------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gain Ground For Master System Walkthrough By Jungon joaobuaes@gmail.com 2011/12/31 Version 1.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section . . . . . . . . . . Ctrl+F code I- Intro. . . . . . . . . . . . [00001] II- Story . . . . . . . . . . . [00002] III- Basics . . . . . . . . . . [00003] IV- Know Your Warriors. . . . . [00004] V- Tricks and dynamics. . . . . [00005] VI- How do I read the FAQ?. . . [00006] VII- The Primitige Age. . . . . [00007] VIII- The Middle Ages . . . . . [00008] IX- The Modern Age. . . . . . . [00009] X- The Near Future. . . . . . . [00010] XI- Gain Ground, the Final Era. [00011] XII- Spoiler-free Ending. . . . [00012] XIII- Other Versions. . . . . . [00013] XIV- Cheating / Glitching . . . [00014] XV- FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . [00015] XVI- Copyright. . . . . . . . . [00016] XVII- Credits . . . . . . . . . [00017] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I- Intro [00001] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are no FAQs or walkthroughs for this version anywhere, and there are so many unique stages, some very challenging. I decided that since no one did it it's because there is Mega Drive (Yeah, Genesis) version and it looks more appealing to the eyes, but.. don't be deceived by that, this version is much more acceptable on difficulty, and much more free to navigate through the game.. maybe I should show to the world how unique it is. Well, I can detail more in the next version. I finished this game many times in the past, I don't know what it is, maybe it's the replay value, to see what the other classes can do, there are 10 different warriors, and there is the player 2, female team.. plus, the music is interesting, at least to me =P I'm Brazilian, so I hope my english is good enough for everyone to understand. Last, puzzle games are just so amazing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II- Story [00002] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I shouldn't really have to write this section, but... Gain Ground is an arcade (if I'm not mistaken) that dragged a lot of innocent people and now the three real players have to rescue them and drag them along in the journey to shut it down to avoid more problems. If you're wandering, there are 50 stages in total, sectioned in 5 rounds of 10 stages each, and all stages '10' are bosses. You can call the stages, levels, rounds, ..missions, whatever. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III- Basics [00003] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, how to play can always help. So, even if you already know how to play, this section can prove useful by making you remember a command or two. I doubt there will be spatial explanation here, since the maps are just too hard to draw in text style. But maybe I'll be adding something more, picture, or maybe Youtube videos. Directional: You move your warrior through the screen, since it's camera from above. You aim with the directional too, it can even be diagonal. Plus, up and down choose stages for the first three rounds. Button 1: That's your common weapon, all warriors will have some kind of pistol that shoots 1, 2 or 3 projectiles at the same time. Some will have their own kind of projectiles. Plus, button 1 chooses options in menus and advance screens. Button 2: Each warrior will have a special and unique kind of power, sometimes it will be a powerful explosion, sometimes it will be a little set os spikes over the floor.. plus, button 2 do the same as button 1 in menus. Button Pause: Not really wanted in this game, but you can pause to think, don't wait while choosing your warrior to go to the arena, pause there if needed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV- Know Your Warriors [00004] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you have a lot of warriors of each class, they'll be listed in this order: 1- Caveman: Symbol: A spear. Speed: Fast. Range: Terrible. Projectiles: Two at a time, plus the higher one. Pistol: Instead of a pistol, these guys have spears, and only spears, it's slightly slower than a pistol. Special: When you shoot their spears with button 2, they can reach the second floor enemies. Usefulness: If you don't need them to save hostages or take down second floor enemies, sacrifice them all. 2- Rifleman: Symbol: A rifle. Speed: Fast. Range: Good. Projectiles: Three at a time, plus their special, so... seven! Pistol: They can shoot at longer distances than everyone else in the game. Special: Their button 2 technique will make them spin while shooting some projectiles to left and right, always horizontal. Usefulness: Good against teleporting enemies, floor shooters, and "extravert enemies". 3- Grenadier: Symbol: A hand grenade. Speed: Fast. Range: Not that good.. Projectiles: Two at a time, plus the grenade. Pistol: Their projectiles will visibly go less distance than a rifleman's.. but they can shoot fast if near the target. Special: When you shoot their bombs/grenades, they can reach the second floor enemies, with explosions that cost 5 HP instead of 1. Usefulness: Good against enemies behind the wall, enemies above or under, sub-bosses, and enemies with 5 HP or more. 4- Viking: Symbol: An arrow. Speed: Fast. Range: Average to good. Projectiles: Two at a time, plus the higher one. Pistol: Instead of a pistol, these guys shoot arrows, with their bows, the projectiles are slightly slower than a pistol, though. Special: When you shoot their spears with button 2, they can reach the second floor enemies. Usefulness: Good against enemies behind the wall, enemies above or under, and enemies that look far away but not that much.. 5- Ninja: Symbol: A shuriken (it's a ninja projectile). Speed: Fast. Range: Average. Projectiles: Three at a time, just like a ninja, and they are slightly faster than a pistol, I think. Pistol: Instead of a pistol, these gys throw their shuriken, if you're not used to them, it's easier to miss minor targets.. Special: A bed of spikes at the floor, that only hits enemies that come closer to it. It costs 5 HP to it, so most enemies that can be hit, will die. Usefulness: Ninjas are good for stealth missions (wait, wrong game) .. Good against enemies that run in your direction, cactuses, and running robots. 6- Ranger: Symbol: A boomerang (it go and come back). Speed: Fast. Range: Average to good. Projectiles: Two at a time, plus two boomerangs at a time. Pistol: Just like the grenadier,.. see his pistol. Special: Their boomerangs fly at a slower speed, but they turn, and are able to hit enemies that are hiding behind a wall, but with a corridor on the side. Usefulness: Good against, huh.. enemies behind the wall that have a corridor on the side..? 7- Burner: symbol: Fire. Speed: Slow. Range: Terrible. Projectiles: One at a time, plus their constant flamethrower. Pistol: Not really useful, but it can make the difference in some cases. Special: Really strong flamethrower, if you can come at close range with an enemy, it's the quickest HP destroyer in your group. Takes around 6 to 7 seconds to stop. Usefulness: Pulsing enemies, electric floor, and bosses that can be reached. 8- Mage: Symbol: Water (like a fountain). Speed: Slow. Range: Average to bad. Projectiles: Three at a time, plus two spells. Pistol: With three shots, they can nearly destroy any enemy they trap with a spell. Special: Their spell, it's a water magic that paralyses human-like enemies, for around 10 entire seconds. Usefulness: ... they're ok against running and walking enemies with predictable route.. 9- Launcher: Symbol: A missile with a .. head?. Speed: Slow. Range: For second floor, it's great. Close range, .. not so much. Pistol: Not really useful, but it can make the difference in some cases. Special: When they launch a missile, it travels straight, continuing until they go out of screen and/or explode. If you're really close to an enemy, they can explode on the ground, and better, they don't kill your guys. It does 5 HP damage. Usefulness: Some bosses, robots, machines, especially behind walls, and second floor enemies, of course. 10- Bazooka: Symbol: Pointy missile. Speed: Slow. Really slow. Range: Great, if you aim right. Pistol: Just like burner and launchers,.. it can make the difference. Special: When they launch their attack, three bazooka rounds travel through the screen (always going up), making any enemy with 5 HP or less explode right on the touch. You have to wait for all three rounds disappear to shoot again. It can do 15 HP damage to a boss if all three hit. Usefulness: Big machines and robots, sub-bosses, bosses, and .. walls. Yeah, walls. When they're trap enemies, of course. Don't go around trying to take common walls out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- V- Tricks and dynamics [00005] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some more information, for all stages: - All stages have 200 seconds of time remaining at the beginning. - You can press left or right to choose your warrior for the stage. Chosen, will appear on screen, and you're playing as him/her. You come back to choosing if he/she dies, or reach the exit. - STY means how many warriors you have, OUT means how many reached the exit. You'll notice that it adds two when you rescue a hostage, .. he/she will only become a warrior on the next stage. SCR is score.. - Your guys always start at the lower left (lower right if player 2).. - If I didn't say how much HP your projectiles do, it's simple: it's 1 HP. - Hostages are those blinking squares with symbols I mentioned previously. - There is an exit for all stages except bosses (stages 10), and you need to reach this exit with the hostage to save him/her. - If you save the hostage with player 1, it will be a man, player 2, it will be a woman. (is that weird?) - Killing all the enemies or reaching the exit with everyone means clearing the stage, and getting score for time, and for the stage itself. - Stages 1 to 9 are worth 500 points, stages 10 are 2000 points, and final boss stage is 10000 points. - Score is 500 points more if you clear the stage in less than 100 seconds. - Scoring on all enemies is 10 per hit. - You can repeat stages inifitely if you want more score. - You can replay stages to stock classes you like the most, but please, don't save more than three from the same class, choosing is slow. Really slow. And you have a remaining time that is running all the time since the fade-in of a stage screen. - Enemies respawn when they come from off the screen, from sides especially. If the number of enemies looks wrong, it's because of that, and it takes around 2 seconds to update, and sometimes they can even surprise attack. Shooting their respawning points eventually will kill all of them. - Friendly fire go through allies, they can't hit each other. - When an enemy hits your warrior, he/she will be become a hostage too. You can save him/her as long as there is an exit. If a second one dies too on the same stage, the first one down will disappear immediately, even if he/she was already been carried. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VI- How do I read the FAQ? [00006] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's simple, all you need is spatial knowledge, and good adaptation to the map I'll try to describe. Enemies: The number of enemies that will be seating there waiting for you. And their HP. 2 Player: If enemies respawn, that's the number of enemies for 2 player games. Second Floor: If some enemies are unreachable by common projectiles, I'll list it to you. Under Hole: If some enemies are below you, I'll let you know too. Hostages: Who you can save in this stage. Difficulty: From 1 to 10 asterisks, the more the harder. Strategy: What you can do against the enemies so they're dead and you're alive in the end. HP: How much each enemy can stand being shot. Respawning: Which enemies will respawn when defeated. Who is best: Which warriors will give you best results defeating the enemies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VII- The Primitive Age [00007] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mostly green or gray scenario, covered with rocks, and enemies tend to throw rocks at you. Some enemies are godly statues which are enpowered by God or something. There are armored ones too. Stage 1-01: Enemies: 8 of them. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the middle, a Viking. Difficulty: * Strategy: You can choose anyone, it should be an easy stage, avoid enemies and their projectiles, and take them down. Remember, if you kill all the circle of enemies, you won't save the Viking, so if you want him, avoid killing some of them. HP: 1 for each enemy. Respawning: None. Who is best: Rifleman, Grenadier, even Caveman can do it. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 1-02: Enemies: 11. 2 Player: 4 more, for a total of 15. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the middle, a Ranger. Difficulty: * Strategy: Enemies standing still will shoot randomly against you, if needed, avoid their shots. To save the Ranger, just let one of those standing enemies there, they don't shoot to sides. Walking enemies have 2 HP, so shoot them twice, or drop a bomb. HP: 1 for standing enemies, 2 for walking ones. Respawning: 4 side enemies, the walking ones. 8 if 2 players. Who is best: Rifleman, maybe Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 1-03: Enemies: 15. 2 Player: 10 more, for a total of 25. Second Floor: 5 of them above your floor. Under Hole: None. Hostages: Left one is a Rifleman, right one is a Caveman. Difficulty: ** Strategy: The above enemies won't shoot you unless you stop on the middle corridor, so you can use rifleman to save a hostage if you want. Walking enemies again have 2 HP, shouldn't be a problem by now. I wouldn't save a Caveman.. HP: 1 for second floor enemies, 2 for walking ones. Respawning: 10 side enemies, being 6 on sides and 4 near the exit. Double it (20) for 2 players game. Who is best: Viking, maybe Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 1-04: Enemies: 9. 2 Player: 8 more, for a total of 17. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the middle, a Grenadier. Difficulty: ** Strategy: Oh look, a sub-boss. It will start to shoot as soon as you choose a warrior, so be careful. Enemies back there respawn three times for 1 player game, and seven times for 2 player game. HP: 20 for the statue, 2 for walking enemies. Respawning: 8 enemies near the exit, 16 if 2 players. Who is best: Grenadier, maybe Rifleman or Ranger. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 1-05: Enemies: 13. 2 Player: 12 more, for a total of 25. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: Left one is a Ninja, right one is a Mage. Difficulty: *** Strategy: Oh look, another sub-boss. Just deal with him the same way or choose another one to test more. Enemies start on screen but respawn from the horizontal part, across the sub-boss, and near the exit, for four spots. I'd save both hostages, they're new. HP: 20 for the statue, 2 for walking enemies. Respawning: 12 side enemies and near the exit, 24 if 2 players. Who is best: Grenadier, maybe Rifleman or Ranger. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 1-06: Enemies: 18. 2 Player: 10 more, for a total of 28. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the middle, a Viking. Difficulty: ** Strategy: Oh look, a complete change of background. Now it's gray, and has new enemies, the armored ones. They shoot, and don't move. Enemies respawn twice on field, and near the exit, once. For 2 players, they respawn four times, and three times near the exit. If you want to save the Viking there, just run to the exit with Caveman or Rifleman. HP: 2 for walking enemies, 1 for those armored ones. Respawning: 10 side enemies, being 6 on sides and 4 near the exit. Double it (20) for 2 players game. Who is best: Rifleman, or Viking, or even Caveman. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 1-07: Enemies: 12. 2 Player: 8 more, for a total of 20. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the middle, a Grenadier. Difficulty: ** Strategy: Oh look, more new enemies. They look like standing ones, but when you get to their corridor, they run into you, .. so shoot them before dying. Side enemies will respawn three times for 1 player, seven times for 2 players.. HP: 2 for walking enemies, 5 for those armored ones. Respawning: 8 side enemies, 16 if 2 players. Who is best: Grenadier, Ninja, or Rifleman, or Ranger. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 1-08: Enemies: 20. 2 Player: 18 more, for a total of 38. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the down middle, a Rifleman. Difficulty: **** Strategy: Oh look, even more new enemies. They look like shooting ones, but they're not, they will run into you, and change directions if necessary. They have 3 HP, but with this scenario, I'd choose Rifleman all the way, shoot their tunnels until they're not respawning anymore. By the way, all tunnel enemies will respawn twice for 1 player and five times for 2 players. HP: 3 for each enemy. Respawning: 18 side enemies, 36 if 2 players. Who is best: Rifleman, or maybe Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 1-09: Enemies: 6. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the middle, a Caveman. Difficulty: * Strategy: The looking alike enemies have 2 patterns. The first two ones will behave just like in stage 1-08, they'll run into you and have 3 HP, the ones back there will start shooting rocks at you, don't stand where they fall, and kill them. HP: 3 for armored enemies, 1 for shooting ones. Respawning: None. Who is best: Anyone you're used to. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 1-10: Enemies: 1. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: ***** Strategy: Oh look, a boss. Big ogre guy on fire. I call him BOGOF from now on. He'll jump around to specific spots, and shoot wherever you stand at, but only 8-directioned, so there are blind spots. HP: 40. Respawning: None. Who is best: Rifleman, Ranger, maybe Viking. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Shouldn't have any problem reaching the second section of stages.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIII- The Middle Ages [00008] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mostly green or gray scenario, covered with stone, and enemies tend to throw spears at you. Some enemies are godly statues which are enpowered by God or something. There are teleporting mages too. Stage 2-01: Enemies: 18. 2 Player: 8 more, for a total of 26. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the middle, a Ninja. Difficulty: *****-* Strategy: Enemies hide behind those little pillars, so a good choice of warrior for this stage is the Viking. Or Ranger if you prefer. Watch out for the respawning enemies, they come from the beginning area, left and right. HP: 1 for each enemy. Respawning: 8 side enemies below, 16 if 2 players. Who is best: Viking, or Ranger. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 2-02: Enemies: 20. 2 Player: 8 more, for a total of 28. Second Floor: 8 of them above your floor. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the middle near the exit, a Viking. Difficulty: *** Strategy: There are knights, and spearmen. You can tell the difference. There is a red wall there, but it's easy to destroy. Can be taken down by 5 viking arrows. Respawning enemies are the ground spearmen, they respawn once for 1 player, and three times for 2 players. HP: 1 for each spearmen, 5 for each knight. Respawning: 8 side enemies after the gate, 16 if 2 players. Who is best: Viking, or Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 2-03: Enemies: 7. 2 Player: 4 more, for a total of 11. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: That one on the right is a Launcher. Difficulty: ***** Strategy: Watch for teleporting enemies here. There are two wandering mages searching for you. One enemy guarding the hostage, knight. And the remaining ones will try to stop you when you are walking at the exit corridor. These respawn twice for 1 player and 4 times for 2 players. They have 5 HP but they're not fast. HP: 2 for each mage, 5 for each knight. Respawning: 4 knights walking at the end, 8 if 2 players. Who is best: Rifleman, Ninja, or Ranger. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 2-04: Enemies: 14. 2 Player: 12 more, for a total of 26. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: One of them, a mage. Hostages: At the left, a Grenadier. Difficulty: *****-* Strategy: Oh look, a sub-boss. He looks just a little too futuristic, shooting his hum.. fire.. cards.. like a mage would. There is another mage below there, on the water, teleporting one, and looks like an eye. He shoots fireballs, be careful with him. Spearmen will hunt you as much as they can, and respawn twice on the side and back, for 1 player, and 5 times for 2 players. You have to go with Viking or Grenadier here, because of the water eye mage. HP: 20 for the big mage, 1 for each spearman and eye mage. Respawning: 12 spearmen, from the left side, and near upper corner, 24 if 2 players. Who is best: Viking, or Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 2-05: Enemies: 9. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: 6 of them above your floor. Under Hole: None. Hostages: Left one is a Bazooka, right one is a Launcher. Difficulty: *****-** Strategy: Oh look, another sub-boss. Should be as hard as the last one. Scenario is all gray here. Mages can surprise you while you're dealing with the boss, it's better to kill them first. Those second floor spearmen will have to go down for Viking or Grenadier as you won't have good space to use Launcher yet, with mages around. HP: 20 for the big mage, 2 for the teleporting mages, and 1 for each spearman. Respawning: None. Who is best: Viking, or Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 2-06: Enemies: 6. 2 Player: 4 more, for a total of 10. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the corner, a Ranger. Difficulty: **** Strategy: Looks like only two enemies, and respawning, .. but it's a lie, those two won't come back, all other enemies are teleporting mages. 4 for 1 player, 8 for 2 players. They appear everywhere, so watch out, try to go with Ranger, or Viking, maybe Rifleman since the walls can be surpassed by all shooting. HP: 2 for teleporting mages, and 5 for each knight. Respawning: None, sort of. Who is best: Ranger, or Viking,.. or Rifleman. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 2-07: Enemies: 14. 2 Player: 2 more, for a total of 16. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the corner, a Caveman. Difficulty: * Strategy: See the knight there on the left, hiding? He's the respawning one. Spearmen are only twelve. Maybe it's their age too, because you can just walk the corridor with a Rifleman, and shoot them from above,.. they don't even try to turn and shoot at you. After dealing with them, knights are easy, shoot their respawning spot. HP: 5 for each knight, 1 for each spearman. Respawning: The 2 knights, 4 if 2 players. Who is best: Rifleman, or nearly anyone else. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 2-08: Enemies: 16. 2 Player: 8 more, for a total of 24. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the middle, a Mage. Difficulty: *** Strategy: Oh look, a new wall. You can shoot it down, it's 5 HP, but it's separated into blocks. Side spearmen respawn once for 1 player, three times for 2 players.. watch for the trap when you get to the exit corridor, there are two knights trying to run into you, and they come running faster than usual. HP: 5 for each knight, 1 for each spearman. Respawning: 8 spearmen from sides, 16 if 2 players. Who is best: Rifleman, or maybe Ninja. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 2-09: Enemies: 11. 2 Player: 8 more, for a total of 19. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: One of them, a mage. Hostages: In the corner, a Rifleman. Difficulty: *****-* Strategy: More respawning spearmen, and one more of that water eye mage, he has a lot of pool (lake?) to surprise you, so go with Viking, Grenadier won't have enough room for the job. Don't rush into the enemies here, they'll throw spears in many angles, be a little laid back. HP: 1 for each spearman and eye mage. Respawning: 8 spearmen from left side and above, double it (16) if 2 players. Who is best: Viking. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 2-10: Enemies: 8. 2 Player: 7 more, for a total of 15. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-**** Strategy: Oh look, that sub-boss again, and now in red, .. it's a boss! And it's invulnerable, until you deal with all the mages around. 7 for 1 player, 14 for 2 players. After you clean the field, boss will become vulnerable, and it will walk front, and start shooting like crazy, don't be near it at this time. After some card shooting, it will walk back, and repeat all the shooting. Good classes for this stage: good one to lose your Caveman, if you're like me and don't see any advantage in having one.. then go with Bazooka, it's only a few shooting and the boss is dead. Of course, if you're near him and he shoots, you lose your Bazooka, but you can get him/her back later. Rifleman is a good choice. HP: 2 for each teleporting mage, and then 40 for the boss. Respawning: None, sort of. Who is best: Rifleman or Bazooka. Maybe Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / If you came this far, you're being a good Gain Ground player, the second boss is a lot of trouble. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IX- The Modern Age [00009] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mostly sandy yellow or brown scenario, covered with stone, and enemies tend to shoot projectiles at you. Some enemies are odd machines and look like spiders. There are artillery too. Stage 3-01: Enemies: 12. 2 Player: 6 more, for a total of 18. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: Kind of. Hostages: Left corner, a Viking, right corner, a Rifleman. Difficulty: *****-** Strategy: Two new enemies to deal with. The shooters, and the snakes. Shooters are standing there, and shoot whenever you are at their range. Snakes are like mages, but they rise from the ground instead of teleporting, and they choose a direction, and run there. After disappearing, they dig and rise again until you can kill them. Ninja is a decent choice on this stage since you can predict the snakes' directions. But for the shooters, go with Bazooka or Rifleman. HP: 2 for each snake, 1 for each shooter. Respawning: None, sort of. Who is best: Ninja and Bazooka or Rifleman. Maybe Mage. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 3-02: Enemies: 15. 2 Player: 15 more, for a total of 30. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: Kind of. Hostages: Left corner, a Ranger, right corner, a Bazooka. Difficulty: ***** Strategy: Snakes all the way, double if you're 2 players. Deal with them like in the last stage, and you should have losses. Move around, standing is dangerous. HP: 2 for each snake. Respawning: None, sort of. Who is best: Ninja or maybe Rifleman. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 3-03: Enemies: 6. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: That one on the right is a Ninja. Difficulty: **** Strategy: Wow, that doesn't look like Modern Age at all, a laser conveyor, robot spiders, and a wall made of steel? Anyway, those red doors are just like in Stage 2-02,.. 5 HP, and spiders have 10 HP, they run into you when they can. A good choice here is the Grenadier. Rifleman too if you're going for the rescue. See glitches section for how to rescue fast here. HP: 10 for each robot spider. Respawning: None. Who is best: Grenadier, or maybe Rifleman. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 3-04: Enemies: 12. 2 Player: 10 more, for a total of 22. Second Floor: 2. Under Hole: Yes, 4 of them, 8 if 2 players. Hostages: At the upper left, a Launcher and a Burner. Difficulty: *****-**** Strategy: Oh look, a bridge. Does it look like a trap or what? Just try to go there with all these enemies around. The enemies on brown areas are actually below you. Your best bet here is the Viking, as he/she can charge at all enemies. Start with the ground ones, then the hole ones, and in the end, the ugly ones above. You can do it with Grenadier, it's just.. harder. Important: You really should save 1 of these Burners. HP: 1 for each shooter, 2 for the ugly guys above. Respawning: 10, being 6 on your floor, and 4 below. Double it (20) if 2 players. Who is best: Viking, or Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 3-05: Enemies: 18. 2 Player: 18 more, for a total of 36. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: 12 of them are below you, 24 if you're 2 players. Hostages: Left one is a Mage, right one is a Launcher. Difficulty: *****-** Strategy: Oh look, the enemies are going war against you. Digging shelters and all. Well, for this stage, Viking is the best choice too. Grenadier is decent, only. Enemies below respawn once for 1 player, three times for 2 players, and enemies on the surface respawn twice for 1 player, 5 times for 2 players. HP: 1 for each shooter. Respawning: All of them. Who is best: Viking, or Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 3-06: Enemies: 13. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: Left one is a Rifleman, right one is a Ranger. Difficulty: *****-**** Strategy: Slight change of scenario, now we have buildings. And the enemies are there forming a defense line. The 13th one is walking back there, he soon shows up. To deal with all these enemies, go with Viking, .. or maybe Ranger. The strategy is simple, shoot, and run away when they see you. Kind of sneaky, but better than being destroyed by them. If you're not comfortable with using different classes, I suggest you stock Vikings. HP: 1 for each shooter, 2 for the ugly guys above. Respawning: 10, being 6 on your floor, and 4 below. Double it (20) if 2 players. Who is best: Viking, or Ranger. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 3-07: Enemies: 20. 2 Player: 10 more, for a total of 30. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: In the middle, a Launcher. Difficulty: *****-**** Strategy: The previous stage was just the warm up for this one. Respawning enemies, and a really painful set of shooters. I really recommend Viking on this one, as all other classes will have problems with some parts. Ranger would be a second good choice. Best of luck. HP: 1 for each shooter, 2 for the ugly guys above. Respawning: 10 side enemies, 20 if 2 players. Who is best: Viking, or Ranger. Maybe Rifleman. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 3-08: Enemies: 8. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: Left one is a Grenadier, right one is a Caveman. Difficulty: *** Strategy: Oh look, artillery, heavy artillery. This stage is really easy if you have the Bazooka, shoot from back there, and they won't even notice you. No respawning here. HP: 5 for each artillery, 1 for each shooter. Respawning: None. Who is best: Bazooka. Or maybe Rifleman, Ranger, or Ninja. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 3-09: Enemies: 6. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: Kind of. Under Hole: None. Hostages: Near the exit, a Bazooka. Difficulty: **** Strategy: Just those artillery again, and two ugly punks, but these are unreachable by most of your warriors, so go with Viking or Grenadier. You can use a Rifleman to rescuing. HP: 5 for each artillery, 2 for each ugly punk. Respawning: None. Who is best: Viking, or Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 3-10: Enemies: 2. 2 Player: Exact same amount.. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-**** Strategy: Ok, two tanks. Both are unreachable most of the time. Believe it or not, your best warrior for this job is the Launcher. When the first tank comes front and becomes vulnerable, it will release four spiders. The same robot spiders as stage 3-03. And there is room for more, the screen will be filled with 8 spiders, chasing you to death. But your Launcher is still fast enough to dodge them and keep shooting at the bosses. Move around a lot, and you should survive. HP: 40 for each tank, 10 for each robot spider. Respawning: None. Oh wait, 4 more, and 4, and 4! Infinite! Who is best: Launcher, or maybe Grenadier, Viking, or Burner. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / If you came this far,.. I hope you stocked on your favorite good classes, really.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X- The Near Future [00010] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now the restocking is gone, it's just surviving, the scenario will be mostly dark blue, and enemies will have lasers, machines, robots, and pulsing bots to pursue you. It all starts to become Terminator-er. Stage 4-01: Enemies: 24. 2 Player: 16 more, for a total of 40. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-** Strategy: You see those 8 enemies back there? They'll shoot lasers that go far. And when you even try to reach them, you'll see the troops march. They suddenly appear on both sides, and run into you quickly. To avoid being killed, go down again. A Bazooka warrior can reach all enemies with no problem, and back up just fast enough to avoid death. HP: 5 for each Robot. Respawning: 16 side enemies, 32 if 2 players. Who is best: Bazooka, or maybe Rifleman. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 4-02: Enemies: 8. 2 Player: 8 more, for a total of 16. Second Floor: Kind of. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-***** Strategy: This stage is hell, enemies have those invulnerable spots, you can only get them while they're moving, and if you get close, they pulse on you, in a close range attack, and not so close. That's the reason I asked you to save a Burner on stage 3-04. Burner can hit them while they're protected. Grenadiers can deal damage to them too, or Viking, ..the enemies are just really hard to aim at. HP: 1 for each pulsing enemy. Respawning: All of them come from sides. Who is best: Burner. Maybe Grenadier. You can try Ninja too. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 4-03: Enemies: 10. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-***** Strategy: See those cannons back there, shooting red lasers, turning on and off quickly? You can barely reach there, most classes are useless here. The door there is 5 HP, and the robots shoot lasers at you. You have to shoot at the cannons while they're turning the lasers off, and quickly run back, until one of them explodes, then you can walk a little more freely, and shoots them with more ease. If you don't have Riflemen now, this will be a very hard challenge.. HP: 5 for robots, 40 for each laser cannon. Respawning: None. Who is best: Rifleman. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 4-04: Enemies: 4. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-* Strategy: See those two things on the upper half of screen? They're machines that go left and right, alternating, and shoots a lot of projectiles while moving. The robots make it hard to choose a slow warrior, but your Bazookas are still the best against the overall of enemies. Watch for the 8 directioned shots and it shouldn't be too hard to defeat them. HP: 5 for each robot, 20 for each machine. Respawning: None. Who is best: Bazooka, Launcher, or maybe Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 4-05: Enemies: 2. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-* Strategy: Now, the machines will shoot, surpassing walls, and you don't. Actually, you can shoot over the wall with you Vikings or Grenadiers, but the only one that will hit for more damage and more reach is the Launcher. Avoid enemy fire and shoot your missiles at them. HP: 20 for each machine. Respawning: None. Who is best: Launcher. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 4-06: Enemies: 2 2 Player: 2 more, for a total of 4. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: ** Strategy: Where.. are.. the enemies?? If you just try to reach the exit, you'll find them. The robots spawn and respawn from that point on the left, just above that wall. You can bring a Rifleman there and shoot everyone, or you can throw bombs from the player 1 start point. These enemies just walk into you, they're easy. HP: 5 for each robot. Respawning: It happens on that left spot. Who is best: Rifleman or Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 4-07: Enemies: 17. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-*** Strategy: New enemies, the robots are the laser-shooting ones, .. but these squares are pulsing enemies, don't go near them, unless you're blinking (see glitches section for details),.. and don't shoot them too close, they pulse when hit. Grenadier works best here because you can kill each enemy with one bomb. Ninja is decent if you know how to go close and then run. And Rifleman can be used if you know how to shoot from a good distance. HP: 5 for each pulsing enemy, 5 for each robot too. Respawning: None. Who is best: Grenadier, Ninja, or Rifleman, maybe Bazooka if you're lucky. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 4-08: Enemies: 10. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: Yes, 6 of them are unreachable to projectiles. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *** Strategy: My personal strategy here is too choose Bazooka, shoot those robots from where they don't react, and then run the conveyer belt, some laser shooting will happen, then, reaching the exit, choose Launcher, or it can be a Grenadier, go there and destroy them. HP: 5 for each one. Respawning: None. Who is best: Bazooka and then Launcher. Maybe Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 4-09: Enemies: 14. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-*** Strategy: More pulsing enemies. And they run into you all the time, unless they reach walls. That core in the middle starts shooting quadruple projectiles in your warriors' direction/s, and it's constant enough to be a pain, but it has blind spots. Place your Grenadier up there, he'll dodge projectiles from the middle ... just don't forget to deal with the pulsing enemies before reaching there. HP: 5 for each pulsing enemy, 20 for the core. Respawning: None. Who is best: Grenadier, or Ninja. Maybe Ranger. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 4-10: Enemies: 1. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-***** Strategy: Approach the wall up there after opening your way (5 HP each block), and shoot whenever the boss is not shooting at you. The boss can shoot like a machine gun, or it can shoot homing missiles at you, they're just homing down there, near the wall you're protected. Don't use anyone slow here, and be careful with everything the boss can shoot at you. HP: 40. Respawning: None. Who is best: Rifleman, or Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / If you have more than 8 warriors by now, I think you're a great player. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XI- Gain Ground, the Final Era [00011] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mostly gray and neon-ish scenario, blue glowing things, and enemies tend to be the most weird things, like disguised robots, walls, and floor. There are pulsing spiders and even aiming lasers. Stage 5-01: Enemies: 7. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: Kind of. Hostages: None. Difficulty: ***** Strategy: Now, where are these enemies? Try to reach the exit with someone, and now you'll see the enemies, the floor, and the doors, they actually ARE the enemies here. If you don't want to walk there with everyone, instead, kill the doors, and the floors, and the stage will be cleared. Bazooka can deal 15 HP to enemies depending on how you shoot, so go with him. HP: 40 for the doors, 20 for the floors. Respawning: None. Who is best: Bazooka, or Burner. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 5-02: Enemies: 16. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-*** Strategy: You can go with Grenadiers, .. you're already seeing the enemy, right? Yes, those things shooting laser beams. From below, shoot bombs, they should go down with 2 bombs each. And then open your way inside the passages to make it a quick stage (see glitches section for how to do it). HP: 10 for each artillery. Respawning: None. Who is best: Grenadier, or Viking. Maybe Ranger. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 5-03: Enemies: 1. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: * Strategy: Go there and shoot it down. Don't touch the far sides. HP: 3 for the spider. Respawning: None. Who is best: Grenadier and Rifleman. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 5-04: Enemies: 2. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-** Strategy: Well, that spinning floor is weird. When you're walking there, you start to walk in circles, and if you stop, your warrior stands there spinning. When you're spinning, press up to go front, and now press up only when the warrior is facing left, so you spin in the exit direction. Go with grenadier, you can shoot the spider from a safe spot, where it spins, defeating both makes the spin stop so you can continue the game. HP: 3 for each spider. Respawning: None. Who is best: Grenadier, or Viking. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 5-05: Enemies: 12 2 Player: 12 more, for a total of 24. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-***** Strategy: These enemies come from tubes two at a time, but they shoot a lot of pulsing fire at you. If you have less than 8 warriors, I really suggest you run to the exit. Slower guys first, since you can save them with faster guys whenever someone get hit. If you're going against them, go with Bazooka, or Mage, Mages can paralyse them. But Bazookas deal 5 to 15 HP with each strike. Burners will have a hard time getting close, but once they get there, it's an easy kill. For two players, it's best to run away, and watch out for double deaths, only one will remain hostage. HP: 20 for each robot. Respawning: Who is best: Bazooka, or Mage.. anyone else will have a hard time. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 5-06: Enemies: 12. 2 Player: 12 more, for a total of 24. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: Kind of. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-*** Strategy: Stay on purple spots of this chess battlefield, if any machine eye rises near you, shoot it to death. After some time, fewer will be rising, and you'll be the one chasing them. Grenadier is hard to aim, especially on diagonals, but should be possible anyway. But normally I stick with Rifleman. If you feel there is not enough time to aim, run away diagonally, they'll pulse at you. HP: 3 for each machine. Respawning: Kind of. Who is best: Rifleman, maybe Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 5-07: Enemies: 8. 2 Player: 8 more, for a total of 16. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: Kind of. Hostages: None. Difficulty: **** Strategy: See glitches section for a good strategy here. HP: 3 for each laser eye. Respawning: Kind of. Who is best: Rifleman, maybe Viking. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 5-08: Enemies: 12. 2 Player: 12 more, for a total of 24. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: ***** Strategy: You can enter there and shoot everyone down, or place a Bazooka at the entrance and striking at all enemies at once with the right timing. Ninjas are good too because you can set the traps and run away. Watch out, after the enemies pass the middle, they shoot. HP: 5 for each shooting spider. Respawning: All of them are side enemies. Who is best: Rifleman, Bazooka, Ninja.. or Grenadier. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 5-09: Enemies: 12 2 Player: 12 more, for a total of 24. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-*** Strategy: Don't go near them. Place traps on their tunnels so you stay out of trouble. Or you can go crazy with the projectiles, Grenadier or Rifleman should be fine battling these pulsing spiders. HP: 5 for each pulsing spider. Respawning: All of them are side enemies. Who is best: Ninja, or maybe Grenadier or Rifleman. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Stage 5-10: Enemies: 1. 2 Player: Exact same amount. Second Floor: None. Under Hole: None. Hostages: None. Difficulty: *****-***** Strategy: Final boss shoots a lot of homing lasers and projectiles. Anyone in field will die, so .. shoot everything you can while it's possible.. you have to have at least four warriors to defeat him, .. with 8 or more you should be fine. Don't shoot him while his 'eyes' are shut off. Don't let him step on you, really, your warriors die even if they're blinking. Eventually you'll be able to put a Burner or Bazooka at his nose and let it pour fire on him. HP: About 60. Respawning: None. Who is best: Bazooka, Burner, Grenadier, or anyone left there. - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / Wow, that was suicidal, now .. the ending, finally. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XII- Spoiler-free Ending [00012] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ending will be spoiled to you. So don't read. But I really think it's no big deal. In the end, after the final boss is defeated, and the scoring, the computer is shut down, and there is a text: "The war was ended. All of the Gain Ground systems have been silenced. The androids are no longer functioning and the door to the outside is open." And then there is the staff, with a planet appearing on left. After that, the score table, top 5. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XIII- Other Versions [00013] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The game was released on Mega Drive, PC, Arcade, and more recently, Sega Ages for Playstation 2. All other version are based on mostly the same 20 characters, that have names, jobs, and can be acquired with both player 1 and 2 in a full play. Differences on Mega Drive / PC: 1- There is no stage selecting, a full game goes always 50 stages. 2- The Near Future is the last set of stages, and the fourth one is something like The Present.. 3- There is Easy/Normal/Hard selection.. easy means less enemies, normal means more enemies, and hard means you don't get to rescue hostages, you get to start with all 20 warriors, and have to avoid losing them. 4- I think mages don't teleport there, they only reappear at the same spot. 5- Bosses are all different, let's face it, Master System version is the most different one in the pack. Differences on Arcade: 1- Mostly the same of Mega Drive and PC, just the screen is more vertical. Differences on Playstation 2: 1- It's 3D .. I didn't see much of it yet, but it looked a lot like a remake from Mega Drive/PC version to me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XIV- Cheating / Glitching [00014] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These known glitches are listed for the game: 1- When you start to play after choosing a warrior, you have some seconds of invincibility .. if you touch certain kinds of enemies with this invincibility, the enemies die. I don't know if the game is supposed to work like that, but this invincible time is enough to cross the entire screen, if the game is 2 players, you can clean some stages almost completely, .. that looks like cheating to me. 2- In stage 3-03, the one with robot spiders, you can save a Ninja on the right part, or simply be going to the exit, you can actually reach the exit from the right! Just push the edge of the screen on right until you simply go out of stage and back to choosing a character. Maybe this is possible on more stages, didn't test much yet. 3- In stage 5-02, you shouldn't be able to walk where the enemies are, but it's possible to walk through their broken spots, for a much easier stage, as they never shoot there. The fourth enemies from down to up become passages inside. 4- In stage 5-07, you have room on the left to avoid all danger, and from there you can shoot the enemies freely. I'm putting this strategy as a glitch because I really don't think the designers left that spot on purpose. --- X- Press Up+1+2 at the title screen before the two sides get together, and hold it, when the text screen comes it will say Special Mode, member...10: - You'll have 10 warriors, one of each, and even if you save someone or get killed, next stage will start with 10 warriors again. - You can choose stages on all rounds. And you can choose to repeat all rounds as many times as you want. - You can fight a boss multiple times to add to the score. - Special mode is good to see how a Burner, Launcher or Bazooka would do in the rounds where they're not available yet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XV- FAQ [00015] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q- How do I pass Level ? A- if the walkthrough didn't help at all, email me, but I'll take some time to answer... Q- Do I get only one Burner? A- Yes, unless you replay Stage 3-04... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XVI- Copyright [00016] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This document should not be used in any way to earn money. It's for personal use only. If you wish to use this document on your site, ask me first, and tell me where it's going to be. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XVII- Credits [00017] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, the game designers, gameFAQs for hosting it, and my parents =P Thanks to SMS FAQs Completion Project - for incentive \o/ Copyright 2011 by Jungon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------