=============================================================================== * LAND MAKER * FAQ Version 0.98 For The Taito F3 System Arcade Game and the PSX Version "Builder's Block" (c) Steven Ives 2000 Send Comments & Suggestions To saives@gameoverdude.com =============================================================================== Table of Contents 00) Trademarks 01) Legal Crap 02) History 03) About Land Maker 04) Game Start and Character Info 05) Game Play 06) The Pusher Gauge 07) Dumped Blocks 08) Power Blocks 09) Extra Modes In Home Version 10) Shout-Outs 11) The Pillory 12) Final Disclaimer =============================================================================== 00) TRADEMARKS: Land Maker and all related trademarks are property of Taito Corporation. Any other trademarks are those of their respective owners. =============================================================================== 01) LEGAL CRAP (Terms & Conditions): This FAQ is Copyright (C) Steven Ives 2000. All rights reserved. It may be posted only on the following sites: www.gamefaqs.com GameFAQS www.gameoverdude.com Game Over, the author's web site. www.gameadvice.com Game Advice vgstrategies.about.com Video Games Strategies gamingplanet.com The Gaming Planet www.cheatcc.com Cheat Code Central Did you see this FAQ on another site? Tell me pronto. It is to be on these sites listed above ONLY. If you have permission to host my FAQ, it is to be in the original unaltered plain text form. NOTE: NEVER is this FAQ to appear on megagames.com, gamesdomain.com, or CNET Games Center (games.netscape.com/Faqs). If you just found it there, TELL ME. I've heard it through the Game FAQs grapevine that these sites rip off FAQs. For now you can check gamefaqs.com for the latest version. The author reserves the right to post this FAQ on gameoverdude.com at a future time. If you wish for permission to host this FAQ on your page, email the author. No one is to profit from this FAQ. This includes but is not limited to magazines, COP-DN or other for-profit sites, and others. The FAQ may not be used as a basis for commercial strategy guides. The FAQ may not be sold either. You must not pay anything for it. If you sell games, you may not give my FAQ away with it. DON'T STEAL MY WORK. I never intend for anyone to make a lamearse profit off my work. Don't plagiarize. If you wish to use any info found herein in a FAQ or other material you are working on, ask the author for permission first. If permission is granted, you are to credit the author in your work for the information used. If permission is not granted, then believe me- you'll be looking for trouble if you use any of this info in your FAQ. The author reserves the right to litigate if the TERMS & CONDITIONS are violated. If you disagree, you may not use this FAQ. This FAQ is protected by the Berne Copyright Convention of 1976 as well as any US Copyright laws. SPAM: I do not put up with any Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail (UCE). If you send me any UCE, your E-Mail will be filtered and forwarded to SpamCop. Spamming is a good way to get yourself into some deep you-know-what. OK, I think I've bored you enough with this legal crap. Let's go! =============================================================================== 02) HISTORY: October 04, 2000 Added a credit for Paul Morton who told me about the "Another World" code. A few character details are added. Permission is granted for Cheatcc.com to use this FAQ on their site, and the FAQ is released as V0.98. October 03, 2000 Added code for "Another World" and a few tidbits to Game Play. September 20, 2000 Work starts on my 4th Game FAQ. This time, it's Land Maker aka Builder's Block. September 25, 2000 I think this is ready for its first release. =============================================================================== 03) ABOUT LAND MAKER: Taito, known for their Puzzle Bobble (Bust-A-Move) series, tries something a bit different. It is a puzzle game, but uses a different play mechanic than BAM. Now you're shooting blocks to make buildings with. =============================================================================== 04) GAME START & CHARACTER INFO: Eight characters are selectable by the players: 1) Hiryu- 2) Aifa- 3) Soumei- Master of Ice His attacks freeze the opponent. 4) Renki Mummy 5) Youen Flute player Her attacks cause opponents to dance theirselves dizzy. ^_^ 6) Kouko Knight His attacks cause a rock to fall on the opponent. 7) Rinrei 8) Roushinshi Priest His attacks cause lighting to zap the opponent. In the 1P mode, you challenge all 8 characters in the order in which they are listed above. If you chose the Easy (Training) mode, the game will be over after you beat three opponents. Here are the 2 boss characters, which you cannot select: 9) (No Name)- A sorceress. 10) Gaila- Looks like a minotaur and is the final boss. The name is not shown but I learned it from Roushinshi's ending on the PSX version "Builder's Block." If you can clear the game WITHOUT continues: 11) Bonus Stage- You face your doppelganger again. High Scores: The top 5 scores are listed daily. When the power is turned off, they will be purged. Your highest stage reached will be shown next to your name and score. If you finished the game, it will show "ALL" for the stage number. PSX version: I don't think you can save high scores in the Arcade mode. Shame. Another World: If you clear a game in arcade mode, you are shown a command to input. Paul Morton mentioned this code: Shot Left Right Shot (PSX players, replace shot with L1) Like some of the Bust-A-Move games, this gives you a mode with different stages. You do this command before starting a game. A character will appear in the corner of the screen if you got it right. =============================================================================== 05) GAME PLAY: -Quick explanation- The controls consist of a joystick and 1 button. You're controlling a launcher at the bottom of the screen- instead of rotating it, you move it horizontally along the bottom row. A "Next" indicator shows you the color of the next piece that goes onto your launcher after you fire the current one. As in Bust-A-Move, your time is limited to make a shot and a countdown will appear on the last 5 seconds. If it reaches 0, the piece will be automatically fired no matter what. Your goal is to cause a piece to be pushed over the opponent's bottom line. The arcade game operates on a "Winner Stays, Loser Pays" principle. -Getting Rid of Pieces- If the bottom vertex of a piece is open, it will have a glowing dot on it. Shoot the same color of piece at it, and it will disappear. The blocks come in different colors. You are to arrange them in square patterns of the same color. Unjoined Block: Worth 10 points 1x1: Looks like a small house. If you connect a piece to others of the same color but it doesn't form one of the below structures, it becomes this. These are worth 20 points when gotten rid of. 2x2: "The Bronze Structure" This is worth 1,000 points on formation. When gotten rid of it gives you: - 5,000 points - Power Block with an "UP" arrow 3x3: "The Silver Structure" This is worth 10,000 points on formation. When gotten rid of it gives you: -50,000 points -Power Block with a Star 4x4: "The Gold Structure" When gotten rid of it gives you: This is worth 100,000 points on formation. -500,000 points -Power Block with a Moon. 5x5: "The Platinum Structure" This is worth 1,000,000 points on formation. When gotten rid of, it gives you: -5,000,000 points! -Power Block with a Blazing Sun. When you have a "building" formed, you can shoot a block of the same color at one of its glowing vertexes to make it disappear. The Power Blocks' effects will be explained later in the FAQ. -Making Pieces Change Color- If you shoot a piece and its path up the board is obstructed, it will change adjacent pieces to its own color when it stops. -Diagonal Walls- If you shoot a piece into a Diagonal wall, it will slide along until stopped. -Round End Time Bonus- When you defeat an opponent, you will be given extra points ranging from 0 to 999,900 based on how fast the win was. -Barging In- A 2nd player may join the game at any time. The current match with the CPU opponent will be aborted and 2P Match Play then commences. =============================================================================== 06) THE PUSHER GAUGE: If your opponent gets rid of enough blocks, the message "Pusher Damage" will flash above this gauge and it goes down. Your pusher will go down a line after each shot you take until it reaches the gauge level. KIM that if this causes one of your pieces to go over the bottom line, you will lose. =============================================================================== 07) DUMPED BLOCKS: Eliminating enough blocks or structures will cause pieces to be dumped upon your opponent's field. You should get familiar with each character's Attack Patterns so you have an idea of what can be dumped upon your field. These are shown at the Player Select screen. Quickly take a peek at each character's patterns. In the arcade version, make it QUICK because you have 9 seconds to pick a character. =============================================================================== 08) POWER BLOCKS: These are gray blocks with a symbol on them. You can activate them with ANY color of regular block. UP block- Moves the pusher up one increment. Star block- Any blocks that match the one you shoot into it will disappear. Moon block- All blocks will change to the color of the one you shoot into it. Blazing Sun block- Your pusher goes ALL THE WAY back up, and several joined structures will appear, all the color of the block you used to eliminate this block. =============================================================================== 09) EXTRA MODES IN HOME VERSION The home version (called Builder's Block in the USA) has a couple added modes. Puzzle Mode- You have no opponents to compete with here. Various stages require you to create certain structures like a 3x3, 4x4... all the way up to a 7x7. Certain blocks will be laid out for you to work with or around. A Shot Limit gauge in the lower left corner tells you how many blocks you can put up before the pusher moves down again, but you can reset it by meeting the stage goals. You do not play as any of the Land Maker characters in this mode. The power ups are similar to the Arcade mode ("Land Maker") with these exceptions: - There is NO UP Arrow. - There are three different Sun items for 5x5, 6x6, and 7x7. Each one offers its own formations of blocks for you to work with. If you exceed the stage goals, you can get further ones as follows: "Wonderful" - Exceed the stage goal by one unit (i.e. being asked for a 5x5 and making a 6x6) "Excellent" - Exceed the stage goal by two units. This is not possible on stages whose goal is 7x7 or 6x6. "UNBELIEVABLE" - You exceed the stage goal by 3 units. Since the largest structure you can make is a 7x7, this is possible only on stages with a 4x4 goal. After a round, you get bonuses: Difficulty- Stages have different difficulty levels from A-E. Harder stages will give you more points here. Retry- Clear a stage with NO retries for a larger bonus. More retries will mean a lower bonus. Advanced- Wonderful- 10,000,000 points Excellent- 30,000,000 points Unbelievable- 100,000,000 points You have 12 different "cities" that you play on. Six are available at first but more open up eventually. After finishing a city, you are given the option to save to the memory card. The grand total "Population" (score) from all the cities you have played will be shown at the map screen. This mode uses a 3D graphics engine- the camera will pan as you move the launcher left and right. You can use the L1 and R1 buttons to raise and lower your camera view. Each city has six stages, each with three levels. After a stage is over, you are shown a 3D rendered city whose growth depends on your score. Try to at least get this checkerboard grid covered with buildings. BATTLE MODE This is a special 2 player mode using the 3D engine of Puzzle Mode. The rules are changed from the arcade game. I have not yet tried this mode, but as soon as I do, I will give some more info on it here. =============================================================================== 10) SHOUT-OUTS (The Credits): If you supply me any information that is used in this FAQ, you're going to be credited here. Corrections are welcome as well, if something is wrong. Paul Morton, for mentioning the "Another World" code. Taito Corporation, for making this a killer game. Zuntata, for another cool game soundtrack. Ving, for porting many Taito games to home systems and assisting on some other ones. Jaleco, for bringing the home version out here in the USA. Jeff Veasey of Game FAQs ( gamefaqs.com ) for hosting a great FAQ site. You, for checking my FAQ out. Thanks! =============================================================================== 11) THE PILLORY A few guilty parties are here to be subjected to public shame. You may now throw your rotten tomatoes at: Megagames.com - For ripping off more than a few members of the Game FAQs community. ( Ripping en masse) Gamesdomain.com - Ripping en masse. CNET Games Center games.netscape.com/Faqs - Ripping en masse. If anyone violates copyrights on my FAQ, they will be listed here as well. =============================================================================== 12) FINAL DISCLAIMER This FAQ publication is (C) Steven Ives 2000. All Rights Reserved. Breaking the Copyright is a prosecutable offense subject to applicable civil & criminal penalties. Using this FAQ in an attempt to profit from it is strictly forbidden. Web sites who host it must be accessible without paying fees for the viewing of the FAQ. It is not to be used to aid in the preparation of a commercial strategy guide. The FAQ is NEVER to be altered. If this FAQ is ever ripped, the guilty party will be going into The Pillory above with all the other FAQ rippers. Taito Corporation is the sole owner of all copyrights and trademarks that are relevant to RayCrisis or the Taito G-Net Arcade System. Any other trade marks are the properties of their respective owners. Last note: If you find something out about the game that I've not covered in this FAQ, I'd like to hear about it. Please give me any comments or suggestions you may have as well. saives@gameoverdude.com www.gameoverdude.com ===============================================================================