Karnov FAQ/Walkthrough By Kaine Andrews Version 0.32 - 3/4/04 Version History: 0.32 - Fixed a few errors on point values, added some more enemies, finished the Table of Contents to reflect all the levels, fixed a few typos. - 3/4/04 0.30 - Added additional Bosses, fixed some spelling errors, tweaked the description of certain items. 3/4/04 0.25 - Added Walkthrough of the first level, added initial Enemy and Boss sections. 3/3/04. 0.15 - First edition of the guide, intended primarily as a placeholder and to allow people to contribute if they've got anything in particular to add. Covers Characters, Story, Versions, Controls, and Items. 3/3/04. -----/ Special Notice \-------------------------------------------------------- | This FAQ is written by Kaine Andrews. Information in this FAQ has been | | assembled through a lot of work, trying and retrying several things, and | | took some doing to put together. I'd like to respectfully ask that if you | | use this information elsewhere, you at least give mention to me, and don't | | call it your own work. Karnov, Data East, GameFAQs, NES, Nintendo and other | | such terms are, obviously, trademarks, copyrights, etc. of other people, | | and this FAQ in no way challenges or attempts to steal any of their work, | | blah, blah, blah. Additions or suggestions to the FAQ are welcome. E-mail | | me at ashande@sbcglobal.net with the topic of "Karnov FAQ" or something | | similar, if you have anything you feel needs to be added. Credit will be | | given where appropriate. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A further note: Sections of this FAQ have special codes attached to them, for ease in browsing. If there's a particular section of the guide you're looking for, check the Table of Contents for the code in []'s. Then do a Find on that, and it should skip right to what you're looking for. -----/ TABLE OF CONTENTS \----------------------------------------------------- I. Characters [KARCHAR] II. Story [KARSTOR] III. Versions [KARVER] IV. Controls [KARCONT] V. Items [KARITEM] VI. Walkthrough [KARWALK] a. On the Road Again - Level 1 [KARLVL1] b. Animal House - Level 2 [KARLVL2] c. Karnov, Dinosaur Hunter - Level 3 [KARLVL3] d. The Frozen North - Level 4 [KARLVL4] e. Under the Sea - Level 5 [KARLVL5] f. Tower of Power - Level 6 [KARLVL6] g. It's a Dry Heat - Level 7 [KARLVL7] h. Come Fly With Me - Level 8 [KARLVL8] i. Out of the Frying Pan... - Level 9 [KARLVL9] VII. Enemies [KARFOES] a. Regular Enemies [KARMONST] b. Boss Monsters [KARBOSS] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----/ Characters (Code: [KARCHAR] ) \----------------------------------------- Well, there isn't really a whole lot to post in here, seeing as there aren't really any major characters beyond Karnov himself. Karnov: Karnov is, in the American NES version at least, the shortened name of circus strongman Jiborav Karnovsky. From what little we know of him, he apparently learned to breathe fire from somewhere, and was putting that talent to use in the circus until the call for adventure came along, and he set out to find the ancient lost Treasure of Babylon. So far as anyone has been able to tell, he is apparently middle-aged, and has no close family relationships. For gamers hungry to see more of Karnov - though I've no idea why - you can also find him in the games Fighter's History and Bad Dudes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----/ Story (Code: [KARSTOR] ) \---------------------------------------------- Again, this being an action title from reasonably early in the life of the NES, there isn't much story to go around. Karnov has heard tales of the ancient Treasure of Babylon, and has run off to go find it. Of course, over the course of the journey, plenty of vile monsters and insane cultist-types attempt to stop him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----/ Versions (Code: [KARVER] ) \-------------------------------------------- Karnov, like many early NES games, was a port of an arcade game, and I've also seen a Commodore 64 version floating around. Though the basic premise of the game remains the same in all versions, there were a few changes made. Probably the most drastic of these is the namechange and plot alterations between the arcade version and the NES version; in the arcades, Karnov was a prince of a Middle Eastern nation, chosen by Allah to locate the stolen treasure of Babylon. Due to Nintendo's issues with censorship regarding religious considerations and the "Russian Craze" of the mid-80s, Karnov became a circus strongman from Russia, with no real reason to go out looking for the Treasure beyond the thirst for riches and adventure. Oh well. We can't all be perfect, I suppose. NES Version: Designed and Released by Data East, available 1988. Arcade Version: Designed and Released by Data East, date unavailable. (I remember playing it in the arcade when I was very young, so I'm tempted to say around 1986.) Commodore Version: Designed by Data East, Released by Activision, available 1988. The above information was gleaned from www.gamefaqs.com. Any additions or corrections in this area are more than welcome. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----/ Controls (Code: [KARCONT] ) \------------------------------------------- Often considered to be one of the most frustrating aspects of this game, the controls can be somewhat difficult, especially for those who don't have the benefit of a manual. Thus, we present... the controls! _________________________________________________________ | Nintendo | | |-| | | ___| |___ ______ ______ _ _ | | | | | | | | / \ / \ | | ---| |--- ------ ------ \ / \ / | | | | Select Start B A | | - | --------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | - Use Items | | - Jump | - Pause | - Move, Select Items - Fire, Throw Boomerang Ugly, isn't it? Anyway. The control pad moves Karnov; with it, you can jog along to the left or right, or duck - not that ducking has much real purpose in the game. Pushing B makes Karnov launch a fireball, or throw the Boomerang if you've equipped that. Pressing A allows Karnov to jump - and, unlike many video game characters of his era, Karnov proves remarkably agile in the air, able to control his movement to the left and right fairly well in mid-jump. Start puts the game on pause, or releases the pause. Pressing Select activates the currently selected Item. A brief note on selecting items is likely necessary: Any time you press left or right on the keypad, your Item selector - represented by the flashing box on the stripe near the bottom of the screen - will move one Item over in that direction. Pressing Select will activate whatever Item is currently flashing, which can lead to all kinds of irritation when you wanted to use the Ladder and you just wasted a Bomb or something. Thankfully, Karvov's designers were not complete idiots, and allowed you to make selections even when the game is paused. Thus, a lot of the time, it's easiest to pause, move the cursor to pick your item, and then WITHOUT MOVING activate it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----/ Items (Code: [KARITEM] ) \---------------------------------------------- As you make your way through Karnov, you'll find a number of helpful items to give you a hand on your journey. Realistically, you could beat the game without touching any of these, so far as I am aware, but they make things so much easier, so why not use them? Fireball: You'll see these floating in midair throughout the levels. They look just like what they should - small red (or blue, more on that momentarily) circles just hanging there - and are reasonably plentiful in the early stages. Picking one of these up does one of three things: Either it increases Karnov's firepower (pardon the pun), it restores his Health, or it does nothing at all. Fireballs net you a 100 point bonus, as well. Basically, Karnov starts off shooting one fireball at a time, but if you pick up a Fireball, it enables him to shoot one more. The maximum number Karnov can launch at once is three, which spread out to cover slightly above his head and slightly below - or just run on the ground, if there's nothing below him. If Karnov has been hit by an enemy, he'll turn blue, and so will the Fireballs. Picking one up when they're blue will restore Karnov to fighting shape, but won't grant you an extra Fireball. If Karnov is normal-colored and already has three Fireballs, picking them up does nothing at all. Karnov Symbols: Scattered through the levels, you'll find yellow boxes with a capital "K" inside. Picking them up nets you 50 points, and adds to the counter in the lower-right portion of the screen. Finding 50 of them gives you a 1-Up. Jump Boots: These look like little Persian slippers in a yellow box. Using these allows Karnov to jump nearly twice as high for a limited period of time. They last for about 45 seconds, and a warning klaxon will sound when time is almost up. They are consumable, but fairly common. Also worth an additional 50 points, for those keeping score. Bomb: They look like... well. Bombs. In a yellow box, like so many of these Items. Using one will cause a small explosion that does a small amount of damage to nearby enemies. There is a slight delay - about 2 seconds - between using the bomb, and it going off, so don't rely on them to pull you out if you're allready surrounded. They're consumable, but fairly common. Bombs, like most items, snag you a cool 50 points upon pickup. Ladder: Looking like what it claims to be, the Ladder is probably the most-used item in the game. You'll find 2 or 3 of them in nearly every level, usually around the continue points, so never fear losing one. When used, the Ladder shoots up from Karnov's position, allowing him to climb to heights he might not otherwise be able to reach. The ladder isn't consumable; you can use it as much as you want. In order to return it to your inventory, you need to climb back down it; when you hit the bottom, it'll shrink back down and go back to the Item Menu. (Which brings up the pressing question of exactly where Karnov puts all this stuff, but I think that's a matter for physics professors.) I imagine you can already guess this, but there's 50 points in it for you, when you pick one of these up. Boomerang: Again, it looks like what it says it is. The Boomerang is likely a close second in the "actually useful" Item category. When you activate the Boomerang, Karnov's normal Fireball attack is replaced by throwing the Boomerang. The upside? The Boomerang does quite a bit more damage than Karnov's Fireballs, even capable of destroying most bosses in a single hit. The bad part? You have to catch it on the rebound, or it's gone. Thankfully, you can carry lots of this consumable, and there's plenty of them to be found in the later levels, so you should be all right. Just use them sparingly. Big Bomb: These are the star-shaped things you'll occasionally find; they don't appear to be particularly common, but I've never found that to be a big problem since they're not all that great in the first place. If you get mobbed by tons of enemies, they can be helpful, but other than that they'll most likely just rot in your inventory. Using one causes a pretty multi-color explosion and some scattering of shrapnel, causing decent damage to everything on the screen. I've heard people claim that this can even damage Karnov, but I've never seen it happen. They're consumable, so stock up if you feel the need. Magic Mask: This item differs a bit from most of the others; the game will not allow you to select it, but it will automatically highlight when there's a reason to use it. The Magic Mask allows you to see items that would normally be hidden, and then go grab them. In spots where the Magic Mask is usable, a small bell will be heard, and other items won't be selectable until you use the Mask. Using the Mask makes it disappear from your inventory, but unlike most of the consumables, you can only carry one at a time. Diving Helmet: In my opinion, the icon for this one doesn't look much like a helmet; it looks more like a yellow bubble in a box. That's okay, though, since it still works. You can only use this item when underwater, though it isn't automatically selected like the Mask. When you do, Karnov dons a little helmet, and his swimming speed is vastly improved. And never mind exactly how he shoots Fireballs underwater, let alone through the mask. Some questions are better left unanswered. Like the Mask, using the Helmet removes it from your inventory, and you can only carry one at a time. Shield: The shield lets Karnov survive a little longer, in some instances; when you use it, Karnov gets a shield that will block a few enemy shots. It does nothing for direct body contact, though. The amount of damage it can sustain seems based on what kind of hits it's taking, but that could be just my imagination. You can only carry one Shield at a time, and it goes away when used, so pick your times wisely. Icarus Wings: Probably the absolutely least useful item in the entire game, the Icarus Wings grant Karnov the power of flight for a brief - very brief - time. They seem to last about 20-30 seconds, though I haven't had a chance to time it out exactly. During that time, you can move Karnov wherever you like in the open skies; just be sure you're not hovering over a bottomless chasm or an enemy when they give out. Like the Boots, they'll give a warning klaxon when time's almost up, and like the Mask, they'll only be selectable when standing in certain places. A small bell will sound and they will automatically be highlighted when it is possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----/ Walkthrough (Code: [KARWALK] ) \---------------------------------------- Here's where the meat and potatoes of the guide begins. Note that in several places, you have choices as to how to get where you're going, so I'll try to point such things out as we go along. Also note that the list of items you may find in an area is by no means complete, and any additions you'd like to point out can be sent to me at the e-mail address at the beginning of the FAQ. A note on the monsters; only rarely will you find notes on how to dispose of them in the Walkthrough portion of this FAQ - usually if the environment or circumstances dictate a special strategy. In most cases, information about killing a particular beastie can be found in the Enemies section of the FAQ. And yes, I know, there's levels past 6. I haven't gotten there, yet. Give me time, people. :) -----/ On the Road Again: Level 1 (Code: [KARLVL1] ) \------------------------- As all the levels will, this one begins with Karnov being teleported to the start of the area in a bolt of lightning. Let's not worry about how circus workers command the powers of the storm... let's just get on with kicking some monster butt! First off, on that screen, you'll see a few Floating Eyes. Zap them as needed and head to the right, hopping up onto the platforms. Snag the Fireball there, drop down from the right side of that platform, grab the Ladder, and hop up to grab the ever-so-tantalizing "K" floating in the sky. Now that you have that Ladder, you can get ahold of the Jump Boots. Jump back to the left and activate the ladder underneath the Boots icon. Climb on up and grab 'em, then dismount, retrieve your ladder, and resume your trek to the right. There's a Bomb, sitting nice and pretty on that ledge, but don't just rush up and grab it; there's a Gray Rock Man about to appear and fling some boulders your way. Inch forward until he appears, fry him, then jump up and grab your prize. But wait, there's more! Stand where the Rock Man appeared, and deploy the ladder again. Climb on up and you'll see a Fireball there. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the Ladder won't quite reach, so climb down and try again until it does. Be careful in grabbing the Fireball, though, as a Long Dragon likes to come swooping by right around here and knock you around a little. Once you've got the Fireball and the Dragon has been taken care of, climb back down and continue to the right. Sometimes Blue Soldiers will appear here; they're nothing to worry about, since they only take one shot to dispose of, but don't dilly dally or they might start swarming you. Just keep mashing on the B button and creep forward; eventually a Chicken Bone will appear, and try to shoot you. If you're using the "don't stop shooting" method, most of the time you'll kill it before it even gets a shot off, but deal with it however you wish before continuing. You'll see a whole bunch of Ks floating in front of the building, but before grabbing them, dispose of the Gray Rock Man guarding them; then use your Ladder if you feel like grabbing them. If you climb to the top of the Ladder and trigger your Jump Boots, there's another batch of Ks you can reach up top. All in all there's about 9 of them, which isn't a bad haul, but it's up to you if you want to go to the trouble. Just past all that is another Rock Man, a red one this time. Zap him and move ever onward. You've come upon a lovely little bridge. You've got two choices here; jump on up and continue across, or spare a few seconds, and go under to snag some extra Ks. If you go under, just torch the Floating Demons as they come up, grab the Ks, and then turn around, and climb back on top. If you elect to ignore the Ks, just jump on upward, disposing of the Floating Demons as you go. Once on top of the bridge, you'll notice a couple of Bombs sitting up in the sky; again, don't get greedy, as a Gray Rock Man is waiting for you. Blast him, then use your Ladder to collect the Bombs if you like. Resume advancement, destroying the Red Rock Man and Chicken Bone as they appear - and the flock of Floating Eyes that on occasion decides to put in an appearance - then drop down the stairs. DO SO CAREFULLY! If you can do this without allowing the screen to scroll too far to the right, you can walk left a little to go under the bridge and snag 3 more Ks and a Fireball, if you keep going left. Then head on to the right, zapping any Floating Demons that decide to crash the party. At the split between the white and gray buildings, you'll see a K; jump up at it, moving right as you jump, and fire a volley as you do so. A hidden item should appear. It appears to be random exactly what you get, though the only items I've gotten from it so far are the Magic Mask, a pair of Icarus Wings, a Big Bomb, or a lousy K. Dispose of any Floating Demons who continue to hang around, head right, and meet the boss of the area, the ever-exciting Merman! He's fairly easy; the basic strategy listed for this monster will do you fine. Once he's gone, down comes the lightning, and off to Level 2 you go. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----/ Enemies (Code: [KARFOES] ) \-------------------------------------------- Enemies in Karnov come in basically two varieties. The annoying, and the really annoying. :) Basically, things that shoot fall into the latter category, while those that just try to run into you are the former. Enemies are listed, as best as possible, in the order you'll run into them in the game. You'll have to forgive the names; some of them are dredged up from my memory of the instruction manual, when I had this game in the dark, long ago era of the age of 8, while others are just ones I made up, and probably aren't all that helpful. A note on the "levels appearing;" this is just the places I've seen them so far. Some enemies - notably the bird, bat, and "soldier" types will sometimes not show up in an area, and so I may have missed them. Also, since the FAQ is still under construction, anything there for the moment is just where I remember seeing them. That information will be updated as I near completion. I also make occasional mention of the "boundary problem;" this refers to the habits of many enemies to simply die if you scroll a certain amount past their spawning point. Most of the regular monsters suffer from this, meaning if you run far enough, even mobile enemies will just self-destruct. This, obviously, won't work on bosses, and at least one normal enemy is immune to the effect as well. Anyway. On to the beastiary. ----/ Regular Enemies (Code: [KARMONST] ) \------------------------------------ FLOATING EYE Point Value: 30 Levels Appearing: 1, 2 Description: A small, green and white floating eyeball thing. They have no real pattern to speak up, just floating around, generally towards the right side of the screen. One shot will take care of them, and they generally don't get too close, so you can usually safely ignore them. GRAY ROCK MAN Point Value: 100 Levels Appearing: 1, 2 Description: A laughing hulk made of rocks, slate gray in color. He doesn't do much, just fling boulders at you, one at a time. The boulders can be blasted away with one or two shots, and the Rock Man himself only takes 3 or 4, most of the time. LONG DRAGON Point Value: 500 Levels Appearing: 1 Description: A long floating snake-o-death, the Long Dragon is generally Red or Green. I have yet to find any difference between the two. They have no real attacks, just swoop around the screen disregarding such silly mortal concepts as gravity, and trying to smack into you. They take about 5 shots to ground, permanently, but are worth the effort, points-wise. It also makes travel a bit safer, as unlike many enemies, they don't seem to suffer from the "boundary problem" mentioned above. BLUE SOLDIERS Point Value: 100 (As far as I can tell. It's difficult shooting just one) Levels Appearing: 1 Description: Skinny human midgets with swords, dressed in blue military uniforms of some kind. They walk towards you, waving their blades, all in all attempting to appear menacing; it would work better for them if they didn't go down in one blast. They can prove to be problematic if you stay to long on a screem where they spawn, though, since they can and will swamp you quickly. Thankfully, in addition to being weak, they are probably the most prominent sufferers of the boundary problem of any enemy, and rarely stick around for long. The best strategy for them is to just keep moving foward, blasting as you go. CHICKEN BONE Point Value: 100 Levels Appearing: 1 Description: Strange-looking gargoyle things, they seem to enjoy dropping down from trees and then proceeding to hop around, firing 2 and 3 round blasts at Karnov. Since their initial descent is so slow, you have plenty of time to kill them before they touch down and make nuisances of themselves; they usually only take about 4 shots to kill. RED ROCK MAN Point Value: 120 (Destroying his boulders also gets you +120 points each) Levels Appearing: 1, 2 Description: Just like Gray Rock Men, only Red. The same strategy applies to this guy, but he can throw two boulders in quick succession, which can trip you up if you're not aware of it and try to jump at him without waiting for him to throw both. FLOATING DEMON Point Value: 100 Levels Appearing: 1, 8 Description: They look like nasty little imps, riding around or grafted onto poison clouds. They appear on the right side of the screen, lift up like a sudden jump, float down, then repeat. They can fire, usually single shots, and most often choose to let loose on the way up, but occasionally they'll fire just before they hit the bottom of their "hop." 4 shots or so will get rid of them, and their fire is relatively easy to avoid. BLOCKHEADS Point Value: 200 Levels Appearing: 2 Description: Big pink faces that just sit there and shoot the occasional fireball at you. There's not much to these guys; just jump and fire, timing your jumps to avoid their fireballs. When you hit them a couple of times, they'll develop cracks all over them, and hit them a couple times more, they die. All in all, it takes 5 hits to dispose of one of these. Be careful when they're around, though, not to scroll the screen too far; they tend to appear in packs. TENGU Point Value: ???? Levels Appearing: 2 Description: Strange bird-men looking things, they always appear in pairs. They tend to show up at either side of the screen, hover there for a second, and then divebomb Karnov at the center. You can kill them; they're just not worth the effort. If you keep walking right and don't stop, 99% of the time, they'll just criss-cross behind Karnov and disappear. The other 1% of the time, you'll get pinged, or they'll come back for another round. They take about 5 shots to take down, and are fairly difficult to hit; again, I reiterate, not worth the trouble. Just keep walking. GIANT BAT Point Value: 120 Levels Appearing: 2 Description: Badly animated, blue, vaguely bat-shaped things. They tend to appear in packs, ranging from 3 to 8, and fly in a box-shaped pattern. Not really dangerous unless the screen is getting crowded. One shot sends them packing, so the best solution is just to fire randomly and constantly in areas where they appear. STARMAN Point Value: 200 Levels Appearing: 2, 3 Description: If you've ever played Earthbound on the SNES, you know what they look like; big yellow guys in space suits. They usually pop up right in front of you and just stand there, looking intimidating. You have plenty of time to just blast them into oblivion while they do this; just fire like a madman when they show up. If you don't kill them fast enough, it will release a small explosion of parts, turn into a rolling ball, and roll towards you; so far as I can tell, you can't hurt them when they're doing this. After that, they'll reform - dodge the flying parts as they return to it - and you'll get another crack at it. LIGHT SNAKE Point Value: 150 per segment Levels Appearing: 3 Description: A long strand of small multicolored balls that zaps around the screen in straight or diagonal lines, making an incredibly annoying noise all the while. Like the Long Dragon, they seem completely immune to the boundary effect, and ignore gravity, so it's best to blast them before they cause too much trouble. It takes about 5 shots to destroy each segment, and I believe they have about 6 segments; so 30 shots alltogether, give or take. If you can get them to go diagonally away from you, then come at you head on, you can usually blast them before they touch you, but they tend to have rather unpredictable movement patterns. CRAG MAN Point Value: 220 Levels Appearing: 3, 9 Description: Oh, sure. They look like innocent, unassuming rock outcroppings... at first, at least. But when you get close, they jump up and start walking towards you, tossing the occasional fireball just for laughs. These guys aren't really much of a threat; just start shooting at them when you see the rock piles. Most of the time, you'll kill them before they have a chance to get up. You can recognize them because their "mountains" are a light yellow, instead of the brown or blue that the more common background elements are. MACHO MAN Point Value: 120 Levels Appearing: 4, 7 Description: Ohh, yeah! Snap into a Slim Jim! Or any of the other hundred inane comments one would care to make about former big wrestling star Randy Savage. That's what these guys look like; bad wreslters who don't realize their careers are over. They drop down from the sky, often in large numbers, and proceed to start hopping around like fleas on crack. Thankfully, one shot gets rid of them, and like Blue Soldiers, they suffer heavily from the boundary problem, so they're not too much of a pain. PIGEONS Point Value: 50 Levels Appearing: 7 Description: Ugly green birds that flap their way across the screen, generally in packs of three or four. They appear mainly to harass you while you're climbing up the pyramid in Level 7, but are fairly easy to deal with; just make sure to fire off a couple volleys of fireballs with each jump up, and you should clear them out before they even have much chance to move. One shot does them in. GARGOYLES Point Value: ???? Levels Appearing: 8 Description: Highly annoying statues that block your path in a number of places during Level 8. They sit there, look scary, and fire volleys of three fireballs at you as you approach. Equip the Shield if you don't feel comfortable dodging with the Icarus Wings, and blast away; 6 shots or so should do it. Note that the whole monster doesn't disappear when you "kill" these guys, only the color of the eye changes from yellow to a normal gray. Basically, if it's not shooting at you, it's safe to pass. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----/ Boss Monsters (Code: [KARBOSS] ) \-------------------------------------- MERMAN Point Value: 300 Levels Appearing: 1 Description: It's a giant fish with a human face. Sort of. He hasn't got much of an attack pattern, really; walk towards you, launch a fireball, jump, repeat. That lends itself well to easy disposal of the beastie; just duck, mash the B button like a psychopath, run under him when he jumps, repeat. NEMEAN LION Point Value: 100 Levels Appearing: 2 Description: A big green lion that occaisionally shoots fire, but more often contents itself with leaping back and forth across the screen, the Lion is, like most enemies, fairly easy to defeat. When he first appears on the screen with his Tamer (see below), just start firing like a madman; the Lion won't even have time to attack, most often, and even if he does, he's liable to only get a single shot off before he's dead. LION TAMER Point Value: 150 Levels Appearing: 2 Description: A tall looking man in a white robe. The Tamer doesn't do a whole lot, except occasionally smack his Lion (see above), making it spit fireballs. Like his animal friend, if you just start firing incessantly when he appears on screen, he should be dead before he can get a shot off. REX Point Value: 500 Levels Appearing: 3 Description: A towering menace of thousands of pounds, six-inch daggers for teeth, and a roar that paralyzes all who hear it in fear. Or maybe it's just a 10 foot tall beastie that wants to do those things when it grows up. Either way, Rex is not the most intelligent of animals, and generally just walks slowly to the left, attempting to pin you in a corner, spitting fire all the while. The easiest way to dispose of him is to equip your Boomerang, and the Shield if you don't feel very adept at dodging fire, walk towards him, and let fly. DON'T JUMP WHEN YOU DO THIS. The Boomerang will fly out, circle back around, and hit him in the back of the head. If you timed it right, you'll just need to jump over his first volley of fireballs, grabbing the Boomerang in the process. One hit should do him in. If not, repeat. If you absolutely insist on fighting him without the Boomerang, you'll almost definitely want to use the Shield. Just activate the Shield and stand still, mashing on the B button. Provided you have at least 2 Fireballs, he'll go down in short order; if you've only got 1, you'll have to hop up to hit him in the head, and this fight becomes much more difficult. Time your jumps to go over his Fireballs, and fire like mad while airborne. Rinse, repeat. LAMIA Point Value: ???? Levels Appearing: 4 Description: She looks something like a centipede on steroids, only with a human's head and arms. Like Rex, she doesn't have much in the way of strategy beyond pushing you to the left and shooting at you while she does it. Like Rex, your best friends will be the Boomerang and the Shield. She does have one annoying trait, however, and that's the fact that she's immune to damage unless she's standing up. When she's crawling on the floor, you can't touch her, but shooting at her a little bit will get her to rear up. When she does that, equip the Boomerang and throw. It usually takes two hits to get this to work, and it's hard to grab your Boomerang on the return flight, since she shoots a lot more than Rex, so bring extras if you can. Again, like Rex, I don't recommend attempting this with the normal Fireball, but if you really want to do it, the strategy's the same; equip the Shield, and shoot for all you're worth, jumping if you only have one Fireball, standing still if you've got 2 or more. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------