****************************RISTAR FAQ**************************************** for the Genesis******************************************************************** ***by GavLuvsGA@aol.com*** Write to the above address with any questions or extra hints, but please read through the FAQ first and see if your question is answered within. Also, please put "Ristar" in the subject heading - if you leave it blank I will probably delete your mail. Also, please do not send me junk mail or put me on a mailing list without asking me first - and please no IMs or attachments. ***Final Version: 29 - 07 - 02*** Revision History Final Version: 29 - 07 - 02 Made alteration to passwords and added a few notes. Contents 1 Item Guide 2 Regular baddies 3 Walkthrough 4 Passwords 1 Item Guide 1 up Looks like a statue of ristar; extra lives can also be gained by earning 20, 000 points. Decoy Looks like a 1 up but grey; you can use it as a shield and put it in traps on one level to set them off without taking damage yourself. Jewel Gives you points (between 100 and 1600 points); getting enough points earns you an extra life. Yellow Star Gives you one extra health point Silver Star Maxes out your health Metronomes Only found on one level, can be used as payment for the guard birds. 2 Baddies Bagpipes Spit out orbs at an annoying rate. Bat The ones in Floar appear and drops bombs on you; but you can aslo use them to carry you; the ones in Freon ar emore numerous but stay in one place. Berries Stick to you when you emerge from certain bushes; jump quickly before they explode. Big Fish Fires energy balls at you underwater. Blue Robot Almost a boss - you have to shove it back until it explodes; watch it doesn't jump forward though and kill it before you run out of space. Chicken Flies around erratically and can be held onto and used to fly around a little. Eel Very few appear, which is fortunate as they are very hard to spot. Electric Guitar Keeps nodding its handle erratically; it has a pattern of four attacks, the last two being close together. Wait for it to do its attack twice in quick succession and then go underneath. Flying Fish Appear in big groups when you are near the water. Flying Orb Spits out a jet of flame in one direction; be careful when attacking. Frog Spat at you by some of the stone faces, these are very simple to get rid of. Generator Causes massive currents of water; to couter this either swim fast by pressing A or C repeatedly or grab a handhold in the ceiling. Green Robot Two exist, though only one has to be killed. Very hard to do as it gets faster each time you hit it; three hits should do the trick. Horn Annoying as it pumps out deadly musical notes (they can be destroyed though). Itamor Statue Either spits parachutes at you (which can be killed) or ball bombs. Laser Blaster Flys overhead to fire lasers at you before flying off. Lizard Lurks under the screen and tries to take you by surprise. Lobster Appears to fire fireballs at you Monkey I believe this is what it is meant to be; I think it is the same creature that attacks you at the end of level 1 but I'm no sure - anyway, it throws strawberries at you near the end of Stage 1.2 Nodding Bird Very big, but very easy to kill; when the head appears to try and stamp you, grab it. Orbs Appear on every level and are mainly hard to kill; some detonate bombs on one level, but other than that it should be okay. Some tend to whizz around in rapid circles. Orb Generator Spits out orbs constantly and can only be destroyed in certain areas. Puffer Fish They cannot be killed and follow you through the water Rabbit Only a few exist and will sneak up on you on the first level. Robot Tortoise Fires missiles, but one hit sends it flying into a wall where it destroys itself; bu you can also kill it in two hits! Salmon Some get in the way, but others can be used to carry you up waterfalls. Santa Claus Even he has it in for you; he flys overhead throwing parachutes at you; but he can be killed in one hit. Sea Horse Very cunning; these either appear from stone faces or from treasure chests (of all places). Shellfish Three will appear in a room together, and when they are dead a big one will appear and fire shellfish at you; defeating them gets three items (two jewels and a star, I believe). Shooter Bad name, I know, but these hang around on walls shooting spiked balls at you. Skull Fairly harmless except when it is charged up... Spiked Ball Robot Couldn't think of another name; has two spiked balls that will be used in an attempt to hurt you. Spike Monster Only a few exist; can only be killed if you hit it after bouncing off a crystal. Spring Will either stand sill and fire projectiles or move around. Divides into two on one hit, then each half takes another hit to kill. Starfish Sticks to you like the berries. Stone Face Spit out baddies but can be killed in one hit (and the baddies stop appearing; in fact any baddies still alive are auntomatically killed). Sumo/Ballet Birds Very weird; they like to throw dolls at you. Jump over the doll and kill them fast. Vulture VERY annoying. Only two exist - thankfully. kill them before they can grab you in their talons and drop you into a dangerous area (and give you a fright). 3 Walkthrough 3.1 Planet Flora Stage 1.1: Fields This is an easy level to start off with; there is a hidden life in the wall left of the first orb (grab the wall). Climb the ladder and kill the rabbit, then cross the chasm using the rungs and use the ladders ahead and climb to the top of the platform above. Cross the floating platforms (don't stay on them too long or you'll be hit by a venus fly trap) and get a jewel. Swing across the poles after climbing up the ladder again and reach into the small opening to find a 1 up. Climb down and hit the wall at the bottom for a jewel to appear. Climb up then fall down to the area where Dandelion clocks are flying up in the air. Head right first and get a jewel from the hole, then grab a dandelion clock and fly up to an extra star. There is another high platform you can get using some wall grabs (to climb) and then climbing up a ladder, then heading left. Go down and use the first star handle, and fly towards the right; you should land near the bonus handle. Grab it and fly into the special stage. Bonus Stage No. 1 Use the star handle to get the high up bonus chest and grab the prize inside. Head right and down and you will reach the mid boss. Mid - Boss: Sneaky Snake When it appears out of a hole, keep hitting it and follow it around. Three hits kills it (if you get to the top of the arena you will find a chest with a silver star inside). When the snake's dead, climb up on the right and use repeated wall grabs to climb the wall on the left to find a jewel. Now use the star handle to leave the level, trying to exit as high up as possible for a better bonus (the highest you can get is 20, 100 points). Stage 1.2: Dark Woods Stay along the top of the level, and hit some of the tree trunks to find random bonusues. If you hit the orb in a hammock it will come out and you can kill it. Grab the first bat to find a platform with a crystal, then hit the next tree to knock it down. Several orbs will fall down, but a lot of them will fall through the floor. Kill any that don't. Cross the tree and drop down to the star handle and use it to fly up to a chest guarded by a chicken (it has a 1 up inside). Knock down the next tree. After crossing it, climb the following tree and grab the bat and let it carry you to another platform. Grab a second bat and fly over to the bonus handle. Bonus Stage No. 2 Simply keep grabbing the bars to climb up to the chest containing an apple. Drop off the platform and go through underneath; you can use the star handle to fly around, killing orbs and get the silver star if necessary. Exit the area to the right and climb the right hand wall to find a jewel. At this point it will get dark and a monkey will start throwing strawberries at you; you can turn the lights on by hitting the lampposts, but you must still dodge the strawberries. At the end of this is the Star Handle. BOSS: Riho is Coming Riho appears with the same monkey that pelted you on his back. His main attacks are creating a rope that he throws; if you are caught by it the monkey will sneak down and hit you. He will also throw snowflakes at you from high up. Grab him three times and the monkey is knocked off; hit the monkey before it recovers. After three hits the monkey is dead, breaking its mind control spell on Riho. 3.2 Planet Undertow Stage 2.1: Crossing the Ocean Head right and grab the wall, causing the level to fill up with water; if you hit the wall in the right place you will make a jewel appear. If not go back down and attack again. After that, swim up and to the left and find the bonus handle. Bonus Stage No. 3 Swim down and grab the chest; however the oyster shell inside floats away to the left; head round the other way and grab it. This is actually quite easy. Carry on to the right, walking over the surface if you can. Go underwater when you have to, then swim down a tunnel and surface again. In the next pool, head to the right and climb the wall to find a jewel. Go down and on the other side of the wall, climb it to get a star in a chest. The water will rise and fall, so climb out to the right and swim into an area full of cockles (which will hurt you). Grab the jewel in the chest and swim up to face more flying fish. At the end, do a tricky jump over the shaft and grab the wall, then immediately grab the wall on the left, revealing a jewel (grab it quick), then fall down to a pool with a silver star (in a chest). Mid - Boss: Three Waves Three orbs will be thrown up in a tidal wave. Avoid their missiles and then kill them when they land. Do the same for three fish and three skulls (which are very easy, despite looking menacing at first). Stage 2.2: Lost City This is a very fun, and very long, level. First of all, swim right to find a platform with a face spitting out frogs. Kill it and climb the right hand wall for a jewel. Head left, avoiding the starfish and then use the bubbles as platforms to reach a platform with a 1 up on (but watch out as the bubbles burst). If you're clever, as you drop down to the left you can grab the left side of the platform and find another jewel. Swim down and kill another face, opening up the way. Kill a face in the next room and head left to a room with 4 chests. The door is shut until you open them all; items are random but at least two will contain seahorses. Head right and up into a room with two seahorses; kill them. If you had trouble getting the second jewel listed above, head back to the first room, and the water will have risen, making it easy to grab the platform from in the water. In the next room is a face spouting frogs, followed by a room with a shellfish (kill it in the way listed under baddies, above). In the next room, swim fast to avoid being blown back by the generator. Swim up and into a room with Seahorses attached to the wall and slowly rising water (one is for some reason upside - down). Kill all the seahorses and wait until the water rises all the way up before going to the next room as it makes killing the face at the top of the screen easier. Go down and kill another face, and enter a room with another clam. Kill it and head up to two chests, then another generator passage. The next passage has a shellfish at the end. In the last room, head left and kill the face, then climb the wall for a jewel. Kill the face underwater if desired, then use the bubbles to reach the Bonus Handle. Bonus Stage No. 4 More star handles, in a > - type pattern. Slightly harder than No. 1, you get a kettle for completing it. Swim to the exit now. BOSS: Ohsat Attack Swim past three fish in cages (which vanish if you hang around for a few moments). You will then reach the giant hammerhead shark. Its main attack is to zoom through the water, but it will also knock down rocks from the ceiling, leave jellyfish mines behind and occasionally send out fish to attack you (either leading six small ones or setting two medium sized ones on you, but they can be killed in one hit. Each time you hit Ohsat you knock out a plug, draining some of the water. When all the water is drained, hit the boss once more to finish it off. 3.3 Planet Scorch Stage 3.1: Volcanic Plains Destroy the orb generator by going down and hitting the switch to turn on the flames. Climb the first ladder and get the decoy Ristar from the box; fling this on the pressure pads that trigger the cage. If you get stuck inside you will be tortured by a green orb, though the cage can be destroyed in two hits. The next cage will trap you over a furnace that is being turned on and off by an orb, so do the same then get down there and kill the orb. Kill the vulture fast and continue along the path, grabbing the handles in the ceiling when a tidal wave of lava appears and avoid the cage in the same way as before. Get the silver star. Cross the next bit fast before the Vulture grabs you and get the star handle; swing on it and go flying to the bonus handle. Bonus Stage No. 5 Make your way through the maze using the handles, but avoid the spikes as hitting them speeds up the times. At the end you get a flaming sword. The next bit of the level is particularly tough; tread on the pressure pad to release a jewel and then make your way up to avoid the rising lava. At the top you need o use the platforms to avoid falling magma, though try grabbing the undersides as one reveals a jewel. There is a jewel in the chest on top of the last platform (wall climb to it). Go down, killing orbs and head left using star handles to get to a 1 up. Go right to the Mid - Boss Mid - Boss: Memory Test You are faced with six hollows. Pairs of eyes will appear out of four of them in sequence. Then four orbs will appear. Hit them in the order they appeared (shown in the numbers above them so its not too hard) and then you get a crystal. Now five appear, but the numbers vanish immediately making it harder to remember the sequence. Passing this earns you a star. Then six will appear, with no numbers - just pray for an easy to remember sequence. Completing this will earn you a 1 up. If you get the order wrong you will be scorched by lava and must start the section again. Stage 3.2: Under Factory The best route to take is the top one; use the star handle to get up there. Kill the orb with flames circling it on the bridge (best way is to jump and grab it in the middle of your jump). Drop down past the bridge and hit the wall on the right for a crystal, then climb up again and head right, down the pulley lift. You will end up in an area with a Star Handle; there is a secret star to the left which you can get grabbing the wall an a chest with a silver star to the right. Heading left leads to a jewel in a chest (go down, then use a wall grab to get at it). The star handle can help you access a jewel (worth 1000 points, a 1 up and a Bonus Handle. Bonus Stage No. 6 Thirty star handles are lined up over a bed of spikes, but you will probably manage to get over to the prize using just three or four of these. Head right to the difficult part; try and kill the orbs before they can set off the bombs and destroy a lot of the level. This bit is kinda hard to give directions for so I won't (i.e. I'm lazy). BOSS: Adahan Fall Walk along carefully, avoiding falling rocks and get the silver star if necessary (fotunately if you die during the fight you won't have to repeat this). Stand on either side of the screen and a giant armadillo (actually a small one in a robot suit) will appear. He had four attacks; sending waves of dirt across the floor (you cannot hit him at this point as he blocks you), throwing his claws at you (you can hit him then) and causing rocks to fall (I believe he blocks you then too). His hardest attack is when he hovers in the corner and throws his claws at you; however it is possible (I saw on the demo!) to grab his flying claws and ride back to him where you can inflict damage. After two hits he will change colour (four of the eight bosses do this) and make the floor collapse. Hit him once during the fall to land on solid ground and repeat the pattern. The giant robot suit breaks, revealing the small armaedillo underneath. He will send a pathetically small wave of dirt at you (which doesn't hurt). Hit him and you've defeated him. 3.4 Planet Sonata Stage 4.1: Metronomes This planet is populated by music - loving birds! On the first stage you must take a metronome to each of the guards blocking you (this also addes a bit to the theme tune). The first is simple; when you've given it to him, climb the pole next to him (grabbing it) and then climb the left side of the wall at the top - you get a 1 up. Get the next metronome and throw it in the fan while you kill the orb (all orbs on this level steal your metronomes and take them to an earlier point). Let the metronome be picked up by the pulley and kill the horn. Use the fan to get the metronome up to the top of the ladder then get it past the spikes using the pulley (grab your way past the bars). Put the metronome on another fan and climb up using the handles, then leave it. Climb onto the handle nearby and give a big jump to another far to the right. Make another jump to the Bonus Handle. Bonus Stage No. 7 There is a square pattern of chests; this may take some practise to get right, but grab the second - to bottom one on the first row and jump onto the one underneath. From there, grab the upper right one and jump to the one below. At the top climb up onto the handles and use the bar to swing over to the prize - a heart with bells on. Climb down and grab the orb, then take the metronome back. There is a bed of spikes; throw the metronome into the middle, then swing across and grab the metronome from the other side; give to the bird. If you swing from the pole and jump to the left, grabbing the wall you should reveal a yellow star. Get the chest with a silver star too, then jump and grab the next pole and skilfully grab the metronome from the spikes. You can now either throw it in the teleporter or the fan. The teleporter leads to an underground route with a switch (put the metronome on the switch to open the door, then go through it; grab the metronome from the other side), a horn and a pulley which takes your metronome back. Leave the metronome in the fan and go up and kill the orb before using the teleport. You could also go over the top using fans, but beware as one fan has a bomb too, and grabbing a bomb will make it explode in your face. Give the metronome to the bird and then jump off the cliff, grabbing the next metronome from an alcove (if you miss, use the star handle). Drop the metronome on the spikes and use the star handle to return to the alcove where the metronome was and grab the ceiling, causing a jewel to appear (get this later). Cross the spikes below using a bar and go ahead, killing baddies before getting back the metronome and use the switch as before. Use the fan, then the pulley (go down to avoid the spikes), then use the fan. Climb the ladder and grab the crystal (there is a star in a chest too). Then jump over to where the three nodding birds are and kill them. Get the metronome and throw it over the next gap, then jump and jump down to give to the last bird. Get past the pole and climb up the wall on the right, getting a jewel. Get the silver star if needed and face the boss. Mid - Boss: The Birdy Song A punk bird conductor will appear and the three nodding birds will randomly hit the ground and take three hits each to kill. When the music changes a series of four orbs will float in so kill them and then get back to killing the birds. Stage 4.2: Dance, Dance The second stage is more similar to regular levels; first off, grab the pulley and hold on until you see ground below you again. Then drop off quickly or you'll hit a bed of spikes. A chest will appear on the other side of the drum. Go down and kill the bird, then go up and get the chest; grab the drum and a random bonus or orb will appear. Go along and grab the next drum for a bonus; go down, avoiding guitars and killing another bird. Get up and pass the pipe and bounce up on the bongos; guide Ristar towards the overhead platform with a chest on and stand on the chest so you can reach the wall above and grab it, climbing up to get a jewel. Get the chest and grab the pulley, letting go as soon as you clear the bagpipes; another chest, containing a 1 up appears. Kill the bagpipes and go along some tricky tubes with springs and spikes. At the end of the shafts, go down and across a set of bongos; when you seem about to hit the spikes, grab the wall of the shaft and you will reach the bonus handle. Bonus Stage No. 8 Bounce over each wall until you reach the end, watching out for spikes (atone point you nweed to go along a narrow tunnel, but otherwise the stage is straightforwad). Go back and go along the regular way; use the star handle to get through some shafts, then use the bongos to spring up a windy passage to some guitars (going straight leads to a nasty bit full of bagpipes). From there, kill the bagpipes an bird and drop down (get the jewel from the wall on the left), then exit the level. BOSS: Auweck Sing This is an unusual boss - and my favourite; Ristar is on stage in front of an audience of birds and a singthrush appears on a perch and starts singing. Immediately, Auweck (and Eagle, I think) appears and decides he doesn't like it, so knocks the thrush off her perch. Stand under the perch and grab Auweck three times; don't touch his notes as they hurt - the same goes for the fruit being hurled by the audience. Auweck will fall off and attack you. If you are low on health keep him occupied and a star will appear, but otherwise hit him twice (his attacks include dropping on you, dive bombing you and moulting feathers on you). After three cycles he will be defeated. 3.5 Planet Freon Stage 5.1: Have an Ice Day! (sorry, couldn't think of anyhting better for a name) A straightforward level unless you fall to the bottom; the level starts off copying the Ice Cap Zone on Sonic 3 in a big way by having Ristar ski down a slope. Ignore the chimpanzee - like creature for now. Go up and grab the jewel, and immediately grab the platform in the right place for another jewel. Slide along the top of the level and it possible make a big jump at the end to the two 1 ups. If you fall, touch one of the crystals when it is big to make you speed along like you just used a star handle! Next, pass over the spikes fast (the chimpanzee starts trying to knock them up and hit you), then go along the line of tilting platforms, killing the bats and grab the handle at the end, reaching the bonus handle. Grab the wall ont he right in the right place for a jewel, then grab the Bonus Handle. Bonus Stage No. 9 Slide along until you see a bar overhead; grab it and use it to throw yourself to the left; jump over the small ridge and you should reach the prize - an ice cream sundae - without much hassle. If you fall to the lower level you will probably have to take the long route back to the start. Exit the bonus game and go down. Before you meet the chimpanzee, grab the low ceiling and a star appears. Mid - Boss: Snowball fight with the Chimpanzee The Chimpanzee (okay; it doesn't look like one, it just talks like one and it's my FAQ) will drop a bomb. Jump up and grab the chimpanzee without touching the bomb. Follow him to the mounds of snow and stand still; Ristar will make a snowball. Avoid the chimpanzee's snowballs, then pick yours up and throw. It may take practise as he blocks a lot of shots, but three hits will beat him. Stage 5.2: Splash Snow This level is very glitchy, at least on my version. Go along and kill the baddies; go either under or over water (if you go under, head left, grabbing the crystal to break it, you can get a jewel, but you must negotiate a narrow passage of ice first). Use the salmon to help you get over the cliff by grabbing them and when you are nearly high enough, swing back and forth, then let go, hopefully getting onto the cliff. After the second salmon section you can get a 1600 point jewel by using the crystal to get to the high platform with a chest on and grabbing an almost out of reach chest as you run off the other end. But you must repeat the action to actually get the crystal. From there, go into the water and pass another generator tunnel before going onto land again. Not much to say, except kill the baddies and go under water again, then swim into the next generator tunnel (both are tough as salmon get in the way). At the top of the shaft is an orb sourrounded - almost - by spikes - so be careful getting it. Then get on the ice slide and make a big jump to the next one; keep jumping from slide to slide to negoatiate the next bit, which may take some practise. At the top, head left to the bonus handle (the wall on the left holds a jewel). Bonus Stage No. 10 This is very tricky! Slide along and jump into the very narrow shaft, then swim along carefully, avoiding the spikes; as you surface be careful as there are some invisible spikes. Jump towards the platform with the chest on and pull yourself onto the bar and jump over to receive - a diamond. From here, head right and drop down to the Star Handle; hit the left hand wall for a jewel, then exit. BOSS: Itamor Lunch This boss looks small until he jumps onto your platform. The chimpanzee returns and feeds Itamor a curry. This will make him get excited and jump in the air. Immediately stand so you are about a centimetre from the left of the screen and watch Itamor's shadow. Hopefully it will start to aim on you and give you some space to stand on the left and avoid being squashed. The aim is to repeatedly feed him curries, but watch out for his attacks. He throws some sort of vegetable (or is it meant to be a hand grenade?" at you and will also freeze you with his icy breath - this can't take away life but can make it easier for him to suck you into his mouth. When he begins to suck, run left and hope the chimpanzee returns with another curry. If you get sucked in with a curry, you don't lose energy. Try and chuck it in while his mouth is open. Eventually he will turn red; another curry will make him vomit (ugh!) on the floor. Punch him now and he'll go flying back to his home. 3.6 Planet Automaton Stage 6.1: Future World This is quite a tough stage; kill the baddies and use the moving bars carefully to get to the top of the screen and use the set of springs to reach some handles; from here use some slippery surfaces to get to a 1 up in a chest. Head right until you reach the anti - gravity shoes which make you act like you were underwater. Move along the passage, getting the chest in easy reach - with a 1600 point jewel inside. When the path forks, go left and climb the left hand wall, then grab the orb and swing to a platform. Then climb the rungs and grab the Bonus Handle. Bonus Stage No. 11 Simply spring up the shaft, and make your way down the other side... When you exit, you will have lost the anti - gravity shoes, but don't worry; head right and climb the shaft of bars carefully; they have spikes on the other side, and ehad right from the top (you can go left for some bonuses but it is a very treacherous path). At the end, use the floating green things to fly and jump from one to another to avoid being spiked. At the end of this you will restart if you die. Mid - Boss: The Orb Army A squadron of orbs will appear; one is wearing a hard hat (we'll call this the Sarge). This one is who you are aiming at. They have four attack patterns, and they go in a regular order, although which one they begin with is random. 1) They form a group and attack from above; wait for the Sarge to attack (you can kill the others if you wish) and grab him. 2) They move up and down in a sinewave like formation; stand where you are and grab the Sarge from underneath. 3) They form a circle round the Sarge; simply attack like mad until you can get in. 4) They form a cross with the Sarge in the middle; same strategy. After five hits the Sarge will land on his head but don't get cocky - you can still lose life from touching him. Grab him to kill him for good. Stage 6.2: Brain Maze This is fun! Travel through the maze using the teleporters. The good news is that when you die you start in the room you died in instead of back at the start of the level. Room 1 Immediately grab the left hand wall and a 1 up will appear. Now, grab the crystal and put it in the chamber to activate the teleport. Room 2 Kill the green robot - which speeds up with every hit - and you get a crystal. Room 3 Grab the middle of the left hand wall for a crystal, then grab the platform that moves up and down (mind it doesn't crush you) so it starts moving side to side. When it is near the teleporter, grab it again so it moves up and down and use it as a platform to reach the teleport. Room 4 Use the beam to go into the background and kill the orbs (they can hit you when you're in the foreground too), then warp back to the foreground and enter the teleporter. Room 5 Use the star handle to get up the spiky shaft. Room 6 Open the chest for a star; nothing else there... Room 7 Kill the blue robot by knocking it back before it squashes you against the wall (dead easy). Room 8 Four platforms, like in Room 3. Same strategy. Room 9 There are four rips in the wall paper. Grab one and see what it has behind it; one has a crystal (what is behind each is random but there will also be: 1) An orb 2) Several orbs 3) A green robot, like in Room 2 Room 10 Climb the left wall for a sliver star, then grab one of the star handles and aim for the top right teleporter. Room 11 This is only accessible from the top right teleporter; it has a 1 up. Room 12 Make your way along, avoiding or killing the robots. Room 13 Knock down the red wall and grab the star handle and spin until the orbs stop raining down and the crystal appears. Before leaving, grab the vertical wall directly over the crystal hatch and you'll find a jewel. Room 14 Get another star - I think Room 15 Go into the background and use the star handle or ladders, then exit at the top left. Room 16 Use the star handle, but don't go to the right, but go up. After a while you'll reach the teleporter at the top of the screen. Room 17 This is the only way to access the Bonus Stage. Bonus Stage No. 12 Very hard; I've only managed it a few times. Climb the cliff and grab the pole at the top to get past, then climb the taller one. Then you have to grip each of a series of platforms to get to a hard to reach bar and the last chest. Teleport to Room 18 where the only obstacles are two robots. N.B. If you went wrong in Room 16, use one of the two star handles and access the secret teleporter at the top of the room, near the exit. This takes you back to Room 16. BOSS: Uranium Power Walk past the TVs, but watch the robot. When it throws a bolt, jump to dodge it. Now you are in a room with the robot and Inonysis behind you in a spaceship controlling it. The robot will throw three different items at random; screws tend to bounce slightly, cricket balls roll along the ground, and springs bounce, so don't jump. You can also avoid its attacks by just grabbing like mad. When the robot snorts like a bull it is charging up an energy attack so start attacking it. Also watch for when it slides at you. When it falls, wait for Inonysis' hook to land nearby and punch it so it hits the robot. Eventually the robot will short circuit, but Inonysis will grab it and fly off. Better chase him. 3.7 Greedy's Space City Climb the shaft, ignoring the eye. At the top walk through the door. BOSS: Inonysis He will be sitting in a strange contraption. Simply keep hitting him, avoiding the boomerang and his gun. His shield will block you but occasionally he will start to fix the shield so grab him. Also watch for when he charges up his energy attack. Hit him at the right moment and it'll miss you. Five hits sees him off. You will now be sucked up a tube to face: GREEDY (FINAL BOSS) First, destroy all the orbs he creates, then he will start zooming around like mad. There is a good way to get extra stars here; wait for him to create a circle of orbs round him which he fires at you. When he does this, walk back and forth, changing direction each time he fires a new one and they will all miss you. When he fires the last, grab it and after some practise you will make a star appear (a silver one if you're lucky. It is best to enter the next phase with a full health meter. After five hits, he powers up a black hole that will kill you instantly; grab all the orbs that appear to avoid this fate (when another appears, let go and grab the new one so it can't hit you. Then keep hitting Greedy like mad. If he appears close to the surface, run as he'll try to zap you. Five hits later and you've beaten him for good. 4 Passwords Passwords appear at the end of the credits and how many you get depends on how many Bonus Stages you completed. MAGURO: Onchi system setup - this only allows you to distort the tunes in the sound test (this gives an effect like in the Level 4 Boss) DOFEEL: Accesses each of the Bonus Stages and allows you to practise MUSEUM: Boss rush mode - beat each boss in turn in the fastest time possible, but you have a limited life supply SUPER (or SUPERB, both work)- Accesses Super mode in addition to Normal and Hard. This gives you one life and one energy bar (and no extra stars), making this nearly impossible to complete. You get infinite continues though ILOVEU - Accesses the level select screen MIEMIE - Accesses True Sight and is not given in the game. True sight makes a silver star appear whenever something is hidden in a wall; simply grab the silver star! So now no one has any reason to e mail me asking for all the secret item locations (no one has yet of course) That is all the passwords. Sorry, but there is no password to make Ristar invincible that I know of. THE END - send questions to the address given at the top.