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Post by Feynman on Dec 10, 2012 3:12:39 GMT -5
The water warp zone is a pain. A single hit from the fish can cause you to get juggled and suffer several more hits, you can't have more than one life bottle at that point in time, and since you move so slowly in water you often have to kill each fish 2-3 times.
Definitely try to have as much SMG ammo as possible, and don't be afraid to use grenades near the end when you have to deal with 3-4 fish on the screen at once. This warp zone is also the one and only place where I recommend using the pistol against normal enemies. Don't overdo it, but make sure you have max pistol ammo so you can shoot your way through the more difficult areas.
The good news is that once you finish that zone you have full access to every level (although you can't defeat the final boss without the laser), and nothing else is even close to being so difficult. Once you beat the water level, it's all downhill from there!
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tengutenga
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Post by tengutenga on Dec 10, 2012 8:46:16 GMT -5
Some findings, if they are not yet mentioned: - In the side-scrolling parts of the game, respawns seem to triggered entirely by Michael's position. - When hitting the walls inside the rooms for secret passages, you do not have to be super precise. Imagine a 4x3 grid of rectangles on the wall facing you, and knock anywhere inside the 12 rectangles. - The game's design is very sane and is actually fun to play, despite its proneness to slowdown at times (like Skyrim running on a low spec PC).
If my OCD acts up, I think I might end up playing this Arino-style...
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Post by jubibbles88 on Dec 10, 2012 16:22:04 GMT -5
Hey guys! I beat this thing. A few tips for the end fo the game.
There is a fucking turtle near the end that fucked me up. Save ammo for him because he is one bad dude.
Shoot the ball of skulls for a blue vitamin. Kill him. I hate him.
The final boss is a wussy. stab him and the laser automatically activates. then shoot him.
By the way, this game sucked. I hated it. I can see why others would love it, becuase it's super hard and has some bullshit level design, but I hated it. Not my thing. I kind of wish Xanadu won. At least that one (possibly) had hot babes in it. I'd play a pile of crap if it had hot babes in it. I don't think I'll want to play in Game CLub again, guys. I missed having a guide.
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Post by Snarboo on Dec 10, 2012 17:49:50 GMT -5
Here's some advice for you guys: - After acquiring the jump boots, do not enter the warp zone located in the shack outside of the house unless you have at least 3 life bottles or the armor! Having full SMG ammo also helps. The boss at the end of this zone is a pain in the ass if you don't come prepared, so be careful.
- Doing some simple damage calculations, the pistol is 3 times more powerful than the knife, while the SMG is 4 times as powerful. Grenade damage varies depending on which enemy is on the screen.
- The jumping physics are a bit screwy. They have the opposite problem that Castlevania's jumps do: you have full air control at any point during your jump, but you cannot change direction mid jump.
I'm relatively close to beating Dr. Chaos. This has been a breeze ever since I found the jump boots and a couple life bottles, although I wish I found the armor sooner. I'm planning on doing a stream this upcoming Saturday at 10:30 PM Eastern time! I'm going to attempt to beat the entire game live, which should make for an interesting challenge.
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Post by megatronbison on Dec 10, 2012 19:08:12 GMT -5
Okay I started tonight and I am pretty sure I detest this game already So damn clunky to change weapons! I just about found the first warp zone by accident but I'll be honest - I've no idea where is easiest to try next! Trial and error edit: Okay whoever said about the start and A+B trick earlier to get a current state password is a genius! I might actually have a chance of doing this now if I can stock up on ammo then get a password prior to trying each warp zone cause damn - some of the areas are pretty unforgiving. I hate those weird meatball things that spawn every warp zone ¬_¬ edit 2: okay thanks to password abuse (well, not to a save scumming state) I managed to get the diver helmet and the jumping boots. I died on the trip back from getting the jumping boots and figured it'd be easier to round up resources than fight the damn turtle guy again I'll try to get playing this later in the week- any ideas where one can find more energy bottles or this armour I've read about?
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Post by kal on Dec 10, 2012 21:29:21 GMT -5
Don't quit playing GC9X jubibbles88 just because you joined on Dr. Chaos, that's just not a great start. Remember if you want a guide, just read the thread since people are going to drop hints as they get further!
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Post by Feynman on Dec 11, 2012 0:10:50 GMT -5
Yeah, there's no reason to not participate in GC9X in the future just because one game didn't appeal to you!
@megatronbison:
You can't get more than one extra life bottle or the armor until after you have the Jump Boots, I'm afraid. Once you do have the Jump Boots, half of the remaining levels have a life bottle. The armor can specifically be found in the level hidden on the west side of the basement.
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tengutenga
Junior Member
EXTRA SUGAR, EXTRA SALT, EXTRA OIL AND ENERGY!!
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Post by tengutenga on Dec 12, 2012 12:09:26 GMT -5
And so, I beated the game. This makes me about second to Jubibbles in claiming a clear. Dr. Chaos had its frustrating moments, but I found it surprisingly easy. Three days was all it took to rescue Michael's brother from the pits of his own hell. As I played, I made my own maps. This made the game a lot easier to navigate. If you have been mapping out the game, you will find that the mansion isn't very large. Mapping things out definitely makes the first person scenes way easier to navigate. The warp zone levels aren't very long either. They're just crammed with monsters and slowdown. Much of the game's difficulty comes from swimming past those fishes, as Feynman can testify. Another stupidly difficult enemy is that flying snot that moves in a circular motion. That booger can easily lay a cheap triple hit combo while you are already trying to negotiate those tight passage while pursued by an animated halloween mask (who can go through those walls with impunity). I still don't know an efficient way of getting rid of them, and got through the game by stocking up on health and tanking through. Fuck. Dr. Chaos is one of those games which start off brutally difficult but halfway through becomes almost laughably easy, especially after getting the key powerups. You start off barely able to make those seemingly impossible jumps, while the monsters tear you up. It all becomes a non-issue once you get your upgrades, and you might even wish the game was harder once you're past that point where the difficulty simply peters out. Maybe this game was designed for very young boys (around 7-10 years) back in the day. They could have made the first person areas sprawl over hundreds of rooms, but the game was kept very manageable, and this was what made it short, but fun. Alright, here's the part you are all waiting for: Item & Boss Order: I got the items in this order: 1. Warp Zone Detector (Ground Floor, 3rd Room from Right or G-3) 2. Medicine Bottle (First Floor, 5th Room fr. Right or 1-5) 3. Racing Helmet Diving Helmet (G-5) 4. Jump Boots (2-1) 5. Other Medicine Bottles (1-1, G-1, G-4) 6. Armor Suit (B-5)
Boss Protip I think some of the boss rooms have a safe zone where you can just stand still and fire SMG rounds drunk. Frag Turtle - Far right ledge Off-White Dragon - Far left ledge. Take care not to accidentally leave... Boss Protip For some bosses, I simply stocked up on health and ammo. Then I fired away, sucking down all the pain... Stinky Wing - Health and ammo were maxed out before entering the warp zone. This was all I was left with right before the finishing blow. Boss names are all made up, because I was too lazy to research the official names. Final Boss Protip Chimba the Flaming Lion - Jump just high enough for you to get a shot at the lion, but not too high that your face is right in front of his mouth! This is something really random for a final boss, IMHO. Ending Lucas Michael is finally reunited with his brother Claus Ginn in his arms! I think this is the good ending, and that there may be a bad ending. Each time I died I resetted the game and re-entered the password. All warp zones were completed (no abusing death to skip the return journey!). Sorry guys and gals, I really have to do this: Wait, there is more! If you found the game too easy for you, try the original FDS version. You can save, but only after a boss battle or death. A different font is used for various text. As usual for FDS-NES comparisons, the music is slightly different. The sidescrolling levels are a lot smoother and faster. There is still some slowdown, but it is still way faster overall. This makes the game a lot harder. However, there is a lag when moving between rooms in first person mode. Learn Japanese! Thanks to all of you who are on this GC9X. I love you all!
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Post by Weasel on Dec 12, 2012 12:43:33 GMT -5
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have ourselves a clear Tippz Mazztah winner. =P
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2012 13:08:57 GMT -5
A-yup. XD
It's just as well, I haven't played over the past couple of days. But methinks I should get back to it and get around to beating it this Friday or Saturday. DC turned out a bit shorter than I figured, but hectic as the end of the year gets, I think it's for the best to have a light (albeit somewhat tough) game in the roster.
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Post by Snarboo on Dec 12, 2012 16:08:46 GMT -5
Awesome guide, tengutenga! I've nearly beaten the game myself, but I didn't think to make a map of all the first person rooms. :x The Dr. Chaos stream will be this Saturday at 10:30 PM EST! Here's an early link to the stream. This may be rescheduled depending on how long the Christmas Kartoon Karnival runs.
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Post by Sketcz-1000 on Dec 13, 2012 5:10:26 GMT -5
I started this yesterday on my NES PowerPak, for an authentic experience. I didn't read the thread, but managed to find the first warp zone. I quite like the game so far.
It reminds me a lot of Friday the 13th on the NES, except actually good! It's the kind of game I'd probably have enjoyed as a kid, trading tips with friends at school (we never did finish Friday the 13th).
Now that I know where the other warp zones are, it should be much more manageable.
Do we regard this as a Metroidvania?
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Post by Feynman on Dec 13, 2012 8:03:07 GMT -5
I don't think it counts as a true Metroidvania. The game is 95% linear, with only two items needed to unlock progression, both found very early in the game. The house is extremely small and is essentially no more than a glorified hub (think the Nexus in Demon's Souls), while the warp zones serve as traditional linear levels.
It has a few proto-Metroidvania elements, but I don't think that aspect of the game is anywhere near prominent enough to qualify as a member of the genre.
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Post by kal on Dec 14, 2012 2:26:23 GMT -5
What exactly describes something as a true Metriodvania?
There's numerous upgrades, 3 of which are mandatory and open up different parts of the remaining levels. You explore in a largely sandbox manner. The mansion may not be large but due to the way the exploration functions it's still quite large. It's not a blatant clone of a Metroid game so it's certainly got a lot of elements that typify the genre.
I mean the first person segments might exclude it from being in any predefined genre archetype since there's like 4 games ever that mash up 2d platforming and first person exploration.
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Post by kal on Dec 14, 2012 9:36:38 GMT -5
Most of these early games are linear in that you have to get certain objects to proceed in a relatively specific order. You just don't realize the order until you explore it out, the fact that some games let you sequence break (often through glitches) doesn't make the intention less relevant. I've had a pretty boring run of Dr. Chaos, I managed to explore every portal in the wrong order but you can tackle them in any order you want counting that you have the right item. While I'm not really wanting to the TV Tropes Metroidvania page would suggest that according to their *accepted* rules of the Metroidvania, Dr. Chaos is incredibly close. I wonder how much Dr. Chaos was inspired by Goonies II, there's 90 days between the games releases - did they rush the game through in that short period of time? Goonies II though is obviously a far, far superior game...why didn't we play that!
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