lives (Great for Hard Mode)
AVKYPSGL Slower Timer
AESTKXGA Permanent Gravity Fireball
AESXXNGY Permanent Shield Force
NNNLOLAE Start with Armor and ALL 3 Weapons!!
(WARNING!! This code screws up your Passwords
because you're not supposed to have more
than one weapon at a time!)
----------------------------------
Details So Small That No One Cares
----------------------------------
The Cage
Did you notice how the Cage looks pretty ancient for a
setting this futuristic? It looks like it was borrowed
from the Great Palace in the Legend of Zelda 2: Link's
Adventure. Plus the Cage changes as you enter new sections.
Check it out - one minute it has ancient Greek architecture,
the next it looks like something from Star Wars!
The Password Option on the Main Menu
You know that if you press the Reset Button, the game still
keeps the last Password you got. Just go into the Password
Screen and it'll be there. But there's more!
If you hold both the A and B Buttons right when the Title
appears, the Main Menu won't appear! When you release the
Buttons, the Main Menu appears, but the Password Option
will be highlighted instead! And if you highlight "Start,"
pressing A and B together will automatically move the
cursor back to "Password." Is this a useless bit of
information or what?!?!?!
The M-308's Gun
It can only fire 2 shots at a time? What kind of gun is
that? And they call it a fusion-powered rifle! Okay,
maybe it needs to cool down or something a lot too.
And at least it fires fast enough to work like a
machinegun at short ranges.
-----------------------------
Personal Thoughts on the Game
-----------------------------
Why did I write this walkthrough? Just because I like Metal Storm!!
It was a chance to help others on a game I enjoyed a lot.
Here's my "Review" :
(This isn't the same as the one I have in GameFAQs;
this is more personal :)
Scoring:
Poor -> Below Average -> Average -> Above Average -> Excellent
Story: Average
It's basic stuff, but the ending makes you wanna punch a wall.
Gameplay: Excellent
The concept of reversing gravity is flawlessly merged into the
intense action. The results? Interesting Stages, unique bosses,
and one helluva game!!
Replay: Average
The game is short though. We want more than 7 Stages!
And the 2nd game is just way too difficult!
Control: Excellent
Can't argue here. The M-308 is as responsive as you can get.
Movement, shooting, and flipping gravity is fast and smooth.
Graphics: Above Average
Objects move fluidly, and multi-layered backgrounds give some
depth and add to the high-tech atmosphere. There's little slow-down,
and everything is exceptionally animated. The blue bots from Stage 1
have several frames of motion, just as your M-308 does, and
Multatron's transformation looks cool as hell. The only problem? The
coloring is a little nasty. The M-308 looks muddy, and the items can
blend into the backgrounds sometimes.
Sound Effects: Excellent
Your shots sound like energy weapons, and so do the enemies'.
Regular bad guys blow up like if they got vaporized. Bosses explode
like thunder. Reversing gravity makes its own unique sound.
Voice: N/A
No voice, no score. And the M-308 doesn't talk anyway.
Music: Above Average
The simple but futuristic tunes fit the game well. All the music is
memorable (my favorite is Stage 2's because it's so funny). Some
Stages share the same tunes though.
Overall: Excellent
You have in your hands one of the NES' best games (and also one
of the most underrated games). The action is incredible, and
the wonderful graphics give it even more flash.
Hold on to this cartridge!
======================================================================
V. CREDITS - Because it wouldn't be right without the proper thanks!
======================================================================
Irem
Hey, these guys gave us the game, right? They make some really
great stuff. Metal Storm is as action-packed as R-Type, but
it's easy enough so a lot more people can enjoy it.
I say, "Go for a sequel!"
The Instructions Manual
For providing names, especially for the bosses. And how to play the
game, of course.
Nintendo Power
For providing even more names, like the ones for the Stages.
Nintendo Entertainment System
I need a platform to play Metal Storm on, right?
GameFAQs
Thanks to CJayC for posting this up.
My fellow Faididis
For helping me through the game and figuring out the
best strategies.
The M-308 Gunner
This guy looks funny, but it's the hero anyway.
I wonder if they sell stuffed M-308 dolls anywhere...
======================================================================
======================================================================
Hope you enjoyed playing Metal Storm and reading this walkthrough.
Got questions or comments?
Feel free to e-mail me at
faididi@hotmail.com
Let us carry on the golden torch of videogaming until
the sun explodes and all life on Earth dies horribly.