Sky Gunner FAQ v1.0 (5/23/02) by Gene --------------------------------------- Sky Gunner (PS2) 1 Player 1 Disc (CD-ROM) Genre: Shooting Memory: 280 KBytes 1) Introduction 2) Frequently Asked Questions 3) How to play 3.1) At the Main Menu 3.2) Screen Layout 3.3) Controls 3.4) Game System 3.5) Scoring 4) Training Mode 5) Character Info 5.1) The Gunners 5.2) The Boss Family 6) Secrets 6.1) Unlocking Secrets 7) Miscellaneous / Et Cetera 1) Introduction --------------- This game is an original flight/shooting game for the Playstation 2. It came out on September 27, 2001 for 5800yen, only in Japan. It looks like a comic/ aniem between the action sequences. The style is very cute. It is based off of a fantasy world that seems to resemble Europe around the Industrial revolution. Most of the names seem to be based off French, but in Japanese it's always hard to really tell! Please note that this FAQ will only cover the Japanese version of the game. 2) Frequently Asked Questions ----------------------------- Q) Can I play it without much knowledge of Japanese? A) Well, it isn't that bad. There is a lot of text in the game in Japanese. The Story Mode plays like a comic between the action sequences. So if you want to just look at the pictures, you're fine. The story isn't incredibly interesting, so I don't think that you are missing much. As for gameplay, you don't need to know any Japanese. Hopefully by reading this FAQ, you'll be fine. Q) What is the game like? A) It is like an arcade flight simulator and shooter. For example, flight is fairly easy to control, you don't have to land, etc. Collision with objects does not cause damage. The major task of the game is to shoot enemies with your gun, not to control a real plane. It is not like Panzer Dragoon, because you actually control the movement of the aircraft, it is just much simpler. Q) How do you destroy the robot after freeing the museum? A) Fire your crosses into the robot. Once there are 6 of them, fire your guns to destroy them all. It takes some luck and a bit of co-ordination from your wingman. Keep trying, it can be done! (from Dreadwing13, ndufer) Q) How do you defeat Rival? A) Put a fully charged cross in him and make it explode. Try anything you can to finish him off after that. (from ndufer) Q) Is the game any good? A) Yes! It received Silver ranking with reviews of 8,7,7,7 in Japanese Famitsu magazine. Famitsu PS gave it scores of 8,8,7,6. And finally, Playstation magazine gave it scores of 70,85,85,90. I think that it is a good game, but I am really disappointed in the fact that slowdown occurs often! Here are the game's good/bad points: + Fully animated intro sequence + Interesting characters + Battles are fun to play + Good scoring system + Interesting game mechanics + 5 different playable characters + Simple controls and arcade feel (not like real flight simulator) - Controls can still be very confusing at the start - Only one view to play from! (I'm dying for a cockpit view) - No upgradeable weapons - Slowdown occurs when too much happens onscreen!! 3) How to play -------------- This section deals with how to play and control the game. 3.1) At the Main Menu --------------------- At the main menu, you have the following options: Story Mode Training Mode Time Attack Mode (unlocked) Survival Mode (unlocked) High Scores Album Mode Options Data / Load or Save 3.2) Screen Layout ------------------ The screen layout is as follows: Your aircraft is always in the center of the screen. You move your attack cursor (a clear square) around the screen. In the top left, you see your current multiplier and score. In the top right, you see your target and the other targets in the battle. On the left side, there are two meters. The Red one is Heat meter. Beside it is your altimeter. In the bottom right, there are several two circles. Below the left circle, there is your Balance meter. Beside the left circle, there is your aircraft's HPs and damage. The right circle shows your current Optional Weapon and its ammo. If you have targetted an enemy, there will be circle around them. At the bottom of the circle, you will see your enemy's HP and damage. On the right you will see LOCK ON, if you have your Optional Weapon locked on. At the top, you will see the Optional Weapon you will receive after destroying your enemy. 3.3) Controls ------------- This section deals with the control of the game. The Basic Controls ------------------ The left analog or keypad controller is used for navigation of the aircraft. It is used to change the direction of the aircraft and move the attack cursor. L1 - Change the Optional Weapon L2 - not used R1 - EX Action R2 - Change to a target offscreen (All commands must be set on) Square - Fire Machine Guns Circle - Lock-on and Fire Optional Weapon Triangle - Change Targets (onscreen or emergency) hold for behind view X - Boost Select - Skip to Action Sequence Start - Pause and Save the game Advanced Controls ----------------- You can perform a Powerslide by quickly changing to the opposite direction quickly from the direction that you are travelling. This is used for defense. It is also used to rotate to face an enemy. EX Action: Every character has an EX Action by pressing the R1 button. They are different depending on the character. Branche/Femme: Active Turn. Press the R1 button along with a direction to turn quickly in that direction. Avenir/Ciel: Steam Brakes. Press the R1 button to quickly brake. Useful for avoiding enemy missiles. Shubri/Copain: Rolling. Press the R1 button to roll. Also useful for avoiding enemy missiles. Fantome/Rival: Steam Brakes. Press the R1 button to quickly brake. Useful for avoiding enemy missiles. Courage/Hardi: None 3.4) Game System ---------------- This section deals with the various mechanics of the game. Game Over: You have three continues and may save the game during any mission. If you re-load, you will start at the start of the chapter. Views: There are two different views, normal and behind view. Targetting: You can change targets in different ways. If you drag your attack cursor over a target and press triangle, you will change targets. If you press the R2 button, you can scroll between all of the available targets in the battle, including aerial and land-based ones, bosses and regular targets. If there is an emergency, you can change to the emergency targets by pressing the triangle button. You will hear a siren sound and a dialog box will appear when there is an emergency. Lock-On: You must lock-on your Optional Weapon to fire it. You must press the Circle button and once you have locked-on, you may fire. It is not an automatic hit, if there is a structure blocking its path, it will not hit the target. A green square will appear in your targetting circle when you are in range for machine guns. EX Action: Every character has an EX Action by pressing the R1 button. They are different depending on the character. Branche/Femme: Active Turn. Press the R1 button along with a direction to turn quickly in that direction. Avenir/Ciel: Steam Brakes. Press the R1 button to quickly brake. Useful for avoiding enemy missiles. Shubri/Copain: Rolling. Press the R1 button to roll. Also useful for avoiding enemy missiles. Fantome/Rival: Steam Brakes. Press the R1 button to quickly brake. Useful for avoiding enemy missiles. Courage/Hardi: None Optional Weapons: There are five optional weapons in the game. They are the weapons used best against bosses. They inflict more damage than the regular machine guns, but you only have a limited number of them and increase your Heat meter. You start with a small amount at the start of each chapter, but you receive more by defeating waves of enemy aircraft. Each character starts with three optional weapons out of the five: Fireworks, Cross and Groundhog. Others can be found during the game. Overheating: Once you fire an Optional Weapon or use your EX action, your Heat meter will rise. If it rises too high, you cannot fire, boost or use your EX action. You have to wait for it to cool down after a period of time. Losing Control: If you are hit after losing your balance, you could begin to crash. You must press the buttons and move the joypad as quickly as possible to recover. If you do not recover in time, you will crash. 3.5) Scoring ------------ The scoring system for the game is quite advanced and also important to the game. Hit Bonus -If you hit several targets at once, you will receive a bonus=#hits x score -For example, 5 hits=5(1000x5) Chain Bonus -If you hit consecutive targets in a row, you will receive a chain bonus. -You don't actually have to hit the others, it's like dominoes. -The chain bonus multiplier increases exponentially. For example, 1,2,4,8,16.. -For example, 5 hits=1000x2 + 1000x4 + 1000x8 + 1000x16 Bonus Count -If you shoot an enemy, your bonus count increases -As your bonus count increases, so does your score multiplier -Your bonus count slowly decreases otherwise, as does your multiplier Scoring Multiplier -All your points are multipled by this multiplier Clearing a Chapter There are several bonuses for clearing a chapter. -Clear Bonus -Event Bonus -Enemy Bonus -Battle Bonus -There is a pentalty for the number of Optional Weapons used. Game Clear / Ranking -You will receive a rank after clearing the game 4) Training Mode ---------------- This teaches you how to play the game. It is in Japanese, but the controller is displayed with the controls, so it is still useful. You must choose your character before starting the Training mode. Here are the Training Missions: 1) Navigation Here you will learn how to navigate and boost. Fly through five rings to clear. 2) Basic shooting Here you will learn how to shoot the machine gun. Shoot 3 balloons to clear. 3) Losing Control and Powersliding Here you will learn to control your balance and powersliding. Avoid 4 missiles to clear. 4) Targetting Here you will learn to target enemies Target three enemies to clear. 5) Optional Weapon / Overheating Here you will learn the controls of the Optional Weapons and Heat basics. Destroy 5 targets to clear. 6) Bonus Basics Here you will learn the difference between Chain and Hit Bonuses. Destroy 6 targets to clear. 7) EX Action Here you will learn how to control your EX action. Destroy 4 targets to clear. 8) Final Mission Here you will leaern the rest of the game basics. 5) Character Info ----------------- There are three groups of characters in the game. There are the gunners, the Boss family and everyone else. 5.1) The Gunners ---------------- There are four members of the Gunners. They are Copain, Ciel, Femme and Rival. The main leader of the Gunners is Hardi. Rival becomes a member of the Gunners later on. Character: Femme Ship: Branche Difficulty: Easy Ex Action: Active Turn Character: Ciel Ship: Avenir Difficulty: Average Ex Action: Steam Brakes Character: Copain Ship: Shubri Difficulty: Hard Ex Action: Rolling Character: Rival Ship: Fantome Difficulty: ??? Ex Action: Steam Brakes Character: Hardi Ship: Courage Difficulty: ??? Ex Action: None - cannot be used in Time Attack or Survival modes 5.2) The Boss Family -------------------- There are many members of the Boss Family. The main enemy is Ventre. He has many henchmen, called Poulet. 6) Secrets ---------- 6.1) Unlocking Secrets ---------------------- Here are the secret codes and how to unlock them: Unlock Time Attack Mode - Clear the game with Ciel ranking 1st Unlock Survival Mode - Clear the game with Copain ranking 1st Unlock Extra Gunner (Copain) - Clear the game with Femme Unlock Extra Gunner (Rival) - Clear the game with Ciel (not losing to Rival) Unlock Extra Gunner (Hardi) - Clear the game with Rival Unlock Scene Select - Clear Story mode Unlock Free Camera - Clear with SS rank 7) Miscellaneous / Et Cetera ---------------------------- Sky Gunner Homepage: www.scei.co.jp/sd2/skygunner/ Sony Homepage: www.scei.co.jp This FAQ is not associated with Sony, Pixel Arts or any of its products either software or hardware. The respective companies retain all copyrights of their products mentioned in this FAQ. There was a demo of the game released to local video game retailers in Japan. It allowed you to play the first level with two of the gunners. You could also win the demo of the game off the game's website. Feel free to email any advice or suggestions! Due to time constraints, do not expect a reply on email. Do not email about the US version, please! --5/23/02 Gene(intv@canada.com)